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THE AMERICA! WHIG.
Griffin, May 25, 1948.
FOR PRESIDENT,
GENERAL ZACHARY TAYLOR,
Of Louisiana.
Elector* for the Mate at Larire:
Dr. WILLIAM TERRELL.
SEATON GRANTLAND.
District*:
let Diet. JAS. L. SEWARD, of Thomas.
2d “ WILLIAM H. CRAWFORD,of Sumpter.
Sd “ ANDERSON W. REDDING, of Harris.
4th “ WILLIAM MOSELY, of Henry.
sth “ COL. WARREN AKIN, of Cass.
6th “ ASBURY HULL, of Clark.
7th Y. P. KING, of Greene.
Bth “ GEORGE STAPLETON, of Jefferson.
■in _ j - -.■■■■■ ,
O’The citizens of Griffin and > icinity are re
quested to meet at the Male Academy, on Monday
evening at 5 o’clock, for the purpose of making ar
rangements to celebrate the approaching anniversa
ry of American Independence.
The Funeral
Os Mrs. SUSAN J. MILNER, deceased, will be
preached by the Rev. Wm. A. Florence, in the
Methodist Church in Zebulon, on the first Sabbath
in June next. The friends aud relatives of the de
ceased are respectfully invited to attend.
Southern Literary Gazette.
We call the attention of southern people to the
Prospectus of the above publication in another col
umn. The time has arrived, when we should cease
to depend entirely on other sections of the country
for all our literature. We have sufficient material
in the south to vie with any part of the world in Lit
erature, Science, arid the Mechanical Arts, if suffi
cient attention were paid to their culture. But they,
like the productions of the earth, require cultivation
to fully develope them. The editor of the above
work proposes to embark in the laudable undertaking
of cultivating the hitherto dormant faculties of the
southern mind, and we trust that his efforts will not
be in vain; but that a generous public will fully
appreciate the importance of the enterprise and ex
tend to it the requisite assistance.
Third District Convention.
The Columbus Enquirer, by request of an intelli
gent friend, suggests the Third Monday in June as
a convenient tnno, and Thomaston as a proper place
for the meeting of the delegates of the Whig party
of the Third Congressional District, to nominate a
candidate for Congress. By a resolution of the last
nominating Convention, two years ago, Griffin was
set apart as the place for holding the next Convention;
but how far the delegates now to be appointed ought
to regard that resolution, we will not pretend to deter
mine. The time mentioned we think very appro
priate; but we would preler, that the resolution of
the last Convention, as to the place, be carried out.—
We will, however, hear from others, and hope thev
will not be backward in speaking out.
ANNEXATION.
Jamaiea-Cuba-Yucatan.
We copy to-day an article from the New Orleans
Delta with the above caption, that our readers may
be informed of what is being agitated with respect
to our future policy as a nation ; and we humbly trust
that every one will read it and weigh the matters
well there hinted at. We have for sometime, in fact
ever since the annexation of Texas, viewed thepoli*
cy of our government as tending to that, which if
persisted in, must, in our humble opinion, lead to a
destruction of all our institutions, that is we mean to
i n annihi fa*'p™ -
lo be neutral in politics, butanv
one can see from reading it that it is decidedly dem
ocratic, and fully sustains all the acts of the present
administration, and this bold avowal in favor of the
annexation of Jamaica, Cuba and Yucatan, is but
the shadowing forth of the purposes of the President
and the leaders of his party.
The more we reflect upon it, the more we become
convinced that the annexation of Texas was laying
down a bad precedent; though should the example
stop there we may recover from the consequences of
that act. But if we let that acquisition of territory
create in us new desires for further acquisitions as it
6eems to have affected the present administration,
and the leaders of the dominant party generally, we
may in a short time rue the day that annexation was
ever thought of.
A government whoso chief object and aim is the
prying into the affairs of other nations, may be aptly
compared to those persons who may be found in al
most every neighborhood, sometimes called “ busy
bodies that spend all their time in meddling with
the affairs of their neighbors and can generally give
any information that may he wanted respecting the
private matters of every family within the circle of
their acquaintance; anu universal experience teach
es us that these people know less and care less
about the comfort and happiness of their own fami
lies than any human beings that exist. Their minds
are so much absorbed with the affairs of others that
they have no time to think of their own. Just so
with politicians who are stretching out their arms to
embrace and foster the people of foreign countries
whether by annexation or otherwise. When the
power and resources of oilr government are spent
upon objects of this kind nothing can be done to im _
prove the condition and prosperity of our own peo
ple. Their wants and necessities are lost sight of
entirely when the minds ot our legislators are ab
sorbed in planning and carrying out schemes to ac
complish such ohjects, which has been fully verified
in the acts of the present administration. And should
the present policy be pursued indefinite extent,
the currency and commerce of our country wU| be
come more and more deranged which is now very
perceptably felt by many of us, the people will be
come oppressed and dissatisfied, distrust of one an
other will ensue, bickerings and strife will arise, and,
without a remedy, confidence in our government will
be lost, and whenever that is gone our fate as a na
tion is easily told.
The best course we can pursue with respect to
government matters in order to secure to us and our
posterity the freedom we now enjoy and perpetuate
our national existence, is to legislate to render our
people prosperous and happy at home, and increase
rather than decrease their devotion to our govern
ment and laws.
rn Ii •. ...
The Delta closes its article with an exultation in
anticipation of the time when the United States shall
be possessed of Jamaica, Cuba and Yucatan, and be
like unto Rome, the mistress of the world. The pol
iticians of Rome it is true, aspired to conquer the
world, and set out with the determination to pro
claim Rome “ mistress of the world,” and in their
efforts to effect that object they necessarily so far
neglected the social and moral condition of their
people at home that they had just barely time to sing
out the proclamation when Rome ceased to be mis
tress of herself and was torn into fragments, leaving
little else than history to show that such a govern
ment ever existed. And such we doubt not will be
our fate whenever we attempt to follow the example
of that government.
FOR THE AMERICAN WHIG.
The Works of Nature.
Messrs. Editors : —There is no reflection that gives
more elevated ideas and at the same time has such
a tendency to convince us oi a Supreme being, as
that of contemplating the works of Nature. It has
been the theme of even uncivilised nations from time
immemorial, and the further we investigate and ex
plore this wide field, the more mysterious and in
comprehensible do we find it. We learn from his
tory, that in Egypt as well as in Greece and Rome,
the inhabitants in the earliest days made considera
ble advancement in Astronomy, from frequently ob
serving the stars and other phenomena of nature •
and being deprived of any written account, it was
only by repeated observations that they made any
proficiency in their a:rial efforts, and it was not until
civilization had made considerable advancement,
that a perfect system was reduced. In those days
when agriculture was very imperfect, the inhabi
tants found foretelling the weather of great impor
tance ;to accomplish which the Shepherd while
watching his flocks and herds as well as those en
gaged in other rural pursuits, would make frequent
observations. The rainbow which is now so famil
iarly explained, was in those days a phenomenon so
mysterious as to excite the wonder and admiration
of all; and the comet with its long train, was sup
posed to be the harbinger of some awful event but
the machinery of nature was only performing her
part. The tides and phases of the inoon were also
equally inexplicable to say nothing of the lofty
mountains, the mighty waterfall and the fathomless
ocean. Who can look upon the falls of the Niaga
ra, the Himmaleh and the Andes, without astonish
ment and emotion. They are truly sublime. The
animal and mineral kingdoms as well as the geo
logical formation of the earth, are equally incom
prehensible and well it was said by a certain writer,
How mighty, how mysterious, how majestic are
nature’s works ?” What is more beautiful than the
landscape, whose limpid streams are decked with
shrubbery and beautiful flowers of the forest and
wild fruits for the support of every animal ? in ma
ny places growing spontaneously without the labor
of man, and in the bosom ol the earth are metals for
every want. The work of,nature is plainlyjset forth in
Physiology, Geology, Chemistry, Astronomy, Bota
ny and Electricity besides numerous others. By
Chemistry, we become acquainted with certain laws
which take place in substances, and although they
have passed unknown for thousands of years, have
been in operation ever since the creation—but have
escaped the notice of man. Os Electricity there
was very little known, and I might say none, until the
days of Franklin, and yet the same laws have al- !
ways existed, and by the ingenious mind of Morse,
has been converted to an important purpose. Upon
these reflections we can but admire and adore Him
who planned, formed and still directs, and these are
sufficient proofs to show the poor feebleness of man.
A Reader of the Am. Whig.
From the N. O. Della.
Annexation.
JAMAICA CUBA YUCATAN.
The Revolutions in Europe have communi
cated new vigor to the cause of annexation in
this quarter ot the globe. The continental
powers of the old world, compelled to keep all
their attention fixed and all their resources con.
centrated in resisting the alarming encroach
ments of the popular will at home, arc necessa
rily compelled to leave their distant colonies to
take care of themselves. The latter, suffering
under the neglect, and the still more hurtful ex
periments and oppressive legislation of the mo
the* country, and fearing worse changes, are
casting about for relief, for an asylum, for safe
ty. Those rich European colonies, the Islands
in our neighborhood, naturally look to this great
Republic as their most available ally, friend
and protector, in case they are cut loose from
the old nations, to fill whoso coffers to repletion
they have been so long oppressed and trodden
upon.
Jamaica, the great English West Indian pos
session, where so many Englishmen have ac
cumulated fortunes to spend at home, has been
utterly ruined and prostrated by the Emancipa
tion Act. The white population is rapidly dis
appearing from the beautiful and productive is
land, and the blacks are sinking deeper and
deeper in sloth and worthlessness every year
of their emancipation. Farms are being sold,
broken up, and abandoned, and where broad
and teaming fields of rich cane once delighted
the vision, there are now only rank weeds and
wild vines. To complete the misfortune of the
planters of Jamaica, the reduction of the sugar
duties has compelled them to compete with
slave-grown sugar. Despairing of all relief
from England, the whites of Jamaica have
awoke to the immense advantages which would
accrue to them from annexation to this Union,
as they are seriously agitating the subject. We
alluded a few days ago to the opinions openly
avowed in that island by the “despatch” news
papers ; and, in further proof of the existence of
this feeling, we refer to a communication in our
paper of to-day, signed “Alpha,” written by a
gentleman just from Jamaica, who has resided
there twelve years.
Next in the class of petitioners for annexation
comes the brightest jewel in the crown of Spain,
the sentinel ofthe Gulf of Mexico, the Island of
Cuba. Wedded, as the people of this Isle have
beeri, to the old Government, whose mild and
paternal dominion, in the early history of the
colony, contributed so largely to that prosperity
which has since ripened to such a degree of
luxuriance, that even the exorbitant exactions
ot the now tottei ing throne of Old Spain, cannot
check its growlh, the chieC weight of spraining
the expensive and corrupt dynasty which suc
ceeded to the throne of Frederick andlsabeiku,
has fallen upon Cuba, whose enormous contri-
butions to the treasury of the Mother Country
have preserved its Government, on more than
one occasion, from utter bankruptcy and down
fall. But, strong as are the old affections and
ties of Cuba for the Mother Country, her peo
ple are not blind to the present uncertain aspect
ot offairs. When the old household is about to
be broken up—when its foundation shakes, and
its turrets topple—when the earth around is
cracked into gaping chasms, and many a proud
edifice is seen to sink into the fathomless abyss
~jt tS .tjnjff , for each member of the family to
take care of himself, to look out for a shelter
and refuge. The Cubancros are not, more than
the rest of humanity, devoid of selfishness—of
the instinct of self-preservation. They see
clearly that Spain must go by the board, like
the rest of the Monarchies, and then they ap
prehend a fate much more to be dreaded, or
rather, far less desirable, than that of annexa
tion to their nearest neighbor, and largest cus
tomer, the United States. The threat made by
Lord G. Bentinck, in the House of Commons,
to appropriate Cuba in satisfaction of the Eng
lish creditors of Spain, has justly alarmed the
Cubancros . The fate of Jamaica has impress
ed them with an awful dread of English govern
ment. They have, consequently, deliberated
upon the advantages of annexation to the Unit
ed States ; and the agents of a powerful party
organized for that purpose are now in this couu-
try, with a view of bringing forward and can
vassing the projet. So warm is their solicita
tion on the subject, that they are prAml, we
understand, to advocate the tender c mLbonus to j
the United States, to induce us t uce them j
under our protection. As much, Knot more j
than we give for otfr Mexican possessions, al- 1
ready captured by our arms, the Cutaneros are
willing to give as a marriage dowry to Brother
Jonathan to induce him to wed the beautiful
Queen of the Gulf.
What portion of our family will t e willing
to accept the tempting offer 1 that
all sections of our Union are influentiwby self
interest —by local considerations—we think that
the North at least must perceive that its re
sources would be vastly augmented-its strength
increased—by the addition of Cuba to this Con
federacy. The North would have the carrying
trade—the supply of Cuba with manufactures,
lumber, and the agricultural products not raised
in that island ; and they would getyfe-return,
cheaper sugar, coffee, cocoa, and flints. The
South would receive little if any adrantacefrom
the measure, whilst the interest ofyu-4aluable
agricultural product of this region might be se
riously affected by it. The great West would
profit largely by the annexation of an Island
where its chief products will always find area- i
dy market. But the wealth of the whole U nion
—and consequently, all its parts—would, no
doubt, be greatly promoted by adding to our ter
ritory this rich and productive Island.
Possessed of Cuba, we have but one more ac
quisition to make to give us command of the
Gulf of Mexico, the Mediterranean dftlns Con
tinent. Yucatan must be ours -tlNfciJuable
country, abounding in rich vegeUdde fcJealth,
and capable of sustaining a very cWtjjpfrable
commerce. We might fairly take possession of
this peninsula as a waif, treasure-trove, having
no responsible owner or proprietor. The nak
ed Indians who are now rapidly annihilating
the whites, if they succeed in gaining complete
possession of it, will soon sink this raluablc
| State into barbarity and sterility; Ccntent to
roam in the forest ?nd pursue a predatory life,
these Ind ans, who are a cross breed ofxn infe
rior race of aborigines and of negroes, posses
sing none ol the intelligent and arniablf quali
ties of the descendants of the Aztec are
utterly unfit for any civilized political
organization. President Polk and our Gwress
are determined to interfere to provtff; the
slaughter ofthe white population. SucVnter
ference will prove the inevitable precursitfof an
nexation. When the aid afforded by us tc the
whites to enable them to make a temporary
stand against the Indians is withdrawn it is not
j probable that the latter will be the less ferocious
and determined, or the tormer better prepared
to meet the resumption of hostilities whi&jnust
follow such withdrawal. The annexation of
1 ucatan to this Republic is affected the moment
an American soldier is landed in that State
witli a view to an interference in the struggle
now going on between tho whites and°the
blacks.
With Jamaica, Cuba and Yucatan, the J/nited
States will occupy a position like unto that of
old Rome when, with the Pillars of Hercules on
the West, Syria and Egypt on the East, Italy
and Germania on the North, and Lybia and
Carthage on the South—and thus commanding
the great Marc Internum , she proudly claimed
to be, and was universally recognized as, the
Mistress of the World ! f
Mr. Polk and life Pillow.
The partizans of Mr. Polk have vainly en
deavored to slur over the just charges against
him, for the shameful partiality hkhas evinced
towarand his
to whom, it is stated, he is allied by marriage.
If this report, however, is erroneous, therje can
be no doubt as to the fact of their friendship,
first commencing in the rural shades of Duck
River, and only becoming more intimate as the
unworthiness of the redoutable warrior becomes
more glaringly conspicuous. The appointment
of Gen. Pillow, in the first place, over the heads
of veteran officers, to gratify his own personal
partiality, was in itself an outrage on the part
of Mr. Polk ; but the manner in which it was
done, and the subsequent proceedings, render it
still more outrageous and unwarrantable, Gen.
Pillow was nominated by Mr. Polk during the
recess of Congress, and his nomination has
never yet been sent into Congress for cenfirma
tion 1 f The reason why is obvious. iVjr. Polk
fears that he would have been rejected by that j
body, and therefore takes the responsibility of;
withholding the name of his favorite, that he [•
may enjoy the position and the pay of Major
General. The matter has at last been brought
before the Senate, and Mr. Allen has bad the
hardihood to tell the Senate that “they lave no
more right to ask tho President why he delays
to make a nomination, than the President has to
ask the Senate why they refuse to confiim it” !
Most Democratic doctrine truly! But the
half has not been told. Mr. Trist’s testimony
before the Court Martial shows the cotfidencc
Mr. Polk desired him to repose in his friend—
and that shameful act of forwarding ta Mexico
for his use the very letters , which , on grounds of
public policy , the President has wilhMdfrom
Congress , gives a deeper die to th whole
transaction. Those letters, it will be remem
bered, Mr. Polk refused to communicate because
the publication of them might retard the ratifi
cation of the treaty by the Mexican Congress,
yet these very letters he sends to his friead Pil
low, to be used for his vindication at a public
Court Martial in Mexico, while the Maxican
Congress was in session. How can such acts
be either explained or paliated 1 They carry
their own condemnation with them, and show
the real character of the present Administra
tion utterly unscrupulous as to means-aiid tiramp-
JiPg Ron AliMifefctfon g hifkaato Jcld sacred by
the recipients of public trusts. We have wait
ed in vain, to see the public sentiment on this
subject fully expressed through the medium of
the press, as it has been the theme of universal
wonder and indignation with all right-thinking
men, since the particulars were brought to
light. Such acts, the press should sternly de
nounce, if Congress does not; but the auda
cious effrontery of this Administration seems to
have paralyzed its free utterance, or such a se
ries of outrageous acts as those perpetrated for
s the sake of General Pillow, \yould not so long
have escaped the” stern censure which they
merit. Congress has at last moved in the mat
ter, and Mr. Polk may yet find his Major Gene-
ral a pillow of thorns for his own head—for the
more the affair is sifted, the more unenviable is
the position in which it places Mr. Polk. — Sav.
Rep.
The Nfw Magnetic Telegraph —AVe
gave an account on Saturday of anew magnetic
telegraph, by Mr. Bain, an English gentleman,
which promises to supercede the telegraph of
Professor Morse, and all others now in use, and
for which a patent has been taken in England
and applied for here. We since perceive that
Mr. Amos Kendall publishes in the N, V, Jour
nal of Commerce a letter jn which he claims for
Professor Morse the originality of the invention
of Mr. Bain’s telegraph, and states that the
question of right is yet to be decided.— Balt.
S u f t.
From the Nashville (Ten.) Banner.
The Union—'Tlie Tariff.
An article of ours a few numbers back, on
tho Tariff, seems to have distressed the Union
very much. He thinks we are rejoiced at any
depression in trade, or tightness in money mat
ters. We quote from that paper :
‘•The Banner allows the tariff no credit for
the prosperity of the country, which has been
so marked since it went into operation ; but at
tributes to it the slightest depression in trade or
tightness in money matters. It revives at the
last glimpse of*distress in the community, and
gloats over the smallest indication of revulsion
in trade.”
Now, then, we hold it to be the duty of a
public journalist to keep the business communi
ty aware, from all the sources within his reach,
of the true condition of trade, of financial mat
ters, Ate., Ate. More than a year since, when
we insisted that prices of produce must come
down—that specie must be exported largely to
pay for increased foreign imports, and that re
vulsions in trade must follow, the people will re
collect that the Union here then made the same
charge and scouted at the arguments by which
we sustained these views. It has turned out as
I we sa *d it would. ‘Tight times’ are here, to
the manifest shame and confusion of these bung
ling prophets, and for lack of argument, after
the farmers and business men of the communi
ty have been so miserably deceived by the ad
vocates of this abominable Pollc Tariff, still the
same cry is raised, either to serve political
ends, or from stupid short-sightedness. There
is now, as all know, no chance to escape the
responsibility. And let them raise a howl,
whenever their character as political econo
m:sts is assailed by tho exposure of the plain
results of their policy, we shall continue to give
our farming and mercantile friends due warn
ing of what they have to expect so long as the
policy we have taken occasion to condemn is
persisted in by the party who have forced it up
on the country. The community expect to be
warned of the probable results by the press.—
They know that as public journalists, we have
means within our reach not enjoyed by the
great masses of the community ; and whilst we
would truly rejoice at a more favorable condi
tion ot things, we shall, as in duty bound, keep
them advised of what they must expect so tar
as we have the means of doing it. So much
for the paragraph we have quoted from the
Union.
We give another paragraph from tho same
article ;
“I he prosperity of the country since the pas
sage ot the tariffof 1846, cannot be denied even
by the Banner. Every branch of trade and
commerce, every portion of the community, and
every section of the country, has seen and felt
the beneficial influence. The shipping inter
est has increased as it has never before increas
ed since the organization of our government ;
the merchant has been blessed beyond his lar
gest expectations : the farmer has filled his
pockets with the proceeds of his grain, which
have heretofore rotted in his granaries, and even
the manufacturer has experienced a healthly im
petus, indicated by the rapid increase of his
business in every part of the Union. To these
beneficial results, the tariff ha in nowise con
tributed, according to the Banner ; but it is
nevertheless responsible for the ‘tight times’—
which the astounding convulsions in Europe and
the consequent annihilation of every branch of
trade, of wholly inadequate, according to the sa
pient editor, to account for.”
We had hoped that after the experience of
last summer, by that party, of the utter folly of
attempting to gull the people with the assertion
vnat the Polk Tariff should be credited with the
results justly to bo attributed to famine , wc
should again see them attempt the same
game. The people know that the Polk Tariff”
had no more to do with these results, than it
had in causing the bad weather which destroy
ed the crops on the continent of Europo. We
have quoted the above, merely to show the rea
ders ot the Banner what that party will still do,
when hard pushed, to sustain themselves ; for
there is no necessity in the face of what has oc
curred for an elaborate answer to it, in addition
to what we have advanced dozens of times and
months ago. The famine is over , and the de
mand for grain has ceased ! The Polk Tariff’
will not now lift the corn out of the “granaries” !
as every farmer in Tennessee knows. It j
no more whispers “fifty cents a bushel in each
that rustles the leaves in. the green corn
fields ” —(to quote the Union of last summer) —
and yet the Tariffhas not been J-* disturbed .”
“Astounding convulsions m Europe” cannot be ;
appealed to for the “tight times” with the farm
ers—is the legitimate result of large impor’s
of foreign articles, and the exportation of the
specie to pay for them, as every one knows, ad
ded to the fact that they will not take our grain
in payment as was promised on the part ot the
advocates of the Polk Tariff.
But the Union asks us—“ When, since the
discovery of America has the country exported
more, and that too of its native product, the
growths of the soil than since the passage of
the Tariff of 1846 ?”
We may ask in turn— when has there ever
been such a famine in Europe ? Every one
knows that there never was a period in the his.
torv of the world, when such a fearful visita
tion swept those countries to such an extent.
And whilst the result of this heavy exportation
of food was to bring twenty odd millions of spe
cie into the country, the demand from famine
having ceased, it has been steadily going back
again to the amount, (since it commenced) of
more than half of all imported, in addition to the
grain we have sent them to pay for their manu
factures. We made “no mention of the $23,-
OWbQOO imported,” because we had admitted
the fact ofThese importations of specie, hereto
fore, to the fifiJptßQtent ; and when we mention
ed the “$3,123,27# n we mentioned only the
amount exported since the\first. of the year, not
the large amount which WjMit previous to that
Whilst the Journal of Commerce and other
free trade papers have been congratulating
their readers upon the specie flowing to thaU
City from the interior--whilst the “thousand
streams” are taking their way to Wall Street,
there to be concentrated in one to flow across
the Atlantic, we are told that the difficulties
amongst our business men here are unprece
dented almost at the present time. Here is
what the Chattanooga Gazette says in relation
to the same matter :
“An old and successful merchant of Georgia,
now in our town says, that he ha#not seen the
merchants of the interior of his State so troubled
to raise money in thirty years. So far as our
observation extends, it is about thp same case
with the merchants of this State, and must lead
to pressing the people for present dues, and a
contraction of the credit system. This latter al
ternative, although not altogether agreeable to
many customers, is much best in the end fqr all
concerned,”
Here is another paragraph frprp the Georgia
Journal & Messenger :
Failures in Mobile. —“ The Montgomeiy pa
pers present the condition of the Mobile mer
chants at the present time, as being in an ex
ceedingly critical position. Several failures!
had already occurred among them, the houses
ot Ilansell & Davis, Maulden Ac Terrell, and j
E. L. Andrews As Cos. Mr. Andrews, in a fit ;
of despondency, had unfortunately committed
suicide.”
Here is another array of facts, given by the
Pittsburg Gazette in answer to tho Washington
Union :
“ Free Trade triumphant f The protective
system exploded /” Such is the heading of an
article in the “Union” of Sunday last, announc
ing the fact that, the revenue ot the country will
reach the estimates of the Secretary of the
1 reasury. As free trade is triumphant, we
propose to examine the effect this success has
had upon the prices of our agricultural products,
that go to market via New Orleans. We pro
pose to show that this success is demonstrated
by a decline in this great source of national
wealth, and stand upon the figures.
See how the prices of leading articles of
produce demonstrate the gain of the agricul
tural interest, compared with the previous
times.
NEW ORLEANS PRICES.
Mid. cotton, Ap. 12,’48 s|a6 Oc. 13,’47 10$a&
Ci’npork “ “
Brine “ “ “ 7a74 “ l2a 12 V
Beef M’s W’n “ llsal2 “ 17Jal8
Corn bu. “ 26a27 “ “ 50a60
He’p dew rot “ looalls “ 120
Lard lb. “ “ sa6£ “ “ B£al3
Liverpool fr’gt.
Pork “ 4s6dasssd “ 12s
Will the ‘Union’ show the people of the
great valley of the Mississippi, and the immense
territory dependent on New Orleans, to deter-
I m * ne the value of their produce, how much they
j have gained by the operation of free trade.-
j Aou say your free trade put prices up, now ex
plain why they are not kept up, by its trium
phant operation. Is it strong at 11 months old
and worthless at 6 months more ?”
We give another item in regard to thd Iron
interest trom the same paper :
WAGES GIVING WAY IN THE IRON MILLS.
The blow has fallen where we expected, and
wages have been reduced in Pennsylvania Iron
works. The Danville Intelligencer ot the 21st,
says :
“I he fires have been lighted up in the Mon
tour Rolling Mill, and the work of making iron
is again successfully under way in that large es
tablishment. The Furnaces ot the Montour
Company are likewise in full blast, turning out
| more pig metal than is produced in any other
j iron region in the United States.”
| The workmen have been compelled to ac
cept lower wages, as we have the authority of
: the Pittsburg Post lor saying. The Journal
says :
“It happened that about the middle of March,
we saw a statement of the true causes which
led to the stoppage of the Montour Works.—
j -l hey were somewhat similar to those existing
here, and in addition to these the workmen were
: tiot disposed to work at the same rates which
I they received before the sudden rise of last year
iin the price of iron. Theso tho employers were
j not willing to give -they would give them em
ployment at a proportionately lower rate of wa
j Sc*-”
Tho National Intelligencer says, the “Phcc
! nixville Rolling Mill recently fired up again,
I the puddlers having agreed to go to work at
three dollars and fifty cents per ton, instead of
live dollars, formerly paid them. This is a re
duction of nearly thirty percent.”
This is a strange state of things from which
ito argue prosperity. The Post says the mills
| stopped because they had no work, added to a
i difference of opinion between the employers
j and workmen about Wages. The mills have i
’ started again at reduced wages, and this fact |
j is called an improvement in the iron trade.—
| Puddlers wages are down one dollar per ton in
! eastern mills and no great signs of improvement;
; other reductions must follow. Why does not
the Post give its roaders the amount of iron ar
riving at New York, “to prove that the iron in
i terest of Pennsylvania, is not and cannot be ru
j ined by the Tariff of 1846 /” We are inclin
ed to think that if importing can ruin us, it is
. in a fair way to be dmie.
All this is conclusive enough. Famine, and
i not the Polk “free trade” Tariff put up prices.
; That has ceased, and now the money goes
! abroad to pay tor the mass of calicoes, iron and
i other articles precipitated upon us from Europe
under the encouragement afforded by this
abominable Polk Tariff.
j ; . —
, The Bill for the admission of the State of
Wisconsin into the Union passed tho Hr,n<o of
Representatives on Thursday last, and is now
before the Senate. The following is a copy of
the bill, as passed :
A BILL for the admission of the Stale cf Wisconsin
into the Union.
Whereas the people of the Territory of Wis
consin did, on the first day of February, eighteen
hundred and forty-eight, by a convention of del
egates called and assembled for that purpose,
form for themselves a constitution and State Go
vernment, which said constitution is republican,
and said convention having asked the admis
sion of said Territory into the Union as a State,
on an equal footing with the original States :
Be it enacted, dfc. That the State of Wiscon
sin be and is hereby admitted to be one of the
United States of America, and is hereby admit- I
ted into the Union on an equal footing with!
the original States, in all respects whatever, !
with the boundaries prescribed by the act of
Congress approved August 6, 1846, entitled
‘ An act to enable the people of Wisconsin Ter
ritory to form a Constitution and State Govern
ment, and for the admission of such State into
the Union.
Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That tho
assent of Congress is hereby given to the first,
second, fourth and fifth resolutions adopted by
said convention and appended to said constitu
tion, and the acts of Congress referred to in the
said resolutions are hereby amended, so that the
lands granted by the provisions of the several
acts referred to in the said first and fourth res
oluticShg, and the proceeds of said lands and the
five per centum of the nett proceeds of the pub
lic fnentioned, shall bo held and
disposed of by said state in the manner and for
the purpose recommljjaded by said convention,
and so that, also, the lgbds reserved to the Uni
ted States by the the act entitled
“An act to grant a quantity .of land to aid in
the improvement of the F&lLand Wisconsin
rivers, and to connect the in
the Territory of Wisconsin; and also the even
numbered sections reserved by the provisions
of the act entitled “ An act to grant a
of land to the Territory of Wisconsin for mb
purpose of aiding in opening a canal to connell
the waters ot Lake Michigan with those or
Ropjf rjver,” shall be ofFered for sale a* lh®
same minimum price and subject to the same
rights of pre-emption as other public lands of thp
United States : Provided, however , That pp
person shall he entitled to a pre-emptjon hy rear
son of the settlement and cultivation of any
quarter section pr other sub-division of said pypp
numbered sections, which tract, before the
coqupeucemept of such settlenjeut, shall
have been claimed by any otherpPl||
ting and improving.the same in
which shall have continued to be claimed, culti*
rated, and improved in like good faith by such
person, his representatives or assigns until the
sale of said tract, and of which said prior claim,
cultivation, and improvement tho person so
claiming pre-emption shall have not notice at
the time of his entry and settlement. Neither
shall any pre-emption be allowed to any tract to
the injury of any person, or of the representa
tives or assigns of any person claiming and oc
cupying the same, or any part thereof, in good
faith, in his or her right at the passage of this
act, and owning valuable cultivation or improve,
ments shall have been assigned by the person
so claiming pre-emption, or, if commenced sub
sequently to the entry and settlement of such
person, shall have been made with his consent
or acquiescence.
Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the
purchase of any tract of the said even number
ed sections mentioned in the preceding section,
and sold since the reservation thereof, at the
minimum price of two dollars and fifty cents
per acre, shall be entitled to receive from tho
Commissioner of the General Land (Office a
certificate of the quantity of land so purchased
and of the amount of the excess paid therefor,
over and above the value of said land, at tho
rate of one dollar and twenty.fi vc cents per acre,
which certificate, to the amount of such excess,
shall be receivable from the holder thereof or
his assigns, in like manner as so much money,
inpayment ot the public lands of the United
States, That, in the event of the death of any
such purchaser before the issuing of such cer
tificate, the same shall be issued in favor of tlw
lawful representatives of such purchaser.
Sec. 4. Arid be it further enacted , That the
judge of the district court for the district of Wis
consin shall hold a term of said court in each
year at the seat of Government, to commence
on the first Monday of July, and another term
of said court in each year at Milwaukie, to
commence on the first Monday in January.
He shall also have power to hold spec al terms
for the trial of causes, and for the determination
of all suits or proceedings in said courts, at ci
ther of the aforesaid places, at his discretion, as
the nature and the amount of the business may
require. Ihe said court shall be open at all
times tor the purpose ot hearing and deciding
cases o( admiralty and maritime jurisdiction, so
far as the same can be done without injury.
I be records of said court may be kept at either
of the places herein designated for the holding
of said co irt, as the judge in his discretion shall
direct.
j Sec. 5. And be it further enacted , That the
clerks ot the district courts of the Territory of
Wisconsin shall, before their term of office ex
pires, certify under seal, and transmit to tin?
clerk of said court, all records of unsatisfied
I judgments and ot suits pending in said courts
respectively, attaching thereto all papers con
nected therewith in all cases arising under the
laws or constitution ot the United States, or to
j which the United States shall be a parly ; and
they shall forward the same to the clerk .of
saiil oistrict court of the State of Wisconsin, who
shall enter the same in his docket, and the
said district court shall proceed therein to final
judgment and execution, as if such suit or pro
ceedings had originally been brought in said
court.
Sec. 6. And be it further enacted , That tho
clerk of the Supreme Court of the Territory of
Wisconsin shall deliver over to the clerk ofsairl
district court all records and papers in the off.
fice of the clerk, of the said Supreme Court re
lating to proceedings in bankrupt” under the
late bankrupt law of the United States. 110
i slial l also certify under seal, and deliver to said
; clerk all records of judgments and of proceedings
1 hi suits pending, and all papers connected there*
| Wlt, b 111 cas s arising under the constitution
; and laws of the United States.
; Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That
| from ami alter the fourth of March, eighteen
hundred and forty-nine, and until another cen
j sus R,lt l appointment shall be made, the State
jof Wisconsin shall be entitled to three repre
sentatives in the Congress oftbe United States.
Memphis, Tennessee, has a population of
10 or 12,000 souls. Ten years ago. U had not
more than 2000 souls; its Lade and and busi
ness have increased as rapidly as its population.
! I has a commerce of upwards of so,ooo t oQo
j per annum. It exports this year some 140,000
j bales of cotton ; ten years ago it did not ship
over 20,000 bales. The revenue of the City
i proper is about $30.00(1 annually; ten years
ago it was S3OOO, and it has run up to $36,-
; 000 without an increase in the rate of taxation
—and by simple augmentation in value of pro
perty and commerce. They have two Metho
dist churches ; two Presbyterian ; two Baptist;
one Episcopal; one Cumberland Presb) terian;
one Universalist, and one Catholic church, the
most of which arc buildings of character ,archi
tectural in proportion and substantial in con.
struction; and some of them would be cred
itable in any city in the Union. They have
two Banks, branches of the Union and Planters’
Bank of Nashville. There are three insuiance
offices—one of them an independent institution,
and two agencies. All doing a large and profit
able business. They have two Medical Col
leges—one of them botanic—both have respect
able classes, with promise of entire success.—
It is said another Medical School will be organ
ized by the next season ; with a law school, and
a commercial department.
They have the University of Memphis, and
Female Academy. There are two steam-mills
in the city, and others coniigious. The United
States have an arsenal building and a navy
yarde at this place. There are two whig pa
pers, two democratic, two medical journals, a
temperance paper, and a religious journal.—.
There arc four daily papers published in Mem-,
phis, and each one is well supported, we bdigy#.
They have a chancery court, and the Criminal,
and Commercial court. There ava five ho
tels.
The City of Memphis has a City Council
composed of e Mayor and ten Aldermen, being
divided into five wards; each ward choosing
two Aldermen. The Recorder, City Marshall,
tax rollector, Whaif Master and all other offi
cers of the city are elected by the Council.— ;
Mayor’s salary, SIOOO per annum. The debt
of the city above itsungpllected dues—independ
ent of the of the present year-r—.
about s!g(hdoo, it is perhaps a little less.
Lpds which were sold years ago for SIOO
amrless, will now command SIO,OQQ and up' t
wards. A splendid Building is no\y
going up }p the centre oftjie city, with suitable
tor ppblic uses.-— Memphis Herald.
Mississippi.— The Whig Conventipp, which
met at Natphez, on the Ist, appointed the foliqw
ing gentlemen as delegates to the Whig Na
tional Convention, \vith instructions to vote for.
pen- Tayloy: Hon. Pat W. Tompkins, Henry
P. Duncan, Robprt M. Ayres, G. B. Shields.
Esqs., apd Dr. Jatpes Metcalfe. *
