I . •
Panatiemitts., Art= 4, 111138
Nickolas Biddle, Bag. Iltiladelpktit.' -
D EAR ea u —y o u were ;kind enough to
say 04 the4t-**Sich! 114utiOciai to
you the other evading, reVecting the Im
portance of Coal and Iron to Pennsylvaitis,
were of interest to you; . titid you alsoiex
pressed a desire that I 'shottild commit
them to p iper with any other inattent that
1 might think into tiny_ in relatioa to
these minerals chielfy in a cummeicisl
point of -view. - j ' I
My. priaeipal obi . being to show how
1,7,
vital• the develop 7 nt o t these miperals
will be to the pros at) , of this great state,
1 shall endeavor so to arrange the differ.
ent branches of the subj-it as . to give you
as clear a notion of my s ewe is possible.
First. then, as to the 'Viet of the peal
field:sewith which we ore ' pie-eminently
m
blessed—that of the bitainineus coat ex
tending from a point near to Towanda. in
a line nearly parallel to the baundarr line
of the state of New Yurl, as far as War,
,
ren, and theme south w st to Sharon, on
the Ohio state boundary. i This firms fiery
„nearly the northern bisunclary of this
great coal field , in Pennsylvania. 'The
southern ; boundary , may be considered to
stretch from the samesterting point, Oro'
Lycomitig county, nerthlof Williamsport,
to Farrandsville, and B ence along the
western declivity of the Ileghany moon
tam to Cumberland inMaryland. Il will
only be necessary to rasp the eye upon the
map to perceive that theitrea of this Initin
dary embraces nearly it not quite a third
part of the whole state. '.•Besides this, we
have bituminous coal it; a circumscribed
space on' Broad Top mountain, on the
Rtystown branch of the Juniata, and on
Stony creek in Dauphioicounty.
The anthracite coal Belds are conipara
lively small when viete . d in relation to
that of the great bitumtoous coal field, but.
they are of great°, comiitercial impoitance
at this lima.
The first, or that P' Pcittsville,: com
mences near to the Leigh, on the Mauch
Chunk Company's lande, and filling up the
valley between the Sharl tend Broad Moon
tains terminates some Intiles east pf the
Susquehanna, and !salient sixty miles long
its greatest breadth beiiig about five'neles.
In the section of the brpadeatpast, which
is at PUttsville, there ire foulld between '
ninety and a hundred! beds, nearly the
whole of which it is ijltely will be found
worth:working. In this southern
.part of
this coal fi eld are found the valuable Red
-Ash beds. ' 1 '
The erscond anthracite vial field, or that
of Shaniokin, conime4es near the Lehigh
as,,Bucli mountain, and terminatee at the
point of junction of the. Big and, Little
. Mahon y, and is perhap s about the same
width or the last:
. 1
The Ithiid anthracite coal field, pr that
of Wilitesbarre, comesences near to Car
bondale, and terminates' at 'the Susque
hanna near Nescopeclf!. i
Having defined the! . limits of ciiir coal
fields, I would caUyoln, . f alientioe to the
important agency this'' hail had i
raising Great Britaiel to a mate of pr.-
parity such as no other nation bee perhaps
ever seen. Nearly all the Britishriters
who have touched upon this subject have
given their testimony as' to 4te being in
tact the very. basis o' the wealth of the
nation.. '
,
The following extrarts are from M'Cul
loch, one Of the must recent writers on the
subject, and whose qpinions have great
weight: i
"Of the different minerals (in Great
1 Britain) that of coal iq by far the most int
" portant and valuable 4f them all.
"it is hardly possible to exaggerate the
advantages England derives from her vast
.
bed* of coat:- i
. "Our coalirdnes ate the principal sour
ces and foundation . our manufacturing
and commercial prosper,. • .
.
• •• Since the invention of t - steam en• '
glue, coal has becotle of the hig st Lin-
portance as a moiinilpoO'er; and Ps na ' ,n
however favorably qituated in Other re
spects, not plentifully stipplied with this
mineral, need hope tp rival thhsei that are,
in most brioches of imanufacturipg indus
try. To what is thi asrnishing increase
of Gtasiow, Mancheinefi &c. and the com
paratively atationary; or declini4 state of
cb
Canterbury, Win 'ate!, and other towns
in the south of Eck .
nd Ito be Roadbed? It
. cannot be, pretentleirivith any:, 'show of
reason that the inibitants of the former
' ate any more inge . ions, enterprising, or
industrious than th* of the latier. The
abundance and che' peens of coal in the
north and its scarci in the south, is the
real cause of this di repancy. The citi.
sena : of Glasgow, Manchester, &c. are
able r at a small expiates' comparittively, to
put the most powerful amid complicated
machinery in motio , and to produce re.
puha trite beyond i e reach of those who
have not the same ' minim& over coal, or
• as it happily has heal:defined " HOARDED
LABOR." Our coal Phoei have been some.,
tittles called the "4litck /tidies"' and it isl
certain that they have conferred a thou.
.r stud itimes more real advantage on us than
Ore have derives In* ilia - conquest of the
Moral Empire, or' thee we should have
reapiui from do orninion of : Mexico of
Pere."
Mr. Porter, Sitlitor 4. , Progress of the
Nation," says. " it'i.annot be necessary - to
point out the men* adeantages which we
derive from the possession of our coal
nines, the source . Of greater riches than
vet issuedProm l ithe isnines Of Peru, or
om the thentred 4rollods' et .he boos of
1•11
11111
-: - 1
the Neela Malta mountain?. Buifacour
command offuel, she inVentiotet of Wilts
and Arkwright would have •been of small
laccoqnt, our iron mines must have long
since ceased to be waked, and Hearty ea.
et, important branch of manufactures
which we now posse's must have been
conducted upon a comparatively insignifi•
cant scale.".
The author of an able work, entitled,
" Fossil Fuel," .does not overrate the im?
round* of coal to England, in the follow.
tug extract:—" The expenditure of coal
in the generation of steam is an extremely
interesting feature of tts history, regardeil
as an element in our national capabilities,
and, when speaking of industrigl resources
of the part which, by the economical con
version of her abundantly argillacieus
carbonate of iron into cannon, Great Bri
tain was enabled to take fur good or for
evil, in the late wars of Europe, and of the
agency of steam, in enabling her tp under.
sell the world in our manufactures, and to
grow rich, despite a national debt, of
X 800,000,000; when speaking on these
and similar subjects the essential comm •
wence of our comas:Anus and all but ex
haustless collieries, is not always suffi
ciently, taken into the account."
Professor flueltland in the following ex
tracts from his able work of the Bridge.
water Treatises, seems equally impressed
with - the emporia.= of coal. The a.
mount of work done in England hits been
supposed to be equivaleut Cu that of 3 or
400,000,000 of men by direct labor, and
we ate almost astonished at the influence
of coal and iron and' steam upon the fate
and fortunes of the human, race. It is
1800 feet below the earth's surface—it
rows, it pumps, it excavates, it carries, it
draws, it lifts, it hammers, it spins, it
weaves, it prints." "We need no further
evidence to show that the presence of coal
is in an especial degree the fonndation.of
increasing population, riche!' and power,
and of improvement in almost every art
which ad ' ters to the necessities and
comforts of mankind, so admirably adap
ted to the benefit of the human race.".
• An able writer in the Penny Magazine
says, " it is the chief source of wealth and
power, as the foundation of out manufac.
turdig industry, and without such a supply
of fuel, our iron, lead, tin, and copper oes
must have remained in their beds."
l3akewell in his Geology says, " I may
be permitted to remark, that however an
cient the firmation of coal and iron may
have been, the frequent occurrence of t hese
minerals together, both destined in future
time to give to area an extensive empire
over the elements and to contriliute large-
Iv to his means of civilization and comfort,
cannot NI to impress the reflecting mind
with evidence of prospective designing in
telligence."
In the examination before the Commit
tee of the House of Lords, in 1830, Mr.
Boddie, who is said to understand this sub
ject better than any other man in Europe.
. tried as -his opinion, that the mintiae
, luring interests of this country, colossal
as is the fabric which it has raised, rests
principally on no other basis than our for
tunate position with regard to the rock.
(car boiretis) of this series. Should our
Ural, mines ever be exhausted, it would
melt away at once, and it need not be said
that The effect produced on private and
do tic comfort would he equally foal
with the diminution of poblit wealth. We
should Woe many of the advantages of our
high civila*on and much of our cultiva
ted grounds must be shaded with forests,
to afford fuel for the remnant of our pre
gent
population. .
Having given y ou the opinions of Bri
tish geologists an d pi.litiCal economists as
to the vital importance of coal to the pros
perity of that nation, let me call your at
tention to some of the ricts which aff.rd
abundant evidence to sustain such unquali
fied opinions.
As to quantity used, ind the Indus.—
M'Culloch states the quaintly of coal con.
timed and exported in 1838, to be 22,-
61: 00 tons, valued at 7s. per ton, seven
million ii'ne hundred and forty-five thou
sand poun. This quantity it has been
stated some ma i s since by Mr. Porter,
from the chair of t Statistical Society
of London, is much belo he real amount
which he said he had reason t lime was
30,000,000 tons. This calruletto t
dollars per ton gives the enormous p c.
lion of 60,000,000 dollars pet annum.
The annual trade .from the Tyne and
the Wear including the home consumption
is about 4.200,000 tots—the trade from
New Castle alone occupying it is supposed
1600 ships constantly.- The Sunderland
Herald has recently stated that there were
building at that time at -Sunderland and on
the Wear, ninety-five ships, some of them
of very, large tonnage.
11 has been mentioned before that all the
chief Manufacturing cities were situated in
the mail fields. The following tilde exhi
bits the large population and the rapid in
crease of the cities dependent on coal fur
manufactures.
1811. 1831.
Manchester, . ' 08,573 182,812
Liverppel; 94,376 165,175
Birmingham, 85,783 148,986
Ledds,' 62,534 123,393
Bristol 76,433 117,016
Sheffield,. 35,84 09,011
New Castle on Tyne, 27,587. 42,760
Merthyr Tydvil, 15,720 22,083
Wolvierhempten, 14,836 24,782
Many other places could he-named, but
it is wily uscassary.tolinir a slightly en-
I=
latiasig=ai=Aalwievaiwiwitaa:tam!a
jawing lute from Atte . !Womb of the Tees
to Farnotrih; and you Will have on the left ,
:the 'rocks„ and err the right
the superiorstrata. On thelonit side wilt
be found all the prosperous Manufacturing
towns, on the other, scarcely an improv
ing one.
The city of Glasgow in 1431 contained
202,000 inhabitants, and cansumed then
4187,000 . t0ns of coal. As manufactures
have greatly increased thert4 since, parti
cularly that of iron, the conivumption has
no doubt greatly increased if not doubled,
for Professor Thompson only feted
before the British Al socintibn at Liver
pool, that 200,000 tons of iron were made
in the vicinity of Glasgow within the pre
vious twelve months.
In Leith alone the glass housea;conautne
40,000 unit of coal annually,
The consumption of coal f r gas in Lon
don is enormous, being about 320;000 tons
yielding 2,400,000 cubic feet of gas, the
light being equal to 160,000,000 pounds
of mould candles. •
In 1834 England eirpor4d to foreign
countries 615,255.t0n5, 40,000 of which
came to the United States.
The great amount of toacege necessary
fur the transportation at coat has a highly
beneficial ciFect on the comerce of Great,
Britain. his that which makes the port
of New Castle of so much importance * it
being according to M'Cullodh " second in
'rank as a shipping port imrlediately after
London."
The influence that coal has on the pros-
perity ofG rest Britain may be further Mos;
t ratted by the immense nunibbr of machines
it keeps rir motion. "It his been Mew,
rated," Professor Ilueklaq says, "that
there are about 15,000 steam engines dai
ly at work, and one of theril is in Cornwall
of 850 horse, power, and would require
1000 horses to be kept to produce the,same
work." In July 1635 there were 527
steam vessels belonging to her ports all of
' which were of course worked by coal.-
1 The number of ships •rwhich arrived with
1 coal in? London in 1629, wad 7,021, the we•
ges of the masters and men; being 55,6401.
Since that sear the trade has materially
increased.
Mr. Middle stated during his examine.
ion, that 21,000 persons were engaged in
he collieries on the Tyne and the Wear.
Long as coal has been tnied in England,
(a duty of 6d. was laid in 1379) its real
value has not until within fifty yl.lllll been
properly appreciated. 1n11582 Elizabeth
obtained a lease of all thci mines of Dur
ham fin. 93 years, for thn annual rent ef
901. It has been recently stated that the
earl of Durham derives ari annual revenue
of 50,0001. from his mini*. What rela
tion this has to those rentd by the Queen
can only now of course Nit surmised.
In 1755 the land and Mines foarieverul
miles around Merthyr T)l4lvil were let for
99 years for 2001. a year. That town is
now the largest and most Wealthy in Wales
and in 1831 had over 121,000 inhabitants.
I cannot find an) statement of the quantity
of coal raised in South Water, but as ilie
quantity of iron alone made there in' 1836
%as 355,000 tons, it certainly is not tihf ly
to be less than 4,000,000; tons
fin states in 1729 that "twenty 'years pre
sums, there were hardly any coals shipped
ur Ne*porl, perhaps not a thrugand tons
in the c o urse of the yeaii whereas, at the
period lamed, the shipMents amounted col
lecti*ely in that port alone, to neatly 1600
tons a day."
After what has been said above, it will
not I think be denied that coal has been
the important agent in placing Great
Britain in her present pre eminently pros
perous state, and we May, I think, draw
the conclusion that Pennsylvania will qwe
in a great measure her Idpire prosperity to
the abundant resources site possesses in
the event of her domain of the same min
eral.
kis now apparent to the most casual
observer, that the increased trade in coal.
has added much within, 4 few years to the
value of properly in philadelphist. . In
1825 the Sc It uy !kill Nevigat it in Company
passedthrough their lurks, 6,500 tuns—tit
1837 the amount was increased to 623,152
tuns, being nearly 45 wr cent. increase
annually fur IV ye.tra. Wallin this period
a new population has aprOng up in Schuyl-
kill county, the importance of which is
evinced in the fact that Ole Post Office at
' ° twine ba g become the third in impor
ta . within the State, being nest to Pitts.
burgh. !ready capitasts are in compe
tition for 's trade fr m Pottiville by
erecting- an es ive, all Road nearly
un the line of the anis]. In the same
ratio of increase for the . at twelve years
we would have 370 " ' ''' wait an in
crease, however, quite impose'' •• it may
be in that period 1,5'30,000 or 2,1 . i ,
The importance ofthe coal trade •
Philadelphia ta so evidMit that it seems
scarcely necessary to tquch upon the sub•
ject. It might, however, be called to mind,
that some twelve yeark since a solitary
wood shallop was, only occasionally seen
at lb. bridge. wharf ,on the Schuylkill
where now may sodietimes be observed-to
arrived in a single tide 50 or 60 vessels
filial sea; the whole - amnt of' aid shipped
from there l ast year bjing $28;304 tons,
by 3070 vessels—in wet causing a new
city to be both on the elegem front, while
the line of the Canal to Pottsville is kept
in constant motion by 1 about 800 Canal
boats. To this tradeiefiy we owe the
great increase of the s ipping of Philadel
phia, the number of %Teals bait year he.
Tii inArtns
ECM
ing' 8188,* while duricg the two wee.
ding years together, it was only 8187. So
far has the importance of this trade elreatiY
gone beyond the calculations of the most
sanguine, that thbse which we deemed
formerly the. most extravagant and •wild,
are not far behind in reality. Confidence
ink the Schuylkill Navigation Company
stuck wax so small as at one time to per
mit iCee lie sold at 30 dollars per shsre,
while now it sells fur about $llO, which
is unquestionably below its real' value...—.
Several colliers at Pottsville, who were
considered enthusiasts in the early part of
the Loraine* offered to gearantee to the
Company the passage of 10,000 tons
through itsiocks.per annum, provided their
tolls were reduced—that tonnage was last
year 523,15'2 t ms!
In the eOal fields we may naturally ex•
pect a very large population. The cheap
ness of hiel will induce inanufactioes to
erect their works near to the mines, and
we may in time have there as industrious
and teeming 'a population as in the coal
fields of England and Wales.t Pennsyl
vania, having about four fifths of the area
of Eriglanaand Wales, (the former having
43.950, and the latter 57,000 square
miles,) and , it soirequal in its naturcl quail
' ties, there can be nit reason why Pennsyl•
vania might not in' time nearly equal the
present population of that kingdom.
IRON.
Harng .stated the importance and ex
tent of the coal fields of Pennsylvania, it
may be said with truth that iron is second
only, at regards her mineral wealth, to
coal. 'So widely are the various - ores of
iron diffused over the State that I believe
there are very few counties which do not
possess the means of making this metal.
where the furl can be obtained. In this
respect nature has been more bountiful, it
is believed, to our state than to any other;
and, accompanying it as she has dupe with
inexhaustild e beds of coal, she has been
doubly bountiful.
The counties in which it seems most
abundant are NorthamAton, Berke, Lan
caster, York, , Franklin, Columbia, Ly
enuring, Clearfield, Centre, Huntingdon
and Fayette. In these it seems to have
been worked most advantagewsly, hut.
with the exception of the Clearfield Coke
and Iron Company at Karthaus, only with
charcoil. • -
In every part of the United States., how
ever, the manufacture of iron is compare
Lively in an infant state; End althoup we
make, it is supposed, in this State two
fifths of all that is made in the United
States, itis not more thagn is produced by
two establishments in Smith Walos, Craw
shay & Co. and Guest & C 0.4 their fur.
!laces yielding together over 100,000 tons
per annum.
The important influence which iron h
in the prosperity and eivit•aation of natiotill
is admitted. In England this metal was
'Worked at an early period, but it was not
until during the 17th century that the quan
tity was so tar diminished .hy -the want of
wood, as to require very I irge imports
lions. So early as in 1619 attempts were
made to smelt iron with bituminous coal.
and Edward Lord Dudley in that year oh
tained a patent for the purpose;but his
works were destroyed by the mob who
were opposed to improvements such as
they supposed likely to deprive them of
wink. It was not iustit 120 years after this
period that iron was made by coke at
Colebrookdale, the quantity made in Eng
land having then been reduced to 17,000
tons. ebput twice that quantity being ino
ported. , From this rriird it increased
agreeably to the following table: •
In 1740,
In 1750,
In 1788,
°ln 1796,
to 1806,
In 1820,
In 1828,
In 1836,
according to 11.1'Culloch.
This lasrestimate is, however, supposed
to be materially short ofthe real amount.—
Mr. Porter, president of the Statistical
Society of London, states the quantity fo
be at least 1,000,000 tons, and we can
scarcely doubt this when we find that in
South Wales there were 355;000 tons
tirade in that year, and as we are assured
by Professor Thompson,that 200,000 tons
are made in the vicinity of Glasgow per
annum
M'Culloch estimates the exportation of
won from Great Britain, at 155,000 tons
and the importation at 16,000 4 In 1806
the capital employed in making lion was
estimated at 5,000,0001: The number of
persons supported by it 200,000.. In 1837
this author estimates the capital at 7,000,
W.hen coal, non ore, and lime are found
in proximation there may be seen a dense
and tht tying pvulation, . Merthyr I'y ril
and the contiguous, district, the seat of the
immentre works of Guests 44. Co., the
largest in the Empire; of Crawahay tt Co..
Th o mpson ‘4. 4c., was about the
middle of the last century, an insignificant
village, In proof of tbisfit is sufficient to
• A part of this increase is owing to %pew
mode of entry at thnCustom
• Ststfordshire, about 90 square miles has
2011,1100'souls, nearly all of whom are enraged
in mining or manufactoring. Laud Which was
formerly, an open common, is now, in some ca.
see, selling for 1000 pounde per acre.
t This cirm . lons recently refused .1:8110,000 far
their warts.
lie: '4 Neat a
ly anSwediala bus, for nub% Wel:
state that in 1755 the land and mines fur
several miles round the village, the seat of
the great works mentioned above Were let
fur niney•mne years for 2001. per innum.
In 1831 the population of Merthyr was
22.000.
It cannot be doubted that the mannfac.
lure of iron in England has been a Most im•
portant part in the prosperity ofthat nation.
Where the ore of iron is found with trial,
there may be okzerved.an industrious . and
Wealthy population, such as in South
Wales, Staffordshire, Birmingham, Glue
gow, &e: This fact his induced rthe au
thor of "Fossil Fuel," to say that "the oc
currence of the argillaceous carbonate of
iron in immediate connection with coal
seams, is a•circumstance of immense im
portsnce as lying' at the foundation of the
manufacturing superiority of this country."
And the same writer says "so important
iron to man that it hai been said that in
proportion to theintelligence and advance ,
meet of reason in nations is their iron
works."
In the United States we have; but few
places where, happily, these minerals are
situated in combination. The State of
Pennsylvanian in this respect is more for.
tunste than her neighbors,* as in the great
western coal field we have fiequently
the argillaceous iron ores in cOnnection
with beds of coal. Karthaus,t Hlossburg,
&c. are insfances where this takes place
and at the former locality the stratification
is said to resemble that of Menhir Tydvil
in a very striking manner. In I Dauphin
county, near Harrisburg, bituminious coal
and various iron .ores lave verrecently
been found inconsiderable quaqt v s and it
1
is believed will lead to valuable results.
there being twin beds-of coal, Ofithree and
four feet, within nine miles of tl(e Susque •
henna, a short distance above that town.
In regard to the quantity manufactured in
the United States, we have they authority
of the Convention at : New York in 1831 to
State it at that time to have beeh 191.536
tons of pig iron made in 439 furnaces in
the previous year. One of the committee
informs me that it was supposed that two.
fifths of (los amount was made in Penn.
aylvaniti, and 1 hat :he quantity.inade in 183'I
in all the States might be fairly taken at
4.504)00-tons, giving to this State the sumo
ratio as before.
Tim• great superiority which Great
Britain possesseeover the Uaited States
in regard to the quantity made, arises from
the fact of bituminous coal (a very much
cheaper fuel than charcoal) being used
there, and by which the yield of each fur-
nace is, greatlyincreased. In 1828. en
furnaces in quit country-produced 703.184
tons, being 48 tons per week for each fur
nace, while in 1830, 239 furnaces in this
country produced only 19 .536 . tons, being
154 tons per week. The average of the
British furnaces must now be greatly
increased, as. those of the largest s•ze in
:South Wales are making over 100 tons
and it-is said in some cases as high as 160
tons per Week ; the introduction of the hot
blast having been very instrumental in the
i eased yield.
The recent discovery of Mr. Crane in
South Wales, where the anthracite pre.
vails, in making iron of superior quality
with that coal, is of great importance, anti
likely in a short time to create a very great
change in the manufacturing of iron in
Great Britain and in this country... Mr.
C. having, had a furnace in blast for the
the last year making from thirty five to
forty tons per week, establishes the success
of this desideratuni.—Should it ever hap
pen, a thing not,at all likely, that the An
thracite of Pennsylvania 'could not be
made to answer, still there cannot .be a
doubt but that the moskarkple supply may
be obtained by the use of our inexhaustible
beds of bituminous -coal.
17,000 tons
22,000 "
118,(4)0 "
125,000 "
250.000 • 6
400,000 66
703,000 "
700,000 "
Reviewing the foregoing facts, I th nit
we may come safely to the conclusion that
the destiny of Pennsylvania it a brilliant
one. Nature certainly has done every
thing for her, and tt will aepend upon the
wisdom of her own citizens whether the
period of her prosperity shall be retardesior
accelerated.
• At Comberland in Maryland, theie mantilla
are found together, and it has been recently'
stated that in Virginia near Richmond a large
bed ortire has been found f convenient to the
Coal.
t In the welkin of the stratification of bill at
Harthaus, which is five hundred feet high from
the surface of the river, we have, in the first
three hundred feet from top, six seams of bitu
minous coil, making seventeen (Wit (one seam
being pis feet)—of iron ore five learns, In the
aggregate nine feet eight incheo—lime stone,
three feet—firs
.Clay, two seam, of four feet—
fire stone, two feet. The remaining two hund.
red 'feet, and the' stratification below the Water
level, have not been examined. The above see
Lion proves that the various minerals so eisen
tial to the cheap manufacture of iron, are nearly
theorems bars es those which - Wrist at liter
tbyr. .
"lßow betko
desertefull4does Twosome, the poet of the
easons," t e smog morning.—
"The meek eved morn, mother of dews,
At first faiht glesamirig is the dappled east,
Bine through the dusk the smoky currents skim
And from the bladed field. the fearful hare
Lienprawkward t sidle along-the forest glade
The wild deer ttsik.anei, often totting, gaze '
At early passeuger. Movick awakes
The 'Nerve *Moe of urulissembled joy. e,
Andikiek aroudd the woodland hymns 410
Rono'd by the Mai the soon-clad shepherd leaves
Hi s many mottags, where with 'peace he dwells,
Anil from the czowded fold, in order drives
His flock. to taste the verdure of the morn."
The Governor of the state of Massachusetts
had signed the license bill. Alter the first of
July nut, no licenses for the sale ci spirituous
iquius, will be gnawed in abeeeebasette.
1
Very truly, your, &c.
ISAAC LEA.
POTTSV
BAIIIIOAY
=I
itr Cheat. •i. Billa of Leduc
sad Itle
•achaus of description and' prangs! at
blurb ai *knots* aaaa jaws.
1
Phiirro/ogy.—e A IV .. !feel Of interest
in relation to thitt novel ' ience, has bean
excited among. our inhabitants genentlly,
by the delivery of. sariarof - lcctures and
a large numberNf examinations of prcimi.
nent individuals, 'madb dining the present
week in our borough, hy 0. S. Fowx,in,
Esq.. This gentleman 4 eminently and
deservedly -distinguished for his extensive
attainments in the sci teiLee, and he also pos.
sessecref uncommon and striking 'abilities
as a lecturer. Eccentric he is deemed
I without doubt on many euhjects, and even
I droll on many occasions!;- but, at the Same
time, it must be admitted that he is inti
mately conversant with the 'main • subject
he handles, - and we confess that • ourselves
in common with his large audience", lie,
tened to him during setteml eteninge with
undivided attention and great, pleasine.--
Manifesting strong enthuSiasna, in the pur
suit of his favorite sciefice, he at the mule
time exhibits an unusual share of manly
openness and sinnerityoempered of course
with affability and good nature, lo that in
his delineutions of character, he " nothink
extenuates, nor sets deivitsught in malice;"
but speaks of people ivhen they coma be.
fore him as they phrOnologically appear
to him' to cos To scne, this conduct is
dietasteful, and to others pleasing: for
ourselves, we 'confess, though sorely at.
tacked by hirn'on some lender pates, we,
prefer the st ring ht-forivard, honest course,
and there-14re entertain highly faiorahla
impressions of the lecturer, as well as of
his gentlemanly - and, talented Assistant,
Mr. ALLAN; indeed he' would be altogether
udwoithy of t his protession, if he' conde.•
scended to administer flattery or, syco.
phancy when he should speak the language
of truth and honesty.
.No enthusiast in
any , profession ever stoops to- prevarica.
lion. In his , examinations of Dewy in&
viduall, indeed, we may say in nearly all,-
his developments of character were roily
characteristic. W e weresffrcitly,titruck
if not surprised, in some instances that fell
under our personal •observation,•-at. his
" palpable hits," as we shall take the liber
ty of terming thc m. l - !-Not merely were
these evident in isolated prominent lea.
Mures, but also in entire general characters.
The lecturer's combinationsexhibited me.
. 1 91 paintings—nut Mere Sketches or out.
Tines—but paintings with all their lights
.1
and shades, presenting vivid and, faithful
likenesses to the individuals themselves,
both es thiey were recognised by_ them.
selves and the commimity at large; or, to
use another sitnilie; we may liken his per.
traits to the reflections of highly polished
mirrors, in ts hick our minds would' he ad
distinctly visible as, 'our features. This
will be called by some rather the result . of
itreeictus knowledge of the individuals
themselves derived from oral cOmmunica•
dons, or perhapti of an intuitive qffickness
in the 'discovery of human Character from
general appearanceaf but these reatinns are
manifestly insufficient to account fur so
many, striking coinnidences, became, in
many instances, the lecturer examined his
subjects with his eget; covered. We are .
aware that such statements as the forego
ing may perhape sul ject us to the charge
of being believers in the doctrines of phre.
1,
nology; such an inference however, would
net be strictly auth rised by a mere nar
rative of ,facts, any ore than he who re
lates phenomena .a tributed to alchemy
would thereby fro, himself to be a be.
i n
lievfr in alchemy. ,' However, we would
y that to believe , rationally, it is neces.
.. ry first of all to investigate thoroughly;
because - he who makes up his mind to be.
lieve or disbelieve without due examine.
!ion heforehand, may be sometimes right
in-his conclusions, bUt must often be wrong.
Whim right, he is entitled to the equivocal
merit o)' being right,by chance, and when
wrong he may thank his -Own-trecepita.
.0
hoe; whilst, on -the other hied, be whose
corMusitr are not, the result of passion
or i , ,prejudice, derives hia rectitude from his
understanding. To rejects doctrine be
cause it is new s would be wrong, until the
axiom be first established that whatever
is new ici necessarily. false; and to reject it 1,
because the deem it contrary to reason and
experienee, presupposes deliberate prior
investiption. • The science in question
invites investigation, sad appears to be
wor i ihy of it; for the poet tell,us, that "the
proper study of mankinif is man." ' W he
thee-true or false, we think the tendencies
of its study OA. It contains nothing that
weiterceive .at variance with -natural or
revealed religion, hut is said to contain
much in, confirmation orbOth, which it
employs and exercises in the perceptive
and thinking fatuities-usefully and agree.
ably. But, supposing it to be true, not.
withstanding the difficffities in its spell
cation, it will' hove - great and manifuld
uses, adapted' to •almosii .every see and ;
condition of 'life in indiyiduals, as well as
to the tetehoratien of ( society at • large,
Isheeebytmankind , may be rendered nobler,
Wiser; and, happiq. , ..
,
MYerelsag - La, Esq.—We laybe
forn-;onr 'readers i this paper, the letter of
thiji geOtleinan, a commend the same to
their attentive Arose!. Circumstanced
beyond our control have occasioned the
delay in its publication in our columns, up
to the. present period. We however '
tirred to it immediatoly alter its appear.
20
APRIL 28. Ina.