Newspaper Page Text
Weekly constitutionalist.
BY JAMES GABDKER.
[COMMUNICATED.]
The Productive Labor of the South*
Mr. Editor: In a former article, discussing in
directly the productive labor of the South, under
the heading, “The Federal Constitution in its
Anti-slavery Aspects,” I offered a few suggestions
in favor of the importation of more laborers from
Africfc, to develops the vast resources of the plant
ing States. It strikes me that the public does not
view this very grave subject in its true light; and
having given it much thought, with not a particle
of political predilection or personal interest in the
matter, I have the more confidence in the sound
ness of my views, and in their ultimate adoption
by the people of the South, and I trust of the
whole country. Truth is mighty; and no one
need be surprise! to see it finally triumph in the
MDnomy of an All-wise Providence. It iscertain
]y no crime for a Christian, in a Christian land, to
trust in God, whose ways are so far above our
wavs and comprehension.
That the dark skinned African has been more
improved in the slavebolding States than in any
other country, is one of those enduring facts
which stand out in the affairs of man for his high
est and best instruction. That the men who
brought slaves from Africa to America did not de
sign to improve them, and that other considera
tions have kept them and their posterity in bond
age, shows the hand of Providence in the \v«*rk,
shaping and adapting means to the end which He,
not man, has in view. To eliminate the wrong
and preserve the right, is the work not of any out
generation, hut of ail generations from Adam to
the dawn of the milleniutn. In this grand scheme,
there is a place for the negro ordained by his
Maker; and neither weeping over his inferior po
sition, nor spasmodic efforts to make him some
thing which he is not, will “change the skin” or
the- destiny ot the Ethiopian. I will not say to
what elevation he may not reach in after ages;
but I will say that steady productive industry, un
der a good master, (and if masters are not good,
Chistianity must make them so, what else can ?) is
thsj only known way to work the brute out of the
native African, aod'work civilization into him.
Why not meet this labor question fairly on its
merits? What has sentimentalism to do with it V
Is it wrong that Provideuce has best adapted the
constitution of the negro to cultivate the tropical
plants, cotton, rice, tobacco, sugar cane, and coffee?
If not, then is it wrong that the same overruling
Providence has called into existence a large and
ever increasing demand for these powerful ele
ments of civilization V Is it wrong that the same
Providence has given to the southern States six
hundred million acres of land admirably adapted,
by soil and climate, to the production of all these
staples save coffee V
These antecedents are due neither to the wit nor
the wisdom of man. If anything can be regarded
as provide/UUtl, the wants of southern agriculture
stand in that relation to negro slavery. Providence
always works by means of His own appointment;
and it is as vain as wicked to attempt “ to rejudge
His justice.” Why has He created so many
carnivorous animals in the world to devour one
another? How easy to find fault with the order of
Nature; but can we change it? Has emancipa
tion in the West India islands or elsewhere altered
the character of the negro for the better in any
respect ? It not, what good objection can be urged
agtiust supplyfng the labor market of the South
with Africuus, provided they can be obtained with
adv&ut&ge to them .as well as to us? Nothing is
easier than to sav that-the conditions named are
impracticable. ißuthow impracticable? Iseither
a Catholic or a Protestant compelled to repeat, in
the last half of the nineteenth century, all the fol
lies aud crimes perpetrated by either sect in the
last two centuries ? Most obviously, nothing of
the kind is either expected or required. How ab
surd to pretend that :heir nnpla spirit of recent re
form does not apply to the procurement of laborers
from one continent to another?
Tbe essence of Catholic faith docs not rest in
the thumb-screws of the holy inquisition, although
these instruments of torture have been used to
quicken the confessions of those who doubted the
infallibihtv of the Pope and the Church. Grant
that slave government, both on board ot ships and
on land, bus been abused, and may be again. If
this was the only human government, either social
or political, liable to abuse, the argument would
be worth something aguinst the r nation of mus
ter and slave, either in Africa, on tbe AtlanLc, or
in the southern States. The argument, howewr,
addresses itself to the want of due moral culture
in the master—a misfortune, or something worse,
in which he sbares equully with the rest of man
kind.
But suppose we attempt to get along hereafter
without any more negroes from abroad? Then the
non-slaveholders of Georgia will be in a worse
condition than were the non slaveholders of the
State of New York fifty years ago, when the sup
ply of negroes from Africa was closed for ever
against them.
In that day enterprising business men wanted ,
Stout, able bodied laborers to open irou mines, fell
forests, drain swamps, and render the soil of the
State generally productive of wheat, coin and
other crops. The persons who owned slaves, being
well off tor laborers themselves, were rather pleas
ed than otherwise that they were likely to have a
monopoly of negroes; but the energy ot poor white
men could not be long kept down. __ They sa v .that
the existence of slavery in New York served to
keep journeymen farmers and mechanics out of tbe
State; and as they could not. get slaves to do their
woik, they very naturally voted them out of their
way as a public coil.
History is philosophy teaching bv example; and
human nature has not changed much in nfty years.
The day is not remote when the Empire State of
the South will witness a rapid increase of its in
dustrial force; and iu the humble judgement of
the writer, something like half 'of this force had
better be negroes than for it to consist exclusively
of voting sovereigns, educated either in the free
States or m Europe. By wisely avoiding both ex
tremes, a fair, just, middle course may be found
on which both South and North ought to agree.
At all events,the slavejholding States should agree
among themselves how they intend to meet the
growing want of the South for all needful labor
ers for the next twenty-five years, support and pay
for their railroads, and all other contemplated im
provements. Not more than one part in a hun
dred of the mineral resources of the South is now
developed. Are we to wait a hundred years that
slaves may multiply beyond the requirements ot
agriculture before we fairly begin to reveal to the
world our mineral treasures? Young America
moves at a quicker pace; and its warm blood in
tbe sunny South is sure to keep time with the live
liest music. Sbnbx.
What sort op an Animal a “Snob” is.—
Thackeray thus daguerreotypes this animal. He
1b speaking of English society:
“ A snob is that man or woman who are always
pretending before the world to be something bet
ter—especially richer or more fashionable—than
they are. It is one who thinks his own position iu
life contemptible, and is always yearning and
striving to force himself into one above, without
the education or charateristics which belong to it;
one who looks down upon, despises, and overrides
bis inferiors, or even equals of his own standing,
and is ever ready to worship, fawn upon, aud flat
ter a rich aqd tided man, not because he is a good
man, a wise man, or a Christian man ; but because
be has the luck to be rich or consequential.”
Tub Business op tub “Thunderer.”— Every
issue of the London Times is accompanied with
a double-sheet supplement, filled exclusively with
advertisements, in addition to the like matter in
serted in the regular edition. Its charges, more
over, a]re beyond any rates in this country. Its
weeklyreceiptsfrom this source exceed twenty-five
thousand dollars. A single firm (that of Wind
ham A Co.) pays the Times for the advertising, i f
one article (“Circassian Oil*') one hundred and
.fifty thousand dollars per annum, and fifty thou
sand dollars more per year for another article—the
“Circassian Liquid.”
“ Oh, pray let me have my way ibis time,” said
a young gentleman to his lady love. “ Well, Wil
lie, I suppose I must this once; but you know that
after we are married I shall always Lave a Will of
jpy own.”
From the Paris Patrie, Match 7.
Recent Treaties with Japan*
The negotiations with Japan had in 1855 as yet ,
a very indifferent success. Three ports of that j
empire, Hakodadi, Sirnoda and Nangasaki were j
open to the flag of four Christian nations—the j
United States, England, Russia and the Nether- !
lands—but they were open only as ports of refuge j
and for supplying provisions. Commerce remain- j
ed as in past times, limited to the Chinese and j
Dutch.
Nothing was more miserable than that privi- i
leged commerce of the Dutch, apart from all re
gard to the vexations conditions to which it was j
subjected. Some articles imported for the use of the j
Emperor and the grandees, and (as return freight)
copper to the maximum of three hundred and seven
ty-five thousand kilogrammes, with a small quan
tity of camphor and a number of morning gowns
—such whs the kainpshanel or tariff of the govern
ment. The traffic in some other articles to the
amount of a little over one hundred thousand
francs was for a long time rented under the de
nomination of kambanghandel.
The Dutch Government was endeavoring a9
much as possible to enlarge the circle of its rela
tions.
The lease of the lessee of the kambanghandel
was bought off, and trade privileges permitted to
private individuals, whose first operations seem to
nave been profitable. New patterns of return arti
cles were sent to Batavia, and an authorization to
European tissues was obtained from the Japanese
government.
But still this was nothing. The unequivocal
dispositions of a portion of the inhabitants awak
ened the hope that the throwing open of Japan to
general commerce was not far off; aud from that
moment the Netherlands government tried with
redoubled activity to attain this end.
The means it employed were praiseworthy; it
was by benefits and prominenfsei vices that it en
deavored to gain the favor of the government
and the inhabitants. A scientific library, and a
collection of model instruments were established
at Desima. A learned Dutchman delivered lec
tures on chemistry and mechanics; a Dutch en
gineer was charged with instructing them in the
best modes of working mines; the Emperor was
ottered a steamboat, and this present was accepted
with enthusiasm. What the Japanese govern
ment had most, desired was to possess a war navy
on a European footing The Cabinet of (he Hague,
without blindly according whatever it was asked
for, nevertheless deemed itself bound to accede to
a desire which was legitimate in itself. At a mo
ment when the relations of Japan with the foreign
countries became more active, it thought that it
would not be friendly to refuse it the means of de
fending, if necessary, its independence. Therefore
it permitted that on the Dutch wharves three
screw schooners should be constructed for the
Japanese navy, and charged a detachment of ma
rines to direct the education of a native crew—-an
undertaking which, according to the last news,
bus been crowned with complete success.
The price hoped for all those services was the
setting trade free. Fifteen additional articles join
ed to the definitive treaty, which in 1856 bad re
placed a former convention, were proposed by the
Dutch Commissioner to the authorities of Nangas
aki. These a: teles prove at »lie same time the
utm-.Ui'.ating situation to which for so Jong a time
tbe Hollanders had submitted, and the deep
change effected by tbe course of events. They in
particular stipulated the admissiomof women and
children into the ports open to commerce, the free
exercise of the Christian religion, the abolishing
of the odious practice of trampling under foot the
imuge of Cbfist, a facility of selling to and buying
from the merchants oi the country, and lastly, the
extension to foreign nations, which had entered or
would enter into treaties with Japan, of all the
rights accorded to the Netherlands government.
The manner in which those liberal propositions
were at first received, the delays, the shifdngs
which were resorted to, betrayed all hope of the
Dutch, go. eminent. Under the impression of this
defeat, it Nad last year decided not to abruptly
change its policy, but to show less complacency
and not to accede to different demands of war mu
nitions and other articles necessury to the defense
es tbe country until the court of Yeddo should
show signs of better sentiments. Now we know
that that court was making its iaSt resistance and
was near yielding.
The following is the account of what happened :
The fifteen additional articles gave place to forty
other articles under date of October 18, 1957, which
* organise the new system of relations to which Ja
pan has consented. Commerce is permitted in the
two ports of Nangasaki and Hakodadi. Tbe ton
nage duties on vessels, the import duties on mer
chandises—duties fixed at thirty-five per cent., ad
valorem —the mode of sale of and payment for
said merchandises, and all formalities conse
quent to the superintendence of commerce, aie
specified in detail. More than one restriction still
subsists. Thus the importation of opinra is pro
hibited, as also the exporiation of lhe specie of the
country; the Japanese government reserves to il
-elf, in certain cases, the prohibition of exporta
tion of provisions, and even, without giving any
reason, that of wax and paper; U retains a mono
poly of the export of different products, especially
of copper. But, in a word, a decisive result has
been obtained, which cannot but exiend in the
course of time.
After the additional articles there follow special |
declarations still more important. One of them i
admits women and children into the ports open to
commerce; another abolishes the practice ol
trampling under foot the image of Christ. The
most reuaarkuble of all them is couched in these
I terms: “The Japanese government . ready to
conclude similar treaties with all civilized nations,
including Portugal.” It is known that it was the
religious zeal of the Portuguese missionaries
which, two centuries ago, provoked tbe exclusion
of all Europeans, with the exception of ihe Dutch.
A short tune before these concessions had been
made to the Netherlands, and through them to the
whole world, the Consul of the United States at
Simoda had concluded (in June 17, 1857) a new
treaty, the text of which was published by the
American newspapers. The new faculties stipu
lated for by thut treaty have but small importance
in comparison with those for which we are indebt
ed to Dutch diplomacy.
Without being ungrateful to the latter, the hon
or of them is, perhaps, not to be exclusively attrib
uted to it. The attitude of France and England in
the Chi ese sea was, perhaps, not without an in
fluence oi the decision of the Court of Yeddo.
However that may be, the capture of Canton and
its consequences will surely confirm this decision.
To Sportsmen.—S. Sutherland, of Richmond,
Va., gives tbe following rule to load a gun proper
ly : “Try it repeatedly with charges, consisting of
equal bulks of powder and shot, till you come toa
quantity with which the gun will not recoil, or but
slightly ; this will give you the proper quantity of
shot. With this load, however, the guu will scat
ter in all directions. To correct this, reduce the
quantity of powder until you find that the shot is
carried as close as you desire. A gun loaded thus,
will never burst. To make it carry further, use
shot of a larger size. No gun should be fired more
than twenty times without being wiped out. When
in the field, it will be much safer to carry the piece
always at half-cock.”
A gentleman of Philadelphia has invented a
machine for folding newspapers. The machine is
of iron and steal, and requires scarcely any power
ot drive it—say one-fourth horse power—and is
fed by one person. It willtold from ti ty-tive to
sixty sheets per minute into mail or carriers form,
delivering them in fine order, packed straight and
square, and so tightly that they occupy much less
room in tbe mail. This is at the rate of from
three thousand to thirty-fiae hundred an hour.
A rapid folder can only put np for the mail or in
carrier form from eight hundred to one thousand
sheets an hour. The price of the machine is six
huudred dollars, and the space it occupies com
paratively small—beiug about one hundred cubic
feet. _
Four good mothers have givers birth to four bad
daughters; truth bus produced hatred; success,
pride; security, danger; and familiarity, contempt.
And, on the other hand, four bad mothers have
produced as many good daughters; for astronomy
is the offspring of astrology; chemistry, of alehy
mv; freedom, of oppression; patience, of long suf
fering.
AUGUSTA, CEA.3 APRIL 14, 1858.
j From Randall's “Life of Thomas Jefferson.”
Jefferson as Student and Lover*
During Mr. Jefferson’s law course of five3'ears,
he usually spent the summer months at home, at
i Shadwell, where the rest of the family continued to
i reside. The systematic industry of his college life
* continued. Notwithstanding the time given to
j company, he contrived to pass nearly twice the
! usual number of hours of law students in his stu
dies. He placed a clock m his bed room, and as
| soon as he could distinguish its hands in the gray
| of the summer morning, he rose and commenced
his labors. Iu winter, lie rose punctually at five.
His hour of retiring in the summer, in the country,
, was nine— in the winter, at ten. At Shad well, his
studies were very little interrupted by company.
He usually took a gdlop on horseback during the
day, aud at twilight walked to the yap of Monticei
-I>. An hour or too given to the society of his
family, and the favorite violin, completed the list
of interruptions, and still left fourteen or fifteen
hours for study and reading.
With Mr. Jefferson, the lover succeeded the
schoolboy in the due and time-honored order, as
laid down by the “melancholy Jaques.” The only
record of this affair is to be found in a series of
letters a Idrcsscd bv him to his friend John Page,
commencing immediately after he left college and
extending, at intervals, through the two succeeding
years. These are tp be found ut length in the
Congress edition of his works, and also in his
life, by Professor Tucker. They possess some
interest, perhaps, in relation to their subject mat
ter, but most, as the early specimens of their
author’s epistolary writing which have been pre-'
served. Though they display something of that
easy command of language—that “running
peu”—for which he was afterwards so celebrated,
they exhibit no peculiar grace of style, or maturity
of bought. Perhaps, however, these would
scarcely be expected in the carelass, off-hand
effusious of boyish intimacy. It causes a smile
to see the future statesman “sighing like furnace”
in a tiist love; concealing, after the approved fash
ion of student life, the name of bis mistress under
awkward Latin puns and Greek anagrams, to bury
a secret which the world, of course, was supposed
to have a vast interest iu discovering; delightedly
describing happy dances with his “Belinda” in the
Apollo (that room of the Raleigh tavern where
we shall soon find him acting so different a part);
vowing the customary despairing vow, that “if
Belinda will not accept his service, it shall never
be offered to another;” aud so on to the end of the
chapter—in the well beaten track of immemorial
proscription. The object of bis attachment was a
Miss Rebecca Harwell (called Belinda, as a pet
name, or byway of concealment,) whom tradition
speaks of as more distinguished lor beauty than
cleverness.
His proposals seem to have been dogged with
the condition that he must be absent for two or
three years in foreign travel before marriage,
lie several times expresses this design, specifying
England, Holland, France, Spain, Italy, Egypt,
and a return through the northern British Pro
vinces in America, as his proposed route. Why
■ lie gave this up does not appear. Whether for
this, or because her preferences lay in a different
direction, Missßurwell somewhat abruptly mar
’ ried ano'her man, in 1764.
Mr. Jefferson was generally, however, rather a
? favorite with the other sex, and not without rea
y son. llis appearance was engaging. His face,
] though angular, and far from beautiful, beamed
* wr. i intelligence, w ith benevolence, and with the
B cheerful vivacity of a happy, hopeful spirit. His
> complexion was ruddy, and delicately fair; his
u reddish chestnut hair luxuriant aud silken. His
-l full, deop-set eyes, the prevailing color of which
e was a light hazel, or flocks of hazel on a ground
r work of gray), were peculiarly expressive, aud
0 mirrored, as the clear lake mirrors the cloud, the
emotion which was passing through hi 9 mind.
9 Ho stood six feet twoand a halt inches in height,
s uud though very slim at this period, his form vvus
e erect aud sinewy, and his movements displayed
* etoortietty mad rigor, ffr wars an expert mnatcian;
y a fine dancer, a dashing rider, and ihere was no
y man! y exercise in which he could not play well his
‘ part. Ilis mautiers were usually graceful, but
® simple and cordial. His conversation already
* poss ssed no inconsiderable share of that charm
J which, in after years, was so much extolled by
* friends, and to which enemies attributed so seduc
tive an influence in moulding the young and tbe
wavering to his political views. There was a
' frankness, earnestness, and cordiality in its tone—a
1 deep sympathy with humanity—a confidence in
~ man, and a sanguine hopefulness in ihe destiny,
1 which irresistibly won upon the feelings not only
’ of the ordinary hearer, but of those grave men
" whose commerce with the world had lea them to
form less glowing estimates of it—of such meaas,
tbe scholar-like Small, the sagacious Wythe, the
‘ courtly and gifted Fauquier.
2 Mr. Jefferson’s temper was gentle, kindly, and
1 forgiving. If it naturally had anything of that
warmth which is the usual concomitant of affec
-2 tions and sympathies so ardent, and it no doubt
bad, it had been subjugated by habitual control.
’ Yet under its even placidity, there were not
wanting those indications of calm self reliance
and courage which all instinctively recognise and
respect. There is not an instance on record of bis
| having been engaged in a personal rencontre, or
J j liis having suffered a personal indignity. Possess
ing the accomplishments, he avoided the tices, of
1 I the young Virginia gentry of the day, and a class
r d habits, which, if not vices themselves, were too
* often made the preludes to them, lie never
[ gambled. To avoid importunities to games which
! were generally accompanied with betting, he
never learn d to distinguish one card from another;
* be was moderate in the enjoyments of ihe table;
» to strong drinks ho had an aversion which rarely
J yielded to any circumstances; his mouth was un
* polluted by oaths or tobocco! Though he speaks
1 of enjoying “the victory of a favorite horse,” and
* the “death of the fox,” he never put but one horse
1 in training to run—never ran but a single race,
and he very rarely joined in the pleasant excite
-1 ment—he knew it to be too pleasant for the aspir
r ing student—of the chas<*. With such qualities
2 of mind and character, with the favor of power
’ ful friends and relatives, and even of vice-royalty
2 to urge him onward, Mr. Jefferson was not a young
■ man to be lightly regarded by tbe young or old of
either sex.
John Young, of the Westfield Argus , tells some
i awful stories. Here is his last attempt: “Some of
* our younger male readers may have heard of
•brandy that kills at eighty roas.’ An anecdote
1 told us the olher day disclosed the tact of a com
pound called whisky, considerably more certain in
its effects. Charley L , attending a dance one
evening, feeling in first-rate spirits, got his keg
' pretty full of the ‘ardent/ and finally retired to
J. the privacy of an aim-chair, where he sat comfort
able, ‘cornered/ and pretty much incapable of
| locomotion. Just then H came along, and
* seeing his state, addressed him with : ‘What’s the
matter, Charley? Laid out, eh?’ ‘Anefitire rais
| take; didu’t take more’n a thimble full/ bic
; coughed Charley, ‘wanted eighty rod whisky, and
the cussed fool gave me instanter /”
The Duel.— For several days past, a duel has
! been in contemplation between Mr. Reid, of the
Marion (Ala.) Commonwealth, and Mr. Posey, of
1 the American, of the same place. Mr. Posey left
this city on Wednesday morning, for West Point,
where he was to meet Mr. Reid lor further con
. ference upon the subject. This is the last account
i we have of the matter, and the duel may ere this
* have come off It is generally understood that
there will have to be a tight or a back out of one
of the parties. —Columbus Atm, 9th.
1
“Old fools are the worst of fools.” says an old
proverb, and an instance of this occured in Cincin
nati the other day. An old mau fell in love with
a girl sixteen years old, and proposed to marry
her, but she, believing that May and December
could never agree, refused him, He had been all
his life very abstemious; but to drown his disap
pointment, went ou a fearful debauch, and was
pot sober again. He died from delinum tremens
in the course of a week.
Sermon op a Quaker.—My friend, bridle thy
tongue, to enable thee to remain quiet; mind thine •
own business, and thee will not have much time .
to attend to that of others, und thee will have
many friends and few enemies.
New York, April 8. — fne steamer Vanderbilt i
is to sail Saturday morning for Liverpool with the i
European mails. 1
JLtyrd fa Ime rsti>n.
A corrosponae«^k|. : i»*iur information of thi*
family name sadMra#sions of Lord Palmerston,
ths late British Pttfeier-whether his title is a new
creation, and wt9jS{ l» not in the House «t Lords.
t m" 4 ™ I '/itJs 01 ' 1 * I’almerston is Henrv
John Temple. Tjartitly of I’almerston is Viscount
Palmerston, is IK, •Ithom-I, Palmerston himself
is ofa very aneidHf tnglisii family, the same ns
that of which tlnfflofce of Buckingham is a mem
ber in a female The Buckinghams retain the
name of par' of their compound sur
name, which S| • Temple-Nugent-Bridges-Chau
<*os7?rcn.vl e- fy common ancestor of these
families is a MrJHfilfiam Temple, who was secre
tary to Lord Bpfleigh in the time of Queen
Elizabeth, but $e Temples trace their descent
farther back to IhfEarl of Chester and Lady Godivu,
the heroine of the old iegend of peeping “Tom of
Coventry.” I
The first dignijjr of the immediate ancestors of
Lord Palmerston -was that of English baronetcy in
the last century^Mhetitle of Viscount Palmerston
was first conlerifed upon the grandfather ot the
present Lord. He i 3 the third Viscount Palmer
ston. We cannot answer the inquiry whether he
has any extensive ianiily connexions among the
British aristocracy. We rather think that his kin
dred are mostly with the gentry, so called, his
relationship to the Buckinghams being very dis
tant. He malTied the dowager Countess Cowper,
widow of a former Earl, and mother of the Karl
lately deceased, of a considerable family besides ;
but Lord Palmerston has no children. " Lady Pal
merston was the sister of the late Lord Melbourne,
the well known Whig and Reform Premier, who
died in 1848, and is a lady remarkable for brilliant
powers of mind and fine* address. We have not
the date of bis birth at hand, but we believe she
was born about 1784, and is, therefore, about sev
enty-four years of age.
Lord Palmerston sits in the House of Commons,
as member for the borough of Tiyerton. He is not
in the House of I<ords,because his title is Irish and
not English. All the members of the five English \
orders of nobility—-dukes, marquises, earls, vis- i
counts and barons —have a right by birth to sit in (
P.irliament as peers. The Irish or Scotch peers who
sit there have also English titles, secondary to the i
higher Irish title, by which they are commonly J
distinguished, or have been chosea by the nobility <
as representatives. Ireland has twenty-eight rep- 1
resentative peers and Scotland sixteen*. Some of <
the names we see most frequently mentioned in
the proceedings of the House of are of Irish j
and Scotch peers, by their Irish titles, but when ,
they are not representative peers this is only a title 1
of courtesy iq?the House. They have inferior Eng- i
lish titles, by vii ite of which tney are members of i
the House. The Earl of Aberdeen, in Scotland, for :
example, sits as an English peer by an English
title of Lord Gordon; the D ike of Argyle, as Lord
Lundridge; the Duke of Athol, as Lord strange :
the Marquis of Clanncarde, in Ireland, as Lora
Towerhili; the Marquis of Londonderry, is Lord
Vane in England. The new Lord Lieutenant of
Ireland is the Earl of Elington in Scotland. Ilis
English title is Lord Ardmssan. There are many
others, ordinarily addressed by Irish and Scotch
titles, who have nevertheless inferior English titles,
not often used, oy which they have a right to sit
in the House ot Latrds.
Lord Palmerston has no English title, and there
fore has no right to sit as a peer in the imperial
Parliament. *No English peer is a member of the
House of Commons. The names of many lords
arc in the list of members, as, for example, the
Earl of Surrey, the Earl of Mulgrave, Earl Gros
venor, Lord Stanley, Marquis of Biandford, and
others. But these are not peers—but the sons of
| pc*ers, who are addressed, ft courtesy, by the second
» title of the father. The Earl of Surrey is the eld
est son of the Duke of Norfolk ; and wi.uld be
, in law only as the Hon. Mr. Howard,
\ commonly af Surrey. The present
Earl of D*vby she House of Commons dur
fin# 4be &3tfo»rifktamEa? a* Lord Sl«*u*ey, iby
courtesy,) but when the then ministry wished to
; strengthen themselves in the House of Lords they
made him a peer by the new title of Lord Stanley
of Bickerstaffe, which merged in the elder title
when his father died; and his son is now in the
House of Commons as Lord Stanley (by courtesy )
aud not Lord Stanley of Bickerstaffe.
We hope we have succeeded in explaining to
the comprehension of our correspondent, what has
been frequently mad? the topic of inquiry by oth
ers, how it is that L°rd Palmerston, bring a Vis- I
count, is not in the House of L-irds; and how it
is that he, and Englishmen bearing titles of the
i higher orders of nobility, sit in Parliament as
i Commoners.
1 Whisky Root. —Some time ago, l wrote you
that there was such a thing in this country as a
l “ whisky root; ” you disbelieved. I now take
my revenge by sending you the specimen. It is
! what the Indians call “Hick-o-ke.” It grows in
• Southern Texas, on the rangee of the sand hills
[ bordering ou the Hio Grande, and in gravel,
• sandy soil. The Indians eat. it for its exhibiting
. effect on the system, producing precisely the
; same as alcoholic drinks. It is sliced, as you
i would a cucumber, and these small pieces chew
. ed, and in about the time as comfortable tight
. cock-tails would “stir the divinity” within you,
• this indicates itself; only its effects are what I
\ might term a little k-a-v-o-r-t-i-n-g, giving rather
, a wilder scope to imagination and actions. It
. can be sliced and dried, and in this way the
Indians preserve it, then parch aud serve it up
. as coflee or tea. ft is evidently of cactus species;
and it resembles that more than any other plant.
I have never seeu this particular root mentioned
in any work, and believe these—and specimens I
sent to*the editor of the /Southern Cultivator —to be
the only specimens sent from the State. I wish
you would have these analysed, and publish the
result.— Ttsu* Cor, New OrUans Picayune
“When thou art buying a horse or choosing a
wife,” says the Tuscan proverb, “shut thine eyes,
and commend thyself to God.” Is that what is
called trusting Providence V
Washington, April s.—General Sargent, of Cin
cinnati, had a formal interview with the President,
and tendered his regiment of volunteers for ser
vice in Utah, supported by a recommendation of
the legislature of that State.
It is understood that General Harney respect
fully protests against being placed second in com
mand under General Smith in the Utah expedi
tion, and desires a command in some other direc
tion.
From the representations of Gen. Robles, the
State Department has re-issued its former instruc
tions topreven t the organization or fitting out of
unlawful expeditions withiu the limits of the Uni-
States for the invasion of the northern States
ot Mexico. Both governments in Mexico have
written.to him on this subject, but he officially cor
responds only with the one recognised by our
Col. Benton's health has materially failed with
in the past few days. He speaks of his life as
drawing to a close—converses cheerfully with his
friends on public affairs, and says that the only
great measure in which the administration has
een successful, is the demonstration of the prac
ticability at all seasons of the year of a central
route to the Pacific.
The Senate has not yet notified the House of its
adverse action on the Montgomery substitute, but
notice of the fact is expected to-morrow. In the
event of the failure of the Kansas bill, under pre
sent circumstances, an effort will be made from
the Democratic side to couple Kansas with Min
nesota, making the admission of one dependent
on that of the other.
Providence, April B.—Returns of the election
held yesterday in this State have been received
from all but three towns. The vote for Governor,
accohling to these returns, stands as follows:
Elisha Dyer, American Republican, seven thou
sand five hundred and twenty-two; Elisha R.
Potter, Democrat, three thoifeand six hundred and
eighteen. The remainder of the Republican State
ticket is elected by about the same average ma- ■
jority. The members elected to the General As
sembly are all American Republicans except j
Punch says no woman was ever known to live t
as long as fifty years— forty being about & woman’s
ultimatum, and very few being spared to reach
that extreme point of female longevity. ]
A Sensible Divine,
The Rev. E. H. Citapin, of New York, in a ser- j
moa he recently delivered, gave it as his opinion
that—
“ The religious excitement was, in the whole,
against any actual good resulting therefrom, inas
much as conversions under such influences were
apt to be shortlived.
“He did not believe it possible that a sinner
could be changed to a saint by any sudden shock.
Religion was something to be acquired by daily
prayer; by holdingclose communion with God; by
acknowledging Him in all the forms of Nature, in
the hours of sorrow as well a9 the hours of joy;
by administering-to the necessities of the poor,
and by so letting our light shine before men, that
others seeing our good works, might glorify our
Father which is in Heaven. The truly religious
man lived his religion, practised it in his daily
walks, in the family circle, in the marts of busi
ness, and wherever he might be placed. There
was no excitement in such a man; his life flowed
gently as a river, and his end was peace.
“The eloquent speaker, however, would not be
understood as ridiculing the present religious
movement. It had his best wishes that good
might result from it. It would, at any rate, he said,
draw the attention of mauy to the subject, and to
the great fact that they possessed an immortal
soul. At the present day there were very few that
ever thought anything‘about the deathless spirit
within them, and if the movements now iu progress
were successful in nothing else than awakening
those in the paths of sin to a sense of their con
dition, it would not bare been in vain.
From the Washington .Star, April 8.
A Very Narrow Escape.
This forenoon, at about ten o’clock, Mr. Peter
.Besancon, Jr., of Louisiana, late u clerk in ihe
Pension office, called on the Secretary of the In
terior in the Department, and in answer to his in
quiries, was informed by that functionary, as the
reason why he was dropped last year, that he was
not reported among the most efficient clerks, wheD,
under the law, it became necessary to reduce the
clerical force o f the Pension bureau. Besancon
then told the Secretary that whoever reported him
to be inefficient, was a d d liar ; und the
Secretary told him he could have no further con
versation with him on the subject; as it was not
proper that lie should listen to such abuse of the
officers of his Department. Turning to leave him,
Besancon followed him, (the Secretary,) exclaim
ing, “ T demand to know who was your infor
mant ?” when Secretary Thompson again declined
to converse with him upon the subject. Besancon
then instantly struck him a violent blow behind
the ear, as he, (Secretary Thompson) was walking
away.
The Secretary, turning instantly, discovered Be
-ancon in the act of drawing a revolver, and seiz
ing him so as to pinion his arms to his side, threw
him to the floor with such force as to dislocate his
(Besancon’s) shoulder, and, we believe, break his
arm also; the Secretary falling heavily on him,
and preventing him from cockiDg his revolver by 1
seizing his hand and holding it. The bystanders
had time to interfere and wrench the weapon from
Besancon’s hand ; whereupon Secretary Thompson
released him, and lie was taken up and placed in
an adjoining room for safe keeping, by those who
had rushed to the scene of the occurrence.
Secretary Thompson has made out an order for
his admission to the Washington Infirmary for
surgical treatment.
It seems to us that the attempt on his life must
• have been the result of the derangement of Besan
-1 con, whose mind has for some time past been Some
s’ what unsettled, through bis domestic difficulties.
I Dr. Rhett, of South Carolina, who happened to
- be present, promptly set the dislocated shoulder.
»
. A Thrilling Incident. —The horse of Col. Cun
-1 ningham unexpectedly dashed oil’ with him }'es
* terddav in the midst* of a regimental manoeuvre
' near the close of the day’* birrs tea
► through the ranks of the Palmetto Guard, knock
ing down three of their number, one of whom was
sent hoffle in a carriage. The other two so far re
covered as to be able to march down with the
company. The Colonel finding, after traversing
nearly a circuit of the field, that from the want of
a martingale he could not control his horse,
leaped from him, when at full speed, to avoid go
ing down an embankment into the adjoining
marsh. The momentum necessarily hurled him
down with a severe shock, spraining his left ankle
and contusing his right hand. He, however, im
mediately mounted another horse, and concluded
his duties. After the regimental dismissal in
Broad street, on the return to the city, he was un
able to walk, and proceeded home ina carriage.
Evening News, April 7.
A Seat on thf. Floor.— [Lady reads legislative
proceedings. j “On motion of Mr. Smith, the ladies
were admitted to a seat on the floor of the House.”
[ ludignant lady lieurc-r. ] “ A seat on the floor,
indeed. The brutes ! I should think the State had
better buy chairs, instead of treating the legisla
ture to wine parties on Blackwell’s Island. I
wouldn’t sit on the floor to obiige the legislature
nor the Governor himself, I know.”
Fillibustebism. —It is stated that the President
has directed the issuing of instructions to the
i Federal otficers, to prevent the organization or tit
’ ing out of unlawful expeditions within the limits
| of the United Slates, for the invasion of Hienorth
[ ern States of Mexico. This measure is adopted on
’ the representation of the Mexican Minister, that he
, has cause to apprehend that parties in the Sonth
i west arc about engaging in such au expedition
, against the State of Sierra Madre.
; " ’ashington .Star, s th in ft.
Large Cargo. —The ship Argo, Capt. Ballard,
cleared at this port yesterday lor Liverpool, has on
t board, all under deck, three thousand eight hun
dred and twenty-eight square bales Upland cot
’ ton, and one hundred and ninety-nine round bales
Sea Island cotton, making a total of four thousand
and twenty-seven bales, weighing one million
. seven hundred and eighty-nine thousand six hun
dred and fifty-nine pounds, and valued at two
! hundred and eighteen thousand four hundred and
f thirty-five dollars. This is nine hundred and twen
ty-six bales, and three hundred and fifteen thou
sand two hundred and seventy-one pounds more
. thau she took from New Orleans ; and if the pro
. per allowance is made for the difference in the
weight and space occupied by round and square
bales, the actual gain is equal to two hundred and
fifty-three thousand one hundred and thirty-one
pounds.
This cargo was all taken on board at the Press
, Wharf, on a draft a little less than seventeen feet,
and is the largest number of bales ever taken by
any vessel from this city, without lightering.
Savannah Republican, Apru 10.
Death of C. L. Barbour, Esq. —We stated a
fetv days ago that Mr. Barbour was lyiug very low
with consumption, at his father in-law’s, in this
place. It is now our painful duty to make an an
nouncement of his demise, which occurred on
yesterday morning about eight o'clock. He has
been liugeriug unon the verge of tha grave for
many months, and his death has not been unex
pected.— Lagrange Reporter , April B th.
Death of Col. Jas. A. Russell. —lt is our pain
ful duty to chronicle the death of one of our promi
nent citizens, in the person of Col. James A. Rus
sell, who died at his residence, in this place, on
Monday last, from the elfects of a burn which he
received iu Atlanta,about the latter part of Septem
ber last. In the death of Col. Russell our com
munity has lost a noble-hearted, generous citizen.
He possessed literary attainments of the highest
order, and was one of the most polished gentlemen
in our community.
Lagrange (oa.) Reporter , April 8.
Rudolph says that once upon a time a colored
cook expected company, of her own kind, and
was at a loss how to entertain her friends. It was at
a time of the year when eggs and butter were
high, and the colored folks generally are at the ex
pense of “extras” for their own company. Her
mistress said—
“ Chloe, you must make an opology.”
“Good Lord! missus, how can I make it? I got
no eggs, no butter, nor nothing to make it with.”
Philadelphia, April 5.—J. K. Mitchell, Grand
Master of the Masons, died last evening.
VOL. 37-IN O. 16.
Apropos.
The following Parody on “Hohenlinden” is an
appropriate exhibition of the times, in many of the
beat regulated printing offices, in this writing :
In seasons when our funds are low,
Subscribers are proving slow,
And few supplies keep up the flow.
Os dimes departing rapidly.
But we shall see a sadder eight.
When duns come in from morn till night.
Commanding every six pen se bright
To be forked over rapidly.
Our bonds and due-bills are arrayed.
Each seal and signature displayed—
The holders they must all be paid.
With threat or law and chancery.
When to despair we’re almost driven.
There’s precious little fun in living.
When our last copper’s rudely riven
From hands that hold it lovingly.
But larger yet the duns shall grow.
When interest’s added on below.
Lengthening the chain afoot or so.
While gaz!ng>t them hopelessly.
’Tis so, that scarce have we begun
To plead for time upon a dun.
Before there was another one
Demanding pay ferociously^
The prospect darkens! on ye brave.
Who would our very bacon save,
Waive, patron?, all thy pretexts waive,
And pay the printer honestly. .
Oh ! It would yield us pleasure sweet
A few delinquents now to meet.
Asking of us a clear receipt
For papers taken regularly.
The Little Gray Cloak.
There's a little gray cloak that goes trotting about—
Heigh ho, the little gray cloak !
There’s a something beneath it,’ I have not a doubt—
Heigh ho, the little gray cloak!
In sunshine or rain, in pleasure or pain,
Wherever I go, or whatever I do,
Like a sprite of the air. ’tis now here and now there,
I see if before me, that little gray cloak.
Oh, I fear that my heart is not strong as my eyes !
Heigh ho, the little gr iy cloak!
That my heart Is betraving Its If by Its sighs—
Heigh ho, the little gray cloak!
For, all through the day. a vision of gray
Is over my heart, and is over my eyes ;
For my eyes I can’t swear—for my heart. I declare,
’Tis under the folds of that Little gray cloak !
I have faithfully sworn—to the oath I will own—
Heigh ho, the little gray cloak !
That the little gray cloak shan’t go trotting alone—
lieigh ho. the little gray cloak !
I’ll step by its side, and I’ll take for my guide
Whatever may be in its mysteries hid ; *
I shall fear not the storm—it will keep us both warm.
For broad are the folds of that little gray cloak!
The Wonders and the Trials or Sciexce.—
The Albany correspondent of the New York
Courier writes thus:
“ It is surprising what sacrifices men will make
in the pursuit of scientific work. I found the
rooms of the State Taxidermist, Mr. Hurst, one-of
the most interesting in the State Hall. Here,.in
the midst of the most deadly ot poisons, his labors
are continued. It is a work which admits of no
cessation when it is commenced. The preserva
tion of the specimen, to be well done, must be
immediate. It is a fight between decay and the
I mineral, most active for death—most powerful
1 against the grave. When Mr. Hurst took the
| great moose, which is the pride of the collection,
lie remained in his room for twenty-one days, nev
er leaving it for food or sleep, refreshing his
strength only by the brief interval of a parenthe
tical luncheon or nap. The forest monarch was
to be continued in all the form of life, and the
hand of science was to win that result By daring
the use of the power which is of such tenfold po
teuev when not under guard.
“ The Taxidermist’s art, as it is illustrated in
the skill of Mr. Hurst, has accomplished that
which the priests and cunning men of ancient
Egypt never wrought. He has proved that the
i very body of the dead may be kept in all the sem
blance of life—-no shriveling, blackened, fright
ful mummy, but the form, the rounded outline, the
fiosiiion iu which the soul-moved man was among
lis kind, are made enduring by this art. It is a
» triumph of science dearly bought by the artist.
; lie submits to a dreadful contest between the ’
. t acting mmfenem■ the
Possessing the appearance of health (the mask
these substances lend to their friends), it is often
with difficulty that he can proceed to his labor.
The duties of the State Taxidermist will not find
zealous competition. He takes his honor by a
conflict in which none will seek to be at his
side.”
Joint Letter from Malready and Thackeray.
The New’ York correspondent of thdfcßoston Tran
script writes:
** We had the pleasure of reading, the other
evening, a very characteristic letter—the joint pro
duction of Macreadjr and Thackeray—to L>r. Fran
cis, dated last month, at the rural home of the form
er. It appears the retired actor is building up an
institution in his neighborhood for the education
of the poor; and the novelist went down to lecture
in its behalf; at breakfast, they talked over broth
er Jonathan, and discovered they bad a mutual
friend in the medical Nestor of New York, and so
resolved to send him a common epistle—which,
however, is quite uncommon,, coming from two
such famous men, and written with such geniality.
Macready declares himself moored for life, unless
routed out of his pleasant domain by the French;
while Thackeray owns he relishes a friend’s so
ciety, and a cigar,more than quill-driving, but says
he must work still for his girl’s sake ; both seem
to cherish fond reminiscences of Yankee land, and
the latter means to pay it another visit ; and they
both recall the doctor’s cura ive and personal influ
ence with grateful affection.”
Senator Cameron.— Some of the newspapers
have assaulted Senator Cameron, of Pennsylvania,
most unjustly, for “pairing off*” upon the Lecomp
ton question with senator Davis, who was sick.
Mr. Cameron has thought it necessary to reply to
these attacks, and.he does so handsomely and to the
point. He says:
4 ‘ I certainly would have been censurable if it
were true that Co!. Davis could not have been
present to vote; but such is not the fact. He had
determined to come to the Senate, against the ad
vice of his physician and notwithstanding the fears
of his family. To prevent him from doing, so a
mutual friend came to me with an appeal. It was
a bad day. I had been on intimate terms with
him since I entered the Senate in 1845, and I could
not hesitate to do an act of grace to a friend, know
ing that the result could in no manner be affected
by the loss of a vote on each side, while myfefusal
might endanger his life; and believing, too, that
I had character enough, won in the contest thus
far, to do a good act without incuring the censure
of good men. While I have omitted no effort to
defeat this ‘Lecompton swindle,’ and while I shall
faithfully and zealously act with my party for the
common good of my country, I will not permit
myself to be one inch behind my opponents in
the courtesies and civilities which deprive politics
of their harshness, and invite men of kindly feel
ings into the seivice of the State, where such cour
tesies will produce no injury to the public.”
The hypercritical may continue to find fault with
Senator Cameron, but he certainly has the best of
the argument. It was known positively, before
the vote was taken, that there was a majority in
the Senate for the bill, and no single vote could
affect the result. —National Intelligencer, April 8*
A Cold Blooded Murder.— On Wednesday even
ing last, between sunset and dark, a gentleman by
the name of Samuel Landrum, from Benton coun
ty, Alabama, was attacked by a party or parties as
yet unknown, on the McDonough road, about ’hree
miles from Atlanta, and beaten on the head with a
slungshot to such an extent, that it is believed he
cannot survive. The deadly instrument with which
this atrocious act was committed was found near
by. It consists of a ball of lead attached to a
leather string run through a hook. Mr. Landrum
has been attended by Dr. W. F. Westmoreland,
and all that surgical aid can effect to bring about
his recovery bas been and will be done; we sin
cerely hope it may prove successful. Suspicions
attach to certain parties who were mysteriously
prowling "about Atlanta and suburbs during the
past week, and we hope that if they were tii*; as
sassins they may be speedily brought to justice.
Atlanta Intelligencer, April 11.
Quite a number of women, most of them old
maids, have issued a call for a convention, stating
their object to be “to gain a true knowledge of
the nature and attributes of men.” We respect
fully suggest to them that they are not going the
right way to work. Why didn’t they get mar
ried f