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every mussulman who should bring in Greek prisoners, male or female, was allowed five hundred piastres for each.

Samos was the next island destined to be attacked. The Turks made two landings: the first with eight thousand, the second with seven thousand men: both failed, and most of the infidels who landed were massacred. The Turkish fleet was attacked by an inferior naval force of the Greeks, and completely beaten. Meanwhile, Miaouli made a sudden attack on the Turkish vessels left at Ipsara, to carry off the plunder and prisoners, and burnt and destroyed the whole. After these reverses, the captain pacha divided his squadron, one half returning to Mitylene, and the other to Smyrna.

In the Morea Colcotroni, and the other malcontent chiefs, having returned to their duty, the government has recovered its strength. The seat of the executive and legislative body is the formidable post of Napoli di Romania, and money is the great desideratum to enable them to commence decisive operations against the Turks. A law was about being passed, empowering the executive to send produce to England, for the payment of the interest of the Greek loan, which at this period had not

arrived.

The results of the last campaign are greatly in favour of Greece, and must be extremely discouraging to the Ottoman Porte. Of the exact number of vessels sent out from Constantinople, no correct statement has appeared, but they must have been numerous. The Egyptian armament amounted to two hundred sail, and is reported to have carried, besides their arms, twenty thousand cavalry [1824.

and infantry. To oppose these combined fleets, the statement of the Greeks makes the christian force amount to only ninety-five sail, generally of smaller size than those of the enemy. In the various naval engagements they were universally successful, and not more than five vessels, it is said, had returned through the Dardanelles, including that of the captain pacha.

In North America, peopled by the descendants of our forefathers, we see the same manly spirit of liberty which adorns this island. Unknown to each other, the congress of America and the ministry of Englend, at the same time, declared their determination to prevent any interference of the holy alliance, or any other government, to subdue the rising liberties of South America.

"It is impossible," says the message, "the allied powers should extend their system to either Americas, without endangering the peace and happiness of the United States, and, therefore, impossible the latter should behold such interference in any form with indifference."

Contemporary with the Peninsular struggle was the sudden revolution in the empire of Brazil. This unexpected movement was effected by a prompt interference of the military, under the direction of the emperor Don Pedro. Considerable jealousy prevailed between the native Portuguese and the Brazilian or republican party, in the assembly of the cortes. The latter was headed by the ex-minister, Andrade, and was suspected by the partizans of the emperor of contemplating further limitations on the imperial prerogatives, or of assimilating the constitution of Brazil to the democratic institutions of Spanish America; while, on the

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other hand, the emperor was accused with wishing to effect an union with Portugal.

A circumstance, trifling in itself, brought the two parties to an issue. A Brazilian apothecary inserted an article in one of the journals, reflect ing on the European military; two officers went to his house and violently assaulted him; the apothecary appealed to the cortes, the military to the emperor.

On the evening of the 10th of November, the city of Rio was thrown into a state of general alarm and confusion by the arrival at the barracks of an order for the immediate march of the troops to the palace. The reason circulated on the following morning for this movement of the troops was, that the emperor had discovered that the exminister had been tampering with the soldiery and endeavouring to bring them over to his party. On the Ith the cortes sent a message to him to learn why the troops remained under arms; but no satisfactory answer was returned, and the members, in consequence, remained all night in the assemblyhouse. When the morning of the 12th broke, anxiety was depicted in the countenance of every one; crowds were collected in the streets to learn the result, but all business was suspended, and the shops remained closed. About noon a body of troops marched into the city, and surrounded the house in which the deputies were deliberating, pointing directly towards the building several field pieces. A number of officers entered, dissolved the cortes in the name of the emperor, and made prisoners the obnoxious members. Shortly afterwards the emperor made his appearance, and, accompanied

by his staff, paraded through the principal streets. He was every

where received with applause, and at night the illuminations were general with the Europeans.

On the 14th an embargo was laid on the shipping in the harbour of Rio, which continued till the 21st, when the transport, on board of which the six arrested deputies had been placed, sailed with sealed orders, not to be opened till her arrival in a certain latitude.

The emperor issued a series of proclamations and manifestoes, in which he promised the Brazilians a new constitution, and endeavoured to justify the violence he had employed in the subversion of the old ; and the public of Europe were agreeably surprised by the arrival, in February, 1824, of the project of a constitution, framed by the emperor, on the most enlightened and liberal basis. In this instrument, the empire of Brazil is declared to be a free and independent nation, and its government a "monarchy, hereditary, constitutional, and representative." The sovereignty of the people is fully allowed, by declaring, that "all the powers in the empire of Brazil are delegations from the nation." The legislative assembly consists of two chambers-the chamber of deputies, and the chamber of senators; the former elected for a period, the latter for life. The Roman catholic religion is declared to be the religion of the empire; all other religions are tolerated. The emperor and empress have since taken the oath to observe the new constitution.

Colombia, extending from the Caribbean sea to Peru, and from the Pacific to the Atlantic ocean, embracing a territory nearly as large as

all

all Europe, is inhabited by about three millions of people only, who have succeeded in conquering their independence, after a severer struggle than any of the other states have been called upon to sustain, and who now exhibit a higher example of social order, than scarcely any of the other republics have yet reached.

In Colombia slavery is abolished; the hero Bolivar set the glorious example in a great personal sacrifice to himself, of manumitting his own slaves. All are free who are born after 1821, and every year many purchase their own liberty.

This great man, whose name will go down with blessings to posterity, was invited in 1823 to assist in establishing the independence of Peru: he accepted the invitation, and was proclaimed at Lima, liberador of Peru. During his absence the vice-president Santander acts; and he has resigned, till the conclusion of the Peruvian war, his salary of thirty thousand dollars.

The law of Colombia places upon the same footing as natives, subjects of the British government, and of the United States of America!

Peru is the most unsettled among all the revolted colonies. In different districts of the country we find three hostile armies arrayed against each other: the authority of Ferdinand being supported by Olaneta; the cause of the constitutional mother-country by La Serna and his friends; and that of republican independence by Santa Cruz and the auxiliary Colombian force.

Jealousies and disagreements, which impeded the march of the independent cause, have been constantly breaking out between the congress and presidents of the republic. San Martin, the founder of

Peruvian independence, and the first declared protector and president of the republic, is now an exile in England. In the beginning of March, 1823, Riva-Aguero was declared president, and the military chiefs of the provinces, the ecclesiastical bodies, municipalities, and other authorities, were commanded to take the oath of allegiance and obedience to his power. In a few months after, Aguero was deposed from authority, imprisoned in Guayaquil, and finally transported from the country-and is now domiciled in England. Bolivar was invested with supreme authority, on the 10th of September, 1823, and since then, both he and his patriotic contingent have become so much the object of jealousy, that the president, Torre Tagles, has actually gone over to the royalist party. The fortress of Callao has been betrayed into the hands of the Spaniards, and Lima was again in their possession.

An engagement took place, however, between the cavalry of Bolivar and Canterac, headed by their respective commanders in person. The former were completely successful, and Canterac was in full retreat.

Mexico, inhabited by seven millions of people, is composed of the provinces formerly constituting the viceroyalty of New Spain. It forms a federal republic, on the model of the United States, each province having its separate local government, united under a general congress. In 1820, Mexico was declared independent of Spain, and Iturbide was styled emperor. He abdicated the government, but there was a considerable party in his favour. He was for some time resident in England, which he left for Mexico early in May, and landed in

disguise

disguise near Soto la Marina in July. An act had passed congress in April, declaring him a traitor, whenever he landed in Mexico,he was taken and shot: his partizans also fell in the short contest, or were executed as traitors. When Iturbide abdicated, congress settled a noble pension upon him, on condition of his residing in Italy; and after his execution they settled a pension of eight thousand dollars on his widow and children.

Such is the retrospect of general history in the past year. The barbarians of Africa can scarcely be

said to possess a history. Yet, let us hope that as knowledge advances, as general intercourse extends, and as civilization, like a gentle tide, gradually overspreads the world, no portion of the great family of mankind will be wanting to take their part in the general transactions of the day;-a part in which war, we trust, will have no place, but in which universal good understanding, general improvement, and the advance of science, will unite all nations in one universal bond. Who would not wish to be living at the end of another century?

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PUBLIC PAPERS.

COMMUNICATIONS WITH FRANCE

them on any part of a subject so

AND SPAIN RELATING TO THE important.

SPANISH AMERICAN PROVINCES.

(Presented to both houses of parliament by command of his Majesty, March, 1824.)

No. 1.-Extract of a memorandum of a conference between the Prince de Polignac and Mr. Canning, held Oct. 9, 1823.

THE prince de Polignac having announced to Mr. Canning, that his excellency was now prepared to enter with Mr. Canning into a frank explanation of the views of his government respecting the question of Spanish America, in return for a similar communication which Mr. Canning had previously offered to make to the prince de Polignac on the part of the British cabinet, Mr. Canning statedThat the British cabinet had no disguise or reservation on that subject that their opinions and intentions were substantially the same as were announced to the French government, by the despatch of Mr. Canning to sir Charles Stuart of the 31st of March; which despatch that ambassador communicated to M. de Chateaubriand, and which had since been published to the world.

That the near approach of a crisis, in which the affairs of Spanish America must naturally occupy a great share of the attention of both powers, made it desirable that there should be no misunderstanding between

That the British government were of opinion, that any attempt to bring Spanish America again under its ancient submission to Spain must be utterly hopeless; that all negotiation for that purpose would be unsuccessful; and that the prolongation or renewal of war for the same object would be only a waste of human life, and an infliction of calamity on both parties, to no end.

That the British government would, however, not only abstain from interposing any obstacle on their part to any attempt at negotiation, which Spain might think proper to make, but would aid and countenance such negotiation, provided it were founded upon a basis which appeared to them to be practicable; and that they would, in any case, remain strictly neutral in a war between Spain and the colonies, if war should be unhappily prolonged.

But that the junction of any foreign power, in an enterprise of Spain against the colonies, would be viewed by them as constituting entirely a new question; and one upon which they must take such decision as the interests of Great Britain might require.

That the British government absolutely disclaimed, not only any desire of appropriating to itself any portion of the Spanish colonies, but any intention of forming any political connexion with them, be

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