19V1133 5 W 2 0 1
'
poi the Reed Repository]
co ludic Girps' Prayer.
3 , 4101 lII7IILISTiI. OL:r.
tp3e the pebbled shore,
the godson ' s wave,
em each heavy roar,
echoes from the Fiero;
le n ight, and cold the breeze,
led Waugh the forest trees,
its sweeping might;
je'Munder's pealing' tone,
the echo of each moan,
that tempestuous night.
is prayer mingled with . -
as loud she cried— '
pint shield my father,
gi his shield and guide ;
him in his hours of grief,
the broken hearted chief,
'sys are nearli closed ;
him from the white man's dart,
4bulle-pierce `his heart,
v a t* in his woes.
aged warrior make
of his dying bed,
.ay thy saints watah o'er
hoary head ;
. o'er him, while in his prime,
conquering hand of time
awed his giint frame;
ten hiseagle eye-was bright,
mired foes feared at the sight,
trembled at his name.•
, w, he comes not froorthe fied;
, was wont to do;
;ht amid the bowfing.storm,
watched for his canoe.
of victory greet my eir, •
but the sweeping blast I hear,
Item' dashing wild.' l 'l;.,
'maid, thy prayer's in vain,
, will neer retara•again
yless this weeping child.
don g the-heaps of slain;
iv the battle- d;
klany Lind grasps in death's hour.
curled bow and shield; •
it bower-remains beside ,
,ling rivulet's flowing tide,
his eye ne'er will view ; •
•
screened from the sun's bright rays,
meet his enraptured gaze,
raise he's bill adieu.
Life's Errors.
in that sublime estate
'our souls shall once attain,
Earth and Time, and Fate,
- before our eyes again.
review our Life's slow way,
and wearinela beholding,
ven's'pur l er noon survey •
Ys dim twilight now is folding ?
onerous change will pus
u here hash seemed or been !
as through a glass..
shall face to face be seen ;
of all we prized,
of the love we sought,'
Ith of hearts despiseii,
all we valued not
not then be seen
earthly Bath of team
'bats hen been
'mourner's eye appears. -
• around us breaks,
Mall read their course below,
long mistakes,
ty a needlemarne.
was liasseti-in visions fair,
the weilth of heart;
had thelarder care ' `
those dreams depart,
ilefVfor sad old age,
useless grief tarns
a pilgrimage.
not, if we would, renew!
Ores the evil lay,
artificers of woe!
were blade of slay,
s our hapd:that framed them so
some divner ea, •
our hearts, alike to shun
fault of trusting all
of trusting none.
then, with vain disgust
betrayed and faith !deceived
•
hearts forget to trust;
• are wounded, wrung and grieved
this letvain---it is such
Life's darkness into fight;
never love too much,
only love aright!
A Truism.
tlvr'-' Each day
ES me away,
'et approaching my prime!"
Ntgoi—" Not so--
trah is, we know, • '
I '3- Mt& you, that trades. Time."
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Opinion of the Suprenie• tout.
The Commonwealth vs. James Clarke,
Jesse .31111er, and Wm. B. Foster, Jun.
•)
It is unnecessaxy to adveit to the
.
common law definition of an office, or
to the supposed distinction between of
fices in the appointment of the, Execu
tive and offices within the power of the
legislature by , the original constitution.
The question for decision turns on the
peculiar provisions of the amended con
stitution, and it lies almost' within the
bounds of a nut shell. The Bth section i
of the 6th article declares, that " all
officers, , whose electiOn or appointment
Is' not provided' for in this constitution,
shall be elected or appointed as shall be
directed by law." The election or ap
pointment of CanitCommissioners was
not provided for by the constitution, and
it was consequently !ii be provided for
by law. But it was &dared by the
schedule appended to the instrument
(section 11,) that " the appointing pow
er shall remain as heretofore, and all
officers in the, appointment of the Ex
ecutive department shall continue in the
lexercise of the duties of their respec
,tive offices, until the legislature shall
pass such laws as may be required by
'the Bth' section of tliel6th article of the
amended constitution ; and until ap
pointments shall , be made under such
laws, unless their commissions shall be
superseded by new appointments, or
shall sooner expire by their own limi
tations ;,, or the said offices shall become
vacant by death or resignation." .Now
the Canal Commissioners were Officers
within the appointment of the Execu
tive at the adoption of the amendments ;
and consequently were to remain in
officefill laws for elections or new ap-.
pointments should be enacted. But the
same section of the schedule directed
those laws to be enacted by the first
legislature under the amended constitu
tion; and as the injunction was not
performed by it, the argument on the
part of the Commonwealth
t is, that it
could not be constitutionally performed
by a subsequent one—of course that the
power of appointment remains, with the
Executive.
The authority invoked for this inter
pretation is the decision of this court in
the Commonwealth vs. Lieb (9 Watts,
200,) in which it was held that the
execution of a power by the first legis
lature, as directed by another section
of this same schedule, could not be
repeated by a subsequent legislature, on
pretence that the preceding one had not
carried out the views of the Conven
tion. The 9th section had directed the
first Legislature to divide the Associate
Judges
,of the Common Pleas into
classes in order that they might be dis
placed, in limn, according to seniority of
commission,
,in, a certain number of
years. The classification was made ;
but the second Legislature undertook
to remodel it on the ground of mistake;
and this - it was held incompetent' to do;
not only because the power was a dis
cretionary one vested in a particular
body, which was to judge of the exer
cise of it,. butbecause it - had already
been hxhinsted. by the execution of it,
and was gone. Being executed, it had
become obsolete and incapable of giv
ing authority for further action. What
conclusively showed that the exercise
of it was limited to the first legislature,
was, that subsequent legislation would
have come too late for the object; for,
when the second act was passed, the
period for the expiration of the com
mission of the first class had already
elapsed. How different the case before
us, in ivhich thepower to enact laws
for the introduction of the particular
amendment bad not been executed at
all, and in which the power is not such
as must necessarily be exhausted by - a
single exercise of it. It was a cardinal
object of the convention, to place the
appointment
, to office, and the patronage
consequent upon it, in such hands as
the Legislature should from time to
time direct ; not to have a final dispo
sition of it by the accidental action of
any one Legislature. The purpose of
subjecting it to legislative action at all,
was, to have the benefit of changes
which experience might from time to
time show to be expedient. But the
power of the Legislature over the classi- -
fication of the Associate Judges, w s as:
necessarily limited io a single exercise
of it; and'the act, being done, could
not be repeated. It would have been a
curious, but by no means an amusing
spectacle, to see a class of those judges;
who had retired from the bench under
a particular classification, re-called to it,
and their successors 'by the
establishment of a new one. according
to the alternate prevalence of parties in
the political arena.
Degardieis of Denunciation from any Qucirter.—Gov. POSTED.
911)VAlignail4 23214111301113) CSOWSFESII9 Pao9JTEs4I9 iLeifidc.
To have applied the principle of the
Commonwealth vs. Lieb to cases of a
different stamp, might have led to start
ling consequences. By the 7th section
the 6th article of the amended Con
stitution, Justices of the Peace and
Aldermen, shall be ,elected, in the se
veral wards, boroughs, or townships,
at the time of the election of constables,
by the qualified voters thereof in such
numberi as shall be directed by law ;
and shall be commissioned by the Go
vernor for a term of five years ;" and
by the 12th section of the schedule,
The first election for Aldermen and
Justices'of the Peace, shall be held in
the year 1840, at the time fixed for the
election of constable,s. The Legisla
ture at its first session, under the amend
ed Constitution, shall provide for the
said election, and for subsequent simi
lar elections. The Aldermen and Jus
tices
of the Peace now in commission,
or who may.in the interim be appointed,
shall continue to discharge the duties of
their respective offices, until fifteen days
after the day which shall be fixed by
law for the issuing of new commissions,
at the expiration of which time their
commissions shall expire." Now on
the principle of construction asserted
by the Commonwealth, what would
have- been the consequence if an acci
dental difference of views between the
-Senate and the House of 'Representa
tives, such as actually occurred in re
gard to the Canal Commissioners, had
prevented the first Legislature from en
acting laws to carry the ulterior provis
ions of the Constitution for the election
of Aldermen snd Justices of the Peace
in effect? It would have been the frus-
tration of those provisions, an4the per
petuation of the old mode of their ap
pointment with its attendant principle
of tenure for life, and with the preser
vation of a great share of the Executive
patronage which it 'was an special ob
ject of the Convention to destroy. .
That is not all. Though the justices
and aldermen would have- held their
commissions
,for life, there would have
been no power under the constitution
to supply their places .at their death ;
and thus this indispensable arm of the
magistracy would in the end have been
cut off. The 11th section of the sched
ule which provided that the appointing
power should remain as heretofore, was
predicated of offices indicated in the Bth
section of the article ; for it is restrained
to officers in the appointment of the
Executive, whose election or appoint
ment tis provided for in the amended
eonstituticiii. It was said in regard to
these, that they should continue ex
ercise theirlunctions till the Legislature
should pass such laws as - might be re
quired to give effect to the Bth section
of the 6th article ; and it was conse
quently in relation to the offices indi
cated in that section that it was said the
power of appointment should remain as
heretofore. If that provision were an
independent and unrestricted rule of
the constitution, it would annul all the
alterations for, appointment to office ei
ther by the Executive or by the Legis
lature ; but it was expressly restricted
to officers • whose election or appoint
ment is not specially provided for by
the terms of the amended constitution.
Now the election of justices and alder
men happens to be thus provided for in
the body of the instrument ; and it is
therefore not within the conservative
operation of the II th section of the
schedule. Can it be thought..then,
that, by directing laws for the election
of justices and alderman, to be enacted
sat the first session, the convention meant
to expose one of its most cherished al
terations and an entire branch of the
magistracy, to the chance of destruction
from the uncertain action of the legis-
lature ? Perhaps nothing conduced
more to the success of the amendments
than public clamor against the inferior
magistrates ; and though -it may be en
tirely true that the quality of these MB
cers his not in any
,great degree been
improved by the change, it is certain
that a change was called for by the pub
lic ; which is all that is required for the
argument:
The principle of strict construction,
would frustrate important provisions In
every newly constructed frame of go
vernment. It was provided by the Ist
article and 2d section of ktte federal con
stitution, that the Senate should be com
posed of two'luembers, froth each State,
chosen for six years ; and that .6 im
media.fely" after they should be as
sembled, they, should be divided into
three classes, in order that one-third of
the body might be chosen every year,
Yet, on the principle of strict con
struction, a postponement of the divis
ion for a mouth, or a day, would have
presented an insuperable obstacle, to
the organization of the government.—
Necessity, the paramount rule of inter
tation, demands that such provisions be
deemed only directory ; as was the in
junction imposed by the 7th article of
our constitution, which has been retain
ed by the reform convention, that the
legislature shall, as soon as convenient
ly may be, provide by law for the es
tablishment of schools throughout the
State, in such manner that the poor may
be taught gratis." Yet, though it was
just as convenient to perform this duty
at first as at last, it was not done till
half a century had elapsed ; and no one
doubts for that reason the constitution
ality of our system of public schools.
Still further. If the power of ap
pointment remains wtth the Executive,
it must be because it was vested in him
by law at the adoption of the amend
ments ; and it must be exercised in
the mode prescribed by the law, with
out confirmation by the Senate, though
it was evidently intended that no execu-
Live appointment by virtue of the con
stitution should be valid without such
confirmation, except that of Secretary
of the Commonwealth. Thus, would
not only the power to appoint Canal
Commissioners remain as it was, but
also the power to appoint all officers
whose appointment is not specifically
provided for in the amended constitu
tion : and thus, too, would the princi
pal part of the executive patronage be
restored by an accidental difference of
views between the branches of the first
Legislature. That difference would
have the effect, too, of engrafting on
the original constitution a power of ap
pointment which originated in an act
of ordinary legislation ; and this, too,
without submission to, or adoption by,
the people.
A constitution is not to receive a tech
nical construction like a common law
instrument or a statute. It is to be in
terpreted so .as to carry out the great
principles of the government—not to
defeat them—and to that end, its com
mands, as to the time of manner of per
forming an act, are to be considered as
merely directory, wherever it is not
said that the act shall be performed at
the time, or in the manner prescribed,
and no other. The cbject of the com
mand, in this instance, was no more
than to urge the Legislature to put the
elective principle in active operation at
the earliest day practicable under all
the circumstances ; and it has been ac
complished. What is this schedule t
It is a temporary provision for the pre
paratory machinery necessary to put
the principles of the amendments in
motion without disorder or collision.—
Its purpose was not to control those
principles by the happening of an 'event,
but to carry the whole into effect with
out break or interval. Its use was
merely to shift the machine gradually
into. another track ; and having done its
office, it is to be stowed away in the
lumber-room of the government. No
thing was further from the purpose of
the convention than to make anything
contained in it a matter of permalent
regulation. Its uses were temporary
and auxiliary.
To suppose that the provisions in the
Sth section of the 6th article, were to
depend for that effect oip the sanction or
co-operation of the first legislature,
would be to suppose that it was intend-
ed to give that body a controlling pow
er over the public will expressed by the
adoption'of the amendments. It would
have been an abuse of the power which
the convention had received from the
people, to delegate any part of it, ex
cept for merely ministerial purposes ;
and especially to delegate it to a body
whose action would be final. It is im
possible for human forcast to provide
against accidents which may stop tie
motion of an l untried'machine ; and they
must b.e repiired whet! they occur, by
those who have the management and
direction of it.--The convention could
not foresee the difference which took
place between the Senate and House of
Representatives in the first legislature ;
and the great elective principle estab
lished in the body of the constitution
must not be suffered for that reason to'
fail. It is considered, therefore, that
the demurrer of the Commontvealth be
overruled ; that'the plea of the respon
dents be sustained; and that they go
without day.
As IMPUDENT RASCAL.—.-A fellow
broke jail in Maryland last week.. He
left behind him a letter expressing his
gratitude to the jailor and his wife for
their kind treatment, and regretting that
his health would permit him to remain
no longer in their agreeable society.—
He felt himself growing unwell from
eenfinement, and tore- himself away
from them, confident that the climate
of the state did not agree with him.
Splendid Church.
The New York Herald gives the fol
lowing description
.of Trinity Church
in that city, which when finished. will
be the most magnificent church on this
continent. When completed. it is ex
pected that the cost of the building will
not fall far short of $BOO,OOO.
The length of the church, out and
out, is 192 feet, extending from Broad
way to Trinity Place ; its length ins ide
is 137 feet, depth of the chancel 33 feet
6 inches.; square of the tower inside,
18 feet 6 inches; square of the tower
including walls and buttresses, 45 feet;
breadth of the church outside, 84 feet;,
breadth inside. 72 feet ; breadth of the
nave, 37 feet 4 inches ; height of the
nave, sixty-seven II feet , six inches;
height of the part of the tower now built,
one hundred and twenty-seven feet; in
tended height of tower, including spire
and cross, 246 feet. The building is
of the highest order of the Gothic
school, being the most ancient order of
architecture. It is technically called
the style of pure perpendicular English
Gothic. The main building was vom
menced in 1839, for which an appro
priation of $250,000 was laid by, from
the richest corporation in this city.—
The church is now roofed in and cover
ed with copper, and the stucco work
of the ceiling of the nave is complete.
The gorgeous appearance and general
finish of this part of the church, will
astonish the Cognoscenti," by the
extreme beauty of its design and exe
cutions. The chancel window at the
rear of the building, is of immense pro
portions, being orer 40 feet in height,
and will, g when filled, the stained glass
now designed for it, produce a brilliant
effect upon the entire nave within.—
Some of the smaller windows are alrea
dy finished, and the variety of coloring
is truly beautiful—presenting almost'
every shade and hue of the rainbow—
giving an effect, in the sun's glare, re
sembling a perfect rainbow. The floor
of the nave is to be highly finished in
tesselated marble. The flooring of the
pews is to be of wood—uniformly car
peted. The aisles, it will be perceiv
ed, are•to be very broad. The plaster
ing of the side walls of [the Church is
progressing with great despatch. Thus
it will be seen that the main part of the
building—ip; interior—is far advanced.
We now come to the tower and spire
in progress of erection. The height of
this part of the buildings as has been
observed, will be 264)feet. The walls
of the lower part of this stupendous
pile, are 7 feet in thickness, of solid
stone work, which gradually ascending
diminishes to 4 feet. The main door-
way is of solid workmanship. The
stone of which this entire building is
composed, was, after the most deliber
ate and careful research, selecteil from
the quarry at Little Falls, Patterson,
New Jersey. It has been analyzed
by our Chemists and found to possess
most largely the requisite qualities of
durability and imperviousness to rain,
frost or heat. Lords Morpeth, Ashbur
ton, and many other distinguished trav
ellers. have declared that this specimen
of stone exceeds in firmness of grain
and general qualities any stone known
to the architects of England. We
tend this part of the building by a
winding stairs, which lead us into the
clock chamber,,were the solidity of the
stone work again strikes the eye and
excites the, admiration there is to be a
clock here with three dials of nine feet
in diameter. Again ascending we ar
rive at the belfry, in which -there are
eight large windows of , Gothic design.
according with the general character of
the building. Here there will be hung
the celebrated chime of eight bells,
which were cast by Mein and Sons,"
of London, in 1789, especially for this
corporation. The front window that
faces Broadway is a gorgeous specinr
of this order of architecture, which.ex
cites universal admiration. An outside
walk will surround the base of the spire.
whicn will be guarded by, a rich perfor
ated battlement, of gorgeous design.—
The work is here thoroughly filled in
with molten lead—the cement in use
is spoken of by the artizaus as possess
ing qualities of durability equal to solid
granite. The architect, Richard Up
john, Esq.. is well known in the com
munity as the builder of the church of
the Ascension of Christ's church, and
this building will serve as .a monument
of his great genius and comprehensive
ness of mind.
'Wry, which does not sweeten a
Man's natural temper, may - be compar
ed to fniit before it is ripegood in its
kind, but not arrived at perfection.
" The last toy of the minstrel," as
Jerry observed on see.ing.a music grind
er bins in the ewer drunk.
u:ye uto ao %%comma a aosh.
Harper and Brothers.
Let me improve this Oicasion to
speak of the distinguished firm in which
the Native American -candidate is the
principal. J. & J. Harper was the
name under which the two elder broth
ers (James and John) began business
as printers. They took the first step,
more than twenty years ago, in bringing
down the price of republications to a
reasonable standard. The conseqrience
was an almost immediate success.—
Perhaps they owed much to the fortu
nate circumstance of their having begun
with those immortal works, the Waver
ly novels. The two 'Tuner brothers
(Joseph and Fletcher) came into the '
bouse at a later period. They are all
men of excellent standing and charac-4
ter—distinguished for their exactness
and fidelity in business. , They have
published many original works, and
paid large Sums to authors. As a re
cent instance, I may mention that of
$7500 to Mr. William H. Prescott.
for his great work entitled, the Con
quest of Mexico. I learn, also, that
the learned Dr. Charles Anthon receives
from them more than $5OOO annually
as copy-right for his various classical
and, school books. Mr. John L. Ste
phens, author of Incidents of Travel in
Central America, &c., has received
more than $20,000. Do not such facts
as these controvert the opinion that
American authors can get nothing for
their works. The truth is, that suc
cessful' authors are well paid every
where, and fifty International Copyright
La* will never enable an indifferent
writer to procure even a bare subsist.
ence by his-pen. , "
The Harpershave a very large print
ing establishment.. They employ
eighty compositors, one hundred and
fifty girls in folding books, besides
numbers of persons in the other parts
of the business. To how many fami
lies must such an establishment give
support ? Beginning with the poor
people, who go about the 'streets pick
ing rags for the paper makers, perhaps
it is not too much to shy that three
hundred families, full fifteen hundred
persons, are clothed and fed by
the work of ' this single house.—
When we think that the basis on which
all this rests„is made of the brains of a
few authors in the old world and the
new, we are certainly not disposed to
follow the fashion of the political:econ
omists, and rank the literary tribute
among... the unproductive laborers: 1:
—I am curious to know how many
millions of books, have been printed
and published by this one house alone
since its commencement.
Industry, Happiness and Health.
We were forceably struck, a few days
since, with a iemark made by an old
and affluent citizen. Speaking of his
habits, and of his constant attention to
something which occupied his mind,
he said that he always felt better, phy
sically and mentally when employed
in some useful pursuie." because, in the
first place, he knew he w.as disch-arg
ing his duty as a mem er of society
and a man '; and, in the s ond, he was
prevented from indulgiri'g in painful
thoughts. This is sound philosophy.
The idler, whether rich or poor—young
or old, is far more apt to be annoyed
by disagreeable reflections—to feet
moody and discontented—to be hurried
on into temptation and crime, than the
individual who, no matter what his con
dition in a pecuniary point of view,
seeks to keep both mind and body
properly employed, and thus to shut
out feverish desires and nervous phan
tasmagoria which idleness is certain to
call into existence. Every individual
has a part to play in the. drama of life ;-
and that man is happiest, be he rich or
poor, who with a. proper consciousness
of right or wrong—virtue and vice,
keeps his body in a wholesome state of
i exercise—always careful to be prompt
ed in his movements by honor, hones
ty. and conscientiousness.
BLOWING AT TIIE KEY-HOLE.-A
Washingtonian tells us that he had no
idea that he was a drunkard, until one
night he had been drinking very freely,
and on entering his house and finding
no light, he inquired of his wife, wbo
was in, bed, whether there was any fire;
and on receiving an answer in the alfir
illative, he groped around until he found
the bellows, and went to blowing.--
After exhausting much time and
patience, and not
_producing either
light or beat, he called upon his wife
for assistance; who, when she arrived.
'found lain laboring away -at the key
hole of the door, through which the
moon shone, and which he bad mista
ken for a large coal of fire.
Igrao-Co