STAR OF THE NORTH.
R. W. WEAVER, EDITOR.
Illoomsburg, Thursday, Nov. IS, 1855.
Ey THE EDITOR is still confined to his bed
by sickness, but all the signs of speedy re
covery are now so favorable in his case that
we think by next week our readers will hear
from him as usual.
tr THE APPOINTMENTS.—It will please
many of our readers to see that Messrs. Ertt,
Search and Mcßride, the present officers on
the Canal, are re-appointed. The Cartal Board
wljpFf prefer to hold on to that which has
been tried and tint found wanting.
W VALUABLE COAL LAND.—On last week
Sheriff Snydtjr sold three tracts of the 'Loose'
which have been so often adver-
the sum ol 842,000. The owners
design u> make a stock company concern,
•nd sell out shares or slock to such ns wish
to join. The land is in Beaver township.
tar i .ITERATURE AND ART —The Cosmopo- I 1
litan Art Association offers inducements in
its adverlisednent which are rarely met with.
In the first place yon get the worth ot your
money in a Magazine, ami besides, a chance
in the annual drawing of statuary and paint
ing. It is right to say too that this is no
humbug, and last year a bona jtde drawing of
statuary and painting took place.
TY NEW OFFICERS —Mr. Jonas Fahringer,
the new Commissioner took his the
Board on last Thursday, in the place of Mr. '
Kteler, who retired with the respect that al- 1
ways follows an honest ntan. He made an
excellent officer, and finds a fit successor in
Mr. Fubringer.
On last Tuesday Stephen H. Miller, Esq., |
the new Sheriff elect, removed into his new
home.
CP" HARRIET WILSON US. PENN'A R. R. CO.
The suit was brought to recover damages for
the death of Plaintiff's husband, killed in 'b4
by the breaking of a rail on the Columbia
railroad. He was about 27 years of age. It
was referred to Judge Haines of West Cites- '
ler, Judge Piersort of Harrisbttrg, and John '
Evans, Esq., of York. They awarded 84500 '
damages to plaintiff.
IE Bennett, Savage, and shannon, of
Pittsburg, who were before convicted and
sentenced for violation of the Liquor Law,
have been again arrested for ins same of- '
fence, al the instance of the Temperance
League, and held to bail. Some eighteen oth
er arrests have been made, including the pro-'
prietore of the St. Charles and other hotels.
EXECUTIVE APPOINTMENT.— GOV. Pollock
has appointed Hon. Joseph Buffington, Pres
ident Judge of the tenth judicial district, com- j
posed of the counties of Westmoreland, InJi- j
arte and Armstrong, in place of Hon. J. M.
Burrill, who has accepted the position of As
sociate Judge of the United States Court in
Kansas.
GT VACANCIES IN THE U. STATES SENATE.—
There are now five vacancies in the Senate,
the terms of Messrs. Fitzpatrirk, ol Alabama,
Atchison, of Missouri, Petilt, of Indiana,
Cooper, of Penn'a, and Gwin, ol California,
having expired on the sth of March, 1855.
TY THE LANCASTER DEFALCATION. —CharIes
Boughter, the defaulting Treasurer of the
Lancaster Savings Institutions, was released
from prison, Thursday, on bail to the amount
of 8100,000, to answer el the next term of
the Court of Quarter Sessions.
KICOLAIEFF.—According to European pa
pers, the Grand Duke Constantine, the Grand
Admiral of'he fleet, has ordered the greater
part of the entrenchments al Niculaieff to be
demolished, it having been discovered the
directors of the works had grossly abused the
confidence placed in them by their imperial
master. Tha Grand Duke has formed a build
ing commission, at which he presides, and
inspects ell the works, which ate ma
king rapid progress. The former direotors
are under examination, and in order to pre
vent such abuses in future, they will be most
Severely punished. Adjutant General Tod
tleben, to celebrated lor his defence of Se
bastopol, has been summoned lo Nicolai
eff.
Ex-Governor Iteeder.
EASTON, Pa., Nov. 6. —Ex-Governor Reed
er was teceived al the cars, on his arrival at
Phillipsburg from Philadelphia to-day, by a
very great assemblage of the people of Eaa
lon and neighborhood. He was esror'ed lo
Conner's Hotel, where he was received in a
•borl and eloquent ad Jress by Geo. W. Yates,
alter which Ex Governor Reeder delivered a
powerfully impressive speech, which was
listened to with profound attention. Through
out the whole of hit speech there was not
one violent or abusive epithet against those
at whose hands I.e had received such meas
ureless abuse. He closed amid a deep and
Qgmest response of cordial agreement on the
part of his hearers.
From Washington.
WASHINGTON, Nov. B. —Mr. Buchanan had
not left London at the last advices. His let
ters of recall went out about Oct. 20. He has
cent important despatches by the Baltic,
showing that the British government rejecta
our construction of the Clayton and Bulwer
Treaty.
This despatch relative to tha increue of
the British flaet did not come from the A
meriean Embassy, and the facts disclosed
have been satisfactorily explained.
Commodore Paulding baa not been order
ed lo Grey to WD.
The Cabinet ia dividad on the question of
the legal liability oi oar Government respect
ing the Mexican Drafts.
APPOINTMENTS DY THE CANAL
COMMISSIONERS-
The Board of Car.al Commissioners met
in Harrisburg on Wednesday last. The fol
lowing ia a list of all the appointments made:
Superintendents if Motive Power. —On the
Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad, J. B.
Raker; on the Allegheny Portage Railroad,
W. M. Caliban.
Collectors^— Eaalon, D. H. Nieman ; New
Hope, E. K. SolHday ; Bristol, R. Patterson ;
Philadelphia, Jno. F. Smijj); Paoli, Robert
Lafferty; Parkesbttrg, M. ildVeigh; Lancas
ter, C. Carrnnny ; Colombia, J. L. Lighlner;
Portsmouth, Joseph Livermore ; Harrisburg,
J. L. R-'illy ; Huntingdon, Thomas Jackson ;
Blairsville, Geo. S. Jamison ; Fieeport, C. G.
Snowden ; Frecport Aqueduct, Mary Nesbilt;
Pittsburg, W. M. Stewart; Beach Haven,
Peter Ertt; Liverpool, J. M. Baum; Juniata
Aqueduct, Samuel Rigler; Duncan's Island
Bridge, C. H. Zeigler; Portsmouth Outlet
Lock, W. Cole; Johnstown, D. Fulwood;
Holltdaysbura, J. P. Hoover; Newport, H. A.
Zollinger; Northumberland, J. Swineford;
Williamsport, J. Piatt; Dunntburg, G. A.
Achetibach.
Sitpervuort. —Eastern Division, W. Forster;
Delaware Division, D. Evans;
Division, J. DifTenbach; Lower N. Branch, G.
W. Search ; West Branch, J. B. M'Micken;
Upper Juniata, J. D. Leel; Lower Western,
J M. Orr; Lower Juniata, D. Eisenbise.
IPeighmnsters. —Philadelphia, Robt. Simp
ion; Lancaster, R. King; Columbia, J. May
er; Johnstown Weigh Lock, Joseph M'Clel
land; Johnstown Weigh Scaler, Joint Burk
hnlder; Philadelphia Assistant, H. Leech ;
Northumberland, W Elliott; Columbia As
sistant, Joseph M. Walls; Resell Haven, F.
Mcßride; Portsmouth, Henry Yeghtmeyer.
State Agents Columbia and Philadelphia R.
R. —Geo. W. Bentz, Wm. R. Kelly, C C.
Thompson, J. D. Packer, W. S. Myler, J.
Clark, O. Stuck, J. S. Royal, C. Geissert, M.
D. Holbrook.
Cargo Inspectors. —Bristol, D. Willtard ;
Johnstown, J. C. Barrett; Columbia, C. Car
son; Philadelphia, Patrick Conroy.
(Pood Inspector. —Jacob Fetterly.
Keeper Outlet Lock, Columbia. —J. S. Roath.
Central American Affairs.
A Washington correspondent of the New
York Courier says:
Important despatches from London have
been received. Mr. Buchanan transmits the
final answer of the British Government on
the Central American negotiation. Our ulti
matum is rejected and correspondence is
closed. Both governments are reloased from
the Clayton and Bttlwer Treaty, Great Brit
ian retaining her colonies and protectorate,
and we withdrawing from our anti-annexa
tion clause. Assurances, however, of peace
ful views are exchanged.
Mr. Buchanan is still acting, but expects
to leave for the United States about the 10th
of this month.
Reinforcements have been sent Gen. Smith
in Texas, with instructions to prevent incur
6iono into Mexico.
The Clayton ami Bulwer was a humbug, •
and its extinction can be no loss to this coun- j
try. Events originating with the Central
Americans themselves are producing political
changes in that country, which will have an
important bearing upon the question of an
nexation. To leave these changes to the
natural course of events is probably the best
mode of sentiment which could he devised.
All the United States government is bound
to do is to fulfill its treaty obligations, and
not allow designs tending to revolution in
other governments to be formed and perfect
ed in this country. Americana cannot be
prevented, however, from lending their aid
to whom they please, or volunteering in be
half ol any cause in any part ul the world, I
they taking the risks and relinquishing the
right to protection from the United States
government.
A Kemarknble Experiment-
A recent work ot science given the follow
ing novel experiment, which settles a ques
tion ol lomn importance in philosophy. Two
hundred pounds weight of earth was dried
in an oven, and afterwards put into anearih
ern vessel. The earth was then moistened
with rsin water, and a willow tree, weighing
five pounds, was placed therein. During
the space of five years the earth was care
fully waiered with rain wa'er, or pure water,
the willow grew and flourished, and to pre
vent the earth from being mixed with fresh
earth or dust blown to it by the winds, it
was covered with a metal plate perforated
with a number of small holes suitable lor the
free admission of air only. Aflet growing
in the air for five years, the tree was removed
and found "o weigh 196 pounds and about
three ounces; the leaves which fell from the
tree every autumn wnre not included in this
weight. The earth was then removed from
the vessel, again dried in the oven and after
wards discovered to have lost only about two
ounces of its original weight; thus 164 lbs.
! of woody flbie, bark and roots, were cer
tainly produced, but from vrhal source 1 The
air has been discovered to be the source of
solid element at last. This statement may
st first appear incredible, but on slight re
flection its truth is proved, because the at
mosphere contains carbonic acid, which is
the compound of 714 parts by weight, of
oxygen, and 338 parts by weight of carbon.
Hones of Birds Hollow. —The bones of birds ,
are hollow, and filled with air from the lungs,
which renders them light. Were a siring
tied tightly arouud the neck of a sparrow, so
that it could not breathe, and its leg broken,
so that a bone protruded through the skin, it
could live. Respiration could take place by
means of the hollow through the broken bone.
A newspaper is a law book for the indo
lent, a sermon lor the thoughtful, a library
for the poor. Il may stimulate the most in
different ; it may also instruct the most pro
found.
17 THOMII I. GALBRAITH, Esq., late of
Danville, haa been elected a member of (he
Minnesota Territorial Legislature.
137 Wilkes-Barre ie to be lighted with ges.
CEbtttnlionnl Beabing.
OUR DESK is not to be exclusively occupi
ed by ourselves lor our own remarks. We
cordially invite any one who has a few good
words to say to step forth and proclaim them;
bnt he must talk to the point, and be sure to
stop when he has told all he had to say.
In addition to the many good things which
we hope to receive from others for this de
partment, we shall take the liberty to tell our
reader pupils, in our own or borrowed lan
guage, items of news, facta and discoveries
irt science, history, and philosophy, of which
we may chance lo hear or read.
Rules fir Study.—l. Learn one thing at a
time. 2. Learn that thing well. 3. Learn its
connections, as lar as possible, with all other
things. 4. Believe that to know every thing
of something is better than to know some
thing of every filing.
jS Governing School — The ability of the teach
er lo govern others can scarcely be acquired
by one who has not learned to govern him
self at all limes and under all circumstances.
The first duly in this department, then, is to
acquire a perfect control over his own feelings
and passions. No indication of anger should
ever he visible in his countenance; no ex
pression indicative of the loss of self-posses
sion should under any circumstances be per
mitted to escnpe his lips.
The teacher, in all iiie attempts to govern
scholars; should seek, with far more dili
gence and earnestness, lo teach submission to
truth than to his own individual authority.
How she did it. —The mother of Washing
ton, when asked how she had formed the J
character of her son, replied that she had
early endeavored to teach him three things—
obedience, diligence and truth.
Which Letters are most used —A very cor
rect idea may be hail of the relative frtquen- ,
cy with which the different letters of the
English alphabet are used, Irom the fset that
the type in Printer's cases are distributed in
the following proportion, viz: For every 100
ot the letter s, there ore 200 of x, 400 of k,
800 of b, 1500 of e, 4000 each of i, n, o, and
s; 4250 of a, 4500 of f, and 6000 of . THUS
it will be seen that the letter e is most used,
and t. a, i, n, o, and s are next in frequency
of demand.
Curious Etymologies.—Boudoir is from bu-
Jer, to pout; hence, a boudoir, a lady's pri
vate room, is in plain English a pouting
room. Parlor is from parlcr, to speak, and
is therefore the thalking room.
Arithmetical Curiosity —Multiply the num
bers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, by 9, and the
product will be Is. Multiply the same by
18, and the product will be composed of 2s.
Multiply it by 27, and the product will be
3s. In this manner all the digits may be ob
tained by multiplying by the multiples of 9,
as 36, 45, 54, 63, 72 81.
SCENES IN THE PRACTICE OF A NEW Y'ORK SUR
GEON. By Dr. Edward H. Dixon, Editor of
"The Scalpel." Willi illustrations by Par
ley, engraved by N.Orr. 420 pages, 12ino.
Elegantly bound ill cloth. Price Si 25.
DeWitt & Davenport, Publishers, 160 &
162 Nassau St., Now York.
Dr. DIXON, long known as an eminent sur
geon, standing at the very head of the pro
fession, and celebrated likewise as the au
thor of several popular works on health, phys
iology, &c , has found lime, amid his various
and laborious duties, to produce a book, many
scenes in winch are pronounced fully equal,
if not superior, to I)r. Warren's celebrated
" Dairy of a London Physician," with this
additional interest, that they are actual occur
rences in every day life, haopening in our
very midst— no*, matters of fancy.
The Doctor describes, with a power that
thrills to our very heart, and moistens the
eyes of '.he strong man,however unused to the
melting mood, scenes that he himself saw in
| luxurious homes, and at the canopied couch
of the rich and the purse-proui', when the
cherished ones are struok down by the inex
orable dart of the destroyer—" Pallida mors
tßqua pnde pulsatpauperum tabernas regum
que lurres." Likewise in the lowly cottage
of the poor, and at his humble bedside, our
friend, the Doctor, is ever at his post, and
like a ministering angel, ever ready lo
soothe their sufferings, and smoolhe, it may
be, their passage lo the grave; and
touching, too touching, are hit descriptions of
what he saw there.
In addition to the Scenes, are several arti
cles on health, written in a popular manner,
each of which is alone worth the piireoflhe
bonk. And we particularly rocommend to
mothers the Treatises on Scarlet Fever,
Whooping Cough, Croup, Consumption, &o ,
as presenting lo all, in a clear and lucid man
ner, the proper treatment of these common
diseases.
It is especially a home-book, affording
both amusement and instruction, and should
be in the hands of every parent in the land.
In addition to its other excellenoies, the
book is most beautifully got up ; the illustra
tions by Darley are magnificent, and the pub
lishers have spared no expense on the letter
press and binding. We predict for the work
an immense sale, as it is just what is wanted
as a household book.
Advertise Your llusiness I
ft would hardly seem necessary in this day
of light and common sense, to expiate upon
the benefits to be derived from a liberal and
judicious system of advertising, and yet there
are many persons, otherwise tegardeJ as
good Lusiness men, who sadly neglect this
first principle of successful enterprise. Ad
vertising, as lias been well and wisely re
ntal ked. is to a man's business what oil is
lo machineiy. Neither will work well without
ill application. As the piston rods and walk
ing beams will grow rusty without oil, so
one's business will slacken and eventually
die out altogether, nnlesa it be kept constant- j
ly before the people, by means of public
press. In old times when particular branch
as of business were controlled by a f.w in
dividuals, this mode of making one's sell
known was ccmparativel} unnecessary, as
the necessities ol purchasers and the small
number ol sellers made them well known to
each other. But in these days, when every
department of business is filled to overflow
ing, aud when the purchaser has hia choice
f from among scores and hundreds of anxious
t sellers, he or they alone who show them
selves most often, and keep their warea and
locations inoeseantly before the publio eye,
can succeed in securing the greatest amount
• 1 of trade.
NOVEMBER ELECTIONS.
New York (election.
NEW YORK, Nov. 10—The returns of the
lata election ara now complete, except four
counties.
Headley, the American candidate for Sec
retary of Slate, has a plurality ol nearly 11,-
000 over the vote for the Republican nomi
nee.
All the Senatorial Districts have been
heard from except one. The Republicans
have elected 14 members, the Americans 9,
and the Democrats 9.
Tbe Democrats have elee'ed 47 members
01 tbe assembly, tho Republicans 42, and
the Americans 28.
New Jersey Election.
The result of the election in the State of N.
Jersey is a Democratic victory. The elec
tion was not a* important as usual, being
confined to the choice of legislative repre
sentatives and cour.ty officers. The Demo
crats have elected four of the six State Sena
tors, and the re/tt Senate will be composed
of eleven Democrats, five Whigs, and four
Know Nothings. The house will consist of
thirty seven Democrats, sixteen Whigs, eix
Know Nothings and one Temperance man.
Last year, the Democrats were in a minority
iu the House and had a tie in the Senate.
Mississippi Election.
NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 10.—In the Fourth
District of Mississippi, Lake, Dem., is elec
ted to Congress.
WASHINGTON, NOV. 11.—It is reported here,
on the authority of despatches from Jackson
that all the Democratic members of Con
gress in Mississippi are elected. The Legis
lature is also Democratic by thirty majority.
The Democratic Slate ticket has a majority
ol 5000.
Maryland Election.
The news from different portions of the
State indicate the election of the Know Noth
ing State Ticket, and that five out of the six
Congressmen will be Know Nothings. In
the sixth District, Bowie, anti-Know Nothing
Whig, is probably elected.
Wisconsin Election.
MrLWAUEiE, Nov. (.—We have partial re
turns of the vote for Governor, from thirteen
counties, which show aggregate majorities
for Barstow, Democrat, of 8,463; and fori
Bashford, Republican, 7,429.
Massachusetts Election.
The Know Nothings have elected their
whole ticket for State officers by a plurality
of from ten to fourteen thousand, Gov. Gard
ner leading his colleagues nearly 5000 votes.
Both branches of the Legislature will be in
the hands of the Know Nothings. In the
Tenth Congressional District, C. C. Chaffee,
Know Nothing, has been chosen to fill (he va
cancy occasioned by the resignation of Mr.
Morris.
The House stands 179 Americans, 30 Dem- [
ocrats, 18 Whigs, 71 Republicans and 3 Lib- j
erals. The Senate, so far as known, stands <
23 American anil 17 of all other deuomina- j
lions. This is rather better for the Demo- i
c.rats than last year, when we had 0 in the
Senate and 1 in the House.
Georflit Eeplslaluro.
MILLEDCEVILLE, NOV. B.—The Legislature
ofGeotgia assembled on Monday, Mr. Bailey
was elected Speaker of the Senate, and Mr. j
Styles, Speaker of the House. They are
both Democrats. The Governor's Message
was sent in on Tuesday. It is very volumi
nous and chiefly devoted to State matters,
and recommends that the Legislature provide
for calling a State Convention in case Con
gress rejects the application of Kansas for
admission into the Union on the ground of
its being a slave-holding State, in which case
the Governor advises a disruption of the
Uuion, but earnestly hopes that the patriolis m
ol the North will avoid such a calamity.
| THEORY Ol IIOKASK.
AND ITS SIMPLE METHOD OF CURE.
It is not our object, at '.his time, to go into
a detailed explanation of Professor Hollo
way's theory of disease, but simply to inform
the American people that one of the most
remarkable men of this or any former age
is among them, and that his medicines have
a celebrity unprecedented in the annals ol
the world. There is no chatlatanry in his
pretensions. Unless all the civilized world
are deceived, the Holloway'e Pills and Oint
ment will drive disease from the human sys
tem, under the most unfavorable circum
stances, and in all climes. Other men have
sprung into an ephemeral notoriety by ad
vertising their remedies. Like butterflies of
the day they have buzzed for a while and
then expired; both their names and their
medicines have sunk into an obscurity from
which they never emerged. Others have
met with a limited success, perhaps as
much as they deserved. No man, though
he may have the wealth of Croesus, car. long
deceive an intelligent people with a worth
less remedy for disease, almost without an
exception, though it is prescribed in a mill
ion of instances, and in all forms of disease,
all the doctors on the globe could not make
the people believe that it was not a good
remedy, or that the inventor was not a pub
lic benefactor, and no empiric or charlatan.
Professor Holloway's remedies occupy this
position before ibe citizens of the world.—
The inventor is a man of enlarged powers of
mind, who has seen disease in all its forms,
and in all the climates of the world. His
medioal office in London was daily thronged
with patients to such an extent that a pol.ee
force was necejsary to be stationed at the
door. But an office practice afforded too
narrow a field for the exercise of his expan
sive intellect, and he determined to be the
world's physician. All countries have had
their celebrated physicians; England has
had an Abernethy, Frances Mogendie, and
America a Rush ; but these men,it ambition
only extended to a practice confined to a
narrow circle of friends and admirers, or the
superintendency of a medical hospital.—
Professor Holloway has choßen the globe as
, a theatre for his practice, and though cow a
resident of Republican America, he is pre
scribing daily foi hundreds of thousands on
the four quarters of the globe,
j His medicines are expressly designed to
1 act on the organs whose functions are so
- essential to health. They operate on the
I stomaob, liver, kidneys, lungs, and skin.
restore their deranged functions or uses, ana
I thus purify er.d cleanse the blood, the very
fountains of life.— New York Sunday Timet.
From the PclliviUe Gazette. |
The Moral* of Ibe Day.
RAILWAY, STOCK AND LAND SPECULATION*.
One or the most serious evils of the present
day, is the speculative disposition of the peo
ple. Wealth is not sought, to the extent that
it formerly was, by patient industry and by
honest, legitimate enterprise. It is sought
in too many instances, in a wild and reck
less spirit of adventure, where the hope of
sudden gain overleaps every consideration
of self-respect and propriety. It is useless to
disguise that honest industry is losing its re
spectability and social influence, and we are
hastening, more and more, into a race of
sharpers and unscrupulous speculators. The
millions ol dollars invested in Railways have
greatly enlarged the field for stock operations;
and speculations in them are by no means
confided to the professional dealers, but in
clude a large number of merchants and busi
ness men who, from their participation in
this species of gambling, carry its baneful
tendencies into their counting-rooms and
shops—aye, into their drawing-rooms. The
very atmosphere we breathe is impreg
nated with the moral poison; and one is al
ways forced to the conviction thai a truly
honest man can no longer exist, or if so, he
is surrounded with so much that is corrupt,
insidious, selfish, and mercenary that he must
be regarded rather as an object commisserat
on than of dignified respect and appreciation!
" Honesty is a fool, that loses what it labors
for;" and while we shall not pretend to rec
ognize the truth oi the axiom, we know
that there are those who have bitterly realized
it.
Many of our readers have 110 doubt heard
of the celebrated Railway mania, which pre
vailed, a few years ago, in England. Its be
ginning was obscure, but it almost immedi
ately spleud thronghout the length and bleadth
of the British realm, and there was scarcely
a man or woman in it who had not invested
more or less in Railway shares. The excite
ment was not only universal, pervading all
classes and conditions of society, but it was
singularly intense and overwhelming. The
apartments of the Parliamentary Railway
committee was literally filled with the sur
veys of civil engineers, the reports of com
mittees, the plans of directors, and the peti
tions of the people. About every hopeful
looking man you meet in the street, had his
prorpectus for a Railway, and after collect
ing statistics of the resources of the route,
and showing, in formidable tables of figures j
and eloquent sentences, the amazing anti
cipated profits of the work, he would join
with others in an application for a charier—
issuing, however, in advance, preliminary
certificates to secure the privilege of sub
scribing to the stock, and these were sold off
for sums proportioned to the supposed merits
of the scheme, and the chances for obtaining
the necessary charter. An immense traffic
was carried on in this way ; and it was only
surpassed by that of the regular stock shares,
which advanced in value with such rapidity
that there was no such thing as placing a
fixed limit to any. This wonderful mania
for speculation, strange as it now appears,
continued for several years, and was mainly
sustained, during all that time, by the cun
ning and duplicity of a single individual. A
tradesman named Hudson, a man of no par
ticular influence or importance in the com
munity, yet not wholly obscure, became the
leading director of a Railway. Part of it had
been finished and in operation, and other
pnitions remained under construction. Con
trary to general expectations, this road, un
der Hudson's mantgement, began to show
immense profits. Writers were employed in
different parts of the country, to set forth its
monthly earnings, its prosperity and peculiar
management. The unsuspecting people be
came astonished, especially as these state
ments were confirmed by the distribution of
tremendouidividends —dividends that astonish
ed capitalists, and struck with amazement
the whole community ! The public excite
ment now commenced, indeed! Hudson
was a great man—a very great man! He
was elected President of numerous o'her
roads ;—he had the wind of the magician,
and every railway sought his services and
tho prestige of his name. His salaries amoun
ted, in the aggregate, to some four hundred
thousand dollars per annum—His specula
tions yielded him at the rate of four or five
millions per year;—everything he touched,
turned to gold;—his society was courted ;
his saloons were crowded with the beauty,
the fashion, the wealth and aristocracy of the
land, and his word carried almost us much
weight as the statutes of the crown! In short,
he reached the very topmost round of for
tune's ladder, and while proudly looking
down, from his lofty and dizzy height, "upon
the base means by which he did ascend,"
he was suddenly hurled from it by the pen
of a newspaper writer—probably the only
hand in Great Britain that scorned to drop
the pen, to grasp his ill-gotten gold ! The se
cret was unfolded, but it was so simple and
so apparently ridiculous, that it could hardly
be credited. His dividends, it appeared, had
all been paid out of capital, and charged to
the account of construction, and not one dol
lar's worth of profits had ever been realized I
Committees were appointed to investigate ;
and after a pause, the startling truth was laid
bare, and then came an awful, awful crash!
Men who yesterday imagined themselves rich,
to-day could hardly purchase a breakfast ;
those who gloated over their prospectuses,
their certificates, and their shares, and rated
them by thousand and tens of thousands, as
so much golden treasure, could now scarce
ly obtain for them the current rates for old
rags or waste paper! Millions—millions up
on millions of dollars were thus made, and
with one single scratch of the pen, all was
lost !—all sank away, like a flickering bub
ble on the water!
Now, when it is known that the same sys
tem of railway management prevails in this
country, is there any wonder that this de
scription of securities should be seized upon
to sustain a species of speculation infinitely
more demoralizing than professional gamb
ling? As long as a construction-account is
maintained, a railway can never be consid
ered finished, and the distribution of a divi
dend and exhibitions of large profits ought to
excite just suspicions as to the integrity of
the director#. The Reading Railroad, every
one knows, did not cost over eight or ten mil-1
lions of dollars;—yet the whole sum preten
ded to be invested is about nineteen millions
of dollars. Their construction aooount is con
star, t'v going on, and will probably never
end ; but if charged to transportation, as it
ought to have been ten years ago, there would
most probably be no exhibitions in the news
papers of extraordinary profits I Like Hud
son, (who was termed the "Railway King,")
the Reading Railroad have their writers also,
and nearly every paper that you meet with
has some interesting little paragraph extoll
ing the road and its management, and setting
forth its wonderful business; but let the in
vestigation once be made, and ten chances to
one but it will be discovered to be, a la Hud
son, bankrupt to the very core I
There is another species of speculation,
which has prevailed to some extent, though j
not in the same organized plan, which is {
equally as reprehensible as that of railway ;
shares. We allude to land speculations.—
These had their origin in the extensive distri- '
bution of railways over a new and previously |
uncultivated soil. Large bodies of land are ;
secured by a few individuals, and a legally
organized course of procedure is adopted. A
"respectable gentleman," with some high
sounding prefix or title, is selected for Presi
dent ; and among the officers and Board of
Directors will usually be found associated
a few modest business men, anxious to turn
an honest penny outside of their ordinary bu
siness, with a phalanx of adventures and pro
fessional Aminidab Sleeks. Pamphlets are
printed; handsome lithographed charts are
exhibited; town lots and embryo cities are j
laid out (in perspective), and the newspapers (
are filled with their statements and maguifi- !
cent schemes. Land that cost the origninal .
parties from two to ten dollars per acre, is i
ultimately retained in town lots and small I
farms, at from fifty to five hundred dollars i
per acre; when everything isgoing on beau- (
lifnlly, a momentary panic occurs, and the
poor, deluded purchasers find their invest
ments oozing out ol the small end of nothing!
An advertisement of one of these splendid
companies was sent us a few days ago, but
as they proposed paying us in printing ink,
and feeling abundantly able to buy and pay
for that article as heretofore, we declined the
proposition. This company owns several
thousand acres of wild mountain land in Pot
ter and Elk counties in this State, and accor
ding to their prospoctuses, it is one of the fi
nest opportunities for investment everpresent
ed ! It can be had in small parcels from them
at from twenty to forty dollars per acre ; but
it is more than probable that equally as moun
tainous and sterile land in proximity to it,
could be bought in large and small quantities
for from five to ten dollars per acre. Mr. Ole
Bull was induced a few years ago, to try the
merits of Potter county. He purchased a
large body of laud, built a handsome village,
dignified with the appellation of Oleana, run
up the American flag, from a lofty staff in
the centre of the village, and played away 1
with perfect happiness on his violin, sur- j
rounded by his Norwegian friends, when lo!
after the expenditure of some 860,000, he !
found that neither he nor those from whom '
he purchased hail theelightest title to the land! j
Mr. Bull retired from Potter a wiser and a !
better man. lie had paid 560,000 for his 1
first lesson in speculation ! But the sharpers j
who deceived him are still at work. They ,
have thousands of acres of "the same sort j
left," sod we fancy that we see them every ;
now and then, through the thin drapery that i
covers these land companies!
Tits PASSMORE WLLLIAMSOLT CASE.— Con- !
tempt purged and defendant discharged —ln 1
the U. S. District Court, Philadelphia, on Sat
urday morning, before Judge Kane, Passmore
Williamson's counsel came into Court with
a petition addressed to the Court, stating that
be desired to purge himself of the contempt
for which he is now in prison, and was wil
ling to make true answers lo interrogations
addressed to him by the Coprt in relation to 1
the matter. After some preliminary discus
sion, the following answer tb the writ of ha
beas corpus was offered by Williamson's coun
sel.
"I did not seek to obey the writ l-y produ
cing the persons therein mentioned before
the Court, because 1 had not, at the time of
the service of the writ, the power over, the
custody or control of them,'and therefore it
was impossible for me to do so. I first heard
qt the writ of habeas corpus on Friday, July
20, between 1 and 2 o'clock, A. M., on rny
return from Harrisburg. After breakfast,
about 9 o'clock, I went from my bouse to
Mr. Hopper's office, when and where the re
turn was prepared.
"At 10 o'clock I came into Court as com
manded by the writ. I sought to obey the
writ by answering it truly; the parties not
being in my possession or control, it was im
possible for me to obey the writ by produ
cing them. Since the servioe of the writ I
have not had the custody, possession or pow
er over them ; nor have I known where they
were, except from common rumor or the
newspaper reports in regard to theii public
appearance in the city or elsewhere.
Mr. Vandyke excepted to this answer, and
at the suggestion of the Court, it was amend
ed as follows:
I did not seek lo obey (he writ by produ
cing the persons in the writ mentioned before
this Court.
I did not seek, beoause I verily believed
that it was entirely impossible for me to pro
duce the sa:d persons agreeably to the com
mand of the Court.
The answer was then accepted by the Court
and ordered to be filed.
Judge Kane then said:—"The contempt is
now regarded as purged, ar:d the parly is re
leased from custody. He is now reinstated
to the position he occupied before the con
tempt was committed. Mr. Williamson is
now before me on the return to the writ."
Mr. Vandyke said he had some further
remarks to make in relation to the writ of
habeas corpus, and in order that thereshonld
be no mistake, he had reduced them to wri
ting. He now appeared as one of the oouo
eel for John H. Wheeler.
The purport of hia remarka was, that Mr.
Wheeler intended to institute a suit against
Williamson in another branch of the U. S.
Court, for the recovery of damages whioh
have accrued by the lortoua acta of the do
-1 fendant towards hia person and property.
Excessive Science Defeating Its own Ends.
Among the notabilities of the fall of Se
bastopol, was the fact that the Malakoff
Tower was tremendously mined by the Rus
sians before leaving, and a cable covered
wire connected with the other aide of the
harbor to blow it up as soon as their troops
were out. and the French fairly in posses
sion. In firing upon the Allies, however, to
cover their own retreat a little too fiercely, a
Russian shell so exploded as to cut the wire,
and thus the French army of occupation was
saved from being all blown into the air. We
may fancy the disappointment of the opera
tors as they watched for the effect of l he eleo
trio spark. Had the explosion taken plaoe,
it might possibly after all have changed the
fun ol the day as the result of a bold as
sault immediately after such a ca'.astrophe
would perhaps have given them the renew
ed possession of the key of their position.—
As it is, it adds but another illustration of
the truth, so often verified in life, '.hat a little
100 much vigor in the prosecution of any
enterprise, one shot too many frequently de
stroys the effect of a whole campaign.
Politicians could, if they would, afford us
some curious illustrations of this. How does
a litle too much science in pipe laying de
stroy the effect of a thousand well-laid
schemes. They are paralyzed and spoiled
by one stroke too much ol dexterity and
manteuvre. There is no doubt that the break
ing up of all parlies and the general distrust
in which they are now increasingly held, is
owing more than anything else to the in
trigues and deception which one after anoth
er have shown plain, honest, hard-working
men, that they know not what party to Irual,
or how to be sure that their most sacred prin
ciples will not be betrayed. The fact is thai
there is too much science and too little hon
esty. Politicians, as a class, are getting to
rely more on cunning than on character for
success. And when it comes to this, polities',
science cuts off the right arm of its own
strength, or blows itself up, as M. Mallafon
nearly did in New York harbor a year or
two ago, when his wires becoming entang
led, he exploded the wrong canister of pow
der, and instead of removing the rock at the
bottom ol the river, only blew himself out of
his own boat.
Too much zeal will often defeat the object
in view. One speech too many haa destroy
ed more than one politician. A hastily writ
ten note, an unfortunately turned expression,
a hasty plate of soup, has sometimes proved
the shot too much which has cut all the wires
of a Presidential campaign. Fanatics of all
kinds and extremists of every sort, whether
in politics or religion, soon find that they
have lost their hold upon the publio, and
have neutralized their own influence. Even
if they do not themselves discover this, oth
ers will. Kossuth, as an orator, produced ef
fects almost unrivalled for a time, but he
went too far and talked too fast; and what
has he now become! One who has lost all
weight of character, in spi:e of being one of
the ablest and perhaps anost sincere men in
Europe, at a period when ability and integ
rity are much needed and found united.
The same principla extends to tfie influ
ence of every man in private life, because
belonging essentially to character. He who
wraps up an idea in too many words, the
wordy man, destroys the effect of all he ut
ter* for want of point. The passionate man,
whose language is too violent, soon becomes
known, even to his children—hi* wofds ol
reproot lose their effect, because sometime*
extreme and unjust, while his threats am
unheeded, because often necessarily mere
threats. One such word too much destroys
a man's influence more than ten words of
wisdom leftunssid.
And if this is true of words, it is muot>
more true of dispositions. Any one class of
powers cultivated disproportionately may
become a real impediment to success. A
man may be 100 keen in intellect for bis own
real interests; for men always dread great ca
pacity without an as'uranon of it* being un
der the control of honest purposes. Aaroa
Burr was too able lo be trusted, and tbia
was the secret of bis misery and his down
fall. When he tried to undermine Jefferson
in the matter of the Presidency, he fired the
bomb shell that cut the cable ol hia power.
A forbearing use of great intellectual facul
ties, or their use in uniform deference to
goodness, is the cause of all true auccese in
life.
Nations often destroy tbeir influence in
the same way. No governments have plD
duced diplomatists of greater ability in fi
nesse than France and Austria. The effect
is, that not one half the publio reliance ia
placed upon the honesty and integrity of
their course of action, which the more bloat
and eiraight-forward Anglo Saxon system
carries with it. No surprise would be felt
were Napoleon to prove but a treacherous
ally to England after all. Yet there ie no
suspicion that England will betray Franc*.
One act ol bad faith destroys a nation's re
spect and publio confidenoe incalculably.—
On the other hand, a little too mnch bluster
reacts against the proper effect, where a
friendly remonstrance could have done far
more to secure (he end. Here is where Eng
land has often defeated herself, and proba
bly will by degrees increasingly destroy her
influence. The joint and threatening action
of England and France about Cuba produced
Mr. Everett's letter. So it was a lit'le too
much haste and zeal on the part of Russia
in doctoring the sick man that alarmed bis
friends and thus took the patient out of bta
hands.— Ledger.
AKAAAAAAIR-
On the Bth inst., by the Rev. Wm. J. Ever,
Mr. HENRT Giaca, to Miss CATHARINE Hot.-
LINGSIIEAD, both of Montour township.
On ihe 25th ult., by the same, Mr. ANDREW
LORMIN, of Franklin, to Miss ELIZABETH LEI
DIO, of Shamokin, North'd. county.
In Berwick, on the 26th ult., by Ihe Rer,
I. Bahl, Mr. NATHAN MCAFEE, and Miss MA
TILDA WELKNER, both of Briarcreefc Col. CO.
In Light Street, Columbia co., on Wednes
day the 7th inst., Maj. ABNER W. MCDOWELL,
(second son of General M. McDowell,) aged
about 33 years.
On Thursday, 18th of October, JOHN B.
DORRANCE, aged 21 years, SOP pf RSV John
Dotrsnce, of Wilkesbarte.