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EDITED BY THOMAS HAYNES. VOIa. VI. WO. 6. !§§umtorfc of j§£nton, BY P. L. BOBINSON, State Priater* Jj«f Publisher (by authority) of the Laws of the United States. ISSUED EVER! TUESDAY MORNING. U* TERMS.—Three Dollar* per annum. No aubacription taken for than a year, and no paper diacontinuod, but at the option of the publisher, until all arrear age* an paid. CHANGE OF DIRECTION.—We deaire aueh of our aubacribera aa may at any *iaae wiah the direction their paper* chanycd from one Port Office to another, to iafocti* ua, in all CM**, of the place to which they had been previoualy aent; aa the ntere order to forward them to a different office, place* it aliuoat out of our power to comply, bocauoo we hare no meana of aacertaining the office from which they ar* ord*rr.| to be changed, but by a search through our whole aubacription book, con gaining eereral thoueand name*. ADVERTISEMENTS inserted at the uaual rates, S|)es of LAND, by Admi niatraton, Eioeutora, or Guardians, are required by law to be heU on the first Tues day in the month, between the hour* of ten in the forenoon and three in the after noon, at the Court Hou** in the county in which the property is Notice of sheee ealoo must bo give* in e public gazette SIXTY DAYS previous to the day of sale. Salo* of NEGROES must bo at public auction, on the first Tuesday of the month between the usual hour* of sale, at the place of public sales ID the county where the letters SretimeMary, of Administration or Guardianship, inay have been granted, first giving SIXTY DAYS notice thereof, in one of the public gazettes of chi* State, and at th.'door of th* Court House where attch saiaoar* tube held. Noiioe for the sale of Personal Property must be given in like manner, FORTY •AYS ptovious to the day of sale. Notice to the Debtor* and Creditors of an Estate must be published FORTY OATS. ♦ Nous* that application will bo made to the Court of Ordinary for leave to soli LAND, must be published for FOUR MONTHS. Notice for leave to sell NEGROES, must bo published for FOUR MONTHS before say order absolute shall be made by the Court thereon. Notice ot Application for Letters es Administration must be publiabad THIRTY •ATS. Notice el Application for Letters of Dismission from the Administration of an Es tate, ere required to be published monthly for SIX MONTHS. biTauthorityT LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES PASSED AT THE THIRD SESSION OF THE TWENTY-FIFTH CONGRESS. Public—No. I.] AN ACT making appropriations, in part, for the support of Government, for the years eighteen hundred and thirty* eight, and eighteen hundred and thirty-nine. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the following sums be, and the game are hereby, appropriated, to be paid out of any unappropriated money in the Treasury, vh: For pay and mileage of members of Congress and Delegates, three hundred and seventy thousand nine hundred and forty four dollars: For pay of the officers and clerks of the Senate and House of Representatives, forty-three thousand four hundred dollars ; For stationary, fuel, printing, and all other incidental and contingent expenses of the Senate, thirty-five thousand dol lars ; For stationary, fuel, printing, and all other incidental and contingent expenses of the House of Representatives, one hundred thousand dollars. The said * wo »ums last mentioned to be applied to the pay ment of the ordinary expenditures of the Senate and House of Representatives, severally, and to no other purpose. JAMES K. POLK, Speaker of the House of Representatives. RH. M. JOHNSON, Vice Fresident of the United States, and Presedent of the Senate. Approved, December 22d, 1338. M. VAN BUREN. [Public —No. 2.] AN ACT to provide fir carrying into effect the convention between the United States of America and the Republic of Texas for marking the boundary between them. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Lniled States of America in Congress assembled. That lite commissioner and be appointed, on the part of the United States, according to the first article of the conven tion between the United Slates of America and the Republic of Texas for marking the boundary between them, concluded April twenty-five, eighteen hundred and thirty-eight, be sever ally appointed by the President of the United States, by and with the consent of ihe Senate, together with a clerk to the said commissioner, tn be appointed in the satne manner} and that for the purpose of carrying into effect the said first arti cle of said convention there be appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the following •urns: I 1 or the salary of the commissioner, two thousand five hun dred dollars; For the salary of the surveyor, two thousand dollars; For the salary of the clerk, one thousand two hundred dol lars : Provided, That the salaries of the said officers shall not coiwnvnc*? bihU they shall be ordered into service. For other expense* of the survey of boundary required hy said convention, including the purchase of instruments, wage* to persons employed, and other contingencies, ten thousand dollars. Approved, January 11th, 1839. [Public —No. 3.] AN ACT to amend an act entitled “ An act to require the Judge of the dWtrict of East and West Tennessee to hold a court at Jackson, in said Stale/’ approved June eighteenth, eighteen hundred and thirty-eight. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That to the counties specified in the first section of the act to which this i* an amendment, the counties of Madison, Henderson, and Weakly, are hereby added to compose the district of West Tennessee, and tlie residue of the counties of the said State of Tennessee, formerly composing the district of West Tennessee, •hall compose one district, to be called the Middle District of Tennessee. Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the court to be held at Jackson, in addition to the ordinary jurisdiction and power of a district court, shall, within the limits of it* district, have jurisdiction of all causes, except appeal* and writ* of er- J7 r *. w hich now are, or hereafter may by law be, made cognisa ble in a circuit court, and shall proceed therein in the same manner as a circuit court. . 3 ’ An,i ,>e it further enacted, That the said court shall e held annually on the first Monday in April, at the town of Jackson, m the county of Madison, in said Slate, and all 7 r, »Vf n i et P roceM rnn y be returnable to such court on the n. 7* . a \ ,n A P ril ’ "nd al“» at rules on the first Monday in '°. r ’ a i * a . ,ne m,nner a* to the regular sessions of said it. ’ * a '.d wr,ls and other process may also bear test court * r *i * n October, as though a session of the nrorw* a * ,e j ° n * ! al at Jackson; and writ* and other mar ‘/die first Monday in April next 4 *?“ fir,t Mond> *y in October hst. * - shall execute throughout his distriuTl 7"r * rner ’ dmcn '' to him, and issued under th eTu | h!Tu and shall have the same power, 2X . U 'T - S ‘"‘ e *: be under the same liabilities withm hi* district"" 1 * ' "'"’c’ ""I by law upon the other marshal* of the Uni^Sta^'" Ib-irrospactirodimicl, That’ oHbi l c. c r * tggtoww of Middle District formerly termed the district of West Tennessee, shall have power and authority to collect the executions issued or to be issued upon judgements and decrees heretofore ren dered in the circuit court of the United Slates, at Nashville, and to serve and execute all process necessary to enforce such judgements, orders, or decrees, as if this act, or the act to which this is an amendment, had not passed ; and all writs of scire facias and other process; upon the said judgements and decrees, or upon suits now pending in said circuit court, at Nashville, shall also be issued from said circuit court and returned to the same, to be proceeded in as would have been done before the passage of said act to w hich this is an amendment. Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That there shall be an additional term of the circuit court for the Middle District held at Nashville, in each year, on the first Monday of March, which shall be held by the district Judge of the United States for the Slate of Tennessee, and should any question of law be raised in any cause, the said district judge may at his discreiion adjourn the cause to the succeeding term of the circuit court. Sec. 6. And be it further enacted. That the rules of the circuit courts of the United States in West Tennessee, hereto fore adopted, shall be in full force and effect in the court es tablished by this act, and the act to which this is an amend ment, until the satne are altered by law or by the judges of said court. Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That all suits hereafter to be brought in either of the courts of the United States in the Slate of Tennessee, not of a local nature, shall he brought in the court of the district where the defendant resides or may be found at the time of the service of the writ; but if there be more than one defendant, and they reside in different districts, the plaintiff may sue in either, and send a duplicate writ against the defendant, directed lo the marshal of the other district, on winch the plaintiff or his attorney shall endorse, that the writ thus sent is a copy of the writ sued out of the circuit or district court of the proper district ; and the said writs, when executed and returned into the office from which they issued, si.all con stitute one suit, and be proceeded in accordingly ; and execu tions may issue thereon to the marshals of either district where the defendant or defendants tnay reside, or their or either of their property tray be situated. Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That there shall be held at Knoxville, on the third Monday of April next, aspecial term of the circuit Court of the United States for the District of East Tennessee, by the district judge of said district, at which term shall be heard and tried all issues and matters cognizable at the regular term of said court. Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That the judges, or some one of them, of the circuit courts of the U. Stales, shall have power to direct said courts to be adjourned, over, to some fu ture day, designated in a written order to the clerk of either of said courts, whenever there is a dangerous and general dis ease, at the place where said court is usually holden ; and the adjournment over, by the clerk, in the absence of the judges, shall have the same force and effect as if the judges had been present. Approved, January 18th, 1839. [Public —No. 4.] AN ACT further to regulate the transportation of the mail upon rail roads. Be it enacted, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Postmaster General shall not, by virtue of the authority vested io him by the second section of the “Act to establish certain post routes and to discontinue others,” approved July seventh, eighteen hundred and thirty-eight, allow more than three hundred dollars per mile per annum, to any rail road com pany in the United States for the conveyance of one ot more daily mails upon their roads : Provided, That nothing in this act contatnett sfmii be construed so as in any way to remove or impair the limitations upon the power of the Postmaster General, imposed by that section. Approved, January 25tb, 1839. [Public —No. 5.] AN ACT to reorganize the district courts of the United States in the State of Alabama. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the State of Alabama shall be, and the same is hereby, divided into three dis tricts, in manner following, to wit: The counties of Walker, Pick ens, Sumter, Marengo, Green, Petty, Bibb, Autauga, Coosa, Talla poosa, I 'hambers, Shelby, Jefferson, and Tuscaloosa, shall compose one distiict, to be called the middle district; and a court shall be held for the said distiict at Tuscaloosa. The counties of Jackson, Madison, Limestone, Lauderdale, St. Clair, Marion, Fayette, Ran dolph, Talladega, Franklin, Lawrence, Morgan, Benton, Marshall, DeKalb, Cherokee, and Blount, shall hereafter compose one district, to be called the northern district; and a court shall beheld for the same, as heretofore, at Huntsville; and the residue of the counties of said Slate shall hereafter compose the southern district of Alaba ma ; and a court shall be held for the same, as heretofore, at Mo bile. Sbc. 2. And be it further enacted, That there shall be two terms of the district court for the middle district held at Tuscaloosa, in each year, to begin on the fourth Monday in May, and the first Monday after the fourth Monday in November ; and the district judge of the United States for the State of Alabama is hereby required to hold the court* aforesaid ; and, fuithermore, to hold one or more special terms at Tuscaloosa in each year, if in his opinion, the business of the court shall require it to be done. Sec. 3. And be it further enacted. That the fourth Monday in May, and first Monday after the fourth Monday in November, in each year, shall be return days for writs and executions returnable to the said district court at Tuscaloosa; and the parties to such suits as shall be so returned shall make up their pleadings, under such rules a* the court shall prescribe, in older to have the causes so returned in a state of readiness for trial at the succeeding regular term. Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That all causes at law l or in chancery, pending in the said district courts at Mobile and Huntsville, or in the circuit court of the United States at Mobile, in which the defendant or defendants t esided in the middle district (as hereby es tablished) at the time of serving process shall be transferred for trial to the district court of the said middle district, and be proceeded in, heard, adjudged, and determined, in the same manner as though ori ginally commenced or prosecuted in the said court; and it shall be the duty of the clerks of the said courts at Huntsville and Mobile safely to transmit to the clerk of the district court at Tuscaloosa the original papers in all cases hereby ordered to be transferred, together with a transcript of all orders and other proceedings had thereon. Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That all suits hereafter to be brought in either of said courts, not of a local nature, shall be brought in a court of the district whete the defendant resides; but if there be more than one defendant, and they reside in different districts, the plaintiff may sue in either, and send duplicate writ or writs to’ the other defendants ; on which the plaintiff or his attorney shall endorse that the writ thus sent is a copy of a writ sued out of'a court of the proper district; and the said writs, when executed and returned into the office from which they issued, shall constitute one suit, and be proceeded in accordingly. Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That the judge of said dis trict courts shall appoint a clerk of the district court of the middle district, who shall reside and keep his office, ahd the records and documents appertaining thereto, at the place of holding said court: said clerk shall be entitled to the same fees allowed by law to the clerks of the other districts of said State, perform the like duties, and be subject to the same liabilities and penalties. Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That the district attorney of the northern, and the marshall of the southern district of Alaba ma shall respectively perform the duties of the district attorney and marshall of and for the middle district hereby established ; and the said marshall shall keep an office at the city of Tuscaloosa, and his charges for mileage in the execution of the duties of his office with in said middle district shall be computed from the said city of Tusca loosa. Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That the said district court for the middle district of Alabama, in addition to the ordinary juris diction and powers of a district court of the United States, shall, within the limits of said middle district, have jurisdiction of all cau ses, except appeals and writs of error, which now are or hereafter may by law be made, cognizable in a circuit court of the United States, and shall proceed therein in the same manner as a circuit court. Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That appeals and writ* of er ror in the nature of appeals, shall lie and may be sued fiom the said district court at Tuscaloosa to the circuit court of the United States at Mobil" in the Slate of Alabama. Sae. 10. And be it further That should the judge of the IIILEEDOEVIKEK, GEORGIA, TUESDAY MORNING, MARCH 5, IS3O. Our Conscience-—Our Counlrv—Our Party. district courts aforesaid fail to attend at the time and place of holding the court, for the said middle district, at any one of its terms, afore said, before the close of the fourth day of any such term the business pending in such court shall stand adjourned to the next term thereof. Sec. 11. And be it further enacted, That all laws contravening or opposed to the provisions of this act be, and the same are hereby repealed, « Approved, Febtaury 6th, 1839. [Public —No. 6.] AN ACT to provide for the location and temporary support of the Seminole Indians removed from Florida. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives o f the United States of America in Congress assembled. That the Presi dent of the United States be, and hereby is, authorised to provide a suitable location, west of the States of Missouri or Arkansas, for the Seminole Indians who have been or may be removed from Flor ida; and to provide for their support until they shall be removed to such location; and that, for these purposes, the sum of ten thousand dollars be, and the same is hereby, appropriated, lo be paid out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated. Approved, February 13th, 1839. [Public —No. 7.J AN ACT making appropriations for the paymeent of the revolu tionary and other pensioners of the United States, for the year eighteen hundred and thirty-nine. Be. it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled. That the follow ing sums be, and the same are hereby, appropriated, in addition to former appropriations, to be paid out of any money in the Treasury nol otherwise appropriated, for the pensioners of the United States, for the year one thousand eight hundied and thirty-nine; For the revolutionary pensioners, under the several acts, other than those ot the fifteenth of May, one thousand eight bundled and twenty-eight; the seventh of June, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-two; and the fourth of July, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six, three hundred and twenty-six thousand two hundred and fifty dollars ; For the invalid pensioners, under various laws, three hundred thousand six hundred and eighty five dollars and sixty three cents; For pensions to widows and orphans under the act of the fourth of July, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six, four hundred and ninety thousand and eighty-lour dollars and fifty-two cents; For five years pensions to widows, per act seventh Julv, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight, one million three hundred and seventy-two thousand dollars; For hall-pay pensions, payable through the office of the the Third Auditor, ten thousand dollars. Approved, February 13th, 1839. , [Resolution.— Public—No. I.] A RESOLUTION for the purchase of the island at the confluence of the St. Peters and Mississippi rivers. Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Uni ted States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of War be, and he is hereby authorized to contract with J. B. and J. Ferribault, for the purchase of the island at the confluence of the St. Peters, and Mississippi rivers, and to report his proceedings to Congress, subject to their approbation or rejection, Approved, February 13th, 1839, POLITICAL. IN SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. January 31, 1839. Mr. WALL submitted the following REPORT: The Committee on the Judiciary, to which was referred “ a bill to prevent the interference of certain Federal officers in elections,” report:— That they have examined the bill referred to them with the care and attention which the importance of the subject demands. The object of the Lili proposed in the title and preamble, is to prevent the great powers given to the officers of the Federal Government, and other persons employed in its service, from being used for the influencing of elections, which ought lo be ftec and incorrupt, and its scope is very broad and compre hensive. It proposes to enact that, after the first day of April next, no marshal or deputy marshal, no postmaster or deputy postmaster, no receiver or register of a land office, or any of their deputies or clerks, no surveyor general of public lands, or any of his deputies or assistants, no collector, surveyor, naval officer, weigher, gauger, appraiser, or other officer or person whatsoever, concerned or employed in the charging, collecting, levying, or managing the customs, or any part or branch there of, noengineer, officer, or agent employed or concerned in the execution or superintendence of any oftlte public works, shall, by word, message, or writing, or in any other manner whatso ever, endeavor to persuade any elector to give, or dissuade any elector from giving, his vote for the choice of any person to be elector of President or Vice President of the United States, or for the choice of any person to he a Senator or Representa tive in the Congress ol the United States, or for the choice of any person to be Governor or Lieutenant Governor of any State, or of any person to be a representative or member of the legislative department of any State of this Union, or for the choice of any person to serve in any public office established hy the law of any of the said States; nor shall any such officer or person intermeddle in any of the elections above mentioned, or use any means with intent to influence or control the same, otherwise than by giving his own vote, under the penalty of five hundred dollars, one moiety thereof to the informer, and the other moiety thereof to the United State*, tube recovered, with costs of suit, by any person that shall site for the same, by action of debt, bill, or plaint, in any of the distrit* or cir< uit courts of the United States; and every person convicted of such offence shall thereby become disabled and incapable ofever bearing or executing any office or place of trust w hatsoever un der the United States. It is a wise and salutary rule, as well for the expounders as the maker* of the law, to consider the old law, the mischief, and the remedy. The committee believe that it is beyond all question that, under the constitution and the existing laws of the United States, every citizen has “ the right of freely exam ining public characters and measures, and of free communion among the people thereon,” “ by word, message, or writing,” or in any other manner he may judge proper. This right is not only asserted in the celebrated resolutions of the Virginia Leiri.slature, in the session of 1798, and of 1799, 1800, as be longing to the general principles of free government, as well as the particular organization and positive provisions of the Fed eral Constitution, but declared to be “ the only efli ctttal gu rd ian of every other right.” The foundation of representative government is based upon the intelligence of the citizen, and to insure that intelligence, it is both the right and the duty of eve ry one, freely to discuss and communicate, both publicly and privately, such matters as he may suppose will advance the public interest, or inform the public mind. Otte of the most salutary ami effectual agents, to promote such interest, is an enlightened public opinion. To evolve such opinion, and to give form and direction to the general course of national poli cy, and the future destinies of all, every citizen, whether intrust ed with public office or not, has a like deep, ttbidinir, and active interest, and no citizen is at liberty to withdraw himself from this high responsibility, inseparably connected with republican institutions. One of the most cel brated law makers of one of the ancient republics, declared every citizen infamous, who who refused lo take part in the affairs of his country ; ami the word/7/zo/, derived from the language of that republic, bears through till time this impress of their institutions, denoting one who was destitute of the spirit or intelligence requisite lot the disi harge of this highest duty of a citizen. The elective right is not conferred by the constitution of the United States, but belongs to representative government, ami springs from its very nature; ami the very essence of that right, under our institutions, is the right of electing the mem bers of the General and State Governments. The value ami the advantages of this right, so far as respects the public, de pend upon the knowledge of public measure"., ami of the qual ifications of candidates for public trust, and, consequently, up on the equal and unrestricted freedom of discussing their com parative merits and demerits. The citizen who, bv the choice of his fellows, is distinguished hy being selected to'perforin of ficial duties and trusts, is not thereby elevated above them, nor degraded below them. He parts with no rights of citizenship, but remains an equal among his equals; still connected with them by the strong and enduring ligaments of mutuality ol rights and privileges. ( Under our constitution, the people, not the Government, posss?the sovereignty ; and the doors of of fice can be opened only.by the powerful charm of the public voice, and no degrading sacrifice ol any of the privileges of cit izenship. or any separation from the community of rights, feel irigs, and interests, which bind the people to the Government, is required. The object of our institutions is the protection of the equal rights and privileges of all—the few as well as the many. The spirit of despotism is widely different; erected upon the tie struction of the rights of man, its main object is to protect the few against the many. Hence the policy of separation its offi cers from all sympathy of feeling and interest with the many, by attaching to office attractive distinctions and seductive priv ileges, which create a distinct class, and elevate them above the mass, or by degrading them by unnatural mutilations, be low their fellow men, prepare them to become fit instruments of arbitrary power. Despots who surround their thrones with! eunuchs and mutes, act upon (be latter principle, and are im pelled by the instinct of fear to resort to unnatural and i;,,j i:s t means to retain what is unjustly acquired. Happily our insti tutions, resting upon the just foundation of popular rights, nei ther demand nor will admit of the mutilation of the person or the privileges of citizenship as a prerequisite for office. Under the existing laws a citizen of a State does not, by accepting any of the offices under the Federal Government, forfeit any of the rights anti privileges which belong to him as a citizen of a State ; and all control over the privileges and immunities of the citizens in the several States, is expressly withheld from the action of the Federal Government, and left with the States, by the second section of the fourth article of the constitution.— The committee believe that the State and Federal Govern ments, under our system, are co ordinate departments of one single and integral whole; that the compact between the States unites them in a single Government, as to their relations with each other, and with foreign nations, and as to certain articles particularly specified, each retaining to itself the other rights of independent Government, agreeing to appoint in conjnnc tion for the administration of the Federal branch, and each re taining its original right of appointing, for administering its domestic branch, a separate set of functionaries, legislative, executive, and judicial. These two sets of officers, each inde pendent of the other, constitute a whole of Government for each State separately, the powers given to one, specially made Federal, exercised over the whole, the residuary powers re tained to the other, confined to the particular State. The committee have thus stated their views of the existing liw in regard to the rights of the Federal functionaries, upon whom the bill referred to them is proposed to operate. What, then, is the mischief which this bill is designed to prevent ? It assumes that the great powers given to the officers of the Fede ral Government, and others employed in their service, may be used for the influencing of elections, and corrupting their free dom and puritv. That elect ions ought to be pure and incorrupt is a princi ple admitted by all, and no language can be too strong to ex press the abhorrence felt by the committee against any attempt to destroy this freedom and purity. He who is guilty of either, by bribing or corrupting voters, violating the ballot box, or setting at naught its voice, forging or suppressing returns, or disobeying the laws enacted for securing any elective right, is guilty of treason against republican institutions, and ought io be regarded by all as a dangerous foe to liberty. The committee are not aware that any such acts have been committed by any of the functionaries named in the bill refer red to them ; nor have they been able to discover the slightest evidence that any attempt has been made to bring the patron age or power of the Federal Government to destroy the free dom and purity of elections. Ii is true that such allegations have been made ; but it will be recollected that it is equally true that allegations have been made against some of the func tionaries of some of the State Governments, of in violation of existing laws, to suppress returns, set aside the voice of the people, and substitute the will of the minority for that of the majority ; in fact, to treat elections as nullities, and substi tute the acts of reckless and profligate officers for the voice of the majority. We have seen one of the States of the Union brought to the brink of revolution by alleged efforts of this kind, and in other States witnessed alarming attempts to defeat the voice of the majority in elections. This state oftliings would indeed seem to indicate an alarming laxity of political morality, to require the exercise of appropriate remedies, by constitution al legislation. Whether, if true, they are to be attributed to the action of the functionaries of the State or Federal Govern ment, or the officers of corporations of associated wealth, which have been brought, by indiscreet legislation, into too intimate connexion with both, and whose influence insinuates itself into all the business of active enterprise and the ordinary transac tions of society, or to other causes, it is not the legitimate pro vince of the commit’et to inquire. Those who are charged with attempts to corrupt the purity and destroy the freedom of elections, are very apt to make charges of the same kind against others, in the vain hope of exculpating themselves, or at least ofdrawing off public attention from their own acts, by incul pating others. Neither accusations from such quarters, nor the mere assertions of disappointed office hunters, or reckless partisan editors, pealing forth the war cries of party, can safely be made the foundation of such legislation as destroys the use of unquestionable rights for the purpose of preventing their abuse. In thestruggles of parties for power, it is believed by the committee that it may well be doubled whether the patronage of office is to be deemed an advantage, inasmuch as while there can be but one incumbent of an office, the number of those who are stimulated to partisan activity, by the hope of gaining it as a reward for extraordinary exertions, is unlimited, to say nothing of those who may be paralysed by disappointment, or disaffected by rejection. Public sentiment exercises a salutary and controllintj influence over the conduct of public function aries ; and while it properly watches their conduct with jeal ousy, and scrutinizes their actions rigidly, it tolerates almost unbounded liberty ot speech in those who are seeking office. We cannot cast our eyes in any direction without perceiving the evidence of the fact that, for every office under the Federal Government, even to the Presidency, the numerical proportion ol those who seek office by partisan activity is at least three to one against the possessors. The office seekers have an unlim ited freedom of speech and of action, denjed to the incumbent by the circumstances of hi* position, and are nt liberty to at tack the motives and conduct of the latter, and indulge in pro fes?iotis of patriotic ardor and disinterestedness, restrained by no other limits than the elastic credulity of their friends and party. That the possession of patronage does not insure its re tention, is proved by frequent instances, both in the Federal and State Governments, Ihe committee believe that, tn those places where the Fede ral officers enumerated in 'he bill tire most numerous, it will be found that the elections mote frequently result against than in favor of the Administration ; and this proves either that they do not liiittg “the great powers derived from the Federal Gov ernment” to influence elections, or that they use them against the patty which conferred those powers, or that tto danger is to h.) apprehended of their destroying the freedom and puritv ol election. It is believed that even a majority of those who would be affected by this bill are hostile to the views of policy, or opposed to the political principles of the present Administra tion ; and if the sentiments of those who are found in posses sion of office in the ten mil s square are any test, the majority would be very great. But the true and conclusive answer to all such allegations, of bringing the patronage and power of the General Government in hostility t<> the freedom and purity of elections, is to be found in the fact that such acts are every where, in al) the States, punishable by State laws; and the com mittee are not aware of any prosecution, even, for such of fence*. Il is also worthy of special remark that, in those States where : the most clamor ha§ been raised and the most alarm has been I P. L. RO!! INSON, PROPRIETOR. expressed on this subject, the State functionaries arc opposed to the Administration, and, as they have the power, it is their' duty to punish such offences. The committee are therefore constrained to believe that there is nojust foundation for such an accusation, and to look upon it as uvse of the allegations which those who are struggling to gam the pow.es tha* they affect to think so corrupt and corrupting, consider themsehes justified in making to stimulate their partisans and decoy their opponents. But whether the mischief actually exists or not, the committee proceed to consider the policy and constitution ality of the remedy which is proposed by the btil referred to them. The object of the bill is to render what is lawful and praise worthy, and in strict conformity with both the letter and spirit of our institutions, for all citizens, criminal in a particular class who have been honored by the confidence of the people of the whole States. It is not to punish a crime malum in se, hut to create a new crime. It is not lo punish bribery and corruption* the robbery of the ballot box, the suppression or forging of re- - turns, or usurpation or neglect of official duty in giving effect j to the will ol the majority in elections, or the improper use of. I official power, Lut the use of persuasion or dissuasion, of in-, tcrmerldling to control or influence voters by means that are lawful and right in others. Every citizen ought to qualify hitnseli by study, conversation, and every other means of ac quiring knowledge, to understand the theory and principles of our institutions, and lo ascertain the best mode of administering them in their true spirit, so as to promote the greatest good of the greatest number, and to render himself capable of discharg ing any trust that may be conferred on him by his fellow-citi zens. It is as well his inherent right as his duty to discuss and promulge freely the measures of any Administration, and the character and conduct of those who support or oppose it, as well to control them by the censorship of public opinion as to subject them to the test of the constitution. In doing so he may win the confidence of his fellow-citizens by his declared opinions, or may become identified with some great principle which conciliates their support. All this is innocent and praise worthy, even if the motive is the acquisition of office, because it promotes the public good. Can it be wi-e, or even just, to punish as a crime, when a citizen attains office, what was pa triotic and praiseworthy while he was seeking it ? Yet why should office seeking and office bolding thus be separated by arbitrary enactments, which bestow honors and confidence upon the one, and penalty and igtrominy upon the other, for doing the same act ? ||<>w is it possible for any of the officers enu» inera.ted in this bill freely to dis. uss public men ar.d measures in private circles, in public assemblies, in the newspapers, or even in the unreserved confidence of social intercourse, when an elector is present, before, during or after an election, with out subjecting himself to the sweeping penalties of this bill ? 11 is unequal. \\ hile one set of functionaries under the Federal Government, and all those of (he State Governments, and the officers of the corporations of associated wealth, are left with an unrestricted freedom of speech anti of the press, this bill puts gags and fetters upon a few proscribed men, in respect to pub lic men and public measures. Why this discrimination ? Are the prosciibed officers more corrupt or liable to corruption, than other office holders? Is it to guard against the corrupt ing influence and patron >ge of the Federal Administration? If Il so, the effect of the bill would be still more objectionable, us in degrading them by taking front them the rights common to all others, it would prepare them to become the w illing instruments of corruption or ambition. This bill would create a caste among office holders, deriving their authority from the same high source, the people, and requiring the same high qualifications to discharge their duties. Those enumerated would be de graded by the very acceptance of office, and cot off from all i lentity of feeling, interest, and sympathy with their fellow-cit izens, by the voluntary mutilation of the very manhood of citi zenship. It converts those officers into mutes. It enforces iemporary outlawry of the dearest and most inestimable rights of citizenship with a penalty suspended over their heads during the continuance of office, which nt ty be cut hy a word, message w riting or even a look, and doom them to become outcasts,polit icallepers, to perpetual incapacity to holdoffice. They would be dishonored by the very act of surrendering such rights for the mercenary motives of pecuniary gain and rewards of office, and thereby proclaim themselves slaves, and the fit instruments for making slaves of others. They would find the badges of sla very and dishonor w ritten upon their commissions It .creates a privileged class of office holders. The President and his < abinet, the heads <>f bureaus and their clerks, the officers of Congress, the judiciary and their clerks, and the district attor neys, the officers oftlte army an I navy, in short, all the Fede ral ttflicers, w hose emoluments are greatest, and whose sphere ot influence is most extensive, are left free, while those who de rive their compensation from fees given for labor performed in the execution of ilu ir dutieSj or their daily support from their <L»ilv labor in the offices or employments enumerated, are pro hibited from intermeddling in elections, by word or deed, save only by giving their own vote. Is it to recognise distinctions in society, grades of virtue in officeholders? Is it to imply (hat the proscribed office holder , being chiefly subordinate, and many of them hard working men, must “ have bridles in their m tilths, and saddles upon their backs,” as a preliminary qual ification for office ? Why should those officers be rendered ali ens, and be prohibited from the enjoyment of the social rights of discussing political subjects, even under the. protection of their own It ntsehohl gods, while the other functionartev-wf the Federal and State Governments, and the officers of the torpor-'" ations of associated w ealth, and the employees of private per sons, are permitted to retain the full rights of citizens? This bill degrades the right of suffrage, the guardian of all political rights, by meting it out as a Loon in different portions to dif ferent citizens, all equally worthy of trust, and distinguished by popular favor, and by placing it uttderan odious espionage. It surrounds the proscribed officers with a body of common informers, stimulated by tw o of the strongest incentives to cot • slant vigilance—the hope of gain, and the desire of ofice to watch their every word, message, writing, look, or action, to torture it into an endeavor to persuade, or to dissuade an elector, in giving his vote, or intermeddling in an eh ction. By day and hy night, in public and in private, in the election of a President or a Governor, of a constable or a pound-keeper, the omnipresent eye of this new body ol familiars is alike upon the •collector and his cart man the superintt ndeiit of the public works, and the day labor er in his employ. Where is the limit to be found in this bill, which separates freedom of speech and of the press from its ope ration ? . I he open, manly independence of thought and liber ty <>l action, heretofore justly considered the best preservatives of our iustjunions, iinut soon perish under the parasitic etn brace of this bill. It not only punishes the freedom of action but of thought. It forbids, the designated persons as well hom iutcimcddiitig in atty Federal or State election, as from u>ing any means with intent to control or it:fluence the same; thn> Liti oduciiig a new crime in our code, without precision or technical d finii;o;i, broad and comprehensive as the theatre of" iiuman action, and expansive as human thought on political subjet t>. , AS bile it deprives one class of Federal officers of a pot tion ol tlieir rights, it bestows the most laiitndinarian pow-. an 'liter class, the farthest removed from the influence' Ol the people, the judiciary. Them it clothes with jurisdiction, to decide what is an endeavour to persuade, or to dissuade, an elector to give his vote; what act is nn intermeddling in an, election ; and what is using any means with intent to influence or control the same. It is stamped with the most odious and miserable impress of tyrranuy, vagueness, and uncertainty.— It may well be doubted whether the end—the purity and free-, dotn of election—would justi y such means, a delegation of such undefined pow“r, even to the purity of the sacred ermine- Fite history of other countries is full of wanting upon this subject. The Spanish inq iisition, with all its terrible attro.cL ties, was reared upon quite as slender a foundation. Its pro-, fessed object was to render religion pure and incorrupt; and, tor that avowed holy purpose, the most latitudinarian power was given to.its ministers. To prevent heresy in religion, they had, or soon as.timed tor that purpose, (he power to ptin-i islt all persons who endeavoured to “persuade,” or “dissuade ’* others, or in anywise “intt?nr)ed4!e” in matters of religion,-L WHOLE NO. 26«.