Norwalk Gazette, Tuesday, November 23, 1824 · page 4

 
 

,,...._.., —..,_ .,... ,- .,

‘and’ your book to‘ the public.

‘_ I , iii. -. ..-ii

:2‘ " -* " .
. we ’'”.*~‘-‘’-'‘.l??lE‘I3'T¥*¥_.;‘'?~¥’‘i°'’‘“.°“': * 
Stnzas» written-inthe.-!1lbum..of 0 Lady wk"
’ had suggested herftvvqitx-nA_sn}_:!_r”_ as a
. ,themef°r...ti‘z?9t‘.- _. . - t -
I saw it in 5' midnight dream, V , . 
-When‘-slumber’s~.charms was o cruttte t-- 
Alittle haslit-;tf'i,xi'jtt1e"bea‘m“ " ‘ i * .
.tOf noon'.'dtty. st'ood-before m_e.;--

' Its beauty was exceedingtarea.

And yet ’.tw_as no-less frail than fall’-
So fair,-‘—,-it s'e,emfd some. elfin llajld
' ‘Froin-Fairy-land liad'brou_ght it ;
So‘fra'il,--it‘see'ni’d shine‘ fairy hand,
- ‘Of gossa,mcr‘liad'wr‘ouglit it: _ .
Its lid was doivn, ’tw,a_s fil_l’d' with flowers
Gather’d "from F lora’s"choicest bowers.
Yet tliro’ its 5l(l‘eS,:i1fl every part,
“Their stveet perfume. was stetlllflg 3
’_Twas like a; guileless maiden’s heart
Its inmost thotigbts revealing :-
And.soon', nietliouglit a singing maid .
Vlfas sit_ti_ng _t-here, those fiowers £0 bfaldo
As grew, like "hope, the flow’ry Wreath
" Beiijc_atli ti‘er‘_.t1._ving fingers, '
Sl_ie‘sec’r_i_i’d with ha-_lf.a sigh to breathe-.-
:, “ How l,oi_ig. the monient. lingers.’’. ;
Titus‘ a_s'I saw," ,metl_ioiig'lit_de,c,n y,
Came o’ei: i:n'e,——.aiid,,I pa,ss’,d away.
The blast ofdeath had o'er me swept,
A Ere yet that wreath was "braided-;
And in tliezsilent grave I slept, , W
Before those flow’r'sJwei'é faded ;--

' And soon'ab6ve‘rny asbesigrew

The mojnrnfnlfcypress, and the yew.
I-t dream’d that when a few brief years
"Were past, my. parted spirit
Came back to trace the.joys and fears
'I-‘batonce itfdidfiiiherit-;-- '
Just as the man comes back to trace
The scencs’of'cliilpliood’s’dwelling-place.
I. sawthat little basket stand
-.-In alltits'.fai'r.y lightness
Evin as before ;—but time’s rude hand
-. Had dinim’d. its snowywhiteness, -
Antlanow among. its flow’rs. was seen
Full many a dark sad evergreen.
But where was sbe‘?—— ,
t at ' I-ii» at -it -it
 secm’d to bear
‘ An unseen spirit singing";
Iwoke, but in. my listning ear
Themusic ‘still was ringing ;-—-
“ The lightest, frailest things we see
Are not so light andfrail as we.”
 ' "”A"I.i":i‘r'r.I;ii'r_fit‘oii1 ’niit.."c'c>':e'Bi-:'i"r.
KEivsINcToiv,' 22d J orgy, 1824.
To Mn. JAMES‘, who is the ufluthor ofJV'ai2al
Occurrences ofthe late War between Great
Britain and the United ‘Slates qf-flmerica,
and who‘ was, sometime back, beaten by
Captain Bhillimorc, of the Navy.
Sin: Youhave sent me a copy ofthe above
named work, with a- note, containing your
“compliments.” ‘In, page 859 ‘of the work,
you quote the following words from the New
aélnnual Register for 1814. “It would seetu,
too, that, when we were victorious over the
Americans by sea, we were generally indebt-
ed for our success, to a greater superiority
than even they had when they were success-
ful.” This was perfectly true; and even far
within the truth; for, in many cases, they
were victorious with an inferior force, both in
men and guns. Yet, having quoted this re-
niark from the Annualfflegister, you ask:—
“ Could an American Editor, or Mr. Cobbett,
have-uttered _a more unbhishingfolsehoodthan
iscontaiiied in--this efi'usi_on of-spleen 53 And
that, too, from so respectable a work as the
Annual Register ?”~ ’ " - - ‘ ' - '
' After this, no reasonable man will expect
‘me.-to treat you with -any ‘sort ofceremony. ' 
am about to remark-on the book that ‘you have
sent me, and in whichl ‘find the above pas-
sage; and I shall unquestionably ascribe its
infinite mass of lies to intention, to what it is

. ‘evidently meant toobtain you, namely, the
‘favor ofBlue and Bufi',~‘and the sale of your
poor, sliuffling, badly written book, before *

you attei_npted,to—ma‘ke which, you ought to
have besoiight soiue- one; to "teach you howto
ptit wordsinto sentences. : - ‘

Before I proceed to remark on the contents
of your book,-"I will-observe,‘-thatl had given
you no sort of provocation to speak of me as
of a notorious retailer of iinpudent falsehoods.
You published your book, it seems, in 1817.,
Notfonlyjtheii had»! never offended you ;not
only had I ueverheard of-you; but, never did’
I hear ofyonr work; never once heard either

Jlafnbtl, until'Captain Phjilliinore, by going to

your house and’ beating you,‘ introduced you

Another" preliminary reiiiark. The trio-

”r‘nc"nt’l‘ heard of ‘th'e“b‘eati,ng,- I said, that I

strongly suspected ‘tba,t"yo'u .deserved it ; not
forexposing‘ the ‘faults of‘ the naval officers ;
but, for your endeavors .to hide those faults,
and‘tofgloss over the sliockingdisgraces which
we incurred duringthe war. with Aine'rica.i—
Never did man better deserve a beating froiu
some hand or other‘; but, ‘really, it was ‘un-
grateful in Blue and Buffto lay on the stick!
t~ .1 3l|i1ll'|10W‘I.Il8kC some Ieiiiarks on -your

book, nltich,»from its very -manner of begin-
ning, from its very tone at_the outset, bids us

expcct a tissue of "miserable apologies. When,
l:_l,nlll»1l_()W, did the historian of English naval
fights thinltit necessary to write a prelimina.
ijy-essay on the nature of tiiuber and shot, on
weight of-‘metal, on the effect of this or that

sort, of powder, and the like 2 But, I am lit-
tle beforemy story, and will return to it pres- =

ently. When,uiiti-l now, did the historian of
English naval fights think. it necessary to set
out with a sweeping declaration, that all the
accounts of the enemy were false? With
beuiidlessabuse ofall belonging to that ene-

my ? ' These are very bad signs : ‘ and these

signs we find in almost every page of your
history’. I have only to notice your base at-
ltackon the American Commodore, Porter,
in order to" show how shameless your conduct
has been in this respect.

In your preface, you say, that vou shall not
meddle with the causes of the‘ war. That
was a very impartial resolution to be sure!-—
The cause of the war was a very singular one,
and wasvery necessary to be mentioned.—-
You would not say any thing either, as to the
nianner in which it was conducted by the two
parties. Why so shy upon these points ?—
You can go out of your way often enough to
abuse the Americans collectively‘ and individ-
ually ; and yet you will not say award upon
the cause of tbewar, or the manner of con-
ducting it! Singularforbcarance, in a man

 

whose‘ every‘ pa_ge.ieetn§.ivith a_bhs’e_of.,tlic eti-
emy !.—+-With your leav_e, I will_, however,
says little iipon‘botli these points; and, if
there be any blood beneath tliatskin of yours ,;
ifthere be any. pores intliat skin thr‘o’ which
for'the blood‘ to appear,'pr:iy, Mr. James, do
prepare to treatus to a little blush for once in
-your lifetime. - . . *
The cause ofthe war, and the sole cause of
the war, was the impressment of ./Jmerican
seamen oii_board of American ships by long-
lisli men ofwar on theliigli seas. "—'.[‘his ought
to have been stated by aman who was about
to give an account of, the uianner in which
these Americans fought to avenge their
wrongs. Now, as connected with this matter,
let me come ‘to your abuse of Commodore
Porter ; and, in observing upon that abuse, I
will show what a surprising hypocrite yoti are.
You tell us, at page 85, that Sir James Lucas
Yeo felt indignant, at reading in the public

lor” by Captain, or Cotnmodore, Porter.-—
You tell us that Sir James expressed ‘his con-_
tempt of Captain Porter for “this ill-treat-
nietit ofthe British sailor.” Youvtcll us that
Sir James Lucas You was very likely to ex-
press his abhorrence of the occasion of this

. treatment. But here you were less ctiniiing

than you generally have been. You give us
the injured British subjcct’s deposition. You
were foolish for that. You s_bou|d have con-
fined yonrselfto a round assertion wllll0ttl'aj
ny particulars. Particulars are alwaysinju-
nous to historians like you. Yoti begin the
story of the ill treated British subject thus :-
»“ Shortly after the declaration of war, Capt.
Porter ill-used a British subject, for refusing
to fight against his countr_y,”- You Should
have stopped there ; for, though every one who
knows any thing ofthe Americaiis would have
been sure that this is a most wicked lie ; yet,
as only a small part of the people ofEugland
do know the _Americans in this respect, the
he might have passed currently enough .; but
yoti, like a very foolish man, iiitist refer‘ to
the New York paper for the truth of your as-

sertion ; and must insert, for~ooth, the depo-

sition ofthe ill-used Englisliiiian, who was,

and who proves hiniselfto have been, a most‘
profligatcly fraudulent scoundrel, who deser-

ved ahundred thousand times the punishment
that Captain Porter inflicted upon him".-
However, here is the scoundrel’s deposition,
as iiiserted by yourself. ' p

' “ The depositioii states, that John Ewing

was borii,in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Euglaiid;
that he resided within the United States since

1800, and has never been naturalized ; that,
on the 14th of October, 1811, he entered on

"board the'Essex, and joined her at Norfolk ;

that Captain Porter, ‘on the 95th June, 1812,
caused all hands to be piped on deck to take
the oath ofallegiance to the Utiited States,
and gave them to understand, that. any man
who did not choose to do so should be (l-l§-
charged ; that, when deponeiit heard his name
called, he told the Captain that, beinga Brit-.

 subject,lie must refuse taking the oath;
‘on which the Captain spoke to the petty ofit-

cers, and told them they _iiiust pass sentence
upon him; and they then put him into the
petty launch, which lay alongside the frigate,
and here poured a bucket oftar over him, and
then laid on aiquantity of leatliers, having first
stripped him naked from the waist; that they
then rowed him ashore, stern _/brelmosl, and
landed him. That he wandered about, from
street to street, intliis condition, until Mr.
Ford took him into his shop, to save him from
the crowd then beginning to assemble; that
he staid there until the-police magistrate took
him away, and put him in the city prison for
protectioii, where he was cleansed and cloth-

"ed. None of the citizlens molested or insult-_

edhiin. .He says he had _a protection, wlticli
he bought ofa rnan in Saleni,.of the satire
narne and descri t-ionwith himself, for four
shillings and six pence, which he got renewed
at the Ciistoni-house in Norfolk ! He says he
gave, as an additional reason .to the Captain
why he didnot choose to fight‘ against ‘his
country, that, if he should be taken prisoner,
he‘ would certainly be hung.” .

Here, then, this villain _confesses,that_lie
entered on board ..the Auieric-an ship Essex,
andgot the bounty,ofcourse; that he did this
as an Anieiican'citi_zen;' that he imposed tip-
on the Americatfofiicers by means of rt .cer~
tificate of birtli,-'wli'ii:li'-he had bought at Sa-
lem, from an American ; and that he had even
got tliis‘certific'a,te reriew.ed,at Norfolk. ' He
could not get this don__e;withcut a false oath ,'
but, wlieii the scoundiel was called up to take
the oatlfofallegiance to the U.States, lie,“ ith"

« his false certificate in his pocket, puts forward

his character of British subject, in order to get

‘discliarged, and to cheat the United States

out oftlie bounty ! .

._And, humane Mr. James, this is the British
subject,is it, on account of whose treatment,
by: Captain Porter, Sir James Lucas Yeofelt

sotindignant! But, come, Mr. Historian,

-Mr. Siucerity, come, -what was this ill treat-

ment ?- Was it flaying alive,or pretty nearly
flaying alive, suchjaswe shall see an innocent
and gallant Atncrican seamen experiencing?

You know very well what had been the
treatment ofAmei-ican seamen impressed by
our ships of war; but, not one single word
would you say of that-. I have recently re-
published the case.of' James Tompkins, of
Ulster county, in the state ofNew York; but
I will here" republish it again. The reader
w.ill observe, that thesetliiugs were the cause
ofthe scar, and ofall the disgrace that arose

out of that war.

“ Dutchess county, state of New York——ss : A
j“ James’ .'l’omp/tins, being sworn, saith, that
he is a’ native of Ulster county, opposite Po’-
keepsie; thatlie sailed out of New York in
the month of April, 1812, in the ship Miner-
va, bound to Ireland ; that, on the hoineward-
bound passage, in July after, this deponent,
with three other American seamen, Samuel
Davis, William Young, and James Brown,
were impressed, and taken on board of the
British ship Action, David Smith, Captain.—
We were taken on Saturday eveniug;—on
Monday morning we were brought to the
gangway, and informed we must enter on
board ship, and live as other seaineii, or we
should live on oatmeal and water, and receive
five dozen lashes. ' This deponeiitsays, hitti-
selfand the other three impressed with him,
did, refuse to enter’; and each of them were
theu whipped five dozen lashes. On Wed-
nesday following we were again brunch"; up,
and had the same offer‘ made tons toaenter.
which we refttsed,and' we wereagainwh'ipped
four dozen lashes each. On Saturday ‘after,
the like offer was made us, and, oiiour refu-

sad, we iversagainwhipped three dozen lash-

papers of the ill-treatment ofa “ British sa_i-.

és each. On’ lldonday.folldWing,slill-ifefiising
to enter, we were aigairifwlijipped two do}-zen
eacli. ‘On ,Wednesday—following -W8.W.¢fe 8-’
gain whipped one dozen" each, and .0|'d,¢I'8d N)
be taken "below and piit_i,n_irons till we did
enter; and tlie'C'aptain‘said, he would punish
the damn'd Yankee rasca_l_sjti_ll they did_e'riter'.‘
We were then put in‘ irons, and laid iirirons
three months. During the time, of our ini-
pressmcnt'th‘e ship had an "action, and Ca_Plll|'-
ed a French ship. , Before this action, we
were taken out of irons, and asked to fight,
but we refused ;' and, after_tlie action,we_ were
again ironed, u'liere'sve remained till the ship
arrived at London. After arriving there, we
‘first heard of the war with America, and that
the Guerriere was taken. This deporienttobk
his shirt, Samuel Davisand Wm.Yuung tool;
their handkerchiefs, madestripes andstars for
the American colors, and hung it over a- gun",
fiand gave three clieeis for- the victory. The
next morning, at six o’clock, we were brought
up and whipped two dozen lashes each, __for
liuzzaing for the Yankee flag. Shortly after
this we were all released, _by the assistance of
the American Consul, and Captain Ha|l,wbo
knew us. This deponeut further saith, that
they had all protections, and sliewed them,
and claimed to be Americans, at the tiuie they
were impressed. JAMES TODIPKINS.

“Sworn before me, this l7thday of April,
1813, at which time the said James Tomp-
kins showed me liis‘wrists,.wliicli, at his re-
quest, Iexaniined, and there appeared to be
marks and scars on both oftliem, occasioned,
as I suppose, from his having been in irons.

WM. W. Bocxitnus, Justice ofthe Peace-

_I call upon the reader to compare the treat-
ment ofthese four innocent, gallant, 8L faith-
ful men, with the treatment of the villian for
whom you affect to have felt so nuich com-
passion ; and I am sure he will want nothing
to enable him to make a just estimate of your
sincerity.

I now return to notice the novelty of your
manner of beginning to write a history of
English naval tights. As I observed before,
one can see from the preface to your book
that it is going to contain a string of misera-
ble apologies. Your whole book contains 598
pages ofyonr own writing,l00 pages ofwhicli
are occupied with preparing the reader for
the defeats which are to follow. Whirl! em-
ploy a hundred pages in order to prepare the
reader for defeats of English ships! A Initi-
dred pages, in order to shew that the English
ships could not be expected to be a match for
the American ships! The sight ol'tlieseliuii-
dred pages is quite enough for any moderate
man. However, my readers shall have a lit-
tle specimen of your preparatory motions.-
They shall see your ingenious string of rea-
sons why the American frigate Constitution,
ought tobeat and capture the Geurriere!

What would, at any former time,bavc been
said of such an attempt? An attempt to prove
that an English ship ought to be beaten by
an American frigate. However, let us quote
the passage, and remark upon it afterwards.
It is the beginning ofa Chapter. You plead
as ifit were for your life. Had you been the
Captain of the Guerriere yourself you could
not have pleaded with more zeal. I am sure
the reader will say that this extract itself
ought to have saved your back from the wrath
of Sir John Philliinore.

“ From the ba'ttleol'Trafalgar to the peace
of 1815, [you begin far off indeed lj three-
fourtlis of the British navy, at sea, were con-
stantly employed in blockarlitig the fleets of
their enemies. Of the reuiainder, such as
escaped the dull business of coiivoying, cruis-
ed about; but the only hostile ships that, in
general, crossed their tracks; were disguised
neutrals; from whom no hard knocks could be
expected. Once a year or so, the capture of
a French frigate by a British one gave a ino-
mcnlary fillip to the service. ' ‘

A succession of insipid cruises necessarily
begat, among both officers and tnen, habits of
inatteution. The siiiiation of gunner on
board our ships became almost a sinecure. A
twenty years’ war, of itself, ’ was sufficient to
wear out the strength of our seamen; but a
laxity’ of discipline, in all the essentials of a
mau-of-war’s-uian, produced a much iuore
sensible'efl'ect. ’

Instead of the sturdy occupation of hand-
ling the ship’s guns, now seldom used but on
salutes, the men were taught to polish the tra-
versiug bars, elevating screws, copper on the
bits, &'.c.- by way of ornament to the quarter-
declt. Such of the crew as escaped this ine-
nial office, (from the unnecessary wear it ‘oc-
casions, lately forbidden'by‘an ortler from the
Bnard of Adriiiralty) were set to reefing and
uiireefing the topsails, against tiine,‘prepara-
tory toa match with any other of His Majes-
ty’s ships that iuight happen to fall in compa-
ny.—-—-Many were the noble exceptions to
this, and many were the commanders who,
tlespising what was either finical or useless,
and still hoping to signalize themselves by
some gallautexploit, spared no pains, consist-
ent withtheir limited uieaus,and the restraints
ofthe service, to have/their ships, at all times
as men of war sliould-be, in bo.i:i'ng'_trim.

'As"Napoleon extended liissway over the
European continent, the British navy, that
perpetual blight upon his hopes, required to
be extended also. British oak and British
seamen, alike scarce, contract-sliips were has-
tily built up with soft wood and lightfrmnrs ;
and, then manued- with an impressed crew,
chiefly ofraw hands and small boys, sent forth
to assert the rights, and maintain the charac-
ter ofBriton_s, upon the ocean. In June, 1812
when the war with America commenced, the
British navy consisted of 746 ships in coin-
mission. Had these have been cleared of all
the foreigners and inogflcctive hands, bow nia-
ny ships would the remainder have properly
manned ?

To the long duration of war, arid the rapid
increase of the navy, may be added a third
cause of the scarcity ofscamen ; the enormous
increase of the army. In" December, 1312,
we had, in regulars alone, 229,149 men. How
iiiauy frigates could have been nianuod, and
well manned, too,'by draughts from the light
dragoons, and the light infan~try regiments?
Nor is there a questiou——so inviting were the
bounties—that prime seamen have enlisted
in both.

The crews of our ships experienced a fourth
reduction in strength,'by the establisliment,
about six years ago, ofthe battallion-marines
-"—a_ corps embodied for the purpose of acting.

marines 0f‘lll8'SlllpS_. . The battallion-marines
about 92000 in~nuiribei', consisted of the pick

.on shorein conjunction with the seamen and .

of the royal-inarines-, which, accordingly be_- .

'-very young réemtts; tttartaes ought tdbé :1’:
mong the stoutest .rtien_ in the ship. 'l)e,catiSé{
until engaged in close Faction, their station is
at the guns, ‘where great physical strength i§
required. Except on a_few‘oc'casions in Can-'
illtlfl, and the Clicsapeake, thebattallion ina-
*i'ines, although as fine a l)0t.ly’0r men as "any
in t_he.two services, -have remained compara-
-tively idle. . _ , ' _

"‘ The canker-worm that, in the shape of
neglect, had so long been , preying upon the
vitals of the British navy, cottldxttot cxista-‘
mong the few,_sliips composing the navy of
the United States. America’s half a“duzcu
frigates claimed the whole of her attention.
These she had constructed upon the tiiost im-
proved priuciples, both for sailing and for war.
Considering that the ramparts of a battery
sliotild have, for one object, the shelter ofthe
-men stationed at it, she built up the sides of
her ships in theiriost compact manner; and
the utmost ingenuity -bad been exerted, and
expense bestowed, in. their final equipment.

“ lVitlI respect to seamen, .Auierica, lead,
for many years previous to_ the war, been de-
coying the men from our ships by every artful
stratageui. The best of these were rated as
petty officers.‘ Many British seamen had en-
tered on _bo:uid American mercliant vessels ;
and the numerous I10!)--llll€fCt)lll'S8 and em-
bargo bills, in existence at rlilferent periods
during the four years preceding the war, threw
many merchant sailors out ofeuiployinent.-—‘
So that the U. S. ships of war, in their pre-
paratious for active warfare, hadto pick their
complements fr. it nnmeroiis body ofseaiuen.

“ Highly to the credit ofthe naval adminis-
tration of the United States, the men were
taught the practical rules ofgunnery ; and 10
shot, with the necessary powder, were allowed
to be expended in play, to make one hit in
earnest. Very distinct from the Ameri-
can seamen, so called, are the American ina-
rines. They are chiefly made tip of natives
ofthe country ; and a deserter from the Brit-
ish would be here no acquisition. In the U.
States, every man may luint or shoot among
the wild animals ofthe forest. The young
peasant or back-woodsman carries a rifled-ba r-
rel gun the moment he can lift one to his
shoulder; and woe to the dock or deer that
attempts to pass him within fair range ofliis
piece. To collect these expert marksmon,
when ofa proper age, ofiicers are sent into the
western part of the Union; and to embody
and finish drilling tlictn, a marine barrack is
established near the city of Washington, fruit)
which depot the ships are regularly supplied.

“ No one act of the little navy of the Unit-
ed States had been at all calculated to gain
the respect ofthe British. First was seen the
Cliesapealre allowing lierselfto be beaten with
iiupunity by a British ship, only nominally
superior to her. Then the huge frigate Pres-
ident attacks, and fights for nearly three quar-
ters of an hour, the British sloop Little Belt.
And, even since the war, the same President,
at the head ofa squadron, makes a bungling
business of chasing the Belvidere.

VVhile, therefore, a feeling towards Anteri-
ca, bordering on contempt, had unhappily
possessed the mind of the British naval util-
cer, rendering hiui more than usually careless
and opinionative, the American naval officer,
"having been tatigbtto regard his new the with
a portion qfdrcad, sailed forth to meet him,
with the whole of his energies roused. A
moincnt’s reflection assured him that his
conntry’s honor was now in his hands ; and
what, in the breast of man, could be a stronger
incitement to extraordinary exertions ?

“Thus situated were the navies ofthe two
countries, when 1-]. ill. ship Guerriere, with
damaged masts, a reduced complement, and
in absolute need of that thorough refit, for
wliicli she was then, after a very long cruise,
speeding to Halifax, encountered the U. S.
ship Coiistitution,seventeen days only from
port, manned with a full coniplcment, and in
all respects fitted for war.”

Bravo! and yet cruel Blue and Buffgives
you‘ the bastiiiado! Was there ever such it
story as this told» before l The Americans
had decoyed our sccinien away ; they had got
backwoodsmen put up into their tops; the
canker-worin of neglect had been preyiiig up-
on our poor navy ; British oak bud becouie
scarce; ours were contract-ships; they had
been built in haste, with soft wood and light
frames. We had seven hundred and forty-
six ships in cominissioii, but manned chiefly
tvitlriiiipressetl nien,raw hands and small boys
a great uumberofbotli of wlioui were foreign-
ers! Shocking state oftliings! the long war
had made us forget how tojight! our officers
as well as men had contracted the liabitof in-
attention. We had lost otir.skill, our disci-
pline, our strength of body, and our every
thing that was good.

But impudent liar; why did you forget to
state, that this rascally, rotten thing, COST
at the very time yoti speak of, upwards of
'1‘WEl\"1‘Y MILLIONS ayearl Verily, an histo-
rian worthy of Blue and Butt’!

Then, from this poor old rotten, worn out
tliiug, you ttirn our attention to the half dozen
nice American frigates, “coiistr_ncted upon
the iuost approved principles botltllfor sailing
and for war.” These were, surely, not those
“ halfdozen of firfrigates with bits qfstrfped
bunting flying at their tnast-lieads,” of which
Mr. Canning talked in that very year, 1812!

We had scccn hundred and forty-six ships
in couiinission ; but what were these to the 6
frigates ofthe Americans! Constructed they
were upon the most approved principles. Bldfi

tired and forty iuore than they, to be stire.—-
But, then, we had no bdC]fl«000d87l2Cl|fi) place
in the round tops. Oh! backwoods. eu are
the devil ;' and the worst ofit is, that we shall
never be able to get any backwoadsuieu ; so
that, as far asthis goes, we are sure 16 be bea-
ten. Such was your preface to the defeat
ofthe Guerriere. Asto the defeat itself: it
produced it still more nielaticlioly de'§cription.
—Tlie Guerriere’s.powder was dump,’ her
mainmast had been struck by lightning some
tiionths previous to the action; she sailed ve-
ry inucli by the head; but, the great thing of
all appears to have beeu,tIiat “ HER i3iti:.i:cii-
incs wrziu: ito'r'ri:n,” and she had no rope

 

ing state to fight in ! The strings ofthe waist-
band broken, aiid no tape to uiake new ones
with ! Look, then, compassionate reader, look
at the poor Guerrtere, with her hreet-lies a-
bout her heels, ‘and the Canstitutz'o_n laying.
Tjon upon her, hip and thigh ! '

It is impossible to be serious upo_n such a’
subject. Such pitiful, such miserable excu-
ses never.were offered before.

Amongst these excuses, there is, however,

came reduced tolweak, uiiilersized men, and

4

~..

 

.ouc worthy ofpartictrlar notice. You say, or

l

us! Six dreadful frigates! We had seveil liuii- -

wlterewitli to repair her bi‘ee'.:liiugs! Sliock- _

Constitution sli_ip’s.co'i'npaoy could have been

Jiorc many, besides the couimissioned-offlicers, .
and the raflemen, would llIlVe..p1-owed [0 be:

that ii la_rg'e part ofthe crew were Btfitisli sea.
'llet|‘;"5.t't'l. Mr. James, suppose this t'oliave'
been tbecase, yours tvgre all British setitneii 3‘
"and what then is tlieconcltision ? Why, that3
the victory was gained in consequencé ofghg
Constitution ltavving flmerican oflicers. You
insinuate ti fnlseliootl, Mr. James; but, if it

dishonor upon Blue and-Butt‘. This. there:
fore, is a bad excuse ; not quite so ridiculous,-'

breaking loose ofthe guns, owing to the rut-
tenness of the‘ lireecliings.
I must notice here a circumstance well

to us a species of meanness which I believe‘
to be without a parallel previous -to this dis-
graceful tvar. Capt. Dacres,.while a prisons-
er.at Boston, said, inliis official lane: in Ad;
mlfal Sawyer, “I feel it my duty tojstatc, that
the conduct of Captain Hull atld, hisuofiicérs
to our men has been that of a brave enemy ;
the greatest care being'taken_to prevent our
men from losing the smallest trifle,'and the’
creates: attention I.- aing paid to the W0u'11fletI.""
This is what Capt. Dacres said at Boston.-—
whens liotvever, he came before the court-' *
,inartial at Halifax, he acc'tise'tl these same A--’ _
[pierican officers of breach of promise; and

pit, r. James, are pleased to add, that the -
f-._uglis, sailors were robbed by the Americans
of the contents of their bags ! You produce
no proof of this : it is your bare assertion ;— .
and. I dare say, that one more false never was
made. The like ofthis meanness 'li'appened,
boweyer, in several instances. While prison-
ers with the Americans, great gratitude was
freqiicutly;exprcssed for the kind aud-gener-
ous treainieiit which those prisoners iecld ;—- -
but, at frequent periods, these ackuowledge- -
iiieiits were retracted ; and, in most cases,
with very ungrateful accusations,

( Conclusion next week.)

 

Extract from Butler's Remiriiscenees.

The prolixity of legal instruments has been
soiiictimes, even in this country, the subject of’
popular complaint ; but the fonowing anec-
dotes related by Mr. Butler, will shew it to
be an evil arising necessarily from the coni-
plicated nature ofcommercizil business, and
from the coutroul whicb~every man ewisltes to
possess over his own pt‘upe['[)',

A gentleman having six estates ofunequal
value wished to settle them, by his last um,
on his_six sons respectively and their respect-
ive heirs male, with a proviso-that if anv one
of his sons should die without male issne, his
estate should be inherited by his next sou,
whose estate should in like manner shift to the
next one ; and so on through the whole ;with
a final gift over to the other heirs. Mr. But-
ler, on preparing the will, supposed at first
that this might be effected by one proviso ;.._.
then by_tuo; then by six; but upon a full iii-
vestigation it was. found that it required as
uiany provisos, as there can be combinations
of the number 6. Consequently to give corti-
plete effect to the intention of the teslntpr,
seven hundred and twenty provisos were ne-
cessary.

On another occasion, ten persons having
engaged in a mining adventure, a‘ deed of
partnership was proposed, which should con-
tain a stipulation that if any one or more of’
the intended partners should advance money
to any one or more of the others, such ad-
vance should be acharge on his or their in-
terest in the land. Consequently a deed was
necessary that should subject the estate to as
many possible mortgages as there can be com-
binations ofthe iiuiuber 10. But in England
there is a stamp duty of 25f. upon all mortga-
ges ofan indefinite sum ; audit was found by
calculation that if the intent of the parties
were carried into effect,tlie expenseofstainps
would be ninety millions seven hundred and
twenty-two thousand pounds sterliiw.

BUILDING LOTS.

TO be sold at Public Venduc, a number of
of Building lotsiu this town, situate in
the Bank between the houses of Hezeliiali
Wliitlock and Elisha Bi-ebe, on Tluirsday,
the 25th inst. at two o’clock, afternoon. Sale
to take place on the premises. Conditions
made kriowti at the time of sale.

BARNABA3 MARVIN,

Du’ 'I‘.ufI.oit,

Bum. Issxcs.

Norwalk, Nov.’ 18, 1824.

To Hatters.

S N. STILWELL 8: CO. No. 9.17 Wa-
' tcr-street,New-York, offer forsale the
following Goods:
5000 lbs. lst quality Spanish ‘V001
2,000 prime northern inusltrat Sltins .
2000 do iiutria Skins; 200 lbs. do For
9200 rabit Fur; 100 do coney do
10 sacks coarse liattin Wool ‘
3000 lbs. Irish Glue; 500 do American do
1000 merino uiacliiue hat bodies
40 dozen Shivers,’ assorted
1600 Russia grey hare Skins
5 cases gum Sliel‘lac',:‘z bbls. Alcohol ‘
5 tons Campeachy Logwood
‘ 1000 pounds Verdigris, 2 birds copperas
50 nuss or fish Skins ; 800 lbs. northwest:
2100 Buffalo Robes 4 [Beaver-
l50 dressed bear Skins, with a general as-1
sortiiieiit of Hatters trimmings
 B. _,Qafl and the highest market price;
paid for jinds of shipping Furs.
New-Y rk, 0c _16. R324

 a Court of Pro ate holden atNorw.1~lk,

N\0v.8-, I824: Ordcred,‘Tlint the Ad‘-
ministrator on the estate of./9mm Keefer, late
ofNorwalk, dec’d, represented insolvent, nu-
tify all persons iiiterestetl in said estate, that
commissioners will be appointed to receive
"and adjust the claims thereon, at the Pro-
bate Ofiice in said Norwalk, on the 2d Wed-
nesday ofDec, next at ten o’clock, forenoon,.

37. Wm. M. BETTE, Judge.
Public ll0llC6'ls hereby accordingly given. I
PHINEIIAS Mi1.i.r:n, Adni’r.

 ANAWAY _frotn the subscriber on the

7th ult. an indented apprentice to the
‘Conib-Making business, by the name of Wil-
liam Warner, about 18 years ofi-age. Who-
ever will rcturii him to the subscriber shall re-
ceive six cents reward. All persons are for-
bid harboring, trusting, or employing him, oni
penalty ofthe law. SAM-URL Grout.
L Norwalk, Nov. 8,1824. _ . $7.

Select-inen.

38

6tvS4

 

 

\.

ratlier you askf téllfere iI,_llI('1§§ll)It’ that the 1-.

Zitispected by tlie_offi'c‘ci_'siof the British iiavy-,. V

native Aniericlans?” You mean to..«i.,53n_na;g:

were a.trutli, it would only bring additional _

btit certainly much more suspicious than the?-

worthy of the readér’s.:ittention. It discovers '