Register.
Allentown, Pa.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26. 1863.
Law of Newspapers
1. Subscribers who do not give express no
tice to the contrary, are considered as wishing
to continuo their subscription.
2. If subscribers order the discontinuance of
their papers, the publisher may continue to
liptid them till all that is due be paid.
3. If subscribers neglect or refuse to take
their papers from the office to which they are
eireoted, they are held responsible till they
have settled their bills and ordered their pa.
pars diseontinued.
/Al Subscribers move to other places, with
out informing the publisher, and the paper is
Font to the former direction, they are held re
sponsible.
6. The courts have decided that refusing to
take a paper from the office, or removing and
leaving it uncalled for f ii prima facie evidence
of intentional fraud.
• 6.. 'A postmaster neglecting to inform a pub
lisher when his paper is not taken from, the of.
makes himsejf liable for his subscription
price
Railroad Meeting
A call for a general county meeting, signed
by several hundred citizens, appears in our
columns to-duk. The object of the meeting is
16 discuss the propriety, of subscribing a portion
of the stock of the 4Plinkakhia, Easton and
Water Gap Railroad CairiiiartM.provided the
terminus and depot of the road be inide kri Al i
lentown. We hope the citizens will be laiW.
ly in attendance, as it is a matter of the great"
est interest to them. Allentown with the pros
pects ahead of a Railroad communication North,
South, East and West, is destined to become
one of the largest manufacturing places in the
State.
New County Movement.
A town meeting was held in the Lyceum
Hall, in Tamaqua, Schuylkill Co., on Saturday
evening last,.for the purpose of adopting mea
sures to procure, at an early period, the passage
of a Bill, by our Stale Legislature, creating ,a
new county out of parts of Schuylkill, Luzern°
and Lehigh, to be called Jackson,—Tarnaqua
to be the county seat. We hope the meeting
will be large and enthusiastic, and steps taken
to petition the -Legislatute from every section
of the contemplated new county.
IllrThe above notice we find in the "Tamaqua
Gazelle," of January 15. We have no objecr
lions to make against our Tamaqua neighbors,
to their new county project, if they tentain west
Of the "Blue Ridge," but so , soon as they un
dertake to step in our territory, We will de
clare war. Besides the citizens of Lynn to a
man we believe are willing to let"well enough
alone."
Decision in the Supreme Court.
The following opinion. given by Chief Jus
tice Black, in the case of Frantz against Knauss.
in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, we
glean from the l'hiladelphia Sun, of Friday lest
and maybe of interest to many of ppr readers:
"It appears that Godfrey Peter, of North White.
hall township, Lehigh county, owed Christian
Knauss five hundred and thirty-eight dollars on
a judgment bond, due the Ist of April, 1850.
On the second day of May, 1850, the plaintiff
agreed to lake an assignment of it, provided the
defendant would guarantee the payment of ;
whereupon tho assignment by Knauss, and the
guarantee by Frantz, were enthirsed. The as
signee made nu effort to recover the debt, but on
the contrary, took twenty dollars, and fur that '
consideration agreed to wait a certain time.—
Godfrey liecame insolvent, and this suit is on
the guarantee.
The Court instructed the jury, in substance, ;
that theilefendant could only be discharged by
proof; that the plaintiff had refused to bring suit
against the principal, after a positive request by
the defendant, and that the agreement of the
plaintiff to forbear was no defence, because the
consideration of that agreement being usurious,
it was not binding.
If the defendant had been the surety of Peter—
if he had been one of the original parties to the
bond---if his liability fur the debt had been the
consideration of the credit, given to the princi
pal when the debt was created, then the rule laid
down by the Court, that he could not be discharg
ed, except by refusal to proceed on request, or
by a binding contract to forbear, would have been
precisely correct. But the instrument on which .
the suit rests, is not the obligation of a surety,—
It was a collateral contract, made in considers•
• lion that the plaintiff would accept an assign
ment of a debt, which had been made long 'be
fore. It purports on its face to be a guarantee ;
and it is one to all intents and purposes.
Now, it is well seitled in Pennsylvania, that
the contract of one who guarantees the existing
debt of another, is a mere warranty of the debt
or's solvency. The creditor takes upon himself
the duty of recovering it from' the principal, if
that can be done, and the guarantee is not bound
to give him notice to proceed. The present
plaintiff could not recover without showing to
the satisfaction of the jury, that he had used all
due . and proper dilligence to collect the money
limn Peter, or that Peter was so hopelessly in
solvent at the date of the guarantee, that no rea'
ennoble diligence would have been sufficient to
save it.
It must be manifest that it makes no difference
in thins case, whether the egteement to give time
was usurious or not. The defendant was dis,
charged by the fact of delay, and it is all alike
whether' the delay was in pursuance of a legal
or an illegal contract. The same consequence
would have resulted from mere negligence, with.
out any contract at all.
The, evidence objected to was admissible as a
part, though perhaps not a very important part
of .the whole transaction. •
JUdgn3.enf ,reVersed, and ben. fa de nov, ewer
ded.
Schools in Lehigh
We are indebted to Messrs. Laury and Barr,
of the House, at Harrisburg, for copies of the re
port of the Superintendent of Common Schools.
An abstract of the general operations oNke sys"
tern we gale in our last week's paper. We give
here a view of its operations in this county :
Number of School Districts, 15
" Schools, 147
" yet required, 11
Average number of months taught, 6
Number of male teachers, 136
female " 12
Average salary of males per month, $l9 69
" females 44 18 06
Number of male Scholars, 499!
female " 3880
" learning German, 1909
Average No. of scholars in each school, 09
Cost of teaching each scholar per month, 39
Amount-of tax levied;
Received from State appropriation, $2,877 97
U 44 collectors of school tax, $10,013 18
Cost of iristruction, • $ll,BlB 23
Fuel and contingencies, $2,251 41
Cost of school houses, purchasing,
building, renting, repairs, &c., $3,063 14
In Northampton, the average number of months
taught is 6, Bucks 7, 'Jerks 4, Carbon 7, Mont
gomery 7, Schuylkill 7, Monroe 7. &c. Lehigh
is slightly above the average in the entire Slate,
which is 41, as near as ordinary fractions will
express it.
Large Sale of Negroes
To give our readers an idea of how they dis
pose of human flesh as personal properly, we
glean the following notice of a sale of negroes,
from the Fincastlo
. (Vu) Whig, being the prop
erty of a deceased citizen of that place :
.t' s , l "The largest sale of negroes that perhaps
curer occurred in this county, came off at the
Newell Pltibe, about 7 miles below Buchanan;
on the 27th :; iltimo.—There were 89 negroes
sold. The sale amounted to 846,523, or about
8534 each. The negroes were made up of all
ages and sexes, from the old man and woman
of more than four•score down to the suckling
infant less than a month old.' Taken as a whole,
we have no doubt they brought as high a price
as any lot of negroes, of the same quality, that
were ever sold in the State. <These negroes
were valued by commissioners some year or
so ago, and the sale now made exceeds that
valuation by more than fifteen thousand dol.
lars. The slaves belonged to the estate of the
late Robert Harvey, dec'd. The sale was con
ducted by Mr. Rufus l'itzer and Maj. John T.
Wilson, commissioners appointed by the Com t.
They have shown pretty conclusively, byinan
agement of this estate, that they know how to .
make property bring its full value in the mar
kets. The whole property sold, both real and
personal, brought over 869;000."
Pennsylvania and the Cabinet
What a pity it is, thinks the Village Recor 1,
there arc not as many Cabinet places as there
aro State . s in the. Union—one for each State;
especially one apiece for the States that voted
for Pierce and King ; for each of thuSe States
seem to think they are entitled to a Cabinet ap
pointment. This would greatly aid the Loco
foe° party in rewarding the victors with the
spoils, and thus far furnish them with "the co
hesive attraction of the public plunder," so es
sential to the harmony and existence of the
party. In distributing the Cabinet loaves, the
very important question arises, what is to be
done for Pennsylvattia Iler favorite for the
Presidency, Buchanan, it is said declines an
appointment, should any be tendered him.—
The Now Yolk hera l d enumerates six Penn
sylvania politicians ready to enter into the
scramble for Buchanan's mantle, viz: Camp.
bell, Jones, Hughes, Bigler, Woodward and
';lack; and retnatks, with decidedly cold com
fort to the Democracy, that, in all probability,
General Pietee will, by any selection, cut that
State into factious, which may throw the next
popular vote into the hands of the enemy. lie
may do the same thing by rejecting them all.
A Whig Governor of Maine
The Hon. William G. Crosby, the Whig can
didate at the late election in the State of Maine,
was, On Ft iday, last, elected Governor of the
State by the Legislatere, now in session at Au•
gusta. No choice having been made by the
people, it become the duly of the House of
Representatives to place before the Senate the
names of two candidates, Selected from the
four who had received the highest popular vote.
The names of .11.1 r. Crosby and Gov. Hubbard,
the late incumbent, were selected by the House,
and the former was chosen Governor by the
Senate, the vole in that body being 19 to 12.
This result has been• caused by divisions among
the Democrats, who, notwithstanding they have
a majority in the House of Representatives,
partly filled the vacancies in the Senate with
Whigs, so as to give the latter a majority in
that branch.
Mittical Fire intairmice Company of Sink
ing Springs, publishes its customary annual
statement'; jrom which it appears that 300 new
members wet e added during the past year.—
Thu receipts into the Treasury amounted to
#:1,229 17, nut of which was paid for incidental
expenses $627 37—leaving a balance (or the .
year of 8-601 80, which added to the balanced
$1,438 30, as per last year's report, makes a
total balance of $2,050 10, bearing interest, be
sides $660 outstanding debts; The Company
how numbers 4500 members, forming an ag
gregate capital of Ten Millions of dollars to levy
upon in case of loss by Lire, beyond the amount
of means in hand.—The Company have paid
out for losses by fire during the year 8755 50
—being only 13 cents fur each thousand dol
lars insured. They adhere to the policy of not
insuring down or other hazardous property, and
requiriitg lightning rods to be placed upon all
buildingi insured. A better managed or safer
Muted Company fur farmers.does not exist in
the country.
Important Legislatiye Report
The undersigned, Commissioners appointed
under the resolution, passed 4th of May, 1852,
authorizing the Governor"to appoint Commis
sioners to revise the code of Pennsylvania," in
proceeding to the discharge of their duties,
found their duties limited and prescribed by
the resolution authorizing their appointment,
as follows:
1. To digest .and simplify the general tax
laws of the Stale, and to report them to the
next Legislature.
2. To prepare drafts of general laws, to be
submitted to the consideration of the next Leg.
islature on the subjects.
I. Of selling real estate by guardians, exe
cutors, administrators • and others, in a repre
sentative capacity.
2. Of the creation of corporations.
3. Of the payment of claims against-the
State.
.1. Divorces.
"In order to lessen as much as possible the ne
cessity of special legislation."
It will thus be seen that the powers of the
resolution itself are not so extensive as the tip
tle would indicate.
$12,712 48
Our Commission organized in the city of
Philadelphia on the 13th of July last. The la
bor of attending to particular portions of the
subjects was primarily distributed among the
individual members of the Commission, so as
to embrace them all. Each branch having
been so examined in detail, the whole was
then examined and revised by all the mem- io
bers, and the final disposition - of - them - thus
made. Much time and reflection have been I
devoted to the subjects committed to our
charge, and the result is now submitted in the
bills accompanying this report with explana
lions under appropriate heads:
The object of taxation is revenue, and hence
by increasing the amount and variety of taxa
ble property you increase the revenue, , and
may as the revenue thus increases, reduce the
rates of taXati6n. The immediate effect of the
bill we have the honor to submit, will be large
ly to increase the revenue, and the remote ef
fect will be largely to reduce the burdens here
tofore imposed, by equalizing the assessments.
It is an important fact that heretofore a large
portion of the taxes have been derived from
real estate. It is right, perhaps, that the real
ty, which is, visible, tangible, and cannot be
driven away, should he taxed at a Jute beyond
what could be salely imposed upon more vol
atile properly. But the proportion between
real estate and personal property is too large.
The principal features of the bill have been
framed with a view of getting a fair and equal
assessment of all the real and personal proper
ty ir•. the Commonwealth. No State is more
deeply interested in a well regulated system
of revenue than Pennsylvania; and while her
public debt is large, her resources are ample to
meet every demand, if the revenue laws are
justly and equally applied to the properly of
citizens.
The proper imposition of taxes upon 11w peo
ple is one of the highest duties devolving upon
the Government. But in the adjustment of our
revenue system we are met at the threshold
with an almost insurmountable difficulty. We
mean the election of assessors in the wards and
townships by the popular voice. The assess•
went of property is the first step in any revenue
system ; if a mistake is made hem it cannot be
corrected. No one who has examined the sub-
jest can fail to appreciate these iemaiks, or
hesitate to adopt such measures as will control
this fundamental error.
hi Matyland the assessors are named in the
act of Assembly, and each small county forms
an assessment district, while the large connties
are divided into two or more districts. This is
undoubtedly au improvement upon our sys,
tern; but we have not deemed it expedient to
matte so radical a change. The people ate ac
customed to elect assessors, and would not,
perhaps, be satisfied, it deprived of this ancient
custom.. We have however provided addition
al machinery by which the present system will
be greatly improved.
Prior to 1840, it was the practice in many, if
not all the counties, to assess the real estate
one-fourth or one-hall less than its real value.
This system while it inmeased the rate of tax
ation, did not add to the amount collected from
the people. But when the State tax was iur
posed, extending over the whole Common.
wealth, it became necessary to adopt a uniform
standard of value. Assessors were, therefo're
required to assess real estate at its lull cash
value. How well this duty has been perform
ed is known to the Legislature and to the pub
lic. The effect of underrating real estate in
times past, is felt oven now, and nothing but a
determined effort bhe Legislature, can ele
vate the standard of value by which the assess
minus are to bo made.
By the bill submitted, the assessor is.author
ized to subpoena witnesses and examine them
under oath in relation to the value uf 'Feel es•
tato, and to require the production of title pa
pers, 'which will materially aid him in the per
fermat.co of his duties. The Board of Revision
which is . provided for each county, has author
thority also to subpoena witnesses and to OK
amino them undo' oath relative to the value
of property. All discretion is taken away from
the Beard; when the %aloe el any property is
ascertained ; it must be increased oFdecreased
from the value as returned by , the assessor.—
The same principle is extended to the State
Board of Revenue CommissiMters.
For the assessment of personal property ,we
havet it is believed, Introduced the only effi
cient system which can be devised. The as•
sessors are furnished with a printed circular by
the Commissioners of the county, which they
are required to serve upon every taxable in
habitant. The form of the circular is prescrib
ed by the bill. Every taxable inhabitant must
within ten days after having received it, fill up
the blanks as his property may require, and re
General 711 x Law
turn it to the assessor under oath, the form of
which is appended thereto. This feature is
not ot•.tirely new, for in many respects it re
sembles the provisions of existing enactments.
Under the present system a very large propor•
tion of personal property escapes taxation alto•
gether. This is especially true of moneys at
interest, which are invested more or less se
cretly, and frequently without the knowledge
of any person except the parties interested.
The bill which we submit compels every per
son to disclose the amount of such investments
and all other personal property. And why
should he not do so? An assessor cannot ac
complish impossibilitieS. The real estate he
can find, for it is immovable and palpable, but
he cannot ascertain the amount of money in
vested by each individual, unless informed by
the party himself. Why then should ho be
compelled to.guess it?
The best evidence should always be taken,
and ns the party making investments knows the
exact amount he owns or controls, he shoutd be
required to disclose it. Conscientious men now
pay more than their share Of taxes, while those
less scrupulous evade the payment of the amount
justly due by them. If it be desirable to equal
ize taxation, then all property in the Common-
wealth should be assessed, and order to do this,
those who possess the information must impart
it to the assessor. Existing laws make it obli
gatory upon every man to answer such queries
as may be pro Pounded to him by the assessor,
but as there is no penalty imposed for refusing
to do so, little or no attention is paid to it. The
return of personal property by indviduals owning
or controlling it, under oath, is an effectual rem
edy for existing evils. The oath is the attesta
tion of the truth of the return, and no man will
hesitate to confirm, in this solemn manner, any
statement of facts he may be required to make.
Every citizen is interested in having the assess.
ments fairly wade, and it is as much his duty to
render every assistance in his power, as it is the
duty of the assessor to be vigilant and faithful in
the performance of the high trust committed to
his charge.
In case any citizen shall not make a return of
his personal property, the assessor is required,
after having ascertained its value as nearly as
he can, to add twenty per cent to the valuation.
This addition is in the nature of a penalty, for if
citizens will not conform to the assessment law,
they must suffer as in other cases.
We have provided for a County Board of Re
vision with enlarged powers and duties, and it
will be seen by reference to the bill, that if any
person who has - neglected to return to the asses
sor his personal property, may make it to the
Board of Revision. In every such case the twen
ty per cent. added by the:assessor will be deduct
ed; but should no statement be received, then
the Board of Revision will add fifty per cent. to
the valuation as returned by the assessor. This
last addition, like the first, is intended as a pen
ally for the violation of a known duty. Should
there be any individual reckless enough to disre
,c,,ard this provision of the law, it will be with the
hope of certainty of being gainer,.even with those
large additions to the valuation of his property.
We have continued the Stale Board of Reve
nue Commissioners, with extended powers, but
confuted to their duties to the equalization of as
sessments of real estate. It is believed that by
the provisions of the bill, all personal property
or nearly so, will be assessed, and consequently
taxed at it, full value. Should the assessors not
make full returns the error will be corrected by
the County Boards of Revision.. Heretofore the
Revenue Commissioners have not had power to
subpoena witnesses, which has caused great em
barrassment and delay, and in many cases whol
ly deprived the state of the testimony of impor
tant witnesses. This power is conferred upon
them by the bill submitted.
By the provisions of the act of 1844, the Rev
enue commissioners can only act upon the ag•
gregate valuation of property in each county;
and as the returns made by the County Commis•
sinters are in the aggregate by wards and town
ships, but little information could be obtained
from them. The bill which we report requires
the commissioners of the several counties to re.
turn a transcript of each assessor's book, so far
as relates to real estate, together with . an aggre.
gate valuation of the same, by wards and town
ships, including personal property under speci
fied heeds. This will enable the Revenue Com
missioners to act intelligently and efficiently.
The property exempted from taxation by our
bill, is nearly 'the same as under existing laws.—
The policy of relieving from taxation the prop
erty of institutions of learning, In actual use; is
well established ; also churches, hospitals, and
generally all establishments for public charity or
benevolence.
We have extended the provisions of the 42d
section of the Revenue Act passed In 1844, for
the collection of taxes on the interest paid by
any county or city, or any evidence of indebted ,
ness issued, so as to include all companies incor'
porated by law. This is almost exclusively a
new source of revenue, and will produce a large
amount of money.
Rut it is unnecessary to particularize further.
Nothing has bt.en invested which is not deemed
essential to the efficacy and success of the bill.
The bill must be considered as a whole, and it
will require some examination fully to under'
stand its various parts. The first effect of the
bill will be, if passed as reported, and administer
ed In the spirit it has been prepared to increase
the revenue to an extent which will astonish the
public. Under our imperfect system of assess.
ments, and the almost universal disposition to
conceal from the assessor, the amount of moneys
at interest, and the value of other personal prop
erty, the amount of money received at the Tree
miry from taxes upon real and personal proper
ty has increased from $553,911 38 in the year
184.1, when the.three mill tax was first imposed,
to $1.,359,636 OU in 1852. The increase of rev'
enue under the bill we report, will be greater and
more starling than that just referred to. It is
evident, therefore, that in a short time the rate
of taxation can be considerably reduced, and
would have been before now, if all the property
in the State had been fairly assessed.—
In accordance with this opinion we have in
serted a section in the bill, that in the event of
the revenue from real and personal property
reaching the sum of $1,800,000 at the close of
the fiscal year 1855, then the tax shall be reduc
ed to two mills. That such will the the result
we have not the slightest doubt. We have not
deemed it prudent to reduce the existing rate in
advance, beonuse there is a possibility that the
new law may be as inefficiently rulmlnistered as
the present one: and in that event, the Treasury
would be left destitute, and the credit and char
acter of the Commonwealth suffer thereby. The
bill will go into operation gradually. The trien
nial assessment is just made or being finished,
and at the proper time will come under the su.
pervision of the Revenue Commissioners. In
the mean time the County Board of Revision will
have acted upon the personal property, which
will be the first visible effect of the bill.
In closing our report upon this branch of our
subject, we cannot refrain from expressing the
hope that the Legislature will dopt the bill as
reported. The stringent provisions which have
been inserted are its vitality ; strike them out,
and the bill is not worth the paper upon which
it is written. Heretofore the whole effort has
been to conceal property from taxation. This
feeling pervades all classes; and -while there are
individual exceptions, the immense majority act
upon the principle that it is morally right to de
ceive the assessor. It is to be hoped hereafter
this course of action will be changed, and that
every individual will come forward cheerfully
and disclose to the assessor the amount of his
personal property, and that assessors will take
care and value the real estate at its actual cash
value.
Wealth of a Southern Planter
The New York Tribune translates the follow.
ing, from a German paper:
"A rich planter, a Mr. Delabitzcher, descend
ed from an ancient French family, died recently
in New Orleans. He was a young man at the
time of the first French Revolution, and fled from
the guillotine to become a merchant's clerk in
the Cresent city. After a time he married the
daughter of a rich planter, and carried on the
plantation so skillfully, that in a comparatively
short time to acquire the reputation of being one
of the richest men in Louisiana. Since his death
the division of his property has shown its aggre
gate to be an amount, which, from an European
point of view, is almost fabulous. It consisted
of 31 plantations, upon branches of the Missis
sippi, affording an annual profit front the culti
vation of cotton and sugar, of $50,000 ; 12 steam•
boats upon the Mississippi, 3 upon the ocean,
and 34 merchant vessels, the aggregate income
of which, at the lowest calculation, is $150,000;
shares to the amount of $5,000,000 in railroad
stocks, producing annually $250,000; 7 limited
partnerships in Europe, one in each of the cities
of London, ParisMordeaux, Lisbon, Cadiz, Na
ples and Constantinople, each producing an an•
nual profit of $BO,OOO, in all $500,000 cash to the
amount 0f.57,000,000 in the bank of England,
drawing 2 per cent., producing $140,000; making
an annual income of $2,350,000, or about 14,•
000,000 of francs. Ilis property to houses, furn,
iture, collections of Works of art, books, &c., were
in proportion. The property falls to three heirs.
Vermont —llon,.Satnuel S. Phelps has been
appointed by the Governor of Verinont, U.
Senator, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the
deatliof Hon. Wm. Upham. Judge Phelps is,
undoubtedly the ablest man in the State. He
has already served two lull terms in the Senate,
and will have no superior in that body an cont.
prehensiveness and clearness of intellect.
Grundwn livtilutiem.—Utider the will of Hart
(irritation, late of Philadelphia, the sum sf2o;
WO was set apart, the interest whereof is to be
loaned to young men, to enable them to com
mence business. I.ly an act or the Lrgislawre
chartering the invitution,loans are to made,
in moderate amounts, for a period not ex c eeding
five years. The institution is now prepared to
receive applications for Loans, subject to certain
conditions.
.Thellimore PloTurns—lt will astonish the
Pierce men at Washington. says the Ohio State
Journal, to learn that the Ohio Democracy repu
diate and spit upon the Baltimore platform of
Locolocoism. When it was proposed to endorse
it in the State 'Convcntion last week, at Colum
bus, the, motion was laid upon the table, and then
after a debate, the members deliberately refused
to take it up! Fite : Free Soilers in New York
also seem to have got the ascendency of the Dun•
kers, if we may judge by the •events of ten days
at Albany.
Chinese Jugglers.—A company of genuine Chi
nese Jugglers have lately found their way to this
country, and are performing at Cincinnati, we
see, just now, with great success. Their feats
of magic, legerdemain, dexterity, &c., are repre
sented to surpass anything of that sort we have
hitherto had in this country ; but of that our ci•
tizens will have personal opportunity to judge
upon when they come to Philada. The jugglers
were brought direct from China to San Francis
co, and from thence they recently came to New
Orleans, and so up the Mississippi rive'. to Cin
cinnati.
Pryitub/e Hem—There is a chicken lien not
far from West Chester, Pa., which hatched and
raised last summer, three broods of chickens,
two of fifteen each, and one of twelve—making
in all 42 chickens. The most of these have been
and the remainder will be sold at an average of
623 cents per pair-31 pairs—sl3 123
The Ten 31iilion.v.—The following is the reso
lution to the ten millions, which the Democratic
members of Congress propose to place at the dis
posal of Gen. Pierce :
Resolved that the sum of ten millions of dub
lars be set apart out of any funds in the treasury,
not otherwise appropriated, and be, placed at the
disposal of the President, for the purpose of en
abling him, during the recess ot congress, to
meet such exigencies as may ari>.• out of those
Momentous subjects connected with ihe . present
state of the relations of this country with the oth
er powers of the earth, so liable, on .account of
their character and complexity, to present Ilienir
selves from hour to hour for practical and am^
mediate consideration.
The Bible
Flow comes it that this little volume, corn.
posed by humble men in a rude age, when art
and science were but in their childhood, has
exerted more influence on the human mind
and on the social system than all the other
books put together? Whence comes it that
this book has achieved such marvellous chan
ges in the opinion of mankind—has banished
idol worship—has abolished infanticide—has
put down polygamy and divorce—exalted the
condition of woman—raised the standard of
public morality—created for families that bless..
ed thing, a christian home—and caused its oth
er triumphs by causing benevolent institutions,
open and expansive, to spring up as with the
wand of enchantment? What sort of a book
is this, that even the winds and waves of hu
man passion obey it? What' other engine of
social improvement has operated so long, and,
yet lost none of its virtue? Since it appeared'
many boasted plans of amelioration have been
tried and failed, rnany codes of jurisprudence
have arisen and run their course, and expired.
Empire after empire has been launched on the
tide of time, and gone down, leaving no trace
on the waters. But this book is still going about
doing good, leaving society with its holy prin
ciples, cheering the sorrowful with its consola
tion, strengthening the ternped, encouraging
the penitent, calming the troubled spirit, and.
smoothing the pillow of death. Can such a
book be the ollspritig of human genius? Does
not the vasittes, , et its efleets demonstrate the
excellency of the power of God ?
GLEANINGS
r.P'llon. James Cooper, who has been detain
ed at home by indisposition, we are glad to no•
lice, has returned to Washington, and resumed
his seat in the Senate, in an improved state of
health.
L'.l . lon. William B. Campbell, deeline a re
nomination for Governor of Tennessee.
E./ . Y'l'he tobacco crop of the United States, for
the year 1850, amounted to about 200,000.000
pounds. 01 this, 81,000,000 were consumed at
home. In 1840, the consumption per head in
the U. S. amounted to 2 lbs. 10 oz. In 1950, 3
lbs. 8 oz, increase of 70 per cent in 10 years.
CrOne hundred thousand acres of lands. in
the southwestern part of Georgia are advertised
in a New York paper at one dollar an acre.
E.T"Old Folks.—There arc 147 persons in the
town of Litchfield, on the Ist of Lottery, 1853,
that were 70 years old and upward. Seven of
these were 90 and upwards. The oldest are 91
years old.
I . ""rhe Whigs of Rhode Island, in calicos,
nominated Hon. Samuel B. At told, for 11 . S.
Senator, who will undoutoedly be chosen as the
Whigs have a majority itelioth branches of the
Legislature.
LV'Stephen Spaulding, one of the veterans
who composed Wa.,ltington's life guard, died ou
the 30th ult., at M., ,rue, \l'., aged ninety-seven
years.
FP' It is said the lair Amos T,awrf nee s. , ave
away in charily upwards of live hundred thou
sand dollars.
Ti The printer , of Chicane eelehratrd Frank
lin's birth day in greet style, end throu v eh the
medium of the telegraph, invited the Presidents
of the different Printers' Unions throughout the
country.
L," Hon. two; Choate, his been appointed
At.orney Geoeral of Ma , sachusetts. •
Thou me —The expenditures of the city'
of New York for the next fiscal year is estima
ted tit four millions of dollars. That is exclusive
of the lax for the support of the State and Fede
ral Governments, The population of the city is
five hundred thousand, and the ratio of increase
twenty per cent per annum.
Killed by a Cow.—An elderly lady, named
Keever, residing on Light Street, Baltimore, was
so severely gored by a cow, on Saturday week,
that she died from the elects of the injuries re—
ceived. She was engaged in milking at the time
when the animal suddenly turned round and
made the attack upon her which had so fatal a
result.
Miraculous Escape.—On Wednesday morning
of last week, as a stone team was coming dawn;.
Lehigh Hill, in consequence of the toad being so
very slippery, the horses could riot hold the wag
on, but were forced down the hill at so rapid a.
rate that they were unable to make the angle of
the road, in consequence thereof they were pre,
cipitated over a steep bank, against a row of
houses, turning the wagon and horses complete
ly upside down. The carter was on the wagon
at the time, but most miraculously he and the
horses escaped with but very slight injury.—Eas
son Sentinel.
Worthy of buttution.—The borough of Wesc
Chester, in Chester county, is possessed of a
Public Square, containing G acres, handsomely
laid out and planted with trees. There are 23S
trees in the squate, comprising about I GO distinct
species, all of which are flourishing finely, and•
some of them have attained considerable . siae.—•
The Farm Journal challenges a comparison with
any other town in the State of twice the size. ft
is quite probble that that borough cannot be
equalled, but it ought, to be imitated as speedily
as possible by every town in the State.
High broded.— In his speech delivered i e the
Railroad celebration at Wheeling, the presidenr
of the Baltimore and Ohio-Road said :
"As to the power of overcoming high grades,
Mr: Mayor, we claim. to have taught a lesson to'
the wet ht. During the whole of the past sum,
mer, this company carried the United States
Mail over a grade 01)530 feet to the mile, without
the aid of assistant power, and every bar of Iron
which was laid upOn the track, between the
Kingwood tunnel and Fairmount, was passed
over the same summit."
Rc•annexcd.—Senator Buckalew, immediately
after the meeting o f the Legislature, carried a
bill through the Senate to . reeannex Reatinz
Creek township and parts of Franklin and Mad
ison townships to Columbia county, and on Sat.
mile) , Mr. Scott called. up this till in the House
and had it passed by a vote of more than • two+
thirds. •