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Of this stamp is the character, of Mr. John M'Bride, of the State of Tennessee, to whom we are indebted for the invention of a machine for ginning, carding, and spinning cotton, at one continued operation, which he has, with much propriety, denominated the Columbian Spinster; a machine which promises to be extensively useful in the United States, particularly in those southern parts where cotton is raised, and where the whole application of the machinery may be obtained.

This machine, which is an ingenious combination of known principles, consists of an oblong frame, supporting the various parts, at one end of which is a box or trough into which the cotton is thrown, the back of which box is lined with brass, having long perpendicular apertures, corresponding to the number of circular saws ranged at equal distances on the axis of the water or hand wheel; parallel to these circular saws are laid a cylinder of brushes and two cylinders covered with wire teeth, the first, of less diameter than the cards, sweeps the cotton as it is disengaged from the seeds, (which latter fall through a narrow opening in the bottom of the box into a receptacle or shallow box prepared to receive them,) and distributes it on the first of the carding cylinders, the wire teeth on which are placed in rows round the cylinder, whereas on the other they run lengthwise; these two large carding cylinders revolve slowly; a light frame, working by a crank and connecting-piece, carries a comb, which, by an occasional rapid stroke, sweeps the cotton to a row of small hollow cones or funnels, through which it is drawn by several metallic fluted rollers, the pressure of which is regulated by levers, to the one end of which are attached spiral springs, and spun on stationary spools, having cylindrical covers or flyers attached to the whirls, and which are placed in a parallel and horizontal position over each other. To a frame, at one end of which the spools are affixed, is placed a rocker or regulator, having a tooth moving in a spiral groove on the axis of a band wheel, which, by drawing out by degrees the spools, causes the yarn to be distributed equally on them; when completely covered and drawn out, they are taken away and replaced by others, the regulator is then raised, and the frame with the spools brought again into their covers.

The motion of the various parts is produced by bands passing in different directions over the wheels, or the axes of the cylinders and rollers, and suitable weights and pullies give to these bands a proper tention.

Though this beautiful and delicate material is capable of being wrought to an almost inconceivable degree of fineness, yet it is not probable that the finer kind of cotton goad will be manufactured in

this country for many years to come. The yarn spun by this machine is equal to that spun by the mule or jenny. Though apparently complicated, it is less so than may be imagined, considering its various operations, from receiving the cotton with the seed, and delivering it in the spool; it is, moreover, of permanent construction, not liable to get out of repair, the principal moving parts being made of cast steel. No particular skill is requisite in the management of it, and the size of the thread may be varied from, ten hundred to three. It occupies little space, and may be constructed on a small scale, suitable for the use of a family, or the proportions may be enlarged, and the number of spindles varied at pleasure.

The manufacture of cotton is rapidly receiving the attention it merits; the State of Rhode Island, in particular, has found in it a new source of industry and wealth; during the last year 30,000 spindles have been at work in that state, which, on a moderate calculation, have produced manufactured goods to the annual value of two millions of dollars.

C.

REFERENCES TO THE DRAWING.

AA The frame of the machine.

BB The circular saws which pick and clean the cotton.

C The cylinder of brushes, which takes off the cotton from the saws. DD The cards.

E The wheel which puts the whole in motion.

F The whirl band cylinder.

dd Pullies and weights.

ee Rollers.

fff Band.

g Band wheel, which turns the inverted conic screw.

J The rocker or regulator.

K The vessel which receives the seed.

000 The whirls.

nnn The flyers or cylindrical covers.

rrr The spools.

L The box into which the uncleaned cotton is thrown.

M. Barneville, at Paris, by successive improvements in the construction of machinery for spinning cotton, has been enabled to produce from a single pound of cotton 300,000 ells (aunes) of yarn, manufactured into muslin, a piece of it, 16 Parisian yards long, weighed only four ounces. The French government, aware of the importance of his improvements, have made him a suitable and an honourable re compense,

FOR THE PORT FOLIO.

THE following article, which will be continued in a regular series in this Journal, relates to a quarter of the globe, so interesting to the voyager, the naturalist, the politician, and the philosopher, that it deserves what it will always receive, a sufficient portion of the attention of the reader. Our traveller informs us that in the course of no illiberal amusements, when he was abstracted from the laborious occupations of business, he was in the habit occasionally of devoting a portion of his time to the formation of a work, which might partake of the nature of a History of the Empire of Hayti, from the date of its establishment to the present era. Our narrator has been in that unfortunate country twice, and during a residence there of no inconsiderable durátion, was at pains to collect Historical facts and Biographical anecdotes, and to remark attentively the manners, habits, and customs of the people. The majority of merchants and adventurers to this romantic region have been led thither by motives merely commercial. But our Traveller had liberal leisure and liberal pursuits; and he has so usefully employed the one, and so successfully profited by the other, that we believe a great portion of his narrative is calculated both to amuse and instruct.

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Our Correspondent, who is not an author by Profession, aspires in point of style, to no other praise than that of neatness, perspicuity, and simplicity. But on the originality, novelty, and interest of his communications, he rests all his calculations for a favourable reception.

Of the skill, with which the author has moulded his materials, the Editor is disposed to think favourably. But the Public will always determine in the last resort. To that unerring tribunal the author appeals. If the sentence should prove a harsh one, still, the author, with not more propriety than modesty, hopes, that as his stock of materials is not only vast, but accumulating, they may, at no distant day, be resorted to as a valuable collection of facts, by some able Historian.

It should be remembered that this colony, however distinguished by the name of Hispaniola, St. Domingo, or Hayti, has ever been considered an interesting object, whether regarded by the eyes of liberal Curiosity, or the subject of the dreams of romantic Enterprize, or the tempter of Cupidity, or the mine of a Planter's or Merchant's avarice. It was one of the earliest and most important discoveries in the New World. It has been both the Parent and the Nurse of all the subsequent establishments of Spain in this Hemisphere. It gradually acquired the form of a regular and prosperous society. The miraculous fertility of the soil, the salubrity of the climate, the beauty of the land

scape, allured every adventurer. This Colony, superior to all others in the torrid zone, according to the remark of an accurate observer, was the first mark that the Europeans impressed on a vast portion of the globe; and, hence, it certainly ought to attract the attention of every philosopher. One of the four great Antilles, and, Cuba excepted, the most extensive of them all; the cradle of the Europeans in the New World; and, as an island, conspicuous from afar, as its native name, Hayti, indicates, for the loftiness of its mountains; with an exuberant population and a smiling territory, it appears amply to deserve all the praise, which the judicious and the romantic have been equally lavish to bestow. EDITOR.

MEMOIRS OF HAYTI-FOR THE PORT FOLIO.

IN A SERIES OF LETTERS.

INTRODUCTION.

HISPANIOLA, the most beautiful and fertile of the West India Islands, has for many years been the seat of one of the most sanguinary rebellions recorded in the pages of history. The ruder ages of antiquity have scarcely produced such direful events as this unfortunate Country has exhibited.

The writer of the following letters, in the early part of the year 1804, in the course of some mercantile pursuits, visited Hispaniola. This being his first voyage, afforded him pleasing objects of speculation. The novelty of the scene to which he was introduced, in a country emerging from a state of slavery to the rank of an independent nation, produced those strong impressions which the sensibility of youth is so naturally formed to receive.

He there first conceived the idea of recording, as correctly as his opportunities of information would enable him, the transactions most worthy of notice which occurred about this period: but the unsettled state of the government rendered it dangerous for a stranger to commit to writing any relation that would represent things in their true light. The only mode of accomplishing his views, which could be pursued in safety, was the making of memoranda of dates, with a mere hint of occurrences connected therewith, but for the most part, he was compelled to rely for a short time upon his memory.

On returning to the United States, a detention at the Lazaretto afforded the first period of leisure which presented itself, for placing on paper the fruits of his observations, and shortly after his return to Phi

ladelphia, he published in the American Daily Advertiser, “A Short Account of the present State of Affairs in St. Domingo." To this account was prefixed, as introductory to the then state of the country, a brief notice of the events that occurred at the commencement of the Revolution, which, from misinformation, was, in several particulars, incorrect; and the narrative itself being written in haste, and perhaps under the influence of some prejudice against the Haytians, was destitute of order, and contained, perhaps, many trivial details.

In the latter end of 1805, the writer again visited that country, where he remained upwards of seven months. From frequent oppor tunities of intercourse, and even intimacy, with many officers and pecple of distinction, (some of whom were men of talents and education) he was enabled to add much to his former stock of information, and after his return, he wrote for publication "A circumstantial Account of the Massacre in St. Domingo, in May, 1806," which appeared in several of the city papers.

The intention of writing a connected and circumstantial history of the Haytians subsequent to their independence, after which the writer's acquaintance with that people commenced, has been long entertained, and has indeed been with him, a favourite and frequent subject of reflection. He has consequently availed himself of every opportunity, that presented, of gathering information relative to this object, from respectable gentlemen, with whom he has corresponded or conversed, and upon whose veracity he could rely.

The epistolary form may perhaps require some explanation. The writer conceives there are many circumstances which do not strictly appertain to the department of history, and yet, as they tend much to show the manners and customs of a people, and their treatment of strangers, are well worthy of relation. In fact, a great part of his work will probably consist of such matter, and as he makes no claim to the rank of a historian, he is very willing to be considered merely as an annotator. The epistolary style seemed best suited to his abilities, and to avoid the imputation of egotism, to which he might be exposed, if he wrote in any other form, he concluded that his narrative in a series of letters addressed to a friend, would be the most unassuming mode, in which he could speak as often of himself as occasion would require.

The history of Hispaniola from its first discovery by Columbus, in 1492, to the commencement of the revolution, in 1789, and during several years of that dreadful era, has been fully and circumstantially related by Mr. Bryan Edwards, in his History of the West Indies: Rainsford also in his Empire of Hayti, published at London in 1805,

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