Newspaper Page Text
STEAM’ SHIPS—BOMB CANNON.
The Philadelphia Inquirer contains a very
interesting article on the subject of armed !
gleam ships, find the new bomb or shell shot j
cannon which have been introduced with so
much effect into the French Naval service, j
We it in the hope of aiding, in :
some degree, the effort which is making to
direct public attention to this new means of!
naval warfare, and 7 as a consequence which \
we trust is to follow, to the necessity which j
rests upon the United States of at once avail
ing herself of these important improvements
for the defence of our extensive and now
much exposed seaboard.
‘The recent appearance of the French
steamer Veloce in the American waters, and
the extraordinary character of her warlike
arrangements, have naturally excited much
attention, especially in relation to the shot
shell practice of the French navy, a speci
men of which was so successful before the
castle of San Juan de Ulloa. A friend, to
whom we express our acknowledgements,
has furnished us with a pamphlet upon the j
subject. It is entitled ‘An account of the
experiments .made in the French Navy for
ihe trial of bomb cannon, &.c. by H. J. Paix
hans, Lt. Colonel of Artillery—translated from
the French by John A. Dahlgren, of the U.
S. Navy.’ This latter officer observes that,
among the innovations of the day, is the use
of shells instead of shot; -and he has trans
lated the page under consideration, with the
laudable object of inviting the attention of
the American government to the subject.—
The important fact is mentioned, ‘dial the
French Admiral, Count D’Estang, left Tou
lon with 12 ships of the line on the 13th of
April, 1778, and arrived in the Delaware in
83 days—a most unfortunate delay for the
United Siate3. Had he arrived sooner, the
English fleet in the Delaware, and perhaps
the land forces in Philadelphia, must have
fallen a sacrifice. Imagine the contrast, and
the difference in result, had such vessels ns
the Great Western, the Gorgon, or the Ve
loce, been engaged in that service. A war
with Great Britain would furnish such illus
tration of wonderful results of modern skill
and ingenuity with regard to steam vessels
and bomb cannon, as could not but make a
lasting impression upon the sluggish energies
of the American administration. It is stated
that the heaviest shot thrown by their can
non, weigh 38 3-4 lbs. but their effects on a
vessel are easily repaired. Mortars project
bombs equal in size to shot of 8G or IG2 lbs.
which explode with terrible effect, but falling
in a vertical direction, they rarely hit the
mark. His proposition is to use guns which
shall drive the bombs horizontally, like a can
not shot, and with equal force and accuracy.
In a note, lie gives a description of this weap
on, which he calls a bomb cannon. He
states that at an angle of from 5 to 6 degrees,
the old fashioned French howitzers only
ranged 427 yards, while the bomb cannon of
the same calibre, and fired at the sanfe ele
vation, carries to the distance of 2,100 yards.
This discovery was submitted to a commis
sion for examination, and it was agreed that
the bomb cannon should have a trial in
steamers. At this trial, not only were hol
low shot of lbs. sent as far as the balls
of the heaviest cannon, hut even the feeble
charge of 10 3-4 lbs. carried a massive shot
of 86 1-4 lbs. to the distance of nearly 4.100
yards. Subsequently, in order to form some
opinion of the power of bombs thus fired,
the piece was floated on a pontoon, bearing
upon a ship of the line, and at the distance of
640 yards. 12 shot were fired from the bomb
cannon into the vessel, and of these not one
failed of the mark. The first bomb shattered
to atoms about 160 square feet of wood work,
and diffused an Another
splintered a large part of the mainmast, and
at the same time knocked off an iron band,
weighing 140 lbs. The consequences of the
others were similarly destructive. This ex
periment was made at Brest in 1824; a ship
of 80 guns, then moored in the roadstead,
serving as a target. Yet these, it will be re
membered, were the effect of a bomb gun of
86 1-4 pounds, while there are many now in
use of 162 lbs.
After this trial, the commission, composed
of a number of the most experienced'officers
of the French navy, officially declared the
new weapon capable of introducing great
changes in affairs ; describing it as a
most destructive kind of artillery, and of in
calculable utility in coast batteries, gun boats,
floating batteries, steamers, and also recom
mending its cautious use in ships of the line.
It was subsequently approved of by the
Academy of Science, when the experiment
was repeated on a much larger scale, by
placing the new artillery at different ffs
tances, and comparing its fire with that of a
certain number of the best guns in the ser
vice. The result was the most complete suc
cess. Not only was the effect of bombs of
S6 1-4 lbs. beyond all comparison greater
than that of ordinary shot, but it exceeded
that of the hollow missiles, far beyond ex
pectation. Os the six bombs fired at 850
yards, the first, after passing through two
ports, exploded beyond the ship ; the second
struck without bursting; the third did great
damage; the fourth, after penetrating the
side three feet above the water, knocked off
the but ot a plank, and made a breach of
nearly three feet square ; the fifth, after pro
ducing much oilier damage, set the ship on
fire, and so endangered the vessel, that she
was saved with difficulty. The commission
reported their conviction of the prodigious
havoc occasioned by bombs, described their
power as terrible, and said that it was evi
dent a ship could easily be fired bv such
weapons. The conclusion of the French
writer is decidedly in favor of this destructive i
implement of war, especially in connexion
with steam ships. The recommendation has
since been carried into effect, and whether
successful or not, we need only point to the
ruins of the castle of San Juan de Ulioa, in
illustration. Two of four bomb cannon, adds
Lieutenant Dahlgren, are now mounted in
every French ship of the line and frigate,
which at the time lie wrote, embraced 31
steamers, in addition to 46 ships of the line,
CO frigates, and a number of corvettes. Four
of the steamers are 220 horse power, and 20
of them 160 ditto, mounting five guns each.
The pamphlet before us, concludes with
some excellent observations in relation to an
increase and improvement in the American j
navy. He argues that the great difficulty !
which all nations find in manning their fleets,
Will in some measure be relieved by this spe- i
cies of force. An incalculable advantage of
steam warfare is the comparatively slight de
gree of instruction necessary to qualify for
efficient service on board such vessels. Under
officers duly qualified, and selected with a
view to these duties, the exercise of the guns,
whether bomb cannon or the usual ship trims,
may be learnt in a short time. The°meii
need not necessarly be seamen, but mav be
drawn from other sources.
The crews of the steamers might be re- *
cruited from landsmen, as well as “from that
hardy race employed in the inland water !
trade, and who would feel perfectly at*home 1
on the deck ot a steamer. Thus, at the com
mencement of the war, had we a sufficiency
ot steam vessels, we should have on the spot
most requiring defence, a numerous class of
persons best qualified for the purpose. In
deed, a large portion of the coast population
would be found available under such circum
stances, and hence the importance, propriety j
and economy ot providing a number of steam i
vessels of war. Indeed, all the circumstances j
considered, our position, the difficulty with j
Great Britain, the character of our navy, and ;
the vast extent of sea coast in our possession
—:t is a matter of great surprise that the
system which is so earnestly recommended
by Lieutenant Dahlgren, and the absolute 1
necessity for which is now so fearfully appa
rent, has not before this been attempted by
our government. Surely the administration
has been blind to the true interest, the proper
protection, the substantial welfare of the na
tion ! They have since built steamer after I
steamer, and armed them with the dreadlui j
weapons, to a brief description of which the
greater part of this article is devoted. Great
Britain followed the example years ago, and
has now a much more powerful fleet, both
steam and otherwise, than that of France,
Lord Cochrane, a well known naval officer,
after examining a steam frigate, the ‘ Gor
gon,’armed with the paizhans or shell-shot j
! guns, said, ‘ With this single frigate I would ■
undertake to destroy any mere sailing fleet in
the world.’ And yet, with these facts on re
cord, and as we may presume within the
knowledge of the national government, we
have not a vessel of war of any description,
armed with this kind of weapon, while we
can claim but a single steam frigate that has
any pretensions of a warlike character. The
American people should rise up as one man,
and denounce so gross an instance of neg
lect and culpability, on the part of those to
whom they have confided the destinies of the
Republic. We speak not here in a political
sense, for we believe Congress is quite as
much to blame as the Executive, and the old
women, who as Navy Commissioners, have
contributed no little to this wretched condi
tion of affairs.’
From the Washington Globe.
FLORIDA ARMED OCCUPATION RILL.
The loss of this bill was one of the events
of the last session to be regretted, both for
the loss itself, and the combination of par
ties, and the tactics by which it was defeated.
The bill was supported by the friends of
the administration as one which, in the opin
ion of the most experienced officers and citi
zens, was not only the cheapest and most ef
fectual manner of removing the Indians from
the peninsula of Florida, but as almost the
only means of succeeding in that enterprise.
It was opposed by the combined forces of
Abolitionists, Conservatives, Wbiggies and
Federalists. Mr. Morris, in the Senate, open
ly placed his opposition on anti-slavery
ground ; and, speaking for other ‘ sagacious
friends’ as well as for himself, declared that
they saw in that bill a design to settle a slave
territory, in order to make it a slave state,
and thereby increase the slave interest in
Congress and in the Union. Mr. Morris
look the lead against the bill in the Senate,
and was supported in the vote even by the
Southern Conservatives, who, in their indis
criminate and relentless opposition to every
measure of the administration, even joined
the abolitionists in opposing a Southern
measure! Mr. Clay was a bitter opponent
to the bill, doubtless as interfering with his
favorite policy of distributing the proceeds
of the sales of the public lands; for as the bill
proposed to pay the settlers in land for occu
pying the country, it would have had the ef
fect of diminishing by so much the amount
for distribution, and relieving to that extent
the demands upon the Treasury, and the ne
cessity for a continuation of the tariff. Mr.
Davis, as a consistent Federalist who has
never adjured his faith, acted upon the eld
principle in opposing the increase of slave
states; and as for the Southern Conserva
tives, the miserable condition in which they
have placed themselves in becoming the tail
of the Uniten States Clay-Band party, leaves
them no alternative but to obey every im
pulsion which their imperious Kentucky lead
er gives them. The bill was passed in the
Senate, where the administration held the
majority ; hut it died in the House of Rep
resentatives where Abolitionists and Conser
vatives give the sway to Federalism. Every
Democrat in*the Senate voted for the bill ;
every enemy te Democracy voted against it.
In the House it encountered the new tactics,
called ‘ strangling ,’ or I wringing the neck off?
These new tactics consist of waylaying a
bill as it comes down from the Senate, hav
ing*a corps ready to spring upon it, and mov
ing to lay it on the table the instant the title
is announced. This is a sort of bow-string
process introduced, not from Constantinople,
but from Kentucky; and practised by the
subalterns of Mr. Clay on all the bills which
pass the Senate against his* will. It is the
way he had the graduaiion bill served at this
session, and the way he has had many a good
measure disposed of. It is a most convenient
method of killing a measure, and getting rid
of responsibility ; for it acts by surprise,whips
the opposite party before they are ready to
fight, cuts off all discussion, throw’s the bill
out of its place, puts it where it must lie till
got up by a dead lift, answers all the pur
poses of rejection, and avoids all the respon
sibility of voting against it; for, if called to
account, the Representative can say, he
merely voted to lay it on the table. It is,
therefore, a most convenient method of de
stroying a bill. True, it is not a very fair
method. True, it is not the method in which
public measures ought to be disposed of.—
True, it is not the manner in which a bill of
national importance, which has passed the
Senate, ought to be treated. True, this is a
foul way of killing a bill! But that is no
: thing in these days. Since Biddle-Bank-at
torneys have been leaders in Congress, all is
fair that wins! The tricks, as well as the
j dialect, of the pot-house and the gambling
j table, have been transferred to the halls of
| national legislation ; and this way of waylay
ing a bill, and strangling it as it enters the
; House, is one of the fruits of this deplorable
transfer. The Florida armed occupation
bill, then, was subjected to the strangling
process, or rather to the attempt of it; for
[the scheme barely failed by two or three
votes. But the attempt had the effect of de
feating Ihe bill; for it was thrown out of the
regular course, subjected to different motions
from Abolitionists, Conservatives and Fede
ralists, all tending to destroy it; and, in the
course of these motions, the union became
complete between all the enemies of the ad
ministration, who, constituting the majority
in the House of Representatives, left the bill,
not among the unfinished, but among the
untouched business of the session.
The loss of this bill is to be regretted on
account of the sufferings of Florida and the
adjacent parts of Georgia, and the vast ex
pense and little progress of operating upon
j the Indians by mere military forces. It is
greatly to be regretted that the bill was lost,
; not only on these accounts, but also because
, the settlement of Florida is an object of na
tional importance, called for by the highest
considerations of policy, commerce and na
tional defence. It will not do to suffer the
40,000 square miles of East Florida to be
come a haunt for savages, runaway slaves,
refugees from justice, and pirates. The com
merce of the Gulf of Mexico requires the
whole peninsula to he settled, down to Cape
Sable, and the ‘ common defence’ requires per
manent fortifications and other defences on
that most exposed point of the South. The
j loss of the bill was a national calamity; and
1 that loss is proveable by the journals of the
two Houses, to be chargeable on the South
jern Conservatives! If they had acted with
the administration, instead of acting with the
Abolitionists and Federalists, the bill would
have been carried with all ease.
THE TRIUMPHS OF LABOR.
V\ e have rarely seen the mighty results of
i ie tabor ot man more strikingly elucidated,
i than in the following extract from an address
by Henry Coleman, of Massachusettes, to
: several Agricultural Societies of that state,
assembled at their annual festival last Octo
ber. \\ e find it in the New England Farmer:
1 l w° years-since 1 traversed the great
Erie Canal, trom one end to the other; I
> floated op the waters of the Ohio Canal; and
r returned to the sea shore by the Pittsburg
and Pennsylvania canals and railroads.—
What a magnificent excursion ! What
mighty triumphs of art 3Bd labor are here. I
What a moving of the affections ! What an
expanding of the imagination! How many
beautiful and splendid visions have floated
before the mind, which were here surpassed j
by the great realities. Here were deep ba
sins excavated, ami noble and long stretch
ing embankments, which rivalled the neigh
boring hills. Here were rivers, hundreds of
miles in length, flowing at man’s pleasure,
and in channels formed by his hands. Here
were streams crossing streams on beautifully
arched aqueducts. Here were mountains of
granite pierced through and through, and a j
passage opened through the heart of ada-j
rnantine barriers for vehicles freighted with
human life.
‘Here \yere deep inland oceans mingling j
their waters with the mighty sea that sweeps
from pole to pole; and bearing upon their
quier tides ten thousand floating and deeply
laden arks; myriads of human beings, active
in the pursuit of business or pleasure; accu
mulations of wealth from the deep and tan
gled recesses of the forest, now first springing
into life under the touch of civilization, from
the glittering field of polar ice, and from the
: shores of the Western ocean; accumulations
whose growing extent defies all calculation.
All this, too, is the work of a little animal of
the ordinary height of sixty inches, with only
two feet and two hands, and of an average
duration of life less than twenty years. His
mighty implements in these great exploits
were only a kind of Robinson Crusoe assort
ment, a hoe, a pickaxe and a spade. Such
are the great results of intelligent, concen
trated, persevering labor; achievements of
our own times, and scarcely a quarter of a
century old.
‘ These results are wonderful. They are
the fruits of the labor of individuals, applied
in its most minute forms, and at successive
times. When De Witt Clinton first struck
a spade little bigger than a man’s two hands
into the ground, and said, ‘This shall bring
the mighty waters of Lake Superior into the
ocean, and the vast, and as yet unimagined
treasures of the great West shall float upon
their descending current,’ few minds could
believe that Ihis'was any other than ‘such
stuff as dreams are made of.’ But the pre
diction was accomplished, and in his day.—
The thundering cannon never sent a more
electrifying appeal, than when its successive
acclamations along the whole bright line an
nounced that the miptual union between the
vast lakes of the north, and the beautiful At
lantic, was consummated. Never was a
gladder noie poured into the patriot’s ear
since the declaration of 1776, than the assur
ance which then fell upor. it, that these inter
nal communications, these glittering silver
bands, were to form the strong bonds of
friendly union and sympathy with those dis
tant territories now brought into such near
conjunction; territories before scarcely known
to each other by name, now shaking hands
with each other as next door neighbors.—
Such are the great results of labor.’
From the N. Y. Evening Star.
The country for Emigrants—lnterior trade
md agriculture of Texas—Prospect of JYew
York and Philadelphia. —By our latest files,
we learn that the Cctmanchee Indians are
quite pacific, and the trade on the Mexican
frontier actively resumed. The French block
ade has given anew stimulus to it, and the
Mexicans are disposed to make a virtue of
necessity and carry on their commerce by
land through revolted Texas. Col. Kaines,
in a late expedition in the Camanchee coun
try on the Rio Frio, found all quiet. The
Houston Telegraph, Feb. 20, says :
The merchants of Bexar are quite san
guine in the belief that the trade with the
Mexican settlers on the Rio Grande will he
.more profitable this season than it has been
at any previous period. Until within a few
weeks, this trade has been carried on, as it
were, by stealth, it was a mere system of
smuggling bv barter ; but now the traders
come in openly, protected by passports from
the commanders of the federal forces, and
pay specie for the articles they purchase.—
Several thousand dollars in specie have been
brought into that city within one or two
weeks. It is not improbable that the cur
rents of specie which have heretofore set
from the interior provinces of Mexico through
Metamoras and Tampico to New Orleans,
will be turned by the superior skill and enter
prise of Texian merchants, through the ports
of Texas. Thus the tables of commerce
would be turned in our favor; Texas would
no longer be a tributary to New Orleans, but
New Orleans would become in some degree
a tributary of Texas, and her merchants
would be as dependent upon this country for
‘heir supplies of specie, as are the planters of
Texas dependent upon New Orleans for their
supplies of clothing and groceries.
The Telegraph wisely urges, therefore,
that New Orleans should aid in sustaining the
currency of Texas, not attempt to depress it,
for to this channel she may have to look for
her specie. The trade of Texas may be oth
erwise directed to New York and Philadel
phia. The Telegraph adds:
The indications of a competition of this
character are daily becoming more apparent,
and it is a fact worthy of notice, that the
goods which have been imported to this
country from Baltimore, Philadelphia, and
New York, within the last six months, exceed
in value the whole amount of goods imported i
from New Orleans in the year 1836.
Peace, however, between France and
Mexico would probably soon cause trade to
revert to its old channels by sea direct from
Mexican ports to the nearest great American
mart, New Orleans.
It is properly remarked by the Telegraph,
that to secure the trade on the western bor
ders with Mexico, and to advance the settle
ment and agriculture of those fertile regions,
some two hundred mounted rangers should
be placed on the Trinity, Brazos and Colora
do. Two companies have indeed been re
cently organised by the government for that
destination. The prospect for enterprising
young planters, must surpass that of any
other part of the world, if what the Tele
graph says be true. There are 500 new
comers at Houston unemployed. The editor
says, by turning their attention immediately
to agriculture, they can realise 04,000 each
year. The soil will yield, under proper cul
tivation, about 400 bushels of potatoes to
each acre, or 40 bushels of corn, and from
one to two bales of ginned cotton. One man
can easily cultivate ten acres of corn and four
ol potatoes, or four acres of potatoes and six
acres of cotton. If he should cultivate corn
and potatoes, he could raise 400 bushels of
corn and 1,600 bushels of potatoes. If he
should cultivate potatoes and cotton, he could
raise 1,600 bushels of potatoes and nine bales
of cotton. During the last two years com
has been generally 03 a bushel, potatoes
from 02 to 03 a bushel, and cotton from 050 j
to 070 a bale, current money; consequently,
in either case, the product of his labor would
be worth 04,000. The products of the labor
of 500 men at these rates, would be worth:
02,000,000, a sum considerably greater than
the whole amount of the national debt.
Fire in Savannah. —On ihe evening of the
25th ult. several houses, and the schooner
Medora on the South Carolina side of the
river, opposite to Savannah, were consumed \
by fire. The wind was high, and the sparks
were carried towards the city in such quanti
ties as to communicate with several houses,
which were entirely destroyed. Others
were greatly endangered, but the energy of
the fire department prevented the spread of j
the flames. —Columbus Enquirer. >
From the N. Y. Express - .
FROM MAINE.
The news from Maine is pacific, and not
unimportant. All was quiet at Bangor on
the 19th.
‘The civil force under command of the
Land Agent, has been dismissed, except a
sufficient number to build a boom across the
Aroostook, and to open roads. General
Hodsdon, with his troops, has reached fort
Fairfield.’
The Maine house of Representatives on
the 20th, adopted by yeas 165? and nays 1,
several resolutions, declaring m substance,—
that the rigiit of this Stale to exclusive juris
diction over all that territory claimed by
; Great Bitian, which lies west of a line due
; north from the monument to the northwest
jangle of Nova Scotia, usually denominated
j the disputed territory, has been constant and
indefeasible since her existence as an inde
pendent slate.
That Maine in view of the measures re
cently adopted by the government ol the
Union in relation to this question, and par
ticularly the provision made lor a Special
Minister to the Court of St. James, and ac
tuated by an earnest desire to come to an
amicable adjustment of the whole controver
sy, will forbear to enforce her jurisdiction in
that part of her territory, the possession of
which is now usurped by the province of
New Brunswick, so i’aras she can do so con
sistently with the maintainance ol the resolve
of the 24th January last,—but she has seen
nothing in recent events to cause her to
doubt that it is her imperative duty, as well as
her invariable right, to protect her public
domain from depredation and plunder up to
the extreuiesi limits of her territory, and that
no power on earth shall drive her from an
act ot jurisdiction, so proper in itself, and to
which her honor is so irrevocably commit
ted.
That as tiie practicability of running and
marking the North Eastern boundary line, in
accordance with the provisions of the treaty
of 1783, is indubitable—to consent to another
arbitration, in pursuance of the recommen
dation of the President of the United States,
would be a virtual abandonment of the rights
and interest of Maine.
That a crisis has arrived when it becomes
the duty of the General Government forth
with to propose to the Government of Great
Britain a joint commission for the purpose ot
running the line in accordance with the
treaty of 1783—and in case of a refusal on
the part of Great Britain, it is the duty of the
United Slates to run the line upon tier own
authority, and to lake possession of the
whole disputed territory without unnecessary
delay.
That the public measures of the Governor
of this State, in relation to the disputed terri
tory, meet the cordial approbation of this
Legislature, that they concur in the doc
trines and sentiments contained in bis recent
message—that they will sustain him in carry
ing into effect the resolve of the 24th Jan.,
aforesaid, and that whenever he shall be ful
ly satisfied by the declarations of the Lieut.
Governor of New Brunswick or otherwise,
that the latter has abandoned all intentions
of occupying the disputed territory with a
military force, and of attempting the expul
sion of our party, that the exigency which
called for the military having ceased, the
Governor be, and he hereby is, authorised to
withdraw the same, leaving the Land Agent
with a sufficient posse, armed or unarmed, as
the case may require, to parry said resolve
into effect.
These are not the resolutions which passed
the Senate on Tuesday, or the resolutions be
fore brought before the House. The Senate,
however, will undoubtedly concur in them.
We look upon their adoption as among the
last acts of the Legislature referring to this
subject, and believe that the whole contro
versy will end in a few days. Maine will
leave the whole matter for the general go
vernment, and rest content with the assur
ance that her rights and interests will speed
ily be enforced.
Correspondence of the N. Y. Daily Express.
Bangor, March 18, 1839.
We are waiting with some anxiety to know
what reply, if any, Sir John Harvey makes
to Gov. Fairfield’s message. A correspon
dence has passed between Gen. Scott and
Sir John Harvey which has been regarded
as pretty fully indicative of the feeling ot Sir
John. He is altogether pacific, and is dis
posed to avoid a brush if possible. How can
he, however, withdraw his threat to expel
our party by force if our troops are not with
drawn, without evident disgrace. If he has
the instructions which he has so strongly as
serted, to prevent any occupation on our part,
he is put at fault at once if he does not put
his threat in execution, or at least attempt it.
There is now, however, but a small force
at his immediate command. The 11th regi
ment, which marched through to Canada the
present winter, which were ordered back be
fore the outbreak, have probably arrived be
fore this time at the Grand Falls. This re
giment musters over 600 strong with two
pieces of artillery. There were before this
about 200 regulars at Grand falls and a por
tion of militia. There is a small regular force
at the Tobique and a small body of inilitia.
About 300 regulars have reached Wood
stock, and the remainder of the regiment are
on their way. In order to protect Wood
stock, he must have a large portion of his
force at that place, and his disposable force
for attack cannot amount to much before the
opening of the spring.
I have just been conversing with a gentle
man recently from Woodstock, who has had
the best means of information, and he says
the people of the province do nor enter at all
into the views of their government.
The intelligent men admit that the terri
tory is ours, and feel very little disposition to
have a brush lor it. A few leading men
who are dependant upon the government for
a support, of course make great show of loyal
ty, but the great mass of the whole favor our
side of the question. It is now openly talked
of in the province, that the St. John will be
the boundary. The British government find
ing’ it impossible to get what they want by
the treaty of ’B3, will gladly give us all this
side of the St. John to its mouth, as an equi
valent for that above it. So deeply do they
feel the necessity of a direct communication
between Halifax and Quebec, connecting
these provinces thoroughly, that they will
gladly yield ns all on this side. All the ob
jection to this, is an unwillingness jo transfer
a portion of their citizens to us. Ihe great
mass of the people, however, would rejoice at
the exchange. The increasing intercourse of
a few years past has wrought a great change
in the feelings of these provincials. They
have seen enough of our institutions and our
form of government to desire a change. I
do not, however, believe Maine would con
sent to such a proposition. W hat object
could be placed upon northern frontier equal
to the stern barrier of mountains which en
circles it? In a military point of view the
j territory is invaluable to us.
Our force have now reached Jarvis’s camp,
and are busily employed in erecting their fort
and block houses for their accommodation,
j The fort is laid out so as to cover about six
acres. They have 5 brass artillery pieces
mounted, and two iron 12 pounders are now
about to he removed from Castine, to be
planted upon the fort. The main portion is
j on the south side of the Aroostook, at the |
| bend of the river. There is an American
! fort directly opposite to it on the other side of
the rver, which is also being occupied and
fortified. It is only 18 miles from this port
to where the St. John crosses the line. As
soon asjhe road can be opened so as to reach
this place conveniently with supplies our
j force will move up and take possession of the
iSt. John.
SENTINEL & HERALD. I
COLUMBUS, APRIL 4,1839.
It is with no ordinary degree of surprise,
as well as feelings of regret, that vve are in
duced to notice the following editorial in the
Constitutionalist of the 2Sth ult.—
“ The remarks we made in our last paper
should have created no surprise with a lew of
our citizens. We said, and say again, that
we cannot blame our merchants for seeking
relief where they can find it. If Mr. Biddle
establishes a branch of his bank in this city,
with pledges, honorably kept, that the opera
tions of such a branch will be confined to the
principles of banking; that those operations
will be based on strict impartiality ; that the
branch will abstain from meddling directly or
indirectly in the politics of the country, and of
this State in particular; and that it will co
operate with all those banks in the State
which are prudently and creditably managed,
in establishing a sound currency among us,
which vve have not, and bringing back all
banks to a regular course of banking business,
from which they have so essentially departed.
With such pledges given and honorably
kept, and all engagements punctually fulfilled,
we say to such a branch of Mr. Biddle’s
bank, be welcome among us, notwithstanding
our opposition to a national bank, and the
danger we apprehend of foreign and moneyed
influence in our State concerns. We are
prepared at any time to give our reasons for
the declarations we now make to the public ;
and we leave it to those who are benefitted by
the pressure in our money market, the de
rangement in our State currency, and the
embarrassments of the* community, to make
what comments they please upon those decla
rations.”
We say we were surprised at the forego
ing; because it is directly at war with all of
the principles for which that journal has here
tofore so nobly and so ably contended, and
we regret it, because it will be held as an
admission favorable to the necessity of the
establishment of a national bank. We are
aware that Mr. Biddle’s United States Bank
of Pennsylvania is not a national bank, nor is
the Insurance Bank of Celumbu3 any ether
than an institution operating under the sanc
tion of a State law; but are our friends of
the Constitutionalist prepared to yield one of
the grounds upon which it is attempted to
fix and fasten upon the country a national
bank, i. e. its expediency ? Shall the misera
ble and suicidal policy pursued by the Au
gusta banks compel us to submit to an evil,
which, when 01 ce fastened upon us, we can
not shake off?
We would ask our friends of the Constitu
tionalist, how long they think Mr. Biddle
would keep such pledges? and answer for
them, ‘As long, we presume, as all of the
banks of Augusta bad kept theirs.’ The rea
sons given by the Augusta banks when ask
ing of the Legislature to grant them the
exercise of their corporate rights, were, that
they might furnish the means to purchase the
products of the country, and to facilitate its
commerce; and were not these reasons by
them so assigned offered as and deemed and
considered as pledges by them and their suc
cessors? and on these pledges did the Legis
lature too confidingly, we think, grant their
applications. How they have kept these
‘pledges it is for the country to say. Are
not these institutions now converted into offi
ces of brokers, shavers and dealers in ex
change, for the purpose of speculating on and
shaving the community, instead of confining
themselves strictly to the ordinary business of
banking? And if they have found it more
profitable to abandon the legitimate purposes
for which they were created, and adopt that
which tends to destroy commerce, would not
Mr. Biddle and his bank be allured by the
same temptation into the same business?
We cannot, therefore, see that Mr. Biddle’s
pledges would be worth more than those
given by the banking institutions of our own
State.
But it is to serve—being a great mam
moth—to coerce the smaller fry into an honest
discharge 01 their duty, by the force of its
immense capital; to drive them out of the
trade, that it might monopolise the whole.
Sanction, we say, the introduction of this
moneyed Colossus, and it would regulate the
exchanges with a vengeance! How much
has Mr. bank contributed to this
object heretofore? Why, when the ex
changes would and should have been at par,
if they had been conducted in any other way
than through the banks, did not Mr. Biddle’s
bank in this place charge from 6 to 10 per
cent. ? But if there is distress at this time
pervading all classes, will that sanction a
wrong? It would be wrong, the Constitu
tionalist has heretofore ably demonstrated, to
establish a national bank on the ground of
expediency, as well as the want of power in
the National Legislature so to do; and we
think the evil is much more manifest to per
mit the State of Pennsylvania to do it.
There is no person who feels more sensibly
than we do, and the community in which we
live, the great want of moneyed facilities,
notwithstanding our banks have done all they
possibly could do to prevent it; yet we arc wil
-1 ling to submit to every inconvenience rather
I lhan yield and submit to the monster, to be
let fully loose amongst us.
ADAM AND EYE.
Seldom has it been our goad fortune to j
witness such chaste and beautiful specimens
of art as these pictures exhibit. There is a ;
winning grace in the perfect form and re-:
dining attitude of Eve, as she places the fruit j
n the reluctant hand of Adam, which com- 1
mands our admiration. The gaze is rivetted
upon the picture of the Expulsion, and it re- j
I quires but a slight stretch of fancy to ima- j
oine the figures standing bolding from the j
canvass, and breathing in life, while the lurid
flash of the riving thunderbolt, as it blasts j
the oak, conveys no inapt idea of the frown j
of the Eternal. The blending of light and
shade in these pictures is beautiful; the more
we gaze, the more we fixed and fascinated
by the perfect unity of design and excellence
of conception. All who wish to enjoy an
intellectual treat ol the highest order, should
not fail to visit the exhibition.
J. B. Webb, Esq. editor of the Tallahassee
Star, says the Union Bank of Florida is not
, about to burst; Abraham Ayres, who has’
written to us upon the subject, says it is.—;
Who is right ? ,
The removal of the Seat of Government of
the State of New York, from Albany to the j
Commercial Metropolis is now in agitation in |
that State. 1
The election for delegatee to the Reduction
Convention, for this county, resulted as fol
lows :
* James S. Calhoun, S. R. 45S
* Wiley Williams, S. R. SS9
* Seaborn Jones, S. R. 386
* Kenneth McKenzie, U. 354
* Thomas W. Watson, U. 319
Dr. Thomas Hoxev, S. R. 272
Mansfield Torrence, S. R. 220
The following are the delegates elected in
Talbot county: Messrs. Riley, Davis, Bu
chanan, and Searcy, all Union men.
We perceive in the Mobile papers an an
nouncement of the appearance of our little
favorite, Miss Meadows, in anew play en
titled ‘ Victoria , or the Lion and the kiss .’
James Gordon Bennett, Mr. Field.
Queen Victoria. Miss Meadows.
Also, in anew drama, founded on the popular
work of the same name, called ‘ Oliver Twist.’
Oliver Twist, Miss Meadows.
We hope soon again to see the little fairy in
anew range of characters, to hear the witch
ing melody of her voice, and watch her
graceful figure as she trips it lightly to the
music of the castanet and ‘merry tambou
rine.’
Columbus Lyceum. —The Lecture before
this body on Saturday evening next will be
delivered by James N. Bethune.
Subject—Education.
THOMAS HOXEY, Pres.
S. T. Chapman, Rec. Sect.
POST OFFICES IN GEORGIA.
A post office has been established at Daw
son, Habersham county.
The post office at Gray Rock, Meriwether
county, has been discontinued.
The following post masters have been ap
pointed :
S. Montgomery, Pondtown, Sumpter
county.
W. G. Park, Courtesy, Floyd county.
James F. Tourrell, Lathersville, Merri
wether county.
G. W. Carodine, Tuckoah Falls, Haber
sham county.
To the Editors of the Sentinel and Herald:
Gentlemen —Tuesday, the 23d of April,
is a day that ought to be held in respect and
veneration by every man of enlightened mind,
who truly values genius and intellect of the
highest order. Ii is the birth day of Shaks
peare! It is also the day on which he died,
leaving to the world his works, those giant
pillars which have, for nearly three centuries,
supported the monument of his fame, and
given to his name the stamp of immortality.
1 am chiefly led to these remarks by reading
the following remarks from a Philadelphia
journal, the Gentleman’s Magazine,* which
ranks high in public estimation among the
lovers of amusing and instructive literature.
I copy it for the consideration of your read
ers, as it will convey, more fully than any
words I could use, the just and reasonable
conclusion, that this day should indeed be
marked by some demonstration of public feel
ing and respect to the memory of the man
from whom we are ever receiving instruction
and delight, whether in the quiet perusal of
his works in the closet, or when aided by the
scenic effect of dramatic exhibition.
‘ Shakspeare 1 s birth day in America. —W hy
is it that the anniversary of the birth of W il
liam Shakspeare is never celebrated in any
portion of the United States? We are a
dinner-going community, and inherit from
the beaf-eating Britons of the olden days a
propensity to seize upon any decent excuse
tor parading'the roast and the boiled. 11
we catch a hero, foieign or domestic, within
the entanglement of our web, we give him a
dinner. If vve can but entice our political
demigod into the purlieus of our district, vve
give him a dinner. We dine our friends on
the anniversaries of our births, our wedding
days, and such like silly observances. We
meet together, in sociality and love,, and ca
rouse ‘ potations, pottle deep,’ to the memory
of various national saints, who, if not posi
tively apocryphal in their existence, were lit
tle better than errant vagabonds or loafing
mendicants, belonging to no country, or at
least,but little connected with the lands whose
titular protectors they now-appear to be.—
But the name and fame of Shakspeare,-which
everyone ought to delight to honor,whether
political partisan, literateur, naval or military
hero, son of St. George, St. Andrew, Su
Nicholas, St. Patrick, or St. David, is never
graced with the holocaust of roast meats, the
fume of the beaming wine cup, the publicly
expressed adoration of the inspired devotee
at the shrine of nature and genius—although
every member of every possible society where
the English language is spoken is under an
undiscliargeable debt of gratitude to the glo
rifver of the language he speaks and the
world wherein he so unworthily fills a space.
*Why is this ? Shakspeare is not the poet of
England alone —
‘ He was not for an age, but for ail time !’
On the twenty-third ol April, th,e anniver
sary of his birth, and also ot his death, let his
admirers congregate together in twos and
threes—in dozens, scores, or hundreds —in
the splendid mansions of the aristocrat in
the chambers of the student —the humble re
! sidenee of the meclianic~or in respectable
houses of public resort—let the wine cup be
drained to the memory ot the-greatest man
‘ that ever lived in the tide ot time ;’ let the
best feelings of the heart have free play round
the festive board spread in honor of his name ;
the Social Virtues ought to follovv in the train
j of him who ruled the passions ol mankind.
Is Philadelphia to be behind hand in this
celebration of the birth day of nature s arch
presbyter ? Are we to neglect this befitting
; opportunity of gathering together in his name
i the proud glories of our city—of blending all
; partisan arul sectarian distinctions in the ge
-1 neral worship of the acknowledged deity of
mind, which for upwards of two centuries
i has reigned paramount in the world of litera
! ture ? The scanty number of the acting
j plays of Shakspeare which the limited pow-
J ers ol the actors of the present day enable
| our managers to present upon the stage, at
; tract, in America, at least as deep, if not a
; more intense attention than is afforded to
! their representatives upon the hoards of ihe|
j English stage. Let us take the lead in doing,
honor the memory of the immortal bard.’
Since reading the atove, I have learned
that in the Northern cities the suggestion has:
had its proper effect, and that the 23d ol
April will no longer be passed over with neg
lect, but will be marked as a day of rational
conviviality by all who venerate the name ol
‘Shakspeare. All I would now ask is this—
■ shall the cities of the South be behind hant
in evincing their full estimation of the genius^
land talent which has commanded the tribute
iof admiration from the world ? I should hope
1 not; and surelv there are, in the city ol Co
s! iumbus, men of high standing in the taste and j
| judgment of literature, who have but to start
j the project to insure numbers, to join in some
I * vV. E. Burtnn.the popular comedian of the Phila
delphia theatre, is the proprietor and editor of the jour
nal here mentioned.
celebration of a day sacred to fame sb the*
birth and death of Shakspeare. F. B.
Columbus, April 2,1839.
We insert with pleasure the above letter
from our correspondent, and cordially acqui
esce in the sentiments he expresses, and also
in the extract he makes from the Philadel
phia journal. It is indeed true, the writings
of the immortal bard have been the property
of every country where the English language
is spoken; and the name of Shakspeare
should be, and vve believe is, reverenced as
much by the enlightened of America as it is
in England.. Let our city, then, be among
the first to pay this tribute to his memory..
It will at least be a beginning, and may be
the means of forming, at some future period,
another literary society, with Shakspeare as
its bead aod title. Let some of our influen
tial citizens come forward—form a committee
to carry the scheme into operation —then let
a meeting be held, and someone of our ta
lented lownsmen selected, and requested to
deliver an appropriate address on the occa
sion, in some public place, as may be agreed
upon, and afterwards issue tickets for a pub
lic dinner to all who may feel iqelined to par
ticipate in the festivities of the day- It will!
be a credit and an honor to ourselvesv Our
citizens have not been backward in their pa
tronage of the drama—let us, therefore, pay
this mark of respect to its mighty maafer
band, and if ‘ Philadelphia takes the lead
among the cities of the North,’ let Columbus
have the honor of being the first in the South ,
We once more heartily wish success to our
correspondent’s project, and hope it will be
seconded by all men of taste and refinements
—Eds.
Augusta money market. —Exchange is get
tingscarce, even at present high rates. Yes
terday but one of our banks was drawing on
New York at sight, and only for city notes,
at 1 1-2 per cent, premium; out door rateß
1 1-2 tor city and 1 1-2 for current bills, is
still the current price. Sight checks on
Charleston 1-4 per cent, preminm for city
notes; 1 1-4 for current; Savannah 1 a 1 1-4
for current bills. U. S. notes are selling at 2
a 2 1-2 per cent, premium ; Treasury notes
2a 2 1-2 and interest. Bills of the following
banks were not taken yesterday by anv of
our banks, either on deposit or in payment—
the bank of Darien and its different branches,
Bank of Havvkinsville, Monroe Railroad and
Banking Company, and Bank of Rome. The
notes of the Bank of Darien were selling at
25 per cent., and the Bank of Rome at°so
per cent, discount.
Freights. —No alteration to notice—dull.
To Savannah and Charleston, by boats, $1
per bale ; to Charleston by railroad $1 per
bale for square and 40 cents, per 100 lbs. for
round cotton.— Constitutionalist.
Phrenological Events. —Philo Progenitive
ness. —The wile of a Mr. Ream, atEdenton,
N. C. gave her husband anew year’s pre
sent in the shape of three strapping boys at
a birth. Mr. Ream will soon have bis full
number of quires at this rate.
Adhesiveness.—The mail coach from Cats
kill to Albany, travelling on the river, broke
through the ice, and the passangers were
found sticking in the muddy banks; fortu
nately none were hurl, only very wet.
Inhabitiveness. —A humane society in New
York reports, that in one two story house
there were found thirteen families, number
ing seventy four individuals most of them in
a state of entire destitution.
Concentrativeness.—A solar microscope
magnifying three millions times is exhibiting
at New Orleans.
Destructiveness. —At one pork house, in
Louisvilie, 19,300 hogs have, been killed and
packed this season; 624 were slaughtered
and dressed in four hours and twenty min
utes.
Alimentiveness—Shad, the first of the sea
son, have been selling at Savannah for two<
dollars each.
Acquisitiveness.—The Union bank of
Charleston has been robbed by a person who’
concealed himself in a coal vault, on the pre
vious evening, and bored holes through to
the upper story large enough to admit his
body.
Secretiveness.—A lawyer named Mande
ville, in N. Y. accused of receiving and con
cealing stolen goods, has been ordered to a.
second trial, jury not agreeing.
Cautiousness. —A man in Jacksonville (111.) 1
sold some powder crackers to some boys and,,
in showing them how to fire them, he took
one, fired and threw it over his head, a spark
from it falling into apart of a keg of powder,.
sitting on the floor behind him, open; the
front of the building was blown out, and all’
narrowly escaped with their lives.
Eventuality.—Coleman, a black of New
York, first got drunk, then jealous, then n r
dered bis wife by cutting her throat w ar
rested, tried, condemned, hung, magnetized,
dissected and buried, all ‘in the course of
human events.’
Time.—A man in England run a mile
in ten seconds less than two minutes—lie
must have had a teakettle in him to increase
his steam.
Tune.—Miss Sheriff’, Messrs. Segwin and
Wilson, are singing with great applause
the Chesnut Street Theatre.
Mirthfulnes-:. —The wife of Geo. Spencer,
of Accomac, Va. was taken with a fit off
laughing al the breakfe-t table, which resul
ted in choaking her >o death.
Individualiiy.—Old Hays, the Vidocq of
the New York police, can recognise any
rogue he has ever clapt his eve on before.—
He must be generally acquainted with the
citizens there.
Form.—A young lady in N. C. born with*,
oilt lifixbs, has lately attracted great
among the curious.
Size.—The highest chimney in England
has just been erected in Mr. Musgratt’s.
chemical works in Newton, I.t is three hun
dred and ninety-seven feet from the base to.
the summit.
Weight,—A child of W. Mills, at Hebron*
Yt. only one year old, weighs fßo!bs. and
perfectly healthy.
From the London Age.
THE ROYAL MATRIMONIAL SPEECH.
As the Sun has declared that a great fea
ture in the speecli from the Throne will be
the announcement of her majesty’s approach-’
ing marriage with Prince Albert of Saxe Co
burg, we teel no necessity to be laid upon us
to conceal any longer the fact that we are in,
possession of the exact words of the forth
coming paragraph in the Royal harangue,
j ‘Mv Lords and Gentlemen—l now Gome
;;o a matter 5 rayther’ personal to myself. I
am quite tired of the courtly glazings of el
derly young gentlemen; if I must have a
cosset, it shall be one which I can pet; and if-
I am to be pestered by Cupid, it must at least
! be one without wrinkles.
‘ My good governante, the Baroness, has
cozened me into fixing upon my cousin, who.
is so indifferently off at home that he would,
be glad to come here even for half a croton
and, as he is handsome, and twenty-two,
years of age, (although born four months
after me; and you know, my Lords and
Gentlemen, I was only nineteen last May,)
and ‘ Grandpapa’ is beginning to be tedious,
I think the best plan, and the most germane,
will be to take my German relation.
‘Besides, in this case, there can be ‘no
1 mistake’ as to settlements; Prince Albert