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< ’>< In- T - ail Negroes, by administrators. Ex
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'd. N ■ *> of these sales must be given in a pub
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v*vof?ssiciuil (t iU'ds.
A CARD.
TANARUS) R.• B. W .SPA Iv KB ,
AUl'iiitS his services to the citizens of Thomaston |
*U l n . undiug community,
ile will tie found at bis Oltice oner C. M. Mitchell’s
- - st ;e. during the day and night, unless ‘
! I’essiotially engaged. * *
February 4, IBGO/-ly.
P. W. Alt xiintjer,
.1 TTO It X E Y A T LA TU*
Thomaston, Georgia.
nor 25, 1859—1 v
G, A. MILLHK,
ATTOIi NE Y A T LA W ,
Thomaston, Georgia.
E. Warres. . * c - T - Go<^
Warren &. Goode,
-1 ITO Jl XX YS A T LA tF
Perry, Houston .Cos., Ga.
nov 18, ISO8 —It
TIIO3IA S 15 EAL L.
A T TORN E Y A T LA\V ,
Thomaston, G.orgia.
febll 18G0 —ly
E. A. & J. W. Spivey,
A TTORNEYS AT LA W,
THOMASTON. GEORGIA.
Ang. 27, 1859. all Ft.
William ii Horsley,
ATTOIf NE Y AT LA W ,
Thomaston, Georgia.
Id ILL practice itr Upson, Talbot, Taylor, Ciavford,
** Monroe, Pike and Mevriwether Counties.
Vfll 7. 1859—1 y. ‘
ffiY. C \ Moore,
-Yosidcnt Dentist,
THOMASTON, GA.
f) l- ICE at my House (the late residence
/of Mrs. Hicks.) where I am prepared
’ ! to all classes of Dental Opera
-11 s - My work is myßeference.
—j-f
IOLLIXSWORTH INSTITUTE !
talbottOM gia.
r'IE exercises of this Institution, will be resumed
/- January 14th, 18G1. Tuition per scholastic year
: ’UO and SSO Board and Washing, $S per week.
/’/ expense for Board and Tuition, from sl9, to
C. seay & McLaughlin,
Principals and Proprietors.
LETTER FROM HON. JOHN A. LO
GAN.
Washington City-, D. C.,
December 31, 18G0.
Judge J. A. Hctyne , Cairo, Illinois.
My Dear Sir : Yours of the2sfh inst.
is received, and read with great interest.—
ou ask me, “What of the fearful crisis
now threatening the dismemberment of
our beloved country ? v
My feeble pen is incompetent to portray
that fearful future whose rapid approach
is now shaking this vast Republic to its
very centre. The happiness and prosper
ity we have so long enjoyed under the
! shield of- the Constitution is about to be
buried in the infamous grave dug by the
hand of sectional fanaticism. A few
months since, the entire country, and es
pecially our own beautiful prairie State,
presented to the eje an abundant harvest,
with cheering prospects of a liberal reward
j for our patient and liouest industry, prom
ising comfort and profit to the farmer, me
chanic, merchant; and, indeed, every class
|of our community were refreshed by the
I blessing of “seed time and harvest.”—
Cheerfulness illuminated every counte
nance, peace and contentment were en
throned in our midst. I
November last witnessed the grand
spectacle ot a free people choosing their
Chief Magistrate. The choice fell upon a
strictly sectional candidate. Mark the sad
change ! Already a tornado rages through
out this fair land, leaving a wide desola
-1 tion in its path. The election is scarcely
announced before the alarm is sounded
throughout the South. Power having
passed into the hands of the enemies of
their institut ions, feeling that there is no
longer security for them in the integrity of
the government, they rushed madly on,
| crying aloud, “Our constitutional lights
long since invaded,” “Our firesides long
since rendered insecure,” “The point is
reached beyond which our safety forbids
longer endurance,” “We will assume the
original and natural right of self defence.”
Alas! my dear sir, the “irrepressible con
flict” is upon us, with all its blighting in
iluence. Our social and political system
crumbling to pieces, trade interrupted,
confidence destroyed, tbe products of the
soil hardly bringing the value of the labor
that produced them, stocks of every de
scription reduced in value, the currency of
the country greatly depreciated, individ
ual, Slate and national credits aimost en
tirely destroyed, thousands of poor labor
ing men thrown out of employment in the
bitterness of winter, destitute of'the ne
ou saries wbMi nature demands* Idico i to
depend upon the charities of an almost
bankrupt public.
{Since the election of Mr* Lincoln our
country lias sustained a loss of several
bund red millions of dollars, as the first le
gitimate and grinding tax of dominant
“Black Republicanism.” Under this bale j
ful breath ail our bright prospects, all our
fond anticipations, instead of ripening
into glorious realities, “likedead sea fruit,” j
has turned to ashes upon our lips. If this
pecuniary embarrassment, this stagnation .
and .suffering in our industrial pursuits
were all,'time anti wise counsels would
soon clear the wreck. But, my dear sir,
there is a dark picture in the sickening
panorama of the day—a still greater ca
lamity is on its march —the cables of tlie j
old Ship of State are parting, a political
earthquake*is rending the federal arch, one
pillar is already wrenched from our proud
temple. The magnificent proportions of
freedom’s shrine is already defaced.
Patriotism in sackcloth sits by her
trembling altar bemoaning the sad fate of j
her labors ; a system, born tinder the
guidance of a kind Providence, baptised
in the best blood of qur fathers, torn asun
der by the degeneracy of the times; the
hopes of freedom crushed and dying be
neath ils ruins ; worse than all, furnishing!
evidence to be used by despots against the
capacity of men for self-government. By
our failure monarchical arrogance will pro
claim with renewed and redoubled force, i
that “Clod’s anointed alone are fit to rule. ’ ;
lu vain we exclaim, what-is our crime that
death’s distilling cloud p’eihangs us ?
Why is not this madness arrested ? The
goblet of liberty’s refreshing waters springs i
to our lips from the grave of the revolu- j
tion ; to-day, with'suicidal hand we scat- j
ter its precious contents, and dash the sa
cred vessel to pieces, never again to resume
its perfection, its beauty and glory. Heaven
w ill accurse the act, and in a short time
the ruthless hand of sectional prejudice
and passion will be withered and dead. —
But alas ! by its side, I fear, will repose a
broken and dismembered country.
My friend, we must hope, yet with no
present encouragement. fanatics
North and South have a. majority of the
ear of the people in their respective sec
tions, and, although diametrically opposed,
yet the puposes of both lead to a common
result, (the overthrow’ of the government,)
apparently the consequence of a joint con
spiracy—the Abolitionists desiring disun
ion believing it would give them the entire
control of a Northern republic, and, undei
the lead of fanaticism and priestciaft the)
could more effectually war upon the insti- j
tution of slavery by border raids, which
would certainly follow.
If the devil himself had devised a scheme
to roll back six thousand years of triumph
ant progress into a smouldering, chaotic
pest house, he could not have conceived a
more infernal plan than has been pursued
by the extremists of this country for S< -A -
eral years past. Southern men aie foi
separation because they think their lights
not secure under Abolition rule, and that
‘THE UNION OF THE STATES: —DISTINCT. LIKE® BILLOWS; ONE, LIKE THE SEA.”
THOMASTON. GEORGIA. SAT; HI *• Y MORNING, .JANUARY 2& Nil.
it is feasible to establish a government e r
clusively on a slave basis, giving entire se
curity to their institutions, at tbe same
time developing a prosperity and wealth
unequaled in any country.
Hence they attempt to withdraw from
the Union.” Defiant abolitionis ts say “let
them go,” both believing that they will be
in a better situation without, the other.—
This is a vain delusion. The future will
soon reveal tlie dire mistake. Some talk
of “peaceable secession.” That can never
be, North or South ; ‘difficult
and dangerous questions of difference will
arise at once, the solution of which will
require a compromise of interest or princi
ples of one or the other sections, with no
constitutional obligations to sustain either:
then the stronger will claim the surrender
of the weaker, or harrass until submission
is yielded. All brotherly arid national
considerations being ignored, strife is in
evitable. On the instant of dissolution
difficulties will gather thick and fast. The
recognition of the .South as an independ
ent sovereignty, the fofts, arsenals, all
government property, division of land and
territories the uninterrupted navigation of
the Mississippi river to the Gulf, (the lat
ter,-we of the Northwest, will not only de
mand, but will secure at every cost) and
countless, of a commercial
character, will arise, finally embroiling the
sections in war, ending at last in the con
quest of one or the other party.
Those who dream that this’Confederacy
cam separate peaceably', will wake, up to thd
Conviction of their sad error, 1 fear, too
lite. lam clearly of the opinion that a
disruption will speedily involve us in a
civil war. In this country, civil war per
forms the funeral ceremony,-* of liberty
throughout Ihe world, it has been well
said, that “when the sun of this Republic
sets, it will get behind a sea of blood.’’ ,
lii the nightol* our sorrow, the in an ides
of military despots may be fastened upon
“our limbs, and will gleam in our temple
when Freedom’s” shield lies pierced and
broken. Is there one not void of feeling
that can think of the future without being
appalled at the thought of all our guaran
tees being engulfed in fratricidal blood, the
heart-rending snectacle of State arrayed
against State, brother against brother, fa
ther against son, the memories’ of the past
and hopes of the future appealing in vain
to infuriated sections.
If we would pass this bitter clip from
our lips, I solemnly believe there is but one
way; let the old fire of patriotism burst
from ihe great, heart of the people, awing
the political mamac, the fanatic, and the
desperate and reckless disunionists, apo
silence. Let the stout hearted millions of
all sections command the peace, requiring
Abolitionists to cease their warfare upon
institutions of sister States, and mind their
own business and let others atone. Let the
North attend to her own institutions and
allow the South the same privilege. Let
the doctrine be accepted everywhere that
the people of each State are capable of self
government without any interference from
others. Let the President elect and his
party abandon Congressional intervention
on the slavery question in tlie Territories
and District of Columbia, repeal their odi
ous and unconstitutional personal liberty
laws, punishing citizens for obeying tlie
act for the rendition ot fugitive slaves, or
in any way obstructing the execution of
the act ; let them cease pitching crusades
against people with whose concerns they
have nothing to d<>, and for whose institu
tions they are not responsible ; let them,
with fidelity, execute the federal compact
made by our fathers, to the ftil till men t of
which the honor and good faith of all t>f
us are pledged ; let them cast out their
hypocritical sympathy for such mmderers
as John Brown and his confederates, as
devils were “cast out” in the days of our
Savior. Utiti'i these things are done, to
talked peace and brotherly feeling between
the sections is madness and moclfcry. .*
History informs fiat that Nero, a royal,
but insane and bloodthirsty man, fiddled
while Koine was burning, and it does seen)
to me that tlie President elect and his
friends, iluslied and drunken with victory,
are plunging deeper into their fanatical or
gies the nearer our beloved country is un
done.
Whilst there can be no doubt that abo
lition fanaticism is the primary cause ofall
our troubles, and now the sole obstacle in
the way of scuffing them; yet extreme
Southern men are not blameless ; indeed,
they are far from it. I hold there is a rem
edy inside,tlie Union lor alt, the gin vanees
of any of our people, and that disunion is
none whatever, but a movement fraught
with the. worst calamities to ail'sections. —
The election of Mr. Lincoln, deplorable as
it mav be, affords no justification or good
excuse’for overthrowing the republic, and
the crrievauces that are act fofth as a cause
for disunion now* by the wild and uneasy
spirits of the South, will, in a brk: perhafi
be pleaded in vain, when the public mind
begins to recoil lioin the horrors which will
soou enciicle us.
Those who conspired,then will be crush
ed bv the indignant means ot their own
sections. Notwithstanding the great and
co°ent causes of complaint, there is no need
of'thoughtless precipitancy. Cairn reflec
tion will convince ttic Southern mind tnnt
Mr. Lincoln is perfectly harmless for ad
ministrative mischief. His teeth are pull
ed and daws cut by the fact that there is
a majority in the’ Senate and House of
Representatives opposed to him. (Samson
is shorn of his locks.) With these against
him, he is forced to play the amiable part
of a political puppet. The Congressional
has “belled the cat.” He dttmot
move without sounding the alarm, when
instantly Congress “puts on the break,”
cuts ojj supplies of wood and water , when
lo ! lie who would play Richard the Third
up to the fourth of March next, will enact
a star engagement in the character of “Jer
ry Sneak* ’ ever after.
Hence, as no immediate damage threat
ens, there can he no good reason, justifica
tion, or excuse for splitting this glorious
Lilian in hot haste. Our Southern broth
ers claim to be brave and'-gallant men—all
of which is granted —let’ them, therefore,
prove their courage and good sense by not
running at tlig first lire, for by desertion
they heave the Northern Democracy, (who
have lfiflierto fought their battles it) sun
shine and in storm, by day and by night,
> against tlie fanaticism of the country,)
weakened and at Ihe m* rcy of the common
i foe. If they wonld only stand by the. Un
it! and by us, we could soon cure tbe po
litical disease that has driven men mad;
the efforts of Mr. Lincoln’s party would be
futile and abortive*
By doing this their rights would be se
cured within the Union, and fifteen hun
dred thousand good and true men of the
North would stand by them and see that
! they should have all the guarantees of the
1 federal compact, to which they aro entitled
faithfully carried out,-and still incessantly
would we work for the correction of abuses
| and abolition misrule. Let them then
prove magnanimous by locking.shields'with
their Northern friends, who now need their
support, as heretofore we stood by them
when they needed ours.
In the name ofjhe thousand battles we
Have fougirt together, under the Constitu
tion and Union, I would adjure them not
to abandon ius in this evil hor to the mis
eries and disgusting rule of wild and infu
riated fanaticism. Besides, they can by
no means better themselves by resorting to
revolut ion and disunion, but will be great
ly the sufferers by it. The base passions
of a few disturbers of the public peace,
North arid South, may for a time be sat ia
ted. This will, however, be very poor pay
to tlie masses of the South for the loss of
the benefits of the fugitive slave law, for
the forcing of Ddeware, Maryland, Virgin
ia, Kentucky, and Missouri iuto the list of
free States, for forcing the Canadian line
to their own border, for the enacting of the
scenes of St. Domingo in tlie cotton States,
under the influence and at the instigation
of such men as John Brown.
Entertaining honestly these views, (as
expressed to you throughout,] I am for the
Union, and maintaining it, if such a thing
be possible, and am uncompromisingly op
posed to any man or net of men that coun
tenance disunion, with its horrible conse
quences. There is no sacrifice that I would
not make for it. I have no opinions that
1 am so wedded to that I would not modi
ify in any way, consistent with the honor
of my constituents and myself, to give
peace to the country.
It will not do for us to let this, the prou
dest government of earth, be rent in twain,
thereby destroying its power and influence
at home and and abroad, rendering our
name a scoff and a bve-word on tbe lips of
those who hate our institutions, entailing j
a bankruptcy worse than the present, em- 1
broiling us in civil war, disgusting us and
the civilized world with the confusion of a |
dozen petty republics springing out of the |
grand one now tottering to its fall. Weof
tlie Northwest having as much, if not tin ore
at stake than any other section, can not
stand silently by while, the joint action of
extremists are draging us to ruin.
May < *o<l forbicßthat the Patriot’s eye
should witness a struggle here, under any
ot her than the national flag. Lot the bold
yeomanry of the lyighty West tighten their
belts, stretch forth their powerful arms to
steady the racking pillars of the mightiest
republic that ever floated in the tide of
time ; calm the terrible convulsions which
are now approaching the foundation of the
last citadel of self governnient ; let them
aid in strangling the political assassin who
lurks around the altar of tbe Constitution.
Let us render unto each section that
which is justly theirs, and,soon the peace
ful watcher ofihe night, the wakeful ear,
will be greeted with the joyous challenge
of Lour Southern brQther, wearing his
“buckler” by bis happy camp fires, and an
swered by our sentinels from the broad ,
prairies of the West with freedom’s watch
cry—‘-ail is-wdl.”
Very truly, your friend,
John A. Logan, i
jgr* . ; .
GOVERNOR HICKS’ ADDRESS TO j
THE PEOPLE OF MARYLAND.
Uhder date of the Executive Chamber,
Annapojis, January 3d, Governor Hicks j
has issued an address to'the people of Ma
ryland, upon the present crisis in our na
tional affairs*
In tluT'cleares*’ and simplest style, thar
acterized by th.it common cense, whicli is a
very uncompion gift, and in which so many
eloquent and shining men have been wo
fully deficient’ Gov. Hicks lias vinuipated 1
the position he occupies, andfhown more
clearly in his address than in any State
paper we have yet seen, the true position
of affairs, and particularly and especially
the proper position which Maryland should t
occupy in this terrible crisis. We hav£
not space for the whole address, but we ;
present to our readers its strongest points j
in the language of the Governor himself. —
We could not in, making an abstract of
it. express it more tersely :
From the location of the National Capi
tal within our limits, and our peculiar geo
graphical position, Maryland would inevit- 1
bly became the chosen baffle ground of the
sections in the event of civil war. Her
long line of exposed frontier would beopen
to attack from e'very quarter, and her peace
ful waters would soon become the theatre
of this horrid contest. It needs no argu
ment to convince a reflecting mind that
such a war would bring upon us more than
the usual accompaniments of war—loss of
life, destruction of ajl domestic peace, op
pressive taxation, ruinous depreciation of
property, and almost universal bankruptcy.
Asa .border slaveholding State, she would
especially suffer in the utter destruction of
a cherished domestic institution, with w hich
all our sympathies are firmly united. A
brave people) forced info a necessary war,
would partially estimate even these great
evils, and Maryland never has been, and
never will be, found backward in such a
contest. But no man, who has a real stake
in the community, would consent to em
bark in such a future if it could be avoid
ed With honor.
I firmly believe that the division of this
Government would inevitably produce civil
war. The secession leaders in South Car
olina, and fanatical demagogues of the
North, have alike proclaimed that such
would be the result, and no man of sense,
in nivopinion, can question it.
Is it not then the bounden duty of all
of us. and especially of those placed in au
thority, to endeavor to prevent the occur
rence of such a catastrophe, by opposing
anything even tending to produce it P
I fervently hope, and firmly believe, that
the Union may be preserved. Onr fore
fathers would not have admitted that the
Government was utterly dissolved if the
Hartford Convention had resolved the New
England States out of the Union—nor can
wo ap,roo that similar resolves, passed by
the Conventions of one, or ttvo, or half a
dozen of the Cotton States, should be con
sidered as working its dissolution at this
time. It is yet, thank God, in full exist
ence, recognized by every Government on
the globe, and prepared and willing to re
dress, with the whole power of the nation,
any indignity or injury, inflicted by the
proudest power on earth upon the hum
blest citizen of South Carolina, or any oth
er State.
It is unnecessary for me to make extrav
agant professions of devotion to the South.
Such protestations may be necessary from
imported Northern politicians, who, by in
direct abuse of their own Northern breth
ren, and truckling flattery of the South
ern people, have worked themselves, into
power at the South. ‘I am a Marylander
by birth, and descent, and by a residence
ot more than sixty years. Every dollar of
property I own is invested in this State.—
1 am a slaveholder, not by accident, but
by purchase, out of the hard earnings of a
long life of toil. I have not a conviction
or prejudice which is not in favor of my
native State. I have neverlived, and should
be sorry to be obliged to live, in a State
where slavery does not exist, and T never
will do so if I can avoid it. Whatever
would.impair the rights of slaveholders in
Maryland, would equally injure me, and
the instinct of self-interest, if no higher
motive, would impel me to stand by the
South while life shall last.
Believing that the interests of Maryland
were bound up with those of the border
slaveholdiqg States, 1 have been engaged,
for months past, in a full interchange of
view's with the Governors of Virginia, Ken
tucky, Tennessee and Missouri, with a view
to concerted action upon our part. Those
consultations, which are still in progress, I
feel justified in saying, have resulted in
good ; so that when the proper time for
action arrives, these sister States, bound
up in a common destiny, will, I trust, be
prepared to act together.
I have been forcibly impressed with tlie
fact, in considering this question, that ev
ery disunionist in Maryland, (and to our
shame be it spoken, there are some such’
among us,) is an earnest advocate for the
immediate call of the Legislature. One of
tlie papers of to-day contains a report of
the proceedings at a meeting which adopt
ed a resolution in favor of immediate se
cession, which was warmly advocated by
the present Speaker of the House of Dele
gates, and the last of the series of resolu
tions, directs the appointment of a com
mittee to urge upon me to convene that
House of Delegates forthwith. It seems to
me that a measure thus earnestly advocat
ed by those who are bent upon the des
truction, at once, of the Union, arid the
happiness of our State, can hardly be the
proper means of preserving both.
X have hitherto forborne so dwell par
ticularly upon an objection to this measure
which deserves to be maturely weighed in
a crisis like this, when the people are ill
prepared to bear increased burdens. It is
nevertheless proper that you should be in
formed that ou ilie first of October, there
was .a deficit in the State Treasury of at
least fifty thousand -dollars, and that the
Treasury officers have repeatedly been
without the means of paying drafts upon
it, in consequence of the appropriations
made by tlie last Legislature. Nothing
but the most rigid economy and careful
management can enable tbe Treasury to
pay the April interest upon tlie State debt.
Maryland knows something of heavy
taxation, for she le-s borne it heroically,
until she is just beginning to relieve her
self from its crushing weight. That her
people would bear it again without a raur
mer, if they were convinced of its necessi
ty, I well know’ ; hut should not our past
experience warn us against incurring fur
ther burdens, unless they are positively re
quired by our hunor. Especially, shoull
Editor and
Volume *3 Number 10.
I v/e not avoid it, if it be probable that the
| consequence of this renewed taxation should
be to secure woe3 and sufferings for the peo
j pie of the State.
What could the Legislature do in this
crisis, if convened, to remove the present
troubles which beset the Union ? Wea*e
told by the leading spirits in the South
I Carolina Convention, that neither the elec
tion of Mr. Lincoln or the non-execution
of the Fugitive Slave Law, nor both com
bined, constitute their grievance. They
j declare that the real cause of their discon
tent dates as far back as eighteen hundred
j and thirty-three.
I have been repeatedly warned, by per
sons having the opperrtunity to know, ami
who are.entitled to the highest confidence,
that the secession leaders in Washington
have resolved that the border States, and
especially Maryland, shall be precipitated
into secession with the cotton States, be
fore the fourth of March.
They have resolved to seize the Federal
Capital and the public archives, so that
they may be in a position to be acknowl
edged by foreign governments as the “Uni
ted States,’’ and the assent of Maryland is
necessary, as the District of Columbia would
revert to her in case of a dissolution of the
Union. It. is only contemplated to retain
it for a few years, as the wants of the Sou
thern Military Confederacy will cause its
removal further South.’ The plan contem
plates forcible opposition to Mr. Lincoln’s
inauguration, and consequently civil war,
upon Maryland soil, and a transfer of its
horrors from the States which are to pro
voke it.
The voices of those who favor this scheme
are unanimously for a special session, and
every effort has been made, and will be made,
henceforth, to manufacture public opinion
in this State, to force me to convene that
body.
Injurious reports have been disseminated
among you by these men, to try to destroy
whatever influence I may be supposed to
possess. It has been falsely reported that
1 would be an applicant for office under
Mr. Lincoln, and this rumor has been long
in circulation before it reached my ears,
and I thus had not the opportunity to de
nounce it as an infamous, unfounded slan
der.
It has been publicly reported that I had
written a very objectionable letter to Mr.
Crittenden, upon the present condition of
affairs. As soon as I heard it I read a copy
of the letter to the gentleman who repeated
the rumor, and he at once signified his ap
proval of its contents ; but I have since
directed it to be published, and you can
read it for yourselves. This spirit of defa
mation has gone so far that anonymous let
ters have been circulate and in Anne Arundel
county, stating that I hadinvitedthe slaves
to a public dinner, on Chriamas day, near
this city. You will doubtless bear many
similar falsehoods, circulated with thissame
design of weakening } T our confidence in the
Executive of the State by attempting to
work upon your fears.
For myself, 1 have lived long enough to
know how to despise false reports. A man
need only fear unfavorable reports when
they are true.
I firmly believe that the salvation of the
Union depends upon the border slave
States. Without their aid, the cotton
States could never command the influence
and credit aiu]*men essential to their exis
tence as a nation. Without them the
Northern half of the llepublic would be
shorn of its power and influence. Within
the Union, 1 firmly believe we can secure
guarantees for our protection, which will
remove these distressing causes of irrita
tion.
If we find hereafter that the North shall
after due deliberation, refuse to give them,
we will, in a united body, demand and re
ceive a fair division of the national domain.
Wo claim an equal share in the territories;
let us not abandon the whole of them by
seceding—we claitn the full execution of
; the fugitive slave law ; let us not annul
that, law entirely, by leaving the Union,
and thus virtually bringing Canada down
to our borders. We claim the protection
of our institutions, as guaranteed by the
Constitution, let us not render this pro
tection impossible by tearing the Consti
tution to fragments.
I Lave extensive means of information
as to the wishes of the people, not pos
i sessed by those who urge this measure
upon me ; and I am fully convinced that
; an immense majority of these, throughout
the whole State, are firmly opposed to
such action.
In the course of nature, I cannot have
long to live, and I fervently trust to be al
lowed to end my days a citizen of this glo
rious Union. But should Ibe compelled
; jtofwitiifcss the downfall of that govern
ment, inherited from our fathers, estab
j lished, as it were, by the special favor of
God, I will, at least, have the consolation,
l at my dying hour, that I never, by word
jor deed, assisted hastening its disrup
! tion. Thomas H. Hicks.
’ - ~
A person complained to Dr. Franklin of
having been insulted by one who called
him a scoundrel.
“'Ah !” replied the doctor, “and what did
you call him ?”
“Why,” said he, “I called him a scoun
drel, too.”
“Well/” resumed Franklin, “I presume
you both spoke the truth.”
When we think of good, angels are si
lent ; when we do it they rejoice.