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"MW thaT WASHINGTON! a k. AUGUSTA, DECEMBER as, 1814. j editorial committee. Rev. W. T. Brastcy, Dr. D. Hook, “ W. J.Hard, Jambs Harper, Esq, '• C. S, Don, A. W. Noel, Esq. “ Geo. F. Pierce, (gy- To Dimart Subscriber*. —Post Masters an; au. thurized by law to remit money to the publishers of newspapers and periodicals, in payment of suhscrip. tions. Subscribers to the H'aihinglunian can therefore pay for their papers without subjecting themselves or the publisher to the expense of postage, by handing the amount to the Post Master, with a request to remit it. According to announcement, we pro ceeded to the Hampton Course on Christ mas day, to witness the Balloon Ascen sion of Mr. Russell. Wo arrived there before the process ofinflntion commenced, and remained very patiently until after sundown. During the whole time, the process of inflation, we observed, was very tardy; and it was not until nearly sun down when the attempt of Mr. Rus sell to ascend was made, and failed for want, we believe, of a sufficient quantity of gass, such as was made. The Bal loon was again attached to the gasome ter and an additional amount of gass added, when Mr. Murry, who had never made an ascension, and though night was coming on, made every preparation for an serial trip in the upper regions. But again it was found that there was a small deficiency of gass, for after the Balloon had ascended about a hundred yards, it momentarily poised itself, and slowly des cended. Thus were the people disap. pointed, and we believe, Mr. Russell was no less so. Had the inflation continued for twenty minutes longer, there could not have been a failure; but the dark ness of night ended all further attempts for that day. We understand that Mr. JRussell is determined to make an ascen appointments which are unnecessary to be mentioned, is chiefly to be attributed the failure of the attempt. He is not the first, by far, even with greater expe rience, who has failed in a similar way. 03“ Wo beg leave to correct a mis take of the Hamburg Journal, in attribu. ting the donation of beef as a Christmas preseat to every widow in the city (family or no family) to Mr. J. A. Christian of this city. The “ present” was made by another gentleman of our city, a bachel or, whose name we do not feel ourselves authorised to publish. Mr. C. however, kindly interested himself in seeing the tickets distributed, by seeking out those who were willing to receive them. Oth ers, to some extent, did the same. fPljj -S ■ L.- , - * The New York Morning Express of Dec 21, received a slip from the office of the Salem Register which state that a destructive fire had occurred in that place, though greatly subdued when the slip was despatched ; and in which the loss is estimated as not falling short of 100,- 000 dollars. =-■ 1 • * 03” The New York papers say that the trial of Bishop Onderdonk is now go ing on before an Ecclesiastical Court held in that city. The examinations of the witnesses are said to bo iong, curious, tedious and minute. Some of the wit nesses are said to be very beautiful and fascinating women. Some of both sex havo undergone a searching examina tion. Wo beliefe that any man who can pass through such examination into his life, for years past, and come out justly acquitted of any spot or blemish, ought, if any could deserve such honor, to be can onized. ~ y Caught at Last. —The notorious John Smith, we see by a New Orleans paper, has been found guilty lately of stealing a chronometer and a trunk of clothes, from a barque lying at that city. John, losing all confidence in the quibbles of the law, confessed his guilt in open court, and will for at least a season, live in retire-, ment in the Penitentiary. We are, as all must l>c who are inter ested in the Temperance Reform, pain ed to see any serinusdivisions in the ranks of its friends. True, all do not see that the object to be attained can only be pro duccd by one and the same course of conduct, nor do all concur in Ihe opinion j that only one of many means, is the j only one by which such good can be es- j fected. There are those who eschew every other means to aid, or carry out j the reform, but moral suasion; and if they cannot slowly but surely effect the object sought, then is man to be delivered over to his worst enemy in despair.— Again ; There are those who believe that Legislative aid should keep pace with the public mind upon this subject, and should be timely invoked, but in no case too far, if at all, in advance of the public mind. Oar reflections upon this subject, but mostly our daily observations have gone very far of late, to force us to abandon the moral suasion course alone, as being the best and the only one to advance with safety, if not actually to carry out. the reform. We have thus been con vinced that it is our duty, as for as our influence can effect it, to unit# our efforts to those of tho friends of the cause, who are for carefully and safely legislating up to public opinion, but not in advance of it; and this we believe will alone save the country from ruin, and ourselves from the National stigma of being called, as we have been, a nation of drunkards.— We cannot, perhaps, persuade men to be lieve that if there were no grog-shops, that there would be no drunkards; but the most inveterate drunkard will readily admit that these places are fruitful sour ces from whence spring nearly all the drunkenness that is daily seen. And likely enough, too, tvvo-thirds of all the drunkards in the land will as readily ad mit that such places alone made them what they are. If this be so, and we see no cause to doubt it, has not the time arrived in ma tny places, in which the skillful physician should supercede the empiric and treat the disease itself instead of the symptoms? Convince the patient of the dangerous tvpe of his maladv, and then strike at > ”•»» »i «r- ito ttyTiu. uv iii^aimcf*' stood in our remarks. We mean only that tho decision of the license system should bo thrown upon the responsibility of the people themselves, in their prima ry capacity. Let those communities who do not want grog-shops among them, have the privilege of deciding the question for themselves. As it is, a grog-shop may bo forced upon a well or dered community, and being sanctioned by law, the retailer bids defiance to all and proceeds to deal out death and de struction to a hitherto peaceful neighbor hood. This is not, we assert, that kind of protection which it should be the ob ject of every good government to pro vide for its citizens. This is not the kind of protection that virtue should have against the vicious and corrupt. It is, in fine, no protection *t all. These remarks have been made in consequence of reading a Vtter of Judge O Neall’s, of S. C., to the editor of the S. C. Temperance Advocate, and to which a long reply is made in the same paper, by the editor. With the differ ences of opinion between these gentle men wc have nothing no do, our only ob ject being to give briefly our views upon the best means of carrying on the perance Reform. We are against force, as such. We believe that morgJ suasion is only one of the many mcars, and not the only one to be depended on, to accomplish the great temperance refor mation. We therefore do not exactly coincide with the view/of either Judge O’Ncall or Mr Arthurs to the best means to be used to effect, the object they, with ourselves and others, so much desire to bring about. We extract for the information of our readers, a part of Judge O’Neall’s letter to tho editor, embracing his views upon the course he thinks ought now to be adopted in South Carolina; and should be glad to present those of the editor, if presented in a form to admit of it. The only legal action, which I now, or ever have desired, is that which may, ih the end, shut up the Grog-shops of the State. Such a thing, as a law to make people give up intoxicatmg drinks; or) ■ -J!—lU——!—L UB drink cold water alone, never entered into my head. I desire that the sale of in toxicating drinks, in any quantities, wlren it is drank at *the place t where sold, should he prohibited. When it is to be carried away, I desire that the law should he so amended, as to allow it to he sold ;in quantities, as low as a quart, hut in no smaller quantities. These are my wishes, based upon forty year’s exped ience. Is there any thing mischevious in them ? Do you desire the Grog-shops of your own town, to Continue, and in j crease in powtr and patronage ? I can not think you do! But it is perhaps necessary, that I should state in a very brief and imper ‘ feet way, one or two reasons, why I wish i such legislation, as I have indicated.— 1 liefer to the state of things in South Carolina, with which I presume you are ! familiar, and the reason will be appa- I rent. At this lime no one save a tavern ! keeper can sell intoxicating drinks, in j quantities less than a quart. The Com j missioners of the Roads upon the plain I words of the law have the power to “ re fuse or grant licenses to keep a tavern, or retail.” Yet at least one of the Judges and many of the people think that the Commissioners can only fairly discharge their duty by granting licenses Ito suitable persons. The Commission ers in mady Districts have refused to grant licenses; and the people have partly sustained them. There , sobriety and every thing good abound. In other : districts, the Commissioners have done the same, and the people {or rather a few interested persons,) have denied their powers, and thus excited, have oves whelmed the Commissioners, and are now about expelling them through the Legislature from their positions. In such districts, llrunkenness has reigned with paramount influence. If there were clear, reasonable enactments made, even to the actual suppression of Grog shops, and yet permitting the sale of wine and strong drink, for domestic use, or as medicine, or oven to be drank at home, by those who will drink, I have no doubt the people would sustain them, and good and virtuous men would not be pursued like they were murderers, because they are striving to put down Grog-shops.— The people love sobriety too well to pur sue intoxication a moment after excite ment is removed. * * * * * * * To make awple every where sober, is one great of-Met of the Temperance movement, vj'hose, who have never , boon drur ki Jm tnav possibly keep so oerrTrrrnTT tv .'lt « Txmg-Trtro.joj- t/ut ttr hold a reformed man in his place, nine times out of teii it is necessary to keep him out of the way of temptation.— Leave the Grog-shops open ail around him, and he is I’kea poor Washingtonian who this year (sank into a drunkard’s grave, ho will sly, as he said, pointing to a Grog-shop o i the left, “if / escape that hell, this Jell, (pointing to another on his right,) yrwns to receive me.” I deny that t4erc is any thing, in the Washingtonian principles, which ex cludes legislation against Grog-shops.— Go to Massachusetts and ask her YVash ingtonians, if Hhay have not concurred, in shutting upjthe Grog-shops through out that anchnf, liberty-loving State ? I know tlbt I all our splendid triumphs have been •pcf angered by the existence ot our Rotim system. I know they have not onil' jieen endangered, but that we have lost thousands, who once were reformed, and might so remained, but for the opportunity tfrdrink, which your town, and many villages in the State furnish. But it is not only \p this way, we ha'e sustained injury. The continual cb r of “wolf,” “wolf,” by friends,of temperance, against every man of their own party, who dares to speak against the Grog-shop system, has given our enemies strength. They think, pnd think truly, that we are afraid of uhem; and hence they say, “down with every man, who is not in favor of Retail ing.” And down, by the assistance of the followers of temperance, have they borne every man, who has dared honestly and firmly to assert his opposition to the baneful badness of keesping a manu factory of drunkards, a Grog-shop. — Thiat probably is to be my fate : but if I fall, it shall be with my flag flying, and wijh the cheering cry of the gallant, dy ing Lawrence, “don't give up the ship.” John Belton O’Neall. Columbia, De<?. 14, 1844. - ' t 4 t We would in\4te the attention of our readers to the so lowing extract, from a periodical called The Weekly Volume which gives an in eresting account of that great Apostle of ’emperance, in Ireland, Father Mathew the ceremony of ad ministering the j edge, with the pledge itself, is also giv: l and is very interest ing to the Temp ranee man, as well as I to the general reifier. The Reverend father Theobald Math- , cw, born at Thonlston in the county of J 1 Tipperary, in October, 1790, is related J to the noble family of Landaff and the Earl of Kenmare. He is said to be a connexion of the Y 7 icompte de Cftajiot, principal secretary to the French Em bassy in London. An orphan from his infancy, adopted by Lady Elizabeth Mathew, and entrusted to the tutorship; of the Reverend Dennis O’Donnell, par ish priest of Tallagh, he commenced his studies at the College of Kilkenny and finished them at the seminary of May- j nooth.* Being ordained a priest in 1814 on Easter Day ha became a member of the brotherhood of Capuchins or reform ed Franciscans. Subject to no ecclesi astical jurisdiction, and holding his title of apostolical delegate directly from the Pope, he gave himself up with ardour to the exercise of his religious duties. He had amassed, partly from his savings and partly from his patrimony, a sum amoun ting to £5000: this he devoted to the erection of a church. He also founded at his own expense a superb cemetery, after the model of Pere la Chaise at Par is, and this work was hailed by the bless ings of his countrymen, the Irish at taching great importance to the splendor of their funeral ceremonies. The reputation of the talents and vir tues of Father Mathew beginning to spread abroad, a society which, in imi tation of one in America, had been es tablished at Cork, for the purpose of en deavoring to arrest the further progress of Irish intemperance, called the celebra ted ecclesiastic to its aid. Mathew ac ceded to their request, and on the 10th of April, 1838, he was named President of the Society. A report was immedi ately spread abroad that a messenger sent from Heaven had come to change the aspect of Ireland. Crowds flocked to him from all parts, the holy man ha rangued the people, laid his hands on them, prayed to God to convert the scep tic and regenerate the sinner: he an nounced in the language of religious in spiration that his glorious end would be attained, and the whole assembly fell prostrate at the prophet’s feet. At his command the drunkard became sober, at ; his voice the impious man became a be liever. He is not only a Christian ora tor, he is a miraculous guide: he chan ges morals and thoughts, customs and hearts. The popular belief is that in laying his hands on his followers, he : curses at once the diseases of the mind i and the maladies of the body. The apostle of temperance began his career ■ with a few hundred disciples: he could . soon count them by hundreds of thou buu si inis rnomeiii can reckon them by millions. The number of those , who have received the pledge in Ireland . is estimated at five millions at least. He [ journeys from town to town, and from district to district, with daily increasing i success. Enthusiasm precedes and fol i lows him: the impulse is universal, the : moral revolution beconwgflttplete and ■ the movement is one is eager to bo into the holy so ciety ; every one to renounce solemnly all drunkemorigies and excess es. Father Mathew goes from triumph to triumph. He was in England at the time when I was travelling through Scot land, and eighty thousand persons had demanded the pledge from him. This number was increasing daily. The reception of a member into the society of the temperate brothers resem bled a second baptism; it was accompa nied by a display of religious pomp and consecrated images, and was held in some open public place. The ceremony was performed after the following man ner. The candidates presented themselves in groups which were distinguished by different badges: some wore in their hats a bunch of shamrock, the national plant celebrated by the poet Moore.f — Dressed, previously to their joining the procession, in their best attire, they car ried in their hands, instead of a wax-can dle, a stick enveloped in white flags, and suspended from their necks instead of a scarf, an elegant ehoukfer-bcU. i hey marched to the sound of sacred music, and on arriving at the appointed spot, knelt down in a semicircle. Math ew then advanced bareheaded, and ad dressed a short discourse to those about to receive the pledge: afterwards each repeated the prescribed formula. The words of the pledge are as follows: “ I promise, with God’s assistance, as long as I shall coutinue a member of the Temperance Society, to abstain from all intoxicating drinks, except used medi cinally and by order of a medical man, and to discountenance the cause and practice of intemperance in others, as far as I am able, as well by my advice as by my own example.” The pledge being taken, the Reverend ■!! —IB | * A paper in mv possession mentions that “Fa ther Mathew has not inherited the large fortune ot his relative, Lady Elizabeth Mathew, she hav ing bequeathed it to M. de Chabot. who is a con nexion of her family” + 11 resembles the trefoil, and is worn as a mark of distinction by the zealous devotees of the ltoman Catholic laith. j Father Mathew went the round of the circle; ho JaiTj his hands on the multi tude, and making the sign of the cross, gave them his benediction. During this , time the names of the new proselytes were entered in a register, and a medal was given to each. The medal bore on one side a cross with an inscription re peating the words of the pledge, and on the other, a device representing the Pas ! chal lamb, with these letters I-H-S. ! Underneath this device was the famous shamrock, the plant of the zealous Ro man Catholic, together with these words, j Hoc signo zinces. Each member re : ccives a cirtificate, on which is a cross j with the same inscription. This reverend minister of God is now fifty-three years old : he does not seen* more than thirty. His appearance is un speakably attractive; his manners are (engaging and endearing; his hair is still black. An aquiline nose, blue eyes. | whose gentleness is releived by their vi | vacity, a well-formed mouth, and a high forehead, announces in him a firm char acter and a superior intelligence. Sim ple. even-tempered, affable, and above all charitable, he unites in the eyes of his fervent admirers, the eloquence of Bos suet and the benignity of Fenelon. For the Washingtonian. My Native State * A Refrain. — by Marcus. How fondly clings my heart to thee, Beloved Caroline! Land of the brave, chivalrous free, Beloved Caroline! Unsullied may thy banner wave, Thy star far brighter shine, Than any in the nations crest, Beloved Caroline ! For when the Despot pressed thee, Beloved Caroline! And tyranny distressed thee, Beloved Caroline! The life-blood flowed as pure and free From those rich veins of thine, As did the Spartan victims, Beloved Caroline! I never will forsake thee, Beloved Caroline! Though many ills betake thee, Beloved Caroline! And when the icy chain of death Around my form doth twine, O, may 1 in thy bosom rest, Beloved Caroline! Mr. Editor, —As your pappr is exclu sively devoted to the welfare nf mankind, : and more particularly interested in behalf 'of the cold water principles, it may bo j well at this leisure moment to mako ; known in your invaluable journal, (for j the benefit of your readers,) all incidents tending to the progress of the Temper ance reformation. Some time in August last, a few indi viduals, impressed with thcs, necessity of j having a sober community, or, in other words, of organizing a Society at Black Creek, East Florida, for the purpose of procuring signers, met on Sunday, the 4th day of August. Surrounded at that time with innumerable opposers, to that antidote of intemperance, and the pros ! pects seeming very discouraging after I passing through all these difficulties, and encountering the sneers and scorn of many incorrigible anti-tcetotalers, to gether w’ith their wilful ignorance—which they gave vent to—of its inconsistency, we at last hailed the day—as a harbinger of brighter dreams. Nor was our joy diminished when the pledge was handed around—rather was it increased when the reality was revealed to those bright eves, that intently gazed on the victory they had achieved—that 23 males and 17 females, had boldly stepped forward— with hearts to forbear the use of indulg ing in the accursed element—and with united hands, to reclaim by moral per suasion and entreaty, the inebriate from the intoxicating path. An eloquent ad dress was delivered by— Yale, Esq., a young and eminent lawyer at the Bar of the Eastern District of Florida. After which, the Society was organized and officers appointed “to serve one vear. Up to the present time we number fifty six males and females. Our prospects thus far has been very encouraging, and we flatter ourselves with the hope it is. continually in ils prosperous condition. Our meetings are Usually held semi monthly on the Sabbath, and through the active co-operation of its members, addresses are voluntarily delivered, and every thing goes off with much hilarity and order. The general topic of con versation is the Temperance reformation, among the learned, the old, and the young—it was a novelty to some, and in others produced an agreeable sensation— being thus combined, it infused into their minds tlyit they owed a solemn duty to themselves and their common country, to. become the strict adherents of the Wash ingtonian principle. We are surrounded by many emigrants, but living six miles and upwards from where we usually hold our meetings, is another great in convenience have to bear with; and