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iirprire. ‘•Tint hi.lull's maiumr !> •-
! )'i -n.s 111 >no g ..i I, hut 111\ I rust is in (! i.l ;
fie lias never ye; ili m rind mo,” an 1 iv.-u
----l i ng liispitli, In* sltortly readied th • nun
si” i of Ruins laic.
Hi i appca - anco was the s’gna’ for j >\
mu’D” ili ■pai vu s inb'c-1. <ocli of whom
Gel with the oilier to do him limi r. A1
ili nifl’i grave in c.nmcil, unil I. 1 I in war,
vi in th > li is nn of domestic Hi s, no on •
l.a?w h -Iter iimv to render hints df agreea
!>! 1 file old wore c-heen* !hy his foiisoJ.
. !".'v words——‘.he vaunts, bv Its mirthful
in inner; nor even in gallunlry was lie want
ii.;, wh it it add <ll-iho virtuous spirit of
the hour. Th ‘protestations of Irieudship
mil iv dcmii ,■ were warmly tendered to him
by fit c host. Fast and thickly the guests
‘.ere a< eiii!;ling : t!i ■ .•mile, the laugh, find
ili * mingling music, r ise joyously around.
Tli •twilight was fast merging into night,
but a thousand lamps of sparkling beauty
gave a brilliancy of day to the seen ill
was haoj.'a ss—briglit eves an I blooming
liicci v re every where beaming, bin ulus !
it serpen; was lurking among the (lowers.
In the midst of*hi: hilarity, the sound of
a cannon burst suddenly upon tho car.
startling the gu< sts, and suspending the
dance. Washington and the officers looki and
at each other with surprise, hut their fears
were quickly dispelled by Hup; dale, assu
ring them it was only a discharge of ord
nance in honor ofliisdistinguished visiters.
The joy of the in linen* w as again resumed,
but the gloom of suspicion had fallen upon
tho spirit of Washington, who na-v sat in
moody silence apart t’roift the happy throng.
A slight tap upon his shoulder i.t length
roused him from his abstraction, -rod look
ing up, ho perceived tho person ol the Indi
an standing in tho bosom of a myrtle-bush
close to hi. side.
■- iT i! again here !"’ lie exclaimed with
astonishment, hut she motioned him to he
silent, and kneeling at his feet, presented
him with a boquel of flowers. Washington
received it, and was about to place it in bis
breast, when she grasped him firmly by the
arm, and pointing to it, said in a w hisper,
“ Sn-ikr f snake! ’ and the next moment
mingled with the eompauv, who appeared
to recognize and welcome lu r as one well
known un 1 esteemed.
Washington regarded the boquet with
wonder; lie saw nothing in it to excite, his
suspicion ; her words and singular appear
ance had. however. sunk d* reply into his
heart, and looking closer upon the nosegay,
to his surprise he saw a small piice of pa
per in the midst of the (lowers. I lustily lie
drew it forth, and confounded and horror
stricken, read, “Beicarc ! You arc betray
rrl /” It was now apparent that ho was
within the den of the tiger, but to quit it
abruptly might only draw the consuination
of treachery die speedier upon hi- head.—
He resolved, therefore, to disguise his feel
ings, and trust to that Power which had
never forsaken him. The festivities were
again renewed, but almost momentarily in
terrupted by- a second sound of the cannon.
The guests now began to regard each other
with di.stiHist, while many and moody were
the glances cast upon Rugsdalc, whose
to show symptoms of
uneasiness, while ever and anon lie looked
from the window out upon the broad green
lawn which extended to the river’s edge,
as if in expectation of some one’s arrival.
“ What can detain them ?” lie muttered
to himself. “ Can they have deceived me ?
Why answer ‘.bey not the signal?” At
that moment a bright flame rose from the
river, illuminating, for a moment, the sur
rounding scenery, and showing a small boat
tilled with persons, making rapidly towards
theshore. “ All’s well,” he continued ; ‘in
three minutes I .‘ ball be the possessor of a
coronet, and the cause of the ili public be
no more.’’ Then g, lA* turning to Wash
ington, li:- said, “ Ci line, General, pledge
me to the success of our arms.” The. eye
of Rugsdalc, n l that moment, encountered
the scrutiniz ’ look of Washington, and
sunk to the ground ; his hand trembled vio
lently—even to so great a degree a ; to part
ly spill the contents of the goblet. With
difficulty he conveyed it to his lips, then re
tiring to the window, he waved his hand,
which action was immediately responded to
by a third sound of tin cannon ; at the same
moment the English anthem of God save
Ihe King, burst in fifi volume upon the ear,
and a band of men, attired in British uni
form, with their faces hidden.by masks, en
tered the apartment. The American offi
cers drew their swords, but Washington,
cool and collected, stood with his arms fold
ed, upon his breast, quietly remarking to
them, “ lie calm, gentlemen, this is an hon
or we did not anticipate.” Then turning to
ilug.-ilale, said, “ Speak, sir, what does this
mean?”
“ It,means,” replied the traitor, placirg
his hand upon the shoulder of Washington,
“that you are my prisoner. In the name
of King George, I arrest you!”
“ .Never!” exclaimed the General. “Wo
may be cut to pieces, but surrender wo will
not. Therefore, give wav,” and ho waved
iii.s sword to the guard who stood with their
muskets levelled as if ready to fire, should
they attempt to escape. In an instant w ere
their weapons reversed, and dropping then
masks, to'he horror of Rugsdalc, ami the
; grereabb- surprise of Washington, his own
bravo pa.tv whom he had left in charge of
the barge, stood revealed before him.
“ Seize that traitor !” exclaimed the com
mander. “In ten minutes from this Ver
mont, let him be a spectacle between the
heavens and the earth.” The wife and
•laughter clung to his knees in supplication,
but an irrevocable oath had passed his lips,
t hat never should treason again receive his
forgiveness after that of the miscreant Ar
nold. “ For my own life,” ho said, while
the tears rolled down his noble countenance
at the wife and daughter, “for my own life,
1 heed not, but the liberty of my native land
—the welfare of millions demand this sac
rifice—for the sake of humanity,l pity him,
hut hy my oath, and now in the presence of
1 leaven, I swear I will not forgive him.”
Like a thunderbolt fell these words up
on the hearts of the wife and daughter.—
They sank lifeless into the arms oftlie do
mestics, and when they recovered to con-
sciousness, Rugsdalc hail atoned for his
treason bv the sacrifice ofliis life.
It apn <id that lit” Indian girl, v. ho was
un rspi cial tin oil rite, and donu t United in
tbo lit mil v, hit 1 ovothenrd the intention of
Rugs lalo to Ik tray tho Am.wican G n nil,
and other valuable ofiirers, that owning,
.into ihe hands of the llriti. !i, tor v bicb pur
pti.-e ,hoy had been invited to “thisJcast oj
J la i. ’ Hating, in her heart, the enemies
of Am who had driven la r tribe tV an
their native forests, she resolved to frustrate
the design, and consequently waylaid the
steps of Washington ns we ha t* described;
hut failing in her tioblo purpose, she had
then recourse to tin* party left in possession
oi tho boat.
Scarce! v had she imparted Lor informa
tion, and tiie shadows of the night <do. cl
around, v, hen a e atipauv of British soldiers
were discovered making their way rapidly
towards the beuksof ine Hudson, within a
short distanc e of tho spot v re re the Ameri
can party was waiting the return of their
commander. Mold in die cause of liberty,
attd k.r wing that imm Hate action could
.■done preserve him they rushed upon, and
overpowered them, stripped them of tiieir
uniforms and arms, hound them hand and
foot, placed them in their boat, and under
charge of two of their companions, sent
tliem t** the American camp at West Point.
Having disguised themselves in the habili
ments of the enemy, 111cy proceeded to the
house of Rugsdalc, where, at the appointed
lime and sign, made knbwn to them by the
Indian, they opportunely’ arrived to the re
lief of Washington, and the confusion oftlie
traitor.
Thus was the father ofliis country, hy
llr* interposition ol Divine Providence, who
in IDs own words, “ never deserted him,”
saved from captivity, and, but for which,
America might to this day have been pres
sed by the foot ofoppression, ami her tdiil
dren have bowed the knee to a foreign
power.
The Tv fancy of the Human Race. —it is
worthy of observation, now singular the
physical qualities of the earth, in the im
mediate vicinity of the r< gions where man
was created, were adapted for his infant
necessitii s, and the means oftlie herdsmen
and tin fields of the plain. To the north
oftlie sunny slopes of Armenia, where pro
fane rot less than sacred history assigns
tho first appearance oftlie destined lords of
! the earth, extend the boundless grassy
wilds of Tartary and Scythia; where not
a tree was to be seen nor a range of impas
sable mountains intervened, from the hanks
of the Danube to the frontier of China;
and where mankind multiplying with the
heritage which grew beneath their feet and
the herd which increased around them,
; found every possible facility for the rapid
extension of their numbers in the shepherd
, state. At the foot of the same mountains,
to the south, lay extended the noble plain
! of Mesopotamia, with a natural irrigation
unparalleled in the world, furnishing the
means of ample subsistence under the pro
lific sun of A§ia, and teeming with a luxu
riance of natural riches which in every
ago has excited the astonishment of man
kind, and which all the labor of subsequent
ages has been unable to exhaust. Had
either been wanting, the species must have
perished in its cradle ; had the plain of Shi
nar not offered to his hand unbounded na
tural riches, the cities of the plain could
never have arisen; had the wilds of Tar
tary been us sterile as the rocks of Arabia,
or as thickly wooded as the American for
est, the shepherds oftlie hills could never
have formed the fathers of mankind. But
tiie boundless riches of the Babylonian
fields gave-birth even in the first ages to
those stupendous cities, front whence tin;
enterprise of commerce dispersed tlie hu
man race in every direction through Cen
tral Asia; while the uniform pasturage of
tho Scynthian wilds spread before them a
vast highway stored with food, by means
of which they could penetrate wiih ease to
the remotest extremities of the old world ;
and where those countless swarms of men
have prung from the unlabored bounty of
nature, nho in every age have exercised
so great, an influence on the fortunes of
mankind.— Alison’s Principles of Popula
tion.
Welding Iron and Steel. —Perhaps many
of our smiths, who have not seen the fol
-1 lowing, may derive some advantage from
! its perusal.
j As iron and steel are compounded more
! or less with sulphur, copper, and arsenic,
which, if they predominate too much, will
prevent their being welded sound, it may
be of some importance to blacksmiths to
know what remedies to apply in such cases.
When iron is compounded with sulphur, it
is apt to burn before a welding heat can be
raised. It this caec a little unslackcd stone
lime, pounded up very line, to bo used in
stead of sand, will absorb the .sulphur, and
enabled the smith to weld it sound. If but
a small quantity of copper enters into the
composition of iron, it will render it brittle
when hot, and tough when cold. In this
case, salt or sal ammoniac, should be used
with the sand, which evaporate tho copper
and prevent the iron from breaking when it
is very hot, Arsenic generally predomi
nates in iron that is very brittle when cold.
A small quantity of saltpetre should then
be used with the sand tor welding. Iron or
steel is entirely free from either of those
pernicious substances, will work sound, weld
with ease, and be very tough when cold.
This is what is called good iron. The
same may be said of steel.
A fault too often found with blacksmiths
is, that their work is not sound, when in fact
the fault is in the iron they work. A little
attention to ascertain the qualifies of iron,
and to apply the proper remedies, will ena
ble them to make their work sound, or, at
least, as good as the quality of the’iron will
admit. In welding iron and sttel together
for edge tools* it will bo os service (at least
it can do harm even if the iron and steel be
ever so good,) to have a little lime, salt, and
saltpetre mixed with tho sand commonly
used in welding. This mixture makes an
excellent flux lor welding, and at the same
tin) prevents the iron from burning, and
enables the smith to raise a sufficient heat
to weld it perfectly sound, even to the very
centre oftlie bar.— Mechanic’s Magazine.
. . *. i* . *•-•* * * -a- ’ r *-< •-* sr iaj, ■*-, ■*
CO Nutt ICS SION A |j.
Correspondence, of the Chronicle Sentinel.
Washington, Wcxhic: day Evening, )
December 23, 18-10. (j
There was a debate of very great ani
mation and interest in the House of Repre
sentatives to day, on tho measure which
attracted so much attention at the last ses
sion, and known by the title oftlie “hill to
secure the more faithful e xecution of the
laws relating to the collection of duties on
imports.”
Last year the iill passed ‘ho House in a
for.ii v. hieh could excite no opposition in
any quarter.—lt was strictly and singly
a measure to prevent frauds on tho rev i
tio. But when it got to tho Si nato, tho
Finance Committee there added thirteen
or fourteen sections hy way of amendment,
professedly to give, by legislation, the
true construction to the coniprt raise act of
1832, which the committee .said had in se
veral instances been erroneously constru
ed hy tin* courts oftiic United States. On
looking at the last section, added by the
Senate, however, Mr. Wise and other
southern gentlemen, had discovered that
defies had been laid upon linen, worsted,
and other articles, in which they felt an
interest; that in fact the compromise had
been disturbed, anew tariff created, and
that the duties had been increased in some
cases from nothin.; to fifty per cent; and,
4 \ other instances, from a nominal amount
to 23 per ei lit. On its return to the 1 louse,
tho bill tuts lost—there was not, indeed,
time to reach it, as the session was near
its close.
To-dov Mr. Adams moved to refer this
bill to the Committee on Manufactures.—
He announced his purpose to bo not to re
port that part of tho bill which had been
added b\ r the Senate. lie Mas not for re
potting a Tariff bill, or a Revenue bill—
nut a measure tor the suppression of frauds.
Mr. Wise expressed his wish that the
bill should go to the Committee of Ways
and Means, and went into the history of
its introduction and defeat at the last ses
sion. He arraigned the present Adminis
tration for having brought forward tiiisncM
tariff, through its Chairman of the Senate
Committee on Finance (Mr. Wright,) —
All he asked m ii’s, to leave this question
m here it Mas in 1813 ; and when the Tar
iff question should he raised, he Mould
meet it boldly, and lie hoped it would not
be sneaked into a bill professing only to be
for (be prevention of frauds on the Reve
nue.
The question on the motion of Mr. Adams,
having precedence, was first put and car
tied, yeas 109, nays 00.
So the bill was referred to the Commit
tee on Manufactures ; and we have the
pledge of the Chairman, that his object
will be to strike out the features that con
flict witlt the Compromise Act, and make
it simply anil so!elj r a frnwl preventing
measure.
Tic* committee of Ways reported today
the bill making appropriations for the In
dian Department, and for carrying into
edict Indian Treaties. The sum appro
printed is upwards of $700,000.
Thu Navy appropriation bill Mas also
reported ; both were referred to the Com
mittee of the Whole.
A call has been made, on the Postmaster
General hy the House, fora list of all the
deputy Postmasters that have oeen remov
ed since tho 3d of March, 1839; and to
state the causes of the removals, Ac. Ac.
This Mill show what grounds the men in
power have for raising the cry of Proscrip
tion in advance.
The Senate spent most of the day in
clearing the table of the bills of a private
or local character which have been intro
duced.
The bill to abolish imprisonment for
debt, was passed and sent to the House.
The bill to prevent the counterfeiting of
aiij’ foreign gold, silver, or other coin, or
bringing into the United States any such
counterfeit foreign coin, was passed.
Mr. Benton gave notice of his intention
to bring in a bill to impose a tax on bank
notes and other paper designed for circu
lation !
As it is now generally understood that
Mr. Webster will be Secretary of State,
you may naturally wish to know what are
the feelings and wishes of a person who is
to fill so high and influential a post, as to
the manner in which the oilier high places
of government shall be bestowed. It is
known here, that Mr. Webster’s sincere
desire is that in regard to the other appoint
ments, every section of the Union shall be
fairly and fully considered; and the South
may he assured, that no man will go far
ther than ho, to maintain their just consti
tutional rights—and their proper rights in
the Administration and in the public coun
cils. D.
\Y ashington, r \ hursday Evening, )
December 24, 1840. \
The boasted project of Benton, to lava
tax bill on Bank notes, and other paper in
tended as a circulation, was turned out of
the Senate to-day, in the most contumeli
ous manner. The door indeed Mas shut
in its taco, with a promptness and decision
which, it is to be hoped, will prevent the .
author from ever again submitting another
proposition of the kind.
lie asked leave to introduce the bill,
and thereupon made a long and charac
teristic speech against Banks, and Bank
paper. He avowed his purpose to be, in
the first place, to compel the banking in- ■
stitutions of the country, to contribute the
revenue from their sources; and secondly,
to suppress all notes under tho denomina
tion of 620.
The bill was read, and the mere an
nouncement of the title, was sufficient to
satisfy every body that the Senator had
brought his wares.to a wrong market. It
Mas a revenue bill which the Senate had
no right to originate; but the introduction;
of m hit h, under the Constitution, belongs
exclusively to the House of Represonta
fives.
Mr. Huntingdon called tho attention of
the Senate to its character, and contended
that it ought not go into tho merits of die
bill. lie thought it improper to do so. —
lie thought the Senate had no right to en
tertain it at all.
Benton endeavored to find a precedent
for Ins motion in the Compromise Act,
which he mid was matured ,n the Si nato,
and then taken up hy the House, us an a
incndinont to un original bill there, ilc
wished this measure of hi.* to’ he disposed cf
in the same May.
Mr. Wei sii i’ in u few clear and strong
words, demonstrated the constitutionality
ot Renton's proposition. The bill lore on
its fli.ee the character of a measure to lay
a tax'. The Cot; titulion absolutely prohi
bits Ibe Senate from introducing measures
1 laying taxes. Could there 1 e o t’rea -
eased uia onMitw : onality ? The Con.-
promise Act, he n.air.tMi J, via.-; up en
tirely different ease. Tkmwasa bill no:
to lay taxes. A: to reduce them.
An attempt m- i then made to lay die
question of granting h ave for the introduc
tion oftlie measure on the table. This was
strongly opposed also hy Mr. King, Mr
Calhoun, and Mr. Webster.
The latter again stated the grounds of
opposition in words of light. He said his
purpose was to ascertain whether tin Se
nate Mount consent to consider the meas
ure at all? The introduction of it in the
Senate, Mas prohibited by the Constitution;
and the motion to la*, the question of grunt
ing leave on tho table, implied a doubt,
which he, for one, did not entertain. The
proposition was altogether free from doubt.
The motion to lay on the table M as neg
atived.
Benton thm rose, and said lie had ac
complished his purpose, (that is, he had
made his speech !) and said lie would with
draw his motion for leave! This fool’s
play Mas not to be endured. Mr. Webster
objected, and a long debate arose, as to
whether ho had a right to withdraw his mo
tion. The blustering demagogue protest
ed it Mas his privilege—his prerogative.
But lie M as taught better before the discus
sion ended : and finding that the general
opinion M'cnt against him, he was obliged
to ask leave, not as a matter of right, hut
as a matter of favor, to withdraw his pro
position. Os course, no body objected to
this, and his hill Mas thus turned out.—
The Senate adjourned then to Monday next.
The House was engaged during the
whole day in a discussion on the motion of
Mr. Reynolds, of Illinois, to instruct the
Committee of Public Lands to report “a
bill to grant prospective pre-emptions to
settle's on the public lands, and to reduce
tiie prtc*- to settlers according to tho value
of said lands.”
Mr. Reynolds made a regular Western
grabbing see eh. Mr. Wm. Cost Johnson,
of Maryland, replied in u masterly speech,
defending the old States from the attacks
made on them by the new, and vindicating
the rights of the old States to the possession
, oftlie public domain equally n-ith the ucm
States.
The debate was then taken up by Mr.
Hubbard, of Alabama but in,, hour was
late M'licn he rose and or his motion, the
House adjourned. D.
j j
mm km gazette.
I’RINCirLES mill MEN.
WASHINGTON, UA.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1840.
FOR CONGRESS,
HINES (MT, JB„ OF WUSGOSEL
Election on M nuhy next.
QO” Several Communications deferred.
{scoi'£ia BaCgixlalJii’c.
The bill to make Clerks of the Courts of
Ordinary eligible bv tho people, was lost
in the House, as was also the bill to author
ise tin Banks to pay Post Notes.
Tne bill subjecting the vessels belonging
to the citizens oftlie State of Maine, to per
form quarantine, passed both branches of
the Genetal Assembly. The chief provis
ions of this bill are, that every vessel com
ing directly, or indirectly from the State of
Maine, shall perform quarantine, for the
space of one hundred days, during which
time none of the officers, seamen, or pas
sengers, shall be allowed to go on shore or
on board of any other vessel or boat, dur
ing the continuance of the Act, under the
penalty of imprisonment in the Penitentiary
not less than five, nor more than ten years,
and the same punishment is prescribed if
during the continuance of the quarantine
any one on board the vessel shall hold com
munication directly or indirectly with any
slave or person of color, without written au
thority from the owner or guardian thereof.
The last section of tiie Act gives authority :
to the Mayor or the highest n * ’c'nal offi- ‘
cerof the sea-port, where such vessel shall
land in this State, to make a search on board
such vessel before she departs, and the Cap- 1
tain is required to give twenty-four hours
notice of the time, when she intends to sail. ;
Tiie amendment of the Bill by the S- nate,
provides that when the Governor of Maine
complies with the requisitions oftlie Gov
ertior of this State, the operation oftlie Act
, shall cease.
Tho resolutions of the Senate against a
high tariff’, Ac. passed the House, after stri
king out the resolution against a National
Bank.
The Bill reviving the Tax Law of 1804,
passed both branches.
03” The Legislature of South Curoliua
adjourned sine die on the 18th ‘list., having
bem in session three weeks and five days,
and enacted twenty seven Laws.
03” The Legislature of Georgia adjourn
ed sine die on the 23d inst., having been it:
session 51 days, and passed ]Bfi Laws.
03” They have invented a mill for the
manufacture of-poetry in New G •!..
Our Carrier has sent and had a New fear’s
-t'ldn s.-y.ound out, it has just been ro
oeivrd, and will ho p■•counted tomorrow.
From the irregularity of the. sentiment and
v< reification, we judge that tho machine
was out of order, or tiiat tho miller had ta
ken too much hard cider with his thanks
giving dinner. However, we hope our
friends will help Mike, to pay tho toll on
his grist.
From the Georgia Journal.
CAUTION.
To the friends of State Rights Harrison,
and Reform, we say BEWARE .’ The Van
Buivn party are at focii old trick.;. A
CIRCULAR, emanating from .Ins place,
they have lately issued, which is intended
io have the effect of rallying tneir friends
in the different counties to turn out to the
election on Monday next. W ere this all,
we would have no right to complain, but if
we are correctly informed, and that we are,
not a doubt rests upon out minds, this secret
circular goes a step or two further; nay, it
strides over every barrier that truth places
in its way, and charges upon the Harrison
party that they have wilfully violated the
known will of the people, and disregarded
their solemn pledges of introducing iu the
country letter times. These, with others,
equally reckless, and denunciations litter
and malevolent, characterize the circular
which we have been informed is now scat- ,
tcred, and being scattered throughout the 1
country. Desperate diseases require des
perate remedies. Th most subtle poisons
are frequently administered by tho physi
cian, in the last stage of an incurable di<-
caso. But the boldness of tho Physician
; effected not the cure of the patient. Just
so with the Van Buren parly in Georgia.
They have been, and still continue to be,
troubled with a complication of diseases
political, which, to cure, has baffled the ,
skill even of the arch magician himself.
The panacea, in the form of the circular,
prepared, thougdi it lias been, by thcpolitl- ;
cal doctors lately assembled in Milledge- !
v*lie, and desperate as the remedy is, will i
fail to produce the dc-sire 1 effect. The •
disease is an incurable one, and th? patio l '’
must die. Let t be friends of State Rights,
Harrison, and Reform, see to tins. Wc j
call upon them to meet the Van Bur nites j
at the polls on Monday next. Let them i
see and feel that an indignant people know i
; how to repudiate these secret efforts to rc
‘ gain power which they have so recently lost
and which they abused so long as the pco- :
pic allowed them to exercise it. Let there
be a g- iic-ral attendance of the party at the
■ polls! Let no man stay at home ; (fi.r
candidate for Congress ought to be most ;
enthusiastically sustained by every friend j
of the constitution anil of the country, in |
Georgia. IIINES HOLT is every May
qualified to represent the people of Georgia
in the Congress of the United States ; and
M-hen compared with Ills opponent, in point
of ability, talents, as a statesman, ho stands i
pre-eminent. A part though from consid- !
nations of this cha.after let those who ral- !
lied to the polls in October, an ’ November, j
“once more unto the breach, ” if it be for the i
purpose alone of sealing with their reproba- !
tion this secret circular movement, this shin- i
j der against tbe party’s “good name,” which ;
it was our design, when we commenced i
this article, alone to apprize our fficnjs
M as in existence. i
From the Southern Recorder.
Let us glance at tho effect oi some of the j
more important legislation, of the session
which has just terminated its labors.
And first—how stands our State Road.—
The Commissioners had, before the late
contracts-for grading the entire Road, on
hand of the State Bonds, some tight hun
dred thousand dollars, which if disposed of, 1
we understand will be sufficient to grade .
the road throughout, and iion it some fifty ‘
miles, to Cross Plains, in Murray County. ‘
Can the bonds be sold ?—Wo understand
that enough of them have already beendis- !
posed of to the contractors, for the entire j
gradings; and wo will shew the improved I
condition in which those on hand are left by 1
the Legislature, to secure the sale of the
balance, and which will complete the road
50 miles.
First the Central Bank is enjoined to
pay tho interest of the whole State debt two
millions, and to reserve seventy-five thou
sand dollars annually as a sinking fund for
the same. If she can do this, it ought to
make the bonds much more negotiable.
Can she do so ?—Let us see.
First. The taxes this year will amount
to something like two hundred thourand
dollars. The stocks of good banks which
she holds, amount t 0—6320,700. She
ought to receive of her discounted paper in
the course of the year, we suppose at least
500,000, besides one million of bonds, bear
ing eight per cent, interest, which she is
authorized to issue to redeem her bills. .
Those are the moans by which she is to
paj’ the interest of the State debt, and to re
serve 75,000 annually as a sinking fund
forthatdebt. And at the same time take
up her own bills as they may he presented.
besides the annual appropriation act, whiclj
amounts to ovet 6220,000. Ilow fur tliesi
measures will prove adequate to tiie attain
ment ot the desired object, we leave ol
course to the sound judgment oftlie reader.
In the above we have not taken into com
- sideration the large amount due to the State
by the Darien Bank, both on her bills, and
for her stock. It is to be hoped, that this
source will not provi wholly fiuitless, but
that it will be able lodo something hy some
settlement to aid the State in cnee more
righting herself.
We have thus glanced at the result ot
some ofthc most important legislation oi
the last session—and in starting with the
Rail Road, we have found the other most
important measures so blended with it, ns to
be baldly separable.—We have there
fore thrown our remarks upon this head in
to a general form, embracing the most im
portant acts, the Tax Bill, the Central
Bank Bill, the Rail Road ! *ll. and appropri
ation bill.
from Ih l\alioual Intelligencer.
The Mrs.- . having been in ,iur pos
s. ssion for so short a tin; *, tur perusal of it
has been too rapid to allow us to-day to give
to its contents the deliberate attention to
which, emanating from the Chief Magis
trate, and addressed us much to the People
at least as to their Representatives in Con
gress, it has claim. Our conmit nts upon
it therefore must be as brief as our exainin
j ation ofit has bicu hasty.
In all that part ofit which concerns the 1
Foreign Relations of the United States, the
i department of public affairs which fulls
most properly and peculiarly under the su
pervision of the Executive, the Message is
-afi.ifactory, andean hardly fail of being
acceptable to almost every re ader. With
the whole world we are in peace and ami
ty ; and the only serious controversy that
wo have with any nation, carried on in a
1 spirit of amity, wears a more (rather than
i a less) favorable aspect, than A did either at
the commencement or the close of the lust
session of Congress. “From the undoubt
ed disposition of both parties to bring the
matter m an early conclusion,” we are
glad ‘o learn from tho Message that the
President “looks with entire confidence to
a prompt and satisfactory termination oftlie
negotiation” bet ween the United States and
Great Britain on ihe boundary question.
It gives us pleasure io be able conscicnti
. ously to express the opinion that this is a
i consummation which the President has ap
peared to us to keep steadily in view, and
to endeavor to promote by such measures
as lie believed would bring it about. On
tho expediency of the course pursued by Ihe
Executive towards this end, there may bo,
and there are. different opinions; our re
mark extends only to the purpose, for which
we feel bound to give the President the
credit to which he is entitled. Had he been
otherwise than pacifically disposed, if we
j were to say that it has been in his power
at, anv time within the last two years to
have kindled this boundary dispute, into a
l disastrous war between two great nations
j who upon every consideration of mutual iu
t lerost and reciprocal feeling ought ever to
■ be friends, we should not l;e far wide ofthc
: truth.
But with our unfeigned approbation of so
‘ much of the Message as concerns our For
\ eign Relations we are afraid that our praise
!of this State Paper must end. The re
! reminder of it, with the exception of arc
- commendation concerning the rates of let
ter postage, another concerning the sup
: p ession of ihe trade carried on from tho
United States with the African slave fac
tories, and the allusions to the Florida War
and the Exploring Expedition, is in fact
neither more nor less tk.-'r- an c-RLoiate dc
j fence of the course of the present and ‘ast
: administrations in refrence to the currcncj-,
sub-treasury, hard money, and other ques
j tions, upon which, in tlie concrete, the tri
bunal oftlie People has hut just now pro
nounced judgment, not by a majority of
votes merely, but in a voice, the thunders
■ of which ar.* even vet reverberating among
o o
tin ‘fistant mountains.
A review of this essay upon the polities
of the day \v raid of course require more
time and space than at a moment’s warn
ing wo can devote to it.—ls undertaken, it
must be hereafter, at greater leisure.
There are one or two points, however,
which we will not permit, even now, to pass
unheeded.
In the tint place, when the President,
speaking of the reduction c the public
revenue, (the result, as every body knows,
of the mischievous measures of the prece
ding administration and his own,) congrat
ulates the country that the Government, not
withstanding the “large extraordinary ex
penses growing out of past Iransu -tions,’ has
not been brought to a stand-still, he entirely
overlooks a fact which is fatal t., the claim
which he sets up for the Executive of a
successful administration of tiie Govern
ment for tiie last four years, in reference
to its fiscal affairs. The fact to which we
refer is, that, before Mr. Van Buren’s
Administration began, the old public debt
of the United States had been entirely paid
oft', and the revenue released from the heavy
annual demand for payment of interest and
redemption of re ineipal of that debt, winch
in tiie preceding Administration, con
sumed nearly one half of the whole revenue
of the United Stales. The payments on
account of that debt, for example, during
tho tour years’ administration of President
Adame, amounted to forty-ft vi miPb-T.3 of
dollars, or an average of more than eleven
millions of dollars avear; and, during the
eight years of President Jackson, to sixly
four mil 1 ions of dollars, orebdit millions of
dollars, a year. Not one dollar hts the
present Administration had to pay t,n this
account. Under a discreet
of its affairs, then instead of leaving be
hind i* debts to the amount of manj mil
lions, (Tioasu'*’ Notesand * .paid demands
upon tho Government,) the present A*<s
ministration-ought (taking the Administra
tion of Mr Adams as a rule (to leave in the
Treasu y, instead of the estimated balance
of a million and a half, at least forty mil
lions of dollars.