Twenty-Seventh Congress.
FIRST SESSION.
IN SENATE,
Wednesday', Jiirtc V; 1841.
' Mr. Clay gave notice tliat tie should to
morrow ask ,leave to introduce a bill to pro
vide for the distribution’ of the' proceeds of
the Public Lands. : ‘
Mr; Buchanan presented resolutions ofthe
Legislature of Pennsylvania, instructing
their .Senators, and requesting their Repre
sentatives, to vote for the repeal of the Sub
treasury law. . ■ . ,
Mr. Smith of Ind. submitted a resolution,
which lies upon the table, calling for infor
mation in detail as to the quantity of Public
.Lands sold at different periods, and wheth
er for cash or credit, and of lands reserved.
Mr. Sturgeon presented a petition pray
ing for an amendment of the Constitution to
effect the abolition of Slavery. The recep
tion was objected to ,by Mr. Preston, when
on motion ofJVIr. King, the motion to receive
was laid upon the table.
Mr.'Buchbnan presented a petition pray-,
ing for the abolition of the Slave Trade,
when a nuestion arose as to what should be
done with petitions of this nature, when it
was decided that the question of their re
ception should always be put. The motion
to receive was then laid upon the table.
were presented- by. Mr., More-.
Lead and-Mr, Walker in favor of a bank
rupt Law. '
Mr. Rives having made a motion that .that
part of the President’s Message which re
lates to Foreign Affairs should be referred
to the committee on Foreign Affairs, observ
ed that he understood Mr. Buchanan as hav
ing expressed a.wish that the Bill repealing
the Sub-Treasury might be engrossed before
our -Foreign Affairs came'up, a motion to
that effect prevailed, ayes 27, noes 18*,
' SUB-TREASURY BILL.
This Bill haying been read a third time,
thequeßtionnoW.was.on-it3 engrossment;,
when Mr. Woodbury'took tile floor, and af
considerable length addressed the Senate'
upon the general benefit of the Sub-Treas
ury Actfand upon his administration of the
currency. He warmly defended the Sub-
Treasu'ry Bill, and did hot wish to leavethe'
r«nwfi^y™^.thiTOontrel^^e.^sßCßfeßK
no especial act’was paSsed- -
of the gentlemen, oh the other side was such
as to leave the public money under the con
. trol of the Executive, and he reasoned a
gainst that at length; .
Mr. Benton attempted the introduction of
a resolution declaring the repeal of the Su
b inexpedient, Avhicli,. the Sjjiate
pronounced out-of order; wliSii Mr. Benton
■withdrew his motion, and proposed t(f re
commit the bill with instructions, whicirwas.
negatived, yeas 18, noes 28.
- Mr. Wright then took the floor anil ad
dressed the Senate in,.behalf of the Inde
pendent Treasury system, and arguing, with
much; strenuousness, tigainst a National
Bank. He gave his views at considerable
length. . •
Mr. Tallmadge replied to Mr. Wright
briefly.
Mr. Wright rejoined. •
Mr. Benton then took the floor, and wpnt
very much at large into the merits of the
bill.
After some other remarks,.the question
was taken, ami the Repeal Bill was carried,
yeas 39, nays 18.
The Senate then adjourned. .
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
Mr. Graham, of N. C., in pursuance of
notice previously given, asked leave "tooin
troduce a bill for the repeal of the act “to
provide for the collection, safe-keeping, and
disbursement of the public revenue,”.passed
July 4, 1840; commonly called the Sub
treasury law.
■ The House,, however, proceeded to the
special order, tire-election of officers-
The following was the result:—Doorkeep
er, Joseph Follansbee; Assistant do; J. W.
Hunter; Chaplain, Rev. John W. French, ol
the. Episcopal Churchy
Mr. Sergeant, of Pa., sent to the Chair a
resolution which was read, that the House
now proceed to the election of its Printer
■for .the ,27th Congress, whose compensation
shall,be 20 per; cent! less'thab the prices
fixed by the joint resolution of 1819.
The motion, waff objected to as out of or
der ,’iand it was decided by the Chair that
the gentleman from Pennsylvania, (Mr. In
gersoll,) was entitled to the floor to call up
his motion to re-consider.
, Mr. Ingersoll then took the flyor- -He
Koped after the inauguration of his subject,
they would come to a correct examination
of it. ; It presented three elementary and.
.constitutional heads. Into the first of these,
the "question" of "aio/i/fo/i, he entered and
dwelt atlength, examining the fundamental
causes of the abolition feeling—connected
the slave trade"of England, France, and the
now. prevalent opinions on this subject in
those countries. ; " 1
; He was several times called to order, on
the ground of irrelevancy,.but was sustain
ed, by the Chair, and without concluding the
examing of the first head of his subject,gave
■way; and, on motion of Mr. Wise, at a quar
ter past 3 o’clock, the House adjourned.
IN SENATE.
Thursday, June 10.
THE CASE OF McLEOD,:
Mr. Buchanan, in proposing to refer that
part ot the President’s Messagethat related
to foreign affairs, to the committee which has
the charge entered at large upon an
examination of the facts,delating to the con
flagration and capture of the steam boat Ca
roline, as'well' as,upon the history of the Pa
triot:War in general; Mr. Buchanan then
ehowedifrpm Chief Justice Marshall,.and o-.
ther authorities, that a nation had exclusive
right of control over its own waters, and he
added that, however jiistifiable-an officer in
time of war might be for execu ting orders of
ihvasion, of violation of a neutral territory,
yet in tlme of peace, he contended if it were
done, the people .whose territory had been
tiius violated, bad a, fight to hoiu:the officer
responsible'in their courts. - ' ; k
Mr. B. did not agree with Mr. Webster
in the construction of "the law of. nations; and
he set forth the points of his disagreement at
length'. ' He.believed algo' that the Supreme
Gourt of TorkiAvdiild'take a view dif
ferent from .that of Mr. Webster, and if an
pppeaLshould betaken he doubted whether
the views of the Secretary of the State would
be sustained. . ■
' Mr, Buchanan also justified at length the
Foreign policy of the administration of Mr.
Van Burch in reference to,the case of the
Caroline and McLeod. He, highly, com
mended the tunc and language of the Ame
rican Minister, Mr. Stevenson, and thought
that throughout he had manifested true Am
erican feeling. ‘
The course of Mr. Webster had hot been
at' all agreeable to Mr, Buchanan, He
thought-that Mr.'. W. had acted under a
.threat, from the British-Government. He
complained that Mr. Webster had hurried
off the Attorney General to Lockport, and
he was not at all pleased with the tenor of
his instructions. ■
Mr. Buchanan did not think our condition
so very htarmihg in the event of a war. We
were not among the weak nations of the
earth, he said, and no other nationjcould at
tack us without Buffering as much from wai
ns we should." He did not, however, deem
that there was atiy risk of war, but on the
event of its coming, he wished the law of
nations to be so construed os to put us right
in the eyes of the. world.
Mr. Rives, at some letigth, defended Mr.
Webster and his letter to Mr. Fox, which
he pronounced beautiful and Unanswerable,
and also his instructions to Mr. Crittenden.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
Mr. Briggs offered a resolution that the
House should take a recess from 2 to 4 o’-
clock, P. M., and that the hour of assembling
hereafter be.at 10 o’clock, A. M. The re
solution was not entertained.
Mr. Filmore offered a resolution referring
so much of the report of the Secretary of the
Treasury as is not committed to the Select
Committee, to the Committee of Ways and
Means. The rules-wcre suspended and the
motion concurred in.
Mr. Holmes presented a petition from
some citizens of Charleston, praying that
Prcsidentfor one year, be
appropriated to the bereaved family of the
late. President, which was referred to the
Committee of the Whole on the state of the
Union. ’ ; . , ' . i
Mr. Underwood presented two petitions.,
one from the Patriotic Bank, and one.from
cliarter.of.saidlfankfiri^
to ffic Committee oh tlie DistriCt of Golum
bia; /"•
- The Speaker presented to the House the
papers relating to-the contested, election of
Mr. Banks, of Va., which were referred to
the Committee on Elections.
A message was received from the Senate
(informing ..the House that the Senate had
passed, an aCt repealin" the Sub-Treasury..
. The House then took up Mr. Ingcrsoll’s
motion, to re-consider the vote on Mr. Ad
ams’s Amendment' relative' to; fhe reception'
of Abolition petitions.
The subject was discussed .during the re
mainder of "the day by Mr. Ingersoll, Mr.
Marshall, and others.
The re-consideration was lost—yeas 110,
nays 116. ,
«llchcod Correspondence.
Among the documents accompanying the
President’s Message to Congress, are the
Letter of Mr. Fox to Mr. Webster,-de
manding, in the name of his government,
the immediate release of McLeod; and. the
answer of the Secretary of State. The Bri-
tish Minister’s Letter states that his move
.mcnts in the premises, have been fully ap
proved by his government, and repeats the
oft-repeated'argument that McLeod cannot
be held personally responsible for the acts
of his government. —Brother Jonathan.
Her Majesty’s Government (says Mr.
Fox) cannot admit for a moment the validi
ty of the doctrine advanced by Mr. Forsyth,
that the Federal Government of the United
States has no power to interfere in the mat
ter in question, and that (he decision there
of must rest solely and entirely- with the
State of New Yorjj,
With the particulars‘of the internal com
pact which may exist between the, several
states that compose the .Union, foreign Pow
ers have nothing to do; the relations of for
eign Powers are with the aggregate Union;
that the Union is to (hem represented by
the Federal Government; and of that Union
the Federal ..Governmentistothem the only,
organ. Therefore, when a foreign power
has redress to demand for a wrong done to
it by any State of the Union, it is to the
‘Federal Government,and not to' the separ
ate State, that such'power must look for re
dress for that wrong. And such foreign
Power cannot admit the plea that the' sepa
rate State is an independent body over
which-the Federal Government has no Con
trol.- '■ ■' - ----
Tt is obvious that such a doctrine, if ad
mitted, would at once go to a dissolution of
the Union as far as its relations with foreign
Powers are concerned; and that foreign Pow
ers, in such case, instead of accrediting di
plomatic agents to the Federal Government,
would send spelt agent hot to that' Govern
ment, but to the Government of each separ
ate State; and would make their relations of
peace and war with each State depend upon
the result of their separate intercourse with
such State, without reference, to the rela
tions they might have with the rest., : .
Her Majesty’s Government formally de
mands through its minister* the release of
McLeod. The minister then proceeds to
say .that there are the strongest, reasons to
believe that McLeod-,was not concerned, in
that affair; and that though the circumstan
ces make nb difference in the political. and
international questionat issue, the govern
ment of the United States must not disguise
from themselves that the fact that Mr. Me-.
Lead;was not engaged in the transaction
must necessarily tend greatly to . inflame
that national, resentment "which any harm
that shall be suffered by Mr. McLeod at the
hands of the authorities of the Stateof New
York will infallibly excite; throughput the
whole of the British Empire.
, In his reply, after, recapitulating, the con
tents of Mr. Fox’s tetter, Mr. Webster says
that the President is riot certain that he un
dersiandaprecisely the meaning intended
by tier Mnjesty’s tJoverntnent to be convey
ed by the foregoing instruction., t J
, This doubt has occasioned' wilh tlie Pres
ident some hesitation, by the inclines take
it for granted that the main purpose of in-
struction was td'knßtee it.lo be signified to
the government of- tnejlJnitcd States that
the attack on the-steam Goat “Caroline” was
an act of public force,' done by the British
colonial authorities, and -finallyi recognized
by-the Queen’s' Government at . honie, and
that consequently no individual concerned
in that transaction can,'according to the
just principles of the lavy of nations; be held
.personally answerable in the ordinary courts
of law as for a private offence; atid that up
on this avowal of her Majesty.’s Government,
Alexander McLeod, now imprisoned on ,an
indictment for murder alleged to have beep
committed in an attack; ought to be 'releas
ed by such proceedings as are usilal and are
suitable to the case. '■
■ Mr. Webster next proceeds to say, in sub
stance, that persons held in the -U. States
under judicial process, can, ns in England,
only be released by judicial process;—by a
nolle prosequi, on examination of the charge
under a writ of habeas corpus.- The. Sec
retary does not suppose that in England the
Executive could interfere in any more dh
rect manner. -After-alluding to the civil
suit, (withdrawn since the date of this let
ter,] the Secretary proceeds to arty, “If,
therefore, any course different from such as
have been now mentioned was in contem
plation of Her Majesty’s - Government,
something would seem to have been expect-'
ed from the Government of the U. States as
little.conformable to the laws and usages of
the English Government as to those of the
United States, and to which this Govern
ment cannot accede.”
The Government of the United. States,
therefore, acting upon the presumplibn
Which it already"adopted, that nothing ex
traordinary or unusual was expec'ted,.or re
quested of it, decided, on the, reception of
Mr. Fox’s note, to take such measures as
the occasion and its own duty appeared to
require. The American Government,en
tertains no doubt that after the avowal of an
act by a government, individuals are no lon
ger responsible,' And the President pre
sumes that it can hardly be necessary to say
that the American People, not distrustful of
their ability to' redress public wrongs .by
public means, cannot desire the punishment
of individuals when the act complained of
is declared to have been an act of the, G.ov
'ihstrtictjoniwaif. given! {or.flie Aittofhey'-Gen'-
eral.oPthe United States frora this .Depart
ment, by direction of the President, which
fully sets forth the opinions of this Govern
ment oh the subject of Mr. McLeod’s im
prisonment, a copy of which instructions
the Secretary encloses in bis letter.
After,a history of the legal proceedings
in the •cash, already known to' 1 the reader,
the Secretary proceeds to pay a high enco
mium oh the Supreme Court of the Stale of
New-York; and-then-says:-
“The~uridersigned has nojv to signify to
Mr. Fox .that the,Government of the United
States has-not changed .the opinion which it
has hitherto expressed to Her Majesty's
Government, of the character of the act of
destroying the ‘Caroline.’ ”
The Government of the United States
does not think that the Caroline affair can,
be justified by any reasonable application of
the right of self-.dcfence under the law of
nations. .But not having been advised of
the reasons under which file British Gov
ernment considers the attack justifiable, the
Secretary earnestly renewirig the remon
strance of this Government against the trans
action, abstains, for the present, from any
extended discussion of the question.
After alluding to the term “permitted,”’
used by Mr. Fox, in reference to the organ
ization of force in the United States, and
saying that the President is willing to be
lieve no intimation is intended that the U
nited Stales Government afforded any coun
tenance to the acts of the patriots, the Sec
retary proceeds to remark that upon a line
of frontier long enough to divide the whole
of . Europe into halves, that irregularities,
violences, and conflicts should sometimes
occur, equally against the will of both Gov
ernments, isvcertainly easily to be,supposed.
This may be'more possible, perhaps, in re
gard to the United States, without anyre
proach to their Government,.since their in
stitutions entirely, discourage the keeping
up of large standing armies in time of peace,
and thVir situation happily exempts them
from the necessity of maintaining such ex
pensive and dangerous establishments. This
Government acknowledges no delinquency
in the performance of i(s duties.
~ The letter takes exception against the
term “pirates” as applied to the American
volunteers, and says that though they were
already violating the laws of their country,
they were.certainly .not pirates, nor does the
undersigned think that it can advance the
purpose of fair and friendly discussion,' or
hasten the accommodation of national diffi
culties, so to denominate them, /Their of
fence, whatever it was; had no anatogy to
cases of piracy. The Tact that for ; the last
two centuries subjects of the British crown
have been permitted, to engage in foreign
wars, and the recruiting.of whole regiments
for the Spanish (service, openly in England
is forcibly alluded to; and yet-it has .not
been imagined that England at any time al
lowed her subjects to turn'pirates.
The Government of the-. United States
has not, from the first, fallen into the doubts,
elsewhere entertained,.of the true extent of
the duties of neutrality. It has held that,
however it may have been in less enlighten-:
cdages, the Just interpretation of the mod
ern law of nations is, tlyvt neutral statcs are
bound to be strictly neutral; and that it is a
manifest and gross impropriety, for individ
uals to engage in the civil conflicts of other
states. and thus to; be at war, - while their
Government is at peace. War. and peace
are high national relations, prop
erly be established or changed only by na
tions themselves.
After quoting" instances from the whole
history Of the republic, to show the sincerity
with which the United States have ‘.carried
out the principle.above'stated, the, letter-rof
Mr. Webstar thus concludes: ,
Under these .circumstances, and under
those immediately connected with the trans
action itself, it wilr.be for-Ileri.Majesty’s
Government ~to show upon what state of
facts and whaf rules of national, law the de
struction of the “Caroline” is. to be defend
ed. ■ It ,’Willbe-for that Government to show
a necessity of self-defence, instant, over
whelming, leaving no choice of means and
. no 'moment for detibefatiob... It will he, for
it to show, also, that the local authorities of
Canada, even supposing the necessity of the
moment authorized them to' enter the terri
tories of the United States at all, did iloth
ing unreasonable or excessive; since the act
justified by the necessity of .self-defence,
must lie limited by that necessity, anil kept
clearly withip it..
It must be shown that admonition or re
monstrance to the persons on board the
►“Caroline,” was impracticable, or , would
have been unavailing; it must be shown, that
day-light could nut bp waited fur; that there
could be'no attempt at discrimination be
tween the innocent and the guilty;- that it
.would not have been, enough to seize and
detain the vessel—but that there was a ne
cessity, present and inevitable, fur attack
ing her, in the darkness, of the. night, while
moored to the shore, and while unarmed
men were asleep on boarife killing some and
►Wounding others, ami then drawing her into
the current, above the cataract, setting her
on fire, and, careless to know whether there
•might not be-in,her the-innocent with the
guilty, or the living with the dead, commit
ted her to a fate which fills the imagination
with, horror, a necessity for all this the Go
vernment of the United States cannot be
lieve to have existed. .
All will see that if such things be allowed
to occur, they might lead to. bloody and ex
asperated war; & when an individual comes
into the United .Stat.es from Canada, and to
the very place on whiclrthis drama was per
formed, ami there chouses to . make public
and vain glorious boasts of the part lie acted
in it. it is hardly wonderful that great ex
citement should be created, and some com
motion arise. ' ,
This Republic docs not wish to, disturb
the tranquility of the world. Its object is
peace, its policy peace. It seeks no aggran
dizement by foreign conquest, because it
knows (hat no foreign acquisition could aug
ment its power and importance sor rapidly
as.tbey are. already advancing by its own
growth under the propitious circumstances
of its situation.
But it cannot admit that its Government
has not both the will and the power ttf pre
serve its own neutrality, and to enforce the
observance of its own laws upon its own ci
tizens. It is jealous of its rights, and among
.&tUw^-and/mosteB^?isl [ ty ;1 yof,;'t|ie;TigUt,.oT'
,js- the duty, and'Athb'determination -of -this
Government fully and at all.times to main
tain; while it will, at the same time, as scru
pulously refrain from infringing on. the rights'
of others.
The President instructs the'undersigned
to say, in conclusion, that he confidently
trusts tliat this and all other questions of
difference between the two Governments
will be treated by both in the full exercise
of sucli-.a spirit of candor,. justice*-and_mu.-.
tual respect as shall give assurance of the
long continuance of peace between the two
countries. '
The undersigned avails himself of the op
portunity to assure Mr. Fox of his high con
sideration.
DANIEL WEBSTER.
Henry S. Fox, Esq., &q. &c. &c.
From the. Louisville ( Ky.) Advertiser,
GOOD —We absolutely feel cheered
whenever we have an opportunity to copy
an article like the following from a Whig
paper. It is American in spirit, and shows
that an editor on that side of the question
is occasionally to be found who would not
sacrifice the and honor of his coun
try, and the liberties of himself and poster
ity on the altar of mammon.
, From the Cincinnati Daily Chronicle.
THE McLEOD CASE,
It seems to us that the American national
spirit, like Bob Acre’s courage, is rapidly
‘oozing .out at bis fingers’ end’. If this
were the true Christian principle of peace
and humility, if would be to us cause of
great joy, and be a more real and substan
tial evidence of national improvement than
any other; but it is not so. The whole root
of it is the reverse. It is the consequence
of national effeminacy—r-a natural result of
the universal devotion to mammon.
. “W e are struck with this on reading the
argument of counsel and the efforts of the
Administration in the case of McLeod.
, “This fellow, in his folly,Roasts (wheth
er. truly or hot);that.he was one engaged in
the destruction of the tCarofine;’ in which
a midnight murder, was committed within
the jurisdiction of New York, by a band of
Canadian marauders. Neither, the Ameri
can nor the English Governments had con
nection with tiie matter. Three years af
terwards a man who professes, to be oneof
the transgressors, is arrested; and forthwith
the British'Government, in the plenitude of
its ' assumption, . undertakes , ta : father the
the ciime; and the : American Government,
for fear the quiet bf. the money changers may.
be broken, interferes, to,annul the cause-of
justice. , Can this fatherly protection,of the;
British Government change the-nature of
the crime, or deprive the‘courts-of New
York of their jurisdiction?, Besides, it is
very far from being true, that a /nan; in
time'of war, is always screened by the offi
cial shield of the Government. Take, for
example, the case of a.spy. No act of the
Government can shield him from punish
ment. In the revolutionary war, Lieut.
'McPherson was ;taken near Princeton by
Gen. Putnam* • He was demanded by the
British General, with the threat that two
American officers should be hung for him.
It is said Gen. Putnam returhed -this an
swer: ’
•“Sir—Lieut. McPherson was taken asji
spy—he was tried as a spy—he was
doomed as a spy—and he shall be hung, as
a spy.
A correspondent writes ns follows;
■ HdnsoN/June 5, XB4t, -
I hasten.to give you' an account of a most,
dreadful accident which has takeii place in
our city, to-day. If has.been the custom of
the chief superintendent latterly, to let the
care go down the descent from the head of
Warren street*'without ,the engine or horse
“ISRAEL PUTNAM. power, and always 'thinking that a man pla
.. .p, g He i-t hung.” " bed eaj?H-car. 'ytas Sufficient
“In the case of McLeod there was ,no for safcty. . ;
war, nor pretence of war. They who, took But on. the rim down this -morning, the
the Caroline and murdered the crew, were breaks did not perform as well,as usual, and
precisely in* the attitude of- highway robr the consequence was-thaf six-large freight
hers.” ■ „ •' .'. L... cars ran on the dock, and • was lost. . The
This is in the spirit, which actuated the amount of property lost cannot be asoeriain
late administration and dictated the replies ed exactly, but as near as can be found,out,
of Mr. Forsyth to the./British .Mihiisteri— will not beless .than'..s2o, ooo; but that is
Under the Democratic administration, a firm hot.any thing; where the loss of.life is taken
determination was manifested to resist the into consideration—for five . persons,. who;
insolent demands of England, and maintain were known, to ba in the car 3, were lo3t—
the hbhor of the country. The ..change of and how many more cannot; be-told. . Two
Administration has, however, evidently pro-, were taken out, one masjied; to ~a complete
duced a change of policy towards. England. Jelly; And on the other .allmeans were
Tlie Webstsr policy is to manoeuvre, palav- tried, but in vain* to resuscitate mm.—Xfoff.
er, prevaricate and cringe, to appease Eng- 2?<j>tiW»can. ■ ■ • : :
land andavoid reapotisibi 1 i ty, It is no NYon
der a course so unmanly, so unpatriotic and
dishonorable, is denounced by the Whig
editor of the Cincinnati Chronicle, and re
sisted in his official capacity, by Mr. Sew
ard, the Whig Governor of New York.—
The fonper shows (hat he has not permitted
Ids feelings as, an r 'American to be merged in
’mere party considerations, and the latter,
anxious to retain the good opinion-of his fel
low citizens, probably with, a view to re
election, is constrained to oppose, openly
and officially, the truckling movements.' of
the administration of the General Govern
ment in reference to (lie impudent demand
for (he release of McLeod.
■ God knows we do not' desire war with'
England. We are perfectly aware that a
conflict with the haughty “mistress of the
seas” would be productive of an incalcula
ble amount of deprivation and suffering—
that the sacrifice of blood and human life
would be tremendous; but' we think we
plainly forsee that the very evils which the
cringing policy of the Administration is in
tended to avoid, must be brought upon us
by tile adoption of that policy. Every cow
ering movement invites aggression. Every
display on the part'of the .Adiirtilisjration,
of subserviency to, England and to English
interests, is regarded as evidence that we
are almost ripe for re-colonization..
■Had Mr. Van Buren been re-elected, we
should not have heard the . Whig, Governor
of N.ew'York complaining of interference
witli the rights of that Stale, and of the sub
serviency of the .Administration to England.
The selection of Mr. Webster as pre
mier was not only ill advised, but unfortun
ate. He was, and is, in-the pay of .the
Bank of the United States, and is believed
by many sensible and discreet men to be at
this moment in British pay—not directly in
■the'payof the British Government, but of
British capitalists.. The late outfit of sixty
five thousand dollars furnished by the .Wall.
street money changers—mostly Englishmen
or mere English Agents—under pretence
that it was a manifestation of respect' for his
public'Services, was a very extraordinary
transaction, and, wheil'viewed in connection
With bis letter to the Barings bn the credit
of the States, the suggestion which'immedi
ately followed, (coming from England_]qo)
Gcdhtbr;’’teust' cause every well informed l
man to see the error the late President com-
milled in the selection of tiis Secretary of
State., ,
THE STEAM SHIP PRESIDENT.
" ' From the New Tojk Herald .
On Saturday last, James Buchanan, Esq.,
Iter Britanic Majesty’s Consul for the port
•of-Ncw a inceling at the of
fice of his consulate, for the purpose of in
quiring into the condition of the; -steam s|iip,
when she put to sea.last from this.purt, what
cargo she Jiad, how. her coal was stowed,
whether there was any deficiency of spars,
yards, &c., whether or not she was hogged
or strained by 'previous storms, and every
particular connected with her up to-the last
time she was sent to sea, so far as known
by any one in the United Slates.
The meeting was attended by Jacob Wal
ton, Esq. Rear Admiral of the White, Geo.
Barclay, Esq., agent for .Lloyd’s in the port
of New York, Thomas W. Moore, Esq', her
Majesty’s packet agent, Mr. Henry Smith,
of the firm of Wadsworth &Smith, the a
gent for the steam ships President and Brit
ish Queen, Capt. Benj. Waite, of the pneket
ship England, Capt. Cole, of the packet ship
Orpheus, Capt. Bell, and several other gen
tlemen! eminent for .their skill anil experi
ence in nautical matters.
Capt. Cole, of the ship Orpheus, rose and
stateil that he left New York in company
with the steam ship President; on the inorn
ing ufthe llth of March Inst, and that he
was in sight of her until about sundown on
the evening of the 12th.
i; Capt. Gole further stated that when he
last saw the President rising on the top of
a..tremendous sea, she appeared to be pitch
ing heavily and laboring tremendously. She
was (hen situated in'that dangerous part of
the Atlantic Ocean, about mid-way between
the Nantucket Shoal and the r St. George’s
Bank, just where the Gulf Stream strikes
soundings! and where .the waves rise almost
straight up aifd down as high as 1 a four'.or
five story house.
That the President then must have been
silipping seas heavily ami fast;that probitbly
.these large bodies of water worked through
into the engine room, or fire room; and'ex
tinguished the fires, in which case the stea
mer would have been comparatively help
less—that the storm waS“tcrrific all that
night—that tlje next morning the wind shift
ed suddenly from N E to SB, knocking up
a still nioro tremendous' sea, and that the
gale continued with unabated fury till mid
night of the 13th. And that if is his belief
that the President did not survive that gale,
but foundered with.all' bn board, and that
all perished before sundown on the 13th, or
in less than 24 hours after.he Inst saw hen
and most probably in the terrific night of
the 12th of March. t " -
In this opinion Capt. .Waite and the other
nautical gentlemen seemed to cpiniide.
DREADFUL ACCIDENT AT HUDSON
In consequence of the- recent extensive,
robbery of' the' Frederick County Bank, ; the
Directors have given notice that they will
not pay the deposits or.cotes in circulation,
except that in cases where debts are due the
Bank, by depositors or noteholders, their de
posites, or notes held by them at the time
the bank was robbed, (satisfactory, proof of
which will be required) will;be received in
payment of their respective debts.' And in
order to determine what amount of paper is
legitimately in circulation, the directors re
quest all persons holding-notes to bring them
in for ■ special deposite' in -the bank,'or, in
case they prefer keeping them in their own
possession, to communicate to the Bank the
.amount, number arid-denomination of the
said notes respectively, before the ISth June.
The notes of the Bank previous to this no
tice had been received by the stores in the
neighborhood at 75 cents in, the dollar.—
Such was the confidence reposed in the’in
'stitutibn by the people of Frederick, county
tliat it is said, of the 179,000 dollars capi
tal, 134,000 dollars were owned in Freder
icktown and vicinity,— Nat, Gaz.
Fatal MJ'ray. —Ah affray occured On Saturday
evening, between die hours.of nine apd ten o’clock
at the comer of Light and Lombard streets, which
was followed by the death of one of the parties,
yesterday mojning at 7 o’clock. From the rela
tion of Mr. James Groves, Who was an eye-wit
ness from the commencement of the melancholy
transaction to its'clbse, we gather the ensuing par
ticulars. Francis Walker, the deceased, was sit
ting oh his lather's door, in-Lighl street, three
doors from Lombard, between nine and ten o’clock,
when two men named, Wilson Winfree and An-,
thony or Andrew Freoburger,-cpme to;the corner
and commenced disputing with one another—
Freeburger betting $5 that he could whip Win
free. Walker, who was sitting in the dour, rose,
approached die parlies and requested them not to
fight, but to part as good friends. To (bis the
parties agreed, but upon die condition that both
would appear die next morning, Sunday, about 8
o’clock, to terminate the quarrel by a regular bat
tle. They then shook hands. W’infree went a
way, while Freeburger remained on'the'pavement
at the comer. Walker, supposing the quarrel set
tled between them for the present, walked to the
■steps of the corner dwelling and set down. Free
burger still remained in the same place, bantering
some one to fight whose name the witness does
not recollect. Walker then rose trom ills seat, ap
proached Frecburgersaying “he could.whip them
both,” referring to* reeburger and Winfrec. 'Frcc-
g 1 '"rgci fiaid .“if cpnjp,.. ps,” --r
ger struck him iii the face with his liar, but where
the blow look effect the witness is not precisely
certain. The first blow however, made -Walker-'
Veel backwards towards the curbstone, and while
thus reeling, Freeburger. struck another blow
which took effect a little above the outer corner of
the left eyebrow. From tlio violence of this blow,
he fell backwards over the curbstone, his head
lighting on the flag-stone. Freeburger ran at him
while down, witli the intention, as r.n witness be
lieves, of stamping on him with his feet; sqrao
persph.unknown to. the witness intcrfered,,a'nd..lold
Freeburger “he had killed the man, and it was no
use to do more.” F reeburger then ran off, when the
witness, with the assistance of the individual re
ferred to above, raised Walker and placed.him on
the pavement: he was soon taken hence to his
father’s residence and physicians called in, who
gave it as their opinion that death was inevilabb.
He lingered until yesterday morning at 7 o’clock,
when he died. Deters Durkee and Hintze were
summoned by the coroner, William T. Rice, Esq.,
who upon examination, found tlio skull broken a
bout two idfches in length, with great effusion of
blood in a coagulated state, and thedirain adjacent
to the fracture- reduced to a mummy, as though it
had been pounded. Verdict of thejury, “that the
deceased came to his death by the fall which he
received front life hand of Anthony or Andrew
Freeburger.”
We learii that Andrew Freeburger was arrested
about fifteen minutes after the fatal deed was com
mitted, by a watchman named George Kauderer,
and taken to the Middle District watch-house—
He was taken in the vicinity of the house where
the deceased lay, and it is supposed he had gone
thitherto ascertain the amount of foal injury he
had done. —-Baltimore Sun,
Tall Wheat. — A gentleman left at our office
yesterday a stalk of wheat of this year’s growth,
Which measures six'feet and Um inches, and from
the fact of its being just in blossom, it would no
doubt have grown six or eight inches more. It
grew on the farm of Nicholas Gatch, Esq - , about
five miles from the city, on the Bel Air road, and
the seed was obtained from .England, where it is
called the “Yorkshire Brown.” There were four
bushels sown on the field, from which the above
enormous stalk was taken, and it bids fair lay ield
the proprietor upwards of one hundred bushels.—
The secret of this great crop may prove an advan
tage to some 'bf our agricultural friends. Two
years since, Mr. G. did not raise from the same
quantity of seed on the same ground, five bushels
pf.wheafj-where-lio-wilLnotv-liave over one,hun
dred; the secret of which is that he has since put
oh about sixty bushels of lime to the acre, and a
small quantity of manure.- If our farmers would,
cultivate less ground, and put on more lime and
manure, they would have less labor to preform and
more grain for market; A specimen of the wheat
alluded to above may be seen at the Sun office.—
Baltimore San.
A Caheeb of CniME.— The negroes lately con
vipled at St. Louis, we judge from paragraphs in
the papers,,ate making full confessions. -JfheNew
Era says: ’ ‘'j. . .
Their career of wickedness has been a Ipngand
astonishing one—commencing some ten years ago.
and the disclosures, will account .forraany out
rages hitherto involved jn mystery.. It is under
stood that they have’ been concerned in many of
the robberies at this place within the past year—
in those at Galenaearly this spring, and in num
berless ones at New Orleans. Probably the
whole.wesl and south has suffered from their.dcp
redations. They have been engaged too, in a reg
ular system of operations; by which the slaves of the
south were assisted in making their escape to Cana
da. It was on one of these occasions. Brown says,'
that he committed the only murder which, can be
charged against him, except that of Mr. Weaver,
which ho now acknowledges, He’had hinder his.
charge h negro from one of the southern Slates,who
was fleeing to Canada. Some cause ledviim to be
apprehensive of detection, and ho determined’ to
make way with the slave. Accordingly, at night,
he 'decoyed him ,to .the guard.of.the- steamboat,,
tipped him oyer, into the water, .and that was the
last he heard hf him.'- Brown admits the justice
of his sentence, and .'consoles himself .with the
idea that his _wifo and child are left Hi indepen
dent circumstances—the fruits of years of villainy.
~ Braddee tkeilaiißobher. —Braddee,who is oh
trial at Pittsburg, vvason Saturdayioat delivered
up by his sureties, in consequence of tho develop
ment of testimony by one of tho witnesses named
Thayer, who stated that Braddee had related
the rno^qpermidi'.;by which he robbed tho mail;
and added tlmlanguage of, the prisoner, who had
remarked that,' “when hegoton a mail bag it made
his knife laughV’ During Saturday aftemoon, a
witness from Morgantown,-.Va., .testified .that he
received from the prisoner,subsequent to tho rob-,
bory, a sum of money, which money being produ
ced, was identified by a gentleman from St, Louis
as , the , same; hq i had: mailed;, antecedent to the
robbery. .The evidence' is thought to be sufficient
: to convict Braddee already, and there is etillettong
er testimony expected" to, bo brought opt. '.s ' ■ , p