VARIOUS MATTERS. OVR THADE. The Secretary of the Treasury fcas just published his Report of the Commerce and f?'1 of thc Utod States Tor 'the year lodU. 1 lln rillllonfimniol. T Tl i , . , . " riu3 Hum ungianu alono during the year -ending .the 30 th Sep., r ... , ' "ao ?' i'Oi,7ia, and .from' thc British possessions 80,022,9n. The ixportsto England amounted.toB3,:302,.lB3, nd to the British possessions 0-1,487,081. 1 lie imports from Fiance amounted to 3G, ? on Wo'n ,Ii10 cPorls l France amounted to 20,030,100. The trade with these two countries and their foreign possessions, constitutes nearly two-thirds of tho whole foreign trade of this country. The exports to Great Britain and her dependencies, con stitute half our foreign exports, -the imports from that country are not quite in the same proportion. -Somc-of'tlio principal articles of import "from England arc cotton goods $11,895134, woollen cloths and cassimcres 8,508,724.' linens from England, Scotland and Ireland 0,550,498, worsted stuff goods 5,003,555, hardware 5,581,742 silk goods 3,782,803, earthen and stone ware-2,403,500, gold and silver coin 2,322,020. Tho principal im ports from France are, -silk goods 15,011, 1 88, cotton goods .2,1 09,082, wines 1,942, 179, bran'dy 1,109,-82G, specie and bullion -4,841,004, 'Die .principal articles of export to Great , Britain are, cotton 48,002,543, tobacco 5, 202,045. To France, cotton 17,519,757, tobacco 907,099. The imports from Spain and its depen dencies, were 10,345,090, of which 12, 734,855 were from Cuba, and 3,209,043 from other Spanish West Indies. Tho im ports from China amounted to 7,324,810, from Brazil 7,210,190, from Mexico 5,015, 819, from the Ilansctowns in Germany 4, 994,820, from Holland and its colonics 3, 801,514, and from Russia 2,779,554. GREAT FIRE AND LOSS OF LIFE. The New York Journal of Commerce of Saturday says: "About two o'clock this morning a fire broke out in the lower part of tho large five story brick building No. 109 Washing ton street, occupied as a public store, which -was entirely destroyed, together with the whole of itsontcnts. The building cxtend jcdmearly through to Greenwich street, and -contained a large amount of goods. While tho firemen were actively engaged in subduing the flames, the north end wall of the building gave way, and, melancholy to relate, buried two of the firemen in its ruins, one of them, whose name we ascer tained to he Houghton, belonging to Hose Co. No. 13. Also, a young man apparent ly between 10 and 17 years of aire, who was standing near at tho time, got himself so severely bruised, that very little hope, is entertained of his recovery. Wo could not Jcarn how tho firo originated. Jrom tho same paper second edition. Prom tho best information wo are able to obtain, tiie loss of property by the burning of tho public store in "Washington street last night, is not far from half a million of dol lars, on which was the following insu rance : Eagle, $20,000 .Etna, 10,000 Equitable, 10,000 Contributionship, 15,000 Howard, 20,000 Mutual, 4,500 Merchants, 13,000 Manhattan, 0,000 Firemen's, 10,000 City, 8,500 North America, 10,009 North River, 5,000 Total insurance, $132,000 A considerable amount of goods in the ccllar.arc.only damaged Singular Device. A singular circum stance, exhibiting, in a remarkable degree, the reflecting faculties of a wolf, is related as having taken place at Signy-le-Petit, a small town on the borders of .Champagne. A farmer one day, looking .through the hedge of "his garden, observed a wolf walk ing round about his mule, but unable to get at him, on account the mule's constantly kicking with his hind legs. As the farmer perceived that his beast was. so well able to deTenditsclf.'ho considered it unnecessary to rendcrhtmmy assistance. Aftcrthe at tack and defence had lasted Cully a quarter of an hour, the wolf ran oif.to a neighbour ing Oitcli, wnere he several times plunged into the water. The farmer imagined he did this to refresh himself after tho fatigue he had sustained, and had no doubt that this mule had (rained a complete victory: but in '.a.few minutes the wolf returned to tho charge anil, annroachinir as near as he could to the nf tho mule, shook himself fc spurted a quantity of water into the mule's eyes which caused him immediately tothut them. That moment the wolfleaped upon Jum ana killed Uho poor mule before tho farmer could come to his assistance. Out at the Elbows. Nobody blames a . , !.! nil rich man lor going wim mo because every one knows that ho has got nnv tn tret him a new coat; but it is un- mrdonablo in a poor man to go ragged because, every body -knows ;it is out ot Jus power to do otherwise Yet there are at this ' . 1 nrlmm WO WOU1U present nitwi ""j , - .: 1 i. .... .,i. fit lie elbows. suppose rien, vcrj - 1-ItOM MEXICO. O-AMr-EACHY, May 0, 1837. Thn.'Vftt'V" fTrOfli nml CiMrlfltfiM ntintinn in Mexico, and tho heavy claims against them i uii.uiucs, maKcinings mis way not very Icasant. Santa Anna still and if he dose .not loavc the country soon, I Hill nfmid ln will ho. nn linflnr anruAfl 1in -- - - w u "Wltvi WVMKU LIIUII lturbidc. The newsnancrs seem to think at Great Britain will take a part in defence ' Mexico. The French and English grievances will no doubt be amicably adjusted, and all the tempest turned upon.thc. United States vc suan soon sec. Not a dollar hero -to nnv Urn trnnns wiili. and we arc threatened to have them quar- icrcu on ino town. The rate American consul mmln his p. capo .in good time for these people arc gcuing auovc themselves, and God only knows -what will bn llin fntn nf tlm A cansinAhcse Mexican states. My latest dates from Matamoras -are to tho 18th April, by which I learn that Gen eral Bravo had detained all tho American vessels at that port, expecting that Mexico w oum ucciarc war against thc i. States. P. S. Captain O'Fiahertv is still in nris- on l. and in nnsn of war lin will Imvo o hnA chance of gaining his liberty FROM TEXAS: There were several arrivals from this country yesterday every thing was quiet. the Mexican licet Had disappeared lrom the coast, not however, it is reported, be fore it had captured the Tcxian schooner of war Independence and schooner Julius Ca;sar. The Tcxian fleet had been consid erably augmented, and what with the assis tance afforded by American vessels of war, merchant men may now go to any of the ports of the republic without fear or moles tation. The Kerankaway Indians, one of the most warlike & dreaded of the tribes which inhabit tho frontiers of Mexico, have entered into a treaty with the Texians. We arc verbally informed, on authority on which reliance may be placed, that mo ney, gold and silver, and New Orleans and Missisippi banknotes, were plenty in Hous ton. Carpenters were receiving 10 dollars per day, and the supply was not adequate to the demand. This holds out inducements of no ordinary kind to mechanics to visit this fine and healthy country. The Invincible, Brutus and Tom Tody, Tcxian vessels of war, and United States ship Boston were off Galveston JJay. The Boston had every thing ready for action. She was giving convoy to vessels coming and going from the ports of Texas. It was stated a short time since, that the sloop of war Natchez had sunk two Mexi can brigs, of war. This is a mistake she ran them ashore on tho Brassos St, Jago, where they went to pieces. Wo regret to learn that the late I exian minister to this country, tho Hon. Charles Wharton, was a passenger on board the In dependence, presumed to have been captur ed by the Mexican fleet. If this prove true, he and all on board will have a hard time of it. Commissioners have been appointed by the Government to proceed to this country for the purpose of perfecting a loan of $5, 000,000. In these times of pressure Si dis tress, this will be no easy matter. STILL LATER. The New Orleans Correspondent of the New York Courier and Enquirer gives us the following particulars in letter under date of the 24th tilt,: The Mexicans blockaded Matagorda for about a month, but did not capture any ves sels bound to that port. Gen. Johnson took the precaution of sending there 200 volun- 1 , . .1 . .1 . III. leers, who togcincr wuu inu iiiiuuu, weru prepared to give a good reception to -the Mexicans if they had landed. Should the Texian government decide that a movement towards Mexico should be made, 3 or 4000 more men from Louisiana, Mississippi, Kentucky and Tennessee, would shortly ioin the crusade. Indeed, from the city of Now Orleans alone, the Texians might expect 4 or 500 volunteers. Many are already dreaming oi Mexican trea sures, and jucxican mines. Passengers arrived to-day lrom lexas, via Natchitoches, confirm tho rumours of the long .contemplated expedition against Matamoras, and say that although there is a strong party in lavor ot it, yet that tnc lar mors generally were opposed to it. TJiata movement on the part of the Texans towards Matamoras at this juncture, would throw insurmountable obstacles in the way of a friendly arrangement with tho U. o. is unquestionabl6, for the Mexicans would say that such movement bad 'been concerted with the American government; but you and your readers know too well that the Texans havo been talking about that expedi tion two months ago, and if they carry , it into effect and I think they will they in tend to go to Mexico om their own hook. The Governor of Pcnnsylvania.lias issued iliis proclamation, offering a reward or one hundred dollars, for the arrest within this State, of tho murderers of Rachael Blown hack, of Chester county, on the 17th or 18th of last month and two hundred dollars will be given if the apprehension is made out of Pennsylvania- The following circular lias becn'addrcssod by Bishop Onderdonk, to all the clergymen of his sect in tho state, enclosing a Prayer to boused in the Episcopal 'Churches there of, during the session of tho convention in Harrisburg: Philadelphia, Mm 23, 1B37. Rev. and dear sir. In conformity with the xLViith canon of 1832, I transmit to you tho fallowing form of prayer, to be used before the two final prayers of morning and evening service, uuruig me fcssiun oi uiu vunvemiun ii un people of this State. Your affectionate friend and brother, II, U. ONDERDONK. A Prayer Jor the Convention of the People oj Pennsylvania. O Lord our God, the blessed and only Potentate, the Supreme Ruler of nations, we implore thy blessing on the Convention of the People of this State; now assembled. Enlighten them in their deliberations, and guide them in their proceedings; that they may in all things seek and advance thy glory, the cause of thy true religion and virtue, and tho welfare and happiness of all wnom they represent, in all their relations. 1 lime, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heaven and in the earth' is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all; both riches and honour come of thee, and thou rcignest over all; and in thine hand is power aud might, and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all: Thou art Father of lights; all good knowledge and learning arc thy gift; and of thee comcth the righteous ness which cxalteth a nation: And therefore, O Lord our God, of thee wo ask, for this Commonwealth, these favours, as thou shalt see fit to grant them, especially through the counsels of its Convention; lor the sake of thine only Son Jesus Christ, our blessed Saviour and Redeemer. Jlmcn TIIE NEWSPAPER. In this country, the newsnancr is the noor man's book. Let his occupations be what they may, he can find a leisure moment, to snatch a passing glance at its contents, and learn there what is doing in the world around him. Indeed there arc very lew who are not acquainted with the current news of the day; and there are so many in all the class es and conditions of life, who feel it incum bent upon them to engage in the politics of the times, that these manuals (they may be called) are indispensable in presenting a view of the conduct of public servants, which every American feels he has an in defeasible right to inquire into. I his is precisely as it should be; and it only remains that as much true information should be laid before him, by the conduc tors of the public press, as can possibly bo obtained, to allow him to judge rightly; and to take his side to advance this patriot, or to retard that demagogue, who seeks to ad minister public affairs. Apart, however, from political considerations, the newspaper is the poor man's book; because it reaches his family. It finds its place upon the tea table, when his little ones are assembled; Sc where it finds tastes as various. The staid matron occasionally gleans a hint for her. culinary preparations, or learns some precept for the government of her house hold; or perhaps cons over some tale which takes her back to her season of youth, with all its gentle influences and associations. i ho gentle maiden consults the calendar of marriage, to sec who has preceded her in the race, or perhaps whilst drawing tho moral from some story of afl'ection, smiles at the similarity of hopes and fears, which picture her own little life of love. Tho youth catches a glimpse of the rudiments of science, or me courses oi trade. t he younger branches, down to the smallest member of tho poor man's tie to life, de rive delight from tho moving picture of ac cidents by flood and field, the anecdotes and wit, and lastly the prints which arc daily presented them: and thus the poor man finds ho has a library in the newspaper, a dapted to all the tastes of his little commu nity, which to procure by other means his iunus arc inadequate. The Exchange Hotel at New Orlnnns j'ust completed, it is supposed, is the largest in mo worm zbb leet iront by 100 deep, 0 stories high, -with a dome and tower whoso top is 113 fect-from the ground. Has 350 rooms, and a dining hall 113feet long; asu nerb marble statue of Washington linRlntnlv arrived from Italy, which will bo placed in tho centre of tho colonadc. at the entranon of the grand saloon. It is estimated that the hotel will cost $550,000, and the furniture S120.000, By a census just completed, who learn that tho population of Boston is 80,823; being an increase since 1830, of 19,431, .orabout da per cent. Boston will be entitled, accor ding this census, to send fifty-six members 10 me next .legislature of Massachusscts. Mr Scott a celebrated clerrrvmnn nf T.nn don, is about to migrate with a colony to Wiscont in. Mr. Scoltis of ilm lcm Church, and will visit this country for the avowed purpose of promulgating the uvuiiiui-a ui mui ciuircu umong us. lie is ropresqntca to be a man of great eloquence THE COLUMBIA J)EM0CItAT. "TttUTlI WITHOUT PEAH Saturday, .Tunc 10, 1837. MORE SHIN-PLASTERS. , Tho CattawiSsa Bridge Company have followed suit with similar corporation?, and our neighbourhood will of course be flooded with "promises to pay," in average amounts of from twclvo and a half cents, to twenty-five cents, fifty, and seventy-live cents, and one, two, three, and four dollars. Now, tho conduct of the Banks in securing all the specie in the country for the pur pose of selling it at a prenvum, their re fusal to redeem their own notes in conform ity with their pledged faith, and the re strictions of their charters, and the conse quent scarcity of the legal currency of the country, may render such a course essen tially necessary in the view of some people; but as an open violation rf law, it will cer tainly never receive the sanction of tho community, and therefore we shall discoun tenance any attempt, come from what quar ter it may, to put these raga into circula tion. While the civil law grants protection to the rights of every man, it also prescribes a penalty for every offence, in order to pre vent, by the influence of examplo and pun ishment, the recurrence of such crime; and when those who set the law at defiance, are persons of rank and character, to whom ma ny look for examples of morality, the pen alty for any offence whatever, should be strictly exacted. If such men aro left alone in their unlawful transactions, then all law becomes null and void, and will eventually "result in the overthrow of all order, and all respect for the dignity of the commonwealth, and the integrity ahd intentions of our ex ecutive, legislative and magistratorial func tionaries. Wo will then merely ask, who issue these Shin-plasters? Who take them and promote their circulation? The answer is at hand: They arc issued by certain cor porate bodies, through their managers and officers mcn who havo been chosen by the stockholders, on account of their integ rity of character, qualifications, or exten sive influence and possessions, to direct and control their operations. What ex amples to less qualified & labouring classes of community! The act of April 12, 1828, prohibits tho issuing and circulating, cither directly or indirectly, of any paper having the nature, character, or APPEAR. ANCE of a bank note, of any less denomi nation than five dollars; and the same act prescribes a penalty of rivr. dollars for every such offenco, "to be recovered by any person suing for the same as debts of like amount are by law recoverable.". e shall say no more, unless new matter arise deserving animadversion, on the sub ject of these illegal substitutes for a metallic currency. Every person in the community should, by this time, know ahd understand the law; & if he be mulcted into tho special penalties prescribed, he cannot attribute his losses to any want of necessary caution on our part. We will take none of them ; and while we have reason to expect, before many weeks elapse, plenty of the hard cur rency circulation, yet disappointment in this honest hope shall not alter our deter mination, unless the Legislature may deem it advisable to render them a legal part of our paper currency, by altering or abolish ing the act which attaches a penalty to their issue and circulation. 6C?The Convention proceedings pos sess oui very nine interest ; the whole time of the members being engrossed with long winded specclics on points of order, or tho personal abuse of onn nnntlmi. 'pi.,. talking about adjourning in July ; and if iiny uA.iiuuiio grcaicrzcai lor tho interests u uiepuuiic man incyiiave so far manifest cu, the sooner Ihcy adjourn tho better, and til n fnmm. ..It,, i! . 1 , . ...w uiiuiduuiia nicy make in tho Uon- slitufion (lie less of aristocracy will enntam inate that already objectionable chartcf. tC7The Harrisburg "Keystone" -:..i.i t . . is now immuu on a rxapicr press, and i occunvinc-twn Hav. n fV,,.i.. instead of i they now strikn off tlipJr lml ... . can . . uuivj ioauuu of 2500 in Irs tl. -upw ards ni iiuuia. will facilitate their circulation, and no reward their enterprise. This doubt tYESt BRANCH BANK. As wo prvdicted in 'our last, so has mas ters turned out in tho sale of tho stock of tins institution. Most of the shares brought ten per 'cent, advance; and nearly all, we understand, were purchased by the "unfor tunate" creatures who have been "ruined by the specie circular," and who cry "pan- ic and pressure" to frighten country folks. One half of the purchase money must b6 paid down in specie; and as tin's Will amount to upwards of $100,000, wo wonder where the "poor fellows" raised the change? W6' want to hear no more about the scarcity of gold and silver, and the necessity for shin- plasters. There are $80,000,000 of specie locked up in tho vaults of the Banks and Brokers of the United Stntesj a larger a mount than wo ever had in America, and if the People would only treat these soul less monied monopolies ns they merit, wo would have no trouble about making change The precious metals were supplanted by paper in the revolution; and if such a policy is permitted now, wc may anticipate simi lar consequences. ECP"!'. S. Since the foregoing was in type wc havo received a letter lrom Wil liamsport, giving an account of the lnanner in which the stock Was thrown into particu lar hands, through political management at the head of which was Ex-Governor Shulze and some others of the same stamp. Their conduct has excited universal disgust, and Judge Lewis, Gen. Anthony, & many others have abandoned tho stock previously knocked down to them, and refused to par ticipate, in any manner, in the future opera tions of the Bank. JCT'Thc following communication was received after our article on the same sub ject had been in typci It comes from one who has represented Uoluniuia county in the State Legislature whose principles arc not biassed by pecuniary considerations fc whose sole object is to. perpetuate our free institutions, and add character to his country and his countrymen. To the Editor of the Columbia Democrat. Sin ' T wnnlil tlinnlr vnn fnr infni.mntimi respecting our Cuttaicissa Bridge Bank. il 1 tl.. .? . j nc acioi Asscmuiy graining corporate pri vileges to our Bridge Company, so far as my knowledge extends, never authorised an issue of Paper Tickets, in the character of Bank Notes. The act expressly says, "tho name, style, & title shall bo the President, Directors and Cntnnnnv." Of fnnrsn. (tin "Stockholders aro the Company; and as they were never caned upon to vote, nor even consulted upon tho subject of issuing Shin- piasicrs, uui openly ui c arcd insolvent, 1 think the People ought to inquire into tho matter, and "fix the saddle upon tho right horse." Such rags have been issued by an individual in tho immediate correspondence of the Monster probably under tho gui dance of Thaddeus Stevens and I would wish you to tell us under what pretext of authority, he exercises such functions, of which, as a stockholder, I have no know ledge. CATTAWISSA. We aro wholly unable to give our vener able friend the information he desires ; but fortho purpose of giving wholesome advice to the Company who have nominally as sumed the responsibility of issuing these small notes, as well as for other reasons, we extract the second section of the act of 22d of March, 1817 passed after the blow-up of the batch of forty banks. Sec Pur don's Digest, page 97.3 Section 2. No incorporated body, pub lic officer, association or partnership, or private individual, other than such as have been exnresxlu inrnmnmin,! n ,,.,.;.;.-;.. for the purpose of Banking, shall make, isajln - ee,0 n. .i'.t.fi. , .l. , i.u 1.UWIC uui jiromissory note, ticket, or engagement of credit in the nature of a Bank Note, of any denomina tion whatsoever, other than such us have been issued by banks lawfully expressly established; and from and after the first day of May next, no such incorporated bo dy, public officer, association or partner ship, shall receive any such note, ticket, or engagement of credit, other than those above excepted, or those made and issued by it or himself, orunder its or his imme diate authority, fyfor THE MERE PURPOSE of CANCELLING or DESTROYING the same, under the penalty, in the case of a Public Officer, rf TENDOLLMIS, and m the case of a Corporation, Association, or partnership, FIFTY Dollars, for each and every note so made, issued, re-issued, circulated, paid or received, to be recovered by any person or persons suing for the some, before any Merman or Justice of the Peace within the Commonwealth, as debts under one hundred dollars are by law recoverable. J The capital of tho New Orleans Banks is 854,554,000, of which $30,709,455 is paid up; of this sum $18,081,820 is hold in Eu rope, $10,225,025 in New Orleans, and 85 732,109 is in real estate. Their circulation is $7,135,200, & specie 82,071,327.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers