University of South Carolina Libraries
ra: iciaw jjmcct-ijl th*? depths of poverty ami despair.?Merchants' Magazine. From The .National Intelligencer. THE POWER OF THE VETO. We took occasion in a recent number rS our paper to go somewhat at large int? *n examination of that anomalous feature. engrafted into our Constitution from monarchical Corns of Government, which confers upon the Executive Magistrate of this free Republic the power of negativing and forbidding laws solemnly and deliberately enacted by the Ropre. aentntives of the People and of the Slates in Congress assembled. Wp. do not recur to the subject now for T . ' the pnrpose of submitting anv further suggestions of our own on this mischevous principle of the Constitution; but it is for the purpose of introducing, in supj>ort of the views which we have tak^n of it, an authority of which we were then unapprised, hut one for which we entertain great respect, and consider entitled to'much weight with our readers. It was remarked hy E Imund Burke that "when popular discontents are verv prevalent, it may well he affirmed and supported that there is generally something found amiss in the constitution 01 in the conduct of government. This re. mark, philosophically true, is practically applicable to the present circumstances ol this country, and precisdv descriptive of .its condition. Never was popular , discontent more prevalent, and nothing can be more certain than that this discontent has its origin it? "something amiss in the ~ O ' onstitution," and in the conduct ol Government." That something is he power of the Veto conferred on our Executive, and its unwise exercise. Thisi> the position which we assumed in our late <rgunient on the subject, and it is Ic strengthen this position that we usk flt. " tention for the authority which we now present. It may he found in a volume published during the lust year, from the juinmous|>en of the present distinguished . Secretary of the Navv, entitled "A brief Enquiry into the trne nature and character of our Federal GovernmentFor the extract from this volume, which we subjoin, we are indebted to the Virginia papers. Our readers will he struck, as we have been with the forcible and truly Republican views which it presents in .regard to the powers of the Executive. We confess our satisfaction at finding -our own humble opinions sustained bv such distinguished authority. THE EXTRACT. Another striking imperfection of the "Constitution, as respects the Executive ~ ^ J *1. r Kepartnienf, is jouno m iuc ?<;*?# .... The right to forbid the p?ople to pas? whatever laws they please is the right te deprive thorn of self-government. It is a power which can never he entrusted t<; one mm, or any number of men, slrnr of the people themselves, without the cerium destruction of puMic liliertv. It i> irue that each department of the Govern inent should be armed with a certain pow er of self protection against the assaults of the other departments; and the E\e cutive prohablv stands most in need ot such protection, liut the veto power, a> it SHinds in the Constitution, goes far Iw yond this object. It is, in effect, a power in the Executive Department to forbio all action in anv other. It is true that, notwithstanding the veto of the President a law may still lie passed, provided twothirds ot each House of Congress ngre< therein; hut it is obvious that the cases areverv rare in which such concurrent * could he expected. In oases ?>l plair necessity or policy the veto would not Ik applied ; and those of doubtful necessity or policy would rarely be carried bv a ma joritv so large as two-thirds of ear! House. And yet in these it may be jus! as important that the public will s!H?ul( l*j carried out as in cases of less c.'ojibl and difficulty. It may be, also, that f President mav oppose the passage of law * of the plainest ar.d most pressing necessi. tv. And if he should do so, it woulc certainly give him a most improper povvei over the people, to enable him lo preveni the most necessary legislation, with only one-third of each House of Congress ir his favor. There is something incon. gruons in this union of Legislative am Executive powers in the same man.? Perhaps it is proper that there should hen nou-pr somewhere, to check hnstv and ill fonsidered legislation, and that thai power may he as well entrusted to tto President as to any. other authority.? Hut it is not necessary that it should to great enough to prevent all legislation nor to control in aoy respsct the free ex ereise of the legislative will. It would tx quite enoughJ for the security of tlx rights of the Executive, and qt.'ite enong! to ensure temperate and wise legislation to authorize the President merely' tosenc ^ack to the Legislature for reconsidera t?on any law which ho disapproved. B) thus a fiord i no to that hody time and ?l> nnrtunitv for refection, with ai! the ad."* I V Uonal lights which the President hiinseh could throw upon the subject, we should have very reasonable security for the d:tc exercise of the legislative wisdom and a fair expression of the public will. But if alter all this, ine Legislature, in hoth its branches, should still adhere to their (opinion, the theory and the sound practice of all our institutions require that tlieir decision should be binding and final." Cforgia Election ?Our correspondent "Curtius.'' furni.hcs be lew a fcny to I he umw .wif qg???????ggg recent democratic victory in our sister. State. The Whigs have been defeated because they taxed the people to preserve ; the faith and credi't of the Suite?the 1 Democrats have* beeen victorious because they promise relief from taxation, in dis. regard ofthe' faith and credit of the State. ! W? fear we liave indeed fallen on evil I times, and that democratic ascendency i will he attended with faithless misrule, j It is remarkable, too, that it is thesostyl; ed hard-monev party which has succeedj ed in Georgia; and yet relief laws, state bonds, and the worst of paper currency j are likely to be the fruits of its victory/ " It is much to be apprehended that we i are on the eve of beholding the wreck of Slate credit. The test applied in many ; of the elections now in progress, is whether the candidate for favor is or is not friondj lv to direct taxation, to sustain the faith of the States. In Maryland, in the re. cent canvass, tho people have given their suffrages for none of the candidates who fQD.iraliln trt ir,s*rpsiQf>rl taction. We i fear that such will he the case also in j Pennsylvania. Now there is but one esrj?oe from the disgrace of a deliberate in; fraction of State engagements, and that j is the voluntary assumption of those burj lhens by the people, that they seem wil1 ling to avoid by a sacrifice of honor in , all lime to come for present ease. Noth1 ing else can restore confidence in State 'obligations.?can give them any value in ' the eyes<?f foreign or domestic capitalists. Biit unfortunately the faith, as well as the | credit of several of the States, appears on the verge of ruin, fro n the prevalence I of counsels that dread | popular disfavor and truckle to democracy."?Patriot 9ih insf. j There is startling truth in this. Whether the direct its'ie has been any where J m ifie?whether the people have fairly 1. understood that the faith of their State was involved in the question of increased ; taxation, we are not prepared to say. But this much we do know?that in several ! of tile recent elections, whenever the dei inorratio ticket has been signally triumj pnant, all measures based upon an in, crease of taxes as the onlv honest and efj factual means of liquidating the debts i and sustaining the credit of the States? j measures which should have consolidated j the integrity and patriotism of all parties j have been pro-tituted to electioneering j i purposes, and rendered odious to the people as tyrrauy and misrule. '* I This is especially applicable to the re: cent Gubernatorial contest in Georgia. ! J I ! file indebtedness of that State has grown J j out of a system of Internal Improvement, originated and prosecuted during the supre.nacv of what is now known as the | Demooratic Party. The Legislature of j j 1840, in which there was a decided Whig ; majority, lest the permanent stigma of a .dishonored credit should attach to the J State, made provision for the extinguish- I ment of her obligation by direct taxation, ! i as the proper mode, and that to which she J would sooner or later be obliged to revort. This honorable nv asure, the only earnest of good faith, which the State could give !o her creditors, and the burthen of w hich is so lightly borne, that it would not have been sufficient to have attracted puldic attention, but for the clamor of de dirninir nnliticians. has been stamped as r , Whig, hold ii{> to the people as the first fruits of Wlrg administration, and, with all the eloquence of partizan malice, exlibitcd as fastening upon the party and heir candidate a system of policy, grind. :ng and crushing in its operation. That j ;t was hrouglil to hear powerfully unon the popular inind during the contest was evi- i dent to the most superficial observer. Ifj the honest payment of State debts by di- | rcct taxation is a financial expedient, pe- | cu.iarly Whig, and repudiated as such 1 l?y ihe Democracy, let it be proclaimed .ar and wuie. If the party is to he over- ] a helmed under the ruins of Slate credit, ' let it not he without a desperate struggle; to av?-rt the evil destiny which threatens j the country. CURT1US. [ PRINCE DK JOIN VILLK. Prince de Joinville is 011 a visit to the ^ivifhuftp lias It?ft Buffalo on his i 1 way to Cleveland, tl?once to Detroit and i and along Lake St. Clair and Lake Flu-1 roil to (*roen Bay. At the town of Crcen Bnv at the mouth of Fox, sometimes railed Nenah River, he will doubtless cross the stream and visit Fort Howard, in mediately opposite to the village, j From thence he will pass, if he goes by I water up Fox river, to Lake Winnebago and Bond d ie Lac. He will then go to Fort Winnebago, where he will stop and , receive the civilities of our officers sta- j turned at that outpost of defence. Here! j iie may be able to reach Prairie due Chi- ! on. by going down the Wiskonsin River if there should be a st laruboat at Winne. j bugo, at the time of his arrival. j We passed down that river from the i _i 4 .. nnH found the ! I roil n.HJUi ~t y ;? lit I country bordering on it magnificently I picturesque and fertile. On our journey we tarried a day at Prairie du Chien. where the Prince proposes to stop a short 1 time on his way to St. Louis. Fort Craw ! lord is located at Prairie due Chien. The I j route he takes from Green Bay, through | j Wiskonsin Territory, is one of great I -'.beauty. It is over the same region of . I country tout Capt- Marryatt travelled,! . and uhicn he dosci ibos to bo of unsur-1 passing beauty. He will go trough fifty | ui e*; of a reach, of the most enchanting j P tik scenery, with deer and prairie fowls, i a spC' ies ft grouse, frequently crossing ?iiis p-. th, in Xhis land rich in its native j grandeur. ! Jlis father wu'l be delighted to hear the j 1 details of his journey alonsj the distant boundaries of our extensive Republic; next to .us own France, America in our juj^e- j I nient. stands m the kin i recollections of Louis Fmihppe. Ihs early life here j ! planted a number ol pleasant remmiveiic- I e.-> in his memory, noi rw^otteo even up | e- If- ?Ch.i. Centincl. IJ-MI1 I 11 iLUEJMI?W?l JVcLeod in Montual.?The Mon. treal Herald of Monday announces McLeod's arrival there on the previous Saturday forenoon in the steamer Princess Victoria, and gives the following account of his reception : % On the arrival of the steamer at the wharf, the anxiety to get a peep at the lion" was intense, notwithstanding the presence of a body of police stationed at the landing place to prevent confusion and overcrowding. The great feeling seemed to he who could soonest shake hands with the political and national martyr, and congratulate him on again re. turning to the ark of safety and freedom. As he proceeded from the boat to a cab, he was loudly cheered amid the waving of hats and handkerchiefs, and his progress to Rasco's hotel was marked like a triumphal procession. Mr. McLeod is verv unassuming in his manner and ad dress, and appeared to fuel a diffidence and distress at the attention and in some cases rough courtesy shown him, which were the outbreaks of the warm hearts of his fellow countrymen. He looked pale and sallow, which his "long confinementsufficiently accounts for." Taxgo Wa>tgo.?The Philadelphia U. S. Gazette gives the following account of a new practitioner in the healing art. " A colored doctor named John Claws, was yesterday brought before Alderman Redmin, under the following circumstances: It appears tnut he had visited unsolicted, the complainant, a colored wo. inan, who was seriously ill, and had told her that he could cure her quickly, and without doubt, hut that it was necessary for the success of his practice, which he termed the " Yango Wango" school, that he should have four silver haff (' -..s. These were obtained for him, and these he placed with a number of herbs, in an iron pot, and boiled them ; but after this ceremony he took care to put them in his pocket, and in addition to them, five dollars in silver, which he found in a bureau The patient getting no better, and thinking the taking of the seven dollars a very had practice, determined to have the professor of the " Tango Wango" school before Alderman Redman, wiio, after a hearing, committed to prison the doctor to answer for the misdemeanor at I the General Sessions."?N. Y. Sun. Highway Robwery.?Mr. G. Rates, a drover, of Ohio, who had just completed i the sale of a large drove of between three I " 1 orwl Pmir tnitislrcrl hpnd of Cattle. for I which no had received the money, and i was en his way to Philadelphia to pur' chase goods, was waylaid and robhed of O * between seven and eight thousand dollars on Sunday night on the Strasburgh road, a short distance above Marshallton, some twenly-sevcn miles from Philadelphia. Ibid. war steoiers. Instructions have been issued for build, ing at our Navy Yards the following staam vessels : At Norfolk, one of medium size, say between six hundred and seven hundred tons; and one of three hundred tons, to be propelled by L'eutenant Hunter's paddle wheels. The engine for the latter is to bo made at the Washington Narv c> Yard, where it is understool work equal to any in the country has. been turned i out. At Philadelphia, one of six hundred tons, to be propelled on Captain Stockton's plan ; and one of medium size. At New York, one of medium size, six hundred to seven hundred tons. The description of engines for themeI dium steamers has not vet been determined upon. The Commissioners of the I Navy have opened a correspondence with i the most experienced and scientific gen I tlemen in the country, as to the best moj dels, and have collected a large amount of information upon the subject, which ] will be increased by further communica| tions before the tirre arrives for making a ! decision. They will by these means have the aid of the best experience the country can afford. Captain Stockton and Lieutenant Hunter will each have, as a matter of course, a general superintendence of the building of the vessels on their respective plans. Army and Nacy Chron. : ! A MOVEMENT IN THE WEST. j It is in contemplation in many of the Western States to hold a Convention this ! fall ilt Uincinnau. 10 uikc: iiiiu c-iiisiuera: tion the subject of the Currency and the present disordered condition of the ox* j changes. The following resolution, among others, was adopted not long since by a meeting of citizens at Columbus. Ohio: Resolved, That it be recommended to the several Western and South Western States to appoint delegates, equal in number to their representatives in Congress, to meet at Cincinnati, or some other cenI tral point, at such time during the present fall as shall bo thought best, and take into consideration the present deranged state of the currency and of exchanges between different parts of the Union, and I to devise and recommend the best means 1 ^ - ? ? - f. ?/? ^Koan isnrlailo oirilc j ior cnrrecim^ mr^<3 i It has been elsewhere proposed that the Convention meet on the 25th November next, and that it be composed of delegates from Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama and Kentucky. The proposal for a Convention, ns intimated above, is urged by the leading presses in Ohio. Kentucky, Indiana and Missouri, it will he favorably regarded throughout the whole region of the West H m. and Suuth West, and it wJj be remarked ??MM-gjm.jji?iiwm JJImmm ! generally in t le'anguage of one of the journals: " We wonder why the West hare not heret ifce held such a Convention."?Pha. Sentinel. The Commission which sat some time during the last summer in New York, by appointment of the Executive, in exatnining the affait* of the New York Customhouse, is, we i nderstand, about to resume that investigation. There will be one change in the composition of the Commission, name y, William A. Bradly, Esq. of this city, in place of Mr. Kelley, of Ohio. The hitter gentleman returned to Ohio, we believe, soon after the Commission closed its examination in Septen^rf. -fiat. Intctt. jfr The Statue^ of Washington was yesterday renroved from the Navv Yard, and such progress had been made in the course of the day that at sunset a^nrt of the difficult ascent of the Capital htfl had been overcome. The Statue is very massive?weighing, with its casings, it is said, "HIP turanhr tnna If u/aa hrnnirht frnm I ???'?*! ?? VIIIT ilill.li XV " ? i wv4?..? n the Navy Yard to Maryland avenue through the canal, and thence on moveable ways, bv means of capstans, &c. ' along Maryland avenue to the Capitol The removal of the Statue is under the direction of our enterprising fellow.citizen, Mr. William Easbv; and, so far, his delicate task has been accomplished without accident. Ibid. disaster by tiie storm. A young friend of ours, observes the Salem Gazette, who is master of more leisure than we can find, has examined the shipping lists, since (he late storm, and finds one hundred and ninety-tiro vessels reported as injured by that disastrous tempest. Doubtless there are some which have not yet been reported, and others which will nevelr come to light?all vestiges thereof being " m the deep bosom of the ocean buried." EFFECT OF RAIL ROADS. That our [tail Road has exerted a most beneficial effect in stirring the people np to greater exertions in fanning matters, is plainly perceptible to all who have occasion to visit a iy of the counties, within its influence, eit ler direct or indirect. For instance, we learn that in several counties, quite distant from the Road, many, very many, are raising Tobacco and Grain this year, for Market, and in the counties of Person and Granville, it is said, more Tobacco has been planted than ever before. and crops fair. The simple fact that a Rail Road exerts a direct influence on the energies of the people for nearly fifty miles on either side of it. should convince the most skeptical of the advantages of such arteries through the country. Raleigh Register, j Correspondence of thz Savannah Gzorgian. E\st Florida. 20i/i Oct. 1311. Dear Sir.?The glad tidings has come to hand that Tiger Tail's brother, E-noc| tho-la-math-la, has come in to Tampa Bay, and re jorts that Tiger Tail is on his way in, with the most of his people or band. Should he com6 in, and there cannot now be a possibility of a doubt, but he will, it will be glorious indeed, for the | settlements will be immediately relieved ! from these infernal savages and narrows I I down the line of operation, to but a short | space, comparatively the Everglades. J Six Companies of Dragoons are to | leave Florida for Fort Je.su p and Towson, i I on the Arkansas Frontier. Their move j will be immediately. A Company of the j 2d Infantry relieves the Company of Dra ] goons at T.ader's Htll; another Company ^ i " of the same Regiment, relieves the Company of Dragoons stationed at Fort il/oiliac. \ours, U. S. Bank notes are selling in New1 York at 50 per cent, discount. , A NATIONAL BANK. Bicknsll s Kcporter, ot tnis morning, a neutml paper in politics, in noticing the seheme of a Bank or Fiscal Agent, presented in thff JNIadisoniun, says: " We j begin to be of the opinion, however, that we shall have no National Bank. The results of the recent elections may be regarded as anti-bank, and although we are of those who think that some institution calculated to facilitate exchanges and to regulate the currency, would be found exceedingly* useful in a commercial sense, j the popular prejudice seems so strong now, that we much doubt the ability of Congress to agree upon a measure likely to be enacted into law. Every scheme will find opponents." THE SABBATH. The ne v Postmaster General has entered on the discharge of the duties of his office. We h^irn from the Washington eorresponccnue of the New York Commercial A Jvertiser, that he has ,4 directed the doors of his departments to be closed j on the Sabbath day, in respect to both the public sense of propriety, and to the higher ob igntions of the day itself, and not in any spir t of fanaticism." A TIGER AT LARGE. At Louisville, on Thursday week, a tiger at th 3 ilfenagerie and Circus got out of his cage, snt some time upon the top of it, and finally entered the ring of the Circus, where ho was shot, without having J irtjureu any unu. RAILROAD FARES. A committee was appointed some time since, by the Government in England, to make inquiries in different parts of Europe concerning the comparative ndvan. tage of high and low fares on railroads. The result of these inquiries, with ail the details, containing the answers to upwards of eleven thousand questions put by the committee, has been published by the British Parliament, and has uniformly presented, in everv case, the conclusion | that a low rate of freight creates great j quantities of goods to be carried, and thereby becomes 'he most profitable; that great masses of passengers are created by the low fare ; and that a rise of fare has invariably diminished the nett income, and a reduction of fare has invariably increased it.?Phil. American. 1 CHERAW GAZETTE. 'VEDNESDAV, November 3, 1841. Owing to the carelessness of a hand in the office, last week some of the papers sent by the mails were so badly printed as to be in part illegible. The Camden Journal records the weight of a pair of Berkshire pigs, owned by Maj# A. H. Boykin, of that vicinity, at 5 months old ; which exceeds any thing we recollect to have seen in shote line, unless there was some mistake. The two^ngs weighed/our hundred and Le^ve pounds, or 206 a pi^ce, being about one pound and one third for every day of their age. Ohio.?The Democrats have a major, ity of 2 .n the Senate of Ohio, and 0 or S in the House. The Hon. John Forsyth, late Secretary.of State, died in Washington on the 21st. October, after a protracted illness j from an attack of Congestive fever. We subscribe to the following para- j graph from the Southern Chronicle : chivalry. We never knew a nation or State grow j vain of its character for Chivalry that did ! not experience an early decline of every manly virtue. See Spain for example. When men begin to blow their own trumpets it is strong evidence that their wind is better than their credit. Chivalry, by tho bye, is but a windy sort of a virtue at best. From tho Southern Patriot. GEORGETOWN. (S. C.) Oct. 19. Gentlemen:?Our town was visited with a dreadfull fire last night, su pposed and I have no doubt correctly, the work of an incendiary. The fire commenced near Mr. Benjamin King's wharf. All the buildings from the Market to J. G. Henings & Co.'s wharf, are distroved ?>n tho water side of the street. The principle sufferers are Est W. Chapman. B. King, R. Frisbie, J. C. Porter, John Ralston. S. Kirton, Col well 6c Lathers, G. C. 6c W. J. Munro. Jacob Wayne, J. Farrow 6c Son, C. A. MagiII, B. J. C'utino, VlcKcnzie.. It is impossible to say who are and who are not insured, nor what amount of loss, as all was in confusion to-da v. You will be be pleased to learn that tho Bank is in no way . implicated. Yours, &c. j The Committee appointed by the town held on the 10th inst. to investigate the orgin of the event full fire of that mornin g discharged the duty the day following and were unanimously of opinion that the fire was accidental and that it had its origin most probably from a stove used in one of tho stores. Tlio losses by the fire, though severe, are not so great in the way of merchandize, as was supoos.id. The loss in the - i . way ol" cotton, did not exceed thiriv-nve 0 bales in nil. Col well Jy Lathers, we are happy to sav, are not heavy losses, as they had received hot a portion of their fall supply and had insurance on I heir stock. They will resume business as soon as they can lit up anotiier store. We are advised that we have greatly j exaggerated the losses of the merchants. ?Messrs. 5 Farrow & Son are said not to have lost more than $14 or $15000? \ and so in proportion to others?and indeed one merchant yesterday said to us that he was satisfied that 840,000 would coverall the loss of merchandize.? Winyaw Observer. FROM TIIE NEW YORK AMERICAN OF SATURDAY. THE BRITISH AND THE CHINESE. I Vt PORT AN f PARTICULARS. Macao, May 29, 1841. We stated last week that every thing at Canton bore so warlike an aspect that we should probably have to report the commencement of hostilities in this day's issue. We shall relate seriatim the occur- i rences at Canton since Friday, the 21st, j premising that up to the moment of our i writing this, no lator accounts than of: r* * | the 23lh have been received from Canton, and of the 26th from Whampoa, but it is probable that we shall have to add later intelligence before our paper goes to press. On the 21st. Captain Elliot issued at | Canton the following circular: " In the present situation of circumstances Her Britannic Majesty's Plenipotentiary feels it his duty to recommend that the British and other foreigners now remaining in the factories should retire " 'I I L' trom t/amon uentrc suiwri. CHARLES ELLIOT, Her Majesty's Plenipotentiary. British Factory, May 21, 1841." Even without this notice the warlike preparations made by the Chinese in everv direction were so apparent that it had become but too palpable that the Chinese contemplated commencing hostilities probably on that very day. In many of the packhouses, and even on their roofs, guns had been planted ; every street leading to the river's edge had become a masked battery, and pennons and flags were flying over every one of them ; soldiers were seen everywhere, and even in the Hong merchants' warehouses while teas were be giMniiapw? ? ing weighed. A party returning 00 Friday from one of these Hong* saw, Whilst passing to the foreign factories in a boat,^ many of the batteries, the soldiers ine which, for amusement'* sake, pointed their guns at them, without, however, molesting them. The whole river from the French Folly to the most northern end of Canton presented one continued line of fortification, and a large number of guns were planted on Dutch and French Follies. A new fort had been built at Shaming, and it was known that an immense numbef of ftre-rafts had been prepared in many creeks in different parts cf the river, in* fact the magnitude of the Chinese preparations prove that they weie now bent otr most determined resistance, and to drive the English out of the rive * without much greater loss of time, and that to effect this a simultaneous attack on the different positions of the English was ihteqgled. How far the late arrangement, in providibg the Chinese Goverrrtnent with large sums of money, may have enabled them to prepare thus formidably, it would be a somewhat curious calculation to make. Her Majesty'* Plenipotentiary will probably bc^ble to throw *ome light upon this subject; bo has, indeed, proved himself a most generous enemy, and the Chinese have no reason to complain that fair play has not been given them. Pursuant to the above notice of Cant. Elliot, all foreign merchants then at Canton. with the exception of two, left their factories, the last embarking at about stx o''Sck in the afternoon ; and, from what occurred after, we have little doubt that it was intended to have surprised all the foreign merchants that very night, and to have carried them off prisoners, had they escaped deaths at the hands of the infuriated mob. They have iudeed had amost providential escape. ^ Owing to its being nearly calm, and to w a strong ebb tide, the schoonor Aurora, with several British merchants on board, and Her Majesty's cutter Louisa- remained anchored right opposite theFactories. and it was observed that the suburb* of Canton presented an appearance of more than usual quiet. All the innumerable boats which are in peaceful time* seen on the river, gaily lighted up, were no longer there, and the foreign factories were, with the exception of two, dark and silent. Soon after six, Her Majesty's ships Modesto and Algerine movedfroin their anchorage, in the Macao passage, and anchored as close to the town as the water would permit, nor did this seem for the tone to attract much attention. At a little past ten, however, a blaze of light in the direction of Fatee was oh. served, and was soon found to proceed from several fire rafts or junks, floating down fast with the tide upon the cuttpr and schooner, which were in considerable danger, the tide still ebbing, and weighing anchor would have brought them nearer to the range of the guns from-the Company's garden, and others which had by this time opened upon them, and kept u,? a smart fire, by which the cutter wis bit twice and the schooner once. 1'he two small vessels were therefore obliged to remain at anchor, exposed to the fire from the battery at Shaming, the cutter returning the fire gallantly, and forcing by her fire mx large cargo boata, that bore down on her in the wnko of \ v i. . the fire ships, and probably filled with soldiers to board her, to sheer off, when the steamer Nemesis came down upon the fire ships and towed them out cf harm's way, opening at the same time a tremen- . dons fire from her two 3*2 pounder*. * Her Majesty's ships Modeste, Algerine, and Pvlades, had meanwhile also opened their fire, and a brisk cannonade ensued, maintained chiefly against the new fortat Shaming. The firing was kept up duing part of the night, and the cutter and schooner were at last, hy the tide's turning, enabled to move out of the range of the shot in the Macao passage. Her Majesty's ships Alligator and Pylades were at one time, we learn, in imminent danger from the fire ships, but the opportune arrival of the boats of her Majesty's ship Herald, which towed them on shore, saved them. In the morning early of the 22d, the work of destruction at Shaming was recommenced by .Her Majesty's ships Modeste, Pylades, and Algerine, and steamer Nemesis. The fort, was, after a heavy cannonade, silenced and destroyed, and eight very fine new brass guns found in it. Meanwhile a number of war junks were seen issuing from a creek opposite Fa tee, and the steamer Nemesis went to meet them; but they,, unwilling to have any thing to say to so formidable an antagonist, retreated again to the creek, and the steamer again gave her assistance nt Shaming, which no sooner being perceived by the junks, than they came out a second time. This time, however, the steamer was not content with merely driving them back, but followed them into the creek; what passed there was, from the position of our informant, hid from his view ; but loud reports and volumes of white andblack smoke rising into the air at intervals, but too plainly told that the work of destruction was actively going on there. In less than three hours upwards of 40junks were set fire to and blown up, a sight which can have been any thing hut pleasing to Yikshara, the rebel.queU ling general. The return of the Nemesis from thif successfull expedition, followed by the Herald's and her own boats, is described as affording a sight in the highest degree cheering, and yet comical at the same time. The steamer was covered all over with the flags and pennants captured from the junks; the boats crews were allarayed in handsome mandarin dresses and caps, and the crew of one boat, in order to be perfectin their new costume had each man of them a tail, more sinico,.daogling..f/om. under their caps, which we hope w$re spoils from living Chinese, who saved t ' " - * V . j?3?