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[From the Western Continent, March 6.]
LETTER FROM
GEORGIA TO M ASSACHUSETTS.*
NO. 11.
Dear Sister Mass:
You may remember that I left you, ;
with your colleagues of the Hartford Con
vention, paying your third visit to \\ a s h*
ington, in quest of protection. About tins
time the sisters of the South began to be
come impatient of yourimportunities,and
to protest .sternly against any further con
cessions to them; but you had now en- ;
listed so many in your favor, that \ou j
were gratified once more. S’.ill in the 1
prosecution of your suit, you preserved
the semblance ot modesty at least; though
your spirit manifestly rose with your
strength. It was not long before you
were back again upon the same errand, j
with a strength that was irresistible. —
And now ensued a scene, which for the
honor of my connexions, I blush to re- j
cord. Your children thronged the Cou
ncil chamber, with an effrontery, which in j
mine, would cover me with shame, and
demanded the old dish, according to their
own recipes. Every ingredient was j
weighed and measured by their own stand- 1
ards, and handed over to the Deputies to
he cooked under their own directions.—
There was not a morsel of the compound
suited to the Southern ta-te, save a few
grains of sugar thrown in, !o conciliate j
sister Louisia. Your son John (Q ) was
selected to preside over the mingling and
simmering process, and your son Dan,
was “to do it up brown” with garnish
ments to his own taste. John, who is
realiv a good man at heart—wonderfully
good, considering his origin and calling—
commenced his work; hut before he had
completed if, the better feelings of his na
ture, repeatedly prevailed over his servil
ity, and he was several times in the very
act of nutting in an element or two, to |
make it palatable, or at least, less often
sive to the South, when the purveyors ;
pounced down upon him like harpies,and
compelled him to plumb the line of their
prescriptions ! It was passed through the
furnace and finished to order.
Such scones in the very temple of li
berty, shocked and incensed lhe whole
Sisterhood of the South, and they talked
boldly of seeking relief from this miscall
ed protection, by self protection. At first,
you tried to convert them to your faith,
as you do the heathen, by a liberal dis
tribution of tracts among them, in which
you set forth the blessings of the tariti
with peculiar force and ingenuity. But
finding them incorrigible, you told them
plainly, that the slave labor of the South
should not come in competition with the
free labor of the North; and you gave
them to understand, that if argument
could not reduce them to order, Nonhern
muskets would. My neighboring Sister
Caroline, in the meantime, began to as- |
mime an alarming attitude, and civil war,
• r the fall of the tariff seemed the only
alternative. This state of things found
you at your old employment of abusing
the government, but most of all, Andrew
Jackson, who was then at the head of as- |
fairs. Os all men in the country, this
was tfie man against whom you had lifted i
up the warning voice loudest, and upon ;
- whom you had poured out your bitterest
anathemas. As the clouds gathered and
darkened over our political hemisphere, j
you threw yourself into this man’s arms.
*]fbe smiled', you tittered ifhe bent, you
bowed—if he threatened, you bristled—
and so fast, and all-confiding grew your ;
friendships, in the course of a few weeks, j
that you moved to clothe him with almost |
despotic power, in order to meet the enter- !
genev. Isay that youmoved; for your i
son Dan does nothing without your orders, 1
expressed or implied. The cannons were j
loaded, the matches were lighted, and |
nothing was wanted, but the word "fire,'' '■
to deluge the country with blood, when,
by the interposition of Mr. Clay, a com- j
promise was effected. 1 now flattered
myself that this ever inflaming subject j
was put to rest; and certainly it ought to !
have been; for conceding the benefits of |
a protective tariff, it is but a matter of
policy si last, and no demands of policy i
will justify a breach of faith. But this is
not your ethics, Sister .Mass, and it is with
you alone that I have to do upon thisoc- j
casion; though, as I said before, I shall ;
7 J
not cover your faults, from courtesy to
others wl o share them with you. The
compromise was hardly effected before
you began to throw out bin’s, (Irish hints)
that you did not mean to abide by it.—
Who that knew you, supposed you would?
I did not dream of it, though I hoped that
others, more trust-worthv, would not per
mit you to violate it. So far as 1 have
been enabled tc discover, you have never
considered it as involving any higher
moral obligation, than the concluding ac
knowledgements ot a friendly epistle;—
“your most obedient humble servant.”—
Having brought you to this compromise,
which I had mainly in view in giving the
history of the tariff, and in reaching which,
I followed the order ot events directly
connected with it, regardless of the order
of time, let me now take up the history of
noma other compromises to which you
were a parly.
While the articles of onr confederation
(which for the sake of brevity, we will here
after call the Constitution.) were under dis
cussion, a very knotty point arose, which had
ld;e to have defeated the Union. Considering !
the views of the parties at that time, it was a j
very curious one. Yon of the North consid* j
ered slaves os mere chattels, and, therefore, |
n-’l to he represented in the Common Coun- j
ci!». We ol the South, admitted (he fact, j
but drew an opposite conclusion from it, epon i
the ground that taxation and representation |
should be proportioned to each other. Ihe j
matter was compromised, and from that day
j to this you have been racking your inyen
i tion to get rid of the compromise, \oitr
HartfordConvr-nlion drew up a series of re
: solutions which yon adopted and remitted
■ to the Si ters, as proposed amendments to !
the Constitution, among which was one to
exclude slave representation. For the honor
I 0 f the country, not a member of tiie confede
; ra cy. who was not at the concocting of these
' resolutions, adopted a 1-ingle one of them.—
j What you could not accomplish by direct
j means, you resolved to accomplish by indi-
J red and less honorable means. They are
plainly visible, and are as follows: Theirs/
is, to leave the obnoxious clause untouched,
hut to stifle it by stretching other clauses
over if. The second is, crowd the master and
the slave* within such a narrow compass,
i that they cannot both live in it. The third
; (which is subservient to this.) is, to re-
I reive no new member into (lie Union, but
j upon the condition of her repudiating slave
| ry. r \'hp fourth (which is of like character,)
is, to stop all egress of slaves from their pre
■ sent limits; hence the refusal of yourself and
your confederates to receive them when
; emancipated hy their master.-;::nd hence your
; opposition to the Colonization Society'. These
; are startlingdsigns, Si-ter, to be conceived
against those who spent their blond and
: treasure in defence of the liberty which you
: enjov; but I shall not furnish you with a prp
| text for them hy ‘'blustering” over them, as i
j confess with shame, my children are too
much in tire habit of doing. And here I will
disclose a family secret, which may he of
! service to you, not long hence, and which
i some of the members of some of the churches
j in your neighborhood may he able to avouch,
j k is this - : So long as we bluster, you have
■ not much to fear; but when yon see our
; children looking calmly, with compressed
i lip and reddened cheek, at your encroach
rnents.be a--nred there are perilous limes
at hand for all of us. And when once they
gather for the flight, let them go—you never
can conciliate them afterwards. We are
idolaters of the Union, and will bear much
before we give it up: but only convince us
that it i.s a golden calf which the profane
grow rich by mutilating, and the devout
grow lean by worshiping, and we will crush
it to atoms, and grind it Jo powder with as
little remorse as did Moses, the calf of old.
a pursuance of the plans just suggested,
i you oppose the admission of Missouri into the
i Union, except upon the condition < f her re
-1 nouncing slavery. Here’was an unblushing
j infraction of the compromise you made when
i tiie Constitution was framed, and a direct
' violation of the spirit of that instrument, in
i all its provisions. A stern of course was
raised, which was settled as usual by a com
promise. So long have you been in the ha’
j it of breaking compromises, and so • '
; indifferent to them have you he. i
■ you cannot now wait for a suitable oppnr
i iunity to break them; and you are at this m
i merit engaged in breaking this last, by anti
cipation. In the late war, you wiflield your
troops from the service of tiie country, and
afterwards demanded pav from the govern
i ment <othe amount of more than a million
i of money, for their sen ices in marching and
! counter-marching about in your ter.Tory. In
i this war, you lay hold of the purse-strings of
| the nation, and vow you will never let. go
; until vou get a pledge from the whole family,
that if we are not driven or starved out of
I Mexico, and if we should make a treaty
1 with her, and if by the terms of that treaty
! she should stipulate to pay the expenses of
i the war, and her old debt, and if she should
pay it in land, and if that land should become
| settled, and become populous enough to be
admitted into the Union, and claon to he a I
mitted, without of its own choice—abjuring
slavery—it shall not be received into the
Union.
This makes your conduct in the first war
resplendently virtuous; but tlrat any other
i Sister in the Union, without the casc-harden-
I ing through which you have gone, should, at
| a single leap, reach the platform on which
| you stand, and ever raise her head after
| wards, is, to me, inexpressibly amazing. In
; looking down to the far-off position which
vou occupy, I (cel that you are entitled to
j some credit for your ingenuity and en’er
prise in getting there; but as to your enmpan
inns, they seem to me to have taken your
character, only to add to it a now' blemish
j namely, rashness. The deferminai ion which
you had formed to allow no more slave terri
tory to come into (he Union, apart (rom the |
principle involved in it, is of ail movements j
ofabolitionism, to me the most inoffensive. It
seems to have thrown the Southern States
into a panic, and to have reconciled many of
their children to a most disgraceful retreat
from tiie war in which we are engaged. “Sup
pose.” cry they, “we should take all Me.xi- j
co, don’t you see plainly that i? never can he |
admitted into the Union as slave territory?” ;
What is the plain and obvious answer to all
this? Why lot it stay nut of (he Union, by
i abolition votes, and let it remain common
property as long as they choose so to vote.
The controversy will be between the appli
cant and the abolitionist,and we will stand on
the side of the former. She will renounce
slavery or she will not. If she renounce
slavery, there will be no difficulty in the mat
ter; if she will not renounce slavery she re
mains a territory, to which all will have free
access. As to the propriety nr impropriety
of the war itself, I have nothing to say, but
to push its conquests just to the limits which
the abolitionists prescribe, and there stop,
without treaty, without peace, without ob
ject—because,' forsooth, if we advance far
ther we may conquer territory which may
give rise to unpleasant difficulties —is to sur
render in advance more than we could lose
by threatened contest—to anticipate a bieach
of faith by removing at our expense the in
ducement to it, and to throw away the honor
of the nation and the army into the bargain.
If we do not conquer .Mexico,will her territory
ever become a part of the Union?
Your abolition petitions, and yur missions
to Charleston and Orleans to stir up lawsuits
about your black citizens, arc part and parcel
of tiie plans already exposed.
While you have been rushing on in your
mad career, you have been unsparing in your
abuse of me and my neighboring bisters. I
cannot call to mind that you ever breathed
one kind sentiment, uttered one kind word,
i turned one kind look towards ih. To \ irg;n
ia, your elder Sister, and your great benefac
tor, you have been signally abusive and vin
dictive, because, to the sin of slavery, she
has added the still greater,sin, in your esti
mation, ol exerting more influence in the
councils of the nation, and producing more
Presidents than any other member of tlie
family. But “man-stealers,” “kidnappers,”
-traders in Food,” “tyrants,” “murderers,’
are the ci mmon appellation? by which we are
| introduced to the world by the devout, meek,
I gentle, lamblike, sons of the ‘-Pilgrim Fath
j ers.” Engrave, then, if you please, Sister,
1 on Plymouth Rock, in this form:
MASSACHUSETTS,
IN GRATEFUL HE ME.MBRANCE OF THE SERVICES
RENDERED TO HER,
BY HER BELOVED SISTERS:
! Maryland, Birmma, North Carolina,
South Carolina and Ceorgia,
1 1 Ilesci/iig her from ths Cruelties
OF AN UNNATURAL MOTHER,
Records upon this Consecrated Rock,
I The distinguishing Virtues of the Affectionate
Sifters:
Maryland — The Man-Stealer.
Birgima—- The K idnapper.
North Carolina — The Trailer in blood.
South Carolina —The Tyrant.
Georgia The Murderer.
And now what have we done. Sister, to
I merit this unkind treatment? What would ;
you have us do, to save ourselves from fur- j
; titer injury and insult, and you, from further j
| self-abasement? There is but one answer to '
i these questions, namely: ‘‘You own slaves
and you refuse to emancipate them.” Well,
i let us discuss the matter calmly. I confess
1 it wiil cost me a struggle to do it, for reasons
| apparent, through \ our whole history; but I
; think, for the country’s sake, I can forget
5 who you arc and what you are long enough
| to discuss the subject with you not only
l calmly, but fairly.
i I own slaves, and I sin in so doing. Sup
. pose that this is all true; now what must I do?
j “ U7h/, emancipate, them of coursed ’ Well, let |
, us see jhe end of this course.
I owo twn hundred and eighty-one thousand
slaves. Os these, eighty-seven thousand live
hundred are under ten years of age; hve hun
dred, over a hundred years of age; and ten
thousand, between fifty-five and a hundred. I
i I sol these two hundred and eighty-one ;
thousand human beings free—l proclaim 1
liberty to these old anddecrepid. these young
and helpless. Among them are many sick,
i lame, blind, deaf and dumb. I set them
adrift upon the world, honsr!o ; s, breacliess,
penniless. Before the God who made you, I
Sister Mas?, do you think this would be right? :
j A month's time would bury nineteen-fwenti- !
eth? of them. “But you should send lh c m |
j away” Well, I turn to rny benevolent i
S:-fers, who are moving heaven and earth to
\ aboli.'h slavery, and not one of them will
receive them. Os! think of the Randolph
negroes, and try la think how 1 feel, at the
abolition erv from Ohio. “But s r -nd (hem to
Africa.” True; I have no ships of my our,
| and 1 apnlv to you, the greatest ship owner i
I in the Union, to transport them for me. And
von exclaim: —"Be off! 1 am the most mortal
enemy to Colonization on the Globe, and not
i a finger will I rai?e to promote it;” (i I3iU I
keep them yourself and furnish them with the
means of living.” Exactly! For how long,
Sister? Not more than a year, I suppose.
\s they could not embark in the learned ;
irofessions, I must furnish them with an
outfit for agriculture. You would not think
a half pound of meat, a day, and a peck of corn
a week, an over allowance for each, would
yon? Calculate the amount, if you please.
Sister. But those capable of labor must have
at least ten acres of land apiece. 1 suppose. ;
Os these there are one hundred and forty
thousand. We must give them, therefore,
j one mdlion four bur Fed thousand acres,
j But. they must have hor«e;?, ploughs, lines
axes, &c., or the land will be of no avail to
j them. —and they mu.-l be clothed for a year, ;
I besides. 1 intended to have calculated the i
amount in money of all these filings; but thia
i would consume unnecessary time. You can
j do it; and you will see, that to furnish
means mv own children must be beggared,
i All this proceed? upon the supposition, you
perceive, that when I free the slaves, I am
hound to provide these freemen with a living.
Upon this head I have my doubts, hut that
tlie care of them, in this way, would dissolve
all mv social rehitinns, break up my mm- j
merce, my schools, my colleges, my churches I
i in short, restore me to a state of nature, 1
j have no doubt. Nor. if the clamorous Sisters j
: of the abolition faith would receive them, I
j could I endure the trouble ami expense of
I transporting them—nor could I possibly send
them abroad, if I would. Now, when these
things arc spread out before yon. and you
shut your eyes to them, and siili persist in
! your machinations and railing against rno, to
what conclusion must the most unbounded
charity he driven? We will reach it anon.
Another long letter is written, and yet I
: have not concluded what, I have to sav. Bear
with me, Si-tor. 1 have permittee the ac
j count between us to run on for a long time, i
without a settlement, and, as is usual in sue it
I cases, it require? a longer lime to settle than
j either of.tm supposed.
Yuur persecuted Sisfer,
GEORGIA.
!
*.\s the fetters which wo have received from \
' Georgia contain some things which Mr. Calhoun
I has said in substance, it may be well to remark j
i that all of them were written before .Mr. C. made
lus speech on the “Three Million Bill.”
Eds. Co.nt.
[From the iV. O. Delta, lilh ins!.]
From ELaraiTa.
Tlie barque St. Mary, Capt. Brown, ar
rived here yesterday evening from Havana,
bringing u? dates from that city to the 6th
instf There is no news of importance. A
subscription was on foot for the purpose of
testifying the appreciation of the Spanish '
people for the exemplary conduct of Capt. j
i (; H mp and the crew of the brig Emilio, who i
| rendered such signal service to the passengers
and crew of tlie British steamship Tweed j
wrecked on the Alacranes on the 22th nil. |
A had storm passed over the sugar estate “La |
Trinidad” on the 21? t nit. The hail remain
ed on the ground entire for twenty-four hours,
a most unusual phenomenon in that latitude,
i During the month of February seventy-six
I vessels arrived at and fifty-eight vessels left
j the* poi tof Malanzas. 1 lie local news is not
j of anv importance.
| There v'as an arrival from Vera Cruz on
1 the Gth in?t., with dates to the I2fh ofFeb
-1 rnarv. 'The only item of importance which
we hive been able to learn, (the piper? of
the 7th not having reached us,) is that Gen.
La Vega was at Jahpa at the head of 4000
men, ready to march wherever the r.mve
i merits of the enemy should require it. Large
j reinforcements had been sent to Vera Cruz,
I and great nreparalions were on foot, as the
attack of the Americans with 10,000 or 12,-
000 men, was expected to come on very
soon. It was generally believed at Vera
Cruz, at the time of the sailing of the vessel
(a Spanish brig, whose name we do not recol
lect.) on the 23d February, that by that time,
Gen. Santa Anna had fought Gen. Taylor,
and was then in possession of Saltillo, and
-Ryr.-gx-r TcrM.i»
probably on his march to Vera Cruz. This •
we learn from a gentleman who came pas
sengers on board the St. Mary, who had
read the Havana papers ( f :he 7;!i and con
versed wiili the Captain of the vessels from
Vera Cruz.
Nothing positive was known of the move
ments of Santa Anna, after leaving Mute
huala.
BS.ii> tier.
A man by the name oi Alien G I!, (gene- j
ally knowm a- Bird Gill.) was killed \ ester- j
dav afternoon, near the ml barracks, by Ire- I
del W. Alexander. We understand tiiat both i
tlie parlies were butchers,that Gills had been
employed by Alexander, and that some trill
ing dispute had arisen in regard lu money
mailers. The killing was witnessed by A
- wife, two negroes and a lad, a son
of the lute Capt. Gayle, from whom we under
stood that A'e.xaiider went to a negro hou-e.
where Gills had been at work, with a double
barrelled gun, and alter a few words in con
versation, look deliberate aim and shot him
in the left breast, killing him instantly. Al
i exander immediately fled on horseback, and,
j it is suppo.-ed, took the Ogechee road. We
I could not learn whether he was pursued.
I though we understood a v\ arrant was issued
I by Justice Raiford. An inquest was held
over the body of Gill, last night, the verdict
of tlie jury. however, was handed in before
going to press.
AUGUSTA (lE(C
TUESDAY MORNING, MARCH C 3, ISI7.
(LT Our readers will remember that in the
! memoranda of Dr. Jarvis, who left Comargo
I on flic 3d insf., and arrived in New Orleans
I per ship Arispe, it is stated that the la-t of
ficial despatch from Gen. Taylor was dated
Agua Nucva, Feb. 21? f.
We have before us an ex’ract from a letter.
: which we give below, written by r a gentle
man well known in this city, from which we
| perceive that on the 21st Gen. Taylor wa?
at Saltillo. This is authentic. At the latest
dates Gen. Taylor was at Saltillo, and in a
condition to give Santa Anna what the ex
press reported him to be getting.
Saltillo, Feb. 21, IS 17.
i Dear : —.
We are all armed, and in expectation of a
Right to-night. Santa Anna is c'nse by, and j
with 17.000 men. Gen. Taylor’s force i? !
; above 5,000. We have possession of the
, town, and we are well fortified. I will write
the result, if I am alive.
'i’lie letter of Capt. Montgomery dated Mon
| terev Feu. 23d, 11 A. M., says that an express
had just arrived from Saltillo, who left there
1 after dark the evening before; s f a:ing that
j Santa Anna had called on Gen. Taylor
to surrender—that he had replied, “come and
take me,” and that the latter was giving the
Mexicans hell.
We fully expect that the next accounts
will confirm the statement.
It is evident that there was no fight at Agna
Nueva 20 miles beyond Sailil o. There is no
confirmation of Mexican rumors that there
was a fight between Saltillo and Monterey.—
From the following extracts of a letter
from another source wliicfi ue have been
kindly allowed to publish, it will be perceived
that General Taylor is well supplied with
I means to maintain himself against battle or
sege:
“SALTILLO, Mexico, Feb. 20, 1847.
“I arh writing von, (is said, on the eve o!
buttle. Tlie enemy is in force on every side
Santa Anna has informed his citizen soldien
(his regulars 1S000) that our stores arc am
j pie and profuse, and all is at their command:
only rush to arm?, and Rom all accounts,
right well have they obeyed tlie call. We
are making all kinds or preparations.
♦ * * * *
| “J have mentioned in some of my previous
letters, that the inhabitants are all gone t<
tlie rancheros and mountains. The general
hospital i.s in the Governor’s house, and a
splendid one it is. The flower pots around
the fountain alone, numbers over 390 of the
most choice plants, two kitchen", a splendid
b.»thing, establishment, and every thing else
in keeping. Speaking of stores above, 1
wnu'd only mention a few of our supplies—
I Majors Dix and Coffee ten days since brought
up $200,000 —Majors Colquit and Weston
arrived here from Monterey last night, with
i gome seven wagon loads of gold and silver—
I ninety wagons loaded with provisions from
i Monterey and intended lor Gen. Taylor's
camp were ordered to be parked in the main
plaza, and not to bo nn’oacled before the ar
rival of this. I was told that there were on
hand 180,000 rations, besides some GO.OOO
pounds of Mexican flour, that had been cap
tured by our forces—Wouhi'nt all this be a
nice little prize for Santa Anna—say noth
ing of the officers baggage, money, ccc. six
hundred wagons and equipments, four parks
of artillery complete, and any quantity of
I medical supplies, hospital stores, &c. and
ammunition in ibe greatest abundance. Just
think of it—Fll dwell no longer on a theme to
; me so unpleasant. But we must and will
i whip them.
“I was out at camp the day before yester
day and stayed all nigiit. In the course of
conversation with Gen. Taylor, I him
if ho could realize, tiiat Gen. Santa Anna
was really approaching with such an army—
the old “war horse, ’’Rough and Ready,shrug
ged his shoulders and replied in this language
“let them come, d d if they don't go
back a good deal faster than they came”—
He has no fears.
* * * * *
“Brevt. Lt.Col.May with 400 men and a sec
tion of artillery, was ordered out to-day to
make a recognizance and dislodge a body of
cavalry said to be encamped about 13 miles
distant on tlie San Luis Pofosi road.
“P. S. The express is going— l have only
time to say thay May has been forced to re
tire, with the loss of at least one officer, sup
posed to bo killed,and ten men. Gen. Tay
lor bus returned to tlie heights above the |
town and will there await the a’tack of the
enemy—all is excitement and bustle, and ,
some confusion.”
It must be remembered, however, that Sal
tillo has not many natural advantages for j
defence. Gen. Worth so reported when he
wa? there in command and expected an at*
lack.
! A letter dated Saltillo, Feb. Bh, written
| by the same officer, from which we are also j
permitted to extract, gives tlie following i
enumeration of the regular troops at that ;
post:
Extract from a letter dated Sih Feb., 1347.
“We have now in this vicinity about 5000
men, out of which we have only eight com
panies of regulars as follows: Capt. Stein
and Enslis’ Ist Dragoons, Brevt and Lt.
Col. May an ! Capt. Pike Graham's 2.1 Dra
goons, Capt. Washington's Light Artillery,
Capt. Webster’s do., Capt. Bragg’s do., and
Lt. Thomas’ do., altogether they don't a
monnt to 400 men.”
Though all must feel strong confidence in
nur volunteers, there i.? great anxiety to hoar
how they will behave when first brought into
action. Courage is valueless without dis
cipline.
JXr-snicrism—it* Progrtss uu 1 ila Claims.
Probably no city in the Union of the same
size, has a larger number of intelligent be
lievers in ibis science than the city ol Au
gusta. We should be inclined to doubt
whether there are here any intelligent scep
tics, in the usual acceptation of the term.
By this vve mean those who consider the
whole affair an unmitigated humbug—a sys
tem of imposture on the one hand, of gross
delusion on the other. Many such existed a
few years ago. The general prejudices of
society—the uniform experience of mankind
—the settled opinions of the mind as to the
nature and the limits of its powers, were all
opposed to the startling claims of this new
science. It required a man of some intre
pidity to declare in the face of the world his
j conversion to the truth of the system, and his
| belief in the reality of the phenomena exhibit
ed. The dread of ridicule too often unfits
t ie most robu't mini Irom vigorous investi
gation. Ii sffll oftener suppresses the frank
disclosure of the full result in producing con
viction. But Mesmerism has steadily pro
gressed, winning its way into the mist cn
j lightened circle.?, and maintaining firmly the
foothold it obtains—fortifying its positions by
new facts and new discoveries of daily ilc
velopemefit, and deriving fresh corroboration
from the unerring demonstrations afforded by
the established sciences. It is no longer
considered evidence of an idle love of the
mar.effous, ora restless desire to pursue ab
surd novelties, for one to confess his belief
in Mesmerism,and exhibit a taste for the in
vc ligation of its mysteries. In this enmmu
niiv the number and intellectual standing of
it? proselytes would alone give it respecta
bility, were it everywhere else frowned upon
a? a monster of diseased credulity. 1 reter
rnilfing all proof derived from a distance,
some astounding facts have been here fur
nished to the world within the last two or
tfirce years by some of our most scientific
men, learned members of the Medical Facul
ty, which have placed the whole question be
yond the reach of doubt. They have done
more. They have secured tlie science from
the category of subjects solely of curious
speculator and placed it among the emi
nently practical and useful. It can no lon
ger bo classed among
“Dark.tangled doctrines,dark a? fraud ran weave,
Wliirh simple votaries shall *m trust receive.
While crallier feign belief till they believe.”
The surgeon’s knife, plunged deep info
the human body and cutting out enormous
tumors (without the infliction of pain) of
which the medical journals have reported
cases, attested by the distinguished operators,
the patients, and disinterested witnesses—
these, and a thousand minor, but not less
satisfactory proofs occurring in our midst,
have all vindicated the pretensions of mes
merism, and invoked the liveliest interest of
our citizens. That it is destined to still higher
achievements —that it will prove itself still
more eminently useful to the human race
cannot be doubted. Though the theories of
Mesrnerdate back into the last century, they
had been laid aside as impracticable and un
sound, and almost forgotten. It is but of
comparatively recent date that they have
been revived, discussed and investigated. It
is probably as yet in its infancy. In this
age, so eminently utilitarian, it will not be
allowed to pause where it is. It will be ap
plied in various ways to the discoveries of the
properties of matter, and of facts in the physi
cal world. It will be used as a valuable ad
junct to the established tests already known
to science. The medical profession, though
proverbially the most strongly wedded to es
tablished system?, and bitterly averse to iuno
vationnn long recognized theories,will invoke
its aid in the discovery of disorganization and
disease, and the application of remedies—
tlie surgeon will, a? lie ha? already, substi
tute it as preferable to the most powerful
anodynes in Pharraacopacia. Imagination
shrinks aghast from the task of speculating
on the vast results which Clairvoyance un
folds to view. The mystical line which se
perates the natural from the supernatural
cannot be traced by the mind. Not only
does the wizard, Memory, surrender his wand,
but Futurity seems to unveil at its bidding.
Intervening space becomes annihilated—
stone walls oppose no obstacle to sight, or
rather to aser.se more subtle, and even solid
mountains are to its progress but as “airy
nothing.’’ We do not not here undertake to
say how far our credulity extends in this
matter; but while freely admitting that wc
have gone all reasonable lengths in yielding
■■——w *a—l« ir r,t*?mr»t w— ,-j
credence lo facts which seem 100 well es
tablished for denial, vve are yearning to hear
something like scienlilic demonstration and
reasoning upon them. The wonders of the
electric telegraph and of the dagnerroetype
would seem,unexplained, closely allied to the
| supernatural. They would be as amazing
i as-were, to the inhabitants of Jamaica the
I prediction by Columbus, of an eclipse of
I the sun. We borrow from another the lan
guage which fitly expresses our feelings. It
occurs in a Review of licichenbach's Re
* searches on Magnetism.
“ How men of strong prejudices and rnn-
I servative turns of mind, —men wtio, like Pro
fessor Lewis, think that one is to set lie his
convictions immovably some lime or other,
feel under this threatened invasion from the
realms of science, we cannot say; for, even
j with all our hopeful and reforming tenden
; cies, we are tempted to exclaim, with Soak--
1 peare's hero, when he saw the march of the
murdered spectre>—“ Will the Jo e stretch
■ out to the crack of doom ?” In other words,
I our credulity is gelling exhausted, and ue
! long for some respite trom our attempts to
' keep up with (lie march of mind. Unlike old
j Sir Thomas Browne, who said that tl e r a
| were not enough miracles in the two Testa
( men Is for his capacity and faith, so that ho
! yearned for a great many more, we must con
! ftss if, we are a little tired of believing, and
desire to see more philosophy under ail these
accumulations of strange phenomena. Tim
marvels of Magnetism are unquestionably all
facts; for the evidence on that head cannot
! lie resisted; but is it not the season for sumo
; thinker to give us the why and wherefore of
| these remarkable occurrences?'’—Democrat
ic llccicir , March 1847.
W’e are led into tin's train of reflection by
i attending a Led are (so called) of Dr. Web
ster on Animal Magnetism at the Masonic
Hall one evening last week. Now the term
: lecture we understand to be, a discourse in
tended for instruction. We had on the oc
casion referred to, nothing of tiie kind. We
1 had am exhibition of various curious phe
i nomena in Phreno-Magnetism and Clairvoy-
I anco. They were nothing new, by the way.
1 They are almost identically the same expori
: ments that we have had in the same room
| every winter by different exhibitors ever since
i mesmerism came in vogue. But this exhi
bition can scarcely be called a lecture on the
science of mesmerism. As well might one
! cal! the muscular feats exhibited in the Cir
i cus by the man who handles the cannon
balls, “A Lecture on the Anatomical struc
ture, power? and uses of the muscles, thews
and sinews of the human holy:'’ Or the dia
p'ay by the ring master of the accomplish
ments of bis dancing horse, Champion, “A
i lecture on the nature, powers and improva
; bility of the cquinine intellect.”
Mesmerism is a grand subject for a lec
ture. It is occupying the projound attention
of many of the most philosophic minds of
Europe and America. It is daily borrowing
from and reflecting light on other sciences,
j Many of its phenomena, at first inexplicable,
1 are now fully solved on admitted philosophi
cal principles. Investigation is upon the
1 track of many others. Tne boundaries of
knowledge are gra iually enlarging, nn 1
j trenching on the realms of the seemingly
miraculous. Tire point at which that pro
gress must be stayed—the point which is to
| belli e ultima-thule of human inquiry is not
j yet readied.
Wc had intended to illustrate our mcan
; mg as lo the appropriate topics of a lecture
I on Mesmerism by quoting a few very rr
: markable discoveries, which the Researches
| of Professor Iliechenbach have brought to
light. This we must defer to another time.
In conclusion we will add that Dr. Webster
appears to be a very successful experimenter,
possessing great mesmeric power—not equal
we think to MiPs—but sufficient to exhibit
phenomena that must pnt scepticism to rout.
He is fortunate in having with him two high
ly susceptible patients, who make good clair
l voyants. 11i 3 exhibitions are interesting,
though we are not prepared to say that his
Lectures are instructive.
Cone*]) iiulciice bitlwron the War I>rpart
mrut «xii.l tirn. Tuj lor.
The Union has commenced the publication rs
this voluminous correspondence. It was called
for by resolution of the House of Representative*.
We have not yet had lime to examine any
I portion of nearly six columns already published.
Jjf We are requested to cai! attention to Mr.
D. Murphy's advertisement. It will be perceived
that his Lamps are highly recommended. 1I«
i will be in our city only one day longer, and will
be glad to receive orders at the U. S. Hotel.
Promotion*! ami Appointments.
Among the promotions and appointments
announced from the Adjutant Generals office,
we find the following ;
Brevet Lieut. Col. Thomas Childs, Capt.
3d artillery, to he Major, Feh. IG, 1317.
First Lieut. Francis O. Wyse, to be Cap
tain, March 3, 1347, company M. third Regt.
Artillery.
First Lieut. Edward J. Sieptoe, to he Cap
tain March 3. 1847, company L. third Regt.
Ifftillery.
First Lieut. Win. E. Shover, 3d Artillerv,
| to be appointed Quartermaster witii the rack
of Captain, Jan. 18, 1547.
Second Lieut. Roswell S. Ripley, to be Ist
Lieut. March 3, 1847, company K. second
Regt. Artillery.
Brev. 2d Lieut. Geo, P. Andrews, to be 2d
! Lieut. Feh. LG, 1347, vice Kelburn, promoted.
Second Lieut. Lafayette Me Law?, to bn
I Ist Lieut. Feb. 16, 1847, vice Montgomery.
; promoted.
Brevet 2d Lieut. Win. M. Gardner, of tho
Ist Infantry, to be second Lieut, vice Thom #
appointed in third Dragoons.
| Brevets for gallant and meritorious con
| duct in the several conflicts at Monterey,
j Mexico, on the 21sl 22d and 23d Sept. 1846
j —to date from Sept. 3, 1845.
Col. Wm. J. Worth, Bth Infantry, Brig t