Daily union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1865-1866, 1866-01-28
NO. 46.

steamers whenever and wherever it is pos
sible.
And here / may rsmark, that there are no
more enterprising merchants en- the giete
than these Chinese Only show them rem
sonable prospect Of good business. or as
they say, ~0ne-big-pidjiu," and no people
could show more energy and shrewlncss in
working it up. The rcsnls. in snv opinion,
though slew in coming, viii surely 5e that
the immense commerce of the Chinese En-
pire viii fall into the hands Of Chinese mer-
chants, and this for the reason that foreign
ers can not compete with them ix purchasing
cargoes. Foreigners can not trstverse the
interior, Cinnamon can. Foreigners must
buy at disadvantages through agents and
second, or even third hands
Assto the cerrying trade. Cinnamon can
not baild. and may aot own large ships; but
they can and do now charter tirstclass ships,
commanded by foreign masters Aid
though they cannot be convinced that the
earth Is round. and thatships iiiay sail either
east or west and reach America and Europe,
they. nevertheless. don't care a--e-ash
whether It be flat, square, rhcisboid or
round, prossded only their sessehl can sail
from their waters 70 San francisce. London
or New York safely, and retesn.
This sailing experiment they have tried,
with a successful result and the result, and
not the 8od.ss, is what they look 10.
This last year Chinese merchants char
tered ships, gave them cargoes of tea, &C.,
on their own account, and sent them to Lon
don. And while British houses here lest
money on their shipments TO Londen, these
Chinese shippers actually cleared handsome
profits. The consequence is, that the Chi
nese are sending their good business men to
European cities opening houses for trade
there, leaving partners here 90 buy and ship
while they remain to sell aud send orders
This is becoming great busines, and the
British houses "begin to see it in that light
and some of them are seeking partnerships
with Cinnamon as their only means of saliva
ton. When l was in San Francisco a short
time ago, the Collector of the Port told me
that one Chinese merchant in that city paid
into the Custom House no lessthan $4,000
annually, as duties ON his imports.
/ mention these things 10 give vou an idea
that in this far eff region there are resources
and capabilities which, though quite unlike
our own, can not fail, nevertheless, to I'M
press themselves strongly on the commercial
conditions of the world. ah
England keeps formidable fleet Of war
vessels in these Eastern seas, to enforce her
demands, as well as to protect hef own mer-
chant marine. In truth, hazard nothing
in saying that were it not for the British
fleet now in these seas, the commerce of
Christendom would be swept therefrom By
the piracy Of these coasts. The whole
Asiatic coast, from Japan to Bombay, Is in
tested with pirates, chiefly natives led by
renegade Europeans and some Americans,
Who seeing a merchant man becalmed or
crippled, rush out Of their hiding places in
the numerous bays and inlets, or among the
islands Of the coasts, in their jnnks-swift,
light and well armed-moved by oars a.
well as sails, and are almost sure Of captur-
ing the unfortunate ship and cargo and mur-
der all ON board. In these piraticil assaults
they use, in .n3dition to arms, what are
called sink -GElls, a kind Of hand grenade,
which, on being thrown on the ships deck,
explode, sending forth a most fntolerable
and deadly suiiocating stencil, before which
the whole crew must retreat and sometimes
leap overheard 10 escape the horrible fumes
1t is Kind OF sGreek fire. without the
tured and destroyed by pirates since cams
here. ss.aeI M sar
The British vessels of war make raids oc
casionally on these pirates, but cannot en-.
tirely suppress them.
Ii Is rather curious 10 witness at this dis
tance the effect Of our war at home. The
intelligent Cinnamon frequently interrogate
me concerning it, their interrogatories show
ing utter ignorance as 10 its cause, character
or continuance. And, in truth, the same ig-
norance is characteristic Of the other nation
aiities here, not even excepting the British
and French.
In conversation with Frenchnlan, the
other day, he affirmed positively that "Amer-
lea never could pay her deb.." In vain |
tried TO convince him Of our resources,
though |. laughingly assured him that the
poultry Of America was sufficient 20 pay il,
50, zoo, ,000,0 of debt.
The French here are somewhat exercised
on the attitude Of the United States on the
Mexican question. They know, and fully
realize the fact, that the moment war oc-
ours between the United States and France
that their commerce will be swept from the
seas by our privateess.
Since leaving Cincinnati have been, a
you know, in Mexico, and have seen great
many of her people, and I confess that all
hope of successful attempt to sustain sys-
tenn of self government among these people
vanished from my mind. Their Ignorance,
their arrogance, their superstition, their gen
erai Hshiftlessnesso and universal disregard
of private and personal rights, are 50 adj
verse to all requisites OF selfgovernment,
that my disceuragement in their behalf be-
came complete.
Don Quixote made desperate war against
giants and wind-mills in defense Of the
2amsel, Daiciaea del Ioboso, ("a danisel no
better than she should be") all because Of a
"ehivalrous sentiment in regard 70 woman.
Our Government should be careful not TO
enact the Qai,pfic rule by making a
aDulcinea" Of Mexico which is certainly
no better than she should beD ON account
of "chivalrous sentiment" touching the
g Monroe Docfrins.r The Doctrine should
neser be sinTvadered, but its application TO the
/ " Mexican situation at the expense Of a war
on behalf Of Mexico alone, deserves the most
prudent consideration. = 4
The Europeans here live ON scale Of
nAsiafic magnifcence, and the wealthy
Americans adopt the same scale Of living
| dined, the other evening, at the house ol
two American bachelor brothers, There
were twelve gentlemen TO dinner, (no ladies,
and we had thirteen servants 10 wait at the
table Our plates wsre changed fourteen
times for rs many courses. We sat down tc
dinner at O'Clock and rose at 1ill The
cooking was excellent, the wines abundant
and all present were perfectly sober. When
we arose we adjourned 10 a private billiard
room and had games on splendid tables Of
Phelan's best. Such u the style Of life here.
LABOR AT THE SouTH.-No apprehen-
sion need be felt BY the people Of the North
that the Southern planters will make an e.