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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.