Weekly national intelligencer., 1850-03-23

importance OF the colonies as consumers
manufactures, is strongly shown by this table They take
nearly third of the cotton goods than onefh Of
the hosiery about one-nnth of the linen more than
eighth Of the wooens seventh of the silk goods and
onehird of the metals exported The United States take
about Of the cotton goods the mixed
cotton and linen cloths four-ninhs of the linens one-hd
Of the wooss onequarter Of the silk and Of the
metalsoghe they take nearly onehafof all these various
articles exported by Great Britain and is worthy Of notice
that the only items in the foregoing Table 10 which this pro-
portion does nearly oban those Of cotton and woolen
yarns articles Of the least value, and yielding the least profit
the British artisan and exporter We by place
the United States and the existing British colonies in the
category but think the present policy of the mother
country will have dec. tendency to place her colonies in
positions approxmopg that of the United States and that
the day not very distant when the principal will take
their stations the list of free and independent nations prov
ing vigorous oshoots from the parent plant ard the best
friends and best customers of the mother country.
The British dependencies may be divided into three classes
military stations settlements plantations and colonies.
In the first class must be placed Helgoland, Bermuda ST.
Helena Malta, Gibraltar, &c. These places not in any
sense whatever colonies They fortified and occupied by
the military and naval forces Of Great Britain, upon grounds
Of policy which, whether right wrong have nothing to do
with the colonial question.
Again wha, call settlements plantations
tries which have come into possession by conquest by
treaty. in which the great of the population native
Inhabitants of the soil in which tas British although few
number compared with the natives the dominant race
are possessed Of Government and frequently the pro-
pretors Of the land In many of plantations the whole
native population recently slaves in almost all OF them
our own has been prevented, BY the physical crcum
stances of the country from increasing, except by emigration
and from becoming the actual tes of the SOIL and there
FORE from suppan;ing the original inhabitants In this class
are the West Indies, Ceyon, the Mauritius, &c.
'.frue colony of England is, think, community
of Bngshmen, formed either by original settlement de-
scent emgrants and their descendants who have carried
with them, or imbbed from education knowledge of and
devotion to- at least the theory Of the liberties and privileges
which belonged to them Engishen, when they their
fathers lived among Such the colonies Of Australia,
Van Demans Land, and New Zealand. Such is Canada,
although great part its population is composed of foreign
es but foreigners who have long been naurazed e
low subjects who have long, theory, been amagamaied
with English settlers and who capable Of enjoying prac
tically free institutions The Cape Of Good Hope has, until
quite lately, par,aken Of the character Of plantation
than of colony but the great unanmy which its inhab
have recently displayed and their courage and deerm
nation in repelling what they considered endeavo to
nure the moral character Of their community most certainly
enle them be esteemed colony Of England and
be governed SUCH
1t may be quite true that Ceylon is badly governed and
that Jamaica has sufficient ground for discomfort; but
think reflective say that the same form Of govern
ment is applicable these places and New South Wales
There multitude Of elements which enter into the pro-
bem of governing settlement plantation, which do not
exist in the Of colony We appehend that the present
attention Of the Government will be limited 10 the true colo
nies Of the North American Provinces the Cape of Good
Hope, and the Ausalasan territories. The great object
aimed at, we think, far gather from Parliamen
ta proceedings, is the establishment. Of the principle that
the liberty Of which Englshmen little given to boast
is geographical distinction but personal rsh-a right
which they ought be deprived Of because they
from part Of the empire to another. Now We suppose