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lively from agricultural productions,
which find their market principally in for
eign countries. It is the demand of that
market chiefly which gives them their
value, and front that market we obtain
most of the various commodities required
for our consumption.
Foreign commerce, theretore, is an el
ement of our wealth, scarcely less essen
tial than agriculture itself. Is it, then,
compatible with that self-praised inde
pendence, which should belong to every
tree State, to entrust the almost exclusive
agency of conducting this great national
interest to the citizens of other and dis
tant Stntes, who do not reside among us,
and who, so far from having any sympa
thies for us, constrain us to believe that
many of them are deeply prejudiced,
against our civil institutions? VV e beg
you, fellow citizens, to give to tins view
of the subject that grave and deliberate
consideration which it so obviously de
mands. We speak more from the re-j
cords of our own sad experience, than
from the speculations of theory, when we !
express the opinion, that the commercial
independence we are now seeking to es
tablish, is indispensable to the preserva
tion of our political independence. Can
it be believed, that the enormous and op
pressive impositions of the protective sys-j
tem would have been so long and patient-j
ly borne, if our own proper commerce I
had been carried on through our own 1
cities, and by our own merchants? ll i
these had exported our agricultural staples j
and imported the manufactures lor which \
they were exchanged, would a doubt ever j
have been entertained that the high du-j
ties imposed upon those manulactures,
with an explicit view to their prohibition, I
was a burthen specifically laid upon the
productions of our industry, taking just
so much front their value, compared with
the value of the similar and rival produc
tions of other countries? Would the
People of the Southern and Southwestern
States have submitted, in 1832, to the
levy of 24 millions of federal revenue
from sixty millions of their imports, to
he carried oIT and disbursed in distant
communities, making “our barrenness an
inventory to particularize their abun
dance?
Yet all this, and more, did we patiently
endure for years; many of us, owing to
the confusion of ideas resulting from the
disjointed condition of our foreign com
merce, doubting whether the burthen was
not a benefit conferred upon us by a pa
rental government. Let this fatal separa
tion of our agriculture and our commerce
and the unnatural alliance which has beeu
productive of such pernicious fruits, ex
ist no longer. “It cannot come to good.”
Wc are strongly inclined to the opiu-i
ion, that it is principally by the agency of j
credit, instead of money capital, and that
credit resting upon our staples, that this
branch of commerce has been hitherto j
carried on by Northern merchants. So';
far as credit is to he used as an agent in
conducting it—and we believe it is one of
the most legitimate purposes of a well
regulated system of credit—it cannot he
doubted that our own merchants have de- 1
cided advantages over those of the North.;
They are nearer to the great fund l»v;
which that credit is to be ultimately re-!
deemed, and can more easily avail them-;
c>cl ves of the use of it. But to prevent
misapprehension, we deem this the prop
er place to explain our views on the* sub
ject of credit, and the extent to which it
can he safely and legitimately used as a '
cheap substitute for money.
Credit we regard as the legitimate otY
spring of commerce and free institutions,
and a most active and salutary agent in
the production of nation.,] and individual
wealth Far from being demoralizing in
its tendency, it is pre-eminently the re
verse, as it essentially implies mutual and
extended confidence, founded upon gen
eral, known and established habits of
honesty and punctuality. It can exist
only in an atmosphere composed of such
elements. But though we deem thus
highly of credit, paradoxical as it may ;
seem at the first view, we regard debt, in
itself, as being very far from a benefit, and
in the extent to which it is habitually car
ried in our country, a very great, and
sometimes a demoralizing evil. That
credit which is merely the correlative of
indebtedness, is not the credit of which
we have spoken. To illustrate our mean
ing, we could not select a case more strik
ingly appropriate, than that of the foreign
commerce now under discussion. We
annually export, for example, to Europe,
agricultural staples to the amount of eighty
millions, and import merchandize to the
same or a corresponding amount. If this
were a transaction between two individu
als, or even between two governments, it
is obvious that no money would be requir
ed to effect the exchange, however numer
ous might be the separate sales and pur
chases into which it might be subdivided.
If the European, for example, would .
purchase cotton to the amount of a mil-!
lion to-day, it would be certain that the
American would have occasion to pur
chase that amount of merchandize to
morrow, and, instead of keeping a dead
capital in money, to pay backwards and
forwards thro’ the extended operations of
the whole year, they would make use of ;
mutual credits, either in the form of con
veutional tokens, or entries upon their re
spective books- This would be an exam
ple of credit in its most safe and salutary
form; at the same time performing the
functions us money, and avoiding the evils
debt. \nd even as this commerce is
[ actually carried on by the separate opera
tions of unconnected individuals, hills ot
i exchange, under a well regulated system
of mutual credits, might be made to per
form the same function, to a much great
er extent, than it bus hitherto done. This
branch of credit rests upon the solid
i foundation of property, and it can scarce
ly be doubted that importing merchants,
'residing in the staple growing States,
could organize a much more perfect sys
tem with the manufacturers of Europe,
than any that has heretofore existed.
They have great advantages over the
Northern merchants in this respect. They
are nearer to the consumers, know better
the extent and nature of their wants, and
can supply them by a more rapid opera
tion, involving .Jess delay, and requiring
shorter credits from abroad. Short cred
its and quick returns, making a small cap
ital, by frequent operations, and moder
ate profits, answer the purpose of a large
one moving more slowly, will be the true
policy of our importing merchants. For
such a system, our means of internal
communication, unobstructed at all sea-1
sous, and consisting, to a great and rap
idly increasing extent, of rail roads, will
afford facilitios unknown to any other
portion of the United States. But to en
able our importing merchants to intro
duce this system of short credits, in
their foreign transactions, the co-opera
tion of our planters and consumers is in
dispensable. A radical change must be
made in their system ol'economy. Their
habit of laying out their incomes before
they get them, and requiring a credit, in
all tiieir dealing tor the year, till the close
ol it, or until they sell their crops, even
if it he longer, is the root of the. evil of
our whole system of credit. It must he
eradicated it' we would produce a great
and salutarv reform in our co nincrce and
credit. If the planters require a long
■ credit, the merchants, wholesale and re
tail, through whom they are supplied,
: would require an equally long
| credit, so far as they purchase upon cred
it. A large money capital becomes thus
| necessary for the importing merchants,
that a long credit may he* extended to the
j planters, who so far from really requiring
credit, own the* whole capital which pays
for our entire annual importations! This
; is a complete* inversion o! the natural or
! der of things. The planters, producing and
| possessing that w hich constitutes almost
i the whole of our annual wealth, and hai -
ling the means of giving credit to every
other class, require credit of all others!
How does this happen?—The answer i?
easv. There is no mystery about it. It
results from starting at the* wrong point,
and expending every year the proceeds ol
the coming crop, instead of tlie* erep al-
ready made. If every planter would (
adopt the system of expending, in the*
current year, the income of the* year pre-j
ceding, and of making all his purchases
for cash, instead of on credit, he would 1
most palpably promote Ins own interest,
and individually contribute* his part to a
general reform of the most vital import
ance to the whole country. Highly its ■
we estimate credit, in the operations of
commerce, we believe it may. be affirmed,
as a general truth, that debt is a most con
suming moth to the planting interest.
What practical planter can doubt, that
lor the credits annually obtained by him
self or his neighbors, at tho sales of the
estates of deceased persons, and in v ari
ous other mode«, he pays from lb or 20
per cent, more than the same property
! would cost, if purchased with cash in
hand. Let the suggested change in our
economy then,be no longer delayed. Every
j planter who adopts it will at once per
ceive its salutary effects upon Ins own
; comfort, independence and prosperity; and
lie will have the consolation of reflecting,
I that he is at the same time performing the
I duty of a patriot citizen. We confident
ly believe it would dispense with one hall
l of the capital that would otherwise be
j necessary for carrying on our foreign com-
I mcrcc by a system of direct importation.
I, * * *
It is impossible tor any enlightened
and patriotic citizen of the Southern
States to contemplate, without enthusi
asm, the beneficial effects which will be
produced on our commercial, social and
political relations, by opening a direct
communication with the great valley t>l
the Mississippi. It will form an indisso
luble bond of union between communi
ties whose interests are closely interwo
ven, and will give a tenfold activity to a
commerce which even the Alleghany
heights have not been able altogether to
1 prevent. The commercial cities ot the
1 South Atlantic and of the Gulf of Mex
ico, are undoubtedly the natural marts ot
the Western People for obtaining their
supplies of foreign merchandize. It is
there they find a "market for the principal
part of their own staple productions, even j
now, when they obtain their supplies of,
foreign merchandize from the Northern >
ciiies, by a complicated and expensive
operation, and by a long and tedious
transportation. How decidedly would it
be to their interest to obtain, by a direct!
exchange, their foreign merchandize
from the communities where they sell j
their domestic productions, avoiding all
the expense aud delay and hazard ot pur
chasing bills on the North! Aud how :
great and overwhelming will be the pref
erence due to this direct intercourse ot
exchanges, when the transportation ot
their merchandize ahall be but half in
point of distance, and one sixth in point
of time! Every merchant who under
stands experimentally the importance of
BRUNSWICK ADVOCATE.
time in the transportation of his mer
chandize, will at once perceive the deci
sive advantage which this circumstance
alone will give to our Southern cities
over their Northern competitors. We,
therefore, regard the completion of the
line of communication to w hich w e have
alluded, ns a principal and most efficient
means of establishing a system of direct
importations through our Southern cities,
and breaking the shackles of our com
mercial dependence. When it shall he
completed, the commerce of foreign
countries, on the one hand, and of the
great West, on the other, will seek our
Southern importing cities, by a direct
line of communication, so cheap and ex
peditious, that botli parties will find it
their interest to meet there and effect
their various exchanges. This great
w ork, though itself an artificial structure,
will he the means of throwing commerce
into its natural channels. Entertaining
these views, we cannot but strenuously
urge it upon our fellow citizens, and the
political authorities of our respective
States, to give every practicable aid to
wards its accomplishment, and that of the
lateral communications which may be
necessary to render its benefits more dif
fusive. Let us act not only efficiently,
hut promptly. We must seize the propi
tious occasion, now presented to us, lest
it pass away and never return.
The practicability of this rail road
communication, is no longer doubtful.
Indeed, it may be said that it is nearly
half completed by one route, and will be
more than half completed when the rail
road shall have been extended, as it soon
will be, from Augusta to Madison, in
Georgia. Connecting this with the
Charleston ami Hamburg rail road, we
shall have more than 24!) miles of contin
uous rail road on a direct line to the navi
gable w aters of the Tennessee, and con
ducting us to a point not more than 200
miles distant from these waters. On this
subject we cannot be too deeply impress
ed with the necessity of sacrificing local
predilections to the common good. Let
that time be adopted which shall be the
shortest, cheapest and best, without the
slightest regard to those conflicts of local
interest, which arc, at best, comparative
ly unimportant, and perhaps purely imag
inary. The great benefit which our
whole interior is to derive from a direct
trade, both with foreign countries and the
i \Y esterii States, must he reflected from
j our importing cities. If it causes these
!to grow and flourish, the whole interior,
within the sphere of circulation, will par
' ticipate in their prosperity, by a law which
! is as certain in its operation, as that
which causes the blood of the animal
i system to flow from the heart to the e\-
1 tremities.
The Jamaica Apprentice System. !
From our file of Jamaica papers to the
31st of January.it appears that the new j
[system works but indifferently. Labor j
and industry seem to be at a stand, and I
[ the insolence of-the blacks encouraged by :
the agitators and Immunity mongers is be- (
! coming insufferable.'
“The apprentices,” says the Kingston
• Chronicle, “arc treated by the special
j magistrates andl*v their orders, as spoil
!ed children. They are petted, humored,
J encouraged in idleness and waste of time.
I and taught to expect indulgences which
! their masters cannot afford to give them
! gratis, anti when denied these indulgen-
Ices they are encouraged in the belief that
[they are ill treated and imposed on. Their
i children are idle and prollgate, acquiring
1 no on e good habit whatever, disdaining all
j agricultural labor and again encouraged
1 in such feelings, we suppose, by com
mand or on account of instructions.”
This is doubtless a true picture ns far
j as it goes, but if we are to judge from the
general spirit of the Island press, it con
veys but feebly an idea of the miserable
failure ot' the experiment, the abuses to
in hich it opens the avenue and the terrible
revolts which may be expected, and
which have indeed already begun to man- j
i test themselves. The catalogue of crime
m Jamaica is daily swelled with the most j
horrible outrages constantly committed
by the pampered blacks. We extract the
following from the Chronicle of January
10. “ That ‘idleness is the root of all
evil’ is made manifest every Court by the
fearful increase of crime. In days when
masters had the power of stimulating
their laborers to industry and good order,
the black catalogue of iniquity which now
| stains our quarterly calendar was seldom
;to be seen; for, be it remembercd.it is
not trivial offences, subject merely to do
mcstic punishment, but heinous crimes
which are brought under the cognizance
of the court —crimes which were always
! visited with condign punishment, such as
murder, burglary, cattle stealing, rape.”
The feelings of the more respectable ■!
portion of the people of Jamaica seem
highly excited by the infringement on
their "rights and safety, brought about by
the too Ives in sheep's clothing, whose busi
ness it is to preach philanthropy, and col
lect from the “ragged man his penny, and
from the starving man his half peuny.”
One would suppose that the present un
settled state of Jamaica, and the wretch
ed government of St. Domingo, would be
a sufficient proof of the impolicy and ab
• surdity of abolition. To reasonable men
it is, but to the hypocrite, or the wild en
-1 thusiast who casts aside the dictates of
| reason and common seuse, every thing
■ would fail to carry conviction.
The degree of insolence and arro
gance to which the blacks are excited by
the misplaced sympathies and artful con- I
trivances of these philanthropic individu- '
ah, would seem almost incredible to those
who had not seen the effects of abolition
meetings, and Emancipation Societies, in
our own Northern and Eastern States.
The apprentices in Jamaica are too
proud to wotk, and not ashamed to beg or ,
steal; their minds, insusceptible of edu
cation, are excited to brutal ferocity, and
impelled to acts of violence to obtain the
gratifications which are alone capable of
affording them enjoyment.
The restraints of the law are in a great
measure taken oft' from them, who must
necessarily stand most in need of its j
wholesome authority. Indeed, there is 1
every prospect of the blacks soon gain
ing the upper hand in her majesty’s \Vest,
India possessions, and affording to those
good souls who love their fellow beings I
best, as they approach in form and mind
to the beasts of the field, the triumph of
seeing their less esteemed w hite brethren
yielding to the authority of Sambo,'
Quambo, and Quash. IN. Y. Eve. Star, j
L
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.
We find the following article in the
Milledgeville Journal of last Tuesday:
“Our renders are probably aware that,
a geological survey of the slate is now in
progress; we are reminded, to bring be
fore our readers a few of the practical re
sults which the labors of Professor Cot
ting (who has undertaken this arduous
task) have brought to light. The first
section line extended from the mouth of
the Savannah to the northern boundary
line of the State. On that line large
beds of marl have been discovered, and it
needs only a little enterprise to convert
this discovery to valuable agricultural
purposes. The qualities of marl as an
addition to certain kinds of soil is well
known. In Elbert county a large depos
ite of plumbago, graphite, or black lead,
has been discovered. This mineral is of
vast use in the arts; it is the substance of
which the had for pencils is composed;
and until lately, we believe, nearly all of'
this mineral used oil this side of the At
lantic was imported from the black lead
mines of Europe. Recently a large and
apparently inexhaustible bed of this
mineral has been found in North Carolina
i and now a valuable mine of this substance
is discovered within the limits of our own
state. The European lead mines, we
have seen it stated, are wrought out, and
[the supplies are now very scarce.
“The difficulty experienced in effecting
a resurvey of old lines is well known to
many of our readers. This has beeu
caused by the loose and uncertain man
ner in which the magnetic variation has
been computed. In the course of the
survey of the first section line, Professor
Cotting has accurately ascertained the
magnetic variations at several points. In
ten counties cut by this line, the needle
varies to every point between 4 deg. 33
min. E. and 5 deg. 9 min. E. It is a re
markable fact that the variation is great
est in Lincoln, and least ir. Elbert, and
it
they are adjacent counties.
NAVAL.
Pensacola , March 3d, lS3*v ,
The United States ship St. Louis, Thos j
Paine, Esq. commander, arrived here this
morning from a cruise of four months i
and seven days, in the M'est Indies and j
on the Spanish Main—officers and crew]
in good health. The St. Lotus sailed
from here in October last, and arrived in i
the Havana in the very short passage ol
two and a half days, the shortest passage,
wc believe, that has ever been made be
tween this port and Havana. The St.
Louis, during her cruise, has visited the
j following ports, viz:—Havana, Cuba, St.
St. Croix, St. Thomas,
'St. Johns and Mayaguez, Porto Rico,
Laguvra and Porto Cabello, Spanish
j Main, Curacoa, Port an Prince, St. Do
! tningo, and St. Jngo dc Cuba. The U.
States ship Ontario, S. L. Breesc, com
mander, sailed in company with the St.
Louis from St. Jagode Cuba on the 20th
ultimo for Jamaica.
[Savannah Georgian.
Affair of Honor. A couple of con
victs in an Ohio prison, named Husky
and Frazier, lately quarreled respecting
the enormity of their several crimes. One.
had been convicted of arson, and the oth
er of horse stealing. The Memphis Ga
zette says:
“The incendiary contended, that burn
ing a mill was a much more gentlemanly
crime than stealing a horse: while 1' ra
zier, o;i the contrary, vehemently main
tained the reverse, and insisted on the
j horrible villainy that must invite a man to
'burn his neighbor’s house at midnight.
The contest waxed hotter and hotter, un
til at last the exasperated representatives
'of arson and horse stealing, flew at each
other, mid determined by blows the ques
tion w hich they could not settle hy words.
Frazier was the victor, thus proving be
yond all question that horse stealing is a
far more decent and respectable crime
1 than arson. Husky still bears the marks
of his defeat, in the shape of sundry
bruises about the face and eyes.”
Matthews’ Table Pen. At a certain
political dinner, where the viands were
, found quite insufficient for the company,
i and a peculiar scramble ensued, one gem
| tleman declared that he, throughout the
day, was helped to bread twice aud mus
tard once! but no other eatables. Aye,
said Matthews, I heard there was a great
quantity mustered but very few fed.
j HIGHLY IMPORTANT FROM CANADA.
A slip from the New York Express dated
[6th inst, says—“ The Burlington Free Press
states that on the “28th ult. 832 men organized
in the neighborhood of Swanton, under the
command of Dußobert Nelson and a French
Colonel—who arrived in the country a few
days since—and moved toward the French
; settlements. They were perfectly armed and
furnished with munitions.and carried with them
the means of arming the Frenchmen who might
join them. On planting the Patriot standard
on the Canada side, the Province was PRO
CLAIMED free and independent of the
British crows ; a provjncal government
ESTABLISHED, AND A WRITTEN DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE PROMULGATED, ROBERT
Nelson was proclaimed President.
From the Western lYontier. We have Buffa
i lo papers of the Ist, from w hich we learn the
i following:—
“Gen. Scott arrived at Munroe, Michigan,
on the 25th ult. On the 24th a party of Patri
| ots took possession of a small Island in the
Detroit river, on the Canada side, and the next
day were dislodged by the British batteries,
| and escaped to the American shore.
They were about 150 in number, and were
immediately disarmed by Brig. Gen. Brady,
j and suffered to disperse.
A Deputy Marshal is in pursuit of the leader,
I the Patriot Adjutant Gen. McLeod.
No other expedition has' attempted to cross
| the frontier in that region. Great excitement
i prevails along the whole line.
Governor Jenison is now at the North, and
j has called out a portion of the Franklin county
militia. An express went to Vergennes for
arms Wednesday evening, and several loads
I of guns passed through town yesterday (Thurs
| day) morning for the frontier. Great excite
, ment prevails on the line.
STILL LATER.
Imprisonment of Mr. Van Rensselaer. A
j letter from Auburn, dated the Ist. states that
the ex-generalissimo, Mr. Rensselaer, was ar
j rested the day before on a warrant issued by
[Judge Congling, of the U. S. District Court,
and committed to the County jail.
SI. Alban's Essange Office,)
Thursday evening, March 1, 1838. $
The Patriot Army Disbanded. The patriots
have been collecting for several days past, on
a small island, east of Alburgh, and other
places near the lines. Yesterday they left
their encampment—passed over to Alburgh
and crossed the lines at Caldwell’s Manor, un
| der the command of Drs. Nelson and Cote,
| and encamped for the night about two miles
I from the lines.
This morning upon organizing their forces,
: they became convinced that they could not
| stand against the Royal force that were inarch
! ing against them. This morning, previous to
j disbanding they received intelligence of the
defeat of McKenzie and Van Rensselaer.
Tiiey therefore came to the conclusion that
“discretion was the better part of valor,” and
delivered up their arms to Gen. Wool, who
met them at the lines and received them, in
cluding two field pieces. The number who
laid down their arms was about 250. The
whole amount of their forces was probably
about 400.
Dr. Nelson and Cote have just arrived here,
in the custody of Gen. Wool.
Lower Canada. The installation of His
Excellency Sir John Colborne, as administra
tor of the Province, took place on the Ist inst.
at the Government House, with the usual
formalities.
The city of Montreal was illuminated on
the occasion ofLord Go?ford’s departure. Se
rious apprehensions were entertained that dis
| turbances would occur. Sentries were posted
; in every part of the city—and strong parties of
! volunteers, sworn in as special constables, pat-
I ruled the streets, —all was mirth and jollity
i during the week. Dinners and Balls were
j given to most of the military companies both
j Royal and Volunteers. The Herald is full of
| bitterness towards our Government. It says,
I “what an alacrity in sinking below the lowest
| depths of National degradation have those
j same republicans ?”
I A considerable degree of excitement prevails
■in the Province. Stories are circulated of
j numerous bodies in great strength, arming with
| the countenance of the American authorities,
and preparing to invade at various places.
THE NEPTUNE.
In reference to this boat, the Charleston
Courier, of yesterday, says—“ The splendid
new steam packet JVeptune, Capt. Pexnover,
arrived here on Saturday morning last, at 7
o’clock, from New York, having left that port
on Wednesday afternoon, at a quarter past 4
o’clock, makiiisr the run in less than sixty three
hours. The A 'eptune lias, therefore, made a
shorter trip, by one hour, than has ever before
been accomplished by steam, (the Home hav
ing, on her second passage out to this port, run
it in t>4 hours,) and vve believe, as far as our
recollection serves, quicker than any other
coinmnnication has ever been made be
tween New York and Charleston, from wharf
to wharf. The N. was detained an hour or
two, in consequence of one of the passengers,
(Mr. Booth, the celebrated tragedian) having
thrown himself overboard, but who was fortu
nately rescued from his perilous situation
through the promptness and decision of Capt.
Pen.noyfr. The following are the particulars
of this occurrence, which, we are happy to say,
was not tragical in its result:
“Mr. Booth, the celebrated Tragedian, at
tempted to destroy himself while on his pas
sage from New York to Charleston, under the
following circumstances: Mr. B. went on board |
the above packet, in company with his friend,
Mr. Flynn, the well known Comedian, on j
Wednesday evening last, and on the passage j
showed evident symptoms of insanity, but he- ,
ing carefully watched by his anxious- friend,'
had no opportunity of escaping his vigilant
eye, and appeared to improve gradually under
Mr. F.’s friendly care, until the afternoon of j
Friday last, the Pth inst., when 36 miles N. E.
of Frying Pan Shoals, during dinner, when ;
Mr. B. excused himself from the table took ad- j
vantage of his friends absence, and lowered;
himself from the promenade deck, which at-;
; tracted the attention of the men. Capt. Pen- !
! noyer, Mr. Flynn, and the rest of the passen
! gers being called from dinner endeavored to
: persuade him to return on board, when he not
; only refused, but immediately plunged into
the ocean. Capt P. instantly stopped the boat,
: which was then going at the rate of eleven
! miles an hour, and by nis prompt exertions and
; presence of mind, a safety buoy was thrown
i over, and a safety boat immediately launched,
j The gallant Captain took the helm, and Mr.
Booth, though then half a mile from the boat,
: was rescued from a watery grave.”
From the Milledgeville Recorder.
Several articles will be found in our columns
descriptive of the sufferings of the poor at the
North, which are really appalling. There are
thousands wandering about the streets of New
York, who are absolutely without a shelter
for their heads, or food for their daily suste
nance. There are besides these, about thirty
five hundred paupers in the city, supported bv
public chanties. The victims of hunger and
of nakedness which meet the eye, amTopenly
appeal to the public sympathy, must be suffi
ciently distressing to the kindly and humane.
But there are thousands of instances of desti
tution and want, even by those who make ev
ery exertion which the most laborous industry
can achieve, but whose labors are too profitless
even to supply their daily bread, and yet who
suffer on rather than become street beggars.
Amidst all the difficulties which the'people
of the South have experienced, from the late
revulsion in trade and depreciation of their
products, they have great cause for gratitude
to Heaven, in view of the blessings still left to
them, of an abundant plenteousness. Poverty,
in the northern sense of the word, is hardly
recognized among us, and destitution is un
known.
We have been led to the above remarks by
reading some of the many accounts of person
al distress, which are brought to us in almost
every northern paper. Among others, we no
ticed an account of a society about to be form
ed for the relief of industrious females, of
which Matthew Carey was at the head, and we
were forcibly struck with many of the state
ments in reference to the miserable condition
of even the most industrious and virtuous of
the laboring females in Philadelphia.
other interesting facts stated, we select the
following, in relation to those females who de
pend on their needles for a support, and who
are employed on coarse work. The report
states that, Ist—lt is incontrovertibly estab
lished, that an industrious woman, even if un
encumbered with children, and working 13 or
13 hours per day, cannot make more than nine
shirts per week. 2d—That the prices paid in
the slop shops are only 8, 10 and 12 1-2 cents
per shirt: the first and last prices are believed
to be rare, the groat majority being made, as
far as can be learned, at 10 cents. 3d—That
the rents these poor women pay monthly for
cellars and garrets are generally 50 cents per
week, rarely, if ever less, and sometimes 621-2
cents. 4th—That it therefore follows, that a
woman, if constantly and industriously employ
ed, at 10 cents per shirt, can only earn 40 cents
per week beyond her rent, or less than 6 cents
per day for food, clothing, fuel, soap, candles,
&.c., for herself and children, if she have any,
as the most of them have.
Surely this is a most appalling and distress
ing account; and it at all a just view of the
present state of thousands of the industrious
poor at the North, as we doubt not it is, while
it excites our deepest sympathies for the ob
jects of such distress, should still our murmurs
for the trivial revulsion of our prosperity, and
fill our hearts with the liveliest gratitude to a
bountiful Providence, for giving us our heri
tage in a fruitful land, where real destitution
and its attendant miseries are actually un
known.
The Southern and Western Rail Road
—and the Direct Trade. No publications
have appeared for a long period more worthily
interesting, or appealing more pointedly to the
genuine patriotism of Southern men, than the
Call upon the Stockholders of the Louisville,
Cincinnati and Charleston Rail Road , and the
Address of the Augusta Convention to the Peo
ple of the South on the Direct Trade. They are
both deeply imbued with the characteristic
energy and eloquence of their respective au
thors—and both appeal to the patriotism of
those to whom they are addressed to shew it
self by its works. They co-operate with each
other as they should—the Call urging the im
portance of the direct trade, as powerfully as
the Address does the importance of the* Rail
Road—for the two enterprises are intimately
connected, and will work towards the success
of each other, as much as they will to the
great end of both, the emolument and strength
of the South. [Charleston Mercury.
Burning of the Italian Opera House.
On the evening of the 15th of January, the
Italian Opera House was consumed by fire.—
The alarm was given a little after midnight;
i but, notwithstanding exertion the building was
entirely destroyed. One of the Directors was
killed by a fall, in endeavoring to escape from
the flames. An insurance had been effected,
to the amount of 300,000 francs, on the thea
tre and its contents.
Destruction by fire of the Imperial
Palace at St. Petersburg. The imperial
palace or the winter palace of the emperor,
was burnt to the ground on the 29th Decem
ber last. The flames, which broke out at 11
in the evening, seemed to burst from all parts
of the building at once. At the time of the
alarm the emperor, with his family, was at the
theatre ; and when the news was brought to
him, he rushed from the house, and, thinking
it to be the signal for a revolt, lie ordered all
the troops under arms. Twenty thousand sol
’ diers were quickly arrayed in the streets. All
; efforts to check the flames proved useless ;
and the building was entirely consumed by 5
>on the following evening. It is affirmed that
i five or six hundred persons were more or less
injured on this occasion ; but this account is
probably exaggerated,
Some idea of the extent of this edifies may
be gathered from tiie fact that 12,000 persons
have been accommodated in it. Several indi
viduals have been arrested on suspicion of set
' ting it on fire.
Effects of the Air. Mr. Roberts, an
Engineer on the Liverpool and Manchester
; Rail Road, relates a curious incident, which
i occurred to him not long sipce, illustrative of
' the force which the wind exerts, upon locomo
tive carriages. It was blowing a hurricane,
and the wind was almost parallel with the Rail
Road, in the direction of Manchester. He
was directed to take an engine and follow the
i train, which it was feared might not be able to
; contend with the wind that was blowing. He
did so, and on his return he found that the
| wind which was blowing about 80 miles an
: hour, was sufficient to carry them along with
; out the smallest assistance from steam. In
this manner they went at such a speed, as
completely to neutralize the effect of the hur
ricane. Sometimes they had a puff of air in
| their faces, and sometimes they felt a slight
effect from the wind at their backs, but gener
ally the effect was that of a calm still air.
An exchange paper, in describing a small
man, says that “ he would appear to disadvan
tage by the side of a pint bottle.” So would
any one, in these temperate times. [Bos. Post.