Newspaper Page Text
full a positive ilisinelination to annoying the
young man ; nay, a sort of pity for his hard
ease made him pause. But while lie was
thus hesitating, Wallowmire, who had crept
in bchinJ the cullers, approached tho old
leather ttunk and gave it a kick which
started tho cover and threw the loaf of
broad into the middle of the room. Crim
son with rage, and stung to the soul at this
insulting exposure of his poverty, the young
man sprang forward, and aimed a blow ut
Wallowinirc, which that individual dodged
with considerable activity. livery thing
was instantly in confusion. The ‘train
ers’ had been gradually getting nearer, and
now they all rushed upon him, and clinch
ed him at once, lie struggled fiercely,
and broke away once or twice before they
secured him. But they were sixteen to his
one, and wlrnt could lie do ? Two of the
stoutest clasped him round the body, and
pinioned his arms, while another, after re
ceiving a pretty severe kick in the mouth,
managed to hamper his legs with an old
handkerchief. In this condition they drag
ged him across the room and forced him to
sit down on the bed-side, two of the wor
thies, confining his arms, as I have men
tioned, arid a third kneeling on the bed
clothes behind him with both hands resting
affectionately on the collar of his coat.—
When the young man was secured, Wal
lowmire came up and grinned in his face.
The sullen expression with which he
submitted as soon as he saw that resistance
was ridiculous, excited great amusemont
among his captors.
‘ Don’t go near him,’said one, ‘ or he’ll
bite !’
‘ lie looks mad enough, said another, ‘to
make a bite very dangerous !’
‘ Fellow-students,’ said Marshall, ‘lt has
been observed by the immortal Shakspcare
that—
Music hath charms to soothe a savage—
Chop a log, or cut a cabbage—
‘Suppose we give him some V
‘Yes! yes!’ vociferated his auditors.—
‘That’s your sort, Marshall! Silence! for
the song!’
‘Whatshall it he ?’ enquired Marshall.
This simple question created immense
confusion, for no two could hit upon the
same tune. ‘Mol Row !’ Old Zip Coon!’
JimCrowfor me!’ ‘S'ng Canaan!’ —‘Give
us Old Hundred !’ were some of the various
demands, while one patriotic Student in the
corner sung out at the top of his voice for
‘Yankee Doodle!’
‘Fellow Students,’ said Marshall, beck
oning for silence—‘this is a land of liberty,
(cheers, and cries of ‘that’s a fact!’) —You
do not seem to agree about the music, and
1 have no right to choose for von. Igo for
the largest liberty, (‘Hurrah!’ from the
company,) therefore gentlemen, let every
man sing his own tune !’ and at it they
went, roaring with all their strength in e
very variety of voice and key. ‘Moll Row,’
occasionally prevailed over ‘The land of
Canaan.’ ‘Old Zip Coon,’ was heard at
intervals mingling in the strangest manner
with ‘Jim Crow.’ Some who had no mu
sic in their souls, took it out in shouting and
stamping ; the most outrageous confusion
prevailed, until an enterprising genus,
mounting on the table, struck up anew
tune which appeared to be an universal fa
vorite ; and the whole company finally
joined in the magnificent chorus of—
Get out ob de way,
Old Dan Tucker!
Out de way,
Old Dan Tucker !
Out do way,
Old Dan Tucker,
You’m too late
To come to supper!
The ardor with which his guards entered |
into this, gave our hero an opportunity of
working the handkerchef off his legs. He
freed himself by a sudden efiort, and sei
zing one of the chairs he laid about him
with such good will as to knock several
down, and drive the rest toward the door.
Wallowmire was the first to run—but there
were two or three who stood in the door
way, and as he could not get out until they
did, he fluttered round, panting with terror,
expecting every moment to feel the chair
on his back. In shear desperation, he turn
ed about and saw Marshall and Rogers rol
ling on the floor, and the exasperated young
man, grasping the chair with both hands,
and coming right at him with flashing eyes.
Quick as thought the oward thrust his
hand into his vest pocket, and taking out a
common pewter syringe, discharged it at
him, but Marshall, who suddenly rising,
had stepped in between the two, received
the entire contents in his face. The poor
fellow instantly fell on the floor screaming
horribly, and scratching the boards with
his nails, for tho syringe had been loaded
with nitric acid !
Stupificd with horror, the two young men
stood, while a man might count ten, without
a breath, without a motion, Wallowmire
holding the syringe between his fingers,
the other with the chair vet uplifted in his
hands. At length Wallowmire threw a
way the syringe and burst through all op
position into the entry, which began to be
filled with students attracted by the noise
of the training.
‘ Wallowmire,’ said one of them as the
horrid screams of Marshall now struck
upon his ear, ‘what in the name of Heaven
are they doing with the Freshman V
‘I guess they are training him a little
too hard,’ replied the wretch', in a voice
which quivered with terror, as he struggled
through the crowd towards the entry door.
When he reached the open air, he ran with
all his speed toward his own apartments.
In the meantime, the agonizing screams
of young Marshall had crowded the room
with students. Every one was affected
with uncontrollable sympathy. ‘Poor fel
low !’ ‘God help you, my poor fellow !’—
‘Bear it a little longer, dear Marshall, it
will soon he over!’ were the exclamations
that hurst from all sides. Some ran for
the doctor, some lifted him into a chair,
and others tried to relieve him by pouring
cold water on Jtis face, which was now of a
deep scarlet color, and quivered with ago
ny wherever a drop of the accursed liquid
had fallen. O.oly two had seen Wallow-
I mire when ho committed this diabolical
act, namely, our hero the Freshman, and
Rogers, who was one of the first to be
knocked down in the scaffle, and wlto had
seen the whole as he rose, for it was all
dono in an instant. But this last was e-
I nougli. Burning with indignation, he told
! the whole story in a loud voice, and in an
! incredibly short time ; every one in the
vast crowd of students which filled the room
and choked the entries and scrambled up
:on each others shoulders to look in at the
I windows, knew all the circumstances of the
| infernal deed.
At length soma of tho medical faculty
made their appearance. By their advice,
Marshall was to be conveyed to bis own
room and closely attended with cooling ap
plications. This was done, and the students
dispersed to their rooms.
Wallowmire shought his room trembling
in every limb. Locking the door, he threw
himselfon the sofa and covered his face
with his hands.
It was there that tho consequences of his
cowardly notion forced themselves upon
him in all their horror. He would have
given millions to live the last twenty min
utes over airain. Again and again did he
curse his own folly, and In: tore out his hair
by tiie handful when he reflected that but
for this, he might have been entirely at his
ease. ‘Oh Lord!’ he groaned, ‘What a
fool—what a blind fool I was! Couldn’t I
have done it sly ? Couldn’t 1 have taken
some dark night when nobody could see ?
No! like an idiot 1 must do it before the
whole gang ! And then to miss after all!
To hit Marshall instead of that beggarly
scamp ; hut it was good enough for him,
1 what business had he between us ? and
now 1 suppose I must be taken up, and
pointed at and Itisspd at, and carried to pris
on ! Oh! I could kill myself for a fool !’—
And lie flung himself upon the sofa, grind
ing his teeth.
Presently the noise of the people running
past his window made his heart leap. ‘Per
haps he thought, starting up ‘they may bo
after mo now !’ His knees trembled un
der bint and the cold sweat stood in large
drops on his forehead at the thought. For
one anxious minute—a minute which
seemed like eternity—he listened for the
expected footsteps on the stairs. Atlength
when lie was satisfied that there was no one
coming, he began to think of providing for
himself. Hastily cratning a few necessa
ry articles into a carpet bag, he locked the
door behind him, crept steadily down the
stairs, carefully opened the entry door, and
ran for his life.
Next day an investigation of the whole
matter was made by the faculty. Rogers
and some others who had taken an active
part in the ‘training,’ were suspended for
three months. The heavy blow on the
head which Marshall had received, coupled
with the effects of the acid, brought on a se
vere fit of sickness. During this lie was
constantly attended by our poor young Stu
dent who watched day and night with him.
At length he recovered, but the loss of an
eye disfigured him for life, and formed a
lasting memorial of the ‘training of a F resh
man.’
The boldness of our hero in defending
his rights, and the humanity which he dis
’ played in attending Marshall during his
| sickness, procured him the respect and es
; teem of those who had scoffed at his niiser
\ able apparel ; the ability he manifested in
iiis class deepened every favorable impres
• sion ; and when at last, the calumnies were
refuted which Wallowmire had circulated
1 concerning him, he had not an citoiny in the
college, who was not converted into a stead
fast friend.
As for Wallowmire lie never returned,
nor could any body tell what had become
of him until about eight months afterwards,
when a wandering acquaintance of mine
saw him or somebody that looked very
much like him chained by the leg to a fel
low convict and sweeping the gutters in Ha
va nna h. How lie got there, and what be
came of him afterwards, no one ever knew,
nor should any body care about the fate of
the cowardly rascal whose character was
so fully and so detestably displayed in the
above mentioned circumstance of ‘training
a Freshman.’ [g. s.
THE WAY IT’S DONE IN MISSIS
SIPPI.
Mr. E. Percy Howe, thus presents him
self a candidate for Congress from DeSoto
county, Miss. :
Fellow-Citizens : Such an opportunity as
the present one of honoring modest merit,
and, at the same time, honoring yourselves
generally and the State particularly, does
not present itself oftener than once in a cen
tury. Doctor Franklin, the ornament of
the last century, died on the 17th of April,
1790; I intend to institute no “odious”
comparisons. To my contemporaries, his
tory and posterity, belongs the pleasing and
sacred duty of “ designating the ornament
of the present century;” but this 1 will
fearlessly (and, I trust, modestly) assert,
that if you want an open, candid, untem
porizing, thorough-going republican—an
opponent of all banks, bonds and bubbles ;
a genuine unadulterated repealer, radical,
real,straight-forward, stand-up-to-thc-raek
fodder-or-no-fodder subterranean repudia
tor—no mongrel — no neutral —l am your
man? —for me you will cast your votes!
and if you elect me, I will serve you zeal
ously, faithfully, and to the best of my abil
ities ; so help me God !
Yours, affectionately,
E. PERCY HOWE.
All the editors in the State will of course
publish the above, and on my return from
Washington, I will pay them $2 per square
for its insertion. E. P. H.
“Look here Tom, what do you think of
this here printing* business, ain’t it a ston
ishinating thing to you ?” “Well horse it
is ; they may talk about their national con
ventions, and these here other conventions,
but I think the art of printing is about the
greatest convention that ever I sawed in my
born days.”
STRATEGY EXTRAORDINARY.
There is a law in Boston against smok
ing cigurs in the street. There is a cer
tain captain of the watcli in that city, Mr.
Barry, w ho is at the same time very activo
in rigidly enforcing the penalty attached to
the infraction of the ordinance, and fond of
smoking a good cigar at his own fireside of
, ter dinner. There is in his neighborhood a
1 gang of wags, some of whom have “ suf
| so red some” from the former indefatigabili-
I ty of the Captain, and determined to avail
I themselves of his latter propensity to re
venge their sufferings ; so while lie was
quietly enjoying his Principe last Friday,
after dinner, they raised a ory of riot near
his domicil, and he in his anxiety to main
tain the supremacy of the laws, rushed into
tho street, and toward the scene of suppos
ed outbreak, without once thinking of his
cigar. The wags caught him in the trap
they had spread, marched him up to the
police, and the magistrate exacted from him
the penally he had forfeited—two dollars
and costs —which, as a good honest citizen,
he “ forked over,” and “ kept his temper”
; like a martyr.
j INJURIOUS EFFECTS OF MESMER
ISM.
Tito popularity of Mesmerism appears to
have descended from tlie higher to the
j poorer classes, and without giving credit to
! its curative effects, there can he no doubt,
that either by imagination or otherwise,
some very palpable effects are occasional
ly produced upon the brain. A melancho
ly case of this kind has occurred within the
last few days, to a fine intelligent hoy, a
bout ten years of age, named John Hewitt,
the son of a coffee-house keeper, in Bunhill
row, which has caused much excitement in
tho neighborhood. The youth was opera
ted upon by one of those pretenders who
are now in the habit of giving lectures and
performing demonstrations on this subject,
; at this end of the town, where it is now very
\ popular. At several trials the experiments
were said to be successful ; but the final
result has been that although healthy be
fore, the poor child has since been subject
toil series of fits, his mind has become per
manently affected, and lie is in fact, fast
approaching to a state of fatuity. The child
has been under the care of Dr. Elliotson,
for the purpose of being de-mesmerised,
but without any chance of permanent suc
cess in his treatment. This case should be
a warning to pretenders not to tamper with
what may or ina v not be a powerful agent,
; as a remedy, or upon the imagination, and
which has, in this instance, been proved to
possess very l ad influence.
English paper.
Frightful Excitement. —An amusing
fright occurred last Wednesday night,
ort board the steamer New Haven, while
she was lying to at New London in a gale
of wind. While nearly all on board were
asleep in their berths, a passenger was at
tacked with the nightmare. He made a
most hideous noise, crying “murder! fire!”
and threw the rest of the passengers into a
fright the most laughable that can be ima
girted. One or two hundred of them leap
ed from tlipir berths, some in a state of na
ture, some with a sheet hanging to their
shoulders, and some without. They
rushed through the cabins and upon deck,
crying “fire! fire!” at the top of their
voices, and had not the captain and offi
cers and Adams messengers been possessed
of a good deal of presence of mind, some
serious accident would have happened.
In an hour or two, however, they were
quieted down, the man with the nightmare
waked up, and the boat was again in a
state of quietness and repose, except with
an occasional start in a berth here and
there, whenever the boat gave a lurch.
These passengers, in their fright, thought
of nothing but the destruction of the Lex
ington.—Boston Mail.
A Cruel and Brutal Murder. —The Ce
dar Blufl‘(Ala.) Gladiator, of the 21st ult.
gives an account of a murder committed
by one John Smith. Smith it seems, at
tempted to kill an old man to whom lie
was indebted. He beat in his head with a
hoe and left him for dead. Smith’s son,
however, soon after seeing that he was
likely to recover, beat him again, leaving
him tho second time for dead.—Ho howev
er recovered and procured a process
against Smith, but the officer knowing
the reckless character of the ruffian
summoned a Mr. Berry to assist him.
Berry as soon as he arrived at the house
entered it, and Smith snapped his gun at
him. Berry immediately took hold of
him, and while engaged, Smith drew a pis
tol and shot Berry through the head—he
fell dead. While the rest were fasten
ing Smith to carry him off, Smith’s wife
knocked down one of the company with an
andiron, and snapped a gun at the whole
crowd. Smith is in jail at Warrenton.”
A Singular Incident. —A gentleman from
Marlborough informs us, says the Hartford
Times, of a singular circumstance connec
ted with an affray between a hawk and a
hen, on Sunday last. The hawk, a very
large one measuring from wing to w ing,
over four feet, pounced upun a hen, and
raised her a short distance in the air, when
from some cause, the hen became disen
gaged, or so much obstructed the progress
of the hawk, that lie pitched downwards,
and went directly into a well! A colored
woman named Clara Burden, seeing them
go into the well, ran to see how matters
progressed and found the hawk lying upon
iiis back in the water, and the hen standing
upon him ! The woman lowered the buck
et and safely secured the hen- She then
held the head of the hawk under water with
a pole a while, and finally secured him al
so. All hawks should learn from this, that
they cannot steal with impunity.
Triumphant Retort.. —A young couple recent
ly stopped at a country tavern. Their awkward
appearance excited the attention of one of the
family, who commenced a conversation with the
female, by inquiry how far she had travelled that
day. “ Travelled!” exclaimed the stranger, in
dignantly ; “ we did’nt travel —we rid !”
ANOTHER COMET.
A correspondent of the New-Ilaven Cour
ier announces the discovery of a Comet in
tho constellation Orion. It was first seen
in the Clark Telescope, belonging to Yulo
College, on the 27th of December last.
Observations wore repealed on the 29th,
j and tjte morning of the iiOth. Moonlight
and clouds have since prevented ohserva
| lions till Saturduv evening, January Bth,
’ when a change of placo was very evident.
Its approximate place on the 29th ult.,
was in A. R. sth, 10m. Heel. 2 degrees
North. ‘The apparent motion is towards
the N. W., while that of tho oomet disoov.
j ered at Paris in November last, and which
j was in the same region, was towards the
|S. W. It is possible that the latter has at
! tailied a maximum of southward motion,
and is now returning northward.
Connecticut Clocks. —The value of the
clocks made in Connecticut, amounts to one
million of dollars annually. They are
sent to England, the north of Europe, India
and China. One firm, since 1841, has
sold in England 40.000 clocks. Last year
there were about 500,000 manufactured.
| The Germans and Dutch have been cele
brated for their skill in making wooden
| clocks, but the Yankees bid fair to drive
! them out of the British market. However,
their manufacture was set down only at a
bout 70,000 annually, a year or two ago.
Another invention, —Physical instead of
Steam power. —An ingenious and very use
ful invention has just been exhibited, and
its power tried on the Brighton and Croy
don Railway, in England. It is called a
pedomotive machine, and was constructed
by Mr. England, the Engineer of Hatcliain
iron works, Kent road, for the London and
Brighton Railway- It weighs about 270
lbs., and is manufactured almost entirely
of wrought iron. It carried four or six per
sons, two of whom propel it by means of
treadles, applied on anew and advanta
geous principle. Its greatest speed for a
short distance is at tire rate of twenty-five
miles an hour; its average rate is fifteen
miles an hour, carrying in both cases foot
passengers. Its utility on a line of rail way
remarks a London paper, requires no com
ment, as, without the slightest delay, one
man can convey a message from station to
station at a far greater speed than a horse
express, and should there he any fear of
encountering a train, it can be lifted up
from, and replaced on the trainway with as
much ease as a sedan chair.
A distinguished chemist recommends the
following compound asa safe and excellent
dentrifice, viz: of white sugar and powden and
charcoal, caclt one ounce, of Peruvian
bark half an ounce, of c-ream of tartar one
drachm and a half, and ofcanella twenty
four grains, well rubbed together into an
\ impalpable powder. He describes it as
! strengthening to the gums, and cleansing
| to the teeth, and as destroying the disagrec-
I able ordor in the breath, which so often a-
I rises from decaying teeth. Asa preventa
tive of tooth ache, we have heard washing
the mouth and teeth twice a day with salt
and water strongly recommended by gen
tlemen who have experienced much bene
fit from it.”
Not even in this repudiating land, and
nowhere hardly but in England, would
such a fact as here follows need recording :
Suicide by a Child 9 years of age. —On
Friday week, a little girl, daughter of one
James Colley, was sent by her mother to
get some eoai from one of the pits, and be
ing gone longer than usual, she was met by
her brother, who told her that she would
catch it when site got home. The child it
seems, dreaded the thought of going home,
which she did not like, because, she said,
her mother was not kind to her. She
threw away Iter bonnet and pinafore, con
trived to creep to the edge of a pit, and
threw herself into it. The pit was about
two hundred yards deep. YVhen her body
was got out it was in an emaciated state ;
and it was a mere skeleton. A coroner’s
inquest was held, but the jury could not
come to any other verdict by such as was
produced in evidence. The coroner would
not close the case without thinking it his
duty to censure the parents for npglect and
unkind treatment.
The very English paper from which we
cut this, says: “The criminality of Penn
sylvania cannot be extenuated. Happily,
by a wise ordination of Providence, not on
ly does virtue bring with it its own rewards,
but vice brings with it its own punishment.”
True. A wise editor. And what a store
of punishment is there laying up for both
Pennsylvania and England !
North American.
The Punishment of Death. —As tending
to show that recent discussion of the law
fulness of the punishment of death, seems
rather to have confirmed rather than sha
ken the conviction on the public mind, both
of its lawfulness, and in extreme cases,
high expediency, it is mentioned, in the
New York American, that of 25 jurors
challenged at the recent trial of Babe for
mutiny and murder, one only and he a Qua
ker, answering yes to the question addres
sed to each—whether he had any consci
entious scruple about the application of the
punishment ofdeath in case of conviction
of a capital crime.
Get Insured. —lnsurance against fire can
be obtained at so cheap a rate, that no one
should suffer his buildings to remain an
hour uninsured. If a man refuses or neg
lects to insure his dwelling and furniture,
what right has he, should the “devouring
elements” of a cold winter’s morning, leave
him houseless and shelterless, to claim the
sympathy and aid of his neighbors ? Insu
rance can almost be had for the asking. A
trifling sum will insure a man a tolerable
compensation for loss, should his dwelling,
from some unforeseen accident, be reduced
to ashes. Would not a man, thus protect
! ed, sleep sweeter ? Is it not very consoling
to know, that although devastating fire may
1 sweep away the shelter which protects us
1 from the pitiless storm, we have something
in the “ locker, which, Phcenix-like, will
cause another to rise upon its ashes.”
Hampshire Gazelle.
POLITICAL.
From the Savannah Republican.
> I
i; THE ST AT 11 FIN ANO ES-TIIE
CENTRAL BANK.
\ | The Millodgeville Recorder has a very
| sensible editorial upon the affairs of the
I State, w hich we shall publish at a future
’ : day. The Federal Union is silent us the
tomb, while our friends of the JournaLnnd
Recorder omit no opportunity of spreading
before the people the blessings conferred
j upon the Slate by Whig legislation. The
people have not heard enough of it yet, hut
they will hear more of it, so long as there
] are Whig Editors in Geosgia. We have
published “the documents” at least twenty
five times, and we are going to do it fifty
’ times more, for we are resolved that the
people of this State so far as we can do any
thing towards it, shall know the differ: nee
’ between Democratic and Whig Legislation,
between timid and partial, and honest and
hold legislation, between make-shifts, and
r expedients and promises, and a course
which has redeemed the credit of Georgia,
j and placed her high among the most hon
orable States of this Union.
Under Democratic swuy for years past
| public debts were paid in promises, in part
at least, and in order to pay the interest,
! the State had to lose 20, 30, 40 cents on the
dollar, and even more than that, if the los
ses on bills of exchange by unskilful nego
tiation, be reckoned together with the dis
„ ference between tho value of specie and of
the Stale’s funds. Now-, we can actually
reduce the amount of the debt—we can
1 pay that reduction and the interest on the
whole of it, in specie funds, i. e. without
1 loss to the State—the Treasury receives
and pays out specie funds alone—there are
but about $200,000 ofCentrai Battle notes
in circulation—even these notes will be re
-1 deemed very soon with specie, if the debt
-1 ors of the bank avail themselves of the pro
’ position to reduce their notes w ithin sixty
days—the money borrowed in order to en
-1 able the Treasury to resume specie pay
ments pays an interest of one per cent less
than the bonds which would have been is
sued to redeem the Central Bank notes
whose place it takes, while that amount of
the notes have been burned, the specie funds
being substituted—all this bus been done
and more than this, without any increased
charge upon the Treasury, and we would
challenge any one to produce a more dex
trous piece of legislation in any State of
; this Union.
Georgia State Bonds—How will they
stand hereafter ? There is no question that
they will be number one, or on a par with
those of the most honored States of the Un
’ ion. The Recorder says that the bonds
bearing an interest of 5 per cent of Caroli
na, a State inferior in resources of every
description to Georgia, are eagerly sought
at par, while we know that Massachusetts
and New York 5 per cents command a pre
mium. There is no doubt that Georgia 6
per cent bonds at par now present one of
the most advantageous investments on long
time that can be afforded in tho United
States. Such is tho advantage of sound
credit. When credit is suspected as that
of Georgia has been under the Democratic
administration, her 8 per cent bonds are
sold at a prodigious sacrifice, and the peo
ple of the State pay tho high interest which
cats like a moth, and makegood the depre
ciation besides, for they receive for each
bond which they issue, less by far than the
face of it. Such are some of the advanta
ges of wholsome legislation. Such are
some of the benefits conferred hv wise and
honest laws.
From the New York Express.
“THE NORTHERN MAN WITHOUT
SOUTHERN PRINCIPLES.”
As long as “New York’s favorite Son”
could carry on his game “under the rose,”
there was no great difficulty in showing a
ffattering face to both parts of the Union. —
And this is equally true as regards both
the tariff and slavery. But the unlucky
practice among warm partizans, of insis
ting upon it that the seekers after popular
ity, shall come out openly, in the face of
day, and declare themselves on such thor
ny questions as those above mentioned, is
not only inconvenient to those concerned,
but too often fatal to the hopes and pros
pects of an aspiring ambitious man. Very
few men, and particularly politicians, can
safely go through the process of having
their thoughts turned inside out before the
world,especially in such a country as this.
At the South, they like slavery, and strong
ly dislike a protecting tariff. At the North,
they detest slavery, but think it is a duty
of the government to encourage and cher
ish some of the great national interests, par
ticularly that of domestic industty. Now
what is to be done in the case of a man,
who has set his heart upon being President
of the United States, and in order to realize
his wishes, wants votes from both ends of
the Union? Ashe cannot safely declare
his feelings to be in favor of either descrip
tion of politicians, there is a kind of harsh
ness, to say the least of it, in calling
upon a man thus situated, to avow himself
openly the friend of one side or the other,
and for the best possible reason, viz: that
by taking part of one, he is sure to lose the
votes of the other. Mr. Calhoun does not
hesitate to avow himself a friend of both
free trade and slavery. This will proba
bly secure for him the votes of all those who
approve his sentiments. But Mr. Van Bu
ren knows full well, that if he were to de
clare himself a friend of the tariff and op
posed to slavery that it still would not es
tablish him as a safe and popular candi
date with a large proportion of the people
in the free and manufacturing States. Over
and above liis views on the subjects alluded
to, they have no confidence in tho man.—
They have known him long, and seen him
tried in nil situations in public life,
they have thus far found nothing in his tal
ents or liis principles, which qualifies him
for the highest ollieo in the Government.
And he bids fair to enter the field ofcompe
tition, under different circumstances from
: any in which he has heretofore been placed.
Ho will now be obliged todepend in a great
measure, upon liis own merit. To gain
J the esteem of his former opponents, he must
I set up some new claim to their confidence.
1 For the first time in his life he will stand
i alono, He has no General Jackson to ca*.
ry him forward, no packhorse on which to
| ride into office. If lie relies upon services
| already rendered to the people, he will ho
j loudly and earnestly called upon to spcci
!fy them. It will hardly do merely to et
j up the undefined claim so democracy; that
which the party once called republicanism,
seems to have grown out of fashion with
them, and to have been dropped, by a sort
of silent consent. ‘Fite simple question be
fore the people will he, what claims, per
sonal or patriotic, has Martin Van Buren
to theoflico ofChief Magistrate of the na
tion? And their votes will depend on a
categorical answer to the inquiry.
From the Baltimore American. <
THE RIGHT OF PETITION. 1
Since the discussion of this questioi J
the House of Representatives, in connectio. “
with the subject of abolition petitions, much
has been said on both sides. It would be
useless to undertake to give anything like
an abstract of the arguments on both sides;
for the matter has been so long in contro
versy that (lie public is no doubt pretty well
familiar with the merits of it. The follow
ing passage, however, from a speech by
Mr. Cliugrnan, of North Carolina, is so
very much to the point that it is worth of
special quotation :
* * + I have for a long time been of
the opinion that woof the South have been,
on this subject, pursuing a wrong course ;
and the mote I see of its consequences, tho
more lam confirmed in that opinion. The
21st rule is, as all concede, a restriction of
the right of petition. But it is attempted to
be supported on the ground that Congress,
acting in this matter as the local Legisla
ture of the District of Columbia, should not
receive petitions of this character, coming
from tiie inhabitants of the States of this
Union. Were this position true, which for
reasons that I shall presently advert to I do
not admit, it would not support the justice
or propriety of this rule ; because its prohi
bition prevents the people of the District
from petitioning on this subject as much as
it does all others. None surely will deny
that the people of this District have a di
rect interest in the matter, a.id of course
ought to possess the right to have tiieir pe
titions presented, should they ever think
proper to offer them.
*** * * *
But I do not assent at all to the position
taken by the gentleman from New York,
(Mr. Beardsley,) that when the people pray
for objects in themselves unconstitutional,
they have no right to be heard. How can
you ascertain that their prayer is unconsti£
tutional till you receive it? They come
and present their requests at your door;
you. may reject theirprayer if you please,
but surely you ought to receive their peti
tion, so as to ascertain for what object it is
presented. The right to petition the Gov
ernment exists in all countries. It exists
unquestionably in England, where all the
subjects have a right to petition Parliament
and to petition the Crown, and where their
right to do the one is as much admitted as
to do the other. The liberal party have al
ways stood on this ground in that country.
I remember one of the most eloquent
speeches ever delivered by the great deba
ter and statesman, Mr. Fox, was on this sub
ject. Not on the proposition to receive pe
titions. Oh, no; nobody disputed that;
but against a law which prevented large
assemblies for the purpose of petitioning
Parliament, because it might interfere with
the universal right of petition. In the hill
of rights of North Carolina the right of peti
tion for a redress of grievances is declared
to be the inalienable right of the people.—
But what are their grevances ? Are not
they to judge? It is said that the contin
uance of slavery is no grievance, and so
they have no right to petition against it.—
But if the Government is to be the judge of
what is and what is not a grievance it may,
on that ground, refuse to receive any peti
tion whatever. All it has to do is to de
cide that the thing complained of is no grie
vance, and refuse thereupon to receive the
petition. As to what is a grevance, the pe
titioner ought to be allowed to judge for
himself: it is enough for us, if we possess
the right, to reject the prayer of his petition.
If we esteem the matter he complains of no
grievance, it is an easy thing to refuse his
petition.
Is it not a reproach that the right of pe
tition, a right so sacred and so important,
should no where be restricted but in this
fair republic ? The right of petition should
every where be as free, in my view, as tho
right of all created beings to petition the
Supreme Ruler of the universe. Ifthe pe
titioner thinks he is aggrieved, that is e
nough to entitle him to a hearing.
Mr. Clay on Abo/iton —We find the fol
lowing (says the Richmond Whig) in the
Madisonian of the sth, and thank that next*
ally (?) for having given it publicity from a
paper we do not see:
MR. CLAY’S OPINION.
We find the following extract from an
alleged conversation with Mr. Clay, in the
last Hartford Times, the Connecticut Van
Buren organ:
“My dear Sir” rejoined Mr. Clay “while
these are my opinions conscientiously, 1
am the son of Virginia, a slaveholder in Ken
lucky- 1 WOULD SUFFER
THE TORTURES OF THE INQUISI
TION BEFORE I WOULD SIGN A BILL HAVING
