NO. 9. VOL. II.] WASHINGTON, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26, 1816. [WHOLE NO. 35. PUBLISHED WEEKLY, BY JOEL K. MEAD, AT FIVE DOLLARS PER ANNUM. That Florida would be wrested from her immeobtain nothing but disgrace and ignominy in a diately is beyond all doubt; and that she could contest with the United States is equally certain; while the advantages resulting from a free and uninterrupted commercial intercourse with SouthAmerica would be incalculable. In reflecting on this subject, I have frequently thought that it was the interest and the policy of this government to assist our South-American brethren in obtaining their independence, and establishing a free government. It will be recollected, that under similar circumstances, we were assisted, not, indeed, by a republic, but, what is more surprising, by a monarchy, by whose aid and instrumentality we were so fortunate as to obtain an acknowledgement of that independence of which it is our pride to boast. I cannot, therefore, see why we should be so backward in lending them our assistance. It seems to have been the design of Providence, that these two great continents, forming the new world, should be one vast republic, affording to man an asylum from persecution, and a shelter from oppression, and exhibit I was very happy to perceive that you noticed in your last, the outrages committed by Spain on our flag in the case of the Firebrand. I have no doubt it will excite universal indignation, from one end of the continent to the other, and perhaps lead ultimately to a war with Spain. The storm has been gathering for some time: the conduct of the adorable Ferdinand has been such as to alienate the affection of his subjects, and disgust the crowned heads of Europe; and he will, in all probability, be abandoned to the fate he merits by his folly, ingratitude, and iniquity. The liberty he allowed the British army to landing to the world a theatre at once novel, interin East Florida, and carry on their operations esting, and sublime, in which the human mind against a nation at peace with him, was of itself might develope all its powers, and attain all its sufficient to justify the aggressions of this coun- perfections. A strong and powerful sympathy try; and if we had taken immediate possession exists among the people of this country towards of that territory, it would have been perfectly the patriots of the south, who have been so long. reconcilable to the principles of justice, and the struggling to obtain that which it is our happilaws of nations. I should, however, be unwillingness to enjoy, and which, I again assert, it is our to see this country commit any act that might be interest and our duty to aid them in acquiring. censured by foreign powers, or that would look Such being the state of excitability in this counlike a desire to enter into a state of war unñe- try, it will require but a small provocation to cessarily with any nation. Whatever were the render the people perfectly satisfied with a war circumstances attending the capture of the Fire- with Spain; and if I am not deceived, the recent brand, the insults and outrages offered to her of-indignity offered our flag will produce a commoficers and crew were such as to call down the im- tian not easily tranquilized. mediate vengeance of this country, or to require I have always felt a warm solicitude in favour a disavowal of the injuries committed. The flag of the patriots of the south, but since the accesof a nation should always be respected; every sion of the present despot to the throne of Spain, outrage should be forborne, if peace and harmony whose folly and whose tyranny are revolting to were desirable; and should that flag be guilty of human nature, that solicitude is doubly increased. any impropriety, the best and most proper re- That independence will ultimately be the result medy is to appeal to the nation to which it be of their glorious efforts is, I think, unquestiona. longs; and if no reparation is made, it is then ble; but the period may, for the want of proper time to commence hostilities. A war with Spain union and concert, be long procrastinated. Spain, is not to be dreaded: it would serve to employ however, I am inclined to believe, will never our navy, now in a manner unoccupied and dis-again derive the smallest benefit from South-Ameengaged, and aid the cause of liberty and inde- rica. They have struggled too long, and are too pendence on the southern continent of America. much dissatisfied and disgusted with the mother VOL. II. I VARIETY. lated for your city readers. W From the plan of the city of Washington, and from the magnificence of its capitol, of which I have seen but a part executed, the federal city will be one day, without doubt, a much finer city than Mexico. Philadelphia has also the same regularity of construction. The alleys of platanus, acacia, and populus heterophylla, which adorn its streets, give it a beauty almost rural. The vegetation of the banks of the Potomac and Delaware is richer than what we find at 7,500 feet country, ever to submit to her yoke again. I must confess that I should wish to see this country For the National Register. join, with heart and hand, in accomplishing the Sra‚—Humbold, in describing the city of Mexentire restoration of the new world from the thral-ico, adds the following note; which I have transdom and tyranny of European despotism, and giving it freedom, independence, and consequent happiness. The United States need not fear any consequences that might grow out of such an attempt; and whatever may be the supposition, a conflict with Great Britain ought not to be anticipated. Under present circumstances, the independence of South-America would be vastly more advantageous to England than their colonization. Shut out, as she is at present said to be, from Spain, by the absurd and deleterious policy of Ferdinand, South-America, when in peace, and independent, would afford her innumerable ad:of elevation on the ridge of the Mexican Cordilvantages, in a commercial view, that she cannot now enjoy-and the united republics of South and North-America would hereafter bid defiance to the ambition and power of the greatest poten tate of Europe. MEDICAL. ALCIBIADES. For the National Register. The Hooping-cough being at present generally prevalent among children, and as persons living in the country, at a distance from medical aid, may be rendered very uneasy by the urgent symptoms it sometimes assumes, I think it may be useful to make known to such a very simple remedy for this distressing infantile disorder; which was suggested to me some years since by a lady on Cumberland Island, in the State of Georgia. The good effects of this remedy I witnessed in upwards of fifty cases, among the black children | on the plantation; all of whom, by the use of this remedy, passed through the disease, without experiencing one bad symptom, while the children in the neighbourhood, treated in the usual manner by the physicians, were dying in great numbers. This remedy consists of equal portions of new milk and the lye strained from hickory ashes; of which one table spoonful may be given every hour through the day to a child of 7 or 8 years old. Astruck supposes the cause of this disorder to be seated in the stomach, and to consist of indigestions of that organ, producing acid eructations, and sometimes vomiting, whereby the pharynx and larynx are irritated. Admitting this to be the cause, the rationale of the operation of this medicine becomes at once obvious, consisting in the neutralization of the superabundant acid of the stomach by the vegetable salt that is held suspended in the lye. C. B. H. leras. But Washington and Philadelphia will always resemble the beautiful cities of Europe: they will not strike the eyes of the traveller with that peculiar, I may say exotic, character which belongs to Mexico, Santa Fe de Bogota, Quito, and all the tropical capitals constructed at an ele vation as high, or higher, than the passage of the great Bernard. MOUNT ATHOS. According to both ancient and modern writers, a singular phenomenon has been observed in connection with this classic mountain. Strabo says that Mount Athos is of a conic form, and of so great an elevation that the inhabitants upon its summit perceive the sun three hours before those who inhabit the banks of the sea: and Pliny observes, that the shade of this mountain extends, in certain seasons, to a statue which stands in the middle of Myrina, a city in the Isle of Lemnos. It was by signals from this mountain (the origin of the telegraph) that Agamemnon apprised Cly. temnestra, his wife, of the capture of Troy in a few minutes after it was taken. When we landed at Koum Kale, say's Lechevallier, the first chateaux, situated upon the Asiatic side, at the entrance of the Dardanelles, the declining sun was upon the point of disappearing behind the summit of Mount Athos. The azure colour of the peakes of Imbros and Simothrace appeared to acquire a new lustre, by the brilliant mass of light which the sun cast upon a sky the most pure and serene. In directing our eyes to the west, we discovered a cone of shade, which took its origin from the summit of Athos, and whose base, projecting horizontally, seemed to faze the surface of the sea, and to direct it towards the Isle of Lemnos. After the lapse of a few moments, this || the Romans, and that it was more ancient than shade rose in the atmosphere, dissipated, and lost || Remus and Numa.§ These mounds are to be met its form in proportion as the sun descended below the horizon. It was this mountain that Stasicrates proposed to form into a statue of Alexander, grasping a city in one hand, and with the other discharging a river into the sea. Translated for the National Register. GRECIAN ANTIQUITIES. After having visited, says Lechevalier, in his Voyage de La Troade," the quarries of Mount Pentelica, which the Athenians caused to be worked by slaves, like the mines of Laurium, I artived in the plain of Marathon. My guides made me observe many tumuli of earth, which they called tombs. I remarked one in particular, at the entrance of the plain, on the side of Laurium,|| and which appeared larger than the rest-it was that of Miltiades. This hero, formidable to foreign nations, did not continue long after the battle of Marathon before he became an object of Suspicion to the factions of Athens. The vanquisher of Darius was condemned, and expired in irons, with the wounds he had received in the service of the state. I have been assured that the painter Fauvel, who resided in Athens for many years, caused the tomb of Miltiades to be examined, and that he discovered the ashes and the bust of this hero. I passed the night amidst the tombs of Marathon. Pausanias says that formerly there was heard every night in these places the noise of combatants and the neighing of steeds; but now nothing is heard but the cries of jackalls, which are very numerous in the mountains of Tumuli, or mounds of earth, are of high antiquity. They have always been used by nations in the origin of society; and from their structure and materials, are as durable as the earth itself. They have different names, and are formed in various rows, their principal object being to cover and protect the ashes of the dead. In Cornwal, says Dr. Borlasse, are seen a great number of these mounds, made of earth or stone, and called barrows, a Saxon word, which signifies to cover, inter, &c. The most ancient monument of this kind is that of Ninus, the founder of the Assyrian empire. They were also common among the Greeks; and the tomb of Laius, father of Edipus, existed in the time of Pausanias. Virgil states that this usage prevailed also among Pausanias, p. 808. • Herodotus. says with in various parts of the world; in Greece, These It was anciently considered as a great honour to be interred on the field of battle. The tumuli of the simple soldiers were arranged in a right line on the field, like the front of an army. Pausaniaus says, that the soldiers who fell in the battle of Marathon were deposited in this celebrated plain, and that Miltiades himself, who commanded them, desired to leave his mortal remains where he had acquired immortal glory. The grandeur and elevation of these tumuli were generally proportioned to the quality of the dead, or the affection and respect of those who survived them, The mound of Ninus was frequently taken at a distance for the citadel of Ninevah; that of Aliattes, king of Lydia, was more than a fourth of a league in circuit, and 1,560 feet in diameter; and that which Alexander built in honour of Ephestion, his friend, cost 1,200 talents. I shall conclude with the remarks of Lechevalier on this subject: "A great number of these tumuli are seen in the plain of Troy. Some are in the midst of the plain itself, and some upon the hills which surround it. Those are upon the summit of Pergama, and these are ranged upon the banks of the Hellespont; all occupy exactly the same place which Homer has designated. When one is placed upon the summit of Bounar Bachi, no great effort of imagination is necessary to represent the entire theatre of the Illiad. The § Virgil's Æn. xi. 207. different tombs of the Grecian and Trojan warriors are exposed to the view of the traveller. No doubt similar monuments are found in other [No. 9. Athens, Ohio, October 14, 1816. The town of Athens, though yet small, is gradually progressing in improvement and importance. Its situation is on a peninsula, formed by the Hockhocking river; has a handsome eleva extensive prospect up and down the river: it has, tion; is healthy; and commands a beautiful and immediately in its neighbourhood, the best of freestone, limestone, and clay for brick, in great Athens county, and has a handsome brick court plenty. The town is the seat of justice for house, lately erected; also a free-mason's lodge, just built, with brick; and, of the same material are a number of its dwelling houses, an academy, and school house. countries; but where can be found, at once, so many objects conformable to the pictures of Homer, united in so small a space. An eminence for the situation of the city of Troy, (Bounar Bachi,) a plain in the neighbourhood of the Hel-in all parts, the purest water in abundance; and, lespont, teminated by two opposite capes, and sufficiently large for the movement of the armies; two rivers (Scamander and Simoise) which flow through it, and unite at a small distance from the sea. When I beheld, at Cape Sigeum, two tombs of unequal grandeur, could I avoid recognizing those of Achilles and Patroclus. When I perceived another, on the opposite promontory, I immediately recollected that Ajax was encamped The literary institution established here is on the left of the Grecian army, and that his ashes known by the name of the Ohio University, and must repose there. The tomb of Aigettes, is it has a revenue, at this time, of about two thounot to the right where Strabo has placed it, and sand three hundred dollars annually, arising from in a situation the most advantageous for furnish-certain lands belonging to the institution, given ing Polytes with the means of observing the by congress, consisting of two townships, six movements of the Greeks. In fine, it is here, miles square each. The townships lie adjoining, and no where else, that we must look for the and in one of which is this town. plain of Troy."* whole of these lands (some tracts of which yet remain to be leased) shall become productive, the revenue from this quarter, which is our present all, will a little exceed three thousand dollars a year. The seminary commenced its literary operations a few years ago, by an academic school, under the superintendance and instruction of the Rev. Jacob Lindley, the present presiding officer. branches of literature and science, is in a flourishThis school, in which are taught the various ing situation, and daily growing in reputation and Voyage de la Troade, tom. ii. p. 257. FINE THOUGHT. W The superiority of mind over matter is thus elegantly illustrated by W. Bruce, of Ireland: "It was for the birth of a blind and mendicant rhapsodist that seven cities contended; and Troy is not the only place preserved from oblivion by a poet. While even the situations of magnificent citics are forgotten, we are familiar with the insignificant village that sheltered some humble philosopher, or the rill that quenched the thirst of some indigent bard." THE OHIO UNIVERSITY, We have been politely favoured with the following account of Athens, Ohio, and the literary institution of that place, in answer to a note we addressed some time since to one of the trustees. Believing that it will be not less pleasing to our readers than it is gratifying to ourselves, to mark the progress of knowledge and improvement in the west, we give it a place in the Register. It is one proof of the advantage that may result to the country from similar donations from the national legislature. The writer observes, that it is a hasty sketch, written in a short recess from a press of business, but guarantees the correctness of the statement, as far as it goes: When the usefulness. Several of its students, having aleducation, have received the first honours of a ready completed a regular course of collegiate well-earned diploma. The trustees have undertaken the erection of a the foundation of which is laid, and the bricks college, beginning with one wing 82 feet by 50, for the superstructure will be ready for use early in the next season. The building will be three stories high, with the addition of a spacious cellar under the whole. Our little finance, out of which the academy has its support, is managed with the utmost care, and made to do all that is possible: but every person must be sensible that it is hard struggling with such stinted means; and it is hoped that the honourable exertions making by the trustees will be every where duly noticed, and the undertaking receive that patronage and assistance, from a generous public, which is due to its importance. One of the Trustees. A NEW BANK. We have been favoured with the following letter from the gentlemen whose names appear at the bottom; to which we give publicity for the information of the public. Were every bank to publish a similar statement, we think it would be an advantage to the public. THE STATE OF OHIO, return which may be the result of imposition or fraud. If other considerations or views of the subject, can authorize them to dispense with a strict or rigorous scrutiny, their inclinations urge them to the adoption of such a course. But inasmuch as the memorial from J. Low, Jr. and others, relating to the improper and unfair conduct in the officers and voters of the town of Lyman, was specially referred to your committee, they were obliged to give it their particular con. sideration. It appears to your committee that after the meeting was opened, a motion was regularly made, and put, and carried, that the voters be polled to see who were for and who against the separation; that though this course was objected Mount Vernon, Oct. 3, 1816. DEAR SIR,-"The Owl Creek Bank of Mount Vernon" commenced its operation on the 5th ult. The nominal capital of which is $25,000, with a discretionary power to raise it to double that amount. It is not yet chartered. Richard Har-to, it was carried into effect. Thus in a town rison is the engraver of the plates for the notes. where the majority was decided against the sepa The president is James Smith; the cashier L. Sout, before they were allowed to carry their writ ration, were its advocates designated and pointed Silliman. The devise on the notes is an owl and ten votes. Thus were a portion of the citizens mill, & the edge of a grove, which is emblematical deprived of expressing their opinions without inof the place where the bank is situated. Mountspection, and subjected to the influence of powerful men, and the censure or disapprobation of a Vernon is the seat of justice for Knox county, vindictive majority. Your committee have thereand is situated on Owl Creek: at the south side fore rejected the return from the town of Lyman. of the town is an elegant grove: the surrounding country is remarkably fertile. Yours, respectfully, JAMES SMITH, President. BRUNSWICK CONVENTION. On Monday last, the committee to whom the subject was referred, made the following Report, which we copy from the Portland Argus: REPORT The committee appointed to examine the returns of votes on the subject of the separation of Maine from Massachusetts, and report thereon, also to inquire what farther measures it will be expedient to adopt to obtain the consent of the Legislature of this Commonwealth to such sepa-ration; also, to consider and report on the memorial of John Low, Jun. and others, against the votes from the town of Lyman, and also the memorials. of the inhabitants of Mercer and other towns concerning said separation, have attended to that service, and ask leave respectfully to REPORT IN PART By recurring to the 2d and 3d sections of the act concerning the Separation of the District of Maine from Massachusetts proper, and forming the same into an independent State, we find that the convention is authorized to form a constitution, provided "a majority of five to four at least of the votes returned," are in favor of the measure. The meaning of the word majority is doubtful— This word is sometimes understood to mean the excess of one number over another, and sometimes the excess of half the whole number. Exclude tions of the act, and no doubt remains but five the words "a majority of" in the 2d and 3d secyeas to four nays or five minths of the votes returned, would be required. But your committee do not feel authorized to say that these words have no meaning. In the report of the committee prefixed to the act, it appears to have been the intention, that the expediency of separation should have been decided, by "an assembly of men, charged with the most solemn duties," meaning no doubt a convention of delegates chosen by towns. Here the delegates would have been in proportion to the number of majorities in each corporation, and not in proportion to the aggregate ma jority of all the votes returned. It is understood that the bill as first reported to That they have examined all the papers and do- the legislature, authorized the delegates to decide cuments purporting to be returns of votes from the on the expediency. It was, however, so far amendtowns and plantations in Maine, which have beened, as that on the day of the choice of delegates, committed to them, and find that a very large proportion of those votes are incorrectly or illegally re turned. In nearly half of those returns the question which was to have been submitted to the people, was imperfectly or erroneously stated. Very many of the meetings appear to have consisted of other persons than qualified voters. In several towns certain descriptions of voters appear to have been excluded. In this state of the votes, your committee feel a reluctance on the one hand in excluding the expressions of the opinions of any portion of their fellow-citizens, possibly correct, and on the other, in admitting any the inhabitants of the towns, districts and plantations, qualified to vote for Senators, were to give in their written votes on the question proposed in the act, and a majority of five to four was required. As the delegates must be apportioned according to the respective majorities of their towns, so on the question of separation, the majority of yeas in the towns and plantations in favor must be, to the najority of nays in those opposed, as five to four, of the votes returned. The corporate majorities of yeas must be placed in one column, and those of nays in the other, and each added--Then as five is to four, so is the aggregate majority of yeas in the towns and plantations in favor, to the aggre |