JEFFERSONIAN REPUBLICAN
Thssrsday, April 25, 1850.
Look Out!
. The Inquirer cautions the public against a plen
tiful issue of spurious gold coin remarkably well
executed, and to be detected only by weighing.
lusays, half eagles, which are perhaps, the most
numerous, bear various dates, such as 1814, 1845
and 1847. Of the quarter eagle, only one date,
1843, and bearing the 0. for the New Orleans
Mint mark, has as yet been detected ; but doubt
less thorp, are others in circulation. The value of-
the half eagles assayed was from S3 to $3 40, and
trfe quarter do. Si 25. They are so well calcula
ted to deceive, that they have passed undetected,
through the hands of good judges, into the Mint.
A Singular Fact.
On the trial of the State Treasurer, a singular
fact is brought to mind. During his term as
Treasurer, he had to pay a loan of $200,000, con
tracted by a previous Treasurer, to pay interest
the previous year. He met this loan, while he
paid both instalments of interest accruing his year,
without "a loan. While during the previous year,
more of debts against the Commonwealth, on the
Improvements, accumulated, and virtually there
was but one instalment of interest paid of money
in the Treasury, Mr. Bafl virtually met three in
stalments of .interest without a loan, paid out
much money on old debts and in hand $150,000
for the North Branch Canal had a payment was
made on the State debt. The singular fact is this,
that in some instances when he could not pay
money he gave as a reason, that he had that loan
of a previous year to meet and yet he is cen
sured for not paying out money faster on the lines
of improvements, by men of the very party which
was in power, when, and under whose auspices
that loan was contracted. What does it mean !
Singular Coincidence.
A writer in the National Intelligencer, after ,
mentioning the fact that the
Hon. John Quincy
Adams died at the National Capitol says : "The
fact is worthy of note, that the building in which .
Mr. Calhoun died was built for the use of the Con-
gress of the United States, and was itsed as the Cap-!
,lol during the rebuilding of that edifice, after its '
destruction by the British troops ; and therefore,
the walls within which he drew his last breath
have often echoed to his voice, as poured forth in
the defence of his principles, in that rapid torrent
f a1nnnonr0 nnfl lfio?r.al rp.nsnnina which, thmitrh
it might fail to convince, never failed to electrify
his hearers.
Disastrous Overflow.
The Platilers" Banner of the 4th inst. draws a
melancholy picture of the overflowed region be-
i - i 1 T7 ti: tu
fhe editor '
tween iew uneans anu rranhiin. iuc euuur j
says that a few days since he started for this city, '
and in passing through Grand Lake, Lake Chicot,
ing ilio havnnc hftwppii thprf anrl Plnnnfimino.
was astoni'shed to see the state of the country on '
the lout. The water was said to be considerably j
higher than it had been at any previous time since '
the overflow of the vear 182S. The inhabitants
had retreated from many houses on these bayous,
and others were preparing to do so, seeking high
er lands, and fearing higher water. Some houses
Mand but a few inches above, and others stand
with the floor beneath the water.
JV. O. Picayune, Wth.
Mysterious.
The Philadelphia papers of Thursday, contain
accounts of the discoveiy among the ruins of old
buildings in Walnut street, below Third, of the
remains of a human being, encased in a coffin.
In a cellar of the back building, No. 56, were
found three ground arches, and on tearing these
down a mahogany coffin was discovered embed
ded in the inner arrh, and in an upright position.
The wood work was much decomposed, and with
in were found fragments of a human being. The
hip bone and several of the ribs were quite per
fect, but the remains were not sufficiently so to
discover the sex. On the coffin was an ornamen
tal breast plate of copper, gilt with silver, but so
corroded that it was impossible to trace any in
scription. I he honses were built in 1 u, ana tne
presumption is, that the deceased died of yellow
fever, and that this mode of burial was resorted
to for some peculiar reason. The property, we
believe, is owned by E. Y. Farquhar, Esq.
There is iron enough in the blood of 42 men to
make 50 horse shoes, each weighing half a
pound.
Good Day's Work. A gentleman in Perry
county, Pa., caught in one day lately, 50G8 wild
pigeons which he sold at 25 cents per dozen,
yielding S 105 75.
Sir John Franklin-Report of his
Safety.
We are indebted to Mr. Randall, Fur merchant,
in Water street, for the following information for
warded by bis agent or correspondent at St. Paul,
Minnesota territory :
" St. Paul, Minnesota, 12. A dog train ar
rived here yesterday, from some distance above
Lake Superior, bringing news that an American
vessel had been seen by some of the Indians, and
had sent letters, saving that Sir John Franklin
was found. The particulars I cannot learn. How
ever, they say he is safe."
The writer of the letter is ihe brother of Mr.
Randall, and we have seen the letter containing
the intejigence. Both are gentlemen of high res
pectability. .
.A Yankee 'down East' has invented a machine
for washing dishes.
Cincinnati. The products of the industry
and ewerpriBe ofiho people of this city are
vast, and still increasing. It is sidled that the
quantjiy of candles exported from Cincinnati
during the six months ending on the first inst.,
are 38,568 boxes. During the same period
the export of poap, amounted to t'n thousand
tuo hundred and eighty seven boxes.
IViiiisi'lVaiiiafl'tfiKlaliirc.
April i5.S&ativV .tfJveio.,messagewaa. rc-,' X, .4 Education. 3 - . -A
Wed from-the Governor? returning, without His jV 1 will "first? Mr. Editor, say a- few words about
. 1 :k.o Kill ' tn vhif h tvna rnmitVnoiil
nwtinnrplatinir-'io intern licences inllia citvH
and county of Philadelphia. :;
The bill incorporating a Company to erect a
bridge over the Schuylkill, at or near the foot of
Gira'rd'a venue, waVtaken up and passed' finally.
In the House, the Bank Committee reported
" a e 1
bills respectively to extend the charters of the fol
lowing banks : Kensington Bank Philadelphia
county, with anjncrease pf. capital ;Easton Bank;
York Bank ; Farmers' Deposite Bank, of Pitts-
burg; Wyoming Bank; Miners' Bank, at Pott
ville ; Farmers' Bank, of Lancaster ; Lancaster
Co. Bank; Merchant's Hank, of Pittsburg; to ex
tend and amend the charter of the Wyoming Bank.
Also, to incorporate the Farmer's and Mechanics'
Bank at Easton.
The Select Committe, to whom was referred
the subject, reported a new bill, fixing the number
of Senators and Representatives, and form the
State into Districts, in pursuance of the provisions
of the Constitution.
The bill to allow the. Manufacturers' and Me
chanics' Bank of Philadelphia, to change its place
of business and location, passed finally ; also, the
bill supplementary to the Common School Law.
The bill to prohibit the issuing of relief notes
of less denomination than five dolls, passed finally,
yeas 54, nays 27.
The bill creating a sinking fund, and to pro
vide for the gradual and certain extinguishment of
the debt of the Commonwealth passed finally, with
an amendment, inserted after theatres, as follows:
"or museums, or any other place at which thea-
trical performances are allowed." This refers to
Barnum's of course. Yeas 55 : Nays 25.
The bill to divorce Edwin Forrest from his
wife passed by a vole of 42 to 40.
The bill to divorce Wm. Wetherill from his
wife was defeated 34 to 45.
April 1G In the Senate, Mr. Jones reported,
with a negative recommendation, the bill to erect
a new county out of parts of Montgomery, Berks,
and Chester, to be called "Madison."
Mr. Frick moved that the Senate proceed to the
consideration of the apportionment bill, which was
disagreed to by the party vote of yeas 16, nays 17.
Best, (Speaker,) voting in the negative.
The bill from the House to divorce Edwin For-
rest from his wife, was taken up, debated at
length, and lost by a vote of 15 to 18.
In the House, a great number of bills were
passed, in none of which our readers are interes-
ted eXcept that supplementary to the act for the
. , , , ;. , .
continuance and better regulation of the system of
education by Common Schools, in which are re-
pealed several important sections of the present
school laws.
Aprilll. In the Senate, a section was attached
10 a Senate bill, with House amendments, by Mr.
Sadler, repealing that part of the General Bank-
ing Law just signed by the Governor, which re
quires country banks to keep their notes at par in
Philadelphia and Pittsburg. The section was dis-
cusse( al Sreal length, and passed finally.
Jn the House, Mr. Porter, trom the beiect Lora-
mittee to whom had been referred the veto mes- j
sage of the Governor relative to the apportion
m.ent bill, reported at length,
Mr. Smyser made a minority report from the
same committee.
The majority report, with the message itself,
were ordered to be printed. After a protracted
discussion the report of the minority was also or
dered to be printed.
The Apportionment BUI was then taken up and
passed second reading.
April 18. In the Senate, Mr. Matthias, from the
Select Committee to whom had been referred the
subject, reported a bill from the House repealing
the third, fourth, fifth and sixth sections of the act
entitled "an act to prevent kidnapping, preserve
the public peace, prohibit the exercise of certain
powers heretofore exercised by judges, justices of
the peace, aldermen and jailors in this Common
wealth, and to repeal certain slave laws, passed
March 3d, 1847, with a recommendation that the
bill be negatived.
The Senate concurred in a House amendment,
attached to a Senate bill, making the Tax Collec
tors of the County of Philadelphia elective by the
people, at the Spring Ward Elections.
I he apportionment bill from the House, was
brought up, and being placed on second reading, i
it was postponed by a vote of 17 to 14.
The bill to incorporate the Honesdale and Mast- !
ifes," "lL7PZl aael Kg raided j
I - '
bv authorizing a loan for th imnrnvprnnnt nf the i
Delaware division of the Pennsylvania Canal, j
passeu iniajiy ; aiso a oiu annulling me marriage
contract between Joseph C. Smith and Sabina his
wife.
The House, on motion of Judge Conyngham,
proceeded to the consideration of the Bill for the
ordinary expenses of the Government, the repair
of public canals and railroads, and other general
appropriations.
April 19. In the Senate, bPls were reported to
extend the charters of the York Bank, Kensing
ton Bank, Miners' Bank of Pottsville, Harrisburg
Bank, farmers Bank, of Lancaster, the Lancas-
ter County Bank, and the West Branch Bank '
at Wilhamsport ; to amend the charter of the Car
lisle Deposite Bank ; and to charier the Anthra
cite Bank, atTamaqua.
The apportionment bill was taken up, ana" a
mended so as to make Tioga, McKean, Elk, War
ren, and Jefferson; 18th distrcl ; Mercer, Venan
go, and Crawford, I9th district; Erie the 20th
distirct, each to elect one Senator; and West
moreland, Bedford, Fayette, and Somerset, the
24lh district, to elect two Senators. The bill as
thus amended passed second reading by a strict
party vote.
In the House, the whole day was spent in the
consideration of the Appropriation Bill.
April 20. In the Senate, Mr. King moved to
substitute a bill he had prepared, for the Appor
tionment bill before the Senate, but it was rejec
ted by a party vote, 16 to 17. A motion Io a
mend by giving Philadelphia city only one JSena
tqr, was negatived. The bill was then put on its
final passage, and lost by a tie vote the Speaker
declining to vote.
A number of bills to extend bank charters,
passed second reading. 1
In the House, the Appropriation bill iwa's dis
cussed through the, day.
A Western Editor requests those ok his sub
scribers, who owe him more ihan six .years
subscription, to send him a lock of lheirhair so
that lie wilj know they arc living.
Fnfitie Jcjf'ersonian Republican.
-i Education.
Ppimni-v Sr-linnlx. In this perioral desisnation,
would include all Schools designed id give the
( first elementary instruction to cimuren. uere,
and when, and how should small children be taught?
( These are momentous inquiries, though they may
1 at first seem trilling to some minds because the
! earliest guidance given to the mind commonly, if
1 . i ttn
not skillfully counteracted, gives bias and direction
to the mind in all its subsequent movements. It
, is, therefore, of unmeasured consequence that the
tender mind which, during the first seven years of
its existence, is so inquisitive, so receptive, and so
dependent, should be trained and nurtured every
day by skillful hands in an atmosphere of light
and love. Rousseau said give me the first seven
years of a child's life for my principles, and you
may do what you please with it after that age.
Education commences in the cradle. The mater
nal, smile and kiss, at a very early stage of life,
assuage the grief, and illumine the primeval dark
ness that broods over infantile minds As the soft
light falls upon the eye, and affords pleasure, so
the light of knowledge falls upon the mental vision,
with even greater delight. How a child's spirits
brighten, and eyes sparkle, when after working,
for instance, a long time on a difficult example, he
or she suddenly cries out " I've got it 1 have it
now". All agree that it is even so, but how is
such an end to be accomplished any better now
than it has been done in ages that have gone by ?
Doctors on this subject even, as on most others of
great importance, disagtee. Some say that all in
struction should be made a delight, and that small
j children should not be perplexed and disgusted
; with books and difficult studies, lest their minds
should be set against learning before they hav
any just appreciation of its true value. The long
confinement on hard benches, in crowded rooms,
and the absolute enforcement of study do often be
get repugnance, that rather retards than advances
the progress of the young learner. Nothing preys
on the infant constitution and undermines its stam
ina so much as the absurd relsraint which checks
the natural How of spirits, at the same time sub
jecting the delicate mind to a continual weight of
apprehension. The healthful development of the
physical person, is an object of primary consider
ation; and all those little precocious exhibitions of
intellect and memory, which sometimes make Pa-
rents proud and justly proud, too, could their
j children preserve sound minds in healthy bodies
and the uninitiated wonder, are of questionable util-
! itu, in the symmetrical training of children.-
j Health of body is the basis upon which the Educa
1 tor must build. In vain do we attempt to raise a
superstructure of wisdom where a healthy body is
. wanting. The duties and rational pleasures of
! living depend as much on the condition of the bo-
dy as upon that of the mind. During the early
years of childhood, the learned hand of acbioirt-
edged authority should pleasantly guide.
Too much of restraint and mental abstraction
operate injuriously upon health, without producing
any corresponding- advantage to the mind. Juve
nile Prodigies seldom make great men. The flow
er that is made to bloom in the Green-house in
February, is decayed and insipid before the gor-
geous and fragrant blossoms of the open field, in
midsummer, appear. Nature has given us mind
and body in combination. They are united in such
a way that their laws of union may not be tran
scended or violated without penalty. It js a com
rnon error that the capacity of a child is overrated
bv Parents and Teachers, and then thev are over-
. , j . ., u 1 i 1 r ...
tasked, and they break down before they reach the
rrri1 t r wr. tliot? o ra hictoninnr T"r PrtmUo
B. ..-.....fi.
says: ine premature exertion 01 inieueci to wnicn
u is sumuiaieo. uy we cunaiam excuemeni 01 em-
ulation and vanity, far from strengthening, tends
to impair the health and tone ol the brain, and ol
all the organs depending upon it; and hence we
rarely perceive the genius of the School manifest-
ing in future years any of the superiority which at-
, noontmt. ,n o-.-it, ifo. i,t ,Q I
the contrary, either sunk below mediocracy, or
dragging out a painful existence, the victim of in
digestion and melancholy. Among the many who
give great, extraordinary promise in early life, and
whose talents are then forced by ill-judged culti
vation into precocious maturity, how few live to
manhood to reap the reward of their exertions, and
bow few of those who survive preserve their su-
periority unimpaired. In illustration of this point,
T r;i,f iino r,-,mfl. u.,t
t suffice, was early dWogahtad.
y ' t i .
and it is said ne wrote ins immortal emc at twen-
ty-two years of ase; but his life ivas miserable, and
his reason distracted. Pascal is another example
of the same result, and H. Kiike White, and many
others might be named were it necessary. I cut
the following from your paper, published a aweek
j or two ago. Jt speaks volumes on this subject.
The Bov T. H. Safford. This remarkable
mathematical genius, who has attracted so much
attention by the early development of his peculiar
powers, is made the subject of remark by Prof.
Pierce of Harverd College m his report to the
Visiting Committee of the Lawrence Scientific
School. Safford attended the Professor's Lec
tures on Analytical Mechanics, and showed him-
self perfectly competent to master this difficult
subject ol research. Up to this time, he fully re-
alizes his early promise of extraordinary powers,
as a geometer, but his friends notice with alarm
that his body does not keep pace in growth with
his intellect, and that he ifnSt gaining that robust
health so necessary to a strong mind. It will be
rememberd that he is under the charge of Edward
Everett and Professor Pierce, and is supported by
the liberality of gentlemen in Boston. The greatest
attention should be paid to the physical education
of the young student, under such circumstances,
and we have nodoub he receives it. ever jn England, and a partial revival of .he
On the other hand, some of the most distin- Repeal agitation has taken place in Ireland, un
guishcd men who have ever lived were in childhood der ihe auspices of John O'Connell
remarkable only for health, idleness, and apparent The English coast was visited with a fright
stupidity. (But let no boy be lazy thinking that ful hurricane on the 30ih of March. The J. R.
thus he will become a great man, for there is no Skiddy, of New York, and the Howard, of
excellence without labor severe, independent, New Orleans, were both wrecked. The steam
continual application.) The illustrious Newton, er " Adelaide" was lost near the mouth of the
was, bv his own account, an idle and inattentive Thanies, when every soul on board two in
boy, and " very low in the schqpl" till he reached
twelve
3 years of his age; and the young Napoleon
If is described as hav,n2 rrood "health, and
himself is described as haying good "health, and
being in other respects like other boys." Adam
Clarke.was- considered "a grievous dunce" when a
I boy, and was seldom praised by his father except j
for his ability in rolling great .stones, wln'clh his
robust frame and good health enabled him to do.
Shakespeare, Gibbon, Byron, Scott, and Davy,
were in like mariner undistinguished for precocious
j genius, and were fortunately allowed' to indulge
freely in those wholesome bodily exercises, and
that freedom of mind which contributed so much
to their future excellence. The mother of Sheri
dan, too, long regarded him as 11 the dullest and
most hopeless of her sons." But no more on this
subject this time. In my next communication I
wish to speak of the old-fashioned, quiet tread
mill Schools, with a string of so-called " Rules,"
as long as my arm, for which Pupils have as little
respect as they would havo for an old scare-crow
hung up in the School-room. P. S. W.
(To be continued.)
Ilonesdalc Money."
We had hoped where there was so little cause
for alarm, as in the case of this Bank, that all ex
citement in relation to it had subsided, but we see
occasionally a statement calculated to frighten
that portion of community not acquainted with the
state of its affairs, and its readiness to meet its li
abilities agreeably to the provisions of its charter.
Hero, we are satisfied something more must come
to light, before the confidence of the people will
be shaken, notwithstanding the Rondout Courier
mav infer otherwise" from the advertisements of
some of our merchants. That in other places its
bill-holders may have submitted to being shaved
it is not worth while to deny, when the Courier
states the fact that at Rondout there were those to
buy it up at four and five per cent. The charter
of the Bank may be annulled it is true, but that it
is not sound and perfectly able to redeem every
cent of its issues is quite another matter. To en
lighten those not already acquainted with the true
state of the affairs of this Bank and are fearful of
Honesdale Money, we copy the following from
" Thompson's Bank Note Reporter," of April 1st:
Honesdale Bank, Pa. By some of the wind
ings of banking and lawmaking, the Honesdale
Bank has got before the Pennsylvania Legisla
ture. Foreseeing this movement would cause a
scrutiny into the situation of the bank, we look
early means to be " posted up," and are enabled
to give the following statement :
Circulation,
To protect this the bank
has available due Pm
Am. Exch. Bank, $117,449 52
Due fm. Phila. " 740 74
Loaned on call, secu
red by D. & H. Ca
nal stocks, at par,
as collateral secu
rity 141.005 00
Specie on hand, 41,807 48
Notes and Drafts of
other Bks on hand 195,623 30
$518,005 00
$496,626 30
To offset which and
fall back on, the
Bank has bills dis
counted and falling
due, and none of
them having over
90 days to mature,
$136,785 65
By this statement it will appear that the bank
is able to redeem its entire circulation in twenty
four hours. The bill-holders may feel perfectly
sure that they are safe in holding, taking, and pay
ing Honesdale money. Carbondale Journal.
Defence of Pennsylvania.
The Message of Gov. JoHNSTon, in defence
of Pennsylvania, delivered on the22d of March
,aBl a,,a wll,cul,ie g''" 1UF'"
has been published in a neat pamphlet in rhil-
, , . . 1 ,n, , , . 1 - 1 ,
I I'll .
acls 0f ,ne Legislature relative to hlavery, kid-
nappm &c. l0 wnich the Governor referred in
h,9 me38a2e. We were much gratified in receiv
jng a copy of it. The whole forms a complete
history of the matter treated, and is e masterly
defence of Pennsvlvanra against the chimen
cal assaults of some of the Southern States
It does justice to Pennsylvani and the Union
Yv e nave not received a uocument in aionp-
time more worthy of preservaton. A member
of the other party, and one of the most talented
and competent to judge, said to us al the lime
the Message was published, that it was one of
the most crediiablo and able State papers he
had ever known to emanato from a Governor
of Pennsylvania correct and manly in senti-
ment, eloquent in diction and cogem in argu
ment. Such it is, and such is the Document
the Legislature by a close party vote, with a
Tpid hnnnmKIn Arrnniinna rofnuw m hnvo r?n
d. d.ub.1... fearing ,ha, iu circula.ion migh,
lnnroiiin I lln n I rnnfiir a VtnMcMfa anil u? a 1 1 m rw
led popularity of the Whig Governor.
Foreign IVcws.
By the arrival of the Steamer America, we
have Liverpool dales two weeks later.
The price of Flour had advanced one shil
ling per barrel Cotton was without material
change. The substance of the news is con
tained in the following abstract: France was
tranquil, comparatively speaking, although much
bitterness existed between the prominent par
lies. One of the regiments had revolted, and
Louis Napoleon had bee.n hiised as he passed
through one of the streets. The most impor-
tant political movement, however was a motion
submitted in ihe National Assembly, thai on a
certain day, ihe electors should express them-
8e,ve by ?Q, ei,her jn fayor of a Monarchy
r t. r n . t i u
r a Republic. It fell to the ground, however,
as 11 was.no' seconded, and the announcement
was received with cries of 'Vive la Republique
by the Mountain. Louis Napoleon is said to be
overmhelmed with debts, and willing to adopt
any expedient to obtain relief from his pecuniary
ilifficuiiRiV T., Pm,0,;n;. . ' .
pensiied
'Pi,. .1 :. : e rv .
i ii u uuiiuiuuii ui uuua
"cllea PJuc,b anx,e,y in SPai"- Tl
ml Markel W" Amor
he London
ican Stoks
were firm.
Chioridn of link is nniv e!iir! in Via b natfat
disinfectant of foul njr.
MRS. SWISSIIF.LM'S LETTERS. .No. If.
Washington- Ross' SpeechCom.
proniicseiieraIly Harris's Speech..
Correspondence of The Tjibune.
Irving House, Washington, April 11.
Dear Mr. Greeley : There is a great deal of
profound logic and quite a number of handsome
crape shawls in Washington. As I have an ear
for the one and eye for the other, I get sadly con
fused between hearing and seeing. It is rather dif
ficult to keep the run of all that is said on the
floor in Congress and all that is displayed in the
galleries. I might refer you to honorable mem
bers for the ratification of this statement, but hope
you will just take my word for it. It may be, as
Horace Mann says, that every faculty of the soul
has special organs of manifestation, situated in the
brain that we see, hear, feel, love, hate, by the
exercise of particular forms, every several one do
ing its own work, and this only. This appears
all correct work enough, inasmuch as we can do
several things at once ; but, after all, it Is some
thing like the machinery of Government. There
are many different departments, but all tend to
one common center. The Senate and house the
War Secretary and State Secretary, and Post
master and all the rest, may be busy doing differ
ent things at one and the same time, but all go to
the common center, the Judiciary or President,
and neither can do more than one thing at a time.
So I doubt if our reason understanding can dis
pose of more ; and while I sat yesterday and heard
the honorable gentleman explain his views. I lost
the entire run of shawls and mantillas, beside es
caping a nervous fever, by not hearing the first
part of Mr. Ross's speech. When he rose, some
one whispered me, " It's only a Doughface and
as I have no particular fancy for unbaked bread,
and a column hid him from view, I did not choose
to interrupt the conversation of the worthy substi
tute of" the old man eloquent" to peep round at a
mass of flour and water. One can see or hear a
Northern truckler almost any day away out in the
West, but only here could I listen to Horace Mann,
the friend of Humanity, and so I listened, and did
not hear "the man of Ross" until a friend came up
and whispered, "Just listen to your Pennsylvania
toady." Then I started up, looked round the col
umn, and saw the gentleman. If his face is dough,
there is entirely too much saleratus in it, for it is
as yellow as a guinea. Some one should add a
little acid, both to help the color and produce ef
fervescence. This would answer the purpose of
yeast, and make him "rise " It will never do to
bake him without this, for lie is too flat to be whole
some. What the first part of his speech was I know
only by the reports which you already have.
These make him say 'the Constitution recognizes
Slavery; but he would vote for no bill recogniz
ing or prohibiting it.' Of course, then, he would
not vote for the Constitution. My attention was
called in time to hear him sobbing and groaning
over the Union imploring, with hysterical gasp3,
that Members would calculate its value its pa
triotic value -that Northern Democrats and agita
tors would pause "in their mad career before it
was too late.11 Many appeared inclined to profit
by his exhortation, stopped talking, and kept
watching the clock to see if it were time for him
to quit. He objected to tiie admission of Califor
nia, because she is four times as large as Penn
sylvania, but said nothing about Texa3, nearly
four times as large as California. On the same
principle, New-York should be thrown out of the
Union for being four times as large as Rhode-Is
land. The reported accounts of the speech say he
replied to the speech of his colleague, Mr. Thad
deus Stevens. This is a mistake. He merely
occupied fifteen minutes in personal abuse of Mr.
Stevens raking over the ashes of old party
squabbles in State politics, and denouncing his in
consistency in supporting Gen. Taylor instead
of Cass. He shook his finger, worked his body
up and down as though he had been churning on
an old fashioned Dutch churn, quivered in every
muscle, 3tuttered and sputtered, as he enumerated
the wrongs Mr. Stevens had committed against
his native State, and declared she was ashamed of
having given him birth. It is rather odd she
should have sent him here, and so Mr. Stevens
appeared to think, for he stood up befoie the Spea
ker's desk, laughing heartily at the exhibition.
This Ross is reported to have said, the South
had never aggressed on the North ; but the re
porters forget to add, what he did say, that the
North had been continually aggressing upon the
South that Pennsylvania herself led the way by
presenting Anti-Slavery petitions to the very first
Congress that met after the adoption of the Con
stitution. Then he declared that aggressions must,
be stopped, and the South protected in her Consti
tutional rights.
A few moments before he had been wondering
how Mr. Stevens could have uttered his speech
while the portrait of Washington hung before
him? how he could dare defame the fathers of
the Constitution such men as Franklin. Won
der if he forgot that Franklin himself was one of
the most active of these Anti-Slavery petitioners
whom he was now stigmatising as aggressors up
on the rights of others 1 He indulged in a large
amount of gasconading about his own State his
own "gallant little County of Lehigh." If the folks
there are so smart as he pretends, they will give
him his next office in a coal-mine, until his com
plexion is of the proper tint for the chattel-market,
then send him South to fetch what he will bring.
He should never be permitted'to live above ground
in the State he has disgraced.
There is one thing, Mr. Greeley, that strikes
my mind very forcibly : this is the constant and
gratuitous glorifications of the Constitution. 1
have heard four speehes two Pro-Slavery, on the
Loco-Foco side, and two Anti- Slavery on the
Whig side ; but about one fourth of every one has
" our glorious Constitution"-its compromises--its
wisdom4 its strength and perfection. To me
this looks as if the speakers felt that it required
praise. The Constitution has been published, I
think, and most of their audience have read or can
read it ! Is it not very strange that they cannot
trust it to speak for itself or that when they
have spoken for it, and no one contradicted, they
cannot proceed to something els9 ? They keep
such a dingdong about " supporting the Constitu
tion." One might imagine it was some misera
ble, decrepit old creature that was no longer able
to totter on ciutches, but must needs be held up
on every side, and dragged along like a drunken
loater, on his road to the " lock-up."
I have some considerable respect for the Con
stitution and am sorry those who should best un
derstand it, think it so weak as to require such a
continual bolstering up, a propping and defending,
a blustering, a swaggering, a blowing, a bragging.
Strength should bring calmness! The con
sciousness of integrity should Bet folks at their
ease ; and the nervous eagerness with which these
gentlemen haste to defend and laud the Consti
tution, when no one is attacking it, looks as if they
thought it very vulnerable. As administered and
generally understood, there is no doubt but it is
so. Those compromises it is said to have made
do really requiro some defense. For instance,
in going from Pittsburg to Cincinnati! a few weeks
ago, there was a woman on board our boat, who
had been purchased by the man who had her in
charge, for five hundred and fifty dollars as much
as would pay a Congressman's salary sixty-eight
days. She had been sold " for no fault," but be
cause her master was in debt. She had left fath
er, mother, biother, sisters, a husband and three
small children, one of them an infant.
T looked on her face with its haggard grief
Where " Compromises" were 'wittcu m brief .