The freeman. (Fremont [Ohio]) 1849-1850, 1850-03-16
Interesting Incidents of the last war
with Great Britain.

Il
bic corps of 100000 men, armed, equipped, |
and disciplined, can be ready for the field in
thirty days after war is declared, and so it may
be said of ships of war. We will state one
fact illustrative of this position. During the
war with England, and while stationed on the I
Barbary coast we were surprised, one day.
while exploring the ruins of Carthage, to see
sharp, clipper-built schooner, under full sail, |
with the American flag floating to brisk !
Cape Bon, and making di- |
rect for the bay. We rode down to the for
tress of Goletta, ordered launch to be made
ready and found ourselves alongside the /
schooner as she cast anchor.
"Where are you from, sir % "From Bos-
ton" replied the captain, smart dashy look |
ing young fellow. "In what passage ?'-
Twenty three days, sir" We began to have
our misgiyings. Twenty three days from Bos-
ton! We suspected she had been fitted out
at Marseilles to cruise in the Mediterranean.
1t was the Abeleno, Capt Wyer, of six guns
and seventy-ive men-a magnificent little !
craft We went down into the trunk cabin.
"Now SIR said the captain, "I'll convince
you that we are from Boston, and will show
you Boston notions of every kind, from pump
kins and smoked herrings down to wooden nut |
megs." He soon filed the table with all the
good cheer and solid comforts with which the1
Bostonians know so well how to furnish aship.
"And here,' said he, "is the Boston Sentinel,
Major RusselPs paper" All doubts were now
at an end; and while we had been partaking
of fare to which we had long been accustomed
-homely fare, but more welcome on that ac-
count-the captain said: "If you are surpris-
ed at our short passage so far up the Medit-
erranean, what will you say when l tell you
it is just sixty days since the keel of this yes
sci was laid in Boston; yet here we arei' We
could scarcely credit it s.Nay, that's not all
SIR continued Capt Wyer 'fOn my way
here, off Cagliari, captured two large British
ships filed with valuable cargoes, and ordered
them for this port. They viii be here to-mor-
row morning. What in neutral port in
| which the British exercise unlimited influence
They will never permit US to sell the cargoes."
| ssHNell, sir, we can only try
Sure enough, next morning early, the an
cient city of Tunis, honored once by the pres
ence of Scipio Afrieanus, Hannibal and other
distinguished personages known to history, was
thrown into great commotion on seeing two
large and deeply laden ships entering the port,
the stars and stripes floating over the union
jack 1t startled the British consul and all the
corps diplomatique, and we soon saw the whole
bevy on horseback, making for the palace
"Ismell sulphur, said the captain. There's
storm brewing, and we shall have it soon"
In an hour message arrived by name
luke that we were wanted at the palace Af-
ter making our toilette, Sid Ambrosio, our
chancellor and Mustapha, the dragoman, were
soon mounted, and off we paced at a moder-
/ ate rate for Bardo. The consular corps were
all present when we entered the salla. The
4 Bey, reclining as usual, on his large crimson
cushions, was busily engaged coming his long.
black, beard with tortoise-shell comb, stud
ded with brilliants, and looking unusually
grave.
"What does all this mean, consul-two Brit
1 ish prizes entering our port, and for what pur-
pose 90 '.To sell them, your hghness.''-
"What. against our treaty with England ?"-
"Certainly not if there is such provision in
the treaty"
The British consul, a most excellent man,
4 unrolled parchment, to which seal of wax
was appended nearly as large as one of our
i western cheeses, and commenced reading as
i follows:
at is further stipulated and agreed upon
that no European power at war with England,
shall be permitted tc=it out privateers or 9TH
er armed vessels to cruise against the COM
merce of Great Britain. from, or bring prizes
into the Tunisiann ports"
"Well, sir, said the Bey, "what have you to
say to that's it not full and conclusise2'
entirely 50; but it does not apply to u.s.
We are not European power.n
aThat, sir," said the British consul. sis a
mere evasion of the spirit of this section of our
! treaty. 1t was intended to apply to all Chris
tan powers"
aVery probably, sir; but we are not Chris
tian power!" The whole court looked amaz-
ed The Bey raised himself up from a splen-
did diamond box, and gave us an anxious and
enquiring look.
aHow will you make that appear, ?" said
! the British consul.
= every easily, sir'' We then read the fol
lowing section from our treaty with Tripoli:-
!: Gas the United States is in no manner a Chris
tian government, and entertains no hostility
i towards any denomination, it is hereby under
stood that no disturbance shall arise between
the two powers on any religious question"
Il It was useless to argue the point further
: We did not, in any shape, come within tht
purview of that treaty; permission was givel
to land the goods, and the ships and eargoes
: consisting of every variety of merchandise
were sold in a single day. The consul sent fo
: a British blockadIng squadron from Malta
+ but the privateer slipped out of the bay, RAJ
p up the Archipelago, destroyed nearly two mil
:. lions of British property, was chased round tn
Mediterranean by two ships of the line and tw
frigates, escaped through the Gut of Gibraltar
:, and arrived home safely.
y ). The commerce of any power would, by thi
= = private marine, be utterly destroyed in a wa
- with the United States; and all the navy {
:. Great Britain could not blockade SO as to pre-
= vent privateers from escaping. We shoul
= find them on the Atlantic, the Pacific, in tn
- Indian oceans, the Baltic and the Mediterrs
g mean. They would be everywhere.
Noah's Sunday Times.
es Good and True.
st Mr. McLanahan, member in Congress frol
is Pennsylvania in answer to a southern dissol'
g g ton speech, said: "The Union IS safe! I