Newspaper Page Text
VOL. XV.
•: sw.ii jiifptsom.
PUBLISHED EVERT TIIHRBIAT MORNING
‘V WILLIAM CLINE,
i’ T yj 3 Dollar* and Fifty, Cents per an
.j.nTwe Dollars paid m advance.
” r-L i'!St\l fciSTSare inserted at ONE
;g per square,for the fir6l insertion, and
7BJVT3 p<v square, for each insertion
‘■'■ ~maMc deducuoK will ftc made to those
•> a s :rtir-by the year.
. • : tiacnicnts not otherwise ordered, will
•■ lorKHf. V i
ALRS OF LANDS by Administrator?,
•rGmrdians are required bj law to be
• ‘•!>-; T .esday in the month, between
• • il. the forenoon and three in the
t the Court-House, in the county in
• • ■ i.,rd is situated. Notiee of these sale,
• ■ en tn n nublic gazette FORTY DAY S
, liie duv of sale.
.. iv> (>F NEGROES must be made at pub
■ ‘iic’ioii on the first Tuesday oi the month, be
en the usual hours of sale, at the place of pub
sa.es in the county whore the, letters Testa
, a'a* ’, of Administration or Guardianship ma
i ave been •.ranted; first giving FORTY DAY
• :re thereof in one of thopuhlic gazetics of th
S!"‘i, and at the court hotisc where such ealearsi
t > be held.
Notice for the sale of Personal Property must
g’.en in like manner FORTY DAYS previous
i ine day of sale.
Nat ice to Debtors and Creditors of an estate
•ins} be published FORTY DAYS.
that application will be madeto the Court
“Ordinary for leave to sell land must be pub
isherf for TWO MONTHS ,
Notice for leave to sell negroes most be
>!: ished TWO MONTHS before any order ab
*o!nte shall be made thereon by the Court.
CITATIONS for Letters of Administration
must be published thirty dais; for Dismission
from Administration, monthly six months; so
Dismission from Guardianship, forty day?.
Rules forihe Foreclosure of Mortgage must be
published MONTHLY FOR FOUR MONTHS,Ior pill)
baling lost papers, lor the full space ol three
months; for compelling titles from Executors,
t tministralors, where a bond has been givu.fq a
•he deceased, for tho space of three months.
Fron the Unit-ill Slates R.mcw T A tyn*t, iS'> *
Lanaey upon unconfincd Mad
men.
Perhaps you may suppose I am about
to take up the subject in a medical light,
and some of your readers not having taste
for “apothecaries’stuff,” may pass on to
the next article; but this is not my inten
tion, nor are disquisitions secumdum*that
aria n at ali in my line. It is more with
in my humble province, to remark, that
the public have fallen into a grievous error
in supposing that the Bloomingdale Asy
lum, Hartford Insane Retreat, oud a few
pirate receptacles, contain all the ‘mad
men. It is no doubt very flattering to
think so, and what we think in our own
favor, we arc very apt to say. Yet it is
an egregious error, and I thing the cele
brated Montesquieu was of my opinion,
for he long ago is said to have remarked,
“that by building professional mad-housex,
men tacitly insinuate thrt all who are out
f their senses are to be found in those
-t'acfs” It would be a fine compliment
to the majority of mankind, if it could be
proved that none of our lunatic asylums
bad any outside patients. A man would
rather be thonprht to associate with the
wise than with the foolish; but I strongly
suspect that unless onr public receptacles
be enlarged, it will be found extremely
difficult as a matter of choice—nay, if the
’.ruth be spoken, he will allow that it is
njiossible to class himself among those i
who never stand iu need of a little tempora
-7 confinement, salutary restraint, and an
riphlogistic diet For my own part, while
•coient my inability to make the selec
.vii I could wish, I am obliged to listen
■ :.ivings as well as reasonings. lam
insensible that I may occasionally have
t a for I do firmly believe ( with
•mission to the faculty be it spoken,)
some kinds of madness arc infectious
endemic if not epidemic. I have
wn a whole village quite distracted
. the choice of a constable, when the
adjoining and having equally im
-t appointments to make, had noth
■ < f the kiud. Semi-occasionally we
i. • a whole city in a fit about “Police
• : rm,” and not long since all the inhab
it of the town in which I live, had
• f. c heads turned about the cleaning of a
thoroughfare. But these are partial fren
zies; Jet us advert to the public at large.
It has already appeared to me a very
inconsistent thing, that while we are eager
to notice the first symptoms of a bodily
disorder, and immediately apply for the
best advice, we should be so negligent as
to let mental disorders have their own
course, and never become sensible of the
absurdity of such neglect, until some ac
cident awakens us; and even then, all the
atonement we make, is a wise recollection,
an ex post facto enumeration of the reme
dies that ought to have been administered,
and a thousand or two tender pities that
they were not administered sooner; nay,
perhaps in the insolence of compassion,
we go a little further, and boast our hav*.
irg foreseen all that happened, as if fore*
sight and the means of prevention ought
not to be inseparable companions. Os all
prophets there are none so common as
those who foretell things that have hap
pened, and whose wisdom, like a will and
icslament, is never disclosed until the par
ty is dead. But surely some penalty
ought to be attached to such post obit sa
gacity. There exist severe laws against
he concealment of treasonable plots, al
though the parties be not concerned in
them, and I verily believe that misprison
of madness ought to be punished with
equal rigor. Why should it be thought
unwarrantable to allow a man to go out
cf doors with the symptoms of fever or
inflammation upon him,and no crime at all
to permit the same man to mix in society
with every indication of a defective or dis
ordered understanding ? What I con
tend for, therefore, is, that we should care
fully watch for the first symptoms of luna
cy, that we may prevent the fatal conse
quences of it to the party, his friends or
family. “Venicntc occurrite morbo ,” may
be too trite to be repeated, but I hope it
is too just to be despised; and I really be
lieve, the reason why less attention is paid
to it than it deserves, is becanse we have
narrowed the bounds and limits of luna
cy. We have confined its species to a few
. numerated in raedioal works, and this
probably out of compliment to the build
i >g above mentioned, which can hold only
i certain number, or to our incapacity to
creel premises sufficient to confine the
more common, and 1 will venture to as
sert, in many respects the most dangerous
jhiode of the disorder. The latter objec-
THE GEORGIA JEFFERSONIAN.
tion, however, 1 hnmbly conceive might be
obviated, in a great measure, because the
species of lunacy which I shall notice are
principally incident to people of so t o con
siderable wealth and position, who might
spare a little of their fortune for their
cure, provided it were attempted in time
—they might then, when the delirium of
‘‘Pat Hearn’s” or of the “Union Course”
had attained its height, be able to say,
‘‘Wlicn house and land are yone and spent,
A mad.liouse It most cscal ent.”
But to proceed to particulars, I submit
the following case : A. B. aged twenty
four years, hale constitution, delicate fig
ure, small head, &c. inherited a clear in
come of ten thousand dollars a year, to
gether with a large sum of ready money,
which had accumulated during his minor
ity. Scarcely three years have elapsed
since he came into the possession of his
splendid fortune, and it is all spent, and
its surviver lives, if it can be called living,
on precarious contingencies. And this
large amount of wealth has been dissipated
in so short a time by the frenzy of gaming.
Now, gentlemen, let me ask you, or
rather let me ask those learned Doctors.
Tilden, Browne, and Ramsey, whether, in
Bedlam or Bloomingsdale, they ever met
with a more confirmed case of lunacy ? If
rational creatures are to be judges, if the
eternal principles of reason, of logic, pro
priety with the natural bias of law and
self-defence are to decide, ought not this
person to have been deemed a Innatic, aud
put under proper care, and everything
hurtful removed from him, from a pack of
cards to a blood-horse, until he had recov
ered his senses ? Were not his friends ve
ry culpable to allow him to go about with
such a disease on him, on the foolish hope
that it would cure itself, until his unhappy
ease is-past all remedy, and he bad not on
ly murdered his property, but laid violent
hands on his character? What would
have been more easy than to have pre
vented all this ? The first game ought to
have been carefully watched; strong symp
toms of anxiety about the “odd trick,”
might have given the alarm; too frequent
visits to the race course are always marks
of derangement, and a subscription to one
of the fashionable gaming houses is a cer
tain proof that the patient is,in a critical
condition. I have had some disagreeable
experience iu these matters, from a dispo
sition to give advice unasked. I have
been able to point out the approach of lu
nacy in a “shuffle,” and I have seen it in
a suit of “loo.” I have observed a severe
fit coming on in Wall Street, but of all
places, a stable is the most dangerous for
infection.
The above are cited as belonging to’the
species of madness which are unaccounta
bly shut out of the hospitals, and which
are never the object of our courts. This
is a vast injury to the public, for such ca
ses are, above all others, the most infec
tions. There are many others, which it
might be thought tedious to enumerate. I
shall, therefore, instead of a dry detail of
incurable cases, which stare us every day
in the face, offer, with all due deference, a
few directions for the prevention of such
disorders, by timely interference; and as
nothing can contribute more to this desira
ble end than the semciosis, or knowledge
of the spmptoms, 1 will briefly state what
I have found by experience to be infallible
marks and evidences of approaching mad
ness.
When a young man, of wealthy expec
tations, keeps, during his minority, a pair
of fast horses, and frequents races, and in
his conversation betrays much of that kind
of knowledge which we expect more nat--
urally from horse dealers and jockeys, it is
a sure proof that he is a little touched.
When a young man has contracted, du
ring his miuority, more debts than he has
the means to pay when he comes to his
estate, and yet continues a subscriber to
clubs and gaming houses, and in all his
bargains with tradesmen hesitates about
nothing but the day of payment, it is a
sign that he is very much deranged.
When a lady sits up all night at cards,
and either loses or wins (for there is in
such cases no difference between winning
and losing,) a snm disproportionate to the
allowance her husband grants her for her
personal expenditure, or finally to his whole
fortune, and if upon a gentle hint of the
impropriety of those risks, she drops such
incoherent words as “fashion”—“compa
ny”—“spirit” —“shabby”--“paltry”—
“genteel”—or any such expressions, hav
ing no kind of meaning, a temporary con
finement is indicated in the clearest man
ner.
When a young married man spends
more of his time, per annvm, in clubs and
on race courses than with his family, and
neglects his wife for the company of ladies
of suspicious or suspected character; if
when censured, his eyes appear inflamed
and the word “pistol” be mentioned, it is
a strong presumption, that if there is not
already something wrong about his head ,
there soon will be.
When a couple, just started in life, and
the husband just set up in business,by the
the assistance of their friends, and princi
pally with borrowed money, launch out in
an expensive style of living, giving fash
ionable dinners, keeping late hours, and
frequenting public places, instead of seek
ing and finding comfort at home, you may
be certain that the husband at least is
non compos.
When you meet with a man who has
several hundred thousand dollars acquired
by trade, and yet will not be content, but
risks the whole in a speculation, (whether
to further enrich himself, or to beggar his
neighbor, is not material) and finds no
happiness but in the ideas of accumula
tion in adding “house to house and field to
field,” without any purpose of public ben
efit, or even of private charity, it is high
time his affairs were put into the hands of
trustees for the benefit of bis family.
When a parent allows his sons as much
money as they can speud, or are pleased
to demand; when he delights to see them
well dressed and well mounted rather than
well taught; when it pleases him to see
them enter with spirit into the arcaua and
mysteries of fashionable life; when he con
siders keeping a mistress as “seeing the
world,” and the violation of confidence as
an affair of gallantry, there is anjimmedi
ate and very pressing necessity of apply
ing to the court of chancery to appoint
proper guardians for these forlorn youths
GRIFFIN, (GA.) THURSDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 28. 1854.
during their father’s melancholy incapaci
ty.
When a preacher of the gospel denies
in actions tho virtues he recommends in
words; when he becomes a bnsy-body iu
political matters, and encourages factious
commotion; and undeMbe plea of philan
thropy preaches treason to the constitu
tion, I never entertain any doubt of mad
ness in such a case, and the public good
would require stripping and confinement;
yet what should be the place of confinement
may be a disputed point, because in this
instance there is such a mixture of rogue
and fool, that it would be difficult to de
cide on the respective claims of Bedlam
and Blackwell’s Island.
When a man connected with a flourish
ing commercial house; and having a trade
increasing by its natural progress, is seen
whispering with a particular class of men
in certain narrow places near Wall Street,
and in the neighborhood of the Exchange,
aud that without the knowledge of his
partner, his lunacy may be ascertained by
his frequently using the words, “bull”—
“account”—“bear”—“a quarter”—“an
eighth”—“scrip,” &c. This species of
madness is remarkable for being attended
with lameness.
I might add to this list of symptoms a
few others, but I perceive my letter has
already extended too far ; I should else
perhaps have noticed some of our editors
and new philosophers; but they have taken
so much pains to describe their own cases,
that they are now perhaps sufficiently
known, and some of them, I hope, in a
fair way of recovery. I shall, therefore,-,
add only, that if public attention be drawn
to the subject of this letter, it will be pro
per to consider the raising of a fund for
the erection of asylums, or receptacles,
sufficiently capacious for the objects 1 re
commend, and even this, 1 trust, will uok,
be difficult. Tl*e liberality of the public
is never wanting when the object is that
of pure benevolence; but here there would
be such a return in the articles of public,
family, and individual safety, and happi
ness, that I canuot despair of a handsome
subscription. “Appropriations” have been
made for less worthy objects. But it is
not necessary at present io dwell on this
topic. S.
Fmiu (he Washington Union.
KiiowXofltlugs vs. Civil and Re-
Hgions Liberty.
The purposes and progress of the se
cret society IfikFknow nothings” have
atlained a poiiuxif notoriety that demands
the -serious attention of the press, and the
firm resistance of every faithful friend of
our government as it came from the hands
of the patriots and sages of the revoiu tion,
andgis it exists under the protection and
sanction of the constitution from its adop
tion to the present time.
Our government had its origin with as
pure and as wise a band of true patriots
as ever met in council; and though they
had to speculate upon the grea-t problem
of man’s capability of self-govenmieut,
they moulded a foi in of polity that has
been tested by the experience of nearly
three quarters of a century with a suc
cess that has never been equalled for
the extent of prosperity and the blessings
it has conferred on man.
It has achieved everything that the
great end of good government contain
plates. It has worked with a unity of
design and harmony of action that defy
improvement in any of its essential fea
tures.
In the fruition of all those rate bles
sings, secret societies, organized under
oaths, signs, formulas, and covenants of
the most absolute and debasing despotism
in its impositions upon its members, are
now working with active industry
throughoutthe entire extent of our country
for the success of their prolific scheme
of mischief and danger.
They are striving to control all popu
lar elections, that ‘hey may obtain pos
session of the powers of the government,
to enable them to reconstruct its form for
the indulgence of bigotry and persecution,
intolerance and despotism. Such is the
inevitable tendency of their'objects, how
ever they may try to conceal them under
tbe guise of protecting “Americau libs
erty 1” -
So sacred has been considered the per
fect frame work of our constitution, that
the wisdom and virtue of the country
have stood sentinels to guard it against
every sacrilegious hand.
Some eccentric minds, and some vicious
schemers have at different times impeach
ed its perfection and essayed to improve
it, but discomfiture and dishonor have
been their only rewards.
So profound are the prevailing watch
fulness over and devotion 16 the constitu
tion, that if any man, or combination of
men, should meditate any change of its
vital principles which, by possibility,
might destroy its harmony and endanger
the government, (however open and un
disguised their purposes and plans,) it
would rouse a universal opposition, and
the arm of patriotism would be the shield
of the constitution.
How much more are the vigilance and
condemnation of every honest mau and
patriot invoked when he sees the secret
society of know nothings cigjnized in
darkness, trained in concealment, bound
by o ahs never to divulge one of the se
crets of its impenetralia; oath upon oath
multiplied to make the cause, the progress
and success of their scheme paramount
fto every other obligation; and, by the
nnalienable obligation of these oaths, as
suming a bondage of themselves for all
the objects of the secret association, not
only for the present, but for an indefinite
future as to time and purpose!
Is it not a mockery for such slaves to
talk about “American liberty?” Ameri
can liberty has nothing to expect from
such bondsmen but danger; American
liberty asks no aid that is ashamed or
afraid of the face of day, and dare not
“walk abroad in its own majesty;” Amer
ican liberty was born of parents who
dared to assert and maintain before the
world its high prerogatives. It has strug
gled from iufancy to manhood supporting
faithfully and fearlessly the principles of
its illustrious progenitors. And now,
with a self sustaining power commensu
rate to all its wants, it asks nothing but.
fidelity, and fears nothing but treachery
‘Are these dark, secret conspirators,
who are threading all the avenues of so
ciety under an incognito, unknown to ail
beyond the mystic revelations of their
own council rooms, to be trusted with a
power to rpmodel, repudiate, or destroy
the constitution and government as, in
their wisdom or folly,they may meditate?
Are these men nupre trust-woithy or
more to be feared because of their secrecy?
Are they wiccir than Washington, Adams,
Jefferson, HaocoCti,a<l Frank Are
they purer and greater statesmen and
patriots? Are they such men as deseive
a nation’s confidence for any sacred trust
of liberty or honor? Hav.e they an oath,
covenant, or pledge, made upon the al
tar of their country, to be faithful to the
constitution and laws? Have they not,
by oath piled upon oath, been pledged
I to violate and destroy some of the most
precious parts of the constitution?
Have they not, by all the forms of oaths
and covenants, pledged themselves to
strike down religious liberty, by ostraci
zing religious creeds, and making the
bands of faith that bind man to the throne
of God a disqualification of civil rights?
And furthermore, have they not sworn
that they “will strict obedience pay” to
the eonstitutio , laws, rules, rituals, and
edicts of their grand council; which,
from the nature of the covenant, is made
paramount to every other obligation?
Beyond what they have promulgated,
or rather what has escaped their prison
house, have we not a right to expect
they have schemes yet untold and
scourges hidden in store? After having
ostracized one roligious denomination,
will this satisfy the standard ot their or
thodoxy? May they not find others with
Catholic relationship requiring the same
May. they not gO on from
one of ion*to another, until
all creeds be buried? and when they ex
tinguish the last light of religious liberty,
they may grope through tbe dark eclipse
for the BIBLE; and, like infidel France
in the days of her bloody revolution, pro
nounce it “a fiction, and its teachings
nonsense” But let it be remembered,
that the blood of the martyrs is the seed
of the church.
Af.er having opened the floodgates of
religious persecution, would they, or
could they, stay their devastation? No.
It grows by what it feeds on. There is
in every breast an inborn spiri. of res.st
ancej to oppression, and there is nothing
like submission on the part of the down
trodden spirit of religious belief. It may
dioop in chains, but its holy aspirations
will live until the last ray ol life shall be
lost in death.
Religious 1 iberty in this country is the
last inheritance that will ever be surren
dered. It is linked to civil liberty, aud
in that union they will live or sink toge
ther.
Ask the descendants of the pilgrim
fathers of New England, the Catholics of
Maryland, and the Huguetßrts of South
Carolina, if they are alien to that martyr
spirit that made our New World the re
fuge and borne of their ancestors; ask the
friend of civil and religious liberty every
where throughout our land if they are
willing to surrender this precious boon
into the hauds of a secret society, who
are the first to commence a crusade
against this sisterhood, that gives to us
ail the blessings of this life and the conso
lations that look to the life to come?—
No, no! Lot us be wise in time, and keep
off the incendiary with his torch and the
leper with his plague.
Be it remembered that this crusade is
not alone against Catholicism and citizens
of foreign birth. It aims to disfranchise
all who are not in membership with the
order, whether native born or foreign.—
No matter how largely they may share
the burdens of government, no matter
what may my be their rights under the
constitution, they are held to be disquali
fied for the most important civil rights.—
Thus, civil and religious liberty are under
these ban of these mysterious crusaders
and new- boro zealots. Such a despotism
can never have sway in this land of lib
erty.
This fell spirit may be thundered from
graceless pulpits, canting hypocrites,
sanctimonious propagandists, and inveig
ling colporteurs, political demagogues, a
stipendiary press, the rabble followers of
vice, the mid night saturnalias of Council
conclaves, and the incantations of black
spirits and white, red spirits nnd gray;
but the stern power of freemen will ga
ther around the constitution, and give it
new strength for the support of civil and
religious liberty.
Fu 1 ! Particulars of the Terrlbla Massacre
at Fort Laramie.
The St. Louis Democrat , of the gl3th
inst. received recently, gives the full par
ticulars of the terrible Indian Massacre
near Fort Laramie, a brief telegraphic re
port of which has already beeu furnished
to our readers. The Democrat’s account
is as follows:
A Mormon emigrant who was travelling
the road left, it seems, a lame cow, which
was unable to travel, andanjold Sioux In
dian, belonging to the tribe of Minnecon
gou found it upon the roadside and killed
it. Tne Mormon stopped with his wag
ons at Fort Laramie, and so soon as he
learned that it been killed, he made
complaint to the officer of th 6 Fort and
demanded redress. The officer in com
mand, Lieut. Fleming, whom the story was
told to, at once sent for the head chief of
the Sioux—Matteiowen, the Bear, and
demanded that the Miunecongou Indian
should be delivered up. Matteiowen in
formed him that if he would send a file of
soldiers he would endeavor to have the
Indian surrendered. Lieut. Fleming then
ordered out Lieut. Grattan with twenty
two meu, and the U. S. Interpreter, Au
guste Lucian, to accompany the Sioux
chiefto the Minnccongou village, which was
situated some nine miles below the Fort,
near Burdean’s house. The Lieutenant
with his command marched down, taking
with him two six pounders and planted
them in the Wa-zha-zie camp, where the
Indian in question was lodged. Matteio’
wan then went into the village and de
manded the Indian, but the chiefs would
not listen to him. They told him that
they would pay for the cow, or they would
replace it, or would leave the matter to be
settled with the agent when he came, but
that they would rather be killed them
selves than to give up the Indian. Mat
teiowan returned, made his statement to
Lieut. Grattan—told him if he wanted the
Indian he would have to go and kill him,
as he was unable to get him, and then re
turned to the Sioux camp.
Lieut. Grattan had replied that if there
was any killing to be done he would at
ttend to that matter, and accordingly im
mediately arranged liis pieces of artillery
and commenced firing upon the village.—
Three or four muskets were also fired at
the same time, but the only result was to
knock the toy off of one of the lodges,
and to wound Mattciowan and his brother,
who were standing in front—the former
with three balls, the latter with one. So
soon as the troops fired, the Indians re
turned it, and poured upon them a shower
of arrows. The first discharge killed
Lieut. Grattan, who was standing by the
side of the cannon. As soon as he fell, his
command at once lost heart, and attempt
ed to fiy—leaving their cannon, arms and
everything else. The Sioux then charged
upon the flying soldiers, and shot, aud
lomahawked every man of them save one
who made his escape by takiug down a
ravine, and thus getting out of sight.—
The interpreter who was with the party,
Auguste Lucian, who had married a Sioux
squaw, jumped upon his horse and at
tempted to make his escape. He succeed
ed in getting rid of his immediate pursu
ers and in making a circle around the
camp; instead of striking for the prairie he
very foolishly attempted to run through
the Brulie camp, which was directly be
tween him and the Fort, and which was
already alarmed by the firing. The result
was that an Indian ran out and shot his
horse with a rifle, and then came upon him
with his tomahawk. Lucian cried out to him
not to kill him, as he was a Sioux by mar
riage, but the only reply the Indian made
was to bury the hatchet iu his head. The
soldier who escaped down the ravine was
found by a Sioux named “Black Heart,”
and owed his life to his assistance in get
ting him back to the Fort during the
night.
The tragedy occurred on the afternoon
of the 19th of August, and it was not un
til the next morning that news of it reach
ed the Fort. The Sioux then sent word
to the commandant to send out some more
of his men to bury his dead, and they
would serve them in the same way. They
also went to the depot of the American
Fur Company, which was near their camp,
and where the annuity goods ($50,000)
were in store, and turned them upon the
plain, and divided them out. Lieut. Flem
ing, upon consultation, sent some five or
six of the traders down to see the Sioux
and to bury the dead, but they told the
traders very explicitly that the quarrel
was one in which they were concerned,
and they had better keep out of it, and
then drove them back to the Fort. The
consequence was that when the mes-enger
left, the dead bodies were still lying ex
posed on the plains, only two, those of
Lucian and another, having been buried
by two returning Californians, who ven
tured to execute the hazardous task for
$25 a piece.
Nothing further has been heard from
the Fort, at the present time, and it would
seem that the report that the Sioux had
surrounded Laramie is not confirmed.
Pacific Rail Road.
The Houston Telegraph of August 16th,
contains the following letter on the subject
of tho Pacific Railroad, from {t. J. Wal
ker and T. Butler King.
Houston, August IT.
Messrs. James IF. Henderson, and others:
Gentlemen: We have received your
letter of this date, requesting us, on behalf
of the citizens of Houston, to address them
on the subject of the Pacific Railroad.—
The contract for the construction of this
great work through Texas having been
made by the company with which we are
associated, and the governor of your State,
we shall proceed with all practicable ener
gy and dispatch until the road is comple
ted. We have caused a complete instru
mental survey to be made by a competent
corps of engineers, of the whole route, at
great expense, through Texas, and west
ward to the Pacific, and ascertained that
the road can be constructed upon easy
grades, and but few exceptions, through a
rich aud beautiful country, to that ocean.
We have now several hundred hands at
work under another corps of engineers,
grading the road from the navigable wa
ters of the Red river, near the eastern
boundary of Texas, which force will speed
ily be augmented in number. We have a
large body of paying subscribers, whose
number is being augmented every day, and
every facility will be offered to the people
of Texas to take stock on the same
terms of the original subscribers.
Permit us to say that we have entered
upon this undertaking, the greatest of any
age or country, aud which is destined to
effect the last revolution in the route of
the commerce of the world, with no view
to any sale of the charter on speculation,
but with a fixed determination to devote
our best energies to the actual building of
the road, until it shall be completed. ‘
In our letter of July last, to the people
of Gonzales, we expressed the opinion,
which is confirmed by subsequent observa
tion, that the building of the great central
branch through your State, from the wa
ters of the Mississippi to the Pacific, will
lead, necessarily and speedily, to various
connections by railway with the Gulf
coast, as indispensable to the entire suc
cess of the main work.
One of us, Mr. Walker, is prevented by
hoarseness, arising from a severe cold,
from complying with your request, and
thus renewing his acquaintance with his
fellow citizens of Houston, the place where
he had the pleasure of addressing them
immediately after the recognition of their
independence in 1837; but Mr. King will
address you at such and place as may
suit your convenience, during the day.
Very Respectfully,
Your fellow-citizeu3,
R. J. WALKER.
T. BUTLER KING.
Foreign Items.
Cholera in tiie Allied Army and Na
vy.—The Cholera in the French and Eng
lish Armies and Navies operating against
Russia, has been exceedingly fatal. More
men have fallen by disease than in battle
during the campaign. In the British Na
vy, we see, the loss on board the Britan
nia to be about 100, Furions 17, Albion
50, Trafalgar 35, and so on. In the
French,,fleet the disease was still more se
vere. Some of tho chips put to sea, in
the hope that a short cruize would restore
kwitii hG their occupants, Loudon
Times of tne 2d iu3t. in referencotS tIMF
misfortunes, says : “This curse fell upon
our men in a manner which no foresight
could avoid, and no skill prevent. Even
after the vessels had put to sea to change
the air of the coast, one of our correspon
dents relates that a blast of hot air from
the land seemed tohave struck them at
one particular moment on the afternoon
of the 13th of Argnst, after which many
of the stoutest hands on board sickened
and died, modi- cine being of no avail.—
This dreadful trial, however, lasted but a
short time. The plague seemed to have
passed over them, as it came, in the air,
and by the last accounts the sickness was
decreasing as rapidly as it had commenced.
The Crops in Great Britain —The
Liverpool Mercury of the Ist has the /cl*
lowing with regard to the harvest^pros
pects : “The same genial weather which
produced something like a panic in Mark
Lane, on Monday, and a precisely oppo
site effect upon the market for public se
curities, has continued throughout the
country, up to the present time, and from
all quarters, accounts have reached us of
its beneficial effects upon the harvest.—
Within the last few days stocks have risen
in the vicinity of many a homestead;reap-,
ing has gone on rapidly; and there cannot
be a doubt that-wider the-influence of the
breezes and sunshine which have prevail
ed, the quality of the grain which is still
out of doors, whether cut or uncut, will
have been considerably improved. There
is so much uniformity in the reports from
different parts of the kingdom, both with
regard to the quality and quantity of the
cereal crops, that it is difficult now to find
an exception worth mentioning. The ac
counts from abroad, too, arc equally cheer
ing; and it is not likely that next winter
any of tho Governments of Europe will
be under the ; necessity of looking ahead
under an apprehension of scarcity between
that time and the next harvest ”
The Times in a leader on this subject,
says, that from this harvest to the next,
there can be no doubt that the difference
in the price of wheat, compared v ith that
in the previous twelve/nonths, will be at
least 20s. a quarter in favor of the public,
which on the whole consumption will
amount to a boon of 25,000,000 of pounds
to that body on wheat alone, besides cor
responding relief in other grain. Even
the cost of the war sinks *to a trifle jcom
pared with this bounty from the skies
and notwithstanding all the lavish expen
diture incurred, we now stand better pre
pared for war by some twenty millions
than a twelvemonths ago.
Spain.— The affairs of Spain are once
more becoming critical. It seems that
Espartero, or his government,{considering
that it might appear something like re
venge to hand over Queen Cbritiana to the
tender mercies of the Cortes, resolved to
let her depart to Portugal. With the
connivance of the government, she was got
out of Madrid, not, however without some
disturbance. The National Guard, in
conjunction with the troops, stormed seve
ral barracades, which had been erected,
and crushed the insurrection; but to ap
pease the malconteuts aud satisfy public
feeling, a decree was about to be issued
sequestrating her property and suppress
ing her pension until the pleasure of the
Cortes was taken. The clubs have been
ciosed, and Madrid was again tranquil,
but these evonts cannot pass over like a
summer cloud unheeded, and the disturb
ance in Aragon and other provinces
plainly indicate thatj : further troubles are
in store for all parties.
The democratic clubs have been eadeas
voring to overawe,Espartero, and, as usu
al, they are playing the game of the court
party. If Espartero should be overthrown
bvjtlie ultra party, it needs little sagacity
to predict that the old story of the Red
Republicans in Paris, will be played over
again, and thus a greater tyranny than
efore will bo established. For the mo
ment these*clubs are suppressed, but it is
very problematical whether Espartero pos
sesses sufficient power to carry out the
revolution successfully. Espartero is en
deavoring to raise money upon the pledge
of the revenues of Cuba, but the matter is
only taken into consideration.^,We ave
not very sanguine about the issue of the
late events. No one doubts the honesty
aud integrity of Espartero, but whether
he has the ‘power to control and subject
to his will all the elements of mischief
which have been recently evoked, remains
to be seen. —European Times.
The Successful Barrister.—Accord
ing to the Par is’cor respondent of the At
las, a young English barrister had
succeeded in marrying. Mad’le R , p the
wealthiest heiress in Paris, and connected
with one of, the highest, families. The
young lady was known to possess an un
disguised weakness for a wal 1-dressed
man, and by loudly expressing, this, opin
ion, had been of more service to the'tailors
of Paris within the last year than Count
Orsay in double tbcjspace of time. The
barrister had many rivals, but the most
formidable was a gentleman acknowledged
13 be the most approved dandy in Paris.
The lady selected these two to decide from,
aid invited them both to her chateau.—
The Frenchman declared to his friends
that he meant to cut the matter short at
once by outshining the Englishman by his
dicss; that the latter would retire from
the field crushed to atoms by the superior
skill he was determined to manifest on the
occasion.
The Englishman said nothing, made no
boast, but accepted,the invitation. Togeth
er by the train the two rivals proceeded to
the seat of War. It so happened that the
French dandy had furnished himself with
a regular trousseau for the occasion at the
great English tailor’s in the Rue da He!
der, find the English tailor, out of sheer
coinpatriotLm, had told Mr. H of
what it was composed. A sadden idea
flashed across the brain of the barrister.
His servant, one af the sanctified, hypo
critical roue 7alets for whom London was
always famous, is something about the
heighth and size of the French prekndu.-
“Mr. H immediately ordered for this
ally an exact counterpart of every suit al
ready ordered by the Marquis de la B .
The first day at dinner, ,thc poor yonng
marquis was rather disconcerted, when uj>
on entering the dining: room his glances
alighted upon. tho~ very counterpart of
himself standing stiff and self-centered be
hind the Englishman’s chair; and he loot
ed angrily at his rival to see if any insult
wa3 intended; but the Englishman was
too intent upon making himself agreeable
to the lady to notice his ruffled temper.—
The second day the same scene was en
acted, although our hero had completely
changed even the style of his whole tour
nure, and again was the same ill-humor
displayed during the whole dinner, while
Mr. Hfr was profiting by the silence
of his witty rival. The third and fourth
repetitions were too ridiculous. The young
marquis, too clever, and too much the
man of the world not to feel the absurdity
of his position, prudently withdrew.
Kovel Sceaae at a Dinner Party.
A dinner has been recently given in
Baden to the directors and principal offi
cers of all the German railroads, who met
at tket place to deliberate upon matters
connected with railway lines. We find a
description of the festival in a letter of
“Boscaweu” to the Now York Courier &
Enquirer.
At a banquet served in honor ot this
Congress, the guests, to the number of
oue hundred and thirty-seven, were seated
at a long table, which, by an ingenious al
legory, represented a railway with a dou
ble track. At a signal given immediate
ly after the soup, a locomotive appeared
upon tbe table, to which was attached a
train loaded with dishes of the choicest
and most solid food. The sncculant train
advanced slowly, in imitation of the pas
senger train upon all German roads. Af
ter having made the tour of the table
without stopping, in order to give a view
of the good things with which it was
freighted, the train again started, ma
king a station in front of each guest, and
permitting him to fill his plate according
to his appetite and fancy. The train
followed each other in constant successio
for two or three hours, departing each
time well loaded with comeatibles, and al
ways returning empty to the depot. The
dinner was as magnificent as It was copi
ous, and gave a favorable idea of the culi
nary art in Germany.
Remarkable Occurrence. —The Liv
erpool Mercury records the following fear
ful and mysterious occurrence, which hap
pened on Saturday afternoon to a number
of persons who were engaged in felling and
barking timber at Minwear Wood, situa
ted a few miles from Haverfordwest, on
the estate of the Baron de Rutzen. It
appears that while so occupied, fifteen wo
men of the party were suddenly Rtruck to
the ground by some unseen force, and that
with such violence as to be rendered quite
unconscious. Most of them have recover
ed, but four still lie in a very precarious
state, little hope of their recovery being
entertained. The strange part of the
affair is this, that there was no electric
fire or report, and all those affected were
the women of the party, while the men,
standing indiscriminately near, were un
touched. One of the women says she
fancied that a mist enveloped her in for
an instant. It is strange, too, that tho
sufferers are affected with insanity.—
Whether any noxious gas could have been
so rapidly evolved from the ground or trees,
or whether it was a current of electricity
arising out of the earth, seems a question
worth the attention of those interested in
electrical phenomena. It is stated by
some that a most unusual smell pervaded
the whole place.
An editor in lowa has been fined two
hundred and fifty dollars for hugging a
young girl in church.
Cheap enough! We once hugged a
girl in church some ten years ago, and
the scrape has cost us a thousand dollars
a year ever since.— Chicago Young Amer - *
t'-o.
Boarder.—“ What large chickens these
are!”
Lady.—“Yes,chickens are larger now
a-days than they used to be; ten years
ago we couldn’t get chickens as large as
these.’’
Boarder (quite innocently,)—“No, I
suppose not; they must have grown some
in that time.”
The landlady looked as though she had
been misunderstood.
it Out.—A rural visitor to the
metropolis, describing the many strange
and wonderful things he saw, winds up by
saying: “We saw the Astor House, the
Metropolitan, and other Hotels,and were
troubled to know where the money came
from to build them; we paid our bills and
felt relieved on that point?”
Rather Particular. —“ls that the
second bell?” inquired a gentleman of a
sable porter at a conntry boarding house,
the other day, “No, sar,” exclaimed the
darkey, “dat am de secon’ ringn’ ob do
fust bel), we has but one bell in dis
house.” *
Some villain out west perpetrates the
following:
When woman’s rights arc stirred a’ bit,
The first reform she pitches onj
Is how she may with least dehy,
Just draw a pair of breeches on!
A poor widow being asked how she
became so much attached to a certain
neighbor, she replied that she was bound
to him by several cords of wood, which
he had sent her during the winter.
Hibernjanism. —An Irishman com
plained to his physician that he stuffed
him so much with drugs he was sick a
long time after he got well.
They must dress cool in Lafayette, la.
A young lady, on being asked if she in
tended to wear that great bustle to church,
said she didn’t mean to wear anything
else. So says an exchange*
No. 39