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About Daily chronicle & sentinel. (Augusta, Ga.) 1837-1876 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 7, 1847)
my. He proceeded with great caution through the dense and thorny thickets, and placed his men. without being discovered by the enemy, along the road, about twenty yards from it and about six feet apart, the left or upper flank reaching within twenty-five yards of the hill top, where the head of the enemy’s column could be seen standing. Lieut. Wyche had taken a similar position on the other side of the road, lower down. Thus prepared, they await ed the advance of the enemy, who threatened to charge down upon the camp. Capt. Hai now crept up alone to the top of the hill, and findingthat the main body of the enemy were preparing to move off, he returned and ordered his men to march forward. Just Halle s P a . r ‘ ty were about to fire, one of the Mex.caus tn advance shook h» f.ad thTvvmds thed^upoll his lips before a volley of musketry blazed forth from the chaparral, and some fifty stalwart fellows rushed out andup the h?ll with a “ hurra” that sent terror into the hearts of the senors carrnjos, who had but a moment before been beating arums, smok ing p uros and cursing the Americanos. The surprise was perfect, and the enemyscattered in every direction, without even returning the fire. A portion of Capt. Fairchild’s company were engaged during the morning clearing the heights in the rear, of such scattering Mexi cans as might hang about in that direction. All being clear, an advance guard, composed of thirty men, selected equally from the two in fantry companies, was placed under the com mand of Lieut. Cheney #f Capt. Haile’s com pany and ordered to march fifty paces ahead of the cavalry and clear the heights of the ene my who might lie in ambush. The command was now within three miles of the National Bridge. No intelligence had been received from Maj. Lally’s command and nothing beard of Lieut. Henderson and his party. Capt. Wells ordered some of the baggage to be de stroyed, and another (the 2d) wagon to be left the mules being useless and only interrupt ing the march. Nothing was seen of the ene my, and the little party proceeded quietly along until they came in sight of the fort on the left that commands the Bridge as well as the road for half a mile or more on each side; every thing quiet, not a Mexican to be seen in the vicinity. Capt. Wells ordered Lieut. Cheney to advance with his guard, followed by a por tion of mounted volunteers, to the Bridge, at the same time extending the column sufficiently to prevent the men from being unnecessarily sa crificed in case of a surprise. Every eye was upon the frowning height containing the fort, and Capt. W., with Lieut. Cheney and the ad vance guard of infantry, had reached the Bridge and remained some moments, (the rear hav ing advanced within musket range of the circu lar fort) when suddenly the height, or rather the fort, swarmed with Mexicans, who opened upon the detachment a destructive fire of es copetas, musketry, and with two small pieces of cannon, adding frequently congreve rockets. Captain Wells ordered those around him to return the fire, and then directed them to retire. Capt. Haile had been ordered to remain and protect the train. In less than ten minutes after the fire opened, nearly three fourths of the males were killed. Mr. Bady, the wagon master, succeeded in getting off one ambulance unhatmed, seven wagons and one ambulance being abandoned. Mr. Bady’s great perseverance, good judgement and zeal ous exertions during the whole trip are spoken of in high terms by the officers of the command. The men, the raw recruits under the captains before named, behaved with as much cool ness as veterans —indeed, with much more steadiness than any one had aright to expect. Lieut Cheney is highly commended by the com manding officer for his coolness and good conduct in the trying situation in which lie was placed. In truth, all performed their duty faithfully and gallantly, but they were entirely at the mercy of the triple force overhead , (the fort could not be reached,) and all they could do was to retire or die. The far end of the Bridge was barricaded. It may be proper to notice here, that the officer commanding the de tachment (cavalry, infantry and wagons) was not allowed a horse by the proper department, and was consequently obliged to command on foot until he dismounted a dragoon to enable him to perforin his duty faithfully. The command now (the 16th)'found itself without food or clothing. The knapsacks of the men had been for the occasiin packed in the wagons. No one brought from the scene more than he carried upon his person. The officers who were clad in their old clothes for I m itching lost every thing—clothing, papers, and all—and returnedto Vera Cruz like the men under them, some without coats and be reft of every comfort. The return of the command was more rapid than its advance, first because they were reliev ed ofthe wild mule train; and secondly, be cause they had no food, and were constantly surrounded by Mexicans. On the return, the responsible and hazardous duty of clearing the road and heights at dangerous places necessa rily devolvedupon Capt. Haile. The commanding officer behaved from the commencement to the end with great coolness, and displayed throughout the characteristics of a true soldier and accomplished officer. In the command was Mr. Hayes, formerly one ofthe proprietors of the New Orleans Del ta, an amateur, who was always ready and wil ling when danger was at hand. His excellent judgement, cheerful disposition, and bravery at I the moment of peril, rendered him a most use- j ful acquisition to the command. On returning j to the camp near Vera Cruz, Capt. Shephard, j of the Bth Infaniry.used every exertion to ren- 1 der the officers and men comfortable, and Mr. j Hayes and Mr. Allis (the postmaster at Vera ' Cruz) soon found means to contribute to the well-being ofthe officers. The command arrived on the 17lh at Santa Fe, and Mr. Badv volunteered to go forward to Vera Cruz and ask for ambulances for the sick and wounded. At 10 o’clock the same night he returned with two ambulances and four wagons. Capt. Fairchild left the infantry at Santa Fe. and went to the camp near Vera Cruz. On reaching, the encampment near i Vera Cruz, the worn-down troops found no shelter from the pelting rain which had just be ' gun to fall. They were wiihoift coats or blan kets, and at 10 o’clock the next day, twenty four hours after their arrival, they were still without tents or blankets, the rain having fallen in torrents, and their condition being well known by the commanding officer in the city, and requisitions having been made by those in distress. In the attack at the Nacional Bridge, Capt. Wells lost one man killed and one wounded. Capt. Haile lost two killed, (Begnar of St. Lou is and Sojourner of Shreveport, La.) One teamster was killed. Those who have died in consequence ofthe heat and fatigue, and em bracing the detachment of mounted men lost, wdi swell the loss of this badly planned expe dition to some forty men—forty men out of two hundred. Culture of Irish Potatoes. At a meeting of the State Agricultural So ciety of South Carolina, at Aiken, in July last, Mr. David Villard exhibited some potatoes, which the Committee report “as the largest they had ever seen.” The season has been pro pitious for the growth of large vegetables generally, yet us Mr. V.’s culture may have had some influence in producing potatoes of an extraordinary size, we copy his report to the Society : “ The land on which these potatoes were raised, was prepared by being plowed well and thrown up into beds six feet wide and two feet apart; the beds were trenched six inches deep and eighteen inches apart; the potatoes were cut in the usual manner, and plant ed from ten to twelve inches apart in the trenches; they were then covered with a compost of five parts of •table manure, one of plaster of Paris, two of lime and two of rotten ashes and burnt bones. These in gredients were well mixed, and strewn in the trenches deep enough to cover the potatoes —a light covering of common earth was then put on, and the usual hoe cul t ure pursued in tending the potatoes. J CHRONICLE & SENTINEL ’ BY J. W. & W. S. JONES. < j yihes M. SJIYTHB, Associate Editor ‘ DAILY, 1 OFFICE IN RAIL ROAD BANK BUILDING. TF RMS Daily Paper, per annum, in advance ••$lO j Tri-Weekly Paper, “ “ “ " 5 Weekly, (a mammoth sheet) “ * •• 2 I CASH SYSTEM. —In no case will an order for the ; j -iper be attended to, unless accompanied with the [ money, and in every instancewhen the time for which any subscription may be paid, expires before the rc ! ceipt of funds to renew the same, the paper will I e j discontinued. Depreciated funds received at value in this city. AUGUSTA, G* A : TUESDAY MORNING, SEPT. 7, 1847. FOR GOVERNOR: DUNCAN L. CLINCH, Os Camden. Whig Convention and Meeting. The Convention to nominate two Whig candidates for the Legislature, will meet at the City Hall to-day, at 3 o’clock P. M., when we trust every delegate will be present. In the evening at 7 o’clock, a meeting of the Whigs will take place at the City Hall, to re ceive the report of the proceedings ofthe Con vention. On this occasion every Whig in the city and county, who can, without manifest in convenience, should be present, and we sin cerely hope the Whigs ofthe city will general ly be there, to respond to the nominations. The War--Tlie Administration. [continued.] Our third proposition was, that the war with Mexico was provoked by the Executive for objects of corrupt personal ambition and party triumph. We should have said, perhaps, that there were reasons for believing this, instead of asserting it to be positively true, and we now qualify the assertion accordingly. We hope, sincerely, that such was not the fact, but that the error was one of the head and not of the heart. But we shall present our views, and leave the reader to draw his own conclusions. Mr. Polk, in his annual message of Decem ber Bth, 184 G, takes special pains to show that Texas extended to the Rio Grande. He says: “ The Texas which was ceded to Spain by the Florida Treaty embraced all the country now claimed by the State of Texas between the Nueces and the Rio Grande.” He then goes on to show that Texas claimed to the latter river and had a right to it, and then says: “This was the Texas which, by the act of our Con gress of the 29th December, 1845, was admit ted as one of the States of our Union.” Now, was not this a shameless assumption of a fact which was not true, and which Mr. Polk must have knoten was not true ? We have already shown, in a previous article, that Congress re fused to make the Rio Grande the western boundary of Texas, but left it an open question to be settled by negotiation. We will observe time it was essential for Mr. Polk to assume the Rio Grande to be the western boundary, in order to justify his ordering our army to lake I position on it. It is manifest, from what we j have shown, that Mr. Polk, in utter contempt ! of the decision of Congress, and by an assump tion of the power of an Autocrat, assumed and declared a fixed icestern boundary for the new State of Texas. Now, we shall convict him of something which looks very like criminality, by the testi mony of his own acts : Texas, by her annexa tion, became entitled to all the rights and privi- I leges which belonged to the other States of the Union. We shall show that Mr. Polk did not believe that Texas extended to the Rio Grande, or if he did, that he trampled upon her sove reign rights. Mr. Polk, in his message, said : j “The Congress o r Texas, on the nineteenth of De i ceinber, 1836, passed ‘an act to define the boundari's | ofthe Republic of Texas,’ in which they declared ihe | Rio Grande, groin its mouth to its source, to be their boundary, and by the said act they extended their ‘civil and political jurisdiction’ over the country up to that boundary.” As we have before stated and shown, he sus tained Texas in tills declaration, and said that “ this was the Texas,” &c.. which was admit ted by Congress into the Union. Now, all of our readers are familiar with t.’e expedition fitted out and conducted by General Kearney for the conquest of Santa Fc. That j town, San Juan, San Pedro, Taos, Valencia, ' and some fifteen or twenty other Mexican ; towns, and a population of from forty to sixty ! thousand Mexicans living in these towns and on their plantations and farms, are all on the cast of the Rio Grande, and consequently, ac cording to the Texan Congress and Mr, Polk, are within the limits of the sovereign State of Texas. Yet General Kearney was instructed to conquer it, and inform the people, which he did, that “It is the wish and intention ofthe ! United States to provide for New Mexico a free Government with the least possible delay, simi lar to those in the United States,” &c. He further announced that it was “his in tention to hold the Department of New M exi co, with its original boundaries on both sides of the Rio Grande as a part of the United Stages, and under the name of the teriitory of New Mexico. ' 1 This was a pretty high-handed mea sure for a President to take with the Territory of a sovereign State ! The people of Santa Fe and surrounding country, were actually sworn in as citizens of the United States, ab solved from all allegiance to Mexico, and some of them have been hung as traitors to the United Slates for endeavorin g to re-establish their con nection with the Mexican Republic! What was all this? Was it done from ignorance, imbecility, or something worse ? Could that country be a part of Texas and a part of the Mexican Department of .New Mexico at one and the same time? Was it conquered for Texas and to subject it to her authority ? Let the President speak for himself. We copy from his annual message of 1846, to which we have already referred. Alluding by name to New Mexico and California, he said: “It may be proper to provide for the security of these important conquest’s by making an adequate appropriation for the parpo.se of erecting fortifications and defraying the expenses necessarily incident to the maintenance of our possession and authority over them.” A pretty free use this of a part of a sovereign State, by a cautious, straight-Uaced Democratic strict-construction President! It looks very much like an outrage that wouL I make Gear- gians stand to their arms if perpetrated within the limits of Georgia ! Does it not show that Mr. Polk had no respect for the sovereign rights of Texas, or did not believe what he had declared in his message, that the Rio Grande was her western boundary! One of two things must be true—there is no escape from 1 it. Mr. Polk committed an aggression upon Mexico, if the east bank of the Rio Grande be longed to her. or an aggression upon Texas, if she was the rightful owner. Is he not fairly caught in a web which he has woven for him self? He stands in need of the aid of his friends! Can they relieve him from the di lemma? We could produce other facts to show that Mr. Polk himself had reasonable doubts about the western boundary: but we do not wish to be tedious, and proceed to introduce other testimony from Democrats and Mexicans, to show that Texas was bounded on the west by the river Nueces, while a Mexican State, and that as an independent government, she never extended her limits westwardly farther than the settlements immediately on the west of that river. We have already shown, in a previous num ber, that the Mexican Generals, Ampudia and La Vega, and the Prefect of Tamaulipas, con sidered the approach of our army to the Rio Grande to be an invasion of a Mexican pro vince, and that they desired Gen. Taylor’s re turn within the limits of Texas proper. We will make an extract from the proclamation of Gen. Mejia. He said: “ Still the Cabinet of the North stops not in its ca reer of spoliation. The Department of Texas is not the only prize at which it grasps ; its rapacity covers the left bank of the Rio Grande. The army, for some time stationed at Corpus Christi, is advancing to seize upon a great part of Tamaulipas &c. “ What hope remains, then, to the Republic of Mexico of treating with an enemy who, at the very time when lulling us to sleep by the opening ol diplo matic relations, moves on to occupy a territory which cannot be in dispute. The limits of Texas are cer tain and recognized, they have never come beyond the river Nueces-, and yet the American army has overstepped the line which separates Tamaulipas from that Department We will introduce some testimony now in reference to the maps. In Mathew Carey’s “ General Map of the World,” published in 1814, before there could have been any politi cal purpose to do wrong, the Nueces is made the western boundary of Texas. The pro vince of Tamaulipas is put down on both sides of the Rio Grande. Mr. Carey could have had no motive for deception. The Spanish Minister at Cevallas, in a letter to Messrs. Monroe and Pinckney, in 1805, says: “ The province of Texas, where the Spaniards have had settlements from the 17th century, bounds by the east with Louisiana, and contains the extensive coun try which lies between the river Medina, where ends t ;e government ofCoaqnila, to the post now aban doned.”—[See American State Papers , vol. 12, page 298. J The river Medina is even east of the river N:ieces. General Almonte was sent by the Mexican Government to Texas in 1834 upon some bu siness connected with that section. Texas and Coahuila at that time formed, one State. Gen. Almonte was informed by the State Govern ment of Texas and Coahuila, that the river Nueces, then put down on the map as the line between those provinces, was not the trm one. The true limit ought, it was alleged, to com mence “ at the emhrochnre of the river Aran saso, and follow it to its source, continuing thence in a direct line, until it reached the junction of the Medina and San Antonio ri vers; from which it ought to proceed along the eastern bank of the Medina towards its source, and terminate on the borders of Chihuahua.” — (Kennedy's Texas, Page A.) In M rs. Holley’s work on Texas, the Nue cesislaid down as the boundary between Texas and Tamaulipas and Coahuila. In David B. Edwards’s history of Texas, published in 1826, he makes the Nueces the icestern limits. Speak ing of the Rio Grande he says: “ If this river ever becomes the western boundary of Texas (as d sired by the inhabitants) it will add a hundred miles to its sea coast, and fifty thousand square miles to its superficies; the southern section of their suiface, sandy, barren prairie, almost destitute of water; audits northern, rocky, sterile mountains, nearly as destitute of timber.” The Convention which met in Texas in 1832 and 1833, in the division of the State into Senatorial districts, stopped at the Nue ces on the tvest, recognizing that as the west ern boundary. This array of testimony is conclusive to show that Mr. Polk ought not to have ordered the march of the army to the Rio Grande. We will now introduce some Democratic testimony on the subject. When the treaty was before the Senate which fixed the western boundary of Texas at the Rio Grande, Mr. Benton olfered this resolution : “That the incorporation of the left (oreastern) bank of the Rio del Norte into the American Union by vir tue of a treaty with Texas, comprehending as the said incorporation would do a part of the Mexican departments of New Mexico, Chihuahua, Coahuila and Tamaulipas would be an act of direct aggres sion on Mexico, for all the consequences of which the United Sta es would be responsible .” If, then, it would have been an aggression on Mexico for the United States to have done that, in what light should the conduct of Mr. Polk he viewed, who sent our army there, when the above treaty had been rejected, and Con gress in the joint resolution which annexed Texas, refused to fix the boundary at that river ? Mr. Ashley from Arkansas, another Demo cratic Senator, said: “ I will here add, that the present boundaries of Texas, I learn from Judge Ellis, the President of the Coven noN that formed the constitution of Tex as, and a Iso a member of the first legislature under that nstilution, were fixed as mey now are, (that is, extending to the Rio Grande,) solely and profess edly with a view of having a large margin in the negotiation icith Mexico , and not with the expecta tion of retailing them as they now exist in their , STATUTE BOOK.’* > Gen. Taylor took position with his troops 1 at Corpus Christi, because of the declaration i iu the letter of our charge Mr. Donalson, > (Dem.) of June 28th, 1845, that “Corpus i Christi is the most westerly point now occu ! pied by Texas.” r This is the testimony of our Minister to Tex as, Mr. Polk’s Minister, and one who, through f out the whole period of the negotiations, did ? every thing in his power to promote the policy * of annexation. Mr. Charles J. Ingersoll, r the Democratic Chairman of the House Com mittee of Foreign Relations, iu a speech, in i which he declared that he favored annexation to : destroy slavery, said, that “the stupendous de r aerts between the Nueces and the Rio Grande” - wvre a heaven-appoint ed barrier between the ! Anglo-Saxon and Mauritanian races on this | ; continent, and that it would be criminal in either to cross it for purposes of conquest. We have thus produced considerable Demo cratic testimony, that Texas not only did not extend to the Rio Grande, but that the left i bank of that river belonged to the Mexicans. But, we deem the refusal of Congress to fix the boundary, as sufficient to have constrained the President to confine the army to the defence and protection of that part of Texas in the oc cupancy of the Texans. We shall conclude our exposition to-mor row, by refuting some of the main arguments upon which our opponents rely to justify the President, and save him and theix. party from the thunderbolts of public opinion which are constantly falling upon them. — Fortunate Men. —The Health Committee of the city are said to be afflicted with very se vere colds. We congratulate them. Major-General Patterson, and Major Polk, passed through this city last evening en route for Mexico. The amount of money in the depositories of the Government on the 30th ult., subject to the draft of the Secretary of the Treasury, was ac cording to the monthly statement of that offi cer, $3,727,051.54. The U, S. frigate Brandywine, destined for the Brazil Station, dropped down from the Norfolk Navy Yard on Tuesday, preparatory to sailing. Tlxe Pass of El Penon. The following description of this pass, at which it is expected General Scott will be met in strong force by the Mexicans, is extracted from the correspondence of the N. V. Sun. — The pass is within five miles of Ayotla: “It is a narrow gorge, 16 miles from the city. It is about 60 rods wide, and runs between two volcanic mountains, high, barren, and difficult of access. At their bases the ground is level, and the Penon fortifica tion extends in a sort of half circle from mountain to mountain, nearly a quarter of a mile. One of these mountains lias a crater top, so hollowed as to serve as a natural breast work. Here a portion of the [Mexi can] army is to be posted, also a portion on the other mountain, and the main body in the fortifications. “The fortifications are composed of stone and earth of great strength, and are capable of mounting forty heavy cannon. Towards Puebla, the fortifications have a perfect cannon shot range fur more than a mile and a ha’f, sweeping the entire road. Near the moun tain to the right, going towards Puehia, on a high emi nence, Santa Anna has erected an observatory, safe from cannon shot, from which he intends watching the expected battle. A battery of cannon has also been placed on a hill to the right of the road beyond the pa?s towards Puebla. Some defences are also erected on the two mountains which form the Pass. This spot is admirably situated to defend the capital, and in the hands of any body hut Mexicans, would be impassable. Santa Anna’sobservatory is nearly thirty feet higher than any of the surrounding hills. Up wards of 30,000 men were at work on the fortifications when the Sun’s courier left. There is but one other road at all practicable, by which the American forces could advance, the ‘Annunciation’ to the south of the Puebla road, and this defended by still more difficult passes. These seem like formidable obstacles to en counter, but Scott is well supplied with the right arm of an attack, excellent artillery, and with infantry, whose assaults are irresistible.” For the Chronicle and Sentinel. As every body knows, who knows Mr. H. V. Johnson, there is not a more ungenerous and uncompromising politician in the Democratic ranks —that there is no n an more uncharitable to the opinions of his political opponents, or more reckless of truth in stating their positions —that there is not a stump orator in Georgia, from the highest to the lowest, who is more un fair, unmanly and discourteous in his public speaking. Under certain restraints, on certain occasions, he has been known to make an ill d:sguised effort to suppress his exuberant grll, but — His is the vulgar eye that lacks not courtesy alone, But doth betray the man to low-bo-’n malice prone. Having just met a Baldwin county Demo crat —one of Mr. Johnson’s very particular and lovin g friends —I drew his attention to the Chron icle of the Ist instant, containing an account of the meetings at Dalton and Cohutta Mountain, and the public exhibition of those incongruous affinities, the Didapper and Coonkiller. The characteristic part assigned to the latter, turned on a misrepresention of facts (to say nothing of the present abuse) in regard to Gen. Clinch. (If you will look in the last Recorder you will see a triumphant refutation of all inisrepresen tions on that subject, by “a Volunteer, ” who was stationed at Gen, Clinch’s plantation for several weeks during the war.) After the Dem ocrat hud read the accounts just referred to in yonr paper, he hastily remarked, “Well, Towns may need ‘backing.’ but the backing that John son is giving him will break his back!” Now I can understand the meaning of my friend’s remark only in one light, to wit: That John son, while pretending to help Towns along, is positively' riding him, and that Towns is not strong enough to carry so much weight on a rough course, up-hill at that. Excuse me, gentlemen, for attempting to give my Democratic friend’s remark a poetical ver sion, and for the present I will dismiss the sub ject : Poor Towns must be crushed by the hug of the bear, Or smothered forlack of God’s sunshine and air : As to votes, Towns could dodge ’em—and questions, he’d waive ’em : But from “Coonkiller’ s”friendship no dodging could save him. Like the pet bear that broke his poor master’s nose, The Coonkiller’s kindness more mars friends than foes : That the Dodger needs backing ’tis freely agreed— And the Coonkiller’s backing is backing indeed ! Hancock. For the Chronicle 8? Sentinel. The Democratic presses are asserting that the tariff of 1846 is yielding more revenue than that of 184*2. The statement has been made and no one seems disposed to contradict it. Upon reference, however, to the facts, I find it is not 1 true. By Mr. Walker’s report, made the 3d December 1845, I find he says, the income from customs for the fiscal year ending 30lh June, < 1845, is $27,528,112 70. By his report dated December 9th, 1846, I find he states the income from customs for the • fiscal year ending 30th June 1846, at $26,712,- ■ 667 87. Now, by the report published in the Union, r of the quarterly receipts of the fiscal year ending , 30th June, 1847, I find they are $22,299,791, - thereby showing, that they have fallen off under i the new tariff, four millions and a half ot dol > lars in one year. I hope we shall hear no more -about the tariff of 1846 yielding more revenue ’ than that of 1842. The facts deny the slate -3 meat. Walker. Health of New Orleans.— The official list of Interments in the City of New Orleans from 9. A. M., of Saturday, the 28th to Mon day, the 3gth of August, at the same hour, two days, shows 139 in all, of which 104 were of I Yellow Fever. The Interments in Lafayette for 48 hours , ending 30th ult., were 38, of which 29 were of Yellow Fever. From the N. O. Commercial Times , 31s/ ult. The Cotton Crop—The Army Worm. We regret to slate that the genuine Army I Worm, which caused such destructive ravages j ! to the cotton crop last year, has made its ap- | pearance simultaneously in several parts of i Mississippi, threatening again to destroy the la j bors of the planter. Letters received yester- I | day, mention its appearance in Warren, j I Adams, Jefferson, Concordia and Wilkinson 1 counties, and from the alarming rapidity with I which the insect spreads, it is apprehended that j the visitation will be general throughout the | country. Fortunately the crop is lurther ad- I vanced than it was at this period last year, and 1 thus less exposed to the depredations of the catterpillar ; but still it cannot be disguised that much mischief may be accomplished by the se cond brood of worms a fortnight hence, more especially if the weather should continue rainy. Our esteemed correspondent, Mr. Thomas Affleck, writes as follows: Natchez, August 28, 1847. j Editors Commercial Times — Gentlemen: —I wrote hurriedly, on my way home, through Natchez, from a two day’s trip, examining into the progress of the cotton-worrn. They are upon xis, as I have all along anticipated, and the crop is gone —that is, they will sweep over it in some twelve or fifteen days, equal to a frost at that date. This you may rest as sured of. I will give you particulars in a day or so. Yours truly, Thomas Affleck, | Another gentleman writes from Rodney, Miss., August 27, 1847. My crop will to a certainty, be a short one. The rains and boll-worms have nearly destroyed the crops in my neighborhood, and the army-worms have made their appearance. The Yazoo City Whig of the 24th instant, speaks dolefully of the prospects of the crop in that section. It says: “ We regret to announce that the boll-worm has already commenced its ravages, to a great extent, in ; portions of this, and some of the adjoining counties. So much has it injured the cotton, that many planters in whose fields it has made Us appearance, have al ready despaired of gathering as large a crop as they did last year.” In addition to the above, we subjoin the fol ' lowing extracts of letters from a very intelli- I gent gentleman in Woodville—one fully con versant with the subject. Woodville, August 26, 1847. Gentlemen : —lt is only a few days since I gave you rather a flattering account of the prospects for a crop here. Since then, a considerable damper has been thrown upon the bright anticipations of those who were indulging then in fancied security, by the pcsitive appearance of the genuine Cotton-Eating- Catterpillar. Until now, the stories circulated about their supposed appearance in many parts of the coun try, were all humbug. They have been found on several plantations around Woodville, principally in the Western portion of the county, and on the places where they first appeared last year. I have before ire two of them which came from a place adjoining Ashwood. In appearance, habits, &c., they are pre cisely similar to the Cotton Eater of last year, and have been pronounced genuine by Mr. Dunbar, Mr. Visebus, and others, who observed them critically in 1814 and 1846. They are so much later than last year, and have as yet shown themselves in such small numbers, that no calculation can be made of the damage likely to result from their ravages. Judging from past experience, the foliage of the cotton is safe fron destruction, until about the 20th of September; and should the weather continue good, and other cir * cumstances prove favorable, the crop may yet be twice as large as last year. For the present, all I can say is, the genuine Cot ton-Eater is at work here. When they have further developed themselves, I will write you more explicit ly in regard to the prospective damage likely to result from their work of destruction, which, as I have be fore stated, will not begin to any considerable extent before the 20ih of September —about three weeks later than 1846, and two weeks earlier than in 1844. Woodville, August 27, 1846. I have seen since yesterday, several specimens of Caterpillars brought in from the country, in numbers sufficient to fully confirm the statement I made to you yesterday —that the worm is generally making its appearance on the plantations in this vicinity. There is no longer a doubt but that the fields will be stript | between the 20th and 30th of September at farthest. Many planters think the damage to the crop will only be slight, as the Cotton is so far advanced, and the progress of the worm likely to be retarded by the cold nights in September. The Cotton Crop. —The following letter from a very intelligent planter and close observer of the slate of the crops, will be read with inter est. Yazoo City, August 23, 1847. Gentlemen: —Whilst I am writing, I will say a word or two in relation to the growing crop in this re gion. Since the 20th of June we have had by far the most rainy season I have seen in this country, and it continues up to the present moment. Considerable local damage has been done in many places by the overflow of creek bottoms. These rains have done considerable injury to every agricultural product. Even the corn has suffered. Much of it is prostrate upon the ground in consequence of heavy winds, and will rot before it can dry sufficiently to house. The cotton has sustained itself, under these continued rains, much better than I thought it would ; though for the lasi ten days it has suffered severely, and certainly pre sents a more gloomy prospect now than it did twenty dtys ago. I now consider it certain that the earliest portion, say the first half of what would ordinarily be expect ed, will be very light indeed. And as to the latter portion, it will depend materially upon the time we have the first killing frost. An early frost will do more damage this year than it ever did. The cotton is lute beyond all precedent In the bottoms in this region the first cotton basket will scarcely go into the field before the first of September. In the hill coun try there is not one man in fifty that I as picked a boll up to this time. Slill, there is perhaps, enough of growing cotton to make a moderate crop, if we can have weather to mature and pick it. 1 regret to see so much appearance of alarm and so many erroneous statements in relation to the cotton worm. I am well satisfied that the worm of last year has not yet been seen in this region of country. What a day may bring forth is more than any of us can tell. I am the better able to make the above observations at this time, as I have of late, and even up to the present day, had the opportunity of seeing a good many plantations, and of conversing with a number of planters in this and the adjoining counties. Yours very respectfully, The Montgomery (Ala.) Flag of the 4th inst. says: The Cotton Crop end Weather. —The complaints of the crops are becoming every day more general and more decided. In some places the caterpillar has not appeared, or done any mischief, while in others it is said to be sweeping everything before it. In this State, as far as we can learn from our ex changes, and particularly in,this section, the complaint is general. The boll worm is every where, and doing far more mischief than it did last year. From some parts of Macon, Autauga and Montgomery counties, the accounts are very gloomy. On one plantation where 250 bales were made last year, we understand that the overeer says he does not expect to make more than 100 this year. Others use similar language, — Some weeks ago the weather cleared off warm and fine, and the crop began to show considerable signs of improvement, but latterly the damp, cloudy, rainy weather that marked the commencement of summer has returned, and the hopes which our planters began to nourish of making an average crop have departed. Yesterday it rained steadily all day, without intermis sion, enough to destroy whatever cotton may be open ing in the fields. Indeed, in some instances, for want of warm sunshine, the cotton in the opening boll re mains in a hard lump, while in others it is found stain ed and even rotten. Complaint is not confined to any one character of soil either, it is as general from the sandy laud plantations as from the prairies. So far as tins section of the State is concerned, we believe that the crop will be less this year than last. The same will likely be the result in Dallas, Greene, Perry, Ma rengo, Sumter, and other counties in this State, and those in upper Mississippi, lying near Columbia. The Mobile Advertiser of the Ist instant says: The Growing Crops. — -We have taken pains to obtain correct information in relation to the growing crops, particularly in this State, and, during~tlPT 11 ten days, have received letters, from the most am) U tic and reliable sources, from all parts oftheStJ. I from Columbus, Miss., and we regret to say , th it uniformly, without a single exception contain th,. y unfavorable intelligence. It is unnecessary, ii,,?* it would be impossible, to publish all the letters * have on this subject, but as a specimen, we oj|. e following extractof one dated “ Greeasborouoh \ 25 —“The Cotton Worm is increasing rapidly is quite destructive in this section. This tov with the late rains have cast a gloom over tm* ler pects here that the most favorable season pel. The bottom crop as well as the middle ° j will be almost an entire failure , especially j Cr '" J P | blacklands, where the weed is so rank that it • j possible for the boll to open or mature before it i No one is yet picking to any extent here. \\v rots i ture that there has not been, nor will there be ° n j running in this county in two weeks. R e |y u * e ' n I the most unfavorable reports that reach you fmm.y ; region are hardly bad enough.” ' 11 Such are the accounts we have from this State | we are forced to the conclusion that the prospects’ l!* ’ * year at this time, bad as they were, were not * gloomy than they are now. Still every thino- j on the future. Should the worm cease its" rara and the weather prove favorable during the fall mom? there is yet plenty of time for an average crop p the Atlantic States, the accounts have been unfn, ble tb-oughout the season. From Louisiana our recounts are more favorable. The worm is repo? cd as having ceased its work of destruction wiThrV having done material injury, and the prospects V good crop are quite promising. These are our V counts and those interested can form their own on'*"' ions from the facts presented. I Cotton. —The Montgomery Journal of th e 3d inst. says: The total Cotton receipts at Mont, gomery for the year ending September 1, 1847 a ‘ v 44,698 bales. Total shipments 44,178 “ Stock on hand Sept. I, 1817, 520 “ This is far below our average receipts of the l last six years. Although the Cotton of a much more extensive scope of country now comes to this market, it is a matter of much doubt, from present appearances, whether tiie growing crops will equal even those of last season, ft is yet too early to estimate, with any certainty the extent, or the deficiency of productionl- This, howeyer, is certain, if dry weather does not soon intervene to check the ravage* of the boll worm, the destruction will be incalculable The crop is later by several weeks than usual, and the receipts up to this date will fall under a dozen bales. Prom South America* By a barque from Buenos Ayres, news from that city to the 30th of July has been received. The only important item of intelligence is that of the failure of the attempt to adjust the dif ferences between the republic of Buenos Avres and Uruguay. The negotiations were broken off on the night of the 20th June, and the two plenipotentiaries have demanded their pass ports. The effect of this news at Buenos Ayres was very marked. Trade of all kinds was stopped for the time. Os the causes of the failure not ing definite was known:—it was attributed, however, to the claims of Don Manuel Oribeto be Governor, and to a point of conflict relative to the navigation of the Uruguay. From Honduras news has been received to August 7th, the same arrival brings news from Guatemala to July 16th. A commercial treaty has been concluded between Great Britain and the Central Republic. It is said to be based cm reciprocity. Other treaties have also been con cluded with Prussia and the Hanseatic cites of Hamburg, Bremen and Lubec. The Government have taken off a part of the duties on owners of estates and agriculturists, exacting only the Alcabala. The Government have decreed that the ad ministration of duties be empowered to gram license to tow tobacco in Zacapa, on the banks of the Motagua, in Esquipulas, Jucotau, and in Gualan, for the purpose of encouraging this branch of the public revenue.— N. Y. Courier and Enquirer. The Intercepted Dispatch.—The Union pronounces the pretended letter, which first appeared in the Mexican papers as an inter cepted dispatch from our Government to Gen eral Scott, a positive forgery. There is not a fact stated which is true. The French steamer Missouri left New \ork on Tuesday afternoon for Cherbourg and Havre. In passing into the river she was carried against a barge, causing some slight damage to both vessels. Her mail is very large :—about twenty thou sand letters and six thousand papers. During the year ending Ist August, 1847, the number of steerage passengers arrived at the port of New York was 152,116, during the same period in 1846, the number was 91 ,280. The amount of Treasury Notes outstanding on the Ist inst., it is officially stated, wasfLv 808,439,31. Gen. Taylor has been nominated for the Pres idency at a meeting of the Democrats of Union j County, Pa., at which the Hon. George Krc mer presided. Special Notices. 'Faxes I Taxes !—I will attend on Tuesday, the 7th inst., at the Market-House ; on Wednesday, the Bth inst., at the Eagle & Phoenix; on Thursday, the 9th inst., at the U. S. Hotel ; and on Friday, the 10th inst., at Andres, Spears &• Wooten’s Warehouse, to collect for the present year. Hours from 10 A. M. to 1 o’clock, P. M. s7 R. A. WATKINS, T. C. H. C. J. A. S. Mill*gan will attend to tin prod ice of MEDICINE AND SURGERY, In An gust a and its vicinity. Office in Metcalf’s Range, up stairs. En trance one door below Mr. J. E. Marshall’s Drug Store. an 18 H. P. Peery’s Vermifuge or Dead Shot for Worms. —There is perhaps no disease to which children are exposed so common and fatala» Worms; tin; symptoms resemble those of almost ev ery other complaint, and often produce the most alarming ellects before they are suspected. Extract from a letter recived from Dr. Wharton : Newcastle , Va., Jan. 3 d, 1844.—Dear Sir—l ga« a vial of the “ Dead Shot” you left with me ljrt |( ’ purpose of testing its merits, to a friend ol mine, w 10 introduced its use in his family by giving it to a p* tienl selected as a suitable case. It was adnnmste ed according to the directions around the vial, am ’ my astonishment, the first operation brought a " a ) about 35 worms. I have administered it in other instances since, with similar good success, a it will afford me much pleasure in doing ah in power to recommend it to the notice of my nP and the public generally. With respect yours, Thos. J. Wharton. Price 25 cents per vial. Prepared by Dr. H- • Peery, and sold by A. B. & D. Sands, Druggist Fulton-street, New York. Sold also by HavilA- > Risley & Co., Augusta, and by Druggists genei ly throughout the United States. s4-m» vv JOB PRINTING ESTABLISHMENT Railroad Bank Building, Broad-st» JOB PRINTINGS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION, AND IN THE BEST 5T ' OF T.IE ART, PLAIN OH FANCY, Neatly Executed at this Business Cards, Hand Bi ,ai . „ Circulars, Posters Car d** Warehouse Rccipts, Show Bills A Bill He-ds, Checks, Pamphlets, Drafts, Bonds, Blanks of all * l b j* Notes of Hand, Ce ideates, h«be &c. &c. Adc. Cpvti; O* The Proprietors of ifie Chronicle » blk> NELrespectfiully inform them patrons andthej that they a e prcpai cd to ex cute their ord u thing in t:eJo . P»'* -KO line, and J» -, h , as they fatter themselves, not surpasse , aa J AU orders executed wuh at prices as reasonable as at an r other e
