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We copy the following article from the
Louisianian’ to which we call (l.e altenuon of
the democratic party m Georgia.
COL. K. M. JOHNSON AND THE VICK-PRE
SIDENO 1.
Thouo-h it has not positively been announ
ced fronfunder the signature of this respected
soldier and patriot that he is not a candidate
jor the office of vice-president of the United
States at the next election, yet it has so fre
quently been asserted in newspapers publish
ed in the immediate vicinity of the colonel s
residence, without contradiction on his part,
that whatever our sentiments in relation to
him may be, the public would seem to be
authorised and in some measure bound to
take it for granted. The colonel has filled a
large space in the eyes of his countrymen du
ring the last thirty years, and there is no man
who enjoys a greater portion of public esteem
than he does for good sense and sincere de
votion to the welfare of his country.
Ifin reality the colonel intends to retire to
the shades of private life at the expiration of
his official term, we presume (he attention of
the democratic party will he turned to Mr.
John Forsyth, the present secretary of state
of the United States, as the individual most
flitting and worthy to succeed him. Col.
Benton and Mr. Buchanan were both brought
forward by their respective friends as candi
dates, whose claims to that high office were
to be decided by the democratic convention
which is to assemble next year. Bat both
those gentlemen have peremptorily declared
that they will not consent under present cir
cumstances that their names shall be bronght
before the nation with a view to such elec
tion. Mr. Forsyth lias not declined, and for
tunately he is admitted by all parties to
combine in his person the qualifications which
become the station. We say nothing of Mr.
Forsyth’s powers as a statesman, because
every American citizen, not blinded by fac
tious prejudices, concedes that they are
equal to any post in the civil government of
the country. He will be opposed by the
federalists, because his political principles are
diametrically opposed to theirs—his ••princi
ples are those which are cherished in the
South with peculiar afiection—those which
Jefferson and the fathers of the constitution
esteemed best adapted to the maintainance of
the system of liberty ingrafted on our institu
tions.
Mr. Forsyth is, besides, a man of great
experience in public affairs. He has dis
charged the functions of every species of
employment under the government —legisla-
tive, judicial, diplomatic and executive. In
each and all of these various posts he acquit
ted himself with honor—in each and all he
occasioned no regret except when he quitted
them. Some of them were of the most deli
cate and important ctiaracter. In the embas
sy to Spain, at a critical juncture in our
relations with that country, his extensive
information, his wise, firm and independent
deportment, was the object of admiration
throughout Europe as well as this country. —
While a member of the senate of the United
States, he was admitted by friend and foe to
be the most adroit and the most agreeable
debater in that assembly, filled as it then was
and still is with men of the very first grade
of talent. The people of the United States
are so well acquainted with the manner in
which he has borne himself, as secretary of
state, that it would be utterly superfluous to
go into detail to prove that lie has discharged
its difficult functions with greater ability and
power than any man that ever occupied it,
except Mr. Jefferson himself.
John Forsyth is the man, who combines in
an eminent degree all the requisite qualifica
tions, and his name, already proclaimed
throughout the union, in connexion with the
vice presidency, has been universally re
echoed by the democracy.
From the Butler (Pa.) Repository.
THE VICE PRESIDENCY.
For the last two or three weeks we took
the liberty of placing at our mast-head the
name of the Hon. James Buchanan, of Penn
sylvania, for the Vice Presidency, (subject,
however, to a regular nomination ;) but we
learn that he declines a nomination, pretering
to remain in his present elevated position.—
The names of Messrs. Forsyth, King and
Polk, have been mentioned in different papers
as candidates for the Vice Presidency. We
select the following article, commendatory of
the Hon. John Forsyth, of Georgia, the pre
sent Secretary of State of the United Stales,
from the Allegheny Democrat.
The Vice Presidency. —The name of John
Forsyth, of Georgia, lias been presented by
the Republican members of the Legislature of
that State, as a candidate for the Vice Presi
dency, to be run with Mr. Van Bnren on the
democratic ticket at the next Presidential
Election.
Our readers will find a biographical sketch
of this distinguished son of Georgia in our
present uurnber. This sketch is evidently
from the pen of some highly gifted writer, and
was originally published in the United States
Magazine and Democratic Review. We
have read this sketch with feelings of unmin
gled admiration at the long, consistent, and
briiiant republican career of this accomplish
ed statesman. He has been in public life,
and in the very eye of the nation for thirty
years, and not one single stain rests upon his
political escutcheon.
We find him, while quite a youth, dischar
ging, with superior ability, the responsible
duties of Attorney General of Georgia. We
find him next in Congress from 1812, the
champion of the war under Mr- Madison,
and during a period of war, chairman of the
committe on foreign affairs. Next we find
him elevated to a seat in the Senate of the
United States —then appointed by Mr. Mon
roe Minister to Spain—then again a leading
member of Congress—then elected Governor
of Georgia—then again in the Senate—and
finally called by General Jackson to the
highest office in his cabinet, a post which lie
continues to hold, with credit to himself and
honor to the country, under the present wor
thy executive, by whom he lias been favored
with the strongest proofs of personal regard
and public confidence. Throughout his
whole career, and in all the high and respon
sible stations to which he has been called, we
find him the marked favorite of Georgia, dis
tinguished by the confidence of every demo
cratic administration that has been in power
since lie entered upon the stage of national
affairs, and the leading and able champion of
democratic principles.
It is conceded that the democratic candi
date for the Vice Presidency must be a south
ern man ; and it is now generally understood
that Mr. Speaker Polk will be the republican
candidate for Gov. in Tennessee, and that
Col. Johnson, the present worthy incumbent,
is designated as a candidate for the same sta
tion in Kentucky. We could wish that cir
cumstances rendered it expedient or proper
that one of our own distinguished citizens—
our Wilkins, our Buchanan, our Dallas, our
Muhlenburg— could be put forward for that
exalted trust. But with a citizen from the
north for our candidate for the Presidency,
the south will be justly entitled to a candidate
for the post of Vice President.
Who then from the south could he selected
that would bring to our cause a greater de
gree of strength—a more brilliant reputation
fbr abilities, for patriotism, and for public
sgrvices—a more uniform adherence to Jef
fersonian doctrines from the very beginning
to the present point in his public life—-or
stronger claims upon the grateful regards of
the friends of Andrew Jackson, than John
Forsyth of Georgia? Can the republican
party of the Union ever cease to remember —
wiil they fail to appreciate — the memorable j
skill and devotion, the constant readiness and
profound ability, with which, standing aImQSt 1
j alone on the floor of the Senate, he defended
| General Jackson and his administration
(against the daily and hourly assaults of a
reckless majority in that body, who were led
ion by feelings of implacable hostility, and
i prompted by the goadings of disappointed
ambition? Who can forget the admirable
dexterity, as a parliamentory tactician, or the
eloquent boldness, as a debater, with which
he toiled the leaders of that majority in their
attempt to employ the machinery of ‘panic
and pressure’ to break down the administra
tion of General Jackson ?
From the Louisville Public Advertiser.
• CLAY AND HARRISON.
The Cincinnatti Republican of the 21st. in
an article on the conduct of the friends of Mr.
Clay and Gen. Harrison, remarks :
‘ We repeat now, that the Whig friends of
Gen. Harrison will abide by the decision of the
convention if it is fairly constituted. They ask
nothing more than a fair expression of the
opinion of the party, and they wish to see
that opinion fairly obtained. It was for this
purpose, and no other, that the convention in
question was proposed by a portion of (Jen.
Harrison’s friends at Columbus. The object,
as then and there declared, was to secure
evidence respecting the feelings of the major
ity, and, by acquiescing in the will of the
greatest number of the people, to promote
that union so anxiously desired as the price of
ultimate triumph.
‘ Accordingly, the manner in which dele
gates to the convention should he elected was
distinctly pointed out, as the only method bv
which the convention could be fairly constitu
ted and the wishes of the people themselves
expressed. That mode was by requesting
the people of each Congressional district to
call meetings and appoint their several dele
gates in due season. The Senatorial dele
gates were appointed by the State Conven
tion. Ohio herself gave a noble example of
fairness, and plainly manifested a desire for
union, bv selecting two Senatorial delegates,
one of whom was friendly to Gen. Harrison,
and the other the acknowledged friend of
Henry Clay. Could any thing evidence
greater delicacy of conduct than this appoint
ment? Can any mode of securing the
knowledge of the real sentiments of the peo
ple belter than that proposed by Die Ohio
Convention be devised? No candid man
will give an affirmative answer to either of
these questions.
‘ln what manner has this fairness and
liberality upon the part of the friends of Gen.
Harrison been responded to? A legislative
convention in Maryland has appointed two
Senatorial delegates, and, in the language of
a Clay paper, ‘ instructed them to employ
their votes and influence to secure the nomi
nation of Henry Clay, of whom they are
ardent personal and political friends.’ This
is following a magnanimous example with a
vengeance. We will not comment upon the
manner in which these two delegates are
known to have heen appointed.
* The second response to the voice of the
Ohio convention is hetlrd from Louisiana.—
A legislative convention has met and named
delegates for the entire State! What have
the people to do with this appointment?
Nothing—their feelings and wishes have not
been rightfully consulted, or their concurrence
and consent even invited. Persons sent to
legislate have forgotten their vocation, and
presumed to dictate to the farmer and labor
er, and to render the public voice null and
void.
‘Now if the Clayities wish to know why
the term ‘fairly constituted ’ is employed, we
will explain. The friends of Gen. Harrison
do not consider a convention fairly constituted
when the delegates are appointed by t\\epoli
ticians, instead of the people, as in the case of
Maryland and Louisiana. The way in
which these legislative conventions are got
up and the mode of operation,is no new thing
to the politician. The same machinery used
in one half of the pdblic meetings is employed,
and with precisely the same results; conse
quently, in nine cases out of ten, the voice of
such a convention is nothing but the echo of
the tones of a single individual. These
Louisiana delegates, then, it may fairly be
presumed, are selected and clothed with full
authority by two or three individuals. A
glorious ‘expression of public opinion,’ truly!
This mockery is called the proceedings of
the thousands of freemen in Louisiana ! It is
time such humbug was exposed and appro
priately denounced.
‘ The Whig politicians in the United States
are known to he friendly to Mr. Clay gener
ally. If the National Convention is suffered
to be made up by the management and influ
ence of these politicians, and the voice of the
people is smothered, as has been the case in
Louisiana, the convention will noth e fairly
constituted. It will he nothing but a gather
ing of all the broken down hacks and office
seeking politicians in the Union; where, if
honest men are found, it will be as Satan
found himself in heaven—through mistake. —
If the Clayities flatter themselves that the
decision of such a convention will satisfy the
friends of the farmer of North Bend, they
labor under the most absurd hallucination,
and may as well be apprised of their egre
gious error first as lasi.
‘ We leel authorized to say distinctly, that
the friends of General Harrison will never ac
quiesce in the decision of a convention, un
less the delegates are appointed in the manner
adopted by Ohio, the only democratic method
by which the will of the people can he ascer
tained. This is not said for effector intimi
dation ; it is the actual determination of Gen.
Harrison’s confidential friends. Busy intri
guers, therefore, may as well cease their
operations, futile and bootless as they are.’
We are rather inclined to consider the
above an authorized declaration that General
Harrison has determined, convention or no
convention, to be a candidate for the office of
President. The hero of Tippecanoe is rever
sing nature —acquiring impetuosity as he ap
proaches his grave—becoming firm as lie
grows infirm. It will be truly strange, should
General Harrison, after being remarkable
forty years for his lack of moral courage,
acquire the reputation of a man of firmness
and decision in his second childhood.’
From the Oswego Palladium.
ANOTHER BRITISH OUTRAGE.
The following account of another indignity
offered to the American flag, at the port of
Brockville, U. C., will be read without sur
prise. The vagabond soldiery stationed at
that place, seem to be kept there for purposes
of insult, and it is time that our government
required the British either lo withdraw their
troops from that station, or to'place officers
there having some sense of the obligations of
treaties and of their own responsibilities.
The schooner W. J. Pardee, J. Forsyth,
master, bound from Ogdensburgh to Oswe
go with a cargo of lumber, on the morning
of the 12th was passing Brockville, on the
northern shore of the St. Lawrence. The
vessel was taking the usual channel, which is
through the harbor of Brockville. Passing
| xvithin musket shot of one of the landings she
j was deliberately fired upon by the sentry
i there stationed. The ball was seen to skip
; along the water close under the vessel's bows.
| Phe same sentry, or another soldier who was
with him. as soon as the piece could be re
loaded fired again, and as Capt. Forsyth
states, in direct range of his person. The
captain saw the ball touch the water near to
him, and thinks it struck the vessel and
! glanced. Instantly alter the first fire, a
throng of persons, many of them soldiers,
showed themselves on the landing. Loud I
shouts and hooting ensued, which seemed lo!
|he directed at t he vessel. On hearing off,
j from Brockville landing, ihe vessel
I brought, up by Cholera Island, (one of the !
Thousand Islands, oil Brockville,) on which j
the captain observed a parly of soldiers. A'!
loud clamor arose as he neared them, and;
cries of fire, fire, were distinctly audible. One
of the soldiers, separating himself from the
others, ran to the water’s edge, and present
ed his musket, as if with the intention of
firing. He, however, was prevented by
another who followed him, and struck up his
piece, and by apparent remonstrances held
the party in check until the vessel had got
beyond the reach of musketry.
The British channel, (through which the
Pardee passed up the river,) is the one com
monly used. The American channel is more
intricate, and not so familiar lo navigators.
The free use of either channel is secured to
the vessels of both nations.
Attack on the steamboat United States. —
Further particulars. —Some of our citizens
sent notes to Prescott on Monday morning,
enquiring the cause and objects of the firing.
Several notes were received. Among oth
ers, one from Colonel Young, commanding
that post, stating that the firing was unau
thorised, expressing his regret at the occur
rence, and further, that he had caused a
court of enquiry to be convened for the pur
pose of investigating the whole transaction.
On Monday evening the steamboat Onei
da, now in the government employ, with a
detachment of troops, under command of
Capt. Philips, arrived. On Tuesday morn
ing the boat moved over to Prescott. Capt.
Philips, Dr. Mott, of the army, and several
citizens of this place went on shore and called
upon Colonel Young, for the purpose of re
ceiving his statement in explanation, if any
he had. Col. Young stated his regret at the
circumstance, but informed them that the re
sult of his court of enquiry had been wholly
nugatory, as he had not been able to dis
cover who had fired upon the boat.
This is adding insult to injury, for at the
time and place where the firing took place,
there was a great number of people on the
wharf, many of them dressed in British uni
forms, with bayonets bristling, distinctly visi
ble to the naked eve from our own shore. —
The fact is, that on Sunday afternoon at five
o’clock, when the boats first begin to run,
there is commonly a great many people on
the wharves on both sides, hut on the depar
ture of the United States, the number was
greatly increased, from the fact that threats
of attack had been rumored abroad for seve
ral days, and more than common interest was
felt to know whether they would be pul in
execution. Under these circumstances, it is
presumed that nearly a thousand persons
were spectators of passing events at Pres
cott. —Ogdensburg Times.
From the Philadelphia Gazette.
JUDGE LYNCH.
This important personage, after having
lain quiescent ftr some weeks, judging from
the newspapers, has latterly coine out again
in the South and West, with his swift writs
of procedendo ad judicium —beng apparently
as sound a hater of ‘ the law’s delay,’ as was
the melancholy prince of Denmark himself.
It was to he hoped that he had his glut of
retribution for a season ; hut the Brutus feel
ing is in a manner on him all the while; and
so long as it is lie will be on the scent for vic
tims.
Seriously, if there be any subsidence of the
Lynching code or spirit, under that special
name, it is ramifying itself into other forms,
which cannot but appal and strike with seri
ous reflections, every friend of humanity and
the laws. It no longer contents itself with
the cord and the scourge; it enters the very
holiest in the temple of Justice, and seizing
the fasces and the axe, madly usurps a su
preme dominion—polluting and overawing
one very hand. This is not p-ecisely what
may be called the Lynch action ; it is the
Lynch influence, no less baleful because more
secret, or because it silently exerts itself on
jurors.
Two cases, illustrating this dreadful state
of things, are now freshly on record. One is
that of Judge Wilkinson and others, in an af
fray at Louisville, at the Galt house, where
two persons were brutally murdered in broad
daylight, in presence ot many witnesses. We
have heard a gentleman say who was pre
sent, and saw the murdered men lying on ihe
floor, that it was one of the most sorrv sights
of the kind ever presented to the eve. .
The men killed were simply seeking a law
ful end—they were destroyed outright—and
vet the murderers were acquitted! We
should like to ask—on what principles of law ?
What of equity ? What of imperfect evi
dence? What of fact—or what of reason?
The last was that of Dr. Vaughan, for the
murder of young Pleasants, just decided in
Virginia—the result— acquittal. Our read
ers must remember the incidents of this atro
cious homicide. Pleasants was the accepted
lover of an accomplished young lady,of whom
Vaughan was also enamored. He preferred
his suit, and was rejected. In a fit of blind
indignation, he thought to succeed in win
ning her affections, by destroying the man to
whom she was betrothed. Accordingly he
sought every mode to provoke him into a
duel; but apology afler apology on his part,
was the result of this brave stratagem. At
last he walked into the room of Pleasants, at
his hotel, only a few days before his intended
marriage, and placing a pistol at his breast,
at once shot him down. The scene was a
horrible one ; the young man’s shirt bosom
on fire from the powder; himself staggering
across the room, his heart’s blood gushing:
out upon the floor, an 1 his malignant assail
ant looking fiendishly on !
One would suppose that such a man, for
such an act, so clearly proved, should be
hanged as soon as tried ; but no—he is ac
quitted, and at large.
Is it not clear from cases like these, tha 1
the laws are rapidly losing their power of
punishment or of protection, and that Judge
Lynch is taking his seat too frequently in the
courts ol the land.
Anecdote of two Arab chiefs. —There dwell
upon the great river Euphrates, near the
great city of Bosotra, two Arab tribes deadly
hostile to each other. Their enmity was so
proverbial and well known, that when one
man spoke of the enmity of another towards
a foe,,he would say, he hates him as an Ani
zee hates a Montifee. It fell out, that the
pacha of Bagdad, being apprehensive of the
invasion of the Kurds from Kurdistan, sent
out an order to ihe chief of the Anizees to
send him forthwith 20,000 men, and Ihe or
der was obeyed. The pacha, not placing
the same reliance upon the promptness of the
Montifee chief, resolved to lay a plan to lake
him by stratagem, and then demand from
him the aid of his tribe. He succeeded in
obtaining the attendance of the chief; and he
was brought into the presence of the Turk.
‘ I have taken you prisoner,’ said the paeha,
‘ fearing that I might not. otherwise have ob
tained die assistance of your tribe against
the Kurds. If now von command that 10,-
000 of your men shall come to mv assistance,
your chains shall be struck off. you may re
turn safe and uninjured to your tribe; but if
you do not comply, your head shall roll at :
| my feet.’ The chief looked the pacha sternly!
| in the face, and replied : ‘ Your slight know- j
| ledge of the Arab character has led vou into
this error. Had you sent to me for 10.000 of
my tribe, when I was fiee, I know r*>t what
answer I should have returned, but as it is,
mv reply cannot but be negative. If you
order my head to roll at your feet, be it so ;
there are more in mv tribe equal to mine.— j
Shed ono drop of mv blood, and everyone
will become its avenger. The Arab may be|
treated with when free, but when a prisoner, j
never.’
Tl e haughty pacha looked upon him for a
moment with surprise ; then turning to his
soldiers, he ordered them to sever his head
from his body. The chief stood calm and
collected, while the drawn sabre gieamed
aloft in the air. At this moment the noise of
: a horse galloping in the paved court yard of
t’ne palace attracted the attention of the pa
cha. At every bound he struck the fire from
the stones, and seeming to be striving to out
strip the wind. In a moment the rider vault
ed from his horse, and almost in the same
breath stood in the presence of the pacha.—
It was the chief of the Anizees. ‘ I am come,’
said he, ‘ to strike off the chains from my
enemy. Had he been taken in open conflict,
I should not have interposed, but as he has
been taken by treachery, though mine ene
my, yet will I be first to strike off his chains.
There are 20,000 lances under my command
glancing yonder in your defence; but if you
release not immediately mine enemy, every
one shall be directed against you as a foe.’
The Turk was forced to yield, and the two
chiefs retired together. The chief of the
Anizees conducted his brother chief, though
his deadliest enemy, to his own tribe, and
then said, ‘We are now again enemies; we
have only acted should always act
to each other; but von are now safe and
with your own tribe, and our ancient hostility
is renewed.’ With this they parted, and the
chief of the Anizees returned to the defence
of the pacha.— Buckingham’s Lectures.
Duelling.—-We find in a late number of
the United Service Journal, the following
very just remarks on the odious and absurd
custom of duelling:
It cannot be denied that duels have not
been so numerous of late years as formerly,
and have more frequently terminated without
bloodshed. The combatants now meet un
der the influence of a cooler temperament,
they do not fight a l outrance; second shots
are rarely discharged ; the practice is merely
conformed lo with a view of preserving their
stations in society, to whose inexorable and
absurd lawk their intemperate language or
conduct has rendered them amenable. Ex
planations and retractions are now also more
willingly given and eagerly accepted. It is
no longer a mark of cowardice for a gentle
man to explain his intention when miscon
ceived,or acknowledge bis error when wrong.
The reputation of a duellist more and more
approximates, in public opinion, the charac
ter of a bully. Moral courage is fast sup
planting physical courage, as the character
istic of true bravery.
Why, then, should Ihe practice be con
tinued ? The substance has long since gone ;
why follow the shadow? Why not, by one
short struggle, get. rid of a custom which has
now no defence on principle? Why longer
tolerate a system which, ‘ by separating the
man of honor from the man of virtue, gives
the greatest profligates something to value
themselves upon, and enables them to keep
themselves in countenance, although guilty
of the most shameful and dangerous vices?’
Nothing can be more absurd and barbarous
than the practice of duelling, except the ar
gument of those who justify it by saying that
it begets civility and good manners. If fear
be the source, or even one of the sources, of
good manners and civility, what a state must
society he in, and what a fiend must man be !
If fear be the only corrective agency for bad
manners, or incivility, then it is a panacea for
all moral evils Os humanity, and the philoso
pher of Ma/msbury, after the wrangling of
two centuries, is right.
The innocence of the Sub Treasury scheme
admitted by the Whig. —The Richmond
Whig, endeavoring to persuade Mr. Wilson
of Cumberland that there is nothing essen
tial in the Sub Treasury to separate him from
Whigery, say®:
‘ The Sub Treasury scheme. —A mere child
of legislation, which may be Iried one year
and discarded the next, and which, to try, or
not to try at ail, does not infringe upon the
Constitution—does not, unless by indirection,
not of necessity, touch those radical ques
tions either of principle or any honest practi
cal administration of the government, which,
as they are favorably or unfavorably resolved,
determine trie problem of our experiment in
free government.’
This is exactly true of the measure pro
posed by the administration. If the govern
ment cannot go along in the management o(
its finances without the bank power, the at
tempt being ‘ tried one year, may be discard
ed tiie next;’ and this does not ‘infringe
upon the Constitution.’ But how is it with
the scheme of the Whigs and Conservatives?
Break down the present Republican adminis
tration, and inslal Henry Clay. Then we
have a National Bank of unlimited powers
established—fifty millions capital—fifty years
charter—branches in every state. The Con
stitution is infringed, and irrepealable vested
rights fastened like a yoke, on die country,
which cannot ‘ be tried one year and discard
ed the next.’ This is the state of the case
which makes Mr. Wilson’s difference with
the Whigs essential.— Globe.
The valley of the Ohio. —We publish this
morning some interesting remarks upon the
country drained by the Ohio and its tributa
ries, from the Baltimore American. The
editor computes it at about 140,000 square
miles, which exceeds, by several thousand
square miles the era of Great Britain and
Ireland, and is but little less than that of
France. The present population of Great
; Britain and Ireland is 24,000,000. In the
valley of the Ohio there is less unproductive
land than in either of the others, and, with
proper cultivation, it is capable of supporting
in comfort and plenty, more than twenty
millions of population.
Rival cities are contending for the com
merce of this great valley—a commerce al
ready immensely valuable, although only in
its infancy. There is, however, no need of
jealousy in the matter; there will soon be
abundance for all, and there need be no hesi
tation about opening every practicable ave
nue between the Atlantic cities and the no
ble river that flows, for a thousand miles,
through this great vallev.
But the valley of the Ohio forms but a com
paratively small part of that great central
basin which would not be half populated were
all the crowded millions of Great Britain and
France added to its present inhabitants. All
that is required of art is to reacli Pittsburg;
nature lias done the rest. Come here and
read our steamboat bills : ‘ For Peoria,’ ‘ for
Galena,’ ‘for the Missouri river,’ and re-
member when you are here that you are
scarcely beyond the Atlantic slope—just on
the verge of that ultramontane world that
it makes a man dizzy to think about. Yet
1 here you are met by magnificent vessels,
ready to bear you—not across the ocean, nor
I along the coast—but to the deepest interior
of a great continent, or almost across it if you
choose. There need not, then, there ought j
not to be any hesitation or delay on the part j
of the states, in renewing the mountain barri- j
ers which exist between the Atlantic coast and
this central valley, in opening every possible
j avenue of intercommunication and commerce.
| They need only do the work —the vast resour- j
I ecs ol the West will soon pay for it.—Pitts
| burg paper.
Successful Experiment. —The London pa
pers ot February 18, mention the safe arrival
I at Pernambuco, from Liverpool, after a pas- j
i sage of 47 days, of the iron ship Ironsides.— j
This was the first sailing vessel, built of Iron,
that was ever sent from England on a foreign
voyage. By this voyage the great question
| of the compasses was satisfactorily determin- j
Cil; throughout the whole time they traversed j
| with t he same regularity and accuracy as on j
board vessels of the usual consruction.
SENTINEL & HERALD.
COLUMBUS, MAY 2,1839.
CREEK RESERVATIONS.
We have received from the War Depart
ment, and publish in this paper for the bene- ;
fit of all interested, a list of the contracts for (
Creek reservations in Alabama, which were j
reversed by the late Commissioners, Messrs, j
Crawford and Balsh, and in which no coun- j
sel have appeared, to enter an appeal from j
their decision, and protect the rights of the
original purchasers. This list embraces only
those cases which stand unrepresented , and,
we learn, they form but an inconsiderable
fraction of the whole number of contracts
reported to the government by its agents for
reversal. We infer, from information com
municated bv individuals who have seen the
report of the entire proceedings of the late
Commissioners, that few, if any of the con
tracts, which were unapproved by the Presi
dent at the time they entered on the duties of
their commission, have escaped their con
demnation. As our paper of to-day contains
an official notice relative to a branch of this
business, and as the period is just at hand
when the government will act finally and de
finitely on this whole matter, the occasion is
not, perhaps, an inappropriate one to submit
some of the views which have been long im
pressed on our mind, bearing on this per
plexing subject, and its final and satisfactory
adjustment. We are rejoiced to learn, as
we do from a credible source, that it is the
fixed determination of the government to pro
ceed at once to an investigation and ascer
tainment of the principles applicable in the
execution of the Creek treaty of 1832, and,
also, to make a thorough examination of the
actings and doings of the Agents and Com
missioners who have been successively
charged to superientend and enforce the pro
visions of said treaty, and, on a review of the
whole ground, to award full and final judge
ment.
Although we have no personal interest in
the matter, we are rejoiced at this determi
nation of the government, for the reason that
land titles, spreading over an extensive and
fertile section of a neighboring state, will he
quieted, and the improvement and popula
tion of that section be proportionately pro
moted and increased ; that ilie security and
preservation of important rights will be ob
tained ; dissensions healed, and the govern
ment itself relieved from the further conside
ration of an unpleasant and onerous charge.
It tins, from the first, appeared to us to be no
difficult task to settle correctly this whole bu
siness appertaining to claims arising under
the provisions of the Creek treaty of 1832, if
the subject were divested of all improper and
extraneous influence, and the few and clearly
established principles applicable to it, were
recognised and judiciously enforced. We
can only account for the delay, and the nu
merous difficulties which have been thrown
around this whole business, from the fact that
the important, laborious, and numberless du
ties of the Secretary of War, have rendered
it impossible for him to give this subject pro
per consideration ; and from the additional
fact, that most, if not all of the agents and
commissioners who have been, from time to
time, despatched to examine into the truth of
reported charges, and make correct and full
return thereon, have misapprehended the in
tention and object of their commission ; have
disregarded the positive instructions of the
government, violated the plainest principles
of law and equity; and, either from previous
prejudice, or want of judgment, or, proba
bly, both combined, have confused the whole
business, and involved a subject, otherwise
clear and simple, and susceptible of easy set
tlement, in almost inextricable doubt and
mystery.
The recognition and enforcement of a few
plain and well established principles would
relieve the Secretary of War of all difficulty
on this subject, and dispose at once, and sa
tisfactorily, of this whole business. The
treaty of 1832 allowed to the Indians reser
vations of land. These reservations the
treaty permitted them to sell, the government
prescribing the mode of sale, or rather the
treaty prescribed the mode, the President
simply arranging the details. When an in
dividual obtained the deed of the Indian, pro
perly attested, and the certificate of the agent
of the government thereto, he was entitled to
the approval of the President on that deed,
and had proceeded so far towards a perfect
title, as to be secure in his right, agreeably to
the terms of the treaty , unless allegations of
fraud, affecting the particular tract, were
sustained bv credible witnesses. Here is the
doctrine, the correct doctrine, narrowed down
into a nutshell; and if it had been observed,
as it must be, no difficulty would have arisen,
and this unpleasant and long-deferred busi
ness would long since have been ftillv and
j satisfactorily settled. President Jackson re
cognised and declared this doctrine, as a pe
j rusal of the report of the late Commissioners
: will show, and actually refused to receive the
report of a former agent, at one time charged
to investigate into cases of alleged fraud on
the Indians, for the reason that the proof sub
mitted by him was not specific and definite
enough, and he could not divest actually ac
quired rights, unless legal evidence of iraud
in the particular case was exhibited. We
entertain no doubt that this decission of Pre
sident Jackson is in conformity with that of
every enlightened jurist in this country, who
has examined, or may at any time herealter
examine the subject, and we have as little
’ doubt that it will be acknowledged and con
firmed by the present executive, when this
business shall be presented to him for his of-
ficial action. Another misapprehension, en
tertained respecting the true principles in
volved, refers to the actual position ot the
certifying agents. The treaty provided for
the appointment of these agents, and pre
scribed their duties. These duties being im
portant and responsible, men adequate to
their discharge were designated. I rom the
very nature of the business, and the higher
sanction under which they acted, more credit
clearly attached to the acts ol these men, by
| all fair modes of reasoning, than to those o(
■ any subsequent agents or commissioners,
charged with revision and re-examination.
It, therefore, follows that the acts of the cer
tifying agents must be confirmed, unless im
| peached positively and directly. If the decis
’ sion rests on a comparison of character, there
should be no hesitancy on the part of the go
vernment —for, without impugning the integ
rity or ability of any ol the government
agents engaged in this business, we can
safely say that most if not all of the certify
ing agents were men without fear,, and with
out reproach. Os one of them, Gen. San
ford, we can speak from intimate personal
‘knowledge ; and a purer and more upright
I man never lived, or one more scrupulous and
i honorable in the discharge of official duty,
and against whom there has never been even
i . .
; the breath of suspicion.
The case, then, is a plairr one. Following
the simple and established rules of law and
justice, there should be, there can be, no dif
ficulty in the adjustment of this Indian busi
ness. The acts of the certifying agents
should be confirmed, unless there are specific
allegations of fraud attaching to the particu
lar case, and supported by competent testi
mony. It is true Messrs. Crawford and
Baich, whose report is the ground work on
which objection is made to the confirmation
of the acts of the certifying agents, have sub
mitted a labored and, we candidly think, an
indefensible statement of the whole business ;
but if this statement is based on improper
principles, and the evidence to support it is
in every respect inadmissible, the govern
ment certainly should not hesitate an instant,
when delay is working, hourly, serious and
perhaps irremediable injury. We do not
charge Messrs. Crawford and Baich with in
tentional wrong. We are, however, induced
to believe, from an inspection of the printed
report of their proceedings, that they were
illy qualified to discharge correctly the deli
cate and responsible duties assigned them,
either from lack of judgment or, perhaps,
from an.unnecessary’anxietv to square all the
proceedings under the treaty with the struct
technicalities of the law. Be this as it may,
the country, we mean this section of it, is
deeply interested in this matter, and desires a
complete and final adjustment of this per
plexing and seriously annoying subject. Ev
ery interest is deeply prejudiced by the pre
sent uncertain condition of things, and we are
confident, if the Secretary of War understood
the extent and diversity of the interests in
volved, there would be no further delay on
the part of the government. A large pro
portion of lands in several of the adjoining
counties in Alabama, are in dispute, and un
less the decision of the government conforms
to the clear and undeniable principles hinted
at briefly in this article, we know not where
the matter is to rest —what suffering is to en
sue, nor the extent of the litigation it will en
gender. Messrs. Crawford and Baich pro
ceeded on injudicious grounds, from com
mencement to end, overlooked the reasonable
and practicable view of the subject-, and we
entertain the most perfect conviction that the
enforcement of their acts by the Government
is a thing utterly and totally impracticable;
that it would cause great and lasting injury,
and create disseruions and difficulties which
years would not bring to a close.
We believe, indeed are assured, that ihe
Government is sincerely anxious to adjust
the whole matter, and from the high charac
ter of the Secretary of War, the integrity of
his past life, and the uniform elevation and
disinterestedness of his views on subjects of
public importance, we have a guarantee that
his decision will he based upon proper princi
ples, discarding all minor considerations.
The first of June is the time fixed, we
learn, when the reception of testimony, or
any matter pertaining to this business, will be
closed, and when the Secretary of War will
proceed to render full and final judgment.
We congratulate our fellow-citizens, and all
interacted, on the prospect of a speedy settle
ment of this long continued and exciting sub
ject, and we trust and hope that the result
will confirm ail honestly acquired rights, and
redound to the credit and honor of the Gov
ernment.
Who wants a fine Hit?—A splendid lot
of hats, direct from the manufactory, has
been received at the store of G. A. Kimberly,
on Broad street, next door to J. H. Andrews.’
There is an infinite variety, from Leghorn to
beaver —high crowns and low, narrow brims
and broad, white Vicksburgers, &,c. light as
gossamer, in texture fine as the cygnet’s
down. We advise any gentleman who
wishes to wear a ‘ wery handsome tile,’ to
c ill at this establishment.
Government is filling out two steam ves
sels of war, to carry ten guns each, two of
which are to be bomb-cannon, of the kind
used in the P'rench navy, the terrible power
of which has been tested in the recent seige
of San Juan de Ulloa.
THEATRE.
Mr. Finn. —This distinguished comedian,
wit and punster, is now fulfilling an engage
ment at our Theatre. Our city and country
friends could not’ spend an evening more
pleasantly than by paying him a visit. He
appears to-night in two of his most popular
characters. See advertisement.
Saturday night Mr. Finn’s benefit, with an
attractive bill.
The Races over the Western Course, at
this place, commenced on Tuesday last, but
we have not been able to obtain the official
report in time for this week’6 paper. It will
appear in detail in our nexT.
General Land Office, April 11, 1839.
Sir —ln reference to the request in your
letter to me of the 20lh ult. I herewith en
close an abstract of the Attorney General’s
opinion of the 16th ult. respecting the trans
fers of Reserves under the Creek Treaty of
1832.
The opinion referred 1o will of course go
vern this office in all cases to which the same
.may apply.
Very respectfully,
Your ob’t servant,
JAS. WHITCOMB,
Commissioner.
A. Iverson, Esq.
Abstract of the Attorney General’s opinion
of the 16th March, 1839, in relation to sub
sequent transfers of Reserves under the Creek
Treaty of 1832.
The act of July sth, IS3B, requires that
the party applying for a patent, should pro
duce proof of the fairness of the preceding
transfers, satisfactory to the Commissioner,
he has a broad and comprehensive but not an
arbitrary discretion,and must be regulated by
those rules of law and equity which afford
security to individual rights.
An assignment to ‘ Shorter, I arver and
Shorter,’ vested an interest in each of the
three members of the firm which could not
be divested without the consent ot each, evi- 1
denced by his signature, or by the signature
ol someone authorised to act lor him. If an
assignment be made by one member of such
a fiim, in the name ot the firm, it must be
shown that the individual making it was au
thorised to act for the other meinbers, which
may be done by producing a power of Attor
ney, the articles of co-partnership, if they
warrant it, or by their present assent. On
contracts in favor of ‘ M. W. Perry &. Co.’
and assigned by M. W. Perry in the same
manner, the office need look no further.
Possession of an approved contract, en
dorsed in blank, and no other claim being
made to it, is evidence on which a patent
may issue to the holder.
An acknowledgement before a competent
officer cannot be required as to part transfers,
but may be provided for in the regulations to
be adopted for future assignments.
Possession of a contract is no evidence of
its having been transferred.
It must be accompanied bv proof, showing
an actual sale, to satisfy the issue of a patent
to the holder.
From the Milledgeville Recorder of last
Tuesday, we copy the following informa
tion :
‘ The subjoined account of a painful riot
among the rail road workmen in the up
country, is from a respectable correspondent.’
Marietta, April 15, 1839.
Messrs. Grieve <s’ Orme:
Gentlemen—lt may be interesting to some
of your readers to be informed of a horrid
murder committed in this county on the night
of the Gtli inst. on the road leading from
Marietta to Montgomery’s Ferry, on the
Chattahooche river; the circumstances are
as follows: Twenty-one Irish workmen from
Savannah, going to Allatoony with their
carts and plunder, to work on the rail road,
they struck camp near the house ol’ a Mr.
Bromley, and about 10 o’clock went to rest,
and at 1 or 2 o’clock in the morning, were
awakened by the fire of a gun, and next fol
lowed about seventy ol’ the Irishmen who
were engaged with Mr. Thomas on the rail
road, near the place where they encamped,
with picks, spades, knives and sticks, killed
two of the females dead on the spot, and se
verely wounded eight more, and did not stop
at that; they next broke open their trunks
and plundered them of every thing valuable.
On the next day the citizens raised in arms
and went and arrested sixty-four of the sup
posed murderers, and thirty-four of that
number were identified to he ol’ the murdering
clan, and committed to jail to await their
trial.
A chapter on oysters. —The last number of
Blackwood says: An oyster is one of the
elements of social existence, a delicacy of t.o
age, sex or condition, but patent to the uni
versal family of man. Tour Jew abhors not
an oyster, neither does’ your Mussulman
throw it over his left shoulder; good in sal
lop, better in a stew, and best of all in the
shell; good in pickle, in curry, in sauce ;
good at luncheon, before dinner, at supper;
good to entertain a friend; good to eat by
yourself; good when you are hungry; good
good, moreover, when you are not. In lodg
ings, in chambers, in barrack.?, in the public
office, in the editor’s room, the student, law
yer, soldier, secretary, and gentleman of the
press, recruits his exhausted spirits with an
oyster; the emaciated valetudinaiian thanks
his doctor for permission to taste the nutritive
and grateful luod.
Loafers' 1 fashions for May, 1839. — Morn
ing dress —Second or third hand coat, venti
lated at the elbows, color to suit the fancy or
circumstances; vest full buttoned in front,
especially in the absence ol a shirt or false
bosoms, hat ‘shocking bad,’ little or no nap,
will) the brim ramified and placed slautin
dicularly on the head ; a lock of hair in eith
er eve, tangled, sorrel top whiskers, and a
crab-orchard beard, pantaloons of various
colors, or rather short, and with two squa e
latteral patches, partly concealed by the skirls,
of the coat; boots without legs, down at the
heel, well polished with mud, and in a laugh
ing condition ; stockings very little worn; a
cigar should protrude from the frontal orifice,
and brandy or gin take the place of eau de
cologne. Care should be taken not to make
a too frequent use of profanity to prevent
being stigmatised as a gentleman.
Dinner dress —As above.
Evening diess —Ditto.
Steam. —ls the wild tribes of Lake Huron
were to be told that the white man’s recipe
for conquering the waves of the great lake
before them was to take up a very small por
tion of and boil it—if 60 years ago Dr. Ji hn
son had been told (as exhausted by a hard
day’s literary labor, lie sat ruminating at his
fireside waiting (or his favorite beverage) that
the tiny volume of white smoke he was list
lessly gazing at, as it issued from the spout
of his black iron tea kettle, was a power com
petent to rebuke the waves, and set even the
hurricane at defiance—the red children of
nature would listen to the intelligence with
no greater astonishment than our venerable
lexicographer would have received it.—Lon
don Quarterly.
Murder. —A gambler of the name oT
Thomas P. Tuttle, was shot in the street in
Little Rock Ark. on the 11 ih inst. by Wm. D.
Holtree. A quarrel had arisen previously,
between Holtree and Tuttle, growing out of
some cheating at a Faro Bank. Tuttle hav
ing since died,Holtree has fled from the hands
of justice.
The executions in Canada are hv no
means approved of in England. The opin
ion in that country is that Canada cannot be
retained for many years longer, and they are
averse to sanguinary punishments for rebel
ion. Tom Paine once made this remark :
‘England will go to war with the United
Stales, at some time, to get rid of the Cana
das.’—JY. Y. Star.
The Cotton Crop. —lt is very generally
conceded, that the Coltojy Crop of the Uni
ted States for the fiscal year of 1888— 9, will
not exceed 1,450,000 bales, exclusive of the
stock remaining on hand, at its commence
ment the Ist of October last, which it will be
remembered was 40.305 bales. The receipts
thus far have been upwards of 1,008,000
bales against 1,253,000 up to the same peri
od last year.
The Vicksburg Whig of the 2d ult., gives
quite a gloomy picture of the monetary af
fairs ol’ Mississippi. It represents the direst
days of 1837 as presenting but a faint picture
of* what is exhibited in every town and
county of the State. Goods have been sold
at less than half the original cost—and lands
and negroes have gone off, under the sheriff’s
hammer, for one fifth of their value.
A Philadelphia editor thinks, from the
manner shirts are made in that city, there
ought to be an ‘ inspector of common sewers.’
The editor went to the expense of anew
shirt the other day, and found himself, when
he awoke in the morning, crawling out be
tween two of the stiches.
Mrs. Ann Stephens, alias Hughes, has
been imprisoned at New York, charged with
having married Mr. Hughes, of the Olympic
Theatre, her former husband being still alive.
Hughes was examin&d, and stated that he
could not recollect when or where he was
married to the prisoner, or whether he had
been married at all!! Such a forgetful man
would hardly be able to remember when he
was boru. —Boston Transcript.