Newspaper Page Text
VARIETY.
POETRY.
BY KRS. SIGOURNST.
Morn on her rosy cou:h awoke,
Enchantment led the hour.
And mirth and music drank the dews
That freshened beauty’s flower;
Then from her bower of deep delight,
I heard a young girl sing,
“ Oh, speak not ill of poetry,
For 'tis a holy thing.”
The sun in noon day heat rose high,
And on, with heaving breast,
I saw a weary Pilgrim toil,
Unpitied and unblcst;
Yet still in trembling measures flowed
Forth from a broken string,
“ Oh, speak no ill ot poetry,
For 'tis a holy thing.”
'Twas night, and Death the cnrtalns drew
’Mid agony severe,
For there a willing spirit went
Homo to a glorious sphere;
Yet still it sighed, even when was spread
The waiting angel’s wing,
“ Oh, speak not ill of poetry,
For ’tis a holy thing.”
The following d' esprit is from the correspondent of the
Boston Atlas:
TOM MOORE IN WASHINGTON.
No. I.
Martis Van B k to Gorham P s.
AlR—‘‘ Come rest in this bosom.”
Come rest in the White House, my own stricken deer!
Tho’ Miiuc does discard thee, thy home is still here;
Here Benton and Kendall shall welcome thee too,
My own loco-foco—the faithful and trne!
To a trueloco-f>co it is nil the same,
Come joy or come torment, come glory or shame;
I knew not, I ask’d not, if guilt’s in that heart,
I but know that I us'd thee, whatever thou art.
Thon hast called me thy Matty, in mom nts of bliss—
Still thy Matty I’ll be, in the horrors of this;—
Of my sympathy take an unlimited share;
But don’t ask for an office—I have none to spare!
Correspondence of the Sal tonal Intelligencer:
New York, October 5, 1837.
We have, by the packet ship England, from Liverpool,
dates to the 3d of September, with news from all parts of
the world.
Money is abundant in England, greedily seeking oppor
tunities for profitable investment. All our stocks and secu
rities that are undoubted afe sought for with avidity, and
particularly the bonds of the United States Bank, which
now sell from 97 to 98. Such is yet the credit awarded the
United States, on account of the great and mighty efforts
American merchants have made to sustain the honor of their
country, notwithstanding advice so often given to the con*
trurv from head-quarters in Washington.
The cotton man»et continue to advance in Liverpool, ex
hibiting many indications of encouragement to us on this
side of the water. The advance now is from i to 4 ot a pen
ny. Speculators seem to be willing to invest.
The bullion in the Bank of England (Aug. 22) was
5,754,000 pounds sterling, which is an increase over a mil
lion and a half since the Bank began to curtail her issues, and
thus to play Loco-Focoism upon American cotton; lot the
contraction of her issues knocked down our cotton in the
hard-money pursuit ofthe banker Loco Focos.
Anecdote or John Adams.—Behind the house of
John Adams, lies a meadow of sonic extent, with which
was connected an anecdote he was wont himself to relate
to the la«t days of his life. We extract its narration from
the History of Quincy, the author of which had heard it
from his own lips. It is interesting, as showing from what
accidental circumstances often spring the most important
rhangos in the lives and fortunes of distinguished men.—
We only premise that, when young. President Adams, se
nior, was but little attached to books. Study.was to him
•n irksome task.
“ When I vras a boy, 1 bad to study the Latin grammar,
hut it was dull and I hated it. Mv father was anxious to
•end me to College, and therefore I studied grammar till I
eould l»ear with it no longer, and going to my father, I told
him I did not like to study, and asked for some other cm
yloymont. It was opposing his wishes, and he was quick in
hi* answer. “ Well, John,” said he, “ if Latin grammar
doe* not suit you, you may try ditching; perhaps that will.
My moadow yonder needs a ditch, and you may put by La
tin and try that. ”
“ This seemed a delightful change, and to the meadow I
went. But I soon found ditching harder than Latin, and
the first forenoon was the longest I ever experienced. That
day I eat the bread of labor, and glad was I when night
eame on. That night I made some comparison between
Latin grammar and ditching, but said not a word about it.
I dug the next forenoon, and wanted to return to Latin at
dinner; hut it was humiliating and I could not doit. At
night, toil conquered pride, and I told my father—one of
the severest trials of my life—that if he chose, I would go
back to Latin grammar. lie was glad of it; and if 1 have
since gained any distinction, it has been owing to the two
days labor in that abominable ditch.”—American Mag. of
Useful Knowledge.
Gloriocs rbplt.—The United Service Sourtml relates
•his anecdote of Sir Sydney Smith. The reply to his
•protesting officers, is memorable alike for its justness and
It* spirit:
“ In a furious attack that Buonaparte made on Acre, in
April, 1799, Sir Sydney Smith found it necessary to risk
his ship (the Tigre, 74) by warping her into the shoal wa
fer on the south of the town, in order to flank the French
batteries and trenches, and such were the fire and effect of
this movement, that all was reduced to silence in a very few
minutes. On this occasion, as Sir Sydney was going over
tho ship’s side to land and hasten to the beach, the First
Lieutenant and Master chose that unseasonable moment to
serve him with a written protest against “ placing his Ma
jesty’s ship in danger of being lost;’’ to which he calmly
••plied—“Gentlemen, his Majesty’s ships are built on pur
pose to be placed in danger whenever his Majesty’s service
require it, and of that the Commanding officer is the best
judge.”—N. Y- American.
Definition or A monarchy.—In the third chapter ol
the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Mr. Gibbon
•avs: “The obvious definition of a monarchy seems to be,
that of a State in which a single person, bv whatsoever
name he is distinguished, is entrusted with the execution
of the laws, the management of the revenue, and the com
mand of the army. But unless public liberty is protected
by intrepid and vigilant guardians, the authority of so for
midable a magistrate will soon degenerate into despotism.”
Elopement extraordinary.—A young farmer in the
Interior of France had lately agreed to elope with the
daughter nf one of his neighbors, who had refused to give
hi* consent to their marriage. Every tiling was arranged,
but it appears that our young Lothario had forgotten, that
aeerecy was an important point in affairs of this kind. He
had confided his project to one or two of his particular
friends, who, singularly enough, were no more discreet than
the individual most interested in the prevention of publicty.
On the appointed evening, he was at tec window of his ina
morata, the trembling fair one alighted at the pre-arranged
aignal, and sprung upon the pillion of her lover’s horse.
But before the party had proceeded far, the gentle lady be
gan to applv a cudgel most vigorously to the shoulders of the
amorous swain, ivho was some lime before he discovered
that his travelling companion was no other than the brother
of tho object of his affections, whose well-nerved arm inflict
ed a sound correction upon the would-be gallant, and ex
torted from him a so’emn promise to abstain from all such
attempts for the future.—Foreign paper.
Statistics op Eggs.—M. A Legrand, nf 1’aris, say* the
number of eggs exported from France, from having been
less than two millions in 1813, increased in 1822 to nearly
fifty-five tr illions. In 1824. ninety and a half millions. In
1835 seventy-five millions were exported to England, 60 800
to Belgium, 49,696 to the United States, and nearly as
many to Spain and to Switzerland In Paris every sou!
eats over 115 eggs a year ; in all the test of France over
•even millions are consumed. What hens the French must
have.’
The political news from England is unimportant. It is
admitted by tho London Times that the Whig Reformers
have a majority in the House of Commons of 23, which is
not much of a majority in abody so large. The Whigs claim
33 majority.
From Spain wp learn that there has been a change in the
ministry under the auspices of Calathava. The new
ministry was not formed at the latest dates. Madrid was
in a verv unquiet state. Don Carlos was advancing, on
the 23d August, toward Saragossa.
From France we have nothing of importance. The ex
pedition against Constantine, it is said, has been resolved
upon.
Italy is in a political fermentation, but what is the mat
ter, ir is difficult to find out, so rigid is the Austrian Police.
It is now forbidden in Lombardy, und-r the severest penal
ties,to speak of politics. Travellers from Milan state that
the Neapolitan troops are blockaded in tho Appcnines at
Aqnila.
^Portugal is yet inn state of revolution.
*The town elections in Con nkcticut, as far as heard from,
knock loudly at the door of Senators Niles and Smith.
They mean something.
P. S. The packet ship Erie, from Havre, is in, but we
have nothing later by her but that the commercial signs at
Ha\ re are good-
CONGRESSIONAL.
Animal Magnetism.—The devotees of this new fang-
led imposture are becoming numerous in the Eastern States,
and include some respectable men, who are in no wise ad
dicted to superstition and fanaticism. Aifimal Magnetism
is a strange influence, supposed to be produced by the im
position of the hands of one person in a particular manner,
upon the person of another. By the influence thus suppos
ed to be imparted, the individual magnetized, is possessed
of preternatural powers, enabled to see through folds of
paper and cloth, to describe with minuteness places which
they have never seen, &c. &c. With this strange fantasy,
our Yankee brethren are absolutely running mad, and pro
fess to found their faith on actual experiment and observa
tion.
FORCE or CUSTOM.—In a very old English work we read
the following curious anecdote illustrative of the effects of
custom:—
«* The lady of a very large corpulent gentleman being
lately indisposed, thought proper to have a bed by hersell
that she might repose the better by lying alone. But she
Was quite mistnken in her notion; for instead of sleeping
tho better without her husband, she could not sleep at all;
and the reason of it, which may seem a very odd one, was
this: that she found she wanted her husband, who was a
loud snorer, to snore her to sleep; her wot hearing this
noise, being as great a hindrance to her rest as the hearing
it would have been to one not used"to it.”
The following relates a dialogue said between a drunk
ard aad liis wife—it is in perfect accordance with the un
reasonableness of drunkards in general:
“ I say, Molly, what have you got for dinner?” “ I told
you, this morning, we had nothing in the house.” “ Oh
well, let me take the baby, uud you pick up something.”
“ So you told me this morning, but there’s nothing to pick
up.” “ O, pick up some bread and potatoes, Molly, pick
up something." “ But, Mr. Lindsey, there’s nothing in
the house—nothing at all—not a mouthful of any thing
that can he eaten.” “ Well, well, Molly, I say, pick up a
little something or other, and let us have a dinner, for 1
am in a hurry.”
Law for the Cotton Brokers.—A suit has lately
been tried in England, in which it was determined that,
when a merchant there, orders his correspondent here, to
buy “ good fair cotton,” and he did buy what in the opin'
ion of the brokers and others most competent to judge at
New-Orleans, was such cotton by the Liverpool standard—
Mill, if not so adjudged by the Liverpool brokers, ilie or
der was to-be considered as not complied with, and the
principal might therefore reject the cotton, and throw it
upon the hands of the agent. This will be a very conve
nient decision (or Englishmen, as it works only one way
The law may be according to legal technicalities, yet it ob-
vioutly tends only to iiysitice. For If the cotton purchas
ed were not quite up to, or were a little over the quality
ordered, the cost would of course correspond with the
■gylity. The American merchants will be in no danger,
forever, after knowing this de*t*i»a.“-.V. Y. Jonr. Com■
THE MONEY MARKET.
RESUMPTION OF SPECIE PAYMENTS.
The New York Herald of the 8th instant, states that
Exchange on England closed yesterday for the packets
which are to sail to-morrow, at a slight advance—proba
bly 4 to 1 per cent. This grew out of an increased de
mand for remittances. British Government bills rose to
116—and the very best private bills to 114 Of the lat
ter description some West India bills came into the mar
ket, endorsed by the Colonial Bunk of Jamaica. They
brought 114j, at 30 days. The advance in foreign ex
change has also been accompanied by a similar advance
in the paper price of specie. It may now be quoted at 4j
to 5 per centum in this city—in Philadelphia at 5 to 54,
the difference being the difference of exchange. The de
maud for specie may be enumerated to come from the
following places : Canada, in exchange for British Govern
ment hills; France and Germany to purchare goods prin
cipally ; South America and the India trade. In general
business, both foreign and domestic, although the symptoms
of recovery arc decided, the procoss is naturally very slow.
The continual agitation without any decision, in Congress,
must of course keep a large portion of foreign and domes
tic trade in a constant, state of fever. This fitful attitude
of the govcrnm<»nt*has caused an advance in the price of
old Treasury drafts or protested shin-plasters. The confi
dence, however, that ail the measures of relief will ulti
mately pass both houses unimpaired. With the termina
tion of the present session, which we hope may take place
next week, we may expect a decided change in the tem
per and action of the industrious and mercantile classes.
The divorce of all commerce from politics is the most
lesirable divorce yet put on the calender of the present
Our domestic trade is undoubtedly recovering it
self very rapidly. For several weeks the city has been
filling up and although we cannot call the fall trade of
1337 equai to that of 1836, yet there are many houses now
doing a very healthy, snug, and profitable business.”
The N. Y. American holds out a more cheering prospect
in the following article:
Exchange on London 1ms fallen to 14 1-2 percent.,
which, d duction being made for the present difference be
tween paper and specie, say five per cent—is in fact about
the real par ; which may be stated at from 8 ■} to 9 ad-
ance upon the old par of $4 44 per pound sterling,
“ The inferences from this state of things are—that our
foreign commercial debt must have been in a great degree
paid, so far as it ever will be—that few new orders for
goods are going forward—and that the ability of the Banks
-to speedily resume specie payments, without causing any
new and considerable pressure upon the community, is
thereby greatly increased.”
The N. Y. Journal also presents the following cheering
account of the condition of the Banks:
“ It is the opinion of gentlemen having the best oppor
tunity to form a correct judgment, that the circulation of
the Connecticut Banks since their annual returns in March
last, has diminished one-ha f. The circulation of the
Banks in the State of Ncw-York lias diminished, since the
1st of January more than tiro-fifths,—and the whole Bank
circulation in the United States has diminished within the
same period at least one-third. On the 1st of January
1836 (not last January) the whole Bank circulation was
estimated by the Secretary of the Treasury nt $ 140,301,038.
Supposing it was equally great on the 1st of January, 1837.
there hus been taken from circulation since the last men
tioned date, or within less than nine months, $46,600,000,
or thereabouts, in bank bills, besides four-fifths of all the
specie that was afloat, amounting probably to $20,000,000
more, making a total diminution, in the actual circulating
medium, of $ 66,600,000. The remaining actual circu
lation, may be,—
Bank bills $97,000,000
Specie 5,000,000
Present circulation, .... $ 92.000,000
‘ Of course this is only an approximation to the actual
state of things, but it is a calculation founded upon known
data. Some weeks ago we published actual returns from
more than half the hanks in the country, showingu decrease
of circulation in about the same ratio. Three hundred
and thirty-four hanks exhibited a decrease of twenty-two
and a half millions, out of seventy-three millions.”
The New-York Times thus speaks the truth concerning
the tyranny of the party it serves:
The prospects of the party, as a dominant one, are
gloomy. There is a difference amongst us, and in this city
it least, we do not see a mutual spirit of conciliation.
There are too many who tolerate no freedom of opinion,
hut would excommunicate at once all brethren who assent
not promptly to their views, by what means, or how re
cently soever, they came by them themselves. They seem to
think only of enforcing their notions, and to care nothing
fir the harmony of the party, or its welfare. He is a se-
ceder who goes not for the sub-Trcasury system. That
spoms the spirit and purpose of a portion of the party.
He is a democrat who goes for it, though he were whig or
loco foco yesterday; though he seek through it a national
hank, or the destruction of all bunks. The scheme must
be adopted forthwith; there must be no difference of opi
nion, no deliberation, no counsel nor debate, no enquiry.
Who doubts is damned.”
Whv should Congress trouble themselves to think upon
the subject ? What business have they to hesitate about
it ? The President has suggested the scheme—why do
they not register his will at once, and so “ support him."
like good democrats? That is republicanism note; we
have found a new version of the constitution, and the
people of America are sovereign and independent no
logger. They have elected a President to think for
them, and schools are henceforth superfluous.
The Races at New-York—First Day—In the sweep-
stakes of eleven entries—two mile heats—$300 entry—
forfeit. $100—onlv two have made their appearance, und
the race terminated in favor ol Mr. Robert L. Stevens’s
Antoinette, beating Mr. Botts’s filly, after a spirited con
test. Time, 4m. 1—4m. 10.
The following horses started for the $300 purse, two
mile heats, and were placed as follows :
S. Laird’s s. f. Betsey Andrew, 3 years old, 1 1
J. H. Van Mater’s gr. c. Mnnolopen, 3 yrs. 2 2
II. Wicker’s ro. f. Gypscy, 5 years, distanced.
R. F. Stockton’s gr. c. Bergen, 4 years, distanced.
Wm. Gibbon’s hr. m. Merrygold, 4 years, distanced.
Time 3m. 44—3m 50.
Liverpool, Sept. 2.—The desire to purchase Cotton
has continued unabated throughout the whole of the week,
and- the transactions are again very large; some of the
largest holders have retired their stocks from the market,
and this has only tended to encourage the trade to stock
themselves more plentifully. All descriptions of Ameri
can Cotton are jd per lb. higher, and in the middling kinds
of Uplands and Orleans, which arc scarce, a further ad
vance than this has been realized. The better descrip
tions, from never having been proportionably so low os the
other sorts, have not participated in the improvement-.to the
same extent. Brazils and Egyptians are also ^1.higher,
and Surats have been taken in large quantities at id per
lb. advance. The import of the week has. been 15,507
The sales for the same periods are, .including 8000
REMARKS OF MIL CALHOUN, oF S. C..
On the biU authorising an issue of Treasury Notes.
Monday, September 18, 1837.
Mr. Fresident : An extraordinary course of events,
with which all are too familiar to need recital, has separa
ted, in fact, the Government and the banks. What rela
tion shall they bear hereafter ? Shall the banks again be
used as fiscal agents of the Government?—be the deposi
tories of the public money ?-“-and, above all, shall their
notes he considered and treated as money, in the receipts
and expenditures of the Government? This is the great
and leading question; one of the first magnitude> and full
of consequences. I have given it my most anxious and de
liberate attention; and have come to tho conclusion that
we have i cached the period when the interest both of the
Government and the banks forbids a re-union. I now pro
pose to offer my reasons for this conclusion. I shall do it
with that perfect frankness due to the subject, to the coun
try'. and the position I occupy, All I ask is, that I may be
heard with a candor and fairness corresponding to the sin
cerity with which I 9liall deliver my sentiments.
Those who support a re-union of the banks and the Go
vernment have to overcome a preliminary difficulty. They
arc now separated, by operation of law, and cannot be re
united while the present state of things continues, without
repealing the law which has disjoined them. I ask, who
is Milling to propose its repeal? Is there anyone who,
during the suspensions of specie payments, would advocate
their employment as the fiscal agents of the Government,
who would make them tlic depositories of the public reve
nue or who would receive and pay away their notes in the
public dues ? If there be none, then it results that the se
paration must continue for the present, n»d that the re
union must be the work of time, depending on the contin
gency of the resumption of specie payments.
But suppose this difficulty to be removed, and that the
banks were regularly redeeming their notes, f om what
party in this body can the proposition como, or by which
can it be supported, fora re-union between them and the
Government ? Who, after what lias happened, can advo
cate the re-union of the Government with the league of
State banks ? Can the Opposition, who for years have
been denouncing it as the most dangerous instrument of
power and efficient means of corrupting and controlling
the Government and country ? Can they, after the exact
fulfilment of all their predictions of disastrous conse
quences from the connexion, now turn round and support
that which they have so long and loudly condemned ? We
have heard much from the opposite side of untried experi
ments on the currency. I concur in the justice of the
censure. Nothing can lie more delicate than the currency.
Nothing can require to be more delicately handled. It
ought never to he tampered with, nor touched, until it be
comes absolutely necessary. But if untried experiments
justly deserve censure, what condemnation would a repeti
tion of an experiment that lias failed deserve ? An expe
riment that has so signally failed, both in the opinion of
supporters and opponents, as to call down the bitterest de
nunciation of those who tried it. If to make the experi
ment was folly, the repetition would be madness.
But if the Opposition cannot support the measure, how
can it he expected to receive support from the friends of
the Administration, in whose hands the experiment has so
signally failed, as to call down from them execrations deep
and loud ?
If, Mr. President, there be anyone point fully establish
ed by experience and reason, I hold it to be the utter in
competence" of the State banks to furnish, of themselves, a
sound and stable currency. They may succeed in prosper
ous times, but. the first adverse current necessarily throws
them into utter confusion. Nor has any device yet been
found to give them the requisite strength and stability, but
a great central and controlling bank, instituted under the
authority of this Government. I go farther. If we must
continue our connexion with the banks, if we must receive
and pay away their notes as money, we not only have the
right to regulate and give uniformity and stability to their
value, but we are bound to do so, and to use the most ef
fective means for that purpose. The Constitution makes it
our duty to lay and collect the taxes and duties uniformly
throughout the Union, to fulfil which we are bound to give
the highest possible equality of value, throughout every pait
of the country, to whatever medium it may be collected in;
and, if that be bank notes, to adopt the most effective means
of accomplishing it, which experience has shown to be a
Bank of the United States. This has been long my opin
ion. 1 entertained it in 1816, and repeated it in my place
hereon the deposite question in 1834. The only alterna
tive then is, disguise it as you may, between a disconnex
ion and a Bank of the United States. This is the real is
sue to which all must come, aud ought now to be openly
and fairly met
But there are difficulties in the way of a national bank,
no less formidable than a re-connexion with the State
banks. It is utterly impracticable, at present, to establish
one. There is reason to believe that a majority of the peo-
plc of the United States are deliberately and unalterably
opposed to it. At all events, there is a numerous, respecta
ble, and powerful party—I refer to the old State Rights
party—who are, and ever have been, from the beginning
of the Government, opposed to the bank ; and whose opin
ions, thus long and firmly entertained, ought at least to be
so much respected as to forbid the creation of one, without
ail amendment of the Constitution. To this must be added
the insuperable difficulty, that the Executive branch of the
Government is openly opposed to it, and pledged to inter
pose his veto, on constitutional grounds, should a bill pass
to incorporate one. For four years, at least, then, it will
be impracticable to charter a bank. IVhat must be done
in the meantime ? Shall the Treasury lie re-organized to
perform the functions which have been recently discharged
by the banks, or shall the State institutions be again em
ployed until a bank can be created ? In the one case, we
shall have tho so much vilified and denounced sub-Trea-
sury, as it is called; and, in the other, difficulties insur
mountable would grow up against the establishment of a
bank. Let the State institutions be once reinstated, and
re-united to the Government as their fiscal agents, and
they will be found the first and most strenuous opponents
of a national bank, by which they would be overshadow
ed and curtailed in their profits. I hold it certain that,
in prosperous times, when the State banks are in full ope
ration, it is impossible to establish a national bank. Its
creation, then, should the re-union with the State banks
take place, will be postponed until some disaster, similar to
the present, shall again befall the country. But it re
quires little of tlte spirit of prophecy to see that such an
other disaster would be the death of the whole system.
Already it has had two paralytic strokes—the third would
prove fatal.
But suppose these difficulties were overcome, I would
still be opposed to the incorporation of a bank. So farfrom
affording the relief which many anticipate, it would be the
most disastrous measure that could be adopted. As great
as is the calamity under which the country is suffering, it
is nothing to what would follow the creation of such an
institution under existing circumstances. In order to com
pel the State institutions to pay specie, the bank must have
a capital as great, or nearly as great, in proportion to the
existing institutions, as the late bank had when established,
to those of that day. This would give it an immense ca
pital, not much less than one hundred millions of dollars,
of which a large proportion, say twenty millions, must be
specie. From what source is it to be derived ? From the
State banks ? It would empty their vaults, and leave them
in the most helpless condition. From abroad, and Eng
land in particular ? It would re-produce that revulsive
current which has lately covered the country with deso
lation. The tide is still running to Europe, and, if forced
back by any artificial cause before the foreign debt is paid,
cannot but be followed by the most disastrous conscqucn-
s.
But suppose this difficulty overcome, and the bank re
established, I ask, what would be the effects under such
circumstances? Where would it find room for business
commensurate with its extended capital without crushing
the State institutions, enfeebled by the withdrawal of their
means in order to create the instrument of their oppres-
A few of the more vigorous might survive; but the
bags. _
American and 500 Surat, taken on speculation, and 600
American and 350 Surats for export, 28,810 bags, viz;.260
Sea Island, 12 to I8d; 50 stained do. 74 a 11; 6850 Up
land, 54 a 7§; 3910 Alabama, 5 a 7£; 9500 New-Orleans,
5J a 9; 1170 i’eraambuco,7 a 9$ ; 510 Bahiaand Macaio,
7| a 8 ; 1580 Maranham, 6| a 9; 60 West India, &c., 64
a 6$; 300 Laguira, 5j| a 7£; 1360: Egyptian, 84 a 13;
3240 Surat and Madras, 3$ a 9; 70 Bengal 8|.
MARYLAND STILL ERECT,
A •lipfrom the Baltimore Chronicle,dated 6th inst. says:
“The results of the election for members of the House of
Delegates have been ascertained and show thechoiuu of 50
Whigs and 36 Van Btiren men to that body-. The Senate
consists of 15 Whigs, andthe Whig majority, on joint ballot
m therefor*, 99 veto*.”
far greater portion, with their debtors, creditors, and stock
holders, would be involved in common ruin. The bank
would, indeed, give a specie currency, not by enabling the
existing institutions to resume, but by destroying them and
taking their place
Those who take a different view, and so fondly antici
pate relief from a national bank, are deceived by a sup
posed analogy between the present situation of the country
and that of 1816, when the late bank was chartered, after
the war with Great Britain. I was an actor in that scene,
and may be permitted to speak in relation to it with some
little authority. Between the two periods there is little or
no analogy. They stand almost in contrast. In 1816, the
Government was a debtor to the banks—now it is a credi
tor; a difference of the greatest importance,.a* far asthe
present question is concerned.. The banks had over
issued, it is true, but their, over-issues were to the Govern
ment—a solvent and.ahle debtor, whose credit, held by the
banks in the shape-of stock, was at par: It was thein ex
cessive issues to. the Government’ on its stock, which
mainly caused! the- suspension ; in proof of which,, it Js a
remarkable fact, that the depreciation of bank paper-under
gold and silver was- about equal to.the proportion which
the Government stock held, by the- banks bore to their is
sues. It was this excess that- hung on the market and de
pressed the value of their, notes,. The solution is easy.
The- banks took the Government- stack, payable in twelve
years,, and issued their notes for the same,.payable on de
mand,. in violation of the plainest principles of banking.
It followed; of course, that when their notes were present
ed for payment,jthey had nothing but Govemment stock to
meet them. But its stock was at par,, and all the banks
had to do was to- go into market with the stock they held
and take up their notes; and thus the excess, which hung
upon the market and- depressed their value would have
been withdrawn fromicircuiation, and the residue would
have risemto par, or nearly, par with gold and silver; when
specie payments might be easily resumed.
This they were unwilling to dt». They were profitting
every way—-by drawing interest-, on the stock, by discount
ing on it a* capital, and by its continued rise in the mar
ket. It beeame-neoessary to compel! them to surrender
these advantages. Two methods presented themselves:;
one ^bankrupt law,.and the other a.nataonal bank, I was-
opposed.to the former then,.as I am now. L regarded it
as a harsh and:unconstitutional law, opposed'to the rights
of the States. If tbey- have not surreodered tba right to
incorporate banka, aa is conceded, its exercise cannot be
Controlled by the action of this G iVbrnment, which has no
power hut what ie expressly granted, and no authority to
control the States in the exercise of their reserved pow
ers. It remained to resort to * nutional bank as the
means of compulsion. It proved, effectual. .Specie pay
ments were restored; but even with these striking^advan-
tages, it was followed by great pressure in 1818, ’19 and
’20, as all who are old enough to remember that period
must recollect. Sucb, in fact, mu3t ever be the conse
quence of resumption when forced, under the most favo
rable circumstances; and s<>ch, accordingly, it proved even
in England! with all her resources, and with all the caution
she used in restoring a specie circulation, after the long
suspension of 1797. What, then, would be its effects in
the present condition of the country, when the Government
is a creditor instead of a debtor; when there are so many
newly created banks without established credit; when the
over-issues are so great, and when so large a portion of
the debtors are not in a position to be coerced ? As great
as is the tide of disaster which is passing over the land,
it would be as nothing to what would follow were a na
tional bank to be established as the means of coercing spe
cie payments.
I am bound to speak without resolve on this important
point. Mv opinion then is, that if* it should be determined
to compel the restoration of specie payments by the agen
cy of banks, there is but one way; but to that I have in
superable objections. I mean the adoption of the Penn
sylvania Bank of the United States as the fiscal agent ol
the Government. It is already in operation, and sustain
ed by great resources and powerful connexions, both at
home and abroad. Through its agency, specie payments
might undoubtedly be restored, and that with far less dis
aster than through a newly created bank ; but not, how
ever without severe pressure. I cannot, however, vote
for such a measure. I cannot agree to give a preference
and such advantages to a bank of one ol the members of
this Confederacy over those of others—a bank dependent
upon the will of a State, and subject to its influence and
control. I cannot consent to confer such favors on the
stockholders, many of whom, if rumor is to be trusted, are
foreign capitalists, and without claim on the bounty of
the Government. But, if all those and many other ob
jections wore overcome, there is still PRO which I cannot
surmount.
There, lias been, as we all know, a conflict between one
of the Departments of the Government and that institution
in which, in my opinion, the Department was the assailant;
but I cannot consent, after what has occurred, to give to
the bank a triumph over the Government, for such its
adoption as the fiscal agent of the Government would ne
cessarily be considered. It would degrade the Govern
ment in the eyes of our citizens and of the world, aud go
far to make that bank the Government itself.
But, if all these difficulties were overcome, there are
others to me wholly insurmountable. I belong to the State
Rights party, which, at all times, from the beginning of
the Government to this day, has been opposed to such an
institution as unconstitutional, inexpedient and dangerous
They have ever dreaded the union of the political and the
moneyed power, and the central action of the Government,
to which it so strongly tends; and at all times have stre
nuously resisted their junction. Time and experience have
confirmed the truth of their principles; and this, above
all other periods, is the time at which it would be cruel
to depart from them. Acting on them, I have never giv
en my countenance or support to a national Bank, but
under a compulsion which I felt to be imperious, and ne
ver without an open declaration of my opinion as unfavor
able to a bank.
In supporting the bank of 1816, I openly declared that,
as a question de novo, I would be decidedly against the
bank, and would be the last to give it my support. I al
so stated that, in supporting the bank then, 1 yielded to
the necessity of the case, growing out of the tiien existing
and long established connexion between the Government
and the hanking system. 1 took the ground, even at that
early period, that so long as the connexion existed, so
long as the Government received and paid away bank notes
as money, they were bound to regulate their value, and
had no alternative but the establishment of a national
Lank.
I found*the connexion in existence, and established be
fore my time, and over which I could have no control.
I yielded to the necessity in prder to correct the disorder
ed state of the currency, which had fallen exclusively un
der the control of the States. I yielded to what I could
not reverse, just as any member of the Senate now would,
who might believe that Louisiana was unconstitutionally
admitted into the Union, but who would, nevertheless, feel
compelled to vote to ex end the laws to that State, as
one of its members, on the ground that its admission was
an act whether constitutional or unconstitutional, which
he could not reverse.
In 1334 I acted in conformity to the same principle,
in proposing the renewal of the bank charter for a short
period. My object, as expressly avowed, was to use the
bank to break the connexion between the Government and
the banking system gradually, in order to avert the ca
tastrophe which has now befallen us, and which I then
clearly perceived. But the connexion which I believed
to be irreversible in 1816, has now been broken by opera
tion of law. It is now an open question. I feel myself
free, lor the first time, to choose my course on this im
portant subject, and in opposing a bank, I act in confor
mity to principles which I have entertained ever since 1
have fully investigated the subject.
But my opposition to a re-union with the banks, is not
confined to objections limited to a national or Slate banks.
It goes beyond, and comprehends others of a more general
nature, relating to the currency, which to me are deci
sive. I am of the opinion that the connexion has a most
pernicious influence over bank currency; that it tends
to disturb that stability and uniformity of value which
is essential to a sound currency; and is among the lead
ing causes of that tendency to expansion and contraction
which experience has shown is essential to a sound cur
rency; and is among the leading causes of that tendency
to expansion and contraction which experience has shown
is incident to bank notes as a currency. They are, in my
opinion, at best, without the requisite qualities to consti
tute a currency, even when unconnected with the Govern
ment; and are doubly disqualified, hy reason of that con
nexion, which subjects them to sudJe.i expansions and con
tractions, and exposes them to fatal catastrophes, such
as the present.
I will explain my views. A bank note circulates not
merely on account of the credit of the institution by which
it is issued, but because Government receives it like gold
and silver in all its dues, and thus adds its own- credit
to that of the bonk. It, in fact, virtually endorses on the
note of every specie-paying hank, “ receivable by the Go
vernment in its dues.” To understand how greatly this
adds to the circulation of hank notes, we must remember
that Government is the great money dealer of- the coun
try, and the holder of immense public domains-,, and that
it has the power of cretiring a demand against every ci
tizen, as high as it pleases, which can be discharged, as
the law now is, ontjt by bank notes or gold and silver.—
This, of course, cannot but greatly add to the credit of
bank notes, and contribute to their circulation, though it
may be difficult to determine'with any precision to what
extent. It certainly is very great. For why is it that
an individual of the first credit, whose responsibility is so
indisputable, that his friend of equal credit endorses his
note for nothing, should put his name with his friend’s,
being their joint ciedit, into a bank, and take out the notes
of the bank, which is, in fact, but the credit of the bank
itself, and pay six per cent, discount between the credit
of himself "and his friend, and that of the bank ? The
known and established credit of the bank may be one
reason, but there is another and powerful one: the Go
vernment treats the credit of the bank as gold and silver
in all its transactions, and does, not treat the credit of
individuals in the same manner. To test the truth, let
us reverse the case, and suppose the Government to treat
the joint credit of the individuals- as money, and not the
credit of the bank; and a* it is not obvious that, instead
of borrowing from the bank r and paying six per cent, dis
count, the bank would be glad- to borrow from them on
the same terms? From.tliis we may perceive the powerful
influence which bank circulation derives from the connex
ion with the credit o£ the-Government*
It follows, ns a. necessary cansequence that to the ex
tent of this influence the issues- of the banks expand and
contract with, the expansion and contraction of the fiscal
action of the Government;. with the increase of its duties,
taxes, income and-expenditure; with the deposites in its
vaults, acting as additional capital*, aud. the amount cf
bank notes withdrawn, in consequence; from circulation;
all of which must directly affect the amount of their bu
siness anil issues,, and bank currency, and must, of course,
partake of all those vibrations to which the fiscal action
of the Government is necessarily exposed, and. when greai
and sudden,.must expose tho system to catastrophes such
as we now witness. Ia-fact a more suitable instance can
not beselec ted to illustrate the truth of what I assert, than
the-present,. as I shall proceed to show.
To undbrataniL the causes which have led to tlie present
state of things*, we most go back to the year 1824, when the
tariffsvstcin triumphed in Congress,.a system which imposed
duticsoiut fiur the purpose of revenue, but to encourage
the-industry of one portion of the Union at the expense of
the other. This was follow ed up by the act of 1828, which
cosummatedthe system. It raised the duties so extravagant
ly ,.that out of an annuul importation of sixty-four millions
thirty-two- passed into, the treasury; that is, Govern
ment took oue half’for the liberty of introducing the other.
Countless millions-were thus poured iato the Treasury be
yond the wants of the Government, which became in time
the source of the most extravagant expenditures. This
vast increase of receipts and expenditures was followed by
a corresponding expansion of the business of the banks.—
!They had to discount and issue freely to enable the mcr-
chants-to pay their duty bonds, as well as to meet the vastly
increased expenditures of the Government. Anothereffect
followed’the act of. 1828, which gave a still father expan
sion to the action of the banks,.and.which is worthy of no
tice. It turned the exchange, with. England in favor of.
this country. That portion of the proceeds of oua exports
which, in consequence of the high duties, could no longer
return with profit,.in,the usual articles which we had been
in the habit of receiving principally from that country in
exchange for our exports, returned in gold'and* silver, in or
der to purchase similar articles at the North. This was
the first cause that gave that western direction to the pres-
cious metals, the- revulsive return, of. which has been fol
lowed-by so many disasters,. With the exchange in our
favor,, and. consequently no demand for gold and: silver
abroad, and the vast demand for money attendee! ha an
Increase of thfc revenue, almost every restraint was removed
on the discounts and issues of the banks, especially in the
northern section of thfe Union, where these causes princi
pally operated. With their increase wages and prices of
every description rose in proportion, followed, of course
by au increasing demand on the banks for further issues.
This is the true cause of that expansion of the currency,
which began about the commencement of the late adminis
tration, but which was erroneously charged ->y it to the
Bank of the United States. It rose out of the action of the
Government. "
The bonk in increasing its business, acted in obedience
to the condition of things at the time, and in conformity
with the banks generally, in the same section. It was at
this juncture that the late Administration came iuto pow
er; a juncture remarkable in many respects, but mere es
pecially in relation to the question of the currency, Most
of the Causes which have since terminated in the complete
prostration of the banks and the commercial prosperity of
the country were in full activity.
Another cause, about that time, (I do not remember the
precise date,) began to produce powerful effects. I refer
to the last renewal of the chatter of the Bank of England.
It was renewed for ten years, and, among other provisions,
contained one making the notes of that bank a legal tender in
nil cases except between the bank and itscreditors. Thcef-
fect was to dispense still further with the use of the precious
metal in that great commercial country which, of course
caused them to flow out in every direction through the va
rious channels of its commerce. A large portion took their
direction hitherward, and served still further to increase
the current which from causes already enumerated, was
flowing in this direction; aud which still further increas
ed the force of the returning current on the turn of the
tide.
The Administration did not comprcheud the difficulties
and dangeis which surrounded it. Instead of perceiving
the true reason of the expansion of the currency, and adopt
ing the measures necessary to arrest it, they attributed it to
the Bank of the United States, aud made it the cause or
pretext of waging war on that institution. Among the
first acts cf hostility, the deposites were removed and
transferred to selected State banks; the effect of which,
instead of resisting the tendency to expansion, was to throw
off the only restraint that held the bunking institutions of
the country in check ; and of course gave to the swelling
tide, which was destined to desolate the country, a power
ful impulse. Banks sprung up in every direction; discounts
and issues increased almost without limitation and an im
mense surplus revenue accumulated in tile deposite- banks
which, after the payment of tne pub ic debt, the most ex
travagant appropriations could not exhaust, and wbirh
acted as additional banking capital. The value of money
daily depreciated; prices rose; and then commenced
those unbounded speculations, particularly in public lauds,
which were transferred, by millions of acres, from the pub
lic to the speculators, for worthless bank notes, till at
length the swelling flood was checked, and the revulsive
current burst its barriers, and overspread aud desolated
the land.
The first check came from the Bank of England, which,
alarmed at the loss of its precious metals, refused to dis
count American bills, in order to prevent a further de
crease of its cash means, and cause a return of those
which it had lost. Then followed the execution of the de
posite act, which, instead of a remedial measure, as it
might have been made, if properly executed, was made the
instrument of weakening the banks at the point of pres
sure especially in the great metropolis of the Union, where
so large a portion of the surplus revenue was accumula
ted. And, finally, the Treasury order, which still further
weakened those bunks, by withdrawing their cash means
to be invested in public lands in the West.
It is often easier to pr vent what cannot be remedied,
which the present instance strongly illustrates. If the Ad
ministration had formed a true conception of the danger
in time, what has since happened might have then been
easily averted. The near approach of the expiration of the
charter of the U. S. Bank would have afforded ample
means of staying the desolation, if it had been timely and
profitably used. I saw’ it then, and purpose to renew the
charter, for a limited period, with such modification as
would have effectually resisted the increasing expansion of
the currency; and, at the same time, gradually and finally
wear out one of the connexions between the bank and
the Government. To use the expression I then used, “ to
unbank the banks;” to let down the system easily, and so
to effect the separation between the bank and the Govern
ment as to avoid the possibility of that shock which I then
saw was inevitable without some such remedy. The mo
ment was eminently propitious. The precious metals
were flowing in on us from every quarter, and the vigor
ous measures I purposed to adojK in the renewal of the
charter would have effectually arrested the increase of banks
and checkechthe excess of their discounts aud issues; so
that the accumulating mass of gold and silver, instead of
being converted into bank capital, and swelling the tide of
paper ciiculution, would have been substituted in the place
if bank notes, as a permanent and wholesome addition to
the currency of the country.
But neither the Administration nor tlic opposition sus
tained me, and the precious opportunity passed unseized.
I then clearly saw thecoming calamity was inevitable, and
it has neither arrived sooner, nor is it greater, than what I
anticipated.
Such arc the leading causes which have produced the
present disordered state of the currency. There are others
o' - a minor character, connected with the general condition
of the commercial world, and the operations of the Exe-
tive branch of the Government, hut which, ot themselves,
would have produced but little effect. To repeat the cau
ses in a few words, the vast increase which the tariffs of
1824 and ’28 gave to the fiscal action of the Government,
combined with the causes I have enumerated, gave the first
impulse to the expansion of the currency. These, in turn,
gave that extraordinary impulse to overtrading and specu
lation, (they are effects and not causes) which has finally
terminated in the present calamity. It may thus be ulti
mately traced to the connexion between the banks and
the Government; and it is not a little remarkable that
the suspension of specie payments in 1316, in this country,
and that of 1797, in Great Britain, were produced by like
causes.
There is another reason against the union of the Govern
ment and the banks, intimately connected with that under
consideration, which I shall next proceed to state. It gives
a preference to one portion of citizens over another; that
is neither fair, equal, nor consistent with the spirit of our
institutions.
That the connexion between the bank and the Govern
ment, the receiving and paying away their notes as cash,
and the use of the public money from the time of the col
lection to the disbursement, is tbe source of immense pro
fit to the banks,cannot be questioned. It is impossible, as
I said’, to ascertain with any precision to what extent their
issues and circulation depend upon it, but it certainly con
stitutes a large proportion. A single illustration may
throw light upon this point. Suppose the Government were
to take up the veriest beggar in the street, and enter into a
contract with him that nothing should be received in pay
ment of its dues or for the sale of its public lands in future
except gold and silver, and his promissory notes, and that
he should have the use of the public funds from the time of
their collection until their disbursement: can any one es
timate the wealth which such a contract would confer?—
His notes would circulate far and wide over the whole ex
tent of the Union; would be the medium through which
the exchanges of the country would be performed; and his
example and extended credit would give him u control over
all the banking institutions and moneyed transactions of the
community. The possession of a hundred millinus would
not give a control more effectual. I ask, would it be fair,
would it be equal, would it be consisicnt with the spirit cf
our institutions, 1o confer such advantages on any individu
al? And if not one, would it be if conferred on any num
ber ? And if not, why should it be conferreit on any cor
porate body of individuals? How can they possibly be
entitled to benefits so vast, which all must acknowledge
could not be justly conferred on any number of unincorpo
rated individuals ?
I state not these views with any intention of bri ging
down odium on banking institutions. I have no unkind
feeling towards them whatever. I do not hold them re
sponsible for the present state of things. It has grown up
gradually, without cither the banks or the community per
ceiving the consequences which have followed the connex
ion between them. My object is to state facts as they ex
ist, that the truth may be seen in time by all. This is an
age of investigation. The public mind is broadly awake
upon this all-important, subject. It affects the interests and
condition of the whole community. And will be investi
gated to the bottom. Nothing will be left unexplored,
and it is for the interest of both the banks and of the com
munity, that the evils incident to the connexion should be
fully understood in time, and the connexion be gradually ter
minated;.before such convulsions shall follow as to sweep
away the whole system, with its advantages as well as its
disadvantages.
But it is not only between citizen and citizen that the
connexion is unfair and unequal. It is as much so between
one portion of the country and another. The connexion of
the Government with the banks, whether it be with a com
bination of State banks or with a national institution, will
necessarily centralize the action of the system at the prin
cipal point of collection and disbursement, and at which
the mother bank, or the head of the league ot State bank-,
must be located. From that point the whole system,
through the connexion with the Government, will be ena
bled to control the exchanges both at home and abroad; and
with it, the commerce, foreign and domestic, including ex
ports and imports.
After what has been said, these points will require
but little illustration. A single one will be sufficient;
and I will take, as in the former instance, that of an indi
vidual.
Suppose, then, the Government, at the commencement
of its operation, had selected an individual merchant, at
any one point in the Union, say New-York, and had connect
ed itself with him, as it has with the banks, by giving him
the use of the public funds from the time of their collection
until their disbursement, and of receiving and paying away,
in all its transactions, nothing but bis promissory notes,
except gold and silver: is it not manifest that a decisive
control would be given to the port where he resided, over
all the othets; that his promissory notes would circulate
every where, through all the ramifications of commerce ;
that they would regulate exchanges; that they would' be
the medium of paying duty bonds; and that they, would
attract, the imports andexportsof the country, to-tbe port
where such extraordinary facilities wars afforded? If each
isould clearly be the efiectsi, the ease snpp<Wu ti _ ,
ly clear that the concentration of tbecur^neTati
point, through tbe connexion of the Government witH?
banks, would have equal if not greater effects; and £
Whether one general bank should be used as an «J, ’
t h Whic ‘‘ “hoald have their centre
To other ports of the country, the trifling advantage.
a branch or deposite bank would give, in the safe kee •
of tbe public revenue, would be as nothing, compared*"*
the losses caused to their commerce by centralixin/.r
moneyed action of the country at a remote point Otk!*
gentlemen can speak for their own sections; I can sp-T
with confidence, of that which I have the honor in pTT, 1 ’
represent. The entire staple States, I feel a deep conri
tion, banks and all, would, in the end, be great gainu,kj
the disseverance, whatever might be the temporary
venience. If there be any other section in which the rf
fects will lie different, it would be but to confirm the vie*
which I have presented. ***
( To be continued.’)
Mr. King’s speech.—The correspondent of the v
York Commercial Advertiser gives the following notice
portion of this Senator’s bold attack upon the present J*
cy of the Administration, on Saturday last:—
Mr. King condemned the whole financial policy of th
administration—the warfare on the Bank of the Unitnl
States especially. He denied that that institntion had ev
interfered with the politics of the nation, in any way \*h ^
ever, and he challenged Senators to the proof. * I n coanez
ion with this topic, he referred to a remark of Mr CaL
houn, on Monday last, that he would never consent to ei
employment to the Bank of the United States of PennsrU
vania, as the fiscal agent of the Government becanse th*
would be a triumph over the Government. This passa”
of Mr. King’s speech was one of memorable eloqoenra
aud beauty, and produced such a sensation in the chamber
that it was with difficulty many of the auditors repressed
their sentiments from bursting out in loud expressions nf
admiration and applause.
Mr. Rives stated in liis speech on Tuesday, that there
were 100,000 officers employed in the collection, custod*
and disbursement of the public money, under the sub-trc/
sury system in France. Well was it remarked by a french
saiyrist, that the public money, in the manner of its col]*,
tion in that country, was like a lump of butter passed fron*
hand to hand, each of which w as greased with a portisn
until at last, when it reached its destination (the Treasury!
there was scarcely any left. * *
Correspondence of the Sou hern Patriot.
Washington, Oct. 5,1837
Since tlie passage of the great Divorce Bill, the Senate
has something like leisure; prior to that, the duties were
incessant. That body has now little business to perfect
few bills of moment, if we except tbe bill to regulate ik*
fees of the District Attorney in these trying times, and the
bill relating to the Banks of our poor devoted District.—
To day petitions were presented on these fruitful snhjecti
“ Domestic Slavery, Slavery in the District of Colum
bia, Annexation of Texas, if-c. »J-c.” These things s j.
ways receive the contempt they merit, i. e. were laid on tha
table.
Mr. Robbins, from tbe Committee on Post Offices and
Post Roads, reported the bill to secure the payment in ail-
vance of postage on all Express Mail letters; this will
hardly pass this session. The object, I believe to be tn
secure members from imposition Persons supposing these
letters by Express Mail to go free, have subjected their
Representatives to a very great expense, and hence the ne
cessity of some sucb law.
The Senate adjourned over to-day until Monday. Some
relaxation from their ; rduous duties was indispensable.
The different tribes of Indians treated our citizens yester
day to a grand War Dance. The “ painted devils” show
ed to the mixed multitude of both sexes, their naked braw-
ny limbs and muscular proportions. With all their fright
ful contortions and savage yells, and more than semi-nu
dity, our women exhibited nothing beyond the natural ruby
of their cheeks.
Correspondence of the Charleston Mercury.
Washington, Oct. 6, 1837.
Yesterday the Senate adjourned at an earlv hour over ts
Monday.
In the House, the Report of the Committee of Wavs and
Means declaring it inexpedient to charter s National. Bank,,
was taken up, and after ashort debate, was confirthcd by *
vote 122 to 91. Eleven members were absent who would
have voted with the majority. AU the delegation from
your State voted for tbe inexpediency of the measure.
The debate was then resumed on the Treasury Note Bill,
and continued till a quarter past 7., P. M.,the House taking
their usual recess.
This morning rite resolution to appoint a rommiur*
for the purpose of enquiring into tl.e Florida War, cam*
up among the unfinished business.. No disposition was-
made of it-
Mr. Cushing-spoke till half-past 2, P.. M. against th»
Treasury Note Bill.
NaYT OEFARTXEirr, #
October-2, 1837. y>
Official.—The Court Martial which convened at Gos
port on the 10ih July, for the trial of Commander Withaia
Ramsay, of the United States Navy, terminated its sittings
on the 12th of August last.
The Coutt found Commander Ramsay guilty of negbrt
of duty, in not fulfilling the orders of the Navy Depart
ment, which directed him to afford to Captains Woolsejr
and Claxton, and Master Commandant Shubrick, com
missioners for surveying certain harbors, See., every facil
ity in discharging a duty imposed upon them under a re-
resolution of the Senate of the United, States, and guilty
of other charges and specifications exhibited against him;
which finding of the Court was approved by the Secretary
of the Navy, except the second specifications of the third
charge, which was considered as included in another
charge and specification.
The Court sentenced the accused “ to te reduced in rant
so as to be placed at the foot of the list of commanders
as it now 4 appears on the register of tbe Navy of the
United States.” j
But degrading a commissioned Officer, and placing ii»
at the foot of the list of officers of bis grade, being con
sidered an unusual, and in this case improper punishment,
the sentence of the Court was not approved, and Corns
mander Ramsay has been restored to duty.
ITEMS.
General Scott.—The National Intelligencer states
that the War Department has declined a compliance with
the request of Gen, Scott to be placed in command of th*
Florida army.
Tennessee.—The special election of a Representative
in Congress, to supply the vacancy occasioned by the death
of Col. Standefer—who represented the fourth district,
composed of the counties of Roane. M’Minn, Meigs, Ha
milton, Marion, Rhea, Bledsoe, Morgan, and Bladley—h»
resulted in the choice of Col. Stone, one of tbe Whig can
didates. There were, in all, seven candidates, four Whig*
and three Van Buren men.
Connecticut.—Tbe elections which hare jast been heli
throughout this State, are for town officers only. The re
turns, so far as known, are decidedly favorable to ft*
Whigs.
The Court Martial, of which Ge*. ScoTT was preside*6
has most honorably acquitted Brig. Gea.WooV,*! ail ft*
charges brought against him by Governor Cut, of hlo
barna, and the President has approved the p**e*«d»|* ^
the Court.
Missouri Chickens,—Tne Majestic steamer, from SC
Louis, brought down for the good people of New Orle» n5 '
under their afflicting calamity, 325 dozen, that is,
chickens; turning the Levee, says the Picayune, into
great farm yard.
Mammoth Cake.—At the late Boston Fair there wat a
cake weighing five hundred pounds. It contained fifty-**
dozen eggs, eighty pounds of currants, ninety pounds of **•
gar, ninety pounds of flour, seventy-eight pounds of citroa,
fifty pounds of frosting, fifty-six pounds of butter,
pounds of spice.
Capital motto.—“ Veritas, non verba magistri,' (ft*
truth, and not the master’s word for it,) was the pregnao 1
motto of Mr. Madison’s seal.
The Legislature of Tennessee assembled on tbe 2d i®**-
An election for a Senator of the United States
be made during its session, to supersede Mr. GRt**
dy.
That interminable job, the Thames Tunnel, is procetUfS
towards completion.
It appears from an imperial edict in one of the Peki®S
Gazettes, that a Secretary of the Treasury has bee®
missed, the faults alleged against him being, “a bungkri®
business ; making a covenience of the pnblic service by t*"
king bribes and that he has been too long in office.
The Cholera appears still to rage with great violence 1 *
Italy, and popular disturbances were in consequence r' 1 ?
frequent.
Great spleen is evinced by tbe tory papers on acco**®*
of the intended visit of the King and Queen nf.Btfe 1 ?^
Leopold comes in foe a good share virtuperan®*
O’Connell and his party are tho mainstay of
The young Queen will find, the tones a nest of hor****
about her eyes, unless, like George tbe Fourth, ,sb«
h*f. liberal principles and becomes Conservative--*
forefrnd It would be. a dangerous
Heaven
leant.
Tlie Cbolerais said to be really at Rome..
Ia Iceland, tbe harv est is abundant aad gontsnly