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CHRONICLE & SENTINEL.
BYJ. W. & w. S. JONES.
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this city.
VETO MESSAGE,
ON THfi RIVER. AND HARBOR BILL.
To the House of Representatives :
On the last day of the last session of Con
gress a bill, entitled “ An act to provide for con
tinuing certain works, in the Territory of
Wisconsin, and for other purposes, M which
had passed both Houses, was presented to me
for my approval. I entertained insuperable
objections to its becoming a law ; but the short
period of the session which remained afforded
me no sufficient opportunity to prepare my
objections, and communicate them, with the
bill, to the House of Representatives, in which
it originated. For this reason the bill was re
tained, and I deem it proper now to state my
objections to it.
Although, from the title of the bill, it would
seem that its main object was to make provis
ion for continuing certain works already com
menced in the territory of Wisconsin, it ap
pears, on examination of its provisions, that it
contains only a single appropriation of six
thousand dollars applied within that Ter
ritory, while it appropriates more than half a
millionofdollarsfor the improvement ofnume
rous harbors and rivers lying within the limits
and jurisdiction of several of the States of the
Union.
At the preceding session of Congress it be
came my duty to return, w ith my objections,
to the House in which it originated, a bill mak
ing simi'ar appropriations, and involving like
principles, and the views then expressed re
main unchanged.
The circumstances under which this heavy
expenditure of public money was proposed
were of imposing weight in determining upon
its expediency. Congress had recognised ihe
existence of war with Mexico, and to prose
cute it to “a speedy and successful termina
tion” had made appropriations exceeding our
ordinary revenues. To meet the emergency,
and provide lor the expense* of the Govern
ment, a loan of twenty-three millions of dol
lars was authorized at the same session, which
has since been negotiated. The practical effect
of this bill, had it become a law, would have
been to add the whole amount appropriated by
it to national debt. It would, in fact, have
made necessary an additional loan to that
amount, as effectually as if in terms it had
required the Secretary of the Treasury to bor
row the money therein appropriated. The
main question in that aspect is, whether it is
wise, while all the means and credit of
the government are needed to bring the
existing war to an honorable close, to im
pair the one and endanger the other by bor
rowing money to be expended in a system of
internal improvements capable of an expansion
sufficient to swallow' up the revenues not only
of our own country, but of the civilized world.
It is to be apprehended that, by entering upon
such a career at this moment, confidence, at
home and abroad, in the wisdom and prudence
of the Government, would be so far impaired
as to make it difficult, without immediate re
sort to heavy taxation, to maintain the public
credit and to preserve the honor of the nation
and the glory of our arms, in prosecuting the
existing war to a successful conclusion. Had
this bill become a law, it is easy to foresee that
largely increased demands upon the Treasury
would have been made at each succeeding ses
sion of Congress, for the improvement of nu
merous other harbors, bays, inlets, and rivers,
of equal importance with those embraced by
its provisions. Many millions would probably
have been added to the necessary amount of
the war debt, the annual interest on which
must also have been borrowed, and finally a
permanent national debt been fastened on the
country and entailed on posterity.
The policy of embarking the Federal Go
vernment in a general system of internal im
provements had its origin but little more than
twenty years ago. In a very lew years the ap
plication to Congress for appropriations in
furtherance of such objects exceeded two hun
dred millions of dollars. In this alarming crisis
President Jackson refused to approve and sign
the Maysville road bill, the VVabash river bill,
and other bills ofsimilar character. His inter
position put a check upon the new policy of
throwingthe cost of local improvements upon
the National Treasury, preserved the revenues
of the nation for their legitimate objects, by
which he was enabled to extinguish the then
existing public debt, and to present to an ad
miring world the unprecedented spectacle
in modern times, of a nation free from
debt, and advancing to greatness with un
equalled strides, under a Government which
was content to act within its appropri
ate sphere in protecting the Slates and in
dividuals in their own chosen career of im
provement and enterprise. Although the bill
under consideration proposes no appropriation
for a road or canal, it is not easy to perceive the
difference in principle or mischievous tendency
between appropriations for making roads and
d'gging canals, and appropriations to deepen
rivers and improve harbors. All arealike with
in the limits and jurisdiction of the States, and
rivers and harbors alone open an abyss of ex
penditure sufficient to swallow up the wealth
of the nation, and to load it with a debt which
may feller its energies and tax its industry for
ages to come.
The experience of several of the States as
well as the United States, during the period
that Congress exercised the power of appro
priating the public money for internal improve
ments, is full of eloquent warnings. It seems
impossible in the nature of the subject, as con
nected with local representation, that the seve
ral objects presented for improvement sha 1 be
weighed according to their respective merits,
and appropriations confined to those whose im
portance would justify a tax on the whole com
munity to effect their accomplishment.
In some of the States, systems of internal
improvements have been projected, consisting
of roads and canals, many of which, taken
separately, were not of sufficient public impor
tance to justify a tax on the entire population
of the Slate to effect their construction ; and
yet, by a combination of local interests, operat
ing on a majority of the Legislature, the whole
have been authorized, and the States plunged
into heavy debts. To an extent so ruinous has
this system of legislation been carried in some
portions of the Union, that the people have
found it necessary to their own safety and pros
perity to forbid their Legislatures, by constitu
tional restrictions, to contract public debts for
such purposes without their immediate consent.
If the abuse of power has been so fatal in
the States where the systems of taxation
are direct, and the representatives respon
sible at short periods to small masses of con
stituents, how much danger of abuse is to be
apprehended in the General Government,
whose revenues are raised by indirect taxation,
and whose functionaries are responsible to the
people in larger masses and tor longer terms?
Regarding only objects of improvement ol
the na.ure of those emb need in this bill, how
inexhaust.ble we shah find them. Let tiie im
agination run along our coast, from the river
St. Croix to the Rio Grande, and trace every
river emptying into the Atlantic and Gulf ol
Mexico to its source; let it coast along our
lakes and ascend ail its tributaries; let it pass to
Oregon, and explore all its bays, inlets, and
streams and then let it raise the curtain of the
future and contemplate the extent of this Re
public’, and the objects of improvement it will
embrace, as it advances to its high destiny, and
the mind will be startled at the immensity and
danger of the power which the principle of this
bill involves.
Already our Confederacy consists of twenty
nine States. Other States may at no distant
period be expected to be formed on the west
of our present settlements. We own an exten
sive country in Oregon, stretching many hun
dreds of miles from east to west, and seven de
grees of latitude from south to north. By the
admission of Texas into the Union we have re
cently added many hundreds of miles to our
sea-coast. In all this vast country, bordering
on the Atlantic and Pacific, there are many
j thousands of bays, inlets, and rivers equally en
titled to appropriations for their improvement
with the objects embraced in this bill.
We have seen in our States, that the in
terests of individuals or neighborhoods, com
bining against the general interest, have in
volved their Governments in debts and bank
ruptcy; and when the system prevailed in the
General Government, and was checked by Pre
sident Jackson, it had begun to be considered
the highest merit in a member of Congress to
be able to procure appropriations of public
money to be expended within his district or
Stale, whatever might be the object. We should
be blind to the experience of the past, if we did
not see abundant evidence that, if this system
of expenditure is to be indulged in, combina
tions of individual and local interests will be
found strong enough to control legislation, ab
sorb the revenue of the country, and plunge the
Government into a hopeless indebtedness.
What is denominated a harbor by this system does
not necessarily mean a bay, inlet or arm of the sea on
the ocean or on our lake shores, on the margin of
which may exist a commercial city or town engaged
in foreign or domestic trade, but is made to embrace
waters where there is not only no city or town,
but no commerce of any kind. By it a bay or sheet
of shoal water is called a harbor, and appropriations
demanded from Congress to deepen it, with a view to
draw commerce to it, or to enable individuals to build
up a town or city on its margin, upon speculation, and
for their own private advantage.
What is denominated n river, which may be im
proved, in the system, is equally undefined in its
meaning. It may be the Mississippi, or itmay be the
smallest and most obscure and unimportant stream
bearing the name of river which is to be found in any
State in the Union.
Such a system issubject, moreover, to be perverted
to tha accomplishment of the worst of political j pur
poses. During the few years it was in full operation,
and which immediately preceded the veto of Presi
dent Jackson of the Maysville road bill, instances
were numerous of public men seeking to gain popular
favor by holding out to the people interested in parti
cular localities, the promise of large disbursements of
public money. Numerous recon noissances and sur
veys were made during that period for roads and ca
nals through many parr* or me L'nion, and me people
in the vicinity of each were led to believe that their
property would be enhanced in value and they them
selves tic enriched by the large expenditures which
they were promised by the advocates of the system
should be made from the Federal Treasury iq their
neighborhood. Whole sections of the country were
thus sought to be influenced, and the system was fast
becoming one not only of profuse and wasteful expen
diture, but a potent political engine.
If the power to improve a harbor be admitted, it is
not easy to perceive how the power to deepen every
inlet on the ocean or the lakes, and make harbors
where there are none, can be denied. If the power
to clear out or deepen the channel of rivers near their
mouths be admitted, it is not easy to perceive how the
power to improve them to their fountain head and
make them navigable to their sources can be denied.
Where shall the exercise of the power, if it be as
sumed, stop ? Has Congress the power, when an in
let is deep enough to admit a schooner, to deepen it
still more, so that it will admit ships of heavy burden ;
and has it not the power, when an inlet will admit a
boat, to make it deep enough to admit a schooner ?
May it improve rivers deep enough already to float
ships and steamboats, and has it no power to improve
those which are navigable only for flat-boats and bar
ges ? May the General Government exercise power
and jurisdiction over the soil of a Slate consisting of
rocks and sand bars in the beds of its rivers, and may
it not excavate a canal around its waterfalls or across
its lands for precisely the same object?
Giving to the subject the most serious and candid
consideration of which my mind is capable, I cannot
perceive any intermediate grounds. The power to
improve harbors and rivers for purposes of navigation,
by deepening or clearing out, by dams and sluices, by
locking or canalling, must be admitted without any
other limitation than the discretion of Congress, or it
must be denied altogether. If it be admitted, how
broad and how susceptible of enormous abuses is the
power thus vested in the General Government?
There is not an inlet of the ocean or the lakes, not a
river, creek, or streamlet within the States, which is
not brought for this purpose within the power and ju
risdiction of the General Government.
Speculation, disguised under the cloak of public
good, will call on Congress to deepen shallow 7 inlets,
that it may build up new cities cn their shores, or to
make streams navigable which nature has closed by
bars and rapid*, that it may sell at a profit its lands
upon heir banks. To enrich neighborhoods by
spending within it the moneys of the nation, will be
the aim and boast of those who prize their local in
terests above the good of the nation, and millions up
on millions will be abstracted by tariffs and taxes
from the earnings of the whole people to foster specula
tion and subserve the objects of private ambition.
Such a system could not be administered with any
approach to equality among the several States and
sections of the Union. There is no equality among
them in the objects of expenditure, and, if the funds
were distributed according to the merits of those ob
jects, some would be enriched at the expense of their
neighbors. But a greater practical evil would be
found in the art and industry by which appropriations
would be sought and obtained. The most artful and
industrious would be the most successful ; the true
interests of the country would be lost sight of in an
annual scramble for the contents of the Treasury ;
and the member of Congress who could procure the
largest appropriations to be expended in his district,
would claim the rewards of victory from his enrich
ed constituent*. The necessary consequence would
be, sectional discontents and heartburnings, increased
taxation, and a national debt, never to be extinguished.
In view of these portentous consequences, I cannot
but think that this course of legislation should be ar
rested, even were there nothing to forbid it in the fun
damental laws of our Union. Tins conclusion is for
tified by the fact that the constitution itself indicates
a process by which harb.rs and rivers «{♦»,;« ♦»—
*Liayu c mipioveu —a process not susceptible ol
the abuses necessarily to flow from the assumption of
the power to improve them by the General Govern
ment; just in its operation, and actually practised up
on, without complaint or interruption, daring more*
than thirty years from the organization of the present
Government.
The constitution provides that “ no State shall, with
out the consent of Congress, lay any duly of tonnage.”
With the “ consent ” of Congress such duties may be
levied, collected, and expended by the States. We
are not left in the dark as to the objects of this reser
vation of ;w)wer to the States. The subject was fully
considered by the convention that framed the consti
tution. It appears, in Mr. Madison’s report of the pro
ceedings of that body, that one object of the reserva
tion was, that the States should not be restrained from
laying duties of tonnage for the purpose of clearing
harbors. Other objections were named in the debates,
and among them the support of seamen. Mr. Madi
son, treating on this subject in the Federalist, declares
that—
“ The restraint on the power of the Stales over im
ports and exports is enforced by all the arguments
1 which prove the necessity of submitting the regulation
* of trade to the Federal Councils. It is needless, there
i fore, to remark further on this head, than that the
- manner in which the restraint is qualified seems well
. calculated at once to secure to the States a reasonable
• discretion in providing for the conveniency of their
imports anti exports, and to the United States a rea
sonable check against the abuse of this discretion. ”
j The States may lay tonnage duties for clearing har
bors, improving rivers, or for other purjioses, hut are
restrained from abusing the power, because, before
| such duties can take effect, the “consent” of Con-
J gress must be obtained. Here is a safe provision for
, the improvement of harbors and rivers in the reserved
, | powers of the States, and in the aid they may de-
B ! rive from duties of tonnage levied with the consent ol
f Congress. Its safeguards are, that both the State Le
s gislatures and Congress have to concur in the act o
v raising the funds; that they are in every instance tc
be levied upon the commerce of those ports which arc
to profit by the proposed improvement; that no ques
r tion of conflicting power or jurisdiction is involved ;
i that the expenditure being in the hands of those wh<
f are to pay the money and be immediately benefitted,
r will be more carefully managed and more productive
9 of good than if the funds were drawn from the na<
d tional Treasury and disbursed by the officers of the
General Government; that such a system will carry |
with it no enlargement of Federal power and patron- |
age, and leave the States to be tne sole judges of :heir
own wants and interests, with only a conservative ne
gative in Congress upon any abuse of the power which
the States may attempt.
Under this wise system the improvement of har
bors and rivers was commenced, or rather continued,
from the organisation of’ the Government under the
present constitution. Many acts were passed by the
several States levying duties of tonnage, and many
were passed by Congress, giving their consent ts
those acts. Such acts have been passed by Massa
chusetts, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Maryland,
Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Geor
gia, and have been sanctioned by the consent of Con
gress. Without enumerating them all, it may be
instructive to refer to some of them, as illustrative of
the mode of improving harbors and rivers in the ear
ly periods of our Government, as to the c jnstitution
alily of which there can be no doubt.
In January, 1790, the State of Rhode Island passed
a law levying a tonnage duty on vessels arriving in
the port of Providence, “ for the purposes of clearing
and deepening the channel of Providence river, and
making the same more navigable.”
On the 2d of February, 1798, the S ate of Massa- \
chusetts passed a law levying a tonnage duty on all ?
vessels, whether employed in the foreign or coasting
trade, which might enter into the Kennebeck river,
for the improvement of the same, by “ rendering the
passage in and out of said river less difficult and I
dangerous.”
On the Ist of April, 1805, the State of Pennsylvania |
passed a law levying a tonnage duty on vessels, “ to I
remove She obstructions to the navigation of the river I
Delaware, below' the city of Philadelphia.”
On the 23d of January, 1804, the State of Virginia |
passed a law levying a tonnage duty on vessels, ‘‘for i
improving the navigation of James river.”
On the 22d of February, 1826, the State of Vir
ginia passed a law levying a tonnage duty on vessels,
“ for improving the navigation of James river, from
Warwick to Rockett’s Landing.”
On the Bth of December, 1824, the State of Vir
ginia passed a law levying a tonnage duty on vessels,
for “ improving the navigation of Appomattox river,
from Pocahontas bridge to Broadway.”
In November, 1821, the State of North Carolina
passed a law levying a tonnage duty on vessels, “for
the purpose of opening an inlet at the lower end of
Albemarle Sound, near a place called Nag’s Head,
and improving the navigation of said Sound, with its
branches;” and in November, 1828, an amendatory
law was passed.
On the 21st of December, 1804, the State of South
Carolina passed a law levying a tonnage duty, for
the purpose of “ building a marine hospital in the vi
cinity of Charleston and on the 17 th of December,
1816, another law was passed by the Legislature of
that State for the “ maintenance of a marine hos
pital.”
On the 10th of February, 1787, the Stale of Geor
gia passed a law levying a tonnage duty on all ves
sels entering into the port of Savannah, for the pur
pose of “ clearing” die Savannah river of “ wrecks
and other obstructions” to the navig..tion.
On the 12th of December, 1804, the State of Geor
gia passed a law levying a tonnage duty on vessels,
“ to be applied to the payment of the fees of the har
bor-master and h»ulth nf I
and St. Mary’s.”
In April, 1783, the Slate of Maryland passed a law
laying a tonnage duty on vessels, for the improvement
of the “basin” and “ harbor” of Baltimore and the
“ river Patapsco.”
On the 26th of December, 1791, the State of Mary
land passed a law levying a tonnage duty on vessels,
for the improvement of the “ harbor and port of Balti
more.”
On the 28th of December, 1793, the State of Mary
land passed a law authorizing the appointment of a
health officer lor the port of Baltimore, and laying a
tonnage duty on vessels to defray the expenses.
Congress have passed many acts giving its “con- i
sent ’ to these and other State law’s, the first of which
is dated in 1790, and the last in 1843. By the latter |
act the “consent” of Congress was given to the law j
of the Legislature of the State of Maryland, laying i
a tonnage duty on vessels for the improvement of the
harbor of Baltimore, and continuing it in force until
the Ist day of June, 1850. I transmit herewith
copies of such of the acts of the Legislatures of the
States on the subject, and also the acts of Congress
giving its “consent” thereto, as have been collated.
That the power was constitutionally and rightfully
exercised in these cases does not admit of a doubt.
The injustice and inequality resulting from con
ceding th« power to both Governments, is illustrated
by several of the acts enumerated. Take that for
the improvement of the harbor of Baltimore. That
improvement is paid for exclusively by a tax on the
commerce of that city ; but if an appropriation be
made from the national treasury for the improvement
of the harbor of Boston, it must be paid in part out of
taxes levied on the commerce of Baltimore. The re
sult is, that the commerce of Baltimore pays the full
cost of the harbor improvement designed for its own
benefit, and, in addition, contributes to the cost of all
other harbor and river improvements in the Union.
The facts need but be stated to prove the inequality
and injustice which cannot but flow from the practice
embodied in this bill. Either the subject should be
left as it was during the jirst third of a century, or
the practice of levying tonnage duties by the Stales
should be abandoned altogether, and all harbor and
river improvements made under the authority of the
United States, and by means of direct appropriations.
In view not only of the constitutional difficulty, but as
a question of policy, lam clearly of opinion that the
whole subject should be left to the States, aided by
such tonnage duties on vessels navi gating their wateis
as their respective Legislatures may think proper to
propose and Congress see fit to sanction. This “con
sent” of Congress would never be refused in any
case where the duty proposed to be lex led by the State
was reasonable, and where the object .»f improvement
was one of importance. The funds required for the
improvement of harbors and rivers may be raised in
this mode, as was done in the earlier j eriods of the
Government, and thus avoid a resort ti a strained
construction of tne constitution, not wan mted by its
letter. If direct appropriations be made of the money
in the Federal Treasury for such purposes, the ex
penditures will be unequal and unjust. The money
in the Federal Treasury is paid by a tax on the whole
people of the Unite I States, and if applied to the pur
poses of improving harbors and livers, it will be par
tially distrib ited, and be expended for the advantage
of particular sections, or localities, at the ex
pense of others.
[concluded to-morrow,]
From the Macon Telegraph.
Col. Seymour.
The friends of this gentleman will be glad to
hear that he has reached Vera Cruz in safety.
The Fashion, the steamer on which Col. Sey
mour embarked at New Orleans, had a long
and dangerous passage, and fears were felt for
her safety at New Orleans, lor several dav*
, ~.. idc aniv.it or me last steamer from
Vera Cruz. We find the following in the Del
ta, extracted from a late Vera Cruz paper,,
which we publish for the benefit of the numer
ous friends and acquaintances of Col. Seymour
in this vicinity.
At a meeting of the passengers of the stea
mer Fashion, Lieut. Col. Seymour was called
to the Chair, and Dr. E. K. Kane appointed
Secretary, when the following resolutions were
unanimously adopted:
Resolved, That our thanks be and are here
by given to Capt. David 13. Morgan, for his
energetic efforts during the late protracted
“norther” between Tampico and Vera Cruz,
as also for the intelligent resource which cn
-1 abled him to meet the various contingencies
’ which arose during that trying period, to the
1 successful exercise of which we attribute our
g most unexpected preservation.
By request of the officers of the U. S. Navy,
present during the meeting, the following reso
-3 lution was appended:
* Resolved, That the conduct of Capt. Morgan,
in obtaining an effective anchorage on an un
s known lee-shore, while his vessel was in a dis-
I abled and sinking condition, meets with our
e unqualified admiration as an act of bold and
r skilful seamanship.
I. G. SEYMOUR, Chairman.
E. K. Kane, Secretary.
e It is stated that the French house of Delrue
e & Co. Dunkirk, lias completed an arrange
ment with the government of the republic of
f Venezuela, for the introduction of 80,000 im
d migrants, chiefly from Germany, Switzerland
* and Belgium. The contractors are to receive
a grant of 812,000 square miles, with various
privileges, and are to pay the expenses of the
Q voyage from Europe.
e The extensive Bleaching establishment of
Messrs. Greenwood, in Philadelphia, was de-
stroyed by fire on Thursday morning, toge
] ther with a large portion of its contents. There
e was a partial insurance on the property; but
the loss to the owners will be between $6,000
ie and SB,OOO.
j Chronicle anti Sentinel.
AUGUSTA, GA:
FRIDAY HORNING, DEC. 94, 1847.
The Mails.
Yesterday the mails failed on both ends of
the line —the Southwestern beyond Mobile and
the Northern beyond Charleston. These re
peated failures are very perplexing, particular*
ly at this time, when we are in the daily ex
pectation of later European new’s, now fully
due, both from England and France.
The President’s Veto Message.
Our readers will find a moiety of the Presi
dent’s most unreasonably extended Veto of the
River and Harbor bill, which passed both
i Houses at the last session of Congress. We
have searched in vain in this elaborate docu
ment for one new thought or argument on the
constitutional right of Congress, to regulate the
commerce of the nation, whether it exists on
the ocean, the great lakes, or the rivers of the
country. No amount of pettifogging can de
prive the law-making Representatives of the
people of the right to judge of the constitution
ality of all bills that come legitimately to them.
They may misjudge, and so may Mr. Polk.—
For our part, we had rather confide in the judg
ment of a clear majority of the Representatives
of the several States in the Senate, and of the
popular suffrage in the House, than in the opin
ion of any Executive, whether he be called a
King, Emperor or President. The one-man
Power at Washington, is constantly acquiring
strength to make war, control legislation, and
rule the Republic, as absolutely during his offi
cial term, as the autocrat of all the Russias.—
Progressive Democracy will soon be able to dis
pense with Congress, as a useless appendage,
at the rate it is now going ahead. How many
presses practically sustain the monarchical doc
trine—“ the King can do no wrong ?” This
doctrine is the essence of modern “ Democra
cy !”
Report of the Secretary of the Trea
sury.— We are compelled to postpone the con
cluding portion of this public document for a
or Iwo, in ni-dor tn givp tn llio Vptn
Message of the President.
Tile Erie Canal and Public Domain.
We have been a little surprised to find that the
Erie Canal, which cost not far from twenty-seven
millions of dollars, already yields a much larger
income than the Public Domain of the United
Slates. The latter has been estimated to be
worth a thousand millions of dollars. Yet, with
the immense immigration from Europe, and
the famine prices there to stimulate the pur
chase of new lands and the extension of agri
culture at the West, the receipts for public
lands sold within the last fiscal year have been
less than two and a half millions. Nor is it at ail
probable that they will yield on an average for
the next 25 or 50 years a large annual income
The citizens of the older States are wisely turn
ing their attention to the improvement of the
soil within their present limits, in preference to
incurring the privations, risk of sickness and
premature death, incident to a new settlement
on Congress lands. A good many millions of
acres, even of the military bounties of the last
war, to say nothing of the purchases of 1835,
’36 and ’37, still remain in a state of nature. A
reduction in the price might help the sale of
large tracts to speculators, but this would cer
tainly be followed by a reaction, and an equal
decline in sales, not unlike the results of the
land speculations of’36. The drain to Texas
New Mexico, California and Oregon, will ab
sorb many emigrants and restless adventurers.
Viewingthe subject in all its bearings, $2,-
500,000 is the maximum which our public lands
can yield hereafter. Let us now take a glance
at the Erie Canal.
All the Canals of New-York have paid into its
Treasury something like $3,610,000, of which
the Erie Canal furnished about $3,000,000. —
Eightyears ago the agriculiural produce of New
York, from eleven and a half million of acres,
exceeded $108,000,000. Before ihe close of
the canal, the arrival of cheese at tide water on
the Hudson was 40,844,000 pounds. Most of
this was made by a portion of the dairy-men in
that State. The arrival of butter at West
Troy and Albany the past season was 22,724,-
000 lbs. The milk produced in the Empire
State within the last twelve months, including
the cheese, butter and pork made from the
same has been worth full thirty millions of dol
lars. %
The grain and flour which have arrived at
tide water, came mostly from the Western
States, viz :
Flour, (barrels) 3,952,972
Wheat, (bushels.) 4,143,830 i
•< - 0,053,(545
Barley, “ 1,523,020
Tobacco, lbs. 1,228,000
Cotton, lbs 474,000
Dried Fruits, lbs. 3,558,000
We select the above items from the official
table, as published in the Albany Journal, as
likely to interest onr readers. To give some
idea of the growing trade of the Northwest, of
which Georgia improvement, will soon com
mand a fair portion, we will remark that if all
the new boats built and put upon the Erie Ca.
nal the past season, were placed in contact in a
line, they would extend over 22 miles !
For all purposes of revenue, the Erie Canal
is worth more than the one thousand raillionsof
acres of Government lands, and will yield more
income for the next century, if j udiciourly
managed. It is works like this that furnish the
cargoes ofour ocean ships ; but while the Presi
dent pretends to great friendship for foreign
commerce, and finds abundant authority in the
Constitution to survey the Dead Sea, the west
coast of South America, and to expend one hun
dred millions in Mexico, he has nothing but
Vetoes with which to foster the inland trade of
the U. States.
Senator Colquitt and the Hon. A. Iver
son passed through this city on Wednesday
evening on their way home from Washington.
The Washington Correspondent of the Balti
more Sun says: Mr. Colquitt will not return
to Washington, as he has or will soon resign his
seat in the Senate. We presume he has only
been waiting for the Legislature to adjourn,
so as to let the Governor appoint his successor.
A New York letter in the Philadelphia Ame
rican of yesterday says that the Cunard steamer
which left Boston on Thursday for Liverpool
took out $355,000in Specie,
The Columbus Times,
A few weeks since, stated, that “it was only
after Mr. Slidell had been rejected by the
Mexican government, that the march to the
Rio Grande was ordered by Mr. Polk.”
To this we responded that this “ was mere
assertion on the part of the Times, which was
not only not sustained, but positively disproved
by the correspondence of the Stale Depart
ment, as had been previously shown in our
columns.”
To this contradiction of its assertion the
Times rejoins in half a column or more of
mere twattle, about “Federalism,” ‘‘anti-war
organ,” &c , in which that print is wont to in
dulge with great “facility,” and hopes to pass
it off for argument and proof in support of its
assertion. The Times affects to appeal to the
“record," in proof of its position, but instead
of giving the “ record" we have only a string
of assertions, among which we find the folio w
ing:
“ On the 2lst December the Mexican govern
ment definitely refused to receive Mr. Slidell as
Minister."
So far from this assertion being the “ record,"
or being sustained by the “ record.” it is posi
tively disproved by it, if Mr. Polk and Mr.
Buchanan are to be credited.
Mr. Polk in his annual Message to Congress,
in December last, said:
“This movement (the march to the Rio Grande)
was made in pursuance of orders from the War De
partment, issued on the thirteenth of January’, 1846.
Before these orders were issued, the despatch of
our Minister in Mexico , transmitting the decision
of the Council of Government of Mexico, advis
ing that he should not be received , and also the des
patch of our Consul residing in the city of Mexi
co —the former bearing date on the seventeenth, and
the latter on the eighteenth December, 1845, copies of
both of wh'ch accompanied ray message to Congress
of the eleventh of May last— were received at the
Department of State.
“These communications rendered it highly proba
ble. if not absolutely certain, that our minister would
not be received by the Government of Gen. Herrera.”
Thus Mr. Polk says that his rejection had
only been “ advised ” by the Council of the
Mexican Government, and that therefore, it
was rendered a “ probable ” event when the
order was issued on the 13th January, 1846
Again, Mr. Buchanan in a letter to Mr. Sli
dell, dated January 20lh, 1846, seven days af
ter the order of March was issued, says:
“ Your despatches, Nos. 2 and 3, under date, re
spectively, the 30tli Wovcmbei and 17th December
have been received ; and_l shall await the arrival of
others by the Porpoise with much solicitude. Should
the Mexican Government, by finally refusing to
receive you, consummate the act of folly and bud faith
of which they have all’orded such strong indications,
nothing will then remain for this Government but
to take the redress if the wrongs of its citizens into
its own hands.
“ In the event of such a ref usal , the course which
you have determined to pursue is the proper one,” &c.
“In the meantime, the President, in anticipation
of the final refusal of the Mexican Government to
receive you , has ordered the army of Texas to ad
vance and take position on the left bank of the Rio
Grande; and has directed that a strung fieet shall
be immediately assembled in the Gulf of Mexico"
Mr. Buchanan, therefore, concurs in the dec
laration, that the order to march was issued in
“ anticipation ” of the event, that Mr. Slidell
would be “ finally refused. "
On the 6th of February Mr. Slidell, in a
despatch to our Government, says:
“Since my despatch of the 14th ultimo [January]
nothing has occurred to indicate the course likely to
betaken by the existing Government as to my recep
tion, but 1 think it will be mainly controlled by the
aspect of the Mexican question. ”
He was not, therefore, “ definitely refused"
on the 6th of February, nearly one month aft« r
the order was issued.
Mr. Slidell, however, in a letter dated 18th
March, 1846, two months after the order was
issued, officially announced to the State De
partment at Washington, that the Mexican Go
vernment had “ definitely refused" to receive
him on the 15th of March. So much for the
“ record. ”
Thus have we given the “ assertion " of the
Times, and shown how far it is sustained by the
“ record I" Verily, we think the Times must
seek some other “ record, ” or rely upon its
“ facility ” for making “ assertions."
Perhaps, however, the Times regards the
Editorial in the Washington Union the “re
cord," instead of the documents emanating from
the Executive and State Departments ; if so, we
doubt not it will be fully sustained by that
‘‘ record. "
The Fine Arts—A Lecture.
The attention of the admirers of the Fine
Arts and the public generally, is invited to the
Lecture proposed to be delivered this after
noon at the Presbyterian Lecture Room, by
Mr. Wood. In the course of the lecture the
Artist will exhibit some specimens of his Art,
which we doubt not will excite the admiration
of every beholder. See advertisement.
Herz and Sivorl.
Bv reference to the advertisement,thepnhlic
will learn that these distinguished masters, will
g|vt> a grand ootv’prt on Saturday overling ul
the Masonic Hall. As the opportunity is sel
dom presented to the citizens of Augusta to hear
such performers upea their respective instru
ments, we doubt not a large audience will greet
them on the occasion of their only Concert in
this city.
There are numerous cotton manufactories
in Mexico. In 1842, there were 53 factories,
having 137, 280 spindles which consumed
about 3 000,000 lbs. of cotton annually, being
about 2,000,000 lbs. more than the production
of that country at that time. The raw mate
rial can be produced in Mexico to a much
greater extent.
Georgia Sugar.—Mr. James Seymour ha?
sent to our Office a sample of Sugar, raised by
Mr. J. D. Havis on his plantation in Houston
county, about fourteen miles from this city.
This Sugar is of excellent quality, equalling in
appearance the finest St. Cruz. Mr. Havis has
as yet only attempted the culture of Sugar on his
lands byway ofexperiment, though we are glad
to learn, he has been sufficiently encouraged
from his success this year; to engage in it more
■ extensively hereafter. Mr. H. made, this year,
from three-fourths of'an acre planted in Cane,
one barrel of Sugar weighing 380 pounds, and
three barrels of Syrup. Tiie Syrup isequalto
the best N. O. Sugar-House. Samples of both
can be seen at the store of Mr. James Seymour,
and w’e would advise all who desire to see
what can be done in the way of raising Sugar
to advantage, in the South-western counties of
Georgia, to call and examine these specimens.
—Macon Tel.
Distressing Casualty. —We learn that on
Wednesday night last the house of Mr. James
Brock, of this district, a revolutionary soldier,
aged nearly one hundred years, was consumed
by fire, and, horrid to relate, its owner with it.
Mr. Brock had no family living with him ex
cept ois negroes. —Ceerato Q ixttter
LEGISLATURE OF GEORGIA
Tilings in MlH«dgevill <: .
| 1 Correspondence of the Chronicle and Serdinel
In Senate Dec. 81.
Some time was consumed this rnornin*
the Senate on divers motions for reconsider
lion. Having disposed of iher.., the resolmi 0?1|
voting Captains Walker, Tattnall and Hardee
suitable swords were taken up and agreed t 0
The House bill to curtail and simplify
ings at common law and to regulatethe admis
sion of deeds and other muniments of iit| e a3
evidence, was taken up. and after some dhens
sion, passed. Among other things, this biH
contains forms of the several actions now i n
use, which it is proposed to be adopted in ijeu
of those heretofore recognised. The bill how
ever, does not make it obligatory upon the
pleader ; be may adopt the old or the new form
at his discretion. It will probably have the ef
fect of killing those two ancient gentlemen,
John Doe and Richard Roc, who have from
time immemorial figured so extensively in ac
tions of ejectment. They have lived a long
time and cannot complain that they have not
“ had their day.” They were old men in the
days of Brueton and Lyttleton, and have ever
been treated kindly and deferentially by the
legal profession, from the unknown day of
their birth up to the present. The time and
place of their nativity, like the source of the
Nile, are merged in doubt and mystery, it
may be that they sprung from the Mountains
of the Moon, or the Moon itself, as it is be
lieved that the “River of Egypt” does. Be
that as it may, “ they are gone, glimmering
through the dream of things that were.” Peace
to their ashes!
The bill to provide for the education of the
poor was also passed.
Also, the bill to exempt from taxation tiie
property belonging to the several colleges in
this State, and to exempt the Faculty and stu
dents thereof from patrol and militia duty.
An amendment to this bill was offered and
agreed to, which prohibits all persons under
the age of twenty-one from doing patrol duty.
This is a wise provision—for many of the diffi
culties which occur in the discharge of this duly
are attributable to inexperienced and thought
less young men.
There were other bills of the genus local dis
posed of.
During the day, the regular order was sus
pended, when Mr. Farris introduced a bill in
relation to the Western and Atlantic Railroad.
This is coming in at the eleventh hour.
House of Representatlves.
The Lunatic Asylum Bill, which was lost
yesterday by a majority of one. was reconsid
ered this morning—yeas 58, nays 56. No far
ther action has been had on the bill.
The House then resumed the unfinished bu
siness of yesterday, to-vvit : the General Tax
Bill for the years 1848-’49. This bill was re
ported by Dr. Phillips, the Chairman of the Fi
nance Committee, and is predicated upon the
ad valorem principle, as recommended by Gov,
Crawford in his last annual message. Any
number of amendments were offered, until the
bill became so encumbered that it sunk under
them. It was believed by many members to be
an inauspicious time for the experiment, and
hence Mr. Gartrell offered the Tax Act of 1845
as a substitute. His motion prevailed by a vole
of 95 to 24.
Though the greater part of two days has
been consumed upon this bill, there was but
little speaking. Mr. Ramsey made a short but
highly interesting and creditable effort in lavor
of the ad valorem principle. No one attempt
ed a reply.
The House then took up the Appropriation
bill, and was passing it with almost telegraphic
despatch, when Mr. Harris of Baldwin, in or
der to extricate the members from the position
in which they had placed themselves by their
hasty action, moved an adjournment. The
motion prevailed; but not before the members
had voted themselves five dollars per day for
their services (?) The whole subject will come
up again to-morrow, when, I expect, the ap
propriation bill of 1845 will be re-enacted.
It is now ascertained, 1 believe, that VV in. W.
Williamson, at present a member «1 the House,
from Cherokee county, has been appointed
Principal Keeper of the Penitentiary in place
of Col. Redding, removed. Mr. VV illiaiuson
is a gentleman of unexceptionablecharacter, as
I am informed; but whether bis appointment
to that post is ajudicious one, is altogether an
other thing. I fear the institution will not be
so ably conducted as it has been under Col.
Redding’s administration. There are but few
such men anywhere as Col. Redding. He is a
mail of great practical and mechanical skill, en
dowed with a strong and vigorous mind and
Roman integrity, and is perhaps better filled
for the office from which he has been dismissed
than any other man in Georgia. 1 his is sajr
ing a great deal; yet, in my opinion, it is never
theless true. f
As I informed you in my last, the Governor s
Levee comes off to-night; and as lam neither
a married man nor an old bachelor, I shall stop
this letter right here and go to it. You vvili
excuse this, as lam rather of the opinion that
my communications generally have been too
long, if so. yon must attribute it to the many
long speeches which 1 am doomed to hear eve
ry day, and which may have led me into the
habit ol spinning out my letters to correspond
with them. Every thing here is after the order
of “ long John Wentworth. ’ P. W. A.
P. S. I send you a copy of the Report of
the Finance Committee on the Central Bank.
P. W. A.
General Taylor.—Unanimous resolutions
passed both Houses of the Legislature, on Sa
turday, it,' :, ing Gen. Taylor to visit this State ;
and tende...:g him its hospitalities. There isa.
rumor here, we know not how well founded,
i that Gen. Taylor will pass through this State
j iu about two weeks ou his way to Washing*
j ton. If this should prove true, there will be
\ such an uprising among the people to greet the
glorious veteran as the world has never vvit
i nessed. We observed that both Gen. Shields
! and Gen. Quitman spoke in enthusiastic terms
of Gen. Taylor. Gen. Quitman styled him the
I “ noble, glorious veteran of the Rio Grande,’
i and Gen. Shields remarked, in bis speech at
the Rialto, “that there was no doubt but it was
I the example set by General Taylor, in his un
paralleled victories on the Rio Grande, which
gave the high tone of gallantry to our troops
i which insured the subsequent victories in Mex
[ ico.”— Alabama Journal, 20 thinst.
1
1 Indiana. —The Legislature assembled on
! j the 25th ultimo. The House was organized
, i by the election of William A. Porter, Whig,
. ’ over several competitors, by a small majority.
I In the Senate the absence of a Democrat gave
► | the Whigs a majority of one, whereupon the
i : other Democrats withdrew. After much de
, ! bate, and no little excitement, the Senate, on
' appeal from the decision of the chair, decided
' : that a quorum was unnecessary lor mere P l,r j
i poses of organization, and elected a principa
• | and assistant secretary.
- ■■■
The New York Herald of Thursday say?—
1 The value of the property received this year at
* tide water, and consigned direct to N. York was
- $14,568,882; in which was included 332,0-y
1 barrels of flour, 884,615 bushels of wheat,.and
■ 1.656 r 091 bushels of corn. In 1834, the value
of all ithe property delivered at tide was s!•>,-
465,022.