this Government; -and to seek to limit, circumscribe, and restrain Executive au thority ; if to retrench unnecessary exv penditare, and abolish useless offices and institutions ; it, whilst the public honor is, preserved untarnished, by supplying al revenue adequate to meet the national engagements, incidental protection can be allorded to the national industry; if to' entertain an ardent solicitude to redeem every pledge, and execute every promise fairly made by my political friends with a view to the acquisition of power from the hands of an honest and confiding people ; if these objects constitute a man a Ihc.TA 'roe, why, then I suppose I must he con tent to bear, although 1 still only share with my friends, the odium or the honor of the epithet, as it may be considered on the one hand or the other. That my nature is warm, my temperar dent, my disposition, especially in relation to the public service enthusiastic, I am fully ready to own ; and those who sup pose that 1 have been assuming the dicta torship have only mistaken fur arrogance or assumption that fervent ardor and de votion which is natural to my constitution, and which I may have displayed with too little regard to cold, calculating and cau tious prudence in sustaining and zealously supporting important national measures of. policy which 1 have presented and pro posed. During a long and arduous career of service in the public councils of my coon try, especially during the last eleven years I have held a seat in the Senate from the same ardor and enthusiasm of character, d have no doubt, in the heat of debate, and in an honest endeavor to maintain my opinions against adverse opinions equally honestly entertained, as to the course to be adopted for the public welfare. I may have often inadvertently or unintentionally in moments of excited debate, made use of language that has been offensive, and susceptible of injuroius interpretation towards my brother Sena tors. If there be any here who retain wounded feelings of injury or dissatisfac tion produced on such occasions I b;, , r to assure them that I now ofli- the amplest apology for my departure on my part from the established rules of parliamentary de corm and courtesy. On the other hand, I assure the Senators one and all, without exception and without reserve, that I re tire from this Senate Chamber without carrying with me a single feeling of re sentment or dissatisfaction to the Senate or to any of its members. I go trom this place under the hope that we shall, mutually, consign to perpetual oblivion whatever personal collision may at any time unfortunately have occurred between us; and that our recollections shall dwell in future only on those con flicts of mind with mind, those intellec.! tual struggles, those noble exhibitions of the powers of logic, argument, and elo. quence, honorable to the Senate and the country, in which each has sought and contended for what he deem,d the best mode of accomplising one common object, the greatest interest and the most happi ness of our beloved country. To these thrilling and delightful scenes will be my pleasure and my pride to look back in my retirement. And now, Mr. President, allow me to make the motion which it was my object to submit when I rose to address ) ou. I present the credentials of my friend and successor. If any void has been created by my own withdrawal from the Senate, it will be filled to overflowing by him, whose urbanity, whose gallant and gentle•, manly bearing, whose stelfly adherence to principle, and whose rare and accom plished powers in debate, are known already in advance to the whole Senate and to the country. I move that his cre• denials be received, and that the oath of office be now administered to him. In retiring, as I am now about to do, forever, from the Senate, suffer me to ex press my heartfelt wishes that all the great and patriotic objects for which it was , constituted by the wise framers of our Constitution may be fulfilled; that the high destiny designed for it may be fully , answered, and that its deliberations, now and hereafter, may eventuate in reto•ing the prosperity of our beloved country, in maintaining its rights and honor abroad, and securing and upholding its interests at home. I retire, I know it, at a period of infinite distress and embarrassment. I wish I could take my leave of you under more favorable auspices ; but without meaning at this time to say whether on any or on whom reproaches for the sail condition of the country should fall, I appeal to the Senate and to the world to bear testimony to my earnest and anxious exertions to avert it, and that no blame can justly rest at my door. May the blessings of !leaven rest upon the whole Senate and each member of ►t and may the labors of every one redound to the benefit of the nation and the ad vancement of his own fame and renown. And when you shal! retire to the bosom of your constituents, may you meet that most cheering and gratilying of all human rewards—their cordial greeting of Well done, good and faithful servant." And now, Messrs. President and Sena tors, I bid you all a long, a lasting, and a friendly farewell. Mr. CnirrErmes: was then duly (pall. fled and took his seat; when Mr. P►sssroa rose and said : What had just taken place was an epoch in their, legislative history, and from the feeling' which was evinced' he plainly saw that there was little disposition to attend to business. Ile would therefore move that the Senate adjourn; which 'notion was unanimously agreed to. The $99,000. George Handy answers —Locoroco rafters look out! The Harrisburg correspondent of the Lancaster Union, under date of 4th inst., says : The joint committee of both branches of the Legislature raised to enquire whether any corrupt means had been made use of, to obtain the passage of the suspension resolutions of 1840, have, within a few days past, brought some things to light that will produce some startling sensations in the minds of the people of this great Commonwealth. You will find by referring to the proceedings of the House within the past week, that, Geo. Handy, who, report said had the' disbursing of the celebrated $29,C00, was confined in one of the committee rooms of the capitol for refusing to testify, when called upon, touching his knowledge of things under consideration. He was kept in confinement for several days, when on Saturday last, he signified his willingness to appear before the commit. tee to disclose what he knew in the mat- I ter. Ile appeared, and was sworn to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. In answer to the questions, as to whether he knew of any corrupt means used by the banks or their agents in ef fecting the passa g e of the suspension res olutions of 1840, he laid before the corn ntittee, between seventy fice and eighty letters, written by Daniel Broadhead, of Winnebago memory, and late, Governor Porter's Commissioner of Loans, the President of the Philadelphia Moyamen. sing Bank, and other gentlemen promis neat in the Locofoco party. The letters are beautiful specimens of epistolary correspondence, and beat all hollow any of the oelebratsd Glentworth papers. In one of them Mr. Handy is requested to send on a draft for 2.9,000 feet of lumber, (said by ham to mean 29,000 dollars.) In another the members of the Legislature are designated as rafts, aniLthe terms of "rafts is riz," " rafts are falling," "lum ber is scarce," and others corresponding , frequently occur. In another Mr. Hand' , is informed that he must furnish more lumber, (money) as a lot of rafts (members) can be had at a reasonable rate. He is also informed that the great mon (the Go. vernor,) hall been seen upon the subject, and that in the evening the writer (Broad head,) would have another Indian talk with lam, and also that Mr. Stevenson, (a Senator front the county) would have to have some more mint (money.) It is also said, that the Governor on waking up one morning, to his inexpressible dis may found under his.pillow, thirty thou sand dollars all in United States Bank Notes, and that to this moment, it nas not been clearly demonstrated how tl,ey ever got there. About fifty of the letters yet remain unexamined, and of course the story is not half told. When it is finish. ed it will exhibit a rare specimen of offi cial depravity and gross corruption, arid beyond all doubt will lead to the impeach ment of that moral, honest, patriotic de mocrat, the Governor of Pennsylvania. Now let me ask, what say the Locofo cos to these things? Speak out ye brow• ling democrats of pipelaying and yarn dealers, ye honest, moral, uncorrupted, undefiled democrats—what say ye to In• dian talks with your Governor, to the price of rafts andithe feet of lumber?-- What think ye of stuffing your Senators with mint to ease their pains and grumb- Hugs that they may vote for suspension resolutions, and above all, what think you was the magic power that could pil low the head of the Indian talker on heaps of " promise to pay" issued by the detest ed monster ? Defeat of the Great Tax Bill. By reference to the proceedings of the House, it will be seen that the enormous tax bill of the Administration, which was to have raised A MILLION AND A HALF, ANNUALLY, has been defeated in that body by a majority of two. This billt.has - beem:puslicil forward with all the energy of the Administration, and has signally failed. It was a measure that had been calculated upon with certainty by those who had defeated the sale of the public improvements, and its failure may bring some who have deserted the people on that question, to their senses. It will be seen that not a single Demo crat voted for the bill--but all against it. Of the Whigs from the city, some voted for it, and one against it. Of the forty two votes for it, thirty-eight were Loco locos. Of the remainder, some voted against it and some dodged. When the people look at this vote, we !lope they will recollect that if the main line of the public improvements, and the Delaware division, were sold, there would he no necessity for an increase of taxation to meet the wants of the Treasury.— Penn'a. Tel. TionßiD TRVGED Ir. -MURDER 01' AN CTOR.-A most horrid and fatal trage. ply was enacted at the theatre last night. Ifter the curtain had dropped at the con clusion of the first act of the piece, a quarrel ensued behind the scenes between Mr. Ewing and Miss Hamblin, both at tached to the theatre, in which the latter plunged a dagger to the heart of Mr. Ewing, which caused almost immediate death. After the perpetration of the awful deed, Miss Hamblin made her escape by jumping out at the window, and at 'o'clock last night had not been arrested. IShe escaped in her theatrical attire, dreg. sed as a page.--Mobile Chroti., :Minh 26. Repudiation Commenced. It will fall startlingly upon the ears of the honest yeomanry of our State, to hear that the first step has been taken by our, Locofoco house of Representatives to wards a repudiation of State Credit! By the proceedings yesterday, it will be seen l that a resolution was introduced from the' committee on Ways and Means, for rais ing supplies for the ordinary expenses of Government; by which the State Treas- 1 titer is authorized to use any money for thosepurposes in the Treasury, whether heretofore specifically appropriated or not! By the act of April 1, 1326, establish- , ing an Internal Improvement Fund, it , was provided that part of the duties on auctions, the dividend on road, callal and bridge stocks owned by the state, canal tolls entire, and the proceeds of all es cheats, should be vested in the Commis• sioners of the Internal Improvement Fund, for the purpose of PAYING THE IN ' TE RES7' and reimbursing the principal of all loans made for constructing our pub • lic works • and were all and singular there. lby pledged for the purpose. Now we would ask, by what torturing of a pliant conscience, this bill could have passed? How can men sworn to support the honor and integrity of the state, place s on our statute book a dishonorable and appalling Repudiation of the faith of the state, pledged to every man who has ever bought a share of state stock? With cer tain revenues pledged to pay the interest and liquidate the original loans, the loco• foeos have seized upon these revenues thus appropriated —and on the selfish plea, that the State has need of the money, robs the holder of state stock of what is his, as fairly steel honestly as legislative enact ment can make it, or as state faith can insure it! Freemen of Pennsylvania! ye who have looked with dismay and disgust at the course of Mississippi on the question of Repudiation, prepare for the dishonor which is about to overwhelm your state. Let the action of yesterday in the House of Representatives, be engravers on each mind, and remember to apply the remedy next tall, at the ballot box:—Pcnn'a. led. Election of Canal Commis sioners. A quietus has been given to this wish of the people, by the federal Legislature. They knew that it was a measure de manded by the tax payers of all parties, who are sensible of the immense corrup• tion and profligate expenditure of money in that department, and that at the next electioo they would send representatives here that would give it to them. ILL this hope of reform must he cut off. They therefore got up and passed a bill author- Ln, cievernor to uppuun Cauut carol misatoners for three, two and one years, from the let of February nest. The peo• ple will understand the object of this movement, without our informing them, that it was tor the purpose of depriving them of the power hereafter, fur ever, to. elect their Canal Commissioners—thus securing to the Executive a cordon of mercenary office holders, ready to carry out his will, and with a patronage of half !a million of dollars annually. If such acts as this will not raise the indignation of an insulted people, we know not what will. —IL. The Washington correspondent of the United States Gazette relates the follow. ing gratifying intelligence: An anecdote is told of the meetng of Mr. Clay and Calhoun after the former retired from the Senate, which shows that political strife, though it may for a while deaden the finer feelings of the heart, can not destroy them especially in those hearts that beat with generous and manly sensi bilities. As Mr. Clay was passing to wards the door to leave the Senate Cham ber, Mr. Calhoun met him—they liad not spoken to each other for five years; but they now siinulataneously extended their hands, and rushed to each others arms: neither spoke, but both wept. At length Mr. Clay said, on parting, " give my best regards to Mrs. Calhoun." How much more noble was this re conciliation and parting, than if they hail separated look ing defiance at each other! 'They had almost spent their lives together in Con gress, and at various times stood shoulder to shoulder, animated by patriotism and emulous only of serving the country. Time had passed over both, and the young had become old. One was about to retire, and both must ere long" sleep the sleep that bath no waking." The re tirement ot• the one would leave the other with no companion or rival of his younger days, and it told him emphatically that lie too must soon follow. Thoughts like these soften the heart not wholly indura• ted, and cause the fountain of generous feeling to gush forth—it came and the two distinguished rivals and antagonists under ' the influence of these synipathies were drawn together. Would that they had never been separted. TERRYBLE DEATH OF rue DON. Ron enT POTTER.—The Picayune has the tol-' lowing notice, taken from the Caddo Gaz- , ette, of the death of Col. Robert Potter, who seems to be a well known;iodividual in the South and Southwest. What was the oc casion of the attack upon him it does not say, but the Aidr looks like one of those outrageous Lynch cases which frequently disgrace the land. "He was beset in his house by an ene my named Rose. lie sprang from his couch, seized his gun. and in his night clothes rushed front the house. For about two hundred yards his speed seemed to de- fy his pursuers, but getting entangled in a thicket, he was captured. Rose told him that he intended to act a generous part and give him a chance for his life. He then told Potter he might run, and he should not be interrupted till he reached a certain distance. Potter started at the word of cotninrid, and before a gun was fired he had'reaChed Ofe lake. His first impulse was to jump in the water and dive for it which he did. Rose was close behind him, and formed his men on the bank ready to shoot him as lie rose. In a few seconds he came up to breathe, and scarce had his head reached the surface of the water when it was completely rid. died with the shot of their guns,, and he sank to rise no more." ITHE JOURNAL. One country,one conetit ution one destiny Huntingdon, April 18, 184 2. THE INVESTIGATION. Lumbering ...Bribery and Corruption. It has become our painful duty to inform our readers of facts which have recently been brought to light, and which are at tested and verified by the oath of a wit ness who is himselfpartmeps criminis, but who is corroborated by more than ONE HUNDRED letters—all of which tend to prove a degree of moral and political de pravity on the part of a portion of the Le tslature and the Executive branch of our State Government, that is calculated to sink us deeply in the estimation of States and Nations, and leave a damning stain upon Pennsti•lvania as long as she shall have a history of her deeds, Our readers no doubt all recollect that before the late Gubernatorial election, it was charged against David It. Porter, Go. verniir of the Commonwealth of Pennsyl vania, that he hail been bribed in 1840 by the United States Bank to sign the Sus pension Resolutions, when he came out with his famous message " REGARD, L.14 , 4Q nE DENUNCIATION FROM ANY QUARTER." It was then not believed by perhaps a great majority of the 'people, who had no evidence of the fact, and mistrusted rumors which they imagin ed had no other foundation than suspicions. The charges, however, were circulated— they had reached the cars of every citizen of the State; and yet the parties implica ted did out seek an investigation, as inn°• cent persons, when implicated in crime, might be expected to do; but skulked be, hind an official dental; for it will be rec ollected that the Harrisburg Keystone, the official organ of the Executive, came out in a bold denial, stating that the Gov ernor had authorized it to declare the charge of bribery and corruption FALSE! Notwithstanding this, the charges were still sounded in the ears of the people—. and were reiterated in our legislative halls by men not accustomed to give utterance to ill-founded accusations; and the cla mor thus being kept up, on the Bth of Feb ruary last a joint committee of the Legis lature were appointed to investigate and report whether corrupt means had at any time been employed by the late United States Bank of Pennsylvania; for the pur pose of influencing the action of the Legis lature or any other department of the government in regard to any legislation for its benefit--the committee being inves ted with the usual power to send for per sons and papers, Etc. The committee, in the course of the investigation, had George Handy brought before them, who seems to have been an agent for the Bank. He refused to testify, on the ground that civil and crirnimal pro cecdings had been instituted against him by the Bunk, which were then pending; and any evidence which he might give,' could be given against him in the prosecu tion. The Committee reported that fact to tin L..gislitture, and by a resolution of the House of Representatives, Mr. Handy was brought before the bar of that body ; but still refused to testify, and claimed the benefit of the constitutional right, by which a criminal "cannot be compelled to give evidence against himself." The Legislature then on the 29th ult. passed a Resolution, directing a mile prosequi to be entered in the criminal proceedings against Handy, which' was signed by the Governor, and became a law. The term nolle prosequi is Law Latin, and in plain English means nothing more nor less than an entry made upon the record of a crim inal case, to stay all further proceedings in it. It can in most cases be done with the permission of the Court ; and it would I seem that it was done in the case of Mr. Handy. Mr. Handy still refused to testi-, fy, and by a resolution of the House, he' was placed in the custody of the Sergeant at Arms, and confined in one of the coin mittee rooms until he should agree to tes tify. Thus situated, Mr. Handy signified his willingness to testify, providing he got permission to go to Philadelphia and get letters that were necessary to enable him to testify his knowledge of facts fully.— Permission was granted him to proceed to Philadelphia—he went--got the letters— and returned. George Handy was then sworn to tell the truth, the whole truth, &c. It Is sta ted that he laid before the Investigating Committee upwards of a hundred letters, written by Governor Porter's late Com. missioner of Loans, Daniel Broadhead, of Winnebago memory; the Pi esident of the Moyamensing Bank; and others, proini. rent in the locofoco party. The letters are said to be choice samples of epistolary correspondence, and go far ahead of the celebrated Glentworth papers, which shocked the morals of the locofocos most terribly about a year ago. The " Big Break" (even if the vilest falsehoods that were ever propagated concerning it by the locoleco presses were true,) does not come up to this picture of depravity by a long chalk. Every system of "pipe lay ing" and "yarn dealing" that has ever been heard of or devised, is thrown into a shade by the case now before us. The, letters referred to are said to abound with strange and almost unintelligible expres- I sions---such as, send on a draft for :29,- 000 feet of lumber" (which Me. Handy, the witness, explains to mean $20,000)-- "lumber is scarce"--"rafts is riz"—"rafts are falling," &c. &c. In one of theta Mr. Handy is told that he must furnish more lumber, as a lot of rafts can be had at a reasonable rate. According to Mr. Han dy's explanation, lumber means money, and rifts means members of the Legisla• lure,--so that it seems the writers were engaged at log rolling or lumbering--and it is said that some how or other they roll ed or piled thirty thousand feet of their lumber UNDER Tim PILLOW of our IM MACULATE Governor, while he sLErx. We presume that it was on that very night that he had a golden dream, ln which he conceived the beautiful ideas which he sent forth into the world, "REGARD. LESS OF DENUNCIA [IONS FROM ANY QLTARTER!" Mr. Broadhead, in one of his letters states that lie saw the Governor on the subject, and that he would see him again in the evening, and have an INDIAN TALK with hint ; and that Mr. Stevenson, a loco loco Senator from the ccunty of Philadelphia, must have more mint juleps. What think you, reader, of this lumber," and "rafts," and "julaps," and "Indian talk?" ilave you ever studied the Winnebago or Kickapco language? This article has stretched itself out to a greater length than we intended it to assume when we commenced it; but the story is nut all told yet. You shall hear more. When the Governor signed the Resole. tion directing a nolle prosequi to be en tered in the criminal proceeding against Handy, many of the loco loco presses and some of the open mouthed friends of that paragon of perfection, the Governoi , harp. edit forth that the charge of bribery against ) the virtuous Executive was a base calum ny got up by his enemies, and that the fact of his signing that resolution proved it to be such. Well, for this we do not blame them; for that circumstance gave their assertion the semblance of truth, and in their eagerness to do the party some service they trumpeted that forth to wipe the foul stain out of the skirts of the Gov ernor. But how does his subsequent con duct accord with the idea of innocence? No sooner had it reached the ears of our worthy David R. that Mr. Handy was testifying, and implicating as well the magnificently great and transcendently glorious Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, by name DAVID RIT. TENFIOUSE PORTER, as also sundry members of the Legislature, and other of ficers of Government, than he comes out in an extraordinary message preaching' about morality and honesty, and stating that he directed his Attorney General to' institute prosecutions against all implicas ted by the testimony, and the same Mr. George Handy among the rest; and, as tonishing to tell, the scrutinizing Gover nor had discovered a fl aw in the law di- 1 recting a nolle prosequi in Handy's case. Our readers will find the Message in our synopsis of Legislative Proceedings, I a. well as some severe strictures them eon by some of the Senators. Mr. PF.VNIMAN, of Philadelphia county, in particular de serves great credit for his honest, upright and Independent course in the Senate, in regard to this matter. Now, it may be asked, what was the intention of the Governor by the course he took? To us it appears to be a matter not difficult of explanation. The Committee of the Legislature are investigating the case—they are eliciting astounding developments which must no doubt eventually lead to the IMPEACH MENT of the Governor himself--Me in vestigation must be stopped, and the most effectual way to stop it is to shut up the mouths of all the witnesses, all which can be done by prosecuting every one that is implicated in the guilt, Thus the Gov ernor argued the case to himself—it was a plain one—and then_ he directed the Attorney General to prosecute every one lie might think proper, save only David Rittenhouse Porter, Governor of the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. When tne Governor placed his signa ture to the law directing a Golfe prosequi to be entered in the prosecution against Handy, he knew that Handy had been stubborn, and had refused to testify. The Governor also knew that Handy had been one of the acting agents in the bribery and corruption, and believed that he would still refuse to give evidence before the Committee or the Legislature. Thus he thought he might safely sign the law, and at the same time show that lie was inns. cent himself, and not afraid of an investi gation. But unfortunately for his "Ex cellency." Ilandy did testify, and his testimony will be brought before an as tounded community. Taking all the circumstances together, we cannot see how it is possible for the parties implicated to escape being convic ted of the charges, in the opinions of a candid community, - ; The investigation may be smothered by Executive interfer ence—the witnesses may he intimidated and prevented from giving any further evidence, but that is not the way to acquit the accused in the sight of their peers. It may save the guilty from the gloom of the Penitentiary, but it can never save them from the damning disgrace that their con duct has brought upon them. 'rite charge of bribery and corruption wi!l stick to them as did the shirt of Nessus to Her cules, until it will rot and fester to the very bones, and a party vote amounting to a majority of twenty-three thousand times twenty-three thousand would not convince one reasonable man that the biggiat “raft" did not get the biggest share of the "LUMBER." The meeting . of the friends of Texas held in the State House yard in Philadelphia, on the' 2nd inst. is saki to have been very large and respectable, and conducted in the righ t spirit. In New York a great fire broke out on the 31st of March, and destroyed between one and two hundred houses. About fifteen hun_ dred families were turned into the streets in a state of utter destitution. Ihe loss is esti mated at $120,000. LORD ASHBURTON the Special Minister to the United States from the Court of St James, arrived at Annapolis, Md. on the 2nd inst., and is now at Washington. The object of his mission is to adjust amicably the many diffi culties between Great Britian and our own. Government. We are under obligations to the accommo dating Editors of the Philadelphia " Uaited States" for a copy of their ALMANAC for the year 1842, which, we take occasion to say, is the neatest thing of the kind we have ever seen. it contains much usefUl information, Wyoming County. Of the numerous applications for new counties before the present Legislature, only one has been successful. The new county, which bears the beautiful name of Wyoming, is composed of what was heretofore the north ern portion of Luzerne county. It is supposed that Tunkhannock will be the seat of Justice. TnostAs P. CAMPBELL, Esq. has been ap pointed Commissioner of Bankruptcies for this county, The nomination of JAMES MCCULLOCH. of Baltimore, as the First Comptroller of the Treasury, was confirmed by the United States Senate on the Ist inst. Temperance. Among the new things of out town we notice that the venerable "sign of the Bear," which has greeted the eyes of travellers and strangers for more than fifty years past has been taken down, and its place supplied by a very modest looking sign bearing the fol lowing : " TEMPERANCE HOUSE. JOHN McCONNELL."
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers