THE HUNTINGDON GLOBE, A DEMOCRATIC FAMILY JOURNAL, DEVOTED TO LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS, &C.
George 13a.noroft on Xansas---To the Peo
ple of New York.
FELLOW-CITIZENS : The proper solution
of the question before the country, which, in
some of its aspects, is the most momentous
that has been presented since the adotion
of the Federal Constitution, is self-evident;
but that solution has been so thwarted that
it is made necessary to revert to first princi
ples, and to take counsel of the people, who
are:the source of wisdom and of power. We_
are assembled to-night, not in hostility to the
Administration. We venerate the President
for his age and past services, and desire to
remove out of his path the great obstacle to
his present usefulness. Still less are we at
- variance with the South.. We have never
feared to sustain the South on any question
in which the South was in the right, and we
are justified in
.asking ,its co-operation to pre
vent a great national wrong, which, if con
summated, will injure its friends. Far from
opposing Democracy, we come here to-night
to uphold it, by refreshening in our minds
the love of justice and freedom, without
which-Democracy is a delusion.
We are assembled to protest against for
cing the Lecompton Constitution upon the
people of Kansas against their will. Bear
with me, fellow-citizens, if, in the fewest pos
sible words, I speak to the facts in the case,
to the right, and to the means of redress.
As to the facts in the case, the Lecompton
Constitution wits authorized in advance by
no one branch of the General Government.—
The Senate of the United States passed a bill
for a Convention in Kansas, having in view
a very different mode of procedure. The
House, by a decided vote, declared itself will
ing.to accept the real and true opinion of the
majority of Kansas, however it might be ex
pressed. The President, through his agent,
the Governor of the Territory, vetoed the bill
for the Convention. The Senate, the House,
the President of the United States, are all in
nocent of the Lecompton Convention. The
people of the Territory never elected that
Convention, and never had an opportunity to
do so. The lists of voters were made out by
partisan officers, who acted under no penal
ties for neglect of duty. Fifteen counties, by
no fault of their own, had no possible oppor
tunity to vote at all. The Convention, there
fore, never had even a pretext for bindins ,
the people. Before the Convention did its
work a new election of a Kansas Legislature
took place, nnd, thanks to Walker and Stan
ton; false, fraudulent, and forged returns
were rejected, and a Legislature was formed
of unquestioned legality. The Convention,
knowing the true will of the people, in defi
ance of that will, refused to refer the Consti
tution to the people, sequestered their ina
lienable rights, and made themselves masters.
They acknowledged that such a reference
should have been made at least on the slav
ery clause, and then they framed a schedule
which made no true reference even of that
clause, but disfranchised all except those
who would acknowledge their usurpation,
and were willing to take test oaths to sup
port it. The Convention further assumed
most extraordinary powers, and sought in
advance to nullify and render void the acts
of the newly elected Legislature. They did
what
-they could to show the approbation of
the fraudulent vote which Walker and Stan
ton, with the approval, it is to be hoped, of
the President, had rejected. Moreover, it
ordered an election of State officers, under
their unratified Constitution, without requir
ing, an oath of the election officers, or affix
ing a penalty on fraudulent voting or forged
returns; and they, moreover, directed re
turns to be made, not to the Governor or the
legal Legislature, but to one man alone, the
President of their Convention ; a man hold
ing a most lucrative office and a large patron
age under the General Government; clothed
with power to judge at his discretion of all
returns of a Legislature before which lie
might become a candidate for office ; bound
by no - oath to fidelity, and exposed to no le
gal penalty for the abuse of his trust. We
hold, then, that the Convention has .no claim
to the sovereignty in Kansas but by usurpa
tion ; that it had in nowise the sanction of
Congress, nor of the President, nor of the
people of Kansas, and was but a cunning,
device to defraud that people of • its sover
eignty:
The cardinal point on which the great
question turns is this : Is the Lecompton
Constitution the choice and will of the peo
ple of Kansas ? I say it is not, and I shall
prove it. The first witness is the Convention
itself. They were urged to refer the matter
to the people. The President, in his high
office, pledged himself over and over, and
over again, to the approbation of that course,
and by the authority and with the knowledge
of the President, the Governor, and officers
of the President's appointment, quieted the
discontents of the people of Kansas by advo
cating the necessity of such submission be
fore the Constitution could claim any validi
ty. And yet the Convention refused to sub
mit its doings to the people; thus confessing
its consciousness that its work -would be re
jected.
The second witness is the newspaper press
of Kansas. That press is against the Con
stitution by a majority of seven or eight to
one.
Ney.t: Kansas, by act of Congress, has a
right to a• delegate in Congress, charged
with the duty of speaking for its people.—
They have now a delegate who is undoubt
edly the choice of the people, and is the first
Kansas delegate ever chosen by the people.
He is my third - witness:
Next: ask the line of Governors appointed
by Presidents themselves: Geary, Walker,
formerly Senator from Mississippi, and re
cently proposed for a place in the President's
Cabinet, and highly commended by the Presi
dent himself; Stanton, so lately member of
Congress from Tennessee, all agree. And I
would not fear to ask Denver, the present in
cumbent; he will certify that even a fraction
of the party against the Lecompton Constitu
tion is more numerous than the whole of its
friends.
Fifth: The people of Kansas now, happi
l.y, thanks to Walker and Stanton, have a
Legislature indisputably representing that
people ; and as soon as they could lift Up
their voice, they - protested against the Le
compton Constitution. - -
Sixth: Those State officers who received
the largest number of votes at the election on
the - 4th of January last, have likewise sent
their protest to Congress.
Seventh : The voice of the people of Kan
sas itself should be heard. On the 4th of
January they repaired to the polls under no
ordinary circumstances of solemnity. The
President had sanctioned the proceedings by
his special protection ; the Legislature and
Denver took care that the votshould be an
honest one, and by that vote it appears that
an overwhelming majority of the people of
Kansas reject the Constitution of Lecomp
ton.
So, then, we have seven sets of witnesses
against Lecompton: the circumstantial evi
dence of the Lecompton. Convention; the
Kansas press ; the Kansas delegate in Con
gress; the series of Kansas Governors—four
in one year ; the Kansas Legislature; the
Kansas people. All, all declare that the
people of Kansas reject the Lecompton Con
stitution.
If I could hope that the words of one so
humble as myself could reach the presence
of one so high as the President of the United
States, I would entreat him to lend his ear
reverently, and hear and respect the voice . of
the people of Kansas, however lowly they
may seem in the log cabins and homes that
they have made for themselves in the wilder
ness. What they have accomplished there,
under unexampled trials and difficulties, is
the miracle of the age. A Commonwealth
in all its fair proportions has grown up, as it
were, in the night-time. If the President of
the United States will have a peaceful Ad
ministration; if he will, by and by, have dig
nity in retirement ; if he will stand well with
the world of mankind; if, like Washington
and all our. great Presidents, he wishes to
stand well with posterity, let him respect the
will of the people of Kansas.
It is said that the whcle affair is of little
consequence; that the wrong, if it be a
wrong, is a small one. But there is in politi
cal justice no such thing as a small wrong.
A small wrong contains within itself the
seeds of all evil.
It is further said that the people were fac
tious, and as they meant, at any rate, to re
ject the Lecompton Constitution, it was right
not to , give them a chance to do so. But if
the Constitution for any reason did not please
them, they had a right to reject it; nothinc ,
'
is so factious as a minority attemptingto
rule a majority.
It is said they should be punished for not
going to the polls at the bidding of men who
were believed to be disposed to defraud
them. They went to the polls the first mo
ment that they were satisfied of any .chance
of a fair return, even though suffering under
great disadvantages in the apportionment of
representatives.
It is said that the people of Kansas, once
admitted into the Union, may change their
Constitution. If this is dishonestly said, I '
will not use the language which would prop
erly deScribe the propositon. If, as it is to
be presumed, it is honestly said, and I am
sure it is honestly said by the President,
then why give to the men of Kansas a rever
sionary right where they have a right of pos
session? Why do wrong, simply that wrong
may be undone? If this is all that is inten
ded; if there lies nothing behind this; if there
are no indications of a wish to perplex the
national councils, and so to pave the way for
a change of the national policy or for dis
union, then mischief has been done wantonly
and gratuitously; the country is convulsed by
its public authorities, for an issue as ludic
rous as it is wrong. It is hardly worth the
while to shatter the Democratic party for
anything so paltry. But while it is admitted
that the submission of a Constitution to the
people is the correct principle, it is said that
fourteen States would be displeased if this .
correct principal were to be followed out.—
Now, the South, in the organic act for Kan
sas, obtained all that it asked for, and the
main result has been exactly what Southern
men foresaw. The South has nothing what
ever to gain by the adoption of the Lecomp
ton Constitution. It presents no question of
practical advantage to the South, and it can
not be pretended that the admission of Kan
sas under it will carry with it any advantage
for the South. As a question on the score of
expediency it does nothing but injury to the
South; the issue, presented as a Southern
one, is untimely and mistaken, unwise, and
anything but national.
And would it wound any at the South less
to have the people of Kansas, as soon as the
General Governmerit is out of the way, undo
all that has been done? Is it not more re
spectful to the South to state the case man
fully and temperately, and rely on Southern
magnanimity and sense of justice?
Again : it is said the Union is in danger ;
the Union is to be dissolved. There is no
present danger to the Union. The sufferers
of wrongS in Kansas have been almost all
Northern men; and the North has no wish to
desert, or dissolve, or weaken the Union.
But it is urged the men of Kansas are in
rebellion. The imposition of a loathsome
and rejected Constitution is an odd remedy
for pretended rebellion, which, as far as I
know, has no precedent, except in King Geo . .
and the British Parliament in 1774. If Gov
ernor Walker found discontents theie, the
promises of equity which be made in the
name of the president wiled rebellions by
means of the ballot-box. 4 , The waves never
rise unless the wind blows. If 'the menace
of the Lecompton Constitution seemed likely
to excite disturbances, Governor Stanton, to
his honor be it said, lulled the rising commo
tion, not by calling in the army of the Uni
ted States, but by peacefully convoking the
legal Legislature of the Territory.
There is now no insurrection in Kansas ;
there is no rebellion there. Cease to dispute
the unquestionable right of the majority, and
the star of peace will rise serenely, the storm
will be hushed, and the waves subside. The
Government will not find a rebellion there;
let it not provoke one.
And what a contrast between a Governor
of a Territory restoring peace through the
representatives of the people and an officer
of the General Government, calling himself
a President of a Convention, taking an escort
from the army of the United States to make
his entry into the capital of Kansas amid the
murmurs of its people!
If, to the question between the Lecompton
Constitution and the people of Kansas, we
apply the test of principle, we find that
the enforcement of that Constitution will be
an act of power against right; of the army
against the people; of force against reason ;
of usurpation against the rightful will of the
majority. It will be a violation of the fun
damental principal of free government,
which is government by consent. It is direct
ly at war with Democracy, whose cardinal
point is the power of the people. The sup
porters of the Lecompton Constitution have
not one square inch of Democratic ground to
stand upon. A Constitution for its validity
needs the concurrence of the majority of the
people, either silently, by a general aquies
cence, or by an appeal to the polls. Shall full
and unboubted evidence be required for a
deed of a foot of land or a gift by will of a
shilling
? Shall a merchant or banker have
power to stop payment of a check fraud
ulently held, and shall the people have no
power to stop their servants, from sequester
ing their rights? Shall the most insignifi
cant treaty of a Minister Plenipotentiary
want validity till it is ratified? And shall
the highest .treaty of the people with them
selves be made in a corner by their! servants
- without their assent? Is form everything,
and substance nothing? Is appearance every
thing, and.truth and right and reality nothing?
There is not a precedent for enforeeinp a
Constitution against the consent of the peo
ple. - The principles of popular ratification
is sanctioned-in the Minnesota act...
The President in his annual message em
phatically declares that the example of -Sub
mitting a constitution to the people is foun
ded on a correct.principle; so that his instruc
tions to Gov. Walker on that subject were
propperly expressed in unqualified terms. •
Again: Congress has power to admit states,
but no power whatever to make a Constitution
for a State; still less to impose on a State a
Constitution which the majority of its peOple
loathe and reject. The tendency to centrali
zation of power in the General Government
is rapid and dangerous. We protest against
its further increase and against its present
excess. The true basis of political organiza
tion between all parts of the Union was, from
its beginning, the rights of the States, and
that basis offers for the future, as it has for
the past, the most perfect guarantee for secu
rity and union.
Redress must come from the people of the
United States. They in their strength must
remedy the existing evil, by a distinct ex
pression of their will. The moment is fraught
with dangers, which the adoption of the Le
compton Constitution would only aggravate.
A departure from the principles on which
a Government rests is an evidence of its de
cay. The violation of the principle of popu
lar sovereignty wastes the life-blood of the Re
public.
Again : in a popular Government, where
the rulers are but servants, anarchy steps in
when principle is forgotten and expediency
is made the guide.
Again : the concentration of power in the
hands of a Convention like that of Lecomp
ton is not an American idea. It is borrowed
from those Republics of Europe which were
not capable of existing long, for the very
reason that power was so concentrated. It is
derived from the worst examples of the worst
periods of revolutionary Fiance when minor
ities usurped power over a nation by terror
and reckless daring. If the rule of the mi
nority Convention is now formally sanctioned
by Congress, it will be a most dangerous pre
cedent—an instrument of wrath, treasured
up fur a day of wrath. We appeal against
this system to the whole Democracy of 'the
country • we appeal to all people who love or
der, andjustice, and freedom. This cit', for,
its numbers, is the wealthiest in the - world.
I call on the men of wealth in this great city
to take to heart the danger of establishing as
a principle that a majority of a single body,
elected to a Convention perhaps in times of
high excitement, filled, as will sometimes
happen, with men desperately daring and
corrupt, animated, as men under such cir
cumstances are apt to be, by personal and
party passions, should assume the absolute
right to change the fundamental law of the
country without a reference to the people.
If they are not alarmed on account of their
own fortunes, I ask them to consider what
disposition, under such an absolute Conven
tion, might be made of corporate property—
what changes in the management of trust
funds set apart for purposes of charity, or
education, or the support of religious wor
ship. Especially, speaking sobr earnest
ness to reflecting men, I remind the Catho
lics of what might happen, calling to their
recolletion the grievance to which they were
exposed in an Eastern State, and from which
they only escaped by the reference of the
Constitution to the people. We call on our
naturalized citizens to reflect on their danger
from the principle involved in accepting the
decision of a Convention as final, and with
out appeal. Our country is subject to peri
odical excitements on the franchise of natur
alized citizens ; and it may happen that a
Convention"possessed of this absolute power
may seek to perpetuate themselves and their
party in office by one sweeping disfranchise
ment of the foreign born. We call on the
poor and on the laboring men to come up to
the rescue ; for, in the division that prevails
on universal suffrage, sooner or latter, a Con
vention would be fOund ready to limit the
right to suffrage., and to maintain the limita
tion by force. We claim the aid of every irigh::
man to a man, and every decenclent 'of ablr
ishman; for Ireland, through three centuries,
shows the bitter fruits of a Government im
posed by the complicity betwen a shameless
minority and the central power.
We will not make an appeal to the south,
as such; but if any part of the Union has
cause for alarm at the increase of the power
of a Convention, suddenly called together, we
' should say it is the South • and were Jeffer
son alive, we should on lids occasion have a
protest from his pen. The guiding principle
of his statesmanship was to consult the peo
ple and to revere the people. But what do I
say ? A voice comes to us from one of Jef
ferson's successors, in the Chair of State in
the Old Dominion, and in clear and distinct
terms he rejects the Lecompton Constitution,
as not the act and deed of the people of Kan
sas, and he rightly condemns the Lecompton
schedule, as not republican. New York will
respond to Virginia, and the great Northwest
will swell the echo.
The policy of enforcing the Lecompton
Constitution on an unwilling people is neith
er wise, nor expedient, nor possible. Princi
ple is the true diviner's wand by which the
President of a free people sways - the millions,
and secures majorities for his measures in
Congress. The neglect of principle for tem
porising expediency always loses the respe3t
of majorities in Congress and out of it. The
ship of State is watter-logged ; throw the
fraudulent Lecompton Constitution overboard ;
let principle take the helm, and the bark will
spring forward on its way as in the best
years of our Republic. Ours is the cause, of
peace, of order, of true Democracy, of Union,
of freedom. All good omens are with us.—
For our part, we are resolved to walk in
the central path of humanity, shunning sec
tionalism and fanaticism on the one side, and
subserviency to dictation on the other. True
Democracy inscribes on its banner, THE
RIGHTS OF TIIE STATES AND ME SOVEREIGN
TY OF THE PEOPLE ; it upholds freedom to
the individual in the State, freedom to-the
State in the Union, and the indefeasible
right of the majority, whether in a State or
in a Territory, calmly, deliberately, and un
disturbed, to form and accept, or reject a
Constitution fortheinselvcs.
Ea3.-An editorial article in the New Or
leans Delta of the 26th asserts that the South
have already opened the slave trade, and that
a regular depot has been established in Mis
sissippi, on the Pearl river. Cargoes of slaves
have been received, sold, and are now at
work upon the plantations of the purchasers.
The Delta says the slave vessels generally
sail under the French flag, because the Eng
lish cruisers do. not trouble vessels covered
by it.
prow the St. Louis Republican of Monday week.]
The Pacific Hotel Catastrophe.
How Mr. Barker escaped—his statement
Mr. Thomas M. Barker, of Jefferson City,
agent of the Jefferson Examiner, relates the
following:
"I occupied room No. 21, about the centre
of the hotel, in the third story, and was a
wakened about three o'clock by a bustling
noise in the ball, and a faint cry of 'fire.'—l
raised up in my bed and put my hand against
the wall and found it hot enough to blister.
I jumped up, put on my pants, under-coat,
over-coat and shoes ; then unlocked the door
and found it difficult to get out into the hall
on account of the crowd. I got out rather
sideways with the crowd, just in front of Mr.
Rochester, who had a trunk on his shoulder,
- and tried to get to the front of the house on
the Seventh-street side ; I felt a hand that
pushed on my shoulder, which seemed to signi
fy that I should go to the back of the house,
as the crowd were moving that way. All the
while there were cries of women, ' Oh God,
oh Heavens,' which I heard until, oppressed
by a feeling of suffocation, I lost the sense of
sound. When I found myself in danger of
suffocation, I let fall my baggage and dropped
my head to the floor. This relieved me for
the moment. Many of the crowd had their
trunks on their shoulders and dropped them,
one after another, from suffocation, and many
fell with them. I could hear the noise of
their falling, and the smoke being now so
dense prevented me from seeing them. I
also heard their gasps in efforts to breathe.
I reached the window, and so nearly in a state
of suffocation, that for the first time I deemed
myself in danger of death. Here I again got
breath, but do not know whether it wasby
stooping to the floor or lay a rush of air in at
the window. At my shoulders, just then,
Mr. Rochester struck the window to break
the glass to get air, but while doing so fell
--back, and I saw him no more. As Rochester
disappeared I heard a running noise in the
hall, and, turning round, I recognized Mr.
Strong. He jumped over the heads of per
sons in front of him, (one of whom was six
feet two inches tall,) and went through the
window, feet foremost, carrying sash and all
with him. Mr. Torrence came to my side
and walked through the window, gasping
and apparently so weak he could scarcely
stand. I followed after him, and, like him
self and Mr. Strong, found myself on the roof
of a small building on the plat of the
,back buildings. Mr. Torrence and, myself
jumped about twelve feet down on to the
kitchen- roof, which we gained in safety. - I
now looked about the roof for Strong. ot
finding him, I looked down into the back
yard, and by the light of the flames saw him
lying -on his back, and motionless. I lis
tened, but did not hear him groan, and conclu
ded he was dead. Not a word passed be
tween
myself and T. until I discovered Strong,
I then said, "there lies Strong, and our plan
is to jump." He agreed with me. Before
jumping we tried th windows on that side of
the hotel, thinking we might get in and gain
the piazza in front; but, on breaking the
glass, we were repelled by the smoke, which
was thicker there than in the story above,
from which we had come. We went back to
edge of the roof from which Strong had fal
len. I again spoke- to Torrence, saying I
would jump first. I looked down to see if I
could jump without striking Strong, who lay
between two openings or cellar-ways, part of
an incomplete foundation there which had
never been built upon. I found I could not
possibly clear Strong with any security to
myself. The fire was making rapid progress,
and I felt the roof trembling under me. I
then said to Torrence, "If I. am hurt I will
halloo," so he could be guided by that how to
jump. In another instant I was on the body
of Mr. Strong. All this, from the time of
leaving my bed, transpired in about five min
utes. I rose to my feet, and Torrence then
came down striking where I did. I did not
feel at all hurt, but greatly excited. Seeing
Torernce fall down into one of the cellar
ways, I called out, "'Watch !" "Help !" to
two watchmen who were coming down Pop
lar street. They heard me, and came run
ning up. By this time Torrence succeeded
in getting out of the cellar. I then pointed
out Strong to the policemen,
telling them
there lay a man either dead or dying. When
they took hold of him he emitted the first
groan I heard from him. He exclaimed, "0,
kill me I kill me 1" "Shoot me !" and ap
peared to want fresh air. I left them there
and walked to Mrs. Green's, opposite the
Eppiscopal Church, on , Sixth street, having,
met her daughters on the way, and being in
vited by them to go there when I told them
of my escape. About fifteen minutes . after
ward Strong was brought there by the police.
He was in intense agony, cried for fresh air
continuously, and repeated his exclamations,
"kill me I" " don't let me suffer !" " kill me I"
Mrs. Green spread Mattresses on the floor.—
A - physician, boarding at the house, was pres
ent. Everything was done to alleviate suffer
ing. Mrs. Green sent out messengers to have
the wounded brought to her house.. Every
• one was willing to render all the assistance
in their power. Strong died in about twenty
minutes ; his, skull and shoulder bone were
broken, his nose half torn off, and his shoul
ders and side burned—the burns received, I
suppose, by his tryino• t' to get out in front.—
Torrence was taken elsewere, considerably
injured; the blood spirted from his head as
he struck the ground. By the time I struck
the ground I think no one was alive in the
house ; all was gone. Those who died inside
of the hotel felt none of the pain of burns, as
they died doubtless of suffocation before the
flames reached them. I believe that the fire
originated in the rear of the drug store, that
being the first consumed. The roof over the
rear of the grocery store fell second ; next the
kitchen. Just as I lit on the ground, I heard
the shelves and dishes falling, and breaking
in the kitchen. Not less than forty persons,
I think, were in the third story when I left
my room, and I believe all arc dead. Only
Strong,. Torrence, and myself, jumped out of
the window. Mr. Johnson, one of those
found dead on the ground back of the house,
is not from Chicago; he is from Michigan.—
Before going to bed that night, the boarders
were gayer than usal, being more talkative
and more sociable. Mr. 'McNutt, from Penn
sylvania, clerk of a steamboat, who is report
ed missing, roomed with Strono. and Roches
ter, and must have been burned. My hurts
are very slight, considering the distance I
jumped, which seems to have been forty-five
feet. They consist of a shock to the nervous
system, and a bruise on the, right foot, which
will prevent my walking for two weeks. On
my back, shoulders, and finger, and elbow
joints, are bruises and sprains.
[)The Steamship Moses Taylor arrived
at New York from California, on Saturday,
with $1,500,000 in gold. There has been a
multitude of suicides and bloody affrays.
Huntingdon County Teachers' Institute.
Pursuant to a call issued by the Board
of Managers, the Association assembled on
Monday, 22d inst., in the public school room
occupied by Miss C. T. Benedict in this
place, at 2 o'clock, P. M.
• In the absence of the President, the Meet
ing was called to order by Mr. Wm. Stewart,
one of the Vice Presidents. The minutes of
the last Session were read and adopted.
A majority of the executive committee
being absent, on motion, A. R. Miller, 3. M.
Stonebreaker, 11. Wilson, and Miss N. Mc-
Divitt were apppointed to fill said Commit
tee, and the following subjects presented for
discussion :
Ist. The Teacher's first duty on opening
School.
2nd. Best method of teaching Grammar
and Composition.
3rd. Best method of teaching Geography.
The first subject as opened by Mr. Barr,
and continued by Messrs. Miller, Stone
breaker, Brown, Owen, White, Harvey, Ba
ker and others. '
The subject of teaching Grammar and Com
position was opened by Mr. Stonebreaker,
who was followed in the discussion by Messrs.
Baker, Miller, Wilson, McCarthy, Eldredge
and Brown. Subject closed.
On motion of R. McDivitt, a committee of
three was appointed in behalf, of the Associ
ation, to draft resolutions expressive of re
gret for the death of Miss 11. N. Benedict,
Miss S. H. Schuyler, and Miss L. J. Hilde
brand, members of the Association. Ch air
appointed R. McDivitt, 11. T. White and F.
H. Lane, said committee.
Adjourned to meet in the Court House at
7 o'clock in the evening.
Moic nar—Evening Session.—H. W. Miller,
Esq., appointed Presidentpro tem. Minutes
of afternoon session read and adopted. The
Executive ComMittee presented the following
order of exercises for this evening and to
morrow.
Ist. An address to the 'Association by A.
W. Benedict, Esq., on the subject of the An
niversary of the Institute.
2nd. Discussion of the subject, "What do
we educate for," to be opened by G. P. El
dredge.
For Tuesday Morning Session-Ist. Con
tinuance of the subject of Grammar and
Composition. 2nd. Best method of securing
good recitations. For the Afternoon Session
—lst. Best method of teaching Orthography.
2nd. Discussion of the question—Should the
County Superintendency be abolished?
The Committee last appointed, presented
iiirough their chairman, the following reso
lutions, which were adopted:
WHEREAS : It has pleased an All-wise Providence. during
the past year, to remove from our midst, by death, three
of our number—Miss HAantEr N. BENEDICT, DABS SAE:SHIT.
Scnurazic, and Miss LUCRETIA J. HILDEBRAND, therefore
Resolred, That whilst in this, to us mysterious dispen
sation, we would recognize the hand of Him who " doeth
all things well," and bow in low submission to His will,
we are again most solemnly and impressively admonished
of the uncertainty of life, and the importance of being
"also ready" to obey that dread summons which all must
sooner or later receive.
Resolved, That while we mingle our sympathies and sor
rows with those of friends and relatives, as the pure, the
beautiful and the good are taken from us, we sorrow not
"as those without hope; having the assurance that "the
early called" have been taken in mercy from the evil to
come, that a life of usefulness here has been exchanged fin•
a blissful immortality beyond the grave, and that our loss
is their infinite and eternal gain.
The Association was then addressed at some
length by A. W. Benedict, Esq. ; and at the
close of his oration, the subject—" What do
we educate for?" was opened by Mr. Eldridge,
and continued until time for adjournment.—
Messrs. Miller, Barr, Benedict, and others,
participated.
The chair then, on motion, appointed R.
McDivitt, Miss C. T. Benedict, F. H. Lane,
A. R. Miller, and R. B. Brown, a committee
to draft resolutions. Adjourned till Tuesday
morning, 9 o'clock.
TUESDAY—Morning Session.—Meeting called
to order by the President. The Constitution
being called for, was read by the Secretary.
Subject of the best method of teaching Gram
mar and Composition resumed, and opened
by Mr. Baker, who was followed by Mr. Lane
and others. The subject of the best method
of securing good recitations, was opened by
Mr. Brown and continued by Messrs. Stone
breaker and White. Adjourned till 2P. M.
Afternoon Session.---in the absence of the
Recording Secretary, G. P. Eldredge was
chosen Secretary pro tent.
The subject of teaching Orthography was
introduced and opened by Mr. Lytle, who
was followed by Messrs. Barr, Baker, Miss
McDivitt, Miss Benedict, Messrs. Stone
breaker, Benedict and others. On motion,
discussion closed.
An inquiry was then instituted as to the
probable cause of the absence of so many
teachers from the Institute, when, on motion,
Mr. Baker was requested to state the cause
of so small an - attendance from the lower end
of the county, which he did, giving as the
principal reason, that the County Superin
tendent bad used his irdluence against the
meeting, and had endeavored, as far as pos
sible, to prevent the teachers from attending.
Mr. Baker was followed by . Mr. Eldredge
and others, who sustained him in the asser
tion, and corroborated his statement. The
subject—Should the County Superintendency
be abolished? was then taken up and dis
cussed by Messrs. Baker, Benedict, Jno.
Williamson, Esq., and others. Adjourned
till 7 P. M.
Evening Session.—The following persons
were nominated officers for the ensuing year,
and elected :
President—H. Wilson.
Vice Prcsidents—J J. N. Hall, J. M. Stone
breaker.
Recording Secretary—lt. 3.leDivitt.
Correspondent Secretary—A. W. Benedict
Librarian—Miss Eunice M. Africa.
Treasurer—H. W. Miller.
Executive Committee-11. B. Brown, Wm.
Stewart, F. 11. Lane, Miss C. T. Benedict
and Mrs. Susan L. Black.
Financial Committee—Wm. Colon, 11. T.
White, Miss N. McDivitt.
Board of Managers—A. W. Benedict, B.
F. Brown, John Baker, A, R. Miller, George
P. Eldredge.
The question--should the County Superin
tendency be abolished, being called for, was
resumed, and remarks on the subject made
by Messrs. Barr, McDivitt and Whito, and,
on motion, closed for the present.
The following resolution was offered by A.
W. Benedict, and adopted.
Resolved, That the provision in the 41st Section of the
School Law, giving the County Superintendent the right
to annul the Professional Certificate of any teacher upon
his own mere motion, whether induced by caprice,
prejudice or power, without any assigned cause, affecting
the capacity, integrity, or good morals of the teacher, is
an arbitrary and oppressive enactment, not in harmony
with the genius of our institutions, and demands repeal
or amendment.
On motion_qt R. McDivitt, the following
persons were stitated honorary members
of the Association, viz :—A. L. Grim, M. F.
Campbell, Alex. Port, and Wm. Lewis.
The committee on resolutions then present
ed the following, for the consideration of the
Institute, which were adopted :
Wm:1Mo: We deem it our duty as well as our right, in
this enlightened and intelligent community, to meet to
gether for the purpose of discussing these subjects best cal
culated for our mutual improvement, interest and ad
vantage, as well as the cause of general education; and,
whereas, we recognize in the County Institute, the most
efficient means of bringing us together for that purpose,—
Therefore,
Resolved, That we regard the holding of the County In
stitute as a necessity, and the teacher who wilfully neglects
to attend the same, as remiss in his duty as he - would bo in
neglecting his daily avocation intim school-room.
Resolved, That we sincerely regret' the want'of interest
manifested by Teachers, School Directors and citizens on
the present occasion, and would most respectfully and
earnestly call their attention to a matter of such vital im
portance.
Resolved, That we tender our thanks to the officers of
the former year for the faithful and efficient Manner in
which they have discharged their duties, and also to those
who have addressed us during the services of this Institute.
Resolved, That we regard the Pennsylvania School Jour
nal as worthy of onr highest commendation, and deserving
of our individual exertion, in order to increase its circula
tion.
Resolved, That we recommend to the Teachers of Hunt
ingdon county, the more general introduction of the study
of Composition into there Schools, as a branch of Common
School Education.
Resolved, That we deem the study of Words,
as regards'
Etymology, Orthography, Pronunciation and Definitions,
as au important branch of education, and would direct the
attention of Teachers, School Directors, and all -others in
terested in the cause of education, to Worcester's Series of
Dictionaries, as representing the best usages of the lan
guage, and the most reliable in disputed points, either in
orthography or orthoepy.
Resolved; That the Secretary be directed to furnish the
papers of our county and the Pennsylvania School Jour
nal, with a copy of the above proceedings.
On motion, adjourned, subject to the call
of the Board of Managers.
H. W. MILLER, Pres't,
R. MCDIvITT, Seey.
Kansas Frauds
It would be well for those Democrats who
support the Lecompton swindle to remember
that they all seek a future ; and that the
speeches which they now make, and the
frauds which they now endorse, will stand
before them the "haunting conscience of a
great crime," and warn them from those hon
ored and honorable paths of Democratic pro
motion which are sacred to free opinion, and
the sanctity of the ballot-box, and the manly
investigation of frauds.
If Democracy means political honesty,
which we always fondly hoped it did, then
the Lecompton Constitution cannot be a
Democratic measure, for it was conceived in
fraud, and brought into existence by a jug
gle. Every day brings us more scandalous
evidence of the necessity there is for the
Democratic party to keep clear of the Le
compton business. Frauds accumulate upon
frauds. The more extensive the investigation
the more extensive the iniquities brought to
light. The facts regarding Kickapoo were
incontrovertible. People who never existed,
voted ; and of course this was a fair example
to the ghosts of people who did exist once to
come to life, for the sake of perpetrating
frauds on the ballot-box. The rascally frauds
relating to the Delaware Crossings are so
patent and so enormous that even Calhoun is
afraid to touch them. Here is an official ex
pose of other frauds equally enormous, and
in the name of which members of Congress
are conjured to vote for Lecompton:
LAWRENCE, February 8, 1858.
The undersigned was appointed by the
Territorial Legislature one of the commis
sioners to take the census of all the white
male inhabitants over 21 years of age in the
townships of Oxford and Shawnee, in- the
county of Johnson, and, having discharged
that duty, has reported to the Governor as
follows:
Whole number of inhabitants over 21 years
of age in Oxford, 42 ; of which only 14 dated
their residence prior to April 5, 1857.
Whole number of inhabitants over 21 years
of age in Shawnee, 115; of which only-48
date their residence prior to April 5, 1857.
The vote returned from Oxford township
at the January election was about 750.
The vote returned from Shawnee township,
at the January election was 894.
CIIARLES MAYO, Commissioner.
How can the Democracy swallow Kicka
poo, Delaware Crossing, Oxford, and Shaw
nee? Before Heaven and the American peo
ple, how are they to excuse these frauds, and
upon them base a reason to force a Constitu
tion upon an an American community which
is opposed to it, in the eighty-second year of
the Republic ? Washington, States.
MORMON INTATUATION IN SAN FRANCISCO.-
A gentleman residing in San Francisco, Cal.
with his wife and family, bad occasion, some
two months since, to go up the country, lea
ving his wife in possession of nearly all, his
worldly gear. Upon his return, he was sur
prised to learnthat she had left for the Mor
mon settlement in San Bernardino, carrying
everything with her, He started in' pursuit,
by the next steamer, and found his wife and
family at Bernardino, with a team all packed
up for Salt Like. He tried to persuade her
to remain, but it was useles. She threw
herself upon his neck and wept fervently, be
cause he would not go with her; but she re
fused to turn back. She appeared to feel
very bad at the idea of leaving her husband
among the Gentiles, whome she believed were
destined to be destroyed by wars, famine,
and pestilence, and told him lie would yet be
glad to walk to Salt Lake and beg for bread,
as the whole Gentile race were doomed.--
She told him he would be starving here; but
in the land of Saints there would be an abun
dance of this world's goods. The husband,
rather than go on with her, turned back and
left her in the company of those who , had
succeeded in imbuing her with such a strange
infatuation. He now hopes to go on to the
Lake in the spring, with the troops, rescue
her and his family, and send her back to her
parents and friends.
This is another instance of the powerful
hold the teachers of the Mormon faith are
capable of obtaining on the minds of females.
MINISTRATOR'S NO TIC E.-
- -
Letters of Administration have been granted to the
subscriber, upon the Estate of SAMUEL Issnarma, (of Enoch)
late of Porter township, deceased. All persons indebted
are requested to make immediate payment, and those hav
ing claims will present them properly authenticated to me .
SAMUEL ISENBERG, (of Henry) Adm'tor,
Feb. 3, 1853-ot.
- EN THE COURT of Common Pleas of
„L Huntingdon county of August term, 1857, No. 613,
Libel for Divorce, Martha Bennett vs. Harvey Bennett,—
A subpoena to August Term, and an alias subpoena to No
',ember Term, 1857, having both been returned that re
spondent could not be found in said county, and proof
thereof having been mado according to the Act of Assem
bly, in, snch ease made and provided, you, the tsaici Harvey
Bennett; are hereby notified and required to be and appear
before the said court, on the second Monday of April, A,
D., 1858, to answer the complaint of the said Martha Ben.
net. OBAFFUS MILLER, Sheriff.
January 27, 1857.
HE CASSVILLE SEMINARY.
31. McN. WALSH, Principal.
This school for young Ladies and Gentlemen is probably
the cheapest one of the kind in the country. The expen
ses per year for board, room rent, furniture, fuel and tui
tion in common English are only $BB.
Piano Music is only $5 per quarter. All the Languages
and the Ornamentals are proportionally cheap. For other
information, address JOHN D. WALSH,
Cassville, Huntingdor.Lcounty, Pa
January 13, 1857.
THE LARGEST AND CHEAPEST
Stock of Fancy Silks, and Colored'Straw Bonnets in
town, aro at FISHER &
OOTS and SHOES,. the.largest and
cheapest assortment is ttven, at
D. I'. GIVIN'S.