New Black Hole.
The Times, 1824-01-31T00:00:00

7lTe limngp.ery mrobab. and ridiculous tale of horror is eravely t6ld in tdhe ,ion Gazette of the 19th. irnstant. I he statementpuuorts to be: contained iD a letter fomnePara- and is profsseAly' nserEed'in'the Portuguese JOurial, to prove to the subjects -of his Faithful1 Majesty, "into-wbat an -byss of evils rebellion ha' plunged Bra- zil." If- true, the acount-of. the Black lHIle bf' Calcutta will henceforth be cited only in the second class of frighc- f-ul narrations 4q" a the 12th ot October," saystheletter,'(dated November 2,) the proclaiming of the Emperor was celebrated in this city with --r, -op Th ft otinued on the l3t1a, and 14tb, the city vrat rM"nated, and assemblies took place at the Palace. Oa, the 15th, about 10 o'clock at night, the Sd reinment of the line Counded an alarmn, shouting, ' ong live the Emperor, and die 1 U Europeans.' They tverejoined by the lst arid 2d regimeDts of the ]ine, the artillery, the peasantry, and a great number of the blacks. Tais -supported, they proceeded to the palace of the (overnor, to deraahtd the extermination of European officers,and of the EBaropeans ingeneral. About two o'clock in the murng.th] troops-departed 'o their quarters in great disorder, and at-the same time a greit nutn- berofarmedsoldiers spread through the city, broke open doors nnooe2ng in at windows, robbing, murdering, committing. all atrocides, and calling for the death 0o1' all 'Europeaps. Theseseenea cointinued. till the 161h, at eight o'olock in the evening, when the Captain c2 the English brig Maranhani, arcompanied by the crew of' seveaI 'vessels at anchor in the port, disembar;ed, and took possession of the arsenal, which ne was enabled to do by acting in concert witb some of cers, and by fnding the troops in a state of intoxication. On the same night the Captain heaan to make arrangements for securing the peace of the city, and di3arming the regiments of infantry, firing upon the rob- bers who wdre pillaging houses. On ehe following dav, the auithors ofthe.disorders were arrested. On the 17th all ile fareigners, and all persons interested in bnaintaining public tranquillity, met and obtained arms from the artenal to defend their lives. Then the English comneandant marched at the bead of- tuhi armred .l'ody to the square of' the palace. Thereth.y were formned - order of battle, havigr. in -the centre, tile disarmed in- ..,/try of the line. On -tifis occasion five of the ringleaders Vrere shot. A great part of the most violent rioters were im- prioned, and the remainder proceeded to the quartets of the I st re- SienswtX sormuing onecorps with the title of the - tniperial Regiment." d the soldiers who were apprm'nended, toaether with sonie peasants ad egroes, wereconsigned,st prison tiff the evening of the 20th, wher. they were shifted on board the galley Palihaco. About ten o'cloak at night thes. prisoners, iln number. 256, began to slhout 'Death to the Euroe'eans' attempting, at the same time,to break open the hatches anti maketheirescape. In consequenceofthis conthuct, rheoops on ard fired ini uponathem, being extremely anxious that they should uotaccomplish their proposed obJecL The prisoners,they growa dr. r ate, nd posse.ssed with the bevi4 bt'gan to kilt earh ; oaC~airning, 'I)eartf tothe Emperor, and long live Conlgo, RI' theBlacks!' On the 21stin thermorning, thenoisehaving -tbmded, the hatcies were opened, aynd otnly fumr were foand alive, h52 having killed each othrr dnring thte eight !" It would be superfluous to point out the improbabilitics af this monstrous story. Its author declares tbat he hid bimself for fear, on the alarmii of the 15th ; and he seems not to have recoyered his senses for 1.5 (lays after, when he wrote his letter. Ele who can believe that 256 pri- soners, all confined unsier a common cliarge, and all joining in a common shout of "' Long live the Emperor," or "' Down with the Emperor," should conceivw such a nortal antipatlhy against each other, and engage in such a bloody war, that in the course of a fewl hours there were fountl only four stirvivors, will have no.difficulty in credit- ing the Tri-1h story of the two cats figishthig till pnly a bit of the tail of one of tbem reihained. If, on itle other hand. these 232 individuals were killed by the continied firing of the guard, or suftbeate( by their crowd<led confinement under hatches, wvhat a picture we shall have of the civil benefits of legit'niate government ! No wonider in this case tbat the dying wretches forget their Emperor, and shouted " Long live Congo, tthe Kiing of the Blacks." lW'e cannot b&jieve this latter alternative; for Englishmen would never have assisted iR placing such a body of meni in a si- tuatiwon to be shot by a barbarous guard or destroyed by the TOSt cruel of all agonies-sufforation. .ArEW -B.L4Wi -IOLE--