Newspaper Page Text
TOLiTHAL.
[From the Alabama Intelligencer.]
THK SE\T PRESIDE A CT.
Although the election is more than three
years off, the subject of the m xt Presidency
begins to be agitated. We regret to see it,
and shall not ourselves (if it can possibly be
avoided) discuss ti.e im rits of auv candidate,
for at hast the next twelve months. The
coming contest w ill be heated enough, come
when it may. A continued contest, waxing
holier, and hotter, thro’ liie long period of 1
three ye ars, is at any time, but more especial
ly at this time, greatly ».» be deprecated-'
TVe eouunly is just r. covering from the most
violent fraternal discord it has ever known.
Pcaci and silence should hi- desired by all
good men ; th.il the nun-.'s of ttx n may sol
emnly compose themsvlws for a while, to rc
fl ct upon our country, hi r history, her gov
ernni id, her vicissitudes, hrr past dangers,
present stale, and future pinspeefs. \N lien
political j "irnals commence the disenssion
about tlie Presidency,'all things i Ise are in a
measure forgedten. To promote his favorite
can Jidatc is the chief concern and most inti r
«sting employment to each one. While their
whole attention an I energies are thus directed
to a little part—a sinplc spring cr wheel in
the great mac iue ; the soundness and har
monious action of the whole is less reganh-d.
The nature and beauties of our Federal Gov
ernment, whose existence is the very breath
in the nostrils of human liberty—its opera
tion at home and abroad—the blessings wc en
joy under it—the beauty of brotherly love in
the Republic—the necessity for temper and
forbearance—the importance of know b dgc—
the improvements of the agi—all the topics
of quiet times, are less freqeuntlv urged by
the men who write, and less carefully consid
ered by the mass who read, when once the
contest concerning men ha3commenc- and.
Tlie trying time, it is oirr impression, is
fast coming on this Republic. We cannot
be strictly likened, it is true, to any oth* r Re
public orGovcrun lit that bus ever existed.
Ours is the work of modern improv* merit,
wrought out roin all the wisdom arid experi
ence of the world. But lessons of wisdom
may still be diavvn from a similarity which is
found to exist in some general featun s be
tween ourselves and other Governments. We
are prosperous to an extent unrivalled for our
age in die History of the world. So was
Rome when she bad vanquislieJ all her one
mics and enriched herself with their spoils.
Phen she became corrupt. Our territories
are of vast extent. So weie 1,. , whe.i she
tell to pieces in some measure of h< r own mag
nitudi. In the early and virtuous age of the
Roman Commonwealth, Cincinuatus was ta
ken to be made Dictator. But when tlie age
of Fabricus and Camillas, the Manlii and Fa
bit had passed, there came a generation who
strove plotted, and bribed, and intrigued, for
the offices of the Stale; an appeal to arms be
tween rival leaders was the next tiling, and
Marius and Sylla by turns drenched the land
with the blood of her sous—Triumvirates fol
lowed next and thou the last shadow of a Re
public was lost in the gloom of absolute Des
potism. These rt flections bring forcibly to
mind our own condition at present. The
Fabii and Manlii of this country have gone to
to the grave—the pure, simple, austere patri
ots of the “times which tried men’s souls”
may now be considered as ail gone. A few
may still survive, but the short remnant of life
which is left to them must bo passed in quiet
and repose and not in ;he cures and labor of
the public service. The man now at the
head ol the Nation is the last of that genera
tion who will ever be a Chief Magistrate of the
United States.
And what next ? Is the History of this
country henceforward to lie nothing but con
tinued struggles for the Presidency—a mod
ern reception of the old contests and struggles
for the Roman Consulship ? Are we to have
a candidate from every State ; each little
knot of eager office-seekers in the different
parts, hoping to get the advantage for their fa
vorite by taking the earliest start? As soon as
one President is installed, shall we lie thus fa
tigued and fretted into the business of provi
ding his successor ? Indeed the present slate
of things looks like it- The present Chief
Magistrate has no', been installed six months,
and already as many as eight or tin individu
als are spoken of as nis successor—some nom
inated at public meetings, and others recom
mended by political journals.
W e wish to take no hand in this indecent
scrambl for the start. A year or more henc
will be full tune to canvass the un rits ol men.
One word concern.ng our vie-.s about tills
matter. Wo do not regard il as a tiling of Inc
greatest importance, to look lor the most
splendid talents of the nation to make a
President. Old vattiamel Macon was never
considered a man of sliming talents, and yet
if he hail the bodily vigor, we snould consider
In in as tit a man for tiie Presidency as the
brightest man mtiie nation. Because ne has
strong sense, sound information, sterling
honesty, a id Ins principles concerning the
nature and powers of the government nearly
correspond with our own. It it the princi
ples of a man we should look to, and not his
parts further than to bo assured that they are
not below mediocrity. Tne main question
with the democratic party should be—is he
for restraining in every instance tho action of
the Fedeial Government strictly within the
circle marked out either expressly or by plain
ly necessary interlerence in tne Constitu
tion?
There is now and always has been two par
ties in this country. Mr. Monroe vainly
hoped todestioy old distinctions by taking to
his conlidence “honest men of all parties - ”
What was tne result ? Wo had a fevv tears
of unusual quiet, and it was only the calm
before tlie gathering storm that strained the
timbers, if it did not sprmga leak in the gal.
iant vessel of the Union. Let every man
hold his principles on high and go for the
min that goes for those principles. One par.
ty is for a broad construction of the Constitu
tion—“general We!.are” men—who are for
extending the power of the Federal Govern
men . i’ueao ofo.-.i were called Federalists.
T ,e other p-rriy is tor construing the Cons, i
tutio strictly—tor co..lining the power ol the
Federal Government. These of old were
Called Dent. crats. So ict it be again. For
our part, if a candidate lias strong sense and
sound information—fair character as a man—
and reputation as an open and long tried Dun
r-ccat, .re ha» all the quanficatio s lor the
Preside- y w...cn we i . i k necessary.
• “ ■ ly life, says Monw.
pltWlly dc-piseil, CXmpt < , x who k-t'l Z\ com- I
| 'any.
GEORGIA TIMES* AND STATE RIGHTS’ ADVOCATE.
Force and Opinion.
What says lire adherent in the old school of
politics, can be intended by this new doc
trine that opinion, rather than force must con
stitute the strengthofgovernment? Wherever
government operates, docs it not operate by
loice ? Do men submit to be fined, impri
soned and banged as a mutter of opinion ? or
does tin- law always act forcibly, and without
consulting the offender ? The error in tins
reasoning consists in not distinguishing be
tween communities and individuals. The
law operates forcibly on individuals; and for
that veiy reason, among others, it connot be
toll rat. and mill ss it conforms to the opinion ol
the community. Laws passed in opposition
to the prevailing opinion of the community
cannot, in general be executed at all; or
where it is otherwise, their execution is felt
to be tyrannical and wrongful. Tins matur
was no doubt v.svved diliirently, when the di
vine i'gtil of kings was tlie favorite theory o*
government; but ever since the opinion be
came axiomatic, that governments derive all
tlieir authority from the consent of the gov
erned, the conclusion lias been felt to be irre
sislahle that no government can be righlltil
mat does violence to the prevailing opinion
of the community governed. Force against
refractory individuals is consistent Willi the
nature of popular government; whilst force,
exercised against a community, is but a not in i
name for war. It was on tins principle that
the embargo was abandoned, during Mr- Jef
ferson’s administration, win n it was perceiv
ed that it could not be maintained without
doing violence to tne decided opinion of en
tire communities ; and on the saute grounu
en.iglited men, who had been devoted to the
protective system and still perhaps regarded
it, in itself, us calculated to promote the
prosperity of the country, saw the necessity
ot abandoning it, when it became evident that
it was utterly repugnant to the opinion an.
feelings of the Southern States. And al
though sumc may think that a government,
thus limited b_> opinion, must be weak, we
are inclined to regard this reslramg influence
as favorable to tiie strength of the Union, and
tlie security of the liberties ol the people.—
t lie more wc nflect on the extensive and
growing cluster of republics constituting the
United Mates of America, the more fully we
arc satisfied that the real strength of the fed
eral government and the s,ability ot the Un
ion must depend in a great measure on the
strict limitation ol the powers of that govern
ment to those grand objects clearly set forth
in tiie constitution, in which all the States
have a common inter. St. When it goes be
yond tnise, it but assumes prerogatives which
by hr nging it iutoconilicl with opposing in
terests and opinions, are rather calculated to
expose ns feebleness than to increase its
strength.— Ala. Intelligencer.
Cotton-—:* unification.
The Charleston Mercury a leading Journal
in South Carolina, in a late paragraph on the
high price of Cotton, concluded with tins lan
guage, “so much for Nullification 1”
Sundry wiseacres have criticised the rea
soning which these fevv words convey, and
insist that Nullification hud no effect on the
price, ft is out of fashion now to quote Adam
Smith, or Say, or tho Edinburg Review, on
questions of political economy. Anew race
has sprung up, whose creed is “one fact is
worth a thousand arguments.” And this
doctrine leads precisely whero any man of
common sagacity would predict—to trumping
up every sort of story, half understood and
half reported, as a fact by which the sound
est arguiii, nt is to be overturned. Now we
will venture to say that some of Smith’s posi
tions are not to be overturned. One is, that
in any established article of commerce, the
price, at any one time, depends on the ratio
of the supply and demand. Increase the
first, the second continuing steady, and the
price will fall—increase the second, the first
continuing steady, and the price will rise.—
Wc suppose that the supply of Cotton was
less than usual—it is Certain that the demand
was increased on the prospect of getting a
maikct in the United States. The Factories
of England have been in a drooping condition
in consequence of the exclusion of their fab
rics from our- markets. Baukiuptcies follow
ed, and although workmen were willing to
labour for a bare subsistence of the co.rsest
kind, and even children seven years of age
were employed to assist n earning a support
for the half starved families of tlio poor
classes of England, yet subsistence could not
always be ootamed, even on tin se hard terms
Th*- workmen and tli. ir children were dis
charged from employment, because the manu
facturers had no market for their goods. A
prospect of a market in the United States,
however, stimulated the manufactures to an
effort. A demand was instantly created, and
the price of Cotton was enhanced. Was this
strange 1
nA Al FACT VUES.
We are friendly to ail departments of in
dustry, and have no w ish to see tlie rum of
the Northern Factories. But we have a strong
objection to their being billctted upon us. It
is not fair play to make the southern farmers
support the northern mechanics. We pro
pose a plan, therefore, by which the Facto
ries can be sustaiilex', without taxing us who
have no interest in them. It is by a system
of bounties. The principle is as effectual
as that of excluding competition, and it is a
great deal fairer. Suppose that a piece of
cotton cloth fro n England, after paving the
freight across the Atlantic on the raw mate*
rial, the charges of commission, insurance,
profit to the importer of the raw material, the
import duty in England, profit to the manu
facturer, commission, freight, and insurance
again, and a moderate import duty for reve
nue in the U. States can be afforded three
cents per yard cheaper than a similar article
from an American loom—then, to enable the
Amcricun to compote with the foreign manu
facturer, it will be necessary to provide a
bounty of three cents for every yard that he
produces. W’e propose that Massachusetts
shall do this for the support of her Factories,
she is more interested in the Factory system
iliau any other State, and should set the exam
ple. if the plan is found to be a good one,
the other manufacturing states will follow.—
Sim will thus sustain her industry at her own
expense, and not by levying exactions of the
South.—-RtcA. Jeff.
Dancer* iu Greatness.
We have often heard it mude a question,
win liter those who have keen long engaged
i.i active political life, and especially those
who have reached t *» highest stations, can
»ct nt nto the la, - 1 tint scrupulous Itomtu - and
purity of patriotic Iceling, with which they
may have commenced their career. In this
respect tiie honors of the Church and of the
.State seem to have a similar effect. It is re
lated of Pius Quintus, that after having obtain
ed the po-M-dem, be was aggrieved to find that
being Pope was far from rendering him in
fallible. On the contrary, be observed
“ when I was in a low condition, I had hopes
of salvation ; when l obtained a Cardinal’s hat,
I greatly doubted ; but now since I occupy
the chair of Si. Peter, and am the acknowl
edged Vicur of Christ, 1 have no hope at all.”
He deserved to be saved far his candor. It
would furnish a vast fund of useful informa
tion if all our dignitaries of state would le'l to
the world as sincerely how much honest pur
pose and patiiotism they had left after attain
ing the lug’ll places of power. The people,
we doubt not, would te willing to grant po
luical absolution toaiy of the nine canhid
ales for the Presidency, who shall give Ins
sincere political experience, stating when In
had acted from principle, when from passion,
when from party feeing, and when from cal
culating self-interest.— Ala. Intelligencer.
Union Faith. —Whe* the Union Part)
turned iraitors, and were ready to join the
tram bands of a military Desjiot for tlie pur
pose of bringing d< solution and disgrace up
on their native State, we thought thrv hail,
then achieved all the infamy that was alloi
ted toman. But their conduct at the late e
lection in Charleston, shows that there was
yet another step to he taken in the scale ot
degradation, and their hobby of Union, we
presume, taught them to leave no stone un
turned. After the most solemn and formal
declaration that they would take no part in
the late election, a Union ticket was got up,
and the whole strength of the Party brought
out to suslain it. So much tor the Union
faith ! It is useless for the Union press to
say, that those gentlemen who were run by
the Party were not candidates,-and that the
Party is not responsible for tlie conduct of in
dividuuls. It is true, and wc arc glad to see
ij, that some gentleman of that party, disgus
ted with the shanicb ss want of principle up
on this occasion, refused to cooperate in
this Party movement : but it is evident, to
the common sense of every one, that this was
a preconcerted plan, to effect by artifice what
tli y had .-o often failed to do by open op
position. But the efforts of this miserable
part, of a faction in Charleston, arc too lame
and bungling, to excite any stronger sensa
lions than those of ridicule and contempt.
Wc have long since known how much faith to
place in their declarations. Have we not
seen their leaders, who, at the commence
ment of the late controversy, were the most
clamarous for resistance, voting for a bill to
put down at the point of the bayonet, that ee
ry resistance which they themselecs had ad
vised? But there was a littleness and want
of judgment displayed in this last trick of
theirs, that one could hardly expect from full
grown men. Wo nr* sorry to see that they
are so deficient in tho dignity add selt-respi ct
that should sustain even the Traitor in “that
last hour.”— Edgefield Carolinian
From the Alabama Journal.
A large and respectable meeting of the citi
zens of Montgomery, and its vicinity, was
held at the Union Hotel in said town, on
Wednesday at 3 o’clock P. M. for the pur
pose of taking into consideration the recent
assumptions of power on the part of the Gen
eral Government, within the judicial limits of
tlie State of Alabama, and their contemplated
continuance of it.
The meeting was organized bv appointing
Col. Joseph Hutchinson, Chairman, and M.
B. Tatum, Esq. Secretary. On motion ot T.
S. Mays, a Committee of nino w:*« aonomted
to prep re a report to the meeting, on the
matter referred to. The following gentl men
composed the committee.
Thos S. Mays, Boling H ill. Jumoe E. Bel
ser, Win. Uarwi, Thus. Brown, Jos. Fitzpat
rick, Aimer McGcbee, Ph. Fitzpatrick and
B. S. Bibb.
Who, after retiring a short time, returned
and reported the following Preamble anil
Resolutions, which being severally taken up,
were unanimously adopted, viz :
Wherecs, the Legislature has, by various
acts, extended the jurisdiction of the State,
over the Territory occupied by the Creek In
dians, which said territory has been laid out
into counties, and courts of justice established
therein ; and whereas information has been
received, in Ibis town, that it is the intention
of the Executive of/he United States, tore
move our citizens inhabiting our new coun
ties, and that the troops of tlie Government
Ins been ordered on for that purpose, there
fore,
Resolved, That the introduction into the
chartered limits of our State, of an armed
lorec for the purpose of forcibly removing
from their settlements, those of our citizens
who live in the new counties, will be aii un
warranted and dangerous assumption of pow
er, and absolutely subversive of the sove
reignty and law* of the State of Alabama.
Resolved, That the questions as to the oc
cupancy of lands within the State of Alabama,
are properly referable to her judicial tri
bunal.
Resolved, That in the words of the Gov.
ernor of our State, “the Marshall at the head
of a hand of armed soldiers, in the bosom of
a peaceful and ordered community, ought not
and cannot he f*e,rinitted to settle questions
that are in their charter stiicily and properly
legal.”
Resolved, That this meeting concur with
Governor Gayle in his views upon this subject
as expressed in his letter to the War Depart
ment, and that they pledge themselves to
sustain him in his “ determination to prevent
by all proper means a mode of proceedings so
repugnant to the Constitution and Laws of
State.”
On motion of B. Hall, Esq.
Resolved, That a copy of these proceedings
be forwarded to His Excellency Governor
Gayle, and that the Editors of all the News
papers of this State, be requested to publish
them. J. HUTCHINSON, Chairman.
M. B. Tatum, Secretary.
A CuuvcuUau,
Favorable to altering the Constitution ol
tne Stale, met at Harrisburg. Pennsylvania,
on the 28th ult. It was agreed to recommend
to the people that the Constitution be eo al
tered as to diminish tlie appointing power of
th Governor, and to establish a negative in
relation to it. 2. To abobsh offices for life.
r > extend the enjoyment of the right of
suffrage - 4. To elect a greater proportion of
public officers directly by the people. 5. To
shorten the term of office and limit tlie eligi
bility of State Senators. 0. To provide a
mode for submitting future amendments to
the people.
It was also agreed to rej>ort for considera
tion whether any or all the following (impos
ed amendments ought to be made, to be de
termined under the instructions of the peo
ple, by an adjourned Convention, to be held
next winter.
1. To shorten the term of the Governor’s
office, and of his continued eligibility.
2. To jirohihit Lotteries.
3. To impose restrictions, in certain cases,
on the [silver of the Legislature to grant per
petual and unrepeatable characters of in
corporation.
4. To prohibit the Legislature from bor
rowing money on behalf of the Slates, except
ing to a certain amount. —Raleigh Register.
The Proceedings of this Convention arc
just to hand, and shall appear at length in our
next. Judge Ruffin jiresided, and Messrs.
Waiki r Anderson and Sandy Harris were ap
pointed Secretaries. Delegates attended from
tlie counties ot Cumberland, Rowan, Caswell,
lTake, Harrell, Person, Orange. Granvill
and Guilford. The result of the delibera
tions ot tin- Convention is comprised in the
wo following Ri solutions :
Resolved, That the necessary measures
should be adopted to ensure the construction
of a Rail Road, commencing at or near ITel
«ion, and’ruuning thence b.v or near Oxford to
the western section of the State.
Resolved, That it is tlie opinion of this
Convention, that in every [vroject to improve
•my p rt of tlie State bv means of a Rail Road,
or other public improvement, where the citi
zens friendly to such nroject shall (ray or se
ure to be |>aid three-fifths of the cost of such
improvement, an enlarged and enlightened
policy requires that the State shall pay the
remaining two-fifths for the completion of
such work.— Raleigh Register.
The Legislature of Tennessee assembled
yesterday, we presume, that being the day
fixed by law for its meeting. Amongst the
important business of tho Session will be the
lection of a Senator in the room of Mr.
Grundy, whose term of service expired on the
fourth of March last. Messrs. Grundy, Ea
ton ami Foster are candidates, and it is proba
ble that the present Governor of Tennessee,
Gen. Carroll, will be brought forward.
Rnl. Register, th 17 Sept.
As the general election approaches, we
are gratified to learn from various parts of the
State and from those especially whose nu
merical strength is greatest, that the |>eo|)le
arc awake to tlie importance of the crisis, and
are about to give their votes with a full un
derstanding of the questions which they are
called upon to decide - It is a cheering to
know from sources entitled to the fullest con
fidence, that the miserable project put forth
by the late Convention at Millodgeville, will
be indignantly rejected by a decisive majori
ty of the freemen of Georgia. We learn also,
with great pleasure that the merits of Major
Crawford are properly estimated by our
fellow-citizens in the interior—that as the
firm and undeviating advocate of those prin
ciples 'n relation to the powers of the F.-dcral
and State Governments, which Georgia has
until the late session of the Legislature
steadily maintained for years, the Troup Party
will rally around him ivith singular unarimi
ty. Indeed, so far as wo understand the Au.
trusts Constitutionalist and those whose par
ticular views it expresses, ana a few ( f there
he any such) among ours* Ives constitute the
e,,!n ........|"ion this remark, and the votes of
these will, it is believed, he more than coun
terbalanced by those of independent Clark
men, who cannot submit to the consolidating
doctrine of the self styled Union Party of
Georgia.
We had hoped that tho Eastern District,
always among the foremost in the maintain
ance of correct principles, would, notwith.
standing the miserable laro held out to some
of the smaller counties, have rejected unani
tnously the proposed amendments to the Con
stitution. Wc still believe that a majority of
the District true to the prineip! s by which
they have heretofore been actuated, will in
dignantly repel this attempt to mislead them.
It is a subject of mortification however, to
have forced upon us the conviction that there
are any among us who would barter their
birth-right for a mess of pottage—who to
minister to the ambitious views of a few indi
viduals, would engraft upon our constitutional
charter, the anti-republican principle, by
which the majority will be subjected to the
will of the minority. Yet, such things are—
A writer in the Georgian, under the signa
ture of“ Ratification” has with some labor
prepared two tables which ho supposes will
prove tlie fairness and equality of the project
of the Convention—Taking forty-four eoun
ties in one part of the State, and forty-six in
another he finds them nearly equal in num
bers of votes and of Representatives, and
hence he maintains the fairness of the pro
nosed plan of representation. We do not
stop to examine the correctness of these ta
bles. Let those who read this essay, reflect
in the first place, that this imaginary equalitv
is obtained by discarding a principle which is
vital to our existence as a Southern State,
namely, by the rejection of the Feneral ratio
--—Let them then instead of taking the aggre
gate of each table, a3 proposed by this writer,
institute, a comparison between the different
parts <*f (he same table which he lias furnish
ed—looking (o the first, let them catnparc
No. 6, with 43, and they will find that two
ourities having a population of nearly eigh
teen thousand, have the samp representation
m the Senate, as two other counties having a
population a little exceeding two thousand—
that is, by the proposed selieme, so far as
representation m the Senate is concerned,
nearly sixteen thousand free eitizms in the
two count its first refered to, arc actually dis
franehisidt Let him continue his compari
son, and take the first eight, and the last
ight counties, of which the Census of the
population is stated, excluding from the latter
Cnatham and Effingham, and he will find this
result—The first, he will see has a population
' little exceeding ffity-tkree thousand, the
last a fraction more than ten thousand—arid
yet these fifty-three thousand will have just
as many, Hnd no more representatives in the
-Senate, the ten thousand.
Savannah Republican.
it by the Ide of Wight like a Duirv-mao?—
PrvsilM It h,.
Hr. Monroe.
When Col. Freeman, Auditor, died a mem
ber of Mr. Monroe’s cabinet named a citizen
for his successor. “ With all my heart,’’
said the patriot Monroe —“ there is no bet
ter man, and none better qualified for the
place— let the appointment be made.”
The member of the cabinet was, in half an
hour after, sent for. On arriving, said Mr.
Monroe, "On reflection, that appointment
cannot be made.” “ Why 1” was the euqtii
rv. “Because,” said Mr. Monroe, “the per
son named has been active in his support of
me, and of my administration —has been
zealous, and successfully so, in defending inc
and rnv measures, fiom the attack of those
who would involve both in min. If I appoint
him I may be subject to the imputation of re
warding him by money drawn from the treasu
ry, and paid him, under the guise of salary.
It was no us? that the position was combat
ted' It was maintained, and at the united
instance, and personal application of the
members of the Board, then about to rise, as
a Board of Commissioners for adjusting claims
under, we believe, the Ghent Treaty, Doctor
Watkins was appointed.
Another anecdote may serve to illustrate
the purity of that excellent man, and the cure
with which he guarded his fame.
lie was offered the price he asked for his
Albemarle estate, but refused it! The gen
tleman proposing to buy, said, “sir, 1 have
the cash, and w ill, in all this, comply w ith
your terms.” “1 have not a doubt of it,”
said Mr. Monroe, “ but yet 1 cannot sell to
you.” Reasons were asked, when Mr. Mon
roe said, “to be plain with you, Mr. G., you
are an army contractor to a largo amount. —
The contracts have my sanction. If I sell to
you, I may subject myself ta the imputation
of having favored you, to enable you to pur
chase my estate. lam embarrassed, sir, as
you and as all know—l am extremely anxious
to sell my estate, and would be most happy
to dispose of it to vou, and would do so, but
for your connection, as contractor, w ith the
Government.” The offer was refused.
Considering the great embarrassments of
Mr. Monroe, this was Roman firmness, and
bespoke his high sense of hts own spotless in
tegrity, and his fixed resolve, that, so fur as it
depended on himself, it should remain uriirn
peached and pure.
What lessons are these for the successors
of this great and good man ! — Phil. Com. Her.
■low lo got ■■}> a Convention.
The following pleasant account of the
manner in winch political conventions arc
got up by office holders and office hunters, is
from the Monmouth A. J. Enquirer :
The Presidency. —As vet hut little has
been said on the subject of the successor of
President Jackson, and it is right that it
should he so, considering the time which is
vet to elapse before the people will be called
on to act, and high party excitement w hich
has hitherto pervaded the country. There
appears, however, to be a little undcrtnir, as
we long shore folks say, sitting in different
directions. Thus the strong anti Jackson
men are still stronger anti-Van Buren, whilst
the up-to-the-hub Jackson men aro very soli
citous for the Vice President. Most of the
Jackson papers appear desirous that little
should be said on the subject, till the matter
is fixed by the Baltimore Convention, and
then the Peojile should considered the matter
settled,and vote accordingly. And this per
haps will be the fairest way, if no unfair
means are used to puck (hat Convention. It
the People were left to themselves, and they
were to send good honest delegates to a con
vention, without tiie interference of politicians
and office-hunters and holders, the candidate
selected would no doubt be some very satis
factory man- But wc all know the trickery
and motives of getting up these meetings for
the appointment of delegates. Here is Long,
staff Lofty, Esq. who wishts to be Postmaster
of the town ol I) , and his friend Billy
Butiontw ister. Esq. is equally desirous of be
ing appointed United States’ Attorney for the
Distrito! . Accordingly Messrs-Lofty
and Buttontwlster get up a countv meeting,
and forthwith a string of delegates, with
themselves at the head, arc appointed to at
tend the Grand Convention, whenever and
whenever it may assemble. YV e appeal to
our readers if this is not the ease nine times
out of ten, Besides, where all the pominent
officers are one side, the candidate in whose
favor they may be, has an undue advantage
over his competitors, for he has a Delegate
meeting getter-up, (our readers will pardon so
long a word) in every district, and t:,us the
convention come together completely sorted,
packed and committed, and then it is a mere
farce, and entitled to very little weight; and
is in fact much more objectionable than the
old Congressional Caucus, for that was com
posed of men of character and not of mere
office-seekers, and their friends. We arc
now speaking of a packed Convention. If a
Convention is fairly got up, and the merits ol
all the candidates fairly canvassed, perhaps it
is the best course that can bo taken to pre
vent the choice of a President falling on the
House of Representatives.
Goldsmith’s country squiro was nothingon
the score of innocence ami simplicity, com
pared with his name sake. The partisans of
the Governor, discovering that he possesses
no positire claims to merit, arc setting up,—
actually recommending his imbecility as an
argument in favor of his re-election. We
have been told that ho is inoffensive, that if
he has done no good, lie has done no harm.
I'his we deny, for he has so blundered, hesi
tated and equivocated, that he has done much
harm. But what a miserable shift his parti
sans havo resorted to. Ihe Governor of
Georgia ! the occupant of a chair once filled
by T roup—(he w hom he would not deign “to
abo”) —r< commended to our suffrages, for bis
inajf'endrc his impotenc.y his inability to do
either harm, or good. Goldsmith’s squire, ns
great a mammy’s baby as he w as, was never
in such leading strings.
Gear aia Messenger.
During the discussion of a divorce case
last week, it was pleaded that the defendant’s
character, like that of Ctesar’s wife, should be
abo.V suspicion. Lord Craigie (whose
knowledge of Erskine, it is to be hoped, is
greater than his knowledge of Vliakespcare)
took occasion to remark. “My Lords, my
learned fricnn, Mr has alluded to the
c.vsr, of C’jßsar’s wife. My Lords, 1 rcallv
never heard of this ease before; I I,clove it
must be omitted in Morrison’s Decision.”—
Here the presiding judge interrupted him, to
to the great annoyance of the auditors, at; hi*
Lordship seemed inclined to enlarge upon the
rmri*- of tlie “omitted” rore •
«.d° L ',h < : ,,OCKE ' rr -~ A « rea ‘ ,kal has bTTn
said in the newspapers concerning Col # r<v% «
ett, who has been again elected a mc„ lbe 7of
Congress from Tennessee. It was the L
fortune of the Col. to receive no schoo*
cation in his youth, and since to have had
but little opportunity to retrieve that defect •
but he is a man of a strong mind, and of ~r ea i
goodness ol heart. The manner of h.s
marks is so phcul.arthat they excite much at’
tention, an ' are repeated because cf their ori’
ginality ; hut there is a soundness, or pomt’
in some of them, which shows the exercise of
a well disciplined judgment—and we think it
not easy for an unprejudiced man tn cotnmu.
nicate with the Col. without feeling that lie
is honest. \\ c have had some opportunity of
knowing the calibre of many members of
Congress for 25 or 3U years past, and we have
anet with many, very many, fai less capable
of ascertaining truth than Col. C much less
attentive to the duties of their place—and of
no more real use than would oc one of Mae!,
zel’s automatons, so constructed as to pro.
nouncc the words aye and no. But the Col
does my a yea or no—for, whether right or
wrong, the vote is his own.
W o have been oftentimes asked, "what
sort of a man is Col. Crockett t” and the gc „.
eral reply " as “just such a one as you would
desire lo meet with, if any accident or mi s
fortune had happened lo you on the high'
way.”— Niles' lleg.
The instructions of the President to his C n.
roUing agents, which appeared inour2»rh
number, we have been induced to review, and
remark upon certain passages that were not
lully comprehended by us. The system of
measures under which these agents are acting,
has lor its great object the negociation of a
treaty w ith individuals, and on this principle
the Government, as a great mountain in ial
bor to remove an atom in its centre, bv turn
ing on its base, is now making a hopeless and
snail like progress in making treaties with in
dividuals. It appears that the President has
• given himself to the 1 slot January, to make a
treaty with the Chcrokecs, but should this
contemplation fail, then, in that case, those
who have enrolled will cede all their interest
in the soil,to the United States. But it ap.
peais this cession is only nominal, and the
, consideration to be given them, depends upon
contingencies: By a treaty with those re
maim ng. If no treaty is made to give effect
to this session, then in thiscase, the emigrants
. " ill receive pay lor the valuation of their im
provements, so fast as Congress makes the ap.
, propriations. This is the meaning of the se
cret letter from the white house, and the
, President might as well undertake to empty
the 1 acific ocean into the Atlantic, as tore-
I ~,ovc Die Cherokees by enrollments, and
t when he has appointed Georgians, who are
| robbing us of our dearest rights- We repeat
, agatt't "hat we have oiteu said, that no treaty
, can be made with the body politic of the
Cherokees.— Cher. Phenix.
i Portsmouth & Koauokc Rail Road.
I The all absorbing interest ol tins great pub
- lie work, causes every moment towards its
accomplishment to be vi-wed with inure than
ordina y satisfaction; and the inquiries coin
r tinually made ol us as to its progress,awaken
i an anxious desire to cli< nsb, by every means
r in our power the well founded conviction that
- tile besl hopes of tins community are identi
r lied wall its completion. With unat solid
t lude lin n, should we look to all the circum
> stances winch may favor its advancement,
-and nisiiie its spi edy accomplishment. The
s funds, that primum mobile in all enterprises
of (ins character, should be promptly furnish.
- ed to tlioa« wlio are charged with the dis
’ burseuient of them. Tins is it general sug
r g, stroii—its only applicability to t ecase in
- hand being, perhaps, a mile more t rdiness
r with some of the subscribers in paying in
I their quotas, than was to be expected Iroin
- the urgent necessity ol passing the work to
e consummation.
’’ Gn Tuesday morning, several of the Direc
, tors went on a visit of inspection through the
i line of the Road between this place and Sul*
• folk. They express iheniselvt s well satisfied
I w ith the progress made by the contractors on
1 tiie several parts of the road, and esp cialiy
s are they gratified to notice, the much greater
i facility than was anticipated, in grading and
laying the foundation tor the Rails in that
part of the Dismal Swamp through which the
Road is to pass, between this and Suffolk,
• the so l l tor the most part being pipe clay, and
affording an excellent basis. It is confident
i ly believed that no serious obsiacle will be
; opposed to their progress, and that should
there be no heavy rains, for about three weeks
lo come, that section of the Road will bo
ready to receive the rails. Very handsome
progress has also been made by Messrs.
Knox & Cos. Contra tors for the section near
est to Suffolk—the grading being nearly
completed—the dressing of the timber pre
paratory to the laying down of the Rails, was
commenced on Tuesday last about two miles
from that town.
From the energy and devotedness of the
contractors to the important object, little
doubt exists that the work will be effected
within the time stipulated; while a more
favorable circumstance towards its prosecu
tion could riot he quoted, than that the pr f *
paratory operation of grading the road and
making it ready for the Rails lias fallen con
siderably below the estimate presented by
tin Report of Mr. Crozct.
’The Iron Rails and Locomotive Engi n ®
have long since been ordered from Liverpool,
arid a reply received from the Agent employ
ed, that they should be furnished with tb«
utmost promptitude. They arc, therefore,
expected to arrive m a short time and foil'd
no disappointment occur from this quarter,
and the season prove favorable, the Road t°
Suffolk, it is confidently believed will l> c rt3 ‘
dy for travelling by Christmas.
it affords us satisfaction to state that sur
veys and plats of the whole country between
Suffolk and the Roanoke have been made, tU
levels taken and from these data it only IC ‘
mains for the Engineer, whose arrival i* short
ly looked for, to designate the most judie> oUS
line lor the Road—tiiis being done,
energy of the Directors will lie bent to i»°
grading and construction of the Road.
The chi, f obstacle to the
rnent of the work, has hern found in the di J
culty of procuring labourers in • H ® c,e . n
numbers, a difficulty, which it is hoped, I,c
friends of the enterprizo will sid in
by exerting to the utmost, such mosns a * I K '|
may posse, s, to send labourers into# * inC v..
Iroin which oountiful remuneration may •*
ly Itc aiitfripntr\J.