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TIIE WASHINGTONIAN: AUGUSTA, SEPT. 9, 1843. WmhUgton Total MMntnce Pledge. We, whose names are hereunto annexed, desirous of forming a Society for our mutual benefit, and to guard against a pernicious practice which is injurious to our health, standing and families, do pledge ourselves as Gentlemen, * rut to dr ini: any Bpiriiou» or Malt Liquors, Win© or Cider. EDITORIAL COMMITTEE. Rev. W. T. Bkantlv, Dr. P. M. Robertson, W J. Hint), Dr. D. Hook, “ C. S. Don, S. T Chapman, Esq. " Geo. F. Pißßce, Jame* Harpek, Esq. Col. John Miu.eiiqe, (gj- To Dht.kt Stmwitßru.—Poit Mj«teri»re au thoiiioU by law to remit money to the publisSen of newspapers an! perioJicatn in p.iymunt of subscrip. tlon». SnbWTSßers to the iJastmgfim/anCantlierefoie pay for tneir papers without subjecting ill.-ms.-Ives or the publisher to the expense of postage, by handing the amount to the Post Master, with a request to remit it. Correspondents will excuse us for the non appearance of their articles this week. W e have thought it best “to say our say” of the Banner, and of its envious and quarrelsome propensities at once, and then disn.Ls the concern forever, unless to correct its mis statements. Next week we shall resume the “even tenor of our way," hoping our subscribers will excuse our present diversion, especially when they reflect that we speak twice to the Banner's once, and at the same price. (£P The following article in reference to the unpleasant and (on our part) un sought for controversy with the ‘ Banner,’ it may be proper to state, has been prepa red to order, submitted to, and heartily approved by the Editorial Committee.— That committee, and each of its mem bers, disclaim all intention hitherto to provoke ill feeling—they contend that thoir course towards the Banner has been uniformly kind, conciliatory, candid and confiding—that even their rebukes, slight and modest as they were deserved, were couched in language devoid of offence— nor would the Committee now notice the matter at all but for the fact that one of thair number has boen singled out by name and language applied to him alike unjust, unworthy ofthe cause and discred itable to the Editor of the Banner, whose lack of reason and argument must have driven him to the unworthy alternative. It is matter of congratulation to the friends ofTemperancc in this region, thai so far as they can learn, this heart-burn ing is confined entirely to the publisher of the Banner, and wo will take pleasure hereafter in referring to letters from mem bers of the late Penfield Convention ami to the recent correspondence between thecommittoe of the Augusta Washing tonian Society and the Chairman of the Penfield committee, as an evidence of the continued harmony and good understand ing which still prevail between the real friends of the cause both here and in the interior. Whilst such a state of feeling exists, it matters little what may be the views and language of the publisher ot the Banner. The Uannrr. Tho Temperance Banner, of Penfield, comes out in its last number, in open, ana certainly, most uncalled for attack upon us. The chief grievance complainod of, is our arrogating to ourselves the merit of originating the idea of a Temperance Convention! The facts of the case are thus:—Tht suggestion of the Convention was'madi in the Banner of June 15th, and in tht Washingtonian of June 17th. It was thereibre, original with both papers— for neither could have been led in tht matter by the other; the Washingtoniai is issued on Saturday morning, while tht Banner reaches Augusta on the succeed ing Sunday. In our paper of Aug. 19th occurs the following language, in a com naunication signed “C.”—it is this tha the Banner quptes as so exceptionable: 44 T was gratified when you made th original proposition for a State Convert tion. I was also pleased to see that yoi brother ofthe ‘Banner’ was so prompt t improve upon your hint, in getting up ; meeting at Penfield.” The substantial correctness of that ar- Stible, admitted into our paper with our im plied sanction, we one and ail endorse, and hold ourselves as responsible for it as one of our number, whom the Editor ofthe Banner is pleased to style 44 ’Squire Chapman." The charge of falsehood which is so unsparingly made against him, we consider equally applicable to us a!!, and we pronounce it utterly unfound r ed. We hardly know whether we should ‘ be most indignant at its falseness, or amu sed with Its ridiculous and grotesque ab - surdity; on the whole, we incline to the latter. s We did not consider the question ofthe paternity of the idea of a Convention a d matter of the slightest consequence; we i, never stickled for our claim to it; we did , t not deem it worthy of investigation, or of = carefully measured language—the remark in the communication was merely inci ’’ dental. Yet it is on such a point that the Editor of the Banner feels himself justi fied in charging one of our number with . falsehood! Surely he must have been .-jsorely in want of a ground of quarrel ’’ when he selected this- II he can make * stock of this matter of the suggestion of a f Convention, we most cheerfully yield it up !to him ; we never imagined that ice could ! 'derive from it any benefit whatever, b the Editor of the Banner stricken with •,jsuch a poverty of merits, that he must con tend for so small an affair as this, and de- Iplore hiswrongs in such dolorous strains ‘jinthat we would rob him of his glory? t j We do not rate him so low, and we hope t that some remains of self-respect may in -6 duce him to drop this whining about “the many difficulties he has had to struggle i with,” and that he “is now threatened - with one never dreamed of before.” 1 As to the second accusation, our “treat - . ing with great disrespect” the Committee . of tho Penfield Convention, by suggesting and discussing the time and place of hold ) ing the next Convention, —we scout at the i idea. We ask our brother of the Banner ! when a censorship of the press was es- I tablished in Georgia. It had entirely es caped our recollection that it was evei , instituted; perhaps we have unwittingly . offended, by violating some such law.— , Will the Banner jog our memory ? o.' f one thing we are sure, that the members . of that committee have not felt it a griev , ance, to be informed of tho sentiments on this subject of an organ which represent? more than 1,300 Washingtonians, good , and true. We have had the pleasure of a correspondence with that committee—a , correspondence on both sides graced by a courtesy, and warmed with a mutual hear ty good will, which the Banner might r advantageously imitate. Ho must be , strangely ignorant of the posturo of tern perance matters at his very doors. We refer him for information to a letter sent last week to the committee of the Pen field Convention by a committee of the Augusta Washingtonian Society. The third and last accusation that we propose to notice is that of interfering with the Banner by suggesting that one im portant benefit of a convention would be the obtaining of more extensive and accu rate statistical information than that pa per with all its diligence could collect. The Banner says, “ this was calculated and we believe it can be shown, was de signed to defeat our call made sdveVa! months since, and to divert from the co umns of tho Banner a correspondence and information which was deemed o. great importance by us.” As to any un friendly design, where is the least appear ance of it? On the contrary, our article with unsuspecting straight-forwardness, calls upon the Banner 44 to publish the a reposition,” and great was our surprise when he refused to do so. We suggest hat the members ofthe convention may lo good by bringing up with them all the tatistical information they can get that it nay be published far and wide; and this s “calculated and designed to defeat” tht 3anner’s plans! In the name of common ense, we ask what difference it make? vith the Editor of that paper how he get? ye required information ? If he on!) :ets it, and gets it honestly, any reasona ble man would say the more easily it if btainea the better. If we had suggested he procuring of such information for the urpose of secreting it and keeping it from :ie Banner, it would be altogether a dif ferent thing; but in the midst of all this . tissue of absurdities we believe this is not , pretended. If the Banner contends for 5 the monopoly of all temperance informa r tion—why let himjiave it, if he can make ? any profit out of it, for this seems to be i the real point of importance with him. t s We have felt ourselves bound to notice . the articles of the Banner, once for all. 1 If there is squabbling to be done, we are . satisfied to leave it to the Banner —we . have something better to do. We would » like no better fun than to sprinkle a little of “the Attic salt” over our pages—and ' let the Editor of the Banner reap the i benefit of it. This would be altogether 1 in the line of the lawyers of our commit -1 tee, it would not be out of place in the to administer a dose now and i then, as to the Colonels and esquires • they would glory in a brush, and even i “ the Reverends” among us might relish • a little “ rowing up salt river” byway of i exercise. But we deny ourselves the i sport for the good of the cause. Wt I have said our say, and although we an : ticipate a good deal of blustering, a t grand flourish of trumpets &c, we will lei | • the Banner bray on :—we purpose to pur-1 I sue the even tenor of our way undisturb !jed by his noise and racket. Unless somt ij injurious misrepresentation beyond what :we anticipate should occur, we do not .propose to return to this subject W, throw upon the Banner the sole respon sibility of this whole quarrel. We have pursued the most peaceable and friendly course. We have always spoken of tht Banner in terms of respect and not un frequontly of commendation. Witness our number of August 26th in contras with this scurrilous attack upon us. Nor has the mad course of that paper blinded us to its merits even now. While wt feel bound to administer rebuke to its present posture of hostility against us we are not disposed to deny or forget that it has done good service in our com- 1 mon cause, while we are sure that it it now able to do much greater things and we hope its Editor will come to his rea son again ere long and be satisfied to be not quite so pugnacious against his co , laborers. The Editor of the “Banner,” seems to have a holy horror for the “ Reverend', Doctors, Squires,” &c., who compose the Editorial corps of the Washingtonian. I' We don’t doubt the man’s sincerity.— He has been a sly, but lucky sinner, gliding i about the purlieus of the Courts Ecdcsi- 1 astical half his days—he has doubtless seen the ghost of many an unpaid Doc tor's Bill, and has had so much to do with die minister’s of justice that the very name of a “ Squire ,” however humble, is doubtless magnified into the shadows of at least half a dozen bum-bailiffs. No wonder the man evinces a distaste for “ Reverends, Doctors and Squires.” Brother Brantly, you can pass—wo won’t plead the “ limitation act ” on you. Among the other scurrilities of the last Banner, we find a very bad joke poked at us, so pointless and shapeless that we do not know how to apply it any how. All we can sec in it, is the stupidity of its author, who has not acuteness enough tc distinguish between the Washingtonian news-paper and “nine Reverends, Doc tors, Squires, and one printer.” With regard to this would-be funny conclusion of the Banner’s column and a half against us, we have only to add our congratula tions on the happily selected signature that is applied to it, “ 1 ish one of tc gods.” It is not often that one hits his own character so well; for the whole ar ;icle against us is pervaded with an as tonishing sense, on the part of the au thor, of the “great importance” of “hi; own dear self,” and every thing that be longs to him. It IS AN EASY MATTER TO BECOME l drunkard. —The mariner, as he passe: he whirlpool of the ocean, finds it unne eessary to set his sails and turn his helm t< rush upon certain, inevitable destruction He has only to fold his arms in listlessnes and submit his vessel to the silent influ once of the waves, and his fate is sealed his bark may pass round and round slovvl; it first, but with every revolution its ve locity will increase, until it darts like ai arrow upon destruction. Thus is it with the temperate drinker—he knows not his t danger untii he is beyond the reach of • reclamation. Tradition informs us that, years since. ■ an Indian on the shores of the Niagara ! dissatisfied with his circumstances and his tribe, loosed his bark canoe from the northern extremity of Grand Island, and ■ folding his arms across his breast, began alternately to indulge a wild and spright ly chant, to gaze on the fish as they sport ■ ed in the clear still waters beneath, and ! to watch the trees as, to his untutored mind, they ran fantastic races along the i shores. Coolly and unconcernedly he re mained, as if unconscious of the dangei before him, until his frail bark began tc pitch upon the first breakers of the mighty cateract of the North ! Then, springing as if from a reverie, and glancing in wild terrror at the waters, the shores, and the Great Spirit whom nature had taught him to worship, he deliberately raised his rude decanter of rum, and while taking the last, long draught, plunged headlong to rise no more! How apt an illustration this of the fate of thousands who are borne as thought jlessly along the stream of life; nor dream hf danger, until they are precipitated intc i deeper gulf- a more inextricable chasm! Truly, it is an easy matlcr to become a drunkard. Reader, if you are yet a tempera!* drinker, and feel secuie, suspect youil safety nt once ; for in proportion as yoi. imagine yourself strong are you weak, anc in proportion to your fancied security i. your actual danger. Who would not sustain a cheap newspaper? —A few evening’s since we were passing the house ofa mechanic, in the suburbs, who has been a hard working unfortunate fellow all his life. We no ticed him seated on the door-sill appa rently reading to his wife who yvas plying her needle hard by. Knowing that hi iad but little, ifany, education, we passed dowly, and to our astonishment discover ed he was actually spelling, word bi word, an article from the Washingtonian, on the subject of Temperance. The noble fellow deserved a better fate. Such industry, such perseverance, mus meet eventually their appropriate reward. We have alluded to it, however, not from personal considerations, but to show the necessity of sustaining in our community a cheap family paper of the proper moral stamp,'such as the humblest individual can have ready acces? to. In a Repub lic, intelligence and virtue are essential in every citizen, because each has some thing to do with the selection of our rulers, and the administration of the gov ernment. These are necessary to guard, them against the impositions of the dema gogue and the wiles of designing men.j In this country, where we have no titled aristocracy, no rights of primogeniture, and no entailments of estates —where the j rich man of to-day is the poor man of to-: morrow—where there can be no bond ol ! union between the wealthy and the grea* to enable them to resist the expansive power of the middle and lower classes, the danger is not so likely to spring from the aristocratic as the agrarian tendencies of society. Whatever, therefore, tends to enlighten and moralize the lower classes will tend to perpetuate our institutions and give permanency to the government. And what can be more efficient, than the weekly sheet filled with useful informa tion and wholesome moral truths: It can be read in the moments of leisure and re laxation from the more arduous labors of the day. Its periodical appearance serves to admonish to industry and excite to reading, whilst its fresh and varied contents a muse and reward the reader for his toil. While it expands the mind and 3nables the family to pass their cven ngs in pleasant recreations, it often de ains the father at heme, and restrains vim from visiting the haunts of dissipation md vice. Nor are its advantages less tc he rising generation. Who can tel vkat youthful minds might not first b. txcited to activity by perusing the co urnns of some humble weekly, and thei ie quickened, invigorated, and maturei nto the noblest intellects of the land, that vould otherwise, under existing circum tances, remain in obscurity, or be smoth red in sensuality and crime. “ Full many a gem of purest ray serene, The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear— Full many a flower is borne to blush unseen, And waste its fragrance on the desert air.” For such purposes, and to attain such -1..:.:. f ends, who would not cheerfully contribute of his substance to sustain an enterprise . that can do good, and only good, to all classes of society ? 03” The following letter from one of , the most worthy and successful champions l of our cause "’fully explains itself. It is 1 useless to say that it is a most full and ’ satisfactory explanation of a part of the j proceedings of the convention, which, j however liable to be misconstrued, we had passed over in silence and almost un noticed, until we were apprised, both pub licly and privately, of that secret hostility on the part of the “Banner,” which has since been so publicly and unmanfully evinced in the columns of that paper. I We are indeed happy to suppose that the fire is confined to such narrow limits, as the publisher of the Banner; and aware, 1 as we are, of the nature of the material on w hich it has to feed, we feel confident that its flames will soon die away, and I that the whole aflair will hereafter be pleasantly referred to merely as a simple case of spontaneous combustion. 1 Rev. C. S. Dod, Chairman of Editorial Committer, dfc. Dear Sit;— Your papei* of the 19th inst., containing an appeal “to the Com mittee appointed to report business for the late Temperance Convention at Pen- I field,” for explanation of “the ambiguous anguage” of a certain Rosolu:ion, &e., reached me this afternoon simultaneously with a letter from one of your number. 1 was one of tbatccmmiiec, and offer for myself the following explanation, hoping iyou wilt hear from the other gentlemen oon. The original item suggested bv myself to the committee, and through them to the convention, was in substance this— Con fide r the impoitance of Temperance Pub. ications and the best means of promoting heir circulation.” The report of that committee was made to the convention luring its afternoon session, when I was mgaged in session of the Trustees of Mercer University. Immediately upon the adjournment of the Board, 1 went di ed to the convention, and found the above item under consideration. My emarks on the occasion are reported correctly by “A Looker on,” in the Tem perance Banner of the 15th inst. I beg vou and the gentlemen with whom you are associated to notice, that those re marks are in favor of Temperance papers generally.. It is true that, at the dose of hose remarks, I did make a proposition n behalf of the Banner, to this effect— “that each member of the convention should pledge himself for a certain number of subscribers to the Banner.” My sole reason for this was, because we were in | Penfield, where the Banner is published. llf I had been in Augusta, [ should have made a similar appeal for your excellent i Washingtonian. How the resolution got into its present shape, or by whom it was drafted, I am unable to say; for as stated above, I was under such exhaustion from the labors of the day, as to notice little that was pass ing I have no idea, however, it was j lesigned in any way to detract from the merits of your paper. The design of the {committee, and of the convention, was to promote the circulation of all Temperance publications—the clause, “ that may be deemed worthy,” was purely accidental. I trust this explanation will be satisfac tory to yourself and all concerned. The merits of your paper were not in question belore the convention or its committee.— On the other hand, it was lauded by seve ral gentlemen in the most unqualified terms. I take this occasion to say, that I con sider the Augusta Washingtonian worthy the patronage of an intelligent and virtu ous public, and as having special claims upon the friendly offices of Temperance men. W ith the highest consideration, lam &c. J. 11. Campbell. Clinton, Aug. 21, 1843. 03” The Editor of the “Christian In dex” is informed, that the non-arrival of the Washingtonian at his office was pure ly accidental. The mistake was correct ed as soon as discovered by the publisher, who would take this opportunity to ex cess his regard not only for the Editor 9 rs the “Index,” but his regret that any •ircumstance should have occurred to give he slightest semblance of neglect or vant of esteem for the gentleman w hoso bly and faithfully presides over the Edi orial department of that paper. He egards it as a worthy and efficient co aborer in the cause of humanity and ruth. The Publisher. 13* Mr. Delavan has prepared with care a let er to he sent, with a set of Dr. Se wall’s Plates, o the Emperors of Russia and Austiia, to the King of the Prince Albert, and tuthe Kings of Sweden, Prussia, Belgium, Holland rnd Greece. These plates are beginning to at tract much attention in Europe,— J. A. T. Union