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About The Georgia Jeffersonian. (Griffin, Ga.) 18??-18?? | View Entire Issue (May 18, 1854)
of Congress, by conforming their legisla tion thereto, when the power, and majes ty, and honor of those who created shall become subordinate to the thing of their creation, I but feebly utter my apprehen sions when I express my firm conviction that we shall see “the begiauing of the end.” Fortunately, we are not left in doubt as to the purpose of the Constitution, any more than as to its express language, for, although the history of its formation, as recorded in the Madisou papers, shows that the Federal Government, in its pre seut form, emerged from the conflict of opposing influences, which have continued to divide statesmen from that day to this, yet the rule of clearly defined powers, and of strict construction, presided over the actual conclusion and subsequent adop tion of the Constitution. President Madison, in the Federalist, .gays: “ The powers delegated by the pro * posed Constitution to the Federal Govern * meat are few and defined. Those which ’ arc to remain in the State governments, ‘arc numerous and indefinite. Its” (the ‘General Government’s) “jurisdiction ex * tends to certain enumerated objects only, ’ and leaves to the several States a residu ’ ary and inviolable sovereignty over all * other objects.” In the same spirit, President Jefferson invokes “the support of the State govern ments in all their rights as the most com petent administrations for our domestic concerns, aud the surest bulwark against nnti-republican tendencies;” and President Jackson said that our true strength and wisdom are not promoted by invasions of the rights aDd powers of the several States, Ibatthat, on the contrary, they consist ““not in binding the States more closely to the centre, but in leaving each more unob structed in its proper orbit.” The framers of the constitution, in re fusing to confer on the Federal Govern ment any jurisdiction over these purely lo cal objects, iu my judgment, manifested a •wise forecast and broad comprehension of the true interests of these objects them selves. It is clear that public charities ’within the States can be efficiently admin istered only by their authority. The bill before me concedes this, for it does not •commit the funds it provides to the admin istration of any other authority. I cannot but repeat what I have before •expressed, that if the several States, many of which have already laid the foundation •of munificent establishments of local be vicficence, and nearly all of which are pro ceeding to establish them, shall be led to suppose, as they will be, should this bill l>eeorae a law, that Congress is to make provision for such objects, the fountains of ■charity will be dried up at home, and the several States, instead of bestowing their own means on the social wants of their own people, may themselves, through the strong temptation, which appeals to States as to individuals, become humble suppli ants for the bounty of the Federal Go vernment, reserving their true relation to this Union. Having stated my views of the limita tion of the powers conferred by the eighth section of the first article of the Constitu tion, I deem it proper to call attention to the third sectiou of the fourth article, and to the provisions of the sixth article, bear ing directly upon the question now under consideration; which, instead of aiding the claim to power exercised iu this case, tend, it is believed, strongly to illustrate and explain positions which, even without such -support, I cannot regard as questionable. The third section of the fourth article of the Constitution, is iu the following terms: “The Congress shall have power *to dispose of, and make all needful rules ’ and regulations respecting the territory 4 or other property belonging to the Uni ’ ted States; and nothing in this Constitu -1 tion shall lie so construed as to prejudice * any claim of the United States, or of any ‘ particular State.” The sixth article is as follows, to-wit: that “All debts con * traeted and engagements entered into, , * before the adoption cf this Constitution, ‘shall be as valid against the United * States under this Constitution as under 4 the Confederation.” For a correct understanding of the terms used in the third section of the fourth article, above qnoted, reference should be had to the history of the times iu which the Constitution was formed and adopted. It was decided upon in conven tion on the 17th September, 1787, and by it Congress was empowered to “dispose of,” &c. “the territory and other proper ty belonging to the Uuited States.” The only territory then belonging to the Uni ted States, was that then recently ceded by the several States, to-wit: by New York in 1781, by Virginia in 1784, by Massachusetts in 1785, and by South Ca rolina in August, 1787, only the month be fore the formation of the Constitution.--* The cession from Virginia contained the following provision: “That all the lands within the territory ‘so ceded to the United States, and not 4 reserved for, or appropriated to, any of ’ the before mentioned purposes, or dis -4 posed of in bounties to the officers and 4 soldiers of the American army, shall be ’ considered a common fund for the use and ’ benefit of such of the United States as 4 have become, or shall become members of 4 the Confederation or Federal Alliance of * the said States, Virginia included, accor ding to their usual respective propor ‘ tons, in the general charge and expendi ‘ ture, and shall be faithfully and bona ‘ fide disposed of for that purpose, and for ‘ no other use or purpose whatsoever.” Here the object for which these lands are to be disposed of, is clearly set forth, and the power to dispose of them granted by the third section of the fourth article of the Constitution, clearly contemplates such disposition only. If such be the fact, and in my mind there can be no donbt of it, then you have again, not only nq impli cation in favor of the contemplated grant, but the strongest authority against it. Furthermore, this bill is iu violation of the faith of the Government, pledged iu the act of January 28th, 1847. The nine tecuth section of that act declares, “That * for the payment of the stock which may 4 be craated uuder the provisions of this * act, the sales of the public lands are here ‘ by pledged; aud it is hereby made the ‘ duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to ‘ use and apply all moneys which may be ’ received into the Treasury for the sales * of the public lands after the first day of ‘Jauuary, 1848, first to pay the interest ’ on all stocks issued by virtue of this act; * aud secondly, to use the balance of said ’ receipts, after paying the interest afore * said, iu the purchase of said stocks at ’ their market value,” &c. The debts thou contracted have not been liquidated, and tlie language of this section, and the obli- Xii'ionr> of llio United States uudet it, areU too plain to need comment* I have been unable to discover any dis tinction, on constitutional gronnds, or grounds of expediency, between an appro priation of ten millions of dollars, directly from the money in the Treasury, for the object contemplated, and the appropria tion of lands presented for my sanction. — And yet, I cannot but doubt, that if the bill proposed ten millions of dollars from the Treasury of the United States, for the support of the indigent insane in the seve ral States, that the constitutional question involved in the act would have attracted forcibly the attention of Congress. I respectfully submit, that, in a consti tutional point of view, it is wholly imma terial whether the appropriation be in mo ney or in land. The public domain is the common pro perty of the Union, just as much as the surplus proceeds of that, and of duties on imports remaining unexpended in the Treasury. As such, it has been pledged, is now pledged, and may need to be so pledged again for the public indebted ness. As property, It is distinguished from ac tual money chiefly iu this respect: that its profitable management sometimes requires that portions of it be appropriated to lo cal objects, iu the States wherein it may happen to lie, as would be done by any prudent proprietor to enhance the sale value of his private domain. All such ; grants of lands are, in fact, a disposal of 1 it for value received; but they afford no precedent, or constitutional reason, for giving away the public lands. Still less uo they give sanction to appropriations for objects which have not been entrusted to the Federal Government, and therefore be long exclusively to the States. To assume (hat the public lands are ap plicable to ordinary Statu objects, whe ther of public structures, police charity, or expanses of State administration, would be to disregard, to the amount of (he value of the public lands, all the lim itations of the Constitution, and confound, to that extent, all distinctions between the rights and powers of the States, and those of the Uuited States. For if the public lands may be applied to the sup port of the poor, whether sane or insane, if the disposal of them and their proceeds be not subject to the ordinary limitations of the Constitution, then Congress posses ses unqualified power to provide for ex penditures in the States by means of the public lands, even to the degree of defray ing the salaries of Governo-s, Judges, and all other expenses of the Government, and internal administration within the several States. The conclusion from the general srrvey of the whole subject is, to my mind, irresistible, and closes the question, both of right and of expediency, so far as regards the principle of the ap propriation proposed in this bill. Would not the admission of such a power in Con gress to dispose of the public domain, work the practical abrogation of some of the most important provisions of the Con stitution? If the systematic reservation of a definite portion of the public lands, the sixteenth section, in the States, for the purpose of education, and occasional grants for similar purposes, be cited as contradicting the conclusion, the an swer, as it appears to me, is obvious and satisfactory. Such reservations and grants, besides being a part of the con ditions on which the proprietary right of the United States is maintained, along with the eminent domain of a particular State, and by which the public land re mains free from taxation in the State in which it lies, as long as it remaius the property of the United States, are the acts of a mere land owner, disposing of a smell share of his property in a way to augment the value of the residue, and in this mode to encourage the early occu pation of it by the industrious aud intelli gent pioneer. The great example of apparent dona tion of lan ‘s of the States, likely to be relied upon as sustaining the principles of this bill, is the relinquishment of swamp lands to the States in which they are sit uated: but this, also, like other grants al ready referred to, was based expressly upon grounds clearly distinguishable in principle from any which can be assumed for the bill herewith returned, viz: upon the interest and duty of the proprietor.— They were charged, and not without rea son, to be a nuisance to the inhabitants of the surrounding country. The measure was predicated, not only upon the ground of the disease inflicted upon the people of the States which the United States could not justify, as a just and honest tor, but also upon an express limitation of the application of the proceeds, in- the firs*, instance, to purposes of levees and drains, thus piotecting the health of the inhabitants, and, at the same time, en hancing the value of the remaining lands belonging to the General Government.— It is not to be denied that Congress, while administering the public lands as a proprietor, within the principle distinctly announced in my annual message, may sometimes have failed to distinguish ac curately between objects which are and which are not within its constitutional powers. After the most careful examination, I find Rut two examples in the acts of Congress which furnish any precedent fqr the present bill, and those examples will, in my opinion, serve rather as a warning than as an inducement to trend in the same path. The first is the act of March 3d, 1819, granting a township of land to the Con necticut asylum for the education of the deaf and dumb. The second that of April 5, 1826, ma king a similar grant of land to the Ken tucky asylum tor teaching the deaf and dumb. The first more than thirty years aftei the adoption of the Constitution, and the second more than a quarter of a century ago. These acts were unimportant as to the amount appropriated, and, so far as I can aeeertain, were passed on two grounds; first, that the object was a charitable one, and secondly, that it was national. To say that it was a charitable object, is only to say that it was an object of expendi ture proper for the competent authority; hut it no more tended to show that it was a proper object of expenditure by the United States than is any other purely lo cal object appealing to the best sympa thies of the hutnau heart in any of the States. And the suggestion that a school for the mental culture of ihe deaf and dumb iq Connecticut, Qr Kentucky, is a national object, only shows how jqoaely this expression has been qsqd whsn the purpose wqsto procure appropriations by Congress. It is not perceived how a school of this character is otherwise na tional than is anj’ esta lishment of religi ons or moral instruction. All the pur suits of industry, everything which pro motes the material or intellectual well being of the race, every ear of corn or boll of cotton which grows, is national in the same sense; for each one of these things goes to swell the aggregate of na tional prosperity and happiness of the United States; but it confounds all mean ing of language to say that these things are national, as equivalent to Federal, so as to come within any of the classes of appropriation for which Congress is authorized by the Constitution to legis late. It is a marks ! point in the history of the Constitution, that when it was proposed to empower Congress to establish a uni versity, the proposition was confined to the District intended for the future seat of Government of the Unite 1 States, and that even that proposed clause was omit ted in consideration of'he exclusive pow ers conferred on Congress to legislate for that District. Could a more decisive in dication of the true construction aud the j spirit of the Constitution in regard to all j matters of this nature have been given? i ft proves that such objects were consid-’ ered by the convention as appertaining to local legislation only; that they were not comprehended, either expressly or by , implication, in the grant of general power to Congress, and that, consequently, they remained with the several States. The general result at which 1 have ar rived is the necessary consequence of those views of the relative rights, powers, and duties of the States and of the Federal Government which I have long enter tained, and often expressed, and in refei ence to which my convictions do but in crease in force with time and experience. I have thus disregarded tne unwe'eome duty of respectfully stating my objections to this bill, with which I cheerfully sub mit to the wisdom of Congress. FRVNKLIN PIERCE. Washington, May 3, 1554. GRIFFIN. MAY 18. 1854 Public Documents. We are indebted to lion. Robt. Toombs for a copy of the President’s Annua! Mes sage with accompanying documents, for which he will please receive our thanks. Grifflu Lyceum. The next Lecture before the Lyceum will be delivered at Concert Hall, on Fri day evening at 8 o’clock, by Rev. C. P. B. Martin. Subject—Meteorites. D. N. Martin, Sec’rv. Cotton. Another arrival at New York briugs Liverpool dates a week later since onr last. A decline of a 16th in Liverpool No change in New York. The Griffin market, for the best, 8 cents. Rain. We have had considerable rain in and about Griffin since Saturday last We trust planters may yet succeed in making good staple crops. Spalding Superior Court. The Superior Court of Spalding county convened in this place on Monday last, his Honor Judge Powers presiding, having exchanged seats for a few days with Judge Stark. Nebraska Bill in Congress. i A most factious movement has been made in Congress, by the Northern Free soilers, to prevent a vote on the Nebraska and Kansas bill. Last accounts left the mutter undecided. The President’s Veto. We publish to-day, from the President of the U. S., one of the good old-fashioned States Rights documents, which, we are sorry to say, seem to become scarce in an inverse ratio as the Republic advances in years; not because of their frequent need, but because of the laxity with which the States Rights doctrines are now ad hered to and administered, compared with the younger days the Republic. We are well aware, that sucli remarks will be set down by “Young America,” in his heed less go-a-headitiveness, as the croaking of Old Fogy ism. Be it so. Still it argues no good to the commonwealth, that some of the plainest precepts of the constitution are, of late days, almost wholly unknown, or, if known, silently disregarded. “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Here is a plain precept of the constitution, yet, how many of the citizens of the United States at the present day regard it, or even know that it is there and should ’go vern their political action? Even the doc ument referred to, we are sorry to see, deems it necessary to go into a lame apol ogy for the extravagant grants of public lands made by Congress to the new West ern States, which are just as much a violation of the letter and spirit of the [ constitution as giving the lauds to the t States for the uses and benefits of the in sane. The President should put his veto to every bill of the kiud. If Congress, then, chooses to pass the bill afterwards, oyer his head, his skirts are clear of the violation to the constitution. The Home stead bill should share the same fate. The bill for the distribution of the public lands among the States for educational purposes should be treated in the same way, and all other bills for similar objects aud purposes. Congress has no right to dispose of the public lands otherwise than for the benefit of the whole United States, either to raise or to save funds-either by sale to raise money, or in bouuty to soldiers, sailors, &c. for public services, to save the public treasure. The President who would right-about-face, and march right back to the constitutional line of strict construe tion in all its bearings, would add moim to the durability of this groat Repubfio and his own political immortality, than he could by all the pqtofi-work apqlogies for getting around the constitution that may be macfe frqrq no\y till dqaiqsday. The; Bhujjswick Canai,,— \t stated in a late Savannah Georgian that the Brunswick Canal will be so far completed, in a few weeks, as to allow of the passage of rafts of timber through it, ‘’ * • THE CUBA QUESTION. We had quite an interesting debate on Saturday afternoon last, by the members of the Lyceum in Griffin, at Concert Hall, on the following questions “Has the government of the United States the right to appropriate the island of Cuba?” G. J. Green, Esq. led off in the affirm ative, followed by Col. A. R. Moore in the negative; afterwards VV. F. Wigiit slan, Esq. in the affirmative, and Luns ford 11. Daniei,, Esq. in the negative.— MaJ. Francis D. Cummins in the Chair: The debate Was highly interesting, and the meeting was only marred by the ab sence of the “fair.” The debate Was not closed, but will be continued at the same place, on Saturday the 27th ult. when we hope the company of ladies will be more numerous. Iho gentlemen all acquitted themselves well. Wc have formed an o pinion as to who did best; but to express such an opinion before the chair has male its decision, would be ifSlecorous, so we must forbear. * Col. A. A. Gaining and Col. R. W. McCune, will address the public at Con | cert Hall te-uigbt, on the same subject. | Well now, it may be said, what are you i going to do with Cuba? Will you leave her to commit aggression after aggression, intrusion upon intrusion, on the govern ment, the commerce, and the people of the United States, or are you going to pounce upon her and seize her as lawful prey? VVe are not exactly in favor of doing either at present, unless we get the word from head-quarters at Washington. Cuba is the key to the Mississippi, and ought to belong to the Uuited States, that is clear. In the hands of a weak go vernment, as Spain now is, it may and probably will be made the subject of con stant insult and annoyance to this govern ment, until it belongs to us. But the go vernment at Washington has taken the subject in hand, and appears to be act ing with much energy and decision. Mr. Soule, our minister at the court of Ma drid, has already demauded prompt and ample redress for the aggression in the case of the Black Warrior —“indemnity for the past and security for the future”— and should not our citizens abide the op erations of the government? We think so. Wait for the report of the committee on Mr. Slidell’s resolution; wait for the action of Congress on the report; wait for the action of the President. None are likely to be long coming, and before they are ended, there will be no need, in our opinion, to drum op for fillibusters to take Cuba. A Washington letter says:—“lf I mis take not, these are the prudent, sound views of the administration on the subject of Cuba: If the island can be acquired by purchase, it will bo done. If it is safe to wait till Spain finds it her interest to sell, it will be done. But if Spain at tempts to “Africanize” Cuba, so as to ren der it worthless as an acquisition to the United States, or eurols negro regiments with a view to a future war of races, then this will be a good cause, not only for re monstrance, but for active interference on the part of the United States. I have no right to regulate my neighbor’s house hold; but ifiny neighbor is a desperado, who attempts to set his house on fire, I have a right to rostraiu him for my own safety. Should, in the sober judgment of our government, such a case for inter ference arrive, then the President will send a war message for the neces sary supplies, atul-£Juba .will be taken without recourse tg ffjlibusterisra. Until that time, it will toe best no t to pass too many resolutions; for every , such resolu tion acts merely as a warning to the “al lied powers,” not only to thwart onr de sign, but to uso overy means that can be successfully employed to diminish the val ue of its execution.” Wc like the tone of the above; it par takes of caution and deliberation. This (filibustering will not be without its trou ble, and taking Cuba is more easily talked of than done. There is yellow fever and cholera as well as soldiers- on the island, and if invaded by forces from the United States more would fall by the first than the last. One fourth of’the troops of Spain die there annually. Aud here again: The New- York Ex press, speaking on the subject, says: “We commend to such Southern gen tlemen as are enamored of this scheme, to ponder such declarations as those from the “New York Times,” a sort of Free soil Journal, that though in favor of Mr. Slidell’s proposition to repeal the neu trality laws, declares, nevertheless— “Upon one thing Mr. Slidell may con fidently count, wKcmer Cuba shall or shall not become independent—whether we acquire it as a Territory by purchase or war —it will never be admitted into the Union as <i slave Stale without such a struggle as this country has never yet seen on that subject. And if the ultra pro slavery propaganda shall succeed in forcing this country into a war to prevent the ultimate abolition of slavery in Cuba, tlie dissolution of the Union will be a much more likely event than its admis sion.” All this should not deter us from doing ourselves justice, but it should make us cautious and patient. Aud again: Read the following de tail of domestic distress What lias been may be again. Like causes produce like effects. Wc copy from a San Francisco paper: “Arthur Morrison, one of Walker’s filli busters in Lower California, bad a young and fondly attached wife, and a child five years old, in Illinois, the place of his birth. He had written to her to come out, and sent her the necessary means to do so, and about two months sincelthis devoted wo man left her home and friends with a heart buoyant with a hope to meet the object of her love and fealty-.- --vs- ‘'About one mouth ago she arrived with her child on our shoreV&nd then for the I first time learned that her husband had been enticed to join tho filibusters. She immediately wrote to him informing him of her arrival, and begging him to come to her and abandon his unjustifiable gn ternriso, Morrison rocoived this letter and instantly set about fulfilling his duties as a man and a citizen, by abandoning tho camp of fillisters him starting for San Frunciscq. “But ho “counted without lps hqst,’* fqr Walker immediately dispatched a party of meu iq pursuit, which overtook Morri son near Sari I}Wq, and compelled’ him to return with thorn. .4 sppqnd letter from his wife soon after reached him, and the unhappy man determined to leave Bower California, and at all hazards re turn to his family, which needed his pre sence “lii order to effect this, Morrison enter ed into a combination with ten others to desert at the first opportunity. This de termination was carried into execution With as little delay as possible; but again the emissaries of Walker tracked the ill fated refugee, and making him a prisoner returned to the camp. Then a court mxr ti,d was held; the self-constituted officers sat in judgment over their victim; the forms and ceremonies of a trial were gone through with, according to the most re ceived rules for such cases made and pro vided; a verdict of guilty is brought in, sentence of death is pronsunced unhesita-; tingly by his superiors, and Morrison is i shot like ad >g in cold blood for obeying the first laws of Qo l and nun, and refu- j sing any longer to do evil. “Tongue cannot tell or language depict! the sufferings of that devoted wife and mother, who now stands on our soil home less, friendless, cheerless, far from the scenes of her birth and the fiends of her existence, unknown to all around her, and i ; her helpless orphan dependant on her for support Such is one of the incidents con nected with {filibustering.” But apart from such considerations, the government of the United States is a go vernment of opinion, and public opinion will not long sustain any party whose acts arc in the wrong. A war of aggression, as this would be, must be shown to be a war of necessity—necessary to sustain our national honor and dignity as well as our ■ trade and commerce. Above all it becomes the duty of the Democratic party to have a eare how they thwart and embarrass tlie adminis tration. Mr. Pierce has made solemn pledges, and these pledges must be sustain cd; aud it is the duty of every member of the Democratic party to aid aud assist him in carrying them out. Party princi ples arc not set forth for a day, to be vio lated at will. Mr. Pierce in his inaugu ral address says—“ We have nothing in our history or position to invite aggres sion ; we have every thing to beckon us to the cultivation of relations of peace and amity with all nations. Purposes, there fore, at once just and pacific, will be sig nificantly marked in the conduct of our foreign affairs. I intend that ray adminis tration shall leave no blot on our fair re cord, aud I trust I may safely give the assurance that no act within the legitimate scope of my constitutional control will be tolerated, ou the part of any portion of our citizens, which cannot challenge a ready justification before the tribunal of the civilized world. An administration would be unworthy of confidence at home, or respect abroad, should it cease to be in fluenced by the conviction that no appa rent advantage can be purchased at a price so dear as that of national wrong or dishonor The great objects of onr pur suit, as a people, are best to be attained by peace, and are entirely consistent with the tranquility and interests of the rest of mankind ” And until public opinion is fully fixed that the taking of Cuba is ne cessary and unavoidable, it never can be popular. Again, in the President’s message of December sth. 1853, where he is speaking expressly of our political relations with Spain, growing out of our neighborhood to the islands of Cuba and Porto Rico, he says: “I am happy to announce that, since the last Congress, no attempts have been made, by unauthorized expe litions within the United States, against either of these colonies. Should any movement be mani fested within our limits, all the means at my command will bo vigorously exerted to suppress it.” So let us continue, until our government says it is enough; trusting to a Democratic Congress and a Democratic President, that they will do nothing but what is just, and submit to nothing that is unjust We say then, wait for the action of the government, and when she speaks stand by her. The authorities of Cuba have been insolent and offensive, and we like the course Mr. Pierce is pursuing for re dress. If it can be obtained by peaceable measures—well; if not, we hope he will use coercion to do the nation justice, and then Ho for Cuba, despite the threats of the allied nations of Europe on the one hand or the frecsoilersof the North on the other. When we do invade Cuba, let ns do it under the flag of onr country, with United States’ commissions in our packets and United States’ arms in our hands Jr Spain does not give us instant reparation for the injuries already done, and insults already inflicted, we care not how soon. The last accounts from Spain are by the Canada from Liverpool, bringing dates from the latter place to the 29th ult. Five letters had passed between Mr. Soule and the Spanish Government rela tive to the Black Warrior. Mr. Soule de manded a definite and final answer with in forty eight hours after his firgt commu nication. To his demand for reparation, the Government replied that it must await despatches from Cuba; to which Mr. S. rejoined that he knew despatches had already been received, and that this an swer to his demand was a mere attempt at procratination. To this the Govern ment replied severely, thereby expecting to force Mr. Soule to demand his passports. Mr. S. rejoined in a moderate manner, the exact import of which has not transpired. OUR RELATIONS WITH SPAIN. If the rumors which were current at Madrid at our latest dates he reliable, the Spanish cabinet had declined to afford prompt reparation for the wrongs com mitted against the flag of the United States in the instance of the Black War rior. The intelligence, from the belief that it is true, is justly producing a mightv sensation throughout the Union. The period for diplomatizing at a distance of four thousand miles for redress for un provoked, flagrant in-ults and injuries sustained by our country at the hands of the insolent, and, so far as we are concern ed, irresponsible authorities at Havana, has at length passed by. Duty to our selves requires that we should prepare for settling upon the spot where they aye perpetrated the offences to our honor and rights. We are quite free to, state and in f;erms so emphatjc anr] unequivo cal us to qdmit of no misinterpretation, that if ample satisfaction is not allowed for the piratical spigure of the War rior, we sh“|l advocate an immediate blockade of the island, I'lpit justice whiph wp temperately appealed for to the IvqfnG gqyernmeut of her Catholic Majes ly jt is imperative upon us now j Qutrages upon this nation, even its* honor, are of incessant accumulation in £)uba; and it is palpably distinct that ttjere is but a solitary pianuer left tp us ‘ for remedying them. That manner is the’ energetic and judicious employment of snch resources as happily are at our dis posal. The situation has heroine too grave to longer admit of temporizing ne gotiation. Our Complaining voice has been heard sufficiently long: we must now make its expression felt. Toat American con'inental system which we ate en.leav >ring, and which we are resolved, with the blessing of G hI, to build up, preclu tes the propriety of our continuing to tolerate, much less fa vor, the marauJers who have heen prey ing upon our commerce at our very por ! trtl.s W natever may occur in the other ; hemisphere, in this ther-i must be n > le i galized piracy. We owe it to ourselves, j to civiliz ition, to obliterate that wicked j rule, which has been an incessant mock j ery of justice and of international law on | ibis continent To remove nuisances is I the natural right of those against whom Ithey operate. The principle is recogni sed by the most eminent law writers. — Without taking time to search for the various authorities on the subject, we will merely make a short quotation from Alison’s History of Europe. It is therein stated: “ The princijde of non-interference with the rlomest c concerns of other States, perfectly just in the general case, is neces sari'y subject to some exceptions. No answer has ever been made to the obser vation of Mr. Buik- 1 , that if my neigh bor’s house is in flames, and the fire is likely to spread to tU v own, I am justified in interfering to avert a disaster which promises to be equally fatal to both.” Upon this principle, as alleged, Cra cow was struck down and incorporated in the empire of Austria, if not with the tacit assent, at least without any hostile demonstration by any of theoreat powers of E trope, its integrity was guarantied by the treaty of Vienna, yet its annihila tion was connived at by most of the par ties contractant, and resisted by none, from the circums a ice of its being too free for the security of its nearest neigh bor! Great Britain alone, if vve mistake not, protested against the deed, but in an informal and reluctant manner. In ibis connection, we are permitted to make the following extract of a letter written to his fiietid by one of our most enlightened, experienced, and disanguish ed northern statesmen, a person who has serve I bis country in a number of high positions as faithfully as ever did a patri ot in any 1 md: ‘‘As to Cuba, again: I am not inclined to the equivocal step of repealing law’s that are in the nselves just and of general application, to repress marauding and freebooting, like our statutes, to preserve neutrally. But lam inclined to a much higher and moie ostensible attitude. I Would say to Spain, You have n longer an American continental interest to stand sentry over; Cuba is of no importance to your European independence and well being; it is not half as valuable to your treasury as it has been. It is made by Fiance and England a mere tool for our annoyance. To the United States, in the interests of peace, commerce, anti domes tic tranquillity, it is really indispensable. Cornel we will give its full value. There is the money! Take it or not, as you please; but we take the island openly, if needs be, in defiance of all Europe!” The vehement language of l\zucia, the. captain general of Cuba, as contained in the otficiU Gazette, against the Execu tive of the United States, because of the sentiments expressed in the message to Congress concerning the Black Warrior affair, renders the establishment of good relations with Spain and friendly inter course with her possessions almost impos sible while that functionary is retained. Every true hearted American considers it exceedingly insulting to the republic, and would rQ-rent it as indignantly, if an occasion offered, as did our acting consul and Commodore Newton. The most or dinary regard for international civilities requires that such impertinence should be punished by the Queen with deprivation of office.— Wash Union . Nebraska and Kansas This bill having passed the Senate, was taken np in the House of Representatives on Monday the Bth inst. The impression is that it will pass the House without ma terial alteration, by a majority of from ten to twenty votes. It was expected to be taken out of committee about morning, and passed by the House immediately.— The freesoijers, backed by the Protestant clergy of the ifoi’th, have made a violent struggle against it. In anticipation of the passage of the bill, a grand scheme has been set on foot at the North, to throw 21,000 emigrants from the free States into the territories of Nebraska and Kansas, and have then; ad mitted into the Union at the next session. This scheme was concocted at a late frecsoil Convention, held at Worcester, in Massachusetts, and a committee appoint ed to raise funds to carry it out. So say the papers, and wc have no doubt of the truth of the statement. Few persons have an adequate idea of the extent of this territory. Its bounda ry line is three thousand miles in length, stretching from the State of Missouri to the Nevada mountains which border Cali fornia; its area is five hundred thousand square miles, enough to make thirteen States the size of Georgia. It may be asked, who are the friends and who the opponents of the bil? We will lot the Washington Union answer that question, Wc cqpy from that paper of the 9th, the day after the bill waa taken up In committed of the whole: The Nebraska Bill triumphantly Tested in the House- Tho first trial qf strength on tljo Ne braska bill, yesterd iy, in the House of Representatives resulted, as wc pred ieted, in the complete triumph of the friends of popular sovereignty and congressional non intervention The spoctacle during the rote was in the highest degreo exciting and gratifying. It recalled tho glorious scenes of 1850, when, with united and in trepid column, the supportors of the com promise moasqres prevailed over the com bined assailants of constitutional princi ples. The vote of yesterday may well be called an oloqufint tribute to tho salutary and saving example of those measures; in deed, the extreme opiu'oq; qfxe cited and and irritated men could scarcely have been reconciled, but for the lessons taught and the doctrines established during these me morable days. We do not deem this to bo the time to recall the events of yesterday’s contest. But we cannot forbear an allu sion, in pissing, to th3 ennobling firmness and fidelity of the vast m ijority of the de mocratic party in the House. less cheering was the great vote of the demo cratic me.fibers from the free States . A majority of the democratic representatives of the North and the Northwest enrolled their names in its favor. We derive espe cial gratification from this fact, because it is an emphatic answer to the torrent of calu nny which has been poured out upon the Nebraska bill, and because it may, at the same time, be held up in healthy and instructive contrast to the fact that not one Whig from the free Slates voted with, t'fifriendi of the measure! Forty-one democrats from the great North and Northwest, and not one whig, voted sots” the bill. VVe should fail to “ive full ex pression to our feelings if we did not refer” with gratification to the noble contrast furnished by the patriotic action of that great body of the Southern whig.?, com - pared with the entire party from the free States. We should be doing an historical injus tice if we failed to notice the persistent efforts of the opposition to defeat and to embarrass the passage of the bill. Bat they toiled in vain. Compact and reso lute, the friends of the measure rallied to its support; and from the moment that Col. llichardson, the very able Chairman of the committee on Territories, made his motion to go into Committee, throughout all his subsequent motions to lay over cer tain bills on the speakerV table, in order to reach the Nebraska bill, every vote was a victory. We hail in these auspicious events not alone the speedy organization of the new Territories, but the signal that marks the entire and final termination of the slavery agitation in Congress. That issue will henceforward be referred to a higher tri bunal—to the tribunal of the people.>- Triple benefits will flow upon the country as the result. A race of brave and bold men will populate the regions west of the Missouri. Peace and good-will will mark the deliberations of the people’s represen tative; and the trade of abolition, like other combinations against society and morals, will be conducted by reckless men in midnight conclaves. We hail the vote of yesterday, also, as an earnest that the organization of the democratic party spoke yesterday in the House, as it had spoken previously in the Senate: and in the House, as in the Senate, it was aided by a gal lant band of patriotic Southern Whigs.— I his voice was the voice of triumph and of power. This action was the action that imperiled rights demanded; and our party will emerge from the remainder of the contest n t only in unimpaired majesty,, but stronger from the struggle, and ready so new exertions for the constitution. The Seat of War. The last arrival from Europe is the steamer Canada, bringing Liverpool dates to the 27th ult. There had been no gen eral battle between the Russians and allied forces. 20,000 French and 8,000 English troops ~ had landed at Gallipoli. A sanguinary engagement had taken’ place near lvalafat, in which it appears the Russians were defeated, and had fallen, back upon Bucharest. It was reported that the Russians had also been defeated at Pattsehemaroda,. ami that they had evacuated little Wallaehia. Sir Charles Napier was at Stockholm on the 27th April, and his fleet was about 50 miles off. The allied fleets in the Black Sea were at anchor off Odessa on the 26th April. The Russian decree allows the English and French vessels six weeks from 19th of April, to escape from the Black Sea, and the same time from the 17th of May, to leave the Baltic ports. The rights of ueutral flags are to be respected The right wing of the Russian army has fallen back upon Bucharest. The Russians are fortifying themselves in Do brudska. Paskewitch is making formidable preparations to attack Silistria. Omar Pasha, at Shurala, is preparing to act on the defensive. •• An additional revolt has taken place rn Circassia against the Russians, and has be come general among all the trades.— Sehamyl will soon attack the Russians at their head quarters. 1 bese items are alxmt all we can dis cover relating to the war, worth mention ing. Cotton at Liverpool had declined 1-lGth from previous dates. Joy ro'i tub cut th© following from the Philadelphia Saturday Gazette, and lecommend our leaders t o peruse it catefulty, and those suffering should not delay purchasing: — Dr. Howland's German Bitters.— This celebrated medicine, prepared by Dr C. J r . Jackson, at the imposing Get man Medicine Store, No. T2O Arch is exciting unprecedented public atten tion, and the p.oprietor, who is a scienti fic physician, is sewing immense quanti ties of it. The virtues pf this remedy are so fully set forth in the expended notice of it, to Leseen in our advertising columns, that there is hardly any room left for us to speak of it. This much we may add —Of the long train of physical ills to which humanity is heir, there is none more distressing than the general derange ment of the digestive apparatus, which never fails to accompany a disordered state of the liver. Headache, piles, lan guor, lietfulness, a bilious tongue, a morbid breath, loss of appetite, in short, an indescribable wretchedness of exist ence, are its insufferable and life-wasting attendants, These diseases, which have baffled the skill of the ablest Doctors, have been radically cured by Hoofland’s Ger man Bitters, Asa spring and summer medicine Car ter’s Spanish Mixture stands pre-eminent above all others. efficacious action op the blood; its strengthening and vivifying qualities; its tonic action on tho Liver; its tendency to drive ail humors to the surface, thereby cleansing tho system according to Nature’s own prescription; its harmless, aud at tho same time extra ordinary good effects, and tho number of cures testified to by many of the most re spectable citizens of Richmond, Va. and elsewhere, must be conclusive evidence that there is no humbug abqnt it. The trial of a single bottle will satisfy the most sceptical of its benefits. See advertisement in another Culumip
