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SOPHIE RN TRI B B_N E.
PUBLISHED WEEKLY, BY
w nn . n a it it iso \ .
WM H HARRISON, l
/this > Editors.
VVM S. LAWTON, >
From the Southern Press.
The KaiKlolpli Epistles on the
Bight or Secession.
NO. 11.
Fundamental Condition of the l mon—Sla rc
Representation euidFugilice Sla res — The
South’s Remedy, tcere these Rights de
nied—The right to fight and the right to
do toYong — "Black Cockade Federalism
reel red ” — The Right of Equality anoth
er Fundamental Condition oj the l mon,
¥■
To Iris fficellency, Mili.abd Fillmore,
President of the United States :
Sm—ft is admitted on all sides, that the
Constitution contains certain principles
which’aVC sacramental, embracing condi
tions so vital and fundamental, that with
out their adoption, the Constitution and
the Uniottcould never have been formed.
Conditions of this nature must be as pro
gressive and continuous as the Constitu
tion itself, and lasting its life time, must
stand with it, and fill with it. Upon their
acceptance the Union was founded—upon
their 1 pet-firtnance the Union depends.
Nothing is better known to the statos
mctvof the country, than that the Constitu
tion would never have been adopted nor
ralificd ! by the Southern States, had not
the Northern Slates received and accept
ed tlmse provisions which the Constitution
contains relating to the institution of slave
ry, The debates set forth in the Madison
papers,-impressively make known, that
these provisions constituted among others
the SoatWa Hltimata, and that but for the
clause conferring representative rights in
Congress upon three fifths of the slaves,
and the clause providing for the reclama
tion and surrender of fugitives from service
no Union could have been formed between
the parties then represented in the Con
vention, The thing was impossible ; and
hence the South became a party to the U
nion upon the fundamental condition, that
these provisions should be strictly adhered
to and faithfully performed, so long as the
Union lasts. The do. I * o * a, "l obligations
thus devolved upon the N. 'ftli, were expli
cit, imperative and immutabn*,- ai, *l conse
quently it became the supreme la! v of the
case, that the Union’s existence shout'* be
dependent upon the faithful performance
of these fundamental conditions.
Now, sir, as hypotheses are quite as
good as facts to test principles and compass
consequences, l will put a case, or two ca
ses ratheF. Suppose, that after the adop
tion and ratification of the Constitution by
the States, that Congress in 1791, in ap
portioning the representation among the
States under the census of 1790, had re
fused to regard three-fifths of the slaves as
representative numbers, an<l had with
ltolden from the South all representation
on their account. The North hud the j
power to do so, had she been disposed to |
use it. In a Senate of 26, she bad 14, and ]
the South but 12 Senators. In a House
of 65, sbefrad 35, and the South but 30
representatives ; the Constitution itself
having apportioned the latter, until the ap
portionment under the census of 1790
should take effect as follows ;
New Hampshire, 3 Delaware, 1
Massachusetts, 8 Maryland, 6
Rhode Island and Virginia, 10
Providence Plan- North Carolina, 5
tatlons-. 1 South Carolina, 5
Connecticut, 5 Georgia, 3
New York, 6
Pennsylvania, 8
New Jersey, 4
35 30
This is one case. Now for tho other :
Suppose that after repeated efforts on be
half of the South, tho majorities in Con
gress had repeatedly and finally refused
0) pass any law to carry it into effect, the
clause of tho Constitution providing for
the reclamation and delivery of fugitive
slaves, and that the Northern States had
refusdd their restitution without it!
Such are the hypotheses : where would
be the remedy ? From the postudata in
neither, could a "case” be framed either in
"law or equity,” to give the Supreme Court
jurisdiction under the Constitution, over
matters so obviously political and exclu
sively pertaining to the legislative depart
ment of the Government. Neither could
the argument of the old Federalists, that
Congress is the final interpreter of (he
Cons'itution in all cases where the Su
preme Court is without jurisdiction, avail
any thing, for Congress itself would have
already decided it against the South and
against the Constitution ! 1 repeat the
question : where would be the remedy ]
The North’s faith, and two of the funda
mental conditions of the Union would have
been flagrantly and purposely broken.—
Would the South bo bound by conscience,
duty, or the Constitution to remain in the
Union, and submit to these deep wrongs,
and to abandon her right to slave repre
sentation, and her right of reclamation of
fugitives from service 1 Would the only
right left her, be a right to fight 1 Mr.
Webster's right of civil war, and bloody
revolution'! Mr. Webster's right to
MS LUG K THE WHOLE UNION IN BRETHREN’S
BLOOD, TO SECURE TO lIEI4- TIIE RIGHT OF
peaceful secession ! Well, sir, suppose
the South, unter rifled by Mr. Webster’s
blue light Federal docilities, should stand
fast by the principles of her own illustri
ous Jefferson and Madison—the State
Rights platform of the Kentucky ami Vir
ginia Resolutions <>f 1798, where every
State. Rights Southern Whig, and every
true hearted Democrat, dwelleth lie North
or South, stands at this day, and resuming
the sovereignty she had only parted with
in faith of the guarantees so wilfully bro
ken, should quietly secede from iheUnion.
What then? Would the wrongs of the
North confer on her a right to fight for
them ? A right to force the South back—
(if she could — Miml that ! If she could,)
into the Union, shorn of those rights of
slave representation and of slave reclam
ations, which formed the inducements
and the conditions for entering it !
Iftwo wrongs could thus make a right and give
warrant for the consequences just deduced fioni
it, then must it ba plain, that these fundamental
conditions would have been no conditions at all,
but deep deceptions and foul frauds; and con
taining those very elements of nullity, which
would debase and avoid the whole instrument
at the forum of any judicature in Christendom ?
Who can believe, that the heroes of '76 and the
sages of ’67, who have secured us all we have
and made us all we arc, should have bequeathed
us as our heritage, a Constitution plenary of
powers and sanctions, for absurdities and op.
prussions so monstrous as these ? I must doubt,
if there be one man living, having ti conscience
in bis breast, and brains enough to think with,
wtio would tarnish with such a stain the memo
ries of these eminent dead, by sanctioning with
his credence an interpretation of that instrument
so redolent of unlimited power and slavish sub
mission ! I defy the wit of man to deny the
right of secession in the cases I have put, with
out conceding that the Slates and their citizens
hold their rights upon the tenure of “passive
obedience,” and that the goverenment itself is
but a chartered despotism !
In the year of our Lord 1800, the “black
cockade” administration of the elder Adams,
for the assertion of doctrines, not the centime of
a tythe so laliludinarian and blasting to popular
freedom and the Constitution as this, went down
with a crash and was so extinct under the weight
of public indignation and popular resistance, and
should it he once understood by the people of
the South, that yours is to commence uricleansed
and unshriven ofthat leaven offederalism which,
under the guise and auspices of a better name,
masks the principles and designs of yonr Secre
tary of State ; and should the people’s money
be lavished upon a Federal soldiery, in military
expeditions against any of these sovereign States,
for asserting their right of boundary or secession,
(as your recent message to the two Houses so
ominously and menacingly hints) —have a care
Mr. I’residont, that yours may not encounter a
yet sadder fate, and full, it may be, in the provi
dencc of God, a warning to rulers and a mercy
to the oppressed!
The cases I put were hypothetical ones, yet
each of them had a considerable odor of rcatitij
about them. Congtess lias not, indeed, deprived
us, as yet of our slave representation, hut it has
taken away from us, and appropriated to the free
Status, every acre of the Federal territory out
of which a slave representation might have
come, and deprived the South by the same means
and for aye, of any augmented representation in
the Senate. In doing this, anoliivt fundamental
condition of the Union has been broken, tar
■uore invaluable to the South than that of slave
representation, to wit : that Right oe Equal
ity between the States, upon which the whole
fabric of ltl« Union rests; and, indeed, deemed
so important by Congress itself heretofore, that
in receiving into the Union each of the seven
teen States which have entered it since the Con
stitution took effect, it gave to this vital princi
ple fresh and impressive recognition, by declar
ing each of these States to be “Admitted into
the Union upon as Equal footing with the
ORIGIN AL St ATES IN ALL RESPECTS WHATEVER.”
Is it not passing strange that auj one should
doubt, that tire admission of California with her
monstrous appropriation of territory, streching
from Oregon to Mexico, and shutting out the
£outh forever from the sea, was not a palpable
and breach of the Constitution, in con
tempt and extinCl.'I*ll 1 * 11 of those inalienable Rights
of Equality, in which tiio Constitution was
founded? Is it not equally strange, that any ”. ne
should doubt, that what Congress sanctions to
be done, with a full power to prevent its being
done it is just as responsible for, as if Congress
iiself had done the act upon the principle of that
well known maxim in law and in morals: Quod
facitptr aliuvi,faeit per sc —and hence, that the
counsel and sanction given to the people of Cal
ifornia by the Executive Department ofthe Gov
ernment, to absorb the whole of sea-gil t Califor
nia and exclude the South from it through the
IVilmot Proviso, with the ratification by Con
gres of all California has done, will affix the
agency and responsibility of that baleful mea
sure where it justly belongs, upon the action of
this Government, und as much so, as if Califor
nia herself had nothing to do with it!
Should the bill then become a law, Congress
will have palpably broken that fundamental
condition of equality between the States, upon
which the Union rests ; and as the casus fwderis
will have come, all the world will expect from
that gallant son of noble sire, who has now
charge of the Executive Department of Virgin
ia (Gov. Floyd,) that ho will abide the patriotic
counsels of her Legislature and call her public
authorities together, to take counsel upon her
Federal rights and privileges to provide for their
defence and their safety ! So much for one of
the supposed cases, and the Oder of reality it
bears along with it; and now for the other.
As to the fugitive slave question, the existing
realities of the present day are immeasurably
worse than the hypothesis 1 raised, touching the
action of Congress in the past century. The
fundamental condition ofthe Constitution for the
restitution of fugitive slaves has been broken
ten thousand times: The act of Congress of
17‘J3 has long ago been renderad a dead letter
und a mockery by the hostile legislatson of the
free States, and the active and turbulent inter
ference and opposition of their citizens : The
slave States have again and again been furtively
invaded by the free hooters, and their citizens,
reaching to imntencc amonnts j have been fel
oniously plundered of their properties: Claim
ants, with the Constitution for their passports,
have every where been assailed, insulted, and
failed of their reclamation : Arrests have been
prevented—the captured have been rescued—
and mobs, and even murders have followed and
frustraled the attempts of owners, to recover the
property which the Constitution had assured to
them ! I aegretlo add that the native State of
your Excellency has been shamelessly conspicu
ous, in Iter deliberate and repeated breaches of
this fundamental clause of the Constitution.
Not many years ago,a rather remarkable person,
who was then Govejnor of your State, forgot
liis oatli and shamed his duly, (doubtless under
sonto “higher law,”) by refusing to deliver up
to the Governor of Virginia a fugitive from justice
(under an enjoining clause of the Constitution,)
who had tied from that State, after committing
a felony in a theft of slaves, llis delivery up
was demanded for n felonious breach of the laws
of l irginia; his delivery was refused on the
ground that he had committed no breach of the
taws oj Mew York! For this and kindred ex
ploits, in stimulating the citizens of New York
to the plunder of slaves, and of bringing the
two great sections into open and dangerous col
lisions ; that great State made him lu r senator;
and then in yonr hearing, sir, and addressing
your Excellency, he shamed the whole country,
in declaring that the law of (lo'l had repealed
the clause in the Constitution providing for the
restitution of fugitive slaves; and in the face
of the solemn oath lie had taken to support the
constitution in all its clauses, openly boasts of
the unaccomplished atrocities lie meditates,
through the perjuries he has resolved on ! Rut
New York has other citizens who have shown
their reverence for the Constitution through
riper perjuries than these ; for I have it from the
very highest authority, that the sirgle town of
Rochester contains this moment,no less than 300
fugitive slaves! And but a few mouths ago,
“The N. York Vigilance Anti-Slavery Society”
presided over by the opulent Gerret Smith, pub
licly proclaimed and published in the city of N.
York,that they had commited felonies within the
current year against the slave property of the
South, amounting to $75,500, and, Oh, shame
upon her public authorities: not a public func
tionary stirred to bring these self-convicted fel
ons to justice and there were "none to make them
afraid!" Your Excellency can readily suppose
tliat depredations to this amount by a single
committee and in a single year, would amount
to vast sums of money in a course of years,
could the depredations of all other committees
he brought into account. I have myself striven
to find some clue to the South’s losses in fugitive
slaves, and published a pamphlet some weeks
since, founded upon authentic data and based
upon the most moderate estimates, and found
them recaching nevertheless, to the astounding
aggregate of upwards of $22,000,000 in the
course of some thirty or forty jears, and for
every dollar of which the Constitution points to
to the free States for retribution, and for which
they are most justly and legally liable ! And
thinks yonr Excellency, that the wrong has
been redressed and the amount refunded ? Not
to to a shilling’s value ! Thinks your Excellen
cy that the evil has been arrested and that the
free States desist ? Then arnynt thee of the
error, and take cognizance of the facts, for no>
thing seems clearer hut that these depredations
are extensively and rapidly on the the increase.
1 had averaged the South’s average annual los
ses in fugitive slaves, for tile last ten years, at
1550, hut I have since received reliable informs,
tion that an estimate of 2000 for the year last
past, would be that much nearer, though consid
erably short of the mark ! Well, sir, 2000 slaves
rated at only SSOO apiece, gives us an aggregate
of $1,000,000! —One million wholly lost to the
South in a single year,without the consideration
of one doit of value!—Ravished spoils of felo
nious plunder, and Abolitionists the felons, and
their States their accessories! It is the law
as well as the adage, which proclaims, that
“The Receiver is as had as the Thief!”
What is to be done, Mr. President, to redress
these foul wrongs ; and to arresst them ? Is there
a prospect or a hope, that the South’s hour of
retribution may yet come? Alas, sir! your
Excellency well knwos what the South has re
alized for these 30 years ; that with our noble
Constitution on her side, there has been no
help for her in Congress—none in the past; and
God help us, sir, there is none now ! Nothing
is to be done for her, unless she is content to be
made a jest of, and taking nothing for the past,
submits her property-rights in slaves, to the
mockeries and and mercies of her Frec-soil ju
ries, whose idiot faitli it is, that there be no
property in man maugre the speaking chroni
cles of forty centuries of human servitude to
the contrary! In all this then, and after thirty
years of endurance and forbearance, and with
out a change hut for the worst, the question re
turns upon us. What is to he done ? Must the
South submit!—Ought she to submit ?—Cali she
submit, wihout being branded with a dastard
ism, that would dishonor and defame the race
she spiung from ? Every na.ive son who loves
her would exclaim,“M ay she perish sooner !”
If, with a Constitution vouchsafing her all she
has claims to and all asks for, she can yet have
no justice, and no help in the Union, from the
tyrannous majorities who administer the Consti-
tution, all prophecy is a cheat, and all history
an imposture, if she does not seek that justice
and that help out of the Union ! Look to it, sir!
Unless these oppressions are put an end to —
unless the Executive veto is brought down upon
that unconstitutional California bill, should it
tiind its way unaltered to the White House, —
you must be blind to the protcnts which now
darken the Southern heavens if you hope to
reach the ides of January and escape the ca
lamities of a ruptured Federation ! Fonder on
■ • sir! The Executive right arm guided by
wisdom may a7C. r ! ‘hecatasthrophc.by arresting
this measure and bring ail oCPttvns Pi ‘ ou,1 ‘
try to a pause ! Once employ that right arm in
unsheathing the sword of State, and in the roar
of that first volley of Federal musketry aimed
at the citizens of a sovereign State, we shall
hear the parting knell of the Union and all will
be lost! The whole country will realize that
the power to save or destroy the Union is de
volved on you, and may God of his goodness
vouchsafe to you,the wisdom and the patriotism
that shall save it!
RANDOLPH OF ROANOKE.
P. S. In my next I propose to demonstrate
that the Constitution is a compact —that the sole
parties to it are the States —and hence, that the
Union is federative —and secession its muniment.
From the Cherokee Advocate.
To the People or Georgia.
Ft!low-Citizens —After consultation with sev
eral gentlemen from different parts of the State,
during the late Fair of the Southern Central Ag
ricultural Association held at Atlanta, the fol
lowing resolutions were adopted :
"Resolved, That a Committee of five be ap
poninted to prepare and publish an Address to
the citizens of the Slate generally, respectfully
calling their attention to the importance of
Common School education, and of some united
action for the advancement of that cause.
“Resolved, That the interests of this great
cause call for united counsel and co-operation of
the entire State; and that for this end we earnest
ly invite each county to take the subject into
consideration, and to send Delcales to a Con
vention to be hold at such time and place ns the
above committee, after consultation, may desig
nate,for thcpuipose of maturing some practicable
system of common School education, to be pre
sented to the next Legislature."
No subject more deeply concerns us as a State,
than that presented in the above resolutions.—
In ail civilized countries, general education is
considered of vital importance. Ptoperly conduct
ed, it lies at the foundation of all that is valua
ble in the political and social relations of man
kind; and in proportion as it is general, or limit
ed, or thorough, or superficial, so will the State
rank in the scale of real greatness.
The State of Georgia is rapidly advancing in
many respects, to the foremost place among her
sisters ofthe South. Her natural advantages and
resources are unsurpassed; and the enterprise
and industry of her citizens arc beginning to de
vclope these resources and to employ these ad
vantages. Her population is rapidly increasing;
and her capital begins to be largely invested in
works of intcnal improvement and commerce.—
A laudable attention is beginning to be directed
to Agricultural and Artistic improvements, as is
abundantly shown in the increasing numberswho
attend our great Agricultural Fair, and the
interest taken in its exhibitions. In past time,
the appeal in behalfof these various improve
ments has been restricted mainly to the moru
wealthy and educated, but now it is made to
every class of citizens All are now invoked,
especially the farmers and mechanics, to enlist
in this common movement for elevating the
State in all the elements of true greatness.
In is to he feared, however, thst the most
important means of realising these desires
and expectations is too much overlooked. Be-
fore the people can be efficiently enlisted in
these enterprises, they must be enabled to unt
derstand the nature and extent of the desired tm.
provements,the means by which they are to be
accomplished, and the interest which every citi
zen basin the results. In no other way can a
general and steady co-coperation be secured.
Now this is the business of education, intel
lectual and moral, extending to every class of
our white population.
Georgia has recognized this truth from the
earliest days of her existence as a State. Her
first Constitution adopted in 1777, provides that
“Schools shall be erected in each county, and
supported at the general expense of the State.”
The endowment of the University, and of Coun
ty Academies, and appropriations for common
and poor Schools, have followed at different pe
riods in obedience to this provision of our first
Constitution. And in addition to these provi
sions by the State, private munificence has fur
nislied the means of establishing many valuable
institutions of learning for both males and fe
males.
Rut while these various institutions furnish a
highly creditable provision for academic learn
ing in our State, all the attempts of our Legisla
ture to establish Common Schools have been
singularly unsuccessful. Various schemes have
been adopted, and then abandoned as failures.
So that after all that has been expended, there is
a lamentable deficiency ofgood Common Schools
in the State. The means of a good common
education are not furnished to the mass of our
population. And yet such an education is the
right ofevery citizen under our Constitution. —
The blessings derived by all from our higher
seminaries arc indeed great, and we desire to
see them cherished and sustained ; hut yet vast
ly more is due to the great body of the people
who cannot avail themselves of these higher ad
vantages.
What then is to be done ? Shall we allow
this sad deficiency to continue ? Shall this
greatest hindrance to the elevation of our State
still exist ? The failure of our common school
systems heretofore is mainly attributable to three
causes :
1. They have not been adapted in their de.
tails to the actual condition and wants of our
population.
2. There has been no adequate supply of well
qualified common School Teachers.
3. There has been too little interest felt gene
rally in the subject itself.
To remove these obstacles, and to put in ope
ration some practicable and efficient plan cfgene
ral education, is confessedly a work of great dis.
ficulty. This difficulty is felt especially in those
portions of the State where the white popula
tion is very sparse. Rut yet something must be
dons, and tve think the undertaking a practica
ble one, if entered upon with an earnest zeal.
During the Sessions of our Legislature there
are so many exciting questions, and conflicting
interests, that little time is left for the considera
tion of this subject, about which so few feel any
real concern. In addition to this, few of our
Legislators have either the materials, or the
thorough acquaintance with the subject itself,
from which to digest any comprehensive plan of
general education. Committees have several
times been appointed during the recess of the
Legislature, but they have either failed to report
or been unable to suggest any practicable scheme.
Perhaps therefore no suggestion promises bet.
ter results than the second resolution under
which we now write. If Delegates be sent from
the several Counties, chosen ivith reference, to this
single matter, we may hope for some good result
from their united wisdom and zeal. We feel
assured that the Legislature would not be back
ward to adopt the well digested recommenda
tions of such a body ; and in any event, the
meoting and deliberations of such a Convention
would tend to inspire new interest into the pub
lic mind on this important subject.
We therefore earnestly invite each County to
lake up the subject, and to send Tiro Delegates
to a Convention to be held in the City of Macon,
on the Second WEDNESDAY in DECEMBER
Next, for the purpose of taking into consideration
the whole question of common school education.
Delegates should go prepared with all the
necossary statistical information as to the area,
number of children, number of schools, &c.—
The first Tuesday in November would probably
he a suitable day for the appointment of Dele
gates. Let all the friends of common education
whether many or few, determine to act promptly
in this business, that every portion of the State
may take part in deliberations for the
common welfare. Nothing »s niC. r ? "'onfiy of
our prompt and earnest attention.
Fellow Citizens : This is emphatically the
cause of the People—that which tends to elevate
and bless every one of our population. It deeply
concerns our advancement in all the elements of
true greatness, physical, political, social,
intellectual and moral. And we are sure we
utter the feeling of every true Georgian, when
we say, that in all these characteristics of great
ness we desire our State to stand unrivalled, not
by the depression of others, but by raising her
self to that commanding position.
THOMAS F. SCOTT,)
ALONZO CHURCH, |
S. FOUCHE, [Committee
15. SNIDER, f
JAMES A. NISBET.J
Ukstoring and Preserving the Sight—
The Scientific American says : —A friend who
had read the following valuable item of informa
tion but who had forgotten which way “to rub
his eyes,” for loss of sight by age, requested us
yesterday to republish the process. It is as fol
lows :
For near sightedness, close the eye and press
the fingers from the nose outward, across the
eyes. This flattens the pupil, and thus length,
ens or extends the angle of vision. This should
he done several times a day, till short siglilcd
ness is overcome.
For loss of sight by age, such as require mag
nifying glasses, pass the fingers and towel from
the outer corner of the eyes inwardly, above and
below the eye balls, pressing gently against
them. This rounds them up, aud preserves or
restores the sight.
It lias been already said that this is nothing
new. The venerable John Quincy Adams pre
served hissighlin this way, in full vigor to the
day of his death. He told Lawyer Ford, of
Lancaster, who wore glasses, that if he would
manipulate his eyes with his fingers, from their
external angles inwardly, lie would soon be able
to dispense with glasses. Ford tried it, and
soon restored his sight perfectly, and has since
preserved it by the continuance of this practice.
[The above is from the Pennsylvanian ; we
cannot endorse it, as wc have no positive experi
mental facts in our possession respecting such
manipulations, for the preservation of the sight.
We have been informed that this is the process
pursued with such succeess by Prof, lirotison for
restoring the eye sight. Its correctness can ea
sily he tested by those who have weak eye
sight]
Hj°One thousand cases of Lancaster Ginghams
of last dye and fine fabrics sold in New York last
week and an average of ilj cents was realized
At the same lime 121 cases Scotch Ginghams
were sold at from to 12. J cents.
MACON , G A-
SATURDAY AFTERNOON, AUGUST 31.
(EpTlie storm having delayed the receipt of
our printing paper from Charleston, we are con'
sequently a little behind the usual time of our
publication —but whilst the fault is notours, be
ing purely Providential, it will make no material
difference to our patrons,as the paper will appear
again on Saturday next.
p"We are indebted to the Hon. A. H. Ste
phens, for a copy of his speech on the Presi
dent’s Message in relation to Texas and New
Mexico.
Also to the lion. J. W Jackson and J. L. Orr
for sundry valuable documents.
The Storm. —We regret to learn that the
storm which visited this city on Saturday last,
extended from the sea coast far into the interior
ofSouth Carolina and this State. It swept a
cross the State of Florida, and penetrated
into Alabama, beyond Montgomery—doing im
mense damage to the growing crops, &c.
ffT* We call the attention of our readers to the
address on the subject of Education, which ap
pears in another column. It treats on a subject
of vital interest to us as a community ; and up
wards of a year ago we endeavored to direct the
attention of the public to the importance of
devising and adopting a more practical and
general system of education for the masses. It is
truo delegates were appointed to attend a Con
vention here in July last, from a few places in
the State—and so it ended. We hope this ef
fort may prove more successful. We gave a
few weeks since the proceedings of a Conven
tion on this subject held at Columbia, S. C., at
which a Committee was appointed to report at
the next meeting at that place on the 3d of De
cember next. We hope due attention will be
given to this subject.
De Bow’s Commercial Review. —The Au
gust number of this interesting and valuable
work has been received. The following are its
contents: Government of British India ; Com
merce of the Red Sea and the East ; National
Vanity ; Monette’s “Early Spirit of the West,”
Reviewed ; The Baron Humboldt's “Cosmos;”
Supposititious Reviews ; The Late Cuba Expe
dition ; Protection of the Low Lands ofthe Mis
sissippi ; Slavery—Mr. Calhoun’s Letter to Mr.
King ; Progress of the Western and Southern
States ; Department of Agriculture ; Depart
ment of Manufactures ; Department of Internal
Improvements ; Miscellaneous ; Editorial De
partment. We cheerfully recommend this work
as one eminently entitled to public patronage.
Published monthly at New Orleans, by J. D. B.
De Bow, at $5 per annum, in advance.
Graham's Magazine. —The September num
ber of this neat Magazine has been received. Its
contents arc varied and interesting. Published
monthly in Philadelphia, by G. R. Graham, at
$3 per annum, in advance.
Godey’s Lady’s Book. —We have received
the September number of this popular work,
which fully sustains its former good name. Pub
lishcd at Philadelphia, monthly,by L. A. Godey,
at $3 per annum, in advance.
Arthur’s Home Gazette. —This is the title
ofa very neat paper, the first and second num
bers of which have been received. Published
weekly at Philadelphia, by T. S. Arthur, Esq
at $2 per annum, in advance.
Model American Courier. —This paper is
filled with a variety of interesting matter,and is
published weekly at Philadelphia, by A. Mc
ifat si2. in advance.
1U4&1. | - » I
Scott's Paper.— This will compare fa
vorably with any of the numerous Philadelphia
papers, where it is published weekly, by Mr. A.
Scott, at $2 per annum, in advance.
Holden’s Magazine. —The September num
ber of this cheap monthly, has been received,
which fully equals any of its predecessors. Pub
lished at New York, by Fowler &. Deitz, ats!
per annum, fn advance.
Inquests. —A white man named Wm. Clare
was found dead on the 23d inst., a few miles
from this city,near the South Western Railroad.
He was addicted to intemperance.
A negro man named Isa ac, belonging to Rev.
W. R. Branham, was drowned yesterday, in
attempting to awim across the river opposite the
city.
Inquests were held over the bodies and Ver
dicts rendered in accordance with the above
facts.
Look Out—The Dalton Times of the 29th
inst. says : “On Saturday morning last, a negro
boy belonging to Dr. Franklin, of Macon, came
to the residence of Mr. John G a v in, of this place
and says that he was persuaded oft by a man
calling himself Thomas Calhoun, under pre
tence of carrying him to a free State. By some
means the negro found out that this was not his
intention and upon arriving at this place left
the cars.— Calhoun passed up the Road.’’
More “Mobocricv ?’’ —“The Constitutional
rights and liberty of speech’’ of certain free soil
gentry have recently been “ grossly violated *”
in Alabama, if it were left to some folks to tell
jt. Public meetings were recently held at Au
burn and Wetumpka, Ala., at the latter of which
the Mayor presided, and committees were ap
pointed to wait upon several individuals who
bad “proclaimed sentiments at war with the
peculiar institutions of the South,” “and notify
them that an outraged community required their
speedy departure from the State”—and '■forty
eight hours were magnanimously allowed the
offenders, and a brother-in-law ofone of them to
leave, which if not complied with, action would
be had” in the premises. We notice the name
of Col. S P. Storrs, formerly of this State, as one
of the committee. These gentry named Luke
I) Prince, John Berry, A. II Moten, A. Bar
tholomew, ami Davis, left immediately for their
homoß in Springfield, Mass.
TJ - Professor Webster was executed yester
day at Boston. lie made no further confession.
Fugitive Slave Bill.— This bill was order
ed to be engrossed for a third reading in the IT
S. Senate on the 23d inst. by the following vote-
Yeas—Messrs. Atchison, Badger, Bell, Ben
ton, Berrien, Cass, Clemens, Dawson, Dodge 0 f
lowa, Dodge of Wisconsin, Downs, Foote
Houston, King, Mangum, Rusk, Sebastian!
Shields, Smith, Soule, Spruance,Sturgeon,Tur
ney, Underwood, Wales, Walker and Yulee—
-27.
Nays—Messrs. Baldwin, Bradbury, Bri«kt
Chase, Clarke, Davis of Massachusetts, Dalis’
of Mississippi, Dickinson, Greene, Hamlin, Ma’
son, Pearce, Winthrop and Whitcomb— 14.
The Southern Press says the object of this bill
is to seduce the border States ofVirginia, Mary
land and Kentucky, from the common cause o f
the South. We have no faith in its efficiency.
Runaways— Three fugitive slaves from the
State of Virginia, were pursued and ar
rested on Saturday last at Harrisburg, Penn., on
a charge of horse stealing and carried before
Judge Pearson, whodeesded that the stealing of
a horse by a slave for the purpose of escaping,
was not a criminal offence, under the lau> of re
claiming fugitives ; and consequently he dis
charged them. The owners arrested two es them
the other escaping.when the Court issued a war
rant and had the masters and two negroes put j n
jail, on a charge of “ assault and battery, and
trying to incite a riot Gen. Sailer called
out the military to restore order. This is the
way the “rights” of Southern slaveholders are
respected even in the capital of Pennsylvania.
(CpFourteen of the twenty five Negroes who
recently runaway from the Central Plank Road
Company in Alabama, have been captured.—
They were on their way to the free States, and
were aided bv white men.
Muscogee Railroad.— The Columbus Times
of the 27th inst. says : “The Board of Directors
at a meeting last week, passed an order for the
purchase of locomotives for this Road. The
contractors are making good progress in grading
and getting timbers for the superstructure. It is
expected that by the month of April, thirty miles
of the road out of Columbus, will bo ready for
the cars. The sections beyond the Flint river
are now in process of location, and a large force
will be put on them in November. We can
thus see the end of this enterprise, and count
safely upon a steam carriage from Columbus to
Macon, in a little over twelve months.’’
Latest from Texas and NewMexico.—The
Legislature of Texas met on the 12th inst. and
on the I3th, the Governor delivered his message
stating his reasons for calling an extra-session,
to devise means to maintain the rights of Texas,
and declared that the only course left to that
State consistent with honor and a just sense of
what is due to her, is the immediate adoption,
by the Legislature, of “such measures as are ne
cessary for the occupation of Santa Fo, with a
force ample to quell the arrogant and rebellious
spirit now prevailing there,” and “to extend and
firmly establish the jurisdiction and laws ofthe
Stale over it.” He then recommends tlie legis
lature to “authorize the Executive to raise, with
as little delay as possible, with power to supply
at least two Regiments of mounted volunteers
for the contemplated move to, and occupancy of
Santa Fe.” lie says that he will discuss the
title of Texas to the disputed Territory no farther
hut recommends the sending of a sufficient force
to execute the laws ofthe State there, “ without
reference to any anticipated action of the Fede
ral Government or regard to the military power
ofthe United States stationed at Santa Fe.” The
President’s message and the passage of Mr.
Pearce's bill had not readied the Governor at
the time and when received, would tend, it was
thought, greatly to arouse a spirit of indignation
throughout the State against that measure of ad
justment.
The Legislature of New Mexico had also con
vened, which was divided nearly equal, one half
being in favor of a State and the other a Territo
al Government. The elections under the State
Constitution of New Mexico, took place on the
20th of June, and resulted in the choice of Dr.
Henry Connelly for Governor, and Emanuel
Alvarcst, for Lieut. Governor, and Wm.S.Mes
seroy,a Representative to Congress. Major R.
H. Whiteman and Major F. A. Cunningham,
both late Paymasters in the United States Army
were elected United States Senators. Major
Whiteman had left for Washington. The In
dians were committing depredations throughout
New Mexico, and an express had been sent for
two thousand stand of arms. The crops in
New Mexico were very fine and promising.
Qj’We learn from the Christian Index that
Mr. Jkssf. Stevens was killed by the falling of
a limb during the storm on Saturday last, whilst
riding in a buggy a few miles from Pcnfield. H*
had just exchanged his scat with a gentleman
who escaped unhurt.
Nashville and Chattanooga Rail Roac
We observe that 300 Irish laborers have arrived
at Chattanooga, to break ground on the Nash
ville and Chattanooga Rail Rond. They wiii
commence on the precipitous rock, forming *l‘ 6
base of Lookout Mountain toward the river.—
An immence deal of rock, excavation and em
bankment must bo done at that point, which be
gins at some three miles from town. The lcr
ruination of the Mountain on the river is a per
pendicular wall of rock, about6oo feet' high"
Along the base of this, an immense Wall >® 10
be built, much of which will have its foundation
in the bed of the River, and be carried to »
a height so as to be above all freshets and dan
gers from high water.
We regret to learn that on the trip up on 11®
State Railroad, when within a few miles of Ca
lioun, a point of tho iron rail on the track P* n
trated tho car and killed a woman-« n( *
men were also injured by the accident,
have since died.
New Coin. —The new throe cent P' cce, ’^ c
ccntly issued from the Philadelphia Minh 1
on one side, the words “United States of
ica,” in which is a circular wreath
numeral “III.” On tho reverse side is ‘ h *
erty cap, inscribed with the word“U*bi rty, ,
surrounded with the rnys. U ndeiiic at 1 1
are the figures “1850."
