( - A -- 7((z Anfittq6cA
,
BY JAS. CLARK.
GOVERNOR'S MESSAGE.
Tv the Senate and Honss of Rspi etentatives of
Pinmyltrania
Garments : The States of Virginia and Geor
gia have transmittted to the Executive Depart
ment of this Corrimdnitealth, Resolutions in ref
erence to the preservation of the Union ;—the
Institutiotr OT Slavery :.—and complaining of cer
tain alleged violations of the Constitution of the
United State.. A respectful courtesy to these
distinguished members of the confederacy, tie-
Mands front the Government of Pennsylvania an
early and calm Coinsideration of the grievances
thus presented.
The known character of the citizens of this
Commonwealth, for their faithful adherence to
the National Constitution;—their deep' Veneta
tior for, aid attachment of the National Union,
ifid their uniform respect, and regard for their
rights, privileges and happiness of the citizens
of the other States 0; the confederacy, is a suf
ficient pledge that they would feel deeply Wdinid
ed should their Representatives by silence and
acquiescence seem to admit, that they or their
Government were justly obnoxious to the asser
tion that they,' , had commenced, and were per
sisting in a system of encroachment upon the
Constitution and rights of a portion of the peo
ple of this confederacy, which is alike unjust
and dangerous to the peace and perpetuity of the
cherished Union." . _
Persuaded that thernexists no unkind feeling
among our citizens, to any other portion of the
Confederacy, and that a cordial love for the Na
tional Constitution and Union, pervades our en
tire population ; it is deemed a pleasant duty
to transmit those resolutions to your Honorable
bodies, that the necessary measures may be
adopted, after a candid consideration of the
whole subject, to give a decided negative to the
complaints of our Sister Republics, if they have
done our people and Government injustice in
these charges i end if otherwise, to offer the
amplest assiirance that the speediest remedies
will be provided to redress any just grievances.
This action is necessary in order that no truth
fill accusation of a wilful and wanton breach of
the Constitution;—infidelity to the National
Union, or invasion of the rights of others, shall
stain the social history of Pennsylvania.
The wrongs alleged may be classified as fol
lows
•
lest, That the people of the non Slavehold-
Mg States have encroached upon the Constitu
tion of the United States.
Second, That they hove done r ets hostile to
the peace and perpetuity of the National Unicin.
Third. That they have unjustly, dangerously
end injuriously trespassed upon the rights of
other portions of the confederacy.
These etc grave charges against the faith and
lictner of this Commonwealth—and hence the
necessity of a careful examination of their jus
tior And truth.
Questions connected with the Slavery of the
colored race, have given , origin to these com
plaints.
It is not necessary to discuss the abstract
question of slavery. If it were now to be es
tablished ;—if the footprints of the bondsman,
were now for the first time to mark the soil of
our common country;—if the Constitution were
now to be formed, it would be our duty to en
ter our solemn protest against its introduction
or recognition. We should feel a pleasure in
the aderption of a different policy from that im
puted upon us by our British progenitors. Where
they forged and rivited, we would strike the
chains of bondage from human limbs.
The Constitution of the United States, how
ever, having guaranteed to a c,rtaln extent, the
existence of Slavery; and recognized the rights
of the people of the Slave-holding States, in their
peculiar property; all inch discussions in ref
erence to the institution as it exists in those
States, are properly precluded by a just sense
of Constitutional duty. With Slavery there
fore, in th• several States, there is not now, and
never has been, arty disposition On the part of
the government or Pennsylvania to interfere.
Let us examine how far the general charges,
made against the people of the Free States, ap
ply to our citizens. To do so, with more clear
ness, a recital of the events preceding, and at
tending the formation of the Constitution, is
deemed necessary and proper.
.
a
Pennsylvania had been Slave-holding State.
The introduction and use of servile labor, and
the moral and political depredation of the color
race had been engrafted upon her liberal in
stitution.' by the cupidity of our Britist ances
try. While the Revolution and the separation
of the colonies from the mother country were in
progress; and before the recognition of their inde
pAndence by the government of Gre-t Britain,
liar Legislature, by the act of the In. of March,
1180, abolished slavery within her bordors. A
copy of that statute is hereto annexed.
The preamble to this act in strong and appro
priate language expresses an atilicirtence of that
condition of civil bondage to which the arms
and tyranny of Great Britain were exerted to
reduce us,—acknowledges the benificent agen
cy of the Supreme God, in our deliverance from
the threatened dangers, and admits Cie great in
justice, and wrong done to the servile race, by
m-ans whereof they had been « deprived of the
common blessings to which they were by na
ture entitled ;" and then in commemoration of
our own happy escape from tyranic and despot
ic power, provides that all persons, as well
mown and mulattoes as others, who shall be
burn within this State, from and after the date
of the said act, shall not be deemed and consid
td servants for life, or slaves.
The farther provisions of this humane la* (e
-late to the registry of slaves,--the service of
!b. it rbilclren,—their support when left null
gent,—their trial for offences; .d whilst it
thus declares in most express terms, that no
man or woman, of any nation or color except re
gistered slaves shall at any time thereafter be
deemed, adjudged, or holden within the terri
tories of this Commonwealth as slaves, or ser.
vents for life, but as free men, and free women,
it maws provision for protection of the prop
erty of non-residents in slaves, or servants for
life, who may be sojourners for a period of six
months. ' On the 09:h Of March, 1788, another
act intending to cure the defects in the act of Ist
Marching°, was passed and is hereto annex
ed.
Thews enactments made Pennsylvania, a non
alaveholding State; and in terms attic clearest
and strongest character marked the determina
tion of her people to abolish, forever, servile
labor within her borders. Whilst the pream
ble to the first act recited, and embodied the
reasons for the abolition of, and expressed her
fealinitu in relation to the institution of Slavery,
it furnished notice of the most authentic kind,
of her determined resietance to its increase end
extestien.
The Congress Of the States in session to New
York, Virginia, Georgia and Pennsylvania, being',
represented therein, on the 13th of July, 1787,
passed an ordinance with great unanimity, that
Slavery or involuntary servitude should never
be established ? except for ctimei within the then
territories otthe confederated States. There is
no excepting or wilting, chase ; n 6 tine of com
promise or designation of degrees of latitude to
limit the Of ha of freedom, tint an entire, absct
lute, and unconditional prohibition of the insti
tution in all the territories then under the jut is
diction of the Congress.
The act of 1980, had given notice to the other
IStates, of the views entertained by Pennsylla
'
nia on this important subject. The ordinance
of the 13th July, 1987; was conceived in the
same spirit, and gaVe an assifrance, that the
evils of htfrinan bondage should never be extend
ed ; and would eventually cease to exist among
a free people. It was in this belief that the
citizens of Pennsylvania consented to a consti
tution, which recagniied to some eictent the in
stitution of Slavery.
The Constitution being adop'ed went into op
eration on the 3,1 cf April, 1789. It contains
the following provisions directly dr indirectly
erinnected with the servitude of the colored
Hee
First, as regards representation, it provides,
" That representatives and direct taxes shall be
apportioned among the several States Which
may be included withht this Union according to
their respective numbers, which shall be deter
mined by adding to the whole number of free
persons including those hound to Sertice for a
term of years and excluding Indians not taxed,
three-fifths of all other persons."
Second, « The migration or importation of
such persons as any of the States 71010 existing
shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohib
ited by Congress prior to the year MS; but
a tax or duty may be imposed upon such impor
tation, not exceeding ten dollars for each per
son."
- Third, a No person held to service or labor
in one State, under the laws thereof, escaping
into another, shall, in consequence of any law
or regulation therein, be discharged from such
service or labor, but shall be delivered up on
the claim of the party to whom such service or
labor may he due."
The prdtision in the Constitution limiting the
duration of the slave tralic ; and the act of the
National Congress immediately preceding its
adoption, in relation to its non-extention to the 1
territories of the Union, would set m to leave
nO doilbt upon the Mind, that it Was the inten •
tion tutu meaning of the framers of the Consti
tution to prevent the extension and increase of
human slavery; and at an early period to se
cure its entire abolition in the several States.
The qualified representation of the servile race,
and the delivery of fugitives were concessions
made to the people of the slaveholding States.
To this organic law, containing these provi
sions, Pennsylvania gave her assent ; and it is
therefore a duty on her part to respect with re
ligious ddelivr, the rights therein guaranteed to
other States. •
That this Commonwealth has been faithful in
the discharge of all her federal obligations it is
believed can be made manifest. It is true that
her business pursuits , have been frequently in
terrupted ;— i t is true that her just weight in
the National Councils has been lessened by the
representation of the servile race;—it is true
the representation of property instead of peo
ple has been felt by her citizens as anti-Repub
lican and wrong ;—nevertheless she has always
felt it a duty faithfully to discharge her obliga•
tions as a member of the National Onion.
The institution of Slavery has assumed a new
position and importance by the successful at
tempt to extend it beyond its original limits.
In every instance of the kind this Common
wealth has raised her voice in earnest protest.
In the written Constitution, to the observance
of whose provisions her with had been pledged,
there was found no authority for its introduc
tion into new, and after acquired territory.
With the knowledge that the framers of the
Constitution had taken a part in the delibera.
tions of the Congress of 1757, and that the in
tention of their ordinance was the preservation,
front the malign Itilitiences of slavery, of all the
territory then belonging to the Union; it was
reasonable to suppose that any acquiescence on
her part, in the acqUisition of immense regions
to be covered with Slavery, would be given
with great reluctance. The same liberality of
sentiment that breathed in the Declaration of
the National Independence—the same ardent
love of human freedom that conceived the ordi
nance of I7B7—the same hatred of human bon
doge that induced the abolition of the slave trade
It was believed, would intlitence and direct the
opinions and actions of those illustrious fathers
who placed these proud memories among the
venerated archieves of the Republic.
At the time of the admission of Missouri it is
well known with what unanimity this Govern
ment protested against the introdUcticin Of ser
vile labor into that fertile region. The lan
guage of her protest is clear and strong; it
breathes the true feeling of her patriotic chil
dren. To the compromise line at that time
adopted, it is presumed, no assent was given on
her part. To have done so, would have done
violence toiler principles, and would have been
an abandonment of her early and cherished pol
icy. It was an infraction of the spirit of the
ordinance of 1787, and was a doubtful exercise
of Constitutional power, as Well as a species dl
infidelity to the National Union. The act of
1180 abolished slavery, and alleged there Was
no human right to exact human bondage. The
ordinance of 1787 prohibited Slavery in
the territories of tue then confederation,
and
the reasonss for its enactment applied as forci
bly to the West bank of the Mississippi. as they
did to the North Bnnk of the Ohio. The Na
tional Constitution contained nothing to author
ize the acquisition of new territory, and the
erection of further slave institutions. On the
contrary, by its provisions in reference to the
slave tratic, and the current events attending its
formation, it appeared to mark limits to the
extent and duration of the institution; hence
any action enlarging its boundaries was an un
waranted assumption of power. The Union of
the States -vas endangered by the erection of
imaginary lines, tending to engender and keep
alive sectional jealousies and prejudices. Penn
sylvania desired no new .M. 5003 & Dixon's
line, to mark distinctive characters and tastes
among a homogeneous people.
In the powers of the National Congress is
found no authority to create Slavery, unless its
introduction formed a portion of a treaty acqui
ring territory, or was the condition' of a grant of
lands. The spirit of universal liberty guarded
all soil blessed by the institutions of freedom ;
and to establish bondage, positive enactments
HUNTINGDON, PA., TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 1860.
were necessarily required. These sentiments
of Pennsylvania remain unchanged, and it their
expression, with a perfect willingness to submit
their accuracy to the Supreme Judicial Tribu
nals of the country, were aggressions on the
rights of the citizens of Virginia and Georgia
—if they were an infraction of the National
Constitution, or tended the dissolution of the
Union, the demonstration thereof has not been
Made manifest to Our eitieenl.
The National Government is admited
to be a government of limited powers,'
and that no authority cart be exercised
by it unless conferred by the Constitu
tion. In the Constitution is found no ex
press authority for the acquisition of
net' territory by pnrchuse—nu eiprtss
authority to admit new States into the
Confederacy formed from' such acquired
territory—no express or written power
to absorb and annex another and a dis
tinct sovereignty ; to assume its debts,
finish its unsettled warfare or to take
charge of its public domain—no ex•
press authority is given to plant the
institution of slavery where it does not
exist; and certainly none to gnarantee
to h, in its new home, the unequal and
anti-republican representation to which
it is entitled in the original States. The
practical and common sense exposition
of the Constitution, it is freely conceded
would invest a government of limited
powers, trlth all the authority, necessa
ry to carry into effect its expressly gran
ted_..powers.
'The powers of Congress over the terri
tories of the Union, and the District of
Columbia, are embraced in the following
provisions :
First. New States. may be admitted
by Congress into the Union. Congress
shall have power to dispose of, and make
all needful rules and regulations, res
pecting the territory or other property
belonging to the United States : and
nothing in this Constitution shall be so
construed as to prejudice any claims of
the United States or any particular
State.
Second. Congress has the right to
exercise exclusive legislation in all cases
whatsoever over such district,(not excee
ding ten miles square,) as may, by ces
sion of particula- States, and the accep
tance of Congress, become the seat of
Government of the United States.
The parts of the Constitution herein•
before detailed and mentioned below,
enthrone all the provisions necessary or
essential for our present purpose.
1. The slave representation in the Na
tional Congress.
2. The non-importation of slaves af
ter 1808.
3. The extradition of fugitives from
Tabor,
4. The authority of Congress over
the territories.
5. The authority of Congress over
the District of Columbia.
Which of these provisions of the Na
tional Constitution, has been encroached
upon by Fensylvnnia 1 There is no part
of her hislory, Legislative, Executive
or Judicial, that shows any interference
with the right of representation belong
ing to Virginia or Georgia. No charge
has been mode against her faithful ob
servance of that portion of the Consti
tution in relation to the importation, or
non-importation of slaves. The author
ity of Congress to establish slavery in
territories wherein it does not exist,
this State has denied, in mild and friend.
ly terms ; and in submitting heretofore
to the exercise of the power when new
slave•hoding States have been admitted,
no bitterness has marked her complaints
and protests. 'rhe authority ofCongress
to abolish slavery in the District of Col.
utnbia, is npparent unless the words
employed confering it, gives less and a
different power when inserted in Consti
tutions, than when used in other por•
lions of the written and spoken lan
guage of the country.
The complaint in relation to the non
delivery of fugitives from labor will be
best answered by a review of the laws
enacted on the subject.
The act of 1780, although it denied
the use of slave property to her own citi
zens, with a careful regard for the rights
of the slave-holding States, permitted
sojourners to retain the ownership of
such property for six consecutive
months *Rhin the State. The frequent
evasions of this part of the statute, and
the effort made to extend slavery to the
offspring of slave mothers caused the
act of 29th of March 1788. The Con
' si itutional provisien'before mentioned for
the reclamation of fugitives followed
soon after, and was supposed to place
all power over the subject in the Nation
al Legislature. The act of Congress of
12th February 1793, entitled an "act
respecting fugtives from justice and
persons esenping from the service of
their masters" appeared to confirm this
opinion. It was believed however, that
a concurrent jurisdiction is vested in
the National and State Legislatures.
At the request of a number of gentle
man of the neighboring State of Mary
land, as is stated in the anument in the
case of Prigg vs. Commonwealth, the
act of 25th March 1826, was passed.
Three objects were intended to be se
cured by this legislation, to wit : the de
livery of fugitives front labor, the pro
tection of free colored peopfe', and the
prevention of kidnapping.
The Ist and 2d sections describe the
offence of kidnapping and prescribe its
punishment. The propriety and justice
of its enactments cannot be questioned.
The other sections of this statute rela
tive to the reclatnation of fugitives from
labor and the powers given to the ow
ner to retake his property and the obli
gations to aid and co , operate with him,
imposed upon the officers of this Com
monwealth, was of such character as
ought to have satisfied all reasonable
and fair dealing men, of the disposition
of this Commonwealth, to have the pro
visions of the Constitution, and the
acts of . Congress, completely carried
into effect. While the law provided
ample security for the safe keeping of
the alleged fugitive, until the owner
might have an opportunity to obtain
the proof of his former conditions, it re
quired other proof of this fact, than the
oath of the interested claimant, or his
agent or attorney. The provisions of
this law were fair and equitable, and
well calculated to aid the owner in the
recovery of his property ; and it is deem
ed a matter of surprise that it was con
tested and annulled, through the agency
of the same State whose citizens had pro
cured its enactment. The guards, in
the statute, intended to preserve the
liberty of the free man, would by the
investigation it demanded, cause some
trouble in procuring the final extradition
of the fugitive slave. The proof. of
property, by other evidence than the
oath of the claimant, was certainly de
manding as little asour Southern friends
in justice, should have desired, when
they asked the aid of the official power
of the Commonwealth, to send from her
jurisdiction, and territory lumen beings,
invoking the protection and guardian
ship of her laws. The Supreme Court
however decided, that the provisions of
said law, imposing restraints upon the
claimant's power to remove the alleged
fugitive were unconstitutional. If the
restrictions imposed by the statute were
intended to aid the escape, or to prevent
the extradition of the fugitive, the accu
racy of the decision, cannot be doubted,
but if these guards were inserted as
necessary to protect the liberty of the
freeman, the decision was wrong, unless
it was adjudged that the sole authority
over the subject was vested in Congress.
This decision, left to the master the au
thority to claim as provided in the Con
stitution and also authorized him to
seize and remove the individual whom
he alleged was his property, and to use
for that purpose the official power of
the State, without permitting, to her,
the right to control, and regulate the
manner of the procedure, or to deter
mine the truth and justice of the alleged
claim. It established the principle
that a stranger to the soil of Pennsylva
nia, might enter upon it, and by possi•
bility, inflict the deepest injury upon
her sovereignty by the abduction oilier
citizens on false pretences. The Su
preme judicature having so decided the
question, our law abiding citizens sub•
mitted, but with the determination, that
in the spirit of that decision the officers
of this Commonwealth should not be
made the instruments even by possibility
on such slight foundation, as a claim
ant's interested demand, of enslaving
free men. To prevent this great possi•
ble wrong, the act of 3d Alarch, 1847,
repealing all legislation on the subject,
and forbidding the officers of the State,
to take any part in the recapture of such
alleged fugitives, was enacted. The con
stitutional provision, and the act of Con
gress, our State has endeavored to carry
into full effect. She has denied and ft is
hoped, ever will deny, the power of Con
gress to impose the performance of du
ties upon her municipal and judicial offi
cers, without her consent,
An act of Congress, providing a mode
of procuring due proof of the correct
ness of the claim of the reputed owner
of a fugtive from labor ; and requiring
satisfactory evidence from disinterested
parties of the former condition of the
person claimed, would receive the sanc
tion of our citizens, and their co-oper
ation in carrying It into effect. No en
actment would satisfy the citizens of
Pennsylvania, that failed to require
strict proof of the right of the master.
In this recital of her Legislative his
tory, it is imposiblo to discover wherein
this Commonwealth has been unfaith
ful to the National Constitution.
If the obligations imposed upon us
by the Constitution, have been thus faith
folly discharged ; and if every page of
our history—every volume of our laws
demonstrate, that our federal relations
have been honestly regarded; is it not
an act of injustice, on the part of Vir-
r
ginia and Georgia, to charge us with a
wilful neglect and infraction of our du
ties to the National compact 1 Is it an
egression for our people, in the exercise
of the liberty of speech, to proclaim that
slavery is an evil, and a wrong, and that
at the adoption of the Constitution these
principles were avowed and maintanied
Is it a wrong in them, to say, that pow
er is vested in Congress to prohibit the
introduction of slavery into the Terri ,
toriee, and to abolish it in the District
of Columbia I The federal Constitution
denies to them no right to speak freely
l on these subjects. If it did, this Govei n
meta never would have existed clothed
with power so despotic and unjust.
Whether it is expedient to legislate
upon the subject of the exclusion of sla
very from the Territories, and of its ab
olition in the District of Columbia ; at
the present time by the National Con•
green, or to permit the people of the
respective Territories, and the District
of Columbia, to act for their own best
interests and nccording to their own
views of policy and right, is no part of
our present duty to determine. These
questions may well be left to the Repre
sentatives in Congress, under the in
structions of the people, to decide as
may seem most conducive to the Wei ,
fare of all sections of our common coun
try ; but it is nevertheless, right and
proper, and a duty we owe to the people
of Pennsylvania—to the memory of her
early and patriotic statesman—to the
reputation of the public men of the past
generation, and to those now entrusted
with her destinies, to deny in dignified
and decided terms the insinuations and
charges made against her faith and in
tegrity.
'The - nllegation of infidelity to the na•
tional Union is best answered by the his
tory of her devotion and attachment to
this palladium of our civil and religious
freedom.
The alien and sedition laws of the
national Congress; while they found no
sympathy in the hearts of her citizens,
but roused their deepest and deadliest
opposition, failed to provoke her people
to enter into any arrangements for their
resistance by force, even to a destruction
of the Union.
'the extension of slavety over portions
of the vast domains of the Louslanna
purchase, although in direct opposition
to her united and solemn protest ; and
calculated to outrage the feelings of her
people, produced no threats of dissolu•
Lion.
The prostration of her industrial put ,
suits, caused by the influence of the
augumented slave representation in the
national Congress, by the admission of
Texas; while a deeply wounded, could
not destroy her confidence and love for
the national compact.
The compromise of the Revenue laws,
made to win an erring sister to the du
ty of obedience to the Constitution and
laws, by which wide-spread ruin swept
over her borders, wrung from her citi
zens no denunciations of the Federal
Union,
The refusal on the part or certain
slaveholding States to deliver tip, al
though required so to do, by express
provisions of the Constitution, kidnap
pers, whose wrong doing was against the
very sovereignty of the Commonwealth,
furnished, in her opinion, no valid rea
son for assembling conventions to dis
rupt the confederation of the States.
All these nets, so injurious to her
people, might have authorised deep and
loud complaints, but her love for the Un
ion, rendered her silent ; and induced
the hope, that different and more friend
ly counsels would prevail. Her voice
was heard only in kind remonstrance.—
No harsh complaints of a violated Con
stitution end invaded rights were uttered
to wound a brother's ear, and interrupt
the social and kindred friendship of a
united people. She remembered that
we were a common people,—that a com
mon purpose, fur the advancement of
humane rights, had produced our connec
tion,—that a common danger had united
us in fraternal bonds,—and that it corn•
mon destiny awaited us. She reflected
that the same soil had been red with the
blood of a common ancestry, and that
the same religion, laws, institutions, hab
its, and pursuits, governed, and guided,
and marked our common pathway. Re
lying on the justice and fraternal feel
ings of a common country, she believed
that her rights and interests would be,
in proper time, admitted, recognized and
protected. The attachmeat of Pennsyl
ennia to the Union during her entire ca
reer, has been as pure and ardent as it
was in the first hours of its existence,
and her faith in its stability and perman
ent preservation has never changed.
She feels that the cement of the Union
is the heart-blood of the entire people;
and that in the hands of the masses the
fabric of liberty is placed beyond the
reach of its secret foes. She confident
ly believes, that to prevent its disruption
4
VOL. XV, NO. 14•
and overthrow, in the common dangef i
would be found side by side, as of
the sons of Virginia, Georgia, and Penn
sylvania patriotically and robly striving
in a common purpose, to plant on a high
er, safer, holier, and more stable basis
the National banner, and united there
with, forever and indistrectible, the 'Vir
tue, Liberty, and Independence,' of Penn
sylvania ;—the "Sic semper Tyrannis,"
of Vitgraia ; and the .‘ rffsdom, Justice,
and .ittoderation,' of Georgia.
In obedience to the constitutional du
ty requiring me to transmit such infor
mation to the Legislature as may be
deemed pertinent to the welfare of the
people, 1 beg leave to submit these re
solves of Virginia and Georgia, with
this message; and to request the pas
sage of such rescrlutrorts, to be fOrwar•
ded to the Executives of Georgia and
Virginia, as may indicate the injustice
done to this Commonwealth, in the dec
larations made by their Legislatures
while at the same time we offer assur
ances of our cordial respect for, and
faithful support of, the National Consti
tution and Union ; and of our sincere,
and fraternal feelings towards their pea.
ple as citizens of a common country.
WM. F. JOHNSTON.
Harrisburg, March 22, 1850.
The Witty Collteript.
Two countrymen were to draw lots
to serve in the Mifflin. The president
of the ballot had been earnestly solicit
ed to save the youngest and had prom
ised so to do. In order to keep his
word without any apparent partiality,
he put two black tikets into the box and
said to the men—
He who draws the black Oche IS to
serve,"•
" You draw first . ," said he to the man
he wished to go.
This man suspecting some trick, from
the unusual method of ballotting, drew
his ticket, and immediately swallowed
it.
" What hare you done 1" said 66
president " are you mad 1"
" replied the man, " if the tick
et 1 have swallowed is black, the re
maining one should be white ;—in that
case 1 must go; but if I have swallow.
ed the white ticket my comrade will of
course draw the black one. You may
easily know the truth:"
The president was thus obliged to let
both escape to fulfil his promise.
i n- An old deacon in Yankee land
once told us a story. He was standing
one day beside a frog pond—we havo
his own word for it—and saw a large
garter snake make an attack upon an
enormous bull frog. The snake fed upon
one of the frog's hind legs, and the frog
to be on a par with his snakesli ip, caught
him by the tail, and both commenced
swallowing one another, and continued
this carniverous operation until nothing
was left of either of them.
ID= iltankind are more what they are
made by mankind than they are made
by their Creator. The wolf is ferocious
because hunted from a whelp. The
snake turns upon you, because you &A
ttu!, and pursue it. The child grows
surley, because unjustly coerced. But
above all, man becomes unjust and cru
el, because pursued with cruelty and
injustice by his brother man.
OUR DEVIL'S SOME.—Here's his last;
"There is a man living back in the woods,
who being invited to a New Year's
Dinner, eat so much pear's meat that
he went home and hugged his wifea
thing he had never been guilty of before.
rE 7- The meanest man in the world
lives in West Troy. In helping him
oat of the river once, a man tore the
collar of his coat. The next day he
sued him for assault and battery.
(1:7-. An honest man is believed with
'out an oath, for his reputation swears
for him.
lja- It is the great art and philosophy
of life, to make the best of the present,
whether it be good or bad.
ra- Idleness wastes a man ns insen
sibly ns industry improves him.
pi- Flatterers only lift a man tip, as
it is said the zagle does the tortoise, to
.gi.t something by his fall.
E t : 7 - The best cure for hard times, is
to cheat the doctor by being temperate ;
the lawyer, by keeping out of debt ; the
demagogue, by voting for honest men ;
and poverty, by being industrious.
[Da." Sir," said a bypochondrical pa•
tient, while describing his symptoms to
Abernathy, I feel a terrible pain in
my side, when I put my hand to my
head." Then, sir," exclaimed the
mild physician " why the deuce 40 . yoq
put your hand to your head 1,"
, :