Newspaper Page Text
Weekly constitutionalist.
33Y -TAMES GLARDISrEIL
Speak No 111*
Xav, speak no ill—a kindlv word
Can never leave a sting behind,
And oh ! to breathe each tale we’ve heard,
Is far beneath a noble mind.
Full oft a better seed is sown,
By choosing thus the kinder plan,
For if but little good be known,
Still let us speak the best we can.
Give me the heart that fain would hide—
Would fain another's faults efface,
How can it pleasure human pride
To prove humanity but base?
No, let us reach a higher mood,
A nobler estimate of man ; -
Be earnest in the search for good,
And speak of all the best we can
Then speak no ill— but lenient be
To other’s failings’ as your own,
If you’re the tirst a fault to see,
fie not the tirst to make it known.
For life is but a passing day,
No lip may tril how brief its span ;
Then oh! the little time we stay ,
Lei’s speak of all the best we can.
The Rage for Land Speculation.—A letter in
the last Dubuque Herald. , written from the Osage
land office, lowa, says that there are about two
thousand persons in attendance on the land sales,
and that groat competition exists between specu
lators and the settlers. This speculation had been
carried to bidding slol per acre for the wild land.
The settlers had held a meeting, stud organized
themselves into a club numbering seven hundred,
and had determined that every settler should have
the privilege of bidding oil' a quarter section of
lana, in addition to one quarter covered by pre
emption, at government price. Attempts were
made to settle all difficulties on this basis by the
settlers furnishing names of persons who were
bidders; but this had not been done up to the
time the informant left. As a consequence, very
few tracts of land were sold.
Blunders.— -The Franklin Register lately pub
lished an address by R»v. Mr. Abbott, and in his
next issue noted the following correction .
For “dum swizzle” please read “prominence.”
This was bad enough, but the next week the
same paper had the following :
Ju an advertisement which appeared in our last
paper, for “Bumblcton’a storm destroying porreu
gers,” read “Hamilton’s worm destroying lozen
ges.”
1 aulkner, who edited the Dublin J air rail, an
nounced in glowing terms the arrival in that city
of a distinguished m mber of the British nobility.
On the next day his paper contained the following
very Hibernian correction :
For “Her Grace, the Duke,” in yesterday’s Jour
nal, read “His Grace, the Duchess.”
He improved the matter unite as much as the
good clergyman in England did, who, without
book, was praying, and said :
“Oh, Lord, bless all classess of people, from the
beggar on the throne, to the king on the dung
hill—we mean from the king on the dunghill to
the beggar on the throne.”
A New Fork paper says: “A few Sundays ago,
at one of our churches, the choir sang a hymn to
a tune which comes in as follows: ‘My poor pol—
my poor pol—my poor polluted heart.’ Another
line received the following rendering : And in the
pi—and the pi—and in the pious he delights.*
And still another was sung—‘And take thy inl
and take tby pit—and take thy pilgrim home. ”
roiitv r ..-I-’.. - aaftity
Tenm-H. e. A like scarcity prevails in many parts
of Alabama. In Pike county corn is worth #1 ".0,
and a great many families are unsupplied. Tbe
Montgomery Mail adds :
This is the case, too, in most of the counties of
East and South-east Alabama. The.prairie region
of Montgomery county has been the “Egypt" of
alt tlie country above and below it, but its cribs
will soon give out. Corn lias already sold m this
city, within a few days, for ? 1 07.
Death from Poison ITseo in* the M anfpa'Tl i
or Brandt. Mr. Morris, of Toronto, a clerk in a
house engaged in the manufacture of brandy, was
k.'.'.-d by di inking, by mistake, a small portion ot a
prepß-ation nearly allied to prussic acid, wdiiob
had bee. procured iu tiic regular course of the
business. There is something very horrible in
this. If such iugiediems an- mixed with manu
factured liquors, and nearly all the liquors sold arc
doubtless manufactured, it is not strange that the
use of spirituous liipiors, always hurtful, has be
come of late so terrible destructive.
V’f'tMou* Journal.
Bomorkd Fi u.nT.~- I.etttTs have been received
in this city from sources entitled to credit, stating
that Low Brigham Young, of Club Territory, had
lit the last accounts left .Sal- I.ake City, wLh a
chosen body us two hundred nun, for Washing
ton or Or- gun. Some of the writers express the
belief that Young would endeavor to make his
ivav to the British possessions on the Pacific.
II Won p/tot C’nivii, May 19.
‘'Americanization” ofthe Schools. —A struggle
is going on for the Abolition of separate schools
for colored children in Rhode Island, and the in
troduction of the blacks into the common schools.
The petition to the Legislature, in behalf of the
amalgamation, was drawn up by the Bev. I >r.
Waylami, and bore tbe signature of Bishop Clark.
“ Porte Crayon” (Strother was round and about
at the Jamestown celebration, and during (lie cere
monies ot Wednesday, was “up a tree,” quietly
tilling his sketch-book with rich illustration-,
which the public may count upon seeing iu some
future number of liar<Hr\ Magazine.
Tin grain crops will be better than was antici
put d.' Much ot the wheat that was injured by
id M has been apparently healed by the genial
sou. lot!-- and showers, lind we would not now be
surprised if an average crop is harvested in this
county, provided the rust docs not make its iij -
pearunce. —Sparta Georgian.
From t:te Altar to tjtf. Tomb.—At Cleveland,
]fiss., on the evening of the 6th instant, Mr. W. I).
McKee, principal ofthe Georgetown Academy, in
that State, was married to Mi-s Marv Roberts, and
at midnight, during the rejoicing of the bridal par
ty present, he fell uead in their midst.
Voters in Ohio. The legislature of Ohio has
made an important change in the election law.
Thirty days residence in the eounty, and twenty
days in tbe township or ward, are now required
to constitute a legal voter.
St. Louis, May 13. —Utah dates to the 2d ultimo ;
have reached here. The Territory was quiet. Pre
parations were making to send a large number of
inissioßaries to all paits of the world. The ac
counts of tlie movements of Brigham Young don’t
accord with those via California. He seemed to
pos ess the entire confidence ofthe people and was
planning an exploration and pleasure excursion to
fho Mormon settlement at Salmon river. Barner
dines and the surrounding settlements had been
incorporated with Salt Luke City.
The Cheyenne Indians manifested a bold and
defiant air. A wader arrived at Fcrt Laramie re
ported that they acknowledged a loss of sixty war
r ors si to commit depredations on the Califor
nia road, in consequence of which they made pri
son-:.- of sixteen traders, and dispatched one hun
dred warriors to the road to avenge the loss of their
tribe. ...
The grass was poor on the plains, and a month
later than usual. •
Buffalo, May 16.—Four stores on Marine block
were destroyed by fire this morning. They were
occupied by the American Transportation Compa
ny Curtis, Mann A, Co., Holt and Ensign, and F.
itar.d: Loss 00; ias"-ance $!5/A)0.
Buffalo May 20.—The wind has broken tho
ice in tbe harbor .ere, and two hundred and sixty
thousand bushel of wheat, seventy-eight thou
sand bushels <d t rn, and four hundred and ntne
tj thousand barte'e of flour were received to-day.
Miscellaneous Items.
Captives among Indians. —The Legislature nf
Minnesota has made an appropriation of SIO,OOO,
which has been placed at the disposal of the Gov
ernor, to recover the four women alleged to have
been captured by the Indians raid carried oft’ in
thereceut Indian disturbances on the frontier.
Prolific.—There is a man in White county, Il
linois, who has a wife that has borne him sixteen
children ; the first six came by twos, the succeed
ing nine by threes—while the last one, poor, help
less, lonely thing! came into this world with
out company. Sixteen children at seven births!
Mr. Hamilton, United States Consul at Montevi
deo, has resided there for twenty-four years, and
in all that time has not visited the United States.
Mr. Denison, the new speaker of the House of
Commons, made a tour of the United States some
years ago.
The Western rivers are in a fine condition for
trade, but there is complaint of a scarcity of
freights, aud emigration has greatly fallen oft*
Jenny Lind is coming to America with her now
baby—-so says the Vienna correspondent of the
Christian Enquirer .
“Charley” Stetson, as lie is popularly known,
announces that the Astor House has commenced
its fourth seven years’ lease on the first day of the
present month—May.
Seth Kinman, Esq., of California, has arrived in
Washington city, says the Star, Mr. Kinman
brings the famous California buckhorn chair de
signed as a present for President Buchanan. Mr.
K. is one of the doughty hunters of California, and
appears in full backwoods rig.
Com. Kearney has been appointed to command
the navy yard at Brooklyu.
Providing for a Young Bonaparte.—A Grand
Chaplaincy of France is to be created, which will
be conferred on the young Prince Bonaparte, cou
sin of the Emperor, who is known as the Abbe Co
nins. He will first be made a cardinal. His sala
ry will be one hundred and fifty thousand francs,
with a palace as a residence.
A woman advertising for a husband, wants him
not only to be strictly religious, but of “good char
acter.”
aY recent number of the New York Fust says “We
are authorized to say that there is no truth* what
ever in the statement made by the Washington
correspondent of the Times , that* Mr. Meagher is
an applicant for the mission to Venezuela, of which
.Mr. Karnes is the present incumbent.”
The editor ofthe lowa ReporU recalls with a
stentorian voice for ladies to come West. He says:
“The last census report shows that there are thirty
thousand seven hundred and ti n more males than
females in lowa. This was taken in June and does
not include the spring or fall emigration. We are
minus at least sixty thousand ladies to make up
our quoto! ”
A letter was received in New York recently
from London, written on the Sotli of April. Mr.
Crawford had arrived in that citv from Paris, to
place himself under the care of Dr. Fell. He bore
the journey better than his friends expected. The
most fatiguing part of it was from the depot to his
lodgings.
Rev. John M. I*. Atkinson has been elected Presi
, dent of Hampden Sydney College.
Speaking of the late decision of the Supreme
, Court iu the Dred Scull case, the Detroit Free Press
> remarks:
‘ “It is peculiarly the mission of the Democratic
' press to support and defend the Constitution. The
; Supreme Court is especially appointed to interpret
thejConstitutron in all eases where the doubt arises
as to its true inteut and meaning. It has interpret
ed it in this case. We now know just what the
Constitution in ears in some respect« whe.L- Jie* •
longer in the dark. Light lias been coat fibroid,
’ and the Democratic press which refuses to reflect
that light is fit to dwell only in the darkness of
black republicanism.”
The Governorship of Utah.—A telegraphic
r despatch was received from Major McCulloch yes
, teraay, in which he declines the office recently
tendered to him of Governor of Utah Territory.
Much as we regret that circumstances have pre
vented Major McCulloch from accepting an office,
the delicate and important duties of which he is
so peculiarly well qualified to discharge, we have
i reason to believe that no time will he lost in the
| selection of a person with capacity sufficient to
1 meet at once the emergencies and expectations of
| the country. — Washington Union % May 20.
| Quick Traveling.—The mail was received in St.
j Louis, on Wednesday, the Kith instant, from Cin
; ciunati, iu sixteen hours and eighteen minutes, by
, the Ohio and Mississippi railroad. Thus, day by
! dav, docs tins monarch of western railways estab
lish its claims to tic* public regard as the greatest
| “ institution” of tin* age.
i English Pottery.—Staffordshire, in England, is
j the great seat of tbe porcelain and pottery manu
j factoi ies. No less than sixty thousand persons are
i employed in the works, and the annual value ofthe
I porcelain manufactured amounts to about ten mil
i lion dollars per annum—tlirec-fourihs of which are
j exported.
J Governor of Pennsylvania.—The Harrisburg
i Herald states that Gov. Geary, having been con
; suited upon the subject, has consented to accept
i the nomination for Governor of Pennsylvania, if
tendered by the American State Convention, soon
to assemble at Lancaster.
Montreal Water Works. —The machinery of
the Montreal water works, the reservoir, and the
distribution, have already cost, in round numbers,
one hundred thousand pounds, and one hundred
thousand pounds more is yet required to complete
the works, making a total expenditure of two hun
dred thousand pounds sterling.
Washington, May 19.—Recent information re
ceived from Utah has caused a change in the poli
cy hitherto contemplated. The condition of the
country now being such ns to require vigorous
measures, troops, in large numbers, will be sent
there, probably under the command of Gen. Ilar
nev. The administration is anxious to act at once
in this important matter, especially in view of the
late obstructions to judiciary proceedings, and the
accounts frequently received relative to the op
pressions committed by the Mormons on those who
do not belong to their fraternity.
Much excitement has existed for several days
past in the pension bureau, in consequence of
alleged discoveries of extensive frauds. Commis
sioner Whiting, after a close investigation, found
no proofs of venality, but discovered that a clerk
therein had extended undue privileges to an agent
for claims, some of which were improperly allow
ed, and he required the said clerk to resign bis
office.
; A letter from Dennison, the Indian agent, repre
sects the accounts of the recent Pawnee depreda
tions as having been much exaggerated. The In
dians, three or four thousand "of whom are in a
starving condition, retaliated on the whites for
wrongs. In the councils which Mr. Dennison held
with them, they did not deny that some young
men of their tribe were guilty of misdemeanors,
but none of so serious a nature as to warrant ihe
whites in taking the life of one of their chiefs.
They said they were ready to make a treaty to be
placed on an equal footing with the Otoe?, Missou
ri's and Omahas.
Boston, May 19.—The Senate passed to-day to
an engrossment the resolution appropriating one
hundred thousand dollars to aid the free State set
tlers in Kansas, with an amendment providing that
the opinion of the Supreme Court in favor of the
constitutionality of the appropriation must be ob- 1
tamed before a dollar can be drawn from the treas
ury. i
Madison, Ind., May 16.—A fire broke out this <
morning at Columbus/ Indiana, about daylight, in ,
a ptable near Sim’s Hotel, destroying the hotel, a
shoe store, hardware store, milliner shop, and a 1
cigar store, adjoining. The fire is supposed to be ’
the work of un incendiary. The 1- 3 is about
S7,CO •er SB,COO, insurance small.
IjOccport, N. \May 18. —Levins Brown, Esq.,
of this place, commi'Led suicide yesterday morn- 1
ing by cutting Lis throat. J {
GKA., WEDNESDAY,
BY TELEGRAPH.
Arrival of the Cabawba.
New Orleans, May 22.—The Cabawba has arriv
ed with Havana dates of the 19th instant.
Sugars continued firm. The stock in Havana
and Matanzas consisted of 290,000 boxes. Molas
ses was active. The high prices had driven specu
lators out of the market. The Cabawba brings
no other news of importance.
Charleston Market.
Charleston, May 25—2 o’clock, P. M.—Sales of
cotton this morning 800 bales, at prices ranging
from to 14)£ cents.
Charleston, May 25.—Sales to-day one thousand
bales, at prices ranging from 12}£ to 14J*j cents.
The market has an upward tendency.
New York Market.
New York, May 15.—Cotton firm, at }g advance. 9
Sales to-day 3,500 bales. Middling Orleans 14%c. *
Middling Uplands lie. Flour lower: Southern c
$7 40 a£7 75. Wheat unsettled. Corn advanced:
Mixed is quoted at 94c. • Resin active. Spirits
Turpentine steady. Rice heavy and unsettled.
Mobile Market.
Mobile, May 22.—Sales of the week 5,000 bales.
Receipts 1,000, against 4,400 bales same week last -
year. The decrease at this port is 120,000 bales. 1
The stock is 53,000. Prices unchanged.
Democratic Meeting m Richmond.
Pursuant to public notice a meeting of tlie
Democratic party of Richmond county was held
at the City Hall, in Augusta, to-day, for the pur
pose of appointing delegates to represent the
county of Richmond in the Gubernatorial Conven
tion, to be held in Milledgeville, on the 24th day
of June next.
On motion of William 11. Pritchard, Esq., lion.
Ebenezer Starnes was called to the chair, and W.
G. Johnson requested to act as secretary.
On motion of John Phinizy, Jr., Esq., a commit
tee of live was appointed by the chair to report
matter for the action of the meeting.
That committee consisted of the following gen
j tlcmen, to wit: John Phinizy, Jr., John Davison,
i Henry Moore, James M. Smytbe, and Juiicn Cmu
* ming, E.sqs.
1 The committee then retired,and after an absence
of a few moments returned, and through their
chairman, John Phinizy, Jr., offered the following
’ resolutions:
; Resolved, That wo cordially approve the
» inaugural of Mr. Buchanan, the selection of his
s Cabinet, and the policy of his administration, as
far as it has been developed, and honestly im
pressed with the belief, that the existence of the
Union and Southern Equality in it, depend upon
its complete and triumphant success, we deem it
the duty of southern men, irrespective of party,
to give it an earnest support, and believe that tins
* can be done efficiently, only by sustaining the
state organizations of the party, by which it was
; elevated to power,
e R solved, That we approve the course of our ira
t mediate representative, the Hon. Alexander JI.
s Stephens, in tbe last Congress, and having no in
. tormation that he desires to retire from the House
o of Representatives, and ti om public life, we hereby
. recommend him t * the electors
I next Congress; trusting that the people of tbe
District, rising above the influence of party ure
i ijtidices and of petty differences, will show their
I appreciation of the experience which he has ac-
I qmred, and the ability and devotion to southern
rights which he has’ exhibited, in his long and
brilliant congressional career, by giving him an
’ ! undivided support.
I Resolved, That we will be represented in the
■ I approaching Gubernatorial Convention of the
i Democratic party, to be held in Milledgeville on
M the twenty-fourth day of June, and appoint the
* I following delegates, viz: Hon. E. Starnes, Thos.
i Barrett, James T. Nisbet, T. J. Jennings, John B.
' McKitine, Jas. McNair, A. C. Walker, B. J. Winter.
G. T. Barm s, J. B. We ms, D. Kirkpatiick, Jr., J.
M. Newby, Turner Clanton, Juiicn Gumming, Geo.
M. Newton ami Henry Moore, to represent us in
that body, and that each delegate be empowered
to fill liis vacancy in the event of his inability to
- ] attend.
Result ed, That we appreciate the fitness and the
■ | worth of all of the many distinguished gentlemen
- ! whose names have been suggested in connection
. ! with the Democratic nomination for Governor;
that we feel an honest pride in our connection with
a party which can present so many individuals
, competent to fill the highest office in its gift; and j
] that we will cordially sustain the nomination of
. , either of them for the Executive Chair.
I Uexohnl, That whilst thus recognising the fit
ness of other gentlemen and expressing our deter
. mi nation chetrfully to abide toe decision of the i
Convention, we would avail ourselves of this op
portunity to indicate our preference for our distin
• guished fellow-citizen, James Gardner, Esq., as the
’ Democratic candidate for Governor, and respect
fully to present him to the party in convention, as
r one, in our opinion, entitled to the nomination for
[ that office and eminently fitted for it.
Resolved, That we have no local or sectional in
terests to subserve, in securing the election of a
[• Chief Magistrate from our own county and sec
, tion, no local or sectional claims to urge in favor
of the nomination of the candidate we present,
j but that we place him before the party, and urge
. his claims distinctly upon the grounds of fitness
and of service. —a fitness, equal to that of any other
individual of the party, whose name will probably
be before the Convention, and a service quite as
distinguished, useful and arduous, and which, up
to this time, has received no proper recognition
from the party.
On motion of Juiicn Cum ming, Esq., the pro
ceedings of the meeting were ordered to be pub
lished in the Constitutionalist, and other Demo
cratic papers of the State.
On motion, the meeting adjourned.
E. Starnes, Ch’mu.
W. G. Johnson, Scc’y.
Augusta, Ga., May 23d, 1857.
Washington Correspondence*
Washington*, May 23, 18"7.
Is the Governorship of Utah out begging ? Some
persons think so—the best informed differ with
them. As yet, although announced probable, the
declining of Col. Hen, McCulloch is not positive—
he may be in Washington soon and accept the
trust. Still his present office may satisfy him un
der the circumstances.
Why is there so much fear and apprehension
for the result in Utah ? There will be civil war,
more or less, in order to sustain the dignity of law,
and secure the true welfare of the misled masses;
but even such collision is better than the existing
ruin of all substantial prosperity, and reign of
confusion and wickedness. Daily are Utah affairs
involved in worse condition, and in similar ratio
are the President and his Cabinet more determined
to act—but not rashly. The position of Governor
for Utah is not an undesirable fine to the brave
and honorable man. The administration wish to
secure the services of a superior person, combining
civil qualifications, with a touch of martial and
held tactics; and he who shall accept this respon
sible post, and successfully carry out the wishes
of the Administration in establishing “law and
order," will acquire a name and position which
will rank very favorably with our best statesmen.
It is decidedly the most trying, and hence, the
most desirable opening, f-*r the right kind of a
man, to attain popularity and character, that this
Government affords at this time; and there are
many men in the South who are eminently quaff- t
tied to discharge its duties. j
Should Col. McCulloch finally decline, ii is said, c
and on pretty good authority, that Tennessee may \
have the honor of obtaining the situation for one <
of her gallant sons. Another than McCulloch, in (
Texas, is sp&en of, and between the two, at pre- )
sent, seems to be the choice. A good selection is !
the chief aim, so that the wants of the country i
may be fully satisfied.
The doctnnc of “gross proceeds” for rernunera- i
ting the contractors of our ocean mail service, is ,
becoming very popular. We do not doubt but j
that when the present arrangement with Collins’ i
line expires, it will be glad to fall into this propo- j
si tion rather than lose the service. Other lines of
steamers are expressing their approval of tlie ays- .
tern ; as it gives all a fair and equal showing. 1
Some very good Democrats think that our pre-
sent Representatives abroad should begin to ex
press a desire to return home, to rest a little from
care and the annoyances of public life. Perhaps
the “Powers that be” have parallel ©pinions upon
this subject; if so, the country may look for some
rotation ere long. It is a splendid policy at times.
Georgia.
550 T four cases of small pox were reported at
Nashville on the 20th inst. The following is the
report of a committee of the Robertson Associa
tion :
To R. ir. Mc&'avock, President of the Robertson
Association:
Dear Sir : In compliance with your request, we
submit the following report:
la company with the city marshal we visited
every house in the city where small pox was sus
pected, and wo found only four cases, viz :
Bth Ward—Rebecca Perry, continent, very bad.
Patsy, negro slave, convalescent. James Rourke,
deck passenger from a steamboat, at Pest House,
recovering. Mary Morris, negro child at Pest
House, a mild case.
From Hie general precautions which have been
taken to prevent the extension of the disease, we
feel confident that uo fears need be entertained of
its spread. T. A. Atchison.
Jos. C. Newnax.
From the Official Report, fust bp the A/ ~
pitta ns.
Kcpors*rN Notes ol Points Decided by
the Kiqirciue Court iu the Died Scott
Came.
I— 1. Upon a writ of error to a Circuit Court of
the United States, the transcript of the record of
all the proceedings in the case is brought before
this Court, aud is open to its inspection and revi
sion.
2. When a plea to the jurisdiction, in abatement,
is overruled by the court upon demurrer, and the
defendant pleads in bar, and upon these pleas the
final judgment of the court is in his favor—if the
plaintiff’ brings a writ of error, the judgment of
the court upon the plea in abatement is before this
court, although it was in favor of the plaintiff
and if the court erred in overruling it, the judg
ment must be reversed, and a mandate issued to
the Circuit Court to dismiss the case for want of
, jurisdiction.
3. In the Circuit Court of the United States the
. record must show that the caso is one in which,
by the Constitution and laws of the United States,
the court had jurisdiction—and if this docs not ap
; pear, and the court gives judgment either for plain
tiff' oi* defendant, it is error, and the judgment
rrtusfPTi* reversed hr this eport—and the panics
diction of the Circuit '(Jourt.
4. A free negro of the African race, whose an
cestors were brought to this country and sold us
slaves, is not a “citizen” within the meaning of
the Constitution of the United States.
5. When the Constitution was adopted, they
were not regarded in any of the States us mem
bers of the community which constituted the State,
and were not numbered among its “people or citi
zens.” Consequently, the special rights uml im
munities guarantied to citizens do not apply to
them. And not being “citizens” within the mean
ing of the Constitution, they are not entitled to
sue in that character in a court of the United
States, and the Circuit Court lias not jurisdiction
in such a suit.
C. The only two clauses in the Constitution
which point to this race, treat them as persons
whom it was morally lawful to deal in us articles of
property and to hold as slaves.
7. Since the adoption of the Constitution of the
United Stales, no State can by any subsequent law
make a foreigner or any other description of per
sons citizens ofthe United States, nor entitle them
to the rights and privileges secured to the citizens
by that instrument.
8. A Siate, by its laws passed since the adoption
J of the Constitution, may put a foreigner or any
! other description of persons upon a footing with
its own citizens, as to all the rights and privileges
enjoyed by them within its dominion and by its
laws. But that will not make him a citizen of the
United Stales, nor entitle him to sue m its courts,
nor to any of the privileges and immunities of u
citizen in another State.
9. The change in public opinion and feeling in
relation to the African race, which has taken place
since the adoption of the Constitution, cannot
change its construction and meaning, and it must
be construed and administered now according to
its true meaning and inteution when it was formed
ami adopted.
10. The plaintiff having admitted, by liis demur
er to tlie plea in abatement, that his ancestors were
imported from Africa and sold as slaves, lie is not
a citizen of the State of Missouri according to the
Constitution of the United] States, and was not
entitled to sue in that character in the Circuit
Court.
11. This being the case, the judgment of the
court below, in favor of the plaintiff'on the plea in
abatement, was erroneous.
ll 1. But if the plea in abatement is not brought
up by this writ of error, the objection to the citizen
ship of the plaintiff’is still apparent on the record,
as he himself, iu making out his case, states that
he is of African descent, was born a slave, and
claims that he and his family became entitled to
freedom by being taken, by their owner, to reside
in a territory v. here slavery is prohibited by act of
Congress—and that, in addition to his claim, lie
lumsclf became entitled to freedom bv being taken
to Rock Island, in the State of Illinois—ana being
free when he was brought back to Missouri, lie was
by the Lws of that State a citizen.
2. If, therefore, the facts he states do not giro
aim or bis family a right to freedom, the plaintiii'
is still a slave, and not entitled to sue as a u ciii
acn,” and the judgment of the Circuit Court was
erroneous oa that ground also, withoot aDjr refer
ence to the plea in abatement.
3. The Circuit Court can give no judgment for
plaintiff or defendant in a case where it has not
jurisdiction, no matter whether there be a plea in
abatement or not. And unless it appears upon the
face of the record, when brought here by writ of
error, that the Circuit Court had jurisdiction, the
judgment must be reversed.
The case of Capron arjt. Van Xoorden (2 Cranch,
]2«>) examined, and the principles thereby decided,
re-affirmed.
4. When the record, as brought here by a writ
of error, does not show that the Circuit Court had
jurisdiction, this court has jurisdiction to revise
and correct the error, like auy other error in the
court below. It does not and cannot dismiss the
cose for want of jurisdiction here ; for that would ■
leave the erroneous judgment of the court below I
in full force, and the party injured without reme- *
dv. But it must reverse the judgment, and, as in •
any other case of reversal, send a mandate to the
Circuit Court to conform its judgment to the opin
ion of this court.
f>. The difference of the jurisdiction in thi<
court in the cases of writs of error to State Courts
and to Circuit Courts of the United States, pointed j
ok: ; and the mistakes made as to the jurisdiction i
of this Court m the latter case, by confounding it |'
with its limited jurisdiction in the former. j
if. If the court reverses a judgment upon ihe '
ground that it appears by a particular part of the !,
record that the Circuit Court had not jurisdiction, i;
it does not take away the jurisdiction of this court «\
to examine into and correct, by a reversal of the j
judgment, any other errors, either as to the juris- ;
diction or any other matter, where it appears from !
other parts of the record that the Circuit Court j r
had fallen into error. On the contrary, it is the ' *
daily and familiar practice of this court to reverse ! t
on several grounds, where more than one error ap- i
pears to have been committed. And the error of j i
a Circuit Court in its jurisdiction stands on the
same ground, and it is to be treated in the same
manner as any other error upon which its judg
ment is founded.
7. The decision, therefore, that the judgment of
the Circuit Court upon the plea in abatement is
erroneous, is no reason why the alleged error ap
parent in the exception should not also be exam
ined, and the judgment reversed on that ground
also, if it discloses a want of jurisdiction in the
Circuit Court.
8. It is often the duty of this court, after having
decided that a particular decision cf the Circuit
Court was erroneous, to examine into other al
leged errors, and to correct them if they are found
to exist. And this has been uniformly’ done by
this court, when the questions are in any degree
connected with the controversy, and the silence of
the court might create doubts which would lead
to further and useless litigation.
111. —1. The facts upon which the plaintiff'relies,
did not give him his freedom, and make him a cit
izen of Missouri.
2. The clause in the Constitution authorising
Congress to make all needful rules and regulations
for the government of the territory and other pro
perty of the United States, applies only to territory
within the chartered limits of some one of the
States when they’ were colonies of Great Britain,
and which were surrendered by the British Gov
ernment to the old Confederation of the States, in
the treaty of peace. It does not apply to territory
acquired by the present Federal Government, by
treaty or by conquest, from a foreign nation.
Tlie case* of the American aud Ocean Insurance
Companies aot. Canter, 1 Peters, 511,) referred to
aud examined, showing that the decision in this
case is not in conflict w ith that opinion, and that
tbe Court did not, in the case referred to, decide
upon the construction of the clause of the Consti
tution above mentioned, because the case before
them did not make it necessary to decide the ques
tion.
3. The United States, under the present Consti
tution, cannot acquire territory to be held as a col
ony’, to be governed at its will and pleasure. But
it may acquire territory, which, at the time, has
not a population that fits it to become a State, and
may govern it as a territory until it has a popula
tiou which, in the judgment of Congress, entitles
it to be admitted as a State of the Union.
4. During the time it remains a territory, Con
gress may legislate over it within the scope of its
. constitutional powers in relation to citizens of the
. United States— and may establish a territorial gov
ernment—and the form of this local government
must be regulated by the discretion of Congress
—but with powers not exceeding those which Con
gress itself, by the Constitution, is authorized to
; exercise over citizens of the United States, in re
‘ spect to their rights of persons or rights of pro
| pertv.
;. l\ y —l. The territory thus acquired, is acquired
; by the people of the United States for their com
mon and equal benefit, through their agent and
trustee, the Federal Government. Congress can
exercise no power over the rights of persons or
r property of a citizen in the territory which is pro
-1 hibited by the Constitution. The government and
the citizen, whenever the territory is open to set
tlement, both enter it with their respective rights
' defined and limited by the Constitution.
’ 2. Congress have no right to prohibit the citi
’ zensof any’ particular State or .States from takiDg
lip their home there, while it permits citizens of
other States to do so. N or has it a right to give
pri to on* us diimtmm n-isich it rofn*t-s t
tn anotUcr. me lerrnorr 13 acquired for their ■
equal and common benefit—and if open to any, it
must be open to all upon equal and the same
terms.
3. Every citizen has a right to take with him
into the territory any article of property which ihe
Constitution of the United States recognizes as
property.
4. The Constitution of the United States recog
nises slaves as property, and pledges the Federal
Government to protect it. And Congress cannot
exercise any more authority over property of that |
description than it may constitutionally exercise i
over property of any other kind.
5. The act of Congress, therefore, prohibiting a
citizen of the United States from taking with him \
liis slaves when he removes to the territory in
question to reside, is an exercise of authority over ;
private property which is not warranted by the i
Constitution—and the removal of the plaintiff', by i
his owner, to that territory, gave him no title to
f. oedoin.
V—l. The plaintiff himself acquired no title to
freedom bv being taken, by Iris owner, to Rock Is- !
land, in Illinois, and brought back to Missouri.
This court has heretofore decided that the status or ;
condition of a person of African descent depended !
on the laws of the State in which he resided.
2. It has been settled by* the decisions of the
highest court in Missouri, that, by the laws of that
Slate, a slave does not become entitled to bis free
dom where the owner takes him to reside in a State
where slavery is not permitted, aud afterwards
brings him back to Missouri.
conclusion.
It follows that it is apparent upon the records
that the court below erred in its judgment on tbe
plea in abatement, and also erred in giving judg
ment for the defendant, when the exception shows
that the plaintiff* was not a citizen ofthe United
States. And as the Circuit Court had no jurisdic
tion either in the case stated in the plea in abate
ment or in the one stated in the exception, its judg
ment in favor of tlie defendant is erroneous, and
must be reversed.
The annual receipts of the more important so
cieties which hare just held their anniversaries in
New York and Boston foot up as follows :
Societies. ISM. 185«’. i*r»7
Ann ri -.in Bil.le Society $ 34«,»J i * $i i. .
AiiM’i-jgau Tract Society 413,174 415.£i>ti
American 15. C. of F’*cn Missions l *>4,2-!2 *1,V.,70 i :.«.,'.
l'res. !5«.-ird of Foreign Missions 181,074 301,938 <
Am. Home Mission Society 180,137 193,54$ 17- i
Am. and Foreign Chris. Union.. 63.5«7 f.ft,500 7if*v.
Am. and Foreigh Bil.le Society.. 4*5.034 105,613 rr, e.v■
Am. Baptist Home Mi--. Society 61,345 51,541 Fr.'o
Am. Anti-slavery Society I*ooo 18,000 :i.;'ooo
Bailies’Home Mi-simi Society... IS.ooo *>5157 • ~ vr
Y. State unionization Society. 17,571 15,993 :'.£m
I-otnaie Guardian Society 20,133 37 935 .vm • v;
N. Y. Sunday School Union tK*w»o tl0,00») i-,’vs
SV imen s !■ riend Society 22,845 22,253 •‘*7 .v*o
I‘twH* Five l'oints Mission 20,000 30,000 33 -*74
American Abolition Society .... +4,000 +5.000 6,546
Female Magdalen society 3,54 s 3,000 3.3:34
Society lor Ameliorating the Con-
Children's Aid Society s,m 10.1 M llii-ii
1,963.447
* Seven months. _ t Estimated.
Washington, May 21.—1 tis estimated that the
troops nun- moving in the direction of Utah com
prise about two hundred men. There arc two va
cant federal judgships in the territory which are
soon to he tilled, and probablv another marshal
Will ho appointed as preliminary to enforcing the
civil process. In the event of opposition on the
part of the Mormons to this, the military wiil he
employed to enforce the laws and to protect citi
zens of the United States from Mormon oppression.
It is supposed, however, that no necessity for ex
treme measures will arise. The Governorship is
snll unsettled, although several gentlemen are so
licitous for the position. But the government is
anxious to select one who will combine personal
bravery with administrative talent and a question
ed discretion. The programme or oncratioD.s for
y", ' r:)1 00 consummated with the least possible
delay. r '
I Thomas Cunningham, of Pennsylvania, has re
| signed Ins associate judgship in Kansas.
Boston, May 22.—The House, bv a large major i
tv, refused to concur in the Senate's amendmen t on '
tile Kansas resolution, making an appropriation
contingent upon the Supreme Court.
Ntw \ ork, May 20.—Dates from Montevideo to :
March Lb th have been received. The frigate St. t
I, wrence was there, all well. The sloop of war
r ti mouth was daily expected.
St. Loris, May 18.— The St. Louis delegation i
withdrew from the Unitarian conference at Alton, c
Illinois, on Saturday last on the adoption of a i
resolution declaring tue Constitution of the Uni
States a failure, and the decision of the Pred Scott e
case of no binding force. t
YOL. 86—iSTO. 22.
Georgia Kail road.
We are indebted to the officers of the Georgia
railroad for the following statement of the quan
tity of produce brought to this city, during the
time stated:
Cotton. Flour. Grain. Bacon.
May 16 30 203 500 47,567
“IS 10 . 75 49,586
19 29 403 10 21,438
“ 20 19 113 313 135,544
“21 282 123,250
“ 22 2 .. 290 8,690
Gen. Sam Houston, of Texas, has declared
lnmself an independent candidate for Governor,
and has made arrangements to canvass the entire
state.
By the San Antonio papers we learn that Gen.
Twiggs was expected in that city hourly to take
charge of the Texas division of the U. S. Army,
in place of Gen. Johnson, who proceeds to Fort
Leavenworth, to take command of the Govern
. ment surveying expedition across the plains.
The Georgian <f* Journal , of the 24th in3t,
announces that the Memphis delegates will visit
’ Savannah on the 3d June. The delegation will
then be on their way home, and will probably
r pass through Macon/
i ini vugu .uauni!
From tie Baltimore Sun.
; Hats become an Article ot Commerce*
I As civilization advances human ingenuity is
severely taxed to supply man’s natural and artifi
cial wants. Our grandfathers wonld have said that
the destructive vermin which infests our cellars
under the name of rats, would be the last thing
which could ever be turned to a useful purpose. ,
Even the tine lady of the present day, who piques
. herself on her exquisitely fitting gloves, would
, give one of those little shrieks, which she thinks
. so sweetly feminine, if told that the thumb of her
i glove was made of ratskin, as more elastic yet
' tougher than kid. The nineteeth century, in fact,
sees rats elevated to an article of commerce. In
, Europe the fur of the rat is used hatters,
having been found to exceed in delieay even that
of the beaver. A company exists in Paris, on the
principle of the Hudson’s Bay Company, to buy
up all the rats of France. Iu London many per
t sons earn a livelihood by hunting rats in the sew
. ers. A late number of the London Quarterly Re-
I riV/f makes these Hu ts the text of a curious and in
t ten sting article on tin- habits cf the rat, an ani
mal heretofore considered unfit to be introduced
5 into deed.' se-.-irt;.. but which, under the
_ j of the Quarterly, makes quite a respectable figure.
Nearly every portion of the habitable globe is
’ infested with these vermin. Hardly a vessel sails
without carrying with it a colony, and thus even
’ the islands of the Pacific are supplied with rats.
. On board of ship they generally keep out of sight,
’ provided they can command that great necessity,
’ water; but if Ibis is guarded against their depre
| dations they will come on deck, cm rainy nights,
’ to drink, and will even ascend the rigging for the
sake of the moisture lying in the folds of the saPs.
When very thirsty they have been known to at*
‘ tack the spirit-casts, and get, like wiser beings,
tipsy, though, we believe, they never boat their
I wives even when drunk. Sometimes two distinct
j colonies are to be found in the same ship : one oc
! copying the stem, and ihe other the stern. It is
j no uncommon thing to destroy five hundred in a
; single East Indiaman on her arrival at Calcutta.
Often, when water has been scarce on the voyage,
they voluntarily desert the vessel the night alter
her casting anchor, generally passing to land, in
’ single file, along the mooring-rope, though, if this
• is impracticable, they do not hesitate to swim.
; The genuine ship-rat is a more delicate animal
jtlian the large brown rat, and approximates to the
r mm*, u»r y»t fntlr^ly
tinct, though some naturalists have asserted the
contrary.
Few persons have an idea of the vast numbers
of these vermin. The Quarterly says, “ rats are to
the earth what swallows are to the air, universally
present.” But, unlike their feathered rivals, we
rarely see them, and hence are ignorant of the
countless millions that burrow under our cellars,
run up and down between our walls, haunt the
; sewers of great cities, and devastate the granaries
iof farmers. But it is about slaugbtcr-ln uses «hat
| they “ most do ''ongregnte.” At Montfauoon, ic.
Francv, the proprietor of a slaughter-house had a
1 walled enclosure, when*, one night, he threw the
carcases of two or three horses, and then went qui
! ctly with his workmen and stopped up all the holes
i by* which the rats had entered it, after which he
i went in with these same workmen, each armed
j with a stick. The rats thus entrapped, wore slain
by hundreds. In a single month he killed six
• teen thousand and fifty. andti\<» thotwmd six hun
:di ed, and fifty in erne night. It has becr. cstirnah d
j that the progeny of a single pair of rats would
j amount, in three years, to six hundred and fifty-iiz
thousand, if they could all find food and escape
i the accidents that makes the mortality among
j *hem so great. Between the large brown rat ai d
; the smaller species there exists a mortal antipathy.
I It an equal number of each breed are put into u
| cage over night, the bigger ones, if not hungry,
; will eat t !1‘ the long, delicate ear? of the smaller,
which they seem tn consider a great luxury; but
if half starved, nothing will be seen in the morn
ing, of the smaller species, except the tails and
bones.
J The rat, according to the has never
’ received the credit lor sagacity which he deserves,
’ although the phrase “as cunning as a rat,” teatt
| fies to the popular opinion of his abilities. It is
not a fable that a rat. robs a hen’s nest by lying on
’ j his back and holding the eggs between his paws,
’ 1 while his companions pull him along. Rats have
j been seen, one on each side, leading blind or aged
rats to water. A gentleman once noticed that sev
eral rats ate at the trough with his dogs; so, one
day, he kept the dogs back, after the trough was
t filled, intending to shoot the rats when they came
to eat; but the latter were too wise to make their
appearance till he let the dogs in, when he was
; afraid to shoot, and this caution they exhibited day
• 1 after day, till he gave up iu despair. Sometimes,
: when famished, a rat will attack poultry. Rats fre
i ; qut ntly gnaw through the leaden pipes of houses,
j fir the sound of running water seems to fascinate
| tlk in, and many a rat, curious to get at the cause
, of this strange noise, lias suddenly found himself
deluged in a shower-bath. The teeth of a rat are
so formed, and grow so fast, that if he dees not
gnaw almost incessantly, and by this process wear
| them away at the point, they become enormous
circular tusks. Rats have been killed which, hav
ing lost a lower tooth, have had the corresponding
upper one grown into a complete circle, tr.e point
of which, in winding around, had passed through
the hip of the animal. The Quarterly insists that
ithc rat is really a beautiful animal, especially when
seen sitting on his haunches and licking his paws;
but we confess that our prejudices prevent our dis
cerning his beauty; and we are orthodox enough
still to think that"rats should only be named wi h
traps and guns, to which, if iu our power, we would
consign the whole breed.
Buffalo, May IS.—The bill granting relief to
the Grand Trunk (Canada) railway has passed the
Canadian House of Representatives by twelve ma
jority. The session of Parliament will soon close.
Providence, (R. 1.,) May 18.—A successful bal
loon ascension was made here this afternoon by
.Tames \V. Allen. II descended in safety about
fourteen miles from the city.
Boston, May 2m The steamer Europa sailed
hence to-day for Liverpool with upwards of one
million dollars.
Potts dam, X. Y., May 10. —A fire occurred here
this morning, destroying the Uuiversalist cliurcb,
the town hall, and an adjacent building.
Cincinnati, May 21. The city Council extends
an invitation to the President, and through the
President to the Cabinet and foreign ministers,
also, to the Governors of several States, and Mayors
and councils of several cities, to be present on the
Od and 4th of June, to inaugurate the opening cf
the Ohio and Mississippi railroad. Arrangements
are making on a gr and scale for the inauguration
Washington, May 22.— Arrangements are now
under consideration" bv the Postmaster General to
convey the great southern mail by the > irginia
and Tennessee railroad vi i Richmond.
Much opposition prevails from persons connect
ed with the other routes. The matter win he lai.t
before the board at Richmond on owt Tuesday.
