Newspaper Page Text
Uie Government promptly, and, in most ca
ses, in the legal currency, or its equivalent.
This it has done in spite of oue general sus
pension ol tiie banks, anti one partial one,
embracing half of those institutions in the
country.
8. It has paid the expenses of two Indian
wars, ol the removal of several iarge Indian
tribes, and purchased the Indian title to an
extent of soil of almost incalculable value.
4. It lias deposited over 5527,01)0,000 of
surplus with the States, ami expended large
stuns in erecting fortifications, repairing those
already erected, constructing light nooses,
increasing the Navy, and thus at once
strengthening our national defences and pro
tecting our commerce.
5. In spite of a continual cry, that the Go
vernment was becoming bankrupt, its credit
is so high, tlial it is able to borrow money for
five per cent.
6. Though it has been accused of piling
ino the country in debt, it came into power
with a debt of s7,ooo,ooo,—and the whole
amount of this indebtedness at litis moment,
is less than one-third part of that sum.
7. It has extended the mail service many
thousand miles, created at least two thousand
new post-offices, and carried the means ol
communication by stage coaches into every
corner of the country.
S. It has collected and paid out, in three
years only, $6,062,193 to our merchants, in
indemnities lor depredations heretofore com
mitted upon our commerce by the naval for
eign powers.
All tins it has dune, with the very moneys
which it is accused of squandering among
its favorites, and stealing from the people! It
is true, the ordinary expenses of the Govern
ment have increased. It is also true, that
the population of the country lias increased
to an extent sufficient to justify this increase
of expenditure. Its accusers themselves
cannot point to any particular items in the
expenditures ol” the Government to which
they can object. They dare nut specify the
facts upon which they rest their ciiarges of
extravagance. The moment they should at
tempt to do it, this fund of ‘political cap.tab
would be lost forever.
Fact against Theory —To those
who incline to think that a national
bank would or could have prevent
ed the evils with which the country
is now afflicted, we commend the
following brief extract:
From Iho National Intelligencer, Sent, 14,1318,
Stocks are down, down, while the rates of
exchange are advancing at a rapid and un
precedented rate. The currency is in confu
sion—ruin and bankruptcy meet us on every
hand. The domestic exchanges were never
worse, and scarce ever can be. The South
ern Bills are almost worthless at the North,
and the West is in nearly as bad a situation.
VViiat is to he done, we know not. The
DC?” United States can atibrd us no
relief, if even it shall be able to stand itself.
Thus spoke the National Intelli
gencer in 1818, published in Wash
ington City, and edited by the same
men as now, Federalists then, now
modern Whigs, but General Jack
son was not President nor Mr. Van
Huron. The Federalists had not
then learned to lay all the calami
ties and distress of the whole Union
to Democratic men and measures.
They then spoke the sober truth,
and did not pretend to deceive the
people.
From tho Federal Onion.
INCENDIARY DOCUMENTS.
We invite lire attention of the public to the
following letter of the Governor, addressed
to the Hon. S. M. Gates, a whig member of
Congress from the State of New York, who
has impiously attempted to insult the people
of Georgia, by forwarding to their Chief Ma
gistrate documents from Abolition societies
m England and elsewhere, the nature and
import of which requires that they should not
be either published or circulated in the State.
The indignant rebuke ol the Governor to
this viilanous incendiary, whose frank as a
member of Congress, is so illy merited as a
member of the Congress of this republic, will,
we doubt not, meet the candid assent of eve
ry Southern man, if it does not reach the sen
sibility of the destitute creature who lias sub
jected himself to the contempt of every Geor
gian, by endeavoring thus to meddle with
their constitutional rights and insidiously at
tempting to offer them an indignity for which
his neck would pay the forfeit if their soil bore
hia footsteps.
Eyecutivf. Department, Ga., )
JMUltdgeville, 10 th Sept., 1840. y
Sir —An address to the Hon. George R-
Gilmer, my predecessor in ollice, from a for
eign Abolition Convention, forwarded under
your frank as a member of tlie Congress of
tiie United Stales lias been received at this
Department. It was soon Ibllowed by an
other package containing resolutions of the
Convention, addressed to the same gentle
man, but superscribed to me. The super
set iption of this package is in the hand wri
ting of that of the first, which leaves no doubt
that Georgia is indebted to a whig member
of Congress of New York, for both.
‘l’lte audacious attempt of a foreign Con
vention to interfere with the free intercourse
between tlie States of the Union, is equalled
only uy your insolence in forwarding a copy
of their proceedings to this De par met it.
This is a subject which, with the object in
tended to be accomplished by it, admits of
no argument; and ail who seek to agitate it
and carry out the above purpose, either by
courting foreign alliances, or the use of other
means, shall beiegarded and treated as ene
mies, outlaws and traitors. I am. &;*.
CHARLES J. M-DONALD.
Hon. S. M- Gates, J\ew York.
The .Many-Headed Wheat — The many
headed wheat is an indigenes plant of Califor
nia; 6 heads ol which was procured by Ma
jor Sparing, from a man in tiie Osage nation
ol Indians, who had been trading in tiie Pa
cific Ocean. The six heads produced six
hundred grains, which were planted by Mr.
Alphcus Baker, of Abbeville, S. C. the pro
duction of which was ten thousand heads.—
‘l'he ground on which the wheat grew was
measured by an accurate surveyor—the heads
counted —and one head shelled out, and the
grain weighed; a calculation was then made,
the result of which was, the wheat produced
at die rate of two hundred ami thirty bushels
to the acre. It was planted about the last of
January, and cut on the 30th of June. The
land on*which it grew is poor and sandy, am!
was unassisted bv manure.— If ilkes Count y
~m J !
((rtiy JSevts.
N w Description of Cotton.—A new species of Cot
ton has been discovered by Mr. L. C. Hornsby, of
Covington. La. He says ike bush grows from'B to
10 C ‘V high, branching out in preporti n, ami produc
ing from two to threw thousand pounds to the acre. :
Th'S Gotten is of long staple, and very fine_testur<>.
Mr. Hornsby thinks it as line as ordinary siik. He
st -z one sen! was found two -.ears since in a chest of
tea. imported from China; he planted it. and saved the
s -ed which was its pioductson. planted them, and now
otfe.s a few tor sale. If this Cotton proves as good
a represented, we can then count upon anew era in
th cultivation c f the great stanle. We think at least
so’.ao attention should be paid to it by our plan ms.
Th ‘V will see a specimen of the Cotton, and its seed,
j. (ho store of William Dion, Esq. 17 Common
sti-cot. —New Orleans Bulletin.
Hard Times.— The New Haven Times
..files (hat “ the bakers of that city are frying
to which can bake the largest loaf for six
fence.”
SENTINEL & HEUALI).
COLUMBUS, OCT. i, 1840.
“ This Institution is one of the most deadly hostility
existing against the principles and form oj our Consti
tution . The nation is, at this time, so strong and united
! m its senti merits, that it cannot be shaken at this mo
j menl. But suppose a series of untoward events should
occur, sufficient to bring into uoubl the competency of a
; Republican Government to meet a crisis of great dan
\ger, or to unhinge the co-Jide nee of the people in the
public functionaries', an institution like this penetrating
by its branches every part of the union, acting by com
mand and in phalanx, may in a critical moment, upset
the goa rament. 1 deem no government safe, which is
under the vassalage of any self-constituted authorities,
or any other authority than that of the nation, or its reg
ular J unctionurics, IVhat an obstruction could not this
Bank of the United States, with all its branch banks,
be in lime of war / It might dictate to us the peace we
should accept, or withdravi its aid. Ought we then to
give further growth to an institution so powerful, so
hostile ? — Thomas Jefferson.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLICAN TICKET.
FOR PRESIDENT,
MARTIN VAN RUREN.
FOR VICE-PRESIDENT,
JOHN FORSYTH.
FOR ELECTORS OF PRESIDENT AND
VICE-PRESIDENT.
WILLIAM B. BULLOCH, of Chatham.
JOHN BATES, of Murray.
MILNER ECHOLS, of Walton.
SAMUEL BEALL, of Wilkinson.
WILLIAM B. WOFFORD, of Habersham.
JOHN ROBINSON, of Jasper.
SAMUEL GROVES, of Madison.
THOMAS WOOTTEN. of Wilkes.
SEABORN JONES, of Muscogee.
EDWARD HARDEN, of Clark.
JAMES ANDERSON, of Burke.
FOR CONGRESS.
ROBEBT W. POOLER,
D. O. CAMPBELL,
A. IVERSON.
JUNIUS HILLYER,
JOS!AH S. PATTERSON,
JOHN H. LUMPKIN,
E. J. BLACK,
WALTER T. COLQUITT,
M. A. COOPER.
tO” From Post Masters and our other
friends, residing at or near court-houses and
election precincts in Western Georgia, we
respectfully solicit the favor of furnishing us
by mail with a statement of the polls on the
first Monday in October, at as early an hour
as practicable.
In order to meet the arrangements of the
mails, that our subscribers may receive their
papers at the earliest day possible, the Senti
nel and Herald will, until circumstances re
quire a change, be published on Wednesday
of which alteration sheriffs and other adverti
sing friends will, we hope, take notice.
BE WATCHFUL.
It is well understood to he part of
the preconcerted action of the fede
ro-whig party, from one end of the
Union to the other, to circulate for
ged documents and false accusations
against the democratic candidates
Oil the day of election or within so
short a time of it as to preclude all
possibility of the accused from ob
taining evidence to successfully re
fute the falsehoods. Let the free
men of Georgia bear this admoni
tion in mind, and rest assured that
every tale put into circulation first
at this period is false, the coinage
of a dishonorable and malicious spi
rit; for the federo-whig party have
long ago exhausted their store of
facts and every thing hearing ti e
semblance of reality. They have
nothing further to offer than sheer
fabrications. Let the voter not be
misled by contrivances so base, but
cast his vote under the guidance of
his deliberate judgment determined
by intelligence tiic most authentic
attainable.
REFLECT, AND DECIDE.
Monday next being the time decisive of the
character of our next Legislature and of the
successors of our present representation in
tiie popular branch of Congress, it behooves
every citizen to divest himself of both partial
ity and prejudice, and cast his vote with an eye
directed coiely to the peace, prosperity and
morals of the country. Let him seriously and
ca’nffy calculate what the community are to
gain by confiding power to tiie federo-whig
party.
They tell him that they will charter anoth
er United States’ Bank, which, checking in
ordinate issues of tlie State Banks, will regu
late the currency, giving it healthy action,
equalizing exchange, and raising the price of
produce. But theoretical assertions are fre
quently at Avar with facts. How, it may be
asked, is a national bank to regulate the cur
rency? Only by obtaining the paper of the
State Banks, and drawing specie for it. This
power tiie latter have with respect to one an
other, and are not indisposed to exercise it;
and yet the currency in the South is far from
being prosperous. Ilow this power, when
exercised by the State institutions, should be
inefficacious, but, when used by the mam
m tli bank, operate benignly, appears a mys
tery of difficult solution, it is known that
greater defalcations in the banking line oc
: urred in Georgia, wh.le the United States’
B nk had full swing, than have happened
since, a fact established by the Bank of Ma
con, the Bank of Darien, and the one in Au
gusta familiarly known as the Wheeler Bank.
Nor, it we take the past as a criterion, can be
admitted the opinion that a national bank will
have more ability to raise tho value of staple
commodifies than of .preventing their price
Irani L.Hang. In 1026 and 1827, cotton was
as depressed as now, and negroes lower. In
truth, tlie price of the produce of the South
depends cn the supply and demand in the for
eign market, and ihese are regulated by the
aggregate of the crops and the wants of tiie
consumer. It is an insult to the understand
ing to be told that a United States’ Bank can
control the seasons at home and regulate the
food and clothing of people abroad. That a
United States’ Bank, together with focal
banking institutions, can, by accommodations,
increase the number of mercantile adventur
ers, is cheerfully admitted; but it is equally
certain that, as these traders on borrowed cap
ita!, must either deduct the per centoge that
they pay to the banks from the produce they
purchase or impose it on the merchandize
they sell, in eii her instance ilie fanner must be
j -ho loser. In this way banks have promoted
and can extend speculation, but only at the
expense of the productivo classes ultimately;
and by contracting their accommodations and
pressing their debtors, their ability to do mis
chief, as has been often and fearfully exem
piitiek ts great. Hence the necessity of keep
ing the local institutions within reasonable
bounds, and stripping them of their power to
injure, not by; renting a national bank, which,
by its magnitude and irresponsibly to the
State authorities, is, as we have experienced,
more pnlentof evil, but, by directing payments,
to the general government, to be made, as
th? co .stitution prescribe*, in gold and silver,
which will cause the paper of such banks as
pay specie to pass at par, but drive the bills
of non-specie-paying institutions from circu
lation. The greater security in receiving
and disbursing whilst the public funds were
kept by the United States’ Bank, which has
teen urged and it still adverted to as an ar
gument m favor of that establishment, is not
supported by fact. Public documents, exhib
ited to Congress at the recent session, prove,
that, during the first lour years of Mr. Mon
roe’s administration, the less in receiving and
disbursing the revenue, was $2-47 per cent;
during the second four.years, $2 51; John Q,
Adams’ term, 86 cents; Jackson’s first term,
36 cents; Jackson’s second, 41; and during
! Van Buren’s first three years, including
j Swartwout defalcation, 65 cents in each hum
j tired dollars. Hence as a national bank can
jnot regulate the currency nor raise the value
jot produce nor confer any security or facility
in receiving or disbursing the public funds,
but has the power and has shown the disposi
tion, by its contractions, not only to spread
insolvency and dismay on all dependent cn
the commercial portion of the community, but
likewise to embarrass the operations of the
government,—it would be little short of in
sanity to risk again the comfort and subsis
tence of millions to its sinister and pitiless
action, that a band of speculators, of whom
many are not only foreigners but also ene
mies to our country and its laws, may live in
splendor and hoard up treasure.
The federal whigs tell the citizen that, if
placed in authority, they will reform the ad
ministration in relation to the expenses of
government, which they declare to have been
enormous ever since Mr. Van Buren became
president. In evidence of the charge, they
assert the ordinary expenses of the govern
ment for the year 1839 to be $37,129,396-80,
but $10,000,000 would be an economical ex
penditure. When however the allegation is
examined and compared with official docu
ments from tho Treasury Department, the or
dinary expenses of government are found to
amount to $13,525,800-18, being $1,474,199
•82 less than what they admit would be eco
nomical, and it will be found lliat the remain
ing $23,603,596-62, were expended in appro
priations which they themselves both urged
and voted tor. It is thus that they deceptious
ly accuse the administration with malversa
tion and extravagance for carrying into effect
their own measures; and it i3 thus that they
are striving to obtain both the purse and the
sword by denouncing their own actions as be
‘uo the offspring of a man compelled by his
oatli ot office to submit, in the particulars
cited, to their dictation.
The voter will further be told, by the fede
r°-whigs, that, as their candidate desires to
serve only one term, and that rotation in office
is absolutely indispensable, General Harri
son is, on the score of principle, entitled to the
Chief Magistracy. No allusion will howev
er be had to the fact, that the frequency of
elections, prescribed by the Constitution, was
not designed to exclude able and faithful offi
cers from re-election, but to facilitate the
ejectment ot the dishonest and imbecile. Had
\\ ashington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe and
Jackson thought, that republicanism and the
commonweal require Ihe Chief Magistrate
ol the Republic to confine his incumbency to
one term, they certainly would not have con
sented to serve two. The example of these
patriots and statesmen are rather of higher
authority than the dictum of the federo-whigs.
If the former, on mature deliberation, could
discover nothing autirepublican or prejudicial
in serving a second term, the latter must have
some motive foreign to principle and patriot
ism in adopting the one-term service as a
point of faith. Two considerations seem to
determine them. Since the United States
became a nation, the federalists have succeed
ed in elevating only two members of their
party to the presidential chair, the elder and
the younger Adams, eac.: of whom failed in
re-election. Admonished by experience and
wedded to precedent* expediency and inclina
tion restrict their hope? to the one-term pe
riod, as the onAj practical one which, though
brief, would allow them remote probability of
success, avd thus secure to them a period of
political existence, under two men that under
one they cannot expect until the sentiments
AC the American people have undergone a great
revolution. The second inducement consists
in their knowledge of General Harrison’s
unfitness, both mentally and physically, to
discharge tlie functions of the office in which
they hope to place him, except by proxy, and
their consciousness that the people of the
’United States would at an early day discov
er the truth, and never knowingly consent,
through the ballot-box, to have the presiden
tial labors performed by a regent. Such is
the only explication which can, in accordance
with reason, be assigned for the federo-whigs
recommending a single term for each Presi
dent. It partakes nothing of patriotism, and
is the offspring of cold and calculating selfish
ness; yet lor the indulgence of this ignoble
and disgusting feeling, would they agitate
the country to its centre, and by every decep
tive device and unmanly imposition bring into
play the worst passions of the brain.
The voter will be moreover assured that
the large army that M. Van Buren was anx
ious to have at his command to subvert the
liberties of the States, reduce their citizens
to vassalage, and enforce the payment of
onerous direct taxes, will not, if the federo
whigs succeed, be called into the field nor
even organized—a consideration of itself
alone meriting the reins of government to lie
entrusted to them. Special care will howev
er be taken to conceal that the report of Mr.
Poinsett, recommended by Ihe President to
the consideration , not. adoption , of Congress,
was not for raising a standing army, but is
the outline of a plan for classifying the militia,
in anticipation of a war with England. P is
dated December 24, 1839, and is in the fol
lowing words:
“Jt is proposed to divide the United Slates into
oiglit military districts, and to orgii.ize the militia m
each district, so as to have a body of twelve thousand
five hundred rneii in active st rvice; and another of
equal number as a reserve. This would give an armed
militia force of two hundred thousand men, so drilled
and stationed, as to be ready to take their places in
the l inks in defence of the country, -.via never called
upon to oppose the enemy or repel the invader. The
atreofthe recruit to be from twenty to thirty-seven,
i'he whole term of service to be eight years: four
vear* in the first class, and four in the restive. One
fourih part, twenty-five thousand men, to leave the
service every year", passing, at the conclusion of the
first term, into the reserve, and exempted from ordina
ry militia duty altogether, at the end of the second.
In t!;is manner, tyventy-five thousand men will lie dis
charged from militia duty every year, and twenty-fire
thousand fresh recruits he received into the service.
It will bei sufficient for all useful purposes, and that
he remainder of the militia, under certain regulations
provided for their government, be enrolled be mus
tered at long and stated intervals; for in due process of
time, nearly the whole mass of the militia v.ii pass
through the fi-st and second classes, and be either
membeisot the active corps, or o the rtstrveor count
ed among the exempts, who will be liable to be called
upon only in periods of invasion or imminent peril.
The manner of enrolment, the number of dui s ofser
•vico, and the rate ts compensation, ought to be fixed
by law; but the details had better be left subject to re
gulation, a plan of which I sin prepared to submit to
you.”
It v. ill bo perceive;], that the details are
not given; and so unobjectionable was this
outline of the militia considered at the time,
Out the most intelligent and prominent of the
icdero-wnig journals lavished oil it the wann
est encomiums. At request of the House
of Representatives, Mr. Poinsett, on the 20th
<>i March, 1810, communicated his plan in
detail for organizing the militia, about which
the opposition have made so much noise, and
which M. Van Buren did net see until offer
Us being communicated to Congress, and
x. uTo, it adopted, he could not have sanction
ud, beeaut-e it would, for <i few days in eucli
-f 3r i r ffHce the militia under the control of
the Lmted Urates, under circumstances, not
in his opinion, contemplated by the Constitu
tion oi tne United States; yet ho is repre
sented as approbating the detail of a plan |
tiiA uid not exist until nearly three months I
3* 0i iiis recommending tlie geuers.l project, I
and to winch he is opposed from constitution- j
a. considerations! Ii this accusation be lion-;
oraol and jusr, truth and equity have left
mankind forever. If Mr. Van Buren be ob-1
noxious to reprobation for what he had not!
seen and did not sanction, but disapproved, of
what misdeed can anv man on earth be inno
cent!
After all, the so much execrated plan of
Mr. Poinsett) is less objectionable than that
proposed by General Harrison. The latter
includes all between eighteen and sixty. The
former excludes all under twenty ami above
forty-five. Poinsett leaves the mode of ap
pointing the officers to the State Legislatures,
and proposes that the militia De called out
through the governors of tlie States. Harri- ’
son leaves nothing to the State governments, j
and enjoins it as a duty on the President to i
direct Iris commands immediately to the offi-1
cers of the militia. Poinsett suggests that;
the militia, called out for disciplining, be sub- 1
jected to such regulations as the President!
may deem best for promoting their instruc- I
tion. But Harrison proposes to subject them !
to the same discipline and police as are or may j
be adopted lor the regular army. Poinsett j
advises that they be tried exclusively by their !
own officers; but Harrison prefers to subject j
them to the rules and articles of war, the !
same as are the mercenary troops. Poinsett;
advises that both officers and men be paid; j
but Harrison suggests that pay be restricted
to the officers, considering the privates, on
whom the hardest duty devolves, is unworthy
ol pay or food. Yet it is lor this more equi
table plan of Mr. Poinsett, which Mr. Van
Buren never recommended, tint the Presi
dent ot the United States is denounced as a
conspirator and tyrant by the federo-whigs—
whilst Harrison, notwithstanding his rigid and
despotic and inequitable plan coupled to the
extravagant project of having a military
teacher in every primary school in the United
States maintained at the public expense, as
well as military academies in every State, to
be also maintained out of the national purse,
is lauded as a strict economist, an ardent re
publican, and enlightened and judicious states
man. Can men exhibiting such distinctions
be considered either sincere or patriotic, ei
ther worthy of confidence or entitled to re
spect!
Moreover will be sung in the voter’s ear
th° canto, that M. Van Buren refused to re
verse the sentence of Lieutenant Ilooe,
which, it will be sworn by those knowing
otherwise, was passed on negro-evidence;
while the truth is that every charge and spe
cification of which he was found guilty was
authenticated by the unimpeachable testimo
ny of whites. Os tlie same absurd and dis
reputable nature is the charge against the
President, that, while a delegate in the New
York Convention, lie voted to extend the
right of suffrage to negroes. So far from
extending tlie political franchise of the negro,
the vote of the President greatly abridged the
number of biack voters. Previous to that
vote, no difference existed between tho quali
fication of colors; but by abrogating the pro
perty qualification in relation to the white,
and increasing it as to tlie black to an amount
that not one in twenty of them possessed,
(both of which measures Mr. Van Buren
sustained,) it is evident that the accusation on
this subject is without tlie semblance of truth,
and as contemptible as it is malicious. Van
Buren is not favorable to negroes being in
vested with political rights, nor to abolition
ism. The assertion is sufficiently establish
ed by the rendition of his casting vote as pre
sident of the Senate of the United States on
the subject of excluding incendiary publica
tions trom the mail, and the notorious fact that
the abolitionists, as a body, are opposed to
him from one end of the Union to the other,
and that in proportion as their number in
creases in any S’ate or district, in the same
ratio his adherents diminish. He has more
over repeatedly and explicitly pledged him
self to veto any bill that Congress may pass
interfering with slavery in the district of Co
lumbia, or in any of tlie States or Territories.
Yet with all these circumstances and une
quivocal assurances, lie is denounced by the
federo-whigs of the South as an abolitionist.
Can such slander be misunderstood! Docs
the welfare of tho people need the instru
mentality of falsehood! Is the o: iect a mys
tery?
And who is this candidate to whom the
federo whigs build temples and whom th’y
worship with as-much ostensible adoration as
the Tbibelians offer to the Dai Lama, and to
whose wisdom and patriotism they implore the
people to commit the management of our na
tional affairs? The eon of a most patriotic
and worthy father; —but principle and talent
are not always hereditary.—Though enjoying
the advantages of a liberal education, he* be°
came (he lias admitted) at the age of eighteen
a member of an abolition society at Rich
mond, Virginia. It is true, that since the
confession was made, lie has equivocated, and
represented the society not an abolition but
humane one. Having given the names of
some of the members, his denial, so far from
exonerating him from the imputation, fixes on
him indelibly the charge of wilful misrepre
sentation, as the Constitution of the society
shows. Here it is:
TIIE CONSTITUTION OF THE VIRGINIA
SOCIETY.
For promoting tho Abolition of Slavery, and the Re
lief of Free Negroes, or others, unlawfully held in
bondage, and other Humane Purposes.
From a full belief that “the Loid’s mercy is over
all his works.” that he created mankind of every na
tion, language, and color, equally free, 3nd that slave
ry in all its forms, in all its degrees, is an outrageous
violation, and an odious degradation of human nature:
That it is inconsistent with the precepts of theGo: pci,
of “doing to others as we would they should do unto
us;” and that it is not only a moral, hut a political
evil, which tends, wherever it prevails, to deprave the
morals of the people, weaken the bands of society,
discourage trades and manufactures, and rather pro
motes arbitrary power than secures the just rights and
liberties of mankind: Believing, also, that, the so
cieties already established mother parts of tlie world,
r or promoting the abolition of slavery and the slave
trade have been of real advantage in manifesting the
unrighteous policy of the one; and the iniquity of the
other—WE, THE SUBSCRIBERS, in humble
hope of contributing our iriteto the cause of humani
ty, and the promotion of righleousness in the earth,
have associated ourselves, under the title of “The
Virginia Society for prom ting the abolition of
slavery, and the relief of free negroes, or otners un
lawfully held in bondage, and other humane PUR
POSES.”
For effectiag the these purposes, thefo lowing Con
stant.on is adopted:
Article 1. The officers of the Society shall consist
of a President, Vice President, Secretaty, Treasurer,
nine acting committee men, and two corresponding
members, in the limits of each district court, all of
whom, except the acting committee, sht.il be annually
chosen by ballot.
•2. The President, or in his absence, the Vice
President, shall preside in all meetings, and subscribe
all the public acts of the society, who, moreover, shall
have the power to call a special meeting of the socie
ty, whenever he shall judge it necessary, or whenever
six members of the acting committee shall concur in
requiring it
3. I'he Secretary shall keep fair records of the
proceedings of the society, and shall causa to bo pub
lished, from time to time, such proceedings or resolu
tions as the society may order, or the President, with
the aciing committee, may direct.
4. The Treasurer shall receive all donations, mo
neys. or securities, belonging to the; society, and shall
pay all orders signed by the President or Vice Presi
dent, which orders shall be hi3 vouchers for expendi
tures. He shall, before he enters on his office, give
bond for the faithful discharge of his duty, for two hun
dred pounds, or such larger s; m as the Presii i n'and
acting cornmitee shall from tune to time think right.
5. If the President and Viep President, Secretary,
or Treasury, be absent at any of the meetings, tlie so
ciety clay elect others too.'’, pro Umpire, or should any
of the officers above named resign or be displaced, the
society shall fill the vacancy in the mode prescribed
by the first article.
6. The Acting Committee shall transact such busi
ness as shall occur in the recess of the society,ami re
port the same at each half-yearly meeting. They
shall have a right, with the concurtnce of tlie Presi
dent and Vice Prc idea*. to draw upon the Tieasury j
for such sums of money as shall be necessary- to carry |
eui tiie business of their appointment. They shall I
also act as an electing committee, and then approba
tion in writing shall be an admission to euc k persons
as shall sign the constitution ,f the Society; five of
whom shall be a quorum. After their first election,
at each succeeding yearly meeting, three of their num
ber shall be relieved from duty, and three others shall
be elected to succeed them.
7. In all cases where persons legally en'itled to j
fieedora shah be held in bondage, it shad be the busi- |
ness of the corresponding members, appointed in the
different districts, more particularly to inquire into, [
and give notice to tlie acting committee of all such ce- :
see, and to procure authenticated copies frem lecords, I
or such other writings orTestunonies as they may
think necessary or proper Cor investigation, ofthc right
and relief of.the sufferers.
8. Every person, previous to his admission as a
member, shall subscribe the constitution of the socie
ty, and contribute not less than one dollar on admit
tance, and half a dollar at each succeeding halfyear
| ly meeting, towards defraying the contingent expenses:
: If he neglects to pay the same for more than two years,
he shall, upon due notice bting given him of his delin
quency. cease to he a member: I3ut foreigners, or per
| sons i ot residing in tins Stale, may lie elected corres
ponding members, without being subject to any pay
ment, and shall be admitted to the meetings of the so
ciety, during their rcsiuenee in tins fc-tate.
9. Two-thirds of the members present at a halfyear-
I ly meeting shall have the power to expel any person
| whom they may deem unworthy of remaining a mern
\ her—and no person shll be a member uho holds a slave,
jor is concerned m the unrighteous traffic of buying or
selling that unhappy race of human beings.
! 10. Twelve members, with the President or Vice
President, constitutionally assembled, shall be a quor
j urn of the society for transacting business.
11. The society shall meet on the second day, call
ied Monday, in tlie months called October and .April,
i at such place or places as may be from time to tune
t agreed on.
12. No law or regulation of the society shall con
| tradict any part ot the constitution, nor shall any al
; teration in the constitution he made, without being
j proposed at a previous meeting. All questions shail
jbe decided by a majority of votes; and in case of an
: equal division, the presiding officer to have the casting
j vote.
j The p cser.t officers* of the society are:
ROBERT PLEASANTS, President.
JOHN FINNEY. Vice President.
JAMES SMITH, Secretary.
JAMES LADD, Treasury.
Acting Committee.
John Crew,
Thomas Pi.easents,
James Harris,
Georoe Jones,
Henry Fetherstone,
Micajah Crew,
John Honeycut,
Richikd Graves,
Gkessett Davis.
A renegade to the precepts of his father,
he turned federalist and mounted its distinc
tive badge, the black cockade. At an early
period afterwards, he was, by the elder Adams,
rewarded with the appointment of governor
of the Northwestern Territory. Notwith
standing his ardor in behalf of the blacks, he
afterwards evinced the most singular indiffer
ence with regard to the equality and personal
liberty ot the poorer class of whites. On Ihe
17th September, 1807, as governor of the
territory of Indiana, he approved, by signing,
a bill excluding every white man, not a land
holder, from the right of suffrage; and on the
same day, in the same capacity, sanctioned an
other bill directing the sale of men and wo
men, unable to pay lines and costs, to the
highest bidder, for a term equal to the amount
ot money imposed; and, in the event of the
white slave absconding, the time lost to be
doubled, and the male or female to receive
thirty-nine lashes. Such were his republi
canism and humanity!
Since nominated at Harrisburg, his milita
ry + alents have, by his adherents, been rated
higher than those of Napoleon, and his battles
more decisive than the victories of Timour.
But what say facts'? He reached Tippecanoe
without the Indians, even with the advantage
of defiles, daring to resist his force. Their
dwellings and magazines were at his mercy;
but instead of punishing a merciless and per
fidious enemy, he, against the remonstrances
of his ablest officers* permitted that foe to
dictate to him an ineligible encampment, and,
in darkness, to surprise him, without having
broken ground in defence. Had it not been
for the firmness and skill of the very man
whose counsel he had derided, with a few
regulars, he and his army must have been
annihilated. Instead of advancing in pursuit
of the Indians or of destroying their towns,
he lost no time in retrograding with the wound
ed. Was this a victory? lie was sent to
subdue and punish the savages. Did lie
succeed? No: he was compelled to retreat
without executing the object of his mission,
with the mortifying reflection that the disas
ter was chargeable to himself alone, in not
having attacked the Indians and burnt their
villages when he could have done both with
out doubt ot success, and in becoming the
dupe of Indian : ratagv, counter to the advice
of his most experienced officers. Yet it is
this disastrous affair, the offspring of creduli
ty, ignorance and weakness, that his adher
ents assume as the badge of honor, indicating
a perversion of human opinion, and that pene
tration and prudence and alacrity and skill
and success are discreditable to a military
commander.—The defence, the glorious and
successful and decisive defence of Fort Ste
phenson, by Croghan, the world now know,
was contrary to his orders and wishes—and,
to use his own words, uttered in the Senate
of the United States, February 16, 1827,
“the defence of Fort Meigs was chiefly owing
to Major Wcod,” he (Harrison) having “not
sufficient science to have successfully defended
the fort without the assistance of that individu
al.” The battle of the Thames sheds no lus
tre on him. To the English, supported by
artillery, and drawn up in line across a nar
row belt of ground between the river and the
swamp lined with a strong body of Indians,
he was making preparations to oiler his right
and centre, but to leave his left and flank to
the savages. Had he persisted in this order
of battle, Ids left would have been turned and
their rear gained, and while the front of his
right and centre would have been swept by
artillery and charged by the English regulars,
a repetition of the tragedy at the river Raisin
could not have been avoided. The proposal
of Colonel R. M. Johnson, to form his regi
ment of mounted men into two columns, and
charge the English infantry, to which Harri
son acceded, averted the catastrophe, and,
being “h trick of war,” as novel as it was
judicious, decided the contest. Before the
onslaught, Han ison returned to his infantry;
but the English were taken prisoners and the
Indians driven from the swamp, before the
General brought up his troops to the scene of
action, a distance of not more than half a
mile, which ought to have been travelled in
ten minutes.—Such is the sum total of Har
rison’s victories, and though decisive of nei
ther courage nor timidity, denies him at once
all claims to decision, skill, alacrity or pene
tration in military matters. It is a fraud on
the public to extol his martial talents; but
were it otherwise, the possession of them |
would not be equivalent to diplomatic tact and i
political prudence. Military success is no i
qualification for the cabinet.
Hits political career emits still less glory.
We have already adverted to his adhesion to
the principles and measures of the elder
Adams, and his wearing the black cockade as
the badge of his fidelity. To his signing a
bill, while governor of Indiana, restricting
Ihe right of suffrage to landholders, we have
also alluded, as well as to his sanctioning an
other directing the sale, as slaves, of white
women and men, too poor to pay fines and
costs of court, and ordering them thirty-nine
lashes if they absconded frcm their masters
and the time during which they absented
themselves to be doubled. In Congress, we
find him, on all important questions, constant
13’ opposed to the democratic party, and anx
ious to diminish the power of the people.
For internal improvement, by the general
government, he was an advocate—in favor ol
a high protective tariff he put forth his ener
gy—-the United States’ Bank found in him
an ardent friend—and for a military educa
tion and military mode of life, including all
free males from infancy to sixty years of age,
| something after the form of the Lacedemonian,
| except that the privates were to feed on Ihe
air, being unworthy of a mouthful of the
i Spartan black breath, he was an enthusiast
j His admirers pretend that, on the Missouri
[question, he \oted rgainst restricting that
State on the subject of slavery; and for his
doing so lost his election in 1818; hut the
statement is untrue. Missouri was admitted
into the Uion in 1821; at which time Har
rison was not a member of Congress, nor
can his name be found among the ayes and
noes that decided that question. So far from
♦When the constitution ‘•" original!y published, 1
being favorable to slavery, we find him in his
Cheviot Speech declaring that he is desirous
the whole surplus revenue should be appro
priated to the emancipation of the blacks,
and hoping the day may soon arrive in which
an American sun will not look on a slave;
and that he was ihe first member that intro
duced into Congress the bill precluding slave
ry in all the region of country lying north of
Missouri. In his address of 183*2 to the pub
lic, which he endorsed on the 2d of June
last, he complains of being accused as friend-’
ly to slavery, and declares himself to have
been opposed to it from his earliest years—in
which he appears to be sincere, from his hav
ing joined a rank abolition society at the age
of eighteen, and, on leaving Virginia, thank
ing God that he had got rid of Virginia poli
tics and Virginia negroes. In addition to
these and other avowals almost innumerable,
his nomination to tiie Presidency over 1 ienry
Clay distinctly on the ground of the latter
being a slaveholder, although immeasurably
superior in mind, would of itself be decisive
that lie is opposed to slavery. In that as
semblage eight of the non-slaveholding States
were represented; and for the sake of per
spicuity, we give the names of the delegates:
MAINE. RHODE ISLAND.
Sylvanus R. Lyman, George G. King,
Samuel Bradley, James F. Sinuuons.
Elisha A. Aden, NEW YORK.
George Pendleton, John A. King,
Richard H. Yose, Hudson M-Farland,
Zina Hide. Ilenry W. Taylor,
NEW HAMPSHIRE, Piiineas L. Tracy.
John-Wilson, V. P. PENNSYLVANIA.
Janies Wilson, E. C. Reigart,
Joel Eastman. George Chambers,
MASSACHUSETTS. William R. Morris,
Samuel Hoar, Edward Darlington,
At tern s Lee, Samuel M. Barclay,
Richard Haughfon. K. T. M'Dowell,
VERMONT. James Merrill.
A. B. W. Tenny, OHIO.
Samuel H. Holly, Benjamin S. Cowan,
William H. Briggs. Tracy Bronson.
Conscious, however, of the inability of the
abolitionists, without other aid, to elevate
him to the chair of State, lie has, at the in
stance of the southern federo-whigs, been
transmitting letters to the South, disclaiming
abolitionism, while busily engaged mgninir
to the leading incendiaries written assurances
ol his devotion to the black cause, with a
mandate that they le kept out of print. The
existence of these pledges is placed bc-yond
doubt. The honester portion of the aboli
tionists testify to their private exhibition, and
their recipients, though called on repeatedly
to let them come before the public, dare not
comply nor contradict their reception. Dis
ingenuousness of such a character must de
stroy confidence in the possessor, and certain
ly disqualifies him i'or filling with utility and
dignity and honor any station in public or pri
vate life.
Such is a portrait of the man whom the
Southern people are, by the federal whigs,
called on to support for the highest trust with
in their gilt. An ultra federalist in youth and
old age, a high tariffite, a United Suites’
Bankite, an internal improvement partisan,
an imbecile commander, a tyrant to the poor
er whites man and woman, an abolitionist ah
initio, a prevaricator, and an impostor, from
him what can the Southern people expect?
Should a majority of Congress decide on pro
tective imposts to again grind the interests of
the cotton planter to dust under the wheels
of the manufacturer, can the children of the
sun look to him with hope for prevention or
redress'? Certainly not: for besides being
bound to the measure by principle, he has
distinctly declared the President to be no part
of the legislative corps, and that, if elected,
he will not exercise the veto prerogative.
Should a system of internal improvement
receive the sanction of the two houses oi
Congress, that ihe planters of the South may
be rendered tributary to the construction ol
roads and canals in the middle and eastern
States, can we, from him, expect aid in avert
ing the burthen? By no means: for hie ideas ,
in relation to expediency as well as constitu
tionality are decidedly against us. Should j
Congress again resolve to place tlie policy ’
of the country and the fortunes of the people j
subservient to the colls rising and expanding;
of a huge banking institution, can it be ex-j
peeled that the egis entrusted to bin hands!
by the people, will intervene and arrest the j
danger] Unquestionably not: for towards j
such an institution lie is favorably disposed!
by inclination and juridical opinion. Should j
incendiarism succeed in applying its torch to j
the combustible materials around us, with!
what confidence can we anticipate cither
coiiimisseralion or succor? Can we confide
m the sincerity of a man who, while endea
voring to cajole us for the sake of office, is
in secret communication with our infatuated
enemies, offering thorn the right hand of fel
lowship and to them citing his past life as evi
dence of his candor and devotion] Is not
such conduct infinitely worse than avowed
hatred the most furious and, deadly] Does it
not combine ail the guilt of treason with the
malevolence of the savage] It has nothing to
rod igale its turpitude. In the South, he firs!
beheld the fight—from the South lie has re
ceived no inju ry; yet, that he may, as an automa
ton fill the chair of State, and receive the mock
ery of adulation during lour years, (which
ought to be appropriated in preparing lor im
mortality,) he is willing that a servile volcano
should burst in Ins native land, and consign its
white inhabitants to a sepulchre of fire.
But were lie not, what he is, an abolitionist,
yet dependent, as we know he is, on the abo
litionists for his nomination, and without whose
aid lia cannot possibly be elected—and should j
he succeed, —from the very nature of parly-!
ism, he would be necessitated to entrust the j
departments of the government to the man- j
agement of persons entertaining incendiary
principles. With such men at the head of
affairs, what could the South expect, except
from its own rifles, in the event of insurrec
tion! Certainly no cordial or ardent co-ope
ration from the general government. If arms
and munitions were desirable, they would
not be transmitted with such speed and in
| such quantities as to permit them to be effec
tual. Were regular troops needed, they
j would not be marched so opportunely nor in
| such masses as to allow them to make deci
j sive impression on the insurgents. The func
tionaries, controlling the forces of the nation,
wopld take special care that the power en
trusted to them should not operate detriment
ally to what they consider the cause of nature
and of God.
We have however evidence conclusive that j
lie is and has been an abolitionist. Let him
be e : ected, and incendiary petitions become at ]
once legitimatized in the halls of Congress, i
| The abolishment of slaver}’ in the district of
Columbiamustlollow,and besucceedod by the j
preclusion of negro-slavery in all the terri- j
tunes, while the post office will be converted
into a medium for tiie conveyance and distri
bution of incendiary publications throughout
the winkle South. For protection, we will be
forced to resort to the rdle and sabre, and the
Union, swept away by a deluge of blood, will |
be numbered with the things that were. To I
the spirit that clings fondly to the palladium
of our national existence, the contemplation
of such an event is harrowing.
Os those among us that are urging the
election ol General Harrison, no doubt many,
duped by ad captandinn professions, are hon- J
cst in design; but it is unquestionably true!
that many are not Men whose knowledge j
ot affairs forbids the idea of their believing
tales that they hourly circulate, exploded al
legation?, imaginative facts, rid.culous princi
ples, and delusive hopes, all addressed to pre
sumed ignorance or reprehensible feelings—
such men, not a few of whom have amassed
wealth by swindling the farmers through the
instrumentality of worthless bank paper, and i
are yet desirous, by getting into power, to *
renew their fraudulent operations—such men,
we say, are determined, if they ear, to create
confusion, at all hazards, in anticipation that
they will be able, ausidat the strife, to roach
distinction or rickefc. They endeavor to im
press the people with the idea ti.it every nrr
may, without labor, acquire for . e, if j j ar
son become president, as it the old man pi
sess the faculty ascribed to Midas—turnii
every thing ha touches in:o gold. Shou
such inon form a majority of our legisiatui
our banks, already too numerous, will be u.-
creased, and be suffered to continue their opt
rations without giving specie for their pape
and a senator to Congress will be chosen who
will operate with the abolitionists in our na
tional councils. Besides, sustaining such men
is nothing more nor less than offering a boun
ty to deception and falsehood, which must
tend to corrupt morality as well in private as
public life.
By entrusting public power to the friends
of Martin Van Buren, a senator and nine
representatives will be sent to Congress, op
posed to a protective tariff, to a United States’
Bank, to internal improvement by the Gener
al Government, and to the abolitionists on all
points—the State banks by coercion of the
legislature be compelled to resume the pay
ment of specie—no charters with banking
privileges be granted—and the credit of the
State be withheld from the projectors of rail
roads and canals.
Should Martin Van Buren be re-elected,
what, some will inquire, will it advantage
Georgia and the rest of the South? We will
begin by stating what the event will not do.
Though long called the magician, he cannot
control the seasons. The worm, catterpillar
and rot cannot be kept by his sorcery from
cotton, lie cannot make the people of Eu
rope wear out twelve shirts a year instead of
three or four: and consequently can neither
depress nor exalt the value of cotton. Be
tween the sovereigns of Europe, his influence
can neither prolong peace nor precipitate war:
so that over the price of rice or of peltry, he
can have no power.—To the peninsula of
Florida, he cannot restore peace nor even
to its inhabitants give security, until Congress
grant him the means. His power is inade
quate to fill with money the pockets of idle,
thoughtless, extravagant men or women, or
to enable dreamers to transmute brick-dust
into bullion. Nor can he procure for the la
bor of mechanics from three to four dollars a
day while corn sells at forty cents per bushel
and cotton commands no more than from
seven to nine cents a pound. To deter poli
ticians from pedling in falsehoods lie has no
ability, as that branch of business rests on
the gullibility of freemen, nor can he hinder
fools and fanatics, scoundrels and traitors
from joining abolitionists either openly or un
der cover—nor even prevent Congress from
doing what they please, on that or any other
subject, as soon as two-thirds of both houses
resolve to counteract his wishes. But, until
such a majority of legislators combine against
him, he can and will, if re-elected, traverse
every attempt by Congress at internal im
provement, at rechartering a United States’
Bank, at the imposition of a high protective
tarift’, and at intermedling with the subject of
blavery in the District of Columbia and in
every State and Territory. Moreover, he will
give the sub-treasury system a fair trial, and
unless figures and induction prove fallacious,
drive the paper of the swindling machines,
banks with fictitious capital, from circulation,
and enable the paper of specie-paying insti
tutions to pass at par; by his prudence and
energy he will be very apt to maintain peace
with foreign countries, and abroad preserve
our flag from insult and our citizens from out
rage, though we frankly confess that he nei
ther will have nor desire to have the coercive
ability of preventing the federal-whig?, at
Macon, from evincing their contempt for our
j institutions by burying the Constitution tm
i der ground six feet deep, and, by derision, elf -
| vating a cider-barrel over it—no, nor to in
[ duce them to tell the truth, nor to desist from
i attempt; gto deceive the people. Nor will
; he anticq fte to escape their lan gag.* ffis hol
ies as to his motives of action, iic: have the
egotism to suppose that he can blow com
merce fiita activity, the regulation of that
matter belonging strictly to the laissez nous
ftsire , and not to the profound cogitations or
calculations of statesmen; for notwithstand
ing the predictions of the federo-whigs and
the closure of the. bauke to 4 ho holiest de
mands against"them, hast ness at the present
time, is returning to activity in every port of
the United Btatcs>not because Van Buren is
president oj chat. Harrison, heading the aboli
tionists, opposes him, but simply because the
people want merchandize and have money to
pay for it. In short, Van Buren, if rechosen,
will, as he has already done, respect his oath,
apply in good faith the appropriations directed
bv Congress, enforce the laws, use his veto
in defence of the reserved rights of the
States, secure, on the slave subject, tranquil
ity to the South unless his prerogative be ren
dered inoperative by two-thirds of Congress,
leave the imports and exports to be enhanced
or depressed by the quantity and consumption*
and trust in God. He is an active, a prudent,
a candid and a consciencious business man*
devoid of enthusiasm, but blessed with strong
mind, extensive information and great suavity.
Let the voter ponder, and decide for him
self.
FALSEHOOD—CORRECTED.
The Columbus Enquirer of yesterday i;r
relation to the election in Muscogee, asserts
that the Democrats “refuse to bet except up
on the election of one man.” To the editors
of that paper or any one of the trio, or to any
i member or members of their party, the gum
’ of two thousand dollars is hereby offered that
1 a majority of the democratic candidates for
j the Legislature in this county will be elected
j on Monday next, or if Lliey prefer it, the sum of
five hundred dollars on each of the democratic
candidates—the money to be deposited in any
bank in Columbus that the federal whig or
whigs betting may designate. Those dispo
sed to risk their money on such issue, arc de
sired to call at the office of the Sentinel and
Herald.
The Rev. “ Brother” Marks, who, it has
been declared, would sooner sacrifice “his
property and life” than tell a falsehood, has
now an opportunity to prove his regard tor
truth, not. by venturing his life , but merely
risking a little of his property.
ELECTION IN MUSCOGEE.
By the Justices ol’ the Inferior Court of
Muscogee, we are requested togive notice that
the polls will, on Mondav next be opened at
the new Court House in this city, and the elec
tion for members of Congress and u embers
of the Legislature from Muscogee be conduct
ed there.
At the same place the Sheriffs’ Sales of
Muscogee will next day, Tuesday, be made,
and lor the future so continue.
The Enquirer says, that it is authorised 1o
say that the immediate friends and neighbors
of H. C. Sapp, Esq. “are all ardently [?] in
his support.” Will the editors of that paper,
though usually reckless, venture to assert that
they themselves believe their own statement?
Mr. James Kirvin, Mr. Alexander Moss and
Colonel John L. Harp are immediate neigh
bors ol Judge Sapp. Will “Brother” Marks
and Cos. say shat they are authorized to as
sure the public that Judge Sapp has received
any pledge or assurance that the gentlemen
named will vote for him, or “are ardently [?]
in his support: ’ Brother Maiks would soon
er surrender “property and liie” than stoop
to falsehood!!!
The dead body of an unfortunate white
female, known extensively in Georgia as
Viry Magraw” was found yesterday morn
ing, between ihe bluiland liver, adjacent to
the warehouse of Messrs. Deblois,’ Ruse &
Cos. A coroner's ii quest gave a fttdicl that
i*er death wj accidental.