Star. — 1825-11-26 (London, England)

IMPROVEMENTS IN THE UNITED STATE.  A grand canal, upwards of five hundred miles in length, was projected in 1808, to unite the great Northern and Western Lakes (those Mediterraneans of the new world) with the waters 4.f the A 'antic. The idea was treated with contempt as the dream of a visionary or a madman. This vast work is now cootpleted! On the 26th of October, at ten in the mot ning, the first boat from Lake Erie entered the canal. Immediateiy a cannon was fire.! at Buffalo on the L tke. ,Other cannon were placed within hearing of each other to repeat the salute all the way to New York, and so on to Sandy H"ok, and then again the tire was returned back to Buffalo, a distance in the whole of one thousand and eighty-eight miles ! It was expected that the boat would reach New York, on the 4th of November, wh, re preparations were made for a grand Aquatic Festival; in which all the Public Authoritiei of that City and State, the soci ties, citizens, military and naval persons, were to take part. The day would, d ntbtless, be a day of tiiumpli—of proud and well earned triumph, in the applause of which Britain herself may justly and cordially join. Far from us be the petty spirit of na.ional envy ; especially towards a nti ion of our ou n blood, and kindred, and language ! T ..e extension of A meri. can controet ce, and the developeran-nt of American resour.:es, present a field fu: the ultimate benefit of ourselves, close as our connection is and ever must be with the people of the Ur ited States. The rapid increase of inhabitants in the city of New I York is another striking circumstance. Its population has been more than quintupled within the last thirty five years, and it triw contains probably 170,000 person?, the numbers in the whole State being a million and a half.  Looking now to a district which has but recently been incorporated with the Union, we shall see, though on a smaller scale, the same restless activity in pushing forward the tide of civilization. An article, dated September 10, from Talahassee, in Florida, says it was in the month of April, 1824, that the first waggon was seen wi ding its devious way through that part of the wilds of Florida which now constitutes the Middle Judicial Distlic. The weary party, who consisted of two men (white:), two women, two children, and one mulatto man, arrived in the morning of the 9th of that month, at a bold eminence, w here they selected their camping ground, and pitched their tent. In the afternoon our sylvan party commenced building, and in two days had constructed the first house ever seen in Tallah4stee. That evening arrived Judge Robinson and Squire M•Call, with lahnrers to erect a buildilg for a Legis• lathe Ccuncill At the date of the alnmementioned article, only seventeen months after the first encampment, Talahassee was a town, containing My houses, ,one Chinch, one school, two very commodious hotels, seven stores, a printing-office, three brick-yards," &c. —These we think are sufficiently striking proofs of the active and enterprising spirit that is at work in thel United States. Atibe same time it must not be overlooked, that the moral progress of the pc ople of America  is much less gratifying. Climes are frequent,and some of enormity. Among our extracts, culled from the Papers of a very few days, are found several murders—the police appeals to be in general lax.