THE STAR OF THE NORTH. R. IV. Weaver, Proprietor.] VOLUME 9. THE STAR OF THE NORTH IS PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY MORNING BY It. IV. WEAVKit, OFFICE— Up slain, in thenew brick build ing, on Ike south side o] Main Street, third square below Market. 'A' KB M B:—TWO Dollars per annum, if paid w:tliin six months from the time of sub scribing ; two dollars and fifty cents if not paid within the year. No subscription re ceived for a less period than six months; no discontinuance permitted until all arrearages are paid, unless at the option of the editor. ADVERTISEMENTS not exceeding one square will be inserted three times for One Dollar, end twenty-five cents for each additional in sertion. A liberal discount will be made to those who advertise by the year. <jU|oite yoctrn. Tit A V EL. Written by H. P. 1., on flie top of a hat with a brick in tt , in 35 minutes by a stop-watch. Railroads, steamboats, stages, wagons; Iron horses, snorting dragons; Side-wheel ducks with heads of 6leam on, Four-horse drags unfit to dream on ; One-horse teams! at these don't cavil; What's the odds?— we're bound to travel. Dawn the grand, broad Mississippi, Go 'way small streams, this will whip ye; Bluffs and saod-bnrs, snags and sawyers, You're for steamboats, sad destroyers. Big old Btrong ! your praise I give ill; Never mind, we're bound to travel. Foam and mist, and spray and thunder! Go 'way Europe, stand Irom under! Here's Niagara, our own roarer, Of all other Falls the floorer! Come here, cockneys, and be civil; Come and learn the way wc travel. On the railroad o'er the prairie, Fast we fly, light-winged and airy; Whirr! up fly the prairie chickens, Whew ! the deer runs like the dickens. Come here, cockneys, and be civil; Come and iuaru the way ire navel. Flying sparks, and dust, snd cinders, Coming in at doors and wittdowa; Bad hotels, and awlul eating; Bum back-drivers, death on cheating; Clothes begrimed with grit and gravel; That is what we catch who travel. Mountains, valleys, hills and rivers, Each one to the landscape givers, Granite hills and rocks, we greet ye! Valleys, rivers, glad to meet ye ! Each snd all these words unravel; Hurrah ! rip! it's good to travel! political. SPEECH or HON. GEORGE P. STEELE, OF LUZERNE COUNTY, J DEUVUOL mliLs.li Olft DKXXai i.t ON THL'USDAV, MAY 7TH, TENDING THE BILL ! TOK THE SALE OF THE MAIN LINE. Mr. Speaker:—l have occupied but little of the time of this body during the session in the way of speech-making, having always preferred being an attentive listener to those who have had experience in matters of legis lation; but, sir, at the present stage of our deliberations 1 feel it a duty Incumbent upon me to raise my feeblo voice against the ittiq itous measure now pending. Were I to re main in my seat without uttering a word in condemnation of this proposed act, my con stituents would think—and jo6t|y too—thai i had proved recreant to uvery principle of honor—tbst I was neglectful of the great in terests of the Commonwealth, and that, as a necessary consequence, I was unfit to repre sent them. Injustice to the.past, present, and future—in justice to the hard working lax-payer —in justice to everythjng near and j dear to the glory and prosperity of our coun • try, I piopose saying a few words in the way i of admonition. Sir, in my humble judgment, very raanyof ( the provision* of this bill are based upon er ror and fraught with great evil. Some cf j them I believe to be wholly unconstitutional,'; and an outrage upon the rights of tbe honest 1 , tax-payers of Pennsylvania. Sir, the very Idea of selling the main line of tha publio works to A mammoth, heart less, soulless corporation, is simply absurd, and should be treated with derision and con tempt by every well-ihicking roan. Tbe peo ple of this country, sir, are not quite prepared to form a gigantio grasping monopoly that may berpalter be able and willing to dictate to tbe voters who their rulers shall be and what kind of legislation they Bhall have.— No, sir,.l trust tbe public mind is not yet poisoned to such an extent as to permit lie perpetration of so gross an outrage. Sir, 1 am fully convinced tbal the friends of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, to gether with those Who felt interested in oth er companies, have year after year labored zealously and vindictively in order to bring the main line of our publio works into dis repute; and, air, I believe Irom motives, both selfish and designing, they have endeavored to reader the Canal Board reprehensible and odious in the eyes of the people. Now, Mr. Speaker, from my own knowledge, and judg ing from alt that I can see or hear, my miod is fully made np that the Canal Board have been sinned against far more than they have ■ sinned. If they have committed any great wrong or are guihy of aoy heinous offence, why I* it not shown to Senators? It is neith er my province or inoiiDation to stand base justifying wrong, let it come from what quar ter it may. Neither is U agreeable to my ear to hear any of our publio officers abused unless some goad cause be first shown. Sir, the Legislatnr* made large appropria tions during the last session for repair, laying new rails, &0., on the Allegheny Portage road and tbe different road* on the main lino of our public woiks, amounting to be tween t1,000,000 and #2,000,000. Under the direction ol the Canal Board It has been expended in good faith. Is there anything , wrong ic that? iam credibly informed that j BLOOMSBURG, COLUMBIA COUNTY, PA., WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 1857.- ■II the worts are in excellent condition. Th'u being true, is it strange that the Pennsylva nia and other railroad companies should now. combine their influences in order to filch from the State the people's improvements If alter the works have been placed in a paying order, and a profit is about to be re alized from an immense expenditure recent ly made, they are to be given away to an overgrown corporation, it is high lime the industrious tax-payers be heard. Sir, I feel confident that the public mind has been greatly abused and deceived by the clamor raised against the public works and its agents. The hirelings of these mammoth monopolies have in this manner succeeded in induoing thousands of honest men to be lieve that corruption existed in the Canal Board, and that speculation was the order of the day along the whole liue of our public works. Sir, these vilifications and slanders have been reiterated and trumped up year after year so tbal the people would become dissatisfied; and that done they oould make an easy prey of the State's property. And, sir, from present appearances I am led to be lieve that they have got so strong a grasp as to leave but little hope lor the iutarests of the people. Sir, if this bill passes with all its danger ous provis.pns, my opinion is that the peo ple who have been hoodwinked nod deceiv ed by this false clamor will find themselves in a situation that 1 will try to illustrate by relating a matter that 1 read in jEsop's fables when 1 was a boy. It was something like this:—A number ol frogs had a good old log in a beautiful pool of water, where they en joyed themselves in great harmony and com fort for many years; but their rulers used bad influences among them, and tboy at last be came dissatisfied. Influences were brought to bear upon the innocent creatures to in duco then, to cad on Jupiter to send down some new idol that they might worship.— Consequently Jupiter sent them down along legged, long-billed stork. He came quietly in among them, and remained so for a short iim9, but finally went to work eating them up one by one. Grea' alarm and trouble en sued amoug them, but they were unable to gel rid of their long-billed friend until they were all eaten up. Now, sir, I think this would partly illus trate the situation ol the tax-payers of Penn sylvania should this bill be enacted into a law. This bill, sir, to say the least, bears upon the face of it a palpable and deliberate fraud. No measure has ever been introduced in .'te'l;. or •')—;> ci tty other Rapublieatl Government that will have ro great a tenden cy to weaken the confidence of-She people ill the integrity of their representatives. One section provides that If the Pennsylvania Railroad company purchases the Main Lire that all their properly, real and personal, shall be forever exempt and free from any State (ax, and that their charter shall be per petual. Sir, it is well knOwn that the reve nue derived from the tonr.age tax alone now imposed upon the Pennsylvania Railroad amounts annually to the sum of $225,000, and which if multiplied by thirty-three, (the number ol years given that company to pay for the Main Line,) would amount in the ag gregate to the sum of $7,425,000. Then, aside from this tonnage tax, must be taken into consideration other taxes, which would annually amount to some SBO,OOO or $90,- 000 and all of which under the present bill they would be exempt from paying. In these figures I make no estimate of the natural and inevitable average increase of taxes, Which would loom up to a pretty snug sum. A sin gle glance at the provisions of this bill will uot only tell you that it is preposterous but that it is rascally end wicked in the extreme. How any legislator can muster sufficient daring to vote for a bill so abominable in all its features, and then brave the unavoidable indignation of an enlightened and honest constituency is more that can be divined.— Sir, tbe people have been flattered and ca joled by thij corporation, ant! now it is about to rob them. A few spectators have, by dint of impudent villainy, managed to divert the' Attention of the honest trasses from their real interests by the hue and cry of "stop thief!" Session after session is worse than wasted in legislating against labor, and in fa vor of capital, for the exclusive benefit ol a few rich men. Instead of being as we should, the inflexible gtiardiar.B of equal rights, and dispensing like the dews of heaven their fa vors upon all, we devote ourselves entirely too much to the buildiiig up of privileged or ders, and creating artificial distinctions in so olety, exalting a few and debasing the many; making a small number enormously rieh, and teduciDg the mats to penury and degra dation. Mr. Speaker, I-nowcall on my friends,the Senators from Berks, Schuylkill and Phila delphia, to come to the rescue, and Implore them by all that Is holy not to rote for anoth er section Of this bill. I feel confident that their constituents are opposed to rearing in their midst a ponderous monopoly—one that will be constantly grasping after legislation that must prove detriments! to the varied In terefete of basinets men . Sir, it has always been the boast of Re publicans that opposition to aelabliahiog a privileged cleaa was one of their cardinal principles; yes, all, I moan Republicans in lbs true sense of Ihe word. At Ibis lime I should like to know what is U> be expeoled from prqfused Republicans. Simply noth ing. 1 came here, sir, without auv prejudices for or against the Pennsylvania Railroad Com pany. I knew but little of the power or in fluence it wielded in these halls until a I month or more ago, when one of ill bills, relative to its being exempted from paying tax on a large amount of properly in and about Pittsburg, was under consideration.— The venerable Senator from Allegheny, (Mr. Wilkins,) together with his colleague, (Dr. Gazzam,) protested s'rongly against ils.pase age, upon the ground that it was wrong and unjust for any corporation to be released from paying a fair and equitable tax; but, sir, when the question was fairly before the Sen ate, then for tti? first time I fancied that I could plainly see the company's solicitor, one of its generals, and a captain stationed in different parts of the chamber with a view of obtaining the ear of their respective parly friends. By this system of tactics, the Sen ators from Allegheny were soon overpower ed, and tint company got alt the legislation asked for. Now, sir, I am free to acknowl edge that from that time up to the present hour I have been alarmed. In all candor, why should we not be? It is evident to any close observer of events that it is a foregone conclusion that this mammoth company is rule or ruin—that is, either by coercion or < corruption. | The interests of my immediate constitn ' onte veil! be injured to a great extent, from the fact that the Eastern Division of the | Pennsylvania Canal is to be included in the sale. It is evident that a majority of the coal I operators in Luzerne County, who ship coal to an eastern market, will be forced to pay | about twenty-five cents per ton additional ' toll for all lime to come; and, sir, that will I nearly, if not quite, amount to a prohibition ! of our coal trade in that section of the State. Sir, the Canal Board, so far as the interests I of the Commonwealth would permit, wisely discriminated in favor of the coal trade com i ing from the Wyoming valley. Th ey ar ranged their 101 l sheet so that all coal pass ing down the canal one hundred miles, should then pass free through to Columbia. It is about one hundred and six miles from our coal field to the Junction, at Duncan's Island. Senators can very readily see that should the Eastern Division go .into the hands of a company, many of my constitu ents would be compelled to pay exorbitant, and perhaps villainous, rates of toll on that patt of the canal. Coal from Lykens Valley passed nearly ninety miles less in distance to a market than does that which is shipped Irom Luzerne; and from the Shamokin re gion about sixty-five miles les". Consequent- I ly it perceived that had not the Canal Board wisely discriminated in favor of the Wyoming Valley coal trade, the revenue | derived would ba've been over $125,000 less |bau it sigoi'(v I'eoauaa the operators in j operators that ship cost so much nearer mar- I ket. In proof of my assertions, I would 1 merely refer you to the amount of toils re-! ceived at the collector's office at Beach i Haven, which last year came to more than $254,000. Who can doubt that bad not a [ proper discrimination been made that 8125,- 000 less would have been collected at that i office? These are facts that speak for them selves. Mr. Speaker, I was appointed, in the year 1845, one of three Commissioners to meet in Philadelphia to sell the Delaware division of the Pennsylvania Canal, under a law that was passed the previous session ; and, sir, I will here take occasion to pronounce that law an abominable outrage upon the interests of the Commonwealth. It was made the dtny of the Commissioners to open books and receive subscriptions amounting to $1,700,000; and it was also provided that when that amount was subscribed that we should close the books, antf Issue certificates of stock to the subscribers. The law did not allow us to lake any more for it than that amount. Be ing convinced that the whole project was wrong, 1 accomplished its defeat by one vote, through (ho aid of Hon. Samoet D. Ingham, who was also one of the Commissioners. Now, Mr. Speaker, can you or any other Senator say that the Delaware division is not now worth $500,000 more at a fair sale. It has been a paying canal ever since that day. 1 have only referred to this subject in order to show that my judgment in that instance was correct', us time has fully and"clearly demon strated. This ie one of the many reasons why I have confidence in my own judgment iu matters of this kind. Sir, when 1 rose it was not my intention to have occupied so much of the time of the Senate. A 9 an apology, I have only to say that my constituents, as much as those of any other Senator upon this floor, have a deep and an abiding interest in tbe future welfare of this good old Commonwealth. Sir, 1 would be willing to talk a mor.th if by to doing her interests wnuld be protected. The Senator from Crawford, iu the course ot his remarks yesterday, said he could not see why senators would vote against this bill without giving their reasons for so doing.— In the language of that Senator I have had my "pitch iu," and I hope the Senate will pgrdoo me for occupying BO much of its time-' MAIN LINE, The undersigned plaoe on the Journal bf the Senate their reasons for voting against the passage of the Hbuse btlt No. Sst, (re-print on Senate file No. 1127,) entitled "An Act I for the sale of the Main Line of the Public Works." Ist. Because, although professing to offer the Main Line to the highest bidder, the bill discriminates so largely in ihe conditions of sale, terms of paymerir, and the exemption from taxation, in TaVor of the Pennsylvania Railroad company, as almost to exclude bona fide competition., And yet, it empowers ir responsible individuals ro bid, for the purpose of /peculation, by authorizing them, if they Truth and Right Cod a Country. shall become the purchasers, "to assign and transfer their right to said Main Line, under stid purchase, to any Railroad or Canal Com pany cieated by the law* of this Common wealth." The privilege of transfer, under such circumstanoes, without increasing com petition, gives color to the assertion that the bill has been so framed as to enable private parties—now engaged in proonring this leg islation—to purchase merely for the purpose of selling at an advance, as an indemnity for their services. 2d. Because, although the bill purports to be a sale of the Main Line, it, in reali'y, more nearly resembles a gift to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, if that company should obtain it on the terms proposed. The extra ordinary extension of credit) d" l° w ra,e °' interest, tha release of th® tonnage tax, end the exemption, forever, Irom all other taxation or duties f6r Slate purposes, will enable that company to liquidate every dollar of the pur chase money before the last paymetit shall mature, by merely appropriating, for that purpose, the taxes from wbtch they are thus released. 3rd. Because the release of the tonnage tax is not accompanied with snch a limitation upon the future rate of dividends of said com pany, as will cause said release to enure to the benefit of the trade and commerce of the State. Sach a limitation would be in accord ance with the original design of the enter prising citizens of Philadelphia and Pittsburg, ' and of \the various municipalities who sub scribed so liberally to the Pennsylvania Rail road Company, not expecting or desiring j large dividends upon their investments, but to promote the great objects above referred to. 4tb. Because the bill provides that in the event of the Pennsylvania Railroad company becoming the purchaser, said company shall not only be exempt from the tonnage lax, now amounting to $226,000 per annum, hut that in addition, it "shall be released fiom the pay ment of all other laxce or duties to the Common wealth on its capital stock, bonds, dividends or property." The latter amount, from which the Pennsylvania Railroad company would be thus relieved, may be moderately estimated at one hundred thousand dollars a year. Such an exemption from taxation is not only without precedent, but should be depre cated as establishing an exceedingly daugar oua one ; and is in violstion of that principle of equality of taxation so fundamental iu our form of government. sth. Beoause the bill does not contain a sufficient guarantee that tbe Western division repair an inviuioas distinction between the Eastern and Western portions of the Stale, although noth have contributed proportionally to the burden of constructing and maintaining the entire line. 6th. Because the bill does not require that the President and Directors of the company, purchasing said line, should be citizens and residents of the Slate. The importance of such a requirement is mantfesi from the fact, that under bur genetal law, only a majority of the Director* of Canal and Railroad com panies need be resident citizens; and by some special charters even a majority is not nec esssry. In tact, the management of several of these companies is located entirely out of the State. Thus, by the provisions of this bill, the Main Line may pass into the hands of those whose rival interests and feelings would not afford any guarantee that it would be managed so &s to subserve the great ob jects of its const-action. 7th. Because, if the Pennsylvania Railroad company should become the purchaser, there should be a provision, that the State or the cities of Philadelphia and Pittsburg, shall re tain u voice in the direction or the uflair* of the Consolidated Line, irrespective of, and although they may part with, the stock now held by them iu said company. So important a work should not be managed as muoh with reference to the interest of stockholders, as to those g-eat public objects of trade and com merce already referred lp. Bth. Because the charter of any company purchasing said Main Line is made and de clared perpetual; and there is not such a proper or sufficient reservation of legislative control as to citable the Legislature, in the future, to protect the general interest* of the Commonwealth and her>eiti/.eus. WM. WILKINB, N. B. BROWNE. JOHN CRESSWELL, JR., WM. H. WELSH, JAS. H. WALTON, • HENRY FETTER, THOMAS P. KNOX, JOS. LAUBACH, JONATHAN E7.Y, GEORGE P. STEELE, JNO. C. EYANS, GEO. W. BREWER. RICH. L. WRIGHT, 17* Tho books, pa pare, drafts, note* of hand, &0., formerly the property of tba United Slates Bank, to lbs amount of forty tone, base been purchased by Messrs. Bottom k Co., of Trenton, and are to be ground up and cton verted into paper. The True American says that ten tons of thio east amount is of oorres>/ poudence, autograph letters of the first slat#- men, politicians, and financial mho from this and other countries. Drafts upon the Boths ohilds tor hundreds of thoussuds of dollars,/ certificates of stock transferred jrf leading bankers in Europe, checks and .drafts, from Clay, Webster, Adams, Calho4>, Houston, Crockett, Cass, &0., &c., all lieioattSred', and ready for the Important uanArmation mto clean, unsullied while pap* This huge mass of bdoks and papers syiket the visitor with aetonisbmeut- ill isc cll an con a. Question of Precedence with Ladles- Dr. Baird, in his late lectures, at St. Louts, related an amusing anecdote of Napoleon le Grand, and the ladies who attended bis first grand reception ball at the Toilleriee. The old nobility hsd departed, and everyiiving was new. The invited guests were mostly military officers and their wives. Some two thousand ladies were present. When supper time ctme, they of course took precedence of the gentlemen. A question arose who had the right to go first. The great dining room hall was thrown open, admitting them, and the doors were then closed, and the officers of tbe palace found it impossible to open them. The dispute among the'la dies grew warm. One lady aaid the right was hers, as her husband was a great gen eral; but she soon found that others main | tained, on one ground or the other, that their | claims were greater. Meanwhile the officers ■ could not gel the doors open, and, in consler | nation, one of them hastened to the first consul, and asked him how they should set tle the question of precedence. "O," says i Bonaparto, "nothing is easier; tell them the j oldest is to go first." The officer reported I to the ladies the first consul's decision, and instantly they all fell back ! This gave the officer, an opportunity to gel the doors open, when, to their astonishment, none of the ladies were willing to go first. After stand .ing in that ridiculous position for a moment, they began to laugh heartily at their own folly, and all marched into the dining-room without delay. This, said Dr. Baird, is one of the thousand-and one stories they tell in Paris of the "Great Napoleon," to illustrate tbe readiness of his wit. A Handsome Soul. One day last winter, a little boy from the South, who was on a visit to the city, was ta king his first lessons in the art of "sliding down hill," when he suddenly found his feet in rather 100 close contact with a lady's si'k dress. Surprised, mortified, and confused, he sprang from his sled, and cap in hand, be commenced an earnest apology. "I beg your pardon, ma'am; 1 am very sorry." "Never mind that," exclaimed the lady, "there is no great hatm done, and you feel worse than I do about it." " But, dear madam," said the boy, as his i eyes filled with tears, "your dress is ruined, i I thought that you would be very angry with r me for being so careless." "b, no," repftca mo taffy', "better have a i soiled dress than a ruffled temper." i "O, isn't she a beauty," exclaimed the lad, i as lhe lady passed on. i " Who? that lady ?" relumed his comrade, "if you call her a beauty, you sham choose ! for me. Why, she is more than thirty years old, and Iter face is yellow and wrinkled." " 1 din'l care if her face is wrinkled," re ; plied the hero, • 'her soul is handsome anyhow." A shout of laughter followed, from which the little fellow was glad to escape. Relating , the incident to his mother, he remarked *O, { mother! that lady did me good. 1 shall nev- 1 er forget it; and when I em tempted to in- ; dulge in my angry pafcsions, I will think of r what she said, " Better luwe a soiled dress than 1 a ruffled temper." , Do It Yourselves, Boys- Why ask the teacher or some classmate to solve that problem ? Do it yontselves. You might as well lelthemeat your dinners as do your sunta for you. It is in studying as iu 1 eating; he that does it gels the benefit, and 1 not he that sees it done. In almost any school ■ I would give more for what the teacher learns, [ simply because the teacher >s compelled to solve all the hard problem* for them, and ' answer the questions for the lazy boys. Do ' not ask him to parse all the difficult words or ' assist you in the performance of any of your > duties. Do it yourselves. Never mind tho' ' they look dark as Egypt. Don't ask even a hint from anybody. Try again. Every (rial j ' increases your ability, and you will finally j • succeed by dint of the very wisdom and i strength gained in ibis effort, even thongh at 1 ) first the problem was beyond your skill. It ) is the study and not the answer that rewards ) your pains. Look at that boy who succeeded after six hours of hard study, perhaps. How is lit up with proud "joy as be marches to bis class. He reads like a conqueror, and well he may. His poor weak schoolmate, who j gave up that same problem after the first faint trial, now leaks up to him with aome tbing of a wonder as a superior. The prob lem lies there; * great gulf between those boys who yesterday aide by aide. They will never sited together as equals again— The boy t|Ml did it for himself ha* taken a Stride upjfarda, and, what i* belter still, gain ed the strength of greater one*. The boy f who wu'ted to see others do it ha* lost both I strength and courage, and is already looking , for acme excuae le give up school and study f fijfiver. '' ,/■> i * CAPITAL SENTIMENT.—At a printers' annuel /festival in Wsthingio* City, 'the following were among the- regular toasts: "The Constitution of the United States— Set up by wis* and patriotic /bunders, imposed on tbe hearts of the people, and locked up in their beat affections." "The Declaration of ladependence,—Good standing matter, a proof sheet free from errors, snd a first rate copy for the eettere up of Re 'jrußfies." i >• j-'.-* ,a i ' Woman—May virtues ever oeaupy more jpae* than her skins, and her fault* be of a smaller type than her bonnet. The Infamy Consummated I The Senate having passed the bill for the sale of tbe Main Line of the Pnblio Improve ' ments to the Pennsylvania Railroad Compa j ny, with some onimporianl amendments, the House concurred in the same, on Tuesday, I and the bill wva finally passed and sent to the Governor by whom it has been signed and is i therefore a law. The correspondent of the | Pittsburg Union thus speaks of the manner in which the iniquitous bill was concocted and lorced through the Legislature: The bill was drawn by tbe enemies of the Democratic party. It was supported and de fended by a united Republican and American phalanx, and, with the aid of a few fallen Democrats, they passed it. When it was under consideration in the Senate its friends showed their determination to pass it as it was on many occasions; and to show how little these men cared for the welfare of the Commonwealth, let me state a few facts, which are opon record, and will rise op iu judgment against them here after. It was proposed to emend this bill so as to give any other parly than the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, the right to purchase tbe Main Line, if they would pay a higher price for it, and the friends of the bill voted the amendment down. - It was proposed to amend it so as to pro hibit the Pennsylvania Railroad Company for declaring more than eight per centum div idends, and thus protect tbe public against exhorbitant rales of toll, and the friends of tbe bill voted the amendment down. Ii was proposed to amend it by declaring that the money for which the Main Line was sold should be inviolably appropriated to the extinguishment of so much of the State debt, and the friends of tbe bill voted tbe amend ment down. It was proposed to'amend it by reserving to the State the right, in case of violation of the charter of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, to take possession of this road and the Main Line, and the friends of the bill vo ted the amendmeot down. It was proposed 'to indemnify the Com monwealth against all suits for damages by injured transporters and others, after the Main Line was sold, and the friends of the bill vo ted the amendment down. It was proposed to amend it by providing that none but l'ennsylvanians should hold offices in the Company, hoping thereby to protect the people against grasping and ava- ' rioioua foreigners, and the friends of the bill i voted the ameudinent down. | These ate a few among many such judi | wo— m—.lonm which were tTefeared ny I the men who passed this bill, and I ask, in all seriousness, what can the people expect from a majority that will thus trample upon their rights, and barter them away to a mam moth corporation? Tbe future is dark and obscure yet, and what it will bring forth God | only can tell. New York Hoiae Market. The market still continues in a dull slate— i that is, horses sell lowly, though at prices somewhat higbet than Ibey were a year ago; i but this because drovers have been obliged to pay higher in the country, and could not 1 efiord to sell them except at higher prices— to get which they have sometimes held on until, as the old saying ie, the borse eats his own head off. Horse keeping is necessarily high, and loose hay sells for $1 and $1 06 per cwt., and oats at 65 cents per bushel. The opinion of some of the best informed and ex perienced men in the markdt is that the num ber of horses sold, and that will bo sold, this spring will not much, if any, exceed one half the number usually solo in tbe city in corresponding periods of previous years. The largest number now selling are for the use of city stages and railroads, and these rarely ex-1 ceed $l5O each. There is a great deal of city work in progress, but the demand for ordinary work horses is "nothing to brag on," and the demand for fancy horse* is decidedly flat. The grand difficulty appears to be that owners bold their stock higher than buyers are willing to pay. These who Dead horses for wotk must buy, but those who generally buy the high-priced horses are in no hurry to-day, or to-morrow, or next week will do, and finally, if they do meet with animals to suit their fancy and prices to tuit their purse, they don't buy at all. The truth ie, there is not margin enough between the present country and city ptices to afford dealers a fair chance for jockeying with customers, and some of them won't buy without, and conse quently salefe are hard to effect. CF" A gentleman was once walking in a street when he met ft (tone-cutter, whom be thus addressed : " My good fellow, if the devil was (oootne now, which of as would- he take ?" After a iittls hesitation the man replied— •' Me, sir." J Annoyed by this answer, the querist asked him for a reason. "Because, yer honor, he would be glad to ketch mtself, euro; and he have you at any time." IT The fellow who is courting Miss De meanor thinks very seriously of breaking off the engagement. I?" Men are sometimes accused of pride merely because their accusers would be proud themselves if (hey were ip their place*. _ IT Love, the toothaobe, smoke, s cough, arid tight boots, are things which cannot be kept secret very long. tar Which are the two smallest insects mentioned in the soiipture*? The widow's "mile" and the wicked "fiea.'J [Two Dollars per Annum, NUMBER 20. Heal Gently with (lie Little One*. A child, when asked why a certain tree grew crooked, replied, "somebody nod upon it, I suppose, when it was little." " He who checks a child with terror, Slops its play, and stills its song, Not alone commits an error, But a grievous, moral wioug. Give it play, and never fear it, Active life is no defect; Never, never break its spirit; Curb it only to direct. Would you stop the flowing river, Thinking it would cease to flow ! Onward must it flow forever; Belter leach it where to go." COURTING. I don't see why people cannot do their courting by daylight, thereby saving an ex | Ira of lights, fuel and forenoon naps.—A Breakfast-Table Remark. Whew! preach that doctrine until your head ia grey, and you are as toothless.as a new-born babe, and still young folks will "set up," till the stars grow tired of watch, ing, and the roosters begin to crow ! There is a sort of fascination in it, a posi tive denial to the contrary notwithstanding.— An indescribable, nndeniable charm, in be ing the sole occupant of a front parlor, with nothing to molest or make afraid; the sofa drawn up before the shining grate, and the lamp regulated to a steady blaze that will not eolipse the brightness of eyes, or make particularly prominent, unciassical, irregu lar features. There's something peculiarly pleasing in hearing the last pair of house hold feet take a bee line departure for the upper obambers, and feeliog that the ever swinging parlor door will remain closed un til one of the patty concerned, choose to open it. Talk ol courting by daylight! Think of laming one's arm by quick, hasty withdraw als from around a certain wai9t, at the inces sant ringing of the door-bell, or seeing the puff-combs and curls fly in every direction, by a sound of coming footsteps. Imagine proud lorer at the feet of fair lady, puffing forth an eloquent, long avowal, with extra ordinary expressions flitting over his face; and, at the same moment, a puzzled little countenance peering through the folding doors, wondering what makes Mr. M. "pray with his eyes wide open !" Or, more disa greeable still, have "mamma" open the door, without the prelude of a rap, of course, just at the moment you have ventured to test the temperature and sweetness of her • daughter's lips. And then what time in the day could on take? Not in the forenoon, certainly, when music teachers and fashionable callers are in. vogue; not in the afternoon, when one's senses are slupifled by the eating of a hearty dinner; not on Sundays, when everybody is expected to go to church; not in church, with pantomimic gestures that set the occupants of neighboring pews s starting. No! there is but one lime, and that (be veritable sea son set iu old primitive days—a time and season for courting. Au hour, when you can pinch Susie's fingers to make her tell who she loves best; look in Susie's band to see if her fortune rune with yours, and see what letter of the alphabet is formed by the lines therein; kise her when you please, hug her when yon please; and all this when the old folks are sleeping, when the sound of footsteps are scattering in the streets, and there is no one on earth so near Susie is yourscll! Them's um Margaret Feme. AUULTKRATCU I.rquoßs.—Dr. Hiram Cox, appointed,finder Ihe law of Ohio, Caemioal In-pactor of Ifquore in Cincinnati, has pub lished facts that should be engraved around the run of every drinking glass. He states that during two years he has made 249 in spections of various kinds of liquors, and hat found more than nine-tenths of them im itations, and a greater portion of them pois onous couooctions- Of brandy be has not found one gallon of pure in a hundred gal lons, but imitations having corn whiskey for 'a basis, and various poisonous acids for the condiments. 01 wines, not a gallon in a thousand purporting to be Sherry, fprt, Sweet Malaga, is pure, but they are made ol water, sulphuric acid, altim, Guino* norae taJUUh, and many of them without a tingle drop of alcoholic spirit. Dr. Cox warrant* ■ ham in not tan gallon* of gaauina Port wine in Cincinnati. He also slates that in his inspections of whiskey lie has found only fiom seventeen to twenty per cent, of aluoholio spirit, when it should have been forty-five to fifiyt and some ol it contains sulphurio acid enough in a quart to eat a hole through a man's stomaeb. MENTAL EXCITEMENT.— Bad newi weakens (he action of the heart, oppresses the longs, deelrbys'lhe appetite, stop* digestion, and partially suspends all the functions of the system. An emotion of shame flushes the face; fear blanches it; joy illuminates it; and an instant thrill eleolrrfier a million of nerves. Surprise spurs the pulse into a gallop. De lirium infuses great energy. Volition, com mands, and hundreds of muscles spring to execute. Powerful emotion often kills the body at a stroke. Chilo, Diagoras and Soph ocles died of joy at the Grecian games. The news of a defeat killed Philip V. The door keeper of Congress expired upon hearing of the surrender of Comwaliis. Eminent public speakers have often died in tbe midst of an impassioned burst of eloquence, or when the dpep emotion that dreduced it suddenly subsided. Largrave, the young Parisian, died when he beard that'the mqfi oal prize for which hs had competed wits ad judged to another.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers