Brunswick advocate. (Brunswick, Ga.) 1837-1839, March 09, 1839, Image 2

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CONGRESS. [Correspondence of the Char. Courier.] Wa*hi!»otojt, Feb: 21, lfiGP. This has been a day of unparalleled excite ment in the House. As soon as the journal of yesterday was read, Mr. Prentiss, of Missis sippi, rose and called the attenfioif of the House to the abosite attack upon Mr. Staslt and Mr. Southgate, contained in the Gloht, under tiic signature of A: OvncAit. . He offered a resolu tion for an impure, whether these publications were authorised by Mr. Duncan, of Ohio, a member of the House; and, if so, whether he is rnjrthy of hold'mg* a seat in this Body, ao<! whether he ought not to be forthwith expelled. Mr. Prentiss followed, up the resolution in a speech of more than an hour, in which he dwelt upon the aggravated and aajaetiJwble charac ter of the insult offered the House bv these pub lication, and apon the obligation of tlic House to protect its members from these outrages. The insults here offered were on account of words spoken in debate, and they were publish ed during the session, end in the official paper. , Tfteir‘evident object was to provoke a conflict «f some sort or other. The publication was made after the law for the suppression of duel ing had received the President's approbation, end a member could not now semi a challenge, without exposing himself to the penalties of that law. Under the protection of that law he had apprehended that blackguardism would be sheltered. He now called upon those who had passed that law, cither to protect members from theec vituperative attacks, or rcacind the Jaw and suffer gentlemen to protect themselves. Give us back the arms of chivalry, or expel from this body those who are guilty of gross and wanton violations of decorum. Mr. Jenifer, supported the resolution, and was very severe upon Mr. Duncan. Mr. Duncan replied, and spoke at length in justification of his conduct He alluded to the nature of the wrongs Le had received from the members concerned—to the publication of a speech by Mr. Stanly, on the Ith of‘February, w hich he liad not heard on this floor, and w hich was grossly abusive to him; to the insults which were daily heaped upon him and the party to which lie belonged, in the House, in tire Senate and in the federal new simpers. To attacks made upon him in the newspapers, he had -replied in the newspapers. lie had been forced to take this course, but he did it in sell defence. He was unwilling to take back one word of what he had said. He re-aftirined now, all that he had said in these publications. He had not thought of the duelling act. He was willing the tiling should stop here if gentle- j men chose, or lie would be responsible to them. The duelling act would not operate upon him Riid'thc aggrieved parties ten days hence, and out of the limits of the ten miles square. Mr. Grey, of New- York, after some remarks, in which he alluded to another question of pri- j vilegc, (the Cilley and Graves concern) ns still on tlic calendar, and unsettled, and ti (lie want ol time, at the close of the session, for attend ing to questions of such moment, moved to lay the whole subject on the table. liost <>3 toPI. The debate was continued by Messrs. Men- j ifer, Prentiss, Grey of N. Y., Wise, Thompson j of 8. (X, and Glascock Messrs. Grey and! Glascock opposing the resolution, Mr. Menifee was severe and |iersoiinl in his ' speech. The point lie made was, that Mr. Duncan allowed that he was insulted by Mcs- j srs. Stanly and Southgate, and that it was his ) duty to call upon them for satisfaction. But, in stead of that, he had recourse to an offset, ami l after holding up his wrath for some weeks, j poured it out in billingsgate abuse tliromrii the ! Globe. | Mr. Duncan here begged leave to explain that he had wrote the article a fortnight ago. Yes, said Mr. Menifee, but it was not pub lished till the day the dueling law took effect. Here there was a shout from the members nnd loud and clamorous applause from the galleries, which were crowded to suffocation, as they always are, when a fight is expected. The speaker interposed, and said he would clear the galleries. Mr. L. Williams hoped, lie said, they would , be cleared. But many members cried out j “no,” “no.” Mr. Duncan replied, but half suffocated with ; rage, that whoever intimated that lie would > avail himself or had availed himself of the d'fblling law, was a foul calumniator and scoun-, drcl. Mr. Menifee said, in rejoinder, that the day of recrimination and of 'set was past by. No body .minded that now. Abusive epithets would not pass as an offset to insult. Mr Prentiss’ second speech was still more abusive. It wns evidently intended to drub Duucan in retaliation—that is “offset”—for his attack on Stanly and Southgate. It was an humiliating spectacle for an Amer ican—take it all and all. The House adjourn ed without taking any question. In the Senate, the bill to regulate the mode ' of keeping the public money, was passed, 28 to 15. Feb. 22. [ The House resumed the consideration of the following resolution, offered on yesterday, by , Mr. Prentiss, of Mississippi: Resolved, That this Iloun proceed to in quire, Ist, whether Alexander Duncan, a mem ber of this House, from the State of Ohio, be the author of a certain publication or publica tions, under his name, in relation to the pro ceedings of the House and certain members thereof, published in the Gtobe newspaper of the 19th inst 2d, whether by said publica tion or publications, tiie said Alexander Dun can lias not been guilty of a violation of tbe privileges of this House, of an offence against the peace, dignity and good order, and of grossly indecent, ungcntleinanly, disgraceful and dishonorable -misconduct, as renders linn unworthy of his seat in this House, and justly liable to expulsion from the same. The question pending was on the motion of Mr. W addy Thompson, to amend the res olution so as to cause Mr. Duncan to be re primanded by the Speaker at the Bar of the House. Mr. Petrikcn made some very appropriate remarks on the great waste of the public time, by the prosecution of personal matters, and concluded by moving to lay tiic whole subject on the table, which, after considerable de bate was decided in the affirmative, yeas lIV nav.s 94. Whether the- matter will be prosecuted out of the House remains to be seen. The Globe says that Mr. Duncan’s publication was not intended “in the nature of a posting.” Ibe majority of the Select Committee on the charges against Com. Elliott, made a re port, and asked to be discharged from the fur t.ier consideration of the subject, on the ground that there was not time for a full examination ol Uiv charges, and they further urged the opinion that it is inexpedient for the House to interfere in the mttter. * My Naylor and Mr. Chamber* made a mi nority report, setting forth, in detail, the char ge* made against Com. Elliott; and declaring the necessity of an investigation into their truth by Congress; and also, stating that, with proper industry, the Committee might have made a satisfactory examination of them. Fra. 21. In the House, a number of bills from the Senate were then taken up. read twice, and referred. On coming to the bill providing for the armed occupation of Florida, a motion being made to refer it to the Committee on | Military Affairs, Mr. Robertson moved to lay it on the table, which was negatived, yeas 91, nays 94. He then moved to amend by refer ring different portions of the bill to three com mittees, but pending the motion the House passed to tbe orders of the day. The Senate, to-day, debated the bill to pro vide a territorial government for the Western Indians, and it was opposed, partly on the ground that we had no more right to establish a territorial government over them than they iiadoierus. But they ordered the bill to be engrossed. The bill establishing a Board of Claims was also ordered to be engrossed. Senitor Morris’ abolition speech is publish ed in the Globe. It beats Garrison or Thomp son. ThjPfeports were ordered to be printed, and laid On the table. _pß Monday, the report from the Investiga ting Committee will supersede every other bu siness. There will be many important bills crowded into tbe last few days of the session [Correspondence of the Southern Patriot.] Feb. 2<>. In the Senate Mr. Walker from the Com mittee on Public Lands, to whom had been referred the memorial of the accomplished Maria Helena America Vespucci, reported un- j favorably on the same. The House bill making appropriation for. the Naval Service, was then taken up. Mr. Rives moved to amend-by adding to the hill .*.{.{0,000 to commence the construe- ■ tion of three steam vessels of war, which amendment was agreed to. The bill was then ordered to be engrossed for a third reading. TIIE DISPUTED BOUNDARY. A Message was received from the President of the United States, on the sub ject of the dis pute between Maine and New Brunswick. lie first recapitulated the circumstances w 'hich have led to the present difficulties; — the imprisonment of the Land Agent etc, and adverts to the fact of an amicable negociation being now pending on the subject, between the United States and Great Britain.—He also stales his determination in case the said ne gociation shall not he brought to a satisfactory issue, to make a proposition to Great Britain : to adjust tiic difficulty by a reference to a third power. He disproves of the course taken by the 'Governor of Maine, ns calculated to in terfere with and retard the negociation novy pending, and does not conceive the application ‘•f the Governor tor assistance from the Gen eral Government ought to be granted. lie hopes that Maine will instantly withdraw her troops from the disputed territory. On the other lmid, he says that if the authorities of i New Brunswick should cause nil invasion of the State of Maine, he should then consider I that the contingency alluded to in the Con , stilution had occurred, and which it would be j the duty of the general Government to pro tect her. He says that lie lias expressed his conviction to Mr. Fox, the British Minister in this city, that the land agent will be imme diately released by the authorities of New Brunswick, and all cause for aggravation re moved. But ns but a few days remain of tiie Session of Congress, he recommends that meas ures may he taken, so as to guard against any [ contingency during the recess, and obviate the necessity of calling an extra Session. Copies of all the correspondence, which has transpired on the subject, were then read. Mr. Howard moved that tho message and documents lie committed to tho Committee of Foreign affairs. Mr. Waddy Thompson said that on an oc casion like the present, he would lay aside nil party toolings, ns the important subject before them was ot such a nature ns to require a com bination of nil, of whatever party, to net to gether. lie said that although he disapproved the internal policy of the Administration, yet in this ass air, he felt it due to himself to say that its course had been manly, w ise & spirit ed, and it was with the greatest pleasure that he would support it. He remarked that with regard to our title on tbe disputed Territory, both Houses of Congress were unanimous and the only question now was, whether wc would tamely submit to an extinction of that right. In liis opinion w# had now passed the Rubi con, and we must either sustain our honor, or relinquish it forever. He asked the House to consider in what condition they were thrown. Our-soil bad been invaded on a most frivolous pretence. Great Britain found it convenient to have a Military road over the disputed ter ritory, on that account only, she had persisted in her claim, and had demanded a right of way. Mr. T. then alluded to the letter of Lieut. Governor Harvey, which stated that if the ' troops of Maine were not withdrawn he would compel them, lie considered this as the most insulting letter that could be written, and dic tated in a spirit of insolence not to be borne. He said no man could deprecate a war with Great Britain more than lie did, ns its conse quences would extend much w ider than might, be expected. He was convinced that among other things, it would lead to the seizure ol’ Cuba. But let the war begin or end where it mitrlit, the honor of our country ought to bo maintained at all sacrifices, but it was gone forever if «e submitted to be deprived of onr rights by bullying, threats, and gasconade. He concluded by moving that 20,000 extra copies of the message be printed. The debate was continued by Messrs. Ad ams, Howard, Evans, l’ickens, Cushing and others, and no question had been taken w hc-n this letter was mailed. Free Banking. —The New Orleans Bulle i tin of the 14th ult. says.— The subject, of free banking is now being discussed by all classes of the community, of every trade and calling; and the more its prin ciples are understood tiie more favor it gains i with the public. • Indeed, very few doubt its ■ utility, or question the absolute necessity of adopting it as means of bringing immediate relief to the pecuniary interests of the Suite, and of the western trade that centres in Neiv Orleans, BRUNSWICK ADVOCATE. NORTH EASTERN BORDER TROU BLES—HIGHLY IMPORTANT FROM MAINE. THE STATE IN ARMS ! We are indebted to our attentive corres pondent of the Boston Atlas, for a slip, dated Boston, Wednesday, 10 A. M. from which we derive the annexed deeply iii (teresting and important intelligence. It is evident that, unless moderation and discre tion prevail in the councils of both parties, i steps may now be taken leading to results of tbe deepest consequence to tne peace of the world. [Correspondence of the Atlas.] Senate Chamber, j Augusta, February 18, 1839. ) The crisis has at length arrived and ' Maine is in arms to sustain her honor and the integrity of her soil. An Express has I arrived this morning bringing an official communication from Sir John Harvey, in which he says he shall repel all invasion —he says that he “claims EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION.” Eight thousand troops have been order ed out to carry into execution the Resolv es passed by the Legislature of Maine, which was to seize the Trespassers and ! the lumber cutout on the disputed territory, I McLaughlin, the Land Agent of the Prov i inCes, has been arrested, and is now at Bangor. The greatest excitement pre vails and a fixed determination to sustain jour rights at all hazards. State House, I Augusta, Monday, Feb. 18, 1839. J I A special messenger arrived here last night from Sir John llarvcy, Lt. Gov. ol the province of New Brunswick. He has j been sent to demand of our Governor that the forces of this State that have been sent to arrest the trespassers on the Aroos took, &.c. shall be immediately removed from HER MAJESTY’S DOMINIONS. The Messengers from Sir John llarvcy informs our Governor that Mclntire, our Land Agent, is at Fedorickton, and that lie will be retained there by order of the Provincial Government. From the Aroostook I learn that Mr. McL auglilin, the Warden of the disputed territory, appointed by Sir John Harvey, came to No. 10 on the Aroostook, where our forces are stationed, and commanded them to leave the territory forthwith.— Capt. Rimes who was in command, arres ted him and sent him to Bangor, where he arrived yesterday. Gov. Fairfield has di rected Gen. Hodgdon to order out one thousand of his division to proceed forth with to the support of our forces on the Aroostook—two hundred men are now there, and Sheriff Strickland has enlisted live hundred men by order of the Gover nor, who are on their way there —sixty of them left town yesterday, making in all a force of seventeen hundred men now at, and ordered to, the vicinity of the Aroos tock. Our Governor lias this morning issued orders to each ol the Commanding Offic ers of the eighth Division of the Militia of this State to order one thousand men to he drafted from each of their respective divisions, to hold themselves in readiness to he called into actual service. [Correspondence of the Journal of Commerce.] Boston, Feb. 20, 1»39. The news from Maine is alarming. Gov ernor Everett lias, 1 learn, prepared a Message to tiie Legislature on the sub ject. From liis excellent character and great wisdom, 1 anticipate something which will tend to arrest the rash proceed ings of Governor Fairfield of Maine. The Governor of Mane certainly ought to hav'c asked the Governor of New Brunswick to aid in expelling the trespassers, particular ly as Mr. Livingston, as Secretary of State, proposed that neither Government should exercise jurisdiction over the disputed ter ritory during negotiations, and the British minister readily acceded thereto. Nothing but the good sense of the people of this country can extricate us from the difficulty. Maine has passed a resolve appropriating SBOO,OOO to support 10,000 men u hicli she is now calling mlo the field, and calls on Massachusetts to join in the expense. I*. S. Governor Everett has just sent his message to the Legislature. He savs the sovereignty iSc jurisdiction of this land be longs to Maine, and the United States, and that should unhappily circumstances cause the General Government to call on Massachusetts for force to aid in protecting the territory of Maine, that she will cheer fully respond to the call. The Message is short nnd a good one. The impression here u , that this matter will he settled without war between the United States and Great Britian, although New Brunswick and Maine may come to ihe spilling of blood. By an extra of the Bangor Whig, dated Saturday evening, received at Boston on Wednesday morning, we learn that Maj. Gen. Isaac Hodsdon, by direction of the Governor, had ordered out 1909'men of his divisions in Penobscot County, to rendezvous at Bangor on Wednesday, to march immediately to the frontier, to aid the State agent in driving off the trespas sers upon the public lands. All the inde pendatit companies of Bangor were order ed out. [From the New York Heralil 20th ult.] Mr. Mclntire, the land agent, lias been released; so have Messrs. Cushman, Rog ers and Pillsbury. Mclntire has been re leased on parole, for accepting which the people of Maine blaine him. The eastern papers breathe nothing but war. Ten thousand troops are ordered to the frontier by Gov. Fairfield; the draft of militia made throughout the state, to march to the fron tier, consists of 74 cavalry, 151 artillery ',482 infantry, 584 riflemen—in all 10,- 343. The excitement in every town in Maine is tremendous; the military assem ble with the greatest alacrity, and all seem anxious for a fight. Despatches have been received by Gov. Fairfield from Sir John Harvey, in which he makes these propositions:— Ist. That the Provincial Land Agent, Mr. McLaughlin, lie released on the same terms that Sir. Mclntire was released. 2d. That the force on the disputed terri tory be immediately withdrawn. Sir John has sent 200 soldiers to the Aroostook, and says he intends to send large reinforcements instantly, and that his orders are to defend the disputed territory, which he will do to thedeath. These are his words to Gov. Fairfield:— i It is proper that I should acquaint your j Excellency that I have directed a strong j force of Her Majesty’s troops to be in readi i ness to support Her Majesty’s authority, and protect Her Majesty’s subjects in the disputed territory, in the event of this re quest not being immediately complied with. The greatest alarm and consternation prevails throughout the State—men leav ing their families—women taking leave of their friends. There are no horsed to be had. One officer paid $lO for a horse (o! go as many miles. Mclntire says that Sir] John is getting together all the forces far and near, and only wants delay to prepare himself for an engagement, which he is de termined on. The letter of Gov. Fairfield to Sir John is firm nnd respectful, but determined.— He tells him he will not, nor will Maine withdraw their troops from the territory. After reiterating the fact that Maine and Massachusetts have long exercised juris diction over the disputed territory, he thus concludes:— The party of the Land Agent is now on the territory engaged in executing the trust with which it was charged—and with my consent will never leave, while the protec tion of the property of the State from plun derers renders it necessary for them to re main. If your Excellency chooses to send an armed force to attempt their expulsion I can only say that this State will endeav or to meet such an attempt as it will de serve. [From the same, 27th ult.] We have received no news of a fight yet, but expect to hear of one by every mail. There was a rumor in the city Inst night that 74 of the British had been killed, nnd a colonel of the regulars and several mili tia taken prisoners, but it wants confirma tion. Certain it is that on both sides “Their soul's in arms and eager for the fray.” At St. Johns, N. 8., orders have been received from Sir John Harvey to send up nil the disposable troops and artillery to Fredericton, the garrison of that place hav ing marched for the Aroostook country. The following extracts from letters give all tiie authentic information that has yet reached us:— Augusta , Feb. 23, 1839. On Monday morning one thousand men will muster nt the capital, and march forth with. Major General Foster of the east ern division, with iiis command, is order ed forthwith to Moulton—one thousand men will be ready to march as early as Wednesday next. From the determined character of Sir John Harvey and the na ture of his instructions, we anticipate a conflict, and ere this reaches you, I great ly fear the blood of our citizens will Le shed. Mr. English, the messenger from Sir John Harvey, informed me that he had no doubt that on liis return with the letter of Governor Fairfibld, Sir John would in stantly order the troops to advance. Mr. English must have reached Fredericton last Tuesday night. We arc anxiously a waiting the result. The “Bangor Whig” of Friday says:— The Fire Department of this city, embrac ing about three hundred young men had a meeting yesterday afternoon, voted to organize themselves as a battalion of Ri flemen, and petitioned the Legislature for a supply of arms. There scetns to be no doubt that their request will he granted.”' Bangor, Me., Feb. 23, 1839. The excitement of the last few days has subsided, and little has been doing. As for news, wc have none of importance.— Many rumors have been abroad during the day, but none of them can be relied upon as true. 1700 of Hall’s best rifles have arrived, and a very large supply of blankets, which have been sent up. It is reported, but with how much truth I am unable to say, that 800 British troops had arrived at the mouth of the Aroostook, a bout 89 miles from our encampment. I .should’ be rather disposed to doubt the correctness of this rumor, through I have it from good authority. In my yesterday’s letter I remarked that Col. McLaughlin has been released on his parole. In this I was mistaken—he refuses to accept any terms short of an unconditional release, and therefore, re fusing to pledge his honor, he is still in custody. Capt. Rines, we learn, lias strongly fortified his position, having thrown up a breastwork of timber twelve feet in thick ness, which is also surmounted by or dnance. About 7or 800 men are now plobabiy there, and when our present ar my arrives, the number will not fall much short of 2,000. Seeing a wicked boy throwing stones at the gallows, Diogenes observed, “Well i aimed, boy! you will hit that mark at last." BRUNSWICK AND FLORIDA RAIL ROAD. “Me had a meeting of the stockhold ers of the Thomasville, at which all my favorable Impressions are realized. I am satsified that there are many people in this quarter of large means, and that the subscribers in Georgia may be relied on for future instalments, with as much confidence as a list made up in the same wav in Boston would deserve, perhaps | more. t Five per cent, on $427,000 was paid in, : in two days, and more subscriptions were coming in. lam in company with Mon i cure Robinson, Esq., chief engineer, who is taking a general view of the country. Mr. Robinson becomes more and more en ] ' n the spirit of the undertaking as be advances, and thinks it one of the most promising that could be projected.” The Brunswick and Florida Railroad ! is to extend as nearly as practicable in a direct lint from Brunswick to the junc tion of the Flint and Chattnhoochie riv ers. By a glance at the map, you per ceive at once that we run below the last ridge of the Alleghany range, and above the lime stone formation of Middle Flor ida, and that we occupy the only direct route from a Southern port to New Or leans—taking Pensacola ancrMobile in our way. There is no route above or be low us that can even compete with ours be cause the port of Brunswick is the best on the coast, and placed precisely in the very best position. If you start south of it you encounter first the Okefinoke Swamp, and afterwards the lime stone ridges and sinks of Middle Florida and cross sever eral rapid and large rivers, and would then be thrown to the south of a direct line to Mobile and New Orleans, and com pelled to resort to a port for a terminus to the east of Apalachicola River, and consequently east of Cape St. Bias, and be subject to an open sea voyage to the west, if you were to commence north of Brunswick, you have a very broken j country and n much greater distance, be \ sides several large rivers crossing your path. This is not all. In order to have . a safe ns well as rapid communication 1 with New Orleans and all places border ing tlie Gulf ol Mexico at nil seasons of j the year, a healthy seaport is absolutely | necessary—and it must be suited to ac commodate ships of the largest class: [such a port is Brunswick harbor. We, jat the south, from the first settlement of j the country, have labored under the great disadvantage resulting from sickly sea ports in summer. My object has been j and is, to bring into use a port which [ w’ll be as safe to strangers in summer a3 |in winter; such a place l know Brtins : wick to he. The reason is this, it is a salt water harbor. All our other ports, from New Orleans to Charleston, with the exception of St. Josephs, on the Gulf, which has been recently opened to tbe interior, are at tbe mouths of fresh water \ rivers and extremely dangerous—not on- I ly to strangers, but to natives, for at least five months in the year, j Thus you will perceive the com muni* [ cation from all parts of the southwest would be kept up as well in summer as in spring and autumn with New York; and the autumn supplies of goods could be sent out in September instead of Novem ber. Merchants at the South would not ;be under the necessity of making such large purchases at once, and would make their remittances more frequently and reg ularly. In short, the intercourse with your city will be uninterrupted from one end of the year to the other. Texas will , be brought within seven days of New York [and nil parts of the valley of the Mississippi may receive their supplies from her at all times in a very few days, and your citizens can visit the interior of the Southern country without passing through Savan nah, Charleston, Mobile and New Or leans. The Brunswick and Florida Rail Rond will he about two hundred miles to the junction of Flint and Chattahoochc, from thence there is now a steamboat and rail (’road communication to St. Joseph’s, and ■ from that place to all parts of tbe Gulf of Mexico. If we continue our road to Ce dar Bluff on Choctahatchie, or to St. An drew’s Bay, we shall have about 40 to B 0 miles more of rail road to make, which will increase the distance by rail road to about 250 miles, between New York and j New Orleans; the rest of the distance will be overcome bv steamers from the termini ! of tbe road. The distance from Charles ton or Savannah via Milledgeville and Montgomery is more than seven hundred and forty miles. M e propose to make the -road seven feet , «/t<) j that the grades shall not exceed ten feet to the mile, and the route is so favorable that we shall b« able to locate it more than one j hundred miles in a straight line. You are correct in supposing Brunswick will be the master key to the lock that fastens N.j ork to New Orleans. Nor can that! chain be broken in time of war. Cu ba, will no longer be the key to the Gulf of Mexico; and tho’ Great Britain were to take possession of it the day our channel ; of communication shall be completed, it j would be valueless as a naval station.— j Had I time I could prove to you that the; produce of the valley of Mississippi can be j brought to the Atlantic cheaper on our [ railroad, than it can be carried round j Cape Florida; and when we take into con sideration the saving of time, all doubt vanishes. Goods may be carried to New j Orleans, and produce from thence to New j York in very little more time than it would! require to transport passengers, provided the channel of communication be arranged on a proper scale. One hundred miles of our rail road will he placed under contract in the early part of the fall, and it is the design of the stock i holders to finish it to the junction of Flint , and Chattahoochc, in two years from the j Ist of January next. I will only remark further, that the Brunswick and Florida Rail Road will be connected with the State Work in Geor ' gia, leading to the Tennessee river, and with the rail roads in Alabama, leading to Mississippi and Tennessee. St. JOSEPH CANAL. ' An arrangement has been entered into by the St Joseph Company, with certain individuals, by which a Steamboat Canal, connecting the Apalachicola river, with j St. Joseph Bay, is to be completed within three years, from the first of January last. ! Satisfactory assurances for the faithful completion of the work, have been given, j and the'present Railroad, under existing ; stipulations, has been placed under the i control of John D. Gray, &. Cos., subject to specified restrictions, in regard to the rates of transportation. It is proposed to [ construct this Canal, on the surface, and of sufficient breadth, to admit the passing of boats, under full steam.. The new Railroad, from Jola to St. Joseph, would have been capable for the present of transporting all the l-ade of the Apalachicola River, but the increasing products of that river, its want of a good natural outlet, and the probable immense importation of foreign goods, destined for this Port, have fed to the commencement of this great work, which will he as cer tainly completed, and which securing a direct water communication with the in [ terior, will place our city on the most ; favoured position for commercial arrangc ; inents. i We have never doubted, and are still ! sanguine in the belief that the increased facilities of trade on the completion of the new road, will effectually put down any opposition, that now exist, or may hereaf ter spring up, against our Town. The results under the present route circuitous i as it is, show clearly, what may he antici pated on so decided an improvineut. The [trade of St. Joseph now in the third year 'of its commercial existence, will equal, if 1 it does not exceed, that of our neighbor I city; its improvements are steadily advanc ing, and the Commission Merchants and .Shippers of Cotton, are satisfied to a de monstration, of its superior facilities—in the receiving and forwarding of produce. But to meet the almost illimitable re sources of the Chattahoochee country, to i lessen the inconvenience of re-loading, j mid to complete the connecting link of a ; great line of internal communication, be tween the Gulf •’id the Atlantic sea board, tiiis Canal is highly important. It will place the company on the most favorable position, for uniting with the Brunswick, or any other corporation, that will display an equal enterprise in constructing a rail road, from the Atlantic to the Apalachico la river. The scheme appears and is, magnificent—but this is the age of improve ment —the school master is abroad, and [experience has tested the wisdom of simi lar improvements, gigantic in their'con ception, and with less of value, in their prospective results.—[St. Joseph Times. The indefatigable “Spy in Washington,” gives the following items of news. In reference to the supposed visit of the Presi dent to this place, during the period of the Reduction Convention, while, we have no doubt, lie would receive from all parties the respectful courtesies due to liis exalted station, yet, we would feign hope, that the May Convention will have more important work on its hands, and that which too deeply interests our people, to convey it self into any thing like an instrument for the electioneering purposes of any man or party: — [Milledgeville Recorder. Washington, Feb. 10, 1839. I understand that Mr. Van Buren pur poses, during the ensuing spring and sum mer, to make a grand tour through the Southern and South-western States, the ostensible object of which is, to visit his son’s wife’s father in South-Carolina, and his illustrious predecessor at the Her mitage. He will set out in April, and travel slowly through Virginia, North-Car olina, South Carolina, to Augusta, thence up through Tennessee, &c. home. It is expected that his Georgia friends here, will so arrange the President’s journey, that lie will accidentally happen to reacli Milledgeville, about the time of the great Convention, which is to meet at that place ip IVVvJa There is another little arrangement that may be promoted by this tour, lt is now perfectly understood, that the Hon. R. M. Johnson is to be handed out of the Vice President’s chair sans ccrcmonie, suid al though the nomination of his successor, by the Loco Focos, will be nought but an empty compliment, as defeat inevitable, yet in certain quarters there is an anxiety that Mr. Forsyth should be designated.— Something therefore may, and probably will bo done, “in the course of events,” oh this subject. Such are the hints that ray Asmodeus gives me, and he is seldom wrong. A hypocritical scoundrel in Athens in scribed over his door, “Let nothing evil enter here.” Diogenes wrote under it, “By what door does the owner come in.” Never defer till to-morrow that which vou can do to-day, nor do that by proxy which you can do yourself,