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W SI. K . IIARKISON.
CITY PH/ .V / E H .
The Dignity ol Labor.
Calvin Colton, in his eminently ori
ginal and scientific work, “I’i.blic Econo
my for the United States," devotes a long
and strong chapter to labor, presenting
the subject in many novel aspects. Mr.
('olion avers that herefore labor has occu
pied a false position in systems of public
economy, and that a vast amount of doc
trinal and practical error has been the re
sult ; in short, that, as labor is so impor
tant and all-prevading an element in pub
lic economy, any system w hich does not
give to labor its true position, must necess
arily be vitiated to its c re and foundation.
He says :
“Labor is capital, primary and funda
mental. The position, which is usually
awarded, in systems of public economy,
to what is cal ed capital of the most im
por ant kind, has tended to degrade labor,
and to stiip it of its essential attributes as
the producer of all adventitious wealth, or
of that state of things which distinguishes
civilized socie'y from barbarism. It lias
also tended to cloud one of the most im
portant branches of public economy in ob
scurity, and led to much embarrassment
in the consideration of others. The nat
ural order of things is thus reversed : that
which ought to be first, is put last; the
cause stands in place of the effect; the
agent is taken f>r the instrument; 'he pro
ducer for the things produced.
“Lador is capital of its own kind, not as
a subject to be acted upon fur the increase
of its own value, but as an agent that im
parts value to every other kind of capital
which it creates,or which,after havingcrea
ted, it employs as an instrument, or takes
in hand for improvement. It is doubtless
true, that the faculties or powers of labor
are-subjects of culture and use, for the in
crease of their skill and effectiveness ;
and in this sense are subjects of action
for the increase of their value. In this
particular, the faculties or powers of labor
occupy the positson of any other kind of
capital, as subjects of improvement by
labor itself. It will be observed, however,
that it is not labor, but the faculty of la
bor, the value of which is thus increased.
“Labor-capital is the parent of all other
capital. Other capital is chiefly, it » t
altogether, the creature of civilization,
though the same thing in substance, may
be found in a savage state. But as a sub
ject of public economy, it is regared as one
of the things receiving its definite form
and measure from the hand of civil polity.
It will he found, indeed, that the entire
structure of civilization owes its existence
to-labor, and of course those parts of it
which derive their tangible value from its
forms, and which are regulated by them.
Civilization itself is secondary and minis
terial, in relation to all the capital which
labor creates, and comes in to define and
protect it. Jt was in part the value of
labor which made civilization necessary,
that it might receive a definite form, and
be m tde secure. No man can apply his
hand or point his finger to a thing regar
ded as capital, which is not the product of
labor.
“The rocking of the cradle of American
independence, jostled in'o one of those i
distinctive elements on which the Free-1
Trade economists have founded their sys
tem. It broke down the barriers of class
es, which form the peculiar features of that
system. As before, more especially from
that time, this nation became a communi
ty of working men, in whose eyes labor is
an honor: and he who does not work, is
the exception to the general ru'e. Labor
therefore, in the Lhiited States, occupies
au>elevated, influential,honorable position.
It is not the man that lives by work, but
the man that lives without work, that is
looked upon with disrespect. A gentle
man of fortune and of leisure, who does
nothing, has far less consideration than
he, who, though equally able to live with
out work, devotes himself to some useful
pursuit.
“Labor, work, is the spirit, the genius
of the American people. It was so from
the beginning by necessity; it became a fix
er! habit of the community ; and has ever
been a partrof the morale of the country.
It is a grand: political exigency ; it was
nourished in a political cradle ; it gradua
ted into manhood with political honois ; it
made with its own bands, and has ever
worked, the machinery of the political
commonwealth, it lies at the foundation
of the social educe, pervades the entire
structure, and its escutcheon stands out in
bold relief from the pediment.
“It should be observed that labor is nev
er independent, when it has no alternative ;
that is, when it is not strong in its own
position to accept or reject the wages of
fered to it in any given case,if unsatisfacto
ry, and when, in such a case, it cannot
turn away, and live and prosper. When
it can do this, it not only has a voice in
its wages but tire parties in contract, the
employer and the employed, stand on a
footing of equality. This principle is
equally applicable to the producer ol com
modities of any description, as the proprie
tor of a farm, workshop, or any other pro
dtveing establishment, over which he pre
sides, and where, perhaps, he labors with
his own hands, as to him who works for
hire. The time has never yet been in
the history of the United States as an in
dependent nation, when labor was not in
sense an independent agent —when it
fcould not in reject an unsatisfactory offer,
*ud vet live It is not pretended that la-
j bor has been able to dictate its own terms.
That would be equally improper and un
just, as for the employer to do it. But it
has always had an alternative. Asa last
resort the American laborer can at any
time go to the backwoods. His indepen
dence is never necessarily sacrificed.”
Frum ihe London Spectator.
A <i«try respecting Credit.
A serious doubt hangs over all attempts
to amend the law of debtor and creditor—
the doubt whether our code on that sub
ject is not based upon a fallacy; and the
professed object of the amendments brings
that doubt more actively in question.—
Lord Brougham desires to establish the
means of discriminating between thefiau
dulent debtor, the improvident or reckless
debtor, and the unlucky debtor; logical
ly, however, it ought to he shown, not on
ly that such a discrimination is feasible,
but that credit is a proper subject of legal
recognition. The conclusion has been
taken for granted; but it is by no means
self evident.
Originally, credit is in its nature spon
taneous ; and the question is, whether >t
can be converted into a fixed entity with
out establishing some attendant evil. Cer
tain bad consequences arc evident enough.
Credit is the trust reposed by a seller in
the honest intention of the purchaser, and
his future ability to pay ; and, prima facie,
to compel the debtor is only to enforce
justice. But you cannot institute such
compulsion by law, without altering the
essential character of credit; and in doing
so, you are bound to show that thesuhsti
stute is better than the original. The
right to intervene is conceded in admitting
the power of society to make general reg
ulations ; but then the breach of conven
tional regulations is not necessarily a mo
ral turpitude. Conceding, therefore, the
right to regulate contracts, and to deal pe
nally with fraud, let us remark one or
two immediate consequences of converting
a spontaneous credit into a credit guaran
teed by law.
Were there no legal guarantee of cre
dit, the seller would look narrowly at the
personal character of the purchaser, and
would usually decline to deal except upon
some knowledge of the purchaser’s future
means of payment. That would proba
bly limit tlie extent of dealings ; but it is
not to be supposed that the limitation
would be altogether a loss. '1 he trader
would escape so many had debts ; the pur
chaser would be less tempted to exceed |
his means. It is to be observed, in pass-1
ing, that the conduct of the improvident
debtor does not always turn upon his want
of honesty. In our complicated social re
lations, many circumstances may induce
the debtor, both in and out of trade, to
attempt more than he can accomplish ;
the policy of “keeping up appearances,”
with a view to profit—the claims of needy
relatives—the difficulty of calculating the
ratio of income and outlay, even when
the income is nominally “fixed,” for pri
ces seldom are so ; these are circumstan
ces that render many a man of honest in
tentions unable to “make both ends meet.”
Establish a legal guarantee, and you
impart to these doubtful circumstances the
appearance of certainty : the seller, rely
ing on the compulsion of the law, fancies
that his discre ion is superseded, and he
is more free to give credit ; the greater
facility tempts the man whose hopes ex
ceed his present resources to enter into
pledges, without being forced so nicely to
calculate bis means; the attempt to en
force the guarantee proves so impractical
ly harsh, that a complimentary law (the
law of the “relief ” of bankrupts and in
sob ent debtors) is necessarily added, to
mitigate the severity ; and thus new ele
ments of temptation uncertainty are
introduced ; the debtor is tempted by new
chances and examples of escape from lia
bilities ; the trader, experienced in had
debts, is induced to spread his loss over
his general dealings; he makes the sol
vent pay for the insolvent, “the dead pay
for the living;” but by that species of in
surance he diminishes his own dread or
loss, and is more reckless in giving credit.
The “reckless debtor” has an accomplice
in the reckless creditor.
One fact urged in favor of restoring a
greater stringency to the law of credit,
throws some such doubts on the working
of the whole system, it is said that the ag
gregate of the annual losses sustained
through bankruptcy and insolvency
amounts to .£50,000,000, excluding insol
vencies and bankruptcies privately com
pounded—a larger sutn. Dut of course,
in the aggregate, that sum is not a net loss,
since it is in great part met by the process
which we have mentioned, of counting an
average of bad debts among the standing
liabilities of trade, it is not a substantive
fact, but a matter of account, an item on
the credit side if the “profit and loss” ac
count.
It represents less the loss to the trader
than an amount of exertion wasted ; the
creditor and debtor being equal accompli
ces in the waste, under the operation of
the laws, that give a nominal guarantee
for credit. Perhaps no small portion, if
not the largest, portion, of that immense
sum, is made by the credit guarantee. If
such conclusions were supported by a
farther investigation of the subject, reform
should go less in the direction of penal
stringency or impracticable distinctions
between classes of debtors that are min
gled and dovetailed with each other, than
iu the direction of simplify ing and rjunim
-1 izing the credit law
From the Sjvannah Republican.
It is unnecessary for us to do more
than merely direct the attention of the
reader to the subjoined proceedings of the
Railroad meeting held in this city yester
day. There was but one feeling and one
purpose manifested upon the occasion.—
Everything was carried with enthusiastic
unanimity. In all our life we have never
seen a meeting so perfectly agreed, upon
all particulars.
The length of the proposed Railroad is
about fifty-two miles, and the estimated
cost $.300,000. With the $200,000 au
thorized to be subscribed by the city, and
the SIOO,OOO which can be easily raised
among our citizens by private subscrip
tion, we have the handsome sum of $300,-
000 to.begin with. It is believed that the
Central Railroad Company will subscribe
850,000, or more, which leavesordy 8150,-
000 to be taised in Burke county and
elsewhere. This places the enterprise
beyond contingency. The Ro nd will be
built. The people of Augusta arid the
Georgia Railroad Company are sufficient
ly interested to lend a helping hand :
Railroad Meeting.
Persuant to a call ofthe Mayor, a pub
lic meeting of the citizens of Savannah
was held at the Long Room of the Ex
change, August 7di, 1849, at 12 o’clock,
M.. for the purpose of considering the pro
priety of extending public aid to tire con
struction of a Railroad from the Central
Road to Augusta.
On motion of Major A. Porter, his Ho
nor Dr. Richard Wayne, Mayor of the
City, was called to the chair, and Edvv.
J. Harden appointed Secretary. The
meeting was highly respectable and en
thusiastic.
The Secretary read the request of citi
zens and call of ihe Mayor for the meet
ing, whereupon Major Porter opened the
meeting by some practical remarks upon
the importance of the proposed connection
of Augusta and Savannah by Railroad
from some point on the Central Road to
Augusta, lie was followed by F. S. Bar
tow, Esq., in a strain of earnest eloquence.
Joseph S. Fay, Esq., then offered the
following resolutions, which were second
ed by A. Minis, Esq. :
Resolved, That the City Council of Sa
vannah is hereby respectfully requested
and authorized to subscribe to the Burke
County Railroad to the extent 0f5200,000
if needful, to ensure its completion.
Resolvtd, That a Committee of twenty
five persons be appointed by the chair to
district the city and canvass it thoroughly
for subscriptions to the pihposed Road.
Resolved, That that Committee report
at an adjourned meeting to be held at this
place on the 14th inst., at noon.
The resolutions were advocated by A.
R. Lawton, A. Minis, R. R. Cuyler, John
Stoddard, F. A. Tupper, and Edward J.
Harden, Esqs., and were unanimously
adopted.
The chairman appointed the following
as the Committee of Twenty-Five :
C. F. Mills, A. R. Lawton, Dr. H. Iv.
Burroughs, A. Minis, John R. Johnson,
W. Woodbridge, C. A. L. Lamar, T. H.
Harden, P. W. Alexander, F. A. Tupper,
J. Stoddard, G. L. Cope, J. N. Lewis, J.
Scriven, George McClesky, I*. D. Walk
er, R. H. Griffin W. Duncan, G. W. Ad
ams, J. L. Swinnev, 11. Brigham, John
Boston, W. Humphreys, Jr., Charles
Green, T. E. Lloyd.
Mr. Cuyler offered the following resolu
tions which were also unanimously adopted
Resolved, That a Committee of Ten be
appointed by the chair to attend the Rail
l road meeting to be hold in the county of
Burke in the month of September next,
to confer with the people of Burke on the
subject of carrying through the Waynes
boro Road.
Resolved, That we respectfully recom
mend that the \Y ayneebaro Company be
forthwith organized, it being our convic
tion that the Road can now be built.
Tlie following Committee of Ten were
appointed by the chair as delegates to said
meeting :
R. R. Cuyler, F. S. Bartow, A. R. Law
ton, A. Minis, W. P. White, J. W. An
derson, C. A. L. Lamar, J. L. Swinney,
John Boston, H. Iv. Burroughs.
On motion of Mr. Cuyler, the Mayor
was added to the Committee of Ten.
It was proposed by Capt. John W. An
derson that the persons present bo invited
to subscribe, w hen it was ascertained that
the sum of 46,000 was made up.
The custoqmry vote of thanks to the
Chairman atid Secretary was passed, and
the proceedings ordered to be published.
The meeting then adjourned to meet
again on the 14th inst.
R. WAYNE, Mayor, Cli’n.
Edward J. Harden, Secretary.
Horse shoes fixed on without nails.
—There have been many improvements
attempted upon horse shoeing, by attach
ing the shoe to the foot without the use of
nails, but all devices have hitherto fallen
short ofihe desideratum —a method of shoe
ing without nails, applicable to general
service. Mr. William Parry has lately
patented anew method which consists of
the common fullered shoe, fastened on by
means of iron wire staples—that have un
dergone the process of annealing—intro
duced into the wall of the hoof, through
holes bored into it, taking nearly the same
direction and course that the nails do. The
staples are turned downwards, so that
their ends emerge within the canal of the
fullering, where by means of pliers they
are brought into contact and twisted togeth
er, and, the twist afterwards turned and
beaten down snugly within the canal.
The deeper the fullering therefore the
better. The staples are introduced on
either side, the number, as in tlie use of
nails, being left to the judgement of the
pi ac’itioner.— London Paper,
I From the Florida Sentinel.
Atlantic anil Gulf Railroad.
i Mr. Fditor :In the last Sentinel you
i have noticed the proposition for a railroad
1 across the peninsula of Florida, with a view
I to connect the trade and travel between
New York arid New Orleans. This sub
ject is attracting the attention of merchants
and capitalists in various parts of the Uni
ted States ; and by many with the enlar
| ged view of extending it to the Pacific,
land that it will he undertaken and accom
plished at no very distant day, there ran
he no seasonable doubt. It is an im
portant link in this great highway of com
munication between the Atlantic and the
Pacific Oceans, over which the vast travel
and commerce of the East Indies and Chi
na will pass. But the question now, in
which the people are more immediately*
concerned, is as to the most eligible route
to be adop’ed.
A forcible writer in the Savannah Re
publican advocates a route by the Savan
nah and Macon railroad, and the South
\\ estern Raiload.when completed, to Fort
Gaines on the Chattahoochie, and thence
to Pensacola—whilst there are others who,
partly advocating this route, recommend
to cross the Chattahoochie at a point be
low the Alabama line near its junction
with the I* lint, and thence to St. Andrew’s
Bay, a distance from the Chattahoochie
not exceeding sixly miles, whereas the
proposed route to Pensacola is more than
a laid red miles further.
Aon have, Mr. Editor, expressed an
opinion favorable to the route from St.
Mary’s to Cedar Keys, and the Florida
Republican has supported similar views,
and some have suggested a route from St.
Mary sto St- Marks— whilst others have
advocated a route frow St. Mary’s to St.
Andrew's Bay. Now I look upon this
diversity of opinion as well calculated to
elicit information, and lead to the selection
of the best route : for although some may
be operated upon by views of private
speculation or local interests, I cannot im
agine that a work of such magnitude jvvill
be hastily entered into without properly
considering the advantages of the route to
be adopted—and I think when that is
done, it will be found that the route from
St. Mary’s to St. Audrey’s Bay possesses
advantages over any other route spoken
of.
By a reference to the map of Florida,
compiled in the Bureau of Topographical
Engineers, it will be seen that there are
but 28 township ranges on the basis par
allel from the city of Tallahassee to Tal
bot Inlet, or 168 miles ; and St. Mary’s is
nearer, and almost in a dsrecc line, and
not a greater distance from Tallahassee
than from Cedar Keys ; and from Talla
hassee to St. Andrew's Bay, there are only
12 township ranges, or 72 miles—so that
the whole distance from Sr. Mary’s to St.
Andrew’s Bay will not exceed 240 miles,
on a line directly West, with every ad
vantage of face of country over which to
carry a railroad, and an abundance of the
best materials in the world at hand to con
struct it, with advantages of water-trans
poitation, convenient to every part o! the
line for heavy articles, and passing through
the richest and most flourishing agricul
tural portion of the State of Florida.
St. Andrew’s Bay will be found, not
only to be in the direct line of travel to
New Orleans, but also to Havana and
Chagres, so as to connect with the con'em
plated railroad across the Isthmus to Pan
ama, and commanding either of the routes
to New Orleans, by the Lake or Balize,
being west of Cape St. Bias, and by the
coast 200 miles west of Cedar Keys, which
would give some twelve hours’ advantage
of time between New York and New Or
leans. But St. Andrew’s has decidedly
the advantage over Cedar Keys in its no
ble hay and harbor, which is the safest and
most commodious roadstead in the Gulf
of Mexico, admitting ships of the largest
class to within a few feet of the beach.
These hasty views are thrown out for
the purpose of attracting public attention
to this subject, and with no design of mis
leading any one. B.
Thrilling Incident. —Every one who
knows anything about the characteristics
of the sturdy, honest and industrious peo
ple of Beverly, Commonwealth of Mass
achusetts must be aware tiiat the fondness
of their favorite product—beans—is deep
rooted and all absorbing.
A few years since a snug looking craft
was seen in tlie Mediterranean with sig
nals of distress flying. As the weather
was extremely pleasant, and had been
for several days previous, the skippers
were at a loss to account for such a mani
festation of trouble especally when nume
rous safe ports could be reached within
twenty-four hours sailing. However as it
is a maxim never to see a single distress
without ascertaining the cause and offer
ing assistance, the captain of an English
vessel overhauled our disconsolate craft
and hailed—
“Brigahoy!”
“Hill-boo-hoo-lioo !” answered a voice
apparently choked with sobbing.
“What brigs that, and where are you
from ?”
“It’s the Su-u-san—boo-hoo-oo—from
Heverly—boo—boo—bound to—boo hoo
lioo—Smyrana—boo hoo-o.
“What’s your distress ? ’
At this enquiry there appeared to be a
general boo-ho-oo oci-ing from stem to
stern. —The sobs and cries were evident
ly those of men, and thinking that thc-re
might be sickness on board or something
of the sort,the English skipper lowered bis
boat and was soon on deck of the Susan.
Here a sight met his eyes which at first
really alarmed him. There were several
stout, active looking young fellows in dif
ferent-parts of 'he versed sitting on upturn
ed buckets and downturued barrels ; the
vety pictures of agony and dispair. They
were all sobbing and weeping like chil
dren.
“What’s the matter here I” said the
Eng’ish captain.
“800-hoo-hoo !” answered the quarter
deck. “ 800 - hoo-hoo-oo !” sobbed amid
ships. “800-hoo-oo 1” dolefully replied
the forecastle.
“Where’s the skipper V*
One of them managed to reply that he
was in the cabin.
Down went the kind Englishman, and
the first thing lie beheld was the skipper
with the big tears rolling down his cheeks,
looking agonizingly into an empty barrel.
“You appear to be in much distress cap
tain, said the English commander kindly.
Pray tell me what is the matter !”
Ihe Beverly skipper looked up and
gazed vacantly on his questioner.
“The matter—what’s the matter ?
Look in that barrel, sir—that empty bar
rsl (here his sobs stifled him) we’re
from Beverly, sir in the fetate of Massa
chusetts, and haven’t had a single Bean
for three weeks ! /”
Naturalization of the Alpaca in
France.—A company, has ben formed in
Trance, under the direct sanction of the
government, for the purpose of natural
izing the alpaca upon a large scale. It is
thought that the Alps, the Pyrenees, and
the mountains of Auvergne are admirably
adapted for the support of very large num
bers of this valuable animal, and will prove
of immense benefit to the country. Since
the wool of the alpaca was first introduced
into France, its price has tripled, and it is
expected to rise still more, especially as
the Peruvians have adopted measures to
cultivate a branch of commerce which is
daily becoming of more value. In order
to secure, if possible, a monopoly of the
trade, the Peruvian government has pro
hibited she exportation of the animal.
__ MACON, GA .
SATURDAY MORNING, AUGUST 11,1849.
ErWe saw a cotton boll on the 7th instant
brought from a plantation in Monroe county.
The staple was ordinary and half the seed were
defective.
first bale of new Cotton was received
at Tallahassee, Florida, on the 4th inst- The
staple was fine.
Agricultural Meeting. —At a regular quar
terly meeting of the Bibb County Agricultural
Society held in this city on Tuesday, 7th inst.
the following gentlemen were appointed Dele
gates to the Annual Fair of the Soutiiern Cen
tral Agricultural Association, which will be held
at the Stone Mountain, on Wednesday next, the
15th instant, viz :
Gen. J. W. Armstrong, Dr. Clias. Thompson,
Messrs. Asa E. Ernest, Messrs. J. H. Davis,
S. B. Hunter, Wm. Johnson,
S. Dinkins, W. H. Chambliss,
Wm. Lundy, Thomas King.
Appointments. — Z. T. Conner to be Post
master at Macon, Ga., vice Thomas L. Ross,
removed.
Hiram Roberts, Custom House Collector,
Savannah, Ga., vice Wm B. Bulloch, retn’vd.
Bryan Morell, Naval Officer, Savannah, Ga.,
vice Jacob DcLamotta, removed.
Wm. P. White, Appraiser, Savannah, Ga.,
vice Wm. Mackey, removed.
tCT Father Mathew has written a letter to
Judge Lumpkin, President of the State Tempe
rance Society, in which he accepts the invita
tion to visit Georgia, during his stay in the Uni
ted States. He will give notice of the time of
his arrival, so soon ns he can dispose of other
engagements already made. The State Tem
perance Convention is expected to be convened
in order to receive him at Augusta.
Suiciijes. —We learn that Dr. John Gregory
of Drayton, Dooly county, committed suicide a
short time since, by deliberately eating opium.
He was found dead in an o'd ohurch near his
residence, lie was about thirty years of age,
and has left a family.
The Savannah Republican Etates that Miss
Amanda Griffin, committed suicide in that
city on the night of the 7fli inst. by taking prus
sic acid.
Quarantine restriction at Charleston
on the Savannah steamboats has been removed
so far as to allow them to proceed to the wharf,
as soon as the Port Physician shall have inspect
ed them.
ELECTIONS.
Tennessee. —Gan. Trousdale has been elect
ed Governor of Tennessee, by about 3,000 ma
jority over his Whig opponent.
Ewing (U) elected to Congress in the Nash
ville district, and the Democrat! have gained
thus far 3 members in the Legislature.
North Carolina. —Clingman, J. P. Caldwell,
Deberry, Sheppard and Outlaw, (Whigs;) and
Venable, Daniel and Ashe (D ) have been elect
ed. One district doubtful. The last delegation
in Congress stood Whigs 6, Democrats 3.
Alabama —We have but few returns from this
State as yet. Hilliard, (W.) is no doubt re-elect
ed, and the Whigs have elected county officers
in Russel county.
D f.structive Flood. —We learn from the
Rome Bulletin that a dwelling-house, a work
shop, carding-mill, saw-mill, threshing-machine
and workshop were carried offhy a flootfin Sil
vcrCreek, in Floyd county, on the 2d inst.
A church was floated oft'some distance, and ma
ny other buildings damaged; fences washed
away, leaving the crops unprotected from the
cattle, &c. One man sustained . loss of from
twelve to thirteen thousand dollars. The water
rose 15 feet in as many minutes!
The Central It allroad.
By referring to the subjoined resolutions-,
passed at a meeting of the Board of
and communication of the President of the Cr n
tral Railroad, it will be observed that our stale
ment in regard to the detention of Macon frcigl,.,
at the Savannah depot, lias been called in q Ut
lion. It was not our purpose in that article to
mislead any one, or to prejudice the minds of
the people here or elsewhere, against the Cen
tral Company ; and if we have been led into er
ror by false information, or induced to make an
assertion which cannot be substantiated, w u are
persuaded that it is nothing but fair and lionora
ble to withdraw the accusation, and recall t| la
ungenerous aspersion.
We were not aware that the assertion madein
our la9t issue would be construed into a grave
and serious charge by the Board of Directors
Nor can we perceive the reason why an assertion
of equal importance—that “the Board of Direct
ors persisted in a system of unjust discrimination
in freights, against the Macon merchants, for
the purpose of attracting business from points be.
yond —should be, so far as we know, tacitlv
acknowledged, whilst the statemenl that freight,
were detained has met such a prompt denial—
Furthermore, we did not suppose that the Board
had never heard the complaints of our merchants
in this respect, previously, for we are confident
that the insinuation—if it be called nothing else
has been repented time and again, by men
whose business gives them full information upon
the subject. The statement in our paper of Sat
urday last, was made upon what we considered
sufficient authority. A particular case was men
tioned, in which a merchant of Macon ordered
some goods from Charleston, by a gentleman
from an interior town, who was on a like errand
for himself, and that when the gentleman re
turned-bringing both parcels with him as far a.
Savannah—he went with a portion of his goods
to his destination, and came back to this place
for the remainder, before the merchant of tliis
city received his goods at the Macon depot; If
this be denied by the Board of Directors, we are
not inclined to object. Our merchants must
certainly know whether they have been treated
in a similar manner : if they have not, and the
facts in this cited instance have been miqgepre
sented, then are the Board and the Company
free from the charge.
But if on the other hand, the accusation of un
fair discrimination be true, we leave the Board
to take such measures as are necessary to further
their own decided interests in maintaining per
fect impartiality in their policy. The resolu
tions utterly deny that freights are detained in
Savannah unjustly. We presume that this de
nial is sufficient to exonerate the Board front all
blame, even if the fact of such detention should
be established. The justly high character of the
Board entitles them to credence—and, upon the
evidence of their denial, ive are constrained to
believe, that if any hindrance has been offered
to freights, it has been done without their cogni
zance or consent, either directly or indiicctly.
Whilst we cheerfully exonerate these gentlemen
from all blame with regard to the delay attend
ing the forwarding of goods from Savannah l»
this city, we are prepared to shew by the certifi
cates of nincteen-ticentieths of the most respecta
ble merchants of this city, that their goods do
not arrive here as speedily as they think they
ought, and very often come in detached parcels,
—still the Directors and Agents of the Company,
who we know 7 to be gentlemen, may not be, and
we now believe are not responsible for the de
lays. The Board of Directors, (a majority of
whom wc are pleased to number among our pa
trons, and all of whom we highly esteem,) we
trust are satisfied that we bad no wish to misre
present them, or we certainly wiuld not have
sent them the paperv containing the charges.
Had we not have heard them again and again,
in common with most of the business men in
thiS city, they certainly never should have ap
peared in our columns—as those who have gen
erally read our paper well know that we have
not dealt in misrepresentations of any kind—tvs
have heretofore been, and trust ever shall be,
above it, either as an editor or private individual.
Therefore, whilst we regret the error and indis
cretion which induced us to make the charge
specified, by which the feelings of our friends
may have been wounded, (and we confess ours
have been,) we are satisfied that the Board of
Directors arc not guilty of the conduct in this
respect, of which they have been too often sus
pected. We rejoice, on the contrary, that an
opportunity is presented to us of enabling them
to place their conduct in its true light before tits
community, in the same channel through which
the charges appeared. This course we hope
will prove satisfactory to all concerned—if not,
we believe we can satisfy them, that from the
lights before us at the time, there was a semblance
of truth to justify the charges then made, which
upon further examination, have proved to have
been founded in misapprehension. With regard
to the proceedings of the Board, we would state
that they are just such as we would have enter
ed into, had we been placed in their stead.
L’ponthe whole, the resolutions of the Board'
will serve to correct the impressions which are
prevalent in our community, and with a sincero
desire to see justice done to all, we insert them,
below :
“At a meeting of the Board of Directors of the
Central Railroad & Bunking Company of Geor
gia, held tliis 7th day of August, 1849, the fol
lowing was passed :
“Whereas, the grave charge is made by the
“Southern Museum,” of Macon, that in many
instances, the merchants of that city have been
compelled to wait for their goods by the Central
Railroad, until those of interior, towns had been
served,
“ Resolved, That so far as is cognizant by this
Board, such is not the fact, and is against the
practice and policy of this Company and is ut
terly denied.
♦ ■ Resolved, That the President transmit the
preamble and Resolutions to the Mason Museum
and request ofhim to substantiate his charges.
“Extract from the Minutes. ,
GEO J. BULLOCH, Cashier.
Wo would stale that with regard to the delay
in the receipt of goods, that the freight trains
leave Savannah at this season, every Monday*
Wednesday and Friday morning, instead of daily
as many persons suppose