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cortmonjon of heart between those far |
guperated. and the most pure;
and refined pleasures ufour al
so, the letters of commercial men convey
the state of the markets, prevent ruinous
speculations, and promote general as well
as individual interests; they bear innu
merable religious letters, newspapers,
megazines and tracts, which reach almost
every house throughout this wide republic.
Is the conveyance of these a violation of
the Sabbath? The advance of the human
race, in intelligence, in virtue, and reli
gion itself, depends in part upon the speed
with which a knowledge of the past is disse
minated Without an interchange between
one country and another, and between dit
ferent sections of the same country, every
improvement in moral and political sci
ence and the arts of life, would he con
fi dto the neighborhood where it origin
ated. The more rapid and the more
fiequent this interchange, the more rapid
will be the march of intellect, and the
progress of improvement. The mail is
the chief means by which intellectual light
irradiates to the extremes ol the republic.
Stop it one day in seven, and you retard
one seventh of the’ advancement of our
Cou try. So far from stopping the mail
err Sunday, the committee would recom
mend the use bf all reasonable means to
give i a greater expedition and a greater
extension. What would be the elevation
of our country, if every new conception
could he made to strike every mind in the
Union at the same lime? It is not the dis
lance of a province or state from the seat
of government which endangers its sepera
tion, but it is the difficulty and unfrequen
cy of intercourse between them.—Our
mails reach Missouri and Arkansas in less
time than they reached Kentucky and
Ohio in the infancy of their settlements;
aid now. when there are three millions of
people extending a thousand miles west of
the Alleghany, ive hear less of discontent,
than when there were but a few thousand
scattered along the western base.
To stop lie mails one day in seven
would be to thrust the whole W estern
conutiy and other distant parts of this
public, one day's journey from the seat
of Government* But were it expedient
to put an end to the transmission of let
ter* and newspapers on Sunday, because
it vud.ites the law of God. rave not the
petitioners begun wrong in their efforts?
U the arm of Government be necessary
to ompcl man to respect and obey the
law* of God, do not the State Govern
inents possess infinitely more power in
thi respect? Let the petitioners turn to
them, and see if they can induce the pas
sage of laws to respect the observance of
the Sabbath; for if it be sinful for
the mail to carry letters on Sunday, it
musi be equally sinful for individ*
vidua Is to write, carry. receive, or read
them It would seem to require that
tin *e acts should be made penal, to com
plete the system. Travelling on business
or reel cation except to and from church;
all printing, carrying, receiving, and
reading newspaper*; all conversation and
sc ,at intercourse, except upon religious
subjects, must necessarily be punished, to
supt ; css the evil. W ould it nut also
follow,* as an inevitable consequence, that
every man, woman and chit , should be
compelled to attend meeting? and, as
only one sett, in the opinion of some,
can be deemed orthodox, must it not be
determined by law, which that is* and
compel all to hear lho°e teachers, and con
tribute? to their support? If minor punish
ments would not restrain the Jew; or the
b.ibbatatian, or the Infidel, who believes
Sis urday to be tin Sabbath, or disbelieves
thy while, would not the same system re
qme that we should resort to imprison
lueut, banishment, the rack and the faggot,
to force men to violate their own con
Sciences, or compel them to listen to doc
*trn es which they abhor? When the j
State Governments shall have yielded
to these measures, it will be time enough
fi t congress to declare that the rattling |
di the mol coa< lies shall no longer break !
the silence of this despotism. It is the
iluiv of this Government hi afford to all
o Jew or Gentile. I'agan or Christian,
(lie protection and the advantages of our
benignant institutions on Sunday as well
a-> e very day of the week. Although this
government will not conveit itself into
an ecclesiastical tribunal, it will practice
Tipon the maxim laid down by the found
er ol Christianity— that it is lawful to do
good on ihe Sabbale day. If the Almigh
ty as set Apart the-fast dav of the week
as time which he is bound to keep holy
ono devote exc’u-iveK to his worship,
would r not he uiorc congenial to the pie
cepis ot Christians to appeal exclusively
jto the Great Lawgiver of the Universe to ]
j aul them in making men better—in cor- :
nectingtheir practices by purifying their
hearts? Government will protect them
in their efforts. When they shall have
so instructed the public mind, and awak
ened the consciences of individuals, as
to make them believe that it is a violation
of God‘s law to carry the mail, open post
offices, or receive letters on Sunday, the
evil of which they complain will cease
o’ itsalf, without any exertion of the
strong arm ofeivil power.—When a man
undertakes to be God’s avenger he be
comes a demon. Driven by the frenzy
of a religious zeal, he loses every gentle
feeling, forgets the most sacred precepts
to his creed, and becomes ferocious and
unrelenting,
Our fathers did not wait to be oppres
• sed, when the mother country asserted
and exercised an unconstitutional power
ovei them. To have acquiesced in the
tax of threepence upon a pound of tea,
would have led the way to the most cruel
exactions: They took a bold stand against
the principle, and liberty and indepen
dence was the result. The petitioners
have not requested Congress to suppress
.Sunday Mails upon the ground of political
expediency, but because they violate the
sanctity of the first day of the week.
‘This being the fact, and the petitioners
having indignantly disclaimed even the
wish to unite politics and religion, may
m t the committee reasonably cherish the
hope, that they will feel reconciled to its
decision in the case; especially, as it is
also a fact, that the counter memorials,
equally respectable, oppose the interfer
ertce of Congress, upon the ground that
it would be legislating upon a religious
subject, and therfore unconstitutional.
Resolved That ?hat committee be dis
charged from the further consideration of
th* subject
CABINET.
IVARRRNTON, APRIL 1Q.1830
CONGRESS
From all we can understand, the
Session will, in all probability, be pro
tracted to the first or middle of June.
From the aspect of things, it would
seem that it is the object of the majo
rity to involve the nation in such a
course of expenditures, as will deprive
those who advocate the doctrines of
limited construction, economy and re
form of the argument which would
otherwise result from the final extin
guishment of the public debt. During
the present session of Congress pro
jects have received the sanction of
the Committee on Internal Improve
ment, the completion of which would
cost upwards of four million of dol
lars, besides which, from one to two
hundred others have only passed thro’
the preliminary stage of surveying,
and surveys of a similar character
are still going on. Under such a state
of things, can any man doubt the in
tention to fix upon the country such a
train of disbursements as shall render
the reduction of the revenue imprac
ticable for the next hundred years?
Weave not disunionists—we are not
disorganizes—we are not sectiona
lists—we are not at this time disposed
to enter into a calculation of “the
value of the Union to the South”—
hut if the worst comes to the worst,
may it not be worth while to enquire,
what evil is so great as a government
without limitation of poxvers. Let us
not be alarmed by the cry of disunion,
ilf we want examples of state inter
■j fcrcnce to arrest the inarch of fcdcr
jal usurpation, they may hr found in
the Kentucky and Virginia resolu
tions of 1798 and 1799— Upon the
| unlimited doctrine of the “common
| defence and general welfare”—what 1
has this government chine for the!
Sounthern country for the last fifteen
years, but to oppress it? oa3 the;
common defence and thej;eneral wel
fare been promoted by its action upon
! us? No! The sectional welfare of oth-!
l er portions of the country has been
built upon its ruin nit strictly that
either, for the majority have burden
ed us far beyond the measure of bene-i
I fit they have derived from their op
pressions—For these sore evils we see
no remedy unless the States hold it in
i their own hands. j
j The report oo the subject of Sunday’
; mails occupies a considerable portion
of our paper this week—for this how
ever we do not feel disposed to make
any apology—its intrinsic worth—
and the spirit it breaths must render
it entirely acceptable to our readers—
we only regret that il was not in our
power to give it any earlier insertion.
SEA SERPENT IN GEORGIA
Capt. Delano, of the schooner Eagle,
arrived a Charleston on Saturday last
from Turtle River, has furnished the
editor of the Charleston Courier with the
following particulars, to the truth of
which he declares himsel willing, with
his whole crew to make affidavit.
On Monday, 23d inst at 10 o’clock A
M, when about one mile inside St. Simon‘B
Bar, endeavouring to beat out, discovered
at the distance of 500 yards, a large ob
ject resembling an alligator, occasionally
moving along in the same course with the
vessel, and at times lying nearly motion
less upon the surface. Capt. D. finding
himself likely to approach very near this
strange visitor, charged a musket with ball
and tacked so as to run within 20 or 25
yards of him, at a moment when he w*s
lying perfectly still, and apparently un
concerned. Capt. D. took deliberate aim
at the ba k of his head, the only part then
exposed, and fired—the ball evidently
takihg effect. Instantly to no small as
tonishment and apprehension of the crew
the monster aroused himself, and made
directly for the vessel, contracting his bo
dy and giving two or three tremendous
sweeps with his tail as he passed, the
first striking the stem, and producing a
shock which was very sensibly felt by all
on board. On seeing his approach the
Captain jumped upon his deck load of cot
ton, and ihe whole erfew, including the
naan at the helm, were not less prompt in
consulting their safety. They hid all a
fair opportunity to observe their enemy,
both before and after the shot and concur
in describing him as upwards of 70 feet
in length; his body as large or larger,
than a6O gallon cask; of a grey color
shaped like an eel—without any visible
fins and apparently covered with scales—
the back being full of joints or bunches
Tne head and mouth resembled those of
an Alligator, the former about 10 feet
long, and as large as a hogshead ! A small
er .one of like appearance was observed at
a grater distance, which vanished on the
firing of the shot, but both were after
wards seen together, passing the North
breaker, where they finally disappeared.
Capt. D. says he saw a similar creature
oft” Doboy, about 4 years since, of which
he fired three shots, but without obtaining
quite as familliar an interview as in the
present instance. He believes that this
formidable nondescript had sufficient
strength to injure seriously, if not totally
distroy, a vessle of the Eagle’s size, by a
single blow fairly given, and deems him
self very fortunate in the result of the
encounter. He reloaded his musket before
his enemy disappeared, but it was only
in sell-defence, as he felt no disposition
to renew the contest with so potent an
adversary.
Capt. D. states, that he could not have
been deceived in the general appearance
of this marine prodigy, and that it dif
fered altogether from any species of
whale, or other inhabitant of the deep. ■
which he had ever before seen, with the
exception mentioned above.
THE SPIDER’S WEB.
The manner of constructing this
web is extremely artful and ingenious.
All spiders are furnished, at the ex
tremity of their abdomen, with four or
six teat-like protuberances or spin
ners. Each of these protuberances is
furnished with a multitude of tubes, so
numerous and so exquisitely fine, that
according to Reaumur, a space not
! much bigger than the pointed end of a
pin is furnished with a thousand of
them. Hence, from each spinner pro
I ceed9 a compound thread. At the dis
! tance of about one tenth of an inch)
from the point of the spinners these!
again unite, and from the thread which
we see, and which the spider makes
use of in forming its web. Thus, a
spider*# thread, even when no fine ag
; almost to elude our senses, is not a
single line, but a rope composed of
at least four thousand s-rands. Os
such tenuity, although placed beyond’
’ all doubt by Leeuwenhoek's micrscc
pical observerations, our imagiiuti.ur
is too faint to form even a conception;
our imagination is too faint to form
a consciousness of the imperfection
of our senses, n vhen used for the
purpose of scrutinizing the works
of nature. An experiment may t, e
easily made with one of our lai-p,
field spiders, which will convi s , Cos
the observer that this calculati
although very wonderful, is still a c . u
rate, if the abdomen of one of tj,,. ae
spiders be pressed against a leaf, u te
B ame preliminary step which the sjij.’
der adopts in spinuiug, and d r , UV(i
gradually to a small distance, it W ili
be instantly perceived that the proper
thread of the insect is formed of bur
smaller thre ads, and these again of so
fine and numerous, that the number
issuing from each spinner cannot be
estimated under a thousand.-The Au
thor of nature has also conferred up r>
the spider the? power of closing the
orifices of the spinners at its pleasure.
This enables the insect, when drop,
ping from a height by its descent at
any point of its downward progress,
and remain suspended in mid air.
ELOPEMENT.
Much excitement and amusement, w;ig
• xhibited at the ferry, in this village, orr
Monday afternoon last, which was occa
sioned by the following circumstance t
A hackney coach with a man and woman
entered the ferry boat, on New Y irk
side. Br'oklin. A man also entered jut.
H 9 the boat started off who proceeded to
the carnage, and in the presence of the
people Haimed the ladv as his wife, wh.
was running away with a Frenchman .
He started the man out • 1 the carnage and
took his place, and commanded the driver
to stop at the ferry tavern of Cock 5c
Conklin. He wished to apprehend the
Frenchman, but was afraid to leave his
wife, and the man started off, followed by
the mob. The husband refused to pay the
hackman whom he censured for carrying
off the runaways 4fc My dear, did you cun
tract this driver!’ with said the affhction de
fellow. “ No, my dear. I did not.’ wasi
the equally affectionate reply. The dri
ver was discharged, and another procured,
and the lady with her bandboxes taken in
to be transported ba’k t<> New Y rk.
Brooklyn (L, L) Star .
SAM PATCH FOUND.
The body of this bold but unfortu
nate adventurer was found on the
17th in the river about six miles be
low Rochester, it was known to he
his by the black handkerchief about
his waist and other ma ks.
HONORABLE MURDER;
The National Gazette announces
the slaughter of William’ Miller, jr
esq. a young gentleman, who was a,
member of the Bar of Phiiadelp ia r
aud who had enjoyed a high reputa
tion in every respect. He fell in a
duel fought on Sunday last, at Naa
man's creek on the borders of the
Delaware, His antogonist w.ig
Lieut, Charles G. Hunter, of the U.
| S. Navv.
* ‘ u ’ ‘*s
WARREN SUPERIOR COURT,
N f
JJpnl Term , 1830.
THE Grand Jury for tho
present term of the Court, hav*
ing finished ail other business
brought before them, beg leave
to submit the following pre
sentments;—The Grand Jury
are highly gratified in stating
that they have bui few special
presentments to make. They
however feel it their duty to
‘present as a grievance, the <oo
frequent practice, in the coiinry
of trading with negroes foJ mo
ney, or any thing else, prohibit
ed by law, without an order
from their owners; the evil
consequences of which, every