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arent emen from abroad, all entire strangers
To me, nad just arrived m ilie city. Among
these was a gentleman who became seated
directly opposite to me at tne table, and soon
attracted my observation by his peculiar and
remarkable appearance, ami especially by his
singularly resdess and subtly quivering eye,
which to me threw ofi'an expression extremely
sinister, for l had ever noted that an eye of
this character indicated moral obliquity of the
heart, and this kind of eye he p-ssessed in a
more eminent degree than any 1 had ever
seen. So strong, indeed, were my impres
sions in the case, that I felt no hesitation in
making up for myself a decided opinion of the j
true character of the man before me, as before j
mentioned, then unknown to me, even bj, ;
name.
After retiring 10 the private room of he
friend at whose invitation i had dined there, lie ,
asked me, with an air of curiosity, if 1 noticed !
the gentleman who sat opposite to me at the
table we had just left, and if so, what was my
opinion of him. |
I replied, that I had not only noticed the
man, but formed a decided opinion of him, that
his true character might be expressed in three ,
W ords— coolness, cunning and perfidy.
“ vVed, sir,” said my friend, in surprise,
“you cannot know the man of whom you are
speaking: it is Mr. Burr, the greatest lawyer 1
in New York.”
“I will not alter my opinion for all that,” l.
remarked. “I hive never known such an
eye as his in an honest man’s head, and what
ever may be liis present eminence and fair
reputation, I will venture the prediction, that
he will yet be known as a villain.”
In after times, continued Mr. J. to me, I had
frequent reasons to recall my first impressions
of the true character of Aaron Burr.
Moatpe.ier, Vt. Sept. JB4I. L). 13. T.
From Ilie Savannah Georgian.
FACTS IN THE EARLV HtSiORY OF
13iilTlSH COMMERCE MOWN TO
THE A. D. 1300.
Voltaire, speaking of the influence of com
merce, has well observed, that since the time
of the ancient Romans, “ No nation Ins en
riched itself by victories. Italy, in the 1-lJi
century, owed her wealth entirely to com
merce. Holland would have subsisted but a
very short ti me, had they looked no farther
than the seizure of the Spanish plate fleets,
and had neglected to nave laid the foundation
of her power in India. England is ever im
poverished by war, even when she is most
successful against the naval power of France;
and she owes all her grandeur lo commerce.”
Sir Win. Temple, writing upon the subject a
hundred years before, remarks, that “ trade is
grown the design of all the nations in Europe
that are possessed of any maritime provinces;
as being the only unexliaus'ed ‘mins, and out of
whose treasures, all greatness at sea naturally
arises .” The casual observer, even, of the j
progress of British commerce, will see how ;
truly the sentiments of both of these writers
have been fulfilled. As early as 900 years
before Christ, the Phoenicians traded to Eng
land for tin, which they obtained from Corn-1
wall, there being, according to Boeharf, a j
learned writer, “some of that metal to be i
found in those eastern countries.” Strabo,!
Pliny, and others, relate the story of a Car
thaginian pilot, who was rewarded by the
Senate of Carthage for sinking his ship, rather
than be forced by the Romans to discover
their traffic for tin found in the British isles.
B. C. 54, Julius Caesar made his first invasion
of Britain. His description of the inhabitants
of England as they existed nineteen hundred |
years ago is both interesting and curious.— !
“ Those of them,” says he, “ who lived on the !
were for that reason (intercourse:
with the people of Gau!) clothed, and more !
civilized than such as iniiabited the inland j
counties, who were entirely wild and naked ; I
and though they had horses and chariots
armed with scythes, yet their towns were no
thing more than a parcel of huts on an emin
ence, fortified with trees cut down and laid
across each other.” Their money consisted
of iron and tin plates and rings, and they had
neither arts nor manufactures of any kind.
After an intermission of over ninety years,
the Romans, under the Emperor Claudius,
again invaded and conquered Britain. Lon
don was probably founded about this time, by
the Roman name of Augusta, though its na
tive name was Llyn-din, the town on the;
lake. Tacitu-, who lived some time in Lon
don about half a century later, describes it as
“ famous for its many merchants, and the
greatness of its merchandise.” London is
over three hundred years older than Paris.
While subject to the Romans, there appears ;
to have been something of a reciprocal com-:
merce between Britain and the Rktnan Pro- j
vinces on the continent, of corn, and tin, and ■
lead a .and horses, to the latter, which they re
turned by teaching the Britons the manufac
ture of cloth and several ot the other usetul j
arts. In the year 604, the venerable Bede J
calls London “ a mart ‘own of many nations, j
which repaired thither by sea and land.” It
could not be expected that an age which was:
so meager In geographical knowledge, as to j
bring the charge and the condemnation of;
heresy, on the Bis op of Saltzburg, because ‘
lie taught that the earth was round, and that j
there were antipodes, would be very favorable i
to commercial progress, and we therefore :
have to trace down the catalogue of kings to j
the tune of Alfred the Grent, without finding i
scarcely a fact pertaining to the advancement j
of commerce. Alfred, in the middle of the
Din century, promoted commerce with, and |
discoveries of, distant countries. But he was j
a ligiit shining in a dark age—an ago in which i
a student of Mathematics or Philosophy was
deemed a magician. The glow of Alfred’s!
genius, therefore, but made the surrounding
darkness more lurid and appalling.
Cardinal Bellarruine asserts it to have been ;
the most illiterate period of modern Europe.
In A. D. 83J, the city of London was laid
waste by Danish pirates, and twelve years
after they again made themselves masters of
the city. Emboldened by succor, tliey re
peated their depredations until Alfred set his
people to building ships, and in A. D. STu,
he boldly met the Danes on their own ele
ment, defeated 120 of their vessels and se
cured his coasts. These were mere rowing
shallops, some manned by sixty oars. Havi.'g
freed himself from these incursions, he buiU
ships and let them, a;id money also, to mer
chants who traded with them to the Mediter
ranean. and brought home goods of great va -
ue. King Atbelstan, his successor, enacted
a law, A. 1). 92~>, *■ That every merchant who
made three voyages to that sea (Mediterrane
an) on his own account, should be raised to
honor, and enjoy the privileges of a gentle
man.” This monarch also was the first Eng
lish sovereign to establish mints for the coin
age of money, which he did at London, Can
terburv* Rochester, &c.
Front the death of Alfred to the time of
E Igar, we find no m antion of a navy. Os this
latter monarch, who reigned about A. D. 959,
Dr. Howell says that -he understood and
practiced the true interests of his country,:
•which was to be master o! the sea,” and tnat
“ he equipped such a licet as for number ol
vessels m\y seem incredible.” The com- (
merce of the kingdom was, however, trifling.!
Indeed, De Witt, the grand pensionary ol
Holland, remarks that “ till no*v, there were
scarcely any merchants in all Eurobs, except]
a few in the republics of Italy, who traded
with the Indian caravans of the Levant.” —
The first commercial imposts were made in
England in 979, by King Ethbred, by which
he ordained that a small vessel arriving at j
Blynygesgale (Billingsgate), then the only
quay of L >ndnn, should pay a halfpenny toll;
a grsaterone bearing sails, a penny ; a large
keel-boat, fourpeuce. The wares of foreign
traders were also subjected to a toll. Taa
English relaxing in their mastery of the sen,
the vigilant Danes again surprised them,
committing extensive ravages, and were
bought ojt instead of being driven out ot
lit > king;!
. The payment of such a large sum,invited new
’ attacks', and England became conquered by
Ilia Danes, under Cante, their King, in 1017.
At the restoration of the Saxon line in the
nerson of Edward the Confessor, in 1035,
London, according to Clifford “was a noble
I c j t y } frequented by merchants from all parts
of the world.”. It was however, like the other
parts of England, greatly distressed by the
ravages of the Danes, and of the Normans
under William the Conqueror. Henry 1. in j
1135 was the first who attempted the improve
ment oi rivers for the purpose of navigation.
In 1139, William of Majinsbury, describes
Bristol as a “famous town; its haven being a
commodious receptacle for all ships coming
thither from Ireland, Norway and other for
eign countries.” It was not until 1154,when
Henry 11. wss married to Eleanor, daugnter
of the Duke of Aquitaine, that the English
commenced a trade with Uie Southern Atlan
tic provinces of France, when a wine traffic
with Bordeaux was begun. In 1157, the first
Bank in Eyrope was established at \ eaice, in
Italy; its original fund was two millions of
ducats.
During the year 1194, King Richard, re
turning from his captivity in Germany, pro
claimed the famous marine laws of Oleron,
so named from an island near the coast ot
France, then in possession of England.—
Though many of these laws are now obsolete,
others are very good and equitable rules fur
; ship owners, merchants, masters and mariners,
i in all maritime affairs, and have therefore due
i credit and authority in all courts where adrni
• raity concerns are cognizable
j By a law of the first year of the reign of
; King John, it was ordained, that a ton of Poic
| ton wine should he sold lor no more than one
i pound; Anjou wine at XI 4s, and no French
| wines above £l 55., except oine very good,
j for which XI 6s. yd. per ton might be de-
I manded.
! In the beginning of the thirteenth century,
! the German merchants of the steel-yard en
grossed the commerce of England, enjoying
great privileges and immunities, but a spirit of
commerce was beginning to be excited, which
was eminently fostered in IKK) by calling the
citizens and burgesses of the kingdom to a
participation in legislative affairs. By the
Magna Charta of Runnyinede, which the Bar
on’s clergy and free Burghs extorted from
King John in 1315, the following privileges
were couceded to merchants: “ Ist. That ail
merchants shall have safe conduct to go out
or come into England and stay there. 2nd.
To'pass either by land or water. 3d. To buy
and sell by the ancient and aliowed customs,
without any evil toiis (extravagant taxes) ex
cept in time of war, or when they shall hap
pen to be of any nation at war with us.”—
There is a tradition, says Cambden in his
“ Remains,” that the Barons, during theirwars
with King John, stamped leather money,
though he confesses that he never saw any.
The monarch, however, was the first who
coined sterling money, which derived its name
from the Easterlings, portions of the eastern
Germanic Iribes called in by King John, to
reduce the coin of the kingdom to standard
weight and purity, though some antiquarians
suppose that the name originated trom the
three stars, crnimonly found on the oldest
Scotch and English coins.
The first treaty of commerce and friendship
between Eng laud and any foreign power north
or east of Germany, was made in 12 IT, with
the king of Norway. The provisions of the
treaty opened both countries free, for the mer
chants of either. Liverpool in 1229 became
a c irporation and free burgh, by charter. In
1227, the foreign merchants hv contributing
XIOO towards the making of an aqueduct
from Tyburn to London, were permitted to
land their goods for sale, having previously
been compelled to sell them from their ships
in the Thames. The first commercial socie
ty of English merchants originated in the year >
1249. They traded principally to the Neth- ;
eriands, < xciianging the wool, iead and tin ot j
England, for the fine woollen cloths and rich j
stuffs of Brabant. This society gave rise, or j
was merged in the company styled “ ilie;
merchants of the staple of England.” “ The j
Merchant of the Staple,” says an old author, j
“were the first and ancientest society in Eng
land.” “ That society was put under sundry
regulations for the benefit of the puolic, and
was the means of bringing in considerable
wealth, as well before as after, the making of
woollen cloth here, and were privileged by
many succeeding kings.” The grower ot wool
at first sold it at his own door or the next tow:.
Thence arose men who bought it of the pro
! ducer for the consumer, or foreign cloth ma
j her; and because they established themselves
I for the sale of vvoois in some city convenient
! for commerce, they were called “ Staplers.”
The balance of tffs trade was greatly in lavor
of England.
The foreign merchants, viz: those of Ham
| burg, Munster, Cologne, Triers and Hunuon
| dale, were associated into a sue icy with ccr
| porate privileges from the king, by the style
of the “Guild of the Germans,” and resided
! together in a place called the “ Steel-yard, ’
in Thames street; steel-vard being both a
corruption and contraction of the German sta
pie-hoff, a place, for keeping merchandise.—
The true principles of Commerce gained
ground but slowly in England ; not only was
the burden of trade with foreign, merchants,
but even the Cambium or Mint of London,
was in their charge, as befrg best qualified
to direct it. Prince and people were both ig
norant of the advantages to b’ derived from
these extended mercantile relations, or from
causing them to minister to the public wealth
and interest. The mere supplying of their
necessities, appears to have been their ulti
mate aim; for in the reign of E heard I. Par
liament, in 1239, passed a law, giving “leave
for all kinds of merchandise to be exported
from Ireland, except to tiie kings enemies.”
And by two statutes in the reign of Edward
the 111. in 1360, ail kint sos mereband se j
: without any exceptions, Were allowed to be j
exported from and into Ireland, as well by al-1
iens as denizens • thus allowing a latitude of
| trade, far from consonant with our present
commercial knowledge. Rynier, in his “Fce
dera,” under da e 1295, gives the following
j arc mat of the first letter of Marque and Re
j prisais : “ A merchant of Bayonne, in Gasco
ny, had gone with a ship to the coast of Afr:-
! ta. where he laded a quantity of almonds, rai
; sins, and figs; and on his voyage back for
England, he and his ship and cargo were sei
j zed’ by some armed force from Lisbon, as he
I ] ;l y at anchor on the Portuguese coast, and
i carried into Lisbon, where the capfors paid
■ he king of Portugal a tenth share, the siiip
! and cargo being valued at X 709 sterling, (or
nearly 1500, present rate) although peace
then subsisted between England and Portugal.
! Our King (Edward I) hereupon grants this
’ merchant letters of marque (liccnha mcrcandi )
i against the subjects of Portugal wherever he
can seize their effects, and especially agair.st
those of Lisbon, for five years, or until he
sha.'l reimburse himself all his losses, and no
longer: and to account to the kmg for any
surplus lie might take over and above his
real'damage and expenses.”
The year 1299 was memorable as giving
birth to a powerful and influential company,
woiek existed with credit and splendor for over
five hundred years, “The Company of Mer
chant Adventurers of England.” They were
the first w o began the Woollen Manufacture
in England, and they stapled themselves both
at Antwerp and London, exercising*, controll
ing power over the commerce of both coun
tries.
The commercial town ol Hull, in \ orkshire,
was founded this year by Edward Ist. Chan
cing to hunt upon the spot he was so impressed
with its peculiar advantages in point of
strength and naval comm >diousness, that he
immediately ordered it to bn fortified, and in
three years, so greatly had it become popula
ted. he incorporated it as the King's Town
ot).> t Hull. It so m became a place of con
siderab’e commerce, chiefly with the Baltic
ports, and the North Sea fishery.
The Genoese at this time, were the most
commercial nation in Europe, and had the as
cendency in the maritime affairs of the Medi
terranean. Some of her merchants, together
with others from Florence, Pisa, Lucca, Ven
ice, and Lombardy, were the prinepial sus
ainers of the English markets aid fairs; and
though the people viewed them with jeal j
ousy, and the corporate towns, with London \
at their head, petitioned in 1289, that “the !
merchant strangers” with whom successive j
Paharnents, had already dealt rigorously, and j
several times expelled the kingdom, might be ;
again sent out of the realm. “ Edward gave i
ifor answer, “the King is of opinion that met
chant strangers are useful and beneficial to j
he great, men of the kingdom, and is therefore j
against expelling them.” Miserable policy 1
this, to consult tne good of the nobles, against
the people; and encourage the subjects of
foreign Princes to the detriment of his own.
Such is a brief outline of the state of English
i commerce, before'Flavio de Gioga of Naples,
I invented the mariner’s compass. This con
j stitutes an era in the history of maritime ad
| ventures. It opened the gates of the Pillars
|of Hercules, and ushered the mariner into
! the broad Atlantic. No longer bound to capes
and hedlands; no longer creeping timidly along
i the shores; released from his fears, inspired
j with courage, daring with confidence, he cast
■himself boldly upon the bosom of unknown
i seas, and guided by the teachings of this ever
j faithful manitor, pursued his way upon the
i ocean, until anew world rewarded the enter
! prise of a Columbus.
TH E TIM ES .
****sss§ tP*
The union of the status and the sovereigntyof the stales
COLUMBUS, NOVEMBER 13, 1641.
ILT Owing to the absence of iho Editor,
we are without our. usual quantity of editorial
matter.
MILLEDGEVILLE CORRESPONDENCE
OF THE COLUMBUS TIMES.
MIbLEDGEVILLE, NoV. 15, 1841.
The Legislature has not yet proceeded to
the consideration of the most important mat
ters of State concern, the currency and inter
nal improvements. An election forjudges in
i the several circuits where die official term of
j the incumbents had expired, having taken
j place, and the election for State House officers
! being fixed, it is said, for to-morrow, the vital
1 questions affecting the interests of the State*
and the prosperity of the people, must, in a
very few days, be presented for the action o*
the Legislature.
As it respects the election of Judges, C.
S. Henry was reelected in the Eastern Circuit,
John Schley in the Middle, Garnett Andrews
in the Northern, and Carlton B. Cole in the
Southern. Edward D. Tracy, of Bibb, suc
ceeds Judge King in tha Flint Circuit; Jun
ius Ilillyer, of Clark, succeeds Judge Harris
in the Western; and Francis H. Cone, o*
Greene, succeeds Judge Hill in the Ocraul
gee.
The questions of the currency and internal
improvements are, as I have just observed,
yet to be acted on, and what direction will be
given to them, whether the public policy in
respect to either or both of them will bo ma
terially changed, are matters about which no
definite opinion can be formed. It is, indeed,
problematical whether the Legislature has
yet determined what it will do with these del
icale and embarrassing topics.
‘The bill limiting the pay of members to
four dollars a day has passed both branches.
An amendment was proposed giving the mem
bers four dollars a day for the first thirty days,
and two dollars for every day the Legislature
continued in session beyond that period. The
Senator from Muscogee proposed, in lieu, that
the members receive threo dollars a day for
the period the session continued. This, how
ever, was rejected, as well as the proposition
preceding it, and the pay of the members fixed
i at four dollars a day for the whole session.
! This a reduction of one dollar per diem.
| The Hon. William C. Dawson having rr
; signed, making three vacancies to be filled in
j the Congressional delegation, the Whig party’,
| through a meeting here, has placed in nora
! nation the lion. George R. Gilmer, the Hon.
| Charles Dougherty, and Augustus R. Wright,
; Esqr., of Cass county. The two former are
known to the people of Georgia, of both po
litical parties, as politicians of eminence in
the State; and the latter was specially rec
ommended for nomination, by his locality , and
some peculiar and distinguishing traits he is
l-eputed to have, as a popular declaimer. To
maintain what particular opinions, and to sub
serve what particular interest this ticket has
i been selected by the Whigs, seems to be dif
ficult of solution. Mr. Gilmer is known to
be decidedly opposed to a Bank, and Mr
Dougherty is understood to be not less so;
and as to Mr. Wright, his powers for stump
oratory secured to him a nomination, without
looking farther to ascertain his opinions on
leading measures of State policy. It is ru
mored here, that a portion of the Whig party,
including Messrs. Gilmer and Dougherty, was
anxious to assume the ancient doctrines of the
State Rights party, and sink or swim with
them. Mr. Berrien, Mr. Dawson, and others,
it is hinted, objected to such a course, and pre
ferred to give no more definite expression of
Whig views than now exists. The sugges
tions ot the latter prevailed, yet two, if not
three anti-bank men were nominated for Con
gress. This double dealing and concealment
of rea’ designs, must sooner or later destroy
any party; and the defeat of the three gen
tlemen nominated for Congress by the Whigs,
I is as confidently predicted by many of that
; (iarty, as by the most sanguine of the Demo
i crats. The latter have a meeting in a few
! days, to de ignate their candidates for Con
i gross, and as yet it is not known who will be
j nominated.
Mr. Bradford, the Senator from Crawford
county, died yesterday, after a short illness,
and was buried this afternoon.
IRELAND.
The Belfast Vindicator states that a His
torv of Ireland, hy Daniel O’Connell, “ is in
the hands of the bookbinder, and may be
looked for s mie time in November,” (this
month.} * ‘ ‘
EXECUTIVE DISSENT TO BILLS OF J
LAST SESSION. j
The following document was read in the
House last week.
Executive Department, j>
MiHedgeviile, Ist November, 1341. )
At tiie last session of the General Assembly
the several bills hereinafter named, were pre
sented for my revision at a period too late to be
examined before the adjournment ot that body,
j Upon examining them, 1 telt bound to vvitti
i hold the Executive assent, and now proceed to
i assign the reasons.
1 The act to regulate elections in the county
jof Sumter, and to repeal all laws authoriz
ing or creating election precincts in said
I county, and to establish a precinct in the
I county of Twiggs, at Ilitrgsville, required that
j all elections for county officers, members ot the
| Legislature, members of Congress, Electors
1 for President and Vice President of the United
j States, anil Governor of the State ot Georgia,
i shall be had and held at the Court House in
like said countij of Sumter, and no where else.
Believing it to be manifestly the intention of
the Legislature, from the caption of the act,
to regulate the elections in the county oi Sum
ter aione, and nothing appearing in the body of
the bill confining its operations to that county,
I deemed it just to withhold my assent.
The act to add certain fractions named to
: Paulding county;
The act to prescribe the duties of Attornies
jin entering up judgments, and the duliesof
Clerks and Sheriffs in relation to executions;
and
The act to incorporate the Baptist Church
lin Pulaski countv, known bv the name of j
: Mount 1 loreb Church, and to appoint Trustees
i lor the same-each contained matter different
i from what is expressed in its title. The first
of said acts added a square lot, as well as
| fractions to the county of Paulding. The
j second, in addition to the matters specific in
the title, provided that endorsers paying an
[execution, should have control of the same
against prior endorsers and the maker of the
note on which judgement was rendered.
The third act incorporates other Churches
than that specified in the caption.
The act to incorporate the village of Jack
sonborough in the county of Scriven, and to
appoint commissioners for the same, confers on
| the corporation jurisdiction of criminal cases,
I which is prohibited by the Constitution, and
| for that cause could not receive niy assent,
j The act to repeal an act to guard and pro
tect the citizens against tho unwarrantable
; and too prevalent use of deadly weapons,
I passed the 25; h December, was objected to
I by me solely on the ground of the inexpedien
ey of repealing a law, so well calculated, if
executed, to protect the lives of the people.
The practice of resorting to the use of deadly
weapons, as instruments of offence or defence,
on slight and trivial occasions, lias become so
prevalent, tnat instead of repealing laws tend
ing to suppress it, if those passed are ineffica
cions, t hey should be so amended as to erad
icate an evil so fraught with dangers to human
life. To make it highly penal to draw a deadly
weapon ori any occasion, either for offence or
defence, and particularly the former, would
perhaps, accomplish more for the safety of
society than any other regulation heretofore
attempted.
I lie act to alter an amend an act entitled
an act to carry into effect the sixth section of
the fourth article of the Constitution touching
the distribution ot intestates’ estates, &c., ap
proved 12th December, 1304, was objected to
merely on the ground of ihe impropriety of
interfering with the existing law, proposed to
be altered by the first section of the act under
consideration. The law, as it stands, was so
framed for wise purposes ; and casting about
for the reasons which may be supposed to have
led to the enactment, the protection of the
child against the cupidity of the step-father,
to be most probable anu prominent. This ar
gument is very unfavorable to human nature;
but the history of the world is full of instan
ces where the temptations of avarice have
overcome the horror of crime and the fear of
punishment. Hepless infancy ought not to be
exposed to the assaults of tins temptation.
The apparent hardship against which the act
was iiiteno.ed to provide, is the necessary es- j
feet of a wise and humane policy.
The act to protect the slave property of the I
people of Georgia, by Compelling vessels |
owned or commanded by citizens of, or coming !
irom the ports of Maine, and the officers, sea- j
men and passengers 1 hereof, to perform quar- j
antine, and to provide for a search thereof, on I
tl eir departure, has received from me a care- |
[ ful consideration, and for causes which I shall |
proceed to state, I have felt bound to withhold |
from it the Executive assent.
It is necessary to a proper understanding i
of the reasons which influenced me, to analyze j
the act and ascertain its character, purpose ,
and intent. The history of the causes which ;
ied to its passage, are necessary to establish j
its character, in tiie year 1837, Daniel Phil- i
brook and Edward Keileran, citizens of the ;
Suite of Maine, were charged by the affidavits j
of James Sagure, with the secret and feloni-!
ous abduction from the city of Savannah, of j
a 11 euro slave named Atticus, the property of
tho said James and Henry Sagers. The said
Phi I brook and Keileran having returned to the
Suite of Maine, they wore demanded as fugi
tives from the justice of this State, from the
Governor of Maine, by the Executive of Geor
gia. He refused to deliver them up. In the
mean time, the owners recovered possession i
of their slave Atticus. To the next General j
Assembly the Governor communicated the j
facts, who, by resolution, denounced the con
duct of the Governor of Maine, as not only dan- ;
gerous to the rights of the people of Georgia,j
but clearly and directly in violation of the plain ;
letter of the Constitution of the United States,
and requested the Executive of Georgia, as j
soon as a bill of indictment should be found j
true in the Superior Court oi Chatham county,
against tiie said Phdbrook and Keileran, for j
tiie said offence, to m.ixo upon ihe Governor ol j
Maine a second demand for said fugitives, \
predicated upon the said bill of indicjment,und j
accompanied by such evidence as is contem
plated by the act of Congress, in such cases j
made and provided ; and in tiie event the Go ;
vernor of Maine should refuse to comply with
such second demand, the Executive of Geor
gia was requested to transmit a copy oi the
resolution then passed, to the Executive cfj
leach State in the Union, to be presented to :
their several Legislatures, and also, a copy to
the President of the United States, and to our ‘
Senators and Representatives in Congress, j
to be aid before that body.
It was further made the duty or the Governor
of Georgia, if the Legis.ature ol Maine, at its
first session after the said resolutions bad been
iorwarded to the executive of that State,
should neglect or refuse to redress the griev
ance, in tire resolutions set forth, to announce
the same by proclamation, and call upon the
peop ! e of the several counties, on a uay in said
proclamation to be named, to elect, underline
regulations and restrictions, a number ol del
gates equal to the number ot Senators and
Representatives to which they were entitled
in the General Assembly, to meet m Conven
tion at the seat of Government, to taxp into j
consideration the state of the Commonwealth !
of Georgia, and to devise the course ol her ;
future policy, ar.d provide ail the necessary j
safeguards lor the protection or the rights or:
the people. As directed by the resolutions, ;
the Executive of Georgia, upon the finding of j
the bill of indictment in the county ot Ciiatnam .
against tire said Philbrook and Kelleran, re- j
newed his demand of them as fugitives from j
justice, upon the Governor of Maine, who per
sisted in his refusal to deliver them up. No
proclamation,however, was issued, announcing
the fact, and requiring the election oi delegates
to take into consideration the state of the
Commonwealth. The matter rested thus, until
the session of 1839, when, inded, no measures
were adopted in relation to this particular case;
a preamble and resolutions were passed, de
claring tire legislorth ■ “pmioit, Lha’ it \v is ?h •
duty of Congress to provide for the execution
of that provision of the Constitution of tho U.
Stales which relates to tiie delivery of fugi
tives from justice,suggesting the insufficiency
of the act of Congress passed for that purpose,
requiring the duly to be performed by the
Executive officers of the several States, who
neither are nor can be made responsible to
the Government of the Union, and instructing ;
our Senators in Congress, and requesling our
Representatives to have the act of Congress
on this subject in the manner prescribed in ihe
resolutions, which was, that the obligations
ottlie Government should be executed by ied
ral officers, amenable to its authority.
The resolutions were presented to Congress
by our Senators, but uo action was taken
thereon. Our Representatives refused to pre
sent them, for reasons assigned by the ,which
have long since been made public. This,
then, was the state of things at the time of the
enactment of the law under consideration.
The act purports to be an act to protect
the slave property of the State of Georgia, by
compelling vessels owned or commanded by
citizens of, or coming from the ports of Maine,
and the officers, seamen and passengers there
of, to perform quarantine, &c., and it is inten
ded as a retaliation upon the State of Maine,
for refusing to surrender the fugitives. Its
purpose is to affect the commerce of the State
of Maine, and the effect of the law, if carried
into execution, would be clearly to interdict
all commercial intercourse with the State.—
It cannot be assimilated to quarantine laws,
intended to preserve the health of the inhabi
tants of a seaport city, which have no refer
ence to, arid are not enacted to operate upon
the commerce of a country. By whatever
name it maybe called, the act under conside
ration establishes a non-intercourse with the
State of Maine, comes in conflict with the i
commercial regulations of the United States,
and therefore infringes the provision of the
Federal Constitution which confers on Con
gress power to regulate Commerce among the
several States. As long as we acknowledge
the auhontv of the Constitution, we must bow
to its supremacy. No matter of mere con
venience, no spirit of resentment, should impel
us to a transgression of its provisions. nder
it, from disjointed States, we have grown to
a united and powerful nation. One violation
lof it, will make another more easy, until its
j infraction, by repetition, will become familiar
and habitual, and we may destroy this only
sure anchor of national safety, internal har
mony, and individual happiness.
It is possible that a perseverance of a part
of the States in a refusal to surrender fugi
tives from the justice of tho Southern States,
when charged with a particular class of offen
ces, and the failure of the General Govern
ment to provide some other mode of executing
tho provision of the Constitution of the United
States relative to the delivery of fugitives from
justice, may coerce us to the adoption of meas
ures for our safety, not warranted by the con
stitution; but, when this is done, it cannot be
by ’he Legislature sworn to support that in
strument; but it must he the work of the peo
ple themselves, in the manner suggested by
the resolutions of 1887, or some other similar
mode. When the proper time arrives, the
whole States interested, wiil make common
cause, and unite in providing against the com
ing danger.
Accompanying the acts herewith laid before
you, wiil be found a resolution of the last Gen
e-ial Assembly authorizing the Governor to
draw his warrant in favor of Thomas Hoxey,
for the sura of four hundred and thirty two doL
| lars, on the contingent fund, the amount being
I princioal, interest and cost of a suit, James
V. Smith, vs. Thomas Hoxey, in the county
of Franklin, Territory of Florida. This res
olution was presented tome for my approval
at too late a period to be examined before the
adjournment of the Legislature. It will be
seen that no statement is made why the State
is liable to, and should pay this judgement—
and no facts having been submitted to me in
regard to the matter, I felt bound to withhold
|my approval. Upon the face of the resolution,
| lor aught that appears, it is a donation which
cannot he made, except by the concurrence of
two thirds of the General Assembly.
Charles j. McDonald.
Texas. —The New Oilmans Advertiser con
tains important intelligence from Texas. Jn
conjunction wish Yucatan, the vessels oi war,
Austin, Wharton, Archer and the steam ship
Zavala ate fitting out at. Galveston lor un
expedition against Mexico. A loan ol $24,-
000 in specie from Yucateens had been re
ceived at Galveston for this purpose. The
government of Yucatan has sidle red consid
erably from the conduct of Mexico, and the
pcopie of that republic with a very deter
mined spirit, seem resolved to hold a resolute
conies! with her. We see it stated that
strong efforts are making by her to establish
a navy, and as a commencement a fine vessel
us twenty-two guns, has been purchased at a
cost of $22,500. It will be recollected that
a lew mouths ago an ambassador from her
arrived at Texas offering to bear the expen-,
ses of’an expedition, if the latter would lend
the use ol her navy. From these demonstra
tions it appears that the proposition lias been
accepted.
The Saute Fe expedition bad arrived at
the point of its destination, after a sevete
jonrnev and encountering hordes of hostile
Indians whom they had to fight through. The
people and authorities of Same I ( e treated
the expedition with great respect, and exten
ded towards them all the hospitalities their
rude manners were capable of.
Mexico. —Accounts have been received at
New Orleans from Vera Cruz to the 3!si
Oct. Santa Anna had succeeded in placing
himself once more at the head of Mexican
affairs. A convention was called to reform
the affairs of the country —an I nine-tenths
of the members were opposed to Bustameide,
and resolved to depose him, and elevate iianta
Ai na in ids stead.
A letter dated City of Mexico, Oct. 14th,
says:— 1l - Government has just been organ
ized. On Sunday last, Santa Anna took the
oaths as provisional President ol the republic
He immediately named his ministers, as bil
lows :
Gen. Tornell, Minister ot War.
Gomez Pedraza, Minister of Foreign Be
la t ions.
Gip. Castilion, Minister of Industry.
Francis Garcia, Minister of Finance.
Commerce and business here have revived
slice tfse change.”
Busiamente, it is said, was to proceed to
Havana, thence to Europe.
Havana. —-Bv the arrival of the st- amer
! NaiclifZ, at New Orleans Havana papers
j tv) t!ie 16ili uit. have been received.
‘i’ee ravages committed bv the yellow le
ver this year at Havana have been uncom
j uuutly malignant. We perceive bv a c nri
parative statement in the A olocioso y Lucero
iif the IG’h, that during the month ol June,
1941, 421 persons died in three hospitals, while
: during (tie same month ol the year preceding
| hut 7G were carried off. The total number
|of interments lor June, IS4I, was and
| for J me, 1340, 4C2 It is perceived that
; tiie <l:(rerence of mortality in the two years is
! not considerable, and yet the journals ahiun
[that the lever has been more mahonant this
season than ever. The small increase ()f|
! deaths is attributed bv tbe iV otocioso io tne I
superior skill of tbe Faculty. This compari
son be it remembered, is limited to one month
onlv in each vear.
We learn “that great discontent prevails
among the creoles of Havana, in conse
quence ol an apprehended treaty, hy winch
the Hnoiisli Government inav obtain certain
privileges in the Island of Cuba. Nothing of
the kind is noticed in the papers, as the press
is rigidly purge.l of evety thing hke political
discussion.
Death of the Hon. Dixon H. Lewis.— :
The Macon Telegraph of the 16th instant
gives the following rumor :
“ Another great man has fallen. We learn
with the smeerest regret that the lion. D. H.
Lewis, of Alabama, died recently, near Mo
bile, of congestive fever. In the demise of
this eminent statesman and patriot, the repub
lic has sustained a loss not easily reparable*
and the democracy of our noble sister, one of
their oblest chiefs, and brightest ornaments.
We tender to our brethren of Alabama the
expression of our deepest sympathies, in their
bereavement.”
From ill Aibanv Argus.
NEW YORK ELECTION.
Both Branches of the New York Legislature j
Demixratic, and from 13,000 to 15,000 on
the popular vote.
We are enabled to-day to present to our !
readers the result of the election in this State, j
and to congratulate the Democracy of the j
State and the Union upon it.
The Democrats carry both branches of tho
Legislature, the House nearly three to one,
and a majority of from 13,001) to 15,000 on
the popular vote.
The Senate. The returns show the elec
tion of eight Democrats and two Federalists
to the Senate ; which ensures a Democratic
majority of two in that body. Ihe Senate
will stand 17 Republican, 15 Whig.
The House. Returns from all but four
counties, show the election of 93 Democrats
and 28 Federalists. Two of the remaining
seven members will probably be Democratic.
The victory in New York has baffled the
hopes of the Whigs. They counted upon
her to make up their previous losses. Their
presses have neen recently blazing forth an
article signed “Onward,” wno expatiated up
on tiie defeats of the Whigs in 1840, “before
the great Whig Harrison Revolution,” when
“the Van Buren party?carried almost every
State (Kentucky,. New York and Vermont
excepted) from Mama to Louisiana.” “ New
York (says ‘Onward’) was surrounded by
the enemy, and the Van Buren flood swelled
so high as to leave scarcely an Ararat for the
Ark of Republican liberty to rest upon. The
! eye of the patriot, as he gazed around him on
every side, as far as the horizon’s verge was
greeted with a cheerless black sea of locoio
eoisin. Van Buren seemed undisputed master
of the Union, and his baleful reign perpetual.
And so thought his followers. iJut it was a
deceitful triumph ; as deceitful as those which
now fill with a false j y ihe hearts of his par
tisans. Their victories now, like their victo
ries then, are but the sure precursors of their
final overthrow.” But r ce lictis! Even New
York is now as much against them, if not
more so, than the rest. She has followed in
their wake, surpassing them all in the volume
of her wave and the irresistibility of her im
pulse ; and there is no Ararat for the Whig
Ark to rest upon. The means, which have
disgusted and aroused the people, and the re
action is terrible upon the humbuggers and
tiie pipelayers. Onwards lias become back
wards, and the change, change, which Mr.
Webster invoked, is converted into a fearful
change upon the discomfitted and chapfallen
Whigs. Yet it is nothing but retributive jus
tice. They well deserve the fate, which they
have incurred. For “they who live by the
sword must die by the sword.”
[Richmond Efquirer.
THE FIRST EFFECT OF THE DEMO
CRATIC VICTORY IN NEW YORK.
The New York Herald’s money article an
nounces an improvement in the State credit,
resulting from tho lale election.
“The results if the election, giving such
an overflowing deleat to tho “ dent contract
ing party,” has already had a good effect upon
the value of the stocks of this State. L&pi-
I lalisls begin to feel confident that the supply
iof stocks upon the market will cease, uml
! consequently that tho present amount will
gradually he absorbed, and the prices rise un
lit they are at. least equal to those of Massa
chusetts, the 5 per cent, stocks of which Stale
yesterday brought 95 1-2 in the open market,
when those of'this State will not bring 82.
The policy of the ne w party in power will be
undoubtedly to ascertain and discharge, as
far as practicable, all debts due by the State,
| and entirely suspend further expenses, at least
[ for the present.”
What has become of it?— The upr<-ar
j that was made over ihe pretended delalca
i lions in the New York Custom House, can
j hardly be forgotten by our readers. The
Iquestion is now, vvlrat has become of the re
! port of the commissioners appointed to inves
j ligale the matter? 1 lie New York Herald
i sa vs:
“ VVe are very much disposed lo think thal
this investigation is only an ingenius piece of
eharlalanrie. W hen, at Ihe close ol their
labors, ihe commissioners relumed lo Wash
ington city, accompanied with several vol i
nines of evidence, no report was made to the
department, nor could they agree on making ;
a report. Each commissioner differed so j
much with his associate that he had to make ;
his own report. Two reports were thus j
made, differing in views and conclusions, and j
“Old Ruins,” though he differed with both, |
made no report. He loved his ease too much
lor that.”
The expense of this investigation cost the i
country some eight or ten thousand dollars ;
and the general impression is that it was
staried for no other purpose than to feed die
hungry mouths of some halt dozen partisans,;
wluMvere unfit to he entrusted with any re
sponsible office under the government.
In the Senate of Alabama, on the 9th, Mr.
King of Pickens,-introduced a bill to repeal
the general ticket system in the election for
Representatives to Congress, when Mr. Jones
of Sumter, moved to lay the bill on the table, ;
when the yeas and nays were required, 8, 22,
Mr. Jones himself voting in the negative.’
The bill was then ordered to a second reading, j
Mr. Rice introduced, on the same day, in |
the House of Representatives, a bill to reier
the question of a convention or no convention,
to the people in August next, lor the purpose j
of amending the constitution, so as to author- I
ise the removal of the seat of Government.
.Mr. Smith of Tuscaloosa, Mr reasons urged j
in the preamble, moved to lay the bill on the j
table, but at the suggestion cf Mr. Walker,;
withdrew it, and the biff was ordered to a sec
ond reading.— Tuscaloosa Monitor.
i
Jared Sparks, the distinguished biographer
of Washington, is about delivering a course
ol Lectures in New York, under the auspices
of the New York Historical Society, on the
American Revolution. Professor Sparks is
preparing a work on documentary history of
the American Revolution, and has for that
1 purpose recently visited Europe, and met with
I much success in collecting papers lor this
great work. Nothing can more surely mark
| (lie merit or Mr. Sparks as a historian, than
• the fact, that Guizot, one of the most eminent
Fr.-nch writers and philosophers, Von Hau
nter, equally celebrated in Germany, and a
distinguished scholar in Italy, have all publish
ed most valuable editions and translations of
Shark’s Lile and Writings of Washington,
whieh is becoming a standard work, both ir.
America and Europe.
Massachusetts School Statistics. —The
amount raised by town taxes the last year,
throughout the State, for school purposes
was $491,015 23, which added to the amount
of income of the -nrplu3 revenue appropria
ted to the same ob/. ~t. * $9 529 48, makes
art annual appropriation o: half a million
of dollars. The number of children re
turned, between tbe ages of four and sixteen,
is 183,192. The average sum appropriated
t i tr.e in- ruction of each ch'ld, is $2,70.
From ihe Savannah Georgian, Nov. 12.
FROM E. FLORIDA.
By the steamer Forester, Capt. Clark, we
yesterday received the St. Augustine Herald
of Friday last.
The physicians of St. Augustine contradict
the report that has appeared in some papers
of the prevalence of a malignant epidemic in
that city.
In their publication they say—“ That a few
j cases of violent congestive fever made their
‘appearance in a certain limited portion of our
city, produced by obvious local causes, ii not
i denied. But when we assert on our ownpo
\ sitive knowledge, that but eight deaths , from
fever of every desciption, originating in the
| city, have occurred in the last twelve months,
; it is plain that no epidemic fever could have
prevailed. Our population, by the late cen
j sus, amounts to 2,800, and we doubt whether
; there is a town of half our population in the
| whole South in which mortality from fever has
: been so small during the same period.
“ The first death took place in August.—
Two more occurred in September, and five
iin the month of October— eight in all. Os
j these eight, four, at least, took place from neg
i lectou the ( art of the patients to avail them
selves of timely medical advice, and one was
1 a person of notoriously intemperate habits.
At present there is not a case of fever within
jour corporate limi-s.”
St. Augustine, Nov. 5.
There has been a heavy storm on the south
ern coast of the Peninsula, and seems to have
been felt as far north as Tampa. At Key
West the water came up into the streets, the
inhabitants going about in canoes.
The storm a: Punta-Rosa was tremendous.
It commenced on the nineteenth of last month
and prevailed from ten o’clock at night until
three. Tiie whole country was inundated.—
Four companies of soldiers were stationed
there, and with other persons numbered about
two hundred and fifty. They retreated to the
highest spot, the hospital, which came at last
te be knocked up by the waves. Trunks,
money, and papers, all have been lost.
Captains McLaughlin and Burk have re
cently passed through the Everglades. They
entered apart at Key Biscay.ne and Indian
Key, and came out to the north of Cape Ro
man. in their course they visited Chekika’s
Island, discovered a lake with several islands
in it, destroyed a field of corn of about forty’
acres, and saw five or six Indians.
THE CENSUS.
The FJitor of me Cincinnati Chronicle has
been examining the six returns ol ihe Census,
j laSien at intervals of ten years each, since tlie
; adoption ol ihe Constitution. The invesiiga
j lion snows some curious facts:
1. The population of Hie United States
| increases exactly 34 per cent. each ten years,
j and doubles e v ery twenty lour years. The
i law is so unilbim and peimaneni, that When
j applied lo tiie population id 1790,and brought
‘down to the present time, it produces nearly
i tiie very result as shown by the census of
i 1840. And thus we may ten with great ac
curacy what will be the census ol’ 1559. It
! will he nearly twenty three millions.
2. But although tins is the aggregate result, ■
; it is by no means true of each particular pan’
|ol the country,for M. England increases at the
! raie of lo pe. cent, eao.i ten years, while the
north western States increases 100 per cent,
in that period.
3. The slave population increased at 30
per cent., but sine.- ai less than 25 per cent;
The free population have, however, increased
at the rate of 3(i per eeni. At tins rale,
therefore, the difference between the free and
slave population is constantly incieasing.
4. Another fact is that the colored popula
tion increase just in proportion to the distance
s iutk; and that slavery is certainly and rap
j idly decreasing in the States bordering on the
i tree Stales.
j This state of things continued, would, in
I half a century, ex'inguish slavery in these
I Slates alul concentrate the whole black pop
ulation ol itie United States on Ihe Gull of
Mexico, and ihe adjiceut Stales on the
Southern Atlantic.
The Ravages of the Yellow Fever.—
in a c.haritv sermon preached in N. Orleans,
by the Rev. Mr. (’lupp, he said—■“ i'hat ho had
resided twenty years, wanting only a lew
months, in New Orleans, and during that time
had witnessed eleven epidemic yellow fever
j years, and two cholera—each epidemic catry
’ ing to a sudden grave never less than three
thousand human beings, and often live thou
sand. Within that space of twenty years one
hundred thousand human beings had found a
grave in New Orleans, and of that immense
host, twenty-five thousand were young men
between the ages of eighteen and twenty
years, each one the representative of some dis
tant family, with whose late that family was
connected, rising when he rose, and with h.s
fall sinking hopelessly arid forever”
A SCENE IN AN EDITOR’S OFFICE.
Enter Mr- B- Good morning, Mr. Editor.
I see you are as busy as usual.
Ed. Somewhat engaged just now.
Ji. Have you leisme to look over an article
1 have brought!
Ed. Certainly, that is part of our business.
If you will allow me to read it, I will decide
at once.
Editor, (reading.) The article, I perceive,
is rather personal. However just and true
the comments, they are likely to give offense.
Facts, toe, are stated in a strain somewhat
exaggerated, and calcula od to make tfie im
pression that the writer was prejudiced at the
time he wrote.
B. Do you mean to say that you refuse the
■ article ! Surely, tho independence of the
pre-s is not reduced to so low a level. Here
is a crying evil, of which the public complain
most universally; and yet, when a case is
strongly stated, and in a manner calculated to
excite attention, 1 find it almost impossible to
get. matter into the public prints.
Ed. You are quite mistaken Mr. B. Edi
torial independence and editorial responsibili
ty are greatly mistaken by some persons.
There are beings in the world, with the high
est pretensions to honor and fearlessness, who
denounce it as a species of cowardice in an
editor to shrink from a degree of responsibility,
which, whetij tested, they themselves refuse
to assume ! Tire article alluded to, although
offensively written, notices a subject of con
siderable importance, arid is, I freely admit,
from a source of the highest respectability.
We will publish it—but with a single provi
so. In the editorial columns we must be per
mitted to remark that the name of the author
has been left with us.
A change instantly came over the dream of
our correspondent, lie at once saw the object
in a different light. He did not wish to mix
himself up with any controversy, or to assume
any responsibility. He Lad been requ -sted
to write the article by a friend, and probably
the statement was overcolored, and the fact
somewhat exaggerated. lie meant nothing
offensive, but would not for the world come
into collision with either of the parties alluded
to in the communication, especially as they
were high public functionaries.
Ed. My dear sir, you need not utter another
syllable upon the subject. This sort of thing
is by no ni“ans rare with persons situated as
we are. We know you and respect you, and
believe you would not tread upon a fly in a
wanton spirit. But still, as you move along
in life for the future, remember that some ed”
itors have consciences, and that they cannot
always he employed in the manner related in
the fable, in which the monkey employed the
cat. — Philad. Inq.
A verdict in the suit of the United Stales
against the United States’ Bank, to recover
$251,243, was given in favor of the plaintiffs
on the Ist instant, at Philadelphia.