American Democrat. (Macon, Ga.) 1843-1844, June 07, 1843, Image 2

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The (iror:i:i Journal, 30th ultimo, After speaking’ liberally of ihc Dcmocraiic Frcsa, our own humble la’xrrs included, proceed* in the fu'knrinjr strain of j;:ticion? rema k, «nd genernm nml manly •euliincnt, *•> . < v£,-;.;al to our own foel in«r», wc shall at ai ail , jo iappy iu reciproca ting it. 11l this State, the democratic press are generally out ip favor of .Mr. Calhoun. And, within a week or two past, anew ally in the shape of the “ American Dem ocrathas been added to the list of his supporters. This press is edited by Dr. Green, and published in Macon, by W. A. <fc C. r rhompson. In its late number, \ve find the following high toned senti ments, which we extract for the benefit of all interested, or who expect to take part m the ensuing presidential contest. Mn.pAi.noux andMr. Clay. With these distinguished statemen as the lead ers of the two great political parties of the country in the next Presidential contest, the friends of each, and the country at large, will gain much in the elevation of the tone of public opinion the max ims of the nation—- the science of poli tics itself, will be liberated and enlarged with these men. The contest will indeed Ire a noble one. The great questions be fore the people of the country will be principles frankly and openly avowed by the champion of each party. Such a contest will be a rational one. Such as we desire. In Mr. Clay the Whigs will have a great leader, and our party a bold and dashing enemy to contend with. Let us meet them with a fearless and gallant captain, one on whom we can depend, one every way worthy of our cause and country. Such a leader is Mr. Calhoun ; he is the man of all others host calculated to inspire with new life, the Republican party of the country and to invigorate with manly resolution and energy, all its members —in the event that he is the chosen standard bearer of the party, to say that the democracy of the country would not rush-nobly and gallantly to the fray, were to reflect on their spirit, it were to charge them with a coldness which they cannot feel —a tameness that would not resist wrong. But we have no such fears; the Democracy arc true as steel, and with “Old Table Hock,” fora leader, the of Austerlitz will shine on every field.” Am. Democrat. Now, these arc noble sentiments, and how different they are too, from ordinary editorials of violent party presses. If wc have to contend against an enemy, let ns not attempt to detract from his merits, but rather let us do justice to them. In Mr. Calhoun, wc recognise an individ al, of whom the whole Union should should he proud, and particularly the Southern portion of it. No man has done more to elevate Southern character, than John O'. Calhoun. No man has done more to give reputation to the char acter of American Statesmen than he. Clay, Webster, Calhoun, form a class of statesmen among themselves. No other individual of this day, can rank with this trio of American Statesmen. The West, and the East, and the South, have each to boast t of their favorite, and to the whole Union, they are common property. We like, then, when wo sec a political oppo nent, doing justice to his adversary. It is rare that this is done now-a-days. Hut \vc feel satisfied that the press ■which pursues such a course, cannot fail to exercise more influence, than those who pursue the contrary one. lie who sees no merit in an opponent, when that opponent is such a man as Clay, Web ster, or Call loun, had better- retire from the Chair Editorial, for there, his light is all darkness. No ray darts from his pen, but what will be intercepted by a cloud, ere it reaches the object it was de signed to illuminate. Prejudice it is said, results from ignorance; but if political bitterness, such as we have been speak ing of, springs not from the same source, it certainly cannot claim a more enviable origin. Siiould wc then have to battle against Mr. Calhoun for the Presidency, we shall do that gentleman ample justice. We cannot wage that warfare against him, tiiat we are compelled to wage against Martin Van Huron. The character of the two, is essentially different. The one, in politics, is emphatically the Fox the other, the Lion. The one practised in deception —the other, mistaken some times, but always honorable. The one is like the Frenchman’s flea place your iinger upon him, and when you raise it, “he is not there” the other, takes a po sition, contends for it manfully trium phantly, very often —and ho who mea sures lances with him, in Senatorial de flate, can best say whether, in argument, lie mot not an adversary of “iron mind:' Mr. Van Buren belongs to a different class of politicians altogether, to that in which Mr. Calhoun may be ranged. In fact, Mr. Van Buren’s political life par takes more of the character of an Eng lish or French politician, than that of an American Statesman. Skilled in intrigue, he has exercised an influence, and attain ed public distinctions, which more honest, and abler men, should long ago have en joyed. And even now, notwithstanding the ability and popularity of Mr. Calhoun, this '■■weasel' in politics, is destined to de stroy the hopes of the Southern States man. It was said of Harrison, and histo ry attests its truth, that "he never lost a baHlc-" and it may also lie said, of Mar tin Van Huron, that he never was defea ted in party caucus, in any desire of his life, since he has attained to any eminence in the country. The result, too, of the May Convention, we think, will bo an other evidence of his great cunning and successful management. Had we the power to determine who should lie the democratic candidate for the presidency, we would at once name Mr. Calhoun. We would do so for two reasons — first, because we prefer, when wa have to wage political warfare, an en emy in whom wee in recognise some no ble mn'ifios: imd he who displays the most of these, we would desire our cham pion to contend against. And, secondly, wc would name Mr. Calhoun, localise should we, by any possibility be defeated, the government would, notwithstanding, be in the hands of ; n able statesman, and an undoubted patriot. But, if success alone , is to be taken into consideration, we would prefer that Mr. Vail Buren should be the nominee of the Democratic Party. Not a doubt do we have upon our minds, that Martin Van Buren will ever again lc the President of the United States, by the people’s suffrages lie may he schemed into ofiicc, but the people have not that respect for his political char acter, which would secure to him a ma jority' of their votes. And, succeed, as we feel he will, in getting a nomination, his success will have to be attributed more to his knowledge, management of, and intrigue with the politicians of the day—the otlice holders, and the office seekers the ambitious, and the unprin cipled —than to any other cause. But, if the result should be otherwise , if merit prevails for once in an assembly of politicians; if Mr. Calhoun should be the nominee ; we are determined to treat his pretensions to the high station of Chief Magistrate with all the courtesy and justice they demand at the hands of an independent press. We shall he the last to shrink from pursuing the course laid down by the “American Democrat.” Wc do respect his pretensions, and such being the case, we shall take care in act ing out our part in the warfare, to mete out to him even handed justice. From tlic Charleston Courier of Mu* X;iti>):nl Masonic Cos vcr.tion. We have received a pamphlet contain ing the minutes of the proceedings of this body, at its session in Baltimore, ALL, which commenced on Monday, tlie Bth May, and closed on the 17th. The following is a list of the officers and members : Dr. John Dovr, of Va., President. Rev. Albert Cask, of S. <Secretary. Rev. Dr. W. E. Wyatt, of Aid., Chap’n. Chart.us W. Moore, of Mass. Thomas Chapman, of N. 11. William Fii i.d, of R. 1. Ebeni-.x.er Wadsworth, of N. Y. Daniel A. Piper, of Md. Nathaniel Stevens, of D. Columbia. John 11. Wheeler, of No. Carolina. Lemuel Dweli.k, of Georgia. Edward lleundon, of Alabama. Thomas Hayward, of Florida. John Delafield, Jr., of Mississippi. John Blarney, of Ohio. S. W. B. Carnkgy, / ... JoSDFII FOSTER, ) The pamph'et contains forty-eight close! y printed pages, and yet much of the doings of the body were not inclu ded. We are informed by the Delegate from this State, that the business was con ducted in perfect harmony', and the mem bers separated from each other under the kindly influence of Masonic principles. It is expected to meet at Winchester, Va., in May, 581!). The following letter, addressed by the Convention to the fraternity throughout the United States, was written by our delegate —the liev. Albert Case. To the Masonic Draternity of the U. S. Uiiktiirks The venerable institu tion of Masonry was planned in wisdom, and established on the firm and unsha ken foundations of hove and Friendship , in ages long since rolled away. These foundations were laid broad and deep by those master spirits of yore, who we trust are now conversant with other scenes in that blissful and immortal Lodge which no time can remove. They constructed the Temple of the choicest materials of past ages, and it is ours to embellish it with the finest ornaments of modern times. Masonry is therefore venerable with age. It nobly lived in the hearts of those worthy spirits of ancient days be fore even science had thrown her beams over the world, or put forth the embodied expression of her glory in the combina tion of letters into words. This fair Fabric of Masonic splendor was planned and reared and finished for durability. It has withstood the shocks of time, the revolution of ages, the concussion of em pires, and the convulsions of hostile con tending nations. When they have rolled garments in blood on fields of war, and shaken thrones to the dust, she has stood in her retiring and solitary grandeur, retaining all her ancient glory, and continually gathering around her brow fresh wreaths and new accessions of majesty and splen dor. Regardless of nation, kindred, tribe, or tongue, she speaks a language understood and felt by all, and has united the hearts of her votaries in the same mystic tic of enduring Love and Friendship ; and by t! ic ini Id glance of her eye has melted even the rough Indian into tenderness, and turned away the tomahawk and scalping knife from the victim at which they were aimed. While every thing unsolid in nature falls, and even Kings and Kingdoms are lost in the vortex of revolutions, and thrones crumble into ruin, and totter and fall from their basis, Masonry towers above all that is awful and ruinablc in nature’s realm, stands unmoved as the mountain rock, and undismayed listens to revolu tion’s stormy voice. She lias passed safely through the dark ages of supersti tion and bigotry, when wars and com motions convulsed the world to its centre, and when change seemed to sway a scep tre of universal empire. We, in this happy land of the brave and the free, have raised our eyes, and i gazed upon her venerated splendor. Thousands became entranced, entered the sanctuary of her consecrated Temple, and the tide of popularity, rather than principle, has swept some of the unwor thy, unhallowed and profane into herhole,, of Jioli A hand stained with crime has been , raised against her principles, a night of darkness has gathered around her brow, and an army led on by unprincipled re creants has assailed her fortress in more than the horrors of war. Convolving clouds of stormy darkness have gathered round her. The lightnings of vengeance have shot their fires of death, and the rolling thunders of human wrath and in dignation have been heard in reverbera ting peals. The storm lias spent its vio lence. Her enemies in despair have re tired from the field of conflict. The un principled have been cast out of her sanc tuary, and many of those who were nei ther cold or hot, have been spewed out of her mouth. Having thus’passed the fiery ordeal of public scrutiny, opposition and rage, she has come forth from the furnace, purified from evil men, and from those stains which the conduct of the time-serving and unworthy had fixed upon the bright escutcheon of her character,; she has put on her beautiful garment, and, shining with renewed accessions of splendor, she stands among us in the firm majesty of war-worn grandeur, like some lofty Ap penmincs sublimely towering to Heaven, while the very' earth rocks at her feet. On her venerable head which pierces the cloud, we see the beams of tho Omnis cient eve resting, and around her, the j Light ol Eternity playi.’.g; while on her j stainless vesture, Faith, Hope and Chari ty arc written. There she stands, and will stand till the last vibrating pendulum j of time till the pillars of Wisdom, Strength and Beauty, tiiat support and adorn the Fabric of nature shall fall. It now remains for us to add, that the system involving the Work, Lectures and Ceremonies as agreed upon after mature deliberation by this Convention, will be laid before you by your respective dele ga»es. To that which maybe emphati ically termed a National System, believ ing it to be in accordance with the an cient 1 .and Marks and usages of the craft, we invite and urge a strict and unswer- j ving adherence. It being tho solemn duty of all who wear the Badge of a Mason to square their actions and to keep themselves within the bounds of morality, a strict watchfulness is necessary on the part of all faithful Masons, and in those instan ces ([where a departure from duty, after repeated admonition,is wilfully persisted in, the Lodges shall exercise their pow ers and cleanse the sanctuary. To all faithful Brothers, we say stand like men to your posts of duty and imitate those worthy Masons of yore. Be true to y'our principles, and the great moral edifice will stand beautiful and complete. Together Brethren, be true and faith ful. Albert Case, C. W. Moore, Nath’l Stevens, J. Delafield, Jr. rorrc.«poi»«!ence of the Baltimore Patriot. Washington, May 22, 1813. Mr. Lcgare returned to the city this morning from Baltimore. He labors with assiduity and zeal in the duties of the De partment over which he now presides. It is confidently said here that lie will be formally appointed Secretary of State, ns soon as the President returns from Vir ginia. The great advantage this post has over all the other Departments is that the Secretary, if he be a man of writing power, can make a decided hit by every document be puts forth. Every import taiit State paper immediately attracts the attention, and becomes for a time the top ic of the whole country, mid in a great degree, also of the civilized world. Mr. 1 1 gare is a most nervous, as well as pol ished writer, and will fall below none of his recent predecessors in the ability of his State papers. The rumor is received that Secretary Upshur will have the mission to France. A LOOKER ON. Nature shows us why the slumber of death has a place in her kingdom of changes. It is that beneficent stupor that surrounds a being, while the organic powers are striving for new perfection, 'l’he creature itself, with its higher or lower grade of knowledge, is not strong enough to oversee and direct the struggle, it falls asleep, and awakes only when it is re-created. So the sleep of death is a fatherly benign dispensation; it is a wholesome opiate, during the operation of which nature collects her powers, and restores her stupified invalid. Air. Webster. The Baltimoreans were disappointed in Daniel’s speech —he said nothing about party politics, and his position is os dubious as ever. How unkind —but they can speculate and guess and set him up and knock him down in all conceiva ble positions —let them be thankful rath er, that he has left them something to scold about. Speak to Him. Speak to that young man. He has just passed the tliresholdof virtue, <fc thought lessly committed one crime—speak to him and tell him the consequences, before he takes another step. Do not censure him; do not speak harshly, but as a friend, as a brother, plead with him, and you will have him. His heart is not hardened to the voice of kindness; the tear of af fection will not fall upon him in vain. Speak to him —and the influence of that kind word maybe felt through along life, ! and liecome tiie instrument of saving a j soul from the depths of vice, and adding a-train to the =oiig of the redeemed• Cumiaercial Exchanges, So much misapprehension has been and perhaps still is entertained on this important subject, even by intelligent anti well informed persons, we insert from the New York Herald, the following article which sets the business of Exchange in its true light. The necessity of a National Bank or any other ex traneous contrivances to regulate exchange between the different parts of the same country, or between one country and another is a mischievous delusion, sedulously palmed upon the people by the disciples of Biddle, the monied interest generally, and by corrupt demagogues to advance their own selfish purposes, regardless of the calamities they entail upon their country. The truth is, that excharge every branch of ttadc and commerce, possess an essential inherent principle of self-regulation. The disturbance and confusion in the exchanges, iii the trade, commerce, and all the monetary concerns of our country, have been produced by the presunip tuous"mcddling ignorance, or shameless corruption of State and Congressional Legislation. Exchanges, to be sure, like ail other human concerns, are sub ject to accident il derangements, from the failure of crops and other natural causes the deficiency J<> Cotton and tobacco, Ac., in the South, during the summer, and early fall months, to he the medium of trade with Europe and the North. These accidents, however, are speedily rectified by the inherent prin ciples of trade, when left to itself, and the exchanges resume their wonted regularity. The exchanges have regulated them selves in a remarkable manner, in the face of all the predictions to the contrary, which have emanated from politicians. The uniform currency of this country, as regulated by the constitution, renders exchange operations the simplest that can be. No possible derangement can take place until the constitutional coin is supplanted by the myriads of paper cur rencies furnished by a thousand issuing banks. When that takes place, exchange from being simply the cost of sending 1000 silver dollars from one point to another, becomes complicated with the comparative value of paper, credit of the banks that issue it, and the supply which they furnish. When the several legisla tures, I lave created this confusion, they seek to remedy it by granting a monopo ly of the business to some large bank. The exchanges of Europe are con ducted with the greatest regularity, pre cision and cheapness, in the hands of pri vate bankers, although the operations ex tend over many different nations, the cur rencies of which are entirely different. For instance, if the French merchant buys a quantity of wool in Spain, the sum to be paid is in pistoles of the king dom, but he has only francs and centimes wherewith to buy a bill or order of a banker upon his correspondent in Spain for the pistoles. The francs are to be transferred to Spain in the shape of pis toles. Accordingly the price of the bill, or the cost of the transfer is regulated by the relative value of the two moneys, the relative values of gold and silver, and the actual state of the exchanges or bal ances between the countries. The Span ish pistole is about equal to 15 francs. If, therefore, a person in Paris has to pay 100 pistoles in Spain, he would have to buy the pistoles and transmit them, which would cost probably 40 francs. Instead of that, he goes to the broker, and finds that be can buy for 1505 francs, a bill which will ensure him 100 pistoles m Bilboa in 30 days. He thereby saves 35 francs. The business between the two countries running nearly equal in imports and exports, the supply of bills is generally about equal to the demand, and the individual houses buy and sell at a fraction of one per cent, and do a good business. The stead incss of the exchanges is greatly facilitated by the vast and reg ular correspondence of the houses, ena bling them to arbitrate on any third point when the direct rates run too high. For instance, between Paris and Amsterdam the quotation is always 53 to 48 pennies de gros for 3 francs. If now a remittance | is to be made from Paris to Amsterdam ; a of 000 florins, and in consequence of great scarcity of bills the rate falls to 48 pennies de gros for francs —then 1 florin equals 40 grotes. 48 grotes “ 3 francs. GOO florins “ 1500 francs. Hence it would cost 1500 francs to re mit direct; but it appears that the rate on London at the same time is 25 francs per £, and that London on Amsterdam is 35 per £ —then 1 florin equals 40 grotes. 12 grotes “ 1 schilling de gros. 35 schillings gros 1 ,£. *99 1-2 £ 100 ,£. 1 £ 20 fr. 600 florins fr. 1,435,74 •This is 1-2 per cent due the London banker for drawing. To remit direct then, costs 1,500 00 francs. And indirect at cer tain rates, 1,435 75 Saving 64 45 This operation makes the balance due from one section pay the deficit due to another. These complicated exchanges embrace all sections of the continent, running to each great money centre with the great est uniformity and steadiness. There is no National Bank, no paper system, and no monopoly of any sort; every thing is free trade and fair competition. No idea of “ regulation” is ever ventured upon. In the United States, on the other hand, embracing 18,000,0000f people instead of 250,000,000, with a gold and silver cur rency, fixed by the constitution, of the same value and denomination through out its whole extent, it is gravely con tended by statesmen and politicians, and echoe l by the unthinking, that a mer chant in New York who has 1000 silver dollars due him in New Orleans or Cin cinnati, or any other point, cannot collect it unless Congress charters a great cor poration with a capital of 30 to $50,000,- 000, which shall build 100 marble pala ces in all sections of the country, and employ, say 1000 officers at large salaries . tocollcct for him. Businessmen incline to believe such an absurd chimera, a!-I though Jacob Little stands behind his counter at no expense, ready to collect their debts for them at par to !-4 premi um, with the same regularity and prompt ness, and far greater skill than Rothschild of Paris, facilitates merchants of that city. Tho Steamship Missouri. The Journal of Commerce publishes the following extract from a letter, from an officer on board the Missouri It is said this ship will proceed to Eng land and France, as scon .as these stupid Engineers are satisfied with experiment ing upon her. The present experiment consists in cutting off the main smoke pipe even with the hurricane deck, and throwing two lateral pipes into the wheel-houses. The result is, as might have been foreseen, a perfect failure from (he want of draft. lam in hopes it will end this week by throwing the whole concern overboard. It is surprising that the Government will permit such a waste of money, directly under their noses. I much fear that Hunter’s steam vessel, now gone to Boston, will prove to be a simi lar experiment. Savannah, May 30. Destructive I’ire in Tallahassee. It is with feelings of pain, we announce this morning the destruction of another city by fire. It is but a short time since we recorded the serious conflagration, by which a large portion of Wilmington was destroyed. By the following letter received last evening by Mr. Schley, from the Post Master at Tallahassee, it will be seen that that city has also been laid in ashes: Post Office, Tallahassee, Fla. } Thursday Evening, May2sth, 1813. \ Sir A conflagration commenced in this place at about 4 o’clock this evening, and at this present writing, (9 o’clock,) the greater part of the town is in ruins. Every business house in the place has been destroyed, and with them the Post Office. I succeeded in saving the con tents of the office, but every thing is in such a state of confusion, that it is im possible to assort the mail that should leave on to-morrow morning. The fire is now apparently subdued, or rather has exhausted itself by tho destruction of ev ery 7 thing it could reach, and no danger of its spreading further is apprehended. If suitable accommodations can be ob tained, a mail will be despatched on Sun day morning. Your obedient servant, MILES NASH, P. M. From the New Haven Register. The “ Liberty party” held their State Convention, in Hartford, last week, and re-nominated their old ticket for State Officer-. In addition to maintaining their identity as a political party, in mat ters State and National, the Convention recommended to their friends in the sev eral towns, a local organization, to secure the election of Abolition Town Officers. This will compel the avhigs, in many places to fall in with them, or lose their supremacy—and it will serve them right, for they have courted mid flattered this “tribe of faction,” for selfish purposes, and made them of more importance than their own unaided exertions could have produced. The Palladium calls them the “dog in the manger party” from the fact, we presume, that they will not allow the whigs to do all the eating, while they do all the barking. We wish the whigs much joy of their old associ ates and quondam friends. The wings, knowing they are power less in every State in New England, when the Abolitionists are not with them, re gard their movements towards separate action with sentiments akin to those of the negro, who standing at the top of a ladder, found his situation a very ticklish one on discovering a swine rubbing his shoulder most assiduously against the foot of it. “ G’vvay ! g’way dar !” cried he, in tones of fear and anger, as lie clutched the ladder strongly, “ G’way dar! you’m makin mischief 1” The whigs have the advantage of Cuffec in one im portant particular, however if the Ab olitionists should shake their ladderdoyvn, they won’t have a great distance to fall. A Terrific Hailstorm. The Reflector, of Madison county, X. Y., says that the town of Hamilton has been visited by a hailstorm unparalleled iu extent and severity. One of the apol ogies of the editor for issuing but half a sheet, is, his inability to procure a supply" of glass of a suitable size to repair Ins shattered windows. The storm occur red on Sunday the 7th instant, and is thus described in the language of the Re flector : “ Its course was from west to east, and in width about three miles. Its south ern range was about three fourths of a mile below this village. It came upon us so sudden and unexpected, that no time was allowed to make the least prep aration to avert the damage consequent from such a terrible storm. The hail presented a peculiar pearl white and transparent appearance, and was exceed ingly hard. Many, of which there was a full proportion, were full four inches in circumference, while others, by actual measurement, reached six inches, or about the size of alien's egg. The force with which they came down, where the ground had not been dry, would bury them on a level with the earth. Another singular feature was presented among the hail. A large quantity were in scales as large as a Spanish two shilling piece, and in thickness about three eighths of an inch. The damage to dwellings and buildings in which are glass, is very great. More than half of every light of glass on the west and north side of build ings was broken. “A large number of lambs were killed, among the flocks of the farmers. Take 1 it all in all. no adequate description can be given of it, and it doubtless will long be remembered by those who have been in the least touched by Millerism. The congregations assembled in the several churches were broken up, and such con sternation and fright as was depicted on the countenances of many, is seldom wit nessed. Some fainting, some rubbing and clasping their nands in terror —some praying and exclaiming ‘judgment day has come’ —some trembling—some screeching and screaming children clinging to their mothers in despair while others stood statue-like, pale and ghastly as death, apparently waiting for the final and last convulsions of expiring nature- For such a scene as this, the public mind, for a few months past, has lieen well prepared, and we venture that Miller, had he been here to have witness ed it, would have seen some premon otory symptoms in confirmation of his theory. We have no doubt that he would mathematically have demonstrated in connection with his views of the prophe cies, that the destruction of the world was to commence with hail. Certain are we, that many of our good old ladies, (and some young ones.) from their actions and appearance were full in the faith, ‘ that time would be no more.’ ” From the Star of Florid*. Tallahassee, May 27th, 1843. At an adjourned meeting of the citi zens of Leon county, held in the Court House at Tallahassee, on the 27th May, 1843, Mr. Eppes, the Mayor of the city, being in the chair, the following resolu tion was unanimously adopted: Resolved , That the committee of re lief be authorized to prepare and to sub mit to the Chairman of the general meet ing, for his approbation, an address to the people of the United States on the subject of the recent fire, and that he be empowered to subscribe and to forward copies of the address, if approved, to the editors of the principal newspapers in the city of Washington, and elsewhere, for publication, and to address to tho May ors, Intend nts, or the chief Magistrates of the principal cities of the U. States, copies of the same. The Committee appointed the day pre ceding, consisting of the following gen tlemen, to-wit : Gen. Mercer; Chairman, L. A. Thompson, W. H. Brockenbrough, T. 11. Ilagncr, IT. L. Rutgers, Gen. T. Brown, G. W. Cull, John Parkhill, J. B. Gainbie, J. E. Broome, met immediately after the .adjournment of the General Meeting, and agreed upon the following address to the people of the U. States. To the People of Vie United Stales of America: It has pleased an inscrutable Provi dence to alllict, by an awful calamity, the inhabitants of a City on the frontier of the Union. At 5 o'clock in the afternoon of Thursday, the 25th of May, the City of Tallahassee numbered, with a popula tion not exceeding two thousand souls, eighty-nine stores and houses, the thea tre of active mercantile and manufactur ing industry. In three hours, by a de rusting fire, which no exertion could stay, not a solitary store, shop, or theatre of business remained. A property in buil dings, which many estimated at not much less than half a million, had r lien a prey to the flames, and with it, goods, furni ture and moveable effects of the value of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars more. ‘The extent of this overwhelming ca lamity may be measured, by the fact, that from the ports of Tallahassee, at the mouth of the River St. Marks, there has been exported in the current year, or col lected for exportation, chiefly on account of the Merchants and Traders of Tallas scc 32,000 bales of cotton, the only staple export of the Territory of Florida, a quantity worth, in ordinary years, 1,200,- 000 dollars, and at its present reduced price, a moiety of that sum. In return for this exportation, a full equivalent lias hitherto been imported, comprehending not merely nor chiefly the comforts or luxuries, but the necessi ties of life ; its staple commodity, having, until lately, employed the productive in dustry of the country, to the exclusion of every other pursuit. The merchants and agents of a commerce that has ex ceeded two and a half millions in the year, are by a sudden blow, deprived of their stores, warehouses, and their unsold stock of goods. The artizans of their shops, and of their very tools of trade. And of the property so lost less than twenty thousand dollars, is covered by insurance. Such a calamity cannot but make a powerful appeal to the sympathy of a generous public, and in their reliance on that appeal, the citizens of Tallahassee consult the feelings which they have themselves manifested on like occasions, towards the calamities of their more for tunate fellow-citizens of the U. States. Having just escaped from the ravages of an Indian war, they had begun to cherish the hope of returning prosperity, though struggling with those embarrass ments of the currency and commerce of the United States, which have been felt, more or less in every portion of the Un ion, but in the South with peculiar force. It is, at such a period, and under such circumstances, that they arc reluctantly induced to look beyond the limits of their own Territory, for consolation and aid. The far greater part of those who have most heavily suffered by the late destruc tive fire, will seek through a different channel to repair their heavy loss. That portion of its victims, to whom relief may come, need that it should be promptly ad ministered. F. Eppes, Mayor of Tallahassee, Chairman of General Meeting of Citizens Th cause of the present hard times is owing to the fact that 1 third of this na tion have lived on the labor of the other 2 tbirils, by means of credit, lor the lust 20 years.