Virginia statesman. [volume], December 10, 1828, Image 2

About Virginia statesman. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1828-1829

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:urc* aud combined with ccrrespani ing exer
tions for the gradual increase and improvement
of the Navy, prepares for our extensive country
a condiUoa of defence adapted to any critical
emergency which the varying course ot events
may bring forth. Our advances in these con
certed systems have for tbo lust :en >ca'" Kta
steady and progressive, and in a tew ycar> mort
will be so completed as to leave no cans- . <V
prehension that our sea-coast will ev > i ab,u11
ter a theatre of hostile invasion.
The next of these cardinal nica^u < 1 • '
is the preliminary to great anil 'astui^ u ' 1
public improvement, in the surveys ot roads e ’
aimnaticu for the course c> * i . 1
for the removal of tbo obstructions ot rivers and
harbors, first commenced by the Act1' ( ollsn s>
ef 30th April, 1S2I. , , r ,
The report exhibits in one table the tunds ap
propriated at the last and preceding Sessions
of Congress, for all these fortifications, sur
veys, and works of public improvement; the
funds have becu applied, the amount expend* (
upon the several works under construction, and
tho further sums which may he necessary to
complete them. In a second, the works pro
jected by the Board of Engineers, w-hich have
not been commenced, and the estimate ot the
io a third, ftie report of the annual B»ard of
Vniters at the Military Academy at West Point
Vot thirteen tortiti-alien* t*re< ling oo various
points of our Atlantic coast, from Khode Island to
Louisiana, the aggregate expenditure of the year
ha* (alien a little *hoit of one million ot dollars.
For the preparation of five additional report*
of reronnoitsaoces and surveys since the lust ses
non of Congress, tor th* civil interactions upon
thirty-seven different public works cnmtneocerl,
liight others tor which specific appropriations
bHie been made by Acts ot Congress, and twenty
other incipient snrseya no ter the authority giv
en by the Act of 30th April, 1021. about one
million moreot dollars have been drawn hem the
Treasurv
• .. « i n _I. _ -.1
In tneje two minoo? or ugmn *** ^
ded the appropriation cf 250 U00 dollar?, to com
in nice the erection ot a Breakwater near the
mouth of the Delaware liter; the subscriptions
to the Delaware un<* Chesapeake, the L 'Uisvilb
and Portland, the Di«mal Swamp, and the (. hes
apeake and Ohto C»oal; the large iionations oi
funds to the State-! of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and
Alabama, lor objects of improvements '’"bin
tbo-e Slates, aou ih* sum- appropriated tor Light
ileuses, Bocys, aad Piers, on the const, and a lull
vitw *%ill br taken ot the tnuoilireiice ot the
Kuti o iu the application •>! ns resources to the
improvement ot its own condition.
Of these gre.it national undert* kings the A
ca«>etny at Writ Point is among tti*- most impor
tant i»* itself, and the most cornpreheneve in its
consequences In that Institution, a part ot the
Ktveuue ot the Nation is applied to defray the
expense ot educating a competent portion cl bpr
youth, chictlv to the knowledge and the duties ot
militury life. It is the living armory ot the Na
tion. While the other woiks of improvement
enumerated in the reports now presented to the
attention of Congress, are destined to ameliorate
the face of nature; to multiply the facilities ol
communication between the diflereut parts ol the
Cmooj to assist the labors, iociease the comforts,
instfUitioo acquired at West Point enlarges the
dominion and expands the capacities ol the mind.
Its beneficial result* are already experienced in
the composition ol the army, and «heir influence
is felt in the intellectual progress of societey
The institution is susceptible st:ll of great im
provement Irorn benefw lions proposed by seve
ral-successive Boards of \ isiters, to whose earn
est aud repealed recommendations I cheerfully
add my own.
With the usual aonuil reports trom the oerre
tary of the Navy and the Hoard of Commission
era, will be exhibited to the view ot Congress
the exei utioo of* the law* relating to that De
partment of the public service. The repression
ot piracy m the West Indian and in the Grecian
seas has been effectually maintained with scarce
ly any ex eption During the war netvveen the
Governments of Bueuo* A) res and ot Brazil, fre
quent collision* between belligerent acts ofpnw
er and the rights of neutral commerce occuned
Liceniious blockades, irregularly enlisted, or im
pressed seamen, and the property ot honest com
merce seized with violence, and even plundered
under legal pretences a e disorders never sep
arable trom 'be conflicts of war upon the ocean
With a potion of then, the correspondence oi
eur comm iDdera on the Eastern aspect of the
South American coast, and among the. Islands of
Greece, discover how far we have been mvolved
l.i ibese, the honour of our country and the right*
ot our citizeos have been averted and vindica
ted. The appearance of new squadrons in the
tUeJitleraneuu, and the blockade of the Darda
oell s, indicate the danger of other obstucles to
the freedom of commerce, and the necessity of
keeping our Naval tone in those seas To the
suggestions repeated in the report of the Secre.
taiy ot the Navy, and tending to the permanent
improvement oi this institution, l invite the fa
vourable consideration ot Congress.
A resolution of the House of Representatives,
requesting that one of our small public vessels
should be seut to the Pacific Ocean and South
sea, to examine the coasts, islands, harbours,
shoals, aod leefs, in those seas, and to ascertain
their true situation and description and descrip
tion, has been put in a tram ot execution- I be
ves«el is nearly ready to depart; the successful
accomplishment of the expedition may be great
ly facilitated by suitable Legislative provisions,
and particularly by an appropriation to defray
its necessary expense. The addition of a second,
and, perhaps, a third vessel, with the slight ag
gravation ot the cost, would contribute much to
the safety ot the citizens embarked on this un
dertaking, the results of which may be ot tbe
deepest interest to our country.
With the report of the secretary of the Navy,
will be submitted, in conformity to the act of coo
gressof3d March, 1827, for the gradual improve
ment of the Nav) of the l . S. statements of the
expenditures under that act, and of the measures
taken for carry ing the same into effect. Ever t
section ot that statute contains a distinct provi
sion, looking to the great object of the whole,
the gradual improvement of the Navy. Udder
ita salutary sanction, stores of ship-timber hav«
been procured, and are in process of seasoning
and preset vation for the future uses of the Navy. <
Arrangements have been made lor the presei- 1
fatiou of the live oak timber growing on tin
lands of the I’nited States, aud for its re pioiluc
ton, to supply, at luture ami distant days, th* !
waste of that most valuable material lor ehi| t
I.uilding, by the great consumption ol it, yearly |
ior the commercial hs well ns lor the military tna j
une of our country. The construction of the tw**j^
Dry Docks Ht Charlestown ami at Norfolk, is;
making satisfactory progress towards a durabb
! establishment. The examinations and inquirie
to ascertain the practicability and expediency
Ufa Marine Railway at Pensacola, though not
! vet accomplished, have been postponed, but tr.
I be more effectually made. The Navy \ arris ol
I the United States have been examined, and plans!
tor their improvement, and the preservation o. i
the public properly therein: at Portsmouth,
Charlestown, Philadelphia, Washington, nod os ,
port,an<lto which two others are to be added,
have been prepared, and received my sanction;
aod no other portion of my public duties has been
performed with a more intimate conviction of it*
importance to the luture welfare and security ol .
the Union.
With the report from the Postmaster General,
is exhibited a comparative view ot the gradual
increase of that establishment, from five to live
years, since 1792; tillthit time, in the number of
Post Offices, which has grown from less than
two hundred to nearly eight thousand; in the re
venue yielded by them, which, from sixty seven
thousand dollars, has swollen to upwards ot a
million and a half, and in the number nf miles ot!
Post Roads, which from five thousand six hundred j
and forty-two have multiplied to one hundred
tnd fourteen thousand five hundred anti thirty six.
While, in the same period of time, the popnla
lion of the Union has about thrice doubled, the
j rate of increase of these offices is nearly forty,
! ,nd of the revenue, and ol travelled miles, li*»m
! twenty to twenty, five lor one. I he increasei
of revenue, within the last five years, ha? been
nearly equal to the whole revenue ol the D*-;
onrtment in 1812
The expenditures of the Department, during me j
year which ended on the first of July last, have exceed^
ed the receipts bv a sum of about twenty-live thousand
dollars. The excess has been occasioned by the m
crease of mail conveyances and facilities, to the extent of
near eigh hundred thousand miles. It has been suppli
ed bv collections from the Postmasters, of the aircara
ges of preceding years While the correct principle
seems to be, that the income levied by the Department
should defray all its expense-, it has never been the
policy of this Government to raise from this establish
ment anv revenue to be applied to any other purposes,
The suggestion of the Postmaster General, that the in
surance of the safe transmission of moneys by the mad,
might be assumed by the Department, for a moderate
and competent remuneration, will deserve the consider
ation of Congress. .
A report from the Commissioner of the Public Build
ings in this City exhibits the expenditures upon them
in the course of the current year. It will be seen that
the humane and benevolent intentions ot Congress in
providing, by the act of'20th May, 1H26, for the erection
of a Penitentiary in this District have been accomplish
ed. The authority of further legislation is now requir
ed for the removal to this tenement of the offenders a
gainst the Uws, sentenced to atone by personal confine
ment for their crimes, and to provide a code for their
emplovmentand government while thus confined.
Pile commissioners appointed conformably to the act
of 2d March, 1827, to provide for the adjustment of
claims of persons entitled to indemnification under the
tion araOng such claimants of the sum paid by the Go
vernment of Great Britain under the Convention of 13th
November, 1826, closed their labors on the 30th of Au
gust last, by awarding the claimants the sum of one mil
lion one hundred ami ninety seven thousand four him
dred and twenty-two dollars and eighteen cents, leaving
a balance of seven thousand five hundred and thirty-sev
en dollars and eighty-two cents, which was distributed
reteably amongst all the claimants to whom awards had
been made, according to the directions of the act.
The exhibits appended to the report from the Com
missioner of the General Land Office present the actual
condition of that common property of the Union. The
amount paid into the treasury from the proceeds ot
lands, during the year I8v:7, and the first half of 1823,
falls little short of two millions of dollars. The proprie
ty of further extending the time for the extinguishment
of the debt due to the United State- by the purchasers
of the public lands, limited, by the* act of 21st March last,
to the fourth of July next, will claim the consideration
of Congress, to whose vigilance and carefui attention
the regulation, disposal, and preservation, of this grea
! national inheritance has by the People of the Unite
States been entrusted.
Among1 the important subjects to which the altention
>»f ihe present Congress has already been invited, and
which may occu:>\ their further and deliberate discus
sion, will be the provision to be made for taking the
fifth census or enumeration of the inhabitants of the
United States. The Constitution of the United States
requires that this enumeration should be made within
every term of thn years, and the date from which the
last enumeration commenced was the first Monday of
August of the year 1 Bid. The laws under which the
former enumerations were taken, were enacted at tl e
''ession of Congress immediately preceding the opera
tion. But considerable inconveniences were experien
ced from the delay of legislation to so late a period —
That law, like those of the preceding enumerations, di
rected that the census should be taken by the Marshals
of the several districts and Territories, under instruc
tions from the Secretary of State. The preparation
and transmission to the Marshals of those instructions,
required more time than was the a allowed between the
passage of the law and the day when the enumeration
was to commence. The term of six months, limited for
the returns of the Marshals, was also found even then
too short; and must be more so now, when an additional
population of at least three millions must be presented
upon the returns. As they arc to be made at the short
session of Congress, it would, as w ell as from other con
siderations, be more cenvenient to commence the enu
meration from an earlier period of the year than the
first of August The most favorable season would be
the Spring. On a review of the former enumerations,
it will be found that the plan for taking every census has
contained improvements upon that of its predecessor.
The last is still susceptible of much improvement.—
Tne third census was the first at which any account was
taken of the manufactures of the country. It was repeated
at the last enumeration, but the returns in both cases were
necessarily very imperfect. They must always be so rest
mi: ol’course only on the comiminicatious voluntarily made
by individuals interested in some of the manufacturing es
tablishments. Yet they contained much valuable informa- i
tion, and mav, by some supplementary provision of the law.
be rendered'more affective. The columns of age, com
mencing from infancy, have hitherto been confined to a few
tieriods, all under the number of 4-o years. Important
mowiedgo would be obtained by extending those columns,
in intervals often years, to the utmost boundaries of hu
man life. 'The labor ot taking them would be u trifling
addition to that already prescribed, and the result would
exhibit comparative tables of longevity highly interesting
to the country. I deem it rnv duty further to observe, that
much of the imperfections in "the returns of the last and per
haps of preceding enumerations proceeded from the inarto
tjuatencss of the compensations allowed to the Marshals and
•heir assistants in taking them.
In closing this communication, it only remains for me
to assure the Legislature of my continued earnest wish
fur the adoption of measures recommended by me hereto
fore, and to be acted on by them; and of the cordial con
*
urreace, on niy put in every constitutional )
> revision whic h may receive their sanction uring
he S?es/ion} tondinf to the general welfare.
John qxincy adams.
tt'ashingtvn, December 2, 1H2&‘.
"miscellaneous.
From the J\. York Commercial Advertiser.
Steam boat scenes for a dollar. Head
er didst thou ever go to Albany in a gal
ant steamer for a dollar, and return in
hat splendid floating palace called the
North America, for seventy-five cents?
If not, prithee be gone, with all possible
Jespatch, for until thou dost, thou must
)C counted as one knowing nothing ot the (
inalloved delights of steam-boat travel
ing. No matter howofien thou hastahot
hrough the Highlands by steam, or spor
ed about our harbor in the Lady C linton
large, or bounded over the crisped bil
ows of the .Sound in the Washington or
Franklin—no matter, we say—unless thou
last made a six shilling trip to Albany,
lion art, like Dogberry, to be ‘written down
in assv—as one knowing just precisely
lothing of the sublime, picturesque and ,
beautiful in riding in steamers.
The enjoyment commences the moment
rou get on board—nay, perhaps before— ,
for one must feel himself particularly for-!
lunate, if he is not run over in the rush to
[he gangway by a brace ot countrymen,
with the huge chi si in which they brought
their pigs aud poultry to market. And
then the jam and squeeze on deck, amidst
the stowing away of trunks aud boxes and
baskets, while a hundred voices, irom the
hoarsest bass of the drover to the shrill
notes of vixen, are clamoring for births
and settees all at once. “Captain, kaint
1 have a barth?” “No, Mr. Elskin -all
taken long ago—setfees and all." “When
shall wo get to New burg?” “At 11 o’
clock.” “What do you ar, Captain, to
take me and these three boxes to Po'keep
ster’ “Sixshillings.” “What, six shil
lings ! that’s monstrous. 1 thort ’twas on
ly a dollar to Albany.” “Can’t help it.”
“Ashore! ’shore all that’s going!” “lie
careful there—don’t fall olfthe the plank.”
“Holloa, the boat! Can’t 1 get aboard?”
“No, too late.” “Why Captain, 1 an’t a
goirig—1 onlyjist came a-board to see my
cousin otf.” “And so you’re off yourselt
—never mind—put you ashore at New
burgh.” “Dear me, now,” exclaims Mrs.
Henbane, “if 1 kaint left three of my
basnets!’ Haul up the boat there.”
Now let us take a peep into the ladies’
cabin. Mercy on us—what profanation!
Sco the dowdies, with their thick ancles
and muddy shoes, tramping on the Tur
ney carpet as though it were a ragged rag
blanket—and whichatus just as bright and
and beautiful a9 sylphs and farics would
wish to tread upon—lolling upon the nice
births, too, with sheets as clean five min
utes ago, as the driven snow—or loung
against the ample drapery of crimson
damask, or rich figured silks of blue and
yellow. “Who is that beautiful figure,
oale hnd rnkfrestinj*. rerUninrr in •'>» <-'•
A youu£ lady who has just buried her
husband m the city, and is now returning
io her friends in Berkshire. Jlffic lias no
birth, and neither Mrs. Iligginbottom nor
Mrs. Stubbing, nor that old Jazabel there,
who looks like the devil’s sister, will yield
co the trail creature, who looks as though
she would soon join her husband. Poor
iellow!—cut otljust as he was getting in
to a good business. Now stop your ears
or that bell man will split your head open.
••All—you—that—haint paid your pas
sage—please walk to the Captain’s office
and settle.” Fancy this proclamation re
peated some forty times, with interludes
from the bell—and so on to the end of the i
chapter.
15lit these scenes are nothing to that at the
sound of the tea bc!l, or at dinner table.
My conscience! see these dollar passen
gers play at the game of knife and fork!
“Waiter! some brandy here!” “Waiter,
give us a small horn of gin.” “I say, Tom ]
slash me off. a junk of that beef.” “I’d I
thank you fora stick of that salary, Mr.
Underwood.” “Ill trouble you. Mr. Mug
gins, for a leg and a wing and a bit of die
breast of that there goose.” “Goose! its a
seven year old gander, by the cutting on't,
I vow.” Haw, haw. haw, roar a dozen bel
lows lunged fellows. “Blauff,” belches
forth old Mr. Goodspecd—“A little //nr
rycanc, by Jupiter,” exclaims his neigh
bor. “No sir—cigh—eugh—eugli—noth
ing but a little wind on the stomach—I’ve 1
got the dyspepsia.” Dyspepsia! you look
as though you could cat as many brick j
hats and rusty nails as an ostrich.” “Here :
Mister, poke mo ofT some turnip saace'
there.” “Look at that fellow there—that's •
what I call cut and come again.” “Some !
takes all, but he leaves none,” says Ste
phen Timpkins, as his neighbor Gulling
swept the remaining half of a rice pud- i
ding upon his plate. “I guess that fel
low means to get his dollar’s worth”— (
“There’s no mistake in that.” All this is
is verv delightful to the well bred specta
tor—more especially if. just as he filling
a glass for his friend, a brawny mountain
eer seizes his bottle in his iron fist, and by
way of getting his dollar’s worth, pours
out a brimming tumbler of the rubv nectar,
and despite of yonr most desperate frowns
empties it down his portentous gullet, and
pushes your bottle otf among Jus friends
—never to return of course.
But the evening is the time for the pic
turesque. Walk the deck you cannot,
because of the cold and the clouds of to
bacco smoke from dirty pipes and Ken
tucky segars. Remain below is almost
mpossiblc, for the heat and moisture pro
duced by the respiration of so many peo
ple in a single apartment. Half sppress
?d curses and complaints in the middle
:abin—the squalling of children and the
scolding of beldame mothers and “female
tvomen” in the apartment which was wont
o be known as the ladies’cabin w ith ex
clamations of “diamonds trumps,” “I’ll
stand,” &c. mingled with the course jests
ind vollies of oaths from those engaged
in playing shoemaker s loo in the forward
cabin—these and other ungrateful noises,
make up the grand concord of sweet
sounds during the evening.
When bed time arrives, every birth is
Riled, and every mattrassand settee. And
yet the half are not accomodated. These
will have to take what is called standee.
Talk they will, and a man might as well
sleep on the top ot the piston rod, as in
the best birth of the boat. “Passengers
for Newburgh,” calls out the captain.
“Where’s my trunk?” “What sort of a
trunk was it?” “The big trunk with iron
corners.” “Gone ashore at W est I oiut.
“O dear, then all my money and clothes is
gone—can’t you put back captain? Put
back/ No—lower away the boat there. ^
“Look at that- man’s red night cap there,”
savs one, as an old man thrust his head
through the curtains and requested less
noise. “Here friend, lend me a corner ot
vour blanket.” “My blanket!—taint halt
as wide as a saddler s webbing. “Here
neighbor, I wish you’d stick y our darn d
sharp elbow into 'somebody clse’s ribs be
sides mine.” “Shut your clam shells,
roars out the tenant oi a birth. 4 Turn
that man’s yoke,” calls out another, in
reference to a tat alderman, whose nose
began to peal forth a nocturnal hymn.
“I’d as lief sleep in a stew pan, says
one. “And Ion the ridge ot a black
smith’s shop,” says another. “Who’ll
give 50 cents for my settee?” inquires an
other. I’ll give three and six pence.
“Done/” “Here, you, Mister, you may
may have mine for three shillings,” “No,
PH trive you too,” “Done!” “Captain
bfiint I going to have a birth. ’ “Hirth?
No: don’t you see they are all full.” “»» ell
I’ve paid my money and l expect to h ive
a birth. My money’s as good as other
other folkeses clothes.” “ I hat’s right, my
good fellow, stick to him,’ says a wag, in
an an undertone, tipping him a knowing
wink at the time. “W hy, captain, how
many came aboard at Newburgh?” “On
ly S7 and six children.” “You’ll have
to pile them up on deck then, for the pas
sengers were so thick that their legs stuck
out of the eabin windows before? ’ “Och!
honeys, and why don't you be asy there
with your blathering nonsense. Here's
all these honest gentlemen here, have
been slaping with their eyes open these
thra hours ” “That’s right Pat—give that
Dandy a touch of the Donny brook fair.”
That l will your honor, and a thousand
times over, if your honor’s honor will see
me clear of the law.” “And what busi
ness have you here. Pat,” inquired Mr.
Somebody. “Devil burn ye, and sure he
will” said Pat. “Hurrah for add Hickory
say I; and so and if you'd like to carry
sound bones ashore, Pd advise you to he
j quiet and lie as aisv as you can, and bad
! luck to ye.” “Captain I say. I never »•««
„ inra-tn uiesc uarn CL wster cartg a
fore. Do they always make such a tar
nal racket? Which is the best place if she
should blow up?” “In the bottom of the
river.” “I3y jimminy how she shakes! I
guess uncle Zob would he glad he did’nt
come along. There it goes, rattle-tc-bang,
kittle-te-slum. Why it makes a plaguey
sight more of a shaking than Captain
Doubleday’s nail factory.” “Oh do he
still,” exclaims a Mr. Somebody, in
a tone of anguish and supplication.—
“Hurrah for Jackson,” roar out half a
dozen Delaware lumber men. And thus
heavily at a snail’s pace runs the night
away. All is noise and confusion—scold
ing, swearing, jibes and jeers—old jokes
and new ones—mingled with the inces
sant hursts of “the loud laugh that speaks
the vacant mind.”
Such is a faint description of the luxu
ry of travelling to and from Albany for a
dollar, as drawn from experience. Hut
the pen of the immortal author of Whims
and Oddities, and the pencil of the incom
parable and comical Cruikshanks, would
alike be inadequate to a just description of
the scenes of the vovage, in all their lu
gubrious and ludicriuus discomfort and
drollery.
THE TEN LOST JEWISH TRIBES.
The following paragraph lately appear
ed in a German paper, under the head of
‘Leipsic.’—
“After having seen some years past
merchants from Tiflis, Persia and Arme
nia, among the visiters at our fair, we have
had, for the first time, two traders from
liucharia with shawls, which arc there man
ufactured of the finest wool of the {roots of
Thibet and Cashmere, by the Jewish fami
lies, u-hich form a third part of the popu
lation. In Bucharia, formerly the capitol
of Sogdiana/ the Jews have been very nu
merous ever since the Babylonian captivi
ty, and are there as remarkable for their
industry and manufactures, as they are in
England for their money transactions. It
was not till last year that the Russian Gov
ernment succeeded in extending its diplo
matic mission into Bucharia. The above
traders exchanged their shawls for coarse
and fine woolen cloths of such colors as
are most esteemed in the East.”
The existence in Bucharia of so large a
body of Jews was unknown, it is said, to
any of our Geographers—and the question
has arisen. Whence they have proceeded,
and how have they come to establish them
selves in a region so remote from their or
iginal country? The Editor of the Cale
donian Mercury thinks that this question
can only be answered by supposing that
these persons are the descendants of the
long-lost Ten Tribes, concerning the fate
of which theologians, historians, and anti
quarians have been alike puzzled. The
Editor remarks—
However wild this hypothesis may at
first appear, there are not wanting circura
stances to render it far from being irnprob
able. In the 17th chapter of the Secom
Hook of Kings, it is said, “In the hinth
y ear of Hosea, the King ot Assyria tool
Samaria, and carried Isreal away into As
syria, and placed them in Helah and Ha
!>or, by the river Gozan, and in the citie
af tlve Modes; and in the subsequent vert,
23, as well as to the writings of the Pro .
phets, it is said, that the Lord then “put
away Isreal out of his sight, and carried
them away into the land ot Assyria, ^unto
this day.” In the Apocraphv, 2d. Edras
xu, it is said, tout the lcn Iribts weie
carried beyond the river (Euphrates) ana
so they were brought into another land,
when they took counsel together, that they
would leave the multitude of the heathen,
and go forth into a further country, where
never mankind dwelt; that they entered in ;
at the narrow passage ol the river Eu-.
phrates when the springs of the Hood were j
staved, and ‘went through the country a j
great journey, even in a year and a halt; j
and it is added, that ‘there they will remain |
until the latter time, when they will come;
forth again.’ The country beyond Hue ha- \
ria, was unknown to the ancients; and, it j
is, we believe, generally admitted, that the
river Gozan, mentioned in the book ol j
Kings, is the same as the Ganges, which j
has its rise in those very countries in which
the Jew’s reside, of whom the Leipsic ac
count sneaks. I he distance which these
two merchants must have travelled, cannot,
therefore, be less than three thousand
miles; and there ran be little doubt that
the Jews, whom they represent as a third
part of the population of tho country, are
descendants of the Ten Tribes of Isreal,
settled by the river Gozan.
The great plain of central Asia, forming
four principal sides, viz: Little Bucharia,
Thibet, Mongalia, ami Mantchouse, con
tains a surface of 150.000 square miles,
and a population of 20,000,000. 'I lus
vast country is still very little known, i he
great traits of its gigantic formation com
pose, for the most part, all that wo are
certain of. It is an immense plain ot an j
excessive elevation, intersected with bar
ren rocks and vast deserts, of black and
utmost moving sand. It is supported on
all sides by mountains of granite, whose el
evated summits determine the dillerent cli
mates of the great continent of Asai, and
from the division of its waters. From its
exterior flow all the great rivers of that
part of the world. In the interior are a
quantity of rivers, having little declivity,
or no issue, which are lost in the sands,
or perhaps feed stagnant waters. In the
southern chains are countries, populous,
rich aud civilized; Little Bucharia, Great
and Little Thibet. The people of the north
are shepherds and wanderers. Their
riches consist in their herds. Their hah
itations are tents and towns and camps,
which are transported according to the
wants of pasturage. The Buchanans en
joy the right of trading to ull parts of Asia,
and the Thibethians cultivate the earth t»
advantage The ancients had only a con
fused idea of central Asiu. ‘The mhabi
tants of the country,’ as wc learn from it
great authority, ‘are in a high state ofcivil
izution; possessing all the useful manufac
tures, and lofty houses built with stone.
The Chinese reckon (but this is evidently
an exaggeration) that Thibet alone con
tains 33,000,000 of persons. The mer
chants of Cashmere, on their way to Ynr
kund in Little Bucharia, pass through Lit
tle Thibet. The country is scarcely
known to European Geographers.’ The
immense plain of Central Asia, is hemmed
in, and almost inaccessible by mountain
ranges ot the greatest elevation, winch
surround it on all sides except China; and
when the watchful jealousy of the Govern
ment ol'the Celestial Empire is considered
it will scarcely be wondered at that the
vast region in question is so httle known.
Such is the country which tliese newly
discovered .lews are said to inhabit in
sucli numbers. The following fact* rimy
perhaps serve to throw some additional
light on this interesting subject.
In the year 18*22, a Mr. 8argon, who if
we mistake not, was one of the agents of
the London Society, communicated to
England some interesting accounts of a
number of persons resident at llombay,
Cannamore, and their vicinity, who are
evidently the descendants of Jews, calling
themselves Bem-Isreal, and bearing al
most uniformly, Jewish names, but with
Persian terminations. This ffentleman
feeling very desirous of obtaining all pos
sible knowledge of their condition, under
took a mission lor this purpose to Cunna
more; and the result of his inquiries was,
a conviction that they were not Jews of
the one tribe and a half, being of a differ
ent race to the white and black Jews at
Cochin, and consequently that they were
a remnant of the long lost Ten Tribes,
f bis gentleman also concluded, from the
information he obtained, respecting the
Beni-Isreal, that they existed in great num
bers in the countries between Cochin and
Bombay, the north of Persia, among the
borders of Tartary, and Cashmere; the ve
ry countries in which, according to the par
agraph in the German paper, they exist in
such numbers. So far, then, these ac
counts confirm each other, and there is ev
ery probability, that the Beni-Isrea), resi
dent on the west of the Indian peninsula,
liad originally proceeded from Bucharia.
It will therefore he interesting to know
something of their moral and religious char- .
acter. Tlie following particulars are col
lected from Mr. Sargon’s accounts. 1. I
In dress and manners they resemble the 1
natives, go as not to be distinguished from i
them except by attentive observations and I
inquiry. 2. Iney have Hebrew names of
the same kind, and with the same local
terminations as the Sepoys in the 9th regi- i
meat Bombay Native Infantry. 3. Some c
of them read Hebrew, and they have a >
taint tradition of the cause of their orut***** P
todies
. T.-,r0rri ^rl
»• ibeir cony^n
iuage ;s in the H
*• Ther k«p a*
worship, and use id
rous ceremonies cx*
»ated with Hebru
They circumcise the;
children. 7. T;1CV
serve the Kippor,*''
expiation-day of tfo j
brews, but not tf* sl
hath day or any ^
fast days. 8. The»P
themselves Gorah j[
di, or White Jew?
they term the Black;,
Collah Jehudi. j
speak of the Arabia j,'
as their brethren, bat
not acknowledge tj>»'
ropean Jews as such,
cause they are of a tj
complexion than th
selves. 10. They
on all occasions arid
der the most trWiat
cnmsIancc.tlieusiiilL
i-h prayer:—
Isreal. the 1 .ord oerd
is one Lord.’ 1| -y
have no cohcn,
levite, or kasi,
them, under those n
but they lia\e j ^
(render) who
prayers and conduct*|
religious cercmonicj;
they appear to bavetU
anil a chief tn each a
rnumty, w ho determu*
heir religious coece.,
I’*!. They expect tbt \{,
iiuh. and that tin
one day return toJeJ
lent. They think that|
I into of his apn
will soon arrive, ati
they much rejoice, L,
ing that at J* rusaltio(
will sec their (iod,*o
him only, and beiki;
no more.
Since dote of a M 5
—A droll story is mj
of one of these aria
.hat lud been long k»ai
1 Vro t 'nrliossan,
.■ \11 • •:n>!y .:t:.n lit,1;
I lt> followed Inin, if pc
slide, wherever 1/
and. on one day wap
•lie father's atlcii!ii,(i,%
was generally cartful
confine linn uhcuh. u
ed to got rid of bn m
I in i i V' he sidy utteM
to clnirt h, and, inouau
on tin soiunJing hu:i|
hove the pulpit, unp
reived, hr lay qa^t
die service togaa. h
soon as the ptfjui-fta
menred the sacred a
'nonirs, 1'ig crept toi
edge of the stall
‘mard overlooked h.'«
tor, imitated every
•.vilh such h soleasi
mid m so groteqpf
manner, that the '•(*
rongregution *« *
join ral t'tter. 'I he
mseiisihle of the ci«l
such ill-timed Itrvtfv.
nroached hisaudiawl
their mipropt r helum
w hen commencin': lirl
tics of Di\ me worAv
The nnmic, abet; I
head, continued t'-iafl
every gesture with theft
atrst archness. TVpW
could not compote i*
fountenanr.os bu'
of their utmost (W
their risible uiuscks**
set in motion agm *
again. The preacher*
began to grow angry.*
in the warmth of h’*
pleasure, redoubt *
vociferations an<K!?
turns; he thimf#* 3
pulpit with
raised his hand?o°
and uccompawed >Jt
tnotions with a c;
ponding nf>d o!
The monkey repf*
those gesture*!
most grotesque
till, at last, the c0l^‘^
fiou had no p0** .
themselves, hut bv
into one loud •
rossivefitot
The preacher *t*"\ *
at this unaccoufit^
1 y and disrespect
would probably 's*
die church bad net ^
l,ia !rif l!<i:i StCPp*