The Columbus times. (Columbus, Ga.) 1841-185?, July 29, 1841, Image 2

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

the times. The union of ihe states and the sovereignty of the states COLUMBUS, JULY 29, 16 FOR GOVERNOR, Charles j. McDonald. GEORGIA —A NATIONAL BANK. In a hasty article last week in reference to & remark of the lion. Mr. Alford that the people of Georgia sent him to Congress to make a Bank, we submitted some facts con nected with the events of the last election in this State, authorizing the belief that a major ity of the people were opposed to the estab lishment of a Bank of the United States—or, at any rate, that the contest was not so con ducted in Georgia as to settle that question. The Columbus Enquirer of yesterday, “in a prosy and digressive article of nearly three columns in length, ostensibly devoted” to a consideration and refutation of the position as sumed by us lastw’eek, and just recapitulated, lias emitted a copious shower of w ords, ac companied with some thunder and lightning. Having neither time nor space to-day to ex amine the article of the Enquirer in detail — nor to enumerate the various inconsistencies and contradictions into which the writer has been indiscreetly betrayed by his hot haste and temper , we shall reserve all that portion of it, having reference to our declaration of the “two points on which the Whig party of Georgia was unanimous,” as also that portion relating to the action of the last Legislature on the subject of a National Bank —for con sideration and examination in our next num ber. We cannot, however, omit to exhibit to-day (limited and preoccupied as our time is,) one of the most glaring and extraordinary of the inco'nsistencies and contradictions which char acterize the leading editorial in the Enquirer o/ yesterday. It is there stated that the or gana of Mr. Van thiren attempted to “narrow tha controversy to the single and distinct question of Blink *r No Bank “but that it vwts resiotsd by the State Rights presses on the ground that this was only a single ques tion among the .many that came ilp before the people lor their decision.” “There were oth er and more important matters to be accom plished than even the establishment of a com petent fiscal agent for the government A sys tem of policy of which the Sub-Treasury was only an atom, was to be overturned.” This extract alone is sufficient, we think, to estab lish the correctness of our position that the contest w r as uot so conducted in Georgia as to settle the"question of Bank or no Bank. Does not the Enquirer so say in distinct terms, else we do not understand the meaning of lan guage 1 The State Rights presses resisted the question of Bank or no Bank. “ There were more important matters to be accom plished. 4 ’ The abandonment of the Sub- Treasury, and of course the establishment of a Bank, were only “an atom” in the general conflagration which was to consume the last Administration. What interpretation will this bear—what other can it bear, than that this question of Bank occupied so subordinate a position in the contest as really to be lost sight of, and of course to have exercised no distinct and perceptible influence in the general result ? This is precisely what we asserted, nothing mtire, and that Mr. Alford stated the case too strongly, when he said his constitu ents sent him to Congress to make a Bank.— We are obliged to the Enquirer for its con current testimony on this point. As to the contradiction of the Enquirer. In a subsequent part of the same article the preamble of Mr. Sinead is quoted, and a por tion of it reads thus—- In the great political contest through which we have just passed, the important question at issue before the people, was Bank, or Sub- Treasury. This issue was forced upon them by the advocates of the Sub- 7 reasury law , and being compelled to choose between the two, they have , by their voice at the ballot-box, decided in favor of the first, and against the latter. To this preamble what says the Enquirer! “This alone (the preamble)is sufficient to settle all cavil as to to tha issue made before the peo ple inthelast campaign.” Why the Enquir er has just said that the Bank question was altogether a subordinate one in the contest— a mere atom —a perfect shadow in comparison with the other incidents of the campaign— that the State Rights presses resisted the is sue of Bank or no Bank—and scarcely are the words uttered before we find it adopting unreservedly the directly opposite statements ofthe lion. Senator from Talbot. Are not these plain and clumsy contradictions sufficient to fortify our position—and in fact does not this disagreement among the Whigs themselves as to the important matters in issue, show clearly that our statement as to the point or points which were settled by the result is not far wrong ? We asked last week of the Whigs them selves if the question presented was Bank or no Bar k. The Enquirer says that that issue was resisted as an immaterial matter—a mere atom in the general order of operations! We asked if it were among the principal questions agitated in that controversy by the advocates of Gen. Harrison. The Enquirer answers more important matters engrossed the atten tion of the Whigs! In reply to our enquiry whether the Enquirer itself said one word in favor of a Bank—evinced the slightest par tii-1 ty tor such an institution (even as an imma terial item in the account) what says it— not one word. What answer does it give to our enquiry whether the prominent Wliig Jour nals ot the State said any thing respecting a Bank previous to the election— none. What is said by the Enquirer in reference to our interrogatory whether the Whigs in inveigh ing against the financial policy of Mr. Van Buren proposed a Bank as the only, or even as the proper substitute for the Sub-Treasury? Absolutely not one word! We asked if Messrs Foster, Nesbit, Merriwether and King were not anti bank men as proved by their declara tions and votes, and whether they or either of them had retracted their former opinions— What says the Enquirer in reply — not one syllable! What is the response of the En quirer to the question whether any one was authorised to declare for Messrs. Alford, Daw son, Gamble and Warren, or whether any did so declare previous to the first Monday in last October that they, or either of them, were friendly to the establishment of a National Bank? the silence of the grave! What says the Enquirer of the strange medley in Mus cogee county —of the peculiar and directly opposite views of the various persons here presented for the suffrages of the people! for aught that appears in the Enquirer it never ob served that portion of our article! What ex planation does it give of the usual silence of the only uncompromising and avowed bank man, so far as we recollect, in this section of the Si ate, cn the subject of Bank or no Bank? Not the slightest —although we doubt not that the writer of the article in the Enquirer un derstands most intimately the course and views of the Bank man in question during the pen dency of the contest. In fine, what facts stated by us are controverted by the Enquirer excepting the action of the Legislature, and our statement in the outset of the issue be tween the parties ? Not one material proof— such as would be satisfactory in the settle ment of a question of the character under consideration, is even alluded to —much less set aside ? Aud yet the article in the Enqui rer talks of “false” premises and “false” con clusions^—and that “there is not one word of tru-h” in the whole of our article- Whether true or false we have at least shown that the Enquirer has not answered one—not even one —of the substantial and appropriate reasons given by us which induced the conclusion on our part that the Bank question was not de termined in Georgia by the result of the late election. As to the spirit evinced by the writer of the article in the Enquirer we shall have more to say in our next paper. We have not yet become so convinced of the weakness of our side, and our inability to reply to arguments in a fair and manly style, as to resort to per sonal obloquy, the last and shameful refuge o’ defeated argument, to fight the battles We are unable to sustain ; nor shad we employ lan guage which may offend the ddicacy of the Enquirer, and rouse ths tender sympathies of its friends. If the welfare of the country required a revolutioti in the Administration, the pro cedure should have been vndieated upon honorable principles. Justice and integrity should maikthe triumphant steps ofthe Gov ernment, Mildness and impartiality should proclaim the restoration of public freedom.— But inflated writh vanity, and moved by the levity of youth, the Enquirer long since threw oft’ all restraint, and, with a zeal allied to madness, manifested a total disregard of the principles it professed, and of the means by which its objects were attained. With as tonishment it was observed that no man op posed to its doctrines, however virtuous, how ever unspotted his life or his fame, could es cape its general, undiscriminating invectives, or a\oid the most undistinguished obloquy.— That unfavorable impressions have not been produced by this systematized abuse, it would be useless to deny. Accusations, attended with bitter and rancorous invectives, have been circulated through the country until many of them by constant repetition have passed for truths. As in the natural world the hardest bodies wear away by constant col lision, so in the moral the purest character maybe ruined by bold and unceasing calum nies. Upon what principles the Enquirer means to justify its departures from rectitude of thought and conduct remains to be ex plained, unless indeed, it intends to profit by the confusion it creates, and will lead into error when it Can no longer control.— Surely the Enquirer cannot be so far blinded by party madness as to believe that every man who differs from it in opinion is either its per sonal foe, or an enemy to the government under which we live* If it does it should at least have the c.mdor to avow it. If not, it should expel the poisonous ideas inlused into its bosom—view with sorrow the evils it. lias produced—and cease to arraign the integrity of those who may differ from it in opinion. From the Columbus Enquirer, September 16, 1840. “Vermont steadfast and consistent.” “Fir?/ Blast of the Hurricane.” “The N. Y. American| says the first blast of the hurricane from the mountains of New Englaud, has come. Vermont, from her green hills and smiling valleys, has sent it forth, and it will go on gathering strength, till it shall purify our whole political atmosphere . Ver mont has made a clean sweep. We do. not think it important to give returns in detail; the mighty result is sufficient —all sufficient.” So much for the Columbus Enquirer and the Whig party of Vermont on the 16th of September, 1810. On the 12th of July, 1841, the “Watchman and State Journal,” the lead ing Whig press in Vermont and published at the Capitol of the State, in an article headed, •‘on with your armor whigs,” uses the fol lowing language : 44 A revolution in the policy of the Gov ernment was our aim last year; it must be our steady aim to persevere until the work is per fected. With the single exception that the man of our hearts is removed by the fiat of God, all else presents now the same motives for action that existed at the last contest.— The same principles, the same great interests the same measures are at stake; and by all these let us be nerved to do our duty manful ly. This is emphaticatly true as it respects Ver mont Look at the policy ofthe two parties, as declared in respective State conventions. On the one hand the Whigs have reaffirmed the great doctrine for which they so jealously con tended in 1810; for Retrenchment and Reform m the National Government; against the Sub treasury : fora sound and safe National Cur rency ;for the Tariff', and for protection to Ag riculture, Manufactures, and all branches of Domestic Industry, by the means of discrimi rutting duties; for a distribution of the pro ceeds of the public lands among the states— and, in fine, for the present National Adminis tration, so far as it is faithful to the people and aims to accomplish the great ends which the people of Vermont had in view in elevating it to power. On the other hand, we find the lo cos, as if bent upon defying and insulting the People and own condemnation, boldly resolving in favor of the condemned sub-treasury; against all other m>des of col lecting the revenue and regulating the curren cy of the country ; against Protection; against giving to the states their own patrimony, the public lands ; even against the execution of the act of their own Congress, giving to the states the surplus revenue!” And are tha “great doctrines” which the W higs ot Vermont “ have re-affirmed,” and o. which they sj zealously contended in 1840,” as here avowed by their leading organ, such an, in the opinion of the Enquirer, will ‘‘ purify our whole political atmosphere ?” Strange as it may seem, the Enquirer so said on the 10th September, 1840. The Watchman and Journal of the same date, speaking of Mr. Charles Paine, the Whig candidate for Governor in that State, and of the efforts made by some of the Abolitionists to run an independent candidate, thus quiets their {apprehensions respecting the orthodoxy of Mr. Paine on the subject of slavery : 44 The only definite objection is, that the candtdate of the Whig Convention canuot consistently be sustained by the abolitionists —meaning by tlie term, anti-slavery men, exclusive of the third party men* Whynotf Not a solitary reason is given, and we were about to aver that none can be given, unless it is that Charles Paine's fat her is acoloniza tionist. It it be that, we must admit it in all the Ibrce to which it is entitled. But as to the son, roe do know, not by rumor or indefinable hear say evidence , but from our own personal knowledge, that his opinions as to the enormity of slavery, the powers of Congress over slavery in the District and Territories, and the duty of immediate emancipation, are not. only now, but have been,fully in accordance with the opinions ofthe mass of the abolitionists of the state; and injustice to him, we add\ that the opinions were not formed with any reference to the position in which he now stands : they were form’d and ex pressed long ago. This we know; and how, then, it is inconsistent for anti-slavery men to support him; or how, indeed,it is possible for them to oppose him, without absolute injury to their own cause,or without at once raising the standard of a third party and abandoning the political principles which they have here tofore professed,—is entirely beyond our ken. It is a mailer lor the deliberaie judgment ol Whig abolitionists; and with them we leave it. If this be the political purification which the Enquirer covets, it will be purification with a vengeance—a “mighty result,” 44 the first blast of the hurricane,” which 44 will go on gathering strength,” until it becomes a fountain of evil from which flow a thousand streams to pervade and poison the whole coun try. MINISTER TO ENGLAND. It has been announced that Gov. Edward Everett, of Massachusetts, who is now in Europe, has been nominated to the Senate by the President, to succeed Mr. Stevenson, as Minister to England. This selection, as the subjoined article from the Richmond Enquirer of the 20lh inst. intimates, is a pretty clear in dication of the influence of Mr. Webster in the councils of the Executive. Mr. Everett commenced his career as an Unitarian Cler gyman—was subsequently one of the Profes sors in Harvard University, tlien member of Congress, from which he was translated to the Gubernatorial Chair of Massachusetts —and in all these positions he has maintained the reputation of -a consistent and unwavering Federalist. When a candidate for Governor of Massachusetts, a few years since, his opin ions on tlte subject of slavery were asked, and, in his published answer, Mr. Everett maintained the right and the duty of Congress to receive Abolition memorials; the right, and we think the duty of Congress to abolish sla very in the District of Columbia ; besides several other propositions on this subject equally revolting and objectionable. Although we have not ths letter to refer to, we recollect well, that its views relative to the delicate and important question ofj slavery were as strong and decided, as those at any time urged by any public man in this country who did not believe in the propriety of absolute, uncondi tional and unlimited emancipation. Cannot the Columbus Enquirer find this letter among its numerous files, and show to its friends the peculiar views ofthe gentleman selected by a Whig Executive to represent tl e interests of this country at the most important court in Europe ? And what interests will, officially and unofficially, require the attention, at the present moment, of the American Minister in England ? And is it good policy, or rather is it not suicidal policy, to employ an agent to execute a particular duty whose preposses sions are adverse to the correctness of the objects you wish to attain ? Will he be as likely to urge those objects with the same warmth—the same zeal—the same ability— or perhaps we should say, with the same tact, as in the case of his own thorough conviction of their correctness ? We asked what inter ests, officially and unofficially , would at. this moment engross the attention and enlist the talents of an American Minister in England l Officially, independent of the North Eastern Boundary and the McLeod case, and perhaps in a public point of view more important than either of them—are the cases of vessels containing slaves, bound from one port to an other in the United States, wrecked oil the British West India Islands, and these slaves forcibly taken from their owners and set free by order of the British Government—and also the numerous and recent cases of search and detention, of American vessels engaged in lawful commerce on the coast of Africa, by British armed cruizers. According to some remarks made recently in Congress by Mr. Cushing, a friend ofthe present Administra tion, the conduct of England in this latti r mat ter has been most unwarrantable and unjusti liable, besides inflicting severe injuries on our commerce in that quarter of the world. How will Mr. Everett vindicate the dignity of his country and the rights of his countrymen, where slaves are concerned, with his strong anti-6lavery predilections ? Is he, indeed, a fit representative for those who are principally affected by the outrages of England—a suita ble exponent ol'their feelings and wishes ? There are, besides, unofficial interests, if we may so express them, which may be affec ted by the American Minister in England.— Abolition is rife in Great Britain, and no incon siderable portion ofthe excitement engendered m this country on the subject has been in duced from that source ; and would not an in telligent citizen of this republic, holding high official station, with correct views on this sub ject, be able to moderate this excitement, al lay much of the angry feeling, and produce a decidedly better temper and feeling in refer ence to our domestic institutions, at least among honorable and intelligent men, by can did representations of the actual condition of slavery in the United States, and the manner in which it is interwoven in our Institutions, and the impossibility of its extinction? Or if he could not accomplish all this, how will stand the matter with a minister who has no particular wish to correct public opinion in England on the subject, who, in fact, is known to entertain opinions almost as strong, and tins individual too, the Accredited representative of his country at an important court ? Since the Columbus Enquirer has offered the “Olive Branch,” and expresses so much surprise at its non-acceptance,’ we ask it in all candor if it desire our acquiescence in appointments of this stamp ? And farther, how long will it keep its own party m the traces-, if the Executive continue his promotion of Federalists and Abolitionists —we mean in the sense in which the latter term has been used by the whole South ? Important Diplomatic Appointments.— We learn, from Washington, on undoubted authority, that the following nominations have been made to the Senate by the President of the United Slates : Hon Edward Everett* of Massachusetts, Minister to England. Col G. S. Todd, of Kentucky, Minister to Russia. Hon. Daniel Jenifep., of Maryland, Min ister to Austria.—Baltimore Patriot of Satur day. Mr. Webster’s hand is seen in Mr. Ever ett’s appointment. We have some doubts, whether, in some important question affect ting the South he will be found the best ap pointment for the South. (We rejoice* on Mr. Rives’s account) that be has been 'spared the disgrace of taking office to England. If he will now throw away his flimsy casuists’ scheme of establishing i great National Bank through the paltry District of Columbia—cease concocting mis erable compromises) which are only frauds upon the Constitution, and stand up for tile simple, unadultered, unsophisticated principles of Virginia, we w’ould even thank him. But we confess we have no such hopes. Sell revocare{'ra i -tim,si!perasquecvaderc ad auras. Hoc opus, hie labor est ! It is almost inp'ossiblefora man, so devour ed by passion as Mr. Rives is, to exert this species of moral courage. We must look to another man who has been aeting with the Whigs, to present such a splended example to the Monticello District.] THE LAS 1’ LEGISLATURE —ITS ACTS. We adverted briefly last week to two of the prominent, perhaps the most prominent acts of the last Legislature —the Tax lasv and the bill repealing the Charter of the Central Bank—and promised to examine them more minutely in our paper of to-day; as also the particular action of the Legislature in the va rious stages of their consideration and final adoption. Independently of the harsh and oppressive provisions of these laws, & their in jurious influence upon public and individual in terests, there are other motives altogether proper which at least authorise, if they do not demand a rigid and impartial scrutiny into the effect and tendency of these measures, and the patriotic professions and declarations of those by whom they were projected and finally en acted. Professing to be “in iavor ot a more careful economy of the financial resources and credit of our own State, to repair dec in ing confidence at home aud abroad, and to save her from the curse of public debt, and HER PEOPLE FROM BURDENSOME TAXATION”— and advocating also “a suspension lor the present of her works of Internal Improvement rather than urge them forward at such a cost” “-(see the circular of the members elect from Muscogee county, dated Sept. 16, 1840, and published in the Columbus Enquirer of the 26d of the same month.) it is our privilege, if notour duty, to place the matter fairly before the Public that its merits may be examined, and the purposes of ..justice be accomplished. If the majority in the last legislature have sustained these pernicious and unpopular mea sures against all the efforts of their opponents —if, without the discernment necessary to detect the mischievous tendency of these mea sures, &the evils that will infallibly result from them—if, with criminal irresolution, they have suffered the general welfare to be Undermined and jeoparded by local prejudices or political partialities—or if, heedless of the public good, and yielding to improper dispositions and sub ordinate interests* they have embarked the country in schemes which will generate the most, inveterate evils, they ought not to be shielded from the disapprobation of the peo ple, and deserve not the forbearance of those who undertake to animadvert upon the present alarming posture of our public, affairs. We all recollect the excitement and the bitterness of the last political contest; the zeal and even ferocity with which it was conducted ; the numerous and solemn pledges which were made; the implacable hostility exhibited to wards the Democracy, and the unmeasured denunciations with which they were assailed, branding them with every odious epithet that ingenuity could devise ; the repeated promises not to dispose of the honors ami offices of the countryfor their ownprofit atul aggrandizement; and the unscrupulous and vindictive persecu. tionof every individual opposed to their suc cess, no matter how low or elevated Ins sta tion, from the youthful politician just stript ol his swaddling clothes, to the revolutionary veteran, oppressed by the withering hand ol time, who had encountered the hardships of war, and assisted in establishing the freedom of the country—All recollect the severity of these invectives, and the boldness with which they were proclaimed—and surely, surely, we have a right, it is our imperative duty, to see how far we were obnoxious to these aniinad* versions, which were pressed in a spirit of persecution that dishonored the country and its cause—prostrated every rule of right— bid defiance to the operations of re ison and reflection—and marched with hardihood over the barriers which private honor and political rectitude oppose to the accomplishment of given purposes. In the exercise of this right we shall be governed by fair and manly prin ciples, not prostituting the welfare of the State to the vile purposes of personal envy, nor blending the great interests of the Nation with the meaner objects of private resent ment- Willi these preliminary observations, it is time to proceed to the examination of the im portant measures of the last Legislature ; the salutary principles they contain, and the pre tended Lenefits they confer; and by compar - son test the odiousness of our measures, and see how far these will realize the extravagant expectations presented to the people. The people in general, and especially those who have been held up to the World in false and odious colors, have a right to demand a deci sion on this subject from unfettered and im partial public opinion. No delegated power is more delicate, or ought to be exercised with more scrupulous forbearance than that conferring authority to impose taxes—to take a portion of a man’s daily earnings for purposes of public and rigid necessity. This power of taxation is one of the highest attributes of sovereignty, and is particularly special and limited in its charac ter. It has been yielded by the people to agents selected by them, and immediately re sponsible to them, with the positive agree ment and limitation that not one cent is to be extracted beyond what is absolutely required to defray the unavoidable expenses of a simple and frugal government, it was this question of taxation wiiich, more than any ether single measure of the British Ofbwir, led to the separation of these Colonies from the mo ther country—not for any exhorbitant taxes which had actually been levied and were at tempted to be collected, but for the assertion by England of the principle of the power of Part .ment tb levy and collect taxes in these colonies, whose inhabitants had no voice in the selection of that Parliament, and could in no wise make it accountable for the abuse of that power This sacred principle is fully recognized and properly guarded in that in strument which is the bond and cement of this Union—as all bills providing means or expen ding them, must originate in that branch of Congress composed of Representatives chosen directly by the people, for a short period, and immediately responsible to them. As the ! people en-maese could not ascertain with any 1 approach to accuracy the amount adequate to meet the public wants, nor judiciously select , the objects of appropriation, and the sum ap* plicable to each, it was necessary to delegate this power of taxation—but at the same time to confer it upon agents -as little removed from the people themselves as was consistent with the objects of their appointuient. This brief recapitulation is designed to show the sacred ness of this branch of delegated power; the numerous guards adopted to prevent its abuse; and tht; vast caution and circumspection pro per to be observed in its administration. All are sensible of the truth of these observations, as not a year rolls round——not an election is held, when premises are not made to exercise ■ retrench mentj and to relieve the people from burdensome taxation. That they were put forth throughout this Country and State at the 1 last election, with more than usual flourish* 1 is familiar to all conversant with the incidents ‘ of that election ; and that, in this county, the j professed reformers made it one of the princi '; ted by the printed circular to which we have referred in the commencement of this article. Who would have supposed —who could have - believed after the voluntary and repeated ! pledges made of retrenchment and economy, ! j that they would have been so totally disregard ed ; and that, in a season of great pecuniary ’ldifficulty; (greater perhaps Ilian has ever ; been experienced in Georgia,) of unexampled 5 scarcity of money ; and with the currency in the most disordered condition —the majority 5 in the legislature, that majority entrusted } with power in consequence of its numerous and apparently sincere pledges, and with the ’ hope that such burning and overwhelming zeal L for the happiness of the people might perhaps discover and adopt some new and magic ex -1 pedient to relieve the existing embarrassments and lessen taxation, would have imposed bur -3 dens to which the State his not been subject * ed since the year 1*304, when Georgia ein • 3 braced only a narrow strip of territory west ’ and south of the Savannah river l What ‘ possible reason can be assigned for tins strange, ’ this unexampled procedure? Did the proper, the legitimate, the indispensable expenditures of the State require this ext raordinary increase 3 of taxation? Did the State own no stock in private Banks which could be appropriated to 1 public uses? Had the Central Bank noassets ’ to meet current expenditures ? ‘ But as it is proper to reserve our numerous comments on this important subject f>r f :tu e ’ numbers of our paper, and when we are in ’ possession of the reasons which influenced 5 the majority in the Legislature to adopt so 3 pernicious a system of taxation, let us in con -3 elusion see how the vote stood on this mon strous proposition to increase the taxes 100. 3 per ecu’. —-whose pledges were redeemed— -1 who, in fact, were the sincere friends of the 3 people ? On the lGth of December, 1840, the House of Representatives took up the report ot the Committee of tiie Whole on the substitute reported by the committee on Finance tor the bill to impose a tax for the political year 1841, which substitute we understand to be the present odious tax act. Mr. Roberts (a Dem ocrat,) introduced a substitute for the substi tute of the Committee on Finance, which we understand to be the revival ot the tax law of 1838. Upon the motion to receive the sub stitute of Mr. Roberts, the yeas were 81, nays 94. Among the yeas we find the names of 15 Whigs, including Mr. Chipley of Muscogee. Among tiie nays are the names of nine Dem ocrats. With these exceptions the Democrats voted for the substitute ot Mr. Roberts, and the Whigs for the present tax law. The report of the Committee being amen ded and agreed to, the Bill (the present tax act,) was read the third time and lost —yeas 81—-nays 103. Among the yeas are the names of seven Democrats. Among the nays are j twenty-eight Whigs, including Mr. Chipley,; of Muscogee. With these exceptions, the Whigs voted for the present law, and the i Democrats against ii. On the 17th December, Mr. Chappell (Whig,) moved to reconsider so much of the j Journal as relates to the rejection of the Bill imposing a tax for 1841. The House agreed 1 to reconsider, although the yeas and nays it called, are not recorded iu the Journal. On the same day, according to the Journal, •‘on motion, the order was suspended, when the House took up and passed the reconsid ered Bill, to raise a tax for the support of Gov ernment for the year 1841, and from thence } afterwards .” Here again, the yeas and nays if called, do not appear in the Journal. According to the Senate Journal, on tiie 22dof December, the Senate took up the Bill from the House to raise a tax for 1841. On the passage of the Bill, the yeas and nays were recorded, and stand yeas 30, nays 30, the President voting in the affirmative, the Bill was passed. Among the yeas are the names of four Democrats ; among the nays the names of eight Whigs. With these excep tions, the Whigs voted for the Bill, and the Democrats against it. Having shown how the vote stood in the Legislature on the passage of the present tax law, which party supported, and which op posed its passage, we wait ‘thedevelonements’ of the Enquirer, and “ the curious facts con nected with this matter” some of which, if we are not misinformed, are indeed curious en ough. By the way, will not Dr. Clnpley who, it appears from the Journal of the House, voted against the tax law, and whose finger is to be seen, we think, in the Enquirer of yeslcrday, inform us how his name is found in opposition to the present tax law, if it be indeed just, and the large sum to be raised under it, is abso lutely requited for public purposed ? The public would be glad to hear also why upon the reconsideration and final passage of so important a Bill the yeas and nays were not called, or if called, not taken ; and these we opine will be “ the curious facts connected with this matter”—some of which as we have just observed will*, perhaps , turn out to be curious indeed. UNITED STATES Ba&K. Tiie Augusta Constitutionalist of the 20th inst. thus exposes the evasion by which it is contemplated to reconcile the plans of Mr. Clay and Mr. Rives, and secure for a tlie com promise the approval of the Executive. Well may Mr Clay assent to the arrangement, when Congress Can overrule the dissent of the States. It is at last but the bill of Mr. Clay, “with an immaterial amendment-” Although we believe the plan of Mr. Clay to be equally constitutional With the “Fiscal Agent” pro posed by the Secretary of the Treasury, and advocated by Mr. Rives, yet we prefer the latter for the reason that it pays seeming deference to therigh’s of the States, and will soon perish from its absolute inefficiency. In one of the Washington letters; we be lieve from the correspondent of the Baltimore Patriot, itisstat"d, that “a plan of cqmpromise is talked of, which, it is believed, will recon cile all difference, and bring all the friends of the administration in both houses to union. It is in brief; to authorise the Central Bank here to establish branches In the different states, with their assent; but to reserve expressly to Congress the.power to establish branches when ever and wherever they rtiay becoihe necessary And proper .” In our opinion this would be a curi ous compromise. Brioches cannot be estab lished in the state but with their consent; and Congress can establish branches wherever it pleases, whenever they become necessary and properl! So that if Georgia refuses its as- I sent to the establishment of a branch within its borders, Congress will have the power, if found necessary and proper, notwithstanding the refusal of its assent, to establish a branch. Would this hot be a mockery of a compromise! But the principle Os the assumption of a power; when deemed necessary and proper; it is so monstrous, so destructive of the plain letter and spirit of the constitution, that every Amer ican should condemn it as the most dangerous that has ever been started. And this princi ple is nbw maintained by Mr. Clay and his friends ; was proclaimed by Mr. Preston ; and is to govern the pa:t.y in power in carrying through all measures for which there is no express authority in the constitution. From the Ch nlesion Mercury. IMPORTANT AND CHEERING FROM WASHINGTON. July 19 The interest of the Session here is done.— It is ascertained that Mr. Clay’s Bank Bill cannot pass the Senate—nor can the Distri bution bill pass that body. To-day, the Loan Bill passed by a strict party vote. The Bank bill was laid on the table, and this bill taken up in the Senate, to give the Whigs an oppor tunity of having the screws put to Mr. Mer rick, by letters and remonstrances from the party in Maryland ; but it is understood that Mr. Merrick says lie dees not intend to sub mit to this species of driving ; and if he did, it is supposed that others would be found who w-ould aid to kill Clay’s Bank. Webster is with the President, and it is not intended that he shall veto any thing. The currency com mittee in the House, have not reported their scheme of a Bank, but there is no doubt it will be substantially Mr.’Clay’s bill. The re peal of the Independent Treasury hill, will probably be reported in the House at the same time the Bank bill will be reported, and there will be a strong effort made by the Whigs to couple the two together, in order that Tyler in vetoing the Bank, may be embarrassed by the responsibility of keeping the Independent Treasury scheme in operation. It is said to-day, that on last Saturday, Mr. Ewing made a huge sweep of the Officers in the Land Office ; but on remonstrance, the President has restored them, and ‘here are symptoms of a general dissolution of the Cab inet Such a result would surprise nobody here. Wauhingtok, July 20. In tilt? Senate, this morning', the Resolution offered some weeks since by Mr. Buchanan, calling for names of the persons removed | from office since the 4th of March last, was taken up, and Mr. Benton spoke for about an | hour in favor of its adoption, lie traced the system so broadiy acted on by the present Administration for opinions sake, to the days of Sir Robert Walpole, who had issued a Cir cular) which had served as a model lor that of Mr* Webster. The course now pursued, of i removing men upon secret charges, would till I the land with spies and informers, and make j the public offi -es mere warehouses of calumny, j in winch a fut ure Tory historian will find am | pie materials for painting the characters of I the prominent Democrats of the present day jin the darkest colors. At the conclusion of | the remarks, the question was taken on the | adoption of the Resolution, and it was agreed j to without opposition. The Bank Bill was taken up, and Mr. Nich olson moved to amend the bill by giving the ! power to the States to tax the branches. This | u as supported by Messrs. Nicholson, Benton, Clay of Alabama, and Sevier, and opposed by Messrs Clay, of Kentucky, and Huntington, and negatived. Ayes 21, Noes 27. Mr. Walker then moved an amendment, which would confine the operations of the bank to buying and selling B.ils of Exchange having not more than 180 days to run. This, after considerable debate, waa negatived ; ayes 9, noes 28. The Senate then adjourned. In the House, the bill making appropriations for fortifications, was passed by a vote of 148 to GG—not a strict party vote. All the Ken-’ tucky Whigs voting against if, and many of the Opposition in favor of it. The bill appro priates upwards of two millions five hundred thousand dollars, and with the unapplied bal ances in the YY ar Department there are now $4,250,000 applicable for the erection and repair of fortifications during the present year, an amount five times greater than the aver age annual expenditure for the last twelve years, thus exemplifying in a striking manner, what has been so often maintained by Mr. Calhoun and others, that appropriations will always be made to the full extent of the means of the Ire usury, and that the means form the limit to the expenditures. The bill would have had no chance of passing, but for the passage of the Loan Bill, and they form the first chapter of debt arid extravagance, or as the moderns have it, of the economy and re trenchment of the new Administration. The bill contains appropriations for Charleston Harbor, for Fort Sumter, $15,000, and for commencing a dike to Drunken Dick shoal for preservation of SnlMvan’s Island and site of Fort Moultrie, SOO,OOO. Air. YY r ise gave notice that to-morrow he would move to take up the bill to provide a home squadron, and the House adjourned. A man named William Ribun was recent ly shot by Judge Henderson, of Butler coun ty, Georgia in self defence. Communicali 3. Prophecy fulfilled. —We were told i ti ring the last year’s political canvass, by the President and Directo-s of our Tippecanoe Club, that if the people would elect General Harrison, President, it would forthwith make money plenty. Behold the fulfillment! ! Yon can now buy as much Chattahoochee Kail Road moneyas you leant , for thirty-five cents in the dollar. CORRESPONDENCE OF THE CHARLES TON COURIER. Washington, July 21. There is now a prospect that the debate on the fiscal bank bill; in the Senate will soon be brought to a close. The amendments of the opposition Will be disposed of to-day, and the bill, as amended, will be printed. The final question on the passage of the bill will be ta ken on Saturday. Mr. Smith, of Conn., occupied the floor thd greater part of yesterday, in opposition to a bank, as unconstitutional and inexpedient. Mr. Nicholson, of Tenn., offered an amend ment asserting the fight of any States to tax the property of the bank in the sa:i e manner, and to the same extent that they tax their own hanks,but was rejected—yeas 21, nays 27. Mr. Walker offered an amendment confi.- ning the business of the bank to buying and selling bills df Exchange, not more than >ix months to run. This was rejected. Ml. Walker remarked tliat his purpose was, in of fering Ambndments, to render the bill as harmless as possible ; for he believed we were to have a Bank. There was a clear majority of five in this body that would vote for a bank, and in the other house a much larger majority’. Mr. Clay w&s glad to hear that there was a majority of five here for a bank. He had not calculated ,tjn So many In the House, a message was received from the President, recommending that the act of 10th March, 1838, (commonly called the neutrality act) which expired by limita tion on the 10th March last, be revived or its provisions re-enacted ; referred to the Com mittee on Foreign Affairs. The Fortification Bill was taken up, and, after a short discussion, it was reported, and finally passed, 148 to 66, in the form in which it came from the Standing Conimi'tee. This bill appropriates alone two millions for repairs and armpment of foHJ. Mr. Wise gave notice that lie would call Up the Home Squadron Bill to-morrow. Fortifications wore opposed in the debate as unnecessary, and some of them useless—re quiring a large arrny toman them—and their being easily avoided by any enemy, or per haps taken arid held by one. .On the other hand, it was contended that a. Navy could not. be maintained without fortifications; for tho docks, arsenals; navy yards, &c , must be pro tected by forts. The cities on the coast, and the statibnd of oiir mercantile marine must! o protected; because, if they were destroyed the materials and means of maintaining a Na vy would be destroyed. It is not yet decided whether a bankrupt law shall be’ agitated at this session. The House will next take up the bill ma king appropriations for the support of a Horne Squadron. , . . Among the appropriations for fortifications are the following: For Fcrt Sumter, Charlesion harbor, South Carolina, fifteen thousand dollars. For commencing dike to Drunken Dick shoal, for preservation of Sullivan’s island, and site of Fort Moultrie, Charleston harbor; South Carolina, thirty thousand dollars.’ T!*e Cincinnati Chronicle of the 8 ; h, eve ning, lias the following notice of the final ceremonies connected with the intermerjt of President Harrison; and of the spot where they are deposited : “The Tomb. —The steamboat Rnrifa’V which conveyed the hearse and committees yesterday, arrived at North Bend about 3 P M.’ It was intended to have the services a't, the grave strictly private. The zeal and excttS meet of the public could nu% however, he repressed. Three other steamboats left the wharf at the same time, and on the ground thousands of people from the neighboring country had collected. All were anxous to see the spot where the body’of their late chief was to be laid. The spot was most, peculiarly well seV’tod Tt is a sort of mound, separated from the hill liv ravines, about a hundred yards kick front the river, and elevated above it. some fifty or sixty feet, The river here makes a curve * and from a great distance above and below,, the stranger who shall pass on the stream of the Ohio, may view in the distance the Tomb of Hahrlsox. The services at the grave were performed jointly by the Rev. Dr. Wilson and the Rev. Mr. Brooke. The body was deposited in a vault* there to await the last trumpet call. By Ohio’s descending vvpve. His country’s vows shall Mess the grave, — —And there, Imperial Honor’s awful hand, Shall point his lonely hed! The Pubjjc Lanijs.—The estimatedrjuaur tity of public land unsold and now subject to | private entry is 138,173,441 acres. The estimated quantity, surveyed and un surveyed, not offered phblic safes, is 103,- 410,863 acres. The quantity which has been uedd from the earliest period of tle a!ck is 86,708,7215* acres. The amount paid therefor by thfe’puPhaser 9 has been $121,113,43* , The quantity granted each Slate n<s Territory, exclusive of the If*.ls section, ha^ : been 3,826,836 acres. The quantity reserved from sale, exclusive of ti,e 16th section, has been 807*989 acres. The estimated quantity of public land to which the Indian title has not been extinguish ed in the States and Territories, is 735>91fv 699. We learn, says the Washington Globe, the’ nominations of Col. Chambers as Governor of lowa, Mr. Montgomery as Postmaster at Phil adelphia, and Mr. Riddie Postmaster at Pitts burg, were confirmed during tho Executive session of the Senate to-day. Revenue of Texas. —The amount of du ties on merchandize, collected at the Custom House at this port, says the Galveston Civil lian of the 3d mst., foa the quarter ending 39th June, 1840, was $26,712 8 7 For the quarter ending June 30, 1841, 72,834 74 $16,17187 Being on increase of almost 200 per cent. ‘Phis amount is simply for duties on goods, and does not include any other species ot revenue collected through the Custom House. I bis is one of tho summer quarters, when the im ports are small, aud a halt million of dollars is a moderate estimate of the amount which will be collected here the past and three suc ceeding quarters. The amount for the whole country must exceed a million, wdide the ap propriations are below that sum. Ihe direct taxes and land dues will yield, it is supposed, an equal sum, which, being unappropriated, will on so far towards the payment of the pub lic debt.—N. V. Times. Important Diplomatic Appointments.— We lea rn (says the Baltimore Patriot of last Saturday) from Washington, on undoubted authority, that the billowing nominations have been made to the Senate by the President ol the United Statts. Hon. Edward Everett, of Massachusetts, Minister to England. Col. C. S. Todd, of Kentucky, Minister to Russia. Hon. Daniel Jenifer, of Maryland, Minister to Austria,