The southern press. [volume], December 31, 1850, Image 3

About The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852

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THE SOUTHERN TRESS.
ASHINGTON^IT]^
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1850;
py We understand that the President's
House will be open for visitors at 12 o'clock on
New Year's day.
More Compromise* and Concessions proposed.
??wl tiniu fnr nmr? Mnftlifltion vems.
X IJ?7 ? V .W ?J f ,
by common consent, to have arrived, owing to
tiie courtesy of Messrs. Seward 4. Co., who
luive kindly consented to a temporary postponement
of their performances on the congressional
boards. The suggestion of Mr. Clay, on
which we commented the other day, is but the
echo of the Northern prints, all of which, like
Oliver Twist, are M asking for more,"?and who,
more lucky than he, stand a fair chance of getting
it?whether in the shape of appropriations,
higher duties, or lands. In fact, the respective
organs are strenuously urging the necessity of
a new compromise or adjustment among the
hungry claimants, by which all may thrust their
noses into the public crib, and the " oxen that
tread out the corn" unmuzzled, may frisk and
grow fat, at the cost of the planter.
Thesu dime yet simple process of log-rolling,
is recommended us an infullible specific to effect
these purposes. It is the 44 real old Jacob Townsend,"
which is to prevent fermentation, and
work well on the body politic. As well might
one seek to wrest from a hungry lion the bone
over which he is growling, and hopes to gorge
himself, as for a Northern politician to take any
steps which would tend to frustrate the darling
projects of spoliation in the North and
We?t?and heQce the armistice which the Sewakds
and Van Buuens grant the South?concentrating
and marshalling their forces nil the
while for a fiercer assault, so soon as under
cover of the truce, the interests which require
the fostering care of the General Government
shall be subserved.
The more candid of the organs of this powerful
a id pestilent faction, do not even pay the
poor compliment to Southern intelligence and
manhood, to disguise their real purpose'. The
N. Y. Tribune and the Albany Ecening Journal
preach peace, (for the present) and hang out the
white flag?but confident #f Northern, and disdainful
of Southern strength, openly proclaim
their policy?and give such loud notice of their
Intentions, that not all the noisy u rejoicings,"
and shrill declamatory speeches of the subtnissionists,
can prevent them from reaching the ears
of the Southern people.
The proofs of this are as plenty as blackberries.
We subjoin two editorials from Northern
papers, the tone and tenor of which cannot be
mistaken. The Providence Journal says :
" The anxiety of the Western members to
reach the River and Harbor bill in the House ol
Representatives, is natural and proper. It is a
good omen for the tariff. It m y be the means
of remedying a great mistake, which the friends
of the tariff committed when they suffered the
public lands to be given away for so many objects,
in advance of any action upon that measure.
Dy uniting upon a modification of the
tariff precedent to the passage of any land bill,
the friends of the tariff might have secured a
reasonable adjustment. They may do it now
by adopting the same plan in regard to the River
and Harbor bill."
. The Albany Evening Journal, the special organ
of the Sewardites, copies this, nnd coolly
speculates as follows:
" While the system of legislative" log-rolling''
is generally pernicious, it is Bometimcs excusable.
When it is entered into to effect good
ends, partiznns may find fault, but the country
will suffer no violence. Appropriations for the
improvement of rivers and harbors have no enemies
among those who advocate a modification
of the existing tariff. But there are very many I
in favor of river and harbor appropriations who |
do not sympathise with tho manufacturing in- j
terests of the country. Tnis is to he regretted, j
It is indicative of a selfishness which, while it j
prevents an expansive view of questions of na- [
tional importance prevents harmonious action
between interests practically identified. Both j
are alike seeking to protect, encourage and pro- j
mote homo enterprise, and should be found I
moving together to effect the great and beneficent
purposes paramount with eaeh.
Hitherto, however, there has been no such j
harmonious action. The Western and South- j
Western commercial interests have generally arrayed
themselves against the manufacturing interests
of the North and East; and the opponents
of both have too often succeeded in defeating
their just claims upon congressional
liberality.
It is to be seen whether the representatives of!
these great national interests have'earned wisdom j
from the past. Occupying antagonist positions,!
they are powerless. Moving together with a I
mutual desire to deal justly the one toward the
other, every reasonable project of each may be
carried through successfully.
We only assert what is notoriously true, that
the friends of American labor have been too yield
ing to the demands of other interests. They
have repeatedly suffered themselves to be thrust
aside untimely if not unjustly, and have, as frequently,
given tlie'r votes for measures no more
just than the slight modification of the tirrffj
which they solicit, without exacting an equiva-j
lent from the friends of the measures thus ear- j
ried by their votes or forbearance.
The game of unaqrpreciated and unrequited concession
has been played long enough. The
friends of a just tariff should now insist that
their proposition shall take precedence of others j
of a national character. If this is to be an era
of * compromises" and "concessions," let these
"compromises" and "concessions" a- ply equally
to all interests. The friends of a discriminating
tariff are ready to vote for generous appropria
tions for the improvement of rivers and harbors.
But they should let the particular friends of that
measure understand that if they are expected to
vote millions from the public treasury for that
purpose, they must receive some earnest in return
of a desire to save the manufacturing interests
of the country from bankruptcy."
If this be not the sublime of effrontry, then
the faculty of astonishment on the part of the
public, must have been destroyed by the heavy
drafts made upon it during the past session.
" If this is to be an era of compromises and
concessions, let them apply equally to all in
terests"?that is at the North. The South has no
place in the picture. The North is "the Nation"
now, and the South but the strong ass
crouching between burdens imposed by the
North-east and the North-west.
Her interests do not fall within the pale of
M groat national interests." They arc only sectional?and
it is factious to allude to them
Such is the new exposition of our Constitution,
the new uses of" our glorious Union."
Southern men seeir. to cherish the delusion
that slavery will yet be admitted into Utah and
New Mexico. Hear what the New York Tribune
says about it:
Gentlemen of the South! The Free States
irill unt surrender half of California to alnverr,
and ?rill not consent to the establishment of
tlavery in New Mexico and Utah!"
The Redemption at Chaplin.
The result of the Chaius affair shows with
| what entire impunity the emissaries of the
higher law eannot only plan, but perpetrate atroI
cities. He has been bought off from the eonj
dign punishment which would have been visited
on the head of any offender who was not backed
by such an array of friends?and the State of
Maryland may whistle for him hereafter. As
with the Babbett case in South Carolina, his
cose might now be stricken off the docket, for no
one believes that he will ever return to stand his
trial. Thus hns ended in farce the tragedy
tvhusVi ha ?A riiithtII v nromtriifl nn/1 ut'un tha
pecuniary satisfaction obtained will not come out
of hia pocket, but out of the fund devoted to the
purposes of abolition.
Gerbit Smith, the notorious abolition leader,
assumed #5 ,000 of the fine himself, and instead
of being a martyr, Chaplin will receive promo,
lion for his distinguished services.
The Albany Argus referring to this case, thus
sums up the result, which we presume is to be
regarded as unother compromise to be acquiesced
in with due gratitude and humility.
Thk Finale of the Chaplin Affair.?Mr.
Chaplin, the negro abductor, nod the abolition
candidate for Governor of this State, passed
through this city on Thursday, on his way westward?having
been released on bail in the sum
of $18,000. Of course, as the Register suggests,
he will be the lion pt the abolition threedays
fandango at Syracuse?and of course will
not appear again down South, unless under a requisition
from the Executive of Maryland.
Our readers ought perhaps to have been apprised
before that this protracted meeting at
Syracuse has been called for the purposes set
forth in the following appeal to w woolly heads"
in general:
44 Similar conventions are to be held in other
of the free States, and we trust, before the end
of the present session of Congress, a message
will be aent thither from the entire North, that
will admonish the oppressors ot'the South, and
their more unprincipled abettors, that they have
leaked up the linn?that they must recede from
the daring encroachments that they have made
upon Northern sentiments and Northern liberties?must
annul that wicked bill, or consent
that it must be at once a dead letter, or expect to
see this American Union deluged in blood."
Among the signers to this call, it should be
stated also, is the candidate for canal commissioner
in 1848, run by the 44 Free-soilers" on the
same ticket with Mr. Van Buren for President.
The New York Case.
We give from the New York Herald a continuation
of the proceedings in the New York
Fugitive slave case, which is progressing by slow
and easy stages. The city papers themselves
sneer at the manner in which the frivolous pleas
for delay are countenanced. The Day Book savs:
Fugitive Slave Case.?The proceedings in
this case yesterday were us mottled as a circus
horse and amounted to just about the same as
the galloping round and round of that animal.
The scene opened in the Supreme Court, where
Mr. Jay and his fellow counsel for the negro
spent several hours in bullying the judge and
embarrassing the case with all sorts of absurd
pretenses ; after which he moved for the dismis
sal of the writ, and for the granting of another
on the ground that t' e prisoner is not held by
nny court of competent jurisdiction, and secondly,
that he "owes service" to a person unknown
in Virginia.
The writ was granted, (the other being dismissed)
returnable forthwith.
Mr. Jay then set up a pretense that Commissioner
Hall was not a Commissioner, and asked
that the case be taken out of his custody ! The
polite request was, however, declined by Judge
Campbell, who left the slave in the custody of
the United States Marshal.
Before the Commissioner the investigation
was continued, with very much the. same spirit
on the part of the counsel for the slave. Among
other things Mr. Jay produced nn affidavit of
the slave himself stating that he was a free
citizen of New York, asking for a postponement
of the case for the purpose of procuring
testimony ! Notwithstanding that the case has
been in progress since Monday morning, and
that Mr. Jay himself stated that he only required
six hours to produce his witnesses, the postponement
was granted.
The Sunday Times says:
The Fugitive Slave Case.?VVc publish
under the "Local" head a brief abstract of the
proceed tigs in the ease of Long, the fugitive
slave. The game is a plain one among the Abolitionists.
It is to defeat the spirit and letter
of'lie law, by delays and indefinite postponements,
growing out of applications to various
judges for writs of habeas corpus, returnable on
different days?one of them at the next term of
the Supreme Court, a week hence. The Commissioner
should demand the proof that the
fugitive claimed is a slave, and, if it is clear and
satisfactory, surrender hiin instanler?if not,
discharge him forthwith. No attention should
be given to any writs issued from State courts,
which are intended to nullify the act of Congress.
The process under this law is a safe and
summary one, and must not be rendered null
and void by vexatious delays.
Another Case.
The Springfield (Mass.) Republican publishes,
and the N. Y. Commercial Advertiser reproduces
the following case, without comment:
Fugitive Slave Case in Springfield.?A
man from Schenectady, N. Y., came into Springfield,
and claimed a black woman who resided
here, married, and with a family, as a slave. She
was taken before Geo. llliss, esq., where the
claim was established, according to the law in
such casts. The woman was given up as the
claimant's property, when several of our benevolent
citizens, including Daniel Lombard, esq.,
one of our most estimable men, obtained terms,
clubbed together, and purchased her of her tnnsI
ter for the sum of Si00. Mr. Lombard holds
j the bill of sale in bis possession. The tears of
! sorrow exhibited by the afflicted woman, and the
husband from whom she was about to be sep
arated, were thus changed to tears of jo?, and a
more happy pair probably never was seen. This
is the operation of the Fugitive slave law in
Springfield. There was no excitement or disturbance.
The law was ullowed to take its
course.
High and exultant will be the clamorous rejoicings
of the Northern compromisers, and the
Southern "bluster nnd-back outs," over this re
markable example of tho efficacy of the law.
) But alas! through inadvertency! or some othei
i cause, the important fact was omitted that the
i incident happened forty year* afro. And in referring
to it, the Albany livening Journal make!
the following comment:
" The N. Y. Commercial Advertiser, in copy
ing this* paragraph, omits to say that the case oc
I curred forty year* ago.
The price of fugitives 4 is riz," since Mr. Petei
j V. Geyseling, of Schenectady, went to Spring
field to reclaim his slave Jenny."
We put this fact on record, because in thei
I anxiety to clutch nt every crumb of comfort
j some of the Southern submissionists will doubt
| less reproduce this satisfactory case, in which tin
; master received the prodigious bonus of $100
for relinquish'ng his claim to his slave.
They pay in a very different coin now, ai
Messrs. Hughes and Knight ean testify from
> their experience in Boston-?the claimants being
the " hunted fugitives."
For the Southern Prtu.
New York, December 23, 1850.
A certain wise king of Spain, on being told
that his son was dead, replied very coolly, "well
since nothing can be done, I suppose we must
make the best of it," This seems to be the philosophy
of the people of the South?at least a
very large portion of them?and would be excellent
philosophy, were they really in a situation
where nothing can be done. Much lias
lntplV* Knon ami miial* mm** k? ?? - ?
^ wvuv) ?iiu iuuvii ujwir mily UC flCCUIIJ"
plished, if r.ot by appealing to the reason and
justice of the North, at least to its interests:
and by a unity of action in measures of retaliation,
if not of resistance, bring the consequences
of this unnatural warfare against the rights and
feelings of their " Southern brethren," as they
call them?home to their own doors. Whenever
1 see this phrase applied to the people of
the 8outh, I am reminded of Joseph and his
brethren, and expect to see them sold to the
highest bidder. All that is required to bring us
to our senses here, is for the authorities of the
Southern States to unite in demonstrating, not
by resolutions, but by actions, that their capacity j
for submission is exhausted, and that though j
" Isachnr is a strong ass," the .last feather will J
make him kick.
There are some few honest people within the
circle of my acquaintance, who actually begin to
think it possible the Union may be in some little
danger, and that it will be prudent to pause
awhile before the South js pushed any farther.
They are of opinion it is politic to wait and see
whether tho legislatures of the Southern States
will blow another blast of resolutions, from which
they may not back out as usual; or whether,
ike the (isorgia Convention, they will submit
'honorably and gracefully," after the exampl f
that chivalrous State, which has outdone the
mountain in labor. The manifesto, or declaration
of rights, or wrongs, or whatever it may be
called, of that stalworth body, is very popular
here, and coupled with that of the Maryland
Convention, has pretty well satisfied the Abolition
leaders that they may do almost what they please,
provided they do it genteely?by "compromise"
?and it will be acquiesced in "honorably and
gracefully," after the manner of the Empire State
of the South.
Should Virginia and North Carolina adopt the
policy of the wise King of Spain, and finally decide
to submit "honorably and gracefully" to the
past, tho Abolitionists will have a clear field in
future, and the "higher law" be enforced without
opposition. The Union will be preserved and
the Constitution deatoved.
The late proceedings in the legislatures of
South Carol inn, Mississippi, Virginia, and North
Carolina, have however, apparently brought the
Northern tempest to n lull, at least for a moment,
and it is quite ovidont that a strong ell'ort will
he made to hold in the Abolitionists at least till
towards the close of the present session of Congress.
But abolition is a hard mouthed donkey,
and I question whether any of the doughty politicians,
who believe they are holding him tight
by the bit, when in fact they have only bridled him
by the tail, will be able to keep him quiet. The
probability is they will bo tos ed over his head,
or kicked into the dirt if they hold him too
tight. There are several reasons that occur to
me, for this sudden moderation and forbearance
on the part of Northern politicians, who, I ought
to apprize the people of the South, are far beyond
them in the trade of polities. They have
to deal with men who were born in intrigue,
brought up on intrigue, and whose parents were
engaged in an intrigue when they were begotten.
They have grown grey in political bargaining,
and become so sharp by perpetual coalition that
it is almost impossible to |ee their edges. They
have gained all they expect by steering on one
tack, and are now about trying the other. They
have made the most of disunion in the South,
and are now drumming up recruits in that quarter
to sustain the Union.
Perceiving the Fugitive slave law, is now the
great rallying point of the States which are willing
to acquiesce in the Compromise measures,
on condition of its being carried out in the
North, their object is to persuade them that it
will not only be suffered to remain intact, but
mat our warnae rresiaeni is aetorminea to see
it faithfully executed?ut least so long as no attempts
are made to carry it into execution. Any
further encroachments will therefore probably
be postponed to the latter end of the present
session, when the distribution of bribes for the.
next Presidency will be comp'eted, or perhaps
until the next, meeting of the new Congress,
almost all, if not all, the members of which are
j pledged to Abolition, or it* ?//a.v?Free-soil ism.
j There is still another reason for a pause.?
j The advocates of submission, beaded by the
j Washington Union, have sworn that if the North
commits any more offences against the South,
and especially against tiie Fugitive slave law,
they will positively and for the lafct time?as
they say in announcing a play?defend themselves
"at all hazards and to the last Extremity."
Ihave a strong suspicion, almost ainoknting to a
conviction, that this is but a Seward oath ; still it
is possible that they may redeem their pledges to
escape indelible disgrace. It is easy to perceive
i they are in great tribulation, lest they dhould Le
| placed in this disagreeable predicament,
j I earnestly hope the people of the South will j
j not, like raw sailors, be lulled to sleep by this
I delusive calm, and fancy the storm is ovef, when
j it has only paused to gather new force and vio-1
| lenee. Whoever heard of fanaticism starving, I
j while any tiling was left it to devour ? Whoever !
1 i heard, or read of its shutting its maw even when '
1 choked with fruit'm ? Whoever exneetcflmod- i
' I oration from roadm s', or forbearance froib iiy.
' i pocrisy, except to deceive and decoy .' Or vrho
j ever knew the tiger to spare his prey aftet he
I had succeeded in his lirst spring ! Do the fen'
pie of the South flatter themselves that thos4 to
'! whom the law of Gml or man is binding1, no
j oath however solemn of the least obligation;
' and r,o ties of country or brotherhood of a
feathers weight, when balanced against a fanut
ical dogma, will thus stop short in their career.
" as if by magic, except to look around for new
r victims? Do they really believe that hypocritl
cal ambition, will ever voluntarily cast away the
j great stuff" of its support, or fanaticism put n
r j strait jacket on itself ?
i I would not have the people of the South
- j suppose that wo of the North arc all either mad?
j men, hypocrites, or fanatics, for such is not the
, case. I only mean to say what I know to bo
true, that they are all, more or less, educated in
? the faith of abolition, and nurtured in a holy hor>
ror of African slavery, without feeling any exf
traordinory sympathy for the free negro, who is
generally on object of contempt or dislike, they
I
indulge themselves in the luxury of pitying the j
imaginary sufferings of the slave, and weep, as
they do at a tragedy, over the griefs of Othello f
or Poronoako. This feeling is in many cases,
and iudeed in all in different degrees, reinforced
by party feelings, sectional ambition, and preju- !
dices against slave-holders us u class;? j
though when a gentleman of the South visits j
the North, he is received by those who give din- j
iters and balls with cordial hospitality. But this ,
class don't govern the State, or represent the j
popular feeling ; and when the time comes for j
it, will nine times in ten support that party |
which is now most conspicuous in its demon-1
strations against the South. They will not, if j
the alternative were directly presented, ' give
the Union for the abolition of slavery," but they
will support a party, and sanction measures, the
object of one of which is to ascend to power by
the ladder of fanaticism, and of the others to
place that Union in imminent jeopardy now, and
to ensure its dissolution at no distant period. !
The people of the South have been for the last
fifteen or twenty years assured that the Abolitionists
constitute but a small portion of those ;
of the North. It may bo so; but if it is, 1 have j
kept very bud company of late, for I solemnly |
declare. I have not, for the last two years, con- j
versed with a single man, of any sect or party, 1
who did not hold the opinion that Congress not
only had the right, but was bound to execute it,
to exclude the people of the Soutli from every
foot of territory possessed or hereafter acquired
by the United States, where slavery does
not at present exist.. This is the universal sentiment
here, and of what consequence is it,
whether we call this fanaticism, conscientious
scruples, sectional feelings, or any other name?
The effects are the same, whatever may be the j
cause, and in fact the danger is greater from a
sober conviction of the truth, than from a mere 1
effervescence of fanaticism. The South is iu
more peril from Free-soilism, tiiam rank Aboli- ,
tioniam.
But the great44 Union movement" in this city, <
and Boston, and Philadelphia, the two latter the
m: dittos of runaway negroes, where they swagger
in open day, and armed cap-a-pied, and kill
police officers at pleasure. And the meeting,!
too, nt Syracuse, tho locus of abolition conventions
; and above all, that at Cincinnati, the
paradise of pig-butchers, and the capital of the i
great booby fanatic of the West. In my hum- 1
bin opinion this National Union purty is the
most dangerous mino yet sprung upon the
South. What is it that has endangered the i
Union ? Is it not the measures comprized in the
Compromise ? Yet these meetings in defence
of Southern rights sustain them nil without ex- 1
eeption. The records of their proceedings uniformly
commence with a wholesale approval of
the Compromise. Consequently they maintain
tho doctr'ne that the public domain is not the
common property of the States, nny one, or any
portion of which not constituting a majority,
may bo excluded at the pleasure of tho Abolitionists,
alias Free soilers. They maintain that
those preliminary steps which have hitherto been
always considered as indispensible to the admission
of new States, and which are in the present
crisis the only guarantees for the right of equal
participation on the part of the South, are not
necessary. They maintain that anybody may
come from anywhere ; take possession of the
laud belonging equally to all tho States, without
permission, without purchase, or any shadow ot
legal right whatever, and establish a government
under the sanction of military usurpation, excluding
one half of all the proprietors.
They maintain that the authorities of a State
may be coerced into submission by llio exercise
of a power not conferred by thb Constitution,
which, it will be recollected, only authorizes
Congress?not the President?to call out the j
Mujtja, and not the standing nrmy or navy, to J
suppress insurrection, execute the laws of the
Union, and repel invasion. There is nowhere a
right conferred on the President by any constitutional
provision, which bears on this question,
except what may he inferred from the injunction
that he shall see the laws faithfully executed?
meaning nothing more than that he shall appoint
competent officers, and see that they do
their duty. It did not contemplate the army
and navy as ordinary instruments for the preservation
of internal tranquility and order, or in
executing the laws, as is now the fashion in Europe;
much less was it devised for the purpose
of coercing or ov erawing a State, when asserting
what it deemed its reserved rights. It was J
intended solely to protect those very authorities i
against seditions and insurrections of their own [
citizens ; and as such was to be exercised only, j
at the call of their Chief Magistrate, when the j
legislature was not in session.
The act of Co ngress placing the army, and
navy of the United States permanently at the
disposal of the President, for all such purposes,
and not merely for a special purpose, appears to !
me a most dangerous concession, and ought to |
he rescinded. There may possibly occasions I
arise, in which the exercise of this power may j
be necessary, and if Congress should not be in
session, it may be convened for tlie purpose of!
authorizing the President to employ the army j
and navy in executing the laws, when the rnili-1
tia are insufficient for that purpose. The militia
are in fact the people, and the people will never |
become their own oppressors.
Rut armies of hirelings have no community |
of interests or feelings with the people: the:
officer is the slave of his superior, and the sol- j
dier the slave of his officers, whom it is death |
to disobey. The frames of the Constitution, J
never intended to place in the hands of the |
President the discretionary exercis; of a power j
which In every age, and in all countries, has led j
! to the establishment of despotism. That one of I
j the first acts of a President, not the choice ofj
! the neonle. but the mere creature of accident.!
1 . . .
! should be an assumption of this power, is omij
nous of what may he expected in future
j from that quarter; and that it has not aw.ik- j
ened the attention of Congress, is only an-1
l other melancholy proof that in these times I
i anything may be done under the higher law;
| of abolition. It. furnishes a solemn warn-,
' ing to the South, indicating pretty clearly what
! it has to expect in future, whenever its rights,
its interests, or its safety come in conflict with a
dogma of fanaticism, converted into an instru-1
ment of sectional ambition and federal usurpa- |
tion. But to return to the decalogue of the
: great National Union party.
They maintain that Congress has a right to
prohibit any species of trade between the StAtcs,
that offends the delicate ? msibilities of Northern
men or foreigners; and that "exclusive legislation,"
means legislating without any restraint
t
from tite general spirit or special'provisions of
the Constitution; thus giving Congress the
power, if it chooses to exercise it, of making
the President king of the ten miles square, and
declaring themselves, like the British Parliament,
omnipotent there. What is this, but making
the Constitution ainere farrago of contradictory
provisions, any one of which mny be brought to
bear against all the others? All these principles
are either distinctly avowed and recognized
in the published proceedings of the great national
Union meetings, or strictly deduciblc
from their unqualified approval of the Compro
j _n j u #^-11 *L5_ i 1
nunc, anu an its uucinuus. \. uii you mis Uiiciting
the South ? Are these the entrenchments
behind which it is to repose in safety for all future
time?
My letter is already sufficiently long, and I
shall continue tho subject in a future one.
A Northers Mas asd
A Friend to the Union.
Florida.
We clip the following from the FloriJian of
the 21st instant:
We rejoice to sec that justice has been done
to one who has so manfully and truly represented
the real interests and honor of his State
committed to his keeping.
Election or U. S. Senator. An effort was
made in the Senate on Thursday last, to go into
the election of U. S. Senator, which was
unsuccessful. The resolution proposed Monday
next, the 23d instant, as the day for the election.
We understand that Mr. Yulee has been nominated
i 1 caucus for re-election, having received
mote than two-thirds of the votes of the Democratic
members elected to the legislature.
Whether Mr. Y. will bo elected, however, is
somewhat uncertain, as parties are nearly balanced,
and a few Democrats are opposed to hitn
.............. i .nJ ..n,.? ......'in... ~.i
w,? J'V' OVIIUI UIIU UUIII gil/Mimo. A IIU UUIUI ^Vll*
llemon spoken of in connexion with the oflicc
of Senator, approve Mr. Vulee's course on the
Southern question. Mr. Mullory, whose name
has been brought prominently forward, says:411
iitn with liirn (Mr.Yulee) even unto the end."
It is not at all impossible thut Mr. M. will be
elected in case it is found impossible to elect
Mr. Yulce.
THIRTY-FIRST CONOR ESS.
second session.
IN SENATE.
Monday, Dec. 30, J850.
After prayer by (he Rev. It. R. Gurley, and the
reading of thejournal of Thursday laRt, the Chair
announced petitions to be in order.
ATMOSPHERIC NAVIGATION.
Mr. DOUGLAS presented n petition from John
Wise, of Pennsylvania, praying the aid of Congress
to the extent of some #20,000 for certain
ballooning experiments hereinafter specified. Mr.
Wise, for sixteen year9, has devoted his attention
to ballooning. He has made one hundred
different ascensions. He has demonstrated to his
own satisfaction, and is rendy to demonstrate it to
the satisfaction of the world, that lie can apply a
balloon to the transportation of the mails, of
freight and passengers ; and to efficient service in
the art of war us well as in the arts of peace. If
encouraged by Congress he will make an experiment
with a balloon of 100 feet in diameter, to
take up 10 tons of freight; nnd will ascend over
the Capitol, the President's 11 >use, or Navy
Yard, discharging a lot of imitation missiles,showing
Iiih capacity by this agency, of destroying any
fortress or army, from a position directly over
them, and beyond the reach of their shot. AfUr
this experiment, Mr. Wise proposes to take his
balloon to St. Louis, whence be will make a passage
through the air in it to New York?thence he
proposes an uerial voyage over to Eog'and, with
six passengers and a fife boat?and thence he pro
poses a voyage mruugii me air itru imi ine woriu.
He has ascertained tlint at a certain altitude tnere
is a steudy current of uir flowing from west to
cast, and lie is ready to denim.(Urate it in tlie aforesaid
experiments, provided Congress wll aid liiin
to the extent of the aforesaid $20,1)00. He desires
it to enable him, untler the patronage of this
Government, to make the first voyage round the
world in a balloon. Mr. Douglas thought the
Committee on Roads and Canals would he th?
proper committee for this petition. They couIJ
consider its expediency along with their own bih
for Whitney's rail road. Mr. Wise was a man
of science and respectability, and his petition was
entitled to serious consideration.
Mr. BRIGHT, of the Committee on Roads and
Canals, was opposed to all visionary enterprizes.
The proper sphere of the committee was in reference
to travel and navigation upon Unaftrma He
thought the proper committee for this petition
was the Committee on Foreign Relations. (Laughter.)
Mr. MANGUM. I believe the senator from
Illinois is a member of that commute.
The CHAIR. No sir. He hus been excused
upon his own request.
Mr. MANGUM. Then, sir, I protest against
the reference to that committee. (Lnughter.)
Mr. DOUGLAS hoped the petition would receive
a serious consideration, and 011 his motion,
it was referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs.
Other petitions were presented by Messrs. Underwood,
Datton, Cass, Ewing, Hamlin and
WlNTHROI'.
the public lands.
Mr. BENTON, pursuant to notice, introduced
a bill to accelerate tlie sales of the public lands, to
pay off the public debt; to extinguish the federal
title to the public domuiri in the new States: to secure
a home to actual settlers; and to cede the unsaleable
and refuse lands to the States in which
they may lie.
The bill provides to lessen the price of the pub
lie lands to one dollar per acre, and after the end
of two years to seventy-five cents, and to reduce
them twenty-five cents eucli succeeding two years,
till they are reduced to twenty-five cents an acre,
<tc. Actual settlers to have a donation of forty
acres, and a right to pre-emption claim to one
hundred and twenty acres at twenty-five cents
less than other purchasers. When the remaining
lands are reduced by successive reductions to
twenty-five cents an acre, said lands to be ceded
to the States in which they lie, or when the
amount in any State shall be less than 3,000,000
acres. *
Mr. BENTON spoke at length in explanation
of the bill. The first object was to derive some
revenue from the public lands to aid in the payment
of a public debt, principal and interest, of
?134,000,(MM). He showed from the reports of the
Treasury, that the public Innds had ceased to be
a source of revenue, from the vast amount of
lands absorbed in military bounties?that there
were 80,000,(MM) of acres still to be awarded in
these land bounties, which, from the reduced price
of land wa> rants, would cut off any revenue from
the public lands for sixteen years to come. The
only existing source of revenue was the customs.
He was in favor of a larger adoption of specific
duties; but opposed to raising the general scale of
duties of the uot of 1846. Universal ail valorrmi
were subject to frauds, and he was opposed to
them. The great ultimate objects of his bill were
to settle the public, lands, and from an increased
and utable population thus secured, to secure a
permanent increase to the Treasury, from the na- I
cessitiea of enlarged importations. The bill was '
referred to the Committee on Public Land*.
Mr. PEN 1'ON offered a resolution inquiring
into the expediency pf incorporating the Coast |
Survey with the Navy.
Mr. GWIN presented the resolutions of the I
California legislature in reference to a national j
road to the Pacific.
AttfiTRI KK CORRCSrOKDtKCE.
A message was received from the President of
the United Slates, communicating copies of the
late correspondence between IV|r. Hulsetnan, the
Austrian Charge dea Affaires to the United Stnte
and the Secretary of State, Mr. Webster, in reference
to the mission of Hon. Dudley Mann, sent
out by Mr. Clayton as special agent to look alter
the independence of Hungary, pending the lale
struggle between that country ana Austria. The
correspondence was read.
The Austrian minister enters a protest against
that missionary, and against the instructions given
i to him by the late Administration, as violating
i the principles of neutrality declared to be the foreign
policy of the United States, as offensive to the
laws of propriety, and the rights of Austria, dieMr.
Webster, in his reply, vindicates the misI
aion to Hungary, and {he instructions to Mr.
j Mann, as within the rights of nations holding a
I neutral position, and pleads the propriety of sym|
pathy on the part of thw Government with the
Hungarians in their late struggle for independence,
Ac. Ac.
Mr. CASH said that much of that document
would be good matter for a speech on the Austrian
question. He moved that the correspondence
be referred to the Committee on Foreign Relatione,
and be printed.
Mr. UNDERWOOD said ro public document
for a long lime had afforded him so much satisfaction
as this. It would reco umtnd itself to the
heart of every American, as occupying the true I
American ground. He hoped some extra copies |
would be printed.
Mr. RU8K moved 5.000 extra copies.
Mr. WALKER thought, that asthiscorrespon- i
dence would be published by every journal in the
country, this extra printing would be more than |
idle.
Mr. MANGUM thought this correspondence
ought to be preserved as the true exposition of
our national sentiment with respect to foreign
nations, and as a rebuke to the insolence of Austria
; and he moved, therefore, the printing of
10,000 extra copies.
Mr. RUSK accepted the motion for 10,000.
Mr. JEFFERSON DAVIS opposed this extra
printing, this making too much of a small office.
The correspondence embraced an exposition of
American sentiments ; that they were entertained
by the whole country, and no onedisavowed them.
After further remarks "between Messrs. Maxgum.
Jefferson Davis, Walker and Rusk,
Mr. CLAY rose and said that our foreign af- |
fairs were matters ofdelicacy, and should be treated i
with great caution and great deference While
we deploied the fate of Hungary?her fate was J
sealed. There was an end to it. Is it worth while
to continue to irritate Austria and Russia with
things gone by Let us put ourselves in the possitiou
of Austria, and how would we have acted
under similur circumstances. He concurred in
the general tone of the reply to the Austrian minster
; but Mr. Clay doubted the position taken,
that the submission of Mr. Mann's instructions to
the Senate and their publication was a domestic
affair, of which there was no occasion for the Austrian
government to complain. Domestic questions
of this sort may very properly become a
subject of diplomatic correspondence. He saw
no necessity for the extra copies. We had a great
destiny to fulfil and it was our duty to act with
circumspection in reference to our affairs with foreign
nations.
The motion to print the 10,000 extra copies was
lost. If? to 21.
Various reports were made, and several bills
were considered of a local character.
soldiers' bounty lands.
A joint resolution was received from the House,
va^iuihmic! kiic 111 iiu i ci w ui inoi oraoiuii| iu j
provide /or the assignment of land warrants to
other persons, from the soldiers or others to whom
the bounty is due.
Mr. FLLCII moved to refer the subject to the 1
Committee on Public Lands.
Messrs, Donor, of Iowa, Umpehwood, Walker,
Ewino, John Davis, Fklch, and Turney debated
the question involved, and the subject was
referred.
And after some other incidental business, the j
Senate adjourned.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
Monday, Dec. 30, 1850.
Mr. LASERE announced the presence of Hon
A. G. Pknn, representative elect from the third
Congressional district in Louisiana, to supply the
vacancy occasioned by the death of Hon. Wm.
Harmanson. Mr. Penn was qualified and took
his seat. \
Mr. SIBLEY introduced a bill amending the
act establishing the territory of Oregon, and that
of establishing the territory of Minnesota. Referred
to the Committee on Territories.
Mr. WHITE introduced a bill granting a right
of way through public lands, for tlie Buffalo and
Mississippi, and (lie Northern Indiana railroad,
which bill was read twice.
Mr. W. asked that the bill should he put upon
its passage, slating that the public lands through
which 'lie road would pass, was of little value.
Mr. SWEETZER moved its reference to the
Committee on Public Lands. Negatived.
Mr. COBB, of Alabama, asked Mr White to
accept nn amendment granting a right, of way for
n railroad connecting Charleston with Memphis.
He d eclared his willingness to vote for the bill of
Mr. White, and stated that, the bill proposed by
him cb an amendment, was reported by t,l^ Committee
on Publ.c Lands at the last session, am!
was first upon the calendar, lie feared, however,
that when tl e calendar should be taken up, lb?
bill might be objected to, and added that the
measure was of great importance to a portion of
the people of Alabama.
Mr. WHITE declined to accept the amendment.
Mr. COBB then proposed the bill n<V>resaid, ns
an amendment to that under consideration.
Mr. WENT WORTH askingif the hill granted
anything more than rights of way, was answered
in the negative.
Mr. WHITE asking if it was in order so to
amend the lii l now pending, was answered by the
Speaker that it was not, unless the route indicated
in the amendment connected with that nam- |
cd in the bill.
The question arising on the third rending of the
bill, objection wns made and it was not so read.
Mr. A. G. BROWN introduced a bill granting
the right of way and public lands 10 Louisiana and
Mississippi, in aid of ihe construction of a railroad
from Madisonville in the former State, to
Jackson in the latter.
Referred to the Committee on Public Lands.
Mr. McLANE moved the reference of the report
of theSuperintendent of the Coast Survey to
the Committee on Commerce.
amendment to the bounty land bill.
Mr. G. W. JONES called for the consideration of
the motion, to suspend the rules for the introduction
of the joint resolution, authorizing the sale
i ,?r i..n.t i? : ' 1?I
HII14 tl nnoiti I/I nniKHiin iu UC m.lUCU UUUCri
the act of August, JH.5I).
The rules wereeuspended. Ayes 131, Noes38.J
The resolution was then read a first and second
time.
Mr. CALDWELL did not propose to detain
the House with remarks upon the general merits
of the measure, it being evident there was a large
majority in its favor. He would simply remnrk
that the commissioner on pensions will not issue
warrants until there is action by the House, whereby
he should determine whether or not to huve
the words for sale und transfer printed on the
backs of the warrants.
Mr. CALDWELL moved the previous ques-1
tion, and under its operation the resolution was I
read a third time.
Mr. VINTON moved a reconsideration of the
vote ordering it to be engrossed and read a third
time.
Mr. VINTON was unwilling that his silence
should be construed into assent to this mtnstire.
If desiring to make a fortune, there was no proposition
he would sooner vote for. It takes away
from the benificiaries of the late act, the only security
of any practical value. For a quurter of a
century, agents had endeavored to procure the
passage of a Bounty Land bill; but that of the
last session did not suit them. It granted an
equivalent to soldiers for their services. But the
present measure is urged at the solicitation of
agents to put fortunes in their pockets.
Individuals will become possessed of regions of
land as vast as counties or States ; but warrants in
the hands of those to whom they are issued, will
come down to forty per cent upon their true value.
The bill of the last session provided for the issue
of a patent and the location of the land by the
Government, free of cost to the claimant. Patents
for 160 acres would h? available, and would sell
for what they were really worth. The law proposed,
wculd require an explanatory law for the
protection of,the Land office. Pnrties would die,
and thousands of frauds would he attempted.
The history of all bounty land acts showed that
the benefits had gone to speculators, and the soldier
got but a song. By his motion the act grant|
tng bounties to those serving in the Mexican war
j was so m >dified as that scrip for one hundred dolI
lars could be obtained at the option of the claim
j ant. Thin prevented the depreciation or warrant* i
j below one hundred dollars. In the act of the last 1
J se&sion nor in the one now proposed in amendment
of it, there was no such guard. Mr. V. re-1
I peated that if the people were aware of the nrovi- j
sions whereby they can obtain warrants without !
I the aid of agents, they would oppose this men(
sure, which he characterized as one which will
throw one hundred millions of dollars into hands
for which they were not intended.
Mr. CALDWELL stated that under the law
as construed by the Secretary of the Interior, not
I one half of those entitled to its benefits would receive
them. People in his State, of the highest |
character, spurned the advantages at present ex-i
tended. The joint, resolution would save bene/i-'
ciaries from the grasp of speculators. He knew ;
not the history of the gentleman from Ohio, but [
presumed he had some 100,000 acres of land for j
sa'e.
Mr. VINTON was undsrstood to ask th* gen?;
tlsmtn from Kentucky, if intimated th*? he^
wast governed in hia course by pemonai considerations.
k
Mr. CALDWELL, resuming, stated that he
only intended to intimate that he, Mr. V possessed
large quantities of land, which he desired
.in sell. Persona entitled to [talents for forty or
eighty acres, could not now dispose of them, but
if authorized to sell or transfer, they would sell
for something like their true value. Speculators
and large landed proprietors were hostile to this,
but the soldier desired the privilege of transfer.
Mr. C. condemned the construction placed upon
the luw. He was astonished to hear of it upon
his arrival home. The Senate, at the Inst session,
after its passage, sent to the Houses biil forbidd.ng
transfers, end it was defeated.
Mr. VINTON explained, stating that the
House were voting >n the Senate bill at the hour
of ndjoournment. That bill was intended to correct
a mistake in the enrollment. Both branches
had voted Tor the restriction.
On the question of the passage of the resolution,
the yeas and nsys were called for, and resulted
as follows:
Yeas.?Messrs. Alexander, Alston, Andrews,
Ashe, Averett, Bayly, Bocock, Booth, Bowdon,
Bowlin, Boyd, Breck, Briggs, Buel, Bullard,
Burt, Butler, Caldwell of Kentucky, Caldwell of
North Carolina, Cartter, Cleveland, Cobb of Alabama,
Corwin, Crowell, Danner, Dimmick, Disney,
Edmundson, Ewing of Tennessee, Featherston,
Fuller, Gentry, Gerry, Giddings, Gilmore,
Goodenow, Gott, Gould, Hall, Hamilton, Hampton,
Harris of Tennessee, Harris of Alabama,
Hnymond, Hibbard, Hilliard, Hoagland, Houston,
Howard, Howe, Hubbard, Inge, Jackson of
Georgia, Jackson of New York, Johnson of Arkansas,
Jones, Kaufman, Latere, Littlefield,
Mann of Massachusetts, Mann of Pennsylvania,
Marshall, Mason, McClernand, McDowell, McGaughey,
McKiseock, McLanahan, McLane,
McLean, McMullen, McQueen, McWillie,
Meachnm, Morehead, Morris, Morrison, Ogle,
Olds, Orr, Parker, Peaslee, Penn, Potter. Powell,
Robinson, Savage, Sawtelle, Shepperd, Silvester,
Spalding, Sprague, Stanton of Tenn., Stanton of
Ky., Stevens, Stetson, Thompson of Pennsylvania,
Thompson of Kentucky, Toomhs, Walden,
Waldo, Wallace, Watkins, Wentworth,
Whittlesey, Williams, Wilmot, Young?108.
Navs.?Messrs. Albertson, Benle, Bennett,
Rokee, Brown of Indiana, Burrows, Cable, Camphell,
Chandler, Clarke, Cole, Conger, Deberry,
Doty, Duer, Durkee, Evans of Ohio, Fowler,
Gilbert, Gormoo, Grinned, Hallo way, Hammond,
Harlan, Hay, Hebard, Henry, Hunter,
Julian, Kerr, King of New Jersey, John A.
King, Preston King, Matteson, Miller of Ohio,
Miller of Iowa, Otis, Peck, Putnam, Reed, Richardson,
Rockwell, Root, Schenck, Schoolcraft,
Sweetzer, Thompson of Missisaioppi, Tuck, Underbill,
Vinton, * hite, Wright?51.
Mr. POTTER moved that when the Hou^e adjourns,
it adjourn to meet on Thursday! 'Negatived?
118 to 29.
Mr. Born and Mr. Housrov had leave to withdraw
certain papers from the files of the House.
The House then adjourned.
T E L E G R A P H I C.
[By Telegraph?for the Southern Press.J
Boston, December 30.
ARRIVAL OF THE BALTIC.
LATE INTELLIGENCE FROM EUROPE.
The ateamer Baltic put into Provincetown, off
Cape Cod, on Saturday evening, and remained
there until Sunday noon.
Captain Comatock was endeavoring to purchase
conl, whichjwas very scarce. Should he not find
fuel enough, the Baltic will come to this city.
She passed off Halifax at 1 p. m. Friday last.
The passengers have all arrived at Boston.
The cotton market during the week was steady,
and prints had further advanced h lo J cent on all
American descriptions. The week's sales amount
to 41,418 hales. There was no change in other
descriptions of cotton.
Breadstuffs, owing to the large receipts, were
heavy, with adownwanl tendency.
Indian corn, per 480 lbs., was quoted nt 30s
6d to 3:2s. Indian meal 13s 61 to 14s p?r bbl.
Provisions were earnest. The produce market
is without much attraction.
Cotton and sugar firm.
American stocks remain unchnutrcd.
The inonpy, market firm, and the demand for
English securities good. Consols 97J. ?
The political news piesents Tio specially new
feature.
Affairs in rjermany, and on the continent, be
irig more pacific.
Ghe*t Fiiik i Phil uelphia.?We are indebted.
to V<r. Rogrrs, of Bain's Te'egraph, for
(lie following despatch sent to Itini tins morning
from the office in Philadelphia, which wns in great
danger of being also consumed in the ennflugralion
noticed.?We regret, to near of the loss ihc
Ledger has met with, and hope they ure fully insured.
Philadelphia, 9 o'clock, A. M.
The Ledger building took fire this morning, and
is lotally destroyed. It wi'l be impossible to save
the adjoining building on Cbesnut st., as it is now
in a blaze from the basement to the roof. It took
fire in the engine room. The telegraph office was
in great danger, but it is believed it will escape.
Loss estimated at 470,0110 to fcbO.OOO.
Second Despatch.
Dec. 30?10 40 a. m.
The Ledger Building in Ruins?Gre.at Loss "
The firemen, though they worked with great
energy, were unable to arrest the flames after the
three upper stori s had been burnt ; and I regret
to sav that the entire building, with most of its val
uabie machinery, tyne, <fcc., is now n heap of
smouldering ruins. 11 appears that the fire broke
out about 7 o'clock this morning in the basement,
connecting almost simultaneously, by means of
the flue, with the press room and fourth story ;
thuH in a very short time enveloping the entire
building in flames.
The loss by this catastrophe will Ire very heavy,
but at present cannot lie estimated. 1 have not
learned the amount of insurance. The buildings
adjoining were not much injured.
third despatch.
Philadelphia, Dec. 30, p.m.
At 12 o'clock the fire in the Ledger building was
subdued. The 4th, 5th, and (ith stories are completely
burnt out. The basement and 1st and 2d
stories are greatly damaged by water, and much
disarranged. With the usual energy of the proprietors.
they are already making arrangements
to have the presses in working order to iasue the
Ledger to-morrow as usual, the type of which
will be set up in the new tluincy Granite building.
The loss is now roughly estimated at $150,
000, most of which is insured.
The Rulletin office, on Third street, near the
Ledger building, sustained some damage.
New York, Dec. 30?2 p. m.
The Fugitive slave case hits again been postponed
until Friday next, owing to the absence of
counsel.
The flour market is steady?sales of 2000 bbls.
at $4,75 a $4,87 for common to straight State
brands; Southern and Genessee $5,12j; corn meal
and rye flour unchanged. i
Grain quiet?small sales and prices of both
wheat and corn unchanged.
Provisions quiet?Mess pork $12,25; lard 7Jcta
in bbls .
Grocery unchanged?prices steady.
Cotton firm?small sales at an advance.
W hisky 27et8. in bbls.
The weather very cold.
AT ODD FELLOWS' HALL.
WHIPPLE'S GRAND ORIGINAL EXHIBITION
OF THE DISSOLVING VIEWS,
-7s Exhibited in the cities of Boston, Philadelphia,
and elsewhere.
Representations of the most beautify
Scenery of all parts of the world, with a great
variety of Ancient and Modern Structures, Ruins,
Cities. Caetles. Ac., which are produced in a truly
wonderful manner. The most beautiful scenes
grow into proportion and again disappear, .but so
sudden and mysterious is the transition that it can
only be compared to the magic of a dream seen by
the eye.
Commencing Tuesday evening the 24th instant,
also every successive evening through the week;
and Wednesday and Saturday afternoon, commencing
at 3 o'clock.
A splendid Series of Views, among which several
represeenlations of White Mountain Sceuery
in New Hampshire.
Doors open at half-past 6; exhibition commences
at half-past 7 o'clock.
Tickets 25 cents; children half-price. Reductions
made for schools. dec 23
PERFUMERY.
"1 CASES of Ana fresh PerAimery from the
J. w housee of Lubin. Prevoat, & Pivtr, no*
opening at PARKER *9