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slavery is fix<-d by the Constitution. it ha* no power whatever over the MibjcC, ami cannot tourti it, whether the slave be found upon the soil o'a State, or that of the District of • "olnmhia. From what States was the “ten mile square,” which now constitutes the “seat of govern ment” derived ? Virginia and Maryland It is a self-evident proposition, as well as an established principle of law, tint a grantee can acquire no more power than a grantee could convey. The States of Virginia and Maryland themse'ves, it cannot In* disputed, rould not have libe rated, without the consent of th ir own ers, the slaves of this District, when the territory was part of their respective States. And how then can Congress, deriving her power from them, claim or exercise more power than the States which reded this territory, ever possess ed? But those States, unwilling to rely upon the general principle just alluded to, and apprehending the very danger which now threatens the rights of the in habitants of this District, prudently in-; serted it, their acts of cession, the follow ing limit to the exercise of power by ('on gress over the District: “ Provided, That nothing herein con tained shall be construed to vest in the United States any right of property in the soil, or to atfect the lights of individ uals therein, otherwise than the same shall or rnav he transferred by such indi viduals to the United States.” (Concluded in our next.) POLITICAL. lien. Caw* and tlte Presidency. There has Iteen a series of contradic tions and mistifications in the newspa pers about Hen. Cass, and the pn itimi 1 he occupies Inward the Baltimore Con- 1 Veutioti. We suspect he himself unin- j tentionally helped to entangle the matter. At a meeting in New York some time since in favor of the District system, General Duff Green among other things said : “I hold in my hand a letter from Gen eral Cass, by which I feel warranted in saying that, if lie is nominated by the July Convention, you will have a can didate for the Presidency.” The Globe of last Monday, in a very coarse review of divers matters of quar rel lietween itself and Gen. Green, brings in this, and says : “General Cass has seen this statement, and has authoriz and the editor of the De triot l-*r«je Press to contradict it.” General Cass, we sus|sct, has not done so ; if lie lia , he has com him and an imprudence. At the best, authorizing an editor to correct inferences drawn fro it a letter which he has no! s*t n, is like ly to get both parties into a scrape. We have not seen the statement in the Free Press, and it is likely that it ton has stiff rred distort < u in the process of circulation ; but we under-tand that it was originally asserted that Gen. Ci»s> had written no letter; afterwards tin letter was ad nitied, but the inference of Gen. Green from it, was pronounced un warranted. The latter lias published in the New York Herald the fol ow ing Card, which seems to us fully to show that his inference from the letter of Geti. Cass was a fair and legitimate one. We are sure that the latter gentleman is quite above the meanness of equivocation, and that therefore any denial he lias authori zed to be made, was applicable, not to what Gen. Green did say, but to some unfair report of his remarks. A CARD. To the Editor of the Herald — In your paj>er of this morning you say : “General Cass and General Green.— At the Van shall meeting of the new Democratic party, so. organization of the Fourth of July Convention, General Green stated that he lied a ’em r fro u General Cass, in which lie avowed him self ready' to abide the resu t of the Fourth of July Convention. Cas-, it seents, h.is no recollection of having ever written such a letter, and comes out with a distinct denial of having ev it hinted any thing inconsistent with his unalter able determination to support the Ba ti more Convention. It is not at all unu sual to see Generals di agree.” A few words wi I put this matter right. In the first place, 1 did not say that t “held a letter fro n General ( ass. in which he avow, and himself ready to abide the result of the Fourth of July Con vention.” I exressed the opinion that if nominated by die Fourth of Jn y Con vention, he would not refuse the nomin ation, and my reasons for expressing that opinion were, shat 1 had written to him in referrence to the address of the com mittee representing the meeting in the Park, assuming that he was not p'edged to abide by the no uinatiott of the Con vention at Baltimore ; became that Con vention had not lieen ap;«>inted and will not lie organized in accordance with th understanding of the party at the time his le tors were written —that his pledge was to sustain the nominee of a conven tion fairly constituted and projierly or ganiz and, which the committee demon strated the Baltimore Convenrion wi I n>t be. And again, that Ins letters were intended to dec are his acquiescence in a no oblation so made, as to secure concert, union and harmony in the party, which imratna i >n of the Ba timore »'onwntioii will not do. Mr. Calhoun and his friends Invmg withdrawn therefrom, I urged til t the Fourth of July Convention would present the only means of har mony, concert .and smess, as that Con vention would be constituted on the principle of District representation, and voting per capita. To this letter, Gen. Giss replied, and the following is an ex tract from his letter : “The party lead rs hnvi determined on Mr. Van Bn ret i, aid they will run him at all hazards. I do not believe Hatch in .getting upi. th rd fa iy. Expe jrnicc hus sitowu thiu u iUr / J, a;! y t-tiu- I.ot exist ill our country; still I am off at a di tance, and know but little of what is going on, whiis* you are in the midst ol the movement and possessed of ex|>e rience and capacity which cannot well lie deceived. I shall wait the progress of events with interest. An interest, howmer, which his little in it that is j>er soua!, lait which looks to th<* welfare of the party, connected, as I believe, with the welfare of the country ” That Gen. Cass may have su'd, that lie lio'ds hi n*elf hound to sustain the no.iiin eof a general convention of the party', l be'ievc. That he did not feel iiiinsell pledged to sustain the nominee of the Haiti non 1 Convention, and that he won;d wait the progress of events to as certain whether supporting the nominee ot that or of the 4th of July Convention, would best promote the welfare of the party, was the inference that I drew from his letter. I still think that is the proper inference ; t and presume that bis letter, i ot the character you re; re cut it tube, was written under a uiisa| paes* tisiott oi what 1 had said. Respect, ally, DFFF GREEN. New York, 2d March, 4844. Fro n the N. Y. vpnin* Post. Tatatio” Fxtrao-dinari. Anew .school of calculators has sprung tip within a few days- One of their principles of computation is, that the more heavily we are taxed the great er is our commerce. Several years since, knew a worthy country gentleman, who second, bv some tare felicity, to have anticipat'd t.. a certain extent this leading principle el the new schoo'. It was bis ambition to bethought rich, and he always insisted that his name should make a good figure in the tax list. When lie was taxed less than It is neighbors, he regarded it as an ungenerous reflection upon his poverty, and was greatly offended. When he was put down for a higher tax than they, he was in excellent spirits—it was a proof that he was rich. W ithin the two last months, the months of January and February, the duties col'ectod on goods I ro’t int • ihi |w"m t have omniinti and to four millions of dollars. This circumstance, say the new school, is a proof of an him ense com merce, of enormous importations. To he ir these people talk, to read their in w>- |iaper-, one would imagine that the fleets of the whole \ynr and were unlading tin ir cargoes on ottr shores. We, when we come to look at the matter for ourselves, however, find that there is no such prodigious influx of lor eign goods as is sitpj ©as!. We are not doing a very great I mine.-*, we ate only paying a very h a y tax. 'rise duties now levied at the custom do not so much show an active comtneice. as an op pressive rate of duties. A small cargo of goods now makes a great figure m the custom house returns. A little prop erty may be heavily' taxed, as the payers of our city taxes v» rv well know. The whole amount of goods entered at the custom house in this city, during the months nf January and February, i> Mipptv-' and to have been nf the value of thirteen or fourteen millions of dollars, ttn this a noun?, four mi Minus have been paid in the shape of duties, or about thirty per eent on the whole—the free articles iueludid. Four millions u:i thirteen and a half! a proportion, the ex orbitance and extravag nee of \t I licit, inii.-t astoni h any man who considers it —a burdott on our commerce so enor mous that we are only stispris. and that commerce is not utterly erroffi: and l y it. Had the same amount of good L n entered under the more nod rate tariff of funner years, in 1841 for exa up e, w hen liu; duties on all imj ortul goods, both dutiiii le and free avt-ragid a 1 out thirteen and a half per eoi.!. the a emit of duties paid by the importer- would have bet it les. than a mi imi art! tin; < quarter*. In that year it would have re quired importations to the at: mint oi ili r ty-one mihions to raise the tax of lour millions, which has jn.4 been colt cud by the government on louleeii. The cargoes w hich have lately I cen entered have been imported in anticipa tion of the spring trade. Already a great falling off in the importations has coiii nieitc tl, and which will coiitiinie through the month of March. After wards until the month of August, the importations will he comparative y tri fling, but in the month of August, the cargoes sent forward in anticipation of the fall trade, w ill begin toariiv . Such i* the usual course of our foreign com merce. We have the early anti the lat ter rain; w-e have large impo.lotions at this port in the lot or part of summer, and in the intervals the people ol the custom house are comparatively idle. In the year 1811, the who e amount of goods brought Irom foreign countries into tlit* ports of New York, mainly h to this | ort, exceeded seventy-five mihions of dollars. W eu we recoiled that the antotit of goods imported tor the s; ring trade, is always great, r than that ol the good- imported for the fall trad.-, and consider that in the two mouths which bring us the largest importation-, we have only introduced goods to the v..lue of fourteen millions, we shall see reason to believe that the iniport.itions this year will fall greatly short of those of 1841. A gent email experieiic and in ihe affairs of tlte custom house, informs ns that in the interval between the importations ior the spring trade and tlioe for the autumn trade, that is fro.n March to August, the biisiues of the custom house falls >fi'thnse quarters. We cannot agree, therefore, w ith those who boast that we are enjoying an extra ordm uy activity of commerce. All we [lerceive is,, that we are most outrageous ly taxed, i- »nr millions of dcrl'ars have i«en ex!o r tLroia u- on liitle more than three tuuis the sa:ue uu&'uul vi u-b.d goods, his only the exorbifaroe of this taxation which is extraordinary, and to that we freely ad nit there i- no parallel in the history of our nation. Th • Tariff Qae-'ion. One of tile most odious features of th • present unjust r I ariffis itsgiossiv partial character, it shows clearly upon its very lace the designs of its selfish projectors, it is I.tit : eeessnry to glance Ml it super ficially to discover the fact that every principle of just legislation has lieen sacrificed to foster the manufacturing in terests of the country. The producer is shamefiilly taxed lor the benefit of the manufacturer: w hile the raw material raised by tiie farmer and used by the manufacturer, is al.owi-d to enter our jjorts almost entirely free from duty.— The fb lowing table will show this fact to the conviction of any candid mind: Duties, discriminating for manufac tures and against agriculture, *) c. .iita it»G tiltii-r tavv |~r .uatiUhii'lUiiHl Uult'> m.ar.i.l U>«v. | ri 'l*, liyli > ales 5 |>, r cw,l • • <an*t -5 1“ ' in-»«v«I. 3\»r c» lit ( hi**?.! « il. ‘JS prr tvnt, tn*i «•!*# j 5•» r . , Woollens. Of* I * frj j r rt • -v ik. I Cork*. mail* ji. rt r |»ei. Id. p li* | r*jji**r 15 t• 17 ds. |»n I » -vui.N u<• |>r fwruJ 15 j»i*t’(iuilU. |»n jurttl, 25 j*. it. Silk, raw, 5,* »vi*u jut l!».| 3llW*. 50 &c. Ffe»tl<*, I rent jht |!». [Bruslos, 30 |mt «*i nt. ! \ r.itss, itiauu!'d. 30 p n 3,« s, rro Ir, IV.e , } u k ,|>. ~.r |u . limp, 30 m 3-2 p, r rent. : j l '*>r | ' Colton 50ii80 r .•Hon, 3cl*, or 3 i >‘?s |, <H Cotton Clotiia, Sonl2 *|i e. lax, raw, lc. or 7a'J pr ci | t'Ux manual 25 .*>o |.r ct ■ , ~ , „ , r Lo.nl tai. r, 4<- n I cail, rrU'lr, 112 a2r l|<. ) . . ! ; ) “ wlnlc & rial, let*. I in, rru.lc.in p o*. 1 pct . in, in |,l,ties. 2 1 2 |»r. «• Wo<ul, roti.'li, 20 |> r ct. j \Voo>l, nut ut ’il, 30 ji. ct Under what cloak of de'usion wi I our ofq onentsendt iivor to conceal ibis cloven foot of oppression from the people ? Al low that the Tariff is just in other re ‘"pets, that it is nccessn y to raise revenue for the country, that the protection which it affords ibe mnmifm tiirer is incidental and not the soul and substum e of the measure, still we w nulii ask, would not ibis feature alone show the unjust dis crimination which it makes, and Ik;suffi cient !<> condemn it forever in the eyes of the intelligent patriot? Not simply is the farrier con pelltd to jay an oppres sive tax u| on the articles which are manuliiclurt and ahrend—not merely is In compelli and voh ns" to fiister home maim fact it res I tit his raw material must be put in competition with tin- raw ma terial raised a Inroad. Truly tinder this Tariff the inamifaeturer’s share of the s| oils is like tlte share of the lion in the fable, ai.d monopolizes all. From I Sir N. Y Cninmercial Atlveiliser. I’o'it c »' Itistorv. The Northern mail brings us the fol 'owing letter of inquiry, to which we shall reply w ith all the frankness and sin cerity demand, and by the occasion : Avon, Livingston county, N. Y. Feb. 24, 1841. Wm. L. St nt, Esq.— ir : For the piirj ose of sett'ing a sub ject of debate an ong some friends, who agretd to refer the matter to \ou, »Mow me to enquire, trhal irere the ogi ions and conduct of Ear tin lan huren in the early stagas if the irar of 1812, touching the policy nf the war. On what grounds did he support He Witt Clinton for the presidency . in opposi fio ito Mr. Madison ! And what were Mr. C.inton's views in relation to the war and its continuance ? We believe Mr. I 'linton to have been | tin peace party candidate, and that Mr. Van Biireti supported hint on that | ground. Wifi you have the kindness to set us right either by answering it in the (’oai ruercia! Advertiser, or by letter ? If by letter, w e w i i not regard it tts intend and for | nblic; iron. Yonranswers to the above will much olvige many whig friends. 1 a very respectfully, ISAAC WEILS. _ ANSWER. We pro cr giving a public ntixw'or to the for going cnmmuuic ition, made wo doubt not, in good faith, for seve al rea sons. Principal among these is the strong desire we have that jus ice should l e done to all men, and we ihink that Mr. Van Biirou lias not been fairly dolt by in the matters referred to. It is true, that Mr. Van Buren was one of the early supporters of Mr. Clinton, for the office of.Presid lit, in the year 1812, in opposi tion to Mi Madison; that lie took part in die repub ieau legislative caucus at which .Mr. *'. was first nominated. That caucus was held, and that nomination was made, on live 28 Iv of May, nearly a month before the declaration of war.— The elections in this State were then he'd in A| n l', and the political year com menced on the (ir l A.outlay of July.— Mi. Van Bn roll laid Ik** ii chosen to the Senate in Aprt , but was not, of cow re, a membier t,f ti e legis'alure that made the tit) uination. His senatorial tenu emu* nienct and on the fir.-t i\.outlay of July ; and he first took his seat at the extra session he'd in November, to choose the presidential eh dor*. / nrthermore , it is also true that Mr. Clinton became the candidate of “ t e peace party."' Aelit is not true that he was originally nominated as such, or that Mr. Van Ih ren, aft<r taking his seat in the legislature, supported him as such, lit (Mr. C.) was, in fact driven into that posit io. by the fore of c re instances ; and i is no more than justice to Mi. Van Luren to say , that after Mr.Clinton became identified with the peace party as their camtiaate, his support of ini became tan gaitl\ In dia and, we It; ve reason :o lieneve that he thiT.ceforwaid ili.ew hi influence, as far , i l*v tutild to, the [ ruvi. otts committal of tl e legislative caucus, whi»h he la id to tie binding upon the party, in behalf of Mr. Madison. The truth is Mr. t linton was never nominat ed or supported as an opponent to the war, but diioctly the reverse. lie was thus unmmattd and supp<>rttd expressly upon the ground that the crisis demanded a more vigorous arm at the helm of state than Mr. Madison’s. The war had not been actually de c'art and, it is true, but every intelligent man saw that it was inevitable, and very near ; and it was f ared , as the result proved , that under Mr. Madison's ad niinisr.dion it would be feebly conduct ed. Believing thus that the times de manded an executive of greater energy and force of character, the attention of many patriotic men of bath political parties teas direct and elsewhere linn to Virginia for a candidal’ ; and from the high intellectual qualities <f Mr. t linton, and the ackniiwleeged energy of his character, it was con eiced that tie would prosecute the impending con test with greater vigor, and bring it to a more speedy and honorable close than could be done by Mr. Malison. This was the ground iqion which he was nnmina ed. and upon which he was supported hy Mr. Van Buren, and such of the o'd republican party as adhered to him through the contest. As to the opinions and conduct of Mr. Van Bu reu in the early stages of the war, we have reason to know that they were not exurt/y in harmony with the majority of the < e pie of this ‘State, even of his men party, at the time ; for it must here be borne in iud that a very decided majo i y of the representatives in Con gress from the State of Sew York— with l tbadiah G < i man in the Senate at their hea voted against the declara tion of war : not, liow evt r, that they he'd the contest to be unjust, but they he.ieved the country w holly unprepared for war at the time, and consrqucntly that the declaration was inexpedient.— Such, probably, were the original views of Mr. Van Buren—such, certainly, were the views of Mr. ('linton. But, the war having ben declared, it is due to Mr. Van Buren to say , th j no public man in the State supported it more thoroughly, heartily, and zeal ously throughout, than he did. Silt h, we k ow, is trot the received opinion in t any parts of the country, especially in the distant Slates; and we frequt utly see attempts making in the presses op po ed to him. to rentier him unpopular by charging linn with opforihon to the war itself, as w'ell as to Wr. Madison.— But the charge is untrue. Many of our i>o!itk;il friends will scowl upon it®, we know, for our frank ness on this occasion. But we care not forthat. Justice to all men is on r maxim, and we wish not to heat even Mr. Van Buren by falsehood. We have, indeed, truth enough at our command to do that with. Letter of .ton. Geo .llcDn.lie. We fnd the following interesting cor respondence in the Richmond Enquirer: Rich mono, Feb. 21, 1814. Dear Sir:—Not having lieen able to claim much ol the honor of your personal acquaintance, you may consider this let ter as an intrusion. But I hope you know me well enough to believe that I won and not mtnecessirily break in upon your time, or court your confidence.— The country is in a strange condition. ~ Our Constitution is in serious danger.— It liecomes every ninn who ’oves our free institutions to rally around Iter. I claim to be one of them.* You are another.- May I not ask you frankly, then, for in formation, which l deem important to the pub ic welfare? If you say you cannot, or will not give it, I shall Ik; content. If you give if. 1 will thank you for your candor and your courtesy. Once, I know, sir, it w as my misfortune to differ with \onou "omeroiistiftitiornolquestions. We may still differ, though I liojie, as in tilt; case of other distinguished sons of S. C. the lines which separated our opinions may have approximate and fierh.ips met. The Whigs of the city are now pio ling your former view s in favor of a Na tio ia! Bank. May l presume to ask you, whet Iter you st II retain the same views in regard to the constitutionality, as well as in regard to tin; expediency ol such an institution? Ofenur-e you cannot sus (>ect me of a-king you from any imperti nent curio ity. Offer gentlemen have chang 'd their views on this very prob lem. Mr. ( 'lay has lieen oonverttd from an opponent ton chnmpit n. Mr. Crnw foid clamgi and from bud to good, (as I humbly conceive.) Has Mr. McDuffie varied in his view's ? and will lie be free eirongh to answer an honest inquirer af ter the Irulli ? Let me frankly rej eat to yon, sir, that if you dec.ine answering the question, it is no more than an hon orable man lias n right to do. If you have changed your opinion*, may I ask tile favor of you to stale them in such a iorm as may tie ns-et lor the public eye ! If you prefer flan I should not so use fhewi, l will clieerfuily submit to Mich re strictintis as you may think fit to impost; tij oil me. I am aim »st tempted to touch another subject, of deeper importance than the one to w hich 1 dedicate this hasty letter. It relates to the success <vf the Republican parly m the present perilous struggle,.— But even Mr. has declined to ad dress you upon it, and it does not beco.* e me to “ rush” where lie “fears to I read.” I subscribe myself, with much respect, yours, TH<»S. RITCHIE. To Guokuk McDuffie, Esq. Senator from South Carolina, Washington. Washington, Feb. 2'i, 1844. Dear Sir: 1 can h ive no fie itation in answering your inquiries As to the coui>aiuiioua.tty uu ILuLuf thu ILu.eJ States—as tl:at is a question not depend ing upon ciictinistances— I have not changed my opinion, unless very strong doubts of the power of * digress to ex empt the stockho ders from ii dividual responsibility, constitute a change.— Stu b exemption, however, is not at all essential to n corporation for banking, or any other purposes. But 1 slt -uld be to tally blind to the lessons of experience, i l , after the tremendous explosion of the late Bank of the United States, 1 could lielieve it expedient to establish another. I supported that bank as a national, and not as a party measure. 1 then so regar ded it. But we are admonished f.y eve rything around us, that any bank which may now b establi lx and is destined to lie a mere party engine, and one of the great controlling powers cf the State. And I will add, that iin'ess the nature of man lie entirely changed it will be as corrupt ing and demoralizing as it w ill be power ful. Such an institution, in the hands of a lin'd and unscrupulous political lea der, sustained by a we.l organized politi cal party, by the great manufacturing in terest, secured in its allegiance by the bounties of a protective tariff, and even sovereign States, seduced by the misera b'e delusion ofgiving them the proceeds of the sales of the public lands, and assu ming their debts—would he literally “ more terrible than an army with ban ners.” Ido not believe the public liberty would long survive such a combination. With regard to the other question to which vou allude —the union of the great Republican party—theie is but one mot to uud.T which they can successfully ral ly—and that is, “free trade and uncom promising war against the protective sys tem and its affi bated measures.” If the tariff should be satisfaclorby reduced, ns I lit w hope it will, I think the South and Soiitlnvcst will move in solid column and w ith an unfaltering step. I am, very respectfully, your ob’t serv’t. george McDuffie. Tiiomas Ritchie, Esq. Richmond, Virginia. GENERAL INTELLIGENCE. \ sn.’po*".! t.7*una'iO't ol the exptosi n ol the "Peace tinker'’ on boa <1 of the PH NC. 'tOX. Messrs. Editors —As tlie public mind has been much shocked at the late melan choly accident on board the Princeton; and as curiosity has been «twnk tied, as to the cause of the accident. I offer, for the consideration of the public, the fol owi gexplauntioi) which appears to me, . t< give a rational solution of the ques tion. It lias been stated that this gun was made of “ malleable” or “ wrought” Iron; that by an ingenious and labori ous process of welding a number of bars of such iron, wrore combined, so ns to form th*- body of the gun. Now, sirs, my so ittion is, that the suc cessive shocks given to this iron by the repeated firings, wcnkx tnd the direct co hesion between the particles of the me tal ; and as every shock produced a cer tain amount ot tension upon that |roriion of the gun which enclosed the charge, the gun became weaker, by every dis charge, tuitfl its strength proved insuffi cient to re-ist the strain,produced by tlte lust discharge, w hen it pat'ctl. In con firmation of this opinion, and hy wav of explaining the dangerous nature of guns made of such iron, I will Must rate it I y the result nf a number of practical exper iments, made by a di.-tiugnisln tl engineer in Eng'aud, (Thomas Halfourd,) prior in the construction of the SnpenMon Bridge over the river Mersey. He in ti tnted an extensive series of experiments on wrought iron bars mnl wire; all of which, went to pifUe the extension, and consequent weakening of the iron, by the successive strains nj on it by weight, until its strength became less than was sufficient to sustain the weight, w b n it parted. I will instance one. “A bolt of Welsh iron, 12 feet 6 inches long, 2 incites in diameter, required a strain of 82 tons 15 ewt, to tear it asunder; when subject to a strain of 82 tons, it stretched 3 inches, and was reduced to 1 15-16 inches in diameter. \\ lien the strain was increa sed to 71 tons 15 cwt. it had stretched 6 inches and was reduced 1-8 of an inch, graibin'ly, in the diameter; with 82 tons it had stretched It inches, with 82 tons 15 ewt. the bolt broke, after it had stretch ed during the whole process 18 1-2 inch es, and measured at ihe place of rupture, but 15 8 inches in diameter.”—(See ‘ Barhow on strength of materia!,’' page 273.) Now,sirs, the only material difference between the two ca es is, that in one case the strain was produced by weights, in the oilier, hy the expansive force of inflamed pow der; the iron, in one case, being a single bar, in the other, a combi nation of bars. The opinion seems to give confirma tion, front ihe statements made, as to the specific giavily of the fragments of the gun after the explosion. It appears from ex|>eriiuent on so ue of them, that they Were found to '>e lighter than the stand aid weight, and the maker has been abu sed for using bad meta'. May not the extension, consequent upon the succes sive strains, explain the discrepancy ?—- May it noi account for the gun’s not ex p odmg when new, and first tested with a larger charge! And yet, yielding to a more leehle strain, in a later period ? C’a.-t iron possesses little or no ductility or malleability, and in consequence, will generally hurst, m the first testing of them, or not at all ! They tire there'ore miicli safer weapons in action ; and I am dispo ed to think, they can not lie super ceded by the wrought iron, without a material improvement is made ill the mode of construction. Respectfi illy von rs, A. HERBERT, C. E. and .Superintend nt; t.iiitary Acudenr . Uaiiuubin, March. H, We conclude to day an excelled speech by Mr. Campbell, of South Car olina in defence of the rule excluding Abolition petitions. The Southern memlters during the recent dehate n n that subject, have taken stronger ground than ever before, and sustained it with signal ability. They carried the point too, which shows that their ability and firmness were felt. It is also a consider ation full of cheerful hope and encour agement, that on this occasion the South ern men, with but two exceptions, M r Clingman, of North Carolina, and Mr White, of Kentucky, acted in perfect harmony. Heretofore we have sunk under the weakness of division hence forth may we cherish the strength of union. Mr. Fs|iy's The- rv «t Raja The Pennsylvanian finds the follow ing from an old newspaper. It i 8 very strong testimony in favor of the Kspyati theory:— ■ tie of the Jesuit Missionaries who resided in Parngna from 1742 to 17(7, says—The tall dry grass, reeds and bul rushes, <ke afford combustnble matter or many weeks. The smoke often fills the air with such imjenetrble darkness, that the sun is hid, and night brought back to midday. 1 myself have seen clouds and lightning suddenly proceed from this smoke, as it were flying oft'like a whirl wind, so that the Indians are not to lie blamed for setting fire to the plain in or der to procure rain, they having learned that the thicker smoke turns into clouds which pour forth water. A333i1R3 gA&f ItDlai'M DgaATT. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20. 18-14. .Ur. Clay > approach to, nad arrival at the City of .Macon, Dibit County, G i. About 3 o’clock, P. M., on Saturday, the 16th inst., the procession accompany ing our distinguished visitant was discov ered slowly proceeding down the road leading from Forsyth to Macon. The college consisted of a party from this city, increased by one from Forsyth, and individuals from the intervening country. From the distnal character of the weather, the report of minute guns, and staid countenances of the perform ers, the procession presented an exceed ingly solemn spectacle. The cavalcade was composed of eighty-six horsemen and seventeen carriages. Had the wea ther lieen favorable, it would, doubtless, have lieen much larger. Considering Mr. Clay as n stranger and a gentleman visiting our city, he was received by the democrats with the cour tesy, the respect for themselves and dis tinguished guest demanded. 0:t Monday, the great orator addressed the people from the South-east portico of the court-house—the audience number ed, probably, eighteen hundred; and was made up, we lielieve, about equally of both parties—and considering the zeal ous drumming tip which has been em ployed for the last six weeks, the meeting must he viewed a signal failure. The address was delivered admirably. Some of the topics were chosen unfortu nately, and others were in decidedly bad taste. Tlte rest of the a dress was easily recognised by those familiar with Mr- Clay's speeches as tee sane song; and to the same tune the orator has favoured the public with for many years past. The audience seemed ‘not in the vein,’ they were obstinately as cool as cucumbers— all efforts to raise the steam were tt tin vat' ling—a desperate attempt was made by a few of the faithful to get up a hurrah, hut it was a melancholy sound, and quickly dwindled into a ‘dying, dying fall.’ h* truth, the whole affair ‘curne lamely elf and was, we will not say, a small potatoe entente, but it certainly was quite a cold water concern. The unexcituble indif ference of a great majority of the Whigs seemed to show there was truth in the paradoxical expression, ‘some men ap pear bigger at a distance than on closer inspection.’ We quit the dull scene at the courthouse with pleasure, to attend the Clay ball room. There the ladies, Heaven smile upon them, were num er * ously congregated—the dear creatures, whether whigs or democrats, will at all events patronize a ball. On this occasion there was an extraor dinary display ofbright eyes, dimples and busts, a glance at which might thaw the frost of an aged anchorite. But, 10, the lion enters and is led round the apartment, looking as pleased as a li on can look. scene of the farce concluded, the great actor retired to his repose. Whether when reaching his chamber he soliloqmzedon the dignity of human nature as Buonapmte and Voltaire u to do at the dose of their levees, we un dertake not to determine. Ol' Mr. Clay’s onslaught on the pream ble tfcc. of the late democratic conven tion in this city nnd on some other topic* of his discourse, we shall in ottr next* lake due notice.