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' PROSPECTUS
k
h A .Yfllf LITERARY JOURNAL, I
ENTITLED
Rhe BACHELOR'S BUTTON.'
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No effort wasjnade Lojibtain subscribers, no
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That Alabama would give a handsome sup
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and agricultural enterprise, than to any want
of liberality, or to the absence of a spirit for lit
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fortune has been hunted down, has not taken
away the taste ofher Schol .rs:—and the increase
wealth has produced the best of all results:
NRhke opening of the heart, and the gushing forth
best of feelings: generosity, and a desire
I ’'■promote every laudable enterprise.
Bachelor’s Button is the only period-
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TERMS— “The Bachelor’s Button” will be
published Monthly in the • City of Mobile, in a
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WM. R. SMITH, Editor and Proprietor
GEORGIA, CL ARK COUN TY .
Rule 7¥i*i.
Inferior Court sitting for Ordinary purposes,
adjourned Term, 12th June, 1837.
IT appearing to the Court that Howell Elder
in his life time executed his bond for titles to
William Appling, for one House and Lot in the
Town of Watkinsville, occupied by Mrs. Ste
phens, and a Lot fronting said lot joining Bar
nett, and the Land joining said Lots and bound
ed by Murray and Harden, now in possession
of Mrs. Stephens; audit further appearing to
the Court that said Bond has been regularly as
signed to David Stephens deceased, and the con
ditions o! said Bond having been complied with.
It. is therefore ordered that the Atlniitiisli’.i'or of
the said Howell Elder deed, be directed to make
and execute titles to the said House and Lot,
and adjoining premises embraced in said Bond,
within the time prescribed by law to the heirs
general of the said David Stephens deceased,
or shew cause to the contrary—And it is fur
ther ordered that this Ride be published once a
month, for three months in one of the public
Gazetts of this State.
I certify that the foregoing is n into extract
from the minutes oi’ said Court, (his 13th J line,
1837.
GREEN D. HAYGOOD w . t , <•
Jtlffe 17, 7 i.
dlitl) ex J i Wwgty*
. UaurGtw. j
~, .. i
From the New York livening Star.
A REHOftSTK AJtCE.
M K. W. ORISWOLB.
You Harpers were wont to make us merry with your
music. Can you not enliven us a bit now I We are right |
melancholy.
Anne Radcliffe. i
Oh, Harpers! Harpers! in these time.*,
Why add you to the deep distresses
Brought on us by our patriots’ crimes
By stopping all your printing presses ’
Have you your harps on willows hung
Like those good men who lived of old,
Because the ship of state has sprung
A leak, and there’s a want of gold ?
Oh, Fletcher, Westly, John, and James
Tl. : , 4 „,v! '-acp'S
Who shed such lustre on your names
When they possessed them in gone ages !
By them shall we invoke in vain ’
By them adjure you to shell out
Octavos, twelves, sixteens, again—
Lively, severe, profane, devout I
What though the banks, in want of cash
Wherewith to pay their notes of hand,
Are filling with their ‘useless trash,’
Each town and village in the land ?
Must you too, follow the example I
Forsake your typcs and use your quills
Upon the ‘ public feeling trample,’
Bv sending out, not books but bills I
!
Where’s ‘Strictures on the New Theology ?
‘ Scenes and Adventures on the Rhine !’
Buckland's new ‘ Treatise on Geology ?
s'lrou.l ‘ On the Culture of the Vine V
Miss Pardoe's “Travels in the East
The ‘History of Genghis Kan?’
The drama of ‘ Belshazzar’s Feast,’
The ‘ Life and Works of Elia Lamb ?’
i
The ‘ Life of Burr, by JI- L- Paris
(The second part they says worth reading!)
A ‘ Poem on the death of Travis,
Delivered by Lieutenant Hedding 1'
(Pure Texan the Lieutenant’s rhyme is !)
Jone's ‘ Historical Collections ?’
Sherwood's new work, ‘The Monk of Cimes ?’
And JZra. Gilman's ßecollection-. V
D' Israeli, so the papers say,
Has perpetrated new romances;
Buluter has given the world a play,
And Hood has published ‘ Facts and Fancies ;
The ladies Gore,
The Messers. Lister, Smith, and Hook
And some two dozen authors more
Have each, of late, produced a book!
And Herbert, we heard long ago,
Had in the press a ‘tale of glory,’
And Simms had readily ‘ Pelayo,’
A most diverting, pleasant story-
And Reynolds' ‘Travels in Peru,’
And L?<". Fisk’s Peregrination,
Have been for months announced by you
As‘cn the eve of publication. ’ j
Ye favorites of our very cit, i
Chief caterers for the Yankee nation,
Who deal in logic, love, and w;,
Resume, we .pray, your old . eeation.
F> e.s on ! press on ! put on the steam !
And bind the hearts of men unto ye ; .[
Your characters at once redeem,
And Gotham shall_.be joyous through ye 1
From the Boston Post.
[The ioikrtving highly excitingnarralive was
related by the celebrated Judge Johnson, at the
dejeuner given him at the New England IIou.;e,
by several distinguished citizens of Boston.
It was listened to wi'h breathless attention, and !
made a deep impression on the auditory.] i
JOSH:
A T ALE OF THE SEA AND SHORE.
By Judge Johnson of IPest (Jnoddy Head.
Glendowcr. I can cull spirits from the vasty deep.
Hotspur. But will they coint when you do call for them ‘
I Hrn-rijlV.
It was in the year eighteen hundred and
I cannot fix on the precise date, but 1 have it
down on my memorandums at home. 1 re
member 1 was then sitting in the famous breach
of promise ease, Pocahontas vs. Porcupine,
which you will find reported in the books.—
Th® court room was crowded with spectators,
and it was at a moment of intei se interest
when every ear was stretched to hear the voice
of the plaintiff's counsel. He was reading to
the jury a romantic love letter of the enamour
ed Porcupine. A bieathless silence pervaded
the court —when somebody m the gallery gave
along, loud and ahrill shout—‘‘Joshi!” It
was electrifying. The defendant whose rame
i was Joshua, sprung upon his feet and looked
; around ; —the lawyer paused—the jury stared
I —and i direcfly ordered the officers to take
i the offender into custody and bring him before
;me for contempt. But alter much ineffectual
; search, the design was abandoned tftid the (rial
I proceeded. We got on us ti. 'ial until the jury
I returned with a verdict, and the clerk was go
i ing through the appropriate forms of interro
-1 gatiom
“Gentlemen of the Jury, hive you agreed
i upon a verdict.’’
Answer by the foreman, “ We have.”
“ Who shall speak for you
I “ Josh !” shouted again the voice from the
' gallery. _
! On this occasion the office s were more sue-
■ cesslul, and the disturber was at.length brought
I before me. H< ; was a thin, dried up, sailor
< looking person, with sandy hair and very red
whiskers. His eyes protruded from their sock
ets like a lobster’s - , and seemed to roll with the
, fierceness of insanity, His face was yellow
! mid wrinkled, like a Digby .herring-—in fact he
■; smelt of the smoke house, and his whole ap
> | pearance was somewhat “imcier.t and fish-
■ 1 like.”
■ ! “ Who are you ?” was demanded of him.
I “ J.o s-h 1!” was the reply, in a prolonged
'; tone, as if addressed to some perto-i at a great
‘! distance.
“ This man,” I observed, taking off my glas
. ses and laying down my pen. ’‘appears to
. be out cl his senses. Does any 0..e know
I him?
One of the deputy sheriffs took the stand
and stated that the person was a stranger i i
’ the town, and nobody could tell his name, or
from wl.ence lie came, A few nights ago he
. made his appearance at the Fly tavern. A
i number of persons were seated round the fire
' quietly smoking their pipes, when this ma:i
glided in and nearly frightened them out of 1 heir
wits, by shouting, in a most veil .-meat to>>v,
J-o.s-h!!! They sprung v 'i’ s H !’P oS ]"tI 'tie
■ honso to be <>n fl-,-,.. People rushed into the
■ ■ ■ m ‘ i .h- 'r - i.t . I >-f the meantim ■h ■
’■WHERE POWERS AKE ASSUMED WHICH HAVE NOT BEEN DE LECTA T ED, A N UtI.IFICATiON OF THE ACT IS THE RIGHTFUL REMEDY.” JfeiSOll.
ATHENS, WEOKGIA, SATSJsWAY, SEPTET S 3 ESS
! had taken a vacant seat before the fire, and
j now maintained a frigid silence.—in a few
; moments he wont out and did not return. —
They presumed him to be some crazy creature,
as he did not show any indications of intoxica
tion. The next day, which was Friday, when
the sexton was ringing the bell for an abolition
: lecture, this man crept up the steeple stairs and
i amazed the assembling congregation by shout- i
j ing Josh 1 from the belfry, in a voice that was i
! heard several miles distant. Yesterday he
crawled tin a high ladder that, was fixed against
j Captain Choukem’s tcinpefance grocery and
i bawled Josh 1 from the chimney. And last
I night, about 11 oclock, as I was warming my
: feet before going to bed. I ’heard J-o-s-h!
j screamed from the top of the big rock on
| Cranberry Hill, as I presume by this same per.
i son. Tt seems as if he imagined himself in
t search of somebody of that name, for he ap
-1 patently seeks the highest elevations and most
. crowded assemblies to utter the cry, as if in :
! such places “Josh” was most likely to hear
i him. In other respects he appears to be harm-
I less.”
“Doubtless,” I remarked, “he is insane,and
I am surprised his friends do not take care of
him. Let him be conducted out of court.”—
After this the case proceeded, and I was no
more troubled with han that term ; in fact, he
never again appeared in court when I was on
i the bench.
Time’s flight seems rapid to all; to none i
I more so than to -a Judge. After many years I ,
: was imperatively called to Boston, to establish i
I some facts relating to the Boundary Question, j
i for my judicial engagements are so unremit- ;
j ting, that I am rarely absent from the bounds of
; the circuit. It was some time in July, that I
i started in the Eastport packet, in company
! with Col. Clark, a distinguished officer in His
I Majesty’s army, whom I now see present. It
I happened, we were passing a schooner near
i the Sea Islands, when a man at the mast head
! of the vessel, waved his hat and shouted “Josh!'’ >
jas if from a speaking trumpet. There was a
I peculiar laugh among the sailors. “Hallo,”!
said one, “ha hasn’t found Josh yet. n I 1
“No, nor never Mill!'’ replied another,]
whose name was Prouty.
My attention was immediately arrested.—
Pocahontas, Porcupine, Josh, and the confu- ;
sion of the Court—the whole scene before nar- ;
rated rushed at once into my mind.
“ Pray what person is that who sjxike to us?” ;
| I inquired. ' 1
| “ Why,” said Prouty, “he has been sailing ]
in some of these lumbermen ever since the ]
flood, and hails every vessel he meets in the ■
same way. I suppose 1 have been Josh-ed i
more than fifty times. He nevet goes more i
than one cruise in a vessel, and is always sing- i
ing out for* Josh.’ He’s a screamer, by ■
“Does nobody know who lie is?” I
“ Guess n 0!.,” said the sailor, with a knowing '.
look with his left eye, whilst the other wasclos. !
ed. Old Captain Maybee, of Eastport, says 11
he heard Josh sung out nearly fifty years ago >
jin a thick fog, near the Lines. The Captain < <
I is now getting old, but this fellow holds out 1 1
i well, to judge from the strength of his lungs. ; >
I He will drown any boatswain’s whistle. There I ,
; is something mysterious you know about this ij
j ’ere matter- I’ve beard he has been crying I >
> Josh, ever since the countiy was settled, and <
i will, as long as there’s a pine tree left this side ! 1
• of the Boundary.” j i
■ “ What is generally thought to be his object i
j in crying out for Josh ?”
j “ They give many reasons. Last year I '
I heard one of’’our passengers say he thought
1 this person had a bond for a township of land : '
which he expected to sell to Josh, and supposed \
his customer to be on board this vessel. This j
year they say lie may have bought a township I
and been cheated by some speculator named |
Josh, and is now hunting him up. Folks give i
different reasons. Nobody knows.”
; “I’ve been told,” said another sailor, “by I
: inakerel catchers, that they have hoard Josh j
i screamed in the middle of the night, when out ;
j of sight of land, and in a bright moonlight, but I
i nothing could be seen where the sound came I
| from. The fish generally bit pretty sharp as- ■
ter it.”
“ We often hear the cry in a fog,” said Preu- !
tv. “I’ve been lying by, in thick weather, on j
this coast, for a ’fortnight, and had ‘ Josh’ cried I
a dozen times in one day and night. When
it cleared tip, we could see no vessel. ,We 1
generally look out for breakers when we hear
that ’e'‘e cry in the fog, and do n’t know where |
it comes fi om.”
“ But you say he often hails you from iliffer- !
ent vessels. Have none of you ever sailed ,
with him ?’’
i “Guess not; never talked with any ship-j
; mate of his. No craft would ship such a sus- 1
picions character as a regular hand.”
“ Well,” said I, “ this looks to me exceed- i
ingly mysterious, and 1 think it demands ale- I
gal investigation.”
} “Them’s the general sentiment,” was the
I reply: _ ;
• '1 he next diiv ths wind changed into the
southwest and the fog tilotids came sweeping ■
towards us over the sea, like the dark wi ;gs I
llof an immense bird, it was impossible 10l
I make a harbor, and wo stood off more from :
. | the shore. Whilst we were enveloped in this |
. I obscurity which was utterly impenetrable to :
j the vision, 1 distinctly ff’ard again the cry ol\
j | J-o-s-h.! It sounded through the mist like tho.;
wild shriek of a sea gull. Every body on;
board looked in the direction of the sound, but I
nothing could bo seen. I n tlio course of the |
■ night the wind changed, and the fog slowly re
treated before it, and we pursued our way over
. the trackless waters.
I I The next day, towards night, we pushed into '
r i the harbur of Mom.t Desert and anchored, for
1 I the weather tig-mn looked threatening. We
. | went ashore m the boat, at a lauding called
j | Barnes’s Rest. Several of the passengers
■ amused themselves by picking wild strawber-
■ l ies, and some of us rambled into the woods
. and were followed by a large Newfoundland ;
-! dog, as big as a bear. Whilst in the pine tor- }
j est, singular as it me.) seem, we heard a pro- '
i longed “ Josh" — at no great distance. It drove !
1 j us back with co; sideruble precipitation, and 1 1
t; observed the dog showed evident minks ofter- ;
| ror. It was a uroary place, and as the sun
- j was now disappearing beneath the clouds, we
> ! hurried to the boat and pioceeded on board.
. i Li the morning we hoisted anchor with a
1 light but fair wi: <l, and that night anchored at
.1 I Owl’s Head. Here were a party of“Diug
i | bats” from Bangor, who were amusing them
r I selves with a field piece. I inquired if the cry
; I of “Josh” hid ever been beard in their city,
I and was told the same mysterious being <>l
s whom so much lias been suifo was there du
i rim>- th; - land fiver, ami at the first auction sale
r several townships wi re struck off at a high
, price to somebody who gave his name as ‘Josh.’
a His person could not be identified in the crowd
■a ho stirt’oimded lhe aimtioaeer, and the our
.! . ~; iKP. r th . bll's. '' '
he was suspected to be a mere by-bidder, but I
afterwards people thought differently. Abou: i
that time the streets were often diuturbed a! j
midnight by loud and prolonged screams for ■
Josh, but the watch could never detect the [
transgressor. He dis ippemxsd last winter !
when the thermometer was about 30 dg. below I
zero; but if you will believe it, we heard him .
here last night shouting ‘ Josh’ on the summit >
lof the bulb which makes Owl’s Head. And ’
so we have now brought out this gun to give ;
him a salute if he appears again to night. i
Our vessel proceeded on her course the next ;
morning, and we got into Portland that after
noon. Here I had a conversation with Capt.
Pickett, one of the oldest and best pilots of the
Bay of Fundy. The captain had heard Josh
cried from every lighthouse and every rock
and headland on the const. In fogs inmiiimr.
able—and at midnight inAahas, when the sen I
' was smooth as glass, an. 1 i’m clear moon shed |
abroad the light ofday, he had heard the same, j
The pilot said he was once in Eastport harbor
where the tides run every way rt once, like the ,
legsofa bottled spider. “There was a party
on board extremely anxious to get away, for
they had been fog-bound for sever s! days. As
soon as it brightened up a little, nothing would
do, but we must tow down over the bar against
head winds and tides. V: e got out the boats
and tugged as far as Lubec, where we drop
ped opposite a hill, on the top of Ahieh there
was a meeting house with a tall steeple. I !
think the loudest Josh I ever did hear, burst j
upon my ears when we let go l/ie anchor.—lt !
was in the e.veni,ig, and the sound proceeded j
from the direction of the meeting-house. ?*le.
ver could make up my mini what the thing I 1
meant—have heard a thousand stories, and '
think the least said about the natter the better.” '
It is reported that the call for “Josh” was 1
formerly heard in cold winter nights from the
top of the Portland Observatory. And I have i
been told that Frost, a vetertn of Portsmomh, 1
heard there several years ago, and supposed it
a cal! for a pilot, from some /easel wishing to '
enter the harbor. He never, however, could ■
overtake her. I
I believe “ Josh” never a iproached Boston j *
nearer than Portsmouth. Prouty, indeed, tells ; ■
me, he once heard it off € ape Ann Lights in I
a thick snow-storm—the very first year of the !
Sea Serpent’s appearance in thise waters. | '
But I must acknowledge that Prouty's ver- ; 1
sions of this mysterious affair are not always j '
“the- same.” His hist story is -.his. A man I ‘
in Kennebunk lost his only son, Josh, in the ■
woods, and afterwards became insane from ■
anxiety during an unsuccessful search. The 1
unfortunate father has been wandering about <
the country ever since, shouting for Josh in
every direction. He ascends n-omlains, ex
plores forests, enters vessels, visits cities con
tinually crying Josh ! JOSH !I' But in vain. 1
Josh will return no more. ;
i have thus summed up the principal points I <
of testimony m this most mysterious affair, amt I i
gentlemen you must form your own opinion j i
from the facts before you Holding a «<-*?.’ \ J
upon tho bench, there would be an obvious im- j 1
propriety in my expressins my o va particular !
sentiments at this time, as the case may come
judicially before me, when 1 ought to bo pre
pared to go into it with unbiassed views. I
can only say, should the matter ever get into
the Courts of Justice, it will form one of the
most remarkable cases to be found in the an
na’s of modern jurisprudence;
From the New York Gazette.
Our mountains are crown'd with imperial oak, 1
Whose roots, like our liberties, ages have nourished, i
But long e'er our nation submits to the yoke,
Not a tree shall be left on the field where it flourished. 1
I I
Should'invasion impend, j ;
Every grove would descend | ;
From the hill-top they shaded, our shores to defend. J ;
For ne’er shall the sons of Columbia be slave.',
While the earth bears a plant or the sea rolls its waves. ! i
Robert Treat Paine, Jr. ■ ;
'lite Essex I't igate.— l perceive that your | 1
recent notice of the sale of the gallant little |
Essex in England, has awakened the attention j
of the Salem and Boston papers, to some re- ! '
‘ miniscences in regard to her, all of which are I 1
I true to the letter. But it is. difficult to say I
too much of a good thing. Lot me add ai: i '
' item. The Essex was built during the quasi 1
I (I beg pardon of Mr. W.) war wish France, 1
Iby subscription of the federal merchants. — .
s Mind you, there-was not a dollar ol’democratic ! 1
money invested. The democrats in those ■ '
; days called the navy “the b ast with a great !
‘ belly,” and openly rejoiced, as the papers of i,
: 1798 will show, that at the launching of the ;
Constitution, the glorious Old Ironsides, hav- j
j ing at that time no figure-head to disfigure her, ;
'• this pride of the American navy stuck fast on
| her ways, where she lay embedded, till ani
( mal force was applied to propel her into the
The proposition to build the Essex frigate,
j arose in the autumn of 1798. The subscrip
tion was filled with alacrity. Col. Hackett
! was the draftsman. Mr. Enos Briggs, the;
! master builder. Ou the skill of those eminent ]
j artists, the merchants had the utmost co ii- |
I dence, and that confidence was not- misplaced; !
‘ lor a purer model of a ship of w ar. and one |
I that was built with greater speed, combined j
•; with the most capital workmansh p, bad not,
’ in those days, braved either the battle or the
j breeze.
Your humble servant was present at the
office of the Salem Gazette, when Mr. Briggs ;
brought in an’advertisement for proposals for i
. furmshing timber, &c., for building. Biglow , ;
the poet was present. Mr. Cuslm.g, that wav
; the honored name oi its editor, showed him
the master builder’s commumeation, and fam
iliarly tapping him on the shoulder, said
“Sawney, let’s have lour lines us a caption.”
No sootier said than done. In a second, in
the twinkling of an eye, they were written :
“Next Septfuiiber is the time
When we’ll launch her from the strand, ?
And camieli loud and prime (
With tribute due to Talleyrand.” •
I That's a good joke, said muste- - Briggs, j
You have set the time for her iauichiug, t
whereas I, the builder, have not dared to de I
it. But I will I 'cry careful to see yo,; ,
are not a false prophet. Sim vnia l.itmchmg I
in September, tho last day ol that month, ami -
I £ shall never fotg t it, because it. was the i
; anniversary ol my father’s birth, and if a mm !
does not honor his father’s memory so much i
us uut to remember such nn iacidenl, then he |
does tint keep a geiumlogicu'. tree.
The winter of 1798-9 was rem irkably pro. I
pitious for drawing in the timber with which:
she was built, it came chiefly from Danveßs, '
: Topsfield. Boxford and Andover. It war:
: white oak, green, cut d«.wn for the purpose; !
| ami tho v'lcils beaiiii.' l ' it wep’ m constant re .
' , v. ■ t : ■ M ’ ' .
I apparently lying without a dr ft on the ground
I during the whole period.
. Tho launch of the Essex frigate was the
■ most beautiful that can be imagined ; fit. least,
\ everybody said so. For my own part, I couid
. .mt so well tell; for, having seen almost every
j timber put into her, I was determined to be
, launched in her, so as to be enabled to tell, as
' I de at this present, that I was first, on the
’ watei in the first vessel of war that I had seen :
I in those days of my boyhood.
I Captain Joseph Waters, an experienced
i shipmaster in the merchant service, was fiscal,
and it was generally believed in Salem that he
would be appointed to command her, as the
naval force of the country was then in its
swaddling clothes, and few post captains in
commission. If my recollection serves me,
president Adams made him a tender ot her 1
i command,.which his domestic concerns for
i bide him to accept. This I know, that cap. I
I tain Richard Derby, of the navy, was subse- !
quently appointed to her. Previous to her
fitting out, he was trarisferretft to another ship.
Commodore Preble, of Portland, accepted the
office of the secretary, and arrived in Salem.
I have his countenance in my miml. as though
it were yesterday—strong features, muscular
strength, and gigantic in frame.
Commodore Preble visited the Essex, and
found fault with some parts of her interior
construction. Iler portholes did not suit him,
and he had them, altered to suit his own no
tions. Tho commodore was a fiery dog, as
everybody knows who has seen or read of
him ; but he found his match. The gun-car
riages were not built to his liking. “Who
built these gun-carriages I” “Deacon Gould.”
“Send for deacon Gould, to meet me at the
Sun tavern this evening.” Deacon Gould
made his appearance in the same style that
Dr. Franklin met George HI. “What is
your will, captain Preble I” “You do not
know how to make gun-carriages, sir.”
“What’s that you say, capt. Preble? I not
know how to make gun-carriages? I knew
how- to make gun-carriages before you was
born; and if you say that word again, I will
take you across my knee, and play Master
Hacker with you.”
The commodore found himself in a predic
ament ; mutual explanation followed; the
frigate was equipped for sea; proved a first
rate craft; went to the China seas on her first
cruise ; was the first vessel ofwar from Ameri
ca on that coast; made a splendid passage ;
returned home, and subsequently signalised
herself in one of the most gallant buttles on
record. Everything else is as well known to
others, as to Oliver oldschool.
At eleven o’clock to day ths extraordinary
Express from Washington City arrived here,
bringing the Message of President Van Buren,
transmitted to Congress on Tuesday last at 12
o’clock, having been brought through, 576
miles, in 47 hours! We are indebted to our
attentive correspondent, for a copy, which we ;
hasten to lay before oar readers in an Extra I
form.—- Augusta Chron. 4* Sen. extra. 7th inst.!
'MESSAGE
rsox riris
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
To the two Houses of Congress at the Com
mencement of the first session of the Twenty
ffth Congress,
Fellow-Citizens of the Senate
and House of llepresentatircs.
Tho act of the 23d June, 1836, regulating
the deposites of the public money, and direct
ing the employment ol’Statc, District, and Ter
ritorial banks for that purpose, made it the
duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to dis
continue the use of such of them, as should at
any time refuse to redeem their notes in specie
and to substitute other banks; provided a suf
ficient number could be obtained to receive the
public deposites, upon the terms and condi
tions therein prescribed. The general and
almost simultaneous suspension of specie pay
ment bv the banks in May last, rendered the
performance oi this duty imperative in tespect
to those which had been selected under the act;
and made it, at the same time, impracticable
to employ the requisite number of others, upon ;
the prescribed conditions. The specific re- t
gulations established by Congress, for the de- !
posite and safe keeping of the public moneys.!
have thus, unexpectedly become inoperative,:
I felt it to be my duty to afford you an early j
opportunity for the exercise of your supervis- I
ory powers over the subject. /
a was also led to apprehend that the sus- ,
pension of specie payments, increasing the em- [
barrassmeuts before existing, in the pecuniary !
affairs of the country, would so far diminish
the public revenue, that, the accruing receipts
into the Treasury would not, wall the reserved
five millions?, be sufficient to defray the una
voidable expenses of the Govermnent, until the [
usual period for the meeting of Congress; ;
whilst the authority to call upon the States, j
for a portion of the sums deposited with them,
was too r. stricted to enable the Department i
to realize as ifficientamSw.t from that source.
; These apprehensions have been justified by sub-
I sequent' results, which render it. certain that
' .Ins deficiency will occur, ii additional means
! be not piovided by Congress.
I The difficulties expeiier.ced by the mere xn
iile interest, in meeting their engagements, in
duccd them to apply to me, previously to the
actual suspension of specie payments, tor in
dulgence upon their bonds for duties; and all ;
the rdiet authorized by law. was promptly and :
: cheerfully granted. 'The dependence of the i
1 Treasury upon the avails oi these bonds, to en
able it to make the dep » ites with the States
required by law, led me in the outset to limit
this indulgence to the Ist oi S p ember, but it
has since been extended to the Ist of October,
that the matter might lie submitted to vmr
further direction.
Questions were also expected to arise in
the recess in respect to the October instalment,
of these deposites, requiring the interposition
. u! C’ojgrcss.
! A provision of another act, passed about the
! same time, and intended to secure a taithlui
! compliance with the obligation of the United
i. hales, to satisfy nil demands upon them in
| specie or its equivalent, prohibited the offer of
I any bank note, not convertable oh the spot, in.
I io gold or silver, at the will of the holder; and
! the ability of the Government,-with millions
! u.i deposite, io meet its ergagemei'ts in the
I manner thus required by law, was rendered
! very doubtful by the event to which 1 g ve re
i il ri i-d.
I Sensible that adequate provisions for these
! tmexpeeted exigencies could only be made by
: Congress; coiivir.ced that some of them would
: be indispensably necessary to tile public ser
: vice, before the regular period of your meeting;
! and desirous also to enable you to exmcisß at
; the earliest moment, your fill! constitutional
!’••■ if- ■' the 1 Cotfid
not, with propriety, avoid subjecting you to the
incovenience of assembling at as early a day
as the state.of the popular representation vvowld
permit. lam sure that I have done but jus
tice to your feelings, in believing that this in
convenience will be cheerfully encountered, in
the hope of rendering your meeting conducive
to the good of the country.
During the earliest stages of the revulsion
through which we have just passed, much ac
! rimonious discussion arose, and great diversi
ty of opinion existed, as to its real causes.
This Was not surprising. The operations of
credit are so diversified, and the influences
which affect them so numerous, and often so
subtle, that even impartial and well informed
persons arc seldom fotiiid to agree in respect
to them. To inherent ditiiculties were also ad
ded other tendencies, wliich were by no means
( favorable to the discovery of truth, it was
I hardly to be expected, that those who disap-
I proved the policy o! tk« Government in rela
tion io the currency, «vr»tild in the excited state I
of public feeling produced by the occasion, fail '
to attribute to that*poficy any extensive em- j
barrassment ia the monetary affairs of the |
country. Tho matter thus became connected
with the passions and conflicts of party; opin
ions were more or less affected by political
considerations; and differences were prolong
ed which might otherwise have been deter
mined by an appeal to facts, by the exercise
of reason, or by mutual concession. It is,
however, a cheering reflection, that circum
stances of this nature cannot prevent, a com
munity so intelligent as ours, from ultimately
arriving at correct conclusions. Encouraged
by the firm belief of this truth, I proceed to
state my views, so far as may be necessary to
a clear understanding of the remedies I feel
it my duty to propose, and of the reasons by
which I have been led to recommend them.
Tho history of trade in the United States,
for the last three or four years, affords the most
convincing evidence that our present condi
tion is chiefly to be attributed to overaction in
till the departments of business ; an over-ac
tion, deriving, perhaps, its first impulses from
antecedent causes, but stimulated to its destruc
tive consequences by excessive issues of bank
paper, and by other facilities for the acquisi
tion and enlargement of credit. At the com
mencement of the year 1834, the banking cap
ital of the UmtedStates, including that of the
National Bank then existing, amounted to
about two hundred millions of dollars ; the
bank notes then in circulation to about ninety
five millions; and the loans and discounts oi'
the banks to three hundred and twenty-four ,
(millions. Between that time and the firsfo«ff",
January 1836; being the latest period to which
accurate accounts have been received, our
banking capital was increased to moie than
two hundred and fifty-one millions; our paper
citculation to more than one hundred and for
ty millions, and the loans and discounts ta ( 1
more than four hundred and fifty seven mil- j:
lions. To this Vast increase are to be added j
the many millions of credit, acquired by means I
of foreign loans, contracted by the States and I
: State institutions, and, above all, by the lavish I
! accommodations extended by foreign dealers I
i to our merchants.
The consequcuee of this redundancy ugured
it, and of the spirit of reckless speculation en
gendered by it, were a foreign debt contracted 1
by our citizens, estimated in March last at
more than thirtyjitillious of dollars; the extent
sion to traders in the interior of our country
of credits for supplies, greatly beyond the
wants of the people ; the investment thirty
nine and a half millions of dollars in unproduc- I
tive public lands, in the years 1835 and 1836, I
whilst i:i the preceding year the sales amount- <
ed to only four, and a half millions; the crea- !
tion of debts to an almost countless amount, !
for real estate in existing or anticipated cities
and villages, equally unproductive, and at pri
ces now seen to have been greatly dispropor
tionate to their real value; the expenditure of
immense sums in improvements which, in ma
ny cases, have been found to be ruinously im
provident; the diversion to other pursuits of
much of the labor that should have been ap
plied to agriculture, thereby contributing to
the expenditure of large sums in the importa- ]
I tion of grain from Europe; an expenditure
! which, amouatiog in 1834, to about two hun
( died and fifty thousand dollars, was, in the
first twoquaiters of the present year, increas
to more than two millions of dollars; and final
ly, without enumerating other injurious results,
the rapid growth among all classes, and espe- i
dally in <“ir great commercial towns, of luxu. ’
rious habit.' - , tou ided too often on merely fat;- (
cied wealth, and detrimental alike to the indus-1
' try, the resources, and the morals of our peo- (
pie. i
It was so impossible that such a stats of!
things could long continue, that the prospect !
of revulsion was piv sent to the minds of eon- j
: siderate men before it actually came. None !
however, had correctly anticipated its severi- >
I ty. A concurrence of circumstances inade- :
! quale of themscl es to produce such wide (
j sptead and calamitous embarrasments, tended (
( so greativ to aggravate them, that they cannot:
be overlooked in considering their history. I
Among these may be mentioned, most promi- j
iient. the great loss ofciq ital sustained by our !
commerci il emporium in the fire of December i
1835—a loss tho effects ofwhiph wero under- ■
rated at the time, because postponed for a sea- !
son by the great facilities of credit then exist- >
ing; the disturbing effects in our commercial :
j cities, of the transfers of the public moneys ]
I required by the deposite law of June, 1836; :
j and the measures adopted by the foreign ered- ;
j itors of om - merchimts to reduce their debts,
mid to withdraw from the United States a large
portion of our specie.
However unwilling any of our citizens may
heretofore have been to assign to those causes
the chief instrumentality in producing the pre
sent stale of things, the developments subse
quently made, and the actual condition of oth
er commercial countries, must, an it seems to
i me, dispel all remaining doubts upon the sub
ject. It has since appeared that evils, similar ;
to those sufficed by ourselves, have been ex.
•icrienced in Great Britain, on the continent,
and indeed, througlxo it the commercial world;
and that ia other countries, as in our own, they
i have been uniformly preceded by an undue
eidargeiuentof the boundaries ot trade prompt
ed, as' witn us, by unprecedented expansions
of’ the systems ot credit. A reference to the
amount of I>lnking capital, and the issues ot
o.iper credits put in circulation in Great Bri- '
tain, by banks, and in other ways, during the
years 1834,1835, and 1836, will show an aug
mentation of the p iper currency there, as |
much disproportionedlo the real wants of trade ■
as in the U >ted States. With this redundmi- j
< - y of the paper currency, there arose in that;
country also a spirit of adventurous speculation |
< mbraci ig the whole range of human enter- j
prise. Aid was profusely given to projected j
improv .m.mts. Large investments were.
Vol. V—No. 20.
> made in foreign stocks and loans, credits for
goods were granted with unbounded liberality
1 to merchants in foreign countries; and alltlm
. means of acquiring and employing credit were
. put in active operation, and extended in their
i effects to every depa-rtment of business, and,to
. every quarter of the globe. The reaction
was proportioned in its violence to the extra
ordinary character of events which preceded
it. The commercial community es Great Bri
tain were subjected to the greatest difficulties,
anti their debtors in this country were not only
■ suddenly deprived ot’accustomed and expect
ed credits, but called upon for payments, which
in the actual posture of things here, could only
be made through a general pressure, and at
tho most ruinous sacrifices.
In view of these facts, it would seem im
possible for sincere inquirers after trfith to re
sist the conviction, that the causes of the re
vulsion in both countries have been substan
tially the same. Two nations, the most com.
mercial iqliie world, enjoying but recently the,
■ highest degree of apparent prosperity, and
I maintaining w ith each other the closest rela
i tions, are suddenly, in a lime of profound peace,
and without any great national disaster, ar
rested in their career, and plunged into a state
of embarrassment and distress. I n both coun
tries we have witnessed the same redundancy
of paper money, and other facilities of credit;
the same spirit of speculation; tho same par
tial successes; the same difficulties and rever
ses; and, at length, nearly the same over
whelming catastrophe. The most material
difference between the results in the two coun
tries has only been, that with us there has also
occurred an extensive derangement in the sis.
cal affairs of the Federal and State Govern,
meats, occasioned by tho suspension of specie
payments by the banks.
The history of these causes and effects, in
Great Britain and the United States, is sub.
stantially the history of the revulsion in all
other Commercial countries.
The present and visible effects of these < ir
cumstauces on the operations of the Govern
ment, and oa the industry of the people, point
out the objects which call for your iinmediato
attention.
They are—to regulate by laws the safe
keeping, transfer, and disbursement, of the
public raoQetjs; to designate the funds to ba
received And paid by the Government; to en
able the. Treasury to meet promptly every de
tnand upon<ijt , j to prescribe the terms of i.iduL
gence, a:Jfcklumode of settlement to be adopt,
ed, as from individuals tho
r f!is accrued, as- ia withdrawing
■ t (for^^^KeiG'-po.-italics, and to devise and
a measures within the con-
of Congress, as will ba
best to revive tho enterprise and to
promote the prosperity of the country.
For deposit. - , transfer, and, disbursment
of the National and State Banks have
always. wi#4» ? temporary and limited exceptions,
been heretofore employed; but, although ad
vocates of each system are to be found, it is
apparent that the events of tile last few monitor
have greatly augmented the desire, long ex
j isting amoi'g the people of the United States,
to separate the fiscal concerns of the Govet’i;-
/r 0... ihosu ii.d,, idunia yr
Again, to create a National Bank, as a fis
cal agent, would be to disregard the popular
will, twice solemnly and unequivocally expres.
sed. Ou co question of domestic policy is
there stronger evidence that the sentiments of
a large majority are deliberately fixed; and I
cannot concur with those who think they see,
I in recent events, a proof that these sentiments
! are, ora reason, that they should be, changed.
Events, similar in their origin and charac
! ter. have heretofore frequently occurred with
( out producing any such change; and the les
sons of experience must be forgotten, if wo
suppose that the present overthrow of credit
would have been prevented by tho existence of
a national bank. I’iuneaess to excessive is
sues has ever been the vice of the banking sys
tem; a vice as p ominei.t in national as i i Statu
insiitutioi s. This propensity is as subservi
ent to the advancement ol’ private interests in
the one as in the other; and those who direct
them both, being principally guided by the
jatne views, and influenced by the same mo
tives, will be equally ready to stimulate extrav.
agance of enterprise by improvement of cred
it. How strikingly is this conclusion sustain
ed by experience. Tho Bank of the United
States, w ith the vast powers conferred ou it by
Congress, did not or could not prevent former
I and similar embarrassments, nor has the still
I greater strength it litis been said to possess,
i under its present charter, enabled it. in the ex
isting emergency, to check other institui: >ns
!or even to save itself. In Great Britain
; where it has been seen, the sama causes have
i been attended with the same effects, a nation
al ba k possessing powers far greater than are
I asked fi r by the warmest advocates of such
' an instiiution here, has also proved unable tu
! prevent, an tmdua expansion of credit, and tho
( evils that flow from it. Nor can I find any
| tenable ground for tho re-establishmont of a
! national batik, in tho derangement alleged at
I present to exist in the demesttc exchanges
! of the country, or i.i the facilities it maybe
! capable of affording them. Although udvnn
! tages of this sort were anticipated when the
I first Bank of the United States was created, 1
1 they were regarded as an incidental accom- t
1 inodatioii; not one which thia Federal Govern
’ meat was bound, or could be culled upon to s
! furnish. This accommodation is now,
i deed, after the lapse of not many years.de
j inanded from it as among its first duties; and
an omission to aid and regulate commerci..!
exchange, is treated as a ground of loud a.. 1
serious complm -t. Such results only serve v <
exemplify the constant di sire, among some of
our citizens, tn enlarge the powers of the gov
ernment, and extend its control to subj< cts with
which it should not interfere. 'They can nev
er justify the creation of an institution to pro.
mote such objects. On the contrary, they
justly excite among the community a more
j diligent inquiry .into the character of those
operutioi s oftra le, towards which ii is desir
ed to extend such peculiar favors.
The various transactions which bear tho
name of domestic exchanges, differ essentially
in the.r nature, operation, and utility. One
class of them consists of bills of exchange,
drawn for the purpose of transferring actut-l
capital from one part of the country to anoth
er, or to anticipate the proceeds of property ac
tu.u.v transmitted. Bills of this description
are highly useful m the movements of trade,
and well deserve all the encouragement which
can rightfully be given to them. Another
class is made u t » <>f bills of exchange, not drawn
■ to transfer actual capital, nor on the credit of
' properly Lui to ctGiito fid.iti.ju ?
! capital; partaking at oaee of the charucur m
' notes discounted in bar.!., and oi bauk uui.es
‘ in circulation; and swcl'ing (he mass oi p. per
I credi'rf <o a v.i st • ffimt i:t tir? most