Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

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