The republic. [volume], July 13, 1849, Image 2

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

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k \y^Jorcigu fllisicllamj >?
The following note has been addressed by Count
Ludislus Teleki (Hungarian Representative in
Paris) to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the
French Republic:
Monsieur le Muustre: Events press onward.
The intervention of Russia is a reality. After
having gloriously resisted the armies ot Austria,
Hungary finds herself now upon the point of being
crushed under the weight of a new Holy Alliance,
reorganized on Cossack nrinrinl?g. The imiii
festo ol the Czar Nicholas leaves no farther doubt
on this subject. The Emperor Joseph publicly
avows himself the ally of the foreigner who invades
his States. The fact of this Russian intervention,
solicited in the name of the Emperor, King of Hungary.
is whul has, above all oilier things, led the
National Assembly of Hungary to declare the drchrance
of the House of Hupsburgh-Lorraine, which
had already violated every engagement, and broken
all the compacts by virtue or which they have, for
more than three centuries, jmssessed the crown of
Hungary.
1 have given the details relutive to the Hungarian
question, in two of my notes presented to the
Minister tor f oreign Attnirs ol Wie rrencn rvepuolic,
in October, 1848, and in March of the present
year, as well us in a manifesto addressed in the
name of Hungary to the civilized nationsof Europe,
and which I had likewise the honor to present to
the Minister of the Republic in December, 1848.
Since then this questions has assumed greater
dimensions; henceforward it has an European importance.
It now becomes my duty to sum up, in a few
words, that which hus relation to the just right of
Hungary in the deadly struggle which she has to
bear against Absolutism, and which identifies her
, cause with that of civilization and freedom in general.
1. Tin legal right of Hungary.?Hungary has
ever been independent of Austria. Ferdinand I.,
the first nrince of the House of Austria that ever
reigned in Hungary, received the crown in 1520, in
accordance with an election by the Diet. He swore
to maintain the constitution and the independence
of Hungary. All his successors took the same
oath. The crown of Hungary first liecume hereditary
in the House of Hapsburgh in virtue of the
Pragmatic Sanction, passed by the Estates of Hungary
in 1687. In 17:23 this settlement was extended
by the Hungarian Diet to the female line of the
House of Hapsburgh, (second Pragmatic Sanction.)
But the independence of Hungary was
maintained and guarantied not leas by these very
acts than by the ouths of all the kings of the House
of Hamburgh-Lorraine, even down to our days.
By article 10, of the year 1790, the Emperor-King
Leopold II. recognised Hungary as a free and independent
State, in its whole legislative and administrative
system. Hence the article 3, of the year
1848, by which a Parliamentary Government was
settled in Hungary, introduced no change in its
relations to Austria. This law was no more than
a development of all the foregoing .laws. It was
passed by a unanimous vote of the two Houses in
die Hungarian Diet, and was formally sanctioned
(by the King Ferdinand V.
All that we demanded of the House of Austria
was that our Charter should henceforth be a truth;
our demands did not go one step beyond what
had been guarantied to us in succession by all our
kings.
2. Conduct of the House of Austria.?The House
of Austria has broken all her engagements with
Hungary, fioin the moment when, in consequence
of her victory over the army of CharleH Albert in
July, she felt herself strong enough to venture it.
She put in force every means which could lead to
her end of overthiowing the Hungarian constitution,
and incorporating Hungary in her Austrian
monarchy.
She publicly preached revolt abroad; she raised
up national hatreds among us; she excited men to
pillage, to burn, to murder; she awakened the enmity
of the poor against the rich; she offered the
hand of friendship to all our enemies; she decreed
the partition of Hungary into numerous provinces;
she launched armies against us, and declared all
those to be rebels who remained faithful to their
country and its laws. Last of all, she has called
in Russia to her aid, and has caused her own States
to be invaded by the most dangerous of her own
rivals.
It is, therefore, in the exercise of a legal right,
that the Hungarian Diet decreed that the decheanct
of the House of Hapsburgh-Lorramt, which has
shown itself the most bitter enemy of our country,
I feel an intimate conviction that Europe, that
France, ought to take an interest in us.
For we are at once the champions of freedom and
of legal order: we are the defenders of good and of
society; and it is the House of Austria which, in
reference to us and our constitution, legally guarantied,
is in the state of rebellion.
3. Hungary is the champion of riviliz-ation This
Russian intervention is totally adverse to the interests
of the whole of Europe Austria has always
lieen looked upon as the proper bulwark of Europe
against Russia But this intervention is the death
of Austria. It would be absurd to imagine thai
Russik marches her armies and perils her finances,
with the sole object of setting up a barrier against
herself. Her intervention, therefore, will be nothing
but a means of subjugating Austria. Besides,
we know very well what are the real intentions of
Russia with regard to ihe Sclavic populations of the
Austrian empire. The Russian autocrat already
looks upon himself in the light of their legitimate
sovereign. Hence, when she has succeeded in reconstituting
Austria after her own fashion, Russia
will have pushed herself, in fact, as far as Germany:
this is what must lie expected if we are crushed.
Under such circumstances, will Turkey, already
wounded by the occupation of Moldavia and Wallachia,
have power to bear the shock of the Northern
Colossus'
No! all is destined to lie subdued in its turn.
After having invaded Austria, Russia will have the
Kosphorus Europe will no longer possess any
bulwark against her. Thus, in combating the
Russians, we are nerving the interests of the whole
of Europe.
Our army amount* to very nearly two hundred
thousand men, perfectly drilled and disciplined, together
with an imposirg force of artillery The
force of Turkey is hardly inferior ; and she has, besides,
her fleet and the Egyptian contingent. This
strength is more than is required to resist the Russians.
The intervention of Russia could not take
place?at all events, could not succeed?if advantage
were taken of these forces, if pains were taken to
invite them France ha* only to will it. Let me
hope that she will not look on with an indifferent
eye upon this intervention?that she will have the
will to prevent it.
For the policy of Russia, at last unmasked by
the manifesto of the Czar Nicholas, proved sufficiently
that he looks upon himself as the natural
enemy of all civilized people, and, a* a final consequence,
of France. It proves that, in her present
stun k upon us, Russia is only taking up a strong
position, by rendering Austria subject to herself.
I^ei me entreat you to tnke into consideration the
retq?ert for existing rights, which the national government
of Hungary maintains, even against its
own interest While the Austro-Russian troops
wer* violating tne neutrality <?i m* lurician territory
in Wallachia, the general of the Hungarian
force* made it hia duty to reaper! it, he hulled his
men upon th* frontier* of Trsnaylvnmn, at a mm
ment when, by imitating the enemy'* example, and
pursuing him into the f'urkiah territory, he rould
have put the Atiniro-Rtiasian* in a condition to dc
hirn no further miachief.
Pardon me, M. le Mil s're, for having troubled
you with ao many detaila, but thia waa for me a
s?? red duty, which f could not avoid fulfilling,
lama Hungarian- I owe my s* If to lit* muse ol
my country. I am the representative of her inlereat*?it
la my duty to defend them, and I do ao,
in the intimate conviction that the intereata of all
humanity are aharera in our own.
Your own feeling* toward* the rau*e I repreaeni
are a pledge that you will five a favorable reception
to thear linea
Be pleawd, M le Mimatre, to accept, As.
Comte LA DISC AS TF.LEKI
M de Tocqueville, Minister of Fofeign Affairs, Ac
A l>i?et'tairiOK ox htNM ? A caae wna broughi
t?efore the court of common (den*, ,,n Wednesday
in which th* plaintiff, Mr Keniiernn y. aw endorse)
of a lull of exchange for Hh> , brought an actior
against the defendant a* th> aoeptnr, and declared
again*! htm by the name of AJohn ,M. Knott,'
being that by which he had signed the rx>if, but
without stating in the declaration that the defend,
ant had no signed it. The defendant objected ihn
the plaintiff bad not properly set forth hi* Chruuiai
name Mi. Sergeant rimwrd, on Itebalf of thi
defendant, argued, with rery considerable ability
that, though the court had decided the letter " I,
being a vowel andcajMibleof pronunciation, might b
admitted a* a Christian name, such could not tie th
rase with the letter "M," w hich, being a coo*oriarii
could rtol be pronounced by itself The caae rest*
merely upon that letter "M," which, in the pre**i
rase, meant nothing.
The f?rd Chief Justice?Yoo say the ' M
means nothing?then let it mean nothing. Woul
\ N\
n * % i * % V
a scratch be demurrable? The learned Sergeant
stueant to say that "M," by itself, meant nothing,
though in the cane it meant something, which ought
to have been explained by the statute. Suppose a
person of the name of John Ilobins: the court
would surely hold a declaration bud which described
him by the word John und figures of the redbreast'
So the court would hold the declaration bad because
there was a sign put for one ofthedefendants' names.
The letter H, indeed, by the custom of London,
and some other places, was no sound at all?(laughter)?though
elsewhere it often protruded itself on
all occasions. (Renewed laughter.} Justice Maule
spoke of u policeman who, as a witness, described
himself as belonging to the " ben" division ; when,
at a future stage of the cause, it was found that the
division was not designated by the name of the
bird, but the alphabetical letter "N." The learned
Sergeant said it might lie contended that the person
was christened in the munrier the bill was signed,
as they have often heard of absurd Christiun names.
He had heard of children being christened " Sir
Francis Burdelt." (Laughter.) Mr. Justice Muule
referred to a learned argument, where it was contended
thut the Christian and not the surname was
the real name ; for instance, in a case of John Sti(es,
John was the real name, und Stiles was added,
because the ancestor loved new ones. (Laughter.)
A long conversation then ensued between the
learned sergeant and the justice as to the effect of
vowels and consonants, anil witnesses were adduced
from reputed authors of persons being called "Monsieur
D'O." and "Lord M." and "Mr. H." Mr.
J. Robinson, on the part of the plaintiff, argued that
"M," in the name of John Knott, waa not an initial
letter; he cited an instance of a bank director,
who was christened "Edmund R. Robinson," and
any one might use such names. Mr. Justice Maule
saul the practice of the circles with which he was
acquainted was to give the name verbally. There
U,u? hnuioiror u r> t lorvi u n thu ?ViAriflT f\f nnp nf
the counties i went through on circuit, Mr. John
Wanley Sawhridge Erie Drax, whose name was
very probably handed in. (Laughter.) Mr. Robinson:
There are many Scotch and French names,
such as M'Donald, M'Taggart.D'Harcourt, D'Horsey?how
are such names to be set out in the pleadings.'
Suppose, again, a man's name were the name
of u river, us X? Mr. Justice Maule: But that is
not sjielt so; it is idem per idem, X for ex. Beer, I
believe, is sometimes called X, but not water.
(Laughter.) Mr. Robinson: There are some of
our names which are precisely those of letters, as
Gee, Jay, Kay, &c. Mr. Justice Maule: Buthere
it is not sonant, only consoiums, and cannot be
sounded without other letters. Mr. Robinson:
Their lordships should remember the existence of
a publication called the Fonetic ?Yus, and unless
tliey meant to give a "heavy blow and great discouragement"
to that rising science, he hoped they
would not decide against his client. (Laughter.)
But he had seriously to submit that, by demurring
? ll? 10 'loolu Ai tion ilia /loforvilanl u/l noit lo/l oocneil_
ing to legal principles, that his name was that which
was stated in the declaration. After some further
legul niceties had been expounded by the opposing
counsel, the Lord Chief Justice decided that the
consonant letter expressed an initial only, and gave
judgment for the defendant.?English paper.
Alligators Boarded and Lodged.
We made an excursion lately, to what is here
called the Muggar Tank, a lake of alligators, which
lies in a small and beautifully situated grove of
trees, surrounded by a range of low hills, about
nine miles from Kurrachee. After having breakfasted,
we proceeded to the spot where these hideous
monstera were congregated. They are held
sacred by the natives of the country, and are regularly
fed by the contributions of devotees. The
taniv in inure iiivc an uvcruuwu uicauuw iiiun u lurvc,
having deep channels intersecting each other, and
is literally alive with these huge "muggers," some
hasking on the knolls and ridges, others floating on
the surface of the deeper water. They were of all
sizes, from a foot or two to twenty or twenty-five
feet in length, and bulky in proportion. Having
purchased a kid, and cut it up on the banks, there
was a universal opening of their capacious jaws,
which they kept distended in expectation of having
a piece of flesh pitched in them, and are too lazy to
inuke any further demonstration; the native keeper,
who feeds them, then begun calling to them, when
they came one by one lazily along, and waddling
on to the shore, each took what was given to him.
The rapidity with which the |>oor kid vanished,
head and heels, was truly astonishing. They know
the keeper quite well, and if any one should take up
what is not thrown to him, the keeper makes him
drop it by striking him over the snout with his
stick Their jaws are certainly dreadful clap-traps,
and the crash they make when brought together is
horrible, crushing the bones even of the head of
their prey, like so much crush. It is probable, setting
aside motives of superstition, that the inhabitants
now find it necessary to feed these voracious
monsters, for, were the supplies to be stopped, they i
would become dangerous neighbors. In fact, they
do at times pick up and devour a stray child left on
the banks by accident or design. There are here
three hot springs, one of which supplies the tank,
and is of a temperature of about sixty-six degrees
The two others have a temperature of one hundred
and eighty degrees. The water issues from the
r<>ck as pure as a chrystal, and in great abundance.?
.Inglo-liuJian paper.
Marshal Biukai d, says the correspondent of
the Journal, forms the subject of nearly four
columns?the leading article?of the Journal dex
Debulx There is no exaggeration in the lofty commemoration
of his career and merita, nor in the
earnestness and scope of the lament. As a bare
bodkin mav put an end to the greatest monarch,so
a goblet of cold wine and water?according to his
physicians?rendered the cholera fatal with the
ablest of the French military commanders. The
Delia is cjtes the following passage of a letter from
the Marshal to one of his friends, dated the 15th
of last June : " I should be better satisfied and
suited than many others with a wise and disciplined
Republic?like that of the United States, for instance.
No one could be better trained arid adapted
than I was for democratic life. I have always been
on intimate Terms wun me people, wnetner in tne
fields or in camps; but I have a horror of drrnagoguism,
precisely because I loveihc people whose
banc that post has proved in all ages." He was
colonel in the army of the Alps in 1815, when the
bulletin of the battle of Waterloo was received,
together with a standard which he was to present
to his regiment. " Soldiers," said the colonel,
' here is yotir eagle. I present it to you in the
name of our country. We learn that the Kmperor
has abdicated, and is no longer our sovereign, but
France remains." Memoranda of a conversation
with Bugeaud, at a regular soiree of Duchatel,
Minister of the Interior, are in some one of my
drawers, and might be worth transcription; I can
recollect that he requested me to furniah him with
an authentic printed narrative of the Indian campaigns
of General Jackson, with whose defence of
New Orleans he was acquainted ; unluckily, no
such work happened to be in my library. In like
manner, during our late war with Mexico, Marshal
Soult, who gave close attention and no little
praise to the operations of General Taylor, sent an
aid-de-camp to me to nek a history of his campaigns
in f londii. There wss nothing of the kind
within my reach.
Tub I .in sr. t and thb Lack.?Moat ol our readers
are familiar with the a lory of the maid and the
magpie. The following particulars, which arc supplied
by the corres;K>ndent of a contemporary, ore
equally interesting, though less serious in their consequences:
For some turje past various articles
were missed, that had been washed and put on the
lawn to dry. No trace of them could be discovered
until a few days since, when something was seen
in an tinnitus ini?ri, wrncn ifii i?> mi examination,
. and a frill was found partly hanging out of the neat
ofagr#n linnet, with a portion gracefully encircling
the n*-ck of the little warbler. On a further march,
!' together with the unual materials of which the neat
| waa built?moan and graaa?there were entwined
within and around, preparatory, aa it were, to the
approaching arrival of the youngsters, a baby's lace
' cap, two yards of lace bordering, and two jmira of
cuff*; and a short distance ofT, on theground, was
picked up the frill for the top of a rnild's frock,
which seemed to have been too heavy for the little
culprits to carry along with them This discovery
has led to a further search, and other missing orti'
clcs of the same description, too numerous to men
tion, have lieen found forming s jiart of the nest of
the thrush. Since the nest a were taken these novel
1 little thieves have lieen intercepted carrying ofT sun*
| ilar l?ooiy.^ IJvrrpool -Werciin*.
Til K tlKTHIAK* 1% riiONRftlf.
Kx tract of a letter from Fli rence, l!hh June, 1H49:
"'The Austrian soldiem are new ouar'cred ufmii
e us, and they are as thick as whortleberries. Do,
ney'sCaflP is full of them, where they smoke and
gamble nightly, im<i all night too, iri all the rooms
e They are for the most part fine looking man. The
e crowded om Tuscan* have to grin and Iwar it, and
I, I pity ".-.me of them, but generally they do not ded
serve pity, for they did nothing to prevent ihe Ausit
trisn* coming tore The Austrian officer* are nil
quartered upon ihe inhabitants, and ?Aey rtone 11*
best rximi The tadl-ronm unrler Mr Powers' terd
race is full of their troops, and while I am wilting
they are cooking their dinners on the li ttle platform,
in front of the old church, where Mi . Kellogg
used to have lue studio. About forty Italians stand
looking on. The military Imnda of the Austrians
give us some exi|uisite music; they play nightly at
the Caucine. A huge dog is harnessed to wheels
on which the great bass drum is hauled about.
Radettki has been here; he is a small big-headed
old man of 84 years, and his face resembles Mrs.
Trollope, his eyes are red and watery, bill he bears
himself like an old game-cock. He looked down
from his balcony upon the people with an expression
which seemed to say, 'if you don't like ine,
you may lump me, and be hanged to you, you
rebels.'
"Powers, our sculptor, has had some trouble and
unxiety about the nlle and pistols in his possession,
as well as the sabres, spears, yatgans, swords and
the like things which hung in the house of his
friend Kellogg, who is now on a visit to America.
These arms wer hanging up on the walls of his
studio, and were brought by him from d liferent
purls of Asia; some or them are of great beauty,
and are especially valuable to the artist for purposes
of study. When Baron D'Aspre called upon all
residents to deliver up their arms on puin of the
rigors of martial law, and this too within fortyeight
hours, Mr. Powers, for fear that Mr. Kellogg's
house would be searched, concluded to send these
arms, together with his own, to the American consul
for safe keeping. Mr. Ombrosi, the consul,
wrote to Mr. Powers that he did not like to receive
them, as it 'might not be regular in Florenee,' and
suggested that Powers should ask permission of the
authorities. Powers thought this unbecoming in
an American consul, and sent the arms to the Police
Office, and a letter to the consul expressive of
his sentiments upon his conduct. The consul
thereupon wrote to Prince Corsini, to ask if he
might tuke charge of the arms of American citizens!
Prince Corsini sent a verbal answer that he might
do so, and Mr. Ombrosi then insisted on Powers
getting the arms again and putting them under I.is
charge. To this Mr. Powers reluctantly consented,
and the very next day the consul cume into his
studio in a tremendous flurry to say that Prince
Corsini had written to him declining to accede to
his request, and subsequently General D'Aspre did
dm same; both these officials refusing to acknowledge
him as an American Consul. Powers had to send
the box buck uguin to the police office, and our consul
did the same with his own pistols and swords. This
proceeding 1 consider as an insult to the United
States. The French Minister received the arms of
his countrymen without asking leave of the Government.
"There are many considerations whioh I withhold
at present which muke this case peculiar and
marked. It seems to have been intended as a blow
at the Americans here. Powers has hopes of getting
die property back again through some agent
less timid and more influential than our consul. 7
THE REPUBLIC.
WASHINGTON:
FRIDAY MORNING, JULY 13, 1849.
OFFICIAL.
APPOINTMENTS BY THE PRESIDENT.
William M. Brown, of Georgia, to be
Marshal of the United States for the District
of Georgia, vice Henry Williams, who
declines the office.
Walter C. Maloney, of Florida, to
be Marshal of the United States for the
Southern District of Florida, vice Jos. B.
Browne, removed.
Hiram W. Husted, of North Carolina,
to be Attorney of the United States for
the District of North Carolina, vice William
H. Haigh, who declines the office.
(Jeorge W. Call, jr., of Florida, to be
Attorney of the United States for the
Northern District of Florida, vice-Chandler
C. Younge, removed.
John Durkgrave, of Louisiana, to be
Receiver of Public Moneys at Monroe,
Louisiana, vice John B. Filhiol, removed.
Daniel Clapp, of Illinois, to be Register
of the Land Office at Danville, Illinois,
vice William E. Russell, removed.
Lewis S. Lovell, of Michigan, to be
Register of the Land Office at Ionia, Michigan,
vice Benjamin Sheiiuau, removed.
Thomas B. Thorp, of Louisiana, to be
Pniriwtnr c\i tKn I an/1 at Maw i
leans, Louisiana, vice Louis St. Martin,
removed.
John L. Rogers, Collector of the Customs
at Gloucester, Massachusetts, vice
Eli F. Stacy, removed.
Gideon S Sackett, Collector of the
Customs at Cape Vincent, New York,
vice Peleg Burchard, removed.
Lonson Nash, Surveyor of the Customs
at (iloucester, Massachusetts, vice
John Woodbury, removed.
John A. Chew, Surveyor of the Customs
at Havre de Grace, Maryland, vice
Robert Gale, removed.
Israel Titi s, to be Postmaster at Toledo,
Ohio, in the place of Truman C.
Evertts, removed.
Thr Naval I'ower of thr I'nilrd Klatra.
At a time when all the European nations,
even the least commercial, are exhibiting
unusual activity in the increase of their
naval force, it becomes the United States
to look after their |>osition upon the ocean,
and to see that they do not fall behind in
the struggle for naval dominion. We published
a few days since the letter of a London
correspondent, which gave a full account
of a magnificent screw steamer
w hich had been fitted with her machinery
in England for the Pacha of Egypt. The
Emperor of Russia, we observe, has recently
bestowed a complimentary gold
medal on an English engineer, for fitting
two large ships of war with propellers and
auxiliary steam jstwer for the Russian service.
We are familiar with the attempts
making by Germany and Prussia to create
a naval power. Prance has been long
11 j j r i 1
'iiiir wrii prvviucu, inu r?ngiaii<i c.iii mm
aHoat just one hundred war steamers for
every one that ifc in the service of the
United States.
But Kngland is not content f*ven with
her present maritime superiority. She is
anxiou* to establish and strengthen it. VV ?
find in the late Ixmdon papers the report
of a parliamentary committee appointed to
inquire into the practicability of providing,
by means uj the commercial marine oj the
country, a reserve steam navy available
for national defence when required.
"Your committee are of opinion"?says
this rejiort?"whir h is corroborated by the
evidence taken before them, that mercantile
, steamships, of the size and strength necessary
for the reception of such guns as
are in use in the royal navy, would l?e a
most useful auxiliary force for national
defence; and your committee do not see any
difficulty in carrying out such a measure.
That the //rom/il derelojimml oj the whole
available maritime rnaatrrm of the country,
I in the event oj threatened hottilitie*f is ovist
THE REPUBLIC.
desirable as a rneans for the preservation of
peace. That the steps necessary to render
such mercantile steamers available lor the
purpose, and the remuneration to be given
by the public lor fitting theui and holding
them liable to be called into the public
service, must be matter of arrangement
between the owners and the government,
upon which your committee do not deem
it necessary to offer an opinion."
in view of what is going on in other
countries, we look with confidence to our
Secretary of the Navy for the most active
and vigorous prosecution of the existing
arrangements for the increase of our naval
force, and the adoption in our naval service
of the new improvements which are
daily adding to the. efficiency and security
of steam navigation. It is to steamships
that we are to look in future for the maintenance
of maritime power. Ships of the
line, and frigates, and sloops of war without
steamf will soon be in the category of
flat-boats and gun-boats, for all the purposes
of naval warfare. To this complexion
we must come at last; for when we
see England casting about to place her
whole commercial steam marine in a position
to be transferred at once to the naval
service?a service already crowded with
two hundred steam vessels?we must be
blind not to see, and fools not to admit,
that the "mistress of the seas" looks no
longer to her wooden walls for protection,
but to those "mute metallic giants," without
whose propulsive arm those wooden
walls are but comparatively useless hulks
upon the waters. In spite of interested and
prejudiced opposition?in spite of the
whims, fancies, and caprices of the men
who seem to have labored to keep our
navy down for the last eight years by their
bigoted repugnance to steam, as if its
only quality was to sca/d?steam must
carry the day; and the idea of a ship of
war without steam power will be regarded
as the most forlorn and desolate of all ob
solete ideas. It will be a fish without
fins, or a bird without wings.
With our mind somewhat infused with
these ideas, we visited the other morning
the magnificent ship now lying to receive
her machinery at the Brooklyn navy yard,
and styled the San Jacinto. She is a fine
specimen of naval architecture. She is
one of two steamships of 1,460 tons burthen,
of precisely similar water-lines, and
with engines of equal power, now constructing
by the Government of the United
States, the other of which is the Sarunac,
building at Kittery. The San Jacinto is
to be propelled on the screw principle; the
Saranac by the ordinary side paddlewheels.
When completed, the two ships
will be tried together in rough and smooth
water, and under a variety of circum
stances, in order t?? te^t and. determine
their comparative advantages for^fea^service.
Screw propulsion is making such
rapid progress on the other side of the
Atlantic, and forms so controlling an element
in the preparations of the European
powers for naval warfare, that it is quite
time that our Government should satisfy
itself by actual comparison of its relative
advantages. We have taken seven years
to look about us for this purpose, since
building the Princeton; and England and
France meanwhile have been fitting vessels
by the score on the plan of the Princeton,
to say nothing of the Pacha of Egypt,
the King of Sweden, and the Czar.
The late Administration did more for
steam in the revenue and Quartermaster's
department than in the navy proper. Mr.
Wai.ker and General Jesup, fortunately,
were not in the keeping of gallant old
commodores, and believed that a thing or
two miffht be worth knowing in naval mat
O 0
ters which they did not know forty years
ago. Hence both these gentlemen, active,
acute, and inquiring as they were
on all subjects that fell within their officia]
province, were able to render no little collateral
aid to improvements in steam navigation.
(ieneral Jksup is entitled to
especial commendation for having been
instrumental in securing the only additions
that have been made to the steam navy
of the United States during the last four
years. We allude to the steamships Massachusetts
and Edith, which have been
transferred to the Navy Department since
the close of the Mexican war, in a state
of Completeness and perfection with regard
to their steam machinery that reflects the
highest credit on the General. The predecessor
of Mr. Preston accomplished
something for the steam navy of Prussia?nothing
for that df his own country.
We are indebted to Mr. T. Buti.er Kino
lor the war and mail-steamer hill, under
which the San Jacinto and the Saranac
are now building. The very active efforts
of this distinguished friend of the navy,
seconded by Mr. Miller, the intelligent
and valuable member of the House of Representatives
from New York, ami by Mr.
Douglass, now of the Senate, saved the
country and the Department, by the passage
of that very important bill, from the
disgrace of doing nothing for the increase
of the naval service. It is due to these
men, and not to the late Administration,
that we are not now hopeless as well as
helpless in this branch of the public ser1
vice.
But to return to the San Jacinto. The
i peculiarity of this ship, as compared with
the Princeton, the Great Britain, and
other screw steamers, consists in the
mode of applying the propeller. The screw
has been a horror to ship-builders on account
of the great well, or hole in the
dead wrw><I. u.11i? li hnu Kuun "*
J vvv"
commodate the propeller. To remove this
objection, Captain Ericsson, to whom the
naval world is indebted for the practical
introduction of screw propulsion, has devised
a mode of applying the propeller,
which dispenses with the necessity of any
invasion of the dead wood. This plan
has been adopted in the steamships Masxachus
tts and Edith, to which we have
already referred. Both these ships are
built precisely as ordinary sailing vessels
of the first class, with similar lines in the
run, and similar form of stern. The propeller
shaft is applied on the side of the
stern-post, close to it, and extends beyond
the rudder, aft of which the propeller operates.
This plan has also been adopted
in the San Jacintoy and her lines and form
of stern are consequently as symmetrical
as those of our finest packet ships ; the
perforation for the propeller shaft being
ing the only indication in her hull that she
is intended for a steamer.
The importance of this application becomes
the more material, in view of the
great scheme in progress in England for
making her immense steam commercial
marine an all-efficient reserve lor the royal
navy. With the exception of our Charleston
and Savannah steam packets, we have
no such commercial steam marine. Bit
we have the finest packet ships in the
world, and in two months' time could convert
them into a fleet of steamships with
machinery under the water-line and stern
propellers, each one of which would be
no less formidable than the San Jacinto.
lhis is the immense advantage ot the application
of the propeller adopted in this
fine ship ; it may be employed in any
other ship on the ocean, without weakening
her stern, or in any way impairing her
qualities as a sailer.
In view of the high duties to which he
has been called at so early an age, and
the materials lying around him for the establishment
of a lasting reputation, an am
bitious man might well envy Mr. Preston
the lot which has fallen upon him. There
is no branch of the public service which
furnishes an able man with such opportunities
of distinction as are to be found in
the Department of which he is the head.
Emancipated from the toils in which his
predecessor left him?surrounding himself
by subordinates and advisers who sympathize
with the dominant party, and desire
its prosperous advancement?living up to
the exigencies of the age?Mr. Preston,
we doubt not, will accoiHfplish all that his
friends and his country expect from him,
and honorably identify his own fame with
that of the navy of the United States.
^ A DECIDED IMPROVEMENT. .
The readers of the Union may congratulate
themselves upon seeing the truth for
once in its columns. It yesterday re-published
our article giving a correct picture
of its moral and physical features. The
Union pretends discontent at the likeness,
but like other prudes it was careful to take
it home and hang it up in the most conspicuous
place, protesting the while that it
was too much flattered, the coloring too
fresh, and, mayhap, dressed a trifle low
in the neck. But despite these imperfections,
which bashful timidity alone
could discover, the picture was so lifelike,
so speaking?so je ne sain <pwi?that the
Union placed it in a frame of most elaborate
workmanship, and, lost in admiration,
exclaimed, Nous vtrrona, nous verrons.
The Voire of a llovrr?i(u State Will General
Taylor hear HI
The Union uses the above caption to
some introductory remarks to certain resolutions
passed by the Locofocos of the
New Hampshire Legislature, in which
General Tavlor is pretty effectually bespattered
with the secbnd-hand garbage
of the "sole organ." In examining these
resolutions, little expecting to find anv
thing worthy of remark, we were astonished
to find the following admonition at
the close of the last of the series. The
Legislature invokes the United States Senate
to do its duty, and reject certain
classes of nominations, and, amongst
others, those persons " whose past.career
has disclosed a spirit and principles better
fitted to the work of facilitating the hostile
operations of a foreign cabinet, than of
striving for the advancement of the happiness
and honor of our own rapidly-increasing
and most glorious land."
Nothing could be more significant, under
the circumstances, than the tinishingtouch
to the New Hampshire manifesto.
It is stated, and we believe the statement
true, that, within the four short months
of Whig ascendency, there have been
more Locofocos appointed to office than
there were Whigs appointed during the
preceding twenty years?if we omit the
brief season of Whig rule after the election
j of General Harrison. If is moreover
true, that, in the matter of the war-steamer
"United States," 44 a spirit and principles"
were disclosed "better fitted to the work of
facilitating the hostile operations of a foreign
cabinet (the King of Prussia's, for
instance) than of striving for the advance
ment of the happiness and honor of our own 1
rapidly-increasing and most glorious land."
The aiders and abettors of that Hagrant
violation of the laws and treaties of the
United States were ready to sacrifice the ,
honor of their own country, and jeopard <
the happiness of our own countrymen, by
making our ship yards and ship carpenters 1
subsidiary to the ambitious projects of the
k mtr nl IVimsiii Tim Mpu/ Mnmiwlui-p
e> ? " "v" I
Legislature must have intended its last
resolution as a caution to General Taylor 1
and his Cabinet against appointing any more
Locofocos to office, or, at any rate, such of
them as take sides with the King of Prussia
against " our own rapidly-increasing
and most glorious land." A very just and
sensible hint.
INFORMATION WANTED.
We have searched in vain for any ex
pression of "virtuous indignation," on the
part of the Union, at the numerous removals
from office " for opinion's sake,"
which took place in the early part of Mr.
Polk's administration. Hundreds of honest,
capable, and faithful men were then
unceremoniously thrust out of places to
make room for active partisans.
Will the Union be kind enough to save
us further trouble, which we greatly fear
would also prove fruitless, by referring us
to the precise date when it gave vent to
the emotions that agitated its breast, and
spoke in fearless tones of censure of Mr.
Polk, for the policy he had thus adopted?
If so, it will oblige us beyond measure.
All that we have been able to find, as yet,
in the Union of that time, is couched in
the most dulcet and approbatory language.
It was as gleeful as a honey-moon.
If it is not asking overmuch, or will not
give some gentleman " known in Richmond"
too much trouble, we would be
thankful also to be referred to the date
and page of the Richmond Enquirer, in
which it condemned the wholesale proscription
for "opinion's sake," first commenced
and ruthlessly carried on twenty
years ago; to wit, in 1829. We refer to
the time, well remembered by many,
when those who had long and faithful!
served their country were not only unceremoniously,
and without the least accusation
being brought against them, turned
out, but were courteously and feelingly bid
to "root hog or die." Does the memory of
some gentleman "known in Richmond" ex
terui so tar into tne vista oi me past!1 n so,
he can probably furnish us with the "elegant
extracts" from the eloquent jeremiads
then put forth. Doubtless, the prophecy
which the Enquirer made in 1824, namely,
that "the election of General Jackson to
the Presidency would prove a curse to
the country," .had already been fulfilled.
We shall take great pleasure In republishing
all such "elegant extracts," with occasional
comments of our own.
A Olanrt at the History of Hungary.
Ai thia crisis all the world turns to Hungary to
form some conclusion from her bearing as to the
question whether centuries of subjection to a foreign
power, the tyranny of one part of the nation over
the other, the sway of an hereditary aristocracy and
bad laws, unfit n community for the duty of establishing
and maintaining liberty. Occupying a peculiar
position, midwny lielween the Baltic ice and
the groves of Iuilv. Hungary murbl hsve lieen
imagined destined to become one of the most gifted
and prodigal of the nations of Europe. Such has
not been the rose, on account of it* relations for
centuries to a younger and really feebler power
than itself. It may not be inappropriate just now
to give a brief abstract of its history.
The origin of this people was illustrious, having
made it* first impression on the (tage of history, |
under the command of Attila, who loved to call
himself " the scourge of God and King of the
Huns." Montescpneu, who translated from the '
now forgotten Jornandes, speaks of Attila as
proud, artful, irritable, yet crafty. Warlike or ,
peaceful a* policy demanded, he, though followed |
by captive kings, maintained the severity of manners
which were the original characteristics of his ,
people. i
The courage of the Hungarian* is hereditarv
for even when " liarbaric monarch* rode up the <
strep* of lh? raptlol," I hey regretted that they could |
not equal the glorious deed* of their father*. I
The Huna, originally a mighty people in the j
interior of A*ia, had eatnbliahed an empire, which, |
about the end of the first century, was overthrown ,
by the Thine**, Expelled from their country for
several centuries, they l>< caine wanderer*, and, at
the commencement of the fifth century, under the
command of Attila, made a dew-cut on Germany, ^
France, and Italy. Destroying the realm* over
which they passed in 451 A. C., Attila met near
Chalons, in Gaul, the Bnrgundian and Frankmh armie*,
under Theodoric and Merovic, aided by ^
the Roman force* The battle fought there gave (
to the river the appellation it yet preserve*, of the ,
" Bloody Marne." ' f
Attila was beaten, and two hundred thousand of ?
his soldier* were killed Thence Attila retired jnto (
Pannoniu, and in 452 appeared at the head of a |
new army, on the south aide of the A If*. All (
Italy lay liefore him, and he advanced to Rome.
When near the city, he was met by the firat of
thoae great Pontiff* who bore the name of Leo, t
and, induced by hia (teraiiaaiona, turned aside ,
Soon after tliia, Attila died from the effect* of a <
debauch, during the celebration of hi* marriage (
with a daughter of the king of the Raciriana. Thia (
circumstance ahowa ua that Attila did not command
a mere isolated band of adventurer*, but wna ,
reinforced, from time to lime, by the great nationa j
of Kurope, of whom the Ractrinna were one It (
waa not likely an eastern monarch would have ((
given hia daughter to a mere adventurer (|
Tlie children of Attila could not agree, and other ]\
a warm* of the great baritone hive ap|>eared and
conquered Pannonia, or Hungary The record of
the conteata of harlmrir kings is idle and un- i>
profitable. In the year HHMI, however, a great u
event occurred Stephen, the descendant of one of vi
the old princes, waa tUclril king Tins is the be- <v
ginning of the authentic history of Hungary The ti
descendants of Stephen, who waa canonized, reigned p
until 1074. Then came the dynasty of Qrisa,
which lasted until 1304- Another dynasty succeeded,
only one of the princes of which was remarkable.
This was Mathius, the first King of
Hungary and Bohemia. Elected King of Hungary,
Mathius waged war against the Emperor Frederick
111. Availing themselves of this contest, the
l'urks invaded the dominions of Mathins, who first
iefeated them, and then expelled Frederick, who
relinquished all claims to the crown of St. Siephen.
A war soon broke out again between the two rival
princes, in the course of which Mathius captured
a m..ii.:.... .........i ....
statesman, and in 1486 granted the constitution for
the maintenance of the sanctions of which the present
war is waged. This constitution was known
us that of Mathius Corvinua.
In 1490, Mathius, while fitting out an expedition
ugaisl the Turks, died, leaving but one child, John,
an illegitimate, who sought in vain to succeed him.
His wife, Beatrice, married her paramour, Ladislas
VI., who, after u short reign, left the sceptre
and crown to Louis II., who was killed at the battle
of Mobatz, in 1526. John Zupoliski, Waywode of
Transylvania, then was elected king, but his right
to the throne was disputed by a brother of Karl V.,
who had been proclaimed at Presburg. The Turk
was the ally of Zapoliski, or Zapolya ; and after
a long war, in 1536, the kingdom was divided
with the proviso that after Zapoliski's death he
should be succeeded by the House of Hapsburgh.
The Hungariun monarchy had always been elective,
and this limitation did not at all please them;
and on thedealh of Zapoliski his wife proclaimed
his son, John Sigismund, king. The Prime Minister
of John Sigismund, the celebrated Cardinal
Mnetitviluina noruiioiloii llro H noon U ?t In
IMUI Vlliuniuo |A/IOUUU(yU %IIV VVVIV.VII III CA*
change Transylvania for a portion of Silesia; and
in return for this service the Emperor Ferdinand appointed
Morlinusius to the government of that country.
His time of prosperity was however short, for
he was assassinated by Pallavicini in 1551, in obedience
to the orders of Ferdinand, who at once
proclaimed himself King of Hungary, not, however,
without resistance. A long contest ensued,
the result of which was, that having calledQh the
aid of the Turks, who ultimately seized one half of
the kingdom, the other was left to Ferdinand, who
thus became King of Hungary.
In 1638 the Turks were driven from Hungary,
and it was in this war that so many English adventurers
distinguished themselves. Fifty years after.
Hungary became hereditary, and followed the succession
of the House of Austria.
The Hungarians made countless efforts to throw
off the Austrian yoke, and the kingdom became
one battle-field. In 1761, Maria Theresu took refuge
among them, and found the Hungarians her
chief support. From tliut day until 1848 Hungary
has remained devoted to Austria?shared in its
triumphs and glory. Nothing but gross oppression
has now made her revolt from her obedience.
A cotemporary journal, the New York Evening
Post, thus sums up the events of the last eighteen
months :
"In the month of March last, and shortly alter the
first outrages at Vienna, the Hungarians obtained
from Ferdinand II. the formal promise of a separate
constitution, by which they were to govern
themselves, subject to the superintending control of
his Imperial Majesty.
This promise was extorted through terror
from the Emperor, and at the first convenient
moment was disregarded* and an army was sent
into Hungary to purge it of its disaffection. The
Hungarians were compelled to be quiet for a time,
but the second revolution at Vienna created a di
version in uieir Invor, of which Kossuth was
prompt to take advantage. As soon as the disturb*
ances in Vienna were a little quieted, all the forces
of the empire were gathered on the frontiers of
Hungary and precipitated upon her resisting
forties, who, under the command of the Generals
Bern, Dembinski, and Gorgey, retired into impenetrable
marshes, behind the Theiss, abandoning
without resistance nil western Hungary.?
They waited behind the Theiss until the winter
had rendered the roads impracticable for the
heavy cavalry and the artillery of large calibre of
the Austrians, resting their hopes on a partisan
war, where their cannon, with movable carriages,
and their light cavalry, must necessarily do wonders.
Their tactics proved to be well designed.
The Hungarians regained all the ground which
they had voluntarily abandoned. They crushed,
one after the other, two Austrian armies, and were
about marching on Vienna, to strike a mortal blow
at the House of Hapsburgh, when the Austrians
obtained the aid of Russia.
"This new arrangement, far from terrifying the
Hungarians, animated them with new artlor.?
Knowing that they arc engaged in a deadly struggle
with the representatives of absolute power, they
replied to the Austro-Russian, and probably Prussian
coalition, by the proclamation of a republic.
Meanwhile the conflict has begun, and its fate remains
to be determined.
"Already, in three different encounters, Bern and
Dembinski have obtained advantages over the Russians,
while Gorgey has re-captured from the Austrians
the strong and important fortress of Buda.
By the next steamer we shall probably lie able to
predict the fate of the Hungarian revolution of
1848."
The most brilliant chapter of the history of Hungary
is yet to be written.
The New Orleans papers advocate warmly the
establishment of a line of steamers from that city
to Tampico and Vera Cruz, touching at Havana.
Anolher'line is also snoken of to Rumn* .. ?
nable Sew Orleans to be less dependent on the
torlh and eaat. It inn matter of surprise that there
ire not at preaent over a dozen ship-owners in New
Orleans, and their veaaela are generally of small tontape;
while the total amount of tonnage entered at
hat port from the firat of July, 1848, to the .Kith of
lune, 1849, wna 798,381, of which 228,471 were
Y>reign veaaela, and the remainder, 499,889, A me
*ican.
The United States dry dock, now in process of
rection at Brooklyn, will lie a work of great
itrenglh and capacity when finished. At present
here are altoul 1,800 men employed upon it.
The revenue cutter Crawford was launched on
Tueaday from the yard of Mr. Tees, of Philadelphia.
She is a far-simile of the Duane, launched
tome weeks ago. The North American says'The
'Crawford' is destined for the Charleston
nation, and will be commanded by Captain Coste
The model is of the most approved character, and
f appearances can warrant the assertion, we harnrd
idle in saying that she will prove to be not only a
iaat sailer, but a safe md capable sea v rear I."
The Mexican Minister of War, in his late report
o his government, slates the number of Mexican
women and children annually raptured and carried
iff by the hoatile Indians to be upwards of six hunIrrd
It is the practice of the savages to murder
be men and hold the women ua captives.
Thin fact dcmonatraiea the neceaeily of the IJnied
State* Indian agent* al Santa Pf and the Salt
-,ake being al their poet*. The ma*a of the hoalilc
rilie* are wanderer*, but reaide chiefly m our terrinry,
and the late treaty of Guadalupe make* it the
uty of the Government to return them to lb*
drxiran authoritiea.
An aged lady at Frederic kahurg, Virginia, IVtra
dargnret See, ha* offered to emancipate heralave*
? the fall if the American ('nlonir.atmn Society
rill give them a free jtaaaage to Liberia, Mr* See
nnlribuling $200 Mrs. See'a daughter propoaea
> bliernic her four alave* at the miik time, if a free
aaaage can be given them.