■*. W. Fr#pri#t#r.3
VOLUME 8.
Is published every Thursday Morning, by
R. W. WEAVER.
OFFICE—Up stairs in the New Brick building
on the south side of Main street, third
square below Market.
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vsrtise by the year.
A Rough Ityine on a Rut Matter.
T TIIE AUTHOR OV " ALTON 10CKK."
"Leaping late and early,
Till under their bite and their tread
The swedes, ar.dtbe wheat, and the barley
Lay cankered, and trampled, and dead.
"A poacher's widow sat sighing
On the side of the white chalk bank,
Where under the gloomy fir-woods
One spot in the ley throve rank.
"She watched along tuft of Clever,
Where rabbit or hare never ran;
For its black sour haulm covered over
The blood of a murdered man.
"She thought of I he dark plantation,
And llie hares, and her husband's blood
And the voice of her indignation
Rose up teethe throne of god.
"I am long past waiting and whining-
I have wept too muoh in my life;
I've had-twenty years of pining
As an English laborer's wife.
"A laborer in Christian England,
Where they cant of a Saviour's name,
And yet waste men's lives, like the ver
vains
For a few more brace of game.
"There's blood on your new foreign shrubs
[squire;
There is blood on your pointers' leet;
There isbloOd on the game you sell squire,
And there's blood on the game you eat.
, "You have sold the laboring man, squire.
Body and roul to shame,
To pay for your seat in the House, squire,
Wnd to pay for the feed of your game.
"You made him a poacher yourself, squire
When you work nor meat,
At on: starving children'# feet;
"When parked in one reeking chamber,
Man, maid, mother, and little ones lay;
While the rain pattered in on the rotting
[bride-bed,
And tho walls let in the day ;
"When we lay in the burning fever
On tho mild <>l the eold clay floor,
Till you parted us all for three months,
[squire,
At the cursed workhouse-door. x
"We quarrelled like brutes, and who won
ders?
What self-respect could we keep,
Worse housed than your hacks and your
[pointers.
Worse fed than your hogs and your sheep.
"Onf daughters with base-horn babes
. Have wandered away in iheir shame;
If vour misses had slept where they did,
Your misses might do the same.
"Can your lady patch hearls that are
[breaking
With bandfuls of coal and rice,
Or by dealing-eat flannel and sheeting
A little belew cost price 1
"You may tire of the jail and the workhouse
And take to allotments and schools,
Bat you've run up a debt that wilt never
Be repaid us by penny -dub-mlea.
•
"In the season of shame and sadness,
In the dark and dreary day, •
When scrofula, gout and madness
Are eating your race away;
"When to khnncds and liveried varlets
Ywa hae# cast your daughters' bread,
And worn out wire. liquor and harlots,
Your heir at your feet lies dead.
"When your youngest T the mealy-mouthed
[rector,
let# yonr soul rot asleep to the grave;
Vo witt find in your God the Protestor
Of die freeman you fane;?'.! vont lihYC
• I
"She looketl a! tlie tuft of clover,
And wept till her heart grew light;
And at last, when her passion was over,
Went wandering into the night.
"But the merry brown hares came leaping
Over the nplands still,
Where the clover and com lay sleeping
On the aide of tho white chalk hill.
Such items as the following, from the Eng.
lish papers, Bpcak volumes :
Two girl* are in custody in Tipperary,
who ooofess that they set fire to a hayrick
pi order to get traasported.
Accounts from Galway state that the rage
for emigration in that quarter, so far from
declining, seems to bo gaining strength eve
ry day
A clergyman who was consoling a young
widow on tha death of her husband, spoke
in a very serious tone, remarking that he
was "ono of the few—such a jewel of a
Christian ! You cannot find his equal—you
know that full well." To whidh.rtie sobbing
fair one replied, with an almost broken heart
_"I'II bet I do;"
.-r*yail■*' T'DIH '7'' '
BLOSjfSBURG, COLUMBIA THURSDAY, MAY 22, 1851.
Ml J
ran freeport Actutivucr.
That the public may make up a just judg
ment in relation to the transactions connect-
ed with the rebuilding of the Freeport Aque
duct; I wish to make a full and fair expose
d of them through the press. I shall confine
myself principally to the testimony placed
j upon the public record—will any nothing
but what the facts in the case will justify,
a This structure was erected by the com
monwealth to convey the water in the
| canal across Allegheny river. Is situa
, ted one mile above Freeport, where the Kis
l kaminitas flows into the Allegheny. Was
consumed by fire on the night of the 12th of
! May, 1848-. Rebuilt between that time and
iJje Ist of July following.
The manner in which the public raeney
was disbursed and receipts taken, left a
strong impression upon u£ minds o[ many
rtf life citizens In that viciuity, that the trans
actions in 'disburring the public money were
neither fair nor honorable. Being elected to
the Legislature friMft Westmoreland county
and living in the immediate vicinity of the
aqueduct, I took with me to Harrisburg cer
tain facts, in order to test the fairness of
these accounts as settled and fifed -in the Au
ditor General's office. Upon examination it
was found that the suspicions of these men
were weH founded—there was strong evi
dence of fraud.
The Two houses having raised a joint
committee to examine into the management
of the public works, these facts were placed
in the hands of the committee. After sub
poenaing several witnesses, they took up the
subject on the 7th of March, 1849. The foN
lowing is an oxtraot from the report of the
committee made to tha House of Represen
tatives on the 9th o.f April, and to be found
in tha 2a Vol. of their Journal, page 671:
"The attention of the committee was first
drawn to the consideration of the manner in
which the public money had been expended
in re building the aqueduct at Freepott, on
tho western division of the canal. After an
examination of the chock rolls filed ir. the
Auditor General's office, Daniel Hawk, Jo
seph Alter, William H. Stanley, Peter Ford,
and \Vm- B. Gibson, workmen at the aque
duct, was sttbpffineed, and Alex. Power, lata
supervisor, notified to appear before the com
mittee forthwith. The witnesses having ap
peared, Mr. Power not being present, were
examined on the 7th day of March.
"By the chock rolls for May and Juno,
1811, and filed in the Auditor General's of
fice as having b.son settled, it appears that
-.qkutiaHiawV, fjgtittilb is credited .9.
days' work in May fat one dollar and fifty'
cents per day, thirteen dollars and fifty cents,
and twenty six days' work in June, at one
dollar nnd fifty cents pet day, thirty nine
dollars, both baing receipted by Hawk's sig
nature.
"From the testimony it will be soon thai
Hawk swears he only worked sixteen days
in June and July, and received but 24 dol
lars; that tho signatures to the two check
rolls are his; that be Bottled with James
Morgan, who kept tho check rolls and paid
the hands y and that he did not examine
them closely when he signed them.
"Joseph Alter is charged on the check
rolls for -May and June, 4848, as * having re
ceived for nine days' work in May, nine dol
lars, and twenty two days' work in June,
twenty seven dollars and fifty cents. He
swears he worked nine days in May, at one
dollar per day, and received the money from
Jamei Morgan when he signed the check
roll foi that month ; that he worked ten days
in June, for which he was to receive one (Toi
ler and twenty five cents; that he received
but seven dollars as yet, for his wotk in June
and that Morgan has refused to pay him the
balance due.
"VVm. H. Stanley is charged on the check
rolls for May and June, 1848, with having
received for eight days' work in May, at one
dollar and fifty cents per day, twelve dollars,
and twenty six days in June at one dollar and
fifty cents per day, thirty nine dollars. He
testified to but one days'work in May, at
one dollar and twenty five cents, and bat
two days in Jane at one dollar and fifty cents
per day, making four dollars and twenty five
cents in all, which was settled by a man
named Hanes, who was boss, by giving him
an order, that was afterwards paid by James
Morgan, cleik and paymaster for the super
intendent. He swrars, also, that when he
signed the May and June check rolls, be
thinks they wero filled up only with the
I three dayg !:? worked; that had ihey pres
ented the appearand !. he f now did hc s ' ,ould
have observod it,
"Peter Ford is charged on the check roll
for June, 1848, with having received thirtv J
two dollars and fifty cents, for twenty six
days' work, at one dollar and twenty five
cents per day. He swears that ho received
but sixteen dollars, for sixteen day's work,
at ono dollar per day; that he worked fif
teen days in June and one in July; that he
called on Mt. Power, the superintendent, and
James Morgan, clerk, for a settlement; that
they exnminod the oheck roll together, and
found the number of days correotly stated in
it; that the amount [sixteen dollars) was
carried out in pencil mark; that he signed
two chock rolls at the request of Morgan,
who gave him a due bill for the money
which ho paid, a month Of two afterwards;
; that at the time o( signing the check rolls
> there were only sixteen days marked on
i them.
i "Wm. B. Gibson is charged on the check
i roll for May, 1848, with the receipt of thir
■ teeti dollars and fifty cents, for thirteen and a
1 half days' work, and on tho June roll for the
same year, thirty dollars for twenty days'
.JHUII.LIJ Jiiiii.l. / "Til ;i I . iirrnmr 11 l
wotk, at one dollar and fifty cents per dny.
He swears that he received but thirteen dot-
J* lars in all; that he worked but one day in
June, and eleven or twelve tn May, at one
1 dollar per day ; that he was taken sick in
June and thus prevented front working ; that
j he signed two oheck rolls for Morgan, who
paid him ; that he did not examine lire rolls
k closely when be signed them. •
"From the foregoing abstract from the
testimony which the committee have deem
ed proper to incorfforate in their report, it
will be seen that false returns have been
made to the Auditor General of moneys pur
j. porting to have been paid the witnesses, who
I were employed in rebuilding tha Freeport
Aqueduct, and by this means in these five
instances alone, the sum of $137 50 have
been abstracted from the Treasury. But
j five laborers have been examined out of
j some twtr or three hundred mat were em
ployed on the work.—From numerous let
' ters received and other informal information
in pa-session of the committee, they think
it altogether probable that a much larger
amount, upon oaTeful examination, will be
, found to have been drawn from tha Treasury
in the same manner. The committee are
induced to bring this matter to the notice of
the Legislature, not becaase of the sctual
loss sustained, but because of the grots vio
lation of the joint resolution approved tbe
JBth day of March, 1837, entitled 'Resolu
tions relative to the superintendents of mo
tive power and disbursements upon the
canals and railways, which forbid tbe ob
taining of any receipts from any person for
any ilebt due by the commonwealth, with
out the actual payment of (Tie money. In
some of the instances referred to, the check
roUs were signed at tbe Tequeet of James
Morgan, and a due bill given by him for the
amount, and in sU of them the number of
days, the per diem and the aggregate amount
have been increased after tbe signatures
were obtained. James Morgan, who kept
the check rolls and paid the hands, suddenly
disappeared from his place Of residence,
shortly after a subpoena had bsen issued for
him, as will appear by the testimony of the
sergeant-at-arms. The committee would
recommend a close examination by the Au
ditor Genoral, of the amounts paid on oheck
rolls on the work. From the testimony of
Joseph Alter, Peter Ford and Adam Holli
day, it will be seen that a much larger
quantity of timber was purchased than was
required or used in the construction of the
aqueduct; the two former estimate the sur
plus at one hundred thousand (cot, and the
■fJttoWr as sufficient to build three additional
aqueducts; much of it in rafts that had not
hosi) touched, a large part of which was af
terwards floated to Cincinnati and there sold,
according to the testimony of one witness,
at eight couts per foot."
Here was CTirifmdd sufficient to satisfy the
most skeptical, that the accounts of Mr.
Power, a- filed, were unfair. Upon thi- ev
idence the Auditor General, on the 29th of
May, 1849, opened his accounts, as far ms
they related to the re-building of the aque
duct; appointed the Hon, John C. Knox
commissioner to take the testimony in relation
to them, and the undersigned agent on the
part of the Commonwealth to furnish it. On
examining the check rolls it was found that
there bad been between five and six hun
dred different men employed at the work. It
was found on making inquiry relative to
them that some'of them were dead; others
had left the stale, and that matiy of them
could not be fuund at all. I however suc
ceeded in serving a subpoena upon two hun
dred and three of them. One hundred and
eighty seven ol these appeared before the
commissioner. The testimohy was taken in
the presence of Mr. Power, and his friend
General Levi G. Clover, assisted by Attor
neys Riddle, Donely, France and Neobit. It
will be found in the journal of the House
Representatives for 1850, vol. 2, page 704.
[HerO follows a list of the amounts each
witness received for his services at the re
building of the aqueduct, together with what
he is purported to hare received by the
check rolls. There are one hundred and
eighty seven of these, but they are all alike
except in amount, and we give ibe follow*
ing as samples. The whole amonnt of er
rors is #3,638 92 :]
• Error.
John Woods received #l6 00
Amount as per check rolls 39 00
James Lowe received 56 00
Amouul as per check rolls 70 00
■ ?4 00
i Isaac Kopnte received 19 00
Amount a* per cirec*'oils 56 00 *
... 17 00
John Gallagher received 2 00
Amount as per oheck rolls 28 62J
VVm. Stephenson received 14 50
Amount as per check rolls 40 00
, Jos. E. Ross reoeived 7 75
Amount as per cheek rolls 39 00
Geo. Wilkenson received 20 00
1 Amount as per oheck rolls 43 25
j 23 25
i Now, fellow-cttixens, you have before you
. tho case made out on part of the common-
I wealth, as far as tho check rolls are con
, corned. Three thousand six hundred and thir
' ty eight dollars and ninety two cents drawn
; from the public treasury, upon the reeeipts of\
! men, who upun their solemn oaths, swear that
i they never received it. Is this not strong evi
dence of fraud f of a plundered treasury i
c Those were not men kicked off the canal,
• but men ot character, standing as high in
i the rank of society as any Other sat of men
s in tho commonwealth. About one third of
the men employed at the work appeared
Truth and Bight—God ami our Country.
r. before the commissionet. Had I been able
i- to hare procured the testimony of the bat
n anee, I bare not a doubt but that i could
9 hare piled up $6,000 note in the same
it way.
it We come now to the manner in which the
0 money is accounted for. Charles Fouser
a swears that he rsceired 76 cents more than
his receipt upon the check rolls called for.
j A man by the name of Scott, one or two
. dollars also. But the principal witness, on
t the part of Mr. Power, i* a Mr. Morgan,
1 who appears upon cheok mils as olerk aad
. foreman. He swears that the money was
i put into his possession to pay (he hands ■
: (which was a direct violation of law,) that
he kept it in the collector's safe and carried
the key; that when he paid out the first
package of money, amounting to $4,000,
' there were S3OO thAt he coefd not account
tor; That there were h gr?at Mtoy transient
boatmen ahd emigrants at the work, who
worked from two to five days, would draw
frOm two to five dollars, according to the
number ot days they had worked, perhaps
leave a balance of 25 or 50 cents in his
hands, and leave without signing the check
rolls; that he paid out some ss,oo on this
kind ot accounts; that he paid out for mate
rials, contingent and travelling expenses,
$1,000; that when he came to settle np his
accounts finally, there were between five
and six hundred dollars short, which, togeth ■
er with the foregoing, were placed upon the
chtek rolls as days work.
I have something to say respecting this
testimony. . He first swears to the check.
rolls—that they Were all right; that these
men worked so mahy days and were due Kb
much money, when lie knew U was false.
In his testimony before thaodmmtikiooer, as
printed in the journal, he (feears agate that
they are right, when the commonwealth
prtved by near two hundred witnesses, that
they are false, and he in the body of his
testimony admits their falsity, by endeavor
ing to make up the discrepancy between the
testimony and the amount upon the check
rolls.
J. V. Criswell had two horses employed
at the work 'or which he received s7B.
These were used as express horses. David
C. Scott (who upon this occasion signed
himself David Scott,) appears upon the
check rolls as a foreman. He states thai
part of his time he was employed travelling.
Ho receives $55 50, at the rate of $1 50 per
day for hi* services. Gen. Clover was also
a general runner—''going at times, night and
day." He made out a bill of his exjietises
and was allowed them by Ihtfluditor gener
al. Theso sums are over am', above the
amount purported to be paid out by Morgan
for travelling expenses, &c.
It was important in order to strengthen the
testimony of Morgan, that some of these
boatmen and emigrants should have been
produced—none of them were—none of
them can be.
The aqueduct was twenty seven days in
being rebuilt. James Morgan appears upon
the check rolls as having drawn $l3O for his
services. James Morgan, second, $52. James
A. Morgan sl2. Notwithstanding this Mr.
Morgan has since presented to supervisor
Ulam a bill of over SBO jfor services aHedged
to bo done at tho re-buifling of this aque
duct, which Mr. Ulam reftised to
pay. One thing more ftul I dismiss Morgan.
—lire hairman of We investigating com
mittee, issued a subpmna fcvtotr. Morgan, in
onler to have bis testimony taken before the
committee. The sergeant-at-nrms called at
his house in Cambria conuty. He was told
that he had started that day for Harrisburg;
but upon inquiry it was found that he had
gone west. He did not return until about
the adjournment of the legislature. Why
this absenting himself from home thus sud
denly 1 Why pretend to be going to Harris-
I Ibnrg when he proceeded in a contrary direc
tion J If these transactions were fair and
honorable why not appear before the com
mittee 1 Was his testimony not yet ready ?
I come now to the surplus material remai
ning after the aqueduct was finished. It was
disposed of, but Mr. power in settling his
accounts, rendered no account of it. There
was nothing upon the record to show to
whom or for what ir had The
auditor general knew nothing about it.
Mr. Adam Holliday in his last testimony
before the committee, says : "There was
timber enough left to build thtee more aque
ducte. Some rafts had not a stick taken out
ef them, others had a few pieces taken out."
Mf F?ld s!ic IS)'!: "I should think at a
.moderate calculation there feet
of timber brought to the aquedsct, which
was not used in its construction; about 50,
000 remained in raits without being disturb
ed." This timber was disposed of in the
following manner, as appears by the testi
mony taken before the commissioner;
A.' W. Lane got <4O feet at 6 cents' per
foet, ssl 20. Wm. B. Carver MOO feet of
plank, scantling, Ac , for qualifying Morgan
to the check rolls and a few brick he furnish
ed. Wm. M. Souther $77 worth, besides a
crook reft at something near S7B mere. Da
vld Leech got near 100 logs, also two creek
lafts. John Kerns got two lots of timber,
one as pay for taking not old iron, the other
in pay for boarding—he kept a boarding
r house. In paying off the hands they gave
! him timber in lieu of it. Fetor Ulam got
$lO 50 worth. There was a lot of this tim
t bor left on' Hare's Island above Pittsburg
, Mr. Wood in his testimony estimates it at
i 4000 feet. Anthony Marvin says he should
not hive thought it worth SIOO. Bnt Mr. Ford
1 j an old lumberman, who ha* Tun the river
I since 1807, who says be examined it, esti
—no^i—i—i
i mates it at SIO,OOO feet lineal, which at 8
• cents per font would make it worth SBOO.
1 This, Gen. Clover, the collector at Pittsburg,
i a public officer, bought for S2OO, aod after
wards gave S4O extra. When tho timber
i was laying at the aqueduct, Clover says in
■ his testimony that "Abner Lane proposed
i to me to join him In buying the bal
■ anco of the ti m ber after the aqueduct
was finished. I told him I war in the em
ploy of the commonwealth, and I did not
think it right to go into such a speculation."
It seems from the testimony pf Mr. Gen.
Clover, that Mr. Power settled part of his
accounts with him, btlt by what authority I
am at a loss to determine. I can find no law,
no precedent for such a •course.—Had the
part settled by tho general been settled
by tho auditor general and placed upon the
fite, as the law requires, it would have sav
ed the Oomrttonweahth the trouble and ex
pense of resettling this part of them.
The balance of the timber was given in
charge by John A. Steele and John V. Criss
well to run it and return tho proccods to Mr.
Power. They took it to Cincinnati and
sold it to Bailey, Lonstaff k Co. Mr. Ma
lone, ono of the firm, appeared before the
commissioner and testified that they had
bought of Stee la and Ciisswell, in 1848,
88,350 cubic feet of timber, at six cents per
fool, amounting to $5,752 75, also tho ca
bles upon the rafts at sls ; that they gave
SSOO dollars in hand, and notes for the bal
ance, to be paid afterwards. Now it wa9
known that this timber had been told, but
there was nothing in relation to it to be
found among the accounts of Mr. Powsr, as
settled by the Auditor General. After the
investigatipn had been commenced, Gen
Clover appeared before the committee and
gave an account of two notes deposited in
bank, amounting to $2,744 70, leaving a
balance of $3,032 99 unaccounted for, to
which if wo add the S2OO paid by clover,
mokes $3,232 99.
Criswell appeared before tbe committee;
seemed to know nothing definitely about it;
said Steele and himself ran it to Cincinnati
—sold it to Bailey, LbngstalT St Co. at 6
cents per foot—got SSOO in cash—gave two
notes to Clover—balance went to bear ex
penses Three thousand two hundred and
thirty-two dollars and ninety nine cents to
run 8t'350 feet of timber 529 miles. It did
not cost SSCO.
I come now to the old iron. There was
a large quantity of iron in the old aqueduct.
It was scattered along the river.—The prin
cipal part of it was collected by the State
hands and delivered at Graff & Linsday's
wardhousc. This Gen. Clover purchased
from Mr. Power at one cent per pound. Mr
Morehead, of Freeport, offered two and a
half cents a pound for a large quantity of it,
but was asked three cento, bought a small
quantity at this price. In the language of
the General, "I purchased from Alexander
Power all thd old iron and castinos I could
find along the canal and river, for which I
was to pay one cent per lb. I gathered up 17
or 25 tons." Now mark the transaction. One
public buys the public property from anoth
er public officer, both watching over the
public interests. Suppose there were 15
tons of this iron,which would weigh 83,6oel'is
It was sold to Graff & Linsday at 24 cents
per potlnd—bought at one cent. In this
tiansaction he would pocket $504. The
amount this iron was sold for did not pass to
the credit of the State until after the inves
tigation ; neither was there any thing in re
lation to it in the account of Mr. Power,
J. F. M'CULLOCH, ■
Qf Westmoreland.
WOMEN'S DRESS.
Mrs. Cclia M. Burr, a clergyman's lady
thus philosophises upon the subject of Tur
kish trousers and short gowns, in tho last
number of Mrs. Swisahelms paper :
" On my last vist to that pleasant study in
Brooklyn, I was obliged to return in the rain,
and as I had to walk nearly a mile before
reaching a carriage stand, my groy-headed
philosopher had ample time to enter into a
dissertation on tiro subject of dress. 'Fitness'
said ho, looking very sevsro and uncompro
mising as he seated himself in the curve of
ray umbrella handle, and rested his elbow
on the dog's nose that formed the ornamen
tal finishing, 'fitness is the chief element of
beauty,' in fact there can be no beauty in a
thing which is not fit and appropriate for its
intended use. Now, according to this rule,
what do you think of the drasa you have
ont' Here he looked up in my face in a.
fray that made me feel very uncomfortable
and began an inventory of what I wore.—
'The bonnet itself is well enough, it is straw
and could bear a rain without being spoiled,
but the fluted crape lining is good for noth.
ing, it is beginning to fali now from the ef
feet of the damp air upon it, and those long
floating ribbons which yotf dignify with the
name ef strings, what are they good for,
But to be forever in tho wayl now flapped
over your shoulders by a gust of wind, then
into your fare, then about your umbrella
handle, a drop of water epoils them, and
tbey need replacing oftencr than every
moon, even if you have<the good luck never
to be caught in a shower. Then you have
fifteen yards of silk at least in yow dress ; a
gust of wind has just seized it and now you
will have an opportunity of judging of its
fitness;' there it goes with a flap and a twirl,
and now the ample skirt is wrapped once
and a half about yon ankles, and you can
form A very accurate idea of an Egyptian
mummy undergoing the pleasant recreation
of a walk The shawl "ia of no conse
quence" any way, if originated probably in
S spme vague notion of protecting the person
• before the art of oitling and making clothei
, was Understood, and so has been ottdufei
with all its inoonveniences, swathing tin
r arms and impeding motion ever since
i Vonrs at the present moment, has one cor'
I ner blown over the top of your bonnet
■ another trailing on the pavement, and it
t third upon which yon retain a resoln te hold
ts puffed out into a miniature bsHrrOtt over
; your left arm ; the shawl evidently belong*
to space, and tho sooner it takes wing for
that destination the better. But all that has
gone before is fitting and commodious in
comparison with what follows.' Here the
impertinent little creature leant forward at:d
for the space of three minutes contemplated
my pedal extremities, wofnfty bedraggled
skirts, and tho pavement with its half inch
layer of soft mud— *Cldlk-ffaUeee? mitf'tuted
he at length between his teeth, thiji cottin
hose, and a quarter of a yard itt depth,
hearen only Only knows how many in
breadth, of wet muslin and silk switching
about the ankles of a woman in delicate
health, and /possessing the most fastidious
tastes, and ho sprang from his seat and dis
appeared with what sounded very like
an emphatic " damn," but was itt reality no
doubt merely the French diuble, Sttcli an
episode you may readily imagine set me
thinking, and eo I hope it will you, whether
after all there is not home truth in tho idea
that fitness is an important element of
beauty.
£rom tkt Sullivan County Democrat
PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRACY.
The Word is in every body's mouth, but
the meaning, we fear, is not In every body's
understanding. Jn fact, our own ideas—
profoondedly acquainted as an editor, of
course, is with all subject*—our own ideas
were rather vague and misty, until a few
days ago, when We sal down deliberately,
and put our thoughts to work. Tlten tho
mists rolled away, and the subject shone out
beautifully clear and distinct.
Progressive Democracy is obedience to a
universal law—the law of progress. Nature
herself is but a "name for change the
change of progress, or the change of decay-
When sho ceases to progress, she begins to
recede—changing still, is never conserve*
tive. This work governs all ber works.
In inotganio nature—the world of matter
without life—the law is mere change, per
petual change. Our globe is the grand
theatre of this Mountains are
imperceptibly. .W inevitably, carried by
particles intolifteocean, tobuTld tip now con
tinents where waters once rolled. Rocks—
the very hardest—are disintegrated by air
and water, and converted into fertile soils,
or being removed by torrents to some new
locality, and united again by cement, calca
reous, or feruglnous, they become rew
rocks of another specimen, to be disinteg
rated again in their time, by air and water.
Inorganie nature knows no "conservative"
moment.
In organic nature—the living world, ani
mal or vegetable—the law is change also.
But it is lite change of progress and decay .
progress to a certain point, then inevitable
decay. From the moment the seed is
planted the tree begins to progress. Year
by year it rises In slatiirtj, increases in girth,
approaches nearer and nearer the fatal point
whore progress ceases, and decay beins.—
The animal body—of man or bruto passes
through the same inflexible process, obeys
the sgme law.
But there is another grade of nature
higher and nobler than mere animal matter
—the human mind. There the law is pro
gress—progress without decay—perpetual
progress. How faint is the dawning intelli
gence of the infant 1 how gradually the mind
expands! yet how certainly, how certainly
it becomes the intellect of the full grown
man 1 How certainly is it destined—as Rev
elation assures ns—to be in a future life, in
definitely progressive.
To apply these reflections to our subject.
All human institutions, nations and their
governments obey the universal law. Re
publics, empires, and kingdoms have "strut
ted their hour" on the world's stage and
passed off to be seen no more, except in
history ; yet all have left behind thorn the
same testimony—a period of progrcs-, fol
lowed by a perjpd of decay. Many nations
and governments dot the Earth's surface
now, but all are changing, slowly, gradually,
inevi ably. We may not see tho actual
movement, any more than we do the ma
jestic procession of the equinox, but when
we look at the point where they where a
few centuries, or a few years ago, we know
that they have moved. Take England, fur
instance, whose constitution is supposed to |
be moored 'to conservatism itsell. What
was her government eight hundred years
ago? what was she two hundred? what was
•he fifty? All unljke her present self!—
Possibly China may be referred to in objec
tion, but we know too little of tnat govern
ment to cite her against all other experien
ces, historical, and actual, ot to suppose her
an exception to tinman nature.
In nations and in governments, absolute
conservatism has never been, is no where
now, and, we may safely infer, can never
be. Are our institutions an exception?—
Are they an exception to the onivortal law?
We think not—we are euro not. Tho laws
of natr.ro—of human nature—are invariable
one inflexible. Perhaps the- instant we
ceatte to progress, we shall begin to decay.
Mhhy of us—most of us—are perfectly
satisfied with our institutions, and am wil
ling to retain them precisely as they are
[TWO Pillars *r Aim* -
NUMBER 17.
———^
n, yet it cannot be, it will not be. Many of us
ts —meet of us—were satisfied with the Jef
id fcrsonian platform of foemoctaoy, and wil
te ling to stand on it, now.smlhvbr. Bat it
- rould no? be, and has not been. Much has
r- already been changed, and mnch is now un
t, dergomg change. ,
n The current of progress, like that of time,
d is on—on—irresiStably on, whether we wish
Ft it or not; however, we straggle against it,
;h it will bear ns along. Democracy, like all
it things else, is necessarily progressive; and,
s although the nktne progressive Democracy
it is of recent iutroducli..p # the thlftg designs
-0 ted is no novelty. From the lime of Jar-
J PERSON, new tenants have been continually
1 added to the creed of the Democratic party,
1 new pratrticos oonttnnally introduced, and
t what has been must continue to be. The
t Blau alio .-annul eesSpcehsml this lew of
t progtess, who refuse td obey this trresistablo
, necessity, soot fiutl themselves—as many
t eccollent Democrats have—sdrift on the
; puty waves, and are, after a while, picked
i up by thO other great parly, now called
t "Whig"—which progressive also, follows in
the wake of the Democracy. How many
i Democrats of this class—clinging fondly to
> the name—entertaining many if not .all
i their ancient principles—how many such
> Democrats, could we point out, who are acr
r ing with a party entirely antagonistic. In
t fast, a conservative Democrat—ono who
f stands still while the party moves onward—
nocessar.ly sooner or later ber fh's a Whig
TIIK END OF LIFE.
It V MRS. R . S. NICIIOtV
'' fie rived all the number of bis years
and they were three score years an 1 ten."
An old man sit by the window,
For (he sprint was drawing near;
f At d ihe corse of the .load old win er
i Had gone to the tomb of the year!
The sun ight soft and unclouded,
S'reamed in o'er tho oaken floor,
' And fretted wi h gold, the dark pa isls,
' Quaintly carved in the ancient door.
I
The hands of the old man trembled,
, lliif beard was frosted and thin,
And chill as the heart ol December
Was the heart that was tolling within:
1 Like embers half quenched and dying
On a desolate hearth at night,
, Burned the ashes of life in nis bosom,
As he sift in tho spring's clear light.
He looked on the young buds swelling,
' . And a tear o'er bis wrinkles strayed;
fie 0 J| °'
The forms oi his innocent chitdren
Sho nightly had folded in prayer,
i And laid On the soft lap of slumber,
f With tender and motherly pare,
Rose up in the old .mail's vision-
He saw that one tired and slept,
Like a lamb, by the side of its mother,
Where a willow leaned over and wept.
' One son had wandered fnm virtue,
The father in spirit had yearned
To giant him forgiveness and blessing,
But the prodigal never returned;
Another had wedded with mammon,
And worshipped tlte Prince of this world
j And one 'neath the Cross had enlisted,
( And fought where its banners unfurled.
' A daughter, the fairest and dearest,
i * In loviinesß walked by his side, j
I Nor envied the lot of her sisters.
Who dazzled with beauty and pride :
Her voice, was Iter hearts sweetest music,
' When from tho bloat volume she read,
' That brightens the valley of shallow
And smooths down the path to the dead
For all his affliction and sorrow—
For all his misgivings and grlbf—
For the night of his doubting and darkness
| Ho found in its pages relief.
His life has been checkered with spdness,
' And as it drew nigh to its close,
' Ho longed for that borne of the weary—
The land of immortal repose.!
:
Tho old man sat by the winilow—,
As'the sun dropped low in the sky,
His spirit, with silent rejoining,
Went up to the mansion on high!
Another green hillock in summer,
Received the baptism of dew,
And down in the dust of tho valley,
He rests by the tender and true!
Goon JOKE ON A WIDOWER.—A corres- •
pondent at Holly Springs, Mississippi, tolls
the following, and vouches for ill truth. It
is the best joke wo have heard lately. It
i appears that a widower in that town, of u
somewhat gallant disposition, had been or
cusomed to visit the residence of the widow
M whether to eee tbe amiable widow
herself, or her lively daughters, our' infor
meut did not knew. Que l r las 14 kefeaul
the family party hard at work on some gar
ments of cloth. Tho girls were sewing, end
the widow was pressing the seaMra. Tim
widower "hung up hie hat," as usual end
took t;ia seat by the fire; just at tjut moment
it happened that the widow had done wtin
the pressing iron fnlgo, ot tailor's goose )
She sat it down on the hearth, and called to
the negro mar. in a loud voicd—'Jake! Jake!
come and taki out Iku goose!'
Tho widower started up with astonishment
' not knowing whst to make of this abrupt
order.
1 'Jake do you hear me." again eaclaimsd
/ tho widow.
r '1 beg your pardt n Mrs. M.' reid the wid
. owsr with visible agitation, 'but pray dim',
t call Jake—if you wish mo to leave ynnr
1 house I will go at once, and without the m
-1 terieronee of servants.'
1 The fadie* roared with laughing, and it •
took some momenta to explain to the ch.y_>
rinod widower his mistake. He bss u "
. been known to visit the widow M in
that memorable evening.
s .!fv