National Intelligencer. (Washington [D.C.]), Vol. 48, No. 6961, Ed. 1 Tuesday, August 10, 1847 Page: 4 of 4
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NATIONAL INTELLIGEN GER.
CORRESPONDENCE FROM ENGLAND.
London, July 18, 1847.
This is most truly a wonderful country ; but the
more it is contemplated the more simple, and at the
same time the more certainly and powerfully ope-
rative, will the causes appear which, by their con-
tinued action for centuries, have placed Great Bri-
tain in the proud position which she at present oc-
cupies among the nations of the earth.
These principal causes may probably be stated
as being the insular nature and geographical posi-
tion of Great Britain ; the character of the people,
as formed by climate and the institutions of the
country; and those institutions, as acted upon by
the reflected thought and feeling of the people.
These causes, although very brief in enumeration
and simple in definition, will be found to be most
extensively operative in their application, and quite
adequate in their results to produce the state of
things visible in Great Britain.
Nature did not originally do much more for Great
Britain than give her an insular formation and a po-
sition in a temperate climate, with an almost abso-
lute contiguity to the continents of the Old World.
Every where probably on the surface of the earth
does the soil want (in Scripture phraseology) “ sub-
duing” and rendering fit for the support of man, by
his labor “ and the sweat of his brow and Eng-
land was originally not an exception to the general
denunciation after Adam’s trangression in Eden.
It was a wilderness of wild woods when Caesar
landed there, and undoubtedly produced an ample
crop of “ thorns and thistles.” Eighteen centuries
of labor and skill and hundreds of millions of mo-
ney h^e made “ little England” what she now is-—
a garden! What will the same time and expense
do for your “ wide domain ?” But this is getting
too forward with my subject. The insular forma-
tion of Great Britain furnished her with abundance
of harbors for the purposes of commerce ; whilst a
sufficiency of navigable rivers and the shape of the
island brought every part of the country within a
reasonable distance of the sea. On the eastern
coast she was within a few leagues of the continent
of Europe ; whilst on the opposite one she was the
nearest neighbor (excepting her sister island, Ire-
land) to the then unknown great western continent.
The better part of this western world she was, more
than fifteen hundred years afterwards, destined to
colonize, and to plant there the rudiments of a mighty
empire, most probably intended, by a wise Provi-
dence, to be the seat of art, science, political liber-
ty, and virtuous enjoyment, when England shall
be to America what Greece and Rome are now to
her. But England shall be more enduring in her
fame and character than even Greece and Rome;
for she shall be transferred, not destroyed. The
inhabitants of the Potomac and the Hudson, of the
Ohio and the Mississippi, shall, in after ages, claim
kindred and descent with and from the present oc-
cupiers of the banks of the Thames and the Mer-
sey, the Tweed and the Tay. “Still in their”
breasts will “ live the wonted fires,” the same love
of liberty, of law, of religion, of knowledge, and of
human progress.” But this is running into the fu-
ture, when the intention is to show what were the
operative principles of the past, which had produ-
ced the present. To return.
It has been stated that Great Britain had, in her
insular form and geographical position, the natural
prerequisites for commerce. She had from her
position also the security of a temperate climate, a
hardy population, and a plentifully productive soil.
Did not Nature do all that she could for her? If,
then, man and art and science have acted in unison
with Nature for eighteen hundred years, need we
wonder at the result ?
There is no doubt but that the first state of so
ciety was patriarchal; this would, as population in-
creased, lead to clanship and chiefdom ; and these,
by a very natural gradation, and as mind and thought
became, with the progress of society, more active
ingredients in its composition and more powerful in
their influence and control, would lead to feudalism.
We have nothing to do with feudalism here, but to
mention it; we crave excuse, however, for saying
that we do not know where half an hour’s more
delightful and instructive reading is to be met with
than in those chapters of “ Guizot's History of the
Progress of Civilization" which relate to this
subject. William the Conqueror found the island
subject to Saxon and Danish feudalism, which he
changed into Norman. The vassals or feudatories
of England, whether Saxon, Danish, or Norman,
must not be confounded with the slaves of Eastern
Europe or of Asia, or even with the serfs of modern
Russia. They held their lands for certain services
of their liege lords, pretty much as they (the lords)
held theirs of the king. It was well/or the majo-
rity of the people that this middle rank in society,
these feudal lords, afterwards the barons of Eng-
land, had an existence, and that they curbed the
tyranny of kingly power and priestly usurpation.
It is unnecessary to enter into the question how
kings and priests obtained an undue influence in
England, so as to need the wholesome restraints of
the middle rank, the barons. England formed no
exception to the other parts of Europe in yielding
to kingly and ecclesiastical domination ; but she has
shown repeatedly that her people can teach both of
these classes that there are certain bounds which
they will not be allowed to transgress. The first
great lessons which the Barons read to a King of
England was when, at Runnymede, the foolish ty-
rant John was compelled to sign the famous Magna
Charta, the great foundation of English rights and
the basis of the British Constitution. We admit,
however, with the late very honest but extremely
impracticable Major John Cartwright, that there
in no such thing in existence as itie DiWoL
tution—nowhere can we find such a document!
The Constitution consists entirely of grants wrest-
ed from the monarch, or of provisions enacted by
Parliament and sanctioned by the Crown—the first
of these grants being the Great Charter. The lead-
ing principle of this charter is that the consent of
the community is essential to just taxation : this
admission has been the life of the British Consti-
tution ; strange to think that it was so obstinately
overlooked in the case of the American Colonies in
1774! Magna Charta also secured to Englishmen
the right of trial by jury and the writ of habeas cor-
pus. These concessions would much advance the
condition of the people: with that improved politi-
cal condition would come knowledge, education,
and improved moral and intellectual condition; from
these would arise an extension of commercial inter-
course and an advance in agriculture and manufac-
tures. Thus secured in their political rights, the
march of mind would be onwards, demanding ad'
ditional privileges and immunities as the right to
them, or the necessity for them, became apparent;
these would again have a salutary influence upon
the people, leading to corresponding advantages in
social and commercial life and in knowledge. And
thus it has ever been since the days of King John
in the beginning of the 13th century—England has
never retrograded. The great principles of civil
and religious liberty have been by every succeed-
ing generation better understood. Arts and sciences
and sound knowledge of every kind have steadily
advanced. Commerce has every year taken a wider
range ; agriculture has been reduced to a science,
and industry has made the most of the soil. The
raw materials produced in England and the import-
ed ones from other countries have been worked into
implements and fabrics which find a market
throughout the civilized world. Progress is stamp-
ed upon every thing English, and he who would
attempt to interfere with its advance would be taught
a severe lesstfn for so doing. England has had, it
is true, both wicked and foolish kings and rulers,
but she has shown that she knows how to deal with
both. WhatT king or what minister dare resist pub-
lic opinion at this day? Even Sir Robert Wal-
pole, in the plenitude of his power, (about 1725,)
dared not attempt to tax America. “ I will leave
that," said he, “ for some of my successors, who
may have more courage than I possess.”
Have we not made good our theory ? Could
England have arrived at such a pitch of commercial
consequence if she had been part of a continent,
and not independent of the jealous interference
of neighbors on her boundaries ; nor would she
then have had the advantage of a surrounding ocean.
Had she been placed further north or south, would
she have had so good a climate, (smile at its moist-
ness as you may,) one so well calculated to pro-
duce habits of industry and exertion, or conducive
to health and longevity ? How far soundness of
body has tended to produce soundness of mind,
habits of thinking, manly independence, coolness
and determination in action, commercial enterprise
and indomitable perseverance, let physicians and
physiologists determine. Its influence must have
been considerable informing the English character.
That character has always been one which resisted
tyranny and oppression. Both Caesar and Tacitus
say of the British, that, although “ they submitted
to the Roman power, they adhered to their origi-
nal mode of living, and cherished in their breasts
that native love of independence for which they
were always eminent.” So it uniformly was ex-
hibited during Saxon, Danish, and Norman usurpa-
tion ; so King John found it, so Charles I. and James
II. found it. So the opposers of American inde-
pendence found it, English though they were, when
•pposed to the more truly English spirit which
inspired the signers of the Declaration of Indepen-
dence and their compatriots in the council and the
field. So the enemies of progress have found it
during our own day, when they withstood the cry
of the enlightened commonalty for parliamentary
reform, the repeal of the Roman Catholic disabili-
ties, and of the Corn laws. So will the advocates
of finality always find it when they oppose any at-
tempt to improve the condi ion of the mass, or of
any considerable portion of the people, and presume
to say, “ thus far shall the progress of improve-
ment go, and no farther." Thus have the char-
acter of the people and the institutions of the coun-
try acted and re-acted upon each other, until the
present state of England’s power and England’s
glory has been produced. So will they continue to
act until much which is still oppressive in the pri-
vileges of the Peerage, intolerant in the power and
practice of the Church, impolitic in commercial re-
gulations, and illiberal in foreign intercourse, shall
be done away with. No friend to the liberties of
his country or the happiness of mankind will, whilst
acting as a reformer, become a destructionist. No
prudent man will attempt to pull down, before he is
fully prepared to rebuild. No one who seeks real
improvement will attack an institution merely be-
cause it is old, or deprecate a custom because his
great grandfather practised it. The people of Eng-
land know what they are about, and it is fortunate
that the two great parliamentary leaders, Sir Robert
Peel and Lord John Russ i ll, will go hand in
hand with them. It is true the former has been ac-
cused of versatility, and the latter of being the ad-
vocate of finality. Neither of these statesmen are
withoutfaults ; both have committed errors ; but the
liberties of their country would be safe with either
of them, and they will both lend a helping hand to
the great cause of moral, political, and commercial
progress, now so rapidly on its march. Much has
to be done, as respects the necessities of the poor,
the adequate remuneration of labor, the education
of the lower classes, and the general elevation in
condition and comfort of the agricultural laborer,
the manufacturer, and 'he mechanic. These classes
must be better fed, better lodged, and better clothed.
A plentiful harvest (and we are promised one) will
provide for the .irst, Lord Morpeth’s sanitary bill
will promote the second, and increased wages (as a
matter of right) will accomplish the third. This is
a beautiful summer’s day, all is calm and quietly
cheerful around ; and this view of thilia's is, per-
haps, a good deal that of an optimist. Your read-
ers, however, are not asked to place implicit confi-
dence in these prognostications. They are only
equired to admit that England’s prosperity has
arisen from the causes to which we have alluded,
and to allow that a continuation of the same operat
ing causes may produce a continuation, if not an
increase, of her prosperity.
Some good American friend may, however, say,
“ all this is very well, but England has never yet
had a rival in commercial enterprise and manufac-
turing skill; she now has a very powerful one in
the United States, and things will change with
her.” We deny both the premises and the con-
clusion. The United States and England cannot
be placed in an attitude of rivalry to each other;
there are no antagonistical principles at work calcu-
lated to produce such a result. There are no more
unkind feelings to be excited by brawlers in Con-
gress or in Parliament upon questions of boundary.
The calm voice of reason and negotiation have set-
tled these. The following extract from the London
“Daily News” of the 5th instant is very apposite
to this subject. Let it be premised that this paper
is one of great respectability, and that it speaks the
sentiments of a very large and rapidly increasing
part of the English nation. After stating that Eng-
land has not thought fit to interfere in the war be-
tween the United States and Mexico, not consi-
dering the preservation of the balance of power in
the New World an object worthy of calling forth
the display of her strength, or the risk of war, the
“ News” says :
“ Having come to this resolution, and, we think, wisely,
and in fact acquiescing in the immense extension of the power
empire of the United States south westward, it would be
most foolish in us to preserve ill-humor, at ttie same time that
we forswear hostility, and to display in those prints and
speeches which represent public opinion a jealousy and a ha-
tred towards that people for conquests as impossible for them
to avoid as for us to prevent. It is more natural that we
should lake pride in Anglo-American prowess and success,
and in its superiority to other races, than that we should feel
lowered by their achievements, and that we should bestow
our entire sympathies on a race apparently incapable of civil
or religious freedom.
“ Independent of the removal of territorial differences, that
great arrangement has just been concluded by which the soil
of America, ploughed by the descendants of Englishmen, is
made to afford food for the dense population of the mother
country, busied in more productive arts than those of agricul-
ture, those arts supplying the more precious and costly return.
At such a time, when free and large interchange between the
two hemispheres is established, it becomes a matter of the first
consideration for those who guide and supply public opinion,
whether the mutual sentiments of the people of both countries
shall continue to be of the old, inveterate, and class kind—
whether they shall consist of that contempt of aristocrat and
democrat for each other, and of those tory prejudices first sow-
ed on this side of the Atlantic, and which antagonist preju-
dices have produced a corresponding crop of hatred and depre-
ciation on the other.
“ We cannot but think that the time has come for burying
such sentiments as these Wherever they are kept up, they
seem to be so more from habit and traditional petulance than
from any fresh or genuine impulse of feeling. The worst in-
gredients of the old tory spirit have been gradually discarded
and flung away by the more enlightened spirits of the tory
party. It has learned religious tolerance, and stooped to pro-
vide and feel for the poor. Instead of combating and defying
republican and revolutionary countries, toryism has forsworn
such war, and proclaimed itself pacific and fraternizing. We
no longer have a Lord Chancellor proscribing the Irish as
aliens, a Foreign Secretary denouncing the French as Jaco-
bins, nor any one, who pretends to statesmanship, hallooing
the passions of the mob against American democrats.”
The article from which the annexed extracts are
made was suggested by a very sensible and well-
written letter signed “Anglo-Knickerbocker," which
appeared in the “Daily BJews," and had reference
to the gross misrepresentations and scurrilous stric-
tures upon the United States, which from time to
time disgrace the columns of the London “ Times."
The editor of the D ily News proceeds :
“But the press in this respect lags behind the liberalism
of public men. It remains inveterate, insulting, anti-na-
tional ; and thus excites in other lands a resentment which has
really ceased to inflame any breast at home.
“ These remarks have been suggested by the letter of an
American, which will be found in another column, complain-
ing not merely of the unfriendly tone which prevails in our
journals, but of the misrepresentations made of the conduct of
the American army and generals in Mexico. Strictures of
this kind, and incorrect statements made of the generals of such
sensitive countries as France and the LTnited States, are very
serious things. During the war of France and Morocco no
act of the British Government created any thing like the re-
sentment and ill-feeling in France which was occasioned by
the letter of a chaplain on board the British fleet reflecting on
the conduct of the French admiral. And now we find that no
protest of Mr. Pakenham, or act of any of our diplomatists at
Mexico or Washington, have caused such ill-blood as the reck-
less abuse of the Times.
“ There was one journal in New York, it will be seen,
which for years, through good report and evil report, has been
true to the British connexion. Yet even that journal, the
Courier 4- Enquirer, has been forced by the diatribes and re-
presentations of the Times to turn round and vituperate Eng-
land, supposed to be represented in those diatribes, and to re-
nounce those opinions in favor of England, of English con-
nexion and fairness, which it had adhered to for years ”
So far as respects the tone of public feeling in
England in regard to the United States there *is no
doubt but that it is respectful and friendly ; nor can
it be said that any considerable portion of the press
holds an hostile attitude, or is grossly vituperative
or illiberal in its comments. The Times, however,
influenced Iry nobody knows what motive, and pre-
suming upon its great circulation and the weight
of its dicta, is an exception to an almost general
rule. Some minor papers, who prefer using the
assertions and the language of the mammoth jour-
nal to thinking and writing for themselves, copy and
circulate its slanders and misrepresentations. The
influence, however, even of the Times cannot exist
COMMUNICATION.
MILLS’S ROUTE TO THE PACIFIC.—No. XVIII.
The capacity of steam-carriages to ascend hills of consider-
able inclination is a very important point of usefulness of
these vehicles. To inquiries made by the committee on this
subject, we find the following answers returned : Mr. Guer-
ney remarks : “ It was at first a very prevalent opinion that
the bite or friction of the power on the ground was not suffi-
cient to propel the carriage along a common road, especially
up hill; it was thought that the wheel would turn round arid
the carriage not proceed.” But his carriage went up High-
gate hill and to Edgewaie, also to Stanmore, and against all
those hills the wheels never turned, and the bite of one of
the hind wheels was sufficient for all common purposes. The
carriage ran to Barnet, and went up all the hills to that place
with one wheel only attached to the axle, and was run for
eighteen months experimentally in the neighborhood of
London.
From these trials, showing that one wheel was sufficient to
propel the carriage, and the carriage being at the same time
reduced two-thirds in weight, it was thought desirable to
draw another carriage instead of to carry on the same. rl his
carriage went to Bath, and over all the hills between Cran-
ford bridge and Bath, and returned with only one wheel at-
tached to the axle, and ran from Melksham to Cranford
bridge, a distance of eighty-four miles, in ten hours, inclu-
ding stoppages.
Mr. Hancock repeatedly tried his earriage up hill, on an
inclination, and never found any difficulty except once, when
the frost was on the ground, when he attempted to run up the
Pentonville hill with one wheel only, and he did it, but with
some difficulty towards the top. “ If I had propelled by the
two wheels (says Mr. H.) there would have been none.
Mr. H. further remarked: “I think there are no hills to be
found, upon which horses travel, but what a coach would pro-
long under the weight of obloquy which its course pe”^."Pv^ict tetifiedi ..Thete „ no asc,„t lhat ,ny
has justly subjected it to. No man knows his own 1
interest better than the Editor of the Times ; no
one “ has wheeled about and faced about” oftener
than he has done to promote it; and no man is
more likely to become fulsomely laudatory of Ame-
rica than he Is, when he has sense enough to per-
ceive, as, unless he be persistently blind, he soon
must do, that the mass of English mind and of Eng-
lish feeling is in the highest degree friendly and
liberal towards the institutions and the people of
that country.
So much for the newspaper pi ess of England.
As respects the magazines and reviews, with the
exception of a snarl now and then from the Quar-
terly, and a little abuse from Blackwood, all is fair,
and liberal, and just. Light is breaking in even
upon the much-talked-about, but little understood,
subject of slavery ; and, Pennsylvania having re-
pudiated repudiation, and Maryland being about to
do it, this stereotyped complaint has lost much of
its bitterness and its point. England, as represent-
ed by her legislators, her merchants, her agricultu-
rists, her manufacturers, and the bone and sinew of
her population, the industrious, and moral, and en-
lightened mechanics, ^artisans, and laborers, knows
what America is, ana feels what she is destined to
be. She is not regarded as a rival, but as a great
co-worker in the cause of human progress and of hu-
man happiness. Has America ever proved a rival
to Great Britain ? At what time during her inde-
pendent existence as a nation, whilst her population
has been increasing from two millions to twenty-
four millions, and her maritime tonnage from no-
thing to a position only second in the world in
amount; whilst her ships, called into existence du-
ring the last seventy years, drop their anchors in
every harbor, and her sails whiten every ocean—at
what time, during this amazing and unparalleled
progress, has that progress had an evil effect upon
the corresponding elements of English prosperity ?
Has England’s population diminished whilst that of
America has been increasing ? Is the commercial
tonnage of England less, now that America has
placed herself next in the scale, and close at her
side, in this important particular? Has England
fewer ships in any harbor or in any sea because the
United States has introduced a new flag, the glori-
ous “ star-spangled banner,” in their docks and on
their waters ? Most assuredly not. On the con-
trary, whilst America has been increasing her po-
pulation in a before unknown ratio, and has been
building up her maritime power, her commerce, her
manufactories, and all the elements of her prosperity,
has notEngland been doing the same? When did the
population, the commerce, the manufactures, and
the wealth of England, during all the centuries since
the Conquest, increase and advance so rapidly as
they have done during the time that the United
States have been astonishing the world with their
growth, and delighting the patriot, the philanthropist,
and the Christian with the picture which they have
exhibited of human progress? What is there in
the future wrhich is to be opposite in its effects to the
past? What new principle is that future to de-
velop which is to place the two great branches of
the Anglo-Saxon family in opposition ? There is
not a speck any where, even on the distant horizon,
which indicates such an evil, and he must be a
most ingenious and determined prophet of calamity
who croaks out such a prediction. Rely upon it,
the United States is not, cannot, will not be, the
rival of England, nor will she ever be regarded as
such by England. The two nations are destined
by an overruling Providence to march on side by
side, benefiting each other by an interchange, upon
liberal principles, of their productions ; fellow la
borers in the cause of civil and religious liberty,
sound philosophy, useful science, and the arts, ac-
complishments, and adornments of life.
It is true there is a point in the progress of a
nation, a period in it's history, when, judging from
the past, it uniformly ceases to advance, becomes
first stationary, and then retrogressive. What that
point is, and when that period in English history
is to arrive, if arrive it must, the future must deter-
mine -, -Uiowo ic no symptom of its present prox-
imity. The distress arising from a deficient nar-
vest, and the destruction of the potato crop, was
quite out of the category of usual events. The
amount of suffering it caused was dreadful, but it
has had no permanent effect upon England’s pros-
perity. It has, perhaps, been of signal service; it
has taught our legislators the necessity of immedi-
ate attention to long-neglected Ireland, and will
lead to the moral, intellectual, and political eleva-
tion of that beautiful and capable island.
This is our condition, and these are, we think, the
causes which have led to it. Such, as we have here
endeavored to depict them, are the feelings of Eng-
land towards the United States, and such are the
views which are generally entertained here of the
future relationship of the two countries. How far
they are reciprocated on your side of the water, you
best can tell. That minor questions of manners,
of conventional customs and feelings, and of opin-
ion on arts and literature, may at times give rise to
harsh personalities, to individual jealousies, and to
strong assertions, is to be expected; but that the
United States and Great Britain are to be placed in
any reasonable period of time in opposition to each
other as enemies, or even as rivals, there is not at
present the least probability. ***
common carriages go over where the steam carriage will not
go down the hill with one wheel chained ; no road in the
neighborhood of London that they would not run down with one
wheel chained. If you are drawing up hill with two or four
wheels, driven by an engine, by their all turning round they
are as likely to go up hill. One wheel ought to put it up
hill. It will go up a hill of double that ascent without
slipping.”
After what has been advanced we must be satisfied that
steam-carriages will eventually, under an improved state of
roadway, supersede every other mode of conveyance; and
we are now prepared to show the practicability of forming
such an improved way as will secure efficiency to these ve-
hicles, and give to this new plan, from its economy, the right
to be considered a proper “ substitute for railroads and canals.”
Let us briefly look at the cost of executing the present
plans of internal improvement, and compare them with the
cost of executing the plan of the “ substitute” proposed.
Under the most favorable character of country the i
pense of constructing a railroad or a canal is very considera-
ble. The average cost for a mile of the Newcastle and
Frenchtown railroad, of one track, is $22,000. The cost of
the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, as far as it is completed,
and including two sets of tracks, is stated to be $27,128 per
mile. The Washington and Baltimore railroad, also of two
tracks, is estimated to cost $50,000 a mile, besides contin-
gencies. The Philadelphia and Columbia railroad, of two
tracks, cost per mile $28,173. The railroad from Albany to
Schenectady, of two tracks, cost upwards of $30,000 a mile.
The Charleston (South Carolina) and Hamburg railroad,
with two tracks, will cost per mile abopt$l 0,000 * Taking
the average expense of all these roads, we have the start-
ling result of upwards of $28,000 cost per mile. This is a
serious expenditure for works of this nature, and which must
operate to check the spirit of internal improvement in our
country, unless remedied by the introduction of a more eco-
nomical plan for constructing works of intercommunication.
If we refer to the cost of canals, we shall find but little
difference in expense of construction compared with railroads
under the same circumstances of country. The Chesapeake
and Ohio canal has cost, as far as completed, per mile, about
$30,000; the Erie canal (New York) $21,000 per mile;
the canals of Pennsylvania $25,000 per mile ; the James
River canal $20,000 per mile ; and the Ohio canals $11,000
per mile ; the canals of Great Britain cost on an average
about $35,000 per mile.
*The great disparity between the cost of this railroad, com-
pared with the others named, may be accounted for from its
running through an alluvial and level region, and being con-
structed upon a new and more economical plan, peculiarly
adapted to an alluvial and swamp district of country. This
plan of road was designed by Mr. Mills, late Engineer of that
State, and now of this city.
M1
MRS. GENERAL, CARRINGTON’S SEMINARY
* FOR YOUNG JLADIES
Commences on the 1st of October, and closes on the
31st of July.
RS CARRINGTON spares no pains to have all the de-
___ partments tilled with competent Teachers, and ven-
tures to promise as thorough an Education as can be obtained
in any part of the Union.
Mrs. C.’s dwelling is in a beautiful, retired, and healthy
part of the city, combining many local advantages not gene-
rally found in a city residence ; and the internal arrangements
are such as ensure the comfort of the inmates.
The boarders are considered members of the family, and
required to conform to its regulations, but they are governed
by the law of kindness.
TERMS PER SESSION OF TEN MONTHS.
.$200
...40
...30
. ..20
...20
...60
...60
Boarding..............................
Higher English branches...............
Lower do ..............
French and other modern languages, each
Latin.................................
Music on the Piano....................
Do on the G uitar.................. •
Do Vocal.................................60
Use of instrument.............................10
Washing......................................20
Half payable in advance ; remainder on the 1st of March.
Each young lady will provide herself with a silver fork,
table and tea spoon.
No boarder will be allowed to shop or raise accounts with
out the express permission of the Principal.
The boarders are expected to attend church with the fami-
ly, free of any charge for pew rent; nor are they permitted
to go abroad unless under the supervision of Mrs. C. or one
of the Teachers. No departure from this rule will be allow-
ed, unless by express agreement with the parent or guardian.
RICHMOND, 1847.—july 27—cP3m
THE ISLAND OF NANTUCKET.
CORRESPONDENCE OF THE NEW YORK MIRROR.
Nantucket, July 31, 1847.
Taken altogether, in its origin, progress, prosperity ; its
sterility, wealth, intelligence, sand-bars and surf, this is quite
the most remarkable place in the world. Tadmor was a won-
der, and Baalbec a puzzle, but Nantucket is a miracle. The
more I look at it and think about it, the more singular it ap-
pears to me. There is no place on the globe that offers such
a curious study to the politico-moralist as this. About a hun-
dred and eighty years ago, in those precious good old times
that conservatives are always whining about, when every town
was embellished with a public whipping-post, and men were
“had up” before ecclesiastical tribunals for kissing their
wives on the Sabbath, there came to the town of Salisbury,
on the Merrimac river, three strangers, who begged the pri-
vilege of sheltering themselves from a pelting rain storm be-
neath the shed of Thomas Macy, a quiet farmer in those parts.
The privilege was granted, and when the storm subsided the
strangers departed and went on their way. It was afterwards
discovered that these three men were Quakers who were flee-
ing from the persecution of the public authorities, who, to
show their love to God, thought it necessary to hang every
body that construed biblical texts differently from themselves.
Thomas Macy was immediately seized and thrown into pri-
son, his goods and chattels distrained upon, and his family
left to shift for themselves. He sent a petition to the Gene-
ral Court, begging to be released fiom prison, setting forth in
very simple but touching language that he had ignorantly
offended in allowing the Quaker wayfarers a shelter beneath
his roof, and that in so doing he had only done towards a fel-
low man what he could not have denied to a dog. After be-
ing kept in prison a year he was released ; but finding him-
self a kind of outcast in the pious neighbqj^ood of Salisbury,
he resolved to remove to some far country where the people
had less religion, but more humanity. So ho put his family
and all their worldly gear into a small boat, and set himself
afloat upon the desert waters in search of a new home. As
he kept no log of his voyage, we know not what perils he
encountered, nor what sea-serpents he saw ;#but there can be
no doubt that his dangers were many arid his hardships great.
After being driven about on the wide waters for many days,
he at last discerned the sandy cliffs of this island, and think
ing from its desolate look that no Christian persecutor would
ever follow him thither, he landed with his family, and being
hospitably entertained by the native Indians, who ha’d never
before seen the face of a white man, and liked to cultivate a
curiosity of the kind among them, he remained a year. There
was a charm for the honest-hearted Thomas Macy in the sub-
lime desolation of the island. The waters abounded with a
great variety of fine fish, which the Indians caught without
difficulty ; on the shores were clams, quahogs, perriwinkles,
oysters, and many other crustaceous delicacies; the Indians
cultivated corn and tobacco, and tradition says that there were
trees enough on the island to supply them with firewood.
But, with all these essential elements of happiness, there were
still wanting the converse of friendly neighbors ; so the per-
secuted pilgrim returned to Salisbury and gave so bright a
picture of the delights of his new home that some, half a do-
zen families were tempted to return with him. They were
men of simple habits, of strong virtues, and benevolent hearts.
One of their number, shortly after they landed, went to the
top of a hill to look upon their Canaan, and seeing the parch-
ed and desert aspect of the land, turned to the sea, where he
saw whales spouting and gamboiling among the crested waves;
stretching out his arm he pointed to the ocean and said to his
companions, yonder are the green fields which will be culti-
ated by our children. 'The prediction has been remarkably
verified. From that day the inhabitants of the island have
devoted themselves wholly to the sea, and have drawn from
it immense stores of wealth. At one time Nantucket had a
greater amount of tonnage employed in the whale fishery than
ny other place in the world. At the present time they have
but eighty ships, while New Bedford has nearly double the
number.
The people have suffered severely, at different periods,
from the effects of war, famine, and fire ; but the energetic
and indomitable spirit of their ancestors still exists among them,
and they present quite the most remarkable instance of the
pursuit of property under difficulties that the world can offer.
The cheap facility of intercourse with the main land by means
of steam has caused some modification in the primitive habits
of the people, but they remain unique and thoroughly old
English in their speech and customs, and will probably remain
so forever, in spite of the flocks of visiters who resort to the
Island during the hot months to enjoy the bracing sea air and
the fine ocean scenery. The town itself is composed mainly
of old weather-beaten frame houses, covered with pine shin-
gles, and entirely destitute of all architectural graces or the
embellishment of paint; the streets are crooked and straggling,
and so sandy that you have to wade through them rather than
walk. That part of the town which was destroyed by fire
last year has been rebuilt with substantial brick buildings, the
streets straightened, and the general appearance of things
greatly improved. They have plenty of goad school-houses,
able teachers, and a really handsome Athenseum, with the nu-
cleus of a library and a museum of natural curiosities. But
the charm of the Island to a visiter lies in its desert bills and
sublime ocean prospect. The simple grandeur of the scene as
you stand in the middle of the Island, with the ocean gleam-
ing in a bright bell around you, can only be conceived of by
those who have stood in the middle of a Western prairie.
But here the brown poverty of the soil, the absence of ail ap-
pearances of vegetable fertility, and the blue sea in the dis-
tance, are elements of desolate grandeur that the prairies lack.
You might imagine yourself standing upon the first spot of
primal earth which emerged from old Chaos before the garni-
ture of trees and flowers, of rocks and running water, were
added to the surface of our globe.
There is a tradition among the inhabitants that when their
forefathers landed here from Salisbury they found the island
well covered with trees, but there are no vestiges of them re-
maining now. There are a few ornamental trees planted in
the town, which appear to thrive well, but the land out of the
town, which i3 still held in common and undivided, being
used chiefly for the pasturage of sheep, is entirely destitute of
a tree or a shrub. The herbage is very scant and poor, but
the sheep thrive upon it and make the finest mutton I have
ever tasted. I would advise all who come here for recreation
to eat nothing but mutton and fish, eschewing the sword-fish,
however. Apart from a moral duty which attaches to every
body to avoid every thing that wears a sword, even though it
be a fish, the sword-fish is to be avoided for its coarseness and
indigestible qualities. But the people here and in New Bed-
ford appear to have a passion for it; I meet men in the streets
carrying home sword-fish steaks on the end of wooden skew-
I wonder what Izaak Walton would have done with one
TTTATER-CURE ESTABLISHMENT, lit Round
VV Hill, Northampton, Massachusetts.
This establishment is now completed and ready for the re-
ception of boarders and patients. It is located on one of the
pleasantest spots in New England, with all the advantages ot
pure air and pure water, and overlooking the enchanting land-
scape ot the valley of the Connecticut. The buildings are
conveniently arranged, with a dining-room 50 by 36 leet, a
saloon nearly as large, several reception rooms, parlors, and
bathing rooms, and over one hundred sleeping rooms.
The medical department is under the care of Drs. Edward
E. Denniston and J. A. Cummings, and provision is made for
the most ample attendance, amongst whom are several well in-
structed and experienced nurses from Germany.
The establishment is accessible by railroad from all points,
New York, Albany, or Boston, july 27—<lmcp
• ST. TIMOTHY’S HALL,
J ShJwcJ cd Catonsville, six miles from Balti-
more, Mary tan ff.
Rev. L. VAN BOKKELEN, A. M., Rector.
rpHE extensive buildings of this Institution are now eom-
8 plete, and furnish ample accommodations for eighty pu-
pils, the limited number. They have been elected specially
for their present purpose, and contain all the conveniences
found in similar buildings in the Northern and Eastern States.
The position is renowned for its salubrity and the beauty ot its
scenery. The grounds contain nearly 100 acres, 20 of which are
a grove of forest trees, and aftord sufficient space tor the appro-
priate recreations and amusements of youth. The course ot
instruction embraces every branch, from the elements ot an
English education to a thorough preparation to the sophomore
or junior classes of college, or for mercantile law. The sys-
tem of instruction in the classics is a modification of that pur-
sued with such eminent success by Rev. V. K. Arnold, of Eng-
land. The Rector is assisted by experienced teachers, who
are graduates of our best northern colleges, and his effort will
be to estai lish a school of the highest grade for instruction
and discipline. All the accomplishments consistent witli a
Christian institution can be acquired ; vocal and instrumental
music recive special attention, and are taught upon very rea-
sonable terms. Physical education is systematized by regular
periods for exercise, and the character of the exercise is adapt-
ed to a perfect development of the body.
Parents desiring a thorough education for their sons, under
strictly religious'influences, are invited to visit the hall and
examine all its departments. The Rector will be pleased to
have visiters pass a day in the school arid notice its manage'
ment in every detail. Parents from the Sout:. and West pas*'
ing through Baltimore, and wishing to place their sons a
school, are invited to visit St. 1 iniotliy’s Hall, which it is
thought will furnish all the advantages of instruction and cli
mate which can be obtained in any of the Northern States.
Terms: $100 per session of five months. Vacations in
April and October. For further information or admission of
pupils, apply to the Rector.__july 31
BALTIMORE FEMALE SEMINARY,
No. 119 East Baltimore street, opposite Aisquith street.
Addison B. Atkins, A.M., Principal.
John W. Major, A.B., Assistant.
rj^HE FALL TERM of this Seminary will commence on
JL Wednesday, the 1st of September. The Principal will
spare no efforts to make this Institution all which the wants
of the public demand. The course of instruction is system-
atic, and embraces all the branches of an English, Classical,
and polite education. The character which the Seminary has
acquired in the three years that have elapsed since it was es-
tablished, and the facilities it affords for the attainment ol a
thorough education, as well as the advantages it presents as a
Boarding School^ may be learned from the following extracts
from communications which appeared in the daily “American”
of this city, of the 18th and 22d of July, 1846—the one commu-
nicated by one of the Editors ot that paper, the other by the
Rev. Henry V. D. Johns, D.D.
“ Baltimore Female Seminary—We had the pleasure du-
ring the last few days of being present at the semi-annual ex-
amination of the Baltimore Female Seminary. The profici-
ency exhibited by the pupils ol this institution is a sure guar-
anty of the care and labor bestowed upon them, and of the
ability of their instructors to induct them into all the branches
of a useful and polite education. The house in which the In-
stitute is conducted is large and commodious, and the School
arrangements are also of a superior character. The routine
of study laid down by the Principal of (his Institution em-
braces all the branches which are now recognised as necessary
to the education of a well-informed young lady ”
The following is extracted from the communication of the
Rev. Dr. Johns :
“ Baltimore, July 27, 1846.
“ The Misses Chisholm, who take charge of the boarding-
house arrangements of Mr. Atkins’s Seminary, are middle-
aged ladies, and are women of known piety and character.
My acquaintance with them is not (he mere introductory affair
of letters and recommendati ns from others, but personal and
intimate, running back some eighteen years. One of these
ladies was and is a communicant of the church under my ca e,
and the other is a communicant in the Presbyterian church.
They possess, in my judgment, every qualification of pru-
dence, kindness, piety, and real worth for the care of young
females. While home education is probably the best for our
daughters, yet as many parents are so situated as to be ob-
liged to send their daughters abroad to school, I do unhesitat-
ingly recommend this Seminary to them .
“ I may mention that Mr. Atkins is a graduate of Union
College, and a communicant of the Protestant Episcopal
Church. The Assistant Teacher (Mr. Major) is a communi-
cant in the Presbyterian Church. The truth is the school is
what a school ought to be, and hence must succeed.
I am, very respectfully, your friend, &c.
“HENRY Y. D. JOHNS.”
The Principal deems it respectful to add the following tes-
timonials—the one from the Rt Rev. Alonzo Potter, D.D.
LL.D., Bishop of Pennsylvania ; the other from Robert A.
Dobbin, Esq , one of the Editors of the Baltimore American :
“ I rejoice to hear that your energy and perseverance have
been followed by their appropriate reward, and I pray God
that your labors may be rich in the best of blessings to your-
self and to others. I am, dear sir, sincerely your friend,
“ALONZO POTTER.”
“ I gladly avail myself of the present occasion to thank you
for the kindness you have extended to my daughter, as well as
for the interest you have taken in her welfare, and the zealous
exertions you have used to promote her advancement, in which
I am happy to say you have met with a success which reflects
high credit on your industry and judicious course of instruc-
tion. Permit me to offer yrumy best wishes for your con-
tinued prosperity. I am, very trulv and respectfully, yours,
“ROBT. A DOBBIN.”
The Principal would particularly7 refer to an article in the
“American,” copied into the “Patriot” of July 20, 1847,
accompanied by editorial remarks, and also to the following
gentlemen, the most of whom are patrons of the Institution :
Rt. Rev. Alonzo Patter, D.D. LL. D., Philadelphia.
Rev. Henry V. D. Johns, D.D., Baltimore.
Rev. Lewis Green, D.D. do.
Robert A. Dobbin, Esq. do.
Andrew Coyle, Esq., Washington.
Hon. N. D. Coleman, Vicksburg, Miss.
There are two sessions a day, and pupils from the remote
parts of the city would find it expedient to dine with the board-
ing scholars of the Institution.
The course of instruction is divided into three departments,
in which the prices of tuition are as follows :
Senior department, per quarter....................$14
Middle do do.......................... 12
Junior do do.......................... 10
Board and tuition, per annum..............$225 to 250
Music, Drawing, French, 8tc. at Professors’ prices.
One-half of the price of tuition to be paid quarterly in ad-
nce. aug 9—eo3t
A DVERT1SEMENT.—A young gentleman from the
j\ North, who has been teaching tor some time in one of
the most respectable families in Virginia, is desirous of pro-
curing a situation as tutor in a private family in one of the
Southern States or elsewhere. Most satisfactory testimonials
will be furnished. Address WILLIAM R. DON AG HE,
Staunton, Augusta county, Va. aug 7—3taw
,T AUK MAT1CAL TEACHEH.—A gentleman who
__L has had several years’ experience in teaching, and who
can furnish the most*satisfactory testimonials of moral charac-
ter, scholarship, and success in teaching, is desirous of obtain-
ing a situation in some of the Southern States. He would pre-
fer the mathematical and scientific department in some college
or literary institution, though he would accept of any profit-
able school, in which he would teach the classics also.
Address ALPHA, Richmond, Va. aug 7—3taw
ENEKAL AGENCY, at Frankfort, Kentucky—
YX Tl^ undersigned, (late of Culpeper county, Va.) having
located himself permanently at Frankfort, continues to offer
his services to the public as a general agent. He will give
special attention to the prosecution of claims for lands belong-
ing to non-residents, in the State of Kentucky, and in the coun-
ties bordering on the Ohio river, in tJje States of Ohio, Indiana,
and Illinois, and will, if desired, make sale of the lands. All
letters (post paid) will receive prompt attention.
u GEORGE M. GREEN.
REFERENCES :
Hon. J. S. Pendleton, Washington, D. C.
Gen. Bernard Peyton, Thomas Green, and John M. Patton,
Richmond, Ya.
Wm. M. McCarty, Esq., Fairfax county, Ya.
James M. Mason, Winchester, Va.
John Moncure, Stafford county, Ya.
R. T. Thom and J. M. Herndon. Fredericksburg, Va.
ian 27—cpfimos
ryto TEMPERANCE MEN.—There is now established
8 in the city of Washington a neat, cheap, and valuable
National Temperance Journal, called the “ Columbian Foun-
tain,” issued every Saturday morning. This paper has been
in existence eighteen months, and is well known and libe-
rally patronized in many parts of our Union. It is devoted
to Temperance, Morals, Literature, the Arts and Sciences,
and General Intelligence ; and should be read by every family.
Terms : Only one dollar per annum, payable in advance, or
$1.50 at the expiration ot the year.
Specimen numbers sent free of charge. Address, post paid,
J. T. WARD & CO., Editors,
july 22—cp7t Washington.
of these sea-warriors, who live by the sword and perish by the
harpoon, and whether he would have succeeded in making
one of the monsteis as palatable as a chub. Let the sword-
fish be cooked as he may, I think with the American editor
of old Izaak, in his notes on the chub, that the dish will be
improved by leaving out its principal ingredient. Wiley &
Putnam’s edition of the Complete Angler is a most choice and
instructive volume, enriched by copious and learned notes by
one who has had the modesty to conceal his name, but who
divides the honors with his master. The American editor de^
serves as much praise for the additions which he has made to
the permanent literature of the country, as for the service he
has rendered to the votaries of the angle. By good fortune I
put a copy of this work in my valise before leaving New York,
and while lying upon the deck of the little packet which
brought me over the shoals and across the sound, I read old
Liaak’s essay on the superiority ot water to the other elements,
and the superiority .of ftsfi to all other animals but those that
catch them with the angle. The mate of the sloop said to me—
“I guess that ere is a new book you are reading—you seem
to be tearing the leaves open
“ Yes,” said I.
“Well, I thought so,” said the mate; “how much now
might such a book as that ere cost ?”
“ This,” said I, “ cost sixty-two and a half cents.”
“ Well, now,” said the mate, taking his short pipe from his
mouth that he might give greater breadth to his expression of
surprise, “ well, now, I didn’t know that booksfost so much.
“ It is amazingly cheap at that,” I replied.
“You don’t say so !” exclaimed the mate, and as the cap-
tain just then requested him to mind his eye, I missed hear-
ing his opinions on cheap literature. I have not the least
doubt that he is opposed to international copyright, for he
seemed to have the same view of the subject that those astute
writers do who think that books are the only kind of property
that can be stolen without committing a wrong to any body.
A clerk of the Post Office in the city of New York named
Nelson O. Marsellis was on Friday arrested, ^charged with
stealing money letters from the post office. The evidence
adduced against him was that of another clerk, who deposed
to having seen him take away a letter containing a small sum
of money directed to Wilson & Go. of that city. He was
committed to prison.
Mrs. Malaprop Alive.—The Boston Post perpetrates
the following :
“ My dear,” said Mrs. Bell to her companion, Mrs. Pop-
pletoue; as they walked past the excavation tor the water
works, in Washington street, yesterday morning, “ can you
tell me what them holes are for ?” ...
“ Certainly,” replied Mrs. P-; V they are for the anecdote
to bring from La e Cochineal. The limping ailrment will le-
ander through the iron cubes, and irritate all the circumjacent
benefices. They’ll have hydrants at the corners ot the
streets, and probably a ‘jetty dough’upon the common; for
it is a law of hieroglyphics that water alvvays descends up to
the level of its source, and this here fountain must rise as high
as that ’ere lake. I shall be very glad when the water gets
here, for I am as fond of absolutions as a musselman, as I
darn’t wash my feet in Jamaiky water on account of the dirt of
the heels.”
NOTICE TO CLAIMANTS FOR REVOLUTION-
ARY LAND BOUNTY.
T) esolved by tlie General Assembly of Virginia, That
the resolution of the Assembly adopted the twelfth of
January, eighteen hundred and forty-six, entitled “ A resolu-
tion to rescind the resolution requiring notice to be given to
persons having claims on Virginia for Revolutionary land
bounty to present the same by a given day for adjustment^ or
that the same shall thereafter be void, and extending the time
for prosecuting their claims,” be rescinded, anil that claimants
of Revolutionary land bounty be allowed till the first ot March,
eighteen hundred and fifty, to prosecute their claims,
june 15—law4w • Adopted, March 12, 1847.
D. PAINE & CO.
CONTRACTORS AND MANAGERS OF LOTTERIES.
GRAND SCHEMES FOR AUGUST.
Approved by the State Lottery Commissioners, and to be
drawn in Baltimore under their superintendence.
SUSQUEHANNA CANAL LOTTERY, Class 37,
To be drawn in Baltimore August 11, 1847.
GRAND SCHEME.
1. prize of..
100 prizes of..
1 do ...
25
do ....
1 do ...
25
do -. •.
1 do ...
&c. &
66
c.
do ....
Jkc.
Tickets $10—halves $5—quarters $2 50.
Certificates of packages of 26 whole tickets $140
Do do 26 half do 70
Do do 26 quarter do 35
Do dn 20 mgm.r,
SUSQUEHANNA CANAL LOTTERY, Class 38.
To be drawn August 18, 1847.
SCHEME.
2 prizes of.....$1,750
2 do...........1,500
2 do...........1,250
1 do...........1,000
2 do........... 800
1 prize of.........$30,000
1 do...............8,000
1 do...............5,000
1 do...............4,000
1 do...............2,500 2 do...........
200 prizes of $500, being the lowest third number prize.
Tickets $10—Halves $5—Quarters $2 50
Certificate of package of 25 whole tickets $1-0
Do do 25 half do 65
p)0 (Jo 25 quarter do 32 50
Do do 25 eighth
16 25
1 prize of.......$50,000
1 do ........25,000
1 do ........12,500
1 do .........8,000
1 do .........5,262
See.
MAGNIFICENT SCHEME.
To be drawn Jlugiist H&th, in Baltimore, ,VId.
MARYLAND CONSOLIDATED LOTTERY,
For the benefit of the Outlet Lock Susquehanna Canal, &c.
Class No. 39.
78 numbers—13 drawn ballots.
$50,000—$25,000—100 of $1,000 !
SCHEME.
1 prizes of......$4,000
ICO do .........1,000
180 do .........500
65 do .........200
65 do . .........1(-'0
kc. &c.
Whole tickets $16—Halves $8—Qrs. $4—Eighths $2.
Certificates of packages of 26 whole tickets $220
Do do 26 half do 110
Do do 26 quarter do 55
Do do 26 eighths do 27 50
The above scheme is one of the best ever ottered the public.
The amount of money in the scheme for distribution is nearly
a million of dollars ; and the lowest three number prize is
$500. A package may draw the four highest prizes, amount-
ing to $95,500.
93“ D. PAINE & CO. are the sole and only legal Managers
of Lotteries in Maryland. .
All orders for tickets, shares, or packages will be promptly
attended to, if addressed to
D. PAINE & CO., Managers,
iuly 28—law3wd&icj it Baltimore, Md,
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National Intelligencer. (Washington [D.C.]), Vol. 48, No. 6961, Ed. 1 Tuesday, August 10, 1847, newspaper, August 10, 1847; Washington, District of Columbia. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1060256/m1/4/: accessed July 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .