VARIOUS MATTERS.'
'USURY.
t
case of considerable interest, liblTi to
borrowers and lenders of money, "was ro
ccntly decided before Judge Irving, in the
Kcw York Court of Common Pleas. The
facts, lis elicited during Iho trial, wcro as
follows: Mr. Piper, the defendant, testified
"jhaf ifYJimc 1.83Q he borrowed of Mr. Geo.
G. Sickles, a broker at No. 21 Wall street,
the sum of $323, giving him his check for
that amount and a promissory note for $100
as--a collateral security, for which he paid
him an intciest of half per cent a day up to
the 20th of January following. Abottt'tliis
time Mr. Sickles, as he alleged, being posit
ed for money, called upon him for the a
mount of the check.
'Piper told him that it was not in his pow
er to nay the money then, and furthermore,
that he should ndt stahd the payment of ex
orbitant interest any longer, whereupon
Sickles put the collateral llote iu the Hank
for Collection, where, after having arrived
at its maturity, it was dishonored by "noil5
payment. Piper having been subsequently
called upon by Sickles for payment, gave
'mm a new note, at tour months, endorse
bv Blake the Plaintiff in the present case,
merely for his, iJPipcr's,) accommodation
the same 'fcfr vhhih this -action whs
brought which note Wa3 also suffered to
be protested. Piper testified furthermore,
that he had conveyed to Sickles a wagon
vofth 70 in payment for interest, and had
At Various times paid Sickles and Porter the
plainttfl. m shape ol usurious interest, at
most as much "money as the face of the
note. To rebut this testimony, Sickles dc
jioscd that he sold the note, twti days after
t was made, to the plamtill, rortcr, at
vliscount of six and a half per cent, per an
hum, arid that no extra interest whatever
had been paid upon it previously. He,
however, admitted that lie was indebted to
Piper the gum nf -10 which he was willing
)p be taken out of the $ 100, and the balance
between that and the $023 he claimed as
interest due upon the check a transaction
withtwhich the plaintiff had nothing to do
Mhc 'note being "sold to him for its face,
deduoting-oftly C and a half per cent, for
which he paid down the money.
The. Court charged, that usury Consist
ed in taking a greater fate ol'intcrcst than 7
percent .per annum; (hat in order to vitiate
the note and destroy the debt, it was neces
sary for the jury to satisfy themselves that
transaction was tainted with usury, and
that the plaintiff had a ktiotvledge of 'the!
fact at the time of the purchase, that it came
Iionftfidc into the hands of the plaintiff' if
lie was an honest holder of the note, and it
had come into the possession without his
knowledge of the usury, ho must rccovdn
That if ho made tho purchase fairly, with
out a knowledge of the usury at tho time,
it made lio difference in the case, what he
might have been lold of it afterwards. The
decision of the jury must depend upon the
degree of credit they should attach to the
conflictinir statements of the witnesses. If
the statement of Piper was true, the trans
action was usurious, and the plaintiff could
not recover. If the jury found for the de
fendants, howovcr, it could only be for
Blake, as Piper could not bo a witness in
his own case, and it was opt'olial for the
jury cither to return a verdict for tho full
amount of the note, or the sum of $323 pro
ved to have been actually loaned to Piper.
The jury found a verdict for the plaintiff
against Piper for the whole amount, and lor
the defendant as far as related to Blake.
ItickncWs Ittporten
From the N. Y. Commercial .Qdvcftiscr nf
Saturday afternoon.
AERY LATE PROM ENGLAND.
HVe have just received our file papers by
'the Orpheus London oftho 15th and Liv
erpool of the 10th September. In order to
save "the mails which depart at 4 o'clock,
our extracts for the day'irrustbe very brief.
The British Parliament met on the 11th
of September, pro forma, and was again
prorogued to the 2nd of October. The ac
tual davs of meeting was determined.
There Was a report in London that the
marquis of Watcrford had been "killed in a
tow, somewhere in Norway.
Cotton, wc are soiry to say, has fallen
l.fi tn id a pound.
'The Paris advices are to tho 13th. The
tiutfitSon of the dissolution of the Chambers
was not yet determined, although the Jour
nal des Debals announced that the decree
for that purpose would be published towards
'the ciid bf September.
There had been some more domiciliary
visits in Paiis, but without results.
'Pimm was still doubt as to the expedition
against Constantino, but tho Duke du Nem
..ra li-Td wrtte to -ioin it.
The advices frdln LisbOn-aYd to the 7th of
September. A battle was fought on tnozBin
r a ...,(. before the city of Lisbon, but
s.,iili nut decided advantage to cither party
A nronosition for an armistice had been
i.w llirt ministerialists, but had not
i ' (wlrnl in. The latest account was
i,nyi(.rifits had withdrawn to tho
Ni.theru provinces, pursued by their an
: ....:., A hmtlo was daily expected.
V'.m Vtnnin there Was little intolligonco
of interest. No affair of any magnitude ap
?,rars to have taken place botwitfh the hos
u nrrtiw. althoueh there had been several
ftkir.niMics. Brigadier O'Donnell mmio ;
n.ir 1, I as fir as rhoi in-ding nu rc
. , , .1 r ,
The. four provinces at Catalonia had. been
declared in a state of scigc, nnd'a declara
tion of independence from that quartcVwas
expected daily.
l'hc main body of the Carlists was slill
in llid'Sicrra" oftho Abarracin, expccting'an'
attack from the combined royalist armies
under Espartcro, Ora'a alitl TJucvcns.
I here had been disturbances at Fainpc-(
luna, among the troops oftho cartison.
They mutinied against their gciterat Iriarlc,
but on his dismissal, ttiey submitted to
General Cabrera, (not the Carlist) who had
been appointed viceroy in place of Iriartc.
Order was then restored.
Victoria -was in possession of the Car-
lists. An arrangement had been made for
the gradual payment ff the arrears to the
old Britisirlcgion and for punctual .-payment
of the new one.
MORE LYNCHING-.
There has been more Lynching in Vicks-
burg. The Sentinel 6f 'that place of the
28th tilt, cives an accOunt'df ah old man
by the name ot lirace, who, lor giving
"free passes" to negroes, was arrested and
'taken before a magistrate, tried, and dis
charged, "either from their being ho law to
Incct the case "oi froln 'want 'of 'evidence to
cbnvict. A mobof lynchers i'hen took him
forcibly from the possession of the Mar
shall, stripped him, and gave him a severe
flogging, and that too, "within hearing of
the lamentations and the shrieks of his af
flicted wife and children."
The Sentinel and Expositor, also details
twd "6thcr h6rrible "cases of Lynching, of
which we have before seen no mention-.
The language of that paper is as follows:
"It is only a few weeks sintfd humanity
was shocked by a most atruciOus and rc
voltmg outrage, indicted bv those sanguin
ary spirits of barbarism, the lynchers, on
the person of a Mr. Saunders, of Madison
county, in this State. These bullies of
the peace of society, of order, law and civ
iliiation, dragged this respectable planter
ironi. the bosom ot his lannly, and niutila
ted him In the most brutal manner maim
ing him most inhumanly, besides cutting
ol Ins nose and oars, and scarnlying his bo
dv to the very ribs! Wc believe the sub
icct of this foul outrage still drags out
miserable existence an chject of horror
-mil nifv.
last wcciC a piun oi uyneners, amuuiiiiii
to four or five individuals, as wc have been
credibly informed, broke into tjle house n
Mr. Scott, of WHKinson c:nuuy, a respeu
t.i'hlc member of the bar, forced hint ii.t
n.H,1! Vii'iiifr Mm ilnml nn the next tree. We"
have heard 'of numerous minor outrages
(nmmitted ndainst the ncacc of society, and
the welfare and happiness of the country,
but wc mchtidn these as the most enormous
that wc llave beard for some months."
Such fe'rdcioUs aiid alarming1 outrages,
call for the hidigiiatidn of every patriot,
and every fridild df e'ohstililtioi'iil govern
ment, and ought to enlist Hid whole coun
try in endeavoring to pdt a sjop to tllciri;
Will the legal authorities ol VlcksbUrg per
mit the vile actors in these outrages to go
unwhipt of justice?
JjAw vs. liyiich Jjnxir.
The Nashville Banner of the 30th ult.
contains a full report of a trial in the Cir
cuit Court of the United Estates for the Dis
trict of West Tennessee, in which Anson
Moody was plaintiff, and Ecbcrt Shepherd,
Joseph Jones, Jacob F. Farrington and six
others, citizens of tho state, were defen
dants. The transaction otlt of which it
grew tddk jllacc on tho -1th of Sept. 1835.
The plaintiff, it seems, lutd lallcn under
suspicion as a kidnapper, b'r slavd slc'alcr;
whereupon cdrtain inhabitants of Browns
ville constituted themselves a Lynch Court,
seized plaintiff in the dead of night, tried
him, convicted him, and then proceeded to
punishment by inflicting 100 lashes with a
cowskin, branding him tin tlie cheek with
the letter R, and commanding him to leave
the country. The trial was regularly con
ducted, defendant's witness boiiig sifbncon
add attd brought into court, some1 of them
from A distance of -10 miles, at the expense
of the now defendants. It was very iiu-
lherously altdrtdcd by spectators and assis
tants froih all parts of the country. During
the progress of the trial, some nicrcihd in
dividuals amongst thd crowd suggested the
expediency ol banging tho now planum,
but their advieo was overruled by a solemn
vote.
The! jury (in the Circuit Court) gave a
verdict Of 2000 dollars and costs( against
five of the ddfortdants.
The Josephs of New York. These gen
tlemen, it seems by tho New York papers',
arc about to resume business for the pur
pose of settling up their immense estate for
tho best advantage of thfiir e'reflito'rs. A
meeting of solnd of the principle creditors'
lias been held) to 'whom a full and particu
lar detail of thd affairs of the house has been
made. It appears their liabilities amount
to $0,500,808,17, and thoir assetts to $7,
0 10,151,3 1 leaving a surplus of 530,083
17 cts. Resolutions were unanimously
passed by the meeting rccommonding that
llie business of tho house be placed under
tho nranageiue'nt of the partners, as from
the complexity and extent of their accounts
thc can best understand the proper mode
of i-djt -.inig tilt m.
limn, Pmrnta Thn VOLllKT Qlieehrpf I
England seems likely tobc smothered vttlij
presents. l no papers nave nircuuy ru-
6rdcd sundry donations to tier majesty,
uch as an olive, treo from Smyrna, a port
folio from Mr. Forrest's dresser, &c. &a.
and now wc learn from the Boston Mcrcan-
fe Journal that E. C. Dclavan, Esq. the
well known ncrsevcrmir friend' ami udvo-
cafe of femncrancC. has it in contemplation :
to bestow upon her majesty a copy of Mr.
Liiclus M. Scrccht's Temperance Tales, in'
four Volumes, splendidly bound in emboss
ed morocco. The gilt would have nccn
more appropriate, if made to some of her
majesty's uncles.
FATAL AFFRAY.
A slin from the St. Louis Commercial
Bulletin, savs that on tho 3d hist, an affray
took place at the prairie house, kept by Mr
Wade, between a man by tlie name oi
Dixon, and another person whose name wc
have hot learned, and after some few words
had passed between the parties, as wc
have been 'informed) Dixon struck the otli
cr several blows with a cane, when they
were separated, and this man went away
Some tittle tunc alter ho returned as soon
as Dixon saw him, he made at him again,
and struck him several blows, aim while
thus beating him, ho drew a 'pistol and
shot Dixon, who expired on the next day.
entirely provoked by Dixoi; that the AH,0r
We also understand that the quarrel was
attempted to avoid him alt in his power,
until the fatal termination ot tho affair.
I'he man was brought before Esquire
Shepherd, lor examination last evening,
but not havinr executed the examination,
he guYnds committed till this inonniiLr
when the subject will be further investiga
ted;
1 he Council between the Secretary of
war, Mr. roinsctt, and the Sioux Delega
tion, was brought I'd a close .tan tile 20th
ulf; and the articles thereof formally cxe
cutcd, on tlie part of all concerned
Though the chiefs and braves had, on
some days previous, come to the conclu
sum to accede to tho ofl'cr of the Secretary
on the part of this government, and to cede
their land they seemed most reluctant to con
summate the deed. As emphatically said
by sonic of their speakers, they seemed
"sore at heart," to pan with the land, where
their fathers had trod before them, and "in
whose footsteps" they were still walking,
t hey had many "last words" to utter, and
urgent requests to make of their Great
Father, before putting hand to paper. As
before intimated by us, their gravity ap
proached to gloom. Dark forebodings of
the luturc, seemed indelibly written on their
brows; and in consenting to pass to the
West side bf the Rivers, they appeared
not without apprehension, that some com-
jjig son might lind their children, if hot
themselves, engaged, as they then were, in
council with the chiefs bf their Great Father,
for the sale and purchase df land ilow aUCTrt
to be occupied by them; ami their nation
urged to take one step further toward tlie
setting sun at length perhaps, to c9 down
with it no more to appear forever. Such
scorns indeed to be the fate destined to be
that of the red man.
Ilereaftdr the Sioux on his return to the
land of his fathers, inay find the ancient for
bstd all gone gone forover the rude
moitrid, wjiieh marked the resting place ol
their chiefs and braVcs, levelled with the
plain: add "on tho clods which hide the
warrior's br'castj" growing tho green and
high wheat.
Washington Metropolitan.
A Council was held on Thursday, in this
city, at the instance of the President of the
United States between the delegates of the
var'ldus tribes of Indians now at the seat of
government: Tho object of the council
wits, to produce, if possible, a spirit of recon
ciliation and friendship, between the Sioux,
Sacs, and Fox Irilids; which unhappily,
does not exist between them:
From the manifestations on the part of
the speakers of the respective tribes, on
the occasion, very little hope can be enter
tained, oftho purpose of the council having
been effected, Both professed very strong
ly, their adhesion to (lie counsel, at all
times, of their great father, but charged each
other with perfidy and constant breach
of faith. Tliey both said that no reliance
could he placed in their respective' words
that whilst they professed to bo for peace,
they stayed their people and preyed upon
their lands. The council ended in that
spirit, with no wish or intent, on either
part, to be resumed.
Keokuck, who was the principal spea
ker, on the part of the Sacs and Foxes, and
who, (as one of Ids c!iofs expressed it)
is "tho heart aud Soul, arm .and limb,
of his people," was vehement In his man
ner, and rapid in articulation, The very
spirit of war seemed to burii within him.
ll is language was very reproachful to the
ftioux; anu ins trine oy tncir very, expres
sive ugi, gave a hearty amen to his words
Ibt
Exttnt of the Jlumra liorcalis. It np.
pears front a pargraph in Silliman's Jour
mil, that on the evening of the 18th Feb
ruary last an Aurora Uorealis wis simiilta-
neously noticed at New Haven, Conn
and liottingfii, (kingdom of Hanover,)
distant 83 degress of longitude from the
former place. In both plncrs the inacnctu
needle was sensibly afl'teted,
THE C0LUMUIA DEM0CHAT.
"tnirrn WITHOUT rCAlf"
SATURDAY, OCT. 21, 183T.
Volume 1 Number 3.
This number concludes the first six
months publication of the "ComjmiiU Di:m
ochat." From our liberal and increasing
patronage we arc led to believe that the me
chanical execution of our paper, and our ed
itorial exertions, have both met the appro
bation of tlie public; and for these evidences
of support and confidence we return our
most sinccro acknowlcuVcincnls. Those
who have complied with our term's of pub
lication are credited in both our day-book
and book of kindly remembrance While
those who have neglected the performance 1
. obl,Sat,ou atc expected to "do like-
wise," and receive the same tokens of sat
isfaction.
8C7i he proceedings and sentiments ot
thc "Barbacue, ' at Buckhorn, on Tliurs-
day, will bo found in this paper. They
" i r .i i -i ; . . ,
political cnaracicr oi me oiheers; bul not-
withstandiiiff they are all democrats. Vet
w
wc arc lice to conlcss that it was not a
I'ARTV meetnij; it was an assemblage of
Tin: rnorLK. The OX was roasted whole.
under the supcrintendance of William Lcav-
ensworth, Esq.; and although he weighed
near 700 pounds, yet every part of him was
done in superior epicurean style equal to
any surloin. lid was placed over the fire
at 9 o'clock-, A. M. on an iron windlass,
cast expressly for the occasion by Messrs.
Leavcnsworth, Lcssig, &Co., well arrange
cd with iron skewers, and oilier concomi
tants to perlcct the operation of roasting,
At 2 o clock the multitude, consistintr of
Troiii 000 to 800 persons sat down to table;
and tho rapidity with which his rdasted
lorusinp s mortal name disappeared gave
the strongest proofs of tho gratified palates
of those who partook of him. At 3 o'clock
the cloths were removed, and Hie meeting
. , c. i - -
' """ M'i""i" BumiH.ciiw
were then prepared bja committee appoint-
cd for that purpose, and after drinking a
number of volunteer toasts, and rGiriliii, J
o
rcsoluhbns of thanks, the meeting adjourn
ed: The utmost harmony and good fcclinr
prevailed; and notwithstanding three largo
pieces of artillery were sending forth their
heavy peals, which echoed and re-echoed
amongst the ncishuourinrr hills, vet no ab-
cident occurred to mar the festivities of the
day. The multitude met with kindly feel
ings the)' exhibited none other during tho
i t i . i.
day and they came' nonio with them a
feeling of attachment for oil?) another,' and
a redoubled determination to carry out the
principles, the glorious triumph of which
they had met to celebrate.
TT'-On bur last page' will bo found an
oration delivered by Thomas Bowman, Esq.
(son ofour elected Representative to tho Le
gislature,) and for which wc arc indebt
ed to the "Saturday Chronicle." It was
delivered at tho commencement of Dickin
son College in July last; and docs credit to
the intelligence and eloquent spirit of tho
young graduate; Wc ilo'po lie may nol re
lax in giving publicity to his effusions; and
wo shall feel proud in numbering him with
our literary correspondents.
iC7Any omissions in the publication of
Volunteer Tbasts, handed in at tile Buck
horn Festival, must be attributed to tho ne
glect bf individuals in affixing their signa
tures to their productions.
JC?"Thero wore two Revolutionary sol
die'rs present at iho Festival Gol. Henri
i'i,ui nemiocK, aud JohnFreas, sen. of
unar Urcck. A saluto from tho
three
Cannons was fired in honor of thei
r atten-
dance.
ICTE. W. Sturdcvant has been elected
Delegate to the Convention from Luzerne,
over .Mr. Bidlack, by 78 majority. This
result
" " " "b iuuiu uiborganiztiigcoiuso
ol the "l'armcr." nmt 1
i -u oi rtir. ii. with the ownership and
ol of that piper, and his intimacy with
! auniont, who opposed the regular ticket.
IPaHiitcue "at lhe; Muelihorn.
About 800 persons 'assembled at the
Buckfiorn onThursday, the 10th of Octo
ber, 1837, and after feasting and removing
the cloth, were organized by appointing
the following officers.
President: Maj. JOHN FREAS, of Bri
ar creek;
Vice Presidents: IIdoh McEuiAnr, of
Liberty, Jr.ni:MiAH W kllivhu, of Madison,
Isaac W. Miisciiiavi:, of Mount Plcainnt,
Jon.v Dnmt, Jr. of Deny, and Daniel
SxviiEn, of Bloom.
Secretaries: Maj. li. S. ffofvcrlon, iif
Danville, and John S. Ingram.
On motion, a committee of five person
'were appointed to draft thirteen rcmuV
toasts for the occasion: whereupon the
Chair appointed Maj. Ncal McCay, of Ber
ry, Hugh McJhldc, of Briar creek, Irani
flcrr, of Orangcvlllc, H'illiam Henrie, of
Danville, and Phmchs Tf'dllivcr, of Madi
son. The committee a'ftcr a short absence re
ported the following, which were read, anl
received the enthusiastic cheers of the at
tendants, each being accompanied by the
l'oud roaring of the heavy charged artillery,
and also by approprnte airs from a Band of
music in attendance.
ItEOUI.AU TOASTS.
. -
1. The daii we cxlebrutr: A
Hal cnM'-
mcmoratcd to that virtue, liberty add iiltlc-
pendence which overwhelmed disorgamza-
"?"' .anu Proclaimed the voice ol the pco-
lc triumphant.
tumbia county: The salt oftho earth tlie
power that controls the operations of the
J - . .
oaiiot-no
3. Columbia County: Her agricultural,
aim especially ncr mineral resources, can
vie with anyoflicr sister counties who con
stitute, .this Commonwealth.
1. J'ublicJniprovementa: Wc know ami
appreciate their beneficial influence upon
our towns, our nconle. ahd our nennlc's
farms & dwellings.
5. The .Qmcrtcun People: Honest ami
ilrtsitspecting they always render a true
and correct verdict, unless misled or de
ceived by political demagogues.
is. J lie late election: " I lie voice of the
People is the voice of God."
7. The President of the United Slates.
8. The Governor of Pennsylvania.
0. Jnitidm Kitchen, Esh: Sheriff of
Colunibia couiltyi
10. The Soldiers of the devolution, in til-
tendance this daif: They have fought for
oltr liberties lot us. always remember and
appreciate their patriotic services
7 lumhn ."lt it, no country
cmi sustain correct principles; and with it,
evcry government must nourish.
12. This day: One which evinces the
g001' feeling, harmdny, alid patriotic dc
crniination of the people of Columbia conn
tv.
13. 1 he Fair Sex: W ithout them Dem
ocrats' would be scarce.
VOLUNTEER TOASTS:
Bv the President. The. Voter: Let ev
cry one, in exercising the right ofsnnragc,
vote for those measures which he consel-
cntiously believes will promote the licJt
interests of his country.
By Hugh McElrath, 1st Vice President.
Democracy: The public voice has exhibi
ted the character and determination of Co
lumbia county at the late election may she
never bo again troubled with a Wolfor a
Muhicy.
By Jeremiah Wclliver, 2d Vice Presi
dent. Hrlue and Intelligence: 'Hie pil
lars on which republican governments can
safely rest.
By Isaac W. Mnsgravc, Esq. 3d Vice
President. Columbili county: She has sus
tained her integrity against' the schemes of
disorgtiuizors and intrigueis.
By Cant. John Derr,4th Vico President
Martin ran Jiurcn $ Mchurd M. John
son: 'Our country & our country's friend.
By Maj. B. S. Wolvcrton. Uilliam
Kitchen, Esq: His personal popularity pro
cured hun tho office of Ilich Shcnll ol Co
lumbia county, without tho aid ofpartizan
spirit oi political intrigue.
By tho Company. John McHeynohlh
Esq: Honest in opinion unwavering i"
principle zealous in support of democrat
ic measures public sentiment loud!)' pro
clahhg him our next representative in Con
gress,. .. ,
After the' cheering had subsided, Mr
MeRcynolds rose, and in a brief speech re
turned his thnnlts for the complimcidatf
language of tlie sentiment, and in return g?"
the following;
.By John" MeRcynolds, Esq. The P
pie the Sovereign People: Always fou"
ready to assert and sustain their rights.
By John S: Ingram. 7'ie Democrat
of Luzerne: Iutelligont and patriotic n&
uicr ciucaucry uorutsorgainzaiiou
feat their will: their Alp of Co'riiUh n11
lost his indgie influence.
Iii return for this compliment to the 'rl'
umphant democracy of Luzerne,' Mr. W11'
MTS. of AVilknIi:i rrp. irnvn lbn follow!''!
b"'
sentiment.
uy William Willits. Luzerne an ' lt,
lumbia: Alike quick to detect error a"