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r.OITKI) AMI PUBLISHED WEEKLY, BV
ip/M,/.f.?/ is. cr.ntntso.Y.
MSIIIWJWHHM IHI II I HI
[FOR TUB SOUTHERN MUSEUM]
Epistle to .Ulus LUly l!o-n!ine.
1 leave my home, tis Irue Imt lor a lime,
To seek retirement s cooling simile ;
And though I shall return again eio long,
My life or thine ere that may fade.
’Tis proper, :lien, hr dare my heart untold,
And speak in tones both fond and tree :
To-scan a hidden mine in mem ry’* store,
The pleasant hours Ive spent with thee!
M v lips have not confess'd what they had wish d 5
My pen hath dared not to essay,
To paint my feeling for thee, or to hint
That thou dost light my gloomy way.
And yet 1 fear this trnthful strain of mine—
The tone, the words, the melody—
Thou’ltdeem poetic fiction, hut they tell -
Os pleasant hours I’ve spent with thee !
Far, far, within its depths, my ardent soul
Hath nursed thy form with tender cure,
But then I shrink —perhaps it is too true
A thought of thine I cannot share ;
If so, 'tis painful, yeti'll fondly cling
To thoughts alone my property :
And while despair shall wreathe its serpent fold,
I’ll think of pleasant hours with thee !
Would that the offer of a constant heart
Could move acceptance in thy mind !
The soothing answer would my fear allay,
’Twould for my life fresh roses bind.
But should’st thou not accept the homage due
From one who fonder cannot be :
O bid me not, I ask, to think no more
Os pleasant hours I’ve spent with thee !
Otice I, a minstrel then but new to song,
Did’st think I held another dear:
But future moments bid delusion fly—
Her mem’ry cannot prompt a tear.
That feeling was hut transient, soon to fade
Like bubbles on the sparkling sea :
But like the granite, sketched with iron pen,
My pleasant thoughts still livo for thee !
If, in tnv rovings, I shall chance to meet
A form like thine—a beauteous eye —
Or should another’s voice fall on my ear
As thine hast fell, in times gone by :
O how will memory then, on eagle's wings,
Return to hours of heartfelt glee,
And bring again the soul-refreshing view
Os pleasant hours I’ve spent with thee !
And should I meet with one of kindred name
Within these wanderings of mine,
Mv tongue shall dwell upon its joyful sound;
And gladly bless it, for 'tis thine.
My feeble pen shall hymn thy worthy praise—
Fore’er in bloom a laurel tree —
And when bereft of all, oh may I lack
No thought of pleasant hours with thee !
By thee encouraged, on Parnassus’ height,
A simple, unlearned songster, I
Shall sweep down to its base each rival lyre
That dares to warble forth a sigh.
Thou hast encouraged ; aye, in by-gone time,
A wreath of laurel wov’nfor me :
Not by thy hand, but yet as fair and proud,
By thoughts of pleasant hours with thee !
1 Iremble, now that I huve dared to make
Confession from mine inmost soul,
Lest it should ne’er be mine to know, in truth.
These artless lines thy will control.
But oh ! the rudest hand may strive in vain
To wrest the ivy from the tree :
And thus around my heart shall fondly cling
The thoughts of pleasant hours with thee !
But oh ! I fear—have I no cause to fear r
I never need affection claim,
Or merit but a moment of thy time,
Unless it be in Friendship’s name.
If so, it is thy will, 1 murmur not,
But yet my harp will cheerily
Strike with more fervor on the glorious past:
The pleasant hours I’ve spent with thee !
Now, Lilly, list while to the courts of Heaven
I breathe for thee an earnest prayer :
O God ! look down and bless this beauteous one,
May she Thy richest bounties share !
And, Lilly, I will never cease to scan,
Though years on years in time shall flee :
Thy form, thine eye, thy voice, thine ev’ry word,
Mij thoughts of pleasant hours with thee !
But lest upon thy patience I trespass,
Or weary thee with fruitless verse,
I ask, to this confession of my love,
Thou mayest reply, good or adverse ;
And whilst suspense shall clothe this secret vow,
And thine own eye these linos doth see :
My heart will find a relish for its food,
Its thoughts of pleasant hours with thee !
And, Lilly, think, ere that thou dost reply,
What feeling prompts this ready strain ;
That he who utters it hath never feigned,
Or dwelt upon the tono in vain.
But one who knows thy gentle, trusting heart,
Thy gifted mind, from flatt’ry free :
One who hath dwelt, with pleasure unassumed,
On thoughts of pleasant hours with thee !
Juke, 1848. W. P. 11.
Cholera Items.
The following statement was published
by a clergyman in the London Record—it
will be read with interest at the present
juncture. “Two such remarkable cases
of the almost instantaneous cure of Indian
cholera have taken place in my parish,
that I feel it right to employ the medium
of your paper to make them known to the
public. L give the medical account both
of the attack and of die remedy in one of
these cases. The merit of the discovery
and the application of the remedy is due
to a Mr. Brady, a medical practitioner of
this place. 1 may add that two other
medical men, in o'her places, have been
led to use the same means, and they have
done so with die same success. The re
port of Mr. Brady is as follows :—‘On my
arrival I found the patient presenting all
the symptoms of malignant Asiatic chole
ra, in an advanced stage ; the features
collapsed and ghastly; extremities and
tongue cold ; burning sensation in the
stomach and aesophagus ; pulse rapid and
scarcely perceptible ; voice diminished to
a whisper; stomach exceedingly irritable,
and the ejections from the bowels present
ing the usual rice-water appearance : the
sight gone, and all the voluntary muscles
affected by spasm, so that the patient
wri bed with agony. I immediately ad
ministered a large tea spoonful of the chlo
roform mixture (containing about six mi
nims of chloroform and Ibrty of turpen
tine.) in a glass of dilute brandy ; and ap
plied mustard poultices to the calves of
the legs, the abdominal and tlioraic mus
cles. Thirst was re ieved by drinking
plenty of water, nearly cold. Notwith
standing the ir.itable state of the stomach,
I had the satisfaction to find that the chlo
roform draught was retained, as well ns
the fluid drunk after it, and was followed
by no dejection. I now (half an bout af
ter the draught) gave a pill with a few
grains of calomel. In another hour, I ad
ministered again the same dose of chloro
form, and soon after repeated the pi i
Tlu; stomach retained both; the pulse
rose in power and became slower ; toe
spasms less frequent ; and in an hour : f
ter the second dose, she was bathed in a
profuse perspiration, and expressed her
self comparatively free from all uneasy
sensations. The attack was completely
subdued, leaving behind it a good deal of
debility, from which she is rapidly recov
ering.’
“It is remarkable that the chloroform
thus taken internally does not affect the
brain, and appears not to be followed,
like brandy, and other stimulants, by the
smallest prostration of strength. /The se
cond case to which 1 have referred varies
in no one leading particular from this,
and these are the only two which have oc
curred in the village. 1 send this state
ment in the hopes that those who have
larger opportunity will put this remedy to
a more extensive test. ■ My own convic
tions are so strong of its efficiency that 1
should not hesitate to apply it if the neces
sity arose.”
Dr. Dickson, the celebrated and popu
lar author of the Chronothermul system,
applies his principle of time and heat, to
the treatment of cholera. He gives chlo
roform in ihe early stages, as an anaes
thetic. He also recommends the cautious
use of kreosote, phosphorus, and strych
nia ; also, hydrocyanic acid. He po
nounces calomel, cayenne, asafcelidu as
puerile agents in attacks of the disease.
Dr. Janies Hill, resident surgeon at the ,
Peckbam House Asylum, (England,) |
states, that he has tried chloroform in ten
cases of malignant cholera, with complete
success ; six of the patients having per
fectly recovered, and four being conva
lescent.
The Be'gian papers speak of anew
remedy for the cholera having been dis
covered by a young physician, employed
in the hospital pf Berlin, where its effects,
it is said, have been astonishing. The
agent employed is the trichloride of car
bon, and M. Dumas, the celebrated
French chemist, is mentioned as being
engaged in investigating its effects.
The physicians at Constantinople have
recommended the use of figs, with great
success, as a preventive of cholera. This
fruit is said to exercise a healing influence
upon the stomach and bowels, and is
niglny useful in diseases which inariifes!
themselves in a derangement of the diges
tive functions, and commonly precede an
attack of the cholera.
Dr. Maranzelle, of Vienna, has pre
scribed cuprum and vellutrum album as
preventives to the cholera to 150,000 peo
ple, and notone of them fellvictims to the
disease.
Dr. Ross, a London physician, of rep
u'ation, infers from a careful examination
of the statistics of the cholera, that opium
and calomel have produced the fewest re
coveries, and a saline treatment the most.
'I he Medical Times says that a broad
flannel roller worn around the stomach
and chd’Sf, is the best of all preventives of
the cholera. It also says that good sound
food is perfectly safe to be eaten. Per
sons subject to looseness of the bowels,
should avoid soup, and adhere to animal
food, well roasted, and to bread. Good
old port wine, italfirmt, is the best of al
drinks; brandy and spirits should be
avoided. It says cholera is not contage
ous, but no family should remain in a
house where there has been a case of the
disease.
Facts in Hi ilium:.— One fact is, that
a square form secures more room with a
given cost for outside walls, than any oth
er rectangular figure. Great length and
little width may afford convenient rooms,
but at increased expense.
Anoter fact is, that vcutillution is an es
sential in a human dwelling. No ether
consideration should exclude this, 'flic*
halls, windows, and doors should be so
siiuated with regard to each other, that a
full draught of air can be secured, at any
time, in the summer season, by day and
night through the whole house. The sto
ries should be sufficiently high to afford a
sufficiency of air in all the rooms. Nine
feet is a good height for lower rooms, and
eight for upper. Bed rooms should also
be larger than they commonly are. Great
injury to health is the result of sleeping in
small, close apartments.
The third fact is. that a steep roof will
not only shed rain and snow far better
than a flat one, but will last immensely
longer.
The fourth fact is, that a chimney in or
near the centre of the building will aid to
warm the whole house, while if built at
one end or side, the heat will be thrown
out and lost.
The fifth fact is, that a door opening
from the outside into any principal room,
without the intervention of a hall or pas
sage, costs more than it saves, in the free
ingress of air into it.
The sixth fact is, that the use of paint
is the best economy, in the preservation
it affords to all wood work
The seventh fact is, that if the front door
is made at one side instead of the middle
of the front, a portion will be saved, and
for small houses this should not he forgot
ten, but for large houses have the main
door and lobby in the middle of the house.
M A CON, G A 7
SATURDAY MORNING, DEC 30, 1848
IFpMessrs J. I’. Robinson, and .1 K. Mar
mon, are authorized to receive subscription* for
t lie Southern Mi slim, in uny of the South
Western Counties of Georgia.
The Crusader.
This is anew month’y paper, to he publish
ed in this city, hy Professors F.llison, Myers
Thomas and Hancock, ofthe Wesleyan Female
College. We are sure, if there is a guaranty in
an array of editorial talent, the “Crusader”
will meet with the most gratifying success.—
Unlike, however,its namesakes of the tenth and
eleventh centuries,it will prosecute a war of ex
termination against the foes of Temperance, un
der the patronage- not of the Popes of Rome,
nor of tlie Kings of F.urope—hut of the gallant, in
vincible Sons of Temperance. Marching under
the banner of “Love, Purity and Fidelity,” its
influence will he felt, not only in the exercise of
each of these Christian virtues, hut hy dissipa
ting the mists of ignorance and superstition, and
in the establishment of the light and liberty of
truth. The Editors are too well known, and
their respective abilities are too highly appre
ciated, to render comment, as to the ehara ter
ofthe work, necessary ; it is only required that
the friends of the cause do their duty, in sup,
porting the “Crusader,” to make it an effi
cient ami well-disciplined warrior in the cause
which it will advocate..
For terms, etc., see the Prospectus on our
Fourth Page.
Saturday Post. — We tire indebted to the
publishers of this valuable paper for an ex
change. The “Post” is a mammoth weekly,
filled with original matter of the highest order,
and numerous selections from the best Literary
periodicals and newspapers. There is one pe
culiar feature ill this journal, which is wanting
in many other Literal} papers. We allude to
its instruction tales, and solid, genuine, sensi
ble reading matter. Asa specimen, we refer to
the story on our First Page Messrs. Deacon
St Peterson publish the “Post” in Philadel
phia, al $2 per annum, payable in advance.
Ladies’ Dollar Newspaper. —ls any of our
fair readers desire a good Northern newspaper,
suited to their own taste, we recommend them
to take this one. It is well printed, and to in.
timate that it is ably edited, we need only state
that a Lady edits it. We have looked all over it,
in order to ascertain—we admit some curiosity
in this regard—whether she is a Miss or no, hut
in keeping with the ingenuity ofhersex, she has
carefully excluded everything which would be
a clue to the discovery. However, it is none of
our business, and we have only to say that the
paper is well worthy of patronage.
To Advertisers. —The arrangements now
■making to extend the circulation of our paper in
this city and the surrounding countrv, already
warrant the filling up of our advertising co
lumns. The success of our enterprise lias far
exceeded our most sanguine expectations, and,
in the first two weeks of its existence, our edi
tion is as large, as we contemplated publishing
in the first volume. This is cheering to us,and
we need hut the aid of the advertising public, to
make our paper of more interest to the mass of
the people, and to improve its size and appear
ance. No pains shall he spared on our part to
render all of our patrons an abundant return for
their support. We do not wish the public to
judge ofthe Museum from the published issues
—there are many leading features wbicii we
have, as yet, been unable to present to our read
ers, by which we expect to enhance the value
of our paper. Nor have we been furnished with
an exchange list, to make our selections, which,
together with other circumstances, needless
now to mention, have prevented a variety in
the news department. In order to make these
additions, it is desirable that we be aided by
the mercantile class. Still, we do not heir for
their patronage ; we are confident that the pub
licity given to their advertisements will amply
justify the expense, and we think that our mer
chants need but the knowledge oftheir interests,
to act in accordance with them.
Another Railroad. — A meeting of the Oc
mulgeo Railroad Company took place at tlie In
dian Springs on the 15th inst. and resolutions
were adopted appointing a committee to address
the citizens of the counties of Jasper, Butts,
Morgan and Monroe, on the propriety of build
ing a Railroad from some point on the Georgia
Railroad to some point on the Macon and West
ern Railroad—and a day was fixed upon to open
hooks for subscriptions to the stock—and ap
pointed Commissioners to receive tlie same.
Sugar. —Several farmers in the lower part of
this State as well as of Mississippi, are turning
their attention to tlie cultivation of the Sugar
cane. It is said that it does not require rich land
to produce it, and that the elements which form
the cane are such as to make it flourish more
profitably upon the poorer quality of soil.
The Gold Mania.— Upwards of SIOO,OOO
worth of California Gold was received at New
York on tne 14th inst. Thirty-ships are adver
tised to sail with despatch from the above port
for California, eleven front Philadelphia, and six
from Baltimore.
Tlie Close of Hie Tear.
Before another issue of our paper, we shall
have entered upon a New Year. Next Monday
will either herald in a yearofjoy and happiness,
or mark the advent of new sorrows, new trials
and afflictions. It isan important matter that the
dawn of 1849 may find us resolved to spend its
days more profitably, more advantageously to
ourselves, and to our fellow-creature*. In con
nection with this thought, tlie few remaining
hours of the present year could not be better
occupied, than in careful self-examination and
meditation upon the events which have occurred
during this period, interesting to ourselves, as
individuals, and ns a community.
In reviewing the recollections of the past —
the hours which can never more return to us —
there isan intermingling of joy and sorrow, oc
casionally the beauteous features of the how o*
hope are suspended over our skies, and again
they are darkened hy impending storms —the
black clouds seem to threaten us with their
sullen vengeance, atjd the raging thunders keep
continual warfare—and then the beautiful bow
appears, and the muttering thunders die away,
and the clouds disappear with the Heavenly
promise stamped upon them.
\Ve have seen the young and the fair—the
pride of companions and the hope of parents —
commence this, the dying year, with bright
prospects, and visions of future enjoyment dan
cing bewitching y before the enraptured gaze
But now the slender oak waves its head above
the marble record, which tells us, that the body
rests beneath the neighboring dust, hut that Ihe
spirit is in the unseen and eternal world. Her
hark was gaily fitted out—the buoy of hope free
1} danced on the water’s surface— and the soft,
gentle breeze, and the unrippled sea, seemed to
invite her to tlie pleasant voyage But alas!
for the expectations of youth ! The wooing
breeze became a relentless gale ; the glassy sea
became fretful and agitated ; and the roaring
billows followed in quick succession, until the
hark was driven by the wind and waves upon
the breakers, and there shattered to pieces !
We liavi : seen the statesman—the brave and
the spirited ofby-gone times—bowed down be
neath the weight of fourscore years, yet with a
youthful heart, grappling witli the fell destroyer,
and disputing with time for each new furrow up
on his cheek—hut at last yielding to the dread
ful summons of Almighty power, and hurried
before the tribunal of Justice, to give the final
account. .Many years had he been sailing on to
ward the ocean of eternity, with a nation’s ho
nors circling around his brow, and the praise of
thousands to hallow his moments of repose.—
But the unwilling spirit y ielded, and at last he
experienced with all its fullness, “t/ic last of
earth."
The song of joy and gladness has been hushed,
and the keen dart of sorrow has chilled anil frt
zen no the warm gushings of ihe tender heart,
and bathed in disconsolation the hopes and de
sires ofthe aspiring multitude.
The anxious parent has bent over the cradled
infant, and wiped the drops of cold perspiration
from its pale forehead—while his piercing eye
marked each restless movement of the little suf
ferer. The purple lip and quivering eye threw
tlie lust remaining hope away, and he calmly
watched tlie progress of the invisible reaper, till
every earthly beaut} was shorn from the with
ering form, and the la<t long breath severed the
tie between the mortal and immortal.
The wife has followed, with a slow and mea
sured tread, to the waiting cemetery, tlie last
remains of him, the partner of her joys, and the
friend of her youth ; and felt, as she turned off
from the fresh green grave, that she was alone
in the bleak and stormy world, without a kind
iieart to advise, or a ready hand to help her
through the journey of life.
The voting and trusting heart, arrayed in tlie
effulgent beauty of its Maker’s communicative
attributes, lias sprung forth in the vigor of ear-
Iv ambition, essaying even to pluck the honors
of intellectual greatness from those of riper
years. And the world has turned away, in dis
pleasure and contempt at the seeming insolence.
But all of these arc past—they can never re
turn again. The joys, the sorrows, the hopes,
and the fears of twelve months are gone—the
deep lake ofoblivion lias received them into its
yawningchnsm. And now, to think of duties
unfulfilled, privileges unenjoyed, and desirable
ends unuttaiued, is our province • to treasure up
only those which will serve as monitors, to pre
pare us for the better enjoy incut and application
of the future. Among these thoughts, no one
is better qualified for profiting us than the com
parison between the closing year and the end of
time: that great and final day, when, in the
words of Scripture, every man shall be judged
according to his deeds; when the mask of the
traitor will he torn away, and the secrets of afi
hearts will be revealed.
As the wasting shadows of time pass before
us, here and there we see a wakeful sentinel
keeping guard upon his soul, while upon every
hand the blind, benighted beings of earth grope
about in the dark, in search of temporary plea
stiresand transient enjoyments, which perish in
the using. But the heralds of salvation have
gone forth and proclaimed the reconciliation of
creature and Creator to the heathen world ; the
gloom of ignorance is dispelled, and sin and Sa
tan alone make desolate the green earth. The
policy of Omnipotence has been fulfilled, and
the archangel pronounces the dread decree. No
days, or weeks, or months, are now to mark
the lapse of time, but the past is to come up be
fore us for our acquittal or our condemnation.—
How solemn would we feel, were we assured
that, on to-morrow night, we should hear—in
stead of seeing a bright New Year’s morning
dawn over the Eastern horizon—the awful sen
tence pronounced that time shall be no more !
\Ve know not that this will not be so, and there
fore should he prepared to meet all emergencies.
To all of our friends, whether they he young
or old, we most cordially present onr congratu
lations, and wish that they inay so pass awav
each dying year, that the succeeding new one
may find them in’the possession of health, hap
piness and prosperity. With thissentiment, we
conclude this article by wishing all a peaceful,
Hatpy New Year !
Congress.
“The Southern members assembled in the Se
nate Chamber ou the night ofthe 22d inst.—
Every State was represented except Delaware.
Mr. Metcalfe presided as Chairman and Mr.
Venable acted as Secretary. Mr. Benton was
absent.
After some consultation a committee was ap
pointed, consisting of one from each State rep
resented, whose duty it shall be to report wlia*
what the South should do and what are her all
absorbing interests in relation to the slave ques
tion now agitated in the country.
The Committee were also auihorizcd to report
what course is best and most likely to aid ill sus
taining and maintaining Southern rights and in
stitu.ions. After some further business, the
meeting adjourned to nice! again on the loth
January, 1849.”
We copy the above from the Washington ror
respondencc of tlie Baltimore Patriot, and, in
oUr opinion, it is very significant ofthe present
situation of our domestic affairs. The occasion
ofthis movement was the passage of a hill to
abolish the slave trade in the Distriet of Colum
bia. Mr. Stephens, of Georgia, was appointed
Chairman of the Committee, and several meth
ods of procedure were presented. Mr. Calhoun,
of South Carolina, proposed a plan for immedi
ate action, hut it was rejected. We gave our
opinion ofthe truly embarrassing position ofthe
South, at the present time, in a preceding issue,
and we can but consider the recent devclope
inentsin Congress as confirming the truth of our
statements, and proving that our fears were not
entirely needless. The crisis, we believe, has
arrived, and whether we are prepared to meet
it or not, is the question now. Can it he that
Southern men will not, or cannot, see the ob
ject of Northern Anti-Slavery encroachments.'
Will they not demand the interference of Con
gress in the abolition of this institution in the
States? What is the difference between the Dis
trict of Columbia and the State of Georgia, so
far as legislative action is concerned } It is true
Congress is the exclusive Legislature ofthe Dis
trict, hut then, the question arises, did the peo
ple of the District petition Congress for the pas
sage of a hill for the abolition ofthe slave trade?
If not, then have the Representatives of Free
States assumed an authority not guarantied to
them, and therefore it is equivalent to a question
of power, rather than justice, and we new wai*
for farther proceedings in the matter with intense
interest.
O’ Judge Charlton, of Savannah, deliver
ed a Lecture on the “Poetry of Death,” in Au
gusta on the 2,lst inst. It is spoken of hy the
“Republic,” “Constitutionalist,’' and “Chroni
cle,” as being a highly creditable effort.
O’ The Cholera has appeared in New Or-’
leans. Several new cases were reported, and
several deaths also. Many persons were leaving
the city to avoid the pestilence. In twenty-four
hours, ending 20th inst., ticenty-frur cases were
admitted into the Charity Hospital, and tliirty-
Jirc deaths. The Board of Health say, although
the disease is on the increase, they cannot con.
aider it epidemic.
Counterfeit Money.— We learn from the
Wilmington Chronicle, of the 20th inst. that
counterfeit Ten Dollar notes on the Bank of
Cape Fear, are in circulation in North Carolina.
They have been passed offby a three men who
were making their way towards the lower part
of the State of South Carolina. They are all
young men, two of them about twenty-five or
thirty years of age, tall and well proportioned,
shy and timid with down looks ; one with black
whiskers; the third about twenty years of age,
ordinary size, blue eyes and fair complexion.
The counterfeit hills are clumsily exeuted and
differ in several respects from any ever issued
hy the Bank. They have in the centre ofthe
upper part a female figure holding a cup to the
beak of an Eagle, which appears with outspread
wings behind her. Nb genuine note of the
Bank of any denomination has such a vignette.
They are made payable to J. Jewett, notS. Jew
ett, as are some ofthe genuine. After the word
“Dollars” in the lower line of ihe genuine notes
jln-re is a period. The counterfeit notes have
no stop after the word “Dollars.” The paper is
of lighter color than any used hy the Bank. The
date is August Bth, 1847.
Ohio. — The Legislature of this State is still
disorganized, both Houses opposing every move
ment of each other. The people are getting
tired of this ridiculous system of anarchy, and
we may soon hear of another Cromwell, dis
solving the unruly .Assembly.
O’ lion. G. E. Badger, Whig, has been
elected United States Senator from North Caro
lina.
Kentucky. —This is the Banner State as ap
pears from the following official returns :
For Taylor and Fillmore, 66,927
For Cass and Butler, 49,743
Majority for Taylor and Fillmore,.. 18,184
Wl> icli was the largest, in proportion to the
population, cast in November last, Florida be
ing next.
New York Dry Goods’ Trade. —The Day
Book, of December Btli, says :—“ French and
German Cloths, bought last year at jjs2 per yard,
are oow selling at $1 25. Cassimeres, that sold
in 1847 at $1 40 a yard, are noiv selling at 85
and 90 cents. Alpacas, that eight weeks ago
sold at 30 cents a yard, are now worth only 22
and 24 cents. Prints that last year brought 10
cents a yard, now sell tor 7 and 8. Brown Sheet
ings that used to sell for cents, now sell at 5,
and other things in proportion.”
Fertility of Texas. —Several farmers at
Bastrop and Austin have raised eighty to one
hundred bushels of corn to the acre this season,
and one or two have raised one hundred and ten
bushels to the acre, without manure.
Mummies. —The Texas Star states that a mill
ion of mummies have been discovered in the en
virons of Durango, in Mexico. They are in a
sitting posture, hut have the same wrappings,
bands and ornaments as the Egyptians.
Colton Planters' Convention.
The Planters in various sections of th e
cotton growing States, are becoming interested
in the question of holding a convention to devise
means to reduce the amount of cotton produced.
Having expressed our views on this subject in a
former article, we shall content ourself with the
remark that in our view, in order to attain the
object desired, an extensive unity of action of
tins cotton planters is indispensable. A conven
tion may secure this desirable object ; as “in
union there is strength.”
The Planters’ Club and citizens of Hancock
county, Ga., at a recent meeting, proposed the
following as one of the means which might he
adopted :
“In each county in each of the cotton grow in.
States, let llie Planters form themselves into a
Society or Association, with a presiding officer
and corresponding Secretary. These Societies
or Associations being formed, each one may send
a delegate to a State Association, which will
have a presiding officer and corresponding Seere
tary. Each State and each County being organ
izeil to produce concert of action, it will only ho
necessary that the States he represented in an
Association or Convention, which may meet an
iiually or biennially ; and the first meeting may
he decided on as to time and place by the Corres
ponding Secretaries of the State Associations.
It is suggested that the meetings he annual, and
held at the capital of each of the States in suc
cession. It is to he expected that the State's
Association will he able to give the most saluta
ry action to Cotton planting and to Southern
agriculture generally. This plan is not very
complex, nor would it require much time or mo
ney to put into operation or continue it.”
The citizens of Hancock offer this plan ns one
means, whilst they are ready to acquiesce in
any that may be considered better. At a meet
ing id the Hancock Agricultural Club w hich a
dopted the report, a resolution was unanimously
passed pledging the members present, with ma
ny that were not members, (and all consented)
to abide the decision of a Southern Cotton I’lnn
ters Convention, in relation to reducing the crop
of Cotton for the next or any subsequent year;
and a committee of two to each distriet were ap
pointed to ascertain how many Planters in the
county ol Hancock would pledge themselves to
abide the decision of said Convention in relation
to reducing the cotton crop ; and to report on
the Bih of January, 1849.
AVe learn from Ihe Vicksburg Whig, that a
largo meeting of the Cotton Planters of Wash
ington county, Mississippi, took place at Glenn
ville, on the 16th inst. at which resolutions sub
stantially the same as those adopted at the Han
cock meeting were passed, and the “Association
of Washington County Colton Planters" formed.
As the time and place of holding tlie Conven
tion have not been determined upon, we would
suggest Macon, as a central and convenient place
to assemble, and the 15th of February next, as
the day. But those most deeply interested can
determine these questions for themselves and net
accordingly.
Isthmus or Tehuantepec. —The New Or
leans Bulletin states that the house of Manning
it Mackintosh, of Mexico, who have taken
charge of the great undertaking for opening a
water communication between the two oceans*
througlfthe Isthmus of Tehuantepec, have al
ready begun a road for the transportation of all
the materials necessary for this great work. Tl e
road is preparing for the purpose of establishing
at once a temporary communication to the point
where already the river Coutzacoalcos aiid the
fine lakes bordering on the Pacific, and running
into that ocean, can he navigated safely and with
facility for the distance of forty miles, by vessels
oflarge tonnage.
The undertaking is, at present, under the su
perintendence ofthe celebrated engineer Moat;,
to whom is due the discovery ofthe track through
this isthmus.
The lands through this w hole district are cel
ebrated for thejr extraordinary fertility and it
abounds in timber of the greatest value, both for
ship-building and furniture. The road now
opening is to be completed within the ensuing
eight months, and negotiatior.sare now progress
ing between the undertakers and our Post Office
Department, for the regular transmission of the
American mail hy this route.
Oaks. —Prof. Beck says, the oaks of the forest
are known, with tolerable certainty, to attain the
ages of 806 ~r 900 years, and are the most aged
trees that we possess. Pines are stated hy Dr
Williams, in his history of Vermont, to live from
350 to 400 years.
Copper. —Five hundred tons of copper arrived
at New York recently from Valparaiso. It is
the first of anew kind of trade with South A
inerica and the United States. Heretofore the
copper ore of that region was sent to England*
now it has begun to take a different route. The
smelting business in ihe United States, (of all
kinds of metals,) is built in its infancy.
Mechanics. —The New York Mirror, in a
recent number, has the following:
“The bar is no longer the resort of the ambi
tious youths of our country. Tlie median lo
departments are being preferred. There are now
thirty young gentlemen in this city, that have
received liberal educations, who are serving ,
their “ times ” as shipwrights, architects, car- j
penters, dtc. In a few years the United Slater
will have the most accomplished mechanics in
the world. Anew class is springing up who
will put the present race of mechanics in A' o
shade. The union of a substantial education
with mechanical skill will effect this. Indeed,
already wo could name some mechanics who
are excellent mathematicians, acquainted with
French and German,and able to study the boohs
in those languages connected with their voca
tions. Heretofore, fond fathers were wont to
educate their sons as doctors or lawyers, to in
sure their respectability and success. That da}
is passed. Mechanics will now take the lead,
and in a few years will supply tlie larger portion
of the State and Federal legislatures.”
O’ Three new cases of Cholera and two
deaths, at tlie New York Quarantine on the S£*d
inst.