Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

Gr* l\. MILLli] R, Torrfis 00 A Year, in Advance. TITE UPSON PILOT, Th< unasl < >n. (_4 Boopgia. G. A. MILLER, Editor aiul Proprietor. PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY MORNING. Terms of Subscription. In advance, for 1 year,* gatK) If payment be delayed ft months, - - - 250 If delayed until the end of tke year - - 300 Club Rates. Single copy, $2 00 Five copies, 8 00 Ton copies, -------- 15 00 flubs exceeding tcu, in the same proportion 31,50 each. Payment always in advance. 0 w (Office over .1. ilorn7J Co.'s Grocery Store.') Rates of Advertising. Advertisements will be charged at the rate of one dollar per square of lon lines or less, and fifty cents for each subsequent insertion. Professional Cards, not. exceeding ten lines, will be inserted 12 months for $ 12. Liberal contracts made with Merchants and others v hing to advertise by the year. For Announcement of Candidates $3, invariably in advance. * Marriages and Deaths inserted free, when accompa nied by a responsible name. Obituaries of over 10 lines charged as Advertisements. Wo com mend the following Rates (if Advertising bv rintraet to business men generally. We have placed tiiem at the lowest figures, and they wili in no instance I,e departed from : BV CONTRACT. | 3 ntos. 6 mos. 9 mbs. 1 year, oss bqoarS, | Without change, $6 00 $8 00 $lO 00 sl2 00 ’hanged quarterly 700 10 00 12 qq 1G 00 Changed at will, 800 12 00 14 qq 18 00 two sqe vRES. * Without change. 10 00 15 00 20 00 25 00 1 ringed quarterly 12 00 18 00 24 00 28 00 1 gi at will,* 15 00 20 00 25 00 30 00 three squares. uip, It: cl; 1 ige, 15 00 20 00 25 00 • 30 00 Iri ged |ivirt -rly 18 00 22 00 2G 00 34 00 ..ringed nt will, 20 00 2G 00 32 00 40 00 h\lf coT.rtfx, / * * - h V; , •>, 1 ige, 2- r > 00 30-qq 10 00 50 00 1 t ige 1(U 1 ‘ lerly 2 s 0() 82 qq 45 <U) 56 00 -.i |af will, ‘ 35 00 45 00 50,.00 GO 00 O.'K COLCMS, W,t!i.-v . ‘nage. 60 00 70 qq 80 qq 100 00 1 :ii ‘ rly 65 00 75 qq 00 qq 11(^00 70 00 85 qq 100 qq 120 GO Legal Advertising. < ’>< In- T - ail Negroes, by administrators. Ex t ; - ;el (Li irdi.tns, are required by law to be heel ... ti li 1 1 iv'.'-laj in the month, between the boars i.'te 1 , •n*;i )oH and three in the afternoon, at*the • :! ise in 1 lie county in which the property is sit 'd. N ■ *> of these sales must be given in a pub ! izetie f.e-ty ila> s tjrcvioiis to the day of sale. \..;i >Mr ne ;'o c>f ]ersonal property must be , u ."a • ! days previous to the day of sale. ,\ >:.i 1 !*•••- and Creditors oi an Estate must r> ■ ;i>.: .1 ‘d forty days. \ i • . . ation will be made to the Court of >r L-.i'.-e to r 01l Land or Negroes, must be I :,•> liv *elily for two months. . 1 i ■ is : r better-, of Administration must, be pub ■ 1 >hi 1,. > > —for Disniissioti fpoiu Administration, i■< i,i .;. *ll ■> —for Dismission from Guardian siii. tu, t d'ivs. ;; r • 1 r K h> ure of Mortgage must be published • four m c hs —for establishing lost papers : r ’ mi i, .■ three months—for coin] telling ti •s :* . 1 1,, ■,-n; :•< or Administrators, where a bond < 1 •1 . e.i by tin: deceased, the full space of three -ttions will alwavs lie continued according to •_i it! 1 • |Uvi men is, Uiiiess otherwise oivieie.l, r \ t f s : ( vi m nii I, >tters of Administration. $2 50 pi. nissory front Administration, 600 “ Guardianship, 550 I,'ive to Land or Negroes, 6GO silf*, . . ;, ’ proiieri r. 11l days. 1 sq. 100 ’ - tflaiei or negroes bv Executors, 3 50 ihtnvs. two weeks* ‘ 1 Shorilfs Sales GO da vs, 5 l>o • “ 30 ‘ . 250 I M'Uiev sent liv mail is at the risk of the Editor, j pr .viil-.l if the remittance miscarry, a receipt be ex- j he Post faster. > 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.