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Report of the Committee .
ON THE STATE OF THE REPUBLIC.
The Joint Committee on the State ot the Re
public, to which was referred ihos** portions
of the Governor’s Message and the several
Bills and Resolutions relating to the subject
of slavery, introduced into either Branch of;
the Legislature, beg leave to
REPORT:
That they hive have given the most deliber
ate and solemn attention to the various sugges
tions embraced in propositions submitted to
them, referring to the subject of slavery, and
have with minds fully impressed with the great
significance that must In; given to any action
whatever on this matter at the present hour, ar
rived at the conclusions that we should, as far
as the State of Georgia is concerned, recoin
mend such action as shall compose the public
mind, suppress any further agitation of a con
troversy in which for more than twenty years
tho South has been constantly worsted, or pro- j
pose some efficient and practical measures that 1
shall prove the sincerity of our complaints, and
at the same time redress our wrongs. It is j
vain to deny that we, the injured party, have fori
a series of years by a vacillating and temper- i
iaiug policy only assured the courage of our as
sailants, and invited by an excessive sensibility
on the subject of the ultimate consequences of j
decisive action, further and still more iiiiqui'ous
experiments upon nur forbearance and patience.
Tne best defence of liberty is the first blow
stricken in its defence and for the first l ight vi
olated. With all the accumulated injury of fif
teen years that we have had to endure Irotn the
anti-slavery States, and that we so sensibly feel j
to-day, we vet do not feel more keenly, nor do |
we express more forcibly our sense of this out- !
rage than did the Legislature of Georgia twen-!
ty-two years ago, upon the bare proposition ot !
the friends ofcolonization to v.>te an appropria
tion for the removal of free negroes to Liberia.
Yet the Joint Committee on the State of the Re
public, in the year 1527, declared in reference
to this subject, so harmless in the comparison
with the audacity of recent legislation, “that
they could not help teprobatingthe cold blooded
•ailishncssor unthinking zeal which actuates
many of our fellow-citizens in the other Slates
to an interference with the local concerns and
domestic relations ; totally unwarranted either
by humanity or constitutional right. Such in
terference ig becoming every day more deter
mined and more alarming. It commenced with
a few unthinking zealots, who formed them
selves into abolition societies ; was seized upon
by more cunning and designing men for poiiti.
cal purpsses, and is supported by more than otic
ot the States, as is evident from the amend,
nients to the Constitution proposed by the leg
isiative bodies, and so frequently and indeed in
sultingly presented for our approbation. The
result of such interference it persevered in, is
awful and inevitable. The people efGeorgia
know and strongly feel the advantages of the
Federal Union ; as members of that Union,
they are proud of its greatness ; as children
born under that Union, they will ever defend it
from foes internal as well as external ; but they
cannot and will not, even for the preservation
of the Union, permit their rights to be render
ed worthless : they will not permit their wives
and children to be driven as wanderers into
strange lands; they will not permit their coun
try to be made waste and desolate b those who
come among us under the cloak of a titne-serv
ing and hypocritical benevolence. How then
id the evil to be remedied ? Only by a firm
and determined union of the people and the
States of the South declaring through their leg
islative bodies in a voice which must be heard,
that they are ready and willing to make any
sacrifice rather than to submit longer to such
ruinous interference, .and warning their enemies
that they are unwittingly preparing amine
which once exploded, will lay ourm tch ladov and
country in one common ruin. ’ Such language;
as this the patriotic guardians of our Stie!
thought the crisis ot 1827 justified. Who now
with the lights of 1849 before him, and the
enormities of Northern aggression since the
da>9 of this remonstrance, but feels that either
the grievances of2o years ago were vastly ex tg
gerated, or we have suffered that quick resent-1
ment and sensibility to wrong to fall into decay, !
and our minds to become patient and calm un
der inflictions which would have been intoler
able to tie high spirits of that day. But it may
be urged in defence of the long suffering of the
South, that her attachment to this Union has
been akin to a sacred devotedness. That from
no huckstering spirit of profit or lucre loving
have we clung to it with such tenacity, tha* a
quarter of a century of outrage upon our rights
end of paltering with our capability of endurance
has barely been enough to induce us to count
the value of it. With the whole South this
Union has been regarded as dear to ns from a
higher, a nobler appreciation than because it
“promoted the general welfare.” It lias been |
dear to us because purchased with the blood of’
our fathers, because transmitted to us with their
benedictions, and because we had hoped tin- j
der its sway to see human liberty and human
progress advance to that point that should give j
the name of American freedom as a guarantee
for any future experiments in self-government
1 hough olten charged with a reckless and j
restless spirit, which was not submissive to con
stitutional restraints, the South boldly meets
this charge by asking, when did we ever cause
collision between members of this Union by
any aggressive legislation—by a distrustful, a
self-seeking, or domineering policy ? When
did the South, by stretching the powers of the
Government, excite alarm or jealousy ] When
did she insult the self-respect ol any member of
this Confederacy by contemptuous comparison*,
or by a pragmaiical and patronizing interfer
ence with the internal policy and interests of.
any State 1
Or wbe* did her pulpit lend itself to fan the
flame of civil discord; or when in our borders
was the temple of the living God, made thfc
theatre of display for the rune rous hate of broth
er against his brother ? Let these reproaches
fall whe e they are and -served, the £ o th has n
diead ol them. Fiom the earliest date of the
slavery controversy, the South has evinced a
yielding and conciliatory s; i if. For it will be
hard, indeed, for any one to show the slightest
mutuality in the concession made on ths pan of
the South, of all representations of two-filths ol
her slave population. Can any fair reason be
urged why the South should tiot have entered-1
into this Confederacy claiming a lull repre
sentation tor this species of property, [ftaxa.
tion implies a correlative right of represents*
tion. then was the Southern slaveholder unjust
■>’ treated, when it was demanded of hi that
before he could enter this Union as a ci'iz<*n. i
he must first surrender the right of having two
hitiis of his slaves represented, when that two.
i hfths were as certainly taxed on all articles ot
their consumption as were the masters. But
j yet the South yielded this point. She consent
’ ed also to abolish the foreign slave trade, by
j which she might have cheaply supplied herselt
| w ith slave labor, and when the northernmost
i slave States thought to abolish the institution in
; their borders, she interposed no obstacles or
; vexatious hindrances, though it might have
been clearly foreseen that this result would
have been fruitful of trouble to those States that
; would find their necessities or their conveni
-1 ence demanding a continuation of the system.
; In every interference with the question ofdo
: mestic slavery by the North, she has failed and
failed signally to justify her course by any rea-
sens of a pure’y political character, and much
less by such political reasons as are to be found
in or tolerated by our Constitution. There could
; be no other complaint reasonably urged by the j
| North against the existence or the extension ol I
j the slave property of the South, but that the j
federal representation claimed for it was uue- j
qual, and therefore unjust towards the North. !
But as we have seen the only inequality in J
this is against the South, and not in her favor ; !
it then resolves into this, that this government, ‘•
so restricted in the exercise of all power, is to |
lie allowed to turn propagandist and devote its :
best energies to the driving through,
resistance of plighted faith, of constitutional |
; law ; against all claims of right, justice or fra- j
■ ternity, a moral reform, that has first and last ■
j for its object, forcible ejectment from our midst ;
; of what is denounced as a gross immorality, and j
j a determination to give practical effect to the
| idea that this Government, as a Government ,
entertains of the sin of slavery.
It is the fiist and last instance furnished by
our history, in which this government has
thought it rightful or expedient to subsidize re
iigious agencies by the strong arm of political
power. It would require but one short step
further in this attempt to regulate a matter of
c mscience, to see our duty clearly dictating a
union of Church and State. We feel it to be
unnecessary to trace this controversy step by
step to its present critical, if not perilous stage.
If we should do so with the minutest fidelity,
j its history would at every turn only shew, how
; reluctant the South has been to bt ing the grave
matters in issue to that extremity which would
leave the true frieuds of harmony and union no
thing to hope. It has been our fault that we
have in every instance invited imposition by in
dicating a yielding disposition, which only re
quired to he hard pressed, to grant the most ex
travagant requisitions. So it was in the con
troversy with the anti-slavery Slates which
gave birth to the Missouri Compromise. In
this misnamed surrender of Southern rights,
who can shewn particle of consideration pass
j ing to the South? Where, in this owe solid
compromise, is there to be found the least re
ciprocity ? Yet we gave in to this unreasonable
and unjust requirement, and avowed a love for
ibis Union which would not suffer us to part
i with it, though the North was seeking to make j
us pay in valuable and unrighteous concessions j
for every day of its existence. This coinpro- j
mise, by which we bought our peace for more
| than a quarter of a century, we observed with
| punctilious honor, and when in the course of
| events it came to the turn of this portion of the ;
j Union to be benefited by the operation of that
j law, we find the Northern States unblushingly
repudiating their own contract, and when called
upon to re-affirm their own long expressed rati
ficati nos this com] r anise, they refused to do so ;
and as evincive of their deli tie rate purpose to
; evade their plighted faith, they sought to organ-
I ize a territory embraced in the spirit of this
| compromise (by which every thing hud been for
j years secured to them,) upon the anti-slavery ba
| sis, in the unmitigated and obnoxious shape of
the Wi mot Proviso. The North now disavows
the Missouri Compromise, because of the inevi
table implication involved in that law, that if
north of 33 30 slavery is prohibited, south of
that line it may exist. Passing over the insin
cerity now so transparent, with which the anti
[ slavery States opposed the 21st Rule of the
House of Representatives, their specious attacks
against the wholesome and conservative check
upon fanaticism, under the guise of a zeal for the
right ofpetiiion, we come to the more recent
legislation of Congress on the subject of slavery.
And now can any Southern man, at all conver
sant with the history of the abolition movement
from its inception, longer doubt that the first aim
of that agitation was a total and final emancipa
tion of our slave property. Why should we
doubt it? Because of the bad faith involved?
Was ever treachery and selfishness so blended
before in the public conduct ot any civilized
States as is shown in the course the North has
pursued in regard to this compromise we have
just spoken of? Because of the daring violation
| of private rights or Constitutional provisions and
; guarantees ? Can the pet fitly of ntan go farther
; than several of the Northern States have gone
■ in their practical nullification of the laws seen- j
! ring to the South the privilege of reclaiming her !
refugee slaves; or can any vandalism improve
upon the savage proposition of the last Con
gress to permit the slaves of the District
of Columbia to vote themselves the equals i
of their masters. This brings our enemies j
in one step of the goal they have kept their i
eye? steadily fixed upon for twenty years, and
has brought us, too, in one step of the last dis- i
honor that can be reserved for us. They have I
but to lay their hands on slavery in the States,
and we make one more submissive and feeble
| remonstrance, and the great work is finished.
In view therefore of the past history of this
war upon the peace, the rights, and the safety
of the South—in view of its present aspects, and
in anticipation of its future progress, we report
to the House for its action the following pream
ble and Resolutions, accompanied by a Bill pro* i
riding for the call of a Convention of the sover
eign people of this State.
! w here as. The people of the nnnslavehold
iug States have commenced and are persisting
lin a system of encroachment upon the rights
iof a portion of the people of this Confederacy,
which is alike unjust and dangerous to the
peace and perpetuity of our cherished Union, I
Be it
J. Resolved, By the Senate, and House of
Representatives of the State of Georgia in Gen- j
era/ Assembly convened, That the Government ‘
■if the United States is one of limited powers, I
and cannot rightfully exercise any authority not!
conferred by the Constitution.
2. Re-oived, That the Constitution grants no
1 po*ver to Congress to prohibit the introduction
3tiu-j ai it j'J ii ssnr oso i il=
of slavery into the territory belonging to the U-
States.
31. Resolved, That the several States of the
Union acceded to the Confederacy upon terms ol
perfect equality, and that the rights, privileges
and immunities secured by the Constitution, be
long alike to the people of each State.
4. Resolved, That any and all Territory ac
quired by the United States, whether by discov
cry, purchase or conquest, belongs in common
to the people of each State, and every State has
a common right to emigrate with any property
they may possess, and that any restriction upon
this right, which will operate in favor of the peo
i pie of one section to the exclusion of those of
another, is unjust, oppressive and unwarranted
; by the Constitution.
j 5. Resolved, That slaves are recognized by
the Constitution as property, and that the W ilmot
Proviso, whether applied to any territory at any
time heretofore acquired, or which may be uere
j after ac quired, is unconstitutional.
0. Resolved, That Congress has no power
either directly or indirectly to interfere with the
existence 01-slavery in the District of Columbia, j
7. Resolved, That the refusal on the part of:
the non-slavehohiing States to deliver up fugi- j
tive slaves, w ho have escaped to said States, up
on proper demand being made therefor, is a plain
and palpable violation of the letter of the Con
stitution, and an intolerable outrage upon South
ern rights.
8. Resolved, That in the event of the pass
age of the Wiimot Proviso by Congress, the ab
olition of slavery in the District of Columbia,
the admission of California as a State, in its pres
ent pretended organization, or the continued re
fusal of the non-slaveholding States to deliver
fugitive slaves as provided in the Constitution, it
will become the immediate and imperative duty
of the people of this State to meet in Convention
to take iyto consideration the mode and measure
of redress.
9. Res rived, That the people of Georgia en-i
tertain an ardent feeling of devotion to the j
Union of these States, and that nothing short of a !
persistence in the present system of encroach- j
ment upon our rights by the non-slaveholding j
States, can induce us to contemplate the pos- i
sibility of a dissolution.
10. Resolved, That his Excellency the Gov- i
ernor be requested to forward copies ofthese re- j
solutions to each of our Senators and Repre
sentatives in Congress, to the Legislatures of the
several States, and to the President of the United
i StatCS*
A BILL
To be entitled an act to authorize and require
the Governor oft he State of Georgia to call a
convention of the people of this State.
Whekkas, For a series of years there has
been displayed a manifest disposition on the part
of the non-slaveholding Stales of this Union, to
interfere with the Institution of Slavery at the
South, by aggressive measures of intolerance, as
to render it no longer a question of doubt that the
Federal Legislature will soon adopt such re
striciive measures against the Institution ot
Slavery, as to trammel, fetter, and confine it with
in certain territorial limits, never contemplated
by the original parties tothe constitutional com
pact. And whereas, Georgia in her sever- j
eign capacity as a State, has delegated no other
powers to the Federal Government than these
found in the Constitution of the United States.
| And believing that her best interest and her lion
j or-as a sovereign and independent Goyernmen
j requires that she should meet all encroachments
j in a caltn and manly spirit of resistance.
Sec. 1. Be it therefore enacted by the au
thority of the same, That should the Congress
of the United States pass any law prohibi
ting slavery or involuntary servitude in any ter
ritory of the United States, or any law abolishing
slavery in the District of Columbia, or any law
prohibiting the slave trade between the States
where slavery may exist, or admit into the U.
States as a State of this Confederacy, the exten
sive amt unpeopled Territory of California and N.
Mexico, with a constitution prohibitin'’- slaver)
j or involuntary servitude—or should the Govern
j or of this State receive at any time satisfactory
i evidence that any slave or slaves having escaped
from this State to a non-slaveholding State,
and that such slave or slaves is or are re
fused to be given up to the proper owner by the
authorities ot the State in which such fugitive or
fugitives may be found, then or in either of the
foregoing events, it shall be and it is hereby
made the duty of the Governor of this State,
within sixty days thereafter, to issue his proc
lamation ordering an election to be held in each
and every county, to a Convention of the people
of this State, to convene at ‘he Seat of Govern
ment within twenty days after said election.
Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, Thatthp
counties now entitled to two Representatives in
the General Assembly of this State, shall each
lie entitled to and shall elect four Delegates to
said Convention, and the counties which are enti
tled to one Repr s -illative, shall each elect two
delegates to said Convention.
Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That be
fore entering on the duties of their office as dele
gates, the delegates shall all take the following
oath, which shall be administered by some Jti-
dicial officer of the Stale : I do solemnly
swear, in the? presence of Almighty God, that I
will to the best of my ability demean myself as a
delegate of the people of this State, and act for
the honor and interest of the people of Georgia.
Sec. 4- And be it further enacted, That said
election tor delegates shall be conducted and
held in the same manner as elections for mem
bers of tiie Legislature are now held in this
Slate. And that ail returns of the election be
forwarded to the Governor of this State, who
shall upon application furnish each delegate
elected with a certificate of election.
Set. 5. And be it further enacted, That said
Convent ion shall elect ail officers necessary to
their organization.
Insulated Magnetic Telegraph across
I the Atlantic.—A writer in the Evening Ex
| press says : ‘-We have examined a fully matur
i ed plan for connecting New York and Liverpool
|by means of electric wires. This may seem
j an impossibility to many, but we speak the sober
t second thought when we say this grand scheme
is perfectly practicable. Our enterprising fel
low citizen, S. T. Armstrong, Esq., of the Hud- j
son (Gutta Percha) manufactory, js ready to con- ;
tract to laydown a line of coated impermeable j
and perfectly insulated wire cable that shall be
capable of continued ac tion for ten years, and
for a sum not to exceed three millions of dollars,
and to be completed in twenty months from
; date of contract. Also Mr. A. proposes to lay a
i similar line from same point on the Mississippi
to the Pacific on the same terms guaranteed by
any bonds that may be required. This scheme
has the sanction ot Professor Morse, and wiil be
j laid before Congress at an early day.
An Irishman who lived in an attic, being ask- ’
ed what part of the house he occupied, answer
ed, “It the house were turned topsy-turvy, I’d be ,
livin’ on the first flure i”
From the Laurensville Herald ,
The Cultivation of Cotton.
I'o ifli: Hon. J. C. Calhoun :
Honored Sir —Will you permit me. through ;
the columns of the Herald, to reply to your ao- 1
ceptable letter.
The subject I desire to press home upon eve-!
| ry planter is the improvement of seed by a close \
j and rigid selection from the field, as also, the i
duty of drying before put into bulk, so as to j
prevent the heating of seed.
Every planter should do it to some extent, !
and in addition thereto procure an occasional
1 fresh article from the favored region of the cot. i
j ton plant.
! I commence my cotton planting operations j
| by breaking down with clubs the cotton stalks ;
j of the {last year ; if they be large, the limbs are j
| threshed down first so as to break up, then the j
| stalk broken off as near the earth as possible, j
: Oi course this is done when cotton succeeds j
| cotton. I then run otf my rows, at such distan- i
ices as the fertility and age of land as well as j
j the variety oi seed demanded. The fresher the |
i land, and iichor it i-, the greater distance;
: Mexican seed requiring more distance than the
! cotton f have seen, which is called in a part ol
Mississippi the Hogan seed —a few I have re
jceivedasa presen*—and these still more than
the Sugar Loaf, another variety from Mississip
| pi, which i:i some localities in the Golf Slates
| has proved very productive. I have not had
| occasion to give a greater distance than five and
| a half feet, and am inclined to think, though
1 yon claim to be at the Northern extremity of
j the cotton region, that upon rich and fresh land
j the cotton stalk may be as large or larger than
some 80 or 90 miles South, on similar lands.
I I make it a p dot to plow out. all land as deep
I as 1 can, and without any ridge being left under
the plowed land. My fmvs are always laid off’
by stakes, with a shovel plow, and then two
furrows turned to it. one. from each side, with
an efficient turn plow ; this is performed as
early in March as I can, endeavoring to post
pone my spring plowing until after the heavy
rains. Understand I have a clay 7 subsoil with
silicious matter so fine, that no grit is perceived
by rubbing with the fingers.
Using doe diligence in my early plowing,
and planting of corn, I am enabled to have ali
cotton land with three furrows thrown up, be
fore time to plant cotton. When the time has.
arrived which time should not be before the
seed will vegetate, and plant grow off—l do no!
like to plant as early as many do--[ then press
forward my plowing and planting, thus—enough
plows go ahead to ridge up entirely toe balance
of unbroken earth ; harrows follow, openers,
droppers, and last coverers. I never wish u I
sow more than one buslio! of seed, ami prefer
to cover with a board or block so as to cover
shallow, to leave the ridge smooth, and to com
press earth to seed. Upon level land I require
a set of hands to plant 10 acres per day, length
rows averaging 449 yards—a set of hands is,
■me harrow, one opener, one to sow sued, and
one to cover. Now, esteemed sir, we have
planted say one half the crop.
If all land had not been plowed with three
furrows prior to this, I then turn about and pre
p.tre the residue of land, and if corn can be
pressed forward, I work all or a sail —with the
view of having ten days between first and last
planting. Then return to plan, ting the residue
ol cotton. We have now planted the crep.
Plowing and Planting.—l am very par
ticular in requiring rows to be laid off straight,
bedded up so, atsd furrow* opened far dropping,
■quaily so, because the plowman in all succee
hng labor is able to plow nearer to the plant,
ami thus lightening hoe labor. An expert
plowman with a sharp turni/ig plow can by let
ting the share run level with the ridge . handle? 1
inclined, of course, can sc/ape so near the. plant j
that a hoe hand can scrape and thin out nearlv
twice a.s much.
Many in breaking up land for cotton, leave
unbroken earth, some call it—“cut anf | cover,”
that is, cover unbroken earth with a furrow
and they insist that the plant bears better, that
when the land is all broken up, the plant grows
too luxuriantly. This may possibly be the
case upon the rich lands where your plantation
iii Alabama is, but certainly not in our Slate, ‘
and where you live. It is a slovenly culture, j
to say the least of it. But how can the tenner j
spingidies oldhe root pass through stiff land in I
dry weather, and how can the plant be sustain- I
ed when only half the land is cultivated.
The deeper land be plowed when the subsoil
is not sat/dy, or gravelly, if properly drained,
the more room for roots to search for their food,
and the greater deposit of dew therein, the long
er to get hot, and the readier to cool, as well j
as holding more moisture, less liability to wash j
from an ordinary rain, and the sooner the dry. !
ing of the surface.
I place two furrows on the one laid off early, i
that the earth may consolidate—cotton seed i
J vegetating more certain, and grows off more j
; rapidly. ] put off breaking out the residue as ;
j long as I can; so that the surface may be!
j clean when planted, and thus grass and cotton!
j have"an equal start. I use the harrow to re. j
| move all trash, clods, &c.. as also to level ridge. ;
| I prefer a ridge, with the view of having drv 1
warm soil for the seed, as cotton grows off ear- !
iier, and is sootier out ol the way of drouths, as I
also that I can scrape down with plow, and
cover young grass thinly in the middle.
Early planting gives “sore shin and lice,” or j
rather the plant has so little vitality that its;
natural enemies soon ‘take away even that
which it hath.’
I always strive to keep seed perfectly sound,
thereby adding to the vitality of the plant. I
have noticed some years the stand to be worse i
than other years, and some men always to have !
had the luck of bad stands—this was owing. J\
think , to damp weather, or wet spells, injuring j
! the cotton so as to injure tiie vital powers of the j
;seed.
i I plant seed sparsely, because the plant be- i
comes hardy at once, and then stands almost, if j
not quite as much cold as does corn.
I regard a crop when planted in first rate or- !
der as nearly half made, so much regard 1 place j
upon thorough tilth and thorough preparation. !
U ith profound respect, 1 am, honored sir,
Yours, Colo.
“How docs the thermometer stand?’ asked a
father of his son. “It don't stand at all, sir, it
hangs,” was the reply. -‘Well, hut l mean h. w
high is it.” Just about fire feet from the floor. *
“Pooh ! you fool—how does the mercury
range V’ “t T p a! jd down—perpendicularly.”
The Tariff and Internal Improvements.--
Monopoly ani^Extj'avagaiicc.
The administration ifflkv committed by the
message — bjche'dffbinet and sent into
Congtess in the General Taylor— to
two measures, consl|jEn Jrnowever, but one sys- j
tem of policy. Thpg erasures are, a high pro-
I hibitory tariff and system of internal
I improvements. We say a limitless system, be
j cause the language of me message seems to rm
j ply that there is to be no bounds set to its ex-
I travaganee. It not only proposes to carry on,
| at the expense of the general government, all the
works now begun or contempla ed, hut it sug
i ge.>ts that preliminary surveys should be com
j tnenced with a view to the increase of the sys.
j tem to an indefinite extent. We are, therefore.
! to have, if the suggestions of the message a/e
1 carried out to their ultimate purpose, a schema'of
public expenditure foe canals, l ivers, mid
| harbors, as extravagant, and iror-
I rupting as that unde? the administration ol the
1 younger Adams, which was arrested l.y the veto
! of the late illustrious Patriot of the rletmilage. ;
i At that period, not only were large approptia- \
1 (ions made tor the purpose of tarty ing on an ex
tensive system of internal improvements, then j
commenced, but surveys were made and projects
started, the consummation of which woo and have
involved an expenditure of at leist one hundred
millions of dollars.
At tiie same time, a high prohibitory tariff sys- j
tem was devised, which enabjed the manulactu- j
rers to levy bounties upon the people, in she :
shape of increased prices, x/hit/h the monopoly
of the market, secured to ttiein through the in
strumentality oi an excessive tariff, enabled them
to charge upon their fab/ics. At that early pe- j
j riud, in consequence of the heavy demand over !
| the capacity ot the manuhu'urers to supply the
consumption of the conjTt\J a comparatively:
large revenue was duties imposed ;
on foreign matiufactdtes iqpp< hito the coun
try under the then /listing taftff. 1 hus the tar
iff produced a Ijrt'ge revenue, and the grand j
scheme of interim improvements, adopted as a i
part of the system then known ns the American j
system, was th; device by which it was to be got ;
rid of. The two measures then, as it is now m- |
tended they -/(all go, went together hand in hand, i
The expenditures for internal improvements ,
created tin/necessity of higher taxation in the t
’torin of t'ji‘ tariff, and thus the purposes of the j
monopolists were subserved by the joint opera- j
lion of ibth measures. ‘That system was explo- j
ded by Gen. Jackson, and it is now sought to be j
relieved by federalism, under the auspices of!
Gen. ‘Taylor, ,
\/e are opposed tofthafc system of policy, and 1
list two measures wmclAoustitute it in part —
! :!.e third and remafiiug branch of tiie system j
| the distribution off he proceeds of the sales ;
’of the public lands, i lie latter measure, and tee j
| interna! improvement system, were devised for l
I the purpose of emptying the treasury; ami die
tariff system was the expedient by which it was
to be again replenished.
With regard to our views upon a monopolist
tariff, they have been so often expressed, that it
is now unnecessary to repeat jhem. \\ e .shall,
therefore, confine our reimiik#to the remaining
branch of the system by the policy of the
monopolists is to be>vri|igl|t,out—namely, in
ternal IMPROVEMENTS.™ J
We are opposed to ufcisjsystem, both upon
principle and We do not think the
constitution gives Congrlss*lhe power to appro
priate money from the Treasury of the general
government, to be. expended upon roads, canals,
rivers, or harbors, in the limits of the States.
We do not now propose to go into an argument
in support of this point —the able, and splendid ,
message of Mr. Polk upon this subject being j
fresh in the recollection ot our readers, a doc
ument which contains the most conclusive rea
sons against the power of Congress in relation
to this subject, and to which we would respect- 1
fully refer the reader. We will only say, that
the supporters of the doctrine that Congress has
power to appropriate the money c.f the genera;
i government for internal improvements, do not
i pretend that they can find any express grant for
lit it) the constitution. It is constructive only;
and being an independent and integral power,
the exercise of which is not necessary to carry
out any other power granted in the constitution,
it is assumed in direct violation of the clause of
that instrument which prohibits the exercise id’
all powers not expressly delegated to Congress.
We are opposed to it because it interferes
with the internal affairs of the sovereign States
of this confederacy. ‘The great principle which
lies at the foundation of this government t?,
that it is the creature of a compact between sov
ereign and independent States, in creating the
genera! government, the States which were the
original parties to the compact never intended to
part, with their attributes of sovereignty and in
dependence, except to a very limited extent;
and therefore they clothed their central gov- :
ernment agency with general powers, relating
mainly to their external and foreign affairs; all
other powers—all the great and necessary duties
of internal and municipal regulation—were re- j
served to themselves. And upon the. careful re- j
cognition and observance, on the part of the gen- ‘
erai government, of the right of the States to j
manage their internal concerns, and to regulate i
their municipal affairs, depend the preservation j
I of the Suite governments and the liberties of the
| people. Every usurpation of power by the cen- j
! tral government weakens that of the States, and
j thus tends to consolidation. The obliteration
i of the State governments and perfect consoiida- ;
i ti°n would result in a central despotism. To
j preserve this great distinction between the -cen- 1
tial and State governments, and to prevent con
| solidation, has been the occasion of unceasing I
j struggle between the republican and federal par- j
ties—the former contending for a strict construe
i (ion of the constitution, and the latter for an tin
! limited one. Therefore, the democratic party,
as a body, have opposed the appropriations of the
I money of the government for internal improve
ments, for two reasons—first, because they found
I in the constitution no specific giant of the pow-
! er to Congress ; and, second, because they are
! opposed to the introduction of the machinery and
| influence of the general government within the
I jurisdiction of the States, except where the con
j stituiion expressly gives the power. Therefore,
i if the States would actually be the gainers by the
j introduction of a system of internal improve-
I menfs, the great body of the republican party
I would oppose it, for the very reason that it
would tend to break down and obliterate the
great lines of deinaication between the action
! ( >f the general government and that of (he States.
Being as much in favor of reasonable improve
ments as the federalists, they prefer to have
them executed by the means and energies of the
States themselves, even if they should bo ol
slower growth, which, however, is extremely
doubtful.
We are also opposed to the system on the
g mud of justice and expediency. We can see
u justice in taxing the people of one portion of
the States for the means with which to construct;
the roads, canals, and harbors of another por*
tier*., or to clear out their livers. It seems to u-.
that it would be just as proper to tax the peop’#
of one State for the means to build churches and
school-houses in another. The people of the
New England States, New York, Pennsylvania,
Georgia, and several of the other States, have
constructed magnificent systems of canals and
railroads. They have accomplished these great
results by theii own means and energies; and
they stand in no need of aid from the general
government. Yet if the system suggested by
the cabinet in tbe message, is carried out, tho
people of these States must be taxed to construct
similar improvements in the western States—
(perhaps to build a railroad to California. In ad
dition to their own improvements, they are to be
called upon to pay lor improvements in other
States.
The older States have now their systems of in
tcrnal improvements nearly completed. The
xvnrk has been done at their own expense.
‘They therefore have no interest in advocating
and promoting a grand national system of inter
nal improvements. Thus will it soon be with
the oldest of the western States. The States of
Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois have made
very considerable progress in their systems.
‘Therefore, the inquiry becomes pertinent, Will
they gain as much in giatuities from the general
government as they will have to pay for improve,
inents in the newer States and Territories, and
in those which will be formed out of the vast do
mains of the. Union ? It strikes us, that if the
question were one of mere dollars and cents,
they would he the losers by encouraging the sys
tem. Besides, what could compensate them for
the actual loss of relative power and importance,
if they should give their support to the policy ad
voctited by the cabinet?
And what would the people of the States pro
! posed to be benefited by the system themselves
.rain ? ‘They would lie compelled to bear their
: portion oft lie taxation which would be necessary
j to rai<e the means by which it will be carried
■ on. ‘The money would go from their pockets,
but it would not return again. It would pass in
|to tlie pockets ol contractors, jobbers, and agents.
I They would thus be compelled to pay for the her •
; etits which the general government pretended to
! extend to them, and at a higher rate than they
| themselves would have to pay, if they should
construct till the improvements which their con.
! dition required.
Besides, it would create an army of agents,
; roil tractors-, jobbers, and dependants, to be sup
! ported by the general government. This army
| of agents, &c., would be introduced into the aer.
j erai States. They would add to the influence of
j the general government, which it is the policy of
! all democrats to restrict and curtail. Those
| creatures ol the general government would inter
( sere with the elections and other h eal affairs of
; the people, and thus do their share towards
’ breaking down and obliterating the State gov.
I eminent?, and helping forward consolidation—
| the ( a .ring purpose of federalism. Are the ben.
j etits to be derived from the sys’em cotnmensu-
I rate with the evils which we have suggested!
! it is for the people and the States to decide^*—-
i We are aware ‘hat there are some members
j of the democratic party who differ with us in the
views which we Jiave above expressed. We
presume they are influenced by a conscientious
} conviction tha* they are correct. We claim the
(same integrity ofVmotive f .for ourselves; and we
j trust that the question will lie discussed on all
j sides in that spirit of candor and freedom w hich
j its impm lance demands.— Washington Union.
’ A Beautiful Touch ok .Nature. — ’The
New \ ork Tribuim records the fqilowiug beau
jtiliii incident wijii the attention# to
The Ilmigariatif". ,v '?. rjr ,Ta?U V
‘•On lasy. J- three Germans,
| evidently work#-- jTWent to the Astor
House and askii h’lU'CEfhe H ungariaus. ‘l’ hey
| were itnmediaj fly i. ft J luced, and remained
. some time in with Gov. Ujbnzy
and I.irmly, jjinally ivo of them withdrew,
and left the third who continued to tptik, hut
seemed to have something to say whith he
j could not easily get out. At last, addressing
i MUe. Clara, the daughter of Mr. Ujhnzv, ho
j said that its ex les who were remote (tern
\ country and friends and whose property had
been confiscated inconsequence of their devo
tion to freedom and the people’s rights, they
must be in an embarrassed condition. Then
drawing from bis bank note, he said:
“ 1 rauelein. this is /Tut Jittle, for lama poor
man, and have only what 1 earn, but [ could
not refrain from giving the tribute of my mite
to you. Receive this, 1 beg you, as the heart
oflering of a woikman to the defenders of liber •
iy.” Mile. Ujh azy, who had not expected any
thing of this kind, and embarrassed,
replied in a tone of that she was deeply’
grateful for such but that they were
not in a condition to aslf it, when her father
said : “Take it, my daughter, and feel thyself
more honored than if a monarch had bestowed
millions upon thee & ayiie same time warmly
pressing the noble laborer and
assuring him that they could never forget him.
” e leave our readers to imagine the scene.”
A F I‘m.yle Miner. —The only white woman
i have seen in the mines is jjie wife of a French
man, who came he:e fifom* Calcutta. She
dresses in trowsers a thin hut anil
red shirt, as most ot the riffuers do, and her
hair being cut short, is not suspected of being
a woman, probably, by one-tenth of the persons
who see her. The first time I saw her 1 was
digging in a hole in the Mokelrnay, a few feet
from where she and her husband were working
a rocker. 1 noticed Jjer look and
thoughtful expressioiu of # countenance, and
mentioned it to a man who was woiking near
me. lie informed me, that what [ supposed to
be a rem ukably handsome young man, was a
woman ; that she was the wife of the man at
work with her ; tha^heifhusband wa once a
wealthy merchant in Calcutta, and that the
wife had been accustomed to ease and luxury.
| failing in business and becoming poor,
j the husband determined to dig a fortune out of
the earth in California, and the wife, true to her
j companion, only he promised
j she should accompany Jly I have seen her
; at work with the pickftpp the spade early and
, late—there is ever a thoughtful expression on
her countenance, but she never seems discour
aged : and yet the have had the
worst of luck, dug gold enough to
pay their living. is one of the ntatjy
romantic incidents that a life in the fjeld
, diggings of California, jfrom time to time,
developes.—
Good Reason for Leaving. —A sailor in,
the pit of a theatre, |o< king over his playbill,
read 4 *.n interval of tyears Q#i rs between
the. fiijst and ’ At the end of the
first act he put on mscml tarpaulin and left tho
house, saying— ‘‘few of these folks vvill live to so®
the enl on*!.”