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I'll I. "waShTITuTONIAN:
AUGUSTA. IfEBBPIBY IQ, 1814.
Washington Total Abstinence Pledge.
ir«, 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.
not to drink any
gpiritous or Malt Liquors, Wine or Cider.
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE.
Rev. W. T. Bkantlv, Dr. F. M. Robertson
“ W. J. Hard, Dr. D. Hook,
*• C. S. Dod, S. T Chapman, Esq.
“ Geo. F. Pierce, James Hari’es, Esq,
Col. John Mh.ledge,
jgj- To Dutaat Bustcttscss.—Post Masterssre au
thorized by law to remit money to the publishers of
newspapers and periodicals in payment of subscrip
tions. Subscribers to the Washingtonian can therefore
pay for their papers without subjecting themselves or
the publisher to the expense of postage, by handing the
•mount to the Post Matter, with a request to remit it.
Q£r We regret that the Athens Banner
catne to hand too late to allow us to no
tice'the reply of the Editor to the com
munication of “ Order,” in our last. We
will refer to the subject in our next. —
White we are disposed to do the good cit
izens of Athens and the Officers of the
College full justice, we deem it neverthe
less due to the cause of good order and
decency that the actors in such disgrace
ful scenes should be exposed and punish
ed, or otherwise the reputation of the
whole community must necessarily suffer
for the misconduct of a few rowdies.
Mr. Hawkins.
It is matter of general regret that the
weather was so inclcmentduring this gen
tleman’s recent visit to our city as to pre
vent the attendance of many persons on
his lectures: still it is to ho hoped that
some good will result from tho plain and
simple statements which were made by
the speaker, and which will abide in the
memory of many of his hearers, during
long years to come.
Mr. H. makes no pretensions to the
M claims or standing of a learned man.—
His own statement was, that he had not j
enjoyed tho advantages of a school since
his 14th year. Elegance ofdiction could
not therefore have been fairly anticipated:'
but Mr. H. has those qualities which
render him more interesting and effect
ive as a public lecturer—viz: a native
pathos and an obvious directness of pur
pose, guided by a sound and discrimina
ting judgment. The strongest proof of |
the correctness of this opinion is contain- j
ed in the fact that although his audiences ,
were comparatively small, still his labors,
in Augusta resulted in the addition of,
Thirty names to the Pledge !—No
small number under tho circumstances. ,
The greatest good which wo hopo to s
see result from the visit of Mr. H. is an •
increased activity on the part of our old j
signers, many of whom have grown luke- ]
warm,and some perhaps have even forgot- .
ten the obligations of the pledge. For some <
months past a decided want of vitality ,
has been manifested in the City Society. (
Men seem to have grown inditferent and ,
lifeless. Shall this state of things con- j
tinue ! Has the progress of intoxication (
been arrested ? Have men ceased to j
drink ?—or has death forsaken the cup of ,
the drunkard ? ,
Let the professed friends of the cause ,
reflect upon these things, and then con
sider the coresponding duties which de- (
volve upon them, as consistent adherents |
of a good cause. ,
Gooil News.
The letter from our Savannah corres- 1
pondent, contains some cheering intelli
gence. Wc commend the example of our t
neighbors on the coast—especially their ]
continued and untiring zeal—to their i
brethren of the interior. What has been i
done for the sailors in the port of Savan
nah, can be done for the hard working, ,
honest yeomanry, of the mountains—pro
vided the same, or similar means, are
used. Can it be that the time for success
ful efforts has passed in the middle and
upper sections of the State? What has
become of all the zealous and active ad
vocates of our cause, whose labours were
|ho much blessed a twelve-month since?
Have they abandoned the conflict and
given over the field to the enemy ? We
trust not. To such, then, we send the
cheering news from Old
bid them u go and do likewise.”
Nor should the example of the honest
far be entirely lost upon some of the
signers of the pledge. “Jack” would
not forfeit his word as a gentleman,
though there was no likelihood of his
derclection ever being discovered by those
to whom his faith was plighted. How
much more careful should those be to
S
. keep their faith, the influence of whose
f misconduct will not only be at once felt
. to the injury of others, but to their own
lasting discredit, if not ruin ?
A Case iu Point.
; We have not been in the habit of
annoying our readers with the details of
drunken brawls and the consequences
which occasionally flow therefrom. We
" have sought rather to win them by the
r beauties of temperance, than to frighten
' them by the debaucheries and disgusting
r revelries of drunkenness. The last Dah
-5 lonega Times, however, gives the details
of a single tragedy which we cannot re
r frain from publishing, and which goes
. far to illustrate tho general nature o
. such scenes.
» It of course occurred in a dogenj, be
- longing to one James R. Long, iqLump
. kin county. Three men, by the names
: of Dobbs, Trammell and Helton, it ap
. pears call at Long’s, and after drinking
| deeply of his liquors, venture to indulge
a joke in regard to his sign-board. An
affray ensues in which Dobbs, Helton and
Trammell are successively stabbed by
Long. Dobbs is killed—the other two
seriously wounded. Long himself is
wounded by a ball fired from a pistol in
the hands of Helton—and the narration
of the whole affair winds upas usual with
“ We forbear any comment on this mel
ancholy and truly unfortunate occurrence,
as it will again have to undergo a judicial
investigation! /” Something is said also
about the necessity of bringing offenders
to justice!! ! Other papers copy the ac
count of the tragedy, and bewail the state
of public morals !!!
Would it not be well to -strike at the
root of the evil—by reforming the unfortu
nate drunkards—abolishing their haunts
of dissipation—and removing the incen
tive.s to crime? Such a course would
diminish the criminal calendars in our
Courts at least 50 per cent. Let those
who really loathe such tragedies give a
helping hand to the Temperance cause !
Education of the Poor.
Unquestionably, one of the most
praiseworthy acts of tho last Legislature,
is that which provides for the education
of the poor. Georgia originally possess
ed resources, scarcely equalled by these
of any sister State. Those resources
lave been squandered, under a wild and i
reckless system of legislation, and a con
siderable debt in addition has been con- :
tracted ; and yet, by the census of 1840, i
it would appear that but few States are <
lower than she, in the scale of education i
and general intelligence. The cheek of <
every sensitive citizen of the State must i
crimson with shame to see, in this parti- I
cular, ono of the most cherished and fa- i
vorite of the Old Thirteen, so far outstrip- ;
ped by the younger sisters of the confed- I
eraev. Sensible of this stigma—this
foul blot upon the fair fame of the com- i
monwealth—the members of the last le- <
gislature, animated by a high and praise- I
worthy patriotism, framed a law upon the i
subject, which, if faithfully executed, is
destined, in time, to restore the ancient ;
honor anil standing of the State, and give i
to her children, irrespective of rank and j
wealth, a sound and useful education. ;
The provisions of the Act, are—
Sec. 1. The Justices of the Inferior '
Court shali levy such extra tax, as may
be recommended by the Grand Jury,, in
each county, which together with such
other funds as shall be set apart for that
purpose, shali be appropriated to the edu
cation of the poor.
Sec. 2. The Justices of the Inferior
Court may require the Justices of the
Peace, or other persons, in the several
Militia Districts, to furnish a list of such
children between 8 and 16 years of age,
as may be entitled to the benefits of the
act: and may also appoint Commission- j
?!ers to superintend the appropriation and
Ijproper expenditure of said fund.
;j Sec. 3. Appropriates 1733 share of the
; Bank of the State, 830 shares of the
] Bank of Augusta, and all the available
assets of the Central Bank, after the
t payment of its debts, as a permanent
; |fund, the proceeds of which to be used
] for education purposes—lo be divided
, rateably, in proportion to the number of
s poor children reported from each county
J respectively.
k Sec. 4. The Justices of the Inferior
j Court are bound to report to the Gover
nor by the Ist Monday of November, in
[ each year, the number of children enti
tled to the benefits of this act; and the
I Governor is required to make the distri
jbutionby the Ist of January thereafter,
to such counties only as have actually
*jmade their returns prior to that time—
the funds to be paid to any person present
"* ing a certified copy of an order from the
L Inferior Courts of the respective counties.
Sec. 5. Provides for the payment of
1 persons who may have taught on the
- faith of the poor school fund, in the years
1842 and '43, out of the proceeds of the
' sales of the public lands, that may revert
‘to the State. It also allows the Inferior
Court at its discretion, to pay them out
of funds obtained under the third section
of this act.
Sec. 6. Requires the Judges of the
' Superior Court, at the first session in each
5 year, to give the act in charge to the
‘ Grand Juries of the respective counties.
'■ At the recent session of the Superior
Court of this county, His Honor Judge
Shly, in obedience to the above, present
ed the subject to the consideration of the
Grand Jury, which body unanimously
' recommended the imposition of 5 per ct.
1 upon the present tax, for the purposes
provided for in the Act.
Such prompt and decided action on the
part of the proper functionaries, shews
that old Richmond is sensible of the im
portance of educating the rising genera
tion, and that she will be among the first
to appropriateJhe bounty of the State to
that noble and praiseworthy object.
For the Wuhingtouian.
To
As your associations do not often bring
you in contact with those whose fame and
fortune are ingulphed in the whirlpool
of intemperance, it may not bo amiss to
introduce you into a field of labour, much
more worthy of your zeal and best ener
gies than even that occupied by the tem
perance reformer. Prevention is better
than cure. The Christian, the moralist
and the philanthropist, are laboring to
prevent vice of every name, and it shall
be the object of this letter to show you
how to assist them.
Intemperance, as well as other sinful
habits, originate in an antecedent evil. ;
ft is but one of the poisonous fruits of this '
deadly upas tree. If it be plucked from 1
the wide spreading branches, there will
still be left poison and death ripening '
upon every twig. The tree itselfmust be
extirpated, and I invite you to help with 1
all your powers to extract its roots from 1
our soil. This evil is, that mankind are
moved to action by falsehood instead of I
truth. The remedy is to reverse this, I
and make truth the spring to all human !
action. -This position deserves illustra- 1
tion and proof. {
Man is a creature of motive. His Cre- I
ator has ever addressed him as such—his 1
conduct in every age has proved him to
be such. He is governed by what he i
conceives will best promote his happiness. 1
If he be taught nothing, knows nothing, 1
and believes nothing but the truth on I
this subject, his life will conform thereto, 1
and his happiness will be secure ; but if
an enemy insinuates doubt into his mind, |
and thereby leads him into a course of dis
obedience to the laws of truth, his happi- !
ness will be wrecked. If a child was in- !
duced to believe by the words or conduct ]
of its mother, that putting its hand into
the burning flame would increase its in
fantile joys, it would t instantly thrust in
the hand—so the inexperienced youth i
may be induced to thrust down his throat i
the burning liquors of intoxication, or to i
participate in any other vice from which
he is assured pleasure only will be deriv
ed. This is a truth of every days obser
vation, and I adduce it as unanswerable
'j proof of the facts, —that vice originates
y
1 in the reception of falsehood as truth!—
that all liars are the worst enemies of tta
human race!—that the advocate^^B
bi truth, are the only friends of man!jl
2 But what a wide and glorious field of
2 usefulness is hereby opened u^ov ; lw|
• In word and deed, with olfiP
to many or few, you can m&st£htaUcjps-
ly recommend truth on allpAjectfi/Bind
f if you succeed in instilling the livre of it;
> in any heart, so that, irsfcalLJae the govW
erning principle of action tWough lija
r you have acc onyplisbed more good, dfl
he who revolutionizes empires, no
1 how much political frdfedom mav
• result. For you have freed a man from
2 the worst of all bondage, the bondage of
- sin—the obedience of falsehood instead of
'» truth! To effect this great good, truth
' must be spoken and obeyed on all occa
■ sions and under all circumstances—when
- this cannot be done, then is the time to
2 be silent and inactive. The lips should
• never be opened even in politeness to
1 utter a falsehood—the hand never raised
2 to obey its laws.
5 It requires much knowledge of men
- and things, under existing circumstances.
1 to know and demonstrate truth in every
r case that may arise; but in relation to
1 morals our source of information is per
-1 feet, and the heart that is influenced byj
the loye of God and man, will soon draw
! from it, a rich store for the good of his
1 fellow men. It is too, the actions which
' proceed from the moral sense that gives
to human life its sombre, or luminous
tints. If right here, and silent whenj
' ignorant on other subjects, we shall not
materially err. As a general rule it;
may be laid down, that truth on all sub
jects, and especially so in regard to mor
als, is simple, plain and unadorned.—
Falsehood is tortuous, mysterious, and|
has to be presented with rich decorations,;
or sustained by sophistical ingenuity.
Clement.
For the Washingtonian.
Savannah, 3rd Feb. 1844.
Messrs. Editors —ln my last, I promis
ed that you should hear something more
interesting from our old city in a short!
time, and I now make good my promise,!
for I feel convinced that our doings inj
the last few weeks will be very interest-'
ing to all the good friends of. the cause,
both in this and our sister States.
|<
We have met with the greatest success
lately ; and there appears to be an inter- ,
est awakened that I had never dared toh
hope could have been in this city. But
such is the case, and our progress is still
onward. j<
Our society held a meeting, by request!
of several masters of vessels, on board the
British ship Triton, on Monday the 22d
ult., and never has it been my lot to at
tend so interesting a meeting. The large '1
and convenient cabin of the Triton was s
crowded to overflowing, and around the;!
sky-light, on the quarter deck, a number j
were seated who could not get into the i
cabin. I,
The society was ably addressed by jj
several gentlemen of the city, and also ,
by Capt. Watt, of the ship John Munn,l
who is one of your thorough-going tem- t
perance captains, and our society is ,
greatly indebted to him for the interest he ,
has taken in the cause since he has been j
in our port. A few more such men as ,
Capt. W. in our ships, would make aj s
great alteration for the better, in the con- ij
dition of our sailors. j(
At this meeting about forty signed the'
pledge, and all of them I believe werelt
sailors. One of the first who signed was L
a young man, mate of the ship New Zea- (
land, a noble looking fellow; he stated 1
that he had never signed a pledge, but |
would do so now' for example. “ Here <
goes,” says he, “how many of the New \
Zealand crew will follow]” Need it be i
said that the crew, almost to a man, fob i
lowed his bright example, and signed the t
pledge. • (
A great many persons have said that it
was throwing away time in getting sail- |
ors to sign the pledge, for they would not \
stick to it. But if I know’ any thing of a (
sailor’s sense of honor, and I flatter my- |
self I do, I can say that not one out of |
twenty who have signed the total absti- I
nence pledge will break it. I recollect i
a circumstance which happened not a i
great while since which may serve to |
illustrate a sailor’s idea of honor. I
I™*
wharf, near
k packets was
one sailor say
et’s go take a
ed, “ No! you
ingtonians in
ink.” “ That
■‘you are not
ley will neyer
it„” said Jim,
5 to break my
edge, and they
. vas a member
>f tbc-pnciety. No. no, Harry, I will not
•I brown ny word, no matter what happens,
shall not take another drink until
f f go back to New-York and return the
f card, and have my name taken off the |
i book. ’ “Why,” says Harry, “suppose |
. you never go back to New-York?’ “Then 1
i (’ll die a Temperance man,” says Jim, i
) and lam not so sure that if I was to go
1 back to New York, that 1 would return
> the card, for I find the Temperance plan
Ito work very well. One thing lam cer.
tain of, I shall have more money at the J
i end of a cruise, and that’s something to l
me.”
I am of opinion, Messrs. Editors, that I
i the most of the sailors who sign the I
pledge will follow Jim’s plan, and if they I
j find they must drink, that they will re.
turn their certificate and have their names
erased, and when they come forward to if
do that, we may have an opportunity of g
getting them to stick to it.
On Wednesday, the 241 h ult. our so.
ciety held a meeting at the Mariner’s I
Church, when 15 signed the pledge, and I
| at a meeting fast Monday, 17 signed. I
On reference to the Secretary’s books. I
l see that the officers of the Revenue
Cutter, on this station, have all signed,
and I am informed they have n regularly
iorganized society on hoard, of which tw o
thirds of the seamen are members.
We expect to have Mr. Hawkins with
us, about the 15th inst. when I hope to
be able to give you a further account of
our success in the good cause.
Old Ogletjiobfh.
For the Washingtonian.
Home Industry Society.
By' a provision of the Constitution of
!’he Home Industry Society, a coin|i»iitee
makes up a report of its business* serin*
annually. The committee appointed tu
:this duty, submit the following as then
suit of their labors;
Stock on hand $1164 10
DehUdue ilie Society, nil good 214 20
In Bonds, Ac ’. 156 38
By old Agency, .. 5-300
Due by the Society, for Stock, Ac. 66 00
1653 40
There has been paid out for work to
persons embraced in the objects of this
society, since the last annual meeting,
SI2BB 50 ; and this amount has been
paid to about 150 females of the city,'
making the average sum paid to each
temale SBS 90—a sum sufficient, at the
present price of provisions, ample for the
wants of most of the applicants for work.
The managers have been able, by the
assistance of the agent, to produce these
results, without impairing the capital of
the Society—a result, we trust, gratify
ing to the friends of the institution, and I
satisfactory to the charitable and public [
spirited citizens who raised the means of ■
putting in operation this benevolentinsti- I
tution.
The committee, from experience, find I
that all the cases intended to be reached |
and relieved by this Society, has not been I
done. The means which the Society I
has. are insufficient to accomplish so
much. They are also acquainted from t
experience, that it is as expensive in the
way of house rent and salary for agent. 1
in managing this amount of means, as it I
would be if they were ample to relieve l -
the wants of every destitute female in
the city.
With such a statement of the Home
Industry Society’s operations in relieving
want and alleviating distress among our
citizens—the managers indulge the con
fident hope, that an appeal to the citizens
for aid, in increasing the usefulness of
this Society, which has worked so well,
will not be in vpin ; but will, as on for
mer occasions, be responded to with
pleasure and promptness, and will, by
their charity and public spirit, provide