Muscogee democrat, and Mercantile advertiser. (Columbus, Ga.) 1844-1849, December 14, 1848, Image 2

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P°wer with which the const it niton has invested his of fice, would effect • practical alteration of tit at instrument, without resorting to the prescribed process of amend* mem. With the motives or considerations which may induce Congress to pass any bill, the President can have nothing lo iio He must presume them to he as pure as hia own, and look only to the practical effect of their measures when compared with the constitution or the public good. it has been urged by those win object to the ex ercise of this undoubted constitutional power, that it as sails the representative principle and the capacity of the people to govern themselves; that there is greater safe ty in a numerous representative body than in the single Executive created by the constitution, and that the exec utive veto it a•• on#-rn n power.” despotic in its char acter. Tm expose the fallacy of this objection, it is only ! necessary to consider the frame and true character of our ! system. Ours is not a consolidated empire, but a con- 1 federated Union. The States, before the adoption of the constitution, were coordinate, co-equal, and sepa rate independent sovereignties, and by its adop ion. they did not lose that character. They clothed the federal gov cmmeai with certain powers, aud reserved all others,in cluding their own sovereignty, to themselves. They guarded their own rights as .States and the rights of the people, by the very limitations which they incorporated into the federal constitution, whereby the different de partments of the general government were checks upon each other. That the majority should govern, ia a gen eral principle, controverted by none : but they must gov s ern according to the constitution, and not according to an undefined and unrestrained discretion, whereby they may oppress the minority The people of the United States are not blind to the *k. k m ay be teinporsrily misled, and that their Sea, legislative and executive, may be mtsta iced in their action by improper motives erefore interposed between themselves and :h may be passed by their public agents, various representations, such as assemblies, senates, and governors,in their eeveral States; a House of Repre sentative!, a Senate, and a President of the United States. The people can by their own direct agency make no law ; nor can the House of Representatives immediately elected by them ; nor can the Senate ; nor can both together, without of thePresi dent, or a vote of two-li^yjjflflHftJinusea- Happily jor <*ur thsm the power of^ peril •around with checks.to gu the effects of hasty action, of error, of possible corrup tion. Error, selfishness, and fnction have often sought to rand asunder this web *f checks, and subject the gov ernment to the contend of lunuiic and sinister influences ; but these efforts l>eve only attiafied the people of the checks which t*tey have imposed, aud of the necessity of preserving them unimpaired. The tru* theory of our system is not to govern by the acts or decrees of anyone set of rept esentatives. The constitution interposes’checks upon all branches of the in order to give time for error to be correct ed, and delusion to pass away : but if the people settle down into a firm conviction different from (lint of their representatives they give effect to their opinions by changing their public servants. The checks which the people imposed ou their public servants in the adoption of the constitution, are the best evidence of their ca pacity for self-government- Tficy know that the men whom they elect to public stations are of like infirmities aud passions with themselves, ami not to be trusted with out being restricted by ci ordinate authorities and con stitutional limitations. Who that has witnessed the leg islation of Congress for the last thirty years will say that he knows of no instance in which measures not demand ed by the public good, have been carried? Who will deny that in the State governments, by combinations of individuals and sections, ill derogation of the general in tarsal, banks have been chartered, systems of internal improvement adopted, and debts entailed upon the pto pb, repressing their growth, ami impairing their energies for years to come ? After so much experience, it can not be said that abso lota unchecked power is safe in the hands of any one set of representatives, or that the capacity of the people for self government, which is admitted in its broadest ex tant, is a conclusive argument to prove the prudence, wisdom, and integrity of representatives. The people, by the constitution, have commanded the President, us much as they have commanded the legislu tive branch of the government, to execute their will. They have said to him in the constitution, which they re quire he shall take solemn oath to support, that if Con gress pass any biil which he cannot approve, “he shall return it in the House in which it originated, with his objections.” In withholding from it nis approval and { signature, he is executing the will of ths people constitu tionally expressed, os much ns the Congress that passed it. No bill is presumed to be in accordance with the {jopular will until it shall have passed through till the tranches of the government required by the constitution to make it a law. A bill w hk*h pusses the House of Rep resentatives may be rejected by (he Senate; and so a bill passed by the Semite may be rejected by the House, injeach case the respective houses exercise the veto power on the other. Congress, and each House of Congress, hold under the constitution a check upon the President, and he. by the power of the qualified veto, a check upon Congress. When the President recommends measures to Congress, be avows, in the most solemn form, his opinions, gives ! bis voice in their favor, nnd pledges himself in advance In approve them if ponied by Cnttgrrnn If he acts without due consideration, or line been influenced by improper or corrupt motives—or iffrotn any other cause Congress, or either house of Congress, shall differ with him in opinion, they exercise their veto upon his recom mendations, and reject them; nnd there ia no appeal from their decision, but to ibe people at the ballot-box. These are proper checks upon the Executive, wisely in terposed by the constitution. None will be found to ob ject to them, or to wish them removed, It is equally im portant that the constitutional checks of the Executive upon the legislative branch should be preserved. If it be said that the representatives in the popular branch of Congress at e chosen directly by the people, it is answered, the people elect the President. It both houses represent the States and the people, so does the j President. The President represents in the executive I department the whole people of the United St.ites, as eoch member of the legislative departments represents j portions of them. The doctrine of restriction upon legislative nnd exec- j otive power, while a well-settled public opinion is ena- I bled within a reasonable time to accomplish its ends, | has made our country what it is, and has opened to us u I career of glory and happiness to which all other nations have been strangers. in the exercise of the power of the veto, the President is responsible not only to an enlightened public opinion, but to the people of the whole Union, who elected him, as the representatives in the legislative branches, who . differ with him in opinion, are responsible to the people of particular Slates, or districts, who compose their re spective constituencies. To deny to the President the exercise of this power, would be to repeal that provi sion of the constitution which confers it upon him. To charge that its exercise unduly controls the legislative will, is to complain of the constitution itself. If the presidential veto be objected to upon the ground that it checks and thwarts the public will upon the same principle the equality of representation of the States in the Senate should be stricken out of the constitution.— The vote of a scuatoi from Delaware lias equal weight in deciding upon the most important measures with the vole of a senator from New York; and yet the one rep resents a State containing,according to the existing appor tionment of representatives in the House of Represents- ! lives, but one thirty-fouiih part of the population of the j other. By the constitutional composition of the Senate, j a majority of that body from the smaller Slates represent j less than one-fourtli of the people ot the Union. There era thirty States; and under the existing apportionment of reprecentaiives. there are two hundred ami thirty members in the House of Representatives. Sixteen of the smaller States are represented in that House by but fifty members; ami yet the senators from these State* constitute a majority of the Senate. So that the Presi dent tnny recommend a measure to Congress, and it mny receive the sanction and approval of more than three fourths of the House of Representatives, and of all the senators from the lurge States, containing more than three-fourths of the whole of the United I States; and yet the measure Touted by toe votes of the senau>rs from tales. None, it is presumed, can be found the organize- I lion of the Senate on this account, or to Btrike that body j practically out of existence, by requiring that its action ! shall be conformed to the will o! the more numerous : branch. Upon the same principle that the veto of the Presi dent should be practically abolished, the power of the Vice Pre*idc*tto give the casting vote upon ail equal di- I vision of the Senate should be abolished l*o. The I Vice PresiJrnt exercises the veto power ns effectually ! by rejecting a bill by his casting vote, as the President doe* by refusing to approve and sign it- This power has been exercised by the Vice President io a few in etauces, the moat important of which wag the rejection of the bill to recharter the bank of the United States in 1811. It may happen that a bill may be pissed by a large ma jority of the House of Representatives, anti may be sup ported by the senators from the larger States, and the Vice President may reject it by giving his vote with the senators from the smaller Stales; and yet none it ispre- | sumed, are prepared to deny to him the exercise of this power under the constitution. But ii is, in point of fact, untrue that an act passed by . Congress is conclusive evidence that it is on emanation ol the popular will. A majority of the whole number elected to each house of Congress constitutes a quorum, * end a majority of that quorum is competent to pass laws. It might Happen that a quorum of the House of Repre- ‘ •entativea, consisting of a single member more than half ; of the whole number elected to that House, might pass | a bill by a majority of a single vote, and in that case a traction more than one-fourth of the people of the United ! fhatea would be represented by muse who voted for it. j It might happen that the same bill might be passed by a majority of one. of a quorum of the Senate, composed of | senators from the fifteen smaller Stales, and a single ! senator from a sixteenth State, and if the senators voting ‘ for it happened lobe from the eight of the muullett of these Stales, it would be p,ssed by the votes ol senators from States having but fourteen representatives in the’ House of Representatives, aud containing less than one sixteenth of the whole population of the United Blairs. This extreme esse is stated to illustrate the fact, il.ut the mere passage of s bill by Congress is no conclusive evidence that those who passed it represent the majority of the people of the Untied Stales, or truly relieft’tlieir j will. If such an extreme ense likely to happen, cases that approximate it are of constant occurrence. — It is believed that not ; single law has been passed since the adoption of the constitution, iijniii w hich ill the metn , bers elected to both h>t s*.a have been preset*; and voted | Many of the most in p *riant acts which bitve passed Congress have been can i*d by a close vote* in thin hou ! *es. Many instance* of this might be gi\. Indeed, our experience prove-th .t many of the n.i*t important act*l Congress are postponed to the lastda%•*. nnd often the last hoortvof a ses*ii"i. when they are disposed of in haste, and by houses Imt little exceeding me number neresfnry to form a quorum. Besides, in ithmi oiyflir States the member* of tbe ! House of Representatives are chosen by pluralities ami I not by majorities of all the voters in their respective dis j triels ; nnd it may happen that a majority of that House may be returned by a less aggregate vote of the people ! than that received by the minority. If the principle insisted on be sound, then the consti tution should be so changed that no bill shall become a law unless it is voted for by members representing iu eatdi House * majority of the whole people of the United States. We must remodel our whole system, strike down ami abolish not only the salutary check* lodged in the executive branch, but must strike out and abolish those lodged in the Semtc also, and thus practically in vest the whole power of the government in a majotity of a single assembly—a majority uncontrolled and absolute, nnd which mny become despotic. To conform to this doctrine of the right of majorities to vote, independent of ; the checks and limitations of the constitution, we rn(j*t revolutionize our whole system We must constitutional compact by which the several States to form a federal Union, and ru*h into which must end in monarchy or despotism. No vocatessuch a proposition; and yet the tained. if carried out, must lead to this result. J One great object of the constitution in confer the President a qualified negative upon the legislaiioir-TH- Congress, was to protect minorities from it just ice and oppression by majorities. The equality of their repre sentation in the Senate, and the veto power of the Presi dent, are the constitutional guaranties which the smaller Slates have that their rights will be respected. Without these guaranties, all their interests would be at the mer cy of majorities in Congress representing the lnrgcr States. To the smaller and weaker Stales, therefore, the preservation of_tliij power, and its exercise upon proper occasions it, of vital importance i They ratified the and entered inio the Un l lon, securing to ihemA/ves an equal representation with ! the larger .States in the .Semite ; nnd they agreed to be j bound by all laws passed by Congre*s t upon the expreaa condition, and none other, that they should be approved by the President, or passed, Ins objections to the contrary notwithstanding, by h vote of two thirds of both houses. Upon this condition they have a right to insist, as a part of the compact to which they gave their assent. A bill might be passed by Congress against the will of the whole people of a particular State, and against the votes of its senators nnd all its representatives. Howev er prejudicial it might be to the interest of such State, it would be bound by it if the President shall approve it, or it should be paused by a vote of two-thirds of both houses; but it lias a right to demand that the President shall exercise his constitutional power, and arrest it. if his judgment is against it. If lie surrender this power, or fail to exercise it in a case where lie cannot approve, it would make his formal approval a more mockery, and would he itself a violation of the constitution, nnd the dissenting State would become bound by a law which bad not been passed uccording lo the sanctions of the constitution. The objection to the exercise of the VETO power is founded upon nil idea respecting the popular will, which, if carried out, would biiuibilaie State sovereignty, and substitute for the present federal government a consoli dation, directed by n supposed numerical majority. A revolution of the government would be silently effected, and the States would be subjected to laws to which they had never given tli(ir constitutional consent. The Supreme Court of the United States is invested with the power to declare, and has declared, acts of Con gress passed with the concurrence of the Senate, the House of Representatives, und the approval of the Presi dent, to be unconstitutional Xiid void ; and yet none, it is presumed, can he found, who will be disposed to strip thin highest judicial tribunal under the constitution of this acknowledged power—a power necessary alike to iti in dependence and the rights of individuals. For the same re.non that the executive veto should, according to the doctrine maintained, he rendered nuga tory, and be practically expunged from the constitution, this power of the court should also be rendered nugatory and be expunged, because it restrains the legislative and j executive will, and because the exercise of such a power i by the court may be regarded as being in conflict with ! the capacity of the people to govern themselves. Indeed, j there is more reason for striking this power of the court ; from the constitution than there ia that of the qualified j veto of the President; because the decision ol the court j is final, und can never be reversed, even though both ! houses of Congress and the President should be unani mous in opposition to it; whereas the veto of* the Presi dent may be overruled by a vote of two thirds of both houses of Congress, or by the people at the polls. It ia obvious that to preserve the system eatablixlied by the constitution, each of the co-ordinate branches’ of the government—the executive, legislative, anil judicial— must be left iu the exercise of its appropriate powers. If the. executive or the judicial branch bt*. deprived of pow ers confered ujton either as cheeks on the legislative, the preponderance of the latter will become tliapropor tion9.tr and absorbing, ir*l lha others i£npote! -fijr tfoa accomplishment of llu* great objects for which they were established. Organized us they are. by the constitution, they work together harmoniously for the public good.— If the executive and the judiciary shall be deprived of the constitutional powers invested in them, nnd of their due proportions, the equilibrium of the system must he I destroyed, and consolidation, with the most pernicious results, must ensue—a consolidation of unchecked, des potic power exercised by majorities of the legislative branch. The executive, legislative, and judicial,each constitutes a separate co-ordinate department of the government; and each is independent of the others. In the perfor mance of their respective duties tinder the constitution, neither can, in its legitimate action, control the others. They each act upon their several responsibilities in their respective spheres; but if the doctrines now niantain ed be correct, the executive must become practically subordinate to the legislative, and the judiciary must become subordinate to both the legislative and the ex ecutive; and thus the w hole power of the government would be merged in a single department. Whenever, if ever, this shall occur, our glorious system of weU-reg uln ted self-government will crumble into ruins—to be succeeded, first by anarchy, and finally by monarchy or despotism. lam far from believing that this doctrine is the sentiment of the American jieonle ; and during the short period which remains in v\ hich it w ill be my duty to administer the executive department, it w ill be my aim to maintain its independence, and discharge its du ties, without infringing upon the powers or duties of either of the other departments of the government. The power of the executive veto was exercised by the first and most illustrious of my predecessors, and by four of his successors who preceded me in the administration of the government, and, it is believed, in no instance prejudicially to the public interests. It has never been, and there is but little danger that it ever can be abused. No President will ever desire, unnecessarily, to place his opinion in opposition to that of Congress. He must always exercise the power reluctantly, and only in cases where his convictions make it a matter of stern duty, which lie cannot escape. Indeed, there is more danger that the President, front the repugnance he must always feel to come in collision with Congress, may fail to ex ercise it in cases where the preservation of the constitu tion from infraction, or the public good, may demand it, than that he will ever exercise it unnecessarily or wan tonly. During the period I have administered the executive j department of tbe government, great and important j questions of public policy, foreign and domestic, have 1 arisen, upon w hich it was my duty to act. It may in- | deed lie truly said that my administration has fallen up- ! on eventful times. 1 have felt most sensibly the weight ; of the high responsibilities devolved upon me. With no j other object than the public good, the enduring fame, I j and permanent prosperity of my country, 1 have, pursued I 1 the conviction* of iny own best judgment. The iinpar ; tial arbitrament of enlighted public opinion, present and ( future, will determine now far the public policy 1 have maintained, and the measures I have, from time to time recommended, may have tended to advance or retard : the public prosperity at home, ami to elevate or depress j j the estimate of our national character abroad. j Invoking the blessings of the. Almighty upon your j ; delilxirations at your present important session, my nr- • 1 dent hope is. that in a spirit of harmony and concord, 1 you may Ik.* guided to wise results, and such sis may re* ! j do'ind to the happiness, the honor, nnd the glory of our j beloved country. JAMES K. POLK. Washington, December s, 1815. Postmaster General. —The report tit this functionary will show that lids import, ant branch of public service is in most ex. cellent older. \Y hilst the foreign mail ser. vice to Bremen was added to tho Depart, mrnt, and tho expenses of the whole estab lishment increased for the last three years, tho income of the Department has been made to meet the expenditures, which have been so economized that the Postmaster General will no doubt he able to recommend a still further diminution in the rate of Postage. The Department receives and expends pends annually about §8,000.000 one half of which represents the income, and the other half the expenditures. The Depart ment does this largo amount of business thro’ the aid of 16,150 agents, who, ns Postmas ters throughout the. United Slates, collect and expend this revenue. Yet so excellent are the means provided for collecting and disbursing this revenue, that out of tire sum ol $8,000,000, not one third of one per cent, is suspended, ora mill in a dollar lost. [BUM ©Mil GDI Qffl ©© M TTd From the N. O. Delta, Dec. 8. The Gold Mines of California. VVc yesterday had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Joseph ft. Culling, who comes directly I from the gold -nines in California, and has in i hi- possession a quantity of die “precious met. ; at,” just as he dug it from die bowels of the j earth in its native state. Mr. Cutting left San j Francisco on the 11th of October. He took the rote home via Mexico, and arrived hero yes. j terday iu the. brig Titi, Capt. Radovich, from Vera Cruz, tie very prudently, wc think, dis posed of a considerable portion of his ore in j Muza I lull, fearing too much the cupidity of the i Mexican robbers to trust it to his person. Ev erything was cpiiet iu California when Mr. C. | left; Nothing was thought of, or talked of, but | the gold region ; and almost all other business I I Ii tin the lucrative one of gold-digging, was sus s pended. The consequence of this state of ddntis is, that the prices of all the necessaries ** high. Flour for instance, principally brought li“iu Oregon, Ktl a band; bad In mdv, from HV* and for ordinary board, front 912 to §l6 a week were paid. So far as ex . (dotations have been made, it has been ascer- I tained that gold exists on both sides of the Sier- I ra Neveda from 41° nor lii to so far south as the head waters of the San Joaquin river, a dis tance of four hundred miles in length, and one hundred miles in breadth. The gold region al ready discovered, it is estimated, is sufficiently extensive) toigive profitable employmenttE 100,- U()0 persons for generations to come. The ore is in a virgin stale, disseminated in small par cles, and is found in three distinct deposits— sand and gravel beds, on decomposed granite, and intermixed with a kind of slate, ft is gen erally loitnd from immediately beneath the sur face to a distance of four feet, and its position, and the pure state in which it is found, is be lieved to of a general volcanic er ruption. -T Thegold region lies within about one hundred or one hundred and forty miles of San Francisco; it is about the same distance from Monterey ; and the great majority ol the popu lation of those two places, have cleared out, and I ate busy as avarice and ambition can make them, engaged in the pleasant labor of gold finding. From November till March, embrac ing the interval of the rainy season, but little progress can be made in “digging;” so that any enterprising young man, who woidd start now, would be all in good time for the commence, me tit of next year’s operations. Mr. Cutting is rather an old, aud not a very strong man. Me worked at the gold-finding for forty-two days. Being regardful of his health, he chose the “dry diggings” to operate in. In this time he got over fifteen hundred dollars worth ore. It ; is found easier and in larger quantities in the “wet diggings;” but working in the latter is more unhealthy. 11 is implements were, a pick axe, a spade, a butcher’s knife, and a tin pan. One individual found a solid piece of ore weigh ing thirteen pounds. Surely this is literally the “golden age.” The climate of California Mr. Cutting describes as remarkably salubrious and healthy, except on the Sacramento river, where fever and ague to some extent prevail. The N. 0. Crescent also contains a long ar ticle, giving more details from which we clip the following; As it is found now, the gold is nearly in a pure state. The specimens shown to us yesterday by Mr. Cutting weighed from several grains to two or three ounces. In some instances a few quartz pebbles were scattered through the met al, and in others the gold was deposited in pieces of quartz. Mr. Cutting was at the mines only forty days, and in that time gathered §ISOO, be ing an average of §37 50 per day. Many, how ever, make much more than this, and instances are mentioned in which one person has found from §ISOO to §IBOO. Mr. Cutting has been in California a year.— He went there for the purpose of testing the soil and climate, with a view of returning for his family if ho found them favorable to agricultural pursuits. In these respects he speaks of the country in the highest terms, and is satisfied that notwithstanding the abundance of gold the more substantial source of wealth is to be found in the fertility and productiveness of the soil.— In spite of this, however the whole population has been seized with the mania for digging ; the mariner has abandoned his ship, the blacksmith his- anvil, the farmer his plough, and all are to he seen busy night and day extracting the shin ing ore from the bosom of the earth, The consequence of this state of things is, that the labor of tho country has become more power ful than the capital—thus reversing the usual order; and tho editor of tho Californian de dares that he had to toss up with his devil to decide which should split the firewood. Tho total American population of the territory is es timated at about 3000. Ofthis the greater num. her is employed in the mines, where, including 1 1 Wt .vis, die re arc about 6000 persons at work, ‘flic g.d^^k^found by the latter class soon passes into tnWßaris of the whites, as the In dians are willing to sell it for almost any kind of trinket, a little gunpowder or a hatchet, anti they frequently give it for its weight in heads.— This, however, will not be the ease long, as the Indians will soon commence to know the value of the article by the estimate the whites set upon it. Manufacture of Cotton in the South, west.— An unusual degree of interest is felt just now at the South and Southwest, in the manufac j tore of cotton. The St. Louis Courier says that n company of stockholders, residing in Kentucky, 1 Indiana, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi, ! have.organized • for the purpose of I inantWcturing cotton, at Canneltnn, about 120 niijßjßfcplow Louisville. The facilities offered j fey thlflocation are said to bo all that can be asked—land is cheap and abundant, coal exists i in exhaustless quantities, and there are existing causes that serve to make Cannelton one of the ! greatest manufacturing points in the Western j country, in many other things besides cotton. — The capital stock of the company is §500,000. of which, it is understood, §200,000 will now be put to use, and 20 000 spindles will be started. Mobile Register, 2 th. Melancholy Fact. —A New York Journal says there are thirty thousand persons, men and women, in that city, at this time who either cannot get any work lo do or are compelled to do it at prices bordering on starvation. They attribute this difficulty in a great measure to those who seek employment. They seek to do that which they are not capacitated for. The inexperienced youth desires at once to he a clerk in a store where he is only qualified to be a porter. I'his may bo true iu many respects, but co i tuiniy nut iu all. From the N. O. Crescent, Dec. 8. Mexico. —By the brig Titi, and the sc.hr. lone we yesterday received papers from the City of Mexico to the 25th ult. On the 21et the Spanish Minister was to have presented his credentials. The reception would Tid madg with all due etiquette. The Indians continue their ravages, and we scarcely open a paper without finding accounts of their depredations. From long impunity they have become so bold that they approach the largest cities without fear. El Monitor mentions that they had arrived at Santa Rosa, a place within two leagues of Queretaro, the late temporary capital of the Republic. On the 20th ult.. and express was received at the city of Mexico, with information that the celebrated bandit chief Elenterio Quiro, with about three hundred of his hand, had salied out from the Sierra of Augustin, and on the 14th attacked the hacienda of Chicbemequllas, the lifcutf whose owner (I). Manuel Marin) was on ly saved by the prayers of a priest who promis ed that S4OO should he paid as a ransom. The robbers them proceeded to the ranch ofPeco. lete, which they destroyed. At the hacienda of Buena Vista they assassinated an officer bis soi;. At the ranch of Los Ricos they mur dereiDhe second Alcade, and committed many olhfflßutrnges. As soon as Bustamcnte heard of ‘jEij proceedings he despatched a military foriVn the scene of action. The robbers then lied iiA (hi.- impenetrable fastness of the moun fcpbbcrios are more frequent on the publichighway, and will undoubtedly increase soon, as the roads are filled with travellers on their way to the great annual fair. The news papers teem with accounts of these outrages, which it seems the Government either cannot or will not repress. On the 17th three famous! robbers were arrested on the Puebla road.— They made a desperate resistance. On the 12th Gen. Uraya had a fight with the Indians in the State of Guanajuato. Three of the sa'ages were killed six wounded, and more i than seventy made prisoners. The Government has prohibited the soldiers | of the escorts, under severe penalties, from re ceiving any compensation from individuals.— They have been in the habit of asking rewards from travellers which the latter were compell ed to givd or submit to be robbed by the ban ditti. Cottun Bagging, and Cotton Interests. Wo have received from the Richmond Fac tory a specimen of Cotton Bagging, which we consider superior to any article of the kind we have ever seen. Objections have heretofore existed to the use of cotton materials for bag ging, in consequence of the insecurity such bagging affords to cotton for distant ti ansporta tion. The article to which we refer obviates all such objections, as it is made so firm and strong, that the best hemp bagging will not pro bably Im more durable. We should be glad to exhibit it to any one who may wish to inspect it. Various advantages would bo afforded to grow ers of cotton by tbe use of cotton bagging. The most important one is, it would consume more than a million of dollars of the crop annually, and if made in the States where the staple is, would add vastly to their wealth and prosperity. But we want time and room for discantiug up on this subject in this morning paper. We shall recur to it again. The Richmond Fac tory Company propose to manufacture cotton Into baggfhg ut tbur cents poT pound, the cot ton being furnished by the planters, and deliv ered at the Factory. They will receive the most inferior quality of cotton, if free from sand aud dirt. This is is a very liberal offer, and we hope to see it followed by every Factory iu the State and South. Planters by furnishing their inferior cottons to factories, could receive an excellent article of bagging, atacost ofless than half that which they are now paying for the western and for eign article. These inferior grades answer as well for bagging as better qualities, and by be ing withdrawn from the foreign markets, would add to the price of-the better qualities. These inferior cottons always encumber the markets j and detract from the value of those which are j better. We shall recur to this subject in a few ( days, when we shall have more time and room to do justice toil. As the Richmond Factory is making the liberal offer to which we have referred, we hope that those within reach will avail themselves of it for their own and the gen eral good.— Augusta Republic. Western am> Atlantic Railroad.— The able report of the Chief Engineer, exhibiting the condition and future prospects of this noble en terprise, will be fo.:nd in our columns to-day. It will ho seen that the receipts of the Road arc constantly increasing ; that the Engineer upon that portion of it already completed, is substitu ting embankments for bridges that never should have been erected ; and that the day is not dis tant when the entire route to the Tennessee riv er will be finished. Not till then, indeed not un til the contemplated railways in Tennessee which arc to connect with it shall be in operation, will this splendid monument of Georgia’s enter prise fully realize the expectations of its projec tors. When these tributaries shall be opened i and pour forth the immense resources of the ! West, the amount of travel and produce, and hack freights that will then pass over the State i road, none now are able to estimate. We con gratulate the people of Georgia upon the fiivora- j bio condition of the work as exhibited by the re. port, and more especially that the day is near at j hand, when a portion at least, of the immense ; amount expended on this enterprise will be re turned to the coffers of the State.— Fed. Union. From the report of the Superintendent of trans portation we learn that the gross income of the Road for tho year ending Sept. 30, is §115,585,- 30, and the current expenditures for tho same j period amount to §52.022 91—which shows a balance of §53,502 30, being an increase of §15,755 46 over the reported profits of the pre ceding year.— Ed. Georgian. Rehuildino ok the Templb.— The Jews, both here and in Europe, arc just now making great efforts to raise subscriptions for the re building of the Temple of Jerusalem—permis sion to that eflect having recently been given them by the Turkish Government. The sub. ject has been in agitation in this city oflate.and at the Hebrew Festival tho other evening, at the Coliseum, it was prominently discussed.— Among the guests there not mentioned in our report of proceedings, was a Greek Rabbi, who comes hero specially commissioned to rcccivo money for the enterprise in question ; aud we are told his errand, thus fur, has been pretty lib erally rewarded. Tho Rubbi goes, next, South, we me told, and, before going back to Europe, will visit the Eastern Stales.—.V. }’. JJ rpres*. [Correspondence of lire Georgia Telegraph.] Washington, Dec. 5, 1848. <{ The President’s message in the House occu- , pied two hours and a quarter in the reading.— ; Mr. Stephens and Mr. Haskell endeavored to dispense with this, but a fellow whig, Mr. Y in- j ton, reminded them that it never before was j done, and that to acquiesce in the suggestion j would be deemed disrespectful. Altogether, < twenty.five thousand copies of the message and the accompanying documents were ordered to j be printed. Mr. Greely, the editor of the New York . Tribune is an oddity. In New York, he was i | frequently seen with a shoe on one foot and a | boot on the other, his pantaloons up nearly to ; ! his knees ; with an old slouch hat and a coarse | white coat, he looked more like a long-coach j man than an editor of one ot the best edited pa ! pers in the country. Yesterday, he made his appearance in the Hall as a representative from the city of New York. Before coming here, he i rigged himself in more becoming attire. To- i day he gave notice of his intention to introduce | a bill to discourage speculations in the public \ lands and to assist the actual settlers to procure homesteads of their own. With all his eccen tricities and vagaries,and political monstrosities, jheis a benevolent man. He was formerly a I journeyman printer. A Model Govbknoh’r Message.—Gover nor Williams comprises all he has to say to the New Hampshire Legislature in u short newspa per column, confining himself entirely Tn State ; affairs. He chiefly reccommcnds an increase of pay to the judiciary—county boards to prom ote agriculture : the improvement of common schools, &c. A Long-expected Event. —The Baton Jlougc Democratic Advocate, of Wednesday, Contains the following highly interesting para graph, which proves that lor once Madame Ru mor had got hold of the right story, lien. Tay lor must be a happy man. No sooner is he e lected President of the United States, the crown iug distinction of his life, than Bliss crowns the marriage of his only daughter.—.Y .o.Delta, 0/A. Married—On Tuesdny evening, sl!i Dec. 1848, liv file Kev. John Burke, of Baton linage. Cut. William Wal lace Smith Bliss of the U. S. Arinv, tn Miss Kliza seth, daughter of Major General Zachary Tajkor, Pres ident Fleet of the United States. MUSCOGEE DEMOCRAT, BY L. F. W. ANDREWS. An little government an postilde; that little emanating from and controlled by the People,and uniform in its application to all.” Columbus, Thursday, Deo. 14, ISIS. Cotton Market. —The receipts this week hare been heavy, and a brisk business doing. Prices this morning range from 1} to 5; principal sales, 4{ to4j. To Correspondents. —•'April Vacation” accept ed ; will appear as soon as other miscellany, already in type, is disposed of. “ Ajotos” exhibits some poetic talent; a large part of his production would adorn the pages of his lady's album, but will hardly suit the pub! ic taste. We should be pleased to hear from him on subjects less trite than the one new furnished. “ One who is Taxed,” received, but. too late for this issue; will appear in our next. Though this is a document of exceeding vAlumi nousness, yet we are sure, that no intelligent reader will regret the time bestowed, in its careful perusal. Apart from the general interest of Executive mes sages, wherein the state of the country is briefly pre sented to the nation from its official head, und the line of policy of the existing administration is distinct ly marked out., this last annual message of President Polk is worthy of special consideration and approval, by every true-hearted man and patriot, on account of the clear and profound exposition of the true princi ples of constitutional and republican government which is therein set forth, with an ability never sur passed, and which we do not expect to see even ap proximated, until after the next four years at least have passed into oblivion. This is saying a good deal, but despite of some prejudices which we have entertained against Mr. Polk, we would be wanting in justice and candor did we not give him the fullest credit for the masterly State paper which he has just laid before the assembled wisdom of the nation. The Democracy, of course, will read it. and we trust also that many Whigs, who have heretofore been led to believe that no good thing can come out of our polit ical Nazareth, may be induced, with prayerful hearts, to peruse this document and profit by its sound and conservative teachings. Slavery Question. It is given out, that the present session of Congress will settle the question of Slavery, as applied to the Territories, by a compromise between the Northern and Southern democratic Senators—the project being already suggested by Mr. Douglass, of admitting California at once, as a Slah . into the Union ! We that the present Congress will let that subject alone. “ Hands off,” gentlemen, and let the next ad ministration wriggle itself, as best it may, out of the dilemma into which it has placed itself, prospectively, by the tico-fiiccdness of ‘‘old Zach” on that question. We would like to see Gen. Taylor settle that ques tion, to the satisfaction of Northern and Southern Whigs—we would ! On him and his partisans rests that res;* nsibility, and we are quite willing they should meet it and abide the consequences incident thereto, whether prosperous or adverse. Our friend A. G. Ware, of the Mountain Eagle, passed through this place Bth inst. on his way to Washington, having been selected by the Electors of Georgia as tho bearer of the vote of this State. [Si/r. Republican. “To victors belong the spoils,” and the “ Eagle ” j man has thus already got a “ sop in the pan ” —a full | recompense, doubtless, for all his patriotic exertions ‘ in behalf of “old Zach.” The amount of his share ‘ of the spoils, may be set down at throe or four hun dred dollars, which, considering the service ren dered, may deemed first rate pay! Lucky 4 fellow this Editor, to get the quid pm quo, so soon, before the swarming of the whole hive takes place on the 4th of March next,at Washington ! Gen. Taylor's Route. —Gen. Taylor will take the j route up the Mississippi River to Washington, call ing by the way, at Nashville and on Mr. Crittenden. | as lie passes through Kentucky. The latter named, gentleman and Mr. Bell of Tenn., it is believed, out ! west, will be called to tho new Cabinet. Thanksgiving. —Gov. Towns has set apart, by Proclamation, the 25th inst, ns it day of; Thanksgiving and prayer—by tho people of! this commonwealth. i Killing at Baton Rogue.— On Monday last, Dr. EdvvardSkilhnan, 4 of Opelousas, entered the office of Dr. J. G. Byrd at Baton Rogue, and fired at him. A fight ensued, when Byrd killed Skillmaa, by wounding him in the right breast below the fifth rib, cutting through the cartilage and the lobe of the lungs. He died in half an hour after receiving the wound. Byrd received three wounds, one of them severe. It said that he acted in self-defence. [A r . O. Picayune. The last sentence of this extract conveys a wrong impression of the facts of this case. “Ife who Is said to have acted in self-defence,” was the villain who seduced the sister of the deceased, under prom ise of marriage, and who, on being called on to make the only atonement in his power—that of marrying his victim—scornfully refused so to do. Hence the recontre between him and the brother of the young lady, and the death of the brother in the fruitless at tempt to avenge her wrongs ! Dr. Byrd has therefore to answer for the double crime of seduction and murder—whereby the do ineatic peace of two families has been forever blight ed—that of the elder Skilhimn, whose daughter has been dishonored and his son killed, and that of the deceased, who leaves a w ife and child to mourn their loss of a husband and father! These are the facts as stated to the Editor of this paper, by a respectable gentleman wilbwas in Baton Rogue at the time of the difficulty—and terves tt> show how often the black-hearted seducer of female innocence may not only triumph iu his villainy, but be excused even for consequent murder on the score of ‘ ‘self-defence ”! Gen. Taylor's Position. —We really have but little better opinion of Gen. Taylor’s consistency now, than we had before his election. It will be recollect ed that that the General once said that Mr. Fillmore was an “eminent statesman of sound conservative principles,” when he knew that Fillmore had repeat- I edly voted for northern interference with the ques ’ Jion of slavery. Now if this was the conduct of a statesman of sound principles, what rule of consis | tency dictates the following as the principles that are to govern Gen. Taylor's course on the sameques ! tion ? Natchez, Nov. 15, 1848. j llon. A. G. Brown.— Dear Sir: As all parties j concede that Gen. Taylor is elected President, 1 has -1 ten to inform you that he has thrown oil'all disguise, | and conceals no opinion. • S. 18. Boyd, whom you know to be radical on the | slavery question, ami who says that Stephens’ post j lion is absurd, called Bingaman and myself one-side j yesterday, and told us that he,had that day spent some hours with Gen. Taylor, and that he was all right or> the points, and, without speaking of the territories, | the old gentleman distinctly and earnestly declared | that when the North attempted to interfere with the j slave question, he was for drawing the su ord and throwing auay the scabbard! I He will go with the free .States on the tariff and internal improvement questions, and with the slave J States on the free soil question. F. L. Claiborne.” South-Western Railroad. —Thirty-five miles of j this road are under contract—twelve miles of grading i completed and the larger portion of the masonry bo tween Macon and Flint river finished. “ The Board (says the Messenger.) will no doubt, at. its next meeting order the road to be put under contract from Fort Valley to Flint River.” Cholera in New York. —There were nineteen cases of Chelcra on board a vessel which reached New York, lately, from Havre. Seven died on the passage and three, since, at the quarantine ground. One case has been telegraphed as being in the city. A* this disease generally begitw -.vith diarrhea, it will be pendent for the people to be prepared, in season, for the emergency that may soon be upon them. By early attention to the premonitory symptoms, the dis ease can easily be managed. Telegraphed lor I tic Savannah Georgian. Later from Europe! At a lute hour last night we received a Tel. I (/graphic despatch, from our Charleston cortes. pondent, announcing the arrival of tlie steamer Brittanuia at Boston, giving us some items of foreign intelligence brought by her. The price of middling fair Cotton in the Liv erpool market is reported to be a little better while fair remains without change. Baring’s circular quotes Corn at 30 to 325., being a decline of 4to ss. Corn .Meal 16<. 6d. to 17s. ; large barrels 36 to 275., kegs 40 to 12s. Rice is quiet—previous quotations are barely sustained. Turpentine dull at 32*. 6d. Sales of Breadstuff# are limited, with a down ward tendency. The late of per centage and discount at the I Bank of England remains about the same. The operations iu the Amercan loan hat e assisted to keep exchange at its par value. The French papers regard the result of the Presidential election as doubtful. It is said that it rests between Gen. Cavaignac and Louis Na il polcon. In Ireland depression, misery, poverty and starvation exists to an alarming extent among the poor. The country continues tranquil.— ! There was no political or other news ofimpor. i tance. It was thought that the lives ofthe State prisoners would he spared Denmark still insists on the dissolution of tho government of Schleswig Holstein. In Spain the Queen's troops have gained a battle at Arragon, dispersing the insurgents into Italy. 1 he Austrians maintain their position in Lom bardy. Charles Albert has given up the idea of renewing the war. The Cholera still rages in Constantinople. In England the number of deaths by this disease amounts to five hundred and thirteen. It is said that it Bonaparte is defeated a dread, ful conflict is anticipated. Money in London is said to be extremely a* bundant, and the funds were advancing. With regard to the prices of Cotton i* Liv. erpool, our despatch is very imperfect. It says—‘Cotton, Upland, Mobile, fair Orleans 4 1-B.’ In the New-York market on Thursday, fair Upland Cotton was quoted at 6 3-9, and fair Mo. bile and Orleans 6 7-8. Market very firm, with an upward tendency. The Cholera in New York does not spread except among the passengers at the quaran. tine. Three more deaths oecurred'nn Thursda.y making ten since the arrival of the ship with tho nineteen cases. This city is still ex. ompt from the disease, hut the. influenza prc. vails. The death of the Hon. Dixon 11. Lewis, has boon announced in Congress, and nftor the a. doption ofthe usual resolutions, both houses ad. journed,