Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1845-08-09
NATIONAL iNTELLIGEN,IER
FROM OUR EUROPEAN coRREspoNDENr

men, intelligent diplomatic agents, and not few
fine youth preparing maturing themselves for III,
medical profession. Such specimens Of the intel
lect culture, and physical frame and aspect of ou
country are doubly welcome. Dr. Lyell's Travels
IN North America have appeared in London. He
has not written as geologst merely. The Lon
don Spectator of the 18th instant contains notice
the only one | have read--of the work it is de-
scribed as more favorable to the Americans" than
any late production Of the kind. II dsspates, OF
sensibly reduces, several of the chosen topics OIL
British invective against our national character AMI
institutions. La ReUue des Deur Mondes Of the
LIST instant has an article Of tweny-three pages, by
an elegant author, ST. BEUvE on the life character
habits, and writings Of DEsAUoIERs, whose vaude
yles and songs are not surpassed, if equalled, il
desert and popularity. | mention the article par
ticularly because the admirable chansonlier livet
in our city of Baltimore in the years 1895 and 1895
along with his sister, and may be remembered b,
such OF its elders as relished music and the mos
captivating French yiyacity in social intercourse
DEsAuGIERs was born in Provence in l772 !; car
red to San Domingo in his youth; and driver
thence, by the negro insurrection, to the United
States. His life was saved by an American cap
tain, who gave him free passage out Of gratitude fol
musical treats at the houses where he was met ii
better times. He returned to France in 1897 sui.
fered in prisons travelled throughout the convulsed
departments as leader Of an orchestra and occa-
sional actor; and, finally, became the delight OF
Paris by his dramatic and poctcal effusions and
machless convivial powers. He died in 1927.
Colburn's (London) United Service INagasne
usually affords much that deserves to be noticed or
quoted in the American journals open to military
and naval matters. The number just issued con Z
tans several serial articles proper to be needed.
Captain O'CoNNoRs ItreIUe Months Service ~,
e. rlahlo for acc of
transactions and management at Sierra Leone-the
most important British colony of that region. The
London Sun, mentioning the article, expresses the
opinion, as produced by the Captains narrative,
that the colony should be broken up, being, in fact
more promove than destructive of the slave-trade.
The Mred. Commission would seem to be job
and a mockery. There is an article on the Recruit
ing of the British Army of considerable interest
and pith. American attention will be specially
attracted TO the disquisition on the Defences and
Resources of Canada. The writer, a military man,
believes the two provinces to be seriously in danger
from the Americans, and destined to independence
at least Curious facts and admissions abound.
He says: "The welfare of Canada as British
possession will entirely depend on having the
superiority the waters" "'fhe command Of
{ the lakes and waters in Canada will always give
: the side obtaining II every advantage" Though
the ostensible ground of contest with the Amer-
cans may be the Oregon territory, it is most GER
tain that Canada will be the great seat Of warfare
from one extremity to the other'' He describes
our militia in detail, with some disparaging re-
marks, yet unequivocal dread of their general eff
cheney. Commander FooTE, in his paper on the
Slave-trade in the Brazs, inveighs Justify against
the Brazilians.
The first three articles of the Foreign Quarterly
Review issued this month strike me as, on the
whole, able literary and historical dispositions.
The seventh article, entitled Surveys the Indian
Nary, is new and curious IN its contents, which
were furnished by Sir CHARLES MALCOLM, who
many years Superintendent Of the Navy of the
East India Company, and by Mr.. WALKER, Hy-
drographer TO the Company, and possessor of one
of the richest collections of charts in the world
The Indian navy has rendered important and vari-
Gus services to geography and navigation This
article discloses-I may speak-the Chagos,
Lacadive Maldive archipelagos, extending for 6f-
teen hundred miles athwart the Indian ocean. 1t
may be styled geographical, commercial, political,
and etbnographical. We have an immediate con-
in the last article of the Foreign Quartery-an
elaborate exposition Of the Oregon question, in be-
half Of the British pretensons. Ii is, Of course,
fallacious, peremptory, overweening, and abusive.
This advocate makes Mr.. Polk the only President
who has venured to assert that the region belongs
to the United States. My impression is that most
Of his predecessors have proclaimed the same SEN
iment in one mode or other. The reviewer was
not, probably, aware Of the declarations of the
Senate on the point of right. He admits that there
are no independent British settlers in the territory,
but contends that the Americans will never be able
TO direct the stream of emigration in that direction,
with the remotest chance of success" All the
while the stream flows on, reaching or rushing to
its basin. He affirms, too, that "if Oregon were
ceded without delay to the United States, British
influence would still predominant from the source
: of the Columbia to the sea- He calculates on a
determined resistance in the Canadas to all Ameri-
can fraternity or enmity. Besides, /" America can
not go to war; she has neither men, money, nor
credit" america is the weaker party - " near
'ly the whole press Of America protests against
President PoLK's manifestations" &c. Such state
ments will scarcely succeed with the British public
The reader, the least informed or rejecting, may
ask himself how it was with America in 1875 and
lSl2-whether she be now more deficient in men,
money, credit.
This number of the Foreign Quarterly informs
us that there fortywo millions of serfs in the
Russian empire, OF whom fifteen millions belong to
the Crown, and twenty-seven millions are private
property-according TO the recent census of Russia
lou know with what profound respect and cordial
amity the Emperor NICHOLAS, the greatest slave
holder IN the world, was paraded in the late speech
OF queen VICTORIA, and what indifference seems to
prevail IN the British Anti-Slavery Societies towards
Russian seJdom. note in the number that HUN.
BoLDTs volume OF his Kosmos has caused him 10
be accused IN Germany Of ToLairiaaisn, and repub-
hcamsm IL IS not yet extant in French or Eng.
ish. TRANSACTIONS in those languages are announc