r THE NORTH' j W. U. J&COBY, Proprietor. Truth and Kight God and onr Country. Two Dollars per Annuo. VOLUME 13. BLOOMS BURG, COLUMBIA COUNTY, PA., WEDNESDAY JANUARY 1G, 1861. ATTTAini?T? 9 XI U 111 JJ JJ -LV, i 1 p c i STAR. OF THE NORTH PUBLISHED ITIRT WCDSIIP1T BT W3I. fl. J1C0BY, Ofntc cn Main St., Ird Square klow Market, TERMS: Two Dollars per annum if paid" within six months from the time of subscri bing : two dollars nJ fitly cents il not paid witbit. the year. No subscription taken for 1 less period than fix months; no discon tinuance permitted until all arrearages are f aid, unless at the option of the editor. The ttims of advertising trill be as fullovcs ." One square, twelve lines, three limes, $ I 00 Every subsequent insertion, 25 One square, three months, 3 00 One year, . .' 8 uQ GOVERNOR'S MESSAGE. To the Honorable the Senator and Members of tie lioue of tiipieentuttvti J the Common' weclih ij feunfilounii : Gcntlcmcm In submitting to the Gen ral Assembly my lad annual communica tion; it is the source of unfeigned gratifica tion to be able to announce to the i eople, nl to their Representatives, thai notith landing the present unfavorable crisis n ihe monetary affairs of ihis country, and the general prostration of business and credit, the financial condition ot Pennsyl Tania is highly satisfactory. The receip'sat the Slate Treasury, from all sources, tor the fiscal year ending on the 30th of November, I860, were $3 479,257 31, to which add the available balance in the Treasury on the 1st day of December. 189 $39,323 09 ard the whole sum available tot the year will be found to be 34,318.580 40. The expenditure?, for all purposes, for the same period, were 83,637,147 32 Leaving an available ha'ance in I tie Treas ury, on the 1st day ot December, 1860, of 2681,33 08. The following items are em -traced in the expenditures for the fiscal year, viz : Loans redeemed. . . ... $664,857 fi5 Relief no e cancelled. 1.6 1 1 Oo Interest certificates. . . . . Domestic creditors'.rer.ificate9 Damage on the public works, anJ old claims Making of thepnblicdebtactu ally paid during the year, the sum ol ..... . 2,439 52 5 40 22 644 32 691,757 89 The funded and unfunded debt of the Commonwealth on the first day of Decem ber, 1859, was as follows : FtNDkD DEBT 6 per cent 5 . 41 . . 4 . . loans . . do ... do . do . . . 8400,630 00 37.625,153 37 . KK,200 00 IbO.OoO 00 Toutl funded debt. . ..3,5 13,983 37 INfCXDKD CSBT. Relief note in circulation. . . $101,213 00 luteretl ceriificatei'mtstanding If 5 1 3 82 Do . . unclaimed . . 4.448 38 Domestic creditor. . . . 802 5) Total. . . - . 124 977 70 Hating the entire debt of the Common wealth, at the period named, 838 638,961 07. , The funded and unfunded debt of the Sia'e. at the clo.-e of lite last fiscal year, Lecember I, i860, stood as follows : re mi ed Dter. 0 per cent, loans. . . do . . a . . do . . 4 . . do . . $400,630 00 36 967.295 72 341,200 00 10'!. 000 CO Total funded debt. . . 37,849,125 7Z UNFUNDED DEKT. Relief notes in circulation. . $99,402 00 lu t certificates outstanding. 16.074 30 Do . unclaimed. . 4.448 38 Domestic credits' certificates 797 10 Total unfunded debt. . 120 721 78 Waking the entire public debt of Penn sylvania, on ihe first day of December, last, 837,969,847 50. To pay ihe principakand interest of ihis debt, besides ihe ordinary sources ot reve nue, ihe Commonwealth holds the follow ing mortgage bonds, derived from ihe sale of her public improvements, viz : Bonds of Pennsylvania railroad Company. . . . 57,200,000 00 Bonds ol Suubury and Erie railroad company. . 3 500,000 00 Bonds of Wyoming canal company. . 281.000 00 Total. ... 10,981,000 00 A: the close of the fiscal year, oe the first day of Decern- ber, 1857, the public debt of thi Commonwealth, funded and unfunded was $39,88 1,738 22 It is now, at ihe cloe of the fiscal year 1860 . . 37 969,847 50 Having been reduced, dur - ing the last three years. . 1,911,890 72 The available balance in :he Treasury on ihe first day of. December, 1857, was . . 8528,106 47 On the first day ol December, 1860, it was 681,433 03 Exceeding the former balance in ihe iois of. .... Add to this sum paid at tha Treasury during the past three years, for debts and claims a-.'ainst the Common wealth arising out of the con traction, and maintenance of the public improvements, and which was substantially a part of the unfunded debt of the Commonwealth, amounting to. . ... . 153,326 61 171,664 82 And vre have the snm of . . 324,991 42 By adding this sum to the amount paid ca the public debt from December I, 1857, to December I, I860, to wit : $1,911 890 72 it will be found that during ihe past three years the Siata has cot only met all her 'ordinary liabilities, including the expenses cf government,. and the interest on her pub lic debt, but has diminished her actual in dab'.edness the sura of $2,2556.882 15. Whon it is remembered ht for the last estate has been but two and a half mills on the dollar, while from 1844 to 1857 il was three mills that for the past two years and six mouths the Slate has received no part of the tax on tonnage due from the Penn sylvania railroad company and that since July 1859, the interest on the bonds held by the Slate against the Sunbury and Erie railroad company has remained due and unpaid, il is certainly cause for hearty con gratulation, that, without aid from these important sources of revenue, so great a reduction of the public debt has been ac complished in comparatively so short a period. The fuuded and floating debt, which at that time amounted to upwards of two millions of dollars, has been almost en tirely redeemed. It is now reduced to 120 721 78 and of this sum over ninety nine thousand dollars consists of relief notes most ol which are undoubtedly either lost or destroyed, and will, theiefore, never be presented for payment. The claims against the Slate, accruing from the construction and maintenance of her canals and rail roads, are now reduced to a mere nominal sum; and, in ihe future, after providing for the ordinary expenses of government, her revenues and her energies may be exclu sively applied lo the payment of the inisr e6t, and the die-charge of the principal of her public debt. The people of this Commonwealh have hitherto met, with promptness, the demands made upon them, lrom time to time, for the ways and means of replenishing the Public Treasury; and now, that they see that the onerous debt with which they have been so long burdened, is each year cer tainly and rapidly disappearing that the amount required to meet the interest is an nually being diminished that consequeuily a still greater sum can each year be devoted to ihe reduction ot the principal of the debt without resorting to additional sources ol revenue and that, with a proper husband ing of the resources of the State, the day i not iar distant when direct taxation in Pennsylvania will cease altogether the payment of such taxes as may for the time be required to meet the public necessities, w ill continue to be met with cheerfulness and alacrity. But they will unquestiona bly hold those lo whose carethey have en trusted the financial interests of the State to a rigid accountability. That there should at thii particular juncture, when the busi ness and monetary affairs ol the country are so greatly depressed, be the strictest economy in public expenditures, is so man ifest, that il can scarcely be necessary to call attention to so ( Iain a duty. It is equ ally clear that any legislation which would lend greatly lo lessen the revenues of the Commonwealth, wouid, at this time, be pe culiarly unwue and inexpedient The ex i geucies of ihe future no man can foretell the prospect before us is beclouded with doubt and uncertainty it is therefore, no more than the part of wisdom to guard, with unceasing vigilance, all our present sources of revenue, and to thus be prepared for every possible contingency. Since Jily, 1858, the Pennsylvania rail road company has refused to pay the tax on tonnage required to be paid by lite act in corporating the company, and its various supplements ; and there is now due lo the Stale, on thai account, exclusive of interest, the sum of $674,296 22. Including the in terest, the sum now due is about $700 0U0. Before my last annual message was com municated to the Legislature, a case had been tried in the court of common pleas of Danphin county, between ihe Common wealth and the railroad company, involv ing the question of the constitutionality of ihis tax, which was decided in favor of ihe State, and ihe imposition of the tax pro nounced constitutional. In January last, another suit was tried between .the same parties, in the same court, involving the same question, with a like result. In De cember las', a judgment was obtained in ihe district court of Philadelphia, upon one of the semi annual settlements, ferSll0,000. So that judgment has been obtained for J ?365,00o of ihe debt, being the whole i amount which became due prior to 1860 The tax which accrued during ihe past year, amounts to $308,829 03. The first settlement for the year is before" the Dau phin county court, on an appeal taken by the company; and the second, or last, set tlement w-.s made bet a few days since, by the accountant department of the Common wealth. After the recovery, in the common pleas ol Dauphin county, the cases were removed by writs of error, taken on behalf of the de fendants, to the Supreme Court of this Stale where they were argued in June last, and in October that tribunal sustained the decis ion of the court of common pleas, and held the lax to be clearly constitutional; thus uniting with the law making power in affirming the right of the State to tax a cor poration under a law to which it owes its existence. But, notwithstanding this con currence of opinion and action on behalf of the constituted authorities of Pennsylvania, the litigation is not yet at an end ; for the railroad company has recently remove J the cases, by writs of error, to the Supreme Coart of the United States, where they are now pending. . That the decision of that court will, when made, 'fully sustain the right of sovereign State to enforce a con tract between the State and a corporation, and entirely vindicate the power of a State to impose such taxes upon corporations, as in her sovereign will she may deem proper, I cannot for a moment doubt To complete the hitnry of ti. 5r-r has been thus far, made to compel the pay ment of ihis large sum of money into the Treasury of the State, it is proper to add that the law officer of the Commonwealth, being of opinion that the writs of error were not issued from the Supreme court of the United S ales in time to prevent the collec tion of the judgments rendered in the Sta'e courts, executions were issued to the 5heriff of the County of Dauphin, and proceedings aw now pending in the Supreme Court of this State, to determine whether the Common wealth can compel the payment of the judg ments already recovered, before the final decision by the Supreme Court ot the Uni ted Siates. The Sunbury aud Erie railroad company having failed to negotiate its mortgage bonds in their present condition, the expec tations confidently, entertained of an early completion of that most important improve menl, have not been realized. The work during the past year, however, although greatly retarded, has-been continually pro gressing: upwards of one million of'dollars having been expended on the line from November, 1859, to November, I860. The whole length of the road, from the borough ot Sunbury to the harbor on the lake, at the city of Erie, is 288 miles; of which 148 miles are now finished aud in operation, and 1 15 miles of th remaining portion ot the lme are graded; leaving but twenty five miles yet to grade. Pennsylvania is largely interested in the early completion and success ol this great thoroughfare, not only because she is the creditor of the com pany to the amount of three and a hall millions of dollars, but for ihe additional and more cogent. reason, that the improve ment, when completed, will open one ol the most important channels of trade be tween the city of Phi aJelptiia and the great lakes of the west, at ihe best harbor on Lake Krie, entirely within the limits ol our own State, which has ever been contemplated. It wi I, moreover, develop the resources of a large ponion of Nort h-Vester:i Pennsyl vania, abounding with the richest minerals, and a lumber region of unsurpassed excel lence, hich the munificent hand of the State has hitherto totally neglected. By disposing of her branch canals to that com pany, in exchange for its mortgage bonds, the State has already largely aided in the construction of this great work ; and it may be necessary, to insure its completion, that further legislation should be had m order to render the means of ihe company available. It is evident that a liberal policy, on the part of the government, will promote alike the interests of the Commonwealth and ihe rril j road company ; nevertheless, great care should be taken to protect, as far as possi- ; b!e, the debt now due from the company to ! the Stale. If all propositions which may be ' made for a change in the securities now! held by the Commonwealth, be carefully I considered by the Legislature, and no more ; yielded than sound econemy demands, with ; proper provision for the due application of whatever means may be realized, it is be lieved, that sufficient relief can be granted to the company, to enable it promptly to finish the road, while the security remain ing will be ful'y adequate to ensure the ultimate pay ment of the principal and inter est of the bonds of the railroad company; now held by the Commonwealth. j 1 commend this subject to the Legislature, j as one entitled to its most careful considera- ! lion, as well on account of its vast impor- tance lo that portion of the State through which the railroad passes to the cilie- of, Philadelphia and Erie -and to the railroad company as to the Commonwealth herself. Premising that wha'ever policy it may be thought expedient to pursue, should be ; adopted solely wi h reference to the pro tection and furtherance of the public inter ests. ' The attention of the Legislature is again j invited to the subject of general education. ' At ihe present juncture it presents peculiar j claims. The experience of a quarter of a ; century has satisfied the proverbially can- i lions people of Pennsylvania, of the adapt- j 'edness of the common school system to their wants and condition. No less has the severe ordeal of the past three years vhown its capability to endure those sudden re- J verses which occasionally prosta'rte the j other Interests of the community. Involv ing greater expenditure than the rest of the departments of government, and that, too, mainly drawn from direct taxation, it is a proud fact, that, while most of the enterpri ses of society have been seriously embar rassed, and some of them suspended, by the pecuniary cri-i of 1857, our education al system has not been retarded in any ap preciable degree. On the contrary, its op erations have been maintained, to an extent which plainly indicates that our citizens fully appreciate its value. Contrasting its main results during the past year, with those of 1857, we find that the whole num ber of pupils now in the schools, is 647, 414, being an increase of 44,422; these were taught in 1 1 577 schools, 621 more than in 1857, during an average term of five months and five one-half days, at a cost of fifty six cents per pupil, per month, by 14,065 teachers, being 529 more than in 1857. The entire expenditure of the sys tem, for ihe past year, including that o! the School Department, is $2,633,550 80 These fvjure afford some idea of ihe mag nttude of the operations of the system; but neither words nor figures can adequately express the importance of its influence upon the present, or its relations to the future. ' nity, its lare proportions and imposing array of statistics do not display the points of its greatest importance. Pupils may be enrolled by hundreds of thousands; school houses of the best structure and "most com plete arrangement may be dotted at conve nient distance over -the whole face of the land; the most perfect order of studies may be adopted, and the best possible selection of books made; but what are all these, without the learned and skilful, the faithful, moral, and devovted teacher 1 Without this animating spirit, all is barren and un fruitful. In this vital department, I am happy to announce that ihe improvement of the common school teachers of the Sta'e shows more solid advancement, within the the past three years, than any other branch of the system. This, therefore, being the point whence all real progress in learning and culture must originate, is also the one to which the fostering attention and care of the public authorities should be main'y directed. Oui peculiar mode of training teachers under the normal act of 1857, has now stood the test oL practical experience ; and again; the most adverse circumstances, has pro duced results decisive of its success. Al ready it has placed one institution in full operation in the southeastern part of ihe Slate, equal in standing and extent to any in the Union. Another, with all the re quirements of the law, has just applied for State recognition in the extreme northwest. I commend these noble, and peculiarly Pennsylvania schools, to your favor. Aid o them will be the best investment that can be made lor the rising generation. Good instruction for our children is the strongest earthly guaranty, that whatever else we be queath them, their inheritance will be a blessing and not a curse ; and, if nothing more is left, in the well cultured minds the willing hands, and the trust in God, of free men, they will have all that is essential. Nearly eleven thousand of our fellow-cit ize.is are now devot ing their efforts to the 3 j improvement of the common school, as directors. Thau this there is no more mer ilonous body of men. An increase ot the annual state appropriation would not only te a material relief to the districts, at this time, but would, to some extent, disembarrass directors in their local operations. ll is not, however, the common-school system, vast and honorable to the State as it is, that claims your entire attention, in reference to education Pennsylvania also boasts of her collegiate, academial.scientific. j p ofessional, and philanthropic institutions, aud numerous private schools ot every grado. In this respect, she is second to no member of the Confederacy; but, from mean want of attention to ihe proper statis tislics, she has thus far been ranked far below her just standard. The present is not the proper time to renew grants to in stitutions of these classes which heretofore receireu Stale aid. If it were, ihe public authority do not posess the reqmsi e data for a sale and just extension ot liberality. The period will arrive when all public ed ucational agencies must be included in one great system lor the eievation of mind aud morals; and uhen the State will no doubt, patronize every proper effort in the good work. For the details of the system, during the last school year, ihw attention of the Legis lature is respectively referred to the annual report of the Commou School Department, herewith submitted. 1 desire, again, especially to call the at tention of the General Assembly to the Farmer's High School to accomplish an ob ject which had never been attained in this country the supply of a want which lias ever been (elt by the agricultural commu nity: the education of iheir sons, at once, to scientific knowledge, habitual industry, and practical skill, to fit ihem for the asso ciations of rural life, and the occupation chosen for them by their fathers. The gains of the farmer, however, certain are small. The education of his sons should, therefore, be measured,by the nature of hi business. There seems to be no praciical mode of cheapening education, but by com. bining an amount of expenditure, within lh ability of a farmer, with the daily labor of the student, so as to make the ius'itution so nearly self-sustaining as to bring it with in the reach of thai class who constitute so important a branch of the industry of our people. The original design of this school embraced the accommodation of four hun dred students, a number essential to the economical working of the system ; aud although the applications for admis-ion are numberless, the ulmo-t efforts of the trus tees have not enabled them to complete more than one third of the building, or to accommodate more than a corresponding number of students. .Many individuals throughout ihe State, convinced of the merit of an institution which promises so much good, have contributed libera:Iy to what has already been done ; and the board of trus tees have labored with a zeal which cannot fail lo commend itself to the kind feelings of all our citizens. Scientific education has advanced the interests ot every avocation of life agriculture far less than any other and for the manifest reason that it has not reached it to the same extent, and never will reach it, unless the body be educated to ihe plough, as well as the mind to the philosophical principles which the plough developed. I have always looked upon the Farmer's Hih School with peculiar favor, as welt as because of roy own convictions of its prom- of the people. Its charter requires an an nual exhibition of its receipts, expenditures, and operations generally, aud these will doubtless be laid before you. By the act pai-ed by the last Legislature, establishing a system of free banking in Pennsylvania, and securing the public again. loss from insolvent banks, radical changes were made in the banking laws of this State Instead of corporations created by special laws, voluntary associations are authorized lo transact the business of bank ing, without further legislation, and. as an indispensably prerequisite to the issuing of bank notes lor circulation as money, ample security must tie deposited with the Audi tor General for their prompt redemption. The law makes provision, not only for the incorporation of new banking associations, but enables banking institutions already in existence to continue their business for 20 years after the expiration of their present chariers,upon comply ing with its provisions by withdrawing their old circulation, aud giving the securities out required for the redemption of their new is sues. The public, I am sure, will rejoice tha. no funher necessity exi-ts for legisla tive action, either o-i ihe subject of creating new or rechartering old banks, and that the lime and attemion of their representatives will now, happily.be no longer monopolized in the consideration of a subject hiiherte productive of so much strife and contention, if not of positive evil. The rapid increase of private banks, throughout the State, make it eminently rijht that they should be placed under prop er legislative restrictions, and that the large amount of capital thn employ ed should be ma le to contribute its fair proportion to the revenues of the Commonwealth. Their business, in the aggregate, is now believed lo amount to a sum almost if not quite equal to the whole business of the regularly chartered banks ; and yet it is entirely un restricted, and, with the exception of a merely nominal license tax, is free from taxation. Ihis is unjust to every other class of our taxpaying citizens, and especially so to the banking institutions holding charters from the Commonwealth, for which ihey have each paid a liberal bonus, and ar, in addition, subject to a very large tux on their dividends. I respectfully commend this subject to the attention of the Legislature. A high sense of duty impels me aain to call the attention of the Legislature to the inadequacy of exi-ting laws regu'ating the receiving, keeping, any disbursement of the revenues of the State. 'Ihe public moneys are now paid directly lo the Site Treasu rer, who deposits them, at his own discre tion, whenever and whereVer he chooses, and pays them out in sums either small or great, upon his own unattested check ex clusively. The amount thus received kept, and disbursed is annually between three dr four millions of dollars, with balances on hand at times exceeding one million of dollars ; while the bond of the State Treas urer is for only eighty thousand dollars. His accouMs are settled monthly by ihe Auditor General, by whom the receipts (or money paid into the Treasury are counter signed, and these are the only safe guards provided by the law to prevent the illegal atid inip'oper use of the money of the Slate by the S'ate Treasurer. Happily, the revenues of the Common, wealth have hi'heno been safely kept, propeily disbursed, and promptly account ed tor. by those in charge of ihe ptibbc treasury, but, in view of the serious defal cations which have occurred elsewhere, and in other States, this fact should furnish no reason why we ought not to guard against loss in the future. Kelerring lo my lormer annual inesitaiies, I respectfully, but mo-t earnestly, recommend that provision be mad by law : Fht That no money shall be deposited by the Stale Treasurer in any tank, or elsewhere, without first requiring ample security to be given to ihe Commonwealth for the prompt repayment, of such sum as may te deposited ; aud that such securities shall be deposited iu the office of the Audi tor General SeionA That all cheeks issued by the State Treasurer, shall be countersigned by the Auditor General, before they are used, and that daily accounts shall be kept of the moneys received, deposited and disbursed, iu the Auditor General's office, as well as in the Treasury Department. Third That condensed monthly state ments, verified by the signature of the Auditor General and State Treasurer, shall be published in one newspaper in Phdadei phia and one in Harrisburg, showing the balances in the Treasury, and where de posited, with the particular amount of each deposit; and Fourth That the bond of the State Treas urer be increased to the sum of two hun dred and fifty thousand dollars. Our various charitable aud reformatory in stitutions the State Lunatic Hospital, at Harrisburg the western Pennsylvania Ho pilal for the insane, at Pitlsburg the asy lum for the blind, aud deaf aud dumb, at Philadelphia the Houses of Refuge at Philadelphia and Pittsburg, stid the Penn sylvania Training School for idiotic and feeble minded children, at Media, will pre sent iheir usual annual claims upon the bouuty of the State. These excellent char ities are continually dispensing benefits and blessings upon suffering and erring human ity, which can scarcely be o vera ted. They are heartily commended to the discrimina ting liberality of the Legislature. I refrain, as I have heretofore done, from recommit. and benevolent institutions, not because they are unde serving the confidence and patronage of the public, but because they : are local in their character, and in my judgement have no claims upon the com mon fund which can be admitted, in jus tice to the rights and interests of other por tions of tne Commonwealth. The inspectors of the State Penitentiary for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, iu their annual reports for the years 1858 and 1859, called ihe attention of the Legislature to the insecurity of such parts of the peni tentiary building as were exposed to their own firs and those of the neighborhood, and recommended that roofs of such of the corridors as were covered with shingles, and needed renewal, should be replaced with Blate or mental. On visiting the in stitution, my attention was called lo the subject by the inspectors The necessity for the change was so apparent and urgent that I advised them not to hesitate in hav ing the old dilapidated and dangerous wooden roots of such portions of the build ing as required renewal, replaced with some substantial fire pro d material. This has accordingly been done, aud I respect fully recommend that a small appropriation be granted to delray the expense incurred. I commend to your consideration the re port of the Stale Librarian, whose attention lo the interests of the Library under Li care deserves ihe warmest commendation. The system of exchanges, with the different States of the Union, and with foreign gov ernments, commenced an 1 prosecuted un der his auspices, has resulted iu great ad vantages to the Library, and deserves the continued countenance of the Legislature. The increase of the Library, at a compara tively small expe nse lo the State, has been bucIi, that it now needs enlarged accommo dations for the safe-keeping of the volumes and if the increase continues, will soon re quire a separate building for its exclusive use. The reports of the Slate Treasurer, the Auditor General, the Surveyor General, the Adjutant General and the Attorney General will inform you, in detail, of the operations of ihe iiovernrnent, as presented by those several departments for the la-i fi-cal year. They are entitled to the attentive consider ation of the Leyi-la'ure. Soon after my inauguration, upor. the recommendation of my predecessor in of fice, a dwellinir hou-e was purchased in this city for the re-idenre of the Governor ; of the Commonwealth. The purchase in- I eluded several articles of heavy turnhure, ; then in the building, and a small appropri- j ation would complete the necessary fur ', ni-hing of the house, so as to make it a fit j and convenieut residence for Ihe incom.ng i Executive. I cheerfully recommend the I immediate passage ol a Dill maKing a suit- able appropriation for this purpose. The extraordinary and a'arming condi tion of our national atfairs demands y our immediate attention. On the twentieth ot December last, the Convention of South Carolina, organized under the authority ol the Legislature ol that State, by a unani- j Pennsylvania is included in the list of mous vote, declared "that the Union now ' States that are charged with having refused subsisting between South Carolina and the ! compliance with that .mandate of the Con other States, under the name of the United ! Mitution ol the United States, which de States of America, is "hereby di-solved ;" ; dares, "that no person field to service or ami the action already taken in several ' lhor in one State, under the laws thereof, other Southern State indicates, rnot cleariy j escaping into another, shall, in consequence their intention to follow this example. i of any law or regulation therein be dis- On behalf of the advocates ot secession, ! charged from such service or labor, but it is claimed lhat this Union is merely a j hall be delivered up on claim of the party a compact between the several S ates com- j to horn such service or labor miy bedue." posing tt, and thai any one of the States, j So far fmm admitting the truth of lhi charge which may feel agrieved, may, at its p'ea ; 1 unhesitatingly aver, that, upon a careful ure, declare lhat it will no longer be a partj j examination it will be found that the legit, to the compact. This doctrine is clearly I ,ii,ive and j"J icia' "lion of Pennsylvania, erroneous. The Constitution of the United j whether a a colony, as a member ot the States is something more than a mere com-! oId confederation, or under the existing pact, or agreement, between the several ! Constitution of the United Slates, has been States. As applied to nation a compact ' a'most invariably influenced by a proper is but a treaty, which may be abrogated at -appreciation of her own obligations, and ihe will ot either party; re-ponsible to the j b' a "ich regard for the rights, the leelinjs other I arty for its bad faith in refusing to j atl1' in-erests of her sister S ates. keep i's engaeemenis, but entirely irre- 1 As early as 1705, the provincial authori sponsible to any superior tribunal. A gov-! ties of Pa after reciting in the preamb'e, thai ernment, on th other hand, whether ! "l,ie importation of Indian slaves from, created by consent, or by conquest, when j Carolina, or other places, hath been observ olothed with legislative, judicial and exec- j e'' to K'T the Indians of this province utive powers, is necessarily in its nature i ome umbrae for suspicion and dissalis sovereign ; and from ihis sovereignly flows J faction," pas.-ed s,n act against ihe impor ts right to enforce its laws and decrees by i ttion of Iinlian s'aves from any other prov civil process, and iu an emergency by its i "ce. or colony, iu America, but at the same miiury and naval power. The govern ment owes protection to the people, and ihey in turn, owe it their allegiance. Its laws cannot be violated by its citizens, without accountability to the tribunals crea ted to enforce its decrees aud to punish of fenders. Organized resistance to it is rebel lion. If successful, il may be purged of crime by revolution. If unsuccessful, the persons engaged in the rebellion may be executed as traitors. The government of the United States, within the limits assigned to it, is as potential in sovereignty, as any other government in the civilized world The constitution, and laws made in pursu ance thereof, are expressly declared to be ibe supreme law of the land. Under the Constitution, the general government ha the power to raise and support armies, lo create and maintain a navy, and to provide for calling forth the militia to execute its laws, suppress insurrection and repel in vasion. Appropriate statutes have been enacted by Congress, lo aid in the execu tion of these important governmental pow ers. The creation of the Federal Government, with the powers enumerated in the Consti tution rasjhjea cXijhSS2JLSLZ. separately within ihe territorial limits 'of each State. The form of their action is of no consequence, in view of the fact that they created a Federal Government, to which they surrendered certain powers of sovereignty, and declared those powers, thus surrendered, to 1 e supreme, without reserving to the Snte, or to the people, thev right of secession . nullification or other re sistance. Ii is, therefore, clear that there is no constitutional right ol secession. Se cession is only another form of nullification. Either, when attempted to be carried out by force, is rebellion, and should be treated as such, by those whose sworn duty it is to maintain the supremacy of ihe Conslitu lion and laws of the United Slates. It is certainly true, that in cases of great extremity, when the oppression of govern ment has become so intolerable that civil war is preferable to longer submission, there remains the revolutionary right of re sistance ; but where the authority of the Government is limited by a written Con stitution, aud each department is held iu check by the other departments, it will rirely, if ever, happen that the citizens may not be adequately proiected, without restoring to the sacred and inalienable right to resist and destroy a government which has been perverted to a tyranny. Bui, while denying the right of a Sta'e to absolve its citizens from the allegiance which they owe to the Federal Government it is nevertheless highly proper lhat we should carefully and candidly examine the reasons which are advanced by those who have evinced a determination to destroy the Union of these American States; and if is shall appear that any ol the causes of com plaint are well founded, they should be un hesitatingly removed, and, as far as posi ble. reparation made for the past, and se curity given for the future ; for it is not to be tolerated, that a government created by the people, and maintained for their benefit should do injus ice to any portion of its citizens. Afier asserting her right to withdraw from the Union, South Carolina, through her convention, among other reasons, declares that she is justified, in exercising, at this time, that right, because several of the States have lor years noi only refused to fulfill their constitutional obligations, but have enacted laws either nullifying ihe Constitution, or rendering useless the acts y' relative to the surrender of ,u-'"ive aves -hat they have permiteJ ,!ie "'"WMimenl uf societies, to dis- lur0 l!ie Peace of other Slates; that the rP! of ,he ,10" beholding Slates have a,Jei1 1:1 ,he eape of slaves from their ma!e. a,d have incited to servile insur- rccl," hoe ,hat remain and have an- nouncej trieir determination to exclude the outh from the common territory of the Union A the Representatives of the peo p'e of Pennsylvania, it becomes your solemn duty to examine these serious char ges, made by ihe authority of a sovereign i State. time declared, '"that no such Indian slave, a deserting his master's service elsewhere, shall fly into this provice, shall be under stood or construed lo be comprehended within this act." And when, in 1780, more ian eight years belore the Constitution of the United States went into operation, Pennsylvania passed her law for the gradual abolition of slavery, mindful of the rights of her confederates, she declared lhat 'thi act, or anything in it contained, shall not give any reliet or shelter to any absconding or runaway negro or mulatto stave, or servant, who has absented himself, or shall absent himsef, from his or her owner, master or mistress, residing in any other State or country, but such owner, master or mi-tress, shall have like right aud aid to demand, claim and take away his slave, or servant, as he might have had in case this act had not been made." A provision much more unequivocal iu its phraseology, and direct iu its commands, than those fouud, on the same subject, in the Consti tution of the Union. The act, by its terms, was made inapplicable to domestic slaves attending uon delegates in ' Congress from the other American Slates, and those held VYTTvn' ,whi, ni-dtitijixa". rlxjhSij ut.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers