172 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
pastures ; tended by the Good Shepherd, lin¬ 
ger the little lambs of the heavenly fold. 
“ Two in heaven !” 
Earth is less attractive ! Eternity nearer ! 
Invisible cords drawing the maternal soul 
upwards. “ Still small” voices, ever whis¬ 
pering come to the world-weary spirit. 
“Two in heaven !” 
Mother of angels ! Walk softly ! holy 
eyes watch thy footsteps ! cherub forms 
bend to listen ! Keep thy spirit free from 
earth’s taint; so shalt thou “ go to them,” 
though “they may not return to thee.” 
Fanny Fern. 
An Irish preacher once broke off the thread 
of his discourse, and said to his hearers, 
“ My dear friends, let me tell you, that I am 
half through with my sermon ; but, seeing 
yonr impatience, I will say that the remain¬ 
ing half is not more than quarter as long as 
you have heard.” 
THE PERUVIAN GUANO AGENCY. 
[There having been some recent reports 
that there would be a reduction in the price 
of Peruvian Guano, we give the following 
official announcement to correct any false 
impression that may have gone forth.— Eds. 
Am. Ag.] 
(Official.) 
Baltimore, May 10, 1855. 
To the Editors of The Baltimore Patriot: 
We have read with surprise the article 
regarding the traffic of Peruvian guano which 
you were pleased to publish in your journal 
of the 12th inst. As agents for the Peruvian 
Goverenment we expected from your cir¬ 
cumspection that before asserting, under 
your editorial responsibility, that such 
changes were to happen in a trade of such 
magnitude as this, you would have approach¬ 
ed us to ascertain if we had any knowledge 
of them, and whether our standing and posi¬ 
tion in relation to the actual Government of 
Peru is such as to show good grounds for 
the same. And our impression is that the 
good faith, frankness and integrity with 
which we have always acted since the Peru¬ 
vian Government, when presided over by 
Gral Castilla, confided to us the agency for 
the markets in the United States, entitled us 
to be heard before admitting as true the as¬ 
sertions of a person whose antecedents, posi¬ 
tion, circumstances and character were un¬ 
known to you. This step, that your own 
respectability as well as an exchange of the 
courtesy which we have always used in our 
social relations seems to advise, would have 
brought to light the true ground for the as¬ 
sertion of the person entitling himself “ Gen¬ 
eral Agent for the Peruvian Government,” 
under the same-self authority that conferred 
upon him other titles that he has used else¬ 
where, and would also have avoided the pre¬ 
judices accruing to the Peruvian Government 
and to ourselves from the emphatic assertion 
of such a radical change in the system by 
which the traffic is actually and will be for 
some time regulated, until the end of pend¬ 
ing contracts and the fulfillment of engage¬ 
ments, based upon a continuation of said sys¬ 
tem, put the Government in a condition to 
adopt any other that may be considered most 
advantageous to the national welfare. 
In a question of such importance we did 
not consider it proper to correct your state¬ 
ment under our own word alone, as we could 
not anticipate that parties ignorant of our 
views in regard to the trade and of our posi¬ 
tion towards the Government recently initi¬ 
ated in Peru, might rely upon it ; and we 
limited ourselves to sending forward to the 
Peruvian representative at Washington your 
article on the subject. His reply accompa¬ 
nies this, and the original letter has been 
placed in the hands of the editors of the 
American. We presume that in this official 
statement you will place at least as much 
reliance as you do in the statement of the 
self-appointed “ general agent.” 
We do not know where the “ general 
agent” whose modesty forbade him giving 
his name and approaching us will now take 
shelter to maintain his elevated position, but 
in the event of his stating to your credulous 
mind that he is “ confidential agent ” from 
the Peruvian Government, be good enough to 
reply that we challenge him to show his 
credentials, as also his title of “ Colonel in 
the Peruvian Army,” which we are told he 
has used in another city of the Union. 
Since writing the above we have read your 
article in this afternoon’s Patriot, and the 
first thought that occurred to us was to ask 
what had become of the General Agent al¬ 
ready designated. If the actual Government 
(which by-the-by was invested by the peo¬ 
ple with dictatorial authority) has no power 
to make contracts, how can it contemplate the 
changes alluded to by you on the 12th inst.? 
If the American will find it somewhat diffi¬ 
cult to foreshadow the policy of the incom¬ 
ing Government of Peru, why the Patriot 
will not. We do not doubt that the views of 
the “ General Agent ” in regard to the Guano 
trade are just as you have stated, but will 
the incoming Government accept them l It 
is also very true that the new Government 
will change officers, ministers, &c.; but we 
beg leave to suggest that we are not officers, 
ministers nor employes of the Government. 
We have a contract lawfully executed with the 
late Government respected, and we know 
too well that the incoming one will do the 
same for the period it has to run. When 
this is over, the “ General Agent” will have 
a chance to make a proposal which may be 
accepted if more favorable to the interests 
of the country, and presenting more moral 
and pecuniary guarantees than others which 
the Government may receive. We will con¬ 
clude by challenging again the “ General 
Agent ” to present some proof showing that 
the policy of any of the actual candidates for 
the Presidency in regard to the Guano trade 
is in conformity with his views as stated by 
you. We think, Mr. Editor, that ere long 
you will have good reason to change your 
opinion in regard to the undoubted authority 
from whom you received your information 
as to the contemplated changes in the trade. 
F. BARREDA & BROTHER. 
[translation.] 
New-York, 15th May, 1855. 
Messrs. F. Barreda <$• Brother , Baltimore: 
Gentlemen : The Baltimore Patriot of 
12th inst. brings an article which I have seen 
copied in several, journals of this city, in 
which it is stated that the Peruvian Govern¬ 
ment intends to change the agency now es¬ 
tablished* for the sale of Guano and to reduce 
its price to $45 per tun. 
You are hereby authorized to state before 
the public, without any loss of time, that 
there is not a single word of truth in the 
views attributed to the Peruvian Govern¬ 
ment in said article on the subject. The im¬ 
portation and sale of Peruvian Guano will be 
effected as heretofore and under the same 
arrangements, and if there is to be any alter¬ 
ation, it will only be in the advancing of the 
price up to the figure that may be considered, 
prudent by the Government, its owners, 
whose views are not to extend the consump¬ 
tion here or elsewhere, but to sell it at a 
price required by the value of its compounds 
and the good effects it produces on the soil. 
I repeat again that it is of the utmost im¬ 
portance to make known the untruthfulness 
of the statement in the Patriot, and that the 
price of Guano will in no event be reduced 
by the Government of Peru. 
I am your obedient servant, 
J. Y. De Osma, 
Charge d’Affaires of Peru. 
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