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WILLIAM BREWSTER, 1 EDITORS,
SAM. G. WHITTAKER,
* , titct 33,ottrg.
"ONLY WAITING."
An aged man in an alms-house, was asked.
wliat he tras doing now? lie replied : "Only
waiting r
Only waiting 'till the shadows
Are a little longer grown ;
Only waiting 'till the glimmer
Of the day's last beam is flown ;
'Till the night of Earth is faded
From the heart once full of.day ;
'Till the stars of Heaven are breaking
Through the twilight soft and gray.
Only waiting 'til the reapers
Hove the last sheaf gather'd home,
For the Summertime is faded,
And the Autumn winds have come.
Quickly; teapots ! gather quickly
The last ripe hours of my heart;
For the bloom of life is withered,
And I hasten to depart.
Only waiting 'till the angels
Open wide the mystic gate,
At whose feet I long have lingered,
Weary, poor, and desolate.
Even now I hear the footsteps,
And their voices far away ;
If they call Inc, I am waiting,
Only waiting to obey.
Visrcilanß.
the ry spice et/ LeYe•
Manchline Kirk Alloway and the Doon.
The next morning was clear, cool, and
charming in every respect. At ten o'clock
our carriage, an open vehicle, with two
good horses was at the door, to transport
us to the places which were memorable
front their associations with Me poet Burris.
Our first drive was to Mauchline, twelve
miles from Ayr. The road wns like a
beautiful garden walk, aver which a heavy
roller had passed until it was an level as
a floor and hard as cement. The scenery
along the whole drive is beautiful. The
absence of foreatsJeares b.c...y.i.eur. u.nob•
structed, and on either side of the road
undulating plains stretch away to tho liori
con, all in the highest state of cultivation,
and sprinkled with picturesque cottages.
Mauchline is an ancient town in which
Burns once resided. We visited the Inn
which was in the place of the revels of the
Begga Ts," and the churchyard,
which was the scene of the "Holy Fair."
Hard by the inn in which Burns had a
room. commanding a close view of Miss
Jane Armour, with whom he carried on a
clandestine correspondence, and whom he
finally married.
From Mauchlino we drove to BeHoch :
myle, long the pop.'rty of a family of Al
exander's. The grounds surrounding the
mansion are romantic in the extreme.—
The little river Ayr (lows around one
side of them, beneath the hills that nre
almost precipitous, down the sides of which
zigzag terraced walks conduct the visitor
to .he stream which leaves their base. It
was, while strolling through these Braes,
one Summer evening, that Burns, then
youth, met Miss Alexander, the sister of
the proprietor, in one of the narrow and
deeply shaded walks. The impressible
poet, struck with her beauty, returned
home a sadder if not a wiser man, and com
posed as he went, the beautiful song en.
titled the "Lass of Ballochmyle."
We also visited an eminence which
commanded a view of the "Castle of Mont
gomerie," where Highland Mary lived,
and then we went to the spot where she
and Burns had their last meeting. A lit
tle brook separated them, across which
they extended their hands, holding be
tween a Bible, over which they made their
vows of constancy. Shortly after High
land Mary died. I saw the Bible, a rel.
is of the kind, and read on the fly leaf a
verse taken from Leviticus. I think a
bout fidelity in keeping vows, written by
Burns for Mary. Fastened to the same
leaf was a yellow ringlet. To me it was
something to see a lock of Highland Ma.
ry's hair.
So accurately are all the localities des
cribed, that as the traveller passes the
faro of Shanter, once the residence of
Douglas Graham, the Original "ram,"—
and then by the graveyard where the ver
itable , Souter Johnny" is buried, and then
by "Kirk Alloway," the walls of which
still stand, and so on to the Auld Brig,
which yet spans the Doon, he begins to
feel that Tarn O'Shanter is not so much of
a fiction after all.
One of the most agreeable evenings I
spent in Scotland, was in wandering a
mong thew fancy ins,iiring localities. If
ever a river deserved the name of "bon
nie" then the Doon merits the epithet. It
is neither wide nor deep, but flows over
the pebbly bed with a intoical murmur,
while its gently sloping banks are Iris. I
ged with pensive willows and graceful
ash and elder trees.
rho rose and woodbine were still there,
the flowers were still blooming as "fresh
and fair," and the little birds were sing
ing as sweetly on "flowering thorn," as
when the forsaken maid reproached them
for their gaiety as she wandered forlorn,
"weary, full of care," and broken hearted.
It was within Alloway Kirk, that Tani
saw the fearful vision of warlocks and
witches dancing strathspeys and reels,
while the fearful musician, .
-"Screwed his pipes and girt them skirl
Till ',amid ratter a'did dirt"
But note not only warlocks and witches
but roof and rafters and all are gone; the
stone walls only remain, with a little tower
in which hangs a ropeless bell rung only
bysthe wind. Upon this road stands, the
birth-place of Burns. It is a long low
cottage with mud plastered walls. Here
under a thatched roof, in a tenement of
the very humblest class, Burns first
saw the light.
Returning to Ayr, we passed a very
pretty little residence half hides by shrub.
bery, in which Mrs. Begg, the only sur
viving sister of the poet resides. Arrest
ing our carriage at the door I 'rang the
bell. A pleasant looking young woman
answered it. Said I, would it be agreea
ble to Mrs: Begg to receive a call from
some travelers from the United States,
who wish to pay her their respects? 'Oh
yes,' the prompt answer was, "my aunt .
is always delighted to see visitors from N
merica." She ushered us into the parlor
and after waiting a few moments, a little
bright-eyed, quick moving old lady came
rustling in I excused our visit on the
ground of natural desire to see so near a
relative of one whose writings were known
and admired in every part of the United
States. She was evidently pleased with
the compliment, and answered .I'm think•
to ye ken a great deal about Robert in ,
America,' and added that she received.
wore calls Fran gentlemen from ".is Uni•
ted States" Liam from any other part of
the world. She showed us some letters of
her brother, written in a bold round hand,
ids.> an original portrait which she declared
was a correct likeness.
Mrs. Beggs is the Jenny of "the Cot.
ter's Saturday night."
..Dot hat's. ! a rap comes gently to the d nor ;
Jenny who ken 3 the meaning oftheattioe,
Tells'how a neelmr came o'er the mour
To do some erramds, and convey her home."
One of my friends made an allusion to
the fact she was original of this picture.
She only laughed and answered, the less
that is said about that the better. Rich
mono! Pres.bl.
SUGGESTIONS TO MECHANICS.
We find bhe following good advice to
mechanics in the Cotton Plant of Baltimore
end Washington. Mechanics, read :
I noticed in the last issue of the [liven.
tor, an invitation to mechanics to contrib
ute to your valuable journal, articles of
general interest to that class of your read
ers. Ido not know that I can vend any
thing that will be particularly interesting,
but Ism going to try, and you may "print"
what I send, or not, as you shall judge
proper. Mechanics, as a general thing,
sadly neglect their own interests, by not
reading themselves up" in their several
professions. Thu mechanic thinks and
feels (and r;ghtly too,) that after the toil of
the day is over he needs some recreation
for his close application to business, But
the difficulty lies in the choice of his recre
ations. I have heard it said, and I think
it true, that anything which will direct the
mind to any other channel than the one
which has occupied it during the day, will
tend to recreate it. It is the same with the
body. The carpenter will shove the plane
all day, and then walk two miles to his
home, and feel fresher than when he loft
his work,
I once had an invitation to juin a gym
nastic club which met two evenings in a
week. The reply I gave was, that my la.
buur of ten hours a day was work enough
for me. My friend said that the extreise
in the club room actually relieved hilts of
all weariness. NOW, think that after the
toil of the day, if the work is sedentary or
confining, a walk of a mil, or too, and
then an hour or two spent in reading—first
the news of the day, then some scientific
work, of which there are many different
subjects within the reach of the working
man—would be a recreation to both body
and mind. Too many mechanics choose
for recreation, places of resort, where they
not only throw time away, but much of
their money, and oftentimes their health.
The money and the time thus thrown
away would be sufficient to purchase all
the scientific works that the mechanic
would need, and at the same time his mind
would be stored with woeful knowledge. It
" LIBERTY AND UNION, NOW AND FOREVER, ONE AND INSEPARABLE."
HUNTINGDON, PA., WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1856
is not to be supposed that the mechanic is
going to vie with those who make learn
ing their life's business ; but we can take
the advantages which are presented to us
by those who have devoted their life to
study, and have placed the fruits of their
labors before the world. The mechanic
can get the general principles of all the
sciences, which would have a tendency to
elevate him in the scale of society, by a lit
tle extra exertion in the way of econotni
zing his leisure hours.
One dollar a month will, if rightly np.
plied, purchase all the books and papers
that the mechanic can profitably peruse'
and digest, and furnish a fund of informa
tion that would astonish a person who is
not in the habit of reading. I venture to
say, that two thirds of the mechanics of
this country spend twice that sum that is
not only profitless, but positively injurious.
The mechanic will fina a cour c of resi
ding not only interesting and recreative,
but he will find it a money-making busi
ness. The well read mechanic will always
command at least one•thtrd higher wage,
that those who do not read, unless to per
use some "love-sick" romance filled with
disgusting nonsense.
I have never heard of an inventor who
wits sat well read in the great principles
of the sciences, think such a one would
be a great anomaly. The reading mocha.
Inc is much more observant of passing e•
vents than the anti reader. When some•
thing is read that is new to him, he takes
the first opportunity to see if the book or
paper told him true, and so he accumulatt,
new ideas, and many new ones (to him at
least) may originate from his brain.
The free laboring mechanic is the steatn_
engine or the world ; then, how accessary
that all its parts be well toted, so that the
governor, Science, may have full control of
the mighty structure. The mechanic may
and I believe yet will, takes his place a
' 'mug the highest in society. Etc does not
yet see what he may be, if he toll only
'Bake the trial. Then arouse, brother me•
chunks, and commence a course of reading
' in the arts and science!, and I will wager a
volume of the Inventor that you will not
regret it.. .
It will bring information to your mind,
health to yt ur body and money to your
pocket. It will give you a character
mong.men, that will enable youto stand
with the proudest of them. It will give
you the power to converse readily on dif
t-ereut topics which may come up before
you when in company or elsewhere. Now
is a good dine to commence ; the long eve•
'lingo are at hand. Get your books and
journals, and I warrant you will find it to
be a paying operation at the end of the
The Late Charleston Duel,
A correspondent of Thomas F. Nleagli
er's paper, furnishes the only full account
of the late fatal duel near Charleston, S.C.,
which has been published. Hu says:
.Mr. Tuber was a young man, influen
tially connected. His abilities were of
the first order, and his prospects of attain
ing future distinction as a public man, bril
liant to the extreme. He was fearless, al
most to audacity, and enjoyed considerable
reputation as a duellist. Magrath, though
a young man of a family remarkable for
talent, was regarded as one of those quiet,
easy, harmlesq, good natured fellows, who
never trouble themselves about anything,
and glide so smoothly down the stream of
life, that not a ripple is left to mark their
track.
Magrath knew little or nothing of the
management of a pistol, and nothing what
ever of duelling. Both he and his oppo
nent exhibited the utmost sang froid. The
distance between them was but ten paces.
It was arranged that they should fire °on
the rise," that is, when in the act of rais
ing, instead of whilst lowering their wea
pons. Just imagine the scene. The sec.
ends take their places. Tho trembling
spectators retire still further from the neigh
borhood of the duellists. "Gentlemen,"
suy the seconds, "are you ready ?"
"Yes," is the reply.
°Prepare to fire !"
'4'4c!—one—two—three !"
The reports are heard almost simultane
ously, a slight smolce envelops the comba
tants, and their friends run up to them.
Neither is found to be hurt. An effort is
made at reconciliation, but without effect.
The pistols are again loaded ; the princi
pals again take their places ; and again the
words, "Fire l—one—two— three !" are
heard.
This time Magrath's bullet raised the
dust, near 'l'aber's foot, possibly striking
his boot, but no further injury is done. A
second and more prolonged effort at an sin.
icable adjustment follows.
"What do you require 1" is asked of
Mcgrath.
"I shall be .tatiefi,d," says he, • with a
withdrawal of the objectionable articles,
and the expression, on the part of the edi
tors of the Mercury, of regret at their ap-
pearanco."
, 'No, no," Taber replies in his quick,
nervous tnanner—“no regret—never, sir
—lshii disclaim them, but never express
regret at their publication !'
All peaceful interference is now seen to
be futile.
Again the pistols are loaded, and the
principals walk up to the posts. The crowd
recede—the seconds take their stands ; the
pistols were presented; the order "Fire!
—ore—two—three !" is given ; the quick
rat-tat is heard before the last word is ut
tered, and Tuber is seen to stagger back
wards, reel and fall. The people rushed
up and see the blood oozing out of his fore
head.
"Back. gentlemen," shouts the surgeon
"clear oft, that we may have room to aid
the wounded man."
Alas, poor fellow, he is now beyond the
aid of human agency. A spa3m or two
and all was over with him—hare,
AGITATION OF THE SLAVERY QUES•
TION.
The inconsistency of the so called De
mocratic party, which has been filling the
land for so many months withalolefill cries
about the agitation of the slavery question,
which declared in its Cincinnati resolutions
that it would oppose the agitation both in
. .longress and out of it, is pretty well laid
bare by that able and excellent paper the
Pittsburg Gazette. It calls attention to the
fact that notwithstanding Buchanan is elec
ted and Isis friends will be in the ascend
ant in both Houses of the national legis
lature, we have a most bitter, uncalled for
and unprecedented attack upon SOM. two
millions of the citizens of the United States
in the executive message, followed by sup
plementary taunts and goadings from the
fire eating sons of chivalty, from seceding
South Carolina, and repudiating Mississip•
pi. For our own t art we care not how
much the question is agitated. It is our
belief that in a ceits:itutimml and popular
government there should be no matter per•
twining to the public weal, no institution
recognized by law, no interest which
makes its influence apparent in the fram
ing of our statutes and which is represen•
ted in the Halls of Legislation, so tender
us to shrink from investigation, or so pow.
erfnl as to forbid it. Let the galled jade
wince. If there he a sere somewhere, it
is the physician's duty to probe it. It is
therefore with no intention of finding fault
that we refer to this agitation, but to call
attention to the fact dint it commenced
welt this ''quiescent democracy," and is
continually fermented by them. We need
I not refer to that hated Nebraska cheat a
gain. Let it pass for the moment, and
see what wanton malice Mr. Pierce has
flung a new fire brand into the magazine
as if to blow the whole concern sky-high
at his own heels.l.l. • I
and "11, successor
! the pleasant task of reconstructing from
the scattered material another concern
dubbed "Democracy" or the "house that
Jeents built." Let 'em work.
But the indignation of honest men is
with difficulty represented when they,
they who have no part or lot in the ntat•
ter of agitation, who have been virtually
ostracised from all share in the govern•
meat as for as the Executive influence
could efloct it, are charged with lining
the agitators, and with n desire to disrupt
the Union and subvert the Constitution
Aye ! the fact that the Republican party
stand opposed to the admission of White•
field to n seat in the is urged a
gainst them with almost malignant vehe
mence by the unscrupulous partisans of
the South. Although he studs there
as the legitimate fruit of that whole sys•
tem of injustice which we have been con•
tending opinet during this campaign, and
which even wrung a note of deprecation
from the most facile of the Democratic sa
ges; the Republicans aro charged with
wicked design for agitation" in fight
ing him out, although they adopt only
constitutional and parliamentary means,
and if lie shall be admitted to a seat, will
never silence his lips by a bludgeon. Ver
ily, politics have talren a new phase,
when constitutional opposition to the dem
ocratic party becomes treason to the Re
public, and a stand for right on the floor
of Congress, injurious 'agitation' against
the rights and interests of the people.
De — A lady of wealth put her daugh
ter who had been pampered by indolence,
under a governess . Upon calling to in
quire how her daughter progressed in hor
studies she was told. "Not very well.'—
.Why, what is the reason ?"She wants
capacity.' 'Well, you know, I don't re
gard expense; purchase one immediate
ly,.,
142ry
A
0 1
trn.•
Visit of Republicans to lion. John C.
Fremont.
The New York Republican Central U
nion met last Thursday evening at Acade
my Hall, for the purpose of organizing and
proceeding in a body to the residence of
Col. Fremont This is the first visit they
have paid him since :he election, and there
was a more numerous attendance of [nem
hers than on any previous occasion. Mr.
Edgar Ketchum called the meeting to or
der, and a motion having been made that
they should proceed at once to Col. Fre
mont's residence, they formed in order of
procession and marched up Broadway and
down Ninth street, to their place of desti
nation. On their arrival they were shown
into site reception parlor, where they were
warmly welcomed oy Col, Fremont, who
expressed himself highly pleased with the
visit When the usual ceremony of intro
duction and handshaking was over, he
thanked the members of the Union for the
sincerity with which they had worked in
the cause of which it had pleased them
and a large mass of his fellow citizens to
snake him the representative during the
last Presidential campaign.
'Allow me gentlemen," said he, "to re
turn you my - sincere and heartfelt thanks I
for the efficient and powerful aid which you I
gave to the support of republican princi.
pies in the late Presidential canvass. I
feel profoundly grateful, as the humble re-1
presentative of those principles, for that
support and for the solid vote which was
cast by the State of New York. I stn
glad to have an occasion of saying this
much at least, and of adding that it will be
the principal object of my life to promote
the great cause for whirls you have all la
bored with so much zeal. 1 shall continuo
to be a member of the party, and to do all
Ithat I can to athiance its principles."
plause )
At the conclusion of the foregoing re- '
I mnrks the Republican Glee Club sung the
following uppropriute song :
Beneath thy skies, November
Thy skies of cloud and rain,
Around our blazing camp fires,
We close our ranks again.
Then sound again the bugles,
Call the battle roll anew : [field
If months have well nigh won the
What may not four years do ?
For, God be praised 1 New England
Takes otter more her ancient place:
Again the Pilgrim s s banner
Leads the vanguard of the race.
Then sound again the bugles, &c.
Along the lordly Hudson
A shout of triumph breaks :
The empire State is speaking,
From the ocean to the lakes.
Then sound again the bugles, Se.
The Northern bills are blazing,
The Eastern skies are bright;
And the fair young West is raising
Iter fbrehead to the light !
Then sound again the bugles, &e.
Push every outpost nearer,
Press hard the•hnstile towers !
Another Balaklava,
And the Malakoff is ours I
Then sound again the bugles, he.
But keep the same old banner,
For none eon better be •
Pass on the same old wat chword
Fremont and Victory !
And sound again the bugles
• Call the battle roll anew; [Geld,
If months have well nigh won the
What may,
.not four years do ?"
At the request of Col. Fremont the Glee
Club sang the popular song entitled "Ad.
ants end Liberty," written in 1774,. by
Robert Treat Paine. The members of the
Union then took their leave much pleased
with their visit.
A Glass of Brandy
Can't hurt anybody ! Why I know a
person, yonder ho is now, on high change,
i a specimen of manly beauty, a portly six
footer. He bus the bearing of a prince,
for he is one of our merchant princes.
lace wears the hue of health, and now, at
the age of fifty odd, he has he quick, elas•
do step of our young men.at twenty-five,
I and none more full of mirth and wit than
he, and I know he never dines without
brandy and water, and never goes to bed
without a terrapin or oyster supper, with
plenty of champagne, and more than that
he has never been known to be drunk, So
here is a living exemplar and disproof of
the temperance twaddle about the danger-
I ous nature of an occasional glass, and the
destructive effects of it temperate use of
good liquors.
Now it so happened that this specimen
of safe brandy drinking was a relation of
ours. He died in a year or two after that
of Chronic Diarrhma, a common end of
those who are never drunk, nor even out
of liquor. He left his widow a splendid
mansion up town. and a clear fire thousand
a year, besides a large fortune to each of
his six children ; for he had ships on eve
ry sea and credit at every counter, but
which he never had occasion to use. For
months before he died—he was a year in
dying—he could eat or drink nothing with
,
out distress, and at death, the whole ali•
mentary canal was a mass of disease; in
the midst of his mil lions he died of inani
i tion. Thai is not the half, reader. He had
been a steady drinker, a daily drinker, for
twenty.eight years. Ile left a legacy to •
his children which we did not mention. 1
Scrofula has been eating up one daughter I
for fifteen years ; another is in the mad
house
; the third and fourth of unearthly
beauty, there was a kind of grandeur in
that beauty, but they blighted, and paled
and faded, into heaven we trust, in their
sweetest teens ; and only one is left with
all the senses, and each of them is weak as
water. Why, we came from that dissecting
room and made a note of it, it was so hor- •
rible-
A gePtleman of thirty-five Wan sitting on
a chair, with no specially critical symptom
present, still he was known to be a 'Dissi
pated young man" as the saying goes. lie
rose, ran fifty feet, fell down and died.—
The doctors see a beauty in death, the
chance of cutting up a fellow and looking
about for sights.
the whole covering of the brain was
thickened, its cavities were filled with a ,
fluid which did not belong to them, e-
nough to kill half a dozen of men with
apoplexy ; a great portion of one lung
was in a state of gangerene, and nearly
all the other was hardened and usel. ss ;
blood and yellow matter plastered the in- ;
ner covering of the lungs, while angry red
patches of destructive inhumation were
scattered along the whole alimentary ca
nal. Why, there was enough of death ,
in that one satin's body to have killed forty. I
The doctor who talks about guzzling
li
quor every day, being 'healthy,' is a perfect
disgrace to the medical name, and ought
to be turned out to break rock for the
turnpike for the term of his natural life at
n shilling a day and find himself.—Hall's
Journal of Health.
More Bete•
Since Major Lien Perley Poore gained so
much eclat by working out his Wheelberrow
I bet, several other noodles have sought fame
Ila t h e same way. The latest eases are to
lows: •
Brsgadier-General Spoon, of Hog Hollow,
"N. J.. bet with a neighbor, to t.die a quid of to
Lamm ' without the aid of penkuro if Bochon•
i an was elected—the conditions to be reversed
in case of Fremont's election. On Saturday
:net he paid his wager—by the side of the pig'
pen in his back yard. He bit off the quid of
cavendish amid the applause of the starrround•
ing poultry, and the approving grunts of the
porker. After the feat had been accomplish
ed, he formed a procession, composed of him
self, Carlo, (a small female dog) and Carlo's
pups. He marched into the house. to dinner
with Mr. Spoon, in which many of the mem-
hers of the procession participated. After the
cloth was removed the General made a speech
iu his usual strain of eloptence. He said :
'Where's my hat, Polly?'
To which Mrs. Spoon responded in a vein
, of mingled pathos and humor:
'On the peg, Due t.
The rest of the afternoon was spent by the
I General in greasing his boots and making 4
new hog trough!
Ourselves.
The poorest blind horse, in the most uncom•
promising bark mill, has his momenta of re
laxation. To him the sound of the tannery
bell, announcing noon, is a tocson of joy, and
he looks forward with grateful anticipation to
his prandial oats and feed. The wearisome
round is stopped ; the unlubricated gudgeons
quaver out a lust squeak and cease their com
plaining ; the trace chain ratt et over the ani•
atal's back, and he attempts a youthful canter
as he moves off, a happy old horse. With him
there are no anticipatory woes ; he works cir•
etc, but a certain number of turns are sure
to bring a respite. Put with the editor it is
otherwise; his life is, as Mantilini feelingly
remarks, "one &mid grind;' his machine
never stops. llot weather, headaches, sick.
ness at home are no relietto his perpetual row
tine, the paper must come out, and copy must
be furnished.
ONE OF TILE BOYS.—'Where have you
been, Charley ?" ..In the garden, ma."
"No, you have been swimming ; you know
I cautioned you about going to the creek.
I will have to correct you. Look at your
hair, how wet it is." .'O no, ma, this is
not water, it is sweat !" "A h, Charley, I
caught you fibbing, your shirt is wrong
side out." (Boy, triumphantly,) 4.0, 1 did
that just now, ina, climbing the lence!"
sa- Here is a brief but pointed "essay ou
man :"
At ten, a child; at twenty, wild;
At thirty, tame, if over;
At forty, wise; at fifty, rich ;
At sixty, good, or never.
Here is a brief "essay on woman:"
At ten, a bud; ut twenty, in bloom ;
At thirty, married, if over;
At forty, mother; at fifty, aunt;
At stxty—
The probabil:ty is that the old lady is u.little
the worse for 'year.
SIIIPWIMCK.—Loos OF 35 LIFE.
—The steamer Superior was lost in a stem on
Lake Superior, on the 29th ult., near Grand
Island. Her rudder was carried away, and she
becoming unmanageable, fell in the trough of
the sea, when the water commenced making
over her, despite the efforts to prevent it—ex
tinguishing the fires. She struck on the reeks
and went to pieces.
Thirtc•five person, were Mist and sixteen An-
VOL. XXI.. NO. 52.
Abstract of the Report of the Secretary
of War.
The authorized strength of the army is now
17,894 men. The actual strength at the date
of the returns, July 1, 1856, was 15,662. The
number of enlistments made during the twelve
months ending September 30, 1856, was 4,540.
The number of offers refused on account of mi
nority and unfitness for service was 5i594. Tho
number of easualities during the saute time
was 6,696, of wkich,3,223 were by desertion.
All our Indian troubles in the West have
ceased except with the Cheyennes.
The disiosition of the 'loops is given in do.
tail. •
It is recommended to extinguish the posses
sory rights of the Hudson Bay Company, as
they owe no allegiance to our government, and
would be disposed to exercise a powerful info.
once among the Indians against our people if
occasion required.
A vigorous campaign has been projected a.
gaiust the Florida Indians, General Harney
emnmanding . the military posts.
Much space is devoted to the consideration of
the present system of military posts on the
West e rn frontiers, and: a complete revoluio,
the whole system is urged. 'the expenses are
enormous, without any corresponding benefit
to the country or frontier.
The great number of resignations in the ar.
my show the necessity for an increase of pay.
It evidences a policy injurious to professional
pride. while the hard service and frostier sta
tions of the officers require of them sacrifices
which no other office', of the thwernment are
called upon to make. The expense of living
has been greatly augmented. and the pay is a
bout the same as it was fifty years ago. It is
bad economy, the report continues, to drive the
active and intelligent from the service which
they adorn.
Abstract of the Report of the Secretary
of the Interior.
The Secretary of the Interior's report states
that the quantity of laud surveyed since the
last report and up to the 20th of September
last, at 16,873,699 acres, exclusive of the Sa
line sections. The execution of the graduation
act has raised many grave questions, which call
tar the intcrpositiou of Congress. Ile says it is
an important matter, and should be promptly
disposed of, either by sanctioning and affirming
the action of the Land Office, or directing the
patents to be issued sailboat further require.
meats.
The quantity of land sold for cash during the
fiscal year, amounts to over nine and a quarter
million acres, and the receipts therefor arc
58,021,414, The total amount of land disposed
of is over thirty-nine millions of acres.
lie suggests the necessity of further power
i being granted to the Commissioner of Pen
sious to suspend, diminish and discontinue pen
! sloes when the reason for granting them hat
r wholly or partially ceased.
Tho number of patents issued within the
year will probably reach 2300.
The report says that during the present ad.
ministration 52 Indian treaties have Leon nog°.
tinted, 20 of which remain to be acted epee
by the Senate. By these treaties the Indian
.title' as been extinguished to nearly 175,000,000
acres. The aggregate of money consideration
paid therefor is $ll,lB-1,203 80. The Indittns
within our borders arc supposed to number
about 300,000.
The process of the colonization of the In
dians has already been attended with the hap
piest resnits, and gives promise of steady pro
gress in the amelioration of their physical tsnl
moral condition.
Abstract of the Report of the Secretary
of the Nayy.
The report of the Secretary of the Navy gives
a detailed view of the operations of the Navy
during the last year and its present strength.
Among his recommendations are, for another
sotutdron in the Pacific, rendered necessary by
our extending commerce; for the adoption of
the English and French system of gunnery in
Practice ships, and for the despatch of small
steamers to survey the guano Islands en which
Commodore Mervtne made an unsatisfactory
report. The Secretary regards the construction
of six war steamers as inaugurating a sew era
in the Naval service, and repeats his former re.
commendations for building steam sloops-uf•
war of small draught. The sending out of
seamen to relieve distant crows, is spoken of as
an experiment and will be vontinued if it shall
work well. The Secretary likewise recommends
the employment of assistant pursers, with mo.
derate compensations.
A Mao WISUISIi TO BUY 1118 MOTHER.—
Some years ago, Isaac IL thaw, a slave
boy in North Carolina, by sale was separated
(rem his mother. At a later period Inane sue
ceeded, in the city of New Orleans, in purcha
sing his own freedom. He is now a Methodist
preacher in the city of Detroit, a very excel.
lent and upright man of reputable talents.—
He has recently ascertained the location of
his mother, now owned in Alabama, and from
her master obtained permission to be her per.
chaser. To buy her and get her into a free
State, will cost about $4OO. Isaac has already
received $175, and is now in ear neighborboo4
soliciting furthersubseriptions. We commend
him and his humane charity to the kind con
siderations of our citizens. We can assure
them that his case is altogether as presented
above.
A Foct.y or TOO Ttnes.—The Plymouth
County Agricultural Society in Massachusetts,
at its recent fair, awarded a premium of thirty
six cents to a lady for making good bread, and
thirty dollars to another for riding horseback.
This inequality between bread 4 t equestrianism
is quite equal to that between the "halt penny
worth of bread" and the "marvelous quantity of
sack" in the tavern score of the redoubt.tble
knight, Sir John Falstaff. But 89 , , we go.
Whatever is of real value we esteem as not
worthy of encouragement, while that which in
reality, for all practical purposes in these days,
is useless, carries away the public applause,
and while cents are doled out to the makers of
bread, dollars are lavished upon the female ri
dors of horses.
THE PENALTY OF27;I . ‘COMINO Dowx."--A
Washington letter dated last Friday says: 'Mr.
Pennington, Chief Clerk in the Second Audi
tor's °dice, was decapitated to-day, and the al
leged cause was that when asked to subscribe
for electioneering purposes he flatly declined,
saying that he was a Republican, and in favor
of Fremont's election. Dr. Cathcart' was ap.
pointed in his place.
WY'The Democratic party now consists of
the Slave Power of the South, allied with the
Catholics of the North, with just enough of
douglifaces throwu in to give a triangular fa
rietv to the mixture