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r l Lo most perfect Govc;nine:;t would be that which, emanating directly from the People, Governs least —Posts least —Dispenses Justice to all, aad confers Privileges on None.—BEXTHAAT.
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COMMUNICATIONS addressed to the ElUTon Po»T
I’jutr.
TO THE DEMOCRATIC PA ITY 01-' THE ST a
OR GEORGIA.
Fclloic-Citiz>. • * —Your delegates in
Convention assembled in June last, after
nominating Mark A. Cooper, for Gov
jernor, and James H. Stark, of Butts,
for Congress, and expressing their deter
mination to abide by the nomination to
the Presidency of the great Democratic
Party of their country, selected as their
first choice for that exalted station, John
0. Calhoun, and charged the under
signed with the duty of addressing you
in”their behalf, -art ’the great questions
pending before Hie people.
In selecting the above named individ
uals lo bear aloft the banner of Democ
racy in the respective spheres to which
they may ho called to act, your delegates
have been influenced by no personal or
sectional feelings, have chosen them as
the exponents of your political faith.
In these principles they are sound ; pro-
and illustrating those doctrines
which have distinguished the Republi
can Party from the early days of our Na
tional existence. In free States there
must ever exist difference of opinion, and
in the manifold operations of government,
freemen will, in the exercise of their nu
ll inbted rights, approve, or disapprove
llie acts of their official agents. A sla
vish acquiescence would lie unworthy
ill r descendants of those who dared to ns
iert, and did successfully vindicate the
Veedout of thought and action against
i * combined force of the British Empire.
J’liis feeling of independence, alike hon
j)ruble aud proper, will olten produce a
Hiver.sity of sentiments amongst those
Brlio agree upon the cardinal points of po
litical faith.
I This diversity of sentiment has oxist-
II among brethren of the smite political
Breed, to a greater or less extent, at every
Heriod of on r National hisjory. aad it was
■iugularly illustrated in reference to some
Bf the measures of the administration of
R> 'neral Jackson. The causes ofdiffer-
Bice being removed, those who were sep-
Brated for a time, have again become lul
l'd by the bonds of a common faith, and
Kc nmv contending together for the
n tintenance of those fundamental prin
t; >!es upon which they have never dis-
Hrcil.
I Much effort has been exerted by the
I ialcral press in this State, and much
aj 're will he expended in an attempt to
I tr upon your delegates, and yourselves,
I ie charge of inconsistency in becoming
A “advocate of Mr. Calhoun. But whence
I roceeds this charge ? From a party,
I hose members were not long since the
I tponents of a National Bank—the un-
I ' upromising antagonists oi'a protective
I 'bey, and the stern advocates of the
I gltts of the States. Now, these very
“u shout hosannas to Henry Clay—
I be head and front” of the protective pol
i|y—the advocate of aU. States Bank —
tl leader of the Federal party, whose
■hole political course is characterized
B a construction of the Constitution,
ki en from, and opposed to the constitu
tional tenets of the Republican school.
■ A brief recurrence to recent events
m* H serve to prove with what truth your
■ legates, by the selection of Mr. Cal -
I tin, have made themselves obnoxious
I the charge of inconsistency.
IA few years since, two parties divided
I r -State. Alike opposed to an United
I utes Rank, they were equally hostile to
r I ’fotective tariff, and dilfered only i,s
r I ■ “mode and measure of redress.” One
I these parties deemed that a steady nd-
I fence io moderate, and confessedly
, I 't'titutional measures, would effect he
J I ''l "1 the Tariff, the other found the
I " ( ' ( ly in Nullification —a measure
’ I bcli, io their judgment, was Loth Con
| I bitional and Republican. At the head
m ,:i ' s latter party stood John C. Cni
\ l l ' ll j and opposed to both parties, was
DEIttOCRATIC BAKNE?i “FRSE TRADE; LOW DUTIES; NO DEBT; fIF? ION PROia BAIIZS; ECONOMY; BZSTRSNCSSZ2NT;
AND A STRICT ADHERENCE TO THE C3i-.-af £' VTION.—J. C. C.I^MMOU.r.
Henry Clay, the friend and advocate of
a National Bank, and the friend and sup
porter of the whole protective policy. —
Now, fellow-citizens, both of these ques
tions were again forced upon the coun
try, and where are tire majority of those,
who, in their zeal for Southern rights,
were content to peril the Union in their
resistance to that tyranny which sprung
from a protective Tariff ? You find them
arrayed beneath the banner of 11. Clay
then, as now, the champion of the protec
tive policy ! ! The mass of the Union
Party, with those of their former oppo
nents, who refused to sacrifice their cher
ished principles, have, under a common
faith, united in the support of .Mr. Cal
houn, on whose* banner, is inscribed now
as then. UNCO.MfROMISING < TPO
SITION TO ANY POLICY, WHICH
SEEKS the PROTECTION OF ONE
INTEREST JN THE DESTRUC
TION OF ALL OTHERS.”
If the sacrifice of fee.ings excited
against men by the collission of party
strife on the altar of principles be incon
sistency, then are the members of the old
Union Party obnoxious to the charge for
their advocacy of Calhoun aud Cooper.
But, fellow-citizens, the former Niillifi
ers, who now compose the Whig Party,
exclaim against the Nullification of Mr.
< kdhoun. Ai -w words upon this p >iut.
- ut position to which this great man './ill
probably lie called, is one peculiarly Na
tional, and if we ai (tie from the past,
as to the future action of the Federal
Executive, it may be safely affirmed that
no President of the United States, will
ever fail to exercise all the powers which
legitimately belong to the office. Usur
pation, rather than too much forbearance,
by the National Executive, is to be
feared. Place Henry Clay in the Chair
of State, whose policy, as a statesman, is
by construction of the Federal charter
to enlarge the powers of the General Go
vernment, and you have the opinion of
the man, and the tendencies of the Poli
tician, combining with the temptations
of his station to urge him onward in a
system of usurpation, the result of which
must be the slavery of the States, or the
disruption of the Union. But in the
nominee of your Convention, you find
a man whose opinions, sentiments, and
professions, are all in favor of the rights
of the States, and a strict construction of
the Constitution, and these will clearly
counteract the tend mcies of his position
is President. Yet no one can doubt,that
Mr. Calhoun, if electe 1, will exert all the
! powers which of right belongs to the of
j fiee. Henry Clay may, by his usurpa
i tion ofpowars not granted, produce Nulli
fication, whilst John C. Cos houn, jealous
| of the rights of the States, will only exer
-1 cise tilt; granted powers, and tints remove
j all necessity of the adoption of tiiis mode
of redress.
iu fact you may well fear a Presid >nt
who may encroach oil til* liberties of the
pj ipie, but you u led n *v.;r fear that any
Presid ait of the United States will nulli
fy the action of the Gjh ;ral Government.
Bat your delegates do not claim sup
port for your nominees, solely on tiie
ground that they are right in their politi
cal opinions. They appeal to the good
and the virtuous of a 1 parlies, to rally to
the support of those whose pure charac
ters, and blameless lives have adorned
tlie democratic circle, whilst their adher
ence to the doctrines ot the Republican
school, give assurance that in such hands
the citadel will be safe. And it isa con
solation above all price that we may thus
lay the claim of your candidates to j ojn
lar favor upon their private virtues as
men, and resting on these as on a tower
of strength, calmly, and dispassionately
discuss their principles as Politicians.—
We need not look back on those lines of
distinction,which first separated,and con
tinue to separate, the Republican and
Federal Parties,under the various names,
which, from time to time, have been as
sumed ; it is enough for us to deal with
the present. We may however, remark,
that all tlie differences have originated
from one common point. The Constitu
tion is the text book of Republicanism in
this country, and the truth of every po
litical opinion may lie subjected to this
simple test; is there such a grant in the
National charter? Tlie Constitution,
and its strict construction, are tlia lights
which guide us in our political course,
whilst our opponents, now and ever,have
indulged in that latitudinian construction
of that instrument, which has made our
government anything or nothing as the
caprices of tlie moment, or temporary
views of exjiediency, may have dictated.
So much have we deemed it necessary
to say in relation to two of the candi
dates, selected by your Convention, at
Milledgeville,because against them chief
ly have been directed the shafis ot our
opponents. As to your candidate for
Congress, as nothing has been or can be
said against his character as a man, or
against the consistency of the Democratic
Party of the State in supporting him, we
need say nothing in his praise, certainly
nothing in his defence.
In nominating Mr. Calhoun ns their
first choice tor the Presidency, your Con
vention declare to the country, that they
were determined to support whomevei
might be selected by tlie great Nationa
Convention of the Democratic Party.—
This we M ould dwell upon as one oi
MACON, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST IG, 1843.
these principles of party action, to which
we should ever adnere. While, there
fore, as citizens of (Georgia, we fat* pre
terred Mr. Calhoun for the Presidency, as
citizens of the Union, we are ready to
give un earnest support to the nominee
of the Nutioual Convention. Several in
dividuals of eminence have been propo
sed by our political friends in various por
tions of the Union as candidates for that
exalted station : while we pledge our
selves to a hearty support of either of
their candidates, should he he nominated,
we look forward, with a firm assurance,
to a similar support from them, of our fa
vorite, should his name be proposed to
the country. Thus riveted, thus deter
mined to plant ourselves upon principle,
and cheerfully to sacrifice to them our
personal predilections, we moy look for
ward w.tii an unceasing trust, to a signal
triumph over our opponents.
The questions winch now divide the
two great parties of the country arc the
Tariff"—the proposed modification of the
Veto—to us its virtual abolition —the es
tablishment of an United States Bank—
and the distribution of the proceeds of the
sales of the public lands.
The adjustment of the Tariff may be
regarded as a leading question, because
being sc : ona! in it; character, it is more
ditticut \ts settlement, and uio: e dan
gerous jis results. To this, til •», we
would first call your attention. Our coun
try embraces every variety of climate and
of soil—almost every produettion of Na
ture —and all the varied occupation of
civilized man, and it was the crowning
glory of the illustrious fathers of the Rev
olution that they had given to their pos
terity a government, whose benign in
fluence would foster, and cherish, and
protect these various interests, and bin l
them all in one harmonious Union ; such
is the character of our Constitution, and
a strict adherence to its provisions in all
that is necessery to insure to us prosperi
ty at home, respect from abroad, and an
Union, perpetual as time.
To support our General Government,
duties upon imports are properly regar
ded as tiie most equitable, and the least
burthen-some mode by which taxes may
be imposed. It is indirect taxation, and
if judiciously laid falls # ith equal three
on all classes of the community. And
we may add,.that a Tariff'thus constitu
ted, necessarily affords incidental protec
tion to the great manufacturing interest
of the country. To such a Tariff we
have no objection, and have an abiding
confidence, if the South is but true to
herself, that the Tariff will be so adjusted
as to produce a revenue necessary lor an
economical ad ministration of the govern
ment, and at the same tune by its perma
nency, give the only protection which
can Constitutionally be given to the man
ufacturers of the North aud West.
And who so fit to carry out these prin
ciples,as that illustrious statesman,whom
your delegates have selected as your can
didate for the Cuief AI igistracy of the
Union—a citizen without reproach, and
a statesman whose gigauttc mind and
deep research, have illustrated this very
subject ? But our opponents (at least iu
this State,) say that they too desire such
a tariff. Such is the language of their
lips; but have we not a right to ajipeal
to their acts rather that; their words l
M ho are their associates—who is their
leader. Henry Clay is tlie father of the
protective system —lie is tiie master spirit
that controls, and directs the energies of
the manufacturers of tlie North and West,
and his genius and eloquence sustain a
policy under whose para izing influence,
the South must wither—her fertile fields
become desolate, and her very I lessmgs
turned to curses. This min is their lea
d :r— his name is their watch word, and
under his banner, shoulder to shoulder,
with the high Tariff party, of the North
and the west, are they now battling
against us. Under whom then, fellow
citizens, will you rally ? But upon this
subject our faith is firm—our cause is
the cause of justice and of truth, and we
will never cease our efforts, until we can
so adjust the duties upon imposts, as to
bring them down to a simple revenue
Tariff. We are opposed, too, to the char
ter of a Bank of the United States, and we
might sum up our objections in one sen
tence. \Ce are opjjosed to it, because
Congress has no such Constitutional
power. In vain may we be told, that
Washington and Madison, sanctioned the
exercise of such a power by Congress.
\Y r e jiause not to enquire into the peculiar
circumstances,and troublous times which
constrained theso great men into an ap
proval! of the Bank Charter. These have
entered into tlie history of the past, and
are familiar to all, but we protest against
the substitution of authority for laws—of
Legislative and Executive construction,
for the Constitution itself. Not only is
there no such grant ot j>ower,in the Con
stitution, but the Convention which
formed it,positively refused to make such
a grant. And yet Legislative interpreta
tion is quoted as higher authority than
the Constitution itself, or than the cotem
porarieous exposition of the very man
who framed that instrument. But if Le
gislative interpretation is to be regarded as
binding upon us, then may Congress pass
another Alien and Sedition Law, or any
other odious Federal enactment. But if
the establishment of a Bank were consti-
tutioual, it is inexpedient, and dangerous
to the liberties of the peop'e. The mel
ancholy termination of the late U. States
Bank, whose history may be written in
the tears of the windows and orphans,
whom it has beggared, ought to be a bea
con, to warn the people ol this country,
from similar dangers. To incorporate u
Bank with a capital of fifty millions of
dollars, (the present scheme of the whigs)
is to raise up a power, greater than the
government itself. and which in times of
trouble and of var, may order, direct and
control it. Such a power by concentra
ting its strength at a particular j oint,
may prostrate the St; >» institutions—con
trol elections, and give tone and charac
ter to the government. These are no idle
fears. None can doubt the power and in
fluence of a great monied institution, and
the history of the past, Hourly proves
that in a contest with the government,the
Bank or it must fall—and if united, the
liberties of the people would be at the
mercies of a corrupt government, and its
more corrupt coadjutor. The establish
ment of a B ink, is nothing more nor less
than giving incorporat and power to indi
vidual wealth. In this country, we have
no hereditary nobility—no irresponsible
monarch, and the ou y nucleus around
which tlie aristocracy can raly, is mo
ney. Hence the undue influence it has
obtained in our country--hence the stu
pendous efforts made to obtain it, and the
gigantic crimes committed in its pursuit;
hence the desire on tlie part of some to
give form and substance to this god of
their idolatry. Tlie Republican party
are opposed to such a jtoiicy. It you iu
corporate a B ulk, you usher into exis
tence, an institution which for the period
of its chartered existence is placed beyond
the reac'i of the people. Any other mode
of *he disbursing and collecting tlie pub
lic revenue, can he modified from year to
year, to suit the popular will, and the vi
cissitudes of the times. Not so with a
Bank. No matter what may be its oj>e
ratioas, whether by expansion it exci es,
and maddens the people with the desire
of speculation, or by contraction of its is
sues it ruins thousands, it must stand un
touched, guarded by tiie aegis of its char
ter. Fellow-citizens, beware of such an
institution—heed not the voice of the
charmer—it is the songof the syren that
leads you to destruction.
And next let us refer to the question of
the distribution of the proceeds of tlie
sales of the public lands. These lands
were intended as a common fund for the
benefit of the Union, and the distribution
of the proceeds of other sales among the
States, was a mere divice of the Whigs,
during their short rcigti, to cajole and
bribe the people into a support of ♦heir
measures. Take this source of revenue
from the General Government, and its
place in i4 he supplied either by direct or
indirect taxation, in the form of an odi
ous and oppressive Tariff—“lt keeps tlie
word of promise to the ear, and breaks
it to the sense.” It gives to the. States a
paltry pittance, and wrings from its citi
zens, double payment for tlie boon.
And lastly, the modification of the
Veto Power. Whence has arisen this
desire, to change the fundamental law of
the laud—to destroy the balance wheel
of tlie Constitution, and to deface and
deform that hallowed charter of our lib
erties, sanctified by the blood of the rev
olution, and bequeathed to us by our
sires as their last, best gift? Whence
this desire, we ask? It is tlie abortion
of a defeated, and ambitions faction.—
Failed in their efforts to obtain power,
and maddened by disappointment, they
seek to mar the symmetry and harmony
of our beautiful but complex form of gov
ernment. The argument that the veto
power is a relic of tyrrunny, is mure spe
cious than sound. If it be a relic of tyr
rauuy, blot it out from the Constitution ;
but no, that proposition would be too
monstrous; and so our opponents seek
to do indirectly, that which they dare not
attempt directly. What is tiie modifica
tion which they propose ? Why, to re
tain tlie jiower nominally, but if the same
majority shall pass the same law the ve
to power is without force and effect.—
Preserve tlie Constitution then as it is—
leave the President the veto, which may
be controlled by two thirds of the people’s
representatives or if it be an evil, blot it
from the record. But it is no relic of
tyrranny —our ancestors who placed it
there, were fresh from a bloody contest ,
for human rights—were jealous of tyr
ranny in every form, and imposed no
guards but those which would protect
our liberties.
Such, fellow citizens, are our princi
jiles, and the principles of tlie candidates
whom your delegates offer to you—they
are the principles on which the govern
ment was based, and by which alone it
can be preserved. If such are your
principles, rally then to their support —
rally as one man, with one heart, and an
imated by one desire, the holy and bless
ed desire to preserve the liberties of your
country, and to transmit them to your
posterity, pure as you received them. It
they are your principles, let no private
feelings, no sectional jealousy check you
in tlie performance of that, duty .which
you owe your country, and youcselves.
The storm of .p 'ssjon qt)(j jmnibiiggq- (
iy which desolated the country in 1840,
and swept away for the moment, as with
the “besom of destruction,” the reflection
and principles of the people, has subsided.
The dark night has end< and in which log
cabins, and ’coon skins, and pepper jxids,
and gourd vines were the emblems and
watchwords and principles of a party,
and a purer, and brighter day has dawn
ed. Reason and reflection have resumed
their sway, and the ‘sober second thought’
of an intelligent and awakened people,
we cheerfully submit our principles and
our candidates.
IIENRY R. JACKSON, 1 O
JOSEPH DAY, I 3
IRBY HUDSON,
WILLI AM C. DANIEL, | s'
SOLOMON COHEN. J o
August 1, 18-13.
From iJie New York Sun.
CASE OF BENJAMIN RATIIBUN.
Nearly five years have now elapsed,
since this remarkable man was sentenced
to that term of imprisonment, in the
State Prison at Auburn. As the time of
fiis liberation approaches, the interest
felt for him revives, and men begin to
reflect upon his past history, and specu
late upon his future destiny.
There are those of our readers, who
remember when Benjamin Rathbun com
mence* his career, as tlie keeper of the :
Eagle Tavern, at Buffalo, which hv his
admirable tact, systematic management,
and unobtrusive attentions, he made the
model hotel of the country ; and very of
ten, when travellers have been praising;
their favorite hotels and landlords, hav • i
we heard them speak with raptures of
tlie Eagle Tavern, when kept by Benja
min Rathbun.
But his great talents and enterprise
were not to be cramped up in this voca
tion. 'There was a city to he built. He
put to the work his herculean shoulders
aud it went up like magic. Whatever
tiis mind conceived his hand executed.
Never was the power of a single master
mind more forcibly displayed, and the
whole country lookd with wonder upon
his achievements. Broad and beautiful
streets and squares were built up and
peopled; Lake Erie was covered with
magnificent steamboats—lines of stages,
branched off" in every direction, manu
factories grew up and supplied the West
with machinery and implements of hus
bandry, and one giant mind superintend
ed every opera ion.
That Benjamin Rathbun should have
in his possession a vast amount of prop
erty, was a matter of necessity. With
: his wealth, came, of course, the malicious
j envy which is its attendant curse. In a
! single day, every malice was gratified,
i and he was stripped to the last penny of
his princely possessions.
Mr. Ruthbun’s financial business, a
mounting at times to millions, was con
ducted by a talented and ambitious broth
er, the late Col. Rathbun, assisted by two
confidential clerks, his nephews. Ben
jamin R ithbiin signed his notes, drafts,
etc., in blank, and left it to his brother to
fill •them as needed, procure endorse
ments, and keep all the financial ma
chinery of the credit system, then in full
operation, in motion, while lie attend 'd
to every architectural and mechanichal
depart nent. Ail immense contract was
offered. Rathbun saw peril in the tunes,
hut his brother, with less foresight more
sanguine and more ambitious, urged him
to take it, and gave the strongest assu
rances that he could carry him through.
His endorsers became alarmed, and it
was for fulfilling his pledge that Col.
Rathbun, the brother of Benjamin com
menced, for a temporary purpose, tlie
system of forgeries. It is worthy of re
mark, that the first one was committed
in mere wan ton ness, by one of his neph
ews, to save himself the trouble of “ run
ning his legs off’,” as he said, to find one
of tiie regular endorsers.
The time grew worse. Col. Rathbun
found himself in a difficulty, which com
polled him to call upon his brother for
aid, and one day, in the midst of his gi
gantic operations, he was appalled with
tlie knowledge of the abyss over which
he was standing. This was Benjamin
Rathbuu’s first knowledge of the forge
ries.
W hat could he do? Could a warm
hearted man send his brother and two
nephews to the state prison, for serving
his interests too recklessly ? Where is
the man who would not try to save
them ? 'The conduct of Benjamin Rath
bun, at this moment, showed the true
greatness of his character. He lmd prop
erty to the amount oft\v r o millions and a
half, as appeared by a subsequent valua- j
tion. Os this, to tlie last penny, without'
making one cent of provision for him-;
self, his excellent wife, or liis aged lather, j
he assigned, to secure his endorsers, to ;
procure a loan which would take uj> ev
ery dollar of forged pajier, and pay, to
the last penny, every debt he owed in
the world. And he went to work with
all his energies to accomplish tiiis pur
pose. The result is known. His as
signees, men whose fortunes he had built
up, were no sooner in jx>ssession of this
assignment than they had him arrested
—they kept him'for two years in a filthy
jail, and after repeated trials, procured
his conviction, and his sentence five
y’ears to tlie state prison at Auburn, and
then divided, plundered, and squandered
his whole propeity, cheating his credit
ors, and carrying out a system of fraud,
such as was never equalled in tiiis coun
try.
For nearly two years, did Benjamin
Rathbuni lie in a narrow, miserable cell;
in the jail of Erie county. His wile, a
most elegant woman, who lias clung to
him with all of woman’s fidelity in his
reverses, was supported chiefly by two
Episcopal clergymen, who boarded with
j her.
Rathbun bore his conviction and sen
tence with manly fortitude, confident
that the u arid would yet do justice to
his character andqnotives. The parting
with his wife was*one of those scenes, in
which reality beggars all fiction. For
nearly thirty years they had been togeth
er, in poverty and wealth, in prosperity
and adversity, surrounded bytheir friends
at tlie social board, or sitting at the bed
side of the sick, and offering the consola
tions of religion to the dying. Now he
left her, sentenced, as a felon, to a long
imprisonment.
The Sheriff of Genesee county, wlieie
he was convicted, by what bribes aid
perjuries let Heaven reveal, entertained
; MV. Rathbun in his own house after h «
| sentence, and without the least watch
upon him, let him receive his visitors in
his own parlour "*V hen ready to go, lie
I sent his son, a boy t 6 drive him to Au
burn in his private carriage, unmanacled
and unguarded. He stc \d at the V
merican Hotel, dined, conversed with
i some friends who calied upon him for an
hour or two, and then walked calmly, as
if it had been to church, up to the state
prison, where he announced his name
and errai'd, and after enquiring particu
larly respecting all the regulations of the *
prison, he juit on the dress of a convict,
and went to his apjxiinted labor. His
mild and dignified demeanor filled the
keejters with involuntary respect, and
the first opportunity was taken to make
him steward of the hospital, where du
ring these live years he has administered
| medicines to the sick convicts, with his
advice and consolations admired and be
loved by all who had known him.
W e never knew a man more respected,
or better beloved, by the laboring classes
and the jioor. They always spoke of
his fate with tears. The law might find
him techcically guilty—they knew the
goodness of his In art. They had never
j applied to him for justice or charity in
; vain, if they fell sick or were injured
in his employ, he not only continued
their wages, but both he and his wife
were found by their bedsides. Strange
circumstances have occurred since the
date of his imprisonment. One of his
chief enemies, a vijier he flourished to
sting him, died miserably soon after, the
victim of remorse. He is dead, however,
aud therefore we refrain from further re
mark upon Ins career. Two others now
! stand indicted lor perjury. Another is a
miserable drunkard, and Benjamin Rath
bun, when he returns to Buffalo from his
five years’ exile, will be in a better posi
tion, and have more of tlie resjiect and
confidence of that community, than any
one of those who consjiired to destroy
him. It seems as if Buffalo, with all its
great natural advantages, had been stand
ing still during his a' sence that he might
begin where he left off, to build up her
. future prosperity and greatness.
UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA.
The commencement exercises of this
Institution, which have taken place this
week, have attracted to our place the u
sual concourse of visitors. The cool
and generally pleasant weather thus fiir,
has doubtless added to the enjoyments of
the occasion ; and we would fain hope
that the public exhibitions, and the more
private and social entertainments which
J our hospitable citizens know so well how
|to provide, have combined to gratify
those who have honored us by their pres
ence, and created an increased regard
! for our College and our town.
'The Commencement Sermon was de
livered on Sunday in the College Chap
el, by the Rev. Mr. Brantley, of Augusta.
It was a chaste and forcible defence of
the Christian religion, and was listened
to with profound attention by a large
| congregation. His address to the gradu
; ating class was peculiarly appropriate and
impressive.
The Board of Trustees convened on
Monday, and had not closed their labors
at the time of preparing this article. We
learn that among their first acts was the
granting permission to President Church,
to be absent a few months, in consequence
of ill health. Should he determine to
avail himself of the offer so kindly ten
dered him, we doubt not the relaxation
will be beneficial, and be the means of
prolonging iiis valuable services in this
Institution. The Rev. Stephen Elliott,
Bishop of the Episcopal Church, for the
Diocese of Georgia, has been appointed
a Trustee, in the place of Gen. Watson,
dec'-ased.
On 'Tuesday, the Junior Exhibition
took place. The following young gen
tlemen delivered addresses, all of which
were highly creditable, and some of them
evinced sujterior talent.
1 J. Ashley, Telfair County. Ireland,
\m. 14-