highest part of the mountain you ascend, on the way to Carracas, may be computed at about 5000 feet above the level of the ocean, at which particular spot is a venta, where refreshments are furnished, and where there is a very, romantic drawbridge; the remainder of the road, from thence to Carracas, is in pretty good repair, and very pleasant. In a very short time after quitting this place, you behold Carracas, which is 3,490 feet above the level of the sea, almost immediately below you; the prospect is really grand in the extreme, and presents some of the most sublime and picturesque scenes I ever witnessed. It was now growing dark, and we humoured our mules into an amble, which soon brought us to a guard-house, where a trifling toll is exacted, which having satisfied, we proceeded to the city. At every step in your approach towards the populated part of the city, you see signs of the lamentable devastation occasioned by the earthquake in 1812. We were conducted to a very comfortable hotel, with a large court-yard, good stabling, and a couple of handsome billiard-tables; but what we stood most in need of was a good bed, and in this particular we were certainly accommodated as well as we had any right to expect. Early the next morning, we walked to the Plaza Mayor, which is the largest of several squares in Carracas, and where the market is kept. There was a good supply of poultry, fruit, and vegetables, and a small quantity of butchers' meat, as also some apples and peaches, (about the size of our largest apricots,) but neither of these possessed the European flavour; nevertheless they were very acceptable to us. The temperature of Carracas is delightful, though it is rather hot during the middle of the day; but the morning and evening are extremely pleasant and inviting. The fertility of the soil is remarkable, and with proper management the European fruits and esculents may be brought to great perfection; the cocoa is the finest in the world, and the neighbourhood of Carracas is famed for its indigoes, We were much pleased with the appearance of the city, and we fancied that it bore a strong resemblance to Cadiz in many respects. The houses are substantially built, commodious, and comfortable, and the streets are well paved, and exceedingly clean. There are between 20,000 and 25,000 inhabi.ants of all colours, and numerous stores, and shops well stocked with every description of merchandize. The cathedral of Carracas is a noble edifice, but there is nothing remarkable in its interior construction. There are several churches, but the most admired is that of Alta Maria, which is certainly a very handsome building; there are two nunneries, and three monasteries, as well as either three or four hospitals. We saw several ladies in the Cadiz costume, and they used their fans and feet with as much adroitness as the belles of that famous city; but with, all due deference, I must confess, that I thought them much less engaging than the Gaditanas. The fair sex of Carracas inva 1965 BI, 521 too riably make their purchases at night, assigning as a reason (which is plausible enough) that the heat of the day is too oppressive for them to venture out; but I suppose they often discover that some articles appear to more advantage in the shop than at the breakfasttable.bnb 9% *! We attended two or three tertulias, where our eyes were blessed with a sight of some of the extraordinary characters whose names have so often figured in our public prints; but we were so uncharitable as to consider them rather ordinary men, though they may be most excellent soldiers. We were a little surprised to find the officers of a republic decorated with an Order,' which they highly venerated indeed, we could plainly perceive that they were extremely proud of it, notwithstanding the Liberator has been so profuse in the distribution of his green ribbons. There is a newspaper published here in English and Spanish, and very ably conducted by an English gentlemen. The theatre, which is small, was closed for the want of performers. There are several Americans established in Carracas, who introduce from the States a 'pretty considerable' quantity of 'notions ;'* and there are English, French, and others, who have their notions too. Most of them are deeply interested in the fate of Colombia; and it is not surprising to see agents anxious to sell their merchandize, even at ruinous prices, where so much competition exists, which is occasioned by the immoderate quantities of goods poured into that market from all quarters. Very many, I am convinced, heartily wish that they had never known more about Colombia than a London lawyer's clerk !! The Colombians have acquired all the vices of their predecessors, without gaining a solitary virtue,-let the interested advocates of Colombia say what they may to the contrary! Ask whether the men 'in office' are not as passionately fond of gold as any follower of Columbus was known to be; and the reply will be, that the modern has discovered a more reputable manner of procuring it. There is no spirit of industry in the country, and a degree of ignorance prevails, even in the higher classes, which must strike every stranger with astonishment. The children are taught to sip, aguardiente, under the erroneous idea that it will strengthen them but this early use of brandy becomes habitual, and it is the common practice of the ladies to take it before breakfast. To illustrate this observation, I will mention an anecdote which amused me much at the time. I was in company with several Englishmen at a small inn in the neighbourhood of Puerto Cabello, when an Englishman, whom we afterwards learnt was a colonel in the Colombian service, alighted with his wife, a very pretty young damsel, about the age of 18. The landlord, a Frenchman, told us at breakfast, that he observed the Colonel, early in the morning, fidgetting about the chamber-door; and his curiosity was in consequence excited. A servant appeared in a minute afterwards, with a copita of this exhilarating beverage, which the gallant soldier conveyed to his mistress. Our Colonel subsequently declared to the landlord that he was ashamed of his office, and that he was apprehensive that some of our party might have detected him in the fact, which would have conveyed no very favourable opinion of the delicacy of the Colombian ladies, We had not time to visit the Silla de Carracas, which is →→→→→ feet above the level of the ocean. Having taken a formal leave of all our acquaintances, we mounted our mules, much pleased with our visit, and returned to La Guayra. Our expenses here, independent of mule-hire, we reckoned at about three dollars per day, which we thought reasonable enough, considering the clean streets and invigorating climate. A STANZAS. LIVE and be happy,' did I hear thee say, Well mayest thou fancy happiness so light, Yestere'en I marked the moon, as through the clouds' I viewed the fleecy vapours, as the shrouds She laid her woes in,-grief sees all things sad; They passed-she shone in spotless fields of ether, Bright as when 'neath her beams we 've strayed together. Methought she augured thy quick return, And with the thought a heart-relieving sigh Arose; G. W. 126 FREE TRADE TO THE EAST. To the Editors. GENTLEMEN, The liberal manner in which you have laid open your columns for the diffusion of every information relative to the present state of the trade with India and China, induces me to offer a few observations upon it whilst the pens of your more able correspondents are unemployed. The rise and progress of that body of men to whom we gratuitously give the title of Honourable Company of Merchants trading to the East Indies,' is a very peculiar feature in the history of modern times. There is no great cause of wonder in the circumstance that necessitous governments, like necessitous men, will subject themselves to usury and extortion to obtain a temporary relief from their difficulties; that, for a loan of two millions of money, the Government of that day should legalize this monopoly by way of remuneration to the lenders; or that it made this Company, like an adopted child, an object of especial favour. But it may, and will, excite the astonishment of a future, if it do not of the present generation, that it should have had the address to obtain from all the descendants of its foster-parent, from all the different governments under which it has existed, an increasing share of tenderness and indulgence. The constituted authorities have lately, it is well known, made some sweeping changes in our system of commerce; have set about their work with a vigour which made some of the old school shake their heads in fear that it would be overdone. The local and temporary interests of the few, have been sacrificed to the general and permanent welfare of the many, and the historian will dwell upon this period, and mark it as the commencement of a new era,—as a picture of Genius rising from its slumber, and dispersing, with its bright and beautiful rays, the mists of prejudice, and the darkness of ignorance. And, at the time that he acknowledges the existence of this Company, he must say to posterity, that whilst the Legislature were professing to act in every other branch of our commerce upon new and more enlightened principles, they permitted this to remain fettered with a monopoly more injurious than any which they had succeeded in destroying,-an inconsistency in these times, no less glaring than it would have been for Henry VIII. to have asked his Parliament for a grant of money to maintain the clergy, or for Oliver Cromwell to have granted a special license for the raising of a baronial castle, at the time he was seeking their general destruction. The Company of which I speak has, it must be admitted, felt something of the influence of the new system; it has been compelled to answer questions which were never put to it before, and some few of its superfluous privileges have been wisely given up, in accordance with the changing spirit of the times. It is in the recollection of every one at all interested in this trade, that, of the privileges to which I allude, the first was the permission, by the 53 Geo. III., for British vessels of more than 350 tons burthen to trade to the East Indies, by special license, and within certain limits, all ingress to China direct from England being denied as heretofore. The reasons of the Company for not having granted this permission to vessels of less than 350 tons burthen, were explained before a Committee of the House of Commons, and, with reference to them, the report of that Committee states The first proposition, for imposing a limitation as to tonnage, appears to have proceeded from the East India Company, and was understood to be founded upon a principle of guarding against the dangers to which vessels of less burthen than 400 tons would be exposed in a voyage to the East Indies, and also of providing for the security of the revenue, which might by affected by permitting importations in smaller vessels.' The report goes on to state, that, on a previous inquiry into the state of this trade, Lord Melville had expressed himself not satisfied of the necessity of the restriction, and that the following additional reasons had been assigned : That, by allowing ships of 400 tons to engage in the trade, sufficient facility would be afforded to the more respectable houses of business desirous of entering into an honourable commercial intercourse with India, to the exclusion of characters, not sufficiently · responsible, disposed to engage in speculations of mere chance outward, and smuggling homewards. That the larger vessels would keep alive the impression amongst the Natives of the East, of our maritime strength, as superior to that of the Americans, who navigate very small vessels to and from the ports of the East. That the Company's tea trade would be injured by the illicit importation of tea, which might be expected to occur, if vessels unlimited in number and size, were permitted to come to the outports, and to resort to the numerous Eastern Islands, where tea from China might easily be procured.' These arguments were specious enough to impose upon the Government of that day, (for I will not suppose it guilty of connivance with the Company,) and men silently allowed its simplicity to be duped by them. A space of nearly eight years elapsed before the Company were again questioned on the subject, and then, the affair having fallen into very different hands, this, the second of the privileges I have adverted to, being no longer tenable, was abandoned. It was not given up, however, without some little further display on the part of the Company of their fertility in reasons. When they were examined through one of their own Directors, (Mr. Charles Grant,) by the Committee whose report I have referred to, they appear to have lost sight entirely of the apprehension of smuggling, |