The republic. [volume], June 14, 1849, Image 2

About The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
r
- TiiJi Republic.
ELECTORAL REFORM AND TRIENNIAL
PARLIAMENTS.
(From thr ImtuIou Daily A'wj.)
Any sagacious nuui. consulted us to the fitness of
the present moment for agitating and advancing
. the great question of electorul reform, would probably
shake his head, and say it was by no means
a fit moment. The Whigs are in office, and thus i
the jwrty, which is the old hereditary and traditional
leader of all movements, has got a retaining
fee to lie quiet. Then the ..industrious masses,
which must 1m- the soul of such a movement, are, ;
however pressed by taxation and mortified ai the
stand-still in all kinds of political progress, nevertheless
painfully moved by the fears which per\adei
the spending and speculating classes, and the obstruction
which foreign disturbance has raised to
trade.
Many of the middle class are thus but too apt to
echo in timidity the cry which the conservatives
ruise in design. They forget altogether that moments
of political |>anic like the present are the
most dangerous of all for the public liberties and
the public purse; fear paralyzes the dependence of j
both,"whilst those who prey upon o?>tn seize every
pretext to lie rigorous, retrograde, and lavish. It
/ has, indeed, been always 1 >' panics got upon the
score of danger und infection from ubroad that the
Tories have established their rule, ami that aristotocraiic
parties have contrived to cheat the people
into false enthusiasm and idie expense.
The present, therefore, is the epoch of all others
when it most behooves the industrious classes to
open their eyes to politics and their ears to information;
to associate, to keep watch upon the
tendencies und doings of their rulers, and to pursue
ardently those rightful reforms which will give
them and their humbler fellows more influence, a
greater and more direct voice in the combat of public
Expenditure, and in the management and distribution
of the sums which are raised.
A glance at the politics of the day will show thai
the aristocratic classes are alarmed at events and
at things that nowise threaten or concern the people
of this country. What is it to us that the trench
proclaim a republic, or that the Pope and his subjects
cannot agree? Why should this be made
the pretext of expenditure with us?should make
us keep up armies, fleets, and officers ? But of this
the parties who form the majority in Parliament
will not be convinced And the only way to drive
these, if not from power, at least from that old po
lineal track which has dragged us into the rut of an
eight hundred millions debt, is to make a great
electoral change, und at the same time a sage one,
such ;is that comprised in household sulfrage, the
ballot, triennial parliaments, and a fairer apportionment
of members to constituencies.
Such is the programme of the association which
had its first public meeting yesterday, a report of
the proceedings of which will be found in our columns.
And a most successful nublic meeting it
was, in every sense? successful by its numbers, enthusiasm,
concord, and order. After the chairman
had fully opened the meeting, ,\lr. R. Osborm
made one of those rattling and telling s|>ceehes of
which he treats the House of Commoni to too few.
We may not agree with him in thinking the popular
party so null in the House because so divided
They are divided because the members of this popular
party are not looking for place or in hopes of
forcing open the doors of the cabinet. For this it
is which gives discipline and compactness to a party.
But eighty or a hundred liberal members constitute
a very efficient and formidable popular party,
ready to rally and vote together on ull essential
questions, even although they have no whipper-in,
and indulge in the various caprices of political independence.
There is a right good nucleus, if political
and tinancial reformers would be.-tir themselves
to gather inure around it.
The ex-meml?er for Coventry, more and more
missed in the House since the illness of Mr. Hume
and of so many metropolitan members, humorous
ly exemplified the prevailing equality of taxation.
.Mr. Clarke's objections to a property qualification
for members were highly just. And it is no doubi
only because such an amendment must tullow the
other more important reforms, that it was not ,
thought necessary to place it specially amongst the
demands of the association.
The several resolutions, however, developed as
they were by different speakers, would each require ;
separate consideration. But it was certainly a sin'
gular coincidence, that on the same evening with
the first public meeting of the association, one of
its leading questions should have been actually carried
in the House of Commons. .Mr. Tentuson
d'Eyncourt may, indeed, have owed his victory
more to the idling excitement of the Derby, than
to any growing wish of the members of the House
to curtail their tenure of representation. Indeed,
triennial parliaments is one of those very fair and
1 necessary taws ior puuiug an cnu iu |?wnn.ai muing,
which the pressure from without must strongly
urge on Parliament, ere it can Ire finally carried.
IN I ERNAL IMPRt) YEMENI*,
Upon the subject of internal improvements there
is a marked modification a ready perceptible, both
in the tone and action of the great Democratic
party, from Maine to the Rio Granm . If no other
lienefit were to result from the defeat of the party
in the late Presidential election, this consideration
alone would compensate the. country, as it gives an
uiifietus to the prosperity of many States, affording
abundant cause for congratulation that a change in j
our rulers has Ix-en effected. We do not attribute '
this change in the tone and action of the Dento- '
cracy to an abaiidouriH lit of their principles, for we
will do them the justice to Mate our conviction that
they have liecn in favor of internal improvements
all the time, while, for political elb-ct, [ind bceausi
of party restraints, they have gone against the
principle, and denounced it as a tile Ftiltral measure.
In July, 1*36, there was a railroad convention in
this city, at which there were 3*0 delegates, representing
nine States. This was a most imposing
assembly, composed of men of all parties, who met
here to consider the propriety of constructing the
44 Louisville, Cincinnati, and Charleston Railroad,"
a grand and interesting scheme, which ultimately
failed, because of rhe o|'p"Mti"ii >\ Asnm.w Ja< k*om,
who made the'tour of Virginia, North Carolina,
and Tennessee, denouncing the convention and the
scheme as n federal measurf. ,Ujd <i? 'aring t.> tic
leaders of his party, and all who flocked around
him, that a railroad would rum any country through
whi*h it might chance to p.>>< ' Tins was enough
?the scheme was abandoned at once by those who j
bs/t (rune into it with it hcartv "nod Wi I : and the
improvement, commencing at C larl ton. <?mi' out
to Columbia, and there ended. We recollect the
matter well, for we were one of the four delegate*
who represented the county of Carter in this tncmorable
convention.
Necessity has compelled many of the moat ultrr?
Locofocos to abandon the anti-internal improvinent
article of their political creed, forced upon
them hy Jackaori, in l-.'Mj, and acted out hy folk
in 1847, in hi* veto of the river and htirlmr bill, in
which he denied ail pmcrr to the General Government
to make np| i | .nation.- I >r -uci <.i.,?. n .
hiwxrilU (7'?nn j H'kig.
* TO THE IRON .\1 AMJF\CTURKR8 AND
MINERS OF PENNSYLVANIA.
The gnat staple uitereata of the State of PennNylvama,
the production of Iron anil Coal, upon
vi in. li her pr v mi intim trl\ ih : < :id
now suffering to auch tut extent on account of the
niinou.- pneca to whe-.h they have fnI? n, in r ui*? ?|Uenc?
of the immctgp importation of foreign
iron, aa to awaken tin moat serious apprehension*
Tl* importance of these great and growing
branches of Pennsylvania indostiy. in the Hticcesn
of which. the manufacturer, the fanner, the minor.
rti/iin. and Irilsin r, ar<- ruber dim tly dependent
or deeply interested, cannot l>c exaggerated or too
highly estimau-d : and the que-tion of their existence
or downfall, in one of proaperity or adversity
to every citi/en of this State, and ought to lie a
matter of Mtioui consideration to the General Govrrnnteiit.
W e cannot shut our eyes to the fart, that a great
rev ii iff ill hi. "i i. tin-! w 11 li III it
very ahort period, and n i* equally obvious that
thia event ia directly Htiru uiiililr to a revulaion of
the name kind upon the mine branch' of industry
in England.
Il U-i'onieS UK, thl I' fi'. whriMi . ?- w nrr
deeply involved, to inquire why the industrial
branches of thi* country should u#ce?-?rily depend
no intimately upon thoac of foreign countries, that,
when thnra are prostrated, and ruin l^m r? over
them. ?nri are involved in a in.t rr.
eriMin?that for every pulsation of the foreign market
oura should respond?that no foresight or prudence
on our part, baa* d upon tin diitni stir dern viid
or domestic supply, ' an prote< t us against the tmprudence
and wild speculations ?.f fori igners.
|i becomes us nl*<? to inquire, why tin st< de1
onwid for iron in lhir"i? . aim i u,(i id, . . i .
such a piteh that it could not I* imported into tins
country, and of necessity induced the construction
of a large number of furnace* and rail inilla for the
purpose of supplying troti for our ow n. improvements,
whiejt otherwise must have com# to a stand,
having suddenly waned abroad, fciiglwh iron is now
pouring in upon us at prices ruinous to the Americ<tn
manufacturers; and the result is, that many
nulls have already suspended operations from necessity,
and thousands of laborers are deprived of
employment. Their lute customers, the railroad
companies which brought them into existence, finding
they can purchase foreign iron cheaper than the
American, naturally looking to their own interests,
have abandoned them, and it is known that orders
fur English rails, to the value of ?5,000,000 are
now gone ubroad Irom the Eastern Stales aim e.
The de|iendence of this country upon the tiucluations
of English prices for iron, of necessity involves
the existence of this branch of American
and>pre-eminently Pennsylvania industry.
We believe this evil to be directly traceable to
the operation of the American tariff of ]H4G, which,
when the price is high abroad, increases the duty
ou imported iron ?5 per ton for every advance of
?10, and no protection is wanted; and when the
price is low, diminishes the duty ?3 for every fall
of ?10 |ier ton, at u time when the greatest protection
is wanted. Or, in other words, encourages
the domestic article, hy an extra duty, when no
encouragement is required; but when prices are
ruinously low, invites the importation of the foreign
article, hy diminishing the protection on the Amerir*fin.
It is therefore apparent, that under the operations
of such a tariff the price of iron must fie subject
to the greatest possible fluctuations?at one time
making it so high that it cannot be imported at all,
when, by its scarcity, American enterprise, deceived
by the phantom of prosperity, is enlisted in
its manufacture, and for a while capital und labor
become profitably employed; at another time, making
it so low that American capital is endangered
or lost, ami American labor becomes unemployed
by the stoppage of "mills, furnaces, and collieries "
It is the duty, therefore, of all interested in the
production of iron and coal in this State', seriously
to inquire whethet a policy so fatal to departments
of oHr industry, essential to national prosperity and
independence, will be persevered in under circumstances
so different from those existing when the
present tariff became a law. The General Government
cannot be insensible to the representations
which it is our duty as Pennsylvanians, as well as
manufacturers and miners, to make, nor should it
withhold any remedy in its power tending to ameliorate
the evil and injustice beuring so onerously
on the.?e highly important branches of domestic
indusiry.?Hurrisburg (Pa.) Telegraph.
THE VOYAGE OP THE JOHN OATP.R
We noticed yesterday, says the Baltimore Pa- '
trim of the 12th inst., the profitable quick voyage '
which the barque John W. Cuter had mude from
New York for Sun Francisco. The Journal of
Commerce has the following fuller und interesting
account:
The Cater was the first vessel with cargp, after
the conclusion of the treaty with Mexico, that
cleared for San Francisco direct from New York,
and consequently was the first vessel that took out a
coastwise clearance for California. Pursuant to
his instructions, Captuin Hoyt went directly to his
destination, touching at no intermediate port. The
vessel on her voyage round never lost a spar or
split a sail. She doubled the Cape in the Christnuts
holidays, which there is the most favorable
season of the year. She was spoken on her tenth
day out, and thereafter was never heard front till 1
advices were received of the sale of her cargo, and
of her clearance from San Francisco for Oregon.
Her cargo, which was large and well assorted,.will
nett tltC'Owner over one hundred and fifty thousand
dollars profit. Every article was in great demand,
and rapidly sold immediately on her arrival, with
the exception of dry goods, with which the market i
was already well supplied. Cooking stoves that
cost $1(1 sold for fclcO. On many urticles of tin
ware the percentage of profit was about the same
The vessel retained her crew, and proceeded on
the 29th of M.irch to Oregon, to load lumber for
the San-Frunctsco market.
At he time of the Caters departure, nothing
definite was known of the golden treasures in Cal- .
ifornia. The substance of what has transpired
relative thereto, was comprised in two letters origi- |
nuliy published in this puper; one from our regular i
correspondent, Mr. Colion, then Alcalde of San I
Francisco, t. e other from Mr. Lnrkin, U. S. Gov- j
eninient Agent at Monterey. By the way, it may
be stated that Mr. Larkiri is now the wealthiest
mar. in California. Valuing lus real estate at San !
Francisco, at what it was worth there at the last j
advices, he would t?e doubtless the richest man in
North America. The statements of Messrs. Colton
and Larkin, respecting the mineral wealth of
California, were received with great distrust and
suspicion. It was thought thai they had been deceived
by land owners, and other settlers, who
were interested in diffusing information calculated
to produce increased 'emigration from the United
States. Indeed, so little credit was given here to
the gold stones, that the Cater, offering excellent
state-room accommodations for passengers, carried j
out only two, and those in the second cabin. But
we suppose that Mr. Wood reposed entire confidence
iri those representations, liased upon an intimate
knowledge of the parties from whom they
were received, and we are glad to know that it has
liee.n amply justified by the result.
We announced the clearance of the Cater, on the
18th of last Oclolsr. in the following paragraph:
The bark John W. Cater, cleared yesterday at
the cnstoni-housc, coastw ise for California, with an
invoice some three yards in length and overf70,000
in amount. Her cargo would supply a very extensive
country shore, comprehending almost every
line of business known to our merchants. How
much " further West " will our people go in search
of new fields of enterprise 3
We copy from the Ttlrgrajth, of Columbia, S. C.,
an interesting sketch, which, from the initial attached
to it, we presume to l>c from the |?en of Dr.
Lisber.
LEWIS KOSSUTH.
Who is Lewis Kossuth, the Regent of Hungary,
and her master spirit in tt.cse grave days of his 1
}
Kossuth was born in 1806; bis father, of old
Hungarian nobility, (for what Hungarian is not')
was very poor, and supported himself as clerk to
Home fellow-nobleman. .
Lewis went to the University of Pesth, to study
law, in bis sixteenth year, where his great talents
and equally great poverty procured him patrons,
who led anil clothed him. Wi first bear of him in
public, when he at once distinguished himself in
the opposition as writer against Austria. In 183"
he was arrested; in 1?40 ne founded a paper; in
1844 he established the general " League of Defence;"
iti 1-47 he was ele< led member of the Diet;
in 1*48 he pia'cd himself at the head of the nntiAustrian
movement, liecaine Minister, and is now
virtual Regent of Hungary showing equal military,
|*>litical, ami revolutionary sagacity. Kossuth is
a consummate master of the sword and pen. If
the question be to fill his hearers with enthusiasm,
and to rouse his fellow-Hungarians, he can lie passionate,
poetic, |*>mpous, as the occasion may
require; while there is |<erha|>s no terser writer and
eloquent reasoner when facta, numbers, and statistics
form the sul>stanee. He |MisMHses a thorough
knowledge of the philosophical and positive law,
and is master of an extensive encyclopaedical
knowltdo His or an of yp<? cli iv strom: and very
sonorous. His mastery of the languages is wond(
rfu). He addresses with ' qua I e fleet the Magyar
in Hungarian, the Croat in Masonic, tin German in
German ; and lately, when it whs flect-.-sary to fire
the clergy for the Huugarmn cause, lie undressed
the .Synod of the Catholic pru ts in Latin, in such
n mania r that tliev w> re film! with tmlriotic ardor.
Hi* wilt- wn* dt rriixil by that executioner, Prince
Windishgrair., hi an order to the fsilice to catch
her, among other thing*, thus: " She is an elegant
woman, ot u high dcgrc< of cultivation?s|*niking
French, Knglish. German, Selavonmn, and W.illa<
hi.in, na Hu< ritly ns 11 in _'uniin."'
Kosnith has travelled in Germany, F.rigland
and France, lie is tall, handsome, and of imp?>aing
apfiearanot . his head is of an orieiual cast.
I'lu greatest day of Ko-tsnth's lite was, p?rii.|ps,
when in an iiimj>ir?-d sf/t-ech he demanded of the
Hungarian Ihrt dOO.UUU men and guilders,
and th< whole Assembly rose and exclaimed,
" VS'i giv? ihem i
W hin he was informed that Russia was going
to assist the Aiistrtnns, he quietly refilled: "Then I
rnsreh all i'ciland againsi Russia."
la wis Kossuth set ma to he the model of a statesman
in a national revolution of a modern vast < nuntry.
The difficulties which he nas to overcome are
immense': for never before hail a patriot to unite,
in a period of revolution, such discordant elements
ns the Magyar, German, .Sclavonic populations m
Hungary an; yet his master mind ami high soul
do not only *e. m to rule, but to rouse, impel, and
inspire thtrn all for the name great end. L.
Col. Henry A. Livingston, of Pongbkeefiaie,
N- V., (lied suddenly in that city, on Monday
morning last, m an njsiplectir. fit. He was formerly
a Representative in ihe Assembly from Dutchess
county. . *
| THE REPUBLIC.
WASHINGTON:
THURSDAY MORNING, JUNE 14, 1849.
O F FIC IA L.
APPOINTMENTS BY THE PRESIDENT
Thomas M. Foote, of New York, to
| be Charge d'Affaires to New Grenada, in
lieu of Benj. A. Bidlack, deceased.
Alexander K. McClung, of Mississippi,
to be Charge d'Alfaires to Bolivia, in
lieu of John Appleton, resigned.
f i u l'u I. Ei nsru m a mm nfllii> Dis
t rift of Columbia, to be Consul at Stuttgard,
in Wurieinberg, in lieu of T. Beehler, resigned.
1 Stephen 1). Poole, of North Carolina,
to be Consul at Turk's Island, in lieu ofJ.
T. Pickett, resigned.
George F. Usher, of Rhode Island, to
| be Commercial Agent at Port au Prince,
I in lieu of J. C. Luther, resigned.
George P. Marsh, of Vermont, to be
Minister resident at Constantinople, in
lieu of Dabnev S. Cnrr. recalled.
Thomas W. Chinn, of Louisiana, to be
Charge d'Affaires to the Kingdom of th?
Two Sicilies, in lieu of Jno. Rowan, recalled.
John Trumbull Van Alen, of New
York, to be Charge d'Affaires to the Republic
of Equador, in lieu of Van Brugh
Livingston, recalled.
John C. B. Davis, of Massachusetts,
to be Secretary of Legation to England.
Lorenzo Draper, of New York, to be
Consul at Havre de Grtice, in lieu of Wm.
J. Staples, recalled.
Edward Kent, of Maine, to be Consul
at Rio de Janeiro, in lieu of Gorham Parks,
recalled.
Rev. Thomas Sewall, of Maryland, to
be Consul at St. Jago de Cuba, in lieu of
Jno. W. Holding, recalled.
William R. Hayes, of Connecticut,
to be Consul at Barbadoes, in lieu of Noble
Towner, recalled.
Elijah Payjve, of New York, to be
Consul at Demerara, in lieu of Samuel J. ,
M asters, recalled.
Israel D. Andrews, of Maine, to be
Consul for New Brunswick and Canada,
in lieu of Collins Whittaker, recalled.
Bailey M. Edney, of North Carolina,
to be Consul at Pernambuco, in lieu of C.
G. Salinas, removed.
THE OFFICES.
DISTRIBUTION AND EQUALIZATION OF
PUBLIC EMPLOYMENTS.
Any one, not possessed by the demon
of ultra-partizanship, who will calmly read i
and weigh the publications made by Gen- j
eral Tayior and his friends?the two Allison
letters, the authorized statement of
Judge Saunders, in behalf of the Louisi-'
ana Delegation, to the Philadelphia Na-1
tional Whig Convention, and the letter of
General Taylor to the Independent Taylor ;
party of Maryland, taking upon himself
the responsibility of what was then and
there said for him, which formed the basis '
upon which the Administration party was |
organised?will not be at? a loss to put a
proper value upon the rmhless and inde- j
cent assaults which ha<*e been made upon
the President and his Cabinet on account
of the removal- which have taken place
since the 4th of March. A single sentence
has been taken from one of these docu- :
merits, and, after being amended and interpolated
to suit hostile commentators,
has been construed to mean that General
Taylor had bound himself down by pledges
to leave every Locofoco otliceholder untouched
until he was arraigned, tried, and
convicted by a jury of some misfeasance
or malfeasance in office. The opposition
of the Whig party to the introduction of
the "Spoils System" into the administrative
policy of the General Government,
has also been invoked in aid of a construction
which would create a perpetual monopoly
of all public trusts in the hands of
those who deny the right of a vanquished
party to be participants in the honors and
emoluments of public employment.
It is contended that General Taylor and
the whole Republican party is pledged to
"proscribe proscription," and from this is
deduced an unlimited tenure of office for
all and singular the spoils-men who
have been thrust into the places of proscribed
Whigs. Let us now examine into
the pretension here set "up; find in doing
mo we are willing to admit, for argument
-ake, that tlie* party in |>ower if committed
against indiscriminate proscription. We
make no pretence of representing the Government
in thi- matter; we propose merely
to see where the construction of the opposition
Would lead.
The Democratic party has, for many
years, adopted and acted upon the proi
scriptive policy. The organ of that party
in this city has, time and again, laid down
the doctrine as a party one. In its recent
numbers, it has interspersed its lamentation1
w ith reiterations of a principle which
might have dried up its tears, had it really
felt that the Administration had been eonverted
to, and had adopted in practice, the
dearest article ol the Democratic. creed.
The following passage from a leader in tin'
Union of Sunday last, is in the type of
| many others;
THE REPUBLIC.
" 'l'lui Democratic party has never denied the
general iolicy of removals. On the contrary, when
it has Ik^ii temporarily defeated, and again returning
to p^wer alter a brief interval, and finding the
enemies of its measures and policy in possession of
the important and influential offices of the Government,
i has acted upon that policy. It believes
that .m Administration which lias a well-defined
sysien| of principles, and a well-matured set of
measures founded upon those principles, to carry
out', slipuld employ agents for thut purpose who are
favora|le to those principles and measures, and will
take an interest in their faithful execution."
Th? admission, taken in connection with
the tact that, for twenty years, with the
brief interval of a month, the proscriptive
partyj which never does things by halves,
has baen in power, will give tbe reader an
idea of tin; condition of the public offices
which greeted General Taylor on the day
of his inauguration. He might have look
ed in vain into all the custom-houses of
the Union, from Texas to Maine, into all
the post-offices of the cities of the United
States, to find a Whig collector or deputy
post-master. He might have examined
the land-otiices, diplomatic corps, marshal's
j ollices, and the public bureaus, with like
disappointment. The party which had
just triumphed had been for a fifth of a
century repulsed from offices of honor and
trust, and even for that length of time held
as aliens in their own country, in so far as
official promotion was concerned. This :
proscriptive spirit had been carried to such i
extreme lengths, that, out of some score ;
and a-hdf generals selected from the citi- 1
/ens at large to lead our armies in a foreign
war, not a Whig in this wide land Was ;
found vorthy of an appointment; though :
amongs. the rank and file, and amongst 1
the subordinate militia officers, there were i
men of that faith on the field of battle fit
to be intrusted with the fate of empires.
We would ask any fair thinking man, i
what vould be the duty of a President,
! even if be were elected to "proscribe pro|
scriptiorand though his banner had been
borne through the canvess with that in|
scription alone upon it, on finding such a
condition of things ? Should he continue
the proscription? Should he keep a great ,
party, comprising in its ranks a moiety of
the voters of the Union, in banishment
from the fountains of honor? Should he ,
say to the people who elected him, "you <
have been spurned from high places by
my predecessors, and used despitelully lor
twenty years, and ought to be reconciled to 1
it by this time ?" Or, should he at once j
address himself to the duty of equalizing
the distribution of office, and pause not |
till the party of his own faith had equal jus- j
tice done them in this behalf ?
If, forsooth, the Administration adopt
the construction contended for by the party
of the spoils, proscription will be proscribed
by keeping the Whig Republican
party proscribed forever. Against this
method of putting down a system, by feeing
with salaries the Very men who established
it, and who boast it a part of their
political religion, we protest now and always.
This is not the way to crush a
practice, however pernicious it may be
deemed, if indeed it can be crushed at all.
The most liberal, nay, the most magnani- (
mous, construction of the anti-proscriptive
doctrine demands an equal division of the ,
offices. Until this point is reached, pro- (
scription is as much in force against the (
Whig party as it was under the late Ad- ,
ministration. When the dominant party
has had justice done it, it will be time
enough to consider in how far the practice (
of the defunct Administration of employ- ^
ing public otficers " as agents to carry
out a well-defined system of measures,"
brought them "in conflict with the freedom .
of election," or disqualifies them for the ^
task of faith fully performing the public .
business under a change of government.
It may be that the obligations of their ap- ,
pointment may interfere with the duties
assigned thern by law; but this need not (
be looked into just yet.
!
THE FREE SOIL AND DEMOCRATIC ?
COALITION.
The metropolitan organ of the Opposition i
is in the habit of designating the President i
and Viro President ol the I nited States <
as the 44 Southern slaveholder and the 1
Northern Abolitionist." The object of 1
this conjunction is to repeat day by day to i
1 the people of the North that General Taylor
is a slaveholder, which is true; and to I
the people of the South that Mii.i.ard i
Fillmore is an Abolitionist, which is false. I
With regard to the question of slavery, 1
they are both precisely what the acciden- I
tal circumstances of birth and locality
have made them. They hold the views of I
all moderate, patriotic, and intelligent men
on that subject. If Millard Fillmore i
had been born where General Taylor was
f>orn, he would no doubt have been a slave- ,
holder at this moment; if General Taylor ,
had been a citizen of New York, he would
have entertained precisely the same views i
as MILLARD r ILLMORF, MOW entertain*,
and have been a- justly liable to the charge I
of being an Abolitionist.
But why this repetition of "Southern"
and "Northern" by the soU> organ?why
not nest content with "Slaveholder" and
"Abolitionist?" Why is it always deemed
judicious to prefix the geographical epithet?
What g'iod is to be attained by it?
By always associating the word "Northern"
with the wotrd "Abolitionist," the
I organ, lor its present purposes, designs to ,
inculcate the idea that they are both one,
and that they are as nearly correlative
terms as slaveholder and Southerner.
Hence it is that the Northern Whigs in
the Administration are assailed on the
ground that they are Abolitionists, because
they are from the North. Mr. Coli.amer
is denounced as an Abolitionist, and
the proof is that he comes from the North.
Mr. Ewing is denounced as an Abolitionist,
on the proof that he is the citizen
of a free State. Now all this denunciation
is bad in every aspect. It is bad, because
it is false. It is bad, because it is
calculated to foment ill blood on sectional
giuuuut*
But the object of employing these terms
is transparent. Congressional elections are
soon to he held i^ Maryland, North Carolina,
Alabama, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi,
Tennessee, and Kentucky. The
outcry of the Union, therefore, is raised to
create a division, and withdraw attention
from the recent developments in Wisconsin,
Connecticut, and Vermont. In those
States the Democratic and Free Soil parties?the
Cass and Van Buren men, in
other words?have united in opposition to
General Tavlor, and by that alliance propose
to break down his Administration.
Of the character of this alliance we will
speak hereafter. The fact is sufficient for
our present purpose. What their ulterior
arrangements may be?what they propose
to do, after uniting to place General Taylor
in a minority in Congress?does not
appear. It is enough that they have
formed a coalition to oppose the Administration
of General Taylor. Now, the
effect of this coalition is obvious. Being
factious and sectional, it will animate the
friends of General Taylor to renewed exertion.
In Vermont the Democracy have
grounded their arms, and marched into the
Free Soil camp. They have rushed into
the embrace of Abolition Van Burenism.
Even Northern Locofocoism is shocked
at this monstrous alliance. The Burlington
Sentinel, one of the leading Democratic
papers in Vermont, complains bitterly
that the new coalition has swallowed up
the Democratic organization, creed and
candidates?and the cement of the incongruous
mass is opposition to General Taylor,
for the reason that he is what the
Union calls a " Southern Slaveholder."
This movement, therefore, will not only
arouse the friends of General Taylor, but
will make him new friends among the reflecting
and patriotic of the Democratic
party, in all quarters ; more especially in
those Stages where the Congressional elections
are so soon to be holden.
What good citizen in Maryland, North
Carolina, Alabama, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi,
Tennessee, or Kentucky, will
lend his vote to encourage an opposition to
General Taylor, based upon a coalition
which may be justly described as a conspiracy
against the peace and happiness of
the Union ?
RAILROAD TO SAN FRANCISCO.
The idea of a Railroad from the Atlantic
to the Pacific has long ceased to
startle us by the seeming immensity of
the project, or the dithculties in the way
nf completing it. The public mind seems
to have settled down upon the conviction
that such a road must be speedily built,
and men of enterprise are now casting
about to calculate the how and the where
of the enterprise, rather than to discuss the
feasibility or necessity of it. An impulse
has been given to public sentiment on this
subject, especially by the bold stand made
in its favor by Mr. Benton; and some of
the more sanguine of its friends are looking
forward to the completion of such a
road during the presidency of General
ravlor.
We have been led to these remarks by
I lie perusal of the fourth edition, just issued,
of a pamphlet which records the proceedings
of a meeting of the friends of a
Railroad to California, held some three
months since at the United States Hotel
in Boston. Their project proposes that a
company, composed of men in whose integrity
confidence can be reposed by the
nation, be chartered by Congress to construct
a railroad from SL Louis to San
Francisco, with a capital of one hundred
millions of dollars, and that this company,
falter having paid in two millions of dollars,)
shall have the right to borrow United
State f> |>er cent, stock to such an amount,
not exceeding $98,000,000, as may be sufficient
to finish the road, and carry it into
full operation, with a double track.
It is proposed, moreover, that Congress
shall give to the company a strip of the
public lands, 10 miles wide, on the north
?ide of the road, and the land for the bed
r>f the road, and for depots, and the right
to take from the public lands wood, gravel,
stone, iron, and oUiot materials necessary
to construct the road.
The projectors are ol opinion that the
adoption of this plan will secure the completion
of the road in as brief a spare of
time a? physical obstacles will permit ;
and will secure this by a single art of Congress,
free from the chance of what they,
pleasantly enough, style the " future freak*
ol legislation." Though this is rather an
odd argument to address to a legislative
body, there is good policy in it no doubt,
if Congress can be induced to take the
*
J.__
j same view of it with the projectors. Ancl
i after all, it is sensible enough perhaps for
one Congress to take care that its works
should not be disturbed by its successors.
The author of the Boston project is Mr.
Dkgrand, a gentleman who has been
somewhat distinguished in the annals ol
railroads ; and we notice among his associates
several gentlemen who have enjoyed
similar distinction. We have not
compared the proposed scheme with the
others that are now before the country,
nor have we examined it with reference
to the public questions it may involve.
But we are glad to see the subject agitated
in such a quarter, and can entertain no
doubt that the peaceful energies of the
American people will shortly accomplish?
in "some form or other?the enterprise
which Mr. Degrand and his associates contemplate.
MR. CLAY.
There has been no little speculation, on
the part of the opposition press, as to the
attitude which the distinguished statesman
of Kentucky will assume towards the Administration
on taking his seat in the Senate
at the next session of Congress. It
has been insinuated that Mr. Clay might
prove a thorn to the party; that he was
smarting under disappointments which
filled his mind with acrimony and uncharitableness.
They who predict a factious
opposition from him to the Administration,
measure his spirit by their own.
We have reason to know that the cordial
relations which subsist between Mr. Clay,
General Taylor and hi^s Cabinet, are such
as warrant the belief that\the Administration
will find in him a cordial and sincere
supporter. There is no room to doubt that
the great Republican party will present an
unbroken front to the assailants of the
principles upon which it was marshalled
at the late canvass. /
/
General Taylor never reads the
Union.?We see it stated in some of the
Whig papers that General Taylor never
reads the Union. We are surprised to
learn this. We supposed he was a brave
man, and dared face anything. Union.
A little reflection would convince our
cotemporary that there is nothing in the
fact above stated which should cause surprise,
01 shake its confidence in the heroism
of the President, moral or physical.
The venerable Macon once observed that
he never read a newspaper which habitually
traduced him, "for," said he, "it
would be like taking a spiteful little fellow
who is not tall enough to reach, and holding
him up till he could spit in my face."
ORTHOGRAPHY.
Wc hare not been unobservant altogether of the
wars and revolutions that have been going on of
late in the field of orthography. In the various
changes of the day one may find himself at his
wits' ends with no belter instruction in this matter
than he has derived from his well-thumbed spelling
books. It was thoughtful, therefore, in Messrs.
Wilkini, Castes dt Co., of Boston, to forward
us, through the agency of the .1 dams' Exyress?
which will accept our thanks for the transmission
of it?a copy of Worcester'* Universal and Critical Die
(ionary, so strongly bound as to withstand considerable
bad usage, and so distinctly' lettered with the
title of The Republic as to diminish materially the
danger of its abstraction from our long table.
It is a beautiful as well as a substantial volume,
and is accompanied with a body of authorities so
strong in weight aad number, that one would almost
prefer to spell badly in their company than to
spell correctly with any one else. We have
Sparks, Channing, Stewart, Longfellow, Potter,
Judge McLean, and a score of gentlemen of equal
literary distinction, bearing testimony to the value of
this work?which contains 27,000 more words than
Todd's Johnson's Dictionary, and is said to be the
most copious and accurate vocabulary of the English
language that has yet appeared. Oarsick
smd of Dr. Johncon, in allusion to his sole labors,
in comparison with those of the forty collaborators
of the Dictionary of the Academy, that "he had beat
forty French, and would beat forty more." If
what his critics say of him be true, Worcester
has beaten the whole field, and, until we are^ietter
taught, we shall continue to take our spelling lessons
of Worcester.
STEAM MACHINERY.
From the numesous accidents which occur in our
steamboats, and more particularly perhaps from
those which have occurred in our ocean steamers,
from the breaking of machinery, an impression
prevails unfavorable to American engine builders,
aii compared with those of Great Rribun. We
hould auppoae that a misapprehension exiata in
thin country in regard to the uniform efficiency of
British steamers, which the following extracts from
a single number of the Steam Navigation Gazette,
may nerve to nome extent to correct:
"f/ndiite if ordered neir hoilrrt.?Tin but a month
or two nince the vennel wan nete?then wan cant off
?then wan fitted up for purchase by the Admiralty
?then w?n refitted?then wan re-tul>ed?then wan
embcllinhed?then wan re-funnelled?then wan refireboxed?then
wan?Heaven only known what
elne benides;?and now nhe in to have new botlera.
Oh! John Hull, and thy whistle."
Osr.Ron, steam-packet, Lieutenant Commander
Gardner, lor Marseilles, which left Malta with the
India Mail on the 25th ult., returned on the 27th,
in the morning, with one of her boilers hunted.
Black Kaolk steam-vessel, Master Commander
S B. Cook, has had her funnel taken out, and nhe
now remains in the inner basin, under the factory
crane, to have her requisite repairs effected.
Kirk Brand, steam vennel, in in the Kant Dock,
and it will take nome time to effect the extensive repain
nhe in now undergoing.
Sampson, stenm-vensel, in in dock to have her
defects made good.
VeicvuTA, nteam-vennel, in in King William IV.
dock, having considerable repain to be effected before
nhe will be again ready for sen.
Jand*, steam-vessel, now fitted with the engine
formerly in the Sydenham nteam-vennel, in ready
to be taken out of the basin, and when found perfect,
on tnnl, in experted to be commissioned for
service on the Mediterranean station.
A lot of copper, in pigs, hnn been sent to Milwnukie
for shipment, from Mineral Point, where
the ore wnn dug and nmeltsd. The Milwaukie Sentinel
SftVS lh?lt ihe <>r?r>nar la nf a riok 1
thm Wiaconain will yr\ baat California with all ita
minus of gold and precious stones
FROM TEXAS. V M
By ihe arrival here last evening, eaya the New 1
Orleans Picayune of the 6th instant, of the steam- I
ship Palmetto, Capt. Smith, from Galveston, we j
have received files of the News of that city to the |
Od instant, inclusive. '
The mail carrier on the Grayson county route
(says the Bonhain Advertiser/brings the following
intelligence:
About four weeks ago a party of Shawnees and
Delawares were hunting about the heads of the
Brazos, when a band of \Viclutus came upon them
and stole away their horses. They were immedi- i
ately upon the trail of the thieves, whom they overhauled
at one of the Wichita villages. Their demand
for restitution was rejected by the chief of
the bund; upon which they attacked the village,
and, ufter killing thirty-three of their enemies, recovered
most of their own, and made prize of a number
of American horses, which had unaues
tionably been stolen in some recent foray. Tnese
same Delawares and Shawnees afterwards came to
the settlements to exhibit the scalps they hud taken,
and purchased u quantity of powder and lead, an
nouncing their determination to muke a business
of it, and chastise the Wichitaa in a thorough
manner.
The Bonham Advertiser states that a Mr. Cheshire
and a Mr. Crawford, both residing about five
miles above Dallas, were killed by lightning on the
night of the 4th ult.
Lieut. Goodall, late of Capt. Sutton's company
of Rangers, has Ijpen authorized by Gov. Wood to <
raise volunteers for the protection of our frontier
against the Indians, and instructed to teport to Col.
Kinney, at Corpus Christi.
The wagons for the expedition to El Paso, says
the News of the 2d inst., were being packed with
all possible despatch, and would, it was thought, ^ f
be ready yesterday, the 1st. The expedition will
be composed of the 3d Infantry, under command of
Major Van Horn.
The News of the 2d inst. has the following:
We learn from a gentleman from San Antonio,
that the topographical engineers, who were desuatched
to make a reconnaissance of the route to
Paso del Norte, und who were reported to have
been killed by Indians, have returned to San Antonio
and reported a practicable route to Col. Harney,
for the contemplated march of the troops.
We are informed that thev found the route
the San Saba impracticable, for the want of water,
from its sources to the Pecos, and report a passable
route, at all seasons, from the Paso down the Rio
Grande to within some twenty miles of the Presidio
del Norte?say 120 miles; thence to a point on the
Pecos, some fifty miles above its mouth; thence by
the heads of Los Moros and the Rio Frio, to Gen.
Wool's road from Presidio del Grande to San Antonio.
This route is M^ell watered by running
streams, and furnished with abundant grass. The *4
exact distance is not mentioned to us, but from the
known distance to the Moros, we infer that the
whole route from San Antonio to El Paso cannot
exceed four hundred miles, or thereabouts.
The cholera has broken out in New Braunfels,
twelve deaths occurring from it on the 25th ulL
The people were flying from the town panic stricken.
The principal portion of the population of
New Braunfels is composed of Germans, who by
their industry and enterprise have built up a thriving
town.
At San Antonio the cholera had greatly abated,
and cannot longer be said to prevail in an epidemic
form. The deaths were about four or five a day.
The disease had attacked the 3d Infantry, and
about forty soldiers fell victims to its ravages, leaving
the regiment in a very weak condition. #
Crops on the Trinity.?We learn from a gentleman
from Polk county, that the early crops in
the Trinity vulley have been materially injured by
the heavy rains they have had recently in that sec- ,
tion. The early corn, it is esumated, will not exceed
two-thirds of an average -crop. The cotton
l-.- :n L L ?
fuuiicu icilc win ur mucn ueuer. xne cotion, in
consequence of the rain, cannot be worked, and is
in rather a precarious situation ; but, with favorable
weather, may yet turn out a moderately ftyr
yield. The Trinity river continues in good boating
order, but has not overflown its banks, as has
been reported.
Houston, we learn, is quite healthy. The quan- I
tity of cotton arriving from the country is but small.
There is not, in fact, much of the article remaining
in the country. Business in Houston, as elsewhere,
is gradually dwindling down to the summer stand- ^
The railroad which connects Easton, Pennsylvania,
with Eltzabelhtown, New Jersey, and with the
New Brunswick and Jersey City railroad, it is believed
will be completed this year. From Elizabethtown
the communication will be made by j
steamboats, and it is stated that the improvement
brings the coal 6elds of the Schuylkill, Lehigh,
Beaver Meadow and Lackawana, within a distance
of not more than 125 miles of the New York market.
Cf
BuaixLor Maj.Gen. Edmond P. Gaines.?The
remains of General Gaines were interred in Mobile
on the 7lh inst. The Mayor of that city issued
the following proclamation, inviting the citizens,
and all public officers and strangers, to assist in
resdering the last sad testimonial of respect to the
venerable and distinguished dead:
Mator'b Office, Mobile, June 6, 1H49
The remains of the late Major General Edmund
P. Gaines being expected to arrive at New Orleans
to-morrow morning for interment in this city, the
. .1?N J
vuipviair numonurq liovr innriC HlJCn ftrTfinCPfTlfntH
for Ihe funeral services a* were deemed due to the
exalted station, the eminent public service#, and the
private virtue* of the deceased soldier and patriot;
and agreeably to instructions from the Boards of
Aldermen ana Common Council, 1 hereby cordially
invite the officers of the Army, Navy, and Revenue
service of the United State* at or near this station;
the Foreign Coi.auls resident here; the incorporated
and other societies of this city; the Judge* , |
of the several Courts, and the citizens generally,
to unite in the solemnities of the occasion. And I
I further request that ail our citizen* abstain from
their ordinary occupations during the ceremonies. f j
C. C. Lanodon, Mayor.
The honorable Auotrtirs Porter, late United
States Senator from Michigan, died at Niagara
Falls, on the 10th instant. t
A physician of Boston states that he has had ten
cases of poisoning during a single week, from the
use of copper or bell-metal utensils in cookery.
When the tin coating begins to wear off, the utensil
is converted into a vehicle of poison.
The Michigan Southern railroad has recently
changed hands, and arrangements are in progress
to carry it immediately west to Chicago.
NAVAL.
The Norfolk Beacon of the |2th inst says, from
a letter received by a gentleman of this city, from
an officer on board, we learn that the U. S. frigate
Constitution, Capt. Gwinn, was at Leghorn, 5th
May, all well.
The U. S. steamer Mississippi got under way
at 11 ? o'clock, a. m., on Thursday last, and waa
at sea at .1 o'clock, p. m., making the run from Norj
folk to sea in 3} hour*. All well on board when
the Pilot left.
Thi Trxar Frontier.?The New Orleana Pica- ^
yune, of the 5th inatant, contain* a letter from Mr.
Kendall, dated Paria, April 4, whie.h wrr written
norne time before he could poaaihly have heard of
the recant incureiona of the Indiana upon the aettlementa
of the Rio Grande. Mr. Kendall haa ,
made long aojonma amongat the Indiana of the
Plain*, during which he acquired aurh a knowledge.
of their character and hahita aa to enable him
to predict the dianatera which have occurred. Hia
letter will lie found in our paper of to-day, and la
intereating at thia time, leaa from ita oracular pretenaiona
than on account of the auggeationa it rontaina
aa to the deae.ription of force beat qualified for
offenaive or defenaive operationa againat the ferocioua
tribea which periodically lay waate the fronuera
of Texaa, naaault the towna of New Mexico,
and penetrate to the thickly inhabited diatricta of
| Chihuahua and New Leon. *
- - -