Newspaper Page Text
again assume the godlike form he had lost, j 5
I*. *h were done. Is there not a beautiful mor-;
al to this fable, namely—that the sins of lux- ’.
ury, profligacy, avarice at.d extortion, may j
degrade and change the character of tttin, and j
put him on a level with the brute? but by re- '
) eiitance, and by useful and tasteful pursuits,
ho may recover his lost innocence, and as
sume the dignity of his nature. The garden
and the field afford room for reflection. Some 1
oft|ic most judicious philosophers of antiqui
ty endeavored to make men of all classes at- !
tend to agriculture, in some form or other. 1
'l’he fable of the giants warring against the 1
gods, may bo understood in this light. The ,
great men of renown, distinguished for their 1
knowledge of astronomy, b- came bewildered 1
in the expanse of the heavens, and struggling
in vain to solve some of the celestial phenom
ena, or lost in the labyiinths of metaphysics,
grew faint, and fell from their exalted heights;
but contenting themselves, for awhile, to con
sider sublunary objects, gained strength as
they reasoned upon the laws of seasons and
soils, and on the things about them. This
was renewing their vigour as they touched
their mother earth, and by this course they
gained new energies to soar again to war with
the gods.
From Blackwood’s Magazine.
Paganini.
In our remaikson the musical genius of Ita
ly, we had said, that south-of the Alps lay* tho
fount from which flowed tho whole refresh
ment of the musical mind of Europe. One
of these periodical gushes has burst out in our
own day, and with a power which has never
been rivalled by Italy herself. Paganini has
commenced a new era of the king of all in
struments, uniting the most boundless mastery
of the violin, with the most vigorous concep
tion. Audacious in his experiment on the ca
pacity of his instrument, yet refined to the ex
treme of subtlety : scientific, yet wild to the
verge of extravagance,.he brings to music the ,
enthusiasm of heast and habit, which would
have made him eminent in perhaps any other (
pursuit of the human faculties. Os a perfor- (
mer who has been so lately before the public,
and whose merits have been so amply discus
sed, it would ba superfluous to speak in detail. (
But, by universal consort Paganini has exhibi- (
ted in his performance all th« qualities combi- (
ned, which separately once gave fame. By a ,
singular adaption, his exterior perfectly coin- (
cides with his exterior; his tall gaunt figure,
his long fleshless fingers, hie wild, eager and ,
wan visage, his thin grey locks falling over his
singular smile, sometimes bitter and convul- '
sive, always strange —makeup an aspect which '
approaches nearly to the spectral. When he
comes on the stage half crouching, slowly ,
creeping onward, as if he found his withered .
limbs too weak to bear him, Tad with his wild
eye glancing by fits around the house, he looks .
not unlike some criminal escaped from the dun
geon where he has been worn down by long '
confinement, or a lunatic who had just been
released from his chr ms. Os all earthly forms, '
he is the least earthly. But it is when the
first uproar is stilled, when the orchestra has
played its part, and tho solo is to begin, that
Paganini exhibits his singularity and his pow
er in full view. He has hitherto held ths vi
olin hanging by his side ; he now raises it up
slowily, fixes his eye upon it as a parent might
upon a favorite child, gives one of his ghastly
smiles, lets it down again ; and glances round (
the au-lience, who sit in profound silence look- ,
ing at this pantomino as if it were an essen
tial part of the performance. He then seizes
it firmly, thrusts it close to his neck, gives a
glance of triumph on all sides, waves his bow
high above the strings, dashes it on them with
a wild crash, and with that single impulse lets j
out the whole torrent of iMimoiiy.
Peculiar as this picture may seem, it is onlv i
so to those who have not heard the great mas
ter; to those who have it will appear tame,
lie is extravagant beyond all bounds; yet his
extravagance is not affectation, it is scarcely
moiethan the natural result of a powerful pas
sion acting upon a nervous temperament, and
naturalized by habiis of a lonely labor, by an
ail ingrossing imagination and by a musical
sensibility which seems to vibrate through eve
ry fibre of his frame. The whole man is an
instrument.
It must, however, be acknowledged that this
eccentricity in his latter performances, some,
times injured his excellence. His mastery of
tho violin was so complete, that he often dar
ed too much ; and by attempting in his frolic
moods—-and his frolics are phrenzies—to im
itate things altogether below the dignity of mu
sic, ho offended his audience. Ono of his fa
vorite freaks was the imitation of old women’s
voices. He imitated. birds, cats, and wolves.
We have heard him give variations to the pret
ty air of the “ Carnival de Venise,” the varia
tions consisting cl imitations of all the crack
ed trumpets, the drums, the fifes, tho squeak
ing of children, and the squabbles of Punch.
These were follies/ But when his better ge
nius resumed its influence, he was unequalled ;
and probably will remain unequalled for ano
ther generation. He enjoyed one result which
genius has too seldom enjoyed—extraordinary
emolument.
He is said to have made, during a single
year of his residence in England, upwards of
twenty thousand pounds. His half share of
the receipts of a single concert at the King’s
Theatre, was said to amount to seven hundred
guineas. Thus, in his hands, he established
tho superiority of the violin as a means of pro
duction over all otuers, and even over the hu
man voice. Cntalini, in her days of renown,
never made so much by single performances.
Paganini has now gone to Italy, where he has
purchased estates ; where, if ho is wise he
will continue to live on his fame. If he is
weak or avaricious, he will return to England,
when his powers have decayed ; he will meet
the reception of so many great performers,
who have forgotten that time makes great in
roads on every thing; he will receive pity,
where he once conquered applause ; and like
Mura, Glardini, Rhode, and a host of others,
he will fly from the country, disheartened and
disappointed, to hide his head in some obscure
corner of the continent, where he will leave
his money to his house-keeper, his body to the
monks, and die.
The novelties which Paganini has introdu
ced into his performances, have been highly
panegyrized. Those are, his playing occa
sionally on a violin with but the fourth string
—his pizzicato with the fingers of the left hand,
giving the instrument something of the effect
of tho guitar—his use of the harmonic tones,
and his staccato. That these are all novelties,
that they add to the general compass of the
violin, and that they exhibit surprising skill in
the performer, we entirely allow. B n except
ing the staccato, winch is finished and elegant,
we have not been able to feel their peculiar
value. That they may be the opening of fu
ture and wide triumphs to this beautiful and
mysterious instrument, we believe perfectly
possible. But in their present state, they up.
uppear rather tricks than triumphs; rather as
specimens of individual dexterity than of in
strumental excellence. The artists true fame
must depend on his appeal to the soul. Paga
nini was bum in Scura, about 1784. He looks
u hundred.
Preventative of Corpulency.—Open your
eyes and shut your mouth.
A GltU’HlC DESCRIPTION—THE EX- '
IT! NG ING SC EN E—WEBS YE R —1
RISES—THE DEED—MASSACHU- •
SETTS AND VIRGINIA.
I’he following spirited description of a most ,
memorable scene is from the speech of Henry i.
A. Wise, of Virginia, recently delivered at a
dinner given to him at Norfolk. It has been i
too much (he fashion in some ofthe extremely I .
neutral Whig papers, to speak lightly of Mr. I ,
Wise; on the ground tint he has not squared ■ .
his speech and conduct by the most rigid rules I ;
of parliamentary decorum. In talent as ai |
speaker we consider Mr. Wise at least the L
equal of John Randolph, and in honesty of in- |
vention and intrepidity of character he has no ,
superior in Congress. The zeal with which ]
he has devoted himself to expose the abuses ,
and corruptions of ths administration—the in- ,
dustry, tho perseverance, the energy, the fear- ]
lessness, which which he has pursued what .
he considered his duty to the country, entitle ,
him to the respect and esteem of all true friends ,
of civil liberty. Desperate diseases are not
to be cured by light remedies, and if Mr. Wise ,
has freely used the knife and the caustic, it is
because the miserable condition of the body
poliiic would yield to no more lenient appli
cations,
Let any man read the following description
of tho Expunging scene—the presentation of
the Protist—the tribute to Mr. Webster—“lie
passage between Leigh and Benton—the al
lusions to Rives—the consumation of tho. dis,
graceful deed, with its incidents and conse
quence—and the final appeal to Massachu
setts and Virginia—and th.-n deny if he can
that Mr. Wise possesses ia a distinguished de
gree many of the most, essential attributes of
brilliant and impressive oratory. And if he
feels his indignation kindled—and his blood
coursing more rapidly through his veins—at
merely reading these impassioned descriptions,
let him imagine what would be their effect
when set off with al! the attractions <>f a sm
cere and commanding eloquence, and height
ened with all the excitements of an interested
popular assembly.— Boston Atlas.
The scene ofthe 16th ofJanuary, 1837, tn
the Senate ofthe U. States, never has been and
never will be described as it was. That day
the Senate fell trampled under the feet of a
tyrant’s slaves. About 4or 5 o’clock, P. M.
the House of Representatives adjourned. The
members generally, all of the mess to which I
belonged, hastened to their dinners as usual.
Judge White (of Tennessee) was of tny mess
and we waited dinner tor him— we waited un
til it was concluded the Senate wpuld sit until
night ; and sit ever so late, it wag known by
all who knew him that he never left his seat
until the Senate adjourned.
When I had finished my meal I looked out
towards the Capi’o', and saw the Senate flag
still flying. What can detain them so? was
the question; and, they are upon the expu g
ing Resolution, was the reply. Is it possible
that they treat the farce so seriously as to burn 1,
a candle over ii? Yes, indeed, this night Ben
ton is determined to play the play out. Then
I determined to seethe play. No play did I f
find it, no farce in fact; it was a solemn, affect- ,
ing tragedy; it was the obsequies of a record, ,
of troth, of the Constitution, of the Senate. I
went up to the Senate Chamber, the candles i
were lighted—the light of day was not the light ;
to shine upon the infernal orgies of erasing a |
truth from a record which men were sworn
•‘to keep." When I entered the room where
once a Senate sat, I heart) —if there be any
true hearted North Carolinian present 1 bee
his pardon—l heard a Strange voice from tin
Land of Sleep. It came upon my ear in fee
ble, broken tones, incoherently, as from a man
muttering he knew not what, in a dream, as it
he were ridden by the night m ire. After this
feeble voice, had ceased, the strong and manlv
voice of a mind always wide awake—the mi d
of a man who might be presented to the world
as a specimen of America’s sons—strong in
frame, wrought into labor’s mould—a labori
ous man, always practical—a son of Virginia,
a Senator of Ohio, a scion of the West, a man
truly of the people. who has done more honor
to them than they cando to him; he has vindi
cated his origin and their chaiacter. Thomas
L. D. Ewing spake as a man should, even
argument or pretence of argument to shame
for doing a shameful deed.
When he had concluded, Daniel Webster,
who, when you have said the worst of his pol
itics. is the same giant of intellect stil; Daniel
Webster rose and read for himself and his col
league, and the State of Massachusetts, a sol
emn protest, which for simplicity and beauty
of style, for concentration of strength, and clear
ness of argument, for tone and temper, for dig
nity of thought and expression, and for eleva
tion of moral feeling, is unsurpassed, I venture
to say, by any State paper of any time for any
occasion. Whilst reading this paper there
was not a whisper ; silence seemed to approve
every word and every sentiment; a deep and
even painful attention seemed to promise that
a conviction was wrought in the minds of ma
ny, and all seemed as if just arrested in the act
of perpetrating some horrid deed, unintention
ally, from which their minds seemed for a mo
ment to revolt. Hope rose up in me—that is
the word, that is the speech, that is the paper,
nothing more, nothing more, nothing less than
what I prayed for then. If any thing could
have touched the minds and hearts of such
men, the protest of Daniel Webster and John ,
Davis, of Massachusetts, would have w rousht I
upon them. Never, never shall I forget the
manner in which he uttered tiie word—“wo
have coZZecZeiZ-ourselves to witness this scone.”
He spake triumphantly of Massachusetts—she
stood erect; she had not bowed the knee or
the neck ; her soil was mired with tho best
blood ofthe revolution. I was losing mysjf,
I wildly looked to the seats of Virginia Sena
tors. Where was Leigh? Where was Tyler?
I could have shrieked for them ; the genius of
Virginia, did agonize. No Leigh, no Tyler
was there ; they were already dragged out
from those scats; snatched from tho defence ot
the journal, ofthe Senate, ofthe Constitution.
No such deed could be done with such men
there. No, never; foi well do I remember
the speech of Leigh; it can never be forgotten
by Benton, or Rives, or any who heard it. It
made Rives look like he did during the actual
scene of expunction ; like what Judge Wil
kins called Johnny Neal; said he, “Johnny
Neal you are a small man.” He made Ben
ton look like he felt in the Chapel when he was
expelled from college at the age of 20, weigh,
ing 160 pounds nett, for dies,
Sir, Mr. Leigh was giving many beautiful and
appropriate philological illustrations from the
Holy Scriptures, to show the meaning of lie
verb “to keep;” at last he paused, raised his
spectacles, settled himself back upon his short
leg, caught his left wrist in his right hand, and
fixed his eye directly and full on Tom Benton;
ho seemed to pierce if n through and through.
I had seen the painting of Adarrt and Eve, the
picture of tho Temptation. I bad criticised
that painting for the attempt to paint visibly the
influence of the Serpent upon the lair mother
of us all. I had thought that an influence
could not bn painted. But when 1 saw Leigh
; I look at Benton, I at onto yielded the criticism;
I could see something going straight out of
Leigh’s eye directly through him. If it had
r been a keen, cutting, two-edged-sword, pierc
ing to the dividing asunder of his joints and
marrow, ho could not have winced mom- fi,
shrunk up to oae halt’ his dim'i.sions. lie co
vered his lace with his hand, he f.-it and could
not conceal it; and if Leigh had aimed a pis
tol all ths time, and fired a b dl true into hi
side, he could not have hurt Lim w6r;re thm
when he terminated the awful pause by sav
ing—“And, Mr. President, m that cates hisn
which my mother taught me, I rned to kvcj
—to keep my hands from pick'ng <md stcaVnu.
and my longue from ceil speaking.”
I prayed for a Leigh again; I looked arcmi
and saw Rives!—l could not desist from speak
ing to him. I did tell him—-‘Sir. I vreuhi
to God that this cup .had to pass from you."
He seemed to me to feel humbled, and he re
plied in substance, and nearly in words—“lt
any one supposes that this scene is gotten tq
by me, it is a great mistake.” He said more,
the amount of which was, as I s pnossrl, that
he never expected to be brought up actually to
the damned deed. 1 could not pity him, lit
fell below contempt. Bei-ten knew he had
played the hypocrite, he km w he w.-.s coo
science stricken, he knew he had before the
respect of many men of worth in the opposi
tion, of which he (Benton) hud none, he knew
it would be the bitterness of sakes to his tests
to be forced to vote actually for oxpungi g, and
he was determined that Rives, bis rival, should
be as odious as himself—he drugged the cup
for him, held it to his lips, held him to it, and
made him drink it to the dregs. Tie made
more grimaces, showed moie nausea than a
sick man. Benton calculated righlly: he had
sunk in self esteem and in the respect of other.-
ever since.' He bullies him and Moffs him and
his friends, and Rives is alr- ady pinning se
cond fiddle to Benton.
The latter is ashamed of nothing—lie glo
ries in bis total want »f pri .cipbi and of shame
When Webster concluded, there was for a
moment a dead silence, which was soon, how
ever, broken by the harsh to :es of Beu'on,
who rose and asked if th.; question was divisi
ble. No, said the Chair, it is one entire r so
lution. Yes, the whole or none ha lto be
cwallowed—the faithful seemed to be feeli g
their gullets for the att.-rnpt. Tlie question
was called fur and taker by yeas and nays.
The vote has been published, and the names
a r e doomed to their fame and infsmy. It w..e
decided that the deed should be done. When?
was asked. Now, now. said Bouton. No
time for relenting was to be given. Then or
never. Benton asked if the blanks were filled,
and named the 17th for the day of the date.
No, no, was exclaimed—it is the 16th. “The
16th. then,’’ said he. The blank was filled,
and the Secretary sent for tho journal. He
was out but a moment. lie returned through
the door in front ofthe Vice President’s chair,
bearing the book, the journal, in his hand. It
seemed tome to speak. Ip< rsoaified it as a
human victim—A truth was to be blotted from
it: the deed was a forbidden deed. Benton
appeared the fiend god of the aceno of sacrilege.
He alone seemed.erect, chuckling and tiiumph
mg over truth. The Secretary of the Senate
looked like an executioner. He I? id tl e book
down upon the clerk’s tab!?, he boro it open
i and pressed it down as if th: b..e-k was resist
12g his ruthless violence. Pressed open wide,
he took the pen, dipped tho accursed instru
ment in gall of bell’s blackness, and wrote a
’ cross the face of Truth the words “Expunged,
&c.”—Silence had reigned un ii at this mo
ment he raised the ruler by which the black
lines were to ba drawn, silence then became
insufferable—groans and hisses came burning
hot from the indignation of galleries and lob
bies and every place. Hear s swelling with
unutterable agony spoke cut in the tones of
human suffering which could no longer ba e.i
lured. The fiend god sprang to his feet, and
■/rated harshly in tones of thunder—‘ Riiffi.tits!
Riifliians! —Ba. k Ruffians!'’—“clear the g 1-
levies!—Order! Order?” were the suwi Y
which reverberated through ths hall ; —“No,
io, don’t clear the gaih'i i r,”sa><i Bunton, “th ■
innocent thus are punished—seize the R.ifli
ms, seize the Bank Ruffi.tt-s and brmg them tu
the bar.”
It was sir, at this moment, (h it I too was in
danger of being seized; for it required all nq
self possession to refrain from telling the infa
mous wretch that he was the vilest ruffian in
ihe nation. The sergeant at arms rushed to
the gallery. The scene seemed to require a
victim, a citizen for a victim, and there was
one found. A genteel, well dressed and intel
igent looking gentleman, from the State ot
Ohio, was seized and dragged before (he Sen
ite. Some question arose about a quorum,
and he was taken from the bur to a place be
hind the seats of Senators. The question
about the quorum was settled—the victim —,
the citizen, was not ordered to be brought
again to tha bar; he was not asked if ho was
guilty of contempt; no w itness was examined
as to his guilt or innocence; but Benton again
arose, and, with all his infernal anil malign ef
frontery about him, commenced a homily about
decency and good behavior—he said nothing
about honesty and probity. Hethen imputed
the act to the man, without proof or examina
lion, imputed the intention of guill to him. fixed
the punishment, to wit: a most galling and of
fensive lecture from his polluted and impious
lips—inflicted the punishment without waiting
to know if a single Senator agreed with him
in opinion, and then moved for his ignominious
discharge, without giving him an opportunity
of being heard in his defutice.
To his credit, the Senator (Mr. Morri*) of
I Ohio vouched foi the gentleman’s respectabil
ity and claimed for him the right of being
heard. This was denied him, unless he would
purge himself on oath of a contempt as to
which there had not been offered a tittle of
evidence. The verdict and judgment of Ben-'
ton alouo were then carried i .to execution—
the citizen .was discharged, and when he asked,
himself, if he could not bo allowed the humble
privilege of being heard, the reply from the
President pro tern (King o f Alabama) was,
“Take him out of the house!”—The Words
sounded to me, like the words of the Tyrant
respecting a Roman citizen—“ Bind him Lie
tors!”—Thus was a victim immolated to the
work, an American citizen was seized and
scourged by the scorpion tongue of Tom Ben
ton, in public, for daring to express his indig
nation at a ruthless violation ofthe constitution,
committed in his presence, by slaves culling
themselves Senators and guardians of public
liberty, to gratify the pleasure of a tyrant —
No, I am too fast; it is not known and has
never been inquired into to this day, whei her
the mau was guilty even of that high crime m
this free country.
The body in whose presence he was, was
not the Senate, it was a miserable cabal of a
> Tyrant’s tools sitting upon no matter on w hicii
tiie Senate of the United States could act. As
| soon as the excitement created by the arrest ot
! Lloyd ceased, Benton inquired if the work was
| done—“tt is done,” replied the clcik —He
■ asked again, and the chair rep ied, it is done—
‘very good, very good,” said Bento.’, in impi
ous imitation of the Deity himself. Ho was
tho Fiend-god oftha work, and all obeyed him
of his party. The Senate adjourned,! went
to the clerk’s table and viewed tho journal, mu
tilated as it was, as I would have looked upon
the dead body of a fellow being murdered i”
my presence. Benton came up to see with,
his own eyes th it tho work was well done.
He showed about as much revulsion ot mind
as he would if he hud been the murderer of a
fellow being over whose dead body he was
I standing and wiping his weapon.
<rv. r? 4 -3-? I* f.
Ho asked for the pen, and born off’ the r.c
ursfd instrument as u trophy for King Andrew,
or tuhose sake the Journal had been expunged,
the consti'.ution had b.-en broken, and the Sen
,te humbl. d and disgtac.-d! Oh! mv follow
•itizyns, 1 saw and telt and suffered more on
mt cccaßton liimj I shall ever enduro again, I
tope, tor the sake cf a devoted country and its
stituiious.
A hit* was most wounding was to know that
. irytrtia v.astheie present and consenting to
n.e death. I saw M-.ssachusetts, o!d Massa
b.'jsttls, the elder sister of Virginia, there;
'dassachuset’s who, whatever may have been
tier local politics, whether democrat or federal;
o matter how she differed with Virginia a
bout a mere question between the plough and
the loom, about a tariffor a bill of internal im
provement; Massachusetts who has ever been
••ide by side with Virginia m defence of the
old common slock princ pies, the fundamental
principles of free government; Massachusetts
who stood up in the North, whilst Virgima
stood up i i the South, during the night of the
F -volution, their tresses: streaming in the
howling tempest ofthe waragainst civil liber
ty and the rights of mar, which swept across
he Ocea* ; encouraging each other to endure
io the end; ho'dirg the lights high up; Han
cocks responding to Henrys and Henrys to
Hancocks; the House of Burgesses to Fan
nil Hall and Faneuti Hull to the House of
Bmgesser. When I saw old Massachusetts
again, when we were thrown back on those
sa ne f.mdaraental, dear and sacred principles
on which Massachusetts and Virginia and all,
have ever heretofore been iriite'd, reaching
•out. her arms and appealing, calling again af
fectionately and touchingiy, Virginia I Virgin
ia! Virginia/—I wept. Old Virginia was not
dtert': there was no response—ls the elder
aste rof Massachusetts dead—no mon ?—Oh
God! is Virginia nomore?—l can’t hdieve it—
lam not willing to believe it. She shall rise
yet from her lethangy, she shall redeem her
self. She shall be hers ls again !!!
Not o. fly has the freedom of debate, bur the
freedom of.-peech throughout the laud, been,
held sacred by every true ’9B republican. Now.
sir, I assert it, that during the last winter, when
the investigations ofthe two committees were
ming on in Congress, a. real inquisition was
cstab’ished in the Executive Departments to
extort from some of the poor, cle'ks, who had
given information to Mr. Peyton and myself
of certain abuses. The gag-law of proscrip
tion was held over the head of every one who
showed a disposition to disclose voluntarily.
Sir, one of the most crying abuses daily before
my eyes was one which was enough to freeze
the blood of a freeman in his veins. Often
were I and my friend Mr. Peyton, visited by
certain true-hearted patriots, (for there are
some s' ch belonging to the .Departments.) by
stealth, in the dead hour ofthe night, when the
door was locked, and they had cast their timid
I glances at every curtain and closet in the room,
I would reveal by hii’ts. seldom directly, what
I they knew and what might be known, eottCcfn
j mg every species of '. Ice and mischief in the
i administration of public affairs. Their mouths
j arc stopped with bread. I have numerous let-
I ters from several of them, which clearly show
the worse than Turkish despotism which reigns
' at the metropolis of this boasted republic. As
I an instance, sir, a worthy man of one of the
I departments called and told me of a certain
crying abuse. I commenced upon its trial.
In a day or two I received an-aaonymous note;
I knew the hand-writing. “I am suspected.
Please have me summoned, and ask me a num
ber of questions, indifferentj no matter what,
i not touching the matter I itiformc I you of, as a
; blind ; they’ll .suppose I did not tell you of that,
! and that you did not know I knew of it. You
I surely will not let mo sttff.trfor giving you in-
I formating of th ■ truth. This plan may ssve
' me.” Sir, 1 could not adopt the plati, why 1 1
i i'hi? man was hom st. and i reminded him h I
would be sworn to t“fl the whole truth. Th j
only plan was to desist from tho important in- I
quiry, to save r.n honest and true man from '
the most tyrannical torture of persecution and
proscription.—Ob, if the walls ol those pen
itentiaries. called departmens, could speak!
they would tales unfold which arouse the
blood of freemen, and make tyrants and their
tools feel their hottest vengeance. How hard
i was tiie struggle for light and truth against the
trained bands of an overwhelms g majority of
miscreants, faithless representatives in the
House; against a party machine for. a Spea
ker; against the stocked pack of a committee;
against the President and the Heads of De
partments ; against proscription and a pension
led press! The odds were great against two
! feeble, denounced, abused; slandered, men,
of little experience in public life, who were
actually put upon trial for their efforts —honest,
though they may have been sometimes in error
in the cause of light, and liberty, and truth,
and who were sustained except by a few
stout hearts who stood by and gave them the
iigl'.t of their countenance, and the encourage,
ment of their cheers. Thank God ! the triumph
was the greater. Triumph we did. We did
drag to light many of their hidden deeds of
darkness; and, above all, m?de them show of
what they were capable, by the mode and
means of their resistance.
From the'Baltimore Gazette, May 8.
Tiie <Jwrrcncy.
We publish to-day a letter written by an
old and valued friend, who does not hesitate
to annex to it his name, to enable that large
portion of the Public by whom he is well
known as to character for ability and experi
ence on the subject of his letter, to place the
just estimate on the value ot his opinions. VV e
arc well satisfied of (be disinterestedness of
the motives which induce him, at this mrnnen’
of deep interest, to offer to the bank officers
throughout the United States suggestions, ol
the correctness of which he has Undoubtedly a
sincere conviction, and which he supports
with reasons founded on facts which are famil
iSr to all business men.
Twenty - -five years ago we had the pleasure
of being introduced, by ihe writer of the lettci,
o the acquaintance and kind hospitality ot ths
highly respectable and venerated gentleman to
whom it is addressed ; who was then, as he is
yet, the President ofthe Bank of Virginia, and,
therefore, as one of the oldest and most res
pectable presiding officers of a bank in the
Union, a fit person to address ou the preset '
occasion. . w _
It is within our rccoljyction that Mr. Smith
was an active atid 'useful advocate for charter
ing the Bank of the United States in 1816,
j and also for the resirmplion ofspecie payments
when that institution went into operation—
! which latter he greatly assisted, in inducing
•he dtriectors ot the State batiks in this city,
to assent to.
Oil the important suggestion o( Mr. Smith,
it is for those who have charge ot the banks
I ihroughoiit the United States to decide ; and
it is therefore proper that-we should give them
an opportunity of knowing the reasons which
influence an exprienced and disinterested
fellow citizen—anxious to promote the general
welfare—to recommend so decidely the adop
tion <4* that suugestioii. It is obvious that its
idopti'.a, to be\ irectual, sli.Aiid be general and
simultaneous.
To John Bkockenbrocgii Esq-,
President of the Bank of Virginia.
Dear Stu.—The existing crisis its the
: pecuniary affairs of the country has been for
some weeks past, to me a source ofthe deep
est anxiety. Having for nearly thirty years
i enjoyed the pleasure of your acquaintance and
1 correspondence, and knowing the great influ
ence which your co operation would have tn
tiie accomplishment of the only measure that,
in my opinion, will save the country from
bankruptcy; and more especially as we-were
active agents in affording relief to the country
m 1617, when in a similar condition, I have
taken the liberty to conirnu licatc to you my
ideas upon the subject through the medium ot
the prtss. Believing that nothing short of a
temporary suspension of specie payments and
the establishment of a national bank will give
relief, I propose briefly to submit the reasons
for my opinion.
That the country, as regards its monetary
affairs, is in a most alarming condition no
persoti will deny. Political partisans may
waste their time in angry debate about the
causes which have produced the present.dis
tressing situation of the country, but the pur
pose of every good citizen ought.to be to unite
upon measures for relief which shall be ef
fectual and immediate.
You know that the act of incorporation of
the late Bank of the United States was,sus
tained as a measure of the Democratic party ;
it was in Congress under the sanc
tion of’Mr. Dallas, and supported by -Mr. Cal
houn, the chairman ofthe Committee ot Ways*
and Means, by Mr. Clay and other distinguish
ed members of the party, and opposed by Mr.
King&ind several other gentlemen of the Fed
eral party. It was approved by Mr. Madison,
with whom, I conversed freely upon the sub
ject at the time the bill Avas under discussion,
tie was entirely covinced ofthe absolute ne
cessity of such an institution as a fiscal agent
ofthe Government, and for the purpose ol
coercing specie payments which had been
suspended during the war. You will remem
ber that in the covention of delegates front the
btu.ks, which met in Philadelphia, for the
resumption of specie payments, I, as one ofthe
representatives from the Bank of the United
States, advocated an early period for its
commencement, which was opposed by many
members, who believed it to be premature, and,
indeed, impracticable. The coventios. met
about the Ist or 2J of February, and passed a
resolution to resume specie payments on the
20th ofthe same month.
By a comparison then made of the best
estimates in our possession of specie in the
country, it was believed to be but twenty-five
millions of dollars—tt is now said to be eighty
millions. With twenty-five millions,only in
the country, part of which was huaided by .
individuals, the banks, after a
and excessive over-trading, specie
payments at a very short notice S fixed
day. The important measure accom
plished without the slightest difficulty, by the
aid ofthe Bank ofthe United States, and the
restoration of confidence and cridit. J lie ;
moment the publication appeared atmcttncitig
that the Bank of the United States would go
into operation, and that all the banks would
resume specie payments, the value of the
precious metals was greatly reduced, and
before the time appointed for the resumption,
bank paper wits equivalent to coin in New I
York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, although, ,
previous to the meeting of the convention, |
exchange, between Baltimore and Boston, was >
25 percent. Yet now, with eighty millions,;
we are apparently on the verge of bankruptcy,
after many years of uninterrupted credit and
prosperity. And why is this? Is it not be
cause we have lost the aid of the great balance
wheel by which the inacmutry «>r'v»ui
cial and fiscal affairs had been regulated for
forty v ears, and because the ’I reasury order
and other recent measures have interfered ;
with and greatly d: ranged our dcuuis ic ;
exchanges? It is said that we have overtraded. .
and that there is a large balance due abroad i
which must be paid in specie. I wid admit i
the first —it is attributable to the withdrawal of i
the control of the Bank ot the United S ates, I
which had previously regulated and kept in i
check our foreign and domestic exchanges, !
and the issues of the State banks. But we ;
have yet abundant resources and the best dis !
position to pay the balances against us, which ,
have resulted, in some measures, for over- !
trading, but more from the depreciation ot our i
principal staple exports in the European mar- )
ket, ifsuffiicient time can be allowed to render [
our means available. It has often occurred,
in the United. States, that merchants, and j
others known to be insolvent, as their means, at
a particular period, have, by an indulg nt ex
tension of time, become able to pay, and have (
■ paid, both principal and intwrest of their .
debts. . -
It is said, and I lelieve truly, that there is
more money due to the merchants ot New
York from the South and West, than would be
sufficient to meet all their engagements when
collected ; but it is impossible to make collec
tions or to obtain loans on the best ot securi
ties during the prevalence of panic in our mon
etary svstem. The People ot the South and
West, must continue to suffer severely--the
price of their produce being greatly depressed
1 below its value, and their batiks unaole to ut
! Umnt anv measures for relief.
I Ifthe ’President would call a meeting of
Congress, and that body could be pre ailed on
to act the part, of patriots, and grant ii charter
to the United States, Bank of Pennsylvania,
or charter a new bank without delay, the
suspensioirof specie payments might be avoid
ed • for such a measure ought not to be re
sorted to except to prevent a greater evil— the
entire prostration of commercial credit through
out the United States. The capital of the pre
sent bank is thirty five millions. Let the Con
gress grant a charter for fifty millions; taking’
on the part of the United States fifteen millions,
providing for it by an issue of 5 |>er cent, stock,
which would sell in Europe at par, even in
the presest state of the money market, and go
thus far to pay our balances. The seven mil
lions remaining unsubscribed could all be dis
posed of iu Europe, and applied to the liquida
tion of our debt. Let the charter be grunted
and accepted in the spirit of compromise, care
fully guarding all the poi> ts which experience
has shown to be objectionable; and especially
would I provide that it should be the duty ot
the bank and its branches to maks all collec
tions in their power for the citizens, when re
quired, and at no time to charge more than one
per cent, premi.im or discount.
In consideration of such a stipulation of such
a stipulation, I would propose that a very small
bonus (if any) shou’.d be demanded, as the
Government and the People will be amply re
muneiated by the valuable services of the bark.
In support of my opinion that the hank would
be able to accomplish this object so intimately
connected with the trade and prosperity of
our country, I tieedtfrily state, that, immediate,
ly alter the late biuk commenced its opera
ttons, collections and remittances were made
in most ofthe distant cities without any charge,
through the agency ofthe National Bank, and
also by many ofthe State batiks; and they con
tinued to do so until a short period before the
expiration of tho charter, at a very reduced
and reasonab'e rate of discount or premium.
; I It is presumed that, in this republic, there will
* never be a desire to create a bank to be placed
I under the exclusive control ofthe Government.
I An experience of thirty-five year.-., and much
j reflection on the subject, have satisfied me that
I it is impossible to regulate the domestic ex
:! changes of this country but through a batik,
of large capital, chartered by Congress, aided
by the pubhc deposites, with branches in the
several States, and under the dircnliou and con
trol of intelligent and experienced mercantile
men, a portion of whom should be appointed
by tiie President of the United States.
The suspension of specie payments, unless
Congress should interpose, is the only reined'
by which relief can be speedily given, and such
a measure, for a temporary period, and in re
ference to the establishment of a uniform and
sound currency, to be afforded by a national in
stitution, would, doubtless, receive the sanction
of every State Legislature. This temporary
suspension will not only enable every solvent
person to command his resources and comply
with his contracts, but will enable those who
have engaged in improvements and valuable
undertakings to complete them, and to continue
in employment die Jubar and enterprise of the
country, the want of whicli employment must,
unless there is a suspension, bring oVet whelm
ing ruin and uuheard-of suffering on a large
proportion of the laboring classes. Such a
suspension will not encourage mercantile spe
dilation or overtrading, the period fixed for
resumption being too short to justify any such
idea. 'l’he merchant cannot now command i
credit abroad, t:or the specie at home; the con
sequence must be, an increased demand»for our
staples iu the loreign markets. The banks
will regulate their intercourse with each other
by interest accounts, and by the transfer of in
dividual responsibilitii s. •
It is important that the rriea«nrc of suspen
sion shall b? resorted to with the least possible
delay in the principal cities, as it will protect
the banks from sufr’eritig immense losses, conse
quent upon the destruction of mercantile cred
it, which must inevitably result from a contin
uance of specie payments under existing cir
cumstances; for, although the small traders
have not yet felt the pressure so severely as
the more extensive dealers, yet, in the end,
the fate of all classes is essentially connected
with th-' annihilation ofthe credit system, by
which the commerce and all other important
interests of our country have been regulated
and sustained since the formation of our Gov
ernment. I have heard, with much regret,
that it has been suggested, as the better cour-se,
that the bar ks should abandon the more exten
sive merchants to their fate for the purpose of
self-protection iu continuing specie payments;
and that th; merchants should, by concert, con
sent to let their notes lie over us the lesser evil,
renewing their obligations to pay with inter
est, and taking similar renewals from their deb
tors. This plan, if pursued, would be totally
destructive ofthe best influence of mercantile
..credit, and operate most injuriously to the whole
banking system; for, when it should be known
that the principal merchants might, with im
punity, fail to meet their engagements with
punctuality, it is to be expected that the minor
dealers would feel themselves justified in imi
tating the example; a practice would thus be
established which it would be difficult, if not
impracticable, to change.
The banks, under such a regulation, would
cease to have any agency tn compelling punc
tuality in payments, and would degenerate into
mere loan offices to receive *.h<? interests on
their debts. I cannot believe that such a mea
sure can receive the sanction of any enlighten
ed community. It would be, in effect, to
punish individuals for their exertions to pro
mote and enlarge the trade and prosperity ot
the cities in which they have ranked as con
spicuous, honorable, ai d extensive merchants.
Were I a bank director, I would abandon, in
the hour of severe trial, when money alone
can sustain credit, the speculator ond moaop
engaged in a regular, fair business, alike ben
eficial to himself, alfd to all tile interests of hi?
fellow-citiz s. 1 would sustain to the last < x
tremity. D s such men, and y uWi
i.ibur.- in--. J structio i.ofvour cities.
K crisis has arrived when eiiher the banks
must suspend specie payments, or the great
budv of the mercantile community must fail;
there is no other alternative. We have seen
that the banks could suspend even partially and
resume again without injury to their subse
quent usefulness. We know that in England
their only bank was authorized by law to sus
pend, in a period of great financial embarrass
ments, and the nation was thereby saved.
It is a Well known’fact that the banks can
no longer safely assist the merchants by loans,
and that money cannot be borrowed from oth
er sources on tho best mercantile paper at any
rate of interest; and, worse than all the rest, it
is wt II known that the notes and draffs at sight
o:i the specie-payii g ba ks of New Orleans,
the great Southern commercial emporium, and
of other banks yet nearer, are at a discount iu
Baltimore of from five to ten per cent, when,
bv the increased speed of the mail, the inter
course with the most distant place is twice a
month. How, then, is it possible for the mer
chants, whatever inav be their ability ultimate
ly to meet all their engagements, to continue
their payments at present with punctuality, if
those paymen's must be made in specie, nt an
interest ®f one hundred and twenty per cent
per annum?
1 am aware of the prejudice rgainstthc ex
isting bank. I am not interested in it, and it
is not likely that 1 shall ever own a share. 1
had an active agency in procuring the charter
and putting tho bank into operation. It has,
in myopiiiion, been ably administered by Mr.
Biddle and the gentlemen who have been asso
ciated with him in the direction of its affairs.
It is already tn operation, and its ability to re
lieve the country and to ass'st the State banks
is unquestioned, it ’sanctioned by the patronage
of the Government, especially by an increased
capital. The relief by such a measure would
•be immediate and permanent, Ihe multipli-
I cation ot ne« banks by the states, while it has
{greatly increased the actual capital, but has
prevented that concert and co-operation indis
pensable to confidence and credit. The expe
rience of the best informed men has demon
strated the necessity of a National Institution
such as the late Bank of the United States, ex
ercising the same salutary influence and pro
tection over the State barks that the General
Government docs over the States of this Union.
If Congress shall decide to establish a new
institution as preferable to any connexion with
the late o::e, let us have it. and all classes will
unite in its support.
I f I was noto'U'-'Hjissured of yout disposition
■ to unite in [W** 100 Rr any object beneficial to
j the communtF '. deem it proper to a-
ipc logize for J* o ’’s comrnunica'tion pub-
I lie, but I -
I I am, dear si^^vith great respect and rc-
I gard. your obedient servant,
D. A. SMITH.
{ Chilly Valley, near Baltimore, May 2, 1837.
From the Chronicle & Sentinel.
! Vv e jmblish below the proclamation cf the
: President, calling Co: grass together onthe‘first
i Monday in September next. We think it won (I
j be well enough ffir the most of our Delegation to
I resign, for two reasons. Ist. Thev can do n<
j good "hen they get there. 2d. That < there
I may be elected who can be of some service.
{ ’ihe obji - t of n majority of them will be more
> to screen the r.dlniiHstrations past and present.
I (romcensure, than to relieve the distresses <>l
I the coimtrv.
I By the President cf the U. Slates of America.
A PROCLAMATION.
1 Whereas, great and weighty matters claim-
ing ihe consideration of the Congress of ihd
United States, form an extraordinary oc<asioii
lb." convening them. I do, by these presents, np*
point the first Monday of September next, for
their meeting at the city of Washington ; here*
by requiring the respective Senators <A Repfe*
sentatives then and there to .assemble in (-on*
gross, iu order to receive such commtiMentions
as may then be made to them, and to consult
and determine on such measures as in llvir
wisdom may be deemed meet for the wellarc
of thn United States.
In testimony wherof, I have caused the seal
[r..s.] ofthe United States to lie hereunto affix
ed, and signed the same with my hand.
Done at the city of Washington; tho fit s
teenth day of May, in the year of our
Lord one thousand eight hundred and
thirty-seven and ofthelndebendence
ofthe United States the sixlv-first.
M VAN BUREN
By the President:
John Forsyth, Secretary of State.
Soutnrrii
Athens, Ga. Saturday, Nlay 27, 1837.’
Owing to the unusual press ol other mat
ter, we are compelled to cut s’hort any re
marks we may have intended making. Tho
unusual interest, however, of the commercial
and other matter iu to-days paper, forms an
ample apology for the absence of any remarks
of ours.
The Steam Boat Sherrod, while on her
passage from New Orleans to Louisville, was
on the morning of the 8:h inst. destroyed by
fire—by which 120 lives were lost. The
Steamer Columbus having arrived in time to
save about 60 of those on board.
Meeting; of the Citizens of Athhens.
Monday, May 22, 1837.
Pursuant to previous call, a large and res
pectable meeting of the citizens of Athens
and the vicinity, was held this morning in the
Presbyterian Church, ftirthc purpose of taking
into consideration the propriety of the suspen
sion of specie payments, for the present, by
the Banks oft! is place. The mooting was
organized, by calling the Rev. Nathan Hoyt
to the Chair, and appointing W. W. Clayton
Secretary. Gen. E. Harden briefly stated the
objects of t!?u meeting, when, on motion of
J. W. Jones, the following gentlemen were ap
pointed a committee to prepare and report re
solutions for the consideration of the meeting :
Gen. B. Pope, Junius Hilycr, Esq. Drs. A.
Church, John Gerardine, and Charles M,
Reese, Gen. E. Harden, Stevens Thomas, jr.
Esq. and James W. Jones.
At the suggestion of Junius Hilycr, Esq.
the Cashiers of the Railroad and Branch of
the State Banks in this place, submitted to the
meeting a full, fair and explicit report of the
present standing of the two Banks; where--,
upon, the Committee retired, and after a short
period returned and reported the following Pre
amble and Resolutions—w hich, having been
read, were separately taken up and UNANI
MOUSLY passed by the meeting :
sitions.
It is conceived that a crisis has arrived - ,
from what causa it is net necessary to enquire,
"he i this question is presented—shall the
Banks of the State be pushed to extremity, and
be made to deliver up their specie into foreign
hands, and thereby prostrate the whole curren
cy of the country—or will the community step
forward, and, by the exercise of no greater
confidence than heretofore reposed in those in
stitutions, sustain them in the present exigency
of the times? A tew plain facts will enable
this meeting to settle the question beyond all
possible doubt.
”1 ho Banks have very recently made a re
port of their condition, as required by law, to
the Governor of the State, by which the state
ments about to ba made are supported upon
oath. It appears then that the amount of
Ba k Bills i . circulation, is eight millions and
ahalf, a: d tho ninon: t of S .i <_ir in ths vaults
<>i the B.v-'is. is three mdli.ons and a half —•
which, added to that in circulation,under bills
of the denomination of Five Dollars, would
make the Specie about half equal to the Paper
Money.
. It is very obvious then, that so long as this
Specie is kept within the country, it stands us
an indisputable security for nearly one half of
the Bills in circulation. Is it judicious—is it
wise topart with this pledge ?
Where better can it be kept, than in the
Banks ? Have they not the most pressing in
terest to guard it with unsleeping vigilance?
Where would tt i§ Specie go, if let oose from
its confinement ? Does there rest, a doubt up
on any mind ? Will it not go where needed
most! And where is that? Surely where the
great Southern debt is owing, and where the
greatest pressure is felt ; the place where all
importations centre, and whence our immense
Southern merchandize has been drawn.
Thither it is obliged to go, because all ex
changes are at an end, and the residue of the
Cotton crop (more than half) heretofore a sub
stitute for those exchanges, lies dead upon the
planter’s hands. There is no other method of
paying this debt but by transporting Specie to
that quartT. This is incvitutle, and is great
ly accelerated by a two-fold operation produc
ed from the suspension ol Specie payments, by
all the Banks in the North. First, Southern
gold and silver will be made to pay the northi"
ern debt, due by the South, and then, ns Spe
cie is rapidly tending to Europe, i* will be car
ried thence to pay the debt there, due by the
North, while their own gold and silver is lock
ed up in their Vaults. In other words long
northern arms will be reached over to us atitl
with southern fingers, the treasures of the Soutls
will be raked i to their coffers for immediate
uss. Besides, imagine four and a quarter
millions of our circulation employed to draw
the same amount ofSpecie from the Banks, it
would then leave but four nnd a quarter mil
lions of Bills for the use ofthe country, greatly
impaired, in public estimation, in their credit,
by reason of having its metallic fowrrdation
wrenched from under it, for, disguise itaswa
may, although the four and a quarter millions,
left in circulation, have precisely the same re
sources bv \vhich to be redeemed that they h id
i when four and a quarter millions ot Specie
; answered to eight and n ha'f millions ot Bills,
• yet the people are' 1< nth to thii k so, and con
i sequontly the public mi..d is subjected to great
{ nnd unquiet misgivings. High ly considered
:b.a capacity' of the Banks remains the same to
redeem this outstanding r< sidue, that they pos
sessed before thev paired with theii'Specie, and
I it is dearly perceivable that the same reasons
which induced the original credit to their bills
ere not in the least diminished, for to every
mind, not entirely without perception, it must
’.ppcar that if the Banks have only four and a
quarter millions of Specie to pay eight and it
halt ol paper in circulation, that there must bo
half of that circulation resting upon other than
Specie meal s for their redemption, and con-