American Flag. (Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico), Vol. 2, No. 137, Ed. 1, Wednesday, September 29, 1847 Page: 1 of 4
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Vol. II.
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MATAMOROS SEPMBER 29 1347.
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Na 137.
THE AMERICAN FLAG
fg published Wednssdats and Satobdats near
the comer of Brat o and Abasolo streets in ihe
fcuildinf know&ttslke Caea de Steambote' by
LN. FLEESON aho J. R. PALMER.
TERMS.
SoascmrTfoii for One Year EioKt Dollars;
Six Months Four Dollaxs; Threa Months Two
Dollars and Fiftx Cents ; Single Copies One
Diwe payable invariably in advance.
Advertisements not exceeding- ten lines One
Dollar for the rit and Fifty Cent for each aubse-
ment insertion: for Three Months Ten Dollars j
those of greater lengthchared-in proportion
Gr4.-.-Wrf"
"From theN. 0. Pieayune.
THE PACIFIC RAILROAD.
CI. Pratt of Prattsville N Y. a man
jf wealth and influence has thrown the in-
fluence of his name and the weight of his
talent in favor of Whitney's project for the
construction of a railroad to the Pacific.
He has published an address to the people of
the United States which appears in the Na-
tional Intel ligencerurging the completion of
this enterprise as absolutely demanded by
the increasing commerce and population of
the country. To borrow the abstract of the
N. Y. Tribune in this address Col. Pratt
assumed to expose the absurdity and inexpe-
diency of the agitated canal through the
Isthmus of Panama a work he says most
difficult of construction and which if con-
structed would be by no means favorable to
us in a political or commercial point of view.
There is some cogency in his argument there-
upon. He says it would place all the ma-
Tine naval and commercial t)f Europe at
our very doors troublingus in peace and in
war most full of threatened disasters. He
thus undertakes to explain Mr. Whitney's
project :
" Mr. Whitney's plan for a railroad from
Lake Michigan through the South Pass of
the Rocky Mountains to Oregon is so plain
and simple that any common mind can un-
derstand it. He asks Congress to appropri-
ate sixtv miles wide of the nublic land from
lkTMirnn7n-T
cial purpose and as he builds the road he
takes the land to reimburse himself.
' For $00 miles the one-half the Govern-
ment price it is estimated will build the
road ; the other half creates a fund for where
the lands are poor. When completed the
load to be free to all the world except for re-
pairs and operations to be fixed by Congress.
1 he distance irom mc isiko to me ucecm is
5400 miles the estimated cost when ready
for use $70000000. Th number of acres
required is 92160000 waste land 1200
miles without timber or navigable streams
and of small value; and would it ever settle
or be of any ralue without the road I Clear
ly not. Then the question is shall Mr.
Whitney take these lands and by the sale
and settlement thereof build this road or
shall they be allowed to fritter away without
any perceptible good i i his great highway
of nations the greatest work ever done by
men or nations a road which must forerer
be the thoroughfare between all Europe and
Asia; a work whieh will bring tzs together
as one family binding us with a bond of
iron which cannot he sundered and which
will be useful both iu war and peace; a work
which will give us the command of and
make the commerce of the world tributary
to Us adding millions of wealth to the na-
tion and ten-folding its population ; a work
which shall change the condition of man
kind bringing ail together as one nation in
free intercourse and exchange of commodity ;
work which must be the means of civili-
zing and Christianizing the heathen the bar-
barian and the savage. Shall these Waste
wilderness lands be applied to this noble
this more than glorious purpose? I cannot
.doubt that all will say yes."
The distance from ocean to ocean he says
is not much over 2000 miles and could be
overcome at a moderate speed in about eight
days. "Nature has smoothed the way and
opened the mountains to let us pass." The
-colonel is rather enthusiastic on the subject
: but such is his temperament. When he
; -undertakes a thing he wishes to put it
through.' Hear him :
Jt Then look at ur picture our position
iloT1!thersf and receive their surplus popula-
LmiM "'.'. ..' ... i- r a -
with this road completed--behold with one j 6 the music maker. In his presence the
hand we reach out over the Pacirlc to the rf)dy of the invalid was delivered to the
millions of Japan China and Asia with our sialpel of the master workmen. They turn-
manufactures our cotton our tobacco our dit; they thumped upon it; and1asa
hemp our rice corn beef pork leather and resource finished hyonemiis ! von-
all our many and various products and re- 3erful l-oQihoiTiminl ! At the
ceivebackin exchange their tea coffee su-jbdltomorthe disembowelled abdomen they
gar spices indigo drugs silks and various found what? The twenty-three handker-
useful and curious fabrics with gold silver chiefs of the poor man inhumanly stuffed in-
and precious stones all that too with our tolbe belly of the victim. The bass viol
own ships and our own men; and with the wfes. well nigh dead with undigested pocket
other handover. the-broad Atlantic to all irikerchiefs. The pretended robber .xyas
Eu roer?i?5noWrcdactronm exchange -moK xxes-otfiaQreawr ui yuivo
I : T I 1 i Ji r J .. Il x A-irl hie nnntrat
M
.tion to whom we give a home a country
wnue our Doay araws to it anu concrois ins
rich commerce and wealth of all the worjcl
spreading and circulating from ocean to ocean
through every artery and through every city
from Texas and Maine and from the . heart
the centre would spring and flow forth
throughout the whole frame the whole sys
faitin found voice and M. X. found his pocket
nafWicercmeis out one imug ue nua uui
fodld yet and that is the name of the un-
knfeh who served him this provoking trick.
. From ihe Galveston Civilian & Gazette.
GEM WOOD'S LETTER
McGkee's Poik county Aug. 21 1847.
gentlemen: I rec&ived your letter of the
tern the life the products of man's labor from 23of Juy sometirb since but from sick-
the earth which created would control and
sustain it."
It is a great undertaking ; but then ac-
cording to the colonel we are " the people
to de big things."
Etiquette. Some of the richest things
that appear in the papers in the mirth-creating
way are the specimens of epistolatory
writing that now and then get into print
from raw Yankees who have gone out west.
The queer chap who sometime ago "writ
hum" to his mother that he had seen a live
Hoosier has given another capital leaf from
his experience. Here it is :
Western people go their death on etiquette.
You can't tell a man here that he lies as
you can down East without fighting. J!f
X -3 A 1 7 A C 3
icw uaya agw a uiau was iciuug iwu vl ilia.
neighbors in my hearing a pretty large
ry. Says I " stranger that s a whapj
twinkling of an eye! found myself ihthe
ditch a perfect quadruped the worse for wear
and tear. Upon another occasion says I toj
a man I never saw before as a woman pass!
ed him " that isn t a specimen of your Wes-
tern women is it?" Says he "you're afeard
of the fever and ague stranger arn't you ? "
tS Very much" said I " Well" replied he
sC that lady is my wife and if you don't apol
ogise m two minutes by the honor of a gen-
tleman 1 swear that these two pistols shaii
cure you entirely so don't fear stranger 1 "
So I knelt and apologised. I admire th
Western country much ; but curse i me if I
can stand so much etiquette it always takes
me so unawares.
nesfand other causes have been prevented
from answering iu 1 now undertake how-
evef in accordance with your request to
givf you my opinions such as they are. up-
on the principal questions of state and na-
tibnal policy involved in your comprehen-
sive inquiry.
As a first and leading principle I acknowl-
edge the right of the people in all cases when
a candidate presents himself for their sup-
port to inquire into his political views and
the candidate is equally bound to give a can-
did answer.
Among the many grave questions of state
policy which press themselves upon our con-
sideration that in relation to the discharge
of our public debt is not the least important.
This involves the question of the sale of our
nublic lands which are pledged for the pay-
ment of the debt. These lands embracing
Seine 180000000 acres are very valuable ;
tttdlafter deducting the amount of all out-
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The Musicians Pocket Handkerchiefs.
The following amusing story is a transla-
tion from the French :
An honest musician of Paris had lived for
twenty years in the esteem or the leader of
the ochestra and fear of falso notes. Who-
ever frequented the opera might see his ven-
erable head bending every evening by the
side of his bass viol. Whether he accompa
nied his false friend on the gamut or whe
ther he sustained the tenors with his faithful
bow for him the youngf nymphs had no dan-
gerous smiles nor the young pages any re-
freshments. The only relaxation he allow-
ed himself during the pauses was wiping
his spectacles with a corner of his pocket
handkerchief. But one evening on return-
ing home our friend found his handkerchief
had been stolen. Our blameless artist con-
soled himself for the Joss philosophically ;
but the next day there was the same theft
which was repeated on the days following
and notwithstanding that his vigilance was
fully roused all his efforts to surprise the
robber were vain. Furthermore as evils
seldom come singly his instrument had for
sometime past become strangely out of order.
Every day he lost a pocket handkerchief
and every day his bass viol lost a note. This
could not be an accident it was a disease.
Filled with inquietude for his old Eurydice
the old man-dried his eyes with the only
foulard which was left to him out of the two
dozen ; he carried his instrument to the shop
ebt and accruing interest. I am
jn. favor of paying the debt at the nomi-
1" Value: I think this would be n must. F
think the best rule to adopt for its liquidation
suuuiu oe. inib : wnaiever our government
received for the several evidences of debt at
the time she contracted together with inte-
rest at the rate named in those evidences
should be the measure of payment in full for
ail liability. This would reduce the nomi-
nal debt from about 10000000 to about 5 or
6000000 including of course the debt
funded and unfunded audited and unaudit-
ed. For all should be paid when their just-
ness is established.
To meet ihis debt we have after satisfying
all legitimate land claims at least 120000-
OOOacres good land. This I assume and
belipve.tobe equal in value to any body of
unimproved land of the same extent in any
country. Were we able to survey and sell
this land at our convenience it would doubt-
less be most advantageous to our treasury.
But we are not able to do this or to wait.
Our public debt presses upon us and honor
as well as interest concur in demanding its
speely payment.
Li addition to this you are aware that the
mostof this land is occupied by roving bands
of Ldians with whom the Federal Govern-
ment alone has the pwer to make treaties.
Besides we have present need of the sur-
DiUSoroceeds of th-e--8&lea of um muu
of the United States in his letter of March
10 1845 after. showing that our public lands'"
should-belong to the United States says :
Under these circumstances why may not
the Convention which will assemble to form
a Constitution for Texas submit a distinct
proposition to Congress to cede to the United
Slates all her public lands and the exclusive
jurisdiction over the Indians within her lim-
its in consideration of a fair and adequate
sum of money. The amount may be the
subject of future agreement. Whilst thia-
-irsfrva-wirri . ju . l. Jt. v ii
yuuiu suwe- a cjasio pay nee uEci3j.itOBitt
excena our iana system ana our juaiciai sys-
tem to territory which they oughfetpem brace.
Such a proposition would be so just and rea
sonable in itself so consonant with the policy
of the United States and so beneficial to
Texas that scarcely a doubt exists but that it
would' receive the sanction of Congress.
The President would strongly recommend
it to Congress in the confident hope that it
would receive the approbation of that en-
lightened body."
Upon such assurances conveyed to us thro'
Mr. Donnelson we came into the Union. I
conceive then that our State has only to ap-
point commissioners under such instructions -as
the Legislamre may deem proper to make
the sale and transfer. If elected your Gov-
ernor it would not be for me to say what
amount we should have for our land nor
would I presume to direct the Legislature on
that point. At 15 cents per acre it would r&-
alize $18000000. By reference to others
sales of lands to the United States you will;
see after taking into consideration the va-
rious reservations and incumbrances that
none have been sold cheaper and some of it
for ten times the amount. And by a compa-
rison of the quality and quantity of the land
sold it will be found that the United Statss
never purchased a richer estate for so small a;
sum. ;
At the same lime that we take steps for the
mraid
as'-"
certain the entire public debt. This is. a
point of great importance and the commiss-
ion should consequently consist of gentlemen
of tyrst rate abilities and tried integrity.
Should I have the honor to be your chief ex-
ecutive officer it will be my pleasure as well
as my duty to lend my aid and assistance in
every legal and constitutional way to effect
the sale of our public lands the adjustment
and discharge ef our public debt and conse-
quently thepreservation of the honor of our
young and growing State.
In connection with this subject and of equal
if not more importance is the subject of ed-
ucation. For the last ten or fifteen years the
ruinous consequences of a necessary war
have deprived us Of time means and securi-
ty necessary for. the formation of any gene-
ral system of education. It is true our Le
gislature have felt a lively interest upon the
subject and have at different times set apart ?
lands for the support of schools. It is true l
our constitution makes further provision up-
on the subject and nrivate citizens nrr? hen- -t '
olent associations have established and sup-
ported institutions of learning in different
parts of the State ; and more recently Sunday-
schools with praiseworthy zeal on" the part
of their founders have been extensively es-
tablished. All this however shows rather
a noble disposition to do something a deep
and wide-spread feeling on. t!u-u:tly-ampor
nmr-suDjtjc man any system of general util-
ity is established. It would therefore become
the duty of your next Legislature to lay the
SsSs
diss unlocated land claims the balance) sale ofourvast Jii2bli'-
gPg aefci uu-uu appoint a commission to sift audit and
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irripit)ve our rivers open communication
fromthe coast to the interior of our State
and above all to educate our children. All foundation of a system of free schools suita
these considerations demand a sale of our
publfc lands on the best practicable terms to
the United States This point was fully dis-
cussed in the public correspondence prece-
ding the treaty of annexation. It was our
wishthatthe sale should form a part of the
compict of our Union. This was declined
by the United States not because they did
not think it just and proper but because they
did net wish the measure rendered complex
thus indangsring its passage through Con-
gress. Nevertheless we have in the corres-
pondence between the two governments a
sufficient pledge on the part of the United
State? Mr. Buchanan Secretary of Stale
ble to your means and the present and res-
pective wants of the country. It will be an
important item to ascertain the amount qual
ityand situation of pur present couuty school
lands and should we be so fortunate as to re-
alize a surplus in the sale of our public land
no disposition of at least a portion of such j
surplus could be more happily made than in.
the education of the youth of our country.1'
Our constituiion directs that within five
years after its adoption the Legislature shall
cause our criminal and civihlaws to be revi-
sed digested arranged and published. Inde- -
pendent of such constitutional requirement
the present confused condition of our statutes;
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Fleeson & Palmer. American Flag. (Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico), Vol. 2, No. 137, Ed. 1, Wednesday, September 29, 1847, newspaper, September 29, 1847; Matamoros, Mexico. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth78139/m1/1/?rotate=270: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.