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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.