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lion. Admi’ting that it has succeeded there
which I will do for the s .kc ofthe argument-
do you kew die re*M»n of it ? 1 he true and
oilve rises of whatever success has attended
it m Antigua arj, that tha population was bo-
tore crow 1 -d, and all or nearly nil the arable
land in ealtiva io i- The era tocipatwl negroes
coal I no», many of thorn, get away if they de-
s : red ; and know not where to go, in case they
did. Tuoy ha.1 urac ically no altornutive but
to rem iin o.-i the spot; and r*m lining, they
nust work on the terms of proprietors, or per
ish—’he strong arm of toe uiot-ier country for
bidding “11 hope ot seizing the laud for them
selves. The proprietor*, well knowing that
they could thus command labor for the merest
necessities of life, winch w is imica cheaper
tha t ma'nlaining the effective _ as well ns
non effective slaves in a stylo which decency
and interest, if not humanity require I, wil
lingly accepted half their value, an I at once
realized far more than the inter st on the oth
er half i i tho diminution of their expo ses,
and the reduced comforts of \hnfrftmtn. One
of your most illustrious Judges, who was also
a profound and philosophical Ili-toria-i, hag
8 lid “ that. Villen ige was not ahnl shed, but
wont into decay in England.” '1 ds was the
process whenever (the name of) Villen *g>s or
Slavery has been successfully abandoned.—
Slavery in fact “went into decay” in Aui'gun.
1 have admitted that under similar circumstan
ces it might profitably cease here —that is, prob-
Moly to tho individual proprietors. Give me
half the value of my slaves, and compel them
to remain and labor on my plantation at 10 to
1) cents a day, as they do in Antigua, support
ing themselves and families,and you shall have
them to morrow, and if you like dub them
‘‘free.” Not to stick'e, l would surrender
them without price. No—1 recall my words:
Mv humanity revolts at the idea. 1 am at
tached to my slaves, and would not have art or
part in reducing them to such a condition. I
deny, however, that Antigua, as a community,
is or ever will be as prosperous under present
circunwinces, ns she was before abolition,
though fully ripe for it. The fact is well
known. The reason is llmt the African, if
not a distinct, is an inferior race, and never
will effect. as it never has effected, as much in
unv other condition ns in that of Slavery.
1 know of n i Slaecholltr who has visited
the West Indies since Slavery was ubolished,
and published his views of it. All our facts
and opinions come through the friends of the
experiment, or at least those not oppos d to it.
Taking these, even without allowance to be
true ns stated, I do not see where the abolition
ists fi-'d cause for exultation. The tables of
exports, which are the bast evidence of the con*
dilion of a people, exhibit a woful filling off—
cxcused.it is true, by unprecedented droughts
and hurricanes, to which their free labor seems
unaccountably more subject than slave labor
used to be. I will not go i 4o detail. It is
well known thnt a largo proportion of British
Legislation and expenditure, and that propor
tion still constantly increasing, is most anxious
ly devoted to repairing the monstrous error of
emancipation. You are actually galvnnizmg
your expiring Colonies. The truth, deduced
from all the facts, was thus pithily stated by
f e London Quarterly Review, as long ago ns
1840. “ None of the benefits anticipated by
m at-iken good intentions have been realized,
whi'e every evil wished for by knives and
foreseen by tho wise lias been painfully veri
fied. Tim wild rashnesu of fanaticism has
made the emancipation of slaves equivalent to
the loss of one-half of the West Indies, and
yet n»t back the chance of negro civilization.”
(Art. Lord Dudley's Letters.) Such are
tne real fruits of your never to-be-too-much
glorified abolition, and the valuable dividend
of your twenty millions of pounds sterling in
vested therein.
If any farther proof was wanted of the ut
ter and well known though not yet openly
avowed failure of West Indian emancipation,
it would be furnished by the startling fact, that
ThK AFRlCVN SlAJTK TrAUE HAS BEEN AC- ,
TUALLY REVIVED UNDER THE AUSrlCEr AND j
PROTECTION* OF THE BRITISH GoVCkNATEVT.
Under the specious guise of “Immigration”
they are replenishing those Islands with Slaves
from the Coast of Africa, Your colony of
Sierra Leone, founded on that coast to prevent
the Slave Trade, and peopled by the bye in the
first instance by negroes stolen from those
States during the Revolutionary War, is the
depot where captives taken from Slavers by
your armed vessels are transported. I m'ght
say returned, since nearly half t ie Africans
carried across the Atlantic are understood to
bn embarked in this vicinity. The wretched
survivors, who are there set at liberty, are im
mediately seduced to “immigrate" to the West
Indies, where on arrival the ••immigration" are
sold into Slavery for twenty one years, tinier
conditions ridiculously t>ivial and wickedly
void, since few or none will ever be able to
derive any advantage from them.. The whole
prime of life thus passed in bondage, it is con
templated, and doubtless it will be carried in
to effect, to turn them oiit in their old age to
shift for themselves, and to supp ( y tfi**tr places
with fresh and vigorous “immigrants.” Was
ever a system of SinVery so b ubarous devised
before? Cun you think of comparing it
with ours ? Even your own Religious _ Mis
sionaries of Sierra Leone denounce it as
worse than the Slave stale in Africa. And
your Black Dc-legates, fearful of the influence
of these Missionaries, as well as on account of
the inadequate supply of Captives, are nowpre
paring to procure the able bodied and compar
atively industrious Krooraen of the interior, by
purchasing from their Headmen the privilege
iem to tho West Ind
So ends the magnificent farce perhap
should s .y tragedy, of West India Abolition :
I will not harrow your feelings by asking you
to review ibe labors o' ymir hfe and tell me
what V«u and your brother Ent nismsts blue
accomplished for ’ i jured Africa,” but while
agreeing with Lord Stowed, tli it “Vtllenage
decayed,” and admitting that Slavery might do
so also, 1 think I am fully jus'ified by p<ssci
a> d p iss'ng events in s lying, as Mr. Grosoe-
nor said of ilia Slave Trade, that its abuH'io i
is “ impossible.”
[TO r.K CONTINUED.
The following is the laconic letter written by
tlic Duke of Wellington to Marshall Boresford,
giving an account of the Waterloo affair soon
after it took place;
••You will have heard of our battle of the
eighteenth. Never did I see such a pounding
mutch. Both were what the boxers call “glut
tons.” Napoleon did not manoeuvre at all. He
justmoveJ forward in the old style, in columns,
and was driven off in the old stylo. The only
difference was that he mixed cavalry with his
infantry, and supported both with au enormous
qnnntity ofattillsry,
“I h..J the infantry for sometime in squares,
and we had the French cavalry walking about
as If they had been our own. I never saw the
British fnfaatry behave so well.”
ADDRESS
ON THE LIFE. CHARACTER AND SERVICES
of Andrew Jackson,
BY MATTHEW HALL m'aLLISTKR,
Delivered in 8avannali on ihe 9th inst.
(Pabli*h*‘l by reqhtU *f the committee.)
There i* a strong desire i nherent in our noreve to link the
put with the preieut. and thus perpetuate the relics of time.
This feeling, which impels, us to rescue from oblivion the
events and personages of bye-gone days, has inanilested it
self in ways as various as the genius of man. “Il was a
eus’orn, * we ere told, "a none the primitive Romans, to
preserve in their booses the images of all the illustrious
men whom their families had produced.” In the infancy
of art, these were of the rudest materials and form. ^ Dut at
each successive funeral they were borne in procession and
served, rude aa they were, to gratify this teeline, and to in
cite the survivors to emulate the deeds o! the departed
great. When the pencil and the chisel had imparted life
to the canvass, and form to the marble. Art was made sub
servient to the craving of man to redeem the memouw or
the past. -The .storied uin, tbe*immated bust tlie Jolty
column, the magnificent mausoleum, became the mute^ inter
preters of the dead. At a later period that punvinstru
ment, the pen, more potent than the engines of Arch.inedes.
traced the events of tieeiinglitne, fixed them on the glowing
page, and man's desire was gratified to an extent beyond
what had been achieved bv the canvass, tht tnarble or any
mere physical syn bo 1 , ffow much stronger is this feeling,
when stimulated by the impulses of gratitude ? It is in
obedience to this universal dictate of our nature, strength
ened by the most powerful motive which can operate upon
generous hearts thnt -r r are this! day assembled. Another
link which bound ut to the past, is broken. The last great
relic of the Revolution is no more. . The sace ol the Her
mitage—the venerated Chief Mogratitfte—tne victorious
General—the boy-hero of the Revolution, dwells no longer
among men. Outs is the pleasing though melancholy task,
to brighten the chain whicn memory forges, to connect him
with the Present and the Future.^ Andrew Jackson,, a
name pronouncec by the wild Indian in his forest home
with fear, thrjughoutthe holders of our country with affec
tion, and which has beeu borne across the ocean on the wings
of victory, is no longer to -be vend in the register of living
men. We have come up from the ordinary avocations of
life to this sacred temple, to review bis services, embalm
his memory, and contemplate bis character. And if from
that contemplation we can catch somewhat of the spirit
which once animated him, we shall retire from this conse
crated building better prepared for the discharge of our
duties as.citizens. The ceremonies of this day will not be
deemed an empty pageant, but the performance of a high
and lQcrcd duty, by the discharge of which, our love of
country will become purified, elevated and increased !
The first mention of the name rf Andrew Jackson leads
us to one of the most eventful periods in the war of the Rev
olution Carry yourselves back in imagination to the year
1778. “Baffled in their attempts upon the northern portion
of the colonies, the British essayed to conquer the more
sparsely populated South.” In prosecution of then: plan.
Savannah was taken. South Carolina invaded, and Cha’Ies-
too, with the whole Southern army, fell into the hands ol
the enemy. Cornwallis, Ilawdon and Tarlton roamed the
Carolina*. and the subjugation ofthe South teemed «tt hand.
Then arose a ban! of patriots to shed glo-y on the arms of
their country, and fan the expiring flame or liberty in the
hearts of their countrymen.. The Marions,the Sumters the
Pickens, the Davidsons, and a host of other;!, who continued
to breast the storm, and strike for liberty against the exult
ing foe. Men. whose habitual companions were danger and
want, whose dwelling places were the morasses of the land,
and whose hardy deeds can never be forgotten while grati
tude animates the American heart. Such was the time,
such the men, beneath whose influence the infant tnind and
character of Andrew Jackson received their first impres
sion. They constituted a mould in tchich to form a
Hero / At the period to which your attention is directed,
there Jived in the State of South Carolina a comparatively
obscure widow witn hev three sons, Robert, Hugh and
Andrew Jackson. In the bosom of that lone widow there
beat a heart worthy of a Spartan mother. Ancient story in
forms us of a Matron of Sparta, who. when her son about to
depart for battle, complained • that his sword was too short.”
replied “Lengthen it by a step, my son. ' Such was the
mother of Andrew Jacksoc. With iter husband and two
eldest sons, she had emigre ted from Ireland to escape Bri
tish oppression. Alas! it reached her and hers in the far
off* forest home they had sought. The indomitable yet gen
tle spirit of this extraordinary woman which found^ objects
of benevolence even in that Pandemonium—a British pris
on ship in the harbor of Charleston, must have exercised no
inconsiderable influence upon the characters of her sons.—
These last, youthful as they were, she gave to her country.
The first battle field of Andrew Jackson was one of the
Revolution, fought on the 6th August, 1780. Not fourteen
years of ag»2 under Davie, attached to the command of Sum
ter, he made his first essay ax arms, in an attack on the
British post of Hanging Rock, near the banks ofthe Cataw
ba, in South Carolina. We oext hear of the youthful sol-
dier in an rflai* which took place at the house of a Whig
partisan by the name of Land. Not opprebending an attack
the inmates of the dwelling had lain upon their arms during
the night, and with the exception of a British deserter, fell
asleep. A detachment of Tories had octermined to sur
prise the small party of Americans in the house of Capt.
Land. In the execution of their plan, they assailed it in
two divisions, one advancing around the east end of the out
buildings to the east door, the other arourd the western end
to the west door. At this critical moment when within a
few rods, their approach was discovered by the wakeful
soldier, who aroused the youthful Jackson with the excla
mation “The Tories are upon us!” The voting hero rush
ed through the east door, placed himrelf by a tree in front
of it, hailed the adv*ncing party, and receiving no reply, fi
red. A volley was returned, which killed the soldier who
F had followed, and was standing near him. At this instant,
j the other division of Tories appeared, and mistakirg in the
I darkness of the night the discharge of their friends Tor that
of a sallying party from the house, opened a brisk fire upon
them. Thus, both parties were brought to a stand Young
Jackson having retired into the mansion, aided its inmates
in repellingthe assailants, two of whom were shot down by
bis side. The Tories continued thfe conflict until startled
by the sound of a cavalry charge in the distance, they fled to
the voods. Thus, by the coolness and intrepidity of the
young soldier, the whole party wefe saved from massacre,
for quarter was seldom given in the bloody conflicts be
tween Whig and Tory. On this occasion qualities were
exhibited which shadowed forth the hero of inaturer life.—
“Piompiiiudc of design and fearlessness in execution, *
were developed and these “constitute the perfection of the
warrior.” A short time after this exploit, our young hero
and bis brother, were thrown by the chances of war, torn
the hands of the enemy. During their captivity, an inci
dent occurred which exhibit* the high spirit of these gallant
youth*. A British officer exacted from Andrew Jackson
the performance of a mental task; he refused,claiming to
be treated as a prisoner of war. Instead of admiring the
manly .pirit ofthe noble boy. the ruffian .truck athia head
with bis sword. The intended riclim raising his arm. aav«d
his life, but received a wound, the »car of which lie carried
to hi-grave. Turning to his brother, this disgrace to the
name of soldier. demanded orhim the performance of the me
nial office; meeting with a like refusal. 1 > e a ' [ "« d *
blow at him. the eflects of which proved fatal. Who can
sufficiently admire these lads, surrounded by armed foea.
exhibiting a spirit worthy of the sternest manhood 7 At
length, by the indefatigable effort, of their mother, an ex-
change of prisoner, was effeted. and the liberation of her
two Jons accomplished. Alas! one of them .he welcomed
only to witness bis death Iro.n the wound he had received
—liie other worn down by the sufferings or his confinement
ae 'ravated by disease, s.emcd reserved by the special in
ternosiiion of Providence lor the fulfilment of his future
destiny. Before the close of the war. that exemplary wo-
'man died a victim to the sufferings from which her sex did
not exempt her in these trying times. Her two eldest son*
fell, one on the fi.-ld of battle, the other by the blow cf an
assassin, wearing ihe uniform of a British officer, and An
drew Jackson alone survived the horrors ofthe Revolution
Think you there was required of him the oath imposed on
the youthful Hsnnibal of undying hostility to the modem
Rome 7 Ho! In the bosom ol that boy there was a spark
which future events fanned into a flame, by the light of
which Britain read in legible characters the nsme of An
drew Jackson!—a name endeared to Americans by the suf
ferings of the boy of the Revolution, consecrated in their af
fections hy the triumphs of the man of inaturer life. The
Revolution was at an end. The Eagle of America plumed
liis wing for a lofty flight! The sable banners of war wore
furled, and Peace spread her golden wings over our exhaus
ted but redeemed country. The boy has grown into inan
hood, but in the avocations to which his attention was di
rected, we ahsll find the seed, planted in his breast by tlie
iron hand of Uie Revolution, matured into fruit by liis own
indomitable will and lofty courage.- In 1787.having been
admitted to the practice of tlie law in the Stale of North
of inVHtrrhinir them to the West India market ! Carolina, he was. at the early age of twenty-one, appointed
OI UlVtlglling l S _r.«rli-iii« I Solicitor of the Western District, embracing within its lira
f- • l, “ moimifirent larce I I- its.the present State of Tennessee. In the following year.
lie moved to the west, and established his residence at
Jonesboro, separated by a wilderness of two hundred miles
from tue setlicmeats on the Cumberland The selection of
such a home, bespeak, the adventurous spirit of the man.—
Surrounded by the birdshipsnf a forest life, by savages
more ferocious than the beasts that roatr.ed around, danger
became bis household companion. The stirring incidents
of bis tile which intervened between his settlement in Ten
nessee, and her admission into tlie Uuior), are too minute
and numerous to find a place io this hasty sketch. They
border on the ruumnlic, and aerve to illustrate the aphorism,
that "truth is oil times stranger than fiction.” Although en
gaged in the practice of liis profession, and at the same time
the prosecuting officer fot the Government, he was not the
man to ace his neighbors butchered without discriminati.n
of age or sex, and not strike many blow, in their defence.
Hi, gnllantry in various expeditions again.: the Indians, in
which he acted as a volunteer, acquired for him among that
people the namesVf the “Sharp Knife” and the “ Pointed
Arrow.”
From tlie year 1795 is to be dated the entry of Andrew
Jackson into public life, for in that year he became a mem
ber ofthe Convention charged with the duty of preparing a
Constitution for the new State of Tennessee. On tue 1st of
June. 1796, she wss admitted into tho Union, and he became
her first representative in the national councils. • On the
V2d of November. 1797, he took his seat in the Senate of
the U. Staten, to which body he had been elected, and ar
rayed himself in the ranks of the Republican party. The
8-dition Act was introduced into tlie Senate by Air. Lloyd
of Maryland, in June, 1798, and passed into a law on the Jib
of July following, during which interval .Gen. Jacks on was
absent at home on urgent business. His name therefore
does not appear on the Journals of tne Senate. “On the
Alien law, however, he was with the minority and on the
side of tlie Republicans.” ,Re toon resigned his seat, find
ing little could be effected against the measures ofthe Fed
eralists, constituting as diey did at the time, a majority in
that body. But his service* were too important to be lost,
and be was appointed to preside over the Supreme Court of
Law and Equity in the State of Tennessee. An allusion
t i one or two incidents which marked the rough timea in
which he was called to the administration of the public jus
lire, may not be inappropriate. They w.ll give the ‘ form
and pressure" of those rime*, and serve to illustra e the
Identity ofthe man of thirty with the ooy of the Revolution.
An individual had been indicted, and was for trial He
was in the immediate vicinity ofthe Court nouse, but such
was the strength and ferocity ofthe man. that the ther.fi
not daring to approach bHn* made u return i >at
Bean wil! not betaken.” “He must be taken, said tlie
Judge, "and if necessary you must summon the body or the
county to your aid.” The officer rented MWdt ad-
journment of the Court, and summonsed the J udges -hem-
.elves. Judge Jackson replied “y es sir, I will a tend yon.
rnd see that you do your duty.’ Learning 1 la . . ° J? 3
armed, he requested a loaded phuol which was placed in
his hand. He then said to the Sheriff, - advance and arrest
him. I will protect you from harm. U-an. arint 1 with a
dirk and brace of pistols assumed an attitude ot defiance
and desperation. But astl.e Judge advanced upon In be
began to retreat. “Slop and obey the law, cried the in
trepid magistrate. The desperate man paused threw
down his weapons and exclaimed,“I will surrender to you,
sir, but to no one else!”
On another occasion, in consequence of his liavin expo
sed to the iieneral Government extensive land frauds per
petrated in Tennessee, Judge Jackson had concentrated
upon himself the hostility -d'a powerful and lnnaeniiu body
of men implicated in those frauds. To such height had
their enmity risen, that an attempt was made to mob bun on
his way to hold a court. Intelligence of the meditated as
sault had the effect simply of speeding his movements to
the scene of contemplated outrage. On his arrival, labo -
in*- under severe indisposition; be sought tlie retirement o
his chamber. A friend called, and informing himi thalI a
regiment of men. headed by a Col. Harrison, had collected
in front ofthe house wiili . view to carry thetr threat into
execution, advised him to secure h.s door. Judge Jackson
immediately threw it open and exclaimed. 'Gt'e my co
pliments to Colonel Harrison, and tell lnm that my door .a
open to receive him and his regiment when they choose to
wait upon me. and I hope that the chivalry of the Colonel
will iuuure him to lead, not follow liis men. It
less to add. t‘ tit the fury of the tnob quailed before the in
trepidity of the man. ... . . „ f yt.
In 1803, Judge Jackson received the commission ot 'tu
tor General in the Militia of Tennessee. In the following
year, he resigned his judicial office, and devoted himself to
agricultural pursuits, in the expectation ol passing the te-
maiuder of his days in the seclusion of private life. But
“There’s a Divinity that shapes our ends,
' Rough-hew them how we will."
At the period when Gen. Jackson supposed his public
life was at its close, iu tusst slit ring iuc.deuta remained to
be developed. , ...
We now approach thp war of 1812. On the 12th of Jane
of that year, the Declaration of war was made by the U.
Slates against Great Britain. The boy-hero ofthe Revolu
tion, the destined avenger of the wrongs of Ins ancestors in
Ireland, ofthe injuricsof his family in this country, aroused
himself from his repose to respond to that country s call.—
On the 25th of Juue, thirteen days after that Declaration,
he rendered through the Executive of Tennessee to the
General Government, his services with those ot 2500 volun
teers. On the 12th of July following, the Secietary of
War, in a letter of acceptance write*—“The lender ol ser
vice by Gen. Jsckson and those under his command, ia re
ceived by the President with peculiar satisfaction, and in
accepting their services, the President cannot withhold an
expression of his admiration ofthe Zealand ardor by which
they are animated.” The Governor of Tennessee while
conveying to Gen. Jackson the acceptance of his services
by the President, tenders his thanks to him for tho honor
done liis State by the prompt manner in which those servi
ces had been proffered. On the twenty-third of November
in the same year, orders were received to rendezvous in
the vicinity of Nitches, to co-operate, as it was supposed,
wi.b Gen Wi-kinson. then at New Orleans. On the 4th
of January. 1813, General Jacksun write* to the Secretary
of War, ‘I have the pleasuie to inform you that I ain now
at the head of 1070 volunteers the choicest of our citizens,
who go at the call ol their country to execute the will ofthe
Government, who have no constitutional scruples, and i r
the Government order, will rejoice at the opportunity of
placing the American Eagle on the ramporis of Mobile,
Pensacola and St. Augustine, thus effectually banishing
from the Southern coast all British influence.” In obedi
ence to orders the army commenced its march, and after
accomplishing a voyage of one thousand miles, exposed to
unusual hardships, owing to the inclemency of the season,
arrived at the place of appointed rendezvous. The spirit
of li e General l>realhrs iu his official communicati ns —
To Gen. \Vilkinson he writes. “Should the safety of this
lower country admit, and the Government soorder, 1 would
with pleasure march to the lines of Canada, and there offer
my feeble aid to the arms of our country, and endeavor to
wipe off the stain on our military character occasioned by
our recent disasters since tlie declaration of war."
Such was the noble spirit by which the commander and
his men were animated, when an order was received from
the Secretary of War, directing the former to disband the
latter, and deliver all articles of public property into the
possersion of Major General Wilkinson. \Ve pause not
to inquire into the causes of tbit extraordinary procedure,
nor to ascertain the truth of the assertion current at the
time, that it arose out of a combination between the Sec. of
War and Gen. Wilkinson, haviug for its object, the disban
ding of a large body o * men at a distance from their homes,
under circumstances of necessity, which would compel
them to enlist into the army at New Orleans. It is with
the conductor th* commanding General we have exclu
sively in deal; and it is not t> be denied, tliat lie was placed
ia circumstances whicli would have crushed any man of
ordinary nerve. The Government expected compliance
with its order. General Wilkinson awaited it—his own '
officers advised it. But what did Gen. Jackson? A man
of few words, he spoke by action, for
"Conduct bath the loudest tongue,
in the Deed,
up within tlie iron of his bosom, but to carry him on y
fiercer determination,” ami greater speed to the end desired.
Up to tlie period of which we are speaking. General Jack-
son had served in tlie militia of iiis State. Having literally
fought himself into the confidence ofthe administration and
the country, in May, lei.'), lie was appointed a Major Gene
ral in the service of tno United Stoles, and cliargea with
the protection ofthe coast near ihe inouthot the Mississippi.
His attention was first directed to Pensacola, in the then
Spanirh Territory. From that fortress lie was convinced
the Indians received constant supplies of ammunition and
arms, and over its Governor. British influence exercised en
tire control. The standards of Spain nnu England floated
side by side from its ramparts. From that Post, Col Nicb
uls, a British officer, had dated his imflammatory proc.ama
lion to the people ot Louisiana and Kentucky, from it, a
hostile expedition had been fitted out against vm"t Boweron
the Mobile, and Genera! Jackson was certain if he lelt 1 en-
smo!a under British aeceodancy, incursions would be mads
against the settlements n the Mobile and ultimately al. in
tercourse between New Orleans and the interior be cut off.
Spain, a neutral power, either gave aid to our enemy, and
should herself be treated as one, or she was too weak to
prevent the use of her territory b” our enemy, in winch
event she could not jusllv coiuplnin il tlie injured nation
claimed to hold that territory until she possessed the power
to enforce its neutrality. Under tlie pressure ol these con-
siderations. and the eminent peril of the time, in the absence
of instructions from bis government, Gen. Jackson “took the
responsibilitV upon himself,” entered the Spanish territory,
and by a visit to Pensacola, effectually arrested all hostile
operations from that quarter. Having performed this ser
vice to liis country, the indomitable soldier directed Ins steps
to a new theatre of glory, and arrived on the first of Decem
ber, 1814, at New Ot leans, with a determination to defend
theiconntry successfully, orinhisowii language to Goy Clni-
borne,“7o die in the last ditch!" The period of which we
speak was most eventful. The mighty struggle t int had
convulsed Europe was at the end. The Clidd of Desnny.
tl.e Terror of Leg limists had become the Exile of Elba,
and tlie untrammelled energies the great resources of Bn
tain could now he concentrated lor the annihilation of our
country Timid men feared, bold men wavered, and all
felt lhat'o crisis was at hand. The metropolis ofthe United
States had been a short time before, sacked under circum
stances whicli would have dune hunor to an Alaric or an
Atti!a. The horrors ol Hampton and Havre de Grace had
exhibited the ruthless spirit by which tlie enemy was ani
mated. On New Orleans the British Government deter
mined the first great blow should fall. Alison in his “Histo
ry of Europe” observes—“This rising town, which then
numbered 17000 inhabitants, was not a place of warlike pre
parations; but it was the great emporium of the cotton trade
or the Southern States, and tt was supposed not without
reasot.. that the capture of a city which commanded the
whole navigation of the Mississippi would prove the most
sensible blow to the resource* of the American Govern
ment, as well as furnish a rich booty to the captors.” To
inflict that blow, and secure that booty, n powerful armament
was titled out nnder die command ol the most accomplished
leaders of Britain. With 14.000 men. the veterans of Wei-
lington, the invincibles of the Peninsula—with every engino
of destruction the art of n\ dent warfare could invent il ho
vered mi the coast, piepared to launch its thunders upon the
devoted city! But Andrew Jackson was the man whom the
Supreme Disposer of events had interposed between his
country and impending peril!
“Such men are raised to station and command,
When Providence means mercy to a land.
He speaks, and they appear; to him they owe
Skill to direct, and strength to strike the blow;
To manage with address, to seize with power
The crisis of a dark decisive hour.”
Tt was not from the formidable force and vindictive spirit
of tlie invaders that General Jackson bad most tonpprebend.
There were circumstances which imparted penis the most
imminent to the ditiiculties of his position. The city, whose
defence was comniired to his charge, contained a mixed
population of French, Spaniards, and discontented Creoles.
Having been recently annexed to the United Slates, her peo
ple had not become nationalized. The wealthy looked to
their property, and thought to save it by capitulation—the
masses were little attached to the new institutions, and most
believed, that the soldier who had withstood the rifles ofthe
Indians would fall before the thunders of British Ordnance!
The foop* of the i ivader came fresh from the Peninsula
war. flushed with victory, and the question would rise un
bidden eren tn the patriot's lips. ‘tCan militia with the In
dian warrior at their head, stand before the well appointed
veterans of England under the head of her most accomplish
ed commanders?” So rife was the spirit*'f disaffection, that
Governor Claiborne wrote to General Jackson “Enemies of
the country may blame you' prompt and energetic measures
but in tlie persou of every patriot you will find a supporter.
I think with you. our country is failed with ••traitors an.d
spier." In despite of all precautions, the General found
The unequivocal, suthentic deed.
We find sound argument, we read the heart.”
He promptly determined to disobey the order. At the
time it reached his camp. 150 of bis men were on the sick
list, and by fartfce greater number unable to defray the ex
penses ol their return. His command was composed of
young men whom he had received at the hands of their pa
rents, with the promise reiterated in public orders before
his march, "that he would act the part of a father to tbetii.”
Ho was not the man to falsity his word, and disband them a
thousand miles from their homes without the means of re
turn. He disobeyed the order, threatened with punishment
a recruiting officer found hanging around bis encampment
—borrowed money on hia private credit—marched hia men
to their homes, and there disbanded them. The noble da
ring of this act was sustained by iu justice, aud within a
few mouths received the approval of the Secretary of War
himself. One more evidence ot his determined spirit, and
we have done with tuis portion of hia life. G= his return
march, though keenly alive to the ungenerous treaunent of
the Govei nmeut. such was his ardor to serve his country,
he wrote to the Secretary of War. “Should Government
have any orderato execute at Malden, or iu vicinity, about
the 30ih prox., J shall be happy to execute them, at the
head of my detachment, provided I can be informed of
tbeir wishes about the 25in lust., or before I am discharged.
My force can be augmented if necessary. I have a few
sundards wearing tho American eagle, that I should be
hap] y to place ou the ramparu of Malden.”
A few months only elapsed after the disbanding of the vol
unteers by Gen. Jackson, when there burst upon the fron
tiers ofthe Southern States the darkest war-cloud that had
ever gathered upon their horizon. The machination of Te
cumseh and his brother, the Prophet, aided by British in
trigue, had spread general dissatisfaction among the Indians.
Hostile incursions were made into the neighboring States,
and indiscriminate slaughter marked their bloody path.—
Then came the frightful massacre at Fort Mims, in which
30 J men, women and children were butcher? d. under cir
cumstances of revolting ferocity, and excited the horror, the
fears, and finally the vengeance of -the States. Upon Gen.
Jackson the eyes of Tennessee were turned. Again that
brave warrior appealud to his voluuteers. and again they
re. ponded to his call. Laboring under Indisposition, he was
unable to meet his anny on the day appointed rendezvous,
and therefore caused an address to be read to them. The
sentiments it breathes gives it a claim to our attention.—
“Our borders,” said be. "must no longer be disturbed with
the war-wboop of these savages or the cries of their suffer
ing victims. The torch that has been lighted up must bo
made to blaze in the heart of their own country. But how
shall a war aolong forehnrne, and so loudly called for by re
tributive justice be waged? Shall we imitate the example
cf our enemies in the disorder of tbeir movements and tlie
savageness of their disposition? Ia it worthy nf the cnarac
ter of American soldiers who take up arms to redress the
wrongs ol an injured country, to assume uu better mode than
that turnisiied by barbarians? No! lellow-snldiers, great as
are the grievances which have called us from our homes,
we must not permit disorderly passions to tarnish the repu
tation we will carry with us. We must and will be victori
ous.but we mustconquerosmen who owe nothing to chance;
and who in the midst of victory can still be mindful of what
is due to humanity.”
Animated by such feelings, the General advanced with his
command into the fastnesses of the Creek country. With
out supplies, with an arnij goaded tn insubordination by’
want, lie fought the battle of Talladega, Kumnckfaw. Ki.n-
tichopco, and the bloody and decisive conflict of the Horse
Shoe. By personal intervention, lie suppressed four seve
ral mutinies to which his men had been driven by famine,
annihilated the power of the savages, and in a few months
conquered peace for bis country and safety for her frontiers.
And all this was done while laboring under physical debili
ty which at limes incapacitated liim fr< m sitting upright up
on his horse. Tnerc is one within the sound of my voice,
who served under Gen. Jacksonduriugtlielatter part of this
expedition. He has, when speaking of its events, stated
that such was the weakness ofthe General, that his body was
so bent at times, his bead rested on the neck nf liis horse for
support. "But,” said my informer, "let the whoop of an
Indian or the crack of a rifle be heard, his frame became.so
erect, aLd his eye so full of fire, that one ignorant of the fact,
could not have believed that an instant before, tlie former
had been prostrated by debility, and the latter dimmed by
disease.”
In allusion to this campaign, an English writer, prelimi
nary to a narration of it declares, "I must now desire the
English reader to prepare himself for a series of actions
wholly incredible, were they not attested by piles of official
documents, the authenticity of which no man can doubt.”—
• * * “In the wonderful details I am about to
lay before the reader, it will be seen that not another inan
Ithal we have ever heard of, was capable of performing this i
duty with succtrs. and when the reader has gone through
these details, and lisa afterwards witnessed the glorious de
feat of New Orleans, he will recur te this Indian campaign
as the most glorious exploit of this wonderful man.” The
character of Andrew Jackson, as gathered from Ilia conduct
as a military man in his war against tlie savages exhibits ail
inflexibility of purpose which difficulties only served to de
velop more fully. When duty poiuted out a course, lie
swerved neither to the right baud nor to the left. He gave
Prayer to the winds, sod caution to the waves,”
Obstaeles deterred him not—on the contrary his resolution,
like the great propelling power of tlie present day, was pent
spier." In despite of all precautions,
that intelligence of his every movement was conveyed to
the enemy. It was in truth • a dtirk decisive hour” in which
he was called to strike fur his country. But his ability
proved equal to the occasion, aud his courage mounted with
every emergency. His i opacity like the lairy tent seemed
to enlarge so as to contain all it was necessary to compre
hend. liis first effort was to quell treason at home. He
declared martial law. His next to btcak the charms ol
British invincibility. This he effected by his celebrated at
tack on the night of the 23d Dec. 1814. A second battle,
fought on the 28th of the same month, gave assurance to
Hope, and animated anew the courage ol his men. But it
was reserved for the ever raemorab e 8th of January to fill
the measure of Jackson’s honor, and his country’s glory.'
Nine thousand veterans with the appalling battle cr
•Beauty aud Booty” advanced upon the American iines!—
The story nf that day, is known to the world. The sun
which dawned upon it, shed its se’ting ravs on a city saved
from plunder—rescued from poltulioi.j The “Historic
Muse, proud of deeds ami name of the Patriot Defender,
“guarding and immortalizing her treasure" shall march
down the course of Time imparting il to generations yet uu
born!
We pass over the campaign of General Jackson iu !S17-
18 against the Semino!es,enouuh having been said to enable
us to form some estimate of the debt of gratitude due for his
services in the field, and at die same time evince the genius
aud character ofthe man. The salient poipls iu liis cliarnc
ter are numerous. In the brief analisys, we propose to give
it, we* shall direct your attention to three of the most com
■Handing. The events of his military career develop—en
lliustasin. promptitude in action, and inflexibility of purpose,
The ardor with which within thirteen days after the aecla
ration of war he sought to serve his country—the alacrity
with which he responded to the call of his State when the
rifle and tomahawk bad desolated the frontiers of the South
—the zeal with which lie repeatedly proffered his ssrvices
and the eagerness he manifested to march at the head of liis
detachment from the banks of the Mississippi to those of the
Detroit to plant the A'-encan standard on the ramparts of
Malden—the indomitable spirit which animated him in his
Indiam campaigns though prostrated by physical debility, all
attest the enthusiasm ofthe soldier, the inextinguishable ar
dor of the mns!
Promptitude in action was no less developed in liis milita
ry conduct. Whether we view in him the boy of the Revo
lulion. aroused from his midnight slumber, rushing to the
post of danger challenging and firing upou the advancing
ioe—whether we accompany him in his Indian expedition,
quelling mutinies, following the savages through an inhos
pitable wilderness, with conflict after conflict, until their
power was annihilated the decisive battle of the Horse
Shoe—or, whether we see him at New Orleans adopting
those “prompt and energetic measures," as they were term
ed by Governor Claiborne, which quelled treason at home,
and beat back tlie in/aders from abroad, we find a promp
titude and decision iu action unsurpassed in military annals.
But it is the inflexib lity of purpose, the indomitable will,
which brings out in bold lelief the character of this wonder
ful man. Courage of the loftiest kind was his. We speak
not of that mere insensibility to danger which belongs to the
brute as well as the man. and is the result of mere physical
organization; but of tint noble faculty ofthe mind winch pois
ing itself on the emergency of the moment, fearless of con
sequences, uninfluenced by clamor, mores steadily onward
to the accomplishment of its purpose. This it is which pla
ces the name of Andrew Jackson high on the scroll of fame,
constituting him not only the successful warrior, but entitling
him to the name of Great! Hts refusal to disband his men
in obedience to the order of Government, when honor, poli
cy, and humanity forbade compliance—his invasion of the
Spanish Territory when his country’s peril demanded he
“should take the responsibility upon himself—liis declara
tion of martial law amid the disaffected population of New
Orleans, with the certainty that aucceaa alone could still the
clamor ofthe “fireside patriots” of his country—all proclaim
him a man above his fellows, sent by Heaven to save that
country! Around tlie grave of such a warrior his country
men willgsther without distinction of party, and while they
drop the. tributary tear— ‘Beneath this turf there sleeps a
hero!”
“Let laurels, drenched in pure Parnassian dews,
Howard his memory, dear u- every mme.
Who, with a courage of unshaken root.
In honor’s field advancing his firm foot,
Plants it upon the line that Justice draws,
And will prevail, or perish in her cause.”
Turn we now from the bIood-3taincd records of national
llKTe, to peruse the volume of civil life. The victorious
General retires to liis farm; but the grateful people of Ten
nessee again call him to the Senate ut tite United States.—
In 1824, a majority of the nation expressed a wish through
the Electoral Colieges to elevate him to the exalted station
ofthe Presidency. a station to use his own language “neither
to be sought nor avoided.” That wish, however, was frus
trated hy causes to which we forbear allusion and another
was placed in the Presidential chair. At ihe next election
the people spoke in a manner not to be iniaunderstood, and
bv a vote in the Colleges of 188 to 83 Anlrew Jackson was
called to preside over the country whose armies lie had led
to victory. Hisudministration met with the approbation ofthe
nation and he was enthusiastically re elected, receiving 219
out of the 261 electoral votes. His Government partook af
the characteristics of the man. Vigor was impressed upon
its councils. .France yielded her reluctant treasure to our
just demands, nnd the attitude of our country commanded
the respect nf foreign nations. His policy at home seemed
to have (or its objects to confine the action of the Federal
Government'within the limits prescribed by the Constilntion,
and to prevent the aggregation of the moneyed interests in
the few. He knew that “Gold is the Architect of power”
and dreade i its influence upon the character of his country*
men, and with it that baneful passion for gain which de
grades a nation and converts freemen into speculators.—
His opposition to the incorporation of the moneyed power,
raised up enemies inure formidable than the foreign foe lie
lisd so gloriously vanquished. Amid the strife of contend
ing patties while many yielded and al* wavered, he stood
himself the bulwark of what he deemed the interests of the
people against the gigantic power of MONoroLTl
"El cuncla terrarum sul/acta
Procter alrocem animuin Calonts."
We desire not on an occasion like the present, to discuss
parties or their measures. We would not strike one dis
cordant note in the general dirge which proclaims a Patriot
gone. To say that Andrew Jackson had faults, is simply to
say that he was a man. Those faults never deprived him
of the confidence of tlie people . He retired from ihe helm
of State followed by the affection and admiration of a vast
majority of the nation. So intimately was patriotism inter
woven with the whole texture of tlie man. that neither age
nor nppiocohing death could rend it Irom its fabric, nnd
from liis seclusion liis voice was raised in accents of waining
to his beloved Country. On one great question which has
recently agitated the national councils it was heard and as
of eld, impressed itself upon tlie hearts of the people.—
When our institutions shall have been extended, and the
American Eagle spread his pinions over a territory, on
which Transatlantic Policy would lain have established ils
domination; to tlie Patriot dsge of the Hermitage will be due
in part, the merit of the great political achievement.
Hitherto the conquests of this great man had been con-
fined to the enemies of his Country. In his retirement he
engages a more stubborn foe and acquires bis most glorious
victoty. »
“Hia warfare ia within. There unfat gued
liis fervent spirit labors. There he lights.
And there obtains fresh triumphs o’er himself.
And never withering wreaths; compared with which
The laurels thul a Ctesar reaps are weed?.’’
Having by the glorious nxatnple of his life taught his coun-
tryu e i how tn live, it was reserved for this extraordinary
man hy the instructive lesson of his death, to teach them
how to die. The noble Roman when death became inevita
ble, drew hia robe around him to die with decency—the aged
Pairio* clothed himself in the garment of faith to die with
a Christian’s hope. Fear found no place in the bosom of
thnt stern old man. Hypocrisy was alien from his nature —
This offering of himself therefore, was tlie tribute of the
heart paid by tlie Creature to liis Creator. That spirit
which, had never quailed in the pres;nce of man, became
broken and contrite before die Father of Spirits!
While the perusal of his life inculcates our duty to our
Country, the teachings of his dying hour appeal to us with
urgent power. “Call no man happy until you know the na-
lute of liis death.” was the saying of the Athenian Sage.—
Standing by the grave of him whom we deplore, we can say,
with confidence, his life was glorious, liis death was happy.
Such was he, the Warrior, the Statesman, and the Patriot,
who lias obeyed Nature’s last inexorable mandate. The
ceremonies ofthisdav—the badges of mourning by which
we are surrounded—tlie Cypress wreath we have woven to
deck bis tomb, attest our sorrow. But ours is but a single
note in the National Requiem. Tne whole Country will
cherish biin dead who living, loved "her with his heart's de
votion. His memory will be enshrined, nnd when the strifes,
the passions and the men of the pre.ent day shall have pass
ed away, the name, services any character of Andrew .1 ack-
son, shall be viewed by those who come after us, as land
marks in the waste of the Past to conuecl it with their love,
gratitude and admiration!
•The incidents in the early life of Jackscn, are taken
from “Kendall’s Life.”
From the Augusta Constitutionalist.
GOVERNOR CRAWFORD’S ECONOMY.
In the Southern Recorder ot Tuesday, 8th inst. I read
a communication signeh a “ School Master," laudetory of
the administration of Gov. Crawford. Iu that divine com
mand which directs us nit to bear false witness against
our neighbor, is likewise embodied tho "no less whole
some moral of not bearing false witness for our neighbor
The “ School Master’’ has evidently violated the latter, in
liis article before me.
He says, that Gov. Crawford has made the Penitentiary,
a source of profit, instead of an expeme to the State. I
have too lotm been in the habit of hearing this favorable
report,Loth from whig and democratic administrations
and I solemnly believe that the “ School Mas'er” is guilty
of bearing false witness. The Penitentiary of Georgia
profit (o the State! •
It was only at the last session of the legislature, that
32,000 dollars was appropriated to pay al! the debts of the
Penitentiary. (At that time, there was in the material
stock and manufactute ! articles,on hand, $44,452.) There
was also an appropriation of 18,000 dollars made hythe
legislature of 1843, for the purchase of materials, subsis
tence, and pay of salaries, for the following two years, for
the Penitentiary.
Now let us illustrate, briefly, how the profitable results
of our Penitentiary operations are generally manufactured,
The Principal Keeper or his Book Keeper or the Direc
tor, will estimate the value of the work dune in removing
one ol the brick walls ot ibe Penitentiary a few leet from
where it stood belore! He nil! then put dowji the value
of rebuilding the burnt portion ol" the Penitentiary !—tbe
removal of a house—tlie addition of a rncm—the swinging
of a gate—the digging of tan vats, and wells—and I could
mention a hundred charges, and all against the State!
because her property.ihe Penitentiary,is tnjirored! This
1 is the way tbe Penitentiary has proved profitable to the
State!
I assert, fear’easof contradiction, tint the Penitentiaiy
is as much an expense to the State at this time, as it has
beeu during many years nf i s operation. The humbug
attempted to be circulated, that >t is a source of profit, is
only worthy of those who are atteniptirg to bolsier up the
waning fortunes of whigery They know that the asser
tion is false. Ask one at these “School Master” wise-acres
how much money the Penitentiary Directors has placed
to the credit ami subject to the order of the State. Irom
actual sales of scork done indie Penitentiary, during the
lime of Gov. Crawford's administration, alter deducting
expenses of the institution, and wiiat will lie tell yon ? Not
a dollar! On the other hand, if proper inquiry he made
of tbe riglu source, it will be found dial the Penitentiary
will be at least $20,000 worse ofl" al the next session ofthe
Legislature, than it AVas alter its debts were paid in IS43.
1 do not believe that the Penitentiary will at the next
scssinn. ask tor cny new appropriation—but why not?- AU
its debts were paid iu 1243;. and it bad au unencumbered
capital of 844,452, in stocs and materials on hand.' Huy,
m >re. die LVetslatuir at that time, made a liberal appro
priation ol" $12,000. for repairs, subsistence. Jce. V, by,
what iu the name of common sense, could the people ex
pect, but that the enormous appropriations of 1843, would
satisfy tbe Penitentiary for four or five years yet to come.
Profits! It may be possible, that many of the tuanulac
tured articles, a part of the old stork of $41,452 have been
sold, and I presume that il must be from this source they
obtain their profits! And this is a beautiful commentary
upon the financial ability that governs our Peuilemiary
operations.
These profits are abnut on a par with the majority and
miuorityreports of the Penitentiary committee of the last
legislature. The diflerence ii their estimates of the Value
of stock and materials, was 7,452 dollars! It tnay be that-
difference, here mentioned has been put down atprofits,
under Gov. Crawtord’s ad ministration !■
Let us state die pecuaiary advantages which were given
to the Penitentiary, by the wuig legislature of 1843.
To pay Penitentiary debts, 32,000
Stock and materials on hand, 41.452
Appropriation for repairs and subsistence for 1844
and 1845, • 18,000
$94,452
And yet the whigs have the unblushing hardihood to talk
about the economy of Gov. Crawford’s adininistrati m!
1 know of no other principle upon which to reconcile the
paradoxical notion of the “Sduiol Master whigs, than the
whig logic of last summer, that the more money squandered
about the Penitentiary, the greater the profits to the
Stale.
The Penitentiary of Georgia has been a tax upon the peo
ple nf $12,000, each year, since ils creatiou in 1216.
Gov. Crawford’s twe years. 94 452
Average for two years previous, 24,000
$70,45*2
By this statement it will appear, that Governor Crawford,
has received $70,452. in two years, more than was ever ap
propriated before—and this is the way the whigs prove their
principles of economy. The more that you spend die great
est your saving.
But the ••School Master” refers to the report of Finance
Committee of 1844. to austain his assumption, that the Pen-
itentiary has beeu a source of profit to tbe State siace Gov.
Crawford’s administration commenced. Allow me te refer
Ihe reader to the same Finance Report. It says, "Theop
eration of the entire year of the Penitentiary, shores a
loss to the State beyond the annual appropriation of
$4,G7G 85 cents.” It is already known mat $18,00$ was
appropriated to the Penitentiary for the year 1844 and 1845.
This was $9,000 for each year. Let us then calculate the
profits:
Annual appropriation, 9.000
Loss beyond the appropriation, 4.G7G
Total loss, $13,676
Here is a beautiful specimen of profits! as shown by
Gov. Crawford's especially appointed 1 iuunce Committee;
ltd one of the arguments that will be used in favor of the
economy and financial ability of the whig nominee for
Governor.
But, althb igh the last legislature appropriated $32,000 to
pay ALt. the debts ofthe Penitentiary, we are told by this Fi
nance Committee, that after paying on', that immense amount
“a targe debt is left outstanding and unpaid, besides the in
terest due on the debts paid*”
In the name" of the outraged and plundered people, of
Georgia, I do hepe and trust, that their seal of indignation
may be stamped upon thosefinancial rulers, whose craven
croaks about economy, economy, nnd economy, are only
being made, to delude ibe people from an examination of
the wasteful profligacy, that is now carried ou in Milledge-
ville.
Who was Chairman of ihe Committee on the Penitentiary,
al the last session of the Legislature? Mr. Redding, the
present Principal Keeper of the Penitentiary. And it
was Irom his report that the amount of indebtedness of the
Penitentiary was made known. But now it is found out to
be much greater than was then shown! and und likely the
next Legislature may he called upoa to app-npriate 32,000
dollars more tn pay all the debts of that institution. And
then we will hear another homily upon the profits of the
Penitentiary!
I have not time, at present, to notice the great saving of
Governor Crawford’s adtienistration. in some oilier matters
mentioned by a “School Master." In a day or iwo. 1 will
resume the subject: nnd hope to shew to ihe soi disant
"School Master" that although lie may be sucking the pap
n Milledgeville, he is not to be Sir Oracle for the people of
Georgia.
TELEGRAPH & REPUB1IC.
Tuesday, July 29, 1843.
FOR GOVERNOR.
ia. hall hcallister,
Of Chntham.
For Senator of the 20th District,
A. II. CHAPPEIX,
Of Binu.
PINEY WOODS.
Wonderful Cave.—A new rave* rivolgisn
the Mammoth cave of Kentucky, has been dis
covered in Howard County. Miss 1 *uri, I lie
entrance was wulled up ai d was discovered by
accident. It appears to have been visited be
fore and lias leilers and Spanish names inscrib
ed on the walls of the interior. The walls and
ceiling of the interior glisten with the metallic
ore, which was pruba'dy the cause of its being
walled up by the first discow rers.
lion. Aslthel Smith, T« xau Charge to Great
Britain und France has arrived in New York
by the G reat Western.
STATE GOVERNMENT,
In our Iasi we said iuat we did not think that
we could be charged with a spirit ofiiiiberalitv
by surmising that the necessary and wholesome'
policy, recommended by Governor McDonald
of resuming the entire amount of Slate taxes
would not have been adopted by a Whig L e .
gwhture, had it not been for tho confident be
lief of that party that the election of tlie ensu
ing year would have brought a Whig Governor
into power, whose administration would have
had the benefit of it.
While we lake occasion to remark, that there
were gentlemen of the Whig parly who wJre,
doubtless, honorable exceptions to this censure
and who acted from patriotic motives, we will
proceed to state our reasons for the opinion
"that we have expressed. The whole legisla
tion of that session, (1840) so far as it related
to the fiscal affairs of the Government, was cal
culated to tlirpw embarrassments in the path of
its adminislrat'on during the period it was ex
pected to he retained by the Democrats. The
part of tlie tax, which, by the act of 1839, was
required to be paid into the Treasury, was di
rected to be paid to the counties. See acts of
1840 page 177. Tlie circulation of the Cen
tral Bank was required to be increased instead
of diminished, although Governor McDonald
had, in his message to the Legislature, inform
ed them that this circulation must be reduced
“to save the country from the enormous mis
chiefs of a depreciated currency.” He also
expressed the belief that the Central Bank,
with its ample assets, would be enabled to
counteract the ungenerous efforts of other
banks to discredit its issues, provided its liabil
ities were not increased by Legislative requi
sitions. Journal of Senate of i840, pagi s 12 &
13. Subsequent events have proven the cor-
rectness of this opinion. That the acts of this
Legislature, notwithstanding these timely ad
monitions from the Executive, added to ihe
difficulties of the currency, and, consequently
to the embarrassment of tlie Government we
shall soon see". The Central Bank was requi
red to supply the means of meeting the appro-
priations and defraying the expenses of the
Government for the political year 1841—sec
25th sec. of the act of appropriation of 1840,
pa“es20and 21. The Directors of tlie Centra!
Bank were required to pay in current funds,
the scrip or Evidence of De6t issued andjJuo
l»y the commissioners of the Western and At
lantic Rail Rt.ad other than that description of
scrip Wtiich was payable* in* State b inds, so for
as stj.-h scrip vvao issued hi fore that time, or
should be issued on cish contracts theretofore
made and for the Engineer set vice; and also-
for certificates of indebtedness “o land tioldet*
for right of way. See 20th si c. of appropriation
act of 4840-and the resolution therein refered
ti; pages of acts of 1810 20 and 195. The
Bank was required to pay the interest of the
public debt und $75,000 annually of the p>in-
cipal and to sell bank stock- owned by the State
as-soon as par value could be obtained for it,
restr^eiion, which it was well known would
effectually prevent-the sale—see acts of 1840,
page 150. These are all measures of a whig >
legislature and have done more to bring to ruin
the credit of the State than evety thing else ta«
ken together, more even than the protest ofthe
$300,000 in New York. It will be remember
ed that the Central Bank had not at this time
one dollar of specie or specie funds at its con
trol, and of course no means of complying wtb
the unjust requisitions of the Legislature except
its own notes. With these, the expenses and
appropriations of tlie Legislature, the" dbbts-of
the Western and Atlantic Rail Road, the inter
est of the public debt and $75,000 of the prin
cipal were requ'red to be paid, and these notes
at that time at a depreciation of from 5 to &
cent. This is the policy, adopted by
whigs, contrary to the timely warnings of a
democratic executive, that they have since m
such unmeasured terms denounced. To tbe
action of the Legislature of 1840 may be refer
red the distresses of the Bank and the serious
injury done to the holders of its notes, greatly
aggravated by the course of the select commit
tee of 1842. For the amount of the issues of
Central Bank notes under this Legislature <ve
refer our readers to the report of Air. Gray -f
Jones one of the committee appointed to exam
ine into the affairs of the Central Bank. He
says the Central Bank
Paid Cnmir.issioners* fc-agents’
certificates under act of the Legis
lature of 1840, and requisitions of
Jorl Crawford, pre$t. under act
of 1838, $412,243 5*
Paid Commissioners-’ cheeks in
favor of the Georgia Rail Koad &
Banking co. of Augusta, under act
o! 1840, authorizing a sinking fund 74,607 0°
Paid interest on State 5 and C
ct. bo> ds issued for rail road", act ,
of 1840, 185,506 Ox
Paid appropriations under act cf -n.
1840, paid in 1841, 281,600 W
$893,956 59
A part of the first item was pmd under
act of 1838, but as we are unable to state v ^
part, we would thank our friends ofthe Fe e?
Union to give the information, as we pr fSU
it is accessible to them. For our extrae' 9 ’
reports and documents relative to
Bank printed by order of Ho. of Rep. 1^4 ^
png- 12. We think we have now n8S ^ #
good and substantial reasons for the °P lD
we expressed.