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Professional & Business Cards.
SINTINEIt JOB OFFICE.
HAVING lately received anew and extensive as
sortment of Material, we are prepared to execute
at this office, with elegance and despatch, all orders for
JOB WORK, of ever* description, in plain or fanev
letter.
We feel confident that ur reasonable terms, and the
neatness, beauty and accuracy of our work, will give
genera! satisfaction.
In short, all description* of PRINTING which can
be executed at any office in life Country, will be faith
fully turned out, including
•ooks, BI'SISF.SS CARDS, -
FA MPHI.ETS, BILL HEADS,
CIRCULARS, BLANKS OF EVERY DrSCRIPTIOJI,
HAND BILLS, BILLS OF LADING,
FOSTERS, &.C., &.C., &.C.
Jan. 30, 1851.
SALVO & CO., ~
(AT THE SIGN OF THE HEART,)
Delow Hill, Dawson A Cos.
’'l’'lN, Copper, Sheet Iron, Steam Boat work, all rnan-
L ner of Gutters’, Piping, Conductors and Roofing
done to order, substantially arid warranted
Nov. 27 48—ts
THA l). sT iR(; is,
ATTOUNEV \T LAW,
CO EU M B U S, (G EORGIA.)
June 5,1351. 23 ly
JAMES N. BETIIUNE,
Attorney at Law,
C O I, U >1 BUS, GA.
. Office over BROKAW, CLEMONS A CO
S'I'ORE. Jan. 23. 4 lyr ’ !
KING & WINNEMOftE,
OMVIIS SI O \ MERCII ANT S.
MOBILE, ALABAMA.
ttec.46,1849. [Mob.Trih.] 15 ts
notice.
pRIOSttY ETHOMAS, late of the firm ol
\ T Ino mas & Downing, has resumed the practice of i
the LAW. He will take case- in cither of the court- - of j
Georgia or Alabama; w.Uen the business will authorize I
a suitable compensation - .
Nov. 27, 1351. 48 tlstJan.
A C \ R D .
DOCTOR HENRY LOCKHART having pur
chased an interest in tlie COLUMBUS COT
TON GIN MANUFACTORY, will be co-partner in
that concern from and aftei this date.
The business of the establishment w - il! be conducted,
as heretofore, in the name and style of
May 8 ts E. T. TAYLOR &. CO.
R. G. JEFFERSON & CO., I
j
Manufacturers anil- Wholesale Dealers in I
IHi I S, %
WEST SIDE BROAD STREET, FIRST DOOR
ABOVE T MctiAREN’S, COLUMBUS, GA.
r pHEY keep on hand an excellent supply ol Office,
l W.khl Seat, Split Bottom, and Rocking Chairs :
BEDSTEADS WOODEN WARE, &c.. &c.
All Orucrs addressed as above will meet with
prompt attention. 13 ts Oct. 23
Marble Works,
East side liroat! .St. near t lie Market tlddsc
COLUMBUS, GA.
Have constantlvon hand all kinds of Grace Stones, j
Monuments, Tombs and Tablets, of American,
Italian and Irish Marble. Engraving and carving
done on stone in the best possible manner; and all kinds
of Granite Work at the shortest notice.
JOHN 11. MADDEN.
P. S.—Plaster of Paris and Cement, alwayson hand
for sale.
Columbus, March 7, 1850. 10 ts
It OC K ISL AN D
k FACTORY,
HA YU. lor sale, at their store, a good article of
RULED LET TER PAPER, at *1 25 cts. per
Reain, and RULED FOOLSCAP, at S2 per Ream.
Also, a superior article of LAWYERS’ BRIEF
PAPER.
Columbus, June 5,1851. 23 tl
GLOBE HOTEL,
BUENA**VISTA, MARION COUNTY, GA.
MTHE subscriber respectfully announces to his
friends and the public generally, that he has
taken charge of this well known
ESTABLISHMENT.
The house is commodious and well furnished ; and no
pains will be spared to render those comfortable, who
may favor him with their patronage.
E. TITCOMB.
Dec. 4. SCI. 49 ts
DISSOLUTION.
PIMIE COPARTNERSHIP heretofore existing be
l tween the Subscribers, is this day dissolved by
mutual consent, and bv the retirement of Mr. C. REPS
from the firm. The business of the firm of C.
REPS St, CO. will be closed up by the remaining
partners, who are authorized to use the name of the firm
.for that purpose.
* JOHN FORSYTH.
J H. WHITTELSEY,
.Nov. 15. 1851. CHAS. REPS.
(COPARTNERSHIP. — The Subscribers having
J bought the interest of Mr. C. REPS in the late j
firm of C. REPS &. CO., have formed a copartnership :
and will continue the business under the name and style I
*of WHITTELSEY &. CO
JOHN FORSYTH,
J. H. WHITTELSEY.
Nov. 15, 1851. 47 ts
DISSOLUTION.
f J*IME firm of ELLIS, KENDRICK & REDD is j
JL rthUcbf dissolved by mutual consent of the sur- j
vijtajf partners.
‘Those indebted will please bear in mind the import i
ance of early settlement. D P. ELLIS. 1
JOHN J. REDD.
/COPARTNERSHIP. —The Subscribers have this
IUT day formed a Copartnership under the name and j
style.X). P. ELLIS & CO., for the transaction of
■a GENERAL GROCERY business. They have pur
,chased the of Elx,is, Kendrick Sc Rf.pp, at which
g>t, - mfl:they remain until the Ist of October, and then
..Wjill remove to the Corner ale,re, lately occupied by
jCm ely ts Clapp, where they will lu> pleased to see their
friends. D. P. ELLIS,
ARCH. S. HAYS, !
JOHN J. REDD.
Oct. 2 •“! ts
COPARTNERSHIP.
Him: subscribers having associated themselves for the
JL prince oi DENTAL SURGERY, respectfully
tender professional services Vo the citizens of Co
•'“‘‘ vM'W. O p. laird,
WM.O. LAIRD,
WM F. LEE.
Drs. Laird A Ix-e would announce, that from being in
possession of recent improvements and superior facili
ties, the prices for Plate Work will lie lower than here
tofore.
1 15T Offiee opposite the Bank of Brunswick.
A CARD.
IN making the above announcement, the subscriber
would briefly say, that his biother, VV.m. O. Lord,
has practiced tor several years at Athens, in this State,
*nd is a Dentist ot skill and experience.
Os Dr. Lf.e —he has received the degree of “Doctor
of Dental Surgery,” front the Baltimore Dental College,
was private pupil, and for the last two years copartner
of Prof. Westeott, (late of said Institution, and now of
* the New York Dental College,) and is emitted to the en
tire confidence of the public.
f 0. P. LAIRD.
Columbus, Nov. ST, 1331 $3
VOL. 11.
j ADDRESS ON EDUCATION.
I BY REV, THOS. F. SCOTT.
( ( Concluded.)
There may be some debate, whether edu
. ; cation be such a right as every citizen may
legally demand of the State; but there can,
I think, he no doubt, as to the duty of the
State to see that every one have the opportu-
I nity of being qualified for his duties and re
sponsibilities as a man and as a citizen. This
doctrine is as old as the palmy days of Persia
and of Greece. And in no State of our Union
has this obligation been more formally recog
nized or enjoined than in Georgia, however
j she may have failed in its entire fulfilment.
But still a very important practical ques
tion remains: Suppose the State undertake
to provide for this responsibility, in what way
I shall this he done ?
J. Leaving those who are able to educate
l their own children to their own voluntary ac
! tion, the State may simply provide the means
| of paying for the education of the poor in
■ sucli schools as may be furnished by private
! individuals. In this case, there is no certainty
! —and there is no provision made—that there
! shall he. schools at all. If individuals estab
lish schools for their own benefit, the State
may ask the privilege of using them, such as
| tiiey are, for her poor. If individuals neglect j
the education of their own children, and so I
decline to sustain any schools at all, why the
State’s poor must be uneducated, too. Prac
tically, such a system is worth very little;
and vet this is the present system of Georgia.
| VI hat provision she makes for even this pre
! teuce w ill a pear hereafter.
2. ()r, tiie State may, at its own expense,
establish and sustain schools exclusively for
the poor, leaving the rest, as before, to their
own voluntary action. This system, unless
the poor could be congregated at specified
points, would involve an enormous expense
for the education of comparatively few, while
no assistance or encouragement would be ex
tended to the cause of general education.—
In addition to this and other dilHculties that
have always rendered such an attempt entire
ly abortive, it raises, at once, an invidious
distinction between the rich and the poor,
which, in this country, would totally defeat
the design. Ragged schools, as they are sig
nificantly called, may he sustained in the
crowded cities where abject poverty does its
perfect work ; but in our country generally,
they are utterly hopeless.
3. Or, the State may provide by law for
the organization of schools sufficient fi>r the
wants of the whole population, to be support
ed at the public expense, and open alike to ail
the children of the State. This is the Com
mon, or Public School system. And if the
theory can be embodied in practice, it evi
dently provides the certain means of a uni
versal education.
The only preliminary question as to the
system seems to be, whether this be a subject
matter over which the State ought to assume
jurisdiction ? And the answer to this ques
tion must depend upon another—whether
general education he a matter of such para
mount interest to the whole population, that
its absence or neglect will involve a serious
damage to the commonwealth ? And it seems
to me there can be hut one answer to this
question.
The orderly administration of the govern
ment in its three distinct departments is of
vital importance to the people, and therefore
the State assumes jurisdiction over the sub
ject in alii its details. Passable roads and
bridges tire indispensable to the public conve
nience and safety, and hence the State as
sumes jurisdiction over that entire subject.—
General health and morality are matters of
great public interest, and therefore the State
assumes jurisdiction over them. So of va
rious other matters. Now, surely, gen
eral education is not inferior to these in
importance, in whatever aspect it may be
viewed. In fact, our Constitution distinctly
recognizes this truth, and provides for it ac
cordingly. All that is required, therefore, is
that the Legislature carry out the injunctions
of the Constitution. And if it be a public
blessing vouchsafed in that fundamental char
ter of our politioal organization, the public
voice should imperatively demand its entire
fulfilment.
I presume it was never thought of, that the
State should assume entire control over the
mailer of education, to the exclusion of pa
rental wishes or convenience. This course
is indeed pursued in despotic governments,
but is never contemplated in ours. Nor is
it supposed that the State will prevent the es
tablishment of other institutions of learning
than those under its own control. Its duty
stops with providing the means of proper ed
ucation for all, so far at least as is necessary
to qualify them for their duties and responsi
bilities, as men and as citizens, and with lav
ing before them suitable inducements to avail
themselves of this privilege. Ample room
would still be left for all that individual taste
or preference could desire. Let me now ad
vert to a few of the arguments by which such
a system of public instruction is recom
mended :
1. It destroys the invidious distinction be
tween the rich and the poor, which is perpet
uated by the Poor School system ; and which,
in this country, has always rendered that sys
tem odious, and therefore useless. Whether
right or wrong, this feeling exists. Even a child
revolts at the thought of being singled out as
an inferior, and especially of being placed in
such a situation as wifi perpetually recall die
sense of that inferiority. In fact, such A
®l)c Soulljcvn Sentinel,
course destroys one of the strongest incen
tives to virtuous and honorable effort. There
are distinctions in human society, and it is
wrong to foster any other spirit than that
which belongs properly to the station of
each. Nor is the common school system
liable to objection on this ground.
The State, as a kind foster-parent, places
her children here on an equality, and affords
them alike the means of earning that only
distinction which is worthy of bein'* re
- °
i meinbered—superior intelligence and virtue.
Every thing in the gift of the State she offers
alike to the aspirations of the rich and poor,
i and she otfers to both precisely the same
means of reaching that goal. The mere dif
ference of birth or fortune, is left entirely out
of view. Education, conducted in such cir
cumstances, tends very greatly to promote a
generous and fraternal spirit in the social re
lations of mankind ; to repress an aristocratic
’ pride and disdain on the one hand, and a de
j grading sense of inferiority on die other—and
thus to draw more closely die bonds of broth
erhood. It any objection be raised on the
score of degrading and vicious association, j
let it be remembered, that vice and degrada- j
tion are found among the rich as well as the I
poor. And, therefore, if any one be too vile j
j for common association, let him be excluded
j from the common privilege for his vice alone, !
i and not for his poverty. And for the recla- ‘
mation of such, let there be educational petti- j
tentiaries established.
2. The common school system interests
every class of citizens alike in the exist
ence ami prosperity of the schools, and
tlms brings the combined intelligence and
means of the State to bear directly on the
common cause. In tins way, the selfishness
of men is converted to the public good. Ev- ;
ery one who lias had experience knows how !
very difficult it is to establish and sustain
good schools, because of the ignorance of j
some, the indifference of some, and the penu- j
riousaess of others. The result of all this!
often is, that the right-minded part of the com
munity, who have the ability, withdraw from i
all such attempts, and set up schools of right \
character for their own children. And they !
cannot be blamed for this step, although it is
otherwise when they thus withdraw from
mere unwillingness to associate with others j
in the common cause. But then the rest of
the community, being deprived of their coun
sel and assistance, are sufferers to the same
extent, and the consequences fall upon their
children.
Now, although this e'il may not be entirely
obviated, it certainly is greatly mitigated, by
the common school system. Under it, every
one must contribute his proportion to the
common cause, and till that an intelligent i i
terest can conUibute for the advantage of one
child must equally redound to the advantage
of all. And then, too, as every one is obliged
to bear his part in the common expense, he
is much more likely to avail himself of the
common advantage for the education of his
children. Thus many good schools must ex
ist where otherwise none would have existed
at all, and multitudes of children be trained
for virtue and usefulness, who would other
wise be doomed to hopeless ignorance. And
this is a point gained of inestimable value to
the cause of general education.
3- This system opens the higher sources of
education to every class of children, and thus
developes the mental reiburces of the whole
State. How many bright intellects are but
half revealed for was it of the proper means of
training them to their full capacity ! True,
in some of these the fire of genius burns so
intensely, that no untowardness of circum
stances can quench it. But yet there is ma
ny a mind of the most substantial endow
ments, and which has fully corne up to the
measure of its advantages, but still requires
the genial warmth of a brighter sun to devel
ope its full maturity. This is particularly the
case with many of the poorer class, who have
no means of prosecuting their education in
the higher seminaries of learning. If blessed
with these advantages, they would display
mental powers of the highest order.
Now, if judiciously organized, and wisely
administered, the common school system pro
vides for this deficiency. It is a mistake of
ten made, and from which a prejudice arises
against the system, that it provides for the low
er branches only of what is called an Eng
lish education. Even if it stopped at this
point, it would he a great advance upon the
present condition of things, when thousands
cannot read at all, and thousands more read
so imperfectly as to be scarcely the better for
it. To be taught to read the English lan
guage readily and intelligently, would at
once give the young mind an easy access to
all the rich and varied stores of knowledge
and refinement which that language contains.
But I repeat, this is an error. The system
of public instruction contemplates a connect
ed gradation of schools, embracing all the
literary and scientific instruction provided in
our best institutions below the Universities.
Now, it is true, that all would not avail them
selves of the entire advantages here presented ;
but yet the schools would be open alike to
all, and bring the best means within the reach
of all. And it is evident at a glance, that
nothing short of this can open the fountains
of general knowledge to the general mind.—
Hence the mental resources of the fetate are
but partially developed. If such advantages
were offered for revealing the mental wealth
of the State, scores of youth would be dis
covered whose quenchless desire for improve
ment would lead them on through our Colie*
COLUMBUS, GEORGIA, THURSDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 18, 1851.
ges, and whose matured talents would adorn
and bless the world, in all the departments of
mental beauty and grandeur.
4. This system, in a good degree, equalizes
the expense of general education, and would
afford the same advantages to all, at a cost
not exceeding that of the present partial sys
tem. General education is unquestionably a
public blessing. It brings with it a real and
substantial good, of which every one i.i the
community is a partaker. It diminishes idle
ness and crime and pauperism, and thus re
lieves a part of the expense which these al
ways devolve upon the public. It affords in
creased security to life ami property. It de
velopes and renders available the manifold re
sources of the country, and thus increases the
means of general prosperity. It elevates the
character o! society, and thus increases the
means of social happiness to every citizen.
Now, surely, it is no hardship—nay, it is
eight, that every one should hear his part in
promoting this public good. It is true, how
ever, that many contribute nothing, who have j
abundant means to do so. And even amoim
n \
those who do something, there is a wide dis
proportion among those of equal means. And
this fact not only throws a heavier burden on
ihe few who are determined, at any cost, to
educate their own children, but leaves large
numbers either unprovided for, or supplied to
a very imperfect extent.
Now, the common school system, when
under a thorough organization, provides in a
large degree for this evil. Every one is re
quired to pay his just proportion according to
his means, and no more. Then, too, when
the entire population is judiciously organized,
and the schools are properly arranged and .
conducted by competent teachers, a much
larger result may he accomplished by the
same means. There is an actual economy in
the arrangement. Under such a system,
the entire educational wants of the State can
be supplied, while the tax assessed for that
purpose will lie less to the individual than
is now paid by the majority of those who pay
school hills.
Such are a few of the arguments in favor
of the common school system. That there
are objections to the plan is readily admitted ;
but they can by no means overturn the argu
ments in its favor. It is based upon these
three strong positions:
1. The magnitude and importance of the
work to be accomplished.
2. That there is no reliable means of car
rying it into complete and universal effect,
beside that here suggested—under the author
ity of the State.
3. That the objections and difficulties in
the way of this mode of operation are fewer
and more readily surmounted than those
which lie against any other plan heretofore
suggested.
These propositions need no elaboration
now; they must suggest themselves as true
to the mind of every one who deliberately in
vestigates the whole subject. Every argu
ment on the other side necessarily involves
the abandonment of the great end proposed—
the universal spread of education.
At different periods since the organization
of the State, this subject has been under con
sideration by the Legislature, and various at
tempts have been made towards the accom
plishment of this interesting proposition.—
And although these efforts have failed of se
curing the universal diffusion of knowledge
by means of schools, yet they have not been
without some fruit. The general intelligence
of the .-tate has gradually advanced. The
State University has well repaid all the ex
penditure which has been made for its sup
port. Quite a number of colleges and other
high schools have been added by private en
terprise for the education of both males and
females. Scattered over the State, too, there
are many valuable schools of different grades,
the names of which have never been so for
tunate as to find a place in the public ga
zettes. But after all, they come immeasura
bly short of the educational wants of the
State. And, moreover, they are mostly loca
ted in the village.? or towns, and in a few
wealthy neighborhoods, so that very few can
avail themselves of these advantages, except
ing those of considerable means.
What then becomes of the mass"*of our
country population ? Who has cared for them,
and sought to bless them with the light of
education ? The State has built and endow
ed its valuable University, but its immediate
advantages are necessarily confined to the
wealthier class. Christian benevolence has
been taxed to erect colleges and high schools
for the benefit of those who can foot up an
annual bill for each pupil of from 8150 to
8500. But who, I ask again, has cared for
the toiling thousands scattered throughout
the country, who are either unable to do
more than barely to provide food and raiment
for their children, or who find it difficult to
foot up a bill of more than from 85 to 820
per annum for each child? What advantages
of education have been provided for them ?
Left entirely to their own resources, their
schools are few, and generally of short con
tinuance—sav from three to five months in
the year. And then, in very many cases,
their advantages, might all be summed up
with a cipher. And where are the fortv thou
sand children whose parents are unable to
contribute anything for their education?—
Georgia—the Empire State of the South—
otters to distribute about thirty thousand dol
lars per annum—-that is, some seventy cents
each, for their mental illumination. I say
offers to distribute ; for such is the public ap
athy on the subject, that the county authori
ties in many instances neglect to call tor
and appropriate even this pittance for the ben
efit of this poor forty thousand. Hapless chil
dren ! doomed to drudge on in darkness, and
none to seek your elevation ! Will this mag
nanimous Georgia, rich in all the elements
and resources of wealth and power and
greatness—will Georgia consent to have her
greatness heralded each ten years in the na
tional census, along with the fact that nearly
one-fifth part of her adult white population is
unable to read and write ? Is there a loyal
son or daughter of Georgia, whose cheek
does not burn with indignant shame before
such a picture of his State ?
But lot us not run into another extreme.
No enactment of the Legislature can avail to
carry out this stupendous enterprise, unless
the public mind he prepared to appreciate
and sanction and sustain it. Suppose the
| Legislature of 1830 had passed an act requir
ing the citizens to mark out and construct
; the system of Rail Roads which now traverse
the State ; to erect all the manufacturing es
tablishments which are now in operation ; to
organize the agricultural societies which now
exist, and to display the productions of
Southern industry and ingenuity in a great
annual Fair. Os what avail would this en
actment have been ? Who, then, would have
, obeyed the mandate! It would have remain
ed a dead letter upon the statute book. And
yet all these enterprises are now moving for
| ward with encouraging speed and success.—
But who can estimate the time-and labor it
| has cost to accomplish even this beginning ?
■ Think of the ten thousand arguments and
; speeches, of the tons of paper written over,
printed and circulated, and of the ceaseless
toil and enduring energy of a few individuals
to keep the ball in motion! And for what
have all these been expended ? Why, to
prepare the mind of a few hundred, and they
too the most intelligent and enterprising men
of the State, to appreciate and sustain these
beginnings of noble effort, which, in their
maturity, are to revolutionize the world.
So must it be in the cause of education,
i The public mind must be prepared and grad
: ually led onward. The great value—the in-
I dispensable importance of universal education,
. must be understood and felt. The means for
its complete diffusion must be clearly com-
I prehended—the funds, the buildings, the
| books, the apparatus, the teachers, the eo
; operation of parents and of school commis
j sioners. And then a sufficient number of per
; sons to carry all.this into execution in every
j district, must be heartily enlisted in the cause.
Then competent teachers must be produced
in sufficient numbers to marshal these young
legions, and lead them on to light and lib
| erty. And then we must have a few actu
al examples of its practicability. A few I
counties, acting under the authority of the |
Legislature as their charter, must organize
j the system of common schools within their
! respective bounds, and carry it into success
ful operation. This would give a mighty im
pulse to the noble enterprise. Thus might
the system be expanded until it embrace the
entire State—until it kindle up the beacon
light of knowledge and virtue on every hill,
and pour its flood tide into every valley, from
| the mountains to the seaboard.
This blessed consummation would do more
than anything beside to raise up and fix upon
our soil a permanent, home population. Why
are our places of abode so unattractive ? Be
cause the minds which preside over them are
dark, contracted and discontented, and be-
I cause our places are so little like HOMES.
What a change would he wrought by intelli
gence, virtue, industry and taste ! To such
! minds, the neat and comfortable dwelling,
with its select library of choice reading—the
grove, adorned with shrubs and flowers—the
! dairy, the garden, the farm, all smiling in
beauty, and profuse in abundance of every
temporal good—these would present a charm
which it would be difficult to dissolve. And
then there would be added the associations of
the neat school house, where we were taught
to love and acquire knowledge, and the ven
erable sanctuary, where we were taught from
| our childhood to love and fear God. And
then, by and by, there would be superadded
the homes of our kindred and the graves of
our fathers.
Who would not, then, rejoice to stand up
and say, with a devout and grateful heart—
“ This is my own, my native land !” Here will
1 dwell, here will I be buried, and hence will
I ascend, in youth restored, to a blessed im
mortality in the Paradise of God.
School Examination.— A school master
announced to his pupils that an examination
: would soon take (dace.
“If you are examined in geography,” said j
he, “you will surely be asked what is the
shape of the earth ; and if you should not
remember, just look at me, and I will show
you my snuff box to remind you that it is
round.”
Unfortunately, the teacher had two snuff
boxes : a round one, which he only used on
Sunday; and a square one, which he carried
during the week. The class in geography
was duly called out, and the question asked :
“What is the shape of the earth ?”
The first boy, appalled at the imposing ap
pearance of the examining committee, felt
embarrassed, and glanced at the master, who
pointed at his snuff box.
“Sir,” boldly answered the boy, “it is round
on Sunday, and square all other days in the I
j week!”
i
A Strange Coincidence.— Mr. Webster,
Mr. Calhoun, Mr. Cass, Mr. Benton, and Mr.
; Van UureD ? were all born in the vear 1782. i
polUiCiU.
Correspondence of the Charleston Mercury.
Washington, Dec. 8, 1851.
Since the subsiding of the caucus swell,
and the successful termination of the regular
nominations, things have been very quiet here
| on the surface, but the undercurrents of Pres
idential intrigue and wire-pulling are deep
and rapid. In order to have an opportunity
of talking over matters quietly among them
; selves, as well as to subdue “the inflammation
of their weekly hills” at the hotels, bv pro
curingless expensive lodgings elsewhere, the
House has indulged itself with two recesses.
The first was from Wednesday to Saturday,
the second from Saturday to Tuesday. Noth
ing of special interest was done during the
short session of Saturday, but it is possible that
resolutions making the Compromise a test of
democratic ortho ‘oxv, similar to that offered
j by Mr. Foote in 1 e Senate, may wake up the
House, and create an excitement which it. may
be difficult to subdue. It is not positively un
derstood that such resolutions will he intro
duced at this time into the House, but inti
mations have been thrown out to that effect
by the outside organs of that clique, among the
letter-writers. The most busy and unscru
pulous of these is Grund, who corresponds
with the Baltimore Sun, under the signa
ture of “X;” with the Philadelphia Ledg
er, under that of “Observer;” who i
tho “Diable Boiteaux” of the New Orleans
Picayune, and of various other papers
under various other aliases. Contradict
ing, with the most unblushing effrontery, in ,
iiis letter of to-day, the assertions lie has j
made in that of yesterday—taking up and j
dropping with equal pliability of pen and face. I
measures and men, as suits the paper to which
he writes, or the direction of the political cur
rent—this omnipresent letter-writer does me r
to propagate false predictions and half (ruths,
which serve the effect of whole falsehoods,
than almost any editor i:i the country. At
the present moment he is fighting hard to
help Foote & Cos. on the democratic platform,
with an eye to the elevation of Cass, who on
ly needed the nerve to get into the same boat
last session, when the “great Union party
sprouted up and rotted down’’ in the same ‘
week. That boat has stranded at lat, and j
the shipwrecked mariners who tried to navi
gate it, much sickened by the salt water j
which they have swallowed in their escape, i
are still swimming about on the political sea j
without finding any safe platform to land on. 1
To drop the figurative, Foote and his “Con
stitutional Union” friends have not the faint
est idea of what is to become of them,
and hence the spasmodic shriekings of the ,
little man in the Senate about Kossuth,
Irish exiles, and the Compromise measures.
The reception and fate of his resolution, I
which comes up to-day in the Senate, will !
determine the action of his co-laborers in the !
other house. If it is seen that any capital i
can be made out of it, a similar resolution will |
be thrust on that body. Should it prove unpal
atable, and an egregious failure, then it will
not be pressed there, at present, but be kept
in reserve, as an explosive, which may be
used with effect at a more favorable time.—
One thing is certain, however, that the unity
of the existing democratic organization, and
the adoption of that test, cannot go together.
Without most material modifications, .suffi
cient to make it a mere nullity, it could not
be swallowed by the Southern Rigiits demo
crats of the House, who have already strain
ed very hard to stomach “acquiescence.” The i
Freesoilers, of course, would be driven off by
it, and the gain of a few straggling Union
ists would not compensate for these losses in
a counting point of view; in the arithmetic
of politics, the Constitutional Union men
count very small.
Mr. Foote, this day, is to fret his hour up- j
on the stage of the Senate, and alilict Sena
tors and the country with another of his gas
conade speeches. Should he chance to con
clude before adjournment, and the debate not
be continued by other senators, you shall be
advised thereof by a Postscript attached to
this letter. Should such P. S. not lie attach
ed, you may conclude that the Senator was \
speaking when this letter left, and may be i
speaking still when you receive it—for the j
limits of his loquacity no man may venture ‘
to lay down. He has given notice (through
his letter writers) of his intention-of leaving
this city to assume his Gubernatorial chair, on ‘
the 20th of this month ; consequently, lie will j
not speak beyond that time. There is some j
comfort in that reflection, at any rate. What
a nuisance the man is, can only be fully
known to those who occupy seats either in
the body or gallery of the Senate—as Scribes j
above or Pharisees below.
The call for your State Convention took
the politicians here rather by surprise ; they
(I do not include \ r our members, but re
fer to the outsiders,) had supposed that i!
| would be suffered to go by default: now that
I its meeting is a fixed fact, they are casting
about to find out what may come of it.
Whatever its decision ma3 T be, or whatev
er may happen as the result of this move
ment, one thing is generally believed, that the
people of the State will sustain with heart
and hand, as a band of brethren, its final ac
tion, without regard to any previous differen
ces of opinion on questions of policy. The
power of South Carolina hitherto in this COll
- has been a moral power; and that
was derived not alone from the intellect and
energy of the statesmen whom she gave to
the common councils—(her Lowndes, Cal
houn, Cheves, McDuffie, Preston, and their
compeers)—but also from the fact of her al
ways being able to act almost as a unit, while
other States and other communities were
convulsed and distracted, and their power
thus paralyzed, or but partially effective,
through partv’ divisions and internal dissen
sions. To retain -fchat influence and that
power, now that many of her greater fights
have passed from time into eternity, it be
hooves the people of the State and its politi
cal leaders to remember this, and as far as
consistency and principle will permit, to heal
and not widen, any antagonism of feeling
or sentiment that may tend to alienate breth
ren in heart and in interest, from fraternal con
cord and unity of action. In Southern divis
ion is Northern strength. Pardon these sug
gestions, which more properly fall within the
editorial sphere, than the range of my ram
bling remarks on men and things here. But
viewing things from a dis
tance, an observer can often judge better of
Causes and effects, than ths actors in the 1
THE SOUTHERN SENTINEL
IS PUBLISHED
EVERY THURSDAY MORNO
Br WILLIAM 11. CHAMBERS,
EDITOR AXD PROPRIETOR.
OJice on Randolph street.
NO. 51.
j midst of the busy scene, though far his su
i periors in intellect and information.
P. S.—Since the above was written, the
j Senate has adjourned, after a very spicy de
bate, and strange to say, escaping from the
; infliction of Foote, after two speeches from
i that individual. His effort was in his usual
vain glorious and insolent style. The lash
had been strongly laid on to him in the South
ern Press of this morning, and smarting un
! der the infliction, he even exceeded his usual
rant and fustian. He was even ridiculous
enough to refer to that flagellation, and ex
posed his bleeding wounds by bis denuncia
tion. His tirade called up your Senator, Mr.
P-utler, who seized and shook him as a power
ful mastiff would an intrusive rat, then drop
ped him down half dead—but the indefatiga
! hie Foote rejoined, and Mr. Butler will prob-
I ably complete the work of his demolition to
morrow. Mr. Rhett may take him in hand
i too —and he, likewise, it is well known, does
: not do his work negligently, flow long this
debate may be protracted, is impossible to
guess ; we have seen its commencement, but
it is hard to predict when, or how, it will end.
The arrival of your Senators was very apro
; nos. Mr. Wallace and Mr. McQueen have
; also arrived ; so your delegation is now full.
The sensation produced by Kossuth in New
York lias not yet extended here. Gen. Cass,
Mr. Foote, Mr. Hale and Mr. Seward, are try
ing to make capital out of him, and resolu
; tinning about him at a great rate. It is sup-
I posed he won't come here unless Congress
invites or compliments him. llis New York
; speeches are rather startling to somo of our
i conservatives here, for he says pretty plainly,
i “1 do not want words lmt acts for the nssist-
I ance of my country.”
In the Charleston Mercury , of Tuesday,
we find the following letter from Mr. Thrash
er, which we transfer to our columns:
TiKTTF.It FROM J. S. THRASHER.
In a dungeon of thf. Punta Castle, )
Havana, Nov. 21, 1851. )
Y’o the. Government of the United States of
America, and to my fellow-countrymen :
An American citizen, deprived of liberty
and denied justice, respectfully begs leave to
lay before you the following facts and appeal :
Upon landing from the steamer Georgia,
on the 16th of October last, I was suddenly,
and without previous accusation, arrested and
; taken to the office of the Police. On seareh
j ing my person, and that of a gentleman who
j accompanied me, no papers or letters of .any
kind were found upon either of us. Wo
j were then taken to the hotel where 1 boarded,
! accompanied by the chief of police, who de
manded to bo shown my room. On ascer
i tabling that Iliad no room there, we were ta
ken to my residence, and all my papers sei
zed. The gentleman who was with me was
then put at liberty—myself and all my books
and pape rs were taken to the residence of
one of the Police Commissaries, where four
days were occupied by the govern merit inter
preters in reading my letters.
On the 21st of October, I was thrown into
a dungeon of the city prison, and all com
munication with my friends strictly prohibit
ed. On the 2.">th. f was removed to my pres
ent dungeon, and the Fiscal of the military
tiibanal made his appearance and began a
judicial examination. On the 26th, this was
continued, and then I saw no one until the
i tli iast, when the questioning was proceeded
w ith—and on the oth, I was again questioned,
and finally informed that / was accused of
TREASON. At the same time, I was re
quired to select one from a list of officers
that was presented to me, who should con
duct 1113’ defence. Not knowing any of them,
1 chose at random, supposing he would con
sult with me and mj’ legal advisers, as i3 usu
al in such cases, in regard to my defence.—
On the 7th iust. 1 was, for the first time, al
lowed to see 1113’ friends, and to consult with
them as lo the best course to pursue.
I conferred with our Consul, and he pass
ed several communications in 103’ behalf to
the government here, all of which have been
utterly disregarded and not replied to. 011
the 11 th, i was informed that I was to bo
brought up the next day for sentence. I im
mediately wrote to my nominal defender to
come at once to consult with me, an 1 to bring
the proceedings which are in writing. He
replied verbally that he would come. lie did
not come, and I extended at once a protest
against the proceedings, alleging that 1 had
not been heard, and that neither myself nor
my legal adviser had been consulted for a
proper defence. I sent this to the President
of the Military Commission that night, who
refused to receive it, saying that it could only
be admitted by the Captain General. The
American Consul, Mr. Owen, as soon as in
formed of this, proceeded to the palace, and
protested against sentence being pronounced,
as 1 had not been heard in defence.
In the morning my nominal defender came
i to my ..prison to inform me that tie had been
allowed, by the court, only twenty-four hour*
! to prepare my de fence, that lie had been occu
pie l till that moment examining the, proceed
j ings, which are r duminous, and that within an
! hour he must return them to the Fiscal. On
the 12th, I was taken before a Court Martial,
i composed of a Brigadier General and six
j Officers of the Army. The testimony and
| proceedings were read before I was brought
into court, which is contrary to law and to
custom, and when brought in l was asked
\ what I had to say to the charges against me.
’ I replied that / had not been furnished with a
j copy of the charges, that / had been denied
! access to the proceedings and testimony, that
my nominal defender had neither consulted
with me nor my counsel, and that 1 now asked
that my protest and petition for stay of pro
ceedings should be a hwtied. 1 was told by
the President of the Court that it should be
considered.
I was remanded to my dungeon, and heard
nothing more of the proceedings until to-day,
when I have been formally notified tliat I HAvi;
BEEN sh: TENCKU TO TIGHT YE YUS’ LA
BOR, IN CHAINS, AT CEUTA, in Afri
ca, WITH TAYXENT OF COSTS.
it is unnecessary for me to enlarge upon
the impropriety of bringing me before a Court
Martial in a time of profound peace ; or the
injustice of sentencing me without a bearing;
or the utter contempt of international law,
civil rights, and treaty stipulations, in mv tri
al ; or upon the wilful disregard in this man
ner of proceeding of the constitution apd
rules of every Court which has assumed a ju
risdiction over me without right, has triedme
without a crime, and has sentenced me uitii
out defence. ;aA.
7'be Government that has the nov.*er