Farmers' gazette, and Cheraw advertiser. (Cheraw, S.C.) 1839-1843, August 23, 1842, Image 1

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' "0 u t Ml ? ?18' <!? ? > 111 r > asfw ?wm?nwVOLUME VII. CIlEltAW. SOUTlI-CAf^.LINA TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 1842. NUMBER 41. By M. MACLEAN. . Terms:?Published weekly at three dollarsa year; with an addition, when not paid within three months, of twenty per cent per annum. | Two new subscribers may take the paper at five dollars in advance; and ten at twenty. Four subscribers, not receiving their papers in town, may pay a year's subscription with ten doi|ars, In advance. A year's subscription always due in advance. Papers not discontinued lo solvent subscribers in arrears. 1 Advertisements not cxcocding IGlincs inserted ' or one dollar the first time, and fifty cents each ubsequont tune. For insertions at intervals of two weeks 75 cents after the first, and a dollar if the intervals are longer. Payment due in advance for advertisements. When the number of insertions is not marked on the copy, the advertisement will be inserted, and charged till crderco out. ITT Fhc postage must bo paid on letters to the editor on the business of the office. ~~~ [From the Temperance Advocate.] REPORT Of the Committee on Potatoes before the Newberry Agricultural Society, July i 27, 1842. The Committee on Potatoes, find little i difficulty in reporting on this root, so generally cultivated by the planters of South Carolina, which culture has been ' quite successful ; yet we beg leave to j suggest its improvement, and believe it practicable to add valuable qualities to it, ; by careful attention ; deriving this opinion from contrasting the scarcely edible u Solannum Tuberosum" which was discover- j ed indigenous in South America, and tne cultivated Irish Potato, a root which has contributed at least one half to the sustenance of the peasantry of tlie middle climates of Europe, for the last twenty years. It is conceded that to ensure a plentiful crop of this species of potato, it is only necessary to prepare the soil well, plant ; early, and manure properly; for which; purpose recourse should be had to the bountiful materials at the command of! every planter, in the shape of hog-hair, , rotten straw and chaff, China-berries and cotton seed, all of which are admirable ' ingredients to promote this crop. We cannot recommend the latter too highlv, ; as the best Irish Potatoes we have ever seen grown in Newberry District were , manured with cotton seed. With tho i above general directions, and a moist cli- j mate, after having selected (he seed care- j fully, no one need despair of a good crop , of Irish potatoes, as it is a fixed maxim in regard to this crop, that the least work ensures the best and most palatable tubers. ?The tubers of the Irish Potatoes, having no distinct taste, and being compost d chiefly of starch, have more of the nature ; of flour, or the farina of grain, than any j other vegetable, which causes this potato j to he a versa I ly a lavonu:; a no u uun uc longer used without becoming unpulutuO t i blc, than any other article of diet. Among its various domestic uses, in (lor- i many and Ireland, bread is made of it, by a preparation of flour from tiie dried roots, ^ and the addition of a small quantity ol wheat flour-; and puddings equal in flavor to the- "celebrated mil et puddings?to which we may add potato starch, which, independently of its use in tin; laundry, is | an equally delicate article of food for in- I validsassago or arrow roof. In the North- 1 ern States it is extensively used as food ! lor cattle, horses ami hogs. We deem the peculiar province of our ! rcp??rt confined to the cultivation of the sivect potato, (Convalvolus Batatus,) j which was introduced into England pre- i vious to the Irish potato, and was in those days, supposed to possess the qualities of restoring decayed vigor, and more frequently found in the shop of the confertioner, than in the (aider of the cook. It is a native both of Spain and the Canary i Islands, and was, as an edible, in such had ! repute in the year 1699, tiiat the renown- ! Evelyn, in his work on gardening, recom- j mends that potatoes should he planted in ! * 1 * ?ml n;n n pn rrII ine worsi "iuuiiu, nuu < v. u * p we live in an age and country where \vc can say, plant sweet potatoes in your best land; though probably in the days of the author above quoted, the promise by this root was such, that it held forth no inducementsjto the cultivator ; and certainly time has proved that England's soil and climate have been uncongenial to its irn* improvement. Though there are many who, even in Newberry, take this advice and neglect this crop, for the sole fact, that they themselves are not fond of potatoes?not consulting the tastes of voracious hogs and cows, who squealing and lowing for corn and hay, would he happi Iv regaled w ilh a satisfactory meal from O the potato pile.? We regard the successful cultivation of the sweet potato as an easy attainment. It delights in a light, ^ rather sandy, deep and well stirred soil, ^ which must be located mi a dry subsoil, though we have raised good potatoes on clay lands. We think a moist atmosphere, the temperature of which is warm, most conduci ,*c to the early growth and i ? * ill/, l\?ln!n. ji it'UNim ii'i? ui wi luv . ? Our rule, when we do manure for jm- ; tntoes, is lo spread liie manure broad caM i over (lie soil?hence, the easiest manner of preparing the land properly, is to row poll the ground intended for potatoes late ' in the summer, and during the fall giving it frequent ploughing, so that the manure j deposited may not he evaporated or washcd away bv rains. Plough uj) the land J ' _ c very docj) earl v in January ; to which ploughing \vc would rece;:i:uciid a suo j soiling to those who have the proper implement. Plough again in February, and in March repeat with a like plough ing; immediately after which, we bed up our land with a common twister plough four feet wide, upon which beds we drop our potato slips five or six inches apart, covering them with a hoe. one and a half inches deep, with good mellow soil. Tiiis mode of planting is usually termed ridging ; and simply to cross the beds at equal squares with their width, we can form potato hills by drawing up the corners of the squares with a hoe. We have tried both hills and ridges, and have no preference, though the soil, when planted in hills is most likely to be washed away by violent rains. We plant four or five slips in each hill. So soon as the potatoes begin to sprout, the ridges or hills should be scraped off with a hoe, which will enable the young plants to come up readily, and immediately after they have appear- ; ed above ground, the beds should be I ploughed down, which ploughing should be performed carefully, and as close to the nl.mfs ns ihov will hear, so as not to (lis turb the parent slip. This yields to the i young plant that warmth which is so ' much desired in this culture, and potatoes thus cultivated will stand the summer j drought better than those which have been tended otherwise. Frequent j ploughings with a few times hoeing is all that is necessary, until the vines attain a length which interferes with the ploughing, at which period the ridges and hills should he drawn up with a hoe, fuller than they were originally, and in such a manner that they should be hollow at top. (ireat care should be taken not to throw anv soil on the vines, and therefore, whilst 1 drawing up tiic bed, they should be gently ! raised by the hand. Just before the ! vines reach the bottom of the beds, a ! plough should ho run twice through the j tows, in order to give them mellow earth ! to root in. This will serve to sustain the vine in extreme drought, and as the leaves are almost the only organs which feed tuberous roots, we earnestly recommend an ! abandonment of the practice of topping ! potatoes, or tearing the vines with a j plough?and particularly the practice of J making a calf pasture of the potato patch, i late in the summer. Potatoes for plan- I 1 iriir should always he raised from cutO -? tings, as they are generally more succulent, and vegetable better in the Spring than those which are raised from small potatoes. And hence, large potatoes bringing forth stouter plants are preferable to very small slips. The chairman of litis Committee has raised 500 bushels of good sweet potatoes on an acre of land, and 1300 bushels has been an average crop with him. They were of tlie dark mottled Spanish 1 variety, which we think are the best; 1 though any and every sort should he cultivated, and we are not advocates for any I particular variety, us the yellow yarn would suit a sandy location, whilst the dark Spanisn would succeed better on clay soils. The yam is best cultivated from sprouts drawn from a bed, but for the cultivation of almost every other variety of the sweet potato, we deem it advisable to plant the root itself. Our plan to preserve potatoes is simple : making a circular bed 8 or (J feet in diameter, on which wc place pine straw or corn stalks ; in the centre of which wc set upright a plank tube with a great many holes bored in its sides, around which tube we pile up our potatoes until the cone is completed within a lew inches of the top of the tube, when we cover them up with pine straw, corn stalks, and lastly with earth four or live inches thick. The tube may be closed in frosty weather by a wisp of straw?during mild weather, it may be opened, in order to allow the gas arising from decayed, bruised potatoes to escape. Willi this and the addition of a temporary shelter, we have always succeeded in saving potatoes. The sweet potato, independently of its great use in culinary concerns, is a crop which deserves mote attention ut (he hands of our up-country planters. The fine effect which they give when fed to milch cattle, should make it a favorite with all who delight in good milk and butter. They furnish a line wholesome beverage in tne shape of potato beer; and we ask, as a matter of inquiry, whether the sweet potato could not be dried so as '1 - I 1 A - 1 4 ^ to turnisn a Hour eminently auapieu 10 culinary purposes, at those seasons when we cannot enjoy the root in its green state ? \Ve unhesitatingly recommend that the same land be planted in potatoes each succeeding year, lor wc believe that the culture of this crop adapts the soil for the increased reproduction of this root, believing that the covering of the vines where potatoes are gathered, restores the land a larger supply of nutrition than is consumed by the production of the crop. ?There is now growing, in the garden of ttie chairman of this Committee, a variety of potatoes entirely new in this section of ihe country, known as tiie Massicolton, - * * - ,|rir (>l .ViiiUill! yiiui, pua^vasuig niv aiiumui faculty of p.oducing its tubers on tlie vine above the ground. It is characterized bv very rich and luxuriant growth. It seems to be admirably adapted to the construction of arbors, us it easily attains t he length of twenty and twenty-five feet. It is said to he line llavored, and as the vine lias a quantity of potatoes nowgiowing on it, this Society l-JijH be informed I of its value, should it possess r.ny, and of the success of the cultivator in growin?jr it. I All of which is respectfully submitted John* Summer, Sen., Chairman, J. II. Maffktt, C. B. Griffin. From the Farmer''s Register. MARLING IN SOUTH CAROLINA. To the Fditor of the Farmer's Register. * * * I am still pressing on with the marl, and have collected on my bluff, | since I planted my crop, some 25,000 bushels, and arnstill bringing up ii,4UU bushels per week : I shall begin to haul it I out as soon as I gather. The forwardness of cotton will interfere with me some, i as I shall have little or no time between gathering fodder and commencing to pick, but I am resolrcd to have between GOO and 7U0 acres marled for the next crop. The land marled this year shows the effects very plainly, and that marled i earliest shows best, which gives me faith in its continuing to improve. I think, as thinks every one, that the effect this year \ is fully equal to a fair coal of our stable I manure. Both the corn and cotton marled are also in advance of earlier plantings, apparently a week or ten days now. I find that some bald places, have been injured, but, to counterbalance, low wet places which I thought too wet for marl, have proved to have been only too sour heretofore, and are bearing finally. My experimental acres in corn will afford a pretty fair test, but not in cotton. It turns out that the acres without marl and with the .300 bushels of marl were far superior in point of soil to those with the 100 and 250 bushels. I was deceived by the stalks of cotton. The last year being a very peculiar one, the poorer acres produced as well as the best. In addition to this, the marled land being slower to come up, iny overseer planted it all over again. The acre unmarled vegetated earliest, and was only replanted : half of it is ten days or more older than the others. On the whole, however, I am fully satisfied, and if it goes on as it now promises, I _! II ? - F imnrl oil fvitf T\? onlln/f 1 U IIU JK, .VA., -r ? J From the Southern Planter. AN EXPERIMENT ON STONE FRUIT, i You know, sir, how difficult it is to ripen the nectarine. liem^ a smooth skill SlUlll ?>;i UIIW1 1 lllllll till llljr |iiuiiitng land. .My people all say the marl has very much improved the land for working. The stiff parts arc mellowed, and the light made more consistent. They say, loo, that they can work the out-grass better, and k;ll more of it. This terrible nuisance made its appearance a few years ago on my place. I have done nothing to arrest it, for I have never known anything to avail. Do you suppose marl can have any effect on it? Possibly it is an acid grass, and, like sorrel, may be tooted out by alkalies. Remarks by the Editor. [We I iuve heretofore, on several occasions, remarked upon the absence of all effort to improve by marling in South 1 i Carolina : and afterwards welcomed the ; news of the earliest movement towards I that great and beneficial work. We rc; joico now to learn that, at least on one large plantation, marling is in that state I of progress, and has been already so suo1 cessful in profitable effects, ns to leave no I doubt of there being now fairly commenced such operations as will soon make I South Carolina a marling country. In * this great ''internal improvement" of j that state, (more valuable for private j profit, and for augmenting the pub| lie wealth, than nil her great and ; costly improvements for transporta; lion, on rail roads and by navigation,) the writer of the private letter from which i we have taken the liberty of extracting j for publication the foregoing passage will j be one of those p oncers who will render the greatest service to the countrymen, by practically showing to them the way to improve and reap rich profits from their great and almost totally neglected natural resources. In consideration of our object, , to make his example more profitable to i others we trust that he will excuse this ' use made of a portion of the last received i of his several private letters, written to obtain information for his own guidance ! in mai ling. We cannot presume farther, and point out the writer or his locality more distinctly. But we may say to i those of his countrymen who can use | inarl, and have done so?Seek out for the most extensive and successful marlling operations now in progress in South Carolina?sec them and judge for yourself, and then act according to your judgI ment of the proofs of success and profit." [It is true, and lamentable, that all that i is said, written, or published to urge to i this or any other novel improvement in : agriculture, has scarcely any etfect, even j on those who hear and read all the facts , and reasoning. But exhibit the same truth to the eves of the same persons, and | twenty of them will follow the example, : where one would without such ocular I proofs being presented. Wc have, in our ! way, by writing and publishing, done 1 very far more than our correspondent to instruct his countrymen, as he has been instructed, and almost to no purpose ; but iiis practice will do what our precepts j have failed to cliectin every particular, ! except on himself and perhaps a few othj ers. .Mav he ellectually do this good work, in which we have, for this Slate, ??wl ~<\ fir uirmnllv failed. Kn. F. R.l not got a lodging place in the soil." i Yours, with (he best wishes for the sue- I cess of your Planter, T. Ritchie. Richmond, June 1, 1342. P. S.?If your friends desire any cut- i tings of the black apricot, they are welcome to them. I will send you a specimen of the fruit when it is ripe. The , tree grows in my hack yard. My nectarine tree was an old tree, much injured by the worm before I removed it?and was stripped down by the wind tiie fourtii year after it was transplanted. T. R. There is no man in this country, who understands,.better than Mr. Ritchie, the 1 proper mode of demonstrating to an editor the truth of ;i proposition : we have received a plate of the fruit, rare as it is delicious, the black ap-icot, to which ho refcrs. In the name of our friends, we return thanks to Air. Ritchie for his polite offer with respect to the cuttings. That the fruit is saved from the curculio, if the passage of the worm from the fallen fruit to the ground can he interceptod, is confirmed by the testimony of John Carter, the celebrated nurseryman 1 in this vicinity. Instead of the trampling or pavement, Mr. Carter subjects them to the devouring jaws of his swine, which have a regular run in his peach orchard. From the Southern I'lanter. Flow to cook Cucumbers.?We have seen a recipe to cook cucumbers, somewhat a Iter this fashion : Take the cucumbers and after cutting off the rind, cut them into slices, then cut up a few onions wilh them, pepper and salt them to your liking, and add vinegar to them?and then,?open your window and throw them away. This is the usual way of preparing them for the table, and doubtless, the recipe is so worded as to impress the idea of their unheal thincss, and we must confess, that we are among those who have so esteemed them. Hut ifcooked as beiow stated, we conceive them not only to he wholesome, hut among the most palatable vegetable dishes with which the table can be "arnished. Our method is this : o y ParcofTthe rind, then cut the cucumber into slices lengthwise, dust either side of those slices with corn meal or wheat flour pepper and salt them to please your taste ; this done, fry them brown, and you will have one of the most delicious dishes that you can imagine, combining in their flavor those of tlie oyster plant and eggplant. Of their health fulness, thus cooked, there can he no question, and of their palatableness, it is only necessary that you try them, to say with us that they are exquisite. novel mode of cultivating corn. Extract from Louisville Journal. My universal rule is, to plough my corn land the fall preceding the spring when | 1 plant; and as early in the spring as I possible, I cross plough as circumstances will permit, and as soon as this is done, I commence checking otf the first way with my large ploughs, and the second with my small ones, the checks, three feet by three, admitting of working the land both ways. And then I plant my corn from the 20th to the 25th of March?a rule to which 1 adhere with scrupulous exactness ; planting from eight to twelve grains in each hill, covering the same from four to six inches deep, greatly prej furring the latter depth ; and in this par. j I ticular I take more pride and more pains ; than any other farmer in Kentucky, hold-; ding it as my ruling principle, that the j product of the corn corresponds very | -1- . i?nr/,iu.rlr rovcred. mucn upon us ut'iiiu ? and much on its l?e?u?i properly ploughed the first time. So soon as n;y corn crop is U|? ufsw/litit'llt height, f stait tiie large ! ned fruit, free from the furze, the curculio is fonder of attacking it than the poach, and it is generally eaten up by its worm. As the immature fruit fulls, the worm retires into the earth, only to rise again the next springand renew upon the young nectarines. I had been so often tantalized in the growth of this beautiful fruit?none of my three trees bringing in many years a single specimen to maturity on my little farm, that I determined to remove one of them to my back yard in the city, which is well paved with brick. In the second spring the tree produced as beautiful nectarines as could be desired. My apricots always succeed in the same situation?and a worm is never seen in them (for ten years)?among them is the bhcli apricot, a sound, very pretty and racy fruit, partaking of the character of the plum and the nectarine. My attention has been drawn to this ! matter by an article in the last farmers' Register," 207, on 44 The Fruit Curculio," from Ilillsboro,' North Carolina, April 8th, which states that,44 a few years since, while at the house of a very intelligent farmer of Lincoln county, I was forcibly struck with the lively and clean appear, ance of his plum trees, which were then . loaded with fruit. On inquiring his mode of treatment, he remarked, that the only secret in tho case was to set them out by the roadside, (as his were) or along somepath where the ground would be trodden down as hard as possible. It would appear, therefore, that the rationale of the thing is not to be sought in the shell marl or in the clay, but in having such a hard pan of earth around and under the trees, ( that the insects, which infest them, can- 11 harrow directly over the rows, allowing a | horse to walk on each side, harrowing the ' way the corn was planted ; and on land 1 prepared as above and harrowed as directed, the hoeing part will be so completely performed by this process, that it will satisfy the most skeptical. Then, al- j lowing the corn thus harrowed to remain ? a few days, I start my ploughs with the. har next the corn ; and so nicely will ' this be done, that when a row is thus ploughed, so completely will the intermediate spaces1, hills, &c., he lapped in by the loose earth occasioned by this system : of close ploughing, as to render any oth- I er work useless for a time. I thin to 1 four stalks upon a hill, never having to j transplant, the second ploughing being performed with the moulubonrd towards the rows of corn ; and so rapid has been j the growth of the corn between the first j and second ploughing*, that this is per- [ formed with ease ; and when in this stage, I consider my crop safe ; my general rule ; being, never to plough my corn more than four times, and harrow once. My prac- ( ticc is, to put a field in corn two succes-! sivc years, then "rass it and let it liecmlit J ' Co D years, a rule from which I never deviate. Now, I do not pretend that the labor bestowed upon a sod-field, to put it in a stato of thorough cultivation, does not meet with a fair equivalent from one crop, hut I presume no farmer will doubt when I say, the second year's crop from sod-land is better than the lirst, with not more than one half the labor. The best system of funning is, to produce the greatest amount rS frnin the smallest amount of HI |l| - labor. 1 lay it down as an axiom incontrovertible in the cultivation of corn, that whenever a large crop has been raised, it was the result of close and early planting; and I defy proof to the contrary. 1 plant my corn three feet by three, four stalks in a hill, and allow hut one ear to a stalk, and one hundred ears to a bushel, and then ascertain how many lulls there arc in a shock, sixteen hills square, which is the usual custom to put it up. My present crop, planted on the 20th of March, hids fair to outstrip any preceding one ; I am now ploughing and thinning the first planting. Walter C. Young. Jessamine Co., Ky., April 2G, 1842. From the Southern Planter. It LACK SHEET. Messrs- Editors,?A neighbor selected a very likely young ram which he designed "turning out" and at shearing time o o made known such intention to his "headman," Peter. The shearing over, Peter came to his master and said the lainh he had selected would not do to "turn out"unless he wished to have black sheep in his llock. How do you make that out, Pete ? ! * m said his master ; the lamb is the whitest 'ft -. i.~ ?i:?,i in tlie Hock, inai may uc, iw-pucu i tic, , but I tell you half his lambs will bo black, for he has a rlack streak under his ; tongue. The master and myself in talk, j ing on the subject.came to the conclusion that a greater man than Pete had advan- I ced the same opinion, and accordingly ' we picked up an old Virgil and common. I ced the search. After no little trouble, we found the following :?(Geo. 3?387.) ! " Ilium autcm, quamvisarics bit candidus ipse, j Nigra subest udo tantum cui lingua jKtlato, ! Rejice, nc maculis infused vcllcra pullis, Nasccntum." The English of which, I presume is, "But. though the ram himself may be white, ! reject him, under whose moist palate j there is a black tongue, that he may not ; darken the fleeces of the lambs with j blackish spots." Whether Pcto had borrowed the idea from the " Mantuan Bard " or not is a matter of no consequence. The question for you, Mr. Botts, or some of your correspondents, is-Js the idea correct ?? Wc have, you see, the opinion of a " book ' farmer" and a practical one?of an ancient and a modern?a great man and a I little one. P. B? W. j Nottoway. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. Wednesday, August, 1812.? The speaker having announced the business in order to be the consideration of the message of the President of the United States yesterday received, stated the question thereon, (as it will be found in another part of this paper) when? Mr. Adams said that in some observations lie had submitted in the [louse on Friday and Saturday, lie had requested the indulgence of the House to postpone the subject then before the House, in the hope that some ciicumstanccs might tran- ! spire between that time and the Monday morning lb.'owing, which would relieve the House Irom a great portion of what he should otherwise feel it his duty to sub- j mit. That contingency was the possi billty (a possibility he had been most reluctant to relinquish) that the dissension ! and discord existing between the Execu- 1 live and the Legislative branches of the Government might, within eight and forty hours, he entirely removed. It was his opinion then, and he related it now, that if it had been the pleasure cl tac President to eirect an entire reconciliation of the Kxecutivc with Congress, he had nothing more to do than to put his name, accompanied by the word " approved." to an act which had been submitted to him, and which was of infinite importance to the honor, the credit, and the prosperity of this nation. He had thought so then ; thought so now. He did most conscientiously believe that if the name of the President, with the word "approved," had but been atfixed to the tariff bill, that hoth Houses of the Legislature?ho thought he might safely speak for a majority at least of both Houses?would have loridllpn nnrl fnrffii'on n II thnt h nil linn. " O pcncd before ; and the country, instead of remaining in that state of prostration and distress in which it was now found, would at once have risen to a condition of comparative peace and prosperity, and credit and honor would have taken the place of the disgrace and calamity which now unhappily prevailed. The more reconcilcmcnt of the two branches of the Legislature with the Executivo head would, of itself, have been hailed by a universal burst of joy throughout this Union as the harbinger of happy and prosperous times. That hope had been blasted ; and now, by the paper before the House, the Executive and the Legislature had been placed in a stale of civil war, for which, henceforth, thero could be no remedy but that which the People would take into iheir own hands. t i -: i * t _ 4 i say, sir, exciaimcu mr. .a., mic wak is note declared and I admit that the Executive can no longer retreat without disgrace, as I also hold that neither this nor the other House of Congress can without me same consequence. The position has been taken on both sides: the issue has been offered and accepted ; and now nothing remains hut that an appeal be taken to the People, or?which may- Heaven in its infinite mercy prevent!?an appeal; be had to the God of baiilcs. [Much sensation in the IIousc : laughter and cries of " oh, oli!"?" the God of battles, indeed?only hear that."] ? Now, said Mr. A., while I have contes. ted, and do still contest, the truth of the position of my colleague over the way, (Mr. Gushing,) that it is the destiny of this Congress to accomplish the prostration of the cour try, I still concur with him in the resi It at which he arrived, and I put, as he did. the question, to whom is its prostration, if finally proslrated it shall be, to he attributed 1 He has already said that it will be justly charged upon Congress, understanding him, as I do, thereby to mean the respective majorities in the two Houses. We were told yesterday by another gentleman (Mr. Marshnll) that though ho did not concur in the imputation of this prostration?-which ho also foretold?to Congicss.and although by the force of an esprit (lc corps he should be found with the IIousc and with Congress on that question, we should have a great battle to tight in order to place the responsibility on tho risht shoulders, where it justly be longs, and to cast it off from ourselves. Now, assuming as a position conceded, that nothing further is to take place between tho Executive, and the Legislature on this question, which I say cannot fako place without disgrace on the onosidc or on the other, 1 have a few observations to offer upon the inquiry to whom this prostration of the country is to be attributed. I shall not have time to enter into tho details of that comparison which it wilt he necessary for the People to institute between the proceedings of Congress and the acts of the Executive since he has come to the occupation of the chair: I shall, therefore, simply allude to tho points from which conclusions will bo drawn in comparing the one with tho other, beginning with the commencement of the present Administration. And, in referring to the action of Congress, it is with great satisfaction that I am able to say that, in respect to a very great portion of them, the rancor of party, spirit has had no place; and that, in regard to some of the most important acta of the .National Legislature, we havo had the benefit of the aid of those who call themselves the Democratic party in litis Hall, who have contributed, nearly i as inuch as the majority, to the passage of the acts which 1 shall now proceed to enumerate. And the first act which distinguished the present Congress was the general ! bankrupt law, a measure which has oxtended relief to a most distressed portion of the community. And here candor obliges me to say that in regard to the expediency of that act this House did not differ front the Executive, for it was sanctioned by his signature and approvaL How far his doing so may have given satisfaction to that portion of the community on which his hopes must ultimately rely, i shall not inquire. The act was the act of the majority in the two* Houses of Congress, though perhaps tbey might not have been able to pass it witlu out the aiJ of a small portion of those on rim other side of the question. It is the majority of Congress, and to a certain extent a majority of both parties in that hotly, who carried through this important measure against the most formidable opposition. Tins, then, is not one among the sources of the existing difference, nor is it a measure for uiucti Congress will sustain a responsibility peculiar to itselt.