National Intelligencer. (Washington [D.C.]), Vol. 47, No. 6819, Ed. 1 Saturday, September 5, 1846 Page: 1 of 4
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Digital Newspaper Program and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the UNT Libraries.
- Highlighting
- Highlighting On/Off
- Color:
- Adjust Image
- Rotate Left
- Rotate Right
- Brightness, Contrast, etc. (Experimental)
- Cropping Tool
- Download Sizes
- Preview all sizes/dimensions or...
- Download Thumbnail
- Download Small
- Download Medium
- Download Large
- High Resolution Files
- IIIF Image JSON
- IIIF Image URL
- Accessibility
- View Extracted Text
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Vol XLVII
PUBLISHED BY GALES & SEATON
THRICE A WEEK.
WASHINGTON: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5? 1846.
«wuuw«wiiiiiwiniiii nmmvuriiPBamtamsamaaamm
No 6819
SIX DOLLARS A TEAS--PAYABLE lU ABYASCS.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1846.
ENLISTING COLONISTS.
Few things ought more excite the alarm of think-
ing men than to witness the slight attention which
the country at large mw pays to Governmental
proceedings, the mere rumor of which would once
have raised a commotion from one end of the land
to the other. On the one side, accustomed blindly
to adopt all behests that come to them in the name
of party, the so-called “ Democracy” are content
with nearly all acts of its leaders in power, because
they are told that those acts are necessary to secure
the ascendency of their “principles;” and that end
has gradually come to be one which justifies, in
their view, any means said to be requisite to it.
On the other side, men have grown so accu||omed
to the violent and unscrupulous measures which
have now, for seventeen years past, been pursued
almost without intermission, that they too regard
them almost with indifference, because without the
expectation of any thing more moderate or right.
But for this state of things, it would be impossi-
ble that certain acts, which have been witnessed
during the last eighteen months, should have passed
off without exciting popular indignation. What
could be more startling, for example, than to see a
Chief Magistrate broach, in his Inaugural, a ques-
tion of Foreign Relations the most delicate, fit only
to be by him mentioned within the earless walls of
his Cabinet council chamber, and on that to com-
mit the public honor and peace entrusted to his
charge, by an official declaration to a pretension as
extravagant as contrary to all previous public acts,
from which, pursuing for several months a course
exactly suited to plunge us in war, the Administra-
tion has been compelled unreservedly to recede ? This
was a spectacle of Presidential delinquency entire-
ly new : nothing at all like it had ever before oc-
curred under this Government: and its excuse—
that it was so set down in certain resolutions, hard-
ly known to the electioneering Convention which
passed them, when half its members had gone away
and half the rest were probably not out of bed—
was as shocking as the thing itself was monstrous.
In this Oregon business, no conduct could have
been fitter to call down the reprehension of all men
capable of reflection, or to prefigure the subsequent
errors of that business, up to the last moment.
Next in order came those strange and illegal pro-
ceedings, directly contrary not only to the Consti-
tution, but to the positive instructions of the com-
pact for the annexation of Texas, by which the
Executive has plunged us into a war with Mexico.
That compact assumed none of the old and merely
nominal claims of Texas to the country beyond the
Nueces—a country never brought under the pos-
session of that State—to which it could set up no
original title—and of which we found the Mexi-
cans exercising the entire and peaceful jurisdiction.
The compact was so drawn as in no manner
to bind the United States to make good for Texas
its claim (hardly meriting even that weak name) to
one foot of ground beyond the Nueces: it merely
bound us to open a negotiation with Mexico, in
order to secure her an advantageous boundary there,
if we could do it by that means. The President
was ordered, then, by the compact, to set on foot
that negotiation : nothing more. He had not a
shadow of authority for going one step further.
Net, without beginning with that with which he
was bound to end, an attempt at peaceful negotia-
tion, our army was sent, in June, 1845, to the bor-
der of the disputed territory, with instructions to its
commander to enter it and proceed, if he saw fit, to
the Rio Grande, its utmost limit; and in Novem-
ber an Envoy was dispatched to treat for the boun-
dary which the Executive had thus assumed and
seized upon ! Had the Executive even gone right-
end-foremost, and begun by amicable negotiation,
and had Mexico rejected the overture, that refusal
to treat for boundary would not have given him the
slightest authority for any thing but quietly to come
back and report to Congress that Mexico had re-
fused his offers, or even refused his invitation to
treat. Instead of all this, without going further
into particulars, we all know that we were rashly
and heedlessly plunged into a war with Mexico.
These Presidential acts, against law, against
peace, against that policy of justice and modera-
tion which should ever be our guide with all, but
especially with our neighbors of the republican
family, were openly going on for six months, with-
out any thought of consulting Congress, and for
six months in its face, without a single question
from any public authority. Against them a part
of the press alone raised its voice. The people
sat still amidst all these more than kingly outrages
upon our institutions, one-half of them in a stupor
at the excesses to which “Democracy” in power
was at last carrying us, and the other half appa-
rently content with any usurpation, provided it adds
to that which alone we seem now to regard'—our
extent of unoccupied territory.
Along with these high-handed proceedings we
have had a system of domestic measures in known
and open disregard of public policy, dreaded by the
body of both parties alike, and carried into execu-
tion (as all know) by Locofocoism itself only be-
cause such were the hard terms on which alone it
could satisfy and keep a certain section of its fol-
lowers. Who want the Subtreasury ? Who want
Free Trade ? Who do not want River and Har-
bor Bills, except that mere party section ? An Ad-
ministration which can thus trample as it likes on
all tjjat is legal or safe, drowns in the drivel of
small constitutional doubts enactments the most
beneficent and popular; and the country, silent un-
der party subserviency, or sick with hopeless op-
position, looks on without a stir ! Is there nothing
but the final crash of every thing like free institu-
tions that will waken it up ?
Occasional signs of the disapprobation with
which (in their hearts) men must see these things
fear : for too many are from those who complain
but to be reconciled, and quarrel with one bad thing
in order to obtain two worse ones. We place such
compunctions or complants before our readers
when they meet us from the other side. The sub-
joined seems one of the honest ones. It comes
from a paper not avowedly a thorough-going Ad-
ministration one, but which has only been the more
efficiently so from the advantages which its profes-
sed neutrality gave it.
FROM THE NEW YORK SUN OF AUGUST 28.
THE CALIFORNIA EXPEDITION.
From inquiries which we hear on all sides, there appears
to be no little anxiety among the people to understand the
meaning of this expedition, and the views of the Govern-
ment in reference to it. All that can be learned about it is
that Secretary Margy wrote a queer and somewhat mysteri-
ous letter to Col. Stevenson ; that a regiment of men has
been raised, fed, and clothed at the expense of the Govern-
ment ; that this regiment is quartered on Governor’s Island ;
and that sundry fat jobs and good speculations have been
made by one or two favorite tailors and shopkeepers in equip-
ping the same. Perhaps this is all well enough as things go,
inasmuch as the money is to come out of the public chest
But the important question, and the one which ought to be
answered, is, what* is the Government going to do with this
regiment ? For what purpose has it been raised and clothed 5
The general understanding is that at some future day it is to
be shipped and sent by water around Cape Horn to Califor-
nia. The next question is, what is it going there for ? Sure-
ly not to take any part in the war with Mexico, for we are
told that we are on the point of having a peace with that
country. And, if this were not so, if the war is to be fought
out, this regiment might be got into action much quicker than
by taking a six months’ voyage around South America. They
cannot expect to reach California before next spring, by which
time the war will be finished beyond all question, if the Gov-
vernment does its duty. Would the powers at Washington
like to admit that they have any expectation of not bringing
the war to a close before that time, and that there is a pro-
spect of its dragging through another summer ? We do not
believe that such an admission would be very patiently re-
ceived by the people of this country, or that the Administra-
tion would be willing to make it. What, then, do they pro-
pose to do with this regiment? Are they going to send a
colony of settlers to California, under pay, in clothes bought
by the Government, and in ships hired by the Government 1
In other words, is this a grand speculation got up at the pub-
lic expense for private benefit ? If such is the object it would
seem to be very little in accordance with the rigid principles
of economy and constitutional law laid down in the veto of
the river and harbor bill, in reference to appropriations of the
public moneys. We make not the slightest imputation
against any of the worthy men enlisted in this enterprise, but
we deem it due to the people who arc to pay for it to give
them some light as to what it all means. If the Government
is about to engage in hiring men and ships for the purpose
of establishing colonies in distant countries, we should like
to know in what article and section of the Constitution the
authority for entering into this new branch of business is found.
Cupt. Charles S. McCauley, a popular and
highly esteemed officer of the Navy, has been ap-
pointed to the command of the Navy Yard at this
place, which he assumed on the 1st instant, in the
place of Commodore Shubrick, appointed to the
command of the Pacific squadron.
A TRUTH FROM SOUTH CAROLINA.
We have always held that protection is of more
importance to the agriculturists than to any other
class of citizens, which the following letter from
South Carolina, published in the Charleston Mer-
cury, the Free-Trade organ, of the 29th of July,
fully admits and conclusively shows. Even in
South Carolina, the very hot-bed of the anti-Pro-
tectionists, we find that the favorite policy of the
country is avowed by some, who have not allowed
their better judgments to be clouded by free-trade
dogmas and dangerous theories.— JVhig.
“ Barnwell District, July 15
“ Every body in this section is engaged in subduing the
grass which has sprung up luxuriantly during the late rains.
Corn looks badly, and cotton worse. There has been a good
deal of suffering this year on account of scarcity in the pro-
vision crops, and I fear there will be more next. A purely
agricultural people, you see, will always lead a miserable
existence. If the crops are good there is no one to purchase,
and all they can get is a mere living. On the other hand, if
the crops fail, they all suffer together, because they have no
money to purchase from abroad. Even the prospect for fruit,
so fine a month ago, is likely to be cut off. The apples are
falling before they are ripe ; peaches have but little flavor.
Melons of all kinds are comparatively tasteless; and the
grapes, which promised so well, are rotting by the bushel.
Such is our fate, and I presume we must submit to it. Had
we less opposition to a fair tariff in Carolina, and a little
more diversity of labor, we might be supplied with means,
when 'our crops are short, to purchase from abroad. ”
“ Call you this a backing of your friends ?
A plague on such backing, say I.”
The “ Ohio Statesman,” a Democratic paper, in
a fit of disappointment and wrath at Mr. Polk’s''
late veto of the River and Harbor Bill, has forsworn
its allegiance, and (in the words of the Union) has
“ dealt in the most discourteous and disrespectful
expressions towards the President’s character and
composition.” “ If this,” says the venerable edi-
tor, with tears in his eyes, “ be the language of a
Democratic friend, we are curious to see how much
further our Whig opponents may go in their abuse ?
The inquiry is a very natural one ; but the Whig
press of late have found it totally unnecessary to
trouble the President; they have left him to the
“ tender mercies” of his friends of the North and
West. “ The cohesive power of public plunder”
seems waxing weak, and the party begin to present
a series of “ dissolving views” to those who have
witnessed the late performances at Washington.
{South Carolina Chronicle.
Rev. Dr. Dewey’s Discourses.—Francis & Co.
of New York, have just published a new volume of
discourses by this eminent divine. The Boston
Daily Advertiser says:
“ It is the highest pleasure to meet with a volume so replete
with earnest thought, tempered with the kindest charity. Be-
sides tbe intellectual pleasure’of studying the works of an
essayist so accomplished and eloquent as Dr. Dewey, the
reader enjoys the greater satisfaction of considering the highest
religious principles and problems, with a writer who looks at
them with the simplicity and dignity of study which they
deserve.”
Robbery of German Emigrants.—A family of sixteen
German emigrants, in company with others, on their way to
the West, arrived at Albany last Sunday morning, and took
accommodations at a German boarding house. While wait-
ing for one of the canal boats for Buffalo, on which they had
taken passage, their whole stock of money, amounting to
$2,250, was stolen out of a small willow basket in the bar-
room. The bar-keeper and several others have been arrested
on suspicion.
The ship-of war Independence sailed from Boston on Sa
turday afternoon. She mounts on her main deck twenty-six
long thirty-twos, and four Paixhan sixty-eights on the spar-
deck ; twenty medium thirty-twos, four Paixhan sixty-eights,
two long thirty-twos—fifty-six in all; small-arms : sixty car-
bines, sixty muskets, one hundred and twenty pistols, two
hundred pikes, and one hundred and twenty cutlasses ; also,
FROM OUR SQUADRON IN THE PACIFIC.
INTERESTING INTELLIGENCE.
From the Philadelphia Public Ledger we copy
the following information, which some person pecu-
liarly favored by the Executive Government has
evidently been allowed to copy, or to abstract, from
the Official Correspondence on the subject to which
it relates:
Washington, September I, 1846.
I wrote you a week ago that our squadron in the Pacific
would not long remain idle, having received positive instruc-
tion to be up and doing. I now have the pleasure of commu-
nicating the following important news :
Commodore Sloat entered the harbor of Monterey, and on
the 6th of July issued his proclamation to the inhabitants of
California, calling on them to remain peaceful, assuring them
that he did not come as the enemy of California, but as their
friend. That they are destined to form part and parcel of the
great Federal Union of the United States, enjoying the same
rights and privileges as the citizens of those States. They
should select their own civil officers and magistrates, and en-
joy all other privileges of freemen, of which they are now in
part or wholly deprived. The same revenue laws should be
in force in California as in the United States, by which means
they would, as Californians and members of the American
Union, obtain provisions and manufactures of the United
States duty free, while other imports would pay a duty at
least twenty-Jive per cent, less than is now levied on the same
articles by the laws of Mexico. Those who will not become
citizens of the great American Confederacy, to depart in peace
with all their property, provided they lay down their arms and
remain in other respects neutral. He enjoins them to retain
their Alcaldes and other magistrates till they should have bet-
ter digested the particular form of government they wish to
adopt, and have had time to elect other officers in their places.
All property of private citizens, and particularly that of the
churches, should be respected ; ail supplies and provisions paid
for, on reasonable terms, and no private property used for
public purposes without proper compensation.
The proclamation is dated Savannah, harbor of Monterey,
and signed John B. Sloat, Commander-in-chief of the Uni
ted States forces in the Pacific.
Of information of such importance as the above
we find the following explicit notice in the govern-
ment paper of Tuesday night:
“ California.—We have received information,
‘ on which we place implicit reliance, that Commo-
1 dore Sloat took possession of Monterey on the
‘ 6th July last.”
In the same paper we find the following para-
graphs :
“ On the 9th July, Commander John B. Mont-
‘ gomery, of the Portsmouth, summoned the com-
‘ mandant of Yerba Buena to surrender. What the
‘ result of this summons was, we are not informed.
“ A few days previously to the 6th July, a de-
‘ tachment from Col. Fremont’s force took posses-
‘ sion of a frontier post called Sonoma, to the north
‘ of San Francisco. General Castro attempted to
‘ dislodge them ; but, after a slight skirmish, and
‘ the arrival of Col. Fremont in person, he (Castro)
‘ retreated.
“ There appears to have been as much dissen-
‘ sion among the Californians before the arrival of
‘ Com. Sloat as existed in other parts of Mexico.
‘ On the 15fh .Tune a: junta met at Santa Barbara.
‘ headed by Governor Pico, to declare California
‘ independent; which movement was met by apro-
‘ clamatioh from the Commandant General Castro,
‘ declaring martial law throughout the country.”
PRICE OF BRITISH COLONIAL LAND.
# The prices of its Colonial Lands, as fixed by the
British Government, are as follows :
Cape of Good Hope, no fixed minimum price,
the average price at auction.........per acre.
2 shillings.
Ceylon, minim uni price..............
5 do.
Falkland Islands do..................
8 do.
Canada (West) fixed price, currency.. . .
.do...
8 do.
Canada (East) .. . .do.....according to
situation........................
4 to 6s.
New Brunswick, minimum price.......
.do...
3 shillings.
Nova Scotia........do... .do.......
.do...
1 to 3s.
Australian Colonies, .do... .do. ..... .
.do..
20s. sterling
A Marked Repudiation of Locofocoism.—Since
the last Presidential election, Judge Myers, of Cla-
rion county, completed the building of a new and
splendid blast furnace, which he christened “ Polk,”
after his favorite and successful candidate for the
Presidency. Judge Myers was and is extensively
engaged in the iron business, and greatly interested
in the tariff policy of the country. Since the passage
of the British tariff bill and its approval by the Pre-
sident, he has changed the name of his furnace,
as we learn from undoubted authority. He now
calls it Martha. Judge Myers, it will be recollect-
ed, Headed the Polk electoral ticket, and is among
the most influential men of his party in Western
Pennsylvania. It is of little political importance, to
be sure, wThat name a particular furnace bears, but
a change in the name of a furnace is no every day
occurrence ; indeed we do not know of an instance
of the kind, even in a change of owners ; but the
peculiar circumstances of the one before us is wor-
thy of note from the strong inferences to be drawn
from it. Mr. Myers was a strong tariff man; he
believed in the promises contained in the Kane let-
ter, and probably some also in the assurances held
out in the Clarion letter of Mr. McCandless, as well
as in the “ Polk, Dallas, and the tariff of 1842”
inscriptions and blazons of the party during the
canvass of 1844. Be this as it may, he has since
erased the name of “Polk” Irom the entablature
over the temp arch of his furnace, and substituted
on the same stone that of a member of his family.
[Pittsburg American.
Southern Railroads.—At a meeting of the citizens of
Charleston on Tuesday, a committee was appointed to report
at an adjourned meeting in October next, upon the expedien-
cy and practicability of a railway from Charleston to Wil-
mington, North Carolina. The authorities of Wilmington
and the citizens of the surrounding counties of North Carolina
are invited to send delegates to the adjourned meeting, with an
exhibit of the aid which that section of country will render to
said work. A similar appeal is made to the city of Charles-
ton and the surrounding parishes. A zealous spirit seems to
have animated the meeting.
In September, 1845, Captain Daniel P. Upton, of the
ship Governor Davis, belonging to Boston, rescued the crew
and passengers of the British ship Glenview, numbering twen-
ty-four in all, after they had been lashed in the rigging during
two days. A beautiful and massive gold medal has been pre-
pared, by order of the Queen of Great Britain, as an acknow-
ledgment of this act, and a day or two ago it was presented by
the British Minister through the Secretary of State of the
United States.
Steam on the Merrimac.—The experiment of navigat-
ing the Merrimack river between Newburyport and Haverhill
seems to be very successful. The Newburyport Herald of
Saturday morning says : “ The harbor and river were enve-
loped in a thick fog yesterday. The Lawrence went through
her regular trips, except the evening trip down, when she stopped
at Amesbury Ferry, and sent her passengers (about forty in
number) down by land.
She took up yesterday noon a party
t ______________ ______o _ _ of about one hundred which had encamped on Plum Island
rpaeh ns Siueerp nnpa ora u _ • i one six-pounder, mounted on an improved carriage, to be used I two nights, and landed last evening about six hundred in
reach us. bmcere ones are but occasional, we in thefield or the launch> asoccasion mayrequire. | Amesbury.’’’-Boston Post.
RETROCESSION OF ALEXANDRIA.
By the subjoined extract from the Alexandria
Gazette it will be seen that the worthy Editor of
that paper is quite jubilant on the occasion which he
has had so much agency in bringing about. Most sin-
cerely we wish that the retrocession of our late rib
to its parent body may be productive of all the
advantage which the friends of the measure antici-
pate from it:
FROM THE ALEXANDRIA GAZETTE OF YESTERDAY.
It is with pride and pleasure we announce that, by a vote
of the people of the town and county ol Alexandria, taken under
the provisions of an act of Congress, that portion of the District
of Columbia, originally ceded to the General Government by the
State of Virginia, lying south of the Potomac river, has been
retroceded to the parent State, and will henceforth again
become a component part of the Old Dominion. The vote
taken on this subject, which will be found below, shows the
strong feeling entertained by those interested of the justice, and
policy of this measure, and a degree of unanimity which is
hardly ever obtained on questions of a public nature.
As soon as fair copies of the poll-books are made out, under
the direction of the Commissioners for taking the vote, one is
to be sent to the President of the United States, another to the
Governor of Virginia, and a third is to be deposited in the
Clerk’s office of the county. Immediately after the receipt of
the official vole, the President will issue his proclamation an-
nouncing the fact, and giving public notice of the change that
has taken place.
We congratulate our fellow-citizens upon the happy event
which attaches our town to the State of Virginia, and unites
its destinies with those of that Commonwealth. Useless, for
all practical purposes, as a portion of the District of Columbia,
in returning to Virginia no injury is inflicted upon the public and
not the slightest inconvenience will ensue to the Government.
We become citizens of Virginia, as we firmly believe, for the
general good.
We shall have much more to say in reference to our new
position, to our duties, and to our interests hereafter. Now
is hardly the time, even if we had the opportunity. We can
only add that we trust all our citizens may now be satisfied
and contented ; that our ardent wishes as our earnest labors
shall be directed for the prosperity of Alexandria ; and that,
as a new era has commenced, our hopes are strong that all
that has been done will contribute to the general good. To
make this so should now be effort of every Alexandrian.
VOTE ON RETROCESSION.
For retrocession..........................763
Against retrocession......................222
Majority..........................541
The Days of Retrocession.—Our town has been in a
state of high pleasurable excitement, of course, for several
days past, and we can hardly collect and record the various
incidents which have occurred. The voting on the first day
was preceded by a gathering of the friends of retrocession, who
march;d in procession through the principal streets with flags
and banners, and a fine band of music. A company of young-
men, who followed the procession, had a small brass cannon,
which they loaded and fired with the promptitude of veterans.
The members of the Ringgold Cavalry in their uniforms, without
arms, united in the procession. The front of the Court-house
was hung with National flags. The citizens of the country
part of the county came also in procession with a banner. At
10 o’clock the Commissioners took their places, swore in their
clerks, and opened the polls. Mr. Robert Crupper acted as
crier of the votes in the early part of the day, and Mr. Wm.
Morgan afterwards. Both of these gentlemen did their duty
most efficiently. The first vote cast wm W wto. y»u<»k,
Esq.. Mayor of Alexandria, in favor of retrocession, and the
voting then continued steady and uninterrupted all day. The
greatest good humor and order prevailed throughout the day.
When the polls closed at 6 o’clock P. M., Robert Brockett,
Esq., chairman of the Commissioners, announced the result—
for retrocession 633, against retrocession 197—to the citizens
assembled in front of the Court-house, amidst the huzzas of
the assembly, the firing of cannon, and the waving of flags.
At night a torch-light procession was formed, a brilliant bon-
fire was lighted, and our streets were filled with citizens con-
gratulating each other. A large crowd of citizens paraded the
streets, and called out at different times and places Messrs. F.
L. Smith, T. W. Ashby, Edward Hall, and H. C. McLaugh-
lin, who delivered stirring and animated speeches. Several
exquisite serenades were given, and the song and the toast
went round from street to street, and from house to house.
And thus ended the first day of Retrocession.
The Phi Beta Kappa Society celebrated its anniversary
at Cambridge (Mass.) on Thursday last. The exercises took
place in the First Church, and were listened to by a large au-
dience of ladies and gentlemen. Among those present we
noticed the Hon. John Quincy Adams, President Everett,
Ex-President Quincy, Hon. Robert C. Wintiirop, many
learned Divines, and other distinguished sons of old Harvard.
Prayer was offered by the Rev. Hubbard Winslow, of
Boston. The Oration by Charles Sumner, Esq., of Bos-
ton, followed, and occupied one hour and three quarters. The
theme of the orator’s discourse was the life and character of
Pickering, the scholar ; Story, the jurist; Allston, the
artist; Channing, the philanthropist ; all of whom were
members of the Society, and have died within the last four
years. He dwelt briefly on the great causes to which their
lives were devoted, and was eulogistic in the highest degree of
the course with which they had each made their lives manifest.
Each, in his own peculiar sphere, in the language of the ora-
tor, had been foremost in the country. The oration was a
talented production—manly, eloquent, and gracefully deliver-
ed. The Poem was delivered by the Rev. James Freeman
Clarke, of Boston, whose theme was “ Our Country and
her Hopes.”—Boston Atlas.
FROM THE RICHMOND WHIG.
The Cleveland “Plain-Dealer,” a spirited Locofoco paper,
says : “ We had the pleasure of seeing the Hon. Senators
‘ Cass, of Michigan, and Breese, of Illinois, also the Hon.
‘ John Wentworth, representative from the Chicago dis-
* trict, as they passed up the Lakes on Saturday, returning
‘ from the late session. They do not hesitate to say that
‘ Western rights have been trampled upon by the domi-
‘ neering policy of the South, and that concert of action
‘ among the representatives of the free States is necessary
‘ to resist Southern Aggression. So say we, (adds the
‘ Plain-Dealer,) and a member of Congress from the West
‘ who is found cuddling to the Slave Power, for the sake
* of Government favor, should be marked with the curse of
« Cain.”
What says the Enquirer to these “natural allies” of the
South—these “ Northern men with Southern principles ?”
“The Ladies’ Wreath,” is the title of a new monthly
magazine, devoted to “Literature, Industry, and Religion,”
the first five numbers of which have been sent to us. It is
edited by Mrs. S. T. Martyn, and published at New York,
each number containing thirty-two pages and being embellish-
ed with a fine engraving and a colored flower plate, at the low
price of one dollar a year. The main object of the woik ap-
pears to be the moral and intellectual improvement of woman,
and it is well filled with matter from the pen of the Editress
and others of our best female writers.
Sad Occurrence.—The Miner’s Journal, of Pottsville,
gives an account of an explosion of fire-damp on Wednesday
last, at the colliery worked by Mr. George Rich, on the west
branch of Mount Carbon road, known as Lewis vein, which
was most disastrous in its results. It was followed by what
is known to miners as choke-damp, and black or after-damp,
by which eight men were overpowered. So violent was it,
that for a long time no assistance could be extended to them
successfully, and Mr. Rich, the owner, who entered for this
purpose, was near falling a victim to his philanthropy. At
last they were extricated, six of them perfectly insensible, one
named John Tiley dead, and long after, yet another, who,
though in longer than any of the rest, was yet recovered.
Mr. Rich himself was, for a long time, in a state of uncon-
sciousness and delirium, but is, we learn, recovering, as are
all who were taken from the shaft alive.
WORKING OF THE FREE-TRADE TARIFF.
FROM THE (DEMOCRATIC) PENNSYLVANIAN.
“ Large Turnout.—On Monday last nearly two thou-
sand miners and laborers, from the collieries in the neighbor-
hood of Minersville, refused to go to work at the reduced pri-
ces offered ; a deduction of one dollar per week from their
usual wages. Many of them sought and obtained work on
the public improvements in the vicinity. Others directed their
course to the far West. Many of them have saved money,
and are intelligent, spirited men, resolved to stand out for and
maintain their rights. Success to them.”
So says the Pottsville Emporium oi Saturday. The own-
ers of the mines, in order to maintain the enormous profits of
past years, cut down the wages of the laborer. Let them be-
ware lest those who deal thus harshly by thelaborer are them-
selves made the subjects of a just retribution.
REMARKS BY THE PHILADELPHIA NORTH AMERICAN.
The above extract, with the comment thereon,
we take from yesterday’s Pennsylvanian. Does
that print think such unmitigated nonsense can be
crammed down the throats of the laborers who have
had their wages cut down by the operation of the
Locofoco Free-Trade Policy? We should like to
have an individual pointed out engaged in the coal
trade who, in any past year, has made “ enormous
profits.” We know the operators pretty generally,
and there never was a business requiring so large
an outlay of capital where profits were so uncer-
tain. No one has ever made any considerable sum
of money by the coal trade. No one has ever re-
tired from the business rich, or worth even moder-
ate gains. For the last three years those employed
“ have saved money,” as the Pottsville Emporium
acknowledges—it was under the Tariff of ’42, be
it remembered—but their employers have done no
more than a living business. We have shown re-
peatedly that labor is more benefited by the coal
business than any other occupation in the country;
its profits have not been enormous, but there is
hardly a laborer in the Schuylkill region who has
not saved up money, and most of them have a small
lot of ground and a neat house in the vicinity of the
collieries where they were engaged.
The best feeling ha% existed between the em-
ployed and employers in Schuylkill county. They
have felt that their interests are identical, and that
it would be supreme folly to pull different ways.
Under the operations of the Tariff of 1842 there
was a steady demand for coal, and consequently
good wages were kept up. It is folly to presume
that the colliers of Minersville would let nearly two
thousand miners and laborers leave the place if they
had work to give them. What policy would there
be in stopping work altogether ? How would that
“maintain the enormous profits of past years?”
Would the Pennsylvanian find it likely to benefit
its printing establishment by discharging all its
hands ? The idea is an absurdity, and yet is grave-
ly put forth. The blame is not with the “ owners
of the mines,” or with the colliers who lease the
mines from their owners, but with the Pennsylva-
nian’s political friends, who have broken down the
protection which the coal business flourished under,
as provided by the Tariff of 1842. The blame is
with the Free-Trade Democrats. The owners and
workers of the mines suffer as much from the deso-
lation as do the miners and laborers who are em-
ployed by them ; perhaps more, for they have not
saved money.
ME UP YORK (JORRERPONJJEJSV /
New York, September 1, 1846.
We have another circular from the Secretary of the Trea-
sury. It relates to the export of goods under bond and in
public stores. According to the construction which Mr.
Walker gives the Warehousing law, such goods cannot, af-
ter they have been exported and a debenture paid thereon, be
re-entered at a lower rate of duty. This Treasury decision
has produced some excitement among merchants, and will un-
doubtedly be resisted. It is considered by some of our most
able lawyers as an illegal decision.
Many of our merchants are not as charitable as the gentle-
men of the bar. The former consider this circular as an at-
tempt to evade the payment of a large amount of debentures
that they will claim from the Government on their contempla-
ted exports, If this circular is carried into full effect, it will
retain in the Treasury of the United States at least one million
five hundred thousand dollars, that will, under other circum-
stances, be drawn out to meet debentures.
That your readers may understand the intention of the im-
porting merchants, and the effect of the Treasury instruction,
I will explain. Those who hold large invoices of foreign
goods at high duties propose to export them, and receive a
certificate of debenture for the amount of duties which they
have paid, and then biing back the same goods and re-enter
them at the low duties. Take, for example, the article of
brandy. It is estimated that there are more than half a million
of gallons in public stores in this city, which have paid, or
must pay, one dollar per gallon duty. If exported, that duty
is returned to the importer, and when he re-enters, it only
pays one-half dollar per gallon duty. The Treasury circular
cuts up this project. These details apply to every foreign im-
ported article which has paid high duties. The probability is
that the Collector will refuse to issue a debenture in cases
where he supposes the intention is to re-import the same
goods, and that he will have suits against him for the amount
of the duties ; thus referring the question to the courts of law.
Public opinion is decidedly against the Secretary in this his
last decision. But I am not perfectly satisfied that in this
case the Public is right. When the double duties were repeal-
ed, the merchants, as I am informed, assumed the ground they
now assume, and were sustained by the then Secretary of the
Treasury.
Santa Anna, I gresume, we may now consider as^n the
ascendant in Mexico; and this belief leads many to sanguine
calculations that a speedy peace will follow. To the correct-
ness of this opinion I do not assent. Enormous sums of mo-
ney are yet to be expended ; and, if any part of it is to be
used in corrupting the Government of Mexico, it will, or it
ought to, if it does not, cover the Administration with dis-
grace. Can it be possible, after all our vaunting, that we are
ultimately to obtain a peace by bribery and corruption ? I
trust not. But such seems to be the prevalent opinion among
the friends of the Administration. They therefore censure the
Whigs for defeating their law to appropriate two millions of
dollars for secret service money.
We have much talk on the subject of Mexican privateers,
but without producing the least effect upon our underwriters.
They have not varied their rates of insurance one cent.
To-morrow evening a meeting of the American Association
of Geologists and Naturalists will commence at Columbia
College, and will be held several days. Evening sessions
will be held at the University. Every facility for the accom-
modation of persons feeling an interest in science will be af-
forded.
Amount of duties on imports collected in New York, August
1845 ..................................$2,759,777
Do do do 1846 ...... 2,183,733
Less in 1846 than 1845................. $576,044
Business dull. A CALM OBSERVER.
Sugar.—A commercial computation puts the whole pro-
duction of the sugar-growing countries of the world, in 1844,
down at 778,000 tons, of which 200,000 tons were furnished
by Cuba alone. In the following year Cuba produced only
80,000 tons, but the increase from other sources was so great
that the total product amounted to 769,000 tons, which was
very little short of that in 1844. The consumption of sugar
in the whole world is estimated at 800,000 tons, of which the
United Kingdom consumes about 250,000, the rest of Europe
425,000, the United States of America 150,000, and Canada
and the other British colonies 15,000. The growth of the
United States does not exceed 100,000 tons, or about two-
thirds of consumption, and the deficiency is supplied by maple
sugar and foreign importation
MOVEMENTS OF THE ARMY, &c.
Later from Camargo.—Our information from Camargo
is to the 12th instant, at which time the troops at that camp
were supposed to be about 8,000. The general opinion was
that the advance of the army under General Worth would
set out for Monterey about the 1st September. But this is
deemed a matter of much uncertainty, as the whole country
has been nearly inundated with the rains and rendered quite
impassable for wagons. The difficulties which Gen. Taylor
has encountered from this cause are said to be very great and
quite incredible to those who have not been eye witnesses. It
has not been without the most unremitting perseverance, toil,
and exposure that he has been able to reach Camargo. The
whole region has been flooded, and every river, creek, ravine,
and gully swimming. Half of the town of Camargo has been
swept away, and the walls of the remaining buildings so un-
dermined by the water that many of them are insecure and
often tumbling down.
Intelligence from Monterey through American channels is
received almost daily in Camargo. The remnant of Arista’s
defeated troops, numbering about 4,000, are still fortifying at
Monterey, but without the slightest expectation of attempting
to defend the place. In fact, while the army is carrying the
appearance of defensive measures, the people are said to be
preparing to give a friendly reception to the American army.
That national hostility and implacable prejudice which the
Mexicans have long been taught to feel toward Americans,
are said to be giving way under the prudent policy and man-
agement of Gen. Taylor. They have been constantly treated
with consideration and kindness ; they have received a full
equivalent in money for all they have had to sell ; they have
been able to purchase the necessaries and luxuries of life at
one-half, one-third, or even sometimes one-fourth the price
they had to pay under the enormous duties of their own Gov-
ernment ; they have been subject to none of the contributions
so often levied upon them by their own Generals ; they have
found a ready and profitable market for every thing they had,
horses, hogs, cattle, sheep ; their laborers have found employ-
ment and good wages ; those who have before spent their
lives in the abject condition of slaves, subject to the orders of
their perpetual creditor and master, have suddenly become
emancipated, and have accumulated money by their industry
to an amount which they had before never dreamed of. Some
Rancheros have been named to us who have acquired $400 to
$500 per week by furnishing teams for the use of the army.
In fact, our army furnishes a market to the Mexicans, far and
near; and hence the larger portion of the population, and es-
pecially the more intelligent, are said to be determined never
to come under the Central Government again.
[ Galveston News of the 21s/.
Mules for tiie Army—The Licking Valley Register
(published at Covington, Ky.) of the 29th ultimo says ;
“ Our streets have, for several days past, been occasionally
crowded with mules, intended for the army in Mexico. They
have been embarked on board of stock-boats at this place, to
be transported to some point on the Mississippi, (Memphis,
perhaps,) and thence across the country to Mexico. We
have understood from a gentleman who purchased a large
number of these mules that the price paid for them was $75
a head—he receiving $5 a head for making the purchase,
making them cost the Government $80, besides the cost of
transportation. This (to' the farmer) was certainly a good
price for his stock, and for a time will ensure him a good
price for those that he may have on hand, or may raise for a
year or two to come. Our informant stated that he had him-
self purchased about eight hundred, mostly in Kentucky.
Besides the mules sent off a large number of horses have also
been purchased and sent off’, and orders given for the pur-
chase of more. Almost every day we see and hear of boats
passing down the river freighted with wagons, &c. for the
army. From these preparations it appears that Mr. Polk is
in truth determined to prosecute the war with Mexico with
the utmost vigor.”
Transportation, &c.—The New Orleans correspondent
of the Courier and Enquirer writes as follows : “I learn there
are now some thousand or twelve hundred mules in this city,
purchased for Government, awaiting the means of transporta-
tion to the Rio Grande. They will cost at least $200 each
before landed there. * * * *
“ I have conversed with an intelligent officer of the regular
army who arrived yesterday from Matamoros, who says he
does not think Gen. Taylor will make any serious forward
movement to Monterey for some weeks to come ; that Gen.
Wool would push forward immediately with a brigade to a
point about sixty miles from Camargo, on the Monterey road,
and that he had hired one thousand pack mules at a reason-
able rate, with Mexican drivers, to accompany his command.
This officer confirms all the previous information I had receiv-
ed as to the nature of the roads and the difficulty of obtaining
supplies ; that beef is the only article that they could obtain,
and if the people in advance of the army continue in their
present hostile feeling and drive off the cattle, not even fresh
beef can be had.
“ The present movement of Gen. Worth will test, to some
degree the ability to obtain supplies. He ridicules as the
height of folly buying and sending mules from the United
States, and says that those procured for Gen. Y/orth are the
finest he ever saw, wilh pack-saddles, &c. all complete, and
with a driver for every six mules; that they are all disciplined
to move at the sound of a bell ; acclimated, hardy, and requir-
ing nothing but the grass of the country, to which they have
always been accustomed. The whole of them were procured
in five or six days, and five times as many, equally good and
accustomed to the work, can be had, if required, and can be
bought at $15 to $25 each. I am told that contracts are now
being executed for no less than four thousand wagons, which,
with all the mules that may be purchased, will be a total loss
as soon as the campaign is ended ; nearly all which enormous
expense would have been saved by buying pack-mules on the
spot. The wagons will never even be put into service, as they
could not be used except for a short distance on the route. ”
Camargo, August 10.—There was a grand parade of all
the regular troops last evening, and a magnificent show they
made. Gen. Taylor and Staff passed the different regiments
as they were extended in line, and expressed himself highly
gratified with their appearance. Gen. Worth is drilling the
men constantly, and the masterly style in which they perform
their evolutions beats any thing your humble servant has ever
seen in the way of military tactics.
The general impression’among the best informed, as regards
the chances of the Mexicans giving another battle, is, that
Gen. Taylor will have an opportunity of gaining fresh laurels
at Monterey, or near that place. On the river the inhabitants
appear friendly enough, but in the interior the case is different.
The town of China, on the Rio St. Juan, about 65 or 70
miles from Camargo, was taken on the 5th instant by Captain
McCullough, of the Texas Rangers, without opposition. Col.
Seguin, with one hundred Mexicans, was in town, but on the
appearance of the Americans they retreated. Another Mexi-
can depot of arms has been found in Matamoros, and a quan-
tity of stores ami ammunition.
Matamoros, August 14.—It has rained almost incessantly
for weeks, and the whole country is inundated. The battle-
field of Palo Alto, which I visited a few days ago, is a swamp,
the water reaching to the saddle-skirts. The moving of troops
by land is difficult, but it is supposed that the march from Ca-
margo to Monterey and Saltillo will commence about the first
of September. Rumors ftorn the interior are rife, but no se-
rious opposition is expected to the advance. I here may be
some show of fight at the mountain-pass between Monterey
and Saltillo, where there is a gorge in the hills capable of easy
defence, but it is doubted whether the enemy will attempt to
hold it against a vigorous attack. The popular feeling in
Mexico is one of bitter hostility to the United States, and the
war may be protracted for years.
The new Generals are arriving. Major General Butler is
sick below at Brasos Santiago. 1 he wagon train is now pass-
ing through this place to Camargo. It will be very difficult
to carry on a line of operations far interior.
MARRIAGE.
On Monday, the 31st August, by the Rev. Dr. Jones, at
the residence of Mrs. J. C. Washington, JOHN S.
WRIGHT, of Chicago, Illinois, to CATHERINE BLACK-
BURN, daughter of the late Henry S. Turner, Esq. of
Wheatland, Jefferson county, Va.
DEATHS.
In Fauquier county, (Ya.) Mrs. SARAH CHUNN, wife
of Andrew Chunn, Esq. in the 58th year of her age. She
combined in her character those qualities which constitute the
excellent wife, mother, and kind and hospitable neighbor.
But what chiefly added interest to her character was the spirit
of genuine piety which manifestly and habitually governed
her and her daily walk.
Within two weeks after the decease of Mrs. C
the 25th ultimo, died her venerable relict, ANDRE
CHUNN, Esq. in the 79th year of his age. In the depar-
ture of this gentleman Fauquier has lost one ol its most re-
spectable citizens. He was a man of strictly moral habits,
and, like his lamented wife, he was kind and cordially hos-
pitable, without ostentation, and enjoyed m an eminent de-
gree the confidence of his neighbors and fellow-citizens gene-
rally The painful illness of which he died was but of thirty
hours’ duration. He was sensible of the approach of death,
and expressed his entire resignation to that awful event. He
was one of the oldest magistrates of Fauquier at the time of
his decease.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Matching Search Results
View three places within this issue that match your search.Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
National Intelligencer. (Washington [D.C.]), Vol. 47, No. 6819, Ed. 1 Saturday, September 5, 1846, newspaper, September 5, 1846; Washington, District of Columbia. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1025014/m1/1/?q=food+rule+for+unt+students: accessed July 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .