Newspaper Page Text
From Dip X. 0. /)<■'■, I?.
A merchant of this city has had the kindness
to e.umi mieite Pie following correspondence,
which unfortunately eonfirm our fears in regard
ta the ■cnntinoaa of the cotton crop. At Bayou
Brent, says one of th" letters, (lie crop will not
amount (none fourth the value of last year. No
lent hid yet arrived within the Bayou, and the
planters experitnired prre.il difficulty in sending
nway th>*;r agricultural produce, on account of
the Invnrss ofthe Mississippi.
Another letter from the parish of Caldwell,
(Omehile) is nearly as gloomy a., the first—the
crop being reduced one half.
A third correspondent from Cote,laytime, (Nat
ch! toehtta) concludes thus:
“/ am at this moment employed in gathering
my cotton crop, which will l»e inconsiderable
enough this year; the premature rold we have
hail, has made us lose entirely the hope of a fine
prospect, and the crop in onr parish will ho infi
nitely less than the preceding year. In fact it has
never been ao feeble. The only hope that re
in tins to us, to obtain on augmented price, the
quality ol the cotton being superior to that of Inst
year. The river is still very low, and Heaven
knows when it wifi lie navigable.' 1
From the 'Charleston Courier.
From Nassvr. — By (he Br brig Lottery, Capt.
Hinson, arrived on Saturday, we received the Nas
sau Royal Gazette of the 41!■ in tint, from which
ave copy the following paragraph. Capt. Hinson
stales that before be came nut of port the Frigate
mentioned below, had sunk, and that 300 men
had landed from her.
There was a Signal fora ship in distress, hois
ted at tbeaeveral Telegraph Station, las! evening.
AVe ire t ild thatshe i< n French Frigate, i.< inside
the miter reef to the A, until West of Ireland Island
and was for a short time on (he (dutli Heads, roll
ing heavily. When list seen from the shore—
which w,h about sunset — .die was afloat, with
some AVeUEitd Bouts alongside ; sin l still eon
lined to fire signal guns. The weather is fortu
nately very m derate, which itidu es us to indulge
(lie hope, that she may he safely brought out of
bur extremely periloussituation.
SriUMiiruT Aec. ur.vr.—About 9 o’clock
last night, the towboat Hudson, having the Brit
ish bark Lady Campbell in tow, came in contact
with tbo steamer .Semaphore from Baton Rouge,
when opp isite the custom bouse street. Neither
the Hudson or barque received auv injury, but the
Semaphore lost a considerable part of her larboard
foreguanl, and her ebuin also sustained some in
jury from the IfnAvsprit of the H. Three of the
paeaengers of the Ki mnphoro jumped overboard,
twoet whom were picked up uninjured, hut tint
third one, a black woman, was drowned. The S.
had 120passengers,on hoard.—A’. U. Courier,
Dec. Iti,
An artray tierurred in Putnam county, near
Latouton, or. the 4th inst., which proved fatal to
one ol the patties concerned therein. AVe learn,
that while in * state of intoxication, a quarrel arose
between two persona, named Garrett and Barks
dale, in which the former struck the latter on the
h 1 nd with a stick, and knocked him down,—
Barksdale recovered from the first effects of the
blow, and was thought to have received no essen
tial injury, but some hours afterwards, suddenly
fell an I rspired. Upon examination, his skull
wagfiunl to bo fra'lured. Garrett has (led.— j
Washington Aetc u I
From the ItnJTah Commarcial if the 271 h nil.
A Titan, lino IvcniEvr*—Among the peri- /
lons scenes ofthe heavy gale which caused such
wide spread disaster to our hike shipping, a fort
night since, ono has come to our knowledge
equalling in interest the most highly wrought tale
of fiction. In that fearful night, the steam boat
Constitution, Capt. Appleby, was out amidst the
terrors ol the gale, liy the glimpses caught at
intervals, when the fitful atnnil (bra moment
broke away, the anxious and watchful command- *
er was in ide aware of the critical situation of his
boat, which was rapidly drifting in—under the I
hurricane power of the i.xfte, which blew almost I
directly across the lake—toward h dangerous reef,
tram which escape would have been impossible. 1
Ho went directly to the engineer, and ordered t
on “more steam.” The reply of the engineer was
that there was already as much on as the boilers ,
would palely bear.
Again did the captain seek the duck, to see if
his laboring boat was m iking headway, mid again
returned to the engine room. Ho explained to
the engineer their hazardous situation, and told ’
him that all hope was lost, if no more headway
could be giined—but left the engineer to act Ins
discretion in the crisis. A moment of reflection,
and his decision was made. Life or death hung
on the issue. Certain destruction awaited the
boat and her devoted crew, in a few brief minutes
if she did not gain upon the driving storm. This
might be averted, it the boilers—already crowded
to a fearful pressure—could yet bear a heavier
strain, and that ho determined lotuv. True the
awful horrors or an explosion were vividly be
fore him—the mangled limbs, the scorched and
lifeless bodies, the death shrieks and the groans
of ii ipleas victims, were U’foro Ills eyes and on
lux ear—the alternative was a fearful one, yet it
must lw> resorted to.
Me coolly directed the heads of two barrels of
oil to lie broken in, and the fundees were rapidly
fed with wood dipped in the highly intlaiiiniuhle
liquid, while two men with ladles dashed the oil
into the fi lines. The intense heat which these
combustibles created, generated steam with the
rapidity of lightning, an I soon the resistless vapor
forced up the safety valve, and issued forth with
tremeu loos violence, its sharp hissing heard above
the wild uproar of the waters and the storm.
With a desp rate and determined courage, which
equalled the most darin ; heroism that the page
ol history has ever recorded, the engineer rut tin ten
upon Ii- iver ofthe eoj) Iff voire, to confine
and raise the steam to the necessary p.mer re
quired to propel th > boat against the drifting
waves! In this awful situation he calmly re
nt du-'d, until the prodigious elUirls of the engine
had forced the Constitution sullieiently oil' shore
to he beyond tin threatened danger.
This intrepid art was not a rash and vain glo
rious atl'iupl to gain the applause ofa multitude
by a Hi >1 hir In exposure ol life, in some racing
events'on—it was not the deed of a drunken and
rivkle.stm.iii, wickedly heedless ol the safety of
those whose lives were periled—but it was the
self-p,is.sesued and determined courage of one
who*'’ firmness is worthy of nil admiration. AVe
givc it as it was told to h i. rs one of those frequent
eeeiv’s of real life, whise actual realities are in
deed “stranger than fiction.'"
Cxr»K or In minSt mm eh.— U hit occasions
that return of sift win I. and sunnu r-like weath
er, about the end of September and the beginning
of October, to which we give tite name of Indian
summer, has been often ma lea question. An
article on the subject in the Democratic Review,
furnishes the explanation.
“It is well ku item that water, when passing i n .
*o the firm of ice, gives out a large quantity of its
latent lie,it. In the high northern latitudes
ted by Parry and Ross, it appears that the winter
<’o a neiiee 1 in the beginning of Seplernlier, and
t asi tar.hi ghoul the whole of that month the eon
g ’lati in procec Is with great activity. It is rea
sonable to suppose therefore from thu immense
amount of ice formed, durin g that period, that the
qu inti 1 ., ol Innit thrown into the atmo.qihere du
-1 n t th- hi mth of September, must tie sufficient
ta exert a vary powerful tad paroi publc effect up-
I on the temperature of th* air in eoentries lying
I south of the arctic circle, especially as the north
i erly winds prevail at that season.”
. . i -'I
UIIItUNICi.E AND SENTINEL.
AIIGV S T A .
TUKS DAY MORNING, I) BO KM BE II i*.
Read the rermrks in to-day’s pajicr over the
signature of “An Observer,” upon the New i ork
Bank Law. They are from the pen of one of our
mod dispassionate, reflecting, and sagacious mer
chants. !
We learn the chartor far the Upper Bridge,
over the Savannah, his been lost in the Legisla
ture of Sjuth Carolina, by a vote of 80 to -1 1.
The Giraffe.
This wonderful animal, the exhibition of which
has hern advertised in our paper for several days,
has arrived. The exhibition will be open this
day, at 10 o’clock, A. M., and continue open uptii
9 o’clock, P. M. We advise every body to go
aml sec it. The opportunity may neve offer
again. ■
Communicated, 1
Adam and Eve. 1
Mn. Editor i 1 understand the celebrated Paint- I
ingx of Adam ami Kve have arrived in town, and i
are to be opened to the public in a diy or two, and
1 hope the citizens of Augusta will not forget what ,
is still due to their character and lisle, in the cm-
couragcmenl hitherto given to the line arts, and
permit these celebrated Paintings to depart without
going, one and all, to see them. P.
Disastrous Fire at itiifl'alo, N. V.
The. Buffalo Daily Htarexlra, of Friday the 7th
iust., gives the particulars of a destructive lire in
that city, in dmling the total loss of the office and
materials of that paper. It commenced at 11 o'-
eloek on Thursday night, and continued until 3
the next morning. It originated in a wooden
building adjoining the brick black in which tin;
■Star office was situated.
This fire has swept the entire distance between
the Commercial and City Bunks—both of which,
the former particularly, were endangered by it.—
All the valuables were removed from the Com,
mereial Hank. The total loss is estimated at $90,-
000, about 13,000 of which is covered by insurance.
The legislature of Indiana, commenced on the
Oil inst. Tho whigs elected all their officers in
both houses. Col. Evans, the old speaker of the
House of Representatives was elected.
The schr. United Stales, which arrived at Ha.
vans, on the fid inst, from Key West, had on
board the Cnpt?in and nine men, of the crew of
I the brig Triuinfanto, which sailed from New Or
leans, for Barhadoes, via Havana, and iv.is lost on
die night of the 11th till., on the Florida const. j
f The report that Mr. Carlin, Governor elect of 1
Illinois, is dead, appears to he without foundation. r
I
Com. Nicholson-.— AVe are pained to state i v
(says th; fl /lt. Arur. of 1 fith inst.) that Com- I
niodore J. J. Nicholson died at his residence in 1
this city yesterday evening about seven o’clock l f
of apoplexy, after only a few hours’ illness. *
x y j
For the. Chronicle and Sentinel. i;
The “Articles of Association” ofthe new Atner. p
iean Exchange Bank, framed in accordance with t!
the act of the Legislature of the (State of New t
York to authorize Banking, passed in April last, g
hiving been offered to tho citizens ofthe United f
States and to the commercial world at large as I
comprising together a fundamental law embra- t
ring within its scope all the essentials of a perfect [
system of Banking, it may be serviceable to ox- I
amine into (he grounds of such lofty pretensions, t
Although ushered into public notice as the joint (
product of the “most intelligent Hankers, Mcr- i
chants and Councillors eminent in the law,” ami 1
as having met, in its present form, “their entire ■
approbation’’ it will not perhaps be diftienlt to
show, from the results of past experience, that its
foundations are unstable, dangerous and unman
ageable ; that the temptations to excess which it
presents are irrcsistabic, and that, ns a political
power, in so far as Banking (tho greatest power
of nil) is concerned, tho two gigantic, establish
ments, with capitals of Fifty Millions of Dollars
each, springing out of this law, would give a pro"
pondernuce to the State of Now York which
would bo incompatible with the independence of
all the other States ofthe Union.
It is not probable that, with the example of En
gland ami her great government establishment
before their eyes, tho enlightened portion of the
Stale of New York could have been ignorant id
the a guments which have been urged in fuvou r
of a National Bank, created by the Imperial Le
gislalurcand become indispensable in every coun
try for the well-woiking of a monetary system,
the regulation ofthe internal and foreign exchan
ges ami the preservation of a due proportion of
metallic and paper emulation. But although
the expediency of renewing the charter of the late
Bank ol the I nited States was never doubted in
other quarters, it seems rather to be the feeling of
the public in this country to endeavour to create
| -m h a system ol perfect cheeks and securities up
on Joint Slock Banks us to render free trade in
Hanking perfectly safe and efficient. It is true
th ■( our constitution, in reference to the Supreme
Sovereign Power existing in each separate State
recognizes an linjxnum in inijxrio a species or
self Government from which Banking is not ex.
eluded, tho’ it ought to be, for the notes of all the
States may be said to be of general circulation in
consequence of the state of mutual dependence
which exists between the North and the South’
the E >st and the A\ cst, and an over-issue conse
quently. on the part of tho Ranking Institution
if any one individual State, affect* the whole I
I nion with all the evils which liny flow from it.
Pile opinion herein avowed is that the power for
■ coating a system of Banking ought to he vested
in the Federal Government, as is the coining of
money—that the laws ou rht to be uniform and
not be left to the w II of the Legislature of any
one Sate and that instead ol ~uch Danksas thoao j
which have been gotten up under the new law of
the State of N. York with capitals of fifty
of dollars each, endowed with the power of in-V v
dieting the greatest injury if misdirected, the only
Banking Institution upon n great scale which is
fitting for this country would he a general Hank,
Treated hy an act of Congress having its Branches
in all important places and exchanging periodical
ly with all other Banks—the only way of keeping
m cheek the temptation to over-issue. The entire
issues would then he governed apd regulated, as.
those ot a great commercial country ought to he,
viz: iu conformity with the influx and efflux of
bullion, increasing when it flows into, and decreas
ing when it flows out of die country. It is to bo
feared that wader the existing State of affairs, the
issues of the Joint Slock Hanks will not be regu
lated by any such standard, but exclusively by the
State of credit and prices in the District or Stale
in which they may happen to he situated, and that
the rule which practice has proved to he correct,
viz: always to have as much specie on hand ns
may amount, w hen Exchange is at par, to a third
part of the liabilities, including deposits and is
sues, wiJJ be lost sight of—every body having an
jrresistaUc temptation, to exceed the bounds op
moderation and the shareholder to incrcasethc div.
blend aud to participate in the general accommoda
tion both directly and indirectly resulting from an
abundant circulation, or in other words from “mo
ney being plenty.”—A.s every state in the union
may create banks by dissimilar laws, no general
principle of control can affect the issues of nil,
and in the competition of interests, each having
the spur of profit, will over-issue if it can.
The United States Bunk (falsely so called, ns
its charter is given by the Btile of Pennsylvania,)
cannot be cited an a proper example of a bank of
control, for by departing from the correct princi
ples of banking it is now involved in a vortex of
speculative confusion alike dangerous to itself
and to the independence of all branches of com
merce.—For example, an attempt to monopolize
cotton by purchasing at the place of growth and
sending to Europe on consignment, cannot be
held to come within the views of banking.
The question of, w hat is the correct principle
ol banking? presents itself for consideration at
the present day, under two points of view:—The
first, its connexion with, or subjection to the con.
trol of tin- government so as to regulate the whole
monetary system of the country:—The second,
its total freedom from all privilege or subjection,
whatever, or in other words a perfect free trade in
banking. The (wo experiments have not yet been
rigidly tried ; for iu England the power of issue
has never been solely confined to the bank of
England, aud in this country, chartered and joint
stock banks have never been absolutely free from
a taint ot monopoly and privilege.—From the in
vestigations ol the British parliament in IB3fi, it
appears that the issue of the English joint-stock
banks.—(establishments conducted with more
or less prudence, and restrained by nil description:
ol checks and guarantees.) overpowered the con
tractions of the bank of England, at a period
when a regard to the foreign exchanges would
have shown the necessity of imitating her atten
tion to the sound rule of banking, it would there
fore follow that live only way to preserve (fir in
terests of the country, from living brought into [
jeopardy, is to adhere to the principle of unity of 1
issue, or in other words to confine that exclusive I
power to one establishment. It is well known S
that many remedies have been proposed, but from I
the impossibility ol inventing perfect cheeks and !
guarantees for the public, so long as banks of do- |
posito may discount to any amount, it must be I
hold that the charter of the Dank of England, is I
the great safe-guard of the British Empire:—Ex- 1
perienec having also taught in this country, the,
fatal consequences of over-issue, and the impos
sibility of imposing sufficient cheeks upon the
chartered banks under the old law, it has given
rise to this new attempt, at a more perfect legisla
tion, embodied in the I nv, under discussion, and
co-relative *• articles of association,” and founded
upon the opposite principle of a free trade in bank
ing. Opinion is also divided as to what ought to be
the practical rule of banking, alike iu all banka
whether private, joint stock or chartered. It is
hcbl by one rhiss, that the legitimate profit of a
banker is the collection and re-distribution of mo
ney— the bank lending to A. what it receives in
deposiie from 15.—trading with the deposites and
amount ol circulation, and keeping in reserve the
actually paid np capital to fall back upon—the
difference of the terms at which it borrows, and
those at which it lends constituting the profit.
By another class it is held to be a fair course
for u Iwuk to invest in discounts such part
more or less, of its paid up capital, and the money
it has in deposites from customers as the practice
and judgement of the directors may deem safe,
and that the ease ordifficulty ol procuring inonev
in the money market upon bills may be, the cri
terion : a discount account to a fixed amount with
some other bank not contingent upon the money
market and a reserve of calls or shares to apply
to in ease of want or of extended business; but
in this latter cose it is clear that the system, if
universal, would be no guarantee.—A joint-stock
bank with a part of its capital paid up, may dis
count every fraction of that amount trusting to
its unpaid calls in cose of difficulty, to the eventual
piss both of its proprietors and the public; it may
even discount to the whole extent of its capital or
three or four times beyond it;—lt is vam to trust
to the publication of a balance sheet as a cheek
in the manner of this New York law A bans.
with fifty millions discounts perhaps obligations
for one hundred an 1 (iffy millions,—lt would not
I have dm '»i, had it not deeme 1 them god, eon
| sequently it will reckon them among its assets.—
i Hut let credit, from any unforeseen cause, lie so
shaken, that these bill* (which is possible) may
not bo worth fitly million of dollars, the public,
will find to their cost lint the bank is one hun
dred millions ot dollars, worse than nothing. It
is to be feared that in the United States generally,
| bankers trust more to dep.isitei and credit
| them to their command of capital of their own,
groat as the nominal amount of that may bo
| in the instance under consideration, and that
jtl cir notions of profits arc far 100 extra
\ riif ~ nl li liM^^r— l except
and deceptive principles. Hanking, in the
s ordinary slate of things, is not a business from
'VhieJj 1, irje profits can be expected.—At present
the dividends on the, stock of the best e italdishgil
Scotch banks varies from almut fiveto six percent,
and as they might invest their capital at SJA or 4
per cent, it appears that the real profits of banking
even in the best managed concerns can hardly be
estimated at more than from 1 d per cent, to 2 j
per cent. In fact this is corroborated by the evi
dence of one of the most intelligent directors* of
one of the best conducted of the English joint
stock banks, who declares the profits on the cir
culation of the banks to bo two per cent, after de
ducting the cost of their issue and of the protce.
lion kept in bullion.
Os the two opinions it is suppose 1 that the
first is the sounder basis of a bank, and, if so
it follows that the practice of re-discounting is
unsafe for the interests of the public, as assets
cannot be made available in times of emergency
to meet liabilities—that the publication of a ba
lance-sheet is but a fallacious chock—that a per
fect law of banking should provide a remedy and
enforce the payment of a large portion or even of
the whole of the capital, because credit with the
public is affected by nominnl capital—that shares
ought to be fixed by law at such amounts as shall
make them subjects of bona fide investment and
not at small ones which arc subjects of transfer
and speculation—that responsibility ought to bo
unlimitod, and, last of all, that the security to be
granted should not only be safe and available but
proportioned to its issues, including in that word
not only its circulation but also its deposits.
Keeping these general remarks in view we now
come to an examination of the new Exchange
Bank affair. An enormous fallacy appears at its
very foundation. The idea that bonds, mort
gages of land, state slocks, &c., could afford a
sufficient aud convertible security for a bank's
circulating capital is somewhat novel, and ono j
which, when regarded as the means of raising
erddit, the example of Law’s Land Bank in
England, and the Bank of Ayr, in Scotland,
have refuted in the opinions of almost all prac
tical men. This gigantic Mont de Piete, pro
fesses to issue valid notes secured by only twice
their worth in land, an instance of generous in
discretion which no Mont de Piete was ever
before guilty of:—least of all when the claims
upon it may amount eventually to not only twice
but five times the worth of its pledges! Such
however, is the grandeur of our views. The no
tion of the unlimited credit to be raised by pledg
in']; the public debt, and the whole uiiinciunbcr
ied soil with its appendages totally blinded its
projectors to the existence, by any possibilty, of
i any doubt as to its con variability at all times to
the pressing wants of its creditors, in times ol
! calamity us well as of prosperity, in war as in
! peace, in famine as in abundance. Seriously
I speaking the capital to be raised is in its nature
objectionable in the highest degree. The stock
of the State and of the city of New-York, may
not always be, and at times are not immediately
convertible. A still greater objection is (let
! bonds and mortgages be, However, well secured,)
I that the capital in spiceic is out of all p oportion
small. The assets of a bank ought at all times
to be immediately and promptly convertible, and
that without creating a pressure upon the money
market. The solvability of the security is not
the only essential—the history of the Land Hunk
of Law and of the Ayr Bank, are memorable
I examples of paper eredit issued upon such secu
| rities. The County of Middlesex, with London
I within its bounds would be an ample and solid
| security ; but represent any considerable portion
ol it by on issue of bank notes, payable in specie
at the will of the holder, and they would not
| survive for any length of time, —that which was
i their value yesterday would not bo so to-day, and
I still less to-morrow ; every successive unanswered
call for specie would lower still further the value
of the pledge staked, and in the end it would be
i come only nominally valuable. Such most pro
i bably, would be the result upon property, of the
i action of the money market. If the capital of
difiv millions of dollars were all paid up, pledged
and notes to that amount issued, it is more than
likely that deposits for three times that amount
would be made with the bank, and by it pledged
for more notes, or used in discounts, and what
i; the amount of specie required by this law to
be kept in its coffers to meet these conjunct lia
bilities ? Wo ran hardly believe our eyes when
wo road in the last section that it is to he “ twelve
and a half per cent of the amount of bills or
notes in c'rculalhn,” as money, total silence
being preserved as to deposits, in ignorance per
haps that the Hank of England never thinks herself
safe unless she has a third pari of the liabilities
inchul'tig both deposits and issues always in spy.
eie or bullion iu her possession.
Iu this bank law there exists an imperfect pro
vision against purchases of land, and none
against purchases of ships, mines, public foreign
government stork, or stock of shares (bank,) and
no provision for a reserve fund.
Another remarkable and very objectionable
featimj is the extraordinary latitude given to
banking in the State of Ncw-Y'ork, by this law.
It comprises the “whole of the United States and
elsewhere.” What, therefore, it may be asked, is
to prevent the new banks from having branches
in London, Amsterdam, Paris, Quebec, or Nova
Z -mlila ! And while there is no limit to the dis
tance of these agencies, the notes arc made “pay-
I able on demand at the place of business “within
| the State of New York, of such person or associa
tion,” so that by issuing them at a brancli bank,
p-rhaps five hundred miles distant from the head
bank, the chances are that they will continue for
a much longer period in circulation, and that they
will consequently be aide to carry on business
with a much less amount of capital than if they
were, as they ought to be, obliged to pay the notes
ti( the branches as well as at the principal office
Wilh such an enormous capital and such extend
ed agencies, the new banks must be equally pow
* Kvid-nco of John Amo ev F.'-q. Stonebri Igc and
mieminster l ank, Dept, on Joint Stock Banks
1 >33, page 3S. ’
i engine as any State bank wlial- 1
soever, but powerful only lor evil. A cursory
view al« > indicates that too great j> wars have
born entrusted to the Comptroller, whose duty
it is to ascertain the character of t' c mortgage ,
title and value of the lands pledged, an 1 who in; y
also issue out as many notes in circulation ns the
banks buy of him without regard to the fact of
whether they are bought with the deposit money
of customers or with the banks own capital.
In its internal constitution, the additional ma
chinery of the council, who are to exercise a con
trol over the directors for the purposes of correct
management, is a novelty upon which experience
alone can decide; it is unnecessary to canvass it
hero.
A f:w words may now suffice byway of re
capitulation.
J'his project of an Exchange Bank with a ca
p.tal of I 1 ifty Millions of Dollars is objectionable
Ist. Because the power for creating a system
of banking ought to ho vested in the General Gov
ernment alone.
2d. Because the control of the exchanges is
contemplated by the Exchange Bank, and if car
ried to the extent proposed, the influence of the
State ot New York would become so groat, that
politically speaking, it would entirely over
turn the balance of power.
•Id. Because National Banks are becoming
more and more indispensable in every commer
cial country tor the well-working of a monetary
system both internally and externally.
4th. Because of the insufliccney of the securi
ties.
If, however, it should seem good to our Le.gis
11tors to allow the public to regulate the currency
lor itself, ntthc discretion of the directors of the
different bmks, in the expectation that the gene
ral balance of interests will compensate for indi
vidual derangements, it is an experiment from
which they cannot fail to derive instruction.
Such a course would seem to he pregnant with
consequences similar to those which have rccen'-
ly produced so fatal an effect upon the progressive
welfare of the country. Few shares arc likely to
he h.-ld by Foreigners in these embryo banks
and still fewer, we should imagine, of the notes
‘ scoured hy pledgo'of real estate.’’ The whole
project may, we think, be denominated, in con
, elusion, a mass of conceit and absurdity, whu h
; m«y never be extensively called into action, but
which, nevertheless, deserves to be exposed.
AN OBSERVER,
The Augusta illinor.
Wo perceive by the last number of the Mirror
that the committee ofl.itor.iry gentlemen appoin
ted by the editor to do ide upon the merits of the
compositions submitted for the prizes altered by
him last summer, hare awarded the first prize to
Miss M. E. Mi nan xk, of Abbeville district, S.C.
authotess of the “Hr'Huh Purfizan, a Talc of
Hie Trines of Old.' The talc is founded upon
incidents of the revolution which transpired in
South Carolina and Georgia, towards the close of
that cvcntlul struggle; and if wo may judge from
the first two chapters, by the perusal of which
wo have been highly entertained, it will be read
bytlio readers of the Mirror with more than usu
al interest.
1 he prize oil 'rod for the best Poem, has been
awarded to Judge R. M. Cu.vui.tox, of Savan
nah, Ga.
The paper before us is certainly very creditable,
and evinces a high degree of improvement. In
deed the Mirror has already obtained a standard
in the ranks of literature, such as we little anti
cipated could ever be acquired by a work of the
kind in this section of country, considering the
powerful competition of the North, and the pro
verbial apathy of our people on the subject.
The Mirror most assuredly merits the cordial
support oftho Southern public, with whose inter
ests it is identified, in a much greater degree than
is generally supposed.
We extract below the remarks of the editor
accompanying the prize laic.
“We commence in our present number the
publication of our prize articles, and we desire to
congratulate our readers upon the success which
has attended our efforts to elicit something, of
home production, worthy their admiration. We
believe we may safely do so while we submit for
their perusal, "The British Parlizun,” by a
young lady of South Carolina.
The establishment of the Mirror wai regarded
by many as a most visionary project, one for
which there was not the remotest prospect of
success, and many who wished tis well, seriously
advised us to abandon the entcrprizc. But vfTicn
we proposed for prize compositions, and thus .4. t
up a pretension to originality, our insanity, in the
estimation of some, was established beyond a
doubt. Prize Compositions indeed ! Southern
Literature—Original Matter, Ac. How prepos
terous! said they. In the face of all our coun
sellors, however, we have made the experiment
and we arc quite satisfied with the result. We
•arc satisfied—and we think the most sceptical
should be satisfied, that there is literary talent at
home, unit that that talent only needs an impetus
t) bring it forth. Nothing is so eminently cal u
luted to dcvelope the literature of any country, as
tin 1 establishment of a press devoted to that object.
Nor is it the voluminous Quarterlies anil Mon/h
I;/ Heviews that are calculated to foster and pro
mote the inf nit literature of this or any other
country. The Southern Review was iiot sus
tained—nor will one be sustained for yea’s to
come. A sin dl portion only of our people pos
sess a relish for critical reviews, or learned disser
tations upon abstruse subjects. But it is the
lighter order of literature that finds a ready wel
come at every fire-side, and ills such works alone
that will meet with a competent support. And it
is works of this character that are capable of
achieving the most good ; for under a proper di
rection they cannot fail toexertn beneficial influ
ence upon the mind at the same time that they
amuse and instruct, by cultivating a taste for the
more exalted and dignified branches of literature.
Such works invite the energies of the young and
diffident to competition, and by reflecting
the lirst faint images ot the mind, encourage the
young adventurer in the paths of literature.
1 rior to the establishment of the Mirror, there
had not been so much mailer, of a literary charac
ter, published in the city of Augusta, in a whole
year, as is contained in the present number of our
paper; and if there wore more than one or two
writers in the State, who turned any considera
ble attention io literature, their fame was better
known and appreciated abroad than at home.—
Why was ’lds! Simply because there was no
literary medium at home—nothing to excite
emulation. In the seven months during which
'he Mirror h is been in existence, there has boon
* introduced through its columns to the publi
many yoi n writers, • 0 a f.,, v n r .. >,
ti ;cd at no diet nt day, to rank high amonVl?' *
b tgh ext ornanie Use! o r nationalliter*? '
Already has the genius 0 | southern lit,,-'
awakened from her lethargy, and the voting*
imbibing a morel influence that, never i-.T'' ?
va e and refine. Already has the |,t “g’ 10 clf ’
called with her wand of enchantment ‘the7a
mat st persona ot the scenes of uur early bi«i
from the oblivion of years, and bid thorn Wrnm’
the pageot romance; and we feel confident £
he day is approach,ng, when we may „o lont
be ashamed ot Southern Literature. ‘ ¥
L I those who prom unce us visinnnrv i -
British I’ari'z in,” commenced I? " ' ,ht
-nt Her of the Mirror. Read this beautiful?
mune of ‘ the times of ol I’*-follow thea U t?
esi through the thrilling incidents of her story -
read her faithlul descriptions of our own pu-L
esque scenery, and bear in mind that hcr’s ar „
true pictures founded upon historical facts, ~ ,
it the reader does not feel an emotion of more than
ordinary pleasure, then wo will forego our claim
upon his credulity. 1
From the -V. O. Courier. Dec. 13
Latest from Texas.
By the steamer Columbia, vve have Galveston
papers of the 7th insf., and Houston of the 4th
The intelligence they contain may be termed ouiio
paafie, when compared with previous advices.
i ranquihty seems to prevail along the borders
Os our country. The. Indians, we learn, have "!
coded to the mountains to prepare, no doubt f„ r
a spring c, mpa.gn. We congratulate the con, 1
upon the passage of u law, the wise provision, f
which will soon establish peace and security upon
our frontier. The only danger to bo apprehend
cd at this moment must spring from the hostile
spirit oftho Indians in the cast,—tribes which
h ivc recently end grated from the Southern S'atcs k
of the American Union. No very recent intellf- *
genee has ro idled us from that quarter. \V„
hope to be enabled hy our next to furnish rone
accounts which may be lehcd upon as correct.
_ - 11.11 „
MARINE intelliugncbT 9
f'n xm.KSTON, December 17.
Arrive 1 on Saturday —.‘Blip Thomas Bennett
I (ague, Liverpool; ship Leonoe,Graves. New York’ 1
ba quo Ganges, Ford. New York ; hr. Iri «■ Lottery’ ’
Hinson, Hamilton, (Dor;) brig Cabinet, Fi.ilicr, St!
Pierres, (Wart;) C. 1,, biig Cor lelia. S herwood, Now
ork ; brig Two Sisters, Haynes, New York: bri»
a,ossa, Baymo e. Phi adelpbia ; steam packet Gov! I
Dudley. Ivy, Wilmington, N. C. 1 n
r,.' l r' nTn- * e ' ,erda >'—' ine brig Gen. Pineknev, I
b 00l lialtimoie ; steam pack, t North Carolina, Da- ’
vis, Wilmington. 5
Cleared Brig Science, Harding, Bordeaux • brio I
Talisman, Pratt, Philadelphia; sebr. I
Brook bold. Philadelphia; U. S. Mail sclir Ho
Grilfilb, Key West. 1 ’ I
Went in sea Saturday —Fr. brig Louisa Estor
Bordeaux; line brig Angola, Tufts, Bostoo ; II I,’
brig Sun, Brown, New York; brig Veto. HollisW I
Darien ; brig Tuscan, Kin r, Georg*own • steam
pa-ket South Carolina, < olfey, Baltimore; steam
packet Gov. Dudley, Ivy, Wilmington.
OO" Wc "re requested to state that the Rev. Ale.t.
Laaiiiiell. of Virginia, will preach in the Methodist
CiinrclijOn Tuesday cvoning next, IStli inst., at 7
o clock. Citizens generally are invited to attend
X/' VVe are authorised to announce ETHEL
DR ED TARVER, as a candidate for County
Sin vex 01 of Richmond County, at the approaching
election in January. td dec 17 °
<U" " ° arc authorized to announce COSHY
DICKINSON as a candidate for re-election to the
office of Receiver of Tax Returns for Richmond
county, at the election on the first Monday in Jan
uary next. dec 4 td« i
, (O' TOSH CIA ,S. WfLKJSIi, respectfully offers 1
himse 1 to the good people of Richmond county,
•as a Candidate for the Receiver of Tax Returns,
and solemnly pledges himself faithfully, seduously,
and in lulgently, to discharge the duties of the sta-
Hnn »i ; ,. ,, m his Feito v-citiicns be so kind as to
elect him. j j
Tme suhsriihcr is prepared to make advances
on otton consigned to his friends in Liver-
P oul - ADAM JOHNSTON
Augusta, December PS. IS3B. ] m
FANCY GOOiHL
J l ' . crank has j"st received,
t » ' tetoria Scarfs and Satin Mantles,
Thread, Bobiuet and Blond Edgings,
Prt nt, Spot and Plain Quillings,
. IH< h Paris Kuliie Col ars,
do plain . do
S-l black, plain ami figured Thule Lace
Nainsook,Swiss and Mull Muslin,
Black Pic Nic Gloves,
Needles in boxes, together with a variety of
other articles. ( ] cc jq
¥_U L. MARTIN, DENTIST, has returned In
»3 • I l ' ls Room No. lo,in the private part
of Hi.) U. S. Hotel. t s nov 27
1111 E subscriber being about to leave the state
. for a few months, JNO. M. HAMPTON, of
Laurens county, wiil act as his agent and attorney
until he retains. JOHN THOMAS.
Dublin, Lauren-; co., Ga., Dee. 17, ISIS. w ot* f
Til.llE, FLOUII, &c7
O ( ' ASKS best Tbomaston Stone Lime
*) { f 50 xvbolo & half bb!s Canal Flour
30 bbis N. Gin
30 Fi'ton’s N. Rum
20 half bbls Butter Crackers
10 “ “ No. I, Mackerel
1(1 qr « <■
Just received and for sa’c by
THOMAS DAVIS,
L! ~ld&2trw 1 S 3, Broad-street.
T NOTICE.—The subscriber has remov
; 0,1 h « ( ’dice to Ibe second slory of McK. nzio
* Bennocb s corner. He will alien) puneiually
lotbe business of bis profusion, in llm Courts of
Rebimm-I county, Georgia, nml Edgofiol- and
I! r i"oll dislriris S. C.
oe 10 HvO JAMES T. GRAV.
BOV KOI NG.— A lew gentlcinen can be uc
fomm fl'ttri'i i h and lofl^iiiuf at Mrs.
.1, Cani -’s, on Broad-street, next door above tbo
Bridge Bunk.
iCT Mrs. C. can also necomm ulatc a few Iran
lent hoarders. it' net 25
pjxTOITCE. — I’he stihseri ers being noxious to
close their business, request all t lose imb hlod
to ihern io rauhi imniodiate payment, and all those
to whom vve are indebted, will please present their
accounts. CLARKE & HOLLAND.
«-pl 8 ,(
SSILCOX •$• BROTHER Cabinet,
Chair and Sofa Ware-room, Broad
street, opposite Gould, Bulkier & Co.
The subscribers have removed from
their former location to the large
FTjJ “nd rommo lions store of Mr. IV. Nc!-
Cfjg'z'r „gsaa.stock of articles in the above line,
piineipa'ly of their own manufacture, made from
jbe latest and most approved New York patterns,
which consist in part oI the following—marble top
sideboard;, mahogany do., pier, < ard,centre, dining,
t°a, work, and other tables, dressing bureaus with
marble and mahogany tops, seeretaiies and book
cases, sofas, ottomans, marb'e top wash,stands,
writing desks, footstools, mahogany, <url and bird,-
eye map'e bedsteads; also five doz. excel ont ma
hogany French, half French and Giccinn chairs,
ami a variety of fancy, rane, rush, and wood seat
do. Thanktul ior past patronage, they solicit a
continuance oi the same at Ibeir new store, wlicio
they wi'l continue to sell at unusually low prices, \
and warrant the goods equal to any ' aprii 2(>
. , DISSOLUTION.
11l HE eopnrincrsbip bcremfiire existing unde
A firm of Robert-on .V. Benedict, is this day dis
solved by mutual consent. All persons .mlebicl
to the Into linn aro requested to mako irnmediaia
pnvmeni to .1. B. Robertson, who is authorised l"
c- I eel nil the oiitstnmling debts, and aifernl to ad
tbo misellled business. J. B. ROBERTSON
Auuiista, Tih July, 1837. I. S BENEDICT
Kr.L B. ROBERTSON will cmtinue ibe Shoo
Business on his own account al llm old slan I, me!
sobciis a conlinunncc of lb" for cr pal mu.a re <-*.
end' d to the late firm 173 fjuly 25