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SOUTHERN RECORDER. VOL. II. PUBLISHED WEEKLY, (oft Tuesdays) by s. 0RA.yrrjji.yD r m. orme, at THREE DOLLARS, lit ADVANCE, OR FOUR HOLLARS AT THE EXPIRATION OP THE TEAR. ET Advertisements conspicuously inserted et •the customary rates. MILLEDGEVILLE, TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 1321. No. 6. REMARKS or MR. FLOYD, or VIRGINIA, lit THE HOUSE or REPRESENTATIVES, 'On the Bill for reducing the Military Peace Et- tablMmenl. Mr. Floyd, of Virg. rose, nnd said, that he had listened with great attention to the argu ments which his honorable colleague, (Mr. Smyth,) had delivered in support of the a- niendment ho had offered to the hill now un der consideration, but he had not been per suaded to accept it: and had no hesitation in saying, ho preferred the bill reported by the committee on Military Affairs, who, af ter the most mature deliberation, had offer ed this to the House as the result of their la bors—.and if, said he, there was any dissent ing mice besides that of his honorable col league, he was not apprised of the fact, and desired to be corrected if he was in an error. There can be little doubt, that the mover of this amendment, who is chairman of that committee, proposed this system of reducti on to his committee previous to the report of the hill; hut, finding no support from them, has now offered it as an amendment. I am, said he, unwilling to make any change in a measure, the result of much labor and patient investigation of the ablest military gentlemen in the House—and, sir, I cannot hut recur to the recommendation made to the House at the last session, by a member who lias lately taken his seat, when a bill, reported by the member from Pennsylvania, I mean the honorable chairman of the com mittee on manufactures, (Mr. Baldwin,) was under discussion, that we ought not to dot an i, or cross a t—the advice is good now. For a year or two, we could not find the right tine to begin the work of retrenchment; this, we were told, was not the proper object to begin with, or not the place—we have, in this way, been TaUtyranded in every in stance, in every attempt—and, for my own part, I do not choose, upon a subject of this importance to the nation, to be Talleyranded any more. Aou> is the time, and this the proper object. The national debt Inst year was increased three millions of dollars, by a loan—and this year the Secretary of the Treasury tells us, the impoverished state of your finances will require a loan of seven millions more. This is the issue—you must either retrench your expenditures, or tax tho people. To tax, I will not consent—nor can it be any thing short of Prodigality, that, during two years of profound peace, you in crease the national debt the enormous sum of ten millions of dollars, when we ought to be paying it off. I know that the honorable gentleman from Pennsylvania, (Mr. Serge ant,) has labored hard to persuade us so large a loan was not necessary, hut even he tells us, wo must have a loan—we must borrow. I am not a little surprised, on every questi on, to find gentlemen ready with examples, drawn from the history of Europe, to induce us to adopt their measures—for my own part, I canuot see the parallel, anu believe Abe wisest policy is, to suit our own views to Aur own country. There is no similarity in our situations. When you talk of war and military preparations, the policy of Europe, .her standing armies, her posts and fortifica tions, are continually presented tons. In what do we resemble them ? Take Gfcrtua By, for example. She has a foreign power on every side—armies, fortifications, and all the paraphernalia of military array must be kept up—as, upon the recurrence of hostili ties, she it liable to the sudden inroads of all these powers. How will this apply to us ? What neighbor have we? Canada, it might be answered. That country, from the nature of things, can never make war upon us—a country we could grasp any day, but so mi serable, if I were to judge from the brilliant military plant of the late war, we would no! have. The only parallel, then, which I can sen, is, in our inordinate desire to become, suddenly, “ a great people.” Yet, sir, I con fess we have good cause to suspect there is something very attracting on the other side the water?as our citizens are so very fond of going there—but always come back worse than they go, except they know all abbut ctiquetts. Mr. Chairman: I did not believe I should ever have been brought so low as to approve any of the institutions of that country—but when I heard a dintinguisihed member last night speak of the European system of per mitting their officers to retire upon half-pay, i could not otherwise than think, that plan would be a greater relief to the people of this country than tho mode now pursued. ' Sir, I would certainly prefer their retiring Upon half-pay, rather than maintain, accord ing to this plan proposed by the Secretary of War, such an host of officers upon full pay—then, indeed, we would save to our bankrupt treasury the one half of this ex pense. Surely half-pay would retain the science of the army, which some gentlemen talk so much about—and, in the mean time, they could add, by useful labor, something to t he general good. If the habits of soldiers have unfitted them for business, as has boon said, let them learn end add to their half pay by useful employ ments. I believe, however, the science of the army seems to consist in transmitting an order through the scientific channel—for in- etaoce, when an order is issued from theDe partment of War, toan officerat Fort Wash- Won, twelve miles below this citv, it must co to Nashville, in Tennessee, and scientifi cally come back within twelve miles of the Department, to its place of destination .— And, so, 1 suppose, one would go to Brown- ville, in New-York, and then return to Bal timore, to preserve the science of the army But I will say nothing about this hula mal- ter, as I do not scientifically understand it though you know, Mr. Chairman, how it went with the Department of War—very glad to get off on any terms. We are told that peace is the time to pre sto for war, and gentlemen have aaid, that this bill will tear down the defence of the country, and overturn the wise regulations of the administration, and many such fine things. I know peace is the time to prepare for war. But does that preparation consist of a feW'tnen more, or a few less? Where is the visionary who can think ten thousand a warlike preparation for this country ?— Nntwithstnndingall that has been said to de ride the militia, you must at last depend up on them—an army of even twenty or thirty thousand could not guard your maritime frontier. Suppose, sir, an enemy, Great- Rritain for example—I take her because I think there is a greater willingness in some people to take her Oir example—was to ar rive upon your coast with a force of forty thousand men, and threaten Boston, would the whole of your thirty thousand be suffici ent to defend it? And, after putting the whole country in commotion, sail down the coast and threaten N^w-York—what then ? Your army cannot follow them in time to render any service—you must call out the militia. When he has run you to all the ex pense of preparation* he changes his positi on, and threatens the Chesapeake Bay with an immediate invasion—here, again, yon have to rely upon the militia. Thus, every point on our whole roast is threatened with invasion. Charleston next, Savannah, and New-Orleans. And, if the. enemy, during the late war, did not take advantage of your fruitless attempts to procure a regular army, it was the result of his ignorance—while his ignorance did not secure you : the degraded militia secured you. No, sir—this is not the preparation lor war. Choc --e your po sitions well upon the coast, fortify them strongly, place in them a sufficient body of troops, to keep them in repair, and in time of war, place enough men in them to main tain and defend them. These ought to he the points from which the intermediate country should he defended—that the space between would suffer greatly, none can doubt. But, did any man ever expect a country to be at war and not suffer? What kind of talk is that, which insists on “ driving insi dious foes from oor shores,” and not suffer ing our “ soil to be polluted by a foreign footstep ?” Do not gentlemen know that, in war, a country has no limits but those marked by tho edge of the sword? And, could this country, under any circum stances, maintain an army, equal at all points toan invading foe? If he has fifty thou sand men on hoard his ships, I hold the en tire expense to have been encountered, and it costs no more on the coast at Boston, than it did at Liverpool. If, then, you Would oppose an invading enemy of that force with success, you should have, at each of these points, at least sixty thousand men; as it is utterly impossible for the forces al Boston to follow the ships round to New- Orlcans—what, then, is the consequence r That your coast would require three hun dred and sixty thousand troops. Let us take things as they are. This hill will keep ns enough of the military to preserve our fortifications, which is all we want. In war. it would be necessary to have a regular ar my, to promote the success of some particu lar design. .But, at last, the militia of the country is the great reliance, as we are com pelled to know, from the document this morning laid upon our tables, which shews the militia force called into the service of the country during the late war, to have amount ed to three hundred and twenty-six thou sand—while that of the regular army a mounted to perhaps thirty-five thousand. I am a little surprised to see how thing' cut about in these times—and not less sur prised to find u letter of Mr. Monroe, writ ten at the close of the lute war, when Secre tary of War, make its appearance, in the newspaper, just at the. very nick of time whilst this bill was before tlfe house. How it got there, is more than I can tell—for whut purpose, 1 know not—but it does appear to me to be one of those little obliquities vv Inch now and then we see in this our day. Will not every gentleman at once see that the lot ter, when written, contemplated a stale of things which then existed, totally different from that which now exists ? We had just then finished a war with a powerful nation ; then, too, Lord Castlereagh had just said, in his place, in the British Parliament, that, if Bonaparte had been victorious at the Battle of Waterloo he could not have succeeded, as Europe had at that time one million two hundred thousand bayonets marching a- gaiost him. And, sir, do we not recollect that two distinguished members of this bouse whom I now see on the Other side of the way, here declared, in their places, that tney did not believe the peace with England to be a lasting one—that it was a mere interval of hostilities, and a war of severe conflict would soon recommence. These were the circum stances of tile times when the letter recom mended an af-iny of twenty thousand men, and Congress fixed upon ten thousand as the proper number, though the House of Representatives,even then, thought six thou sand the proper amount of force. But will any man think, if the condition of the world then required ton thousand, that six is not now enough, as rrc* believe our peace a last ing one, and there is less likelihood of col lision now than there has ever been since the adoption of the constitution? Whilst! Europe is at peace, tired and exhausted nay, almost the whole world reposing in a dead peace, unknown to history, 1 believe, from the days of Moses until the present time, with the exception of the Augustan reign—and now we have another. The Secretary of War has here given us _ report upon the subject of organizing the army, which is to consist of officers, and says, “ no position connected with the organiza tion of the peace establishment is suscepti ble of being more rigidly proved, titan that the proportion of its officers to the rank and file ought to be greater than in a war estab lishment.” Sir, if this be true, mankind has for ages been in error and darkness, and G. Britain been to us doubly unjust. During the late war,she falsely charged us with put ting a double proportion of officers on hoard our ships, that if one should he killed there lant Lawrence and most of his officers had been killed. How wrong we have been !— But the Secretary had not then informed us more officers were necessary in limeof peace than in time of war, We are told of our increasing population ; nnd some gentlemen think a corresponding increase of the army necessary. This doc trine would lead to frightful consequences. We have a certain frontier to defend, and, as I have always said,certain positions on that frontier ought to be fortified—and then, whe ther our population be great or small, or in crease to any extent, these posts will be a- dequate to their protection. We have now ten millions of inhabitants, and according to the narrowest calculations, it doubles itself every twenty-five years. What a fearful ar my this, in a few years, would require, were it to double with our population ! Ami what an increased number of posts and fortified places it would require to accommodate them! Now, Mr. Chairman, we come to the mi litary posts—nnd this document which I hold in my hand is that which, under a call of this house, the Secretary of the Depart- nent of War has sent to us—and, from the examination which I have been abb to give it, I am compelled to say, that either the Secretary most believe Congress w (folly ig norant of the defences of the country, or lie llimseif must be destitute of the necessary information which a man in his office, ought to possess. If, sir, we take all the places marked upon this list, including the places where our generals reside, we find it spun out to the wonderful length of an hundred and twenty-six ! I wish clearly to he under- tood—and if I am in an error ill supposing that a military post where the generals arc stationed, l will thank any gentleman in the house to correct me before I proceed any further. I believe, sir, from a reference to (he re port of tlie Secretary of the Department of War, in the year 1818, already reverted to by my friend from North-Carolina, (Mr. Williams,) it will be found we then had se venty-three military posts—and now, in two years, by some strange occurrence, unknown io the country, they have of late wonderful ly increased, until, indeed, they number us one hundred and twenty-six ! I have heretofore believed, in common with the rest of the citizens of this country, who did not understand the science of the army, that a military post was a place so for- ifted and provided with men, cannon, and iefences, as to he, upon any occasion, of some advantage to the military operations of the country. But this report shews us to have hern in an egregious error, as there are here many military posts where there is nei ther forts, magazines, cannon, arms or men, or any single tiling, except the ground where an army happened to encamp for a few days, during the late war. Sir, I will examine this wonderful list of military posts. I will, however, say nothing about those to the north, as I ain not acquainted yet with that part of the country—but some of them, von will perceive, like persons wanting offic portunely, we should have gone home with out knowing that the city of New-Orleans, Natchez, St. Louis, the town of Nashville, ill Tennessee, k Brownsville, in New-York, were all important military posts. But, here we have a new scene. As if they did not grow up fust enough by ones, we get them by twos. . Here, sir, is Fort I'laqnemine and Fo t St. Philip, two names for the same spot, as my friend from Louisiana, (Mr. Butler) assures me. Next in order are Fort Buw- yernud Fort Meddle Point, which proved to be the precise same place. Then come fort Toulouse and Fort Jackson, not less extra ordinary than the others. The history of Fort Toulouse, if I am not greatly mistaken, is this : that, when the extravagant preten sions of England produced the war of 1755, w hen she was opposed by France and Spain, a chain of military posts was attempted by France, to he established from Canada to the Gulf, to confine the British within their own territory, and this Fort Toulouse was one of them. But after the peace of ITtiii, that military post remained a retreat only fin- wild cafs ami foxes, until the late war— when, at the close of the Creek campaign, the army cut away the trees which had grown up in the mean time, am) removed some old iron cannon which lay in their way, with the trunnions broken off and built Fort Jackson upon the selfsame spot—and yet the Secretary gives ii« Fort Tonlotisu nod Fort Jackson as two military posts. I most confess, sir. this reminds me very forcibly of nn anecdote I once heard of an Irishman, who said, lie liked to live in Abie- rica very well, Imt he. believed lie would have remained in his own country, where lie had every convenience, and as fine a farm as any in Ireland, hut there was a lit tv incumbrance upon it, which made it rather disagreeable, which was, that another mail’s land lay right on the top of it. Mr. Chairman, I am indeed astonished, how it is possible for the head of a depart ment to have been so imperfectly informed as to the real state of w hat are here reported to us ns military post*—and how they can he mentioned both in debate, and in official documents as existing posts, where a porti on of our force may he required, and used indeed as a pretext to palliate the retention of this present useless force, is not less asto nishing. If, sir, yon reject from this report all the arsenals, the houses of the general", the camps and cantonments, where troops chanced to stay for a few weeks during t h* late war—and all the forts, where there art neither soldiers, guns, nr fortifications—and all those in cotton fields, as well as those a longtime the den of wild beasts; you will find this list of 12(1, dwindled down to 58 : and 1 do not hesitate to sav, the true military as pect of this country will never require that number; and, when another subject comes before the house, I think I shall he able to show, that not more than perhaps thirty are in any event necessary. I cannot divine how it is, the gentleman from South Carolina undertakes to brand the supporters of the measure, as aiming u blow, through it, at the Executive, Does arrv their labels on their foreheads, on * '« know the Executive to he hostile to tin which you may read, “ I want,” at every turn. Here you see, occupying a conspicuous position, is fort Mims. Ilow this fort has been revived, I know not—hut I had believed there was not a boy ill the whole nation who had not heard of its destruction—and many line speeches, said a gentleman on the left theotnorday, have been madeahnut the blood and tomahawk, the relentless savage, which spared neither age or sex, and tiie holies of unfortunate victims, left to blanch upon tils dreary plains—to the end, I suppose, we might not forget the poor Indians, whilst all, with a sentimental delicacy for the honor if civilization, choose to forget the scenes at Hampton as soon ns possible. But this fort, I suppose, possessed the properties ofthe Phoenix, and has risen from its ashes in all its military array. Next to this we find fort Stoddart. How this came here, is equally strange, as, Mr. Chairman, I believe fur the last ten years there lias not been anything in this fort, without it is an alligator, that sometimes chooses that as a place of retire ment, to bask undisturbed in the sun. Fort St. Stephens is on the list, and shows how amply we have been disposed to provide for the safety of the government of the state of Alabama, as that place has been, until lately, the metropolis of the state. This partiality for that state ought to create some jealousy among us to the'South—hut, as it is among ourselves, we will forgive the predilection.— Next in order is Fort Claiborne, which is now, as my friend from Alabama will testify, a beautiful little town, containing about two or three thousand inhabitants. After passing this town to the next military post, we find it to he Fort Strother, which we are told is on the. Consn river, at the junction ofthe E- tawlia—and here we find, in the establish ment of this fort, that valuable corps we hear so much about, ended the topographical en gineers, displayed a skill and accuracy equal alone to this report, as there is no stream at all entering the Coosa river at that fort. But thero we find the Secretary’s local prejudic es in full growth, which I must confess I had rather seen otherwise, as Fort Strother is one of the most flourishing cotton plantations in all toe South. Fort Williams, it is true, is on the Indian lands—hut, whilst it stands on one side of the Coosa, the other is in the high est state of cultivation, covered with the fin est cotton plantations in the country. Look here! About twelve miles above St. Louis is a military post, called Fort St. Charles, a beautiful little town, containing a thousand inhabitants. But, Mr. Chairman, here are some military posts which startle us with their warlike preparations. This is Belle. Fontaine, An the Missouri, defended by 8 men ! nnd fort Osage, at the Confluence of the Osage and Missouri rivers, as ably de fended by one mao ! There too is fori Ed wards, in Illinois—in vvliut part of the state I cannot learn—but it does appear that It is not quite so well defended as Fort Osage.— [t appears too that the mouth of Licking, in t 1 c state of Kentucky, on tiie opposite hank of the Ohio river from the city of Cincinna- ttw^nThe th Sw d ^hes^ake vfitak-! iV* military post, defended by theimpos- en, in her battle with the Shannon, we al- ‘"K ^ce of one man ! ways have believed it was because tho gal-1 Sir, if tins report had not come in so op- measure now under debate ? He tells iik too the President’s glory is in the muguitudi of the fortifications of the country. For my own part, I think myself a better friend to him, than to believe he would place his glo ry upon any other basis than the administra tion of the laws for the prosperity of the country, and the welfare of the people. It is difficult for me to see the necessity for this army, organized as it is, We. haw two Major Generals and four Brigadiers in service, whilst w« have not us many men at any one place as would constitute a Cap tain's guard—hot I suppose it must be ne cessary to us, at. vve must lie a “ great peo pie.” These officers receive near Jj 7000 a year, for no other service titan liviug com fortably at home, and transmitting the orders ofthe Di pertinent of War, as it seems the fvrrretm-v ot that Di a-tmciit has no e nice left him hut compliance. This sum is enormous, yet 1 will not say it is uu abusi , as it is drawn through the medium of tin law—though, nhilst their pay is $2400 a year, the allowance for servants, houses, quarters, kitchens, fire-wood and other lit tie matters, swells it to that sum. The life tlio’, of some of them, is not a dull mnnotii- ly, io “ these piping times of peace,” as we might suppose—as vve are informed a visit is made each winter to this imper.nl city, by some means or other, moving in the style of an Eastern Satrap, says my friend from N. Carolina, with all the pomp of military in dulgence, having twelve hundred pounds of baggage, three rooms and a kitchen in the train, Come tn Washington by an order from the Department of War, and obtain trans portation for it all—should, however, the pnirney have been ronunenccd without an order, one is kindly furnished when the ci ty is entered—such would be the beneficent imposition of a well drilled department. These things, w hen we had a treasury over flowing with money would have been wrong, but now, when the treasury is unable to pay, is little else than on abuse of the trust re posed in us by the people, who expect from usa faithful account of our conduct. When the welfare ofthe country shall require taxes, I will vote them. But to borrow millions every year, thereby increasing the national debt in time of peace, instead of paying it off—to tax the country, already embarras sed with difficulties of their own, to support this prodigal system, is vvliat I cannot do.— A prudent man w ill limit his expenditures to the amount of ills income, and that which is right in an individual cannot he wrong in a nation. We have heard much of the services of officers, their high expectations, and gene rous sacrifices of personal prospects—all this may he true, and as un individual, I am always proud to honor Ihe meritorious offi cer. But, can it he possible that an iiidivitlu al as brave, as patriotic, and disinterested us they are represented to he, should desire' to remain one moment in the army, after they knew their country did not Bland in need of their services ? Would they not rather fe» I dishonored by the belief, that pecuniary compensation was all they sought? Lei us do the country justice, Mr. Chairman, auti w ben the services of these officers are wanting, let us require them nnd pay them— when they achieve deeds of valor, h t us re ward them—when they display heroic pu li intisni and devotion to the country, lei lot give them our distinguished consideration —this, sir, is the highest reward any mao can receive from a free people. The officer who would wish to remain in service one minute longer than his country desired him, or wanted his services, is un worthy of its roiifldenre or commission.— Why are we told of irritated feelings or ani mosity of individuals? If these exist, then instantly disba, d the army—it has already existed too long for the good of ti e country. The danger of a standing army is not that there is any f. ar of their overthrowing the constitution at one blow-—but the tainted feelings they engender, and the influence it •acquires upon public opinli n. I hope the day has not arrived when we tear to disband all army, even though its number should In tenor filly thousand—if vve do, then liberty has fled, vve have nothing left us but the sha dow—let us beware in time, and keep pure the national feeling from the influence of this dangerous doctrine of “you cunt do enough,” and you are " bound to fulfil ex pectations yourselves have created." A gainst this, and the impatient desire to cram into every office military men, to the i xelu- sion of citizens of better pretensions,] most protest. It is ruinous and unjust. Sir, at a future day, when our population will have increased.ami we Involved in some future war, necessity or favor will < mnpel us to create major generals, lieutenant gene rals,generals,and field marshals—when the doctrine of the science of the army Will ap ply as well then as now—Ik to guard against future evil as much as vve can, we ought to give an example now of that moderate and disinterested justice to disbanded armies which future ages ought to pursue. We ought to remember a lesson already given us in the exhibition of feeling in a pub lication addressed to the nation Ivy the dis banded officers of the late war—it is only ne cessary to advert to it—the memory of eve- ry gentleman in the House will reeal it to their recollection—n more severe, acrimoni ous, bitter, biting, rancorouspieee, I yet have never seen. It is in this way inroads are made upon the national feeling, and w hene ver the representatives of the people shall fall to consult any interest hut that of their country, there is an end to the constitution. •Control them now. When you cannot you are slaves. Gradual approach is the inarch of tyranny. Can any man believe there was much to surpiise the peopleqf Rome when a certain Emperor created his horse priest ■vml consul? Could tills have been done in the purer days of Rome ? No, sir,they had been accustomed to see small changes and innovations, until, from one step to another, they arrived at thia last degree of degraded on—themselves impoTenl Ik despised, doubt less hclicid this spectacle without wonder oi astonishment. Much has been said ofthe inutility of (lie militia. They have been contemned and despised to enhance tiie claim and usefulness of a standing army. tVe are told too, that this army is necessary for the protection ol our western frontier, which is feeble and de fenceless. Mr. Chairman, I will not speak on that subject. I cannot trust my feelings: but, sir, this 1 may say, that I know well the kind of protection given to the west by you; standing armies. No man has suffered nion than myself by the wars of that country— though I was too young to have any person al concern in them—then it was the bravi and dauntless frontierman protected himsfli and often y our army—for all was war—then, sir, every individual could aim the unerring rifle, and often their wives and daughters could use them with skill and effect—and w hilst tilling their fields of corn, each would in turn remain on guard—then too battles were fought where deeds of valor were dis played, which would have rivalled the boast of any age or country—nor did they expect rewards in office, favor, sword", or medals, for Uo enemies they killed, or did not kill. But I will not, as I have not spoken of these things. My friend from Kentucky, who I see before me, (Mi. Hardin,) is better acquainted with the^e occurrences than i am. ami can do tho subject more justice.— Let him speak, and you will learn whether ye,or militia ought to he so despised. I will not trouble you further. Underary view which 1 cun take of this matter, I can not perceive any good cause why the army sho.uld not lie reduced. Lot it lie fixed upon the most economical basis, and vve yrt may av oid loans and taxes in time of peace, wilier) will some day ruin this country. Let us of ten recur to the pure original feelings and opinions which we once had, and then per haps vve may preserve the republic from the inevitable fate which ihe gradual change of original principle must bring upon it. Let us recur to the maxims of 1801, and all will he well—if not, expect prodigality and ruin. two or three days, which greatly increase*! his strength. He collected all the small stones he could 4nd in a corner. As soon us he had done so, be went off to Mr. Jack- son, w ho had paid him most cheerfully, and suid he was again at a loss for work. “ Kay you so, my poor fellow ?” said Mr. Jack- son, “ then I must see what I can do for you. Let me see—there is a sack—fill ikat with stones from the corner and carry them off to Benlhal grecne and make haste buck for another suck.” Tin* vagrant proceeded upon his new em ployment with a very ill grace—as Soon us he got to White-chapel church, lie shot th% contents of his suck into the church yard, and swearing that he would never,us lopgae he lived, go inton church y ard again, walk ed off with the sack, und never was seen Mr. J .irkson more. The practice has been found an infallible rule for vagrancy in the purii-h nfSt. Ca therine Cree. The celebrated Cooke, tho mist. of I’etonville, knew the disposition of the beggars well, and drew niurh benefit fn in the know ledge. When any heggar- mun came to his gate, and complaint d of want of work, Cooke set him to digging tho garden,but took care to watch from under* window, lest he should run off wits, tho spade. After an hour or two’s labor, tho workman stuck the spade in the earth, and sneaked off His place was soon supplied liy another, who had very little inclination In labor—and thus Cooke managed to have his garden'dug without bciug ut a farthing expense. Mr. Brougham, attorney general to tho Queen of England :—This acute, learned, and eloquent advocate, who may perhaps, in a few years become Lord Chancellor, ia a mean looking figure, as lean as a broom stick, yellow und fallen away, with a flak nose, a wide mouth, and unpleasing contour —but he has large sparkling eyes, which flash fire, mid as soon as he begins to speak, his countenance is lighted up with a degree of animation, understanding, and self posses sion, the effect of which, is not weakened hy a had habit (perhaps a nervous affection) —•of every moment stretching the nostrils, distorting the closed muutb on both sides, and at the same time, wink ing with the eyes. The cliurm of his eloquence is irresistahle to an unprejudiced person, and there is in hi* manner, something which the Englisi. call gentlemanlike, by which he is favorably dis tinguished from the violent fury of Ins col league, Mr. Denman, the Queen's solicitor general, who with u terrible bass voice, roars in the hall at the same time, thumping oo the bar.—British M. Magazine. !!**“ St. PETEittaui.o. (Russin,) Nov. 21. The celebrated pedestrian, the Bri tish sea captain, Cochrane, arrived oo the tweuty-tiftli of August, at the fort of Ustknmengorish, with letters of intro- . dilution to the commandant, Colonel Liancsurt, and to the tax director, Von Snkolowitsch, in ihe fort Buktarminsk. Having taken some refreshment at the residence of the latter, he set out in the evening to pursue his journey, 60 wersfc (something less than 40 English miles) further towards the Chinese Cordon, and in that direction to perfect his route.— In that attempt he was disappointed, for (tie great heat nnd the insects had com pelled the Chinese to withdraw back in to the Altaf mountains. Cochrane come tiHi k on the twenty-seventh, and embar ked on the Buktarma, and afterwards oa the irtisch, in order to reach the fort IMkiimengnrisch. Mis intention was to piocecd to Irkutsk and Kumtschatka.— He is of the middle size, meagre, und possessed of a constitution tilted to 'en- dine the fatigues and hardships of trav eling. He does not shave himselfon his ji urney ; lie travels commonly 80 wersfc ach day on foot (near 53 English miles) I c speaks French and a little Russian j I is dress consists of a kind of coat made • f skin, a pair of nankeen pantaloons, a sort of -tufted waistcoat, and leather gai ters, He carries with him a pairofghoea to change, a geography in the English language, some sea charts, a small tin box, 14 indies long nnd 1 inch thick, in which he keeps his passport, his journal, his pipe and pen knife, besides sou* weapons and provisions, EROM THE VIRGINIA HERALD. ON USURY. “ It would be convenient to me to give si* per cent for money—1 wish to do so” “No, (says tiie luwjyou slia’nt!” “Why so ?” “ Because it is not convenient to your neighbor to give above five for it.” Can a- At a meeting lately held in London con cerning the houseless poor, the Lord Mayor made the following remarks : He considered that one of the greatest causes of vagrancy was want of w ork—for the purpose of preventing which complaint, he should advise the adoption of a plan si milar to that upon which an old friend of his Mi. Jackson, one of the Overseers ofthe parish of St. Catharine Cree, had acted.— He would provide work w hether that work proved to he matter of peculiar advantage or not—and the host of vagrants who hated work would soon disappear, as they had done in the case of his friend, when they found that without working for it they could get nothing to cat. The case to which his Lordship alluded was as follow :—Mr. Jack- son was considerably annoyed while he was overseer by the solicitations from great hulk ing fellows of tiie parish, who always said they could get no work—“ Well my poor men,” lie at length said to some of them. “I’ll see and get you a little work”—He then took them to the church yard, and ordered them to pick up all the loose stones that lay about, and throw them into a corner. In a few hours ail but one got tired and skulked off. He who remained calculated upon the contrast between his conduct and that of those who departed, and he actually stayed nv thing be more absurd that) such a reason? Thus, says Bentham, a man of considerable research in matters relative to political eco- uomy—and thus will every man of unpre judiced mind exclaim, when he reads tha existing laws for the prevention of usury. It is strange to see With what childish ob stinacy we cling to those prejudices incul cated in our youth—and how carefully wi* hand them down to our posterity. Ws were taught bv our parents to believe the word “ Usury” meant a criminal act, and that “ a usurer” was an infamous person— and wejvre resolved our children shall have the same impression: Whereas the one word simply signifies the lending of money on interest, and the other a lender of money. In this manner are we too apt to be carried away by sounds, without investigating the intrinsic meaning of words. Such a Gor gon’s head has tnis word “ usury" become in the imaginations of two thirds of mankind, that they are petrified by the sound alow*.— .Although friquent anti able attempts have been made to tear this vfcil of prejudice, from the eyes of our legislators, they appear ob stinately to resist these attempts, and to de sire rather to remain as Mind as they have always been, than to give an hooi*g attenti on to the disct|taion of the subject Vt h t man in his senses, and not blinded by prejudice, can advocate tho -nti iwtrriowj