weeks fourteen hundred slaves from the coast of Africa, and this is done with the knowledge and connivance of the Captain General. Torn from their homes, their families, the scenes endeared to them from early childhood, from all that makes life sweet-for the black skin covers a heart that has its loves, and its sympathies, as well as a white one-carried to a strange land, and nearly naked, kept at work in the broiling sun from early morn until late at night; paying, with the lash of the task master, most dearly for any symptom of fatigue, and for the least apparent obstinacy, thrown into chains and compelled to work chained together in couples, or dragging a heavy ball to their legs. I have read of such things before, and supposed that much was said for effect, but now I am satisfied that the reality far exceeds what I before looked upon as an overdrawn picture. dred and fifty slaves was transferred from the twenty boats which brought them off to the brig. The vessel was immediately got under way and left the harbor with the six hundred and fifty slaves, and a crew of thirty-three or thirty four, including Capt. Carlo (a Portuguese,) and Mello and Carvillo, first and second mates. The cargo of slaves was conveyed to, and landed at Havana. It was I think, on the 5th of August, 1849, the brig left Rio for Paranagua, and she arrived at Cabenda on the 14th of October. I and two other persons were sent ashore at Cabenda where we remained nineteen days, and then departed for Brazil in a vessel belonging to the establishment from which the slaves were shipped on board the Ramon de Zaldo. The brig was afterwards sold at Rio. William F. Price deposed that the Ramon de Zaldo left New York in ballast; she took a car. Very few are aware of the modus operandi of go of flour from Virginia to Bahia; she continthe slave trade as it is at present conducted. I ued on to Rio in ballast; where she discharged think, therefore, that the testimony of the wit-it,took in a fresh cargo, and proceeded on to Paranesses in this case, will be read with interest, as nagua.-Inquirer. it shows the mode of proceeding: John Gilbert, representing himself as a native of Calcutta, swore this forenoon that he shipped as a seaman, on board the Ramon de Zaldo, at Rio, from whence the vessel proceeded to Paranagua, and he then became cook and steward, in which capacity he remained on board until they arrived at Cabenda, in Africa. On their way to Cabenda, they stopped at Ambriz and the river Congo. There were on board the brig a Portuguese crew of twenty-eight men, including Captain and mate. The vessel lay at Ambriz twenty-four hours. The cargo consisted of farina, beans, jerked beef, water and rice, and would subsist seven hundred persons for five months. The captain and some of the American seamen left at Cabenda, but the mate, who is since dead, remained on board. About one third of the -provisions was put ashore at the River Congo, and also several crates of crockery ware, There still, however, remained on board about twice as much farina, &c., as would supply a full cargo of slaves during an ordinary voyage. We remained, said Gilbert, at the River Congo one week; it was expected that a cargo of slaves would have been shipped there, but their plans were frustrated by finding in the harbour two French war steamers and an English brig of war. They could find no slaves at Ambriz, or they would have shipped them there. On arriving at Cabenda, not a vessel lay there and a signal I was hoisted from our mast head, as we were sailing in, which was instantly replied to by an answering signal from a flag staff on shore. THE DEAD LETTER OFFICE. The Washington Republic, in the course of an interesting article upon this subject, says: "The whole number of dead letters returned to the Department we can only vaguely estimate. Thus, in one quarter, the bulk of opened letters equalled about 6000 bushels, crammed; each bushel is supposed to contain 1000 letters. The number returned in a quarter is therefore about six millions, or twenty-four millions a year! Unclaimed moneys, less the discount, are handed over to the general treasury, subject to the demands of the rightful owners; but we believe for the half-year ending June 30th, 1850, the amount of these was not more than about $1,700. Drafts, deeds, and other papers of value, and also jewelry, mementoes, &c., are preserved in the dead letter office. These are often recovered by their owners with much delight. In one instance, not a great while since, a gentleman, for want of certain documents, believed to have been lost from the mail, found himself in the power of an unscrupulous person, in a matter in which property to the amount of ten thousand dollars (all the gentleman was worth) was involved. As a possible means of obtaining the papers he applied to the dead-letter office, and in about three minutes they were produced! The package had been improperly addressed. Dead letters are usually unpaid letters. The custom of prepayment has become vastly more general since the reduction of postage to five and In a few moments a number of boats, filled ten cents. In the fourth quarter of 1850 the with slaves, were seen coming from the shore to- number of dead letters received from Cincinnati, wards us, and just before they reached our gang- not prepaid, was 8,700; the number prepaid, way the anchor was dropped, and within twenty- 1,300. In the third quarter of 1850 the prethree minutes from that time a cargo of six hun-paid letters from the Boston post office number REVIEW OF THE WEATHER. For First Month, (January,) 1851. The new year found the earth covered in this vicinity with about two inches of snow, which had nearly disappeared from the streets before the evening of the first day; but roofs having a northern aspect continued white for more than a week: since that time scarcely enough has fallen to render the earth gray. The temperature has been exceedingly mild, the mercury but once, between the 1st and 29th, falling so low as 19 degrees, and the wind pre COTTON CULTIVATION ON THE WESTERN COAST vailing from the south and west, 18 out of the OF AFRICA. of an inch of rain only having fallen during this period. The mild weather prevailed to a great extent to the north, north-east, and north-west of us; the snow had nearly disappeared, Lake Erie was navigable, and on the 22d, vessels cleared from the usually ice-bound harbour of Buffalo for the upper ports of the Lake. Our hardy and early vegetables did not fail to waken from their wintry sleep, and respond to these genial airs: the buds of the willow and the buck-eye, the lilac and the linden were much swelled; the topmost branches of the maple, (acer dasycarpum,) the little chickweed, (stellaria media,) and the humble groundsel, (senecio vulgaris,) were in full blossom-the two latter changing their northern habits of annual to perennial plants. In the open ground, too, and quite unprotected, it was interesting to find that the crocus and the hyacinth, warmed into life, had burst their envelopes, risen to the surface of the earth, and were putting forth their slender scapes. first 26 days. This continued mild weather was remarkable also for the absence of gales, and The soil itself is admirably adapted to the fruc- even high winds: the nights were nearly calm, tification of the plant, and this is proved by the and a gentle, or very gentle breeze, prevailed for numerous specimens which are to be seen in al- 24, out of the first 28 days of the month. The most every piece of ground, spontaneously grow-weather was also almost uniformly fair, 6-10ths ing amongst the other shrubs and trees, and supplying large and well filled pods of the soft downy substance. The rearing and cultivation of the cotton plant would, in my opinion, be an acceptable kind of employment to the African laborer: and, as the price of wages is not high, and the time occupied in bringing it to perfection by no means slow, the return would plentifully reward the planter as well as the purchaser. The quality of the article produced from the cotton plant of Sierra Leone has already been pronounced to be very good, and capable of a durable and yet fine texture. The extensive portions of land in the neighborhood of Freetown, and indeed throughout the colony, which lie uncultivated, might be employed with advantage in the growth of this article, for which they are in every respect fitted. The continent of Africa, in fact, throughout, is for the reasons already offered, well suited to the cultivation of the cotton plant. Some years ago, considerable attention was paid to it, and the undertaking promised every succe 38. A large quantity of it was produced of a superior quality, and the attempt only failed through want of perseverance, good seed and a thorough understanding of the proper manner of conducting and carrying it out into practice. The seed of the native was not supposed to be so good as that which was imported, and for this reason the undertaking was prematurely, but foolishly relinquished. The natives themselves particularly as you advance more into the interior and up the Gambia, grow a good deal of it, and make very capital cloths for their own use from the material, which they work after their own fashion. The opportunities afforded for the cultivation of cotton in the vast tracts of land bounding that river, and the readiness, I imagine, with which it would be undertaken and carried on by their possessors, if a fair inducement was held out to them, ought not to be passed over by our manufacturers at the present crisis.-Poole's Sierra Leone and the Gambia. The mean temperature of the 29th-according to our usual observations, sunrise and 2, P. M.-was 41; and had the month so ended, the mean would have been nearly 39 degrees; or the warmest 1st month, save two, in 60 years; but on the 28th and the ensuing night a considerable rain fell, with an E. wind, which veered to the W. N. W. at 4 o'clock, A. M. of the 29th, blew strong, attended with frequent showers, till sunrise, when the mercury stood at 44. The wind continued high from the same quarter, during the day, and the morning was cloudy, but the weather was warm till after 10, A. M., when it gradually changed, and the mer cury fell to 38, at 2, P. M., with a fair prospect of a frosty night. But all speculation on the coming weather was just here superseded by a token on O'Reilly's wires from the far west, indicating that at St. Louis, 12, M., the wind was N. W., thermometer 10 degrees above zero -at Louisville, 12, M., thermometer 21, with "heavy N. W. winds." At Cincinnati, (the same hour,) weather cold, snowing all the forenoon, high N.W. winds. At Pittsburg, 12, M., "wind N. N. W. Freezing up fast." Here, then, we had positive intelligence (through an agent, compared with the speed of which the "high wind" and the "heavy wind" is but a lagger,) that a chilling blast, a killing frost, had already left its winter quarters in the dominions of Victoria, or the Czar, in the distant N. W., and that it must soon be upon us, leaving doubtful the precise time only, and the degree its edge might be tempered and blunted by contact with more genial elements on its journey. The premonition thus given is ample for preparation; for guarding the hydrant pipes, stopping the crannies, and brightening the fires; with a few minutes, it may be, to spare, which I am sure cannot be better used than by looking in upon that aged couple, infirm and poor, in the neighbouring alley. Look to the coal bin; see that it is not reduced to the last bucket, and that so mingled with dust as to be nearly incombustible; that stove-pipe, too, eaten through with rust, and wrapped with paper;-supply a new joint. There, now, all parties feel better, and are better prepared for what may come after. degrees, which is 6 degrees above the com mon mean of many years. The range of the thermometer for the month was between 11 on the morning of the 31st, and 59 on the afternoon of the 26th, or 48 degrees. Rain fell on a part of three days, and the whole quantity for the month was, as recorded at the Pennsylvania Hospital, 14 inches. P. S. N. Am. and U. S. Gaz. A REASONABLE CONVICT. A notorious burglar was lately sentenced at Toronto (Canada) to twenty years' hard labor in the Provincial Penitentiary. He was found guilty on two indictments, and condemned to ten years' imprisonment on each. When brought up to hear the judgment of the court, he was asked if he had anything to say why the penalty of the law should not be pronounced against him. He replied as follows: "No, my lord-I have violated the laws of my country. I have been tried by an impartial jury and convicted, and I humbly bow to their decision throwing myself entirely upon the leniency and mercy of the court. There are, however, two faWell, on the afternoon of the 29th, the mer- vors which I would ask, if a felon in the dock cury continued to fall from 38 at 2, P. M., to 24, dare ask a favor; first, that as I have no means at 10, P. M.; and, after a windy night, stood at of my own, though a portion of the money taken 14 on the morning of the 30th, being a fall of from me belonged to myself, the court would see 30 degrees in 24 hours. The 30th continued my counsel properly feed, as he has ably, though cold, the thermometer rising to 18 only, at mid- unsuccessfully, defended me. The second is, that day, with high wind and murky, wild looking when I am sent to the penitentiary, they would clouds, some of the contents of which would find intercede and have me taught some trade or protheir way to the earth, in the form of light, fession, in order that, should I ever be released husky snow flakes, which, mingling with the from it, I may be able to earn an honest liveliclouds of dust, rendered out-door exercise disa-hood. I attribute my present course of life solely greeable. The wind somewhat abated in the to the circumstance that I was never brought up evening, but the cold increased, the mercury to any trade. Should I not be taught any occu standing at 12 degrees only, above zero, at 10,pation while in the penitentiary, when I come out P. M. On the morning of the 31st, the mercury stood at 11 degrees above zero, which is 1 degree colder than any morning of last winter; the wind had somewhat abated, and the sky was without a cloud. Thermometer had risen to 23, at 2, P. M., and a fine clear day. I shall be friendless, homeless, penniless, and ragged; and I must necessarily resume my old habits, and become what I was before-a robber.”— Penn. Jour. of Prison Discipline. A HAPPY REFORMATION. By the telegraph, we learn that the cold blast A convict who was discharged from the Easthas pervaded the whole northern and middle, astern State Penitentiary about three years since, well as the western States; that the mercury recently called on a member of our Acting Comwas, on the evening of the 30th, at zero in Bos-mittee, from whom he had been accustomed to ton; 10 at Baltimore and Washington, and 7 receive friendly visits while in confinement. at St. Louis; that the wind was everywhere He was well dressed, and evidently a thriv strong, and from the N.W. With such rapidity has the gale passed over the comparatively warm earth, that it has hardly been tempered in its course, and is now penetrating the South with its icy arrows scarcely blunted. The mean morning temperature of the month was 32.77 degrees; 2 o'clock mean, 41.22; and the mean average for the month was about 37 ing man. He stated that he had derived much benefit from a treatise on book-keeping, which he had used in his cell-that it had been the means of his introduction to commercial business, which he was now prosecuting in a neighboring city, with good success-that he had married eligibly-that he had never been recognised as a convict, and felt confident he should not be. He observed to his friend, that the term he spent in prison was "the making of him.". Penn. Journ. Prison Discipline. FLOWERS. I deem it not an idle task, These lovely things to rear, That spread their arms, as they would ask For simple wants alone are theirs, The pure and common too The beauty of refreshing airs, And they return for every ray, Frail, grateful things! how fondly they To fill my very eyes with tears- Nay 'tis no idle thing, I trust, And make the desert rich in sheen, SUMMARY OF NEWS. CONGRESS. SENATE.-The bill to ascertain and settle the private land claims in the State of California, has been the principal subject before the Senate during the past week. The question yet remains unsettled. op On the 29th ult. the bill from the House, to reduce and modify the rates of postage, was reported to the Senate by the Post Office Committee, with amendments. On the 31st, Senator Mason called up his resolution of inquiry relative to allowing Spanish claims arising out of the Amistad case. After some discussion, in which Senator Hale posed the resolution, and Clay, Winthrop and Mason advocated it, on the ground that it was merely an inquiry; the resolution was adopted. A petition, asking for the admission of New Mexico into the Union on certain conditions, was referred. A resolution calling on the Secretary of State for a graduated scale of diplomatic salaries was adopted. A joint resolution, providing that the dead letters remaining in post-offices in California and Oregon shall be opened in California, by the Postmaster of San Francisco, and a special agent, to be appointed, was taken up and passed. On the 1st inst. Senator Hale's resolution, calling for the correspondence between the United States Government and that of Spain, in relation to the Amistad negroes, was taken up and adopted. The death of David S. Kaufman, Representative from Texas, was announced, and the usual resolutions were passed. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.-On the 29th ult. the bill to supply deficiencies in the appropriations for the service of the fiscal year, ending 6th month 30th, 1851, was taken up and passed. On the 30th J. R. Giddings made an ineffectual effort to introduce a resolution calling on the President for copies of any correspondence which may have taken place between England and this Government, respecting the imprisonment of British seamen in any American port. On the 31st, the proposition to establish branch mints in San Francisco and New York, was discussed during most of the session. Without disposing of the question, the House adjourned. On the 1st instant the death of D. S. Kaufman, of Texas, was announced. The usual resolutions were passed, and the House adjourned without transacting any business. The funeral of D. S. Kaufman took place on the 3d inst., and no business was transacted by either House. PENNSYLVANIA LEGISLATURE.-A number of petitions and memorials have been presented during the past week, but little business of general interest has been transacted. Ou the 27th ult a bill to incorporate the Pennsylvania Steam-ship Company, was passed by the Senate. In the House, the bill repealing certain sections of the law relating to the recovery of fugitive slaves passed a second reading on the 31st ult. The New Orleans "True Delta" states that Gov. Quitman has resigned his office. Up to the time of our paper going to press, no tidings of the Atlantic have been received and the most serious apprehensions are entertained respecting her. THE SENATE OF ILLINOIS, on the 14th instant passed a homestead exemption bill, exempting $1,000 worth of real estate from seizure and sale under execution. The latest advices from Honolulu, state that considerable excitement existed there in cousequence of information having come to hand, from sources of undoubted credit, to 'the effect that the Sandwich Islands were about to be threatened with the invasion of "an armed force of ruffians from the shores of California." Meetings had been held at Honolulu to adopt measures for defence, and a committee of safety was appointed to take such measures as the exigency might demand. By accounts from Nicaragua we learn that the independence of that State has been recognized by the Spanish government. The steamship Canada from Liverpool, arrived at Halifax on the 3d inst., but her mails had not been received when our paper was put to press. Situations are wanted with Friends in the Country for two colored lads, well recommended, the sons of a respectable man in this city, 15 years of age. Would be bound out if desired. Apply at this office. 1st mo. 25. Jall bountiful Giver of every good and perfect gift. After a journey of something less than three hundred miles, he was favored to reach his own habitation, in the enjoyment of pure and solid satisfaction. An interval of a little more than six years oc Price two dollars per annum, payable in advance, or curs between the journey last mentioned, and six copies for ten dollars. This paper is subject to newspaper postage only. For Friends' Review. WILLIAM HUNT. Continued from page 291 the next which appears on the record. In the early part of the Fifth month, 1761, being then about his twenty-eighth year, he left home with a prospect of paying a religious visit to Friends in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania,and New Jersey. His companion was Bowater Beales. After attending their own Quarterly Meeting at Cane Ceek, which lasted three days, they took a solemn leave of their wives, who had accompanied them to that meeting, and proceeded on their journey. Some portions of the country through which they passed, were then Only about seven months were alloted to the cares and enjoyments of domestic life, after his return from his former journey, before this devoted servant of the Most High, again set out on a gospel mission. His dedication and religious engagements must appear quite remarkable, when we recollect that he was then only in his twenty-so thinly settled, that more nights than one, second year. The prospect was a visit to Friends on the Pee Dee river. This journey, like the previous one, was in considerable part through a wilderness; for on the second and third nights, he and his companions, being four in all, took up their lodging in the woods, having in each case ridden about forty miles the preceding day. Of this journey, but few incidents are related. The small number of Friends who were visited, appear to have been thinly scattered over the country, holding their meetings in private houses; and so located that in passing from one settlement to another, a night was occasionally spent in the woods. In one place he mentions having a meeting among the Baptists, "wherein Truth was exalted, and the name of our great Lord and Master glorified. We taught them," he says, "by example, more than precept, showing them the true worship which stands in spirit and in truth." In these brief memoirs, we have evidence that he was careful to regard the shutting, as well as the opening of the gospel spring; for of one meeting, which seems to have been among Friends, he remarks, "This was the third time at this place, wherein my Master made me an example of silence; thereby directing the people to the great Searcher in themselves." But at others he was enabled to preach the gospel in the demonstration of the spirit; still humbly ascribing the honour and praise altogether to the were passed in the woods. In the narrative which is preserved respecting the journey, we find these gospel messengers visiting the meetings of Friends in Virginia and Maryland, in situations where, at this day, very few if any of the Society remain. Among these William Hunt evidently appears to have laboured diligently and faithfully, frequently having religious opportunities with the families where they lodged. In these engagements, as well as the more public assemblies, they were favoured with many refreshing and strengthening seasons. The frequent acknowledgement of Divine support, and the general evidence running through the narrative, that love to the brethren was the clothing of his spirit, serve to impress a conviction on the minds of his readers, that the eminent gifts with which he was endowed, were received and exercised with a single eye to the glory of the Giver, and to the promotion of the cause of truth and righteousness in the earth. He was particularly careful not to deck himself with his Lord's jewels; or to assume as his own, what he knew belonged to the Dispenser of every gift. This visit appears to have extended to nearly if not quite all those parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, where any settlements of Friends had then been formed. While passing through the interior of Pennsylvania, he attended a meeting which provop an exercising one; and though he found his way |