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C« f o t* fl f «t © 111 fl r x p $ iiiti:, SPEECH OF HUGH L (OF TKJf.IMJEK,) IN SENATE, FKB. IS* 183T), ' >l,e "Hill to /{■ fi il the Jirat nod second sec- »>S to ■nn net to limit the term of ojfice of cer 'tin officers therein mimed, and for other purpo- approved \~ith of May, 18-0” Mr. ViiiTk of Tennessee, addressed the Sen- io to the following elfect: Mr. President: It was my fortune to lie > red on the committee of nine, in the year '20, proceedings have been spoken of in this hate. I am not one of that conimitto who • -teurreil in reporting the hill said to he similar ■ a tho one now under consideration. I am now ,’j re - tdv to carry out thedpinions then enter- ; tiued as I was at that time, unless it cm be clown Congress lias no power to inakc the en actments, or that they would he injurious to so- ■ >;v. Tho number of officer* employed in ban* ! !i:r publick money, was necessarily much in- jr,.. - -,d during the war which terminated in 1814- \lthoii"h tho President had the power to .-.(,ve all the officers mentioned in this hill, yet heleived, in the year 1820, it had not been they will have it in their power to pour out at executive powers vested in the President, it seems once, through the whole body politic, a flood that to me. cannot he maintained under our frame of would sweep from the purest inanth.it lives eve-j government. By the constitution tw'o classes of rv particle of reputation he had acquired by a olfieers are evidently iuteiioed. In relation to long life of virtue aud usefulness. one of these. Congress is bound to create them, &. Iu 1820. as one member of the committee, I when created, tie louure of their office is fixed by cniue to the conclusion it was dangerous to leave the constitution, & can never be changed by act of such a power in the hands of the Executive, and Congress. As it relates to the other class. Cou through our chairman expressed that opinion to press may create the office, or not, as they please, the world. 1 euterrain the same opinion now,, In creating it, they may fix the tenure as they am prepared to re-affirm, and to act upon-it.—- ! please—for life, for years, or at will; they pre- Then 1 was in opposition to the administration ; j scribe what duties they please, aud fix.the com- ' pensntion to suit their own pltasure; and they may point out the mode iu w hich the officer, is to be moved or displaced. Every officer specified in the bill now under consideration, falls within this latier class. They are what is called in the constitution “inferior of ficers, the appoiutment of w hom Congress may vest in the President alone, iu tliecourtsof justice or in the heads of departments.” Congress, then, has complete power over all these officers; ihey may create and abolish the office at pleasure ; fix aud modify the tenure as they choose ; and regulate at pleasure tho mode now l am a friend to the administration. This can make no change in my course. When we have a pure and virtuous inau for our Chief Ma gistrate, he will thank congress to take frou him every discretionary power which they can take witli propriety. It will ease him of a labor and a responsibility most unpleasant to a good man, and he will still have as many discretionary pow ers as he will know how to exercise for :hc public good. If ever it should he our misfortune to have one of au opposite character, disposed to use all his powers for the benefit of himself and his *rienda,rand for the purpose of~pprpetuatiug d as frequently as the publick interest. power in his or their hands, then society at large "* — L *“ J —" 1 ' ought to thank U3 for stripping the Executive of this influence. My opinions upon this subject arc not founded upon the petty consideration of who is in power, whether he is a political friend or a political op ponent ; they rest upon the ctcraal principles of what I think is right or wrong between those who officers who had collected money, rhicb they ought to have paid into the treasury, i! officers who drew money out of the treasr 1 rv. which it was their fluty to disburse, accord- * • ’.he requirements of acts of Congress, had, ’•■my instances, failed in the performance of inty : losses had been sustained, and more feared, unless additional provisions were I/.'sb circumstances gave rise to the act ;> v tbi - .atiitp, at the end of evety four years, f •>.-**;• officers is to he out of office, as a of e -urse, without, the exercise of any ex- • lower whatever; and during the four rh President, ifbe pleases to do so, has the i of . moving all, or any of them, from of 'firrying into effect tho provisions of this act. i . : expected when tho term of an office expir- • President wouid inform himself, through • . • 1 department, whether the officer had <! hi duty with fidelitv: and if he was hi had. that ho would then renominate . it. • the same office for auother term. . >elievo that tho benefits expected from this !.<w have been realized by the practice under it F.vrr since IJiavc hail the honor of a scat on this .'It i affirm, that both under tho past and pres- ■mi administration, I have witnessed the strictest scrutiny into 'he conduct of these officers, whene ver renominated: aud I do not remember a «iu », - case in which there was a disposition maiii ■ d to continue any one of them who had been . “d Mess in his trust. • in 1826, the committee believed, although good bail resulted from this law, yet. in the -< for place and for poicrr hetweon parties great evils, which bad uot been foreseen d. iu all probability, he experienced. ii.> whole of these officers, amounting to a vast •lumber, all going out at tho end of each four ve. and being entirely dependent on the will «f the President, whe.’her their commission should - renewed or not, would induce many of them to ok more to their own situation and interest, in to the welfare of the country; and, with a jew to secure themselves, they would he most to conform their opinions to the wishes of ■ ' President, whoever lie might happen to be — !>'b • was a candidate for re-election hiincelf, they wc.uM most likely vote for him ; or if one of his friends was a candidate, they would vole for him. although they might conscientiously believe the ■ vs; interests of the country would be promoted >. she election of his opponent It is no answer to this argument, to say, it casts reproach upon t lies a officers, to suppose they would surrender their opinions to those in power. Mr. President, is it n reproach to say. that while they live in this world, that while they have families to pro- aide for, thoy must have the nitaos of living ?— Wc all kuow we are too apt to conclude, that our neighbor* will he pietry well provided for. when v • are very mil provided for ourselves. Experi ence convinces us. that when a man, who is do * odenton his own exertions f*r a living, obtains •of these offices, he and his family manage if they keep their expenditures within the ry. They become dependent upon thequar- • salary for food and clothing. If deprived of ■ifice. the man knows not what to'tuni his • i to. to earn a doMar to subsist upon. To bo wived of the office, is to he deprived of the on- i 'alts of obtaining i living, by honest means, •tier such circumstances, it is most likely, the dicoc will not give his judgment fair play : he •! conform his opinions to the opinion of the n who has h ; s all in his power; or, if lie has i toliness enough to form an impartial opinion of ni rits of tho respective candidates, he will eldoni have the fortitude to express it. either *. Mivcrsntion, or by his vote. The probability is 'Imho will soon lose all that manly independ- • nc*. B „ essential to tho preservation of a free go vernment. are in and those who are out of power. They ate founded on principlcs*dcep as tiie foundations of the Government itself—upon principles which, if disregarded, will poison the very fouutaiii from which all the blessings of our free and happy Go vernment flow. The elective franchise—corrupt that, place our citizens iu such a situation that they will not freely form opinions for themselves, and fearlessly act upon them, and wc wifi have little left worth preserving. When called on to act my.'part, it is matter not to he considered by me whether my friends are in of getting clear of the officers. They may cither have them appointed, as they now are, by the President, with tho advice of the Senate, or by the President alone, or by the courts of justice, or the head of the department. j Suppose this bill had provided that district at torneys should be appointed by the courts, to hold their offices during the ploasureof the courts, but, when, the court removed one and appointed ano ther, they should put down the reasou for iho re moval ; would any gentleman say such provision was unconstitutional 1 .1 .fancy not. Suppose all the other officers to lie appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury, and him vest ed wi'h a.power of removal, hut a provision in serted that, when he appointed a successor, he should state why he had removed the ineumbent, would such a provision be unconstitutional ? I think not. If such provisions would not, in these cases, be orout. In 1826, when called on for au opinion, unconstitutional, why will the like provisions he my frieuds and myself were at the bottom of the* unconstitutional when the Prosident is to appoint, political tvheel. 1 then entertained ^tnd expres eud ,1 here ; all the disappointed applicants then go I justice of the country at a distance from the great other, wo learn, was a respectable mat > „ work with Senators to defeat a confirmation of body of the people. Secondly, Because it would * O Brien, who resided in Pleasant street 5 the nomination, each hoping. when that is done, i produce extraordinary delay, iu the adm.n.stra- he stands next best with the Executive, aud will tion of the law: But Mr. President, this evil docs not stop with •Sc bead of the family; the same tone of feeling is coininmiicated to his whole ly It stops not with his wife and children; 'oinmuicnted to his family connexions They he situation of tho officer ; lie and they 1 ■ .11 over in their family ciicle ; they sytn- - wi:h hint, and all know the feeling* of tb< tC*c. riv.- will be the more kind toward him, in , rouortion to ins iufluenco .mong his friends; and ’b- re ij; will be, that, in most cases, they will -i nle down in tho conviction, that il is most • f think, and voto as the President .wishes, w’little reflection. I think, must satisfy us e iiarining extent of this influence in our c- » A*l district attorneys, all custom -boose ill pay mi! •ur public lauds, with their clerks, and all their mly connexions, placed in n situation to do as th> President of the United States »>ay wish; add !q riiis, the farther consideration that these men from their official stations-, each has vastly more ; ifluenee among In-' a qiiainl iiiccs. than he would *■ ve ii' he were a private man. Society, from cry situ uion <>f tho officer, will suppose him 'i Iter judge of the fitness of a man for the Pre* ujal chair, than he would he if ho were a pri- v m ; besides this, many will know that tiie ‘* •* will have it in his power to i'n them good m , ih office, if they can secure his good opi nion. No*» let us suppose a Prrsitlent in office, pos ses ,*d of the mass of influence thus collected, wishing to be electsdnsecond time, when it was the intcest of society to leasre him ont, and put some ither per- >:i in, or let us suppose a Prcsid- - nt >r> for th l ist time, and wishing to d<t>ignoie : urn ii*. livid:! is ins successor, who would not he the choice of i majority, if left free to act. ac- i ccr in to their I i.isseil judgment. What, then 1 *.v old mos! oroho.dy happen? Wc might some ( tl find that Pr.-si lent would uot, in such a r • :>e con'. with all these people simply lb: i .• * t.h ' cn, nn I voting with him. they i ■: do into t . <;r ■ on of not being reitomioaied ; •i . must, * •>< i. ' i 1 • b:s best, to influence ae *iviy lothink • -.ad to act with hem. n» •i y can pro'.iH .- • could you find a man pposition to it ? No set an opinion* Row it has turned;~my friends and myself arc at its top ; our opponents are at tho hotioni ; where 'wo may he with tho next whirl no man can tell. As wise men, what ought wc to do ? We ought to act justly to nil. men honestly carry out our Own old opiuions, and sc cure tho people ns far as wc can. in tho free, un influenced exercise of their own opinions at elec tions .My principles are to limit power if we ran, so as to make every man secure in voting for whom he pleases, as ho is iu matters of religion, in wor shipping his Maker, according to tiie dictates of his conscience. When power is so limited that nomnneanso use it as to injure his opponents thou, and then only, do T consider myself safe. Somo speak of this body as a permanent one the situation in which we now find ourselves is a not her proof of the mutability of all temporal cou cerus- In 182G I had the honor of being a mem ber of the committee of nine, a majority of whom at least must have entertained opinions similar to my own upon this subject. Where are they now? Two only oil this floor in a situation to he hoard in this debate. You, Mr. President, it i true, are present, and I am sorry,'iu a siiuation— no, I mu not sorry yen are in the honorable sta tion you occupy, hut I am truly sorry we are de prived of the aid of your distinguished talents iu this debate, if you entertain the same opinions as 1 do ; We aro not acting for ourselves alone ^ wc arc not acting for the people of our own time only.— We are acting for the people at large of our own time, and for tho people in all time to come. Let us, theu, so act, as will transmir, uncoiitaminat- cd hy official influence, to our posterity, the free institutions forwhich om ancestors struggled, & which wc received from them as au invaluablo in heritance. This bill still will leave in the hands of the Pre sident power enough over all these officers, lie will still have tho power of dismissing any one of them at any moment he pleases. Tbisls. of itself, a tremendous power, given him in trust, to he used for tho public good, and for that only; never for mere difference of opinion, honestly enter tained, decently expressed, and acted on svitbtfno- derntiou. The question recurs, how can Congress secure the citizens in officcagainst an arbitrary exercise of this power, in cases where tho public good docs not require it? The committee have at tempted it, in the third section, by providing thnt whenever a nomination is made to tho Senate to fill a vacancy occasioned by n removal, the Presi dent shall state the icason for such removal. This, it has,been contended. Congress has no power to do, because, say the opponents of this hill, all executive power is vested in tho President hy the constitution, anil removal from office is an exercise of cseculiyc power. The arguments upon this point are far from h '.ing satisfactory to tnv mind, ami T must crave the indulgence of the Senate while i present, as briefly as possible, my own views upon it. It is truotho constitution vests in the President the executive -power ; hut immediately we ask o'irselves, what executive power ? iu what is it to consist-? and whore shall wo ascertain its a- inomit &. a specification of-it ? Is auygentleman cither here or elsewhere, prepared to stato it os his opinion that, under our form of government, executive power is unlimited and undefined ? 1 hold no such doctrine, and it would appear tome a most wild and mischievous opinion. The executive power, in our government, in the President, is that vested'in -him by express dl receivers of public J grants in the constitution, or vested in him by acts Hires, and all surveyors of} of congress, passed in pursuance Of tho constitu tion, and no more. By the Goustitutiou, “all le gislative power therein (hereinJ granted, is vested in Congress.” By the same instrument, tho executive power is vested iu a President. In this latter clause, the words "■herein granted,” used in the former, are dropped. The reason for dropping them is,' to my mind, very obvious. If they had been used as to tiie President, he would have hut a small portion of the powers necessary to he vested in him to .carry oh the affairs, of the government.— Tho framers of that instrument foresaw that he must have many more powers than they could specify iii the constitution, and. therefore, thpy say the executive power shall bove«teci in a President, intending that *hc should have and exercise nil the powors they themselves afterward might vest him with, and, also, all others which Con gress might, from timo to time, vest in him by' la*\s passed in pursuance of the constitution.— And afterward they sum up his duties,<by sayiug lie *>111111 set that the laws are. faithfully executed. Under these several clauses, the executive po wers ore easily ascertained. Wc first look into the constitution, and there see what powers arc expressly given to him. Next we look to the arts of congress, and there find what powers Congress has vested him with; and thus we ascertain his whole powers, and then we s. e that his duties are to see that all these power* are faithfully ex- eented. It is ns nun h his duty to sec that a pown r vested-in him hy a constitutional law is r ad in opposition to it 7 No «-r vestedm him by a constitutional law is faith- :nd > on would -.i-ldom find one u illing to ' fully executed, as it is to see that a power vested h>- • xpe-iment. [ in him by tho constitution is faithfolly executed. — on .nn*l believo be could have no 1 Whatever powers are vested hy the Coustitu- 1 >r success against sin h fenrfnl ru'd*.— min. Congress has no [lower to change ; jvhatev- i* and th* ir friends wonll act in con- j er powers they vest by statute, they mav change. .Duim eadof ihe Union to tbs orhet.— anti modify at pleasure. Any other notion of appoint with the advice and consent of the Senate ? Id each case it is a legislative cnac.tment. on. a sub ject -tvhero congress has express power to act as it pleases, without any limitation; the law,-there fore, being constitutional, the President would he li'ouud to see it faithfully executed. To mo it appears so plniu that Congress has the power to do what this hill proposes, thatl fee! .somesurpriso there - should be any variety of opi- uiou among us upnu this question. Ours is emphatically a government of laws— We aro a free people because'it is so. Whenev er the will of tho people- is expressed,.cither in tho constitution,nr in a law* passed in pursuance thereof, it must be complied with, hecanso accor ding to tho theory of our government, the people arc sovereign. -' No person doubts, or can doubt, tho power of the President to remove in these cases ; but the manner in which he acquires this power -is; a dif ferent question. Gentlemen who argue against this section, say he has it from the constitution, because it is* an executive power. 1 deny this, & say it is an executive power because it is made so by statute ; and he performs a constitutional duty when he removes, because he is as much hound to perform executive duties pointed out hy statute as he is to perform those specified iu the constitution. It is nn executive power, because it was the will of the people, through congress, as tion their agent, to make it so ; and the same power, through the same agent, could have madoit a ju dicial duty, if it had been deemed wise so to pro vide. ~- ’ When our reason has fair play, it appears to me there can ho no difficulty ou this point. In 1789, as wc have seen, congress, hy tiie casting vote of the Vice President, thought this power of removal was an executive power, under the con stitution. From that time to this, all officers of this class hold their offices during thr pleasure of the President, so expressed in the commission it self. Subsequent statutes, and especially that of 1820. speaking of these very officers being re moved. and holding during plcasnrc, indicate re movals by tho President, and nt his sole pleasure. If. thou, the euactmcnts of congress aiilhorize the removal, who can doubt of the power of the Pre sident to remove ? _ But suppose, by this very bill. Congress should say these officers should hold their office during good behavior ; what then becomes of this consti tutional executive power ? If is converted into a judicial power, and you have no way to remove theinciimbent but by impeachment, or by an ex ertion of legislative power, in abolishing the of fice- If tvs suppose this power of removal conferred by statute, and uot hy the constitution, our whole conrso is consistent in our executive business.— We have repeatedly refused to call upon the ex ecutive for hie reasons ; and why? Becauso the statutes had vested the power of removal at his jlcasure merely, and one branch of Congress a- one had no power to require that, which both branches had not.secn fit to require. Mr. President, these arc the principles upon which 1 was prepared to act in 1826 They rtre those upon which I wished to bring into power thd present Chief Magistrate. 1 speak only for myself, hut I boiievo they were the principles of- thc party with which I acted, and that wo were to give effect to these principles _so far as we might have the power. For oue. I have seen no sufficient reason to change them, and am prepar ed lo act them out. It is in vain to tell me this is a party question. It is a' question of funda mental principles, and I am on thnt sido of it in which 1 havo. been educated, ou which I have, therefore, acted, ns well as my hmnhle abilities have enabled mo ; it is one I cannot abandon for any earthly consideration, br.cnuso in its mainte nance 1 believe the prosperity, happinc'ss, aud security of the present and succeeding genera tions have a deep and abiding in'crest. It is asked by ihe opponents of thisJiill, what benefit its friends expect from a statement of the reasons of the removal, when the nomination of a.successor is presented to the senate ? 1 answer fur myself. I wislrto cut tip by the roots the demoralizing tendencies of office hunt ing. I wish to make such provisions, hy law, as will shield the Chief Magistrate from ini positions being practised upon him. to induce him to re- movo men from office. I wish to shield him from being imposed upon as to the character of those who apply for office. As 'ho law now stands, whenever a mail may cast a fancy for an office, filled hy his neighbor, all he has to do, is to poison the mind of the Ex ecutive against the incumbent, and to mnko a fa vorable impression as to tho fitness of him who desires to bo the successor. These objects can lie accomplished hy making characters upon pa per, secretly. Before tho officer is aware of if, his reputation is blasted hy secret and confiden tial eofpmqnica'ions, u>adc hy somo of those he hatf esteemed his friends; they aro lodged with the Executive,.where, it is ex peeled,'they will re main secret ; anil upon the strength of these re presentations. ihe officer is removed. When this is accomplished; the scuffle commences fora suc cessor, and paper characters are procured, for perhaps half a dozen applicants ; and very fre quently, the individual, haviugin point of fact the worst character of any in the group, is so dressed up. and >upported by certificates, as to convince the Executive thw public interest will be promot ed b\ selecting him as the successor, and he is no minated to the Senate- procure the appointment. Under the present state of things, society will become demoralized ; men will he constantly.co veting that possessed by their neighbors ; and for the sake of procuring what they covet, they will hear themselves, aud procure others also, to hear false witness. Under the laws as they how stand. the business of office hunting will become a science.- Men will lie selected acd furnished with funds, to de fray the expense of coming to Washington, for the purpose of, having oho set turned out, and a- uother set put ill, hy means of nrtful tales, secre tly gotten up, and reduced to writing, which it is supposed will never see the light. This officer, and representative of office hunters. wiH cotne ou with oue pocket full of bad characters, witli which to turn out incumbents ; ami the other filled with good characters, with which to provide for his constituents. Pass this bill, and a^wholesome check will he gi ven to this .‘whole system. Require the reasons for removal to be stated, and no man will dare to make a statement which ho does not believe to bo trup, because exposure and disgrace will cer tainly ho the consequence. You will take out of the hand of the cowardly assassin the poisoned dagger heretofore used in the dark. At ou will shield the Executive agaipst mistakes, founded on false representations. No Executive can^be personally acquainted with the characters of all men iu office nor,with the characters of those who desire office ; he must act upon information derived from others : he ought, and 1 feel persua ded tho present Chief Magistrate, will, thank con gress for any plan, by* which he may be the better euahled to discharge his official duties to the wel fare of society. Another advantage lo lie-derived from this, is, that it will chpck the thirst for office, and restore hnwnony' to society. J When ?i man is removed for want of capacity, for want of irtegrily, on account of intemperance, ora lack of business habits, why not put down the reasons ? Who is harmed hy it ? Nobody. Now, a man’s reputation is stabbed in the dark ; hy whom, or in what manner, he is unable to ., I r u C i r ^. '“Nation i 3 orble to au early freshet to bring the | ow '**■ Mills : and thus this season unike the laV" ^ to those engaged in the milling or business, with the most flattering pm,™ tr "'* is calculated that there will be sittwi Third, Because the establish-j - ■ ■ ■ ‘ 0 '^-"* P<a, meat of such a Court, would lie calculated to - protracted cold and snow of th' a benefit the rich, at the expense of the poorer, has been propitioiis to farmers and Iu \ classes of community. To remedy the first oh- j aud by the latter it is understood a ereai ra **' jection, it is provided in tho Act of the Legisla- ( tity of logs will be ready for inarket ih ^ 031 lure, that the State shall be divided into five Ju- before at oue season. Everv dictaldistricis, and that the Court shall he held iu each district, at least once in each year, near the centre of thesame. To provide against the second objection, it is declared, that when a cause shall ho carried up to the Supreme Court, if the parties shall, not be ready to dispose of the same, at tho first term thereafter, (unless for un avoidable providential cause) the same shall be dismissed, and the’ decision in the Circuit Court, stand coufirmed. The third objection, it is be lieved upon examination, has no foundation in fact, and the establishment of suci> a com t, so far from producing the consequences anticipated by some, will have a direct'tendency, to protect the poor anti weak against encroachments of the strong, the rich and the powerful. Ih-every com munity, tho wealthy, and the strong, arc able to protect themselves. Their condition in life, gives them superior iufluenco over the poor, and obscure citizen.- Place the wealthy, and poor citizen before a court, and jury of the'country, and who of the two. will he 'calculated to have the most influence—who of the two will staud most in need of the administration of the stern, uuhending principles of the law, to protect his rights? The experience of every man will bear testimony, that it is'thopoor and weak who need -the arm of the Judiciary, to Shield and ‘project them. Hence the Judiciary has been property considered “the sheet anchor of American liber ty. the bulwark of freedom,” If any one portion of the people- is 'more interested than another, in the uniform administration of the laws, it is the poor and weak—who when wronged and op pressed hy their rich and in ore'powerful neigh bors, can fly to the sanctuary of the law. and de mand with confidence, its protection. In every, well regulated community, where the rights «f the people arc defined and guarantied by-law, the necessity of such a tribunal, as the one contem plated, has been long since demonstrated hy the iuconlestihle evidence of experience The other > It lli/lllf wi ju tX 11(1 — « T . . , t — . find ont- Pass this bill, and if a man is. injured, I States of the Union yielding to such necessity, he will It now by whom, and in what manner, & can wipeout the stain, not by a controversy with tho President, hilt by a controversy with the man whose falsehoods misled the Piestdeiit. Again, we will secure, iu all time to .come, jio- nost officci*s in the enjoyment of honest political opinions. No President will ever remove nil of ficer, simply because lie will not think and act with him in politics, when he knows this reason is to be of record, autf remain through all time. For myself, now, above all others, is the time when I wish to see this security furnished to hon est men in office. 1 wish »he credit ol it for this 'administration. His anxious wish has been, to restore to ihe States, and to individuals, what, in his judgment, they had been ifnprop rly deprived of hy federal power; and I wish to see. iu his day. a surrender of all means an unprincipled Chief Magistrate might use. to influence the political o-. pinions of men. I know him too well, not *o believe it would meet his Ircarty approbation; and, in time to come, when tbe jnstorian shall re cord the beneficial nets of our illustrious men, l feci persuaded this act rrill not escape his atteii Extract from the charge of Judge Warner to the Grand Jury of ,De Kalb County. fh ere is auother subject; in which you, as well ns the whole people of tiho State, arc deeply inte rested, to thr consideration of which, tiie Court desires to call your attention. It is not a politi cal question, but ono which is intimately connec ted with tho administration of the laws of the country. Although custom may furnish prece dents for tho disciissio*D of political subjects by Grand Jurors, and the expression of their opin ions in their presentment 0 ; yet, in the opinion of the Court, the discussion of such questions can not he considered a° favorable to an impartial administration-ofthe laws. Every mail, when hq approaches the sanctuary of Justice, (what ever may be his political or religinus opinions) should feel a confidence that his rights will he re spected and properly adjudicated, and no act should ho done oil the part of those charged with the administration of the laws, .calculated to weaken that confidence. We aro to administer the laws for the benefit of the whole people, not for a part only. The last Legislature by a con stitutional majority. passed an act, altering the Constitution of tho State, so far, as to authorize the establishment of a Court fot the correction of errors in law, only. Jleforc the proposed altera tion in the constitution can.take effect, tho Act contemplating the change must receive the sanc tion of two thuds of both branches of the next Legislature. The’uingiiinulo of the evils which exist, under the present form of our Judiciary (for it cannot be called a system) is readily aekuowl edged by every intelligent citizen. There are ten Judicial Districts in the State. The Jaws in each district are as differently construed and ad ministered, as the several Judges who administer the same, may happen to differ in opintpn. as to what is law. The evidence of title by which our fellow cititpns hold their property, differs when we cross tho boundary line of the different Cir cuits. In this very Court, a question arose, as to what constituted a scaled instrument. During the sanio riding, the same question aroso. iu the Ocmuigco Circuit. The Judgo of the Coweta Circuit determined the question 'sne way, and tho Judge of the Ocmulgec Circuit determined the same question differently. Both cases wdre taken' before all the Judges in convention, and after investigating the law upon the subject, five of the Judgc3 sustained the decision made in the Coweta Circuit, and five sustained the decision made iu the Ocmulteo Circuit. Neither decis ion beiog overruled by the opinion of a majority, both stand—and thnt which would be considered a sealed instrument in the Ocnutlgec Circuit, would ho declared not to he such in tho Coweta Circuit, and also in the different Circuits, as the Judges may differ iu opinion. This is no imagi nary picture. Such a stato of things actually ex ists, and that too among a people who profess to be governed by the same laws. The’presiding Judge of tho Circuit, is frequently called upon, to pronomice the law, arising from the most com plicated statement of facts, or upon a new point presented, involving a large amount of property, liberty, and even life, in the absence of all autho rity, without reflection, &in the hurry of business, merely froth his general recollection of law.— The widow and the orphan, may be deprived of their property, the subject of his liberty, and the life of a fellow being forfeited, by an erroneous judgement of the law; yet there is no review, there lies no appeal, hut to the judgment scat of Heaven. Subsequent investigation, and exami nation, inay convince tin* Judge of his error, but I too late, to correct it. The decree has gone forth, i the judgment of the law has been executed—the ( executioner lias performed his sad office, and the victim is a lifeless corpse at his feet—In this boa- sted land of liberty, it is not necessary to urge ' further argument in favor of the proposed refor mation of qua Judiciary. Tlireo main objections have heretofore been urged (and tho court re grets to say successfully urged) against the pro posed change in the Coustitution of the State.— have established courts for the correction of er rors in law. Are the Circuit Judges in Georgia less fallible than the Judges in other States ?—& aro the rights of the people less sacred, or of less importance ? This court when established, will consist of three Judges," whose duly it will be to investgate and determine matters of law*only. The decisions of this court will be authoritative, settle controverted point® oflaw, and be publish’d for the benefit of the people. Justices of the rn- ferior Court, as well as Justices of the Peace, will be informed thereby, what is the law of the' land, and not l>e dependent upon others for infor mation, as to what is law. Uniformity-in the administration of the laws will prevail in all tbe| Circuits—Life, liberty, and property, will he pro tected from hasty and erroneous decisions made hv the Circuit Judges—Litigation will be curtai led—one third of *Jte cases which now crowd om dockets, arise from the uncertainty which prevail* ns to what is law. Parties institute suits while ono Judge is upon the bench, and .fail to recover r auother Judge is elected liissuccessor. who per haps may entertain a different view of the law. aud the same suits are again instituted- Nobody knows what will he declared to be the law— hence, every man who has an imaginary right, is anxious to try his luck— there js nothing settled —every tiling appertaining to the administration of the law, is uncertain, Such a state of things in the opinion of the Court, should not exist n- m'ouga people, who profess to have a constitu tion. and laws for their government. The Court foil it to lie its duty, to call your attention to this subject, leaving you perfectly free to express your owu opinions, in relation to it, feeling assured, thnt the opinion of so respectable a body of men ns you are, will bo entitled to very high respect among your fellow citizens* Penobscot this year, 150,000,000 feet of | ^ which will sell at the mills, for nearly thr lions of dollars!—The immense resource,** C section of the State, are hut just bci.,^ I 01 , 1 ’ ed aud understood.—Be!fist. M e . Advoci'f^ Important fact relative to Rail R 0(ld} r Baltimore Gazette states the following Zh* of xperiments made oil the Baltimore aLjJ? Rail Road. Wo noticed in December last thesucrewf * tempt to pass a Locomotive steam eo , M ' f its own power, with a moderate load it. over the inclined planes at Parr’s W-J " the Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road;™'** which has an acclivity of above tw o' bond 1 and sixty feet in a mile. Since that time v succesful runniug of the Locomotive l daring a season well adapted to furni*h fniiV portunily to test all kinds of difficulties might he caused hy the weather—has ‘ the satisfactory & entire conviction, tint for-,, live steam engines can be constructed, on tkr I adopted and now pursued, at the Manufactt* a I Machinery of the Baltimore and Ohio Iloil ft,l Company in this city, each of ickich engmi,#j*j fi the us; of anthracite coal as fuel, will It tin jL of transporting, with certainty and softly, hundred pusst ngf rs with thr requisite tan II at tain them up an inclined plane ascending t , hundred feet in the mile, at the rate of ten nil', an hour. This triumphant and highly impu: -1 * result furnishes additional evidence, in this of wonderful discoveries, of what may he acne, plished hy the use of steam power—the extras which it is almost impossible even to imagict- ' every monih. every week, brings to yj,, and into practical use. somo uexv benefit c ' ferred on man by the aid of this powerful». gent. Tho obvious benefits, and they may truly k said lobe immense in their extent—whirheij bo derived from the result thus ascertained, are great reduction in the oxtenso of graduatin' tb road beds on most routes for rail ways, xvhicb j g countries even moderately undulating, will proh- ably be at least fifty percent.—and great increase of practicable routes for the location of rail wan capable of being used beneficially without th aid of stationary power. It is tunv believed toW not merely probable, but in fact beyoutl a ret- sonnble doubt, that a route will be fomid on«. animation, for the continanco of the Baltimort and Ohio Rail Road to the Ohio river, flee fron all incliued planes that may not be passed om without the aid of stationary power, it is ala not less confidently believed, that passengerseia be conveyed the whole distance iu eachdireefioa ill 24 hours. _ BOTTS IN JIORSES. About eighteen years ago, the Hon. John El liot of this state, recommended to the Editoi of this paper,'blue stone dissolved iu -ardent spirits a sovereign remedy for - botts ill horses. 1 have tried it, and no other remedy from that day to this, and have not in a siuglc instance failed to effect a cure. His instructions were to dissolve a lump of blue stone about the size of a large fil bert in a half pint of brandy, whiskey or gin,'.di lute it with a littlo water, aud "ive it to t ;e horse; aud if it did riot relieve him in a halfhour, to rc peat the dose. I have never as yet been under the necessity nf repeatiiig^the dose. The action of the spirits is of course more ready upon the blue stone when iu a powder; but the person u*- ng it need fie 'under no apprehension, ofgiviup: too much blue stone, as a half pint of spirits will dissolve no more than a proper dose.. Stage owners, lvaggoners, and travellers should' always carry* a bottle of it ready prepared with them, and farmers should never be xvilhotit it ou their plantation—.iugvsta Sentinel. FIRE IN TIIOM ASTON, URSON CO. G.l On S’qnday night, the 12th inst.abotr.lly. clock, the roof of the public house owned hy Mr. A. F. Edwards, was discovered to he on fire, up- posed to have caught from the sparks froni::» chimney, lighting on the shingles, and tlierek- iug no means at hand to extinguish the Unmet, in a few moments the whole of the Buildings os the north side of the square including two pc!*Se houses, several extensive stocks of dry goods, a short the best improved and most beautiful pjrt of the village was a heap of smouldering (tie. The store of Mr. Beall on the North-east, rd the houses on the North West check corners xrt also consumed. The property destroyed in been.estimated at upwards of agrrJit: part of which was not insured. \t e are *ufrr- med that Mr. Edwards had a short time s:crt effected an insurance on his property to thea- mouut of in Columhus. EUROPE. It will be recollected that two children of Mr. Thomas Mervin werelost on the 26th of February last, in Baldwin county, near Stockton, on their return from school. They wore seen, for the last time, near home, at 5 o’clock that day. By a letter, dated Bjakely, March* J8Twe are informed that they were murdered by two negro nicn, who are lodged in jail at that plate. The discovery was’mado by the attempted perpetration of an act equally atrocious. It appears, that two la dies, daughters of Mr. ."dove, were riding on horseback along the road some few miles below Montgomery Hill, when a negro rushed sudden ly upon' them in such a nrmner as to frighten their horses. One lady was thrown from her horse, and tho scoundrel, probably, thinking himself secure of her, set off iu pursuit of the other, whoso horse ruti with her through the woods. In the mean time, the former regained, her saddle and rodo offiu another direction, aud was somi able to alarm some persons, by whose exertions tho villain was seized and secured. On being put to the question, he confessed him self the murderer of the two children above al luded to, and stated,.that the 'bodies would be fouad in Mr. Moyc’s mill creek. The elder of the two children was a girl eleven or twelve years of age, which,may account for tho wanton and horrible nnturo of the crime.. Another uogro. wlio is said to belong to Mr. Moye, is implicated with this wretch in the commission of this most j hellish act. The letter adds, that the attack Upon the la dies, was made on Sunday last, and that; up, to Tuesday morning, tho bodies of the children had not been found.—Mobile Register. First, That tbqestablishment of a Court for the The business will not) correction of errors, would j Fatal Accident.—Two men lost their lives yesterday afternoon on the Providence Rail Road, rear theTrcmont Hotel in Roxbury. undci the following circumstances.—Two men were seen xvalking by the side of tho rail road, and when the engine came within forty feet of them, one of the men threw himself designedly, direct ly across tho track. The other attempted to save him, bat the enqine being so near, struck I them both, and one was instantly killed, and j the other very dangorously wounded. It was, undersood that tin* men bo;h belonged to Bos- I ton, au<f that the oils xvho threw himself upon remove the public | the track, named Regan, xvns deranged. The VERY LATE AND.INTERESTING FROM EUROPE. After an interval of sixty two days, we bars at length intelligent: from Europe thirty days la* ter th in our previous accounts, hy arrivals at New York, from ilavro and Liverpool. The most important items of news by the-e arrivals is the death of the Emperor of Austria, (which we suppose will not disturb the general system of Europe;) the defeat of the I’eel Mini’* try in England, noionlyjn the choiceni Speakff in the House of Commons, but in tiie vote on d» Address to the King, although bv asinnllm ijifi* tv, and the dissolution of the I tench J!ii:i»i*7* The question of indemnity to t»is country retnai- ned ansettled. The Ncw-York American rua- tains an extract of a letter to a house in thatcitj. from Paris, dated Feb. 23d, in these words; •‘Don’t be frightened at a change, of MinaUJ here. \\ hoever Louis Philippe makes .Mink* must pledge himself to make the twenty fiveinii' lion law a Cabinet question. Mr. Livingston told me, the day before yesterday, that bo W very confident of our success. My friend, Jh* Mcchin, who wiote the book lately on the Amci* ienn claims, and who was the only man in P* !r;i who predicted the first rejection,(which he did to me,’) now predicts fifty to sixty majority in our favor, as he told me ” The New-York Journal of Commerce s' 1 ?'-'' .•‘The opioi ms expressed in the letters rreet ve “ ftom Franco, are uniformly favorable to the pas sage of the indemnity Bill. We have had access to a good many from respectable source*- aLl - find tio difference, of opinion on the Hiljec 1 *" dome of them speak iri the most positive tern!'* such as “whoever may-lie Ministers, tbe bill'™ certainly pass.” The' language we have q“ 0 '" is used by members pf the Chambers.ofDepuNR’ who are also merchants and Bankers, am! to their correspondent.* here for theirgoidaa*® 1 business of mutual interest.” DEATH OF THE EMPEROR OF AUSTRIA. , Tiie Mohiteur of the 7th March contains n j, e ". graphic despatch from the French Charge o- I fairs at Vienna, stating that the EmperordtA * (stria died sndder.lv at one o’clock iu the nw™ 1 j of the 3d in*t. He was in bis 67th year, and‘ a i been Emperor; first of Germany, and then ot* ^ | stria, since 1801. lie is succeeded by la*’°' > J Ferdinand, now 42 years of age. Tnis , is probnhl*\ w ill cause a great change in the ** taro policy of the empire, as tiie present is said to entertain a strong dislike against i o* Meti’ernich. Er.KNca Letters or Marque.—-A Brest Jf® ual of the 2-ltli February lias the following tide—: , “Sevoral applications for letters of ‘” 9 S a . have been sent from our department to the ister. The .Minister of .Marine has replied 10 ! of those application•■. thr t in the uncert* which prevails respecting the issue of the o'* enco with America, he could not at preset!' ^ Lively nccedc to tha application; but tli# would take <1 tie notice of it. premising to P a f tmtien to it, if occasion shculi! arise.' '