Newspaper Page Text
From the Washington Union, April 28.
Distribution.
Since the Know Nothings have revived the ques
tion of the distribution of proceeds of the sales of
the public lands amongst the several States, every
thing tending to elucidate the former measure of
distribution will be read with interest by the peo
ple. Let the Democracy everywhere beware of
this insidious, impolitic, and' unconstitutional
movement. It is a scheme of Know Nothingism.
The parlv itself was originally organized with the
hope and the expectation of drawing off from the
Democratic party a sufficient number of our incau
tious men to enable them to beat us. It is the
same policy now. They start a question through
which they artfullv appeal to the mere feelings of
interest and selfishness of the community, lly
this stratagem they hope to detach from our ranks
some whose respect for principle and adherence
to the settled policy of the party are not quite
proof against every temptation. Especially is this
the case in Virginia. Under the pressure of heavy,
but not insupportable taxes, bound for the support
of her great system of internal improvements,
there may be some few who would be willing to
look to almost any source for relief. The appeals
of the Know Nothings are made especially to such
persons. The authority of some of the greatest
names belonging to the political history of our
party is quoted by them as sanctioning the doc
trine of distribution. They have used the name
of Mr. Calhoun as being in favor of the measure
without knowing his true reasons for supporting
the resolution to deposit? the surplus revenue, in
the treasuries of the several States, but not there
by to consider it or to make it an act of distribution.
These reasons are given in the following inter
esting letter of Gen. Duff Green, to which we call
the special attention of our readers:
To the Biitors of the Union:
It is sometimes permitted to individuals of hum
ble station to give detailed explanations of facts anil
circumstances indispensable to a right understand
ing of matters in controversy. Chance having
placed in my hands the Kaleigli Register containing
the speech of one of the candidates for Congress
in Virginia, I find that the chief issue in the pend
ing elections is the distribution of the proceeds of
the sales of the public lands, and that Mr. Cal
houn’s opposition to it, as proposed by Mr. Clay,
is attributed to personal rivalry and political jeal
ousy, and that this charge is urged by assuming
thai the appropriation ol alternate sections in aid
of railroads in the new States, and the transfer of
the public deposites from the pet banks to the trea
suries of the several States, w ere acts of distribu
tion, properly urged as precedents, justifying that
now proposed.
As 1 was the intimate personal friend of Mr.
Calhoun, and advised and consulted with him at
the time, and know the views and motives which
induced him to advocate the appropriation of al
ternate sections in aid of railroads and the trans
fer of the public deposites, and as these views
and motives, when understood, will vindicate him
from tile charge of inconsistency in his opposition
to Mr. Clay’s distribution scheme, now revived by
the opposition in Virginia and North Carolina, I,
witli your permission, will briefly review a few
facia connected with the issues in question.
Mr. Calhoun was the author of the declaration
of the war of 181 H, and, by the energy and force
of his character, contributed as much or more than
any other member of Congress to its vigorous
prosecution and successful termination, lie was
in Congress what Jackson was in the army, and
thus became identified with the popular feeling.
He was emphatically the man of tne people, and,
as such, was president in 1M24, w hen
Mr. Adams was elected President by the vote of
Mr. Clay, us was charged, regardless of the popu
lar preference for General JacKson. In the eauvass
of IS2S, Mr. Calhoun and his friends took un active
part in support of General Jackson, in opposition
to the re-election of Mr. Adams, and was again re
elected Vice President, by a popular vote so decid
ed as to identify him with General Jackson.
Mr. Crawford, of Georgia, hail been a candidate
in 1824, nominated byg\tlie congressional caucus,
and as such was actively opposed by the friends of
Genera! Jackson, and Mr. Adam's, as well us by
Mr. Clay and Mr. Calhoun. Mr. Van Uuren had
been his active partisan. In the canvass of IS2B,
after it was asn-rtuiusd that Genual Jackson wouUl
(selected, Mr. Van Huron united in his support, and
m the organization of the cabinet was appointed
Secretary of State. In I»2V, during the first year
of General Jackson’s first term, lie was nominated
by the editor of the* New York Courier and inquir
er, then his partisan, as a candidate for the suc
cession in 1832.
Upon the meeting of Confess, in December,
1820, it wus ascertained that Mr. Van Huron could
not get the support of the party, and tie and his
partisans resolved to run Geu. Jackson for a second
term, and u part of their tuctics was to induce Gen.
Jackson to believe that Mr. Calhoun would be a
candidate iu 1832, und that l would support him
with the influence of my paper (the 'Pekyraph), Mr.
Calhoun was next, if not cuual, to (Jen. Jackson in
the affections of the people, and Mr. Van Huron
saw that he could not inherit the party influence
but by a breach of the personuland party relations
between General Jackson and Mr. Calhoun, and
hence tho intrigues which resulted in the dissolu
tion of the Cabinet, and the creation of the Globe
newspaper, as the orpin of the combination. Gen.
Jackson was re-elected in 1832, and Mr. Van Hu
ron, having been nominated by a party convention,
gottcu up for that purpose, was elected Vice-Presi
dent. The payment of the national debt left a sur
plus of near forty millions in the bank of the Uni
ted States as the depository, which surplus, it was
seep, would be increased bv the accruing revenue.
I laving superseded Mr. Calhoun with the party by
the noininationjfor Vice-President, Mr. Van Buren
saw in Mr. Clay his chief competitor for the Presi
dency in 1830; and, knowing the relations be
tween Mr. Clay and the Bank of the United States,
tie saw that the power and influence of that bank
would be exerted in support of Mr. Clay; and that,
by seizing upon the public deposites, and distribu
ting some forty millions of dollars into local bunks,
with the prospect of us much more to result from
other accumulations of surplus revenue, he would
cause the seizure and distribution to become a
party measure, in which the whole power and in
fluence of the pet banks would be enlisted in his
support us the party candidate. With this view,
he induced Gen. Jackson to go to Boston, where
he met. a caucus of Mr. Van Boren’s partisans, of
whom the Into David llenshaw und Mr. Poinsett
were two, iu which the measure was discussed and
agreed upon, and the ink was scarcely drv on the
diploma, by which Mr. Webster and his partisans
made General Jackson a doctor of laws, before he
issued the order for the removal of the deposites.
It was supposed that the removal would compel
the Hank of the United States to curtail her dis
counts, and that the consequence would be a mon
etary crisis, rendering the removal unpopular. To
prevent this, the Secretary of the Treasury, by
order of the President, instructed the pet hanks
to discount freely on commercial paper. This
enabled the Bank of the IJuitcd States to enlarge
the line of her discounts; and as the failure to
obtain a renewal of her charter made it necessary
to sell out her branches, that bunk did enlarge its
discounts and sold her branches, receiving pay
ment chiefly in the notes of the pet banks. Tins
accumulation of local bank paper enabled the
Hank of the United States to run upon the pet
banks for specie; but the effect of breaking the
pet banks would have been to render the bank
notes held by the Hank of the United States of no
value, and therefore, instead of demanding pay
ment in specie, the Hank of the United Stutes in
vested these notes in the banks of the States, then
entering upon a system of railways and canals,
and made large advances upon shipments ot cotton
and other American produce to Liverpool; the
purpose being, us avowed by Mr. Biddle, to estab
lish an agency in London for the sale of American
securities, and an agency in Liverpool for the sale
of American produce. Why this purpose failed, I
may hereafter explain. My object in the previous
detail is to show the necessity, and to justify the
transfer, of the public deposits from the pet banks
;o the treasuries of the several Suites; aud to
show that so far from being an act of distribution
of the proceeds of public lands, as proposed by
Mr. Clay, or by the present advocates of such a
measure, that transfer was intended to prevent
speculation in the public lands, and was as much
opposed to the principle of distribution as it is
possible for any measure to be.
1 know that the removal of the deposits from
ihe Bank of the United States is generally attri
buted to a fixed hostility on the part of (tenoral
Jackson to banks and banking. 1 may hereafter
examine this delusion more iu detail. I nowr quote
statistical facts which speak for themselves.
In 1830 the bank capital in the Uuited State was
$145,192,268; in 1837. during Gen. Jackson’s sec
ond term, it had increased to $290,772,091. In
1830 the loans and discounts were $200,451,214 ; in
1837 they had increased to $525,115,720. In IS3O
the bank circulation was $81,223,898 ; in 1537 it
was $149,135,890. So much for General Jackson’s
opposition to banks and banking. We will now
soe what effect this transfer of the public money to
the pet banks had upon the sale of the public lands.
From 1823 to 1832, inclusive, the average sales
of the public lands were but 1,345,130 acres per an
nuin, whereas in 1830 the sales were 15,999,804
and in 1856 the sales were 25,167,883 acres!
It was thus apparent that the transfer of the pub
lic money to the pet bonksknabled the partisans of
Mr. Van Buren, who managed the pet banks, to
purchase the public lands with the notes of those
banks ; and tnat, if the public deposits were per
mitted to remain in them, a few individuls might,
through their agency, monopolize the public lands
without money and without jjrice.
The process was as follows: A and B, political
partisans of Mr. Van Buren, having the control of
one of the pet banks, wishing to purchase public
land, gave their own promissory notes to the bank,
and received the bank notes of the bank; these
notes were paid to the receiver of public lands,
and by him deposited with the same hank. By the
same process, again and again repeated, the public
lands were being transferred to Mr. Van Buren’s
partisans, at the rate of more than twenty-tee mil
lions of acres per annum. Mr. Calhoun did me the
honor to consult me as to the best means of ar
resting this abuse; and it was upon my sugges
tion, in a letter written at Annapolis, that he ad
vocated the transfer of the public money from the
pet banks to the States. I urged that it was a
question of a proper custodian of the public money,
lie and I concurred in the wish to separate the gov
ernment from banks; we saw that the use oft he
public money by the banks had a tendency to
create fluctuations in the currency ; we saw that it
was impossible to save the public lands unless we
could take the surplus revenue from the pet banks ;
and we saw that we could not deprive the pet banks
of the public deposites unless we enlisted an influ
ence stronger than the pet banks and the public
deposites combined; and, therefore, I suggested-,
and he adopted, the expedient of transferring that
Morpluf to the States. I repeat, that the tnatfer
of the surplus revenue to the States was not an
act of distribution of the public lands, but was
adopted as a necessity, and as the only means of pre
venting the transfer of the public lands to private
individuals, who had combined to use the pet
banks as the agents for the consummation of their
fraudulent speculations.
I have thus given a plain, unvarnished state
ment, hoping that there is sufficient inteligence to
see the truth, and that there is sufficient regard
for truth in a portion of the conductors of the public
press, which has given currency to the errors
which it is intended to correct, to induce them to
publish what I have written ; intending, if this be
done, to show in a subsequent communication, that
the appropriations of alternate sections of land in
the new State in aid of railroads does not justify a
claim for a distribution by the old States ; and that,
if it did the old State have w ithin their constitu
tional control a measure which, as an aid to their
credit, and to internal improvements, is much
more efficient than the proposed distribution of
the public lands would be.
Duff Green.
From the N. Y. •Journal of Oommere , Jr., May 1.
National Hotel.
The recent sickness at the National Hotel, Wash
ington, is so extraordinary in its history and de
velopments, as to demand a more thorough inves
tigation than it has yet received. By one authority
the number of sufferers is computed at at least
seven hundred, and the deaths at twenty-five or
thirty. This may be an exaggeration, but it is un
deniable that quite a numbers of deaths have oc
curred iu different parts of the country, which can
be traced directly to certain malignant influences
received at said Hotel. Others of the sufferers are
in a critical state, and their recovery is doubtful.
As a general thing, the public have been satis
fied with the explanation given by the committee
appointed to examine the premises, that the dis
temper was occasioned by a defective sewer; but
upon this point the best medical authority is at
fault, there being a wide variance of opinion -and
“who shall decide when doctors disagree?” It is
admitted that this theory does not solve all the
phenomena in the case. Among the sufferers are
the President of the United Stutes, and many other
eminent men, variously distinguished. Some of
these have hud occasion to devote much thought
to the subject. Numerous circumstances, some of
which have no apparent connection, have been
carefully considered; and the conviction has been
established in the nnnds of several of the sufferers,
that they were the victims of a deliberate und re
peated attempt to poison one or more of the guests
at the National Hotel.
Certain important facts leading to this conviction,
are susceptible of proof : First, that prior to Presi
dent Buchanan’s visit to the Hotel on the first Feb
ruary, no evidence of disease existed; that imme
diate v after, a large number of persons were vio
lently attacked, the symptoms being in many res
pects similar to those of cholera; that after Mr.
Buchanan's departure no new cases appeared, un
til his second return, about the first of March, when
sickness again broke out, and with more virulence
than on the first occasion ; and when the President
was again compelled to leave, new cuses no longer
occurred. Versons who put up aftlie hotel Aiu-in*
ithe interval of Mr. Buchanan’s absence, experienced
'no ill effects, though they continued there ikt>
eral days; but others wlm were
ly With* the President, tarrying for tie brief period
of one or two days, were suddenly prostrated, with
rthe most violent svmptons.
Shortly after the events above narrated, the
ingenious and plausible story was started respect
ing the poisoning of rats, whereby poisonous pro
perties were imparted to the water used at the ho
tel. This, for the tune being, quieted apprehen
sion, but was very soon contradicted. Then fol
lowed the examination of the hotel, and the al
leged discovery that the sickness was attributable
to malarious influences, emanating from a defective
sewer. The first reports is easily refuted, ami the
fact that persons most severely affected, used
none of the water, is conclusive on that head,
aside from other evidence. As to the miasma af
terwards spoken of, it is not probable that effects,
such as are described, could be produced in the
middle of winter, and at a season when the tem
perature was remarkably low; and the circum
stance above referred to, of a periodical return of
the disease, is against the adoption of this theory.
It is a peculiar characteristic of the disease,
severally termed the “Washington epidemic, “the
“Hat disease,” Ac., that it is spasmodic, or periodi
cal in its attacks, and resists the ordinary medical
appliance with the greatest obstinacy. Between
two and three months have elapsed since some of
the sufferers experienced their first attack ; yet, in
many instances no change of diet climate, or
hubiis, proves an effectual remedy. They continue
to waste away in flesh, and some of them die. in
some of these cases, post mortem examinations
have been held, and unquestionable traces of arse
nic detected. This was true in the ease of Mrs.
Adams, of this city, und in others which might be
mentioned; and this fact alone, if fully substan
tiated, affords ample reason why an investigation
into the real nature and cause of the mysterious
disease should be still further prosecuted. We
fully agree with the Philadelphia Bulletin, when
it says:
“During all this period of more than two months
since the first cases were known, we have not heard
of a single serious attempt at a scientific and tho
rough investigation into the origin of the disease.
The superficial examination of the hotel by the
Washington authorities revealed nothing worth
knowiug. There should have been inquests and
post mortem examinations in every fatal case, and
the services of the best physicians, chemists, and
other meu of science shouid have been obtained,
in order that the nature of the poison might be as
certained, and thus a clue might bo had to the ori
gin of it. There are horrible suspicions that nei
ther the drainage, the water supply, nor the atmos
phere of the National, had anything to do with the
disease; but that a deliberate attempt was made to
poison the inmates of the house, ana especially the
President.”
S. lb Phinney, of the Barnstable Patriot, relates
his experience of the National Hotel sickness, as
follows:
“We are ourselves among the number seized
with this sickness. With our lady we repaired to
Washington to witness the inauguration ceremo
nies. and arrived at the National about three days
before the inauguration. The attack in our cases,
and in numerous others, were on the wry night
bt'fvi> Mr. Buchanan s arrival. We were at lirst
unwilling to believe that this poisoning was design
ed, if poisoning indeed it was. But the time of
its return, and the certainty of its being arsenical
poisonina , together with its occuring at the time of
Mr. Buchanan's first visit, force upon us the pain
ful conclusion, that this was one of the most ma
licious attempts at wholesale poisoning which has
ever been recorded in history. The instigator of
the foul plot we may never know, hut the design
undoubtedly was, to poison Mr. Puchanatt, who
ever else might be sacrificed.”
In the prosecution of the sanitary investigation
at the National Hotel, not even a surmise seems to
have been raised that the sickness was of a crim
inal origin, but the proceedings were based on the
supposition of some local aggravating cause. It
is almost incredible that a being should be found
tn the wide range of human existence capable of a
crime so diabolical as some of the facts unavoida
bly suggest; but when we think of the intence fa
naticism sometimes exhibited m the name of/human
ity, during the last Presidential campaign, it may
be conceived as possible. Saul, in persecuting
the church, “veriiy thought he was doing Goa
service.”
The Cincinnati Commercial, and the New York
independent true to their instincts, attribute the
sickness to the negroes, says;
M That the National Hotel illne3S resulted from
an attempt to poison Mr. Buchanan, there is little
room to doubt. The death of so many persons of
distinction, the sufferings of hundreds of ethers,
the narrow escape of Mr. Buchanan from imme
diate death, his perilous condition, and the proba
bility that be will yet succumb to the insidious de
stroying disease of poison gnawing at his vitals,
will make a strange and tragic chapter in theannals
of our country, which the historian w ill pec and
generations read, shuddering, as we do now, at the
story of the Borgia prisoners. It is an awfii ques
tion— Who could have been the poisoner, arol xdky icas
the death of the President desired f There is in
Washington, swarming all the hotels, and i*every
street and alley, an ignorant, credulous, passionate,
oppressed people, who have absorbed from the
strangers who throng the city, an idea pregnant
with desperation and despair, of the wrongs they
endure, and of the almost irremedial nature of those
wrongs. Os course we mean the black people.
During the last summer they heard in every bar
room and dining hall, on every side-walk and in
every gambling den, from the office-holders and
the Southerners, and those with southern senti
ments, who predominate largely in the vicinity of
the Capital, that there was a cnance for tlem to
become suddenly free. They were taught ly the
pro-slavery political bawlers that if Fremont, were
elected, the niggers were to be free, and nor only
that, but the rulers of the country; while,
if Mr. Buchanan should be President, the ques
tion would be settled against them forever.
The poor negroes, interested by this dang,
and but dimly conscious of the character and
necessary incidents of the struggle going on,
and by nature inclined to personify the princi
ples, became impressed that Fremont was their
friend and Buchanan their enemy; and itus not
improbable that they knew no more of the nature
of the election than to suppose that if Bucuanan
were out of the way Fremont must be Prerident
and themselves free. What more to be expected,
in this view of the case, than for some one of the
deluded wretches to conclude that with a paper of
arsenic he might free all the slaves in America?
Is there not a dreadful probability that there is
more in this theory than in the rat s lip story or
the miasmatic report ?” %
All of this story is summarily disposed of by
the Cincinnati Enquirer } whose editor was recent
ly in Washington City, in the following statement:
“To give further color and confirmation to the
story, it is an interesting fact that, during the
whole rage of the poison epidemic, theservants in
the hotel were exclusively Irish. It cannot be ne
cessary to show what a strong motive and interest
Pat had in putting out of the way the * Dimy
cratic President,’ himself of a ‘good ould Irish
stock.’ ”
“Then, again, how powerful the passion and the
vengeful purpose of these desperate Ethiopian Bor
gias must have been, that they were willing to in
clude in their deadly scheme such virtuous and
noble martyrs to liberty as John P. Hale and O. B.
Matteson, rather than' fail in their grfcat end of
making vacant the Presidential chair, filled by
their oppressor! But here we must beg to protest,
in*belialf of a race whose sagacity and capacity
we have had much occasion to study and appre
ciate, against an assumption of the Commercial ,
which does great injustice to their intellectual at
tainments, to-wit: that they are so ignorant as to
imagine that the decease of Mr. Buchanan would
make way for Mr. Fremont. The negroes about
Washington city are all “well up” in political
science, and could instruct their sympathizing
brethren in the Western Reserve iu the main fea
tures of our political system.
!f the negroes were not the authors of the hor
rible crime, the question returns, who was? And
how could the poison be administered? As, ac
cording to the proverb, “murder will out,” there
is hope that the authors of these many murders
will yet be detected, convicted, and hung by the
neck until they are dead, dead, dead, as they most
richly deserve. Thanks to a kind, protecting
hand, the life of our beloved President is spared,
though he has suffered severely at intervals, and
the effects of the poison have not yet entirely
passed from his system.
From the Baltimore Sun, May 1.
The Strike and Riot upon the Ifalti
niorc and Ohio Railroad.
A succession of events transpired on Saturday
last, consequent upon the excitement and strike on
the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, of a very serious
character. The result has been an appeal to the
military and civil authorities for such aid as the
occasion demands. We subjoin a report of pro
ceedings in such order and to such an extent as it
is possible to obtain them for publication :
It being the determination of the cnfnpanv to
dispatch the trains under the protection of the
military of the State, at 2 was
made upon th% Independent Grtdr
Brush, aodfe wry t.
Warner, who wmr conveyed from their am**™ 3
to the Camden Station in omnibuSsoS during the
heavy fall of rain, and placed on board a special
train to connect with the tonnage trains at the
junction. They filled three cars. The paymaster’s
car attached was occupied as before by sheriff
Pole of the county and his posse, ami was followed
bv a fifth, closed car, fitted up as an arsenal, in
which were several chests of muskets, boxes of
cartridges, bags of balls and buckshot, and other
munitions of war. Heavy axes were distributed
through the train, to be* used in case boarding
was attempted. The services of an experienced
surgeon, John A. Stevens, M. I)., was also obtain
ed, who came aboard with his ease of instruments,
Ac. Shortly after 4 o’clock the order was given
to move, and the train, under the command of
Capt. Augustus P. Slmtt, of the Railroad Compa
ny, left the Camden Station ami moved on towards
the Locust Point Junction, where the connection
was to be effected. During the run to this place,
the most warlike preparations were being made
bv the soldiery unu others. The cartridges were
served out, and the troops being ordered to load
their muskets with bail, the music of the iron
ramrods all going at once, argued anything but
well for the rioters, and doubtless darted a thrill
of horror through many a breast. Arms were
also being distributed to the conductors and
brakesmen, and others; the side lights and win
dows were opened to be used as embrasures for
the muskets, and every available location was oc
cupied by resolute men, determined to stand to
their posts.
At half past four the war train arrived, and halt
ing at the junction, the connection with the trains
was effected in the following order: First tonnage
train and engine-with guard of eight soldiers with
loaded muskets and fixed bayonets for the protec
tion of the engineer and fireman; first military
ear; second tonnage train with engine guarded
like the first; second military car and third and
fourth tonnage train, the sheriff’s and arsenal car
bringing up the rear. The whole length of the
train thus connected was over half a mile m length
and was composed of eighty cars freighted with
goods and merchandise valued at a million of dol
lars. The crowd assembled to witness the depar
ture of the trains was not great, and the proclama
tion issued during the day deterred, and kept
many from the localities. It was rumored, how
ever* that armed parties to the number of several
thousands were collected at Jackson’s bridge, the
scene of the former attack, and at five o’clock the
immense train was put uuaer way and moved upon
that spot. As the first engine approaehedjthe bridge
several hundred men were seen upon and about
it, and others lying off in the fields. A stone was
thrown, which seemed to be the sigual for an at
tack, and several guns were fired lrom the bridge
and fields upon the head of the tram. The tire was
returned by the guard upon the engines with dead
ly aim, and several of the rioters fell, which caus
ing a panic among them, they scampered, but as
the train passed its length rapidly along, they ra
iled upon the pay master’s car, in the rear, held by
the sheriff and Ins officers, who from the sidelights
and platfor mcontinued to discharge their muskets
and revolvers upon them, which was continued
along the route at intervals until the train entered
the deep cut a mile from the bridge. Here were
collected five hundred uien, composed of the most
determined characters, armed with weapons and a
brass swivel, which was posted on the bank
in such a position as to rake the first engine.
here a most desperate attack was anticipa
ted, and a hundred cocked muskets lay leveled
from the windows or bristled from the side lights,
awaiting the onset of the rioters, and the word to
fire. Meanwhile the attack had been commenced
on the guard in front, who were returning the fire
with great rapidity and precision. A party on the
hill, in endeavoring to get off the swivel, the
charge of which was dampened by the rain, were
shot down by the military, although no regular
command was given, and the battle now became
pretty general along the train, though orders were
given to waste no random shots but select a mao.
It is supposed that four or five were wounded at
this point. One man standingon the hill with an
umbrella over his head, and apparently a specta
tor, was shot through the braiD and fell dead.
Another of the rioters received a ball in one shoul
der, which passed around under the flesh of the
other; a third was seen to press his hand on his
side and dr»*p down. The discharges were more
generally effective than on the previous occasion.
As previously arranged, the order here was to
stop the train at the commencement of the attack,
wfcec the troops were tc disembark with fixed bay
onets, pursue the rioters, and either shoot down>
stab, or capture them, but the engineer in front,
either misunderstood the order or wilfully disre
garded it, and applying the more steam, kept on
dragging the train away, which met with no fur
ther molestation or detention, until it arrived at
Gwvn’s Fall’s, and near the scene of the ensan
guinary conflict of the previous day. Here about
a half mile in advance, the six o’clock train from
Ellicott’s Mills had been thrown from the rails by
some obstruction, it is supposed, placed upon
them, and the wreck obstructing the road the train
was detained at this point from seven to nine
o’clock. Meanwhile the ram poured in torrents,
and the woods and high hills around adding to the
extreme darkness, nothing could be seen for awhile
but the dark line of the immense trains with here
and there a lighted lantern moving among them.
Finally, at about nine o’clock, the track was pro
nounced clear, and the train moved on at a slow
pace, and arrived at Ellicott’s Mills, where a repast
was furnished by the company to the troops and
others. A freight and stock tonnage train from
Marti nsburg, under the charge of Mr. 801 l man,
was here lying off awaiting an escort to the city,
and as the*services of the military would be requir
ed no further, the cars containing the military,
sheriff and posse, were connected with this train,
and at ten o’clock the tram was approaching Bal
timore, with a guard upon the engine. The clouds
now broke away, and the moon shone out, which
enabled the engineer to follow the rails in advance
with his eye, as it was more than probable that
the strikers and others, foiled in their endeavors
to drive back the trains, would either tear up the
track or place obstructions upon it. In this man
ner the track was discovered in several places to be
obstructed with pieces of wood, Ac. When with
in two miles of lit. Clare depot, the clouds sudden
denlv closed over the moon, and the train, now
moving more rapidly, ran with great violence upon
a short T rail spiked down across the track. The
engine was thrown off its own track upon the oth
er, tearing up the rails and sleepers, and dashed
down an embankment a crushed and broken mass.
The tender and five cars followed and dashing
upon one another were broken to atoms. A mo
ment after the concussion the troops were disem
bai ked and marching upon the scene of the wreck.
Private John D. Ellis, of the City Guards, was
found lying beneath a portion of the engine. He
was borne to the military car in the rear and
Dr. John A. Stevens examined his wounds. His
right leg was found to be broken in two places be
low the knee. Splints were supplied by tearing
the panels from the door of the ear, and the limb
was set. Tlios. Hall, private, of the Independent
Grays, was thrown upon his head and may have
received a concussion of the brain. Both of the
injured, with others, occupied the post of guard
upon the engine, and they, with the engineer and
firemen, were thrown violently to the ground.
Several of the muskets in their hands, cocked at
the moment, in expectation of an attack, were dis
charged, and in falling, it was only by that pre
sence of mind which a soldier always retains, that
they prevented themselves from being impaled
upon their bayonets.
The noise of the concussion was so great as to be
heard at Mt. Clare station, nearly two miles dis
tant, and a messenger was dispatched to ascertain
the result, but before he arrived, Mr. Bollmun,
master of the road, had gone in under guard to
bring out a train in which to convey the milita
ry and others to the city ; some delay being occa
sioned a carriage was furnished by R. 11. Evans,
Esq., who resides near the scene, and the wounded
were placed iu it and driven to the city. The
military then took up the line of march, leaving
the sheriff and his officers with Capt. Shutt in
charge of the disabled train. The several compa
nies arrived at their armories about three o’clock
on Sunday morning.
From the manner in which the rail that threw
off the engine was arranged, it is clearly shown
that uonebut persons conversant with the road and
its workings could have perpetrated so diabolical
an outrage.
A portion of the track at White Oak Grove, on the
Washington road, was taken up on Saturday night
with the intention of throwing off the down pas
senger train, but the track was replaced, and the
train passed over the route in safety.
Throughout the whole day the line of the track
was filled with persons, drawn thither by curiosity
to witness the scene of conflict. All, however,
was quiet, and it was said no further demonstra
tion would be made until after a meeting of the
board of directors shall have been held.
On Sunday afternoon the Law Grays, Captain
Thomas Bowers, were ordered out. They proceed
ed to the Camden station and were conveyed in
the Washington train to the Relay House, where
a tonage stock train was awaiting their escort tt>
the city.
pf the load, C. Brooks, Esq., has
oT onp thousand QOtram ftr the
aeteemm and apprehension of the partwho
placed obstruction Upon the rails on Saturday
night, whereby the tonage traiu was thrown from
track ; and also the additional reward of five hun
dred dollars for information concerning parties or
persons seen to obstruct, lire upon or throw a mis
sile at the trains, such as will lead to their appre
hension and conviction.
The following proclamation has been issued by
Mayor Swann, warning the people to keep away
from the scene of the riot:
Mayor’s Office, May f>, 1857.
It havingfbeen announced to me by Cbaunccy
Brooks, Esq., president of the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad Comnany, upon information which he
has deemed reliable, that several guns and other
arms had been collected and removed from this
city, for the known and avowed purpose of arrest
ing the trains and taking the lives of the officers
in charge of the same, us well as others employed
in the company’s service—a distance of about two
miles beyond the city limits—l hereby warn and
admonish all order-loving and peaceably disposed
citizens, to abstain from all such acts in the future,
as the law will be enforced agaiust the offenders.
I also enjoin all persons whatever, from connect
ing themselves with assemblages tending to ex
cite riot or lawlessness within or without the
citv limits.
Directions have been given to the marshal of
police to carry into effect the above instructions.
Given under my hand and seal at the City Hull,
this 4th day of May, A. I)., 18"7.
Thomas Swans, Mayor.
Monument to a Slave.
The students of the Howard College, Alabama,
have erected a monument over the grave of the
slave Harry.
The ceremony was performed on Sunday, the
loth ult., that day being selected for the conve
nience of the negroes, who wished to witness the
ceremony. Harry was a boy who waited on the
students, and by his faithful and courageous devo
tion, sacrificed* himself to a horrible death. But
for his efforts a large number of the students
would have beeu burned to death. One of the first
to discover the tire, he run from room to room,
waking up the sleeping students. Even then he
would not leave, and thoughtless of himself, and
reckless of danger, though the flames leaped all
around him, and the walls were falling in, he
would not leave while there was a life to save for
others. He remained too long, and was himself
enveloped in the flames, and burned to death.
He exhibited a high humanity and courage
whiefl does honor not only to his humble race, but
to human nature itself, and his self-sacrificing de
votion and fidelity mark in letters of living light,
the reciprocal affections between the master and
the servant.
The monument is a perpendicular marble shaft,
ten feet high, of quadrilateral figure. The brief,
simple, and touching epitaph, a part on each side
i of the shaft, tells the simple narrative of a devotion
as noble and as grand as any in the great annals
of history.
We have made several visits to the grave of this
humble martyr in the cause of humanity. We
cannot look upon it without the involuntary tribute
of a tear to his memory. We give a copy of the
epitaph:
BARRY.
Servant of H. Talbird, D. D.. President of How
ard College, who lost his life from injuries received
while rousing the students, at the burning of the
college building, on the night of October 15th,
1854, aged twenty-three years.
A consistent member of the Baptist church, he
illustrated the character of a Christian servant
“ faithful unto death.”
As a grateful tribute to his fidelity and to com
memorate a noble act, this monument has been
reared by the students of Howard College and the
Alabama Baptist Convention.
He was employed as a waiter in the college, ar.d
when alarmea by the flames at midnight and warn
ed to escape for his life, replied: “1 must wake
the boys first,” and thus saved their lives at the
cost of his own.— Trir Weekly American, Marior. ,
Ala .
Baltimore, May 4.—Flour is firm; holders de
mand $6 62—no sales. Wheat firm and tending
upwards; red $1 58. Corn—white 72 a75; yel
low 75 a 76.
Pittsburg, May 2. — The river continues in fine
order, with seven feet two inches in the channel
this morning. It has been raining since last night,
and another rise may be expected.
From, the Charleston Mercury, May 7.
.Macon and Warrenton Railroad.
As the old project of connecting Macon more di
rectly with Charleston by railroad has been reviv
ed, and as itis probable that the city of Charleston,
in its corporate capacity and through its citizens,
will be called upon to aid in the enterprise, it may
not be amiss to suggest a few of the advantages
to be derived by Charleston from this connection.
It is proposed to connect Macon with the Georgia
railroad* and through it, with the Charleston and
Hamburg railroad, by a link of seventy-two miles,
between Macon and Warrenton on the Georgia rail
road. Anv intelligent business man looking upon
the map, will wonder that this road has cot been
built before, parsing, as it does, through the very
centre of the State, and on the line oi the richest
counties, and into the most productive section. The
reason whv this line has been overlooked ar.d neg
lected heretofore is. that all our lines of railroad.-,
at the South as well as the North, had for their ob
ject the union of the Atlantic slope with the valley
of the Mississippi; and all the capital and energy
of our roads was expended in that direction, "Vye
will not stop to inquire as to the policy of this
course. We are inclined to think that the value of
a connection with the West, in a pecuniary point of
view, is overrated. However this may be, the cele
bration which this month inaugurates, announces
the completion of this long cherished design. The
Atlantic has already commingled its waters w ith
those of the Mississippi, and we have nothing more
to do in that quarter than quietly to await for re
sults. We give this as a reason why Georgia has
now to apply to Charleston for help in building her
road. But there is another and stronger reason for
the application, and that is, that Charleston has, of
all parties in interest, the most interest, and that
she must and will reap large benefits from the road,
ts our business now to show.
There passes through Macon, "■ route, for Savan
nah, about three hundred thousand bales of cotton.
ihre*‘fourths as much as is now received m
Charleston, and we do rot doubt that, by the
time of the complete r. of the Macon and Warren
ton railroad, there will be four hundred thousand
bales pass in transit through Macon. There is no
interior town in the South which can come up to
these figures, and there is now no other destina
tion for this cotton but Savannah ; and there is
no other channel through which the return goods
cau be received, but through Savannah. The dis
tance from Macon to Savannah is one hundred and
ninety-three miles; from Macon to Charleston, by
the route proposed, about two hundred and sixty
miles. We think it quite possible that, with an
entire union of the roads at Augusta, the city of
Charleston can control one-half the cotton trans
ported through Macon, in spite of a few miles dis
advantage in distance. She is now competing
successfully for the business of Columbus, with
three times as great odds in distances against her.
But if we put her cotton receipts from Macon at
one hundred thousand bales, is it not an object
worth attaining?—one-fourth of the cotton now re
ceived in Charleston, in addition to her present re
ceipts. We are sure that this will fall below the
actual figures, when we take into consideration the
fact, that when Charleston comes directly and
fairly into competition with Savannah, for cotton
and other produce, as in Atlanta, she gets nine
tenths, by reason of her superiority m capital
and other business facilities.
This is obvious from the fact that Savannah sends
to Charleston from thirty to forty thousand bate*
annually, or did when the boats made their daily
trips. In spite, then, of a few miles difference in
distances, and all other opposing circumstances,
we think that we do not exaggerate in saying that
Charleston will receive, at least, one hundred thou
sand bales accession on the completion of the
Macon and Warrenton railroad ; and if we reflect
what an amount of business and capital one hun
dred thousand bales sets in motion, we can readily
realize what advantages will be derived to the city
of Charleston, from an enterprise which brings
about such a result.
In the outward bound business of goods of all
description, destined for the interior. Charleston
has a great advantage over Savannah. You have
but to look over the list of arrivals and departures
j reported in the daily papers of each city, to be con
vinced of the great difference there is in the ship
| ping of each port, and the cheapness of freight i>
I just in proportion to the number of vessels coming
into port. A large portion of the goods destined
1 for Middle and Southern Georgia, which now
comes by the way of Savannah, will be drawn bv
j way ot Charleston, on account of the facilities af
j forded. The advantages of this trade m wharfage
! und drayage can be readily appreciated,
j Bit Charleston is a large wholesale mart, both
(1 dry goods and groceries; and here is a large
country to supply, almost entirely new. By far
the richest portion of Georgia lies South and
West of Macon, and hitherto Cbarl&jfou has not
.supplied a package of goods for this country; and
this is more remarkable, because this country is
settled up, in a great measure, by South Caro
linians, with their proverbial veneration for
Charleston.
The simple reason is, there has been almost an
impassable barrier between them, from the want
of this seventy-two miles of railroad of which we
are speaking. And now you will agree with us, is it
not wonderful that this -oad has uot been built
before, and built by Charleston and her interest.
So large is her interest in the road, that it ought
to justify a call upon her for three-fourths of the
capital necessary to build it. But we do not ask
this. The meeting held at Augusta the 21st ulti
mo, resolved to divide the capital stock of fifteen
hundred thousand dollars into three equal shares.
The South Carolina railroad and Charleston to
take one share of five hundred thousand dollars;
the Georgia railroad and Augusta five hundred
thousand ; and the counties and towns along the
line of the road, five hundred thousand more.
What portion of the five hundred thousand dol
lars pledged by South Carolina, will be borne by
the Charleston and Hamburg railroad, we do not
! know. But the citv of Charleston will not surely
stand back for the paltry sum she may be called
upon to subscribe, and from which she is to reap
so many advantages. Macon.
Department News,
Bdaware Trust Lands.— Hartford T. Clarke hav
ing notified the department that he had, on tl**.
1 fth day of April lust, settled upon and made claim
to all that portion of unoccupied Delaware trust
lands adjoining the city of Leavenworth, in the
county of Leavenworth, Kansas Territory, the
Commissioner of Indian Affairs, by direction of
the Secretary of the Interior, in a letter of instruc
tions to the Mayor of Leavenworth City, decided
such an action on the part of Mr. Clarke to be an
assumption which cannot, and will not, be tolera
ted by the department. The tract of land describ
ed is a part ox tbfe city itself, and consists in part
of a piece of ground or public square set apart for
public uses, and in part of streets adjoining the
same. The very map to which reference is made
shows that these lands were reserved for the use
and benefit of the public, and every person who
purchased a lot of ground in the city thereby ac
quired an interest in all the grounds set apart on
the map or plat of the city for public purposes,
whether they were designated as public squares,
esplanades, parks, avenues, streets or alleys. Such
grounds belong to the public, the public have a
right to use them, and any one who shall obstnict
such use commits a nuisance.
In conclusion, the commissioner assures the
mayor that the department will never countenance
any such rapacious spirit as is manifested iu this
act of Mr. Clarke.— Washington Union , May 5.
From Correspondence, of the Baltimore Sun.
Washington, May 4.—The reasons said to be giv
en by the British government for the rejection of
the propositions of the United States government
for the modification of the project of a treaty nego
tiated between Lord Clarendon and Mr Dallas, is
that the government of Honduras had not yet rati
fied the treaty of 1856, bv which the Bay Islands
are ceded to the State of Honduras. This looks
very much like an after thought.
Letters from Honduras, dated April Ist, state
that the British government had not relinquished
the Bay Islands, but had appointed a new Gover
nor of the same, who had just taken upon himself
the duties of the office. Further, it was stated in
these letters that the inhabitants of the islands were
determined not to submit to the jurisdiction of
Honduras.
This would show that the British government
have changed their mind as to the cession of the
inlands to Honduras, and determined to keep them,
if the Uuited States government should give them
a chance by the slightest alteration of the Claren
don project
Had our amendments reached Lord Palmerston
at the time of his defeat in Parliament, and before
the election, he would probably have accepted
them. But bound up as he is now by popular sup
port, we shall have nothing ofa conciliatory nature
from him.
The administration have this subject under con
sideration, and also the Central American matter
generally. lon.
Thc Two Fillmores.—The New York Times
says that among the guests at the St George din
ner, where Lord Napier made his speech, was Mr.
Fillmore of the London Timet , nad that ex-Prt si
dent Fillmore was, on the same day, ia that city,
looking hale and hearty,
Bahy-llan<G.
BY H. P. BOSS.
Fondly clasped together.
Round the mother’s neck.
What a pretty picture
Baoy-fiands do make!
But baby-hands don’t always
So Innocent appear:
For often foil of mischief
Baby-fingers are.
For example, see them
At the supper table.
Doing ail the mischief
That to do they’re able.
£mash! there iiea a tea-cup
Shattered on the floor:
Or see the r*:Uk the pitcher
Prematurely pov.r.
Twisting now the handle
Os the rattle-box.
Or with it giving pussy
Agonizing knocks;
Jerking mother’s ear rings,
* Pulling father’s hair.
Or scratching Johnnie’s eyes out.
What a roguish pair I
Crack! ’there goes the mirror!
What uoi *t in- next destroy?
Who gave the child the hair brush ?
’T> no baby’s toy !
Goodness! did you ever!
There the inkstand goes!
J :-t as I expected,
Now look at your cloV."
Pulling now the stockings
Off fat baby feet.
And cramming them into baby moutn
••O! the little swe* tr*
Down the stair-wav venturing.
No danger does he icck;
‘•Mercy, on me! surely
He’ll break his precious neck I”
Now a perch the window.
Patting against the pane,
per inst in sight is father
Heeding no c* >m mauds.
Till in a baby-!’.rat er
Bound are baby-hands.
I tine no Man a Hollar.
oh. d- not envy, r tv own dear wife.
The wealth of our next door neighbor,
B it lid me still to be stout of heart.
And chet rfully follow mv labor. , , ,
y. • must know, the last of those little debts. .
That have r-etn our lingering sorrow.
Is paid tli’ft sight: St. well la.th go forth
With happier hearts to-morrow,
oh. the debtor is but a shame faced d<.g.
With the creditor’s name on his collar.
While I am a king, and you are a queen.
For we owe no man a dollar:
Our neighbor vou saw in his coach to-day.
With his wife and his taunting daughter.
While wo sat down to our coverless board.
To a crust and a cup of water;
I saw that the tear-dropstofin your eve.
Though you tried your best to conceal it—
I knew that the contrast reached your heart,
And you could not help but feel it;
But knowing now that our scanty fare
Has freed my neck from the cohar,
Yi'.’ll ioiu my laugh, and help me shout.
That we owe no man a dollar.
This n ighbor whose show has dazzled your eye-* .
!:. fact is a wretched debtor ;
I pity him oft from my very heart.
And I wish that ids lot were better.
Why, the man is the veriest slave alive.
For his dashing wife and daughter
Will live in style, though ruin should come—
S . he goes like a lamb to the slaughter;
But he feels it the tighter every day.
That terribb del.tort collar!
«... what would he give, •ouUl he say with us
'1 hat he owed no man a dollar!
Y seerntu: -yied, but I’ll tel! you more ;
Within two hours I met him
S < akiiig away with a frightened air,
A- if a fiend had he—t him;
Ye? h. tied fr.-m ;» very wortlry man.
Whom i met with the greatest pleasure—
Wnr I! I -riii-.i b- name and foie, d to stop.
Though h- said he was n' t at leisure.
Hi heldn.v laid note! so I held him fa-t.
Till he freed mv tu-ek from tiie collar ;
T • • I -hook hisldmd as I proudly said :
• N .v, I owe no man a dollar!’
e. f-r vou frel tl.e force
• >f the truth 1 have been repeating;
I knew ti.at a downright honest heart
In ti.at gent la breast was !»• atlng!
T- -niorn w I’ll rise with a giant’s strength,
•JV.r-.bown v daily labor:
B : t e’er we sleep, let ns humbly pray
K< r our wretched m xt d-mr neighbor;
And we’ii pruv fur the time when all shall be free
From the weight of the debtor's coliar—
When the poorest shall lift up Ids voice and erv,
-Now, I owe no man a dollar !”
from th> Atlanta E-rami tier, May 4.
\n Arrival from Liberia.
Quite an excitement prevailed in our city <r. 9
j Friday last, at the appearance hereof “Jefferson,’
one of the liberated slaves of the late O. M. Wa
ters, of Gwinnett county, in this State. It is known
to most of our readers in this vicinity, that “Jeff ,’'
with some forty other slaves, in accordance with
the will of his late owner, was sent to Liberia in
the ship, “ Elvira Owen,” Capt. Alexander com
manding. which sailed from Savannah for that
port, on the 7th June last. “Jeff,” with his fehow
passengers, in all numbering about three hundred
amt fifty, arrived safely at Liberia, but after a stay
there or about seven months, during which, be *
states, that, of his own immediate family, mother,
sisters, and brothers, six out of seven of them
died, and of the whole number that went, out more
than one-half of them, after the endurance of great
suffering, died also—we may say, actually perish
ed for the want of wholesome food, and from dis
eases common unon the African coast— I “Jeff,” we
say, determiner! to leave “those diggings,” and
seek his old Georgia home! Accordingly, by
shrewd management, “Jeff” contrived to effect
his escape, we may term it, from Liberian citizen
ship and freedom, to Ba’timore, on board the
‘Mary Caroline Stephens,” which good ship ar
rived at that port on or about the 25th ultimo;
and from thence he took passage on a steamer to
Charleston, and from Charleston by the railroad
‘through Augusta, he contrived to reach this place,
as stated above, on Friday last. For his good for
tune in thus traveling from Baltimore to this
point unmolested, “Jeff” says, that he, being a
dark mulatto, with straight hair, assumed to be an
Indian, and when asked if he was not a “gentle
man of color.” indignantly resented it as an insult..
and put on airs that soon quieted all suspicion as
to the true state of his case. No sooner, however,
had “Jeff” landed at our depot, than he made
tracks for protection to the Messrs. Wallace, ol
our city, who knew him well, and to whom, m his
old master’s life-time, lie bad delivered many a
wagon load of country produce. To these gentle
men. in our presence, he stated all the foregoing
facts, and declared that all he wanted or desired
was to reach the plantation of his young master,
Mr. T. J. Waters, ot Gwinnett, so as to be permit
ted for the balance of his life either to handle the
plow, or to take up the shovgl and the hoe. Luck
fly for “Jeff,” the Executor of the Estate of his late
master, Col. X. G. Hutchins, of Gwinnett, was in
our city, and about to leave for h me, which “Jeff
hearing, in the “ twinkling of an eye” his trunk
was on the car-*, and under the protection of the
Colonel, he left here for the “old plantation,” which
he doubtless reached on Saturday last.
This is, truly, a rare accident. “Jeff” is none
of your stupid fellows, but an intelligent mulatto
His age is about twenty-six, and we would take bis
opinion of the condition of the liberated slaves in
Liberia, just as soon as that of any white philan
thropist who has not actually visited Liberia, and.
examined into the condition of those people. “Jeff”
says, that with but very few exceptions, their con
dition is miserable indeed, and that ninety-nine
out of every hundred of them, would, like him
self, gladly'return to servitude upon the planta
tion. As for the natives of Liberia, he pronounces
them lazy, filthy, and, in their diet, worse than
beasts—worms,* and snakes, toads, and creeping
things, being luxuries. 'Corn bread and bacon
were things only remembered; upon fruits and
roots all had to subsist, and “you know, master,”
said “Jeff’” to us, “that don’t suit a Georgia nig
ger.” We asked him if he could get work there—
his replv was, “no, unless he would work for
nothing.” “In fact,” said he “there is no work to
do there, and that is what makes evey thing so
bad.” Os the “snob aristocracy,” the ‘‘big nig
gers,” of Liberia, “Jeff ” has a most contempti
ble opinion. “They will suit,” be says, “northern
niggers, but upon one who has been a slave, they
look with contempt. He could lick a plantation
full of them any day, provided the law was clear.”
Is it not time for the people in the South to leg
islate upon the subject of the emancipation oi
slaves, and to pass wholesome restrictions thereon ! :
The Executive Mansion—the Lucky Man*.
Whoever is lucky enough to be the next Governor
of Georgia, will have a mansion to live in, in which
elegance and comfort will be most happily com
bined. The Executive mansion is now undergoing
thorough repairs within and without, and will be
in apple-pie order to receive the next Governor.
We are sorry to say that, for the past two or three
years, the mansion has not been-a fit residence for
the Governor of Georgia, or, indeed for anybody
that prefers comfort to the mere appearance of ele-.
gance. And to the credit of the present occupant.
be it said, that his successor will owe to him much
of the comfort and convenience of the new arrange
raents, now being made under hi 3 own superinten
dence and direction.
We do notrecord this interesting fact, to increase
the number of aspirants for the occupancy of the
Executive mansion for the next two years, but to
congratulate the people on the improvement ot
their property, and the lucky man on the prospect
before him ; and to make honorable mention of the
unselfishness of the Governor, whose labors in this
matter are devoted solely to the good of others.
Federal Union, May r .