KING OF AVA: COMMERCE. " His Majesty the King of Ava, on a mature consideration of the present state of Commerce within his Dominious, has become aware of the impossibility of its being extended or even carried on, unless the exorbitant duties now levied, and also other changes be adopted. On dae reflection therefore, on all the circumstances of the case, and convinced that merchants subject to the Rules, Regulations, and Duties now in force (which latter his Majesty deems enormous) can derive little or no profit by resorting to the Fort of Rangoon : He has deemed it expedient that the Commercial System shall revert to the principles on which it was formerly established." TRADE IN OPIUM: RESTRICTIONS REMOVED. The Lieutenant-Governor of the island of Java has issued a proclamation, dated Oct. 22, 1813, by which are rescinded all prohibitions and penalties against private trade in spices, opium, &c. which had been strictly forbidden: He also orders, That from and after the date of this Proclamation, the trade and importation on this Island of Spices, Opium, wild Nutmegs and Mace, be a free, open, and lawful trade and importation to any private merchant or individual, to whom the trade in general within the limits of the privilege of the Honourable the East India Company may not be prohibited; provided however, and on condition, that such private trader, merchant, or other individual, shall prove by proper certificate or other documents, that they have purchased the aforesaid articles or obtained them in a lawful manner, either from the Honourable the East India Company, or from their authorized agents and servants, or that they have obtained them in other lawful manner, where the private trade and cultivation of those articles, is not prohibited. RUSSIAN COMMERCE. Recent advices from the Cape of Good Hope, mention a circumstance, which may be considered almost as an epoch in the history of Commerce, namely, the arrival at that station, of a Russian merchantman, with specie on board, bound on a trading voyage to the West Coast of Sumatra. A Hamburgh ship had also touched at the Cape, on her voyage to Java. This vessel, it seems, had sailed from the Elbe, during the occupation of Hamburgh by the Russians. She had been detained, and sent into an English port, by one of our cruizers; but had afterwards been liberated on certain conditions, and permitted to proceed to her destination. WHEN the American Government in support of the measures and pretensions of Buonaparte, thought proper to determine on war against Britain, it alledged several causes of complaint, and assignable motives for an appeal to arms. That they arose out of the circumstances of Europe, and would cease when those circumstances changed, was unquestionable. Unhappily for American argument they subsided even before peace was restored to the harrassed nations of this quarter of the globe; and thus the grounds of quarrel urged by the Americans sunk under them. There remained, however, one, in the difficulty, not to say the impossibility, of distinguishing natives of America, born of parents originally British, from British born subjects; and to this the American Executive has held, as to its sheet anchor, or rather its last allegation in the way of argument. After having perused the following document, the reader will judge whether this ground also aloes not sink under the pretensions of American eumity. Can war rage between two nations merely for a cause so slight! so in considerable! It is proper to recollect, that this is a solemn state paper, composed by a Committee of the House of Representatives, as a Public Body, intent on fulfilling the duties incumbent on their situation, and communicating such information to their constituents, as facts might warrant. Nothing can be imagined more sacred than the fidelity of a Report made on an occasion involving Peace or War, the happiness or the misery of the community. We are also to recollect, that it is not an Inland State to which this Report refers; that Massachusetts is a maritime country, has a great extent of coast, has a numerous mercantile navy, and many ships alway at sea;—that it was impossible to conceal | applications-and this to the number of these from the British; impossible that three, four, or five repetitions; 3. as includthey should not frequently, almost daily, ing many cases of voluntary entry into the come in contact with this supposedly fero- British service; 4. as comprising cases of cious and uncivilized aggressor. What is seamen in British merchant vessels; 5. as the result? describing ALL as being "held in bondage," in British vessels of war; and lastly as omitting all mention of French Impressments, &c. Observe, that GENUINE American Pro. tections intended for the service of real American subjects, were bought and sold, for no greater price than a couple of dollars, so that any body could obtain them; -and this was a constant and regular traffic. It is highly curious to see the absurd length to which this was carried: the foreigners who had bought these Protections, FORGOT THE NAME THEY WERE ΤΟ The Reader will make other observations for himself. The Committee introduce their Report by allusion to the Message of the President to Congress, announcing the supposed causes of war; and their concern at the resolution taken to incur the calamities attendant on warfare. They refer to various official reports made to Congress, by order of Mr. Madison, but chiefly to that understood to enumerate the cases of impressment of American Seamen, by ships belonging to His Britannic Majesty. On this they proceed to remark, that, But it appears also that FORGED Protections were common, quite common; and this discloses a fact well deserving attention. Hundreds of FORGED Protections had been destroyed by the Custom House Officers. Had these officers no emolument arising from a certain tenderness of feeling on beThis Report contains a list of 1557 applihalf of those manufactured and sold in the cations of men represented as impressed; which, with the applications before comright place?-We suspect they had. Howmunicated to Congress, amount to the now ever, this destruction on the part of the American Officers of the Customs, is a clear confession that—such things were ! Now these falsifications and forgeries could not possibly continue unknown to the British vessels employed on the American station, and on the High Seas, generally. That they should pay but little regard to such manufactured articles is extremely natural; and be led too by the frequency of meeting with them, to doubt the correctness of ALL they examined. This issued in the taking away as British Subjects, from American ships, a certain number of seamen, by mistake:--what that number was, it is of some importance to truth to ascertain. The Committee could not obtain information beyond the limits of their jurisdiction; but within those limits they find the Report made by the Executive Government to Congress, delusive, 1. as containing hundreds of non-existent persons; 2. as containing "many hundreds," of duplicate well-known number of 6057 (or, as it is sometimes called, 6257) cases of British impressments. The first general remark your Committee have to make on these extraordinary documents is this, that of the 6057 cases, many hundreds appear to be duplicate applications; and in many instances the same name is reckoned three or four times, and in some, five times. And these repetitions occur not only in the names of real persons, but also in the names of persons, who, by, the evidence of native inhabitants of towns to which they are alleged to belong, were never known or heard of. Of the 1557 cases contained in the Report last mentioned, about 1216 have no the seamen belonged, the time and place designation of the towns and states to which of impressment, &c. and only the $41 remaining cases are accompanied with these particulars. list is entitled by the Secretary of State, It should be observed, further, that this "A list of American seamen and citizens who have been impressed and held in bondage in his Britannic Majesty's ships of mislead; it purports to be a list of persons war," &c. This very title is calculated to impressed and held on board British ships; F yet in many of the cases it appears that the men voluntarily entered into the British service, and received bounty and pay. The list is also given as a list of Americans; yet in a vast number of cases the meu acknowledged themselves to be Englishmen, Irishmen, or other subjects of Great Britain. | Further, many of the men, it appears, had entered into French privateers, and were taken in the service of the enemies of Great Britain. Some, though taken from American merchant ships, were the subjects of Denmark, or other nations at war with Great Britain. Some acknowledged the names in their protections were not their true names; others had protections that did not correspond with their persons. Some had protections that were forged or altered. Many of the seamen were taken from English merchant ships, and no suggestion is made that they had not entered voluntarily. It appears from the depositions of the merchants who were examined, and who have been engaged in commerce and navigation for ten, fifteen, and twenty years past, that the whole number of seamen they have together employed upon an average for the last twelve or fifteen years (deducting the period of the embargo) amounts to about 1565 annually---which for fifteen years would make an aggregate of 23,754, and for twelve years would make an aggregate of 18,780 seamen constantly employed during these periods respectively; the average of these two aggregates will be 21,127. In this vast number of seamen thus constantly employed by these witnesses, your Committee have found the following cases of impressment by the British, viz. American seamen Foreign seamen 12 23 Total-35 Of which there has been discharged as fol- Foreigners discharged 6 9 1 Total-16 leaving, of the twelve Americans impressed as above, but one who has not returned. Such was the result of the evidence of the witnesses in respect to impressments from among the seamen in their employment. Your Committee will make one other remark on these documents: the Secretary of State, in his Report last mentioned, observes, that "there is no reason to believe that any precise or accurate view is now or ever can be exhibited of the names, or the number of our seamen, who are impressed into, and detained in the British service," and that "it is equally impossible, from the want of precise returns, to make an accurate Report of the names or number of citi- The whole number of impressments, (exzeus of the United States, who have been cepting the men hereafter mentioned, taken compelled to enter into the French service, in British ships of war) that were testified or are held in captivity under the authority to before your Committee, including not of that Government, whether taken from only cases within the personal knowledge vessels captured on the high seas, or seized of the witnesses; but also cases that they in rivers, ports, or harbours, the names of had heard of from the friends of the im a few only, greatly below the number be-pressed seamen, in such a manner as entilieved to be so detained, being within the tled them to credit, amounted, with the knowledge of this department. A detail foregoing, to is therefore not attempted with respect to this part of the call of the House of Repre sentatives." Why the Secretary of State thought it proper to give a "detail" of British impressments, and to withhold a "detail" of French impressments or detentions, under such circumstances, it is not the part of your Committee to determine. Your Committee accordingly, under the order of the House, authorising them to send for persons and papers, summoned a great number of merchants and ship-masters, without distinction of party, from Boston, Sable, Marblehead, Portland, and other sea-ports, which altogether owned a vast proportion of the whole shipping of this Commonwealth. They also examined some of the Custom-house officers; and also made enquiries of experienced officers of the Navy. 147 Add cases of supposed impressments 10 Total,- 157 145 By the British Total, 157 Of the whole number there were Total, 107 47 2 157 51 9 4 3 8 20 12 Of the Americans there were Supposed to be detained Total,-107 To the above add the cases of the men who were taken in the British frigate Guerriere, (in all 18), and who informed Captain Hull, that they had been impressed the sum total will then be 175. that a neutral power should prosecute a war against one of the belligerent nations, to compel the renunciation of a principle which it suffers the others to exercise." This Report concludes by referring to the prosperous days of Washington's Administration, who never thought of com It appeared further in evidence, that some of the masters of ships had been to sea for many years without having a sin-pelling Britain to renounce the claim, now gle man impressed; and in general the masters could recollect but two or three instances from their own vessels, in the course of their whole sea-faring life.. It appears that great frauds had been practised with regard to seamen's Protections, and which could not easily be guarded against by the Officers of the Government. Many of these Protections, it appears, have been forged; and hundreds of forged ones, it was testified, had been destroyed by the Custom-house Officers. Specimens of these forgeries were exhibited to your Committee, and are herewith submitted. It appeared also, that genuine American Protections were bought and sold, in many cases, for two dollars a piece: and that, by means of the keepers of boarding-houses in the sea-ports, who were in the practice of collecting them, these gemine Protections were put into the hands of foreigners, whose persons agreed with the description in the Protection, and the foreigner then assumed the name of the American who was named in the Paper; and it sometimes happened, that illiterate foreigners, who had procured such Protections, forgot the name they were to take. [The Committee, next proceed to examine the principle alledged in justification of impressment of natural born subjects, by the parent state. They admit that it has constantly been maintained by America, herself;—that France has, in particular, always patronized the principle, and in short, that all governments have adopted, and allowed it.] It being undeniable, then, that France | has long maintained the principle in question, the next inquiry of your Committee was, whether this claim of France had ever been considered by the Government of the United States as a necessary cause of war. They do not find that it has been so considered. They find that in the year 1800, the United States concluded a treaty with France on the various subjects in controversy; but they do not find in that negociation any demand that France should renounce the principle, nor does the treaty itself contain any such renunciation. This being the case, then, it is for the wisdom of the people of the United States to judge, how far it is just or necessary opposed by America, by means of warin whose treaties no provision on the subject can be traced; and they infer that had the American government placed that confidence in the declarations of the British government, which it demanded from the British, "With mutual explanations and mutual forbearance, our country might still have advanced in its prosperous career." It is singular that this important paper, dated Feb. 26, 1813, should have been scarcely known in England, nor have made any impression on the minds of our public men. WATER SPOUTS. The writer of the following letter, is certainly, not a correct philosopher, as philosophers are esteemed in Europe; but, he may be a correct observer of particulars which have passed before his eyes; and he seems to have noticed some which are entitled to consideration. Such are, the "broad and vivid flashes of lightning, with out thunder; and the hail-stones of enor mous size." His mode of accounting for these, we leave to those versed in electrical phenomena. We must further observe that by the term " Tornado," the writer clearly means what we call a "Water Spout." A Tor nado is properly a furious hurricane from all points of the compass, turning, as it were, (whence its name) all round the horizon. The formation, or origin, of a Water Spout on land, is rarely seen. At Sea, it is not uncommon to witness several in different states, at the same time. TORNADOES. [From the Western Spy, American Paper, of June 25.] I communicate the following, chiefly on account of one or two circumstances attending these phenomena of nature, which I do not recollect to have noticed, in any description I have seen. Two passed in this vicinity on Saturday last, attended with their usual destructive effects upon the timber; and razed the few buildings in their course, to the foundations, destroying fences, corn, &c. In crossing the Ohio river, the water was taken out, and fish of every description were thrown and left upon the land. The lower end of Wabash island is desolated. On passing, it threw the strong house of Captain Casey intirely down, and (sad to relate) it killed two men, also the wife of one of them, and wounded three other persons. What further damage was done we have not yet heard. The broken branches of trees continue to float by us on the river. whirl. They hear it continually-those out of it hear nothing, even from the fiercest flashes of lightning. I will mention but one other circumstance the bailstones which fell in these Tornadoes were as large as a man's two fists. They were tried to be put into a pint tin cup, and would not go in. Hail of these dimensions may be formed by being long borne up, and driven round through a moist medium, by the whirling wind, before being let down to the ground:whereas by descending in a direct line or nearly so, it can never become so large. S. GRISWOLD. Shawnoetown, Ill. Ter. June 9, 1814. ON THE FORMER INFLUENCE OF WOMEN In a Letter from M. Lacretelle to M. MY DEAR FRIEND. The course of the two were nearly parallel and simultaneous, about 15 or 20 miles apart, proceeding fron S. W, to N. E. One passed through the prairies on Little Wabash, and was beyond our sight. The other passed in plain view, distant, on the first appearance, about three or four miles, You once remarked with much feeling and from the levelness of the country was and sentiment, the influence women had visible for many leagues, in its progress. formerly, and still may be said to have, in Its shape was much like that of a cone, or the happy dénouement of one of the longest a sugar loaf, with the small end down- and most sanguinary tragedies in all hiswards, or rather like a speaking trumpet, tory. An event which puts an end to conits upper part flaring considerably as it scription and war, has placed us under the joined the cloud above. It was as black care of maternal tenderness. During the as pitch, and appeared to boil like that Revolutionary Government, women, in savsubstance over a furnace. The cloud above ing the proscribed, obtained for themselves was also very black. The extent at bottom often the first place on the list of proscripof the Tornadoes has been ascertained to tion. Under the government of Buonaparte have been between half a mile and a mile. women were forgotten, or only rememA singular circumstance, observed by bered to be placed on a system of degradamyself, aud by others who were within tion. The first epocha was the reign of fehalf a mile, was-that the most vivid rocity; the second of unfeeling minds: flashes of lightning were seen to pass be-neither of these denominations could long tween the heavens and earth in quick succession, just in front and rear, and sometimes through the body of the Tornado, (or perhaps around it in a line from it to our eyes) and still no peals of thunder were heard from them. I do not think I ever saw so broad and vivid flashes before, in my life. Indeed I never before had so deliberate and fair a view of a phenomenon of this nature. It has occurred to me, and I submit it to philosophers to decide, whether the extreme velocity of the air within the whirl, did not prevent the vibratious (or undula- | tions) by which sound is conveyed, from being communicated to the tranquil air without? Were not the vibrations carried round and round within the Tornado, and there expanded? This opinion is confirmed to me by the recollection of what I have heard persons say, who have been in Tor nadoes, that there is a continual loud, thundering sound-which I think is produced by the electrical concussions within the subsist in France-Pity and love could not be banished from their native soil. In times of rudeness and uncivilization, our women had obtained a blind kind of worship from ancient nations; the progres of politeness has embellished ours, and that of corruption could not overthrow it. Women established their empire when they defended the monarchy of Francis I. of Henry IV. and of Louis XIV. The laws they exercised among us, over our manners, our customs, and even on public opinion, were as secret, as judicious, and as determined, as those they observed in their own families. As we are a more lively and energetic people than any other, so we feel. more the influence of women.-While we meditate for a moment, with an affectation of profundity, it is then that women shew their power over us. But in these few last years their empire seemed at an end. Statesmen began to calculate; and what an appearance sat on the countenance of our females, in those magnificent and gloomy |