Newspaper Page Text
Kprcch of Mr. Whf,
In reply lo Mr. Orv, (of New-York,) on
the Rr*oluuon of Mr. Prentiss, loci nr I
Alexander Duncan, of Ohio, from Ins
•1W
Mr. Hpeskcr ! I did not Intend to ontcr
into this debate. I have sttnliotisly avoided
being drawn intoil at all. But tne gentle*
man from New-York. (Mr. Gray.) Ims ad
dressed the House twice, and cadi time
has gone out of his wav. on purpose, it
seems, lo attack me. Why, I know not,
I care not. This, I thought, was one oc
casion, at least, on which I w as not involv
ed in the strife, and I had determined not
to he dragged in. But the gentlomun seems
to he equally determined that I slmll not
escape, lie has first condemned, or dis
claimed a justification of, the conduct of
his friend, (Hr. Dunrati,} and then gone a
side to allude lo my conduct for its justifi
cation, or its parrallcl, or precedent. When
the member from Ohio snail be put on his
trial, I will fully express my judgement
upon him by my vote; hut i do not mean
to do *o now. If, however, he has done
wrong, how pan any previous acts of mine
justify him, and why am I thus unnecessa
rily and wantonly cited as an example to
justify his wrongs by the gentlemen from
New-York ? The gentlemen can say, and
I pause for him to exjdaio ivlial his purpose
w s.
(Here Mr. Gray interposed, lie had
confined himself lo a simple statement of
Gets, without the least intention to offend
or injure any one. If what lie; had stated
was a fact, ami if it was legitimately intrp
dured as an illustration of any position
which Mr. Gray had taken, thu gentleman
from Virginia was not warranted to infer
any improper intention on the part of Mr.
Gray in alluding to it.]
Mr. Wise resumed. The gentleman
said he was bound by his code of morals to
condemn the member from Ohio, but then
iinmiiliat* iy quoted my sets to justify what,
according to his principles, was unjustiliu
tile. The gentleman alluded to the Gilley
affair. Hir, how does that matter stand I
It is a case as yet to he cited until it is ad
judged ! Is it especially fit and proper that
u gentleman, who may be called immediate
ly tu fit upon it in judgement, shall pre
judge it, aim decide ‘he very issues of law
and fact involved o,;!'ore a beurinp 1
Hir, this gives rue an opportunity which
has, up tu this moment, been withheld —un-
justly withheld from me—to sny a word n
hout that affair. Hitherto I have been si
lently awaiting a trial before my peers,
whilst many ol them have been circulating
slander, with ull ihe bitterness of malice,
from one extreme of the country lo the
other. They have withheld from me a fair
trial—-any trial at all—and have, by the
press appealed to a very passionate and
prejudice, to condemn me without a hearing
or the opportunity of defence. Hueli, in
part, is the attempt of the gentleman from
New-York now. If my raso is first on the
calendar, as he has said, he should not al
lude to it, exerpt to call it up for Iriul. I
sin ready to be tried. I have been waiting
anxiously for a trial. Put me at your bar,
and I will plead instantly. lam ready to
say on the spot, 1 did on that occasion just
what I will do again under similar circum
stances. Let Puritans shudder as they may
—I here proclaim thut 1 belong to the class
of the Cavaliers, not to the Roundheads !
The parlies met on a point of honor mid
verusiiy—they fought—fought fairly—one
fell—and his fate might have been that of
my friend—it was a wonder it was not. I
was present, a second—l am amenable to
the laws of Maryland upon indictment; mid
am ready to submit to sny trial by this
House, for a breach of its privileges. 1
have aguin and again demanded a trial. I
desire it, I seek it. I court the ecn'.mice of
the House. I repent, tltst many of you
have propagated the vilest slanders concer
ning my conduct in inut affair. I have been
vilified by every species of vituperation
which malice here, among yourselves, could
invent, I lihve been stigmatized ns a mur
derer; and yet l ehalenge you, oh! just
niul righteous judges! who have thus de
meaned yourselves in your high seats of
justice, to try me for what many of you have
condemned me already. The gentleman
has himself named the horrid word—mur
der ! Murder I Hir, there are two sorts of
murder. There is one description of that
offence which deserves the hangman's knot.
There is mother form of murder—murder
by the law—nfilch puMic sentiment—"*—
higher than the law, the great law-breaker
defines to be honorable. Which does
the gentleman menu ?
(Mr. Gray subsequently said he meant that
simply which was murder by the law, and did
not impute any thing dishonorable in the Gil
ley duel.]
By the latter, life is taken by mutual consent
—with notice—openly, fairly—by an equal
mode prescribed, it happens in this ease, by
the party .who fell—always prescribed, in a
duel proper by gentlemen. Now, sir, by the
latter mode was Gilley murdered— fairly, hon
orably. Who here can gainsay ii I None—
no, not one of Ins ow u friends, who were the
guardians of his life, will uuj he fell foully.—
He dlrd on the field of honor; ami here I say
in ihc face of Heaven, before the llmmeufilic
Almighty—iU His dread presenee who sils
thereon—that I can go, w ith the f.ds st or most
faithful friends he felt on earth, and touch the
bleeding wounds of Gilley with ns clear a con
science ns any of ’hem, the basestor the best!
Home of his pretended, friends have never yet
been arraigned ; they have never yet been
roiled to account, though the most deeply in
volved in the guilt of Ins death, if there was
guilt at all. I say it here rlHlily—to the pre
tended friends of (Nile v—the y should he held
responsible for his death. I did iny awful duty
to my friend, and thank a graeioi’s Providence
he lives, ami my eon science is al ease. For
my vindication it was enough when the chair
man of vour committee on that duel(Mr.Tou
eey) emphatically declared on this floor that
there was not a scintilla of proof that any
thing dishonorable was done upon the field of
that combat. When that was admitted, 1 was
satisfied. Andi now defy any member of that
committee here present io rise and say there
was a dishonorable act by principal or
second. Sinful, unlawful and 1 am
read vto submit lo the laws, their trial and their <
punishment; but let no man accuse me of mur
der iu thilfar in any odious sense. If he i
docs, he shall have the opportunity to commit
such a murder himself.
Duelling is abhorrent toevery feeling ofhu
manity. I detest the practice. But, sir, your
„ Wvvs will never prevent, or punish. or re term
custom. Sir. I tell this House— av. ami
ct and crow U J galleries, w here ii.u; >
I” K-e. I.■ : i .ietn.> the most r. li n
HHaßr v ‘ ■.. ■> •- id m-eds. ~’l ! III.:
the IV!
of passion on this floor, as did the ancient Ho i
maos, 111 crowded amphitheatres, gaze on the l
combats of the gladiators—that as long as I
public sentiment is what it is, pass what penal ‘
laws yovi will, they will be dead upon the sta
tute book. I shall never fceod them ! I do con- j
dciun the horrible practice us murh as uny
man ; but tin n are, in the present slate of so- !
ciety, but two alternatives. You must rely, ‘<
for rcdiess of certain personal wrongs, upon
arms or upon public opinion. I, in my unre- ,
generated state, ns long as I am a worldling,
choose the bright steel; it is more faithful,
more true, ssfer. and a lielter security than the
opinions of mankind. And if, for refusing to .
rely on the justice of public opinion, or on the j
glorious uncertainty of the law, I must consent j
to be branded with tbe mark of Cam, be dis i
honored with the name of murderer, disgruee ( |
with the character of duellist, I prefer it to that
disgrace wherewith I am sure to be disgraced
if I refuse to fight—disgraced even in the se
cret hearts of those who preach loudest against
due (s —disgraced iu tbe eyes of the fairest por
tion of our race even in the Puritan land ; and,
sir, I must be permitted to bequeath this legacy
to my children, to vvri'e upon my tomb, if I
die in single combat: ‘He would luke the al
ternative to which honor pointed I”
Enact, then, your ordinances which forbid
the fair fight; what will Ire gained ton-orals or
to public order? tine nee or another, one on
spring or another of evil passions will reign.
What evils, what legion usurps the place of
the duet ? Invariably calumny, vituperation,
black uardism, and evils innumerable, worse
than those, inflicting wounds more fatal than
flesh wounds, incurable by law or the good
will of your fellow man, riot without restraint!
Instead of the pistol or the cold steel, m fair
and open field—instead of that sudden pass
port to death which the flash of the duel gives
to a miserably injured man, where the soul—
“With one pang—one bound—escapes control;”
you would have that murder which inflicts a
living death ! by, and real death, too, by assas
sination —by street broils with the ghastly
Bowie knife —stabbing in your lobbies, cm this
, very floor. And if these arc suppressed by
, the penitentiary, still, what fellows in those
lands where duels or street fights are not
’ known 1 The press becomes corrupt. That
which should be the guardian, the palladium of
private reputation, as it should he of public
’ liberty, becomes the vehicle of detraction, de
• fumation, and abuse. It breathes upon charac
l ter, and it is blasted. Its breath is poison,
■ which taints the moral atmosphere around. It
. attacks all that is virtuous and good, and de
stroys put riot ism itself—all that is high uml
noble sinks before it as before the Simoon of
the Desert. Ah! but you say the press injures
1 no reputation; its slang passes lor what it is
’ i w.' ,r *h, and injures no man. Then you have
’ lost i.hu real power and efficacy of this moral
engine to punish the and base for
i their crimes. (Scoundrels and tin!!’ crimes go
; unpunished—thrive with license, for the p.'**
is nol believed —discredited oven when it does
not lie! Who can look to the courts? Bad
. men combine. It is hard to pick twelve men
with character enough to value character.—
Your antagonist, if base, can beat you in brib
ing witnesses; go there, and he may prove the
falsehood lie utters, and that public opinion
upon which you would have me rely is gene
rally charitable enough to take sides with the
slander. Besides, what damage* can com pern
sale for sorno injuries I And, at last, how can
you distinguish m morals between public and
private war All these things are to bethought
of- -not to justify- —to account for duelling.
When my nature is changed by tbe grace of
God—when 1 learn to turn ouu cheek when
the other is stricken—when 1 become fit for
Heaven—l will no longer be tried by the World,
and I will eschew the duel. It is abominable
iu the sight of Christianity—but 1 cannot then
trust to public opinion. 1 will nut, then, even
rely on men. I will be resigned to suffer and
bear nil things. I will then trust atone in God.
■ With my nuture unchanged, I cannot henrdis
grace. Ilow far my conscience is affected as
an offender ngntnst my Maker is known to Him.
Inm no infidel; lam no hypocrite.
This very llousoencourages chivalry, or, at
all events, personal feuds—the gallery cheers
thu rencontre—your very magistrates of tin
law gland aloof to witness the scene, or keep
out of ‘ho way Hint the combat may proceed ;
and yet some of you circulate documents to
brand me with murder, for being concerned in
a duel! You even arraign me for a breach of
privilege for which you never meant to try
me. You will not enforce your laws either to
prevent or punish. You should, then, be silent
with shutnc yourselves, and have no right to
condemn until you have tried, heard, amt ad
judged. You shall not taunt me. What are
’ you doing now. You have just passed a peni
tentiary act. You are then bound to take the
defence of character into your own hands, ns
you have taken arms from the hands of the
• cavalier. Will you doit/ No. You areal
this moment indulging members iit scenes of
abuse and violence, from which more than one
duel would, in my country, necessarily ensue.
You now know what is likely to follow before
hand! You forbid, under severe penalties, the
challenge an’ ir.““'ing in this Ten Miles
Square. You wit], I know it, fail to !!*kc pre
ventive measures. You might, by your cen
sure, deprive either party, for instance, iu the
wrong, from claiming the priviledge of the
code of honor elsewhere. lint you will not
doit, and what will he the result 1 Hostilities
will be suspended here, and the scene of blood
will occur, perhaps, on tile deck of some steam
boni on the Ohio river, or at some wood-yard
where passengers may land ! Y'ou will do
nothing lo prevent this—nothing. Y'ourpro
ceedings will lead to it, in fact. You will give
the on v i here the go-by ; and when it is too
lab en two or three members have been
manned or killed, shot or hewed to pieces by
the BowiWknifc— oh, then,not until then, will
you only preach and pray again over duelling!
it is hypocrisy!—gross, rank hypocrisy! 1
scorn, 1 spit upon it! I call upon you, 1 call
upon society, either to defend me or give me
back my arms.
In the faeoofanhpproaehing election, I say
to my good constituents—l have many very
good, truly good and pious people in tny dis
trict—people who pray for me daily— l would
obey their vv isbes sooner than your laws against
duelling—l say to them how, -If yon are de
termined I shall not defend myself when as
sailed. like a true knight, do not send me to
Congress, for l shall jus’ as surely fight, if oc
casion is given,as you send me: and so 1 shall
ever continue until the holy religion of the
Cross takes pi xsesston of my soul—which may
God gram right early!”
I have been done great injustice. My friend
from Kentucky (Sir. Graves) asked you only
to print the testimony in the Gilley affair as
you printed the reports of the committee, and
you have up to this inoiucui, refused his re
quest. On that testimony I take my stand be
fore the world—l will transmit it to my chil- :
dreu as a memorial of the fact that no dishonor
can be mtarhed lo me. If lam guilty of mur- ]
der, arraign me—tr_v me. 1 rnrried a challenge 1
from one gentleman to another —not from one ‘
member of this House to another. The House i ‘
had nothing to do with it, I thought then, and j i
think so still. Ihi my oath I purged myself of j i
all contempt to its privileges or authority. Ij t
was reported, however, guilty of a breach of <
privilege. Why do not you, then proceed to i
give me a fair open trial, like men, gentlemen, -
and judges, instead of taUnting me, ns the gen- >
tkman from New Y’oik has done, with oblique t
THU WOINTOSH COUNTY HERAI.J),
allusions? Is it not cgn-giously unjust tha
nny judge should pursue this course ? I de
mand of hitu a trial. Come when it may. Ii
will show who are the guilty. The most guilty
were the very busiest in arraigning me—the
most hypocritical in the hue and cry after the
most innocent in that transaction— und the
most bitter and unjust in theircontiniicd perse
-1 eutioos. Put me on trial, and I will then drag
front their seats here, and in the other House,
j the real culprits. Tbe very wretches who in
i stigaled that duel—who wept crocodile tears 1
j over the bier of poor Gilley—und who got up
I excitement the most loathsome, for no end
whatever of religion or morality, but for the
vilest of political purposes; wretches who
I would have dragged the corpse of tbe victim
lof their machinations from Washington to
Maine, with his heels to n chariot, and his head !
upon the flinty rock, if it would have served
thu sinister and infamous designs of u party.
‘ And they • • • * may gild his grave.”
The gentleman from New York seemed to
insinuate that the cpithcl“liar and ocoundrel” j
belonged not to his section of country. They
are not known to the vocabulary of gentlemen,
! I assure him in mine. In the region I repre
sent such words are never applied, unless he
who uses them is prepared to stake his blood
upon their import. Who uses them in tliecase
be fore the House I l b< g pardon, I mn tres
passing upon the intention I set out with. In
reaped to the gentlemanly language ill speech !
or print, I am icudy to compare th< Cavalier
with the Roundhead. No gentleman sues for
slander in my section of country ; a blow fol- j
lows tbe lie, and I have seen ministers of the
law “clear the ring” for “a fair fight” when
such offensive terms were used even by black
guards. A black eye to an individual was not
half as bad as false swearing to society j n eases
of assault and battery were not gentlemen.—
Puttee is not mere abstinence from blows, and
socinl order depends more upon well-regulated
tongues than upon disciplined arms. Anil the
Scriptures themselves tells us you cutinol bridle
the tonglto;ships of theses* have helm* —hor-
ses have bits, but thu tongue is an unruly mem
ber ! The law cannot restrain it—a pistols
sometimes will.
N ' r , !*'. me not be misunderstood. I repeat
that I abhor duelling. My experience is pain
ful on this mode of settling private feuds. 1
■ have challenged and been challenged; three
limes have I been upon the “bloody ground”—
seen five shots exchanged—four balls take
effect —three limb* wounded, two permanently
disabled, undone life taken ; and, as 1 hope to
be pardoned by Heaven, I had rather tie prin
cipal at any lime than tile second. If a man
of sensibility, he is never upon the field of
■ honor except by the side of a dear friend, and
never then willingly and mull after he has ex
hausted all means lo prevent the issue of blood.
There are two gt-iulenten on tuia floor at this
moment —the only men for whom I ever was
second, (Hon. W. Cost Johnson of Maryland,
and Hon. W. J. Graves of Ive.t'ucky)—who
know what has been my conduct aim maod?r
■ cf discharging my duty to a friend on such an
I occasion. It is enough for them lo know—l
care not tv hut the ‘.‘■’orld thinks. 1 can defend
my own character whilst ijVibg ; they ran de
fend my memory when I atu no more, from
any aspersion which would be likely to make
my children suspect their father had ever been
guilty eilherof dishonor or inhumanity. Isay
1 have seen enough, os many witnesses know,
to make me desirous to prevent or lo mitigate
the barbarous practice. Ido not despise the
truly religious and moral sense of the commu
nity. I have been taught lo revere both reli
gion and sound morality. Hut what is a mate
of the world to do ? It is useless to tell him to
seek religion. The terrors of the Divine law
cannot restrain many good men to fly even
eternal wrath. How can humaflatatutes, then,
bind the sense of honor ! What is the until of
honor to do? If he fights and survives, he
walks with the slow-muting linger pointing at
him ; if he is killed, we are told ne “dies as the
fool dictli,” and he goes down “unwept, uu
honored;” if he refuses lo light, he dies the liv
ing death, and lives disgraced ! Public senti
ment is cruel —the statute is unjust.
Hut sir if 1 ever fall on the field of honor
whilst a member of this House, I now beseech
my friends, whose “tears, though few,” will
be “sincerely shed,” not to permit a political
parade to be made over my body : to quietly
inter my remains, as 1 should have buried my
friend had be fallen,in becoming privacy, with
out the gilded Congressional colli It —the silk
velvet—the armorial bearings—the crape—the
honorable funeral—the mock mourning—with
decency uml without political efleet, w here no
intruding hypocrite might ever tread upon the
grass of my grave/ This much would be due
to violated law, and would be consistent with
an unfeigned abhorrence of duelling.
Hut try, me 1 repeat. Send me home, if you
condemn. What then ? I will tell you. If
my constituents see nothing dishonrrable in
my conduct, they will not think of your pre
cious privileges—they will take eure that I
shall be dealt with ns ull others have been. In
six days after an election to fill the vacancy of
my seat here, I will appear at that door aguin,
‘make you a polite bow, Mr. Speaker, und pre
sent myself, ready to take the oath to support
the Constitution of the United //tales.
Ido not mean to boast. 1 mean only to
Complain of your course. You who dare not
try, should o'! taunt me. You shall not.
The gentlemen from New-York says that,
on one occasion, I refused to vote. Hits, also,
is quoted ns another example t° justiiy hi*
friend. I did refuse to vote. Why? Because
you called on me to legislate where Congress
itself had no constitutional power. It was a
matter of conscience. I hail sworn to support
the Constitution. A regaard to my oath for
bade me to vote. Was this no excuse ? Was
n regard of my oath disorder ? How will this
justify his friend, if he has been guilty as
charged !
He says the Speaker himself has been de
nounced as a supple tool of the Executive.
This too, is another example to justify bis
friend. Yes, the Speaker has been told to his
face worse than that. Y'ott and I know (Mr.
Speaker) what 1 said. Another gentleman
(Mr. Adams) in my own eye knows. When- j
ever I bad been arraigned, I would have given j
the reasons why I took the Speaker by the arm
as he was leaving the chair, and said to him.
“Y'ou are the petty tool of a tyrant! Did 1
mean merely to instill him * No, no. The
Speaker was not toy man. No l discharged a
high and solemn duty: I defended the free
dom of debate, the forms intended to preserve
it. When 1 found the Executive presiding
every where —when I found the President sit
ting there, (pointing to the chair.) as well as j
upon the throne in the White House—over-j
stepping the constitutional walls of partition
between the co-ordinate departments of Gov
ernment —encroaching by silent corruption,
upon the province of this House—l spoke out
as Brmus didin Home, or us Sydney would in
England. I w ill speak or die on all such occa
sons. It is a duty and lawful iu a Republic.
What shall the Representatives of the Peo
ple. when they witness corruption or usurpa
tion here, fail to speak out their indignation,
or speak only in honied phrases, lest their
words be unpalatable to Court taste, or greate
upon the ears of the palace ? Must we not
call defaulters thieves—those who connive at !
their dishonesty, corrupt—minions and pan
ders of power, tools—servile, crouching syco
phants. whobarter every thing for place, slaves
—because, forsooth, the terms are not gentle?
when patriotism demands always the plain
truth ? The gentleman from New-Y'ork and
’ I have been trained in diluent schools. Id” ,
not admit there is “sound.ilntn inagnaiiutn in
■ this land. \S ben I see the daring orinsidious ,
invasions of the freedom ant! independence “f ;
legislation attempted, I ill derMmtlP tluln-,;
vader and denounce the principle ofimasion. j
Why 7 Because I love the Government, and
prefer its preservation for my children, better
than I love uny man who breathes. I forget
! persons, am heedless of personalities iu the
struggle to maintain our institutions: and of-j
1 ten feci the necessity imposed on me “call ,
things by their right names.” lam responsi- i
bit- always, personally and legally, for the lan
, guage I employ. I bow the law and the judge
me lit of tny peers.
(Here Mr W ise said he was very sick, and
suddenly sat down, j
From the Ne York Herald.
Great numeral Hie City Hotel
The City Hotel ha* lately fallen into the
hands of Messrs. Gardner At Packard, and
into better it ptobabfy could not have fal
len. These gentlemen, desirous of doing
well in this life and making their fortune J
before they fall into the “scar and yellow 1
leaf,” have adopted the only course .to cf- .
| feet that object; that is, they have set to j
work ill earnest to cultivate the good will
of the gentlemen of the press, not the loaf- j
ers.
In accordance with this resolution, wc j
received on Monday morning the following
graphic and jtiquant billet;—
City Hotel, Monday.
| Sir :—The favor of your company is j
1 ‘ respectfully solicited to meet a few friends, !
at the City Hotel, including the gentlemen ;
’ of the pres*. Dinner on the tabic at half- .
past 5 o’clock. Yours,
Gaudner At Packard.
To refuse so polite an invitation would j
have been anything but the act of a gentle
man, and between 5 At 9 o’clock we found
ourselves sitting at the cross table, two re
moves from the Mayor—an immensely long
table running down in front of us, loaded
! with elegant cut glass and plate, and itn
i mediately before us the bill of fare.
The Mayor of course was in the chair;
supported by the President of the St.
George's Society and n gentleman of the
press ; all the talent, decency, and iittpu
’ denre of the city were there except Webb,
Noah, and Booby Brooks; that is, at the
dinner ; and could they hut know w hat rich
i “food for the body and mind” they lost by
absenting themselves from this dinner, they
j would curse their stupidity that induced
i them io stay sway.
It was a rich treat; the can! 1,8
duck and venison steaks would have mao.’
even Bill Price’s mouth water; tbe hock
was recherche: the rhampaigne superb,'*
the Burgundy delicious ; nothing could cx
| reed the splendor of the whole affair. The
i Mayor made a short speech, cempliinen*
I ting the gentlemen of the press, which was
: responded to ably and eloquently. Mirth
! and harmony prevailed until a lair hour ;
when the smoke of the cigars became very
’ thick, a little noise occurred and we thought
we discovered at the lower end of the room,
a form resembling Webb's and
sounds proceed front it something like the
following :
Mr Chairman and Gentlemen . — This
jis a great, a glorious meeting—l am a great
! and glorious man, aud we live in a great
: and glorious country. (Immense cheering.(
Gentlemen, (Cries of hear Ij—as this room
is agitated by the rattling of glasses and the
1 drawing of corks—Cheers, and three glas
ses knorked over by thumping)—You all
know my disposition, gentlemen —I am for
a tight—war to tin knifr, and a knife to the
hilt—and I think I have flow a Very good
chance to git into a fight. I have been in
many rows, and inv bravery has been ques
tioned by some, who are beneath my no
tice, and whom I will convince, if there is
a war, that lam not to be trilled with. I
repeat, I have been in several rows, but
never was in one good fight. I was throw it
down stairs at Tamney Hall, and almost
lost my breeches. I challenged divers in
dividuals, and twice walked the whole
length of Pennsylvania Avenue, hut could
; not git up a fight. I have been arrested
in Bristol, and I have been half seas over
more times than a few. I have said this
much, gentlemen, because 1 knew that some
thing like either a speech, a song, a fight,
or a challenge, was excepted from me ; and
I now yield the floor to abler and better
men.
,! A curious, cmiuiuft looking character,
l i with the nose of a jjnrrot and the eye of a
rogue then rose to speak ; we could not see
, him very distinctly because of the smoke,
but he bore a strong resemblance to Noah,
1 as did his speech to the opinions of that
‘! philosopher, lie began—
Mr. Speaker and gentlemen.—l am not
[ : altogether unaccustomed to public speak- ■
ing or blowing mv own trumpet, but the 1
, fart is that I have done so murh for the
, Whigs and have got so little for my pains
i that it is time to speak plain. I, as you all
know, organized the Whig party ; 1 have 1
more wisdom than any of you—for am I
not a defendant of Soloman himself. 1
have more receipts for curing old maids of
the cholic, making all sorts of curious old
pies and puddings, taking grease spots out ‘
of old clothes, making pewter look like sil
ver and brass like gold, and one of the great
test schemes for gathering together the
Whigs on Manhattan Island and jdacitig
myself at the head of them, than my friend
Webb ever dreamt of. I can’t fight like
him, nor eatt I run ; but I frequently walk
i twice the length of Broadway and I can
talk and tell lies faster than any friend to j
the party.
This speech was received w ith a strange
i voeiferious mixture of noises, not unlike
what we conceive of the confusion at Ba
be). The company however, did not seem ;
to consider these the happiest efforts at
speech-making, and dispensed with any
more. Then.
“The night drave on wi’ songs and clatter,
And aye the wine was growing better.”
The company broke up at a reasonable J
hour, highly pleased with the successful
efforts of the worthy host to cater for their
comfort.
Txlent Rewarded. —We see it stated that
professor Ingraham, who is now in Natchez,
has obtained the prize of e>3CM for a tale railed ;
j Uncos or the Rival Sachems, written tor one of ]
! the literary papers iu Philadelphia. ,
1
DK.STRI'CTIN KjC* >NTyj jtW. ! 1
About lour o’cfhck yo*t< rtbi iiiicriunm.
a fire broke rul in the yardofUMKuYannah
-Steam Saw Mill I'otii|my, oq ih o ihcr
j side of the river, oppueiit* the yard of the 1 i
Steamboat Company of Georgia. It pro* ’
reeded from an ohlDuiltfing from one to !
two hundred yards below the> mill, and
about 100 feet long bv DO wide, tbcjcoofof
. which ignited from a spark from the mill!
j pipe, the wind al the time blowing stroll” 1
from the North West. The dniilding was
! immediately In a Ware, and the (ire com
municated in ten minutes or less to the
j schooner Mcdora, of Providence, lying at!
i the wharf near. The fire was by the wind
i rapidly extended to a eargo of white jiim |
board* on the u hurl, ow ned by Captain !
Win. Crabtree, jr., to which gentleman and :
George liall, Ksq., Intlh of this city, the I
tuniflim* in which the fire originated also I
1 belonged.
In this building (on wnut- W ns :
; some insurance, not yet ascertained, tn trre
Howard Insurance Company of N. Y'ork,) j
! there was anew engine intended lor anew !
(Steam Saw Mill about to be erected, which !
w:i* owned hy the same gentlemen, and-*
which we are happy to learn is bn* paiiialU
injured. This engine was not iusured.
| The flames also extended to another old i
j building, of iutne dimensions as the former,!
ine property of the K*tate of (he hue Ho
i dert Isaac, which was also totally consumed,
I as also a portion of a pile of -00 chaldrons
[ of Liverpool coal on the whurl, (he proper
ty of Messrs. Crabtree At Hull. The wharf
heads have also been more or less injured.
The Hehoonet Mcdora was the property
Jof Col. 11. J. Arnold, of Bryan County,
J valued about tjd.OOO,und we reirretto learn,
i not iusured. Two men on board at the
I time endeavoured to loose her tron) lit r
• moorings, but before she could begot adrift,
: they were compelled by the liames todeaert
i her, in one of the boats. Hhe was after*
i wards scuttled and when our informant
left her had been burnt to the w ater’s edge.
The mill was fortunately preserved.
While the second building was in flames,
I and before engines conld be carried across
: the river, the alarm was again sounded and
! when we reached the scene, the old build
. ; ingon Reynolds square, on the lot know n
! as the old filature lot w as in flames, the roof
: having caught from a spark waited several
hundred yards across the riter, which
j igniting like tinder threatened a serious
i conflagration. The engines were however
!on the spot, and though the clement was
1 very obstinate, by the timely aid of water
well directed by the Firemen, and hy: the
exertions of many citizens, the lire was
. nr rested, after destroying the double tene-
I me-it, wooden building orrupied by Mis.
l Russe H. as a boarding house; and by Mis.
Austin, aud extending; to a small double
. tenement also of wood on St. Julian Street,
. occupied by Sue- Joiinsami Mr. P. Cartier,
, which was totally consumed with out build
i ings on the lot. The large building owned
by Mr. Thomas (dark, aud hy Mr. Autos
Sc udder, wus under insurance, ns we learn,
i umnOO, made by Mr. Clnrk. Mr. Srudder
, was not insured on this building or on the
I other tenement which belonged to him.
His loss, we regret to state, is therefore
! heavy, as two other dwellings (not insured)
i j on the lot, one double tenement on Lincoln
i! Street, were more or less destroyed by the
i , Axemen to arrest the conflagration. The
j dwellings of Mrs. Ilourke, Mr. Schley, aftd
i Mr. Titos. S. Wayne were with other conti
. | gUOU* buildings repeatedly on fire, but pre
. served by great exertion. We regret to
I learn that nmrh furniture was lost by Mrs.
r Russell and Mrs. Austin, and that two of
their hoarders Messrs. Roberts’ lost cottsi
) th ruble, as also a Mr. Gardiner.
, We congratulate our citizens that it prov
. cd not more serious in its effects, and would
. urge upon Council the (necessity of procu
j ring more hose, some of w hich proved very
[ j deficient, and of keeping in good repair
t the cisterns, from two of which iu tbe
, vicinity material benefit at this fire was
[ derived.
From the Troy Mail.
Kill Johnson and his Daughter.
Batavia, March 3d.
I fill a spare moment by communicating to
1 you some slight account of Patriotism, as it has
■ fallen under my notice. Upon our arrival at
. (Schenectady, we discovered that one of the
I cur* contained Bill Johnson aud his daughter.
■ Being agreeably occupied, however, we gave
ourselves little trouble about tbe hero, and but
for the next day’s journey, when we were
| I fellow passengers iu one singe-coach. 1 should
‘ ; have been unable to identify him again. But
j I found myself ehrek-by-jowl with him when
1 ! daylight appeared the next morning - h and, as
my sympathies are not slow to appear when
■ (here is good cause. I prepared to hear admir
ingly, and weep pathetically, at the proper
places. But “ what a fall was there, my eoun
i irymett ?”
If Bill Johnson is not a pirate, he “ swears
I like one,” at any rate, and wears that sunk- n.
j degraded and cunning look, which would
I condemn him any where, whether justly or
| otherwise.
“The Queen of the Thousand Isles” was but
j little more to my taste, as you may fancy when !
. I say that when daylight appeared, she com-j
’i ntenced quizzing freely about “Bill Johnson.”
: —spoke of her own exploits, and ended by
I jocosely calling her father “Uncle Bill.” She
i appeared sincerely attache# luhitir, however, i
and I both hope and believe is rather the
victim of her condition and circumstances.
Bill dropped expressions in regard to the
Prescott affair, which, if they arc to fie trusted,
indicate him to be a villain of the deepest dye,
and his deportment aud remarks on our ap
proach to Syracuse, (where preparations has
been made for a fuss) furnished all the addi
! tional evidence wfiTch I needed.
I will not truble you with any further parti
! culars of the hero, but content myself with
| remarking that, so far ns I have observed, but
! one common feeling and sentiment prevails
j throughout this section, both in regard to him
j and Mackenzie, (whom I also fell in with on
my route to this place, ‘‘agitating.”) and .that
is. of detestation and disgust.
That such a sentiment is alike honorable to
the good principles aud good sense of the peo
i ph’- you will fully comprehend when I say
! that he and his companions virtually admitted
| that the tnen at Prescott might have been
I brought off that they wished to ive, and were
kept there by false assurances that they should
be reinforced!
Woodruff. Van Shocltz an! Abbey, who were
undoubtedly of the stuff of which heroes are t
made were victims, not of British cruelty, i
but of their friends’ premeditated treachery! j
As I may remain some time in this vicinity, j
and knowhow to pass or? either of the i
line, at pleasure and with stfelv, I oiav
communicate something that will
interesting^ to jlbr wider At ha'#*| ha\e uow
leisure toelo i U baHNjßO'.c.
YotMi cite.
T ANARUS.„ .1 ..tL -tTn.l:at#W>v a gnwa*
pot. >n’ nlik . that B’ sha,
!|„ .ri ofl'fi.rtnrr Governor of Kentucky,
who itutnb- M n' an imu,, a D ? ker ’ T ‘,’
I reprieved, on* who afterward, n'urdered a
1 man in Texas, but died in prison before the day
of execution i ante, is since discovered to be
! alive Hi* existence accounted for b> flip
posing that he did not absolutely die in prison,
uud that ulugof wood, acouiiterieiitwdy’Was
buried insteua ofhim.
The N t t— ib “ “ w ‘ >of , , K C .
1 Tisputcd Territory, from which w< barn that
it emlimcc* 10.750 sqmfre miles-nearly one
j mth as !< as the enure slate of Georgia—or
•JtijJuqmue milthi mwre than tbe entire elate
j of MtsSactulseUa. ;.■* ?**
GrvrtNE Ghatiti te.—The humane and
iKWornble remdnCt ofCapt. Unwell, of Boston,
iin s.tMOC the crew of it ll Eoglish vessel from
j the noi i,-f shiuw reek, lut* met with its just *
’ reward at the bauds ol tUC lord mayor and
■ aldermen of London. At a meeting of their
I body, it was resolved that the most suitable
j tcstimbmtrt thrv coo'd br-toW on Capt. It,
’ u ouid bt to prew ttt him vUh anew and •well
I appointed ship. This is really substantial gra
titude. and dot * honor to the good feelings of
j our English Uuns**tUuUic brethren.
Fi oßin e.—The legislature of this terri
tory have before it a hill to prevent gaming
of every kind,by imposing a tine of not kss
. than two hundred dollars, and imprison
i incut thirty ilavr, for every offence. Such
laws arc oflituc force, uulcss enlightened
pi,blii o|fiiiiou i'-milt*led against bueli vices
and immoralities.
Pjut.Attf) ph. a, March 19.
TTc reCPti v ‘ Uh deep regret the death of Mr.
J. R. rK;iilaudq§ the Principal of the institu
.; won for the instruction of the Blind of this city,
i lie died ou (suttdftv at bailspnat two o’clock.
- I Mr. F. wasnyonng man devoted lo the good
work iu which Ih* was engaged; “and was be
loved by those who knew him best. Hi* whole
attention seemed to be* given to the unfortunnts
1 children under his care—we had therefore less
1 j opportunity of judging of his w ortb than those
I I persons who were much with him in the dis
• | charge, of philanthropic labors.
1 1
I'| A* accident occurred at tWff Walnut street
| | theatreon Friday evening,during the reptt s n
, tatidh ofthe magnificent spoctacle of the “Ca
taractofthe Gauges.” Dining the. performance,
the horse in ascending the cataract; missed his
fooling fell and block hi* tu ck—The noble
animat w c learn, cost five hundred dollars. A
lew nights previous another accident occurred
m thenerfofinme* of the stone piece,by which
• Mro. Hield mid Mr. Pickering were considera
bly injured. Mrs. 11. we underetand is still in
sensible from ihcY’tTectsofthe injuries received.
—Soituwl,
Tlte man who was put in Toronto jnil for
’ whistling Yankee Doodle, a short time sittfo.
’ is learning God save the Queen, in hope* of
■ whistling himself out again.
1 ; -=
Books and Stationary.
1 ! Isaac Show,
fij WAS just itcei vul iVoui New York.
X 9 atorum id us Book* ami btutumary, itinong
which arc ill*’following sc Lo >1 kook#, mostly of ihe
> latest und most unproved kaid ;
M Irvittjr'* coluiuouj*; Kmeraon's spelling; do orith*
1 I in*tie,‘2d and ml j>url; Smith's grammar;
:* I null pUilo.i.[>hy; Adau's lauu grammar; Mount
r YYinoit 1 -dr; Roiibin soulUncc; Comstock's chem
j Utry ; Hi. k; s astronomy ; Cooper's virpil; Leverrti’s
(Vua r; Purl y s geography; do nr it hint tic; Web
sur’.s opcUiui:; Olmy’s geography and atlas; Cum
- j flu; WiUeU’sdo; Adam's do ; Sroilluy’s do ;
j j Wi Hard’s do. Bonny castle** algebra; Conversations
i on tfkemiatiry; Botany facbeginners; Lock’s j anthion;
*] Life of Washington (French); L)aboil’* arithmetic ;
• ; Colburn’s umMmual do ; Murray’s reader; Smith’s
- 1 it.u.leutuul grammar ■; Rudd;mow s lsiin grammar;
Angtl's grammar; Angels srries. No. H and -5;
Lt ssous on eriunciiilaofk by Russel; ColU*ftion of col
. j loniol phrases in Italian and Knglish: Parker’sexer-
cisfs iu eoo)|>osiuon; Unestkmion the biblc hy Mr.
-j Do well; Moral class book; Amenuan first class
f ! book, American reader; Gnui's geometry; Gallic
r| u vt on mythology ; School bibb sand testaments;
j Wr*vug and copy lxx>ks; Mutuullanrous books ;
1 I tAuarlo bibles ; Pocket do plain and gilt; Polyglot
> do; Psviluis ami hymns, (Presbyterian); Mercer’s
clu ut; Watt s *2 siaes; Village Hymns: Methodist
Lynms; Lion’s songster; Camp Meeting hymns;
BoadileU'a navigation; Irving’s columbus, V vol.
ec;.; American Chesterfield; Italian method of book
kc.'j) Hitchcock's do in *-2 parts with key; Merchants’
companion; Rural philosophy, a ii'tm; Gouper's
task do ; Pollok’s course af time; Preston's cubrial
j esiumufs : Toy banka, and a variety of Ju
s vcurie books; Blank Iraoks; Ledgers; Record;
t Day hooks; Pocket ledgers and inemorandunis of
, various kinds.
Cap Paper, No. 1 and *2: Letter paper, plain and
j rul'd; Butlers superior Writing Fluid; Longworth’s
Writing Ink; Ink Powder, Uuills ; Steel Peas; Wa
-1 fees in boxes, &c feb 12
i do no v ‘steam saw mill,
t WILL ktrfp on hand a large supply of
t LI MB EH of all descriptions. Cargoes
< wifi be sawed to order. Five wharves are at
i inched to the Mill, and the Lumber will be de
livered within reaeh of the vessel loading.
Apply to
’ I>. R. YONGE & SONS,
Agents.
Darien, January 22, 1839.
NOtiCE.
A LL persons in arrears for PEW RENT, in
~®- th< Presbyterian Church.are respeetfntiv
witched to call and settle the same without
; delay as the funds are particularly wanted;
; discharge the obligations of the Church.
By order of the Board of Trustees,
11. A. CIIANE, Secretary and
Treasurer.
Darien. Jany. 22. 1839.
SOAP, t A\D I KS, <Nr.
BOXES Dawa, Sauger ut Cos.” No. 1
Extra SOAP
10 boxes MOULD CANDLES
10 half bbls. Fulton Market BEEF
5 kegs superior ‘Gosham Dairy’Butte.
5 kegs New LARD
19,0)9 superior Old Havana CIGARS
For sale low bv
ROGERS & CRANE.
Darien. Jany. 22.1839.
Notlee.
-cxjps—THE undersigned intends keep
fjy 1 1 g a complete and general as-
it of
=*®SS®Sh DRY GOODS, GROCERIES,
HARDWARE, CROCKERY, BOOTS,
SHOES, &e.
athts store ia Darien, Persons wishing to
make pnrehat es will do well to call and ex
amine for tiiemseiv"*.
SAMUEL M. STREET.
Darien Jan I, 1889. j. 22 if.
Notice, ” *
THE copartnership heretofore existing
under the firm of \V. & &. STREET is
this day mutually dissolved. Ail persons bare
ing claims will please hand them in and all
indebted to make ptvrtterf to either of the for
mer partrerr ‘ W. C. STREET
T ANARUS, S. M. STREET
ttarma. Jan. 1, JS39. j. 22
j j