The Lancaster ledger. (Lancaster, S.C.) 1852-1905, November 23, 1853, Image 1
I* . Y * * ? v ^
*2 PER ANNUM. n,A,Sa?,i^f.TV-s JEtt WE KU IN ADVANCE.
NEUTRAL IN POLITICS?DEVOTED TO LITERARY, COMMERCIAL *%jH0P AGRICULTURAL, SCIENTIFIC, GENERAL AND LOCAL INTELLIGENCE.
VOLUME II. LANCASTER, C. H., SOUTH CAROLINA WEDNESDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 23, 1853. NUMBER 4*
K. BAIl?I2Y | Hiis last sentenco was KDokeu nLivfiillv I rrprxwSn.* ? ? .?.*?.- ?? I
EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.
TKKiUS s
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: Two dollars nnd a half, if payment
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ADVERTISING.
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Single insertion, one dollar jht square.
I (Iflfrtfii (TnUs.|:
THE WIFE'S i
A Sketch for Young Mniried People. I
.Vlliou Kimbiill had been married ailninl ' (
n ifioiuli. 11m business was at tin mak I
m ing, ami lie had a shop of bis own, ami
.His whole obx-k wan paid for; m> he ( It '
ijiiiW; mwb'pctuleiit, the Aitnre looking all
Ovar ami bright. His wife waa one of I "
ili<?so iniM, loving creatures, that hang j j
fondly n'Hiii the interest ami ull'cetiiiiis of i
the hu-huiid, and whoso soul, may sink
< r *wini with iJie fortunes of tlio iK-ingJit #
l.n> ihoM'ti as a patucr.
One evening the young couple were
sitting in their comfortable apartment, the 1
liuOiaml engaged in reading, the wife'
working busily with her needle.
"I must l?o up early to morrow morning,
(.initio, for our jmrty starts shortly ;?f- ! '
i> r stm rise," said Anson, as he laid down 1
lii-o pApor and loaned hack in his chair. j ^
-Then you are going, arc you f" ronu.ukvd
lannie. There was just regret
enough in her tone to render her voice .
lev* lively tli*iii usual, but it um*L have
Ucii a very keen observer that cuuM li;?\?
1 * i
noticed it.
O, to lie sure," returned the young'
man in a j;ar, laughing tone. "Y< 11
I.now tlie iihikIs in the old shop go on i
?lii? shrill fishing excursion every year, atul (
of course I must go with their. We can't :
take our ladies with us on such a trip, but "j
I you shall have agoodlilne to make up for
it." "You inusu't think, Anson, that I (vtivv
?< ? the pleasure you anticipate for I ^
Min Hura that nothing can give me nioia ^
K?li?fncti.* than to know that v< u are enjoy
ing yourself." 1 j
"1 l?elievo von, I.iimie, audi assure von
.
i sludl enjoy myself on this trip exceed- |
ingitf. So you will he happy, too, eh i
"Certainly," returned the young wife; (
but the wi>rd beeuied s|N>kcii reluelaiilly. j
"Come, eonie, Limtic, you don't speak as
yoil feel. Now, yo.i don't want ine to.
go," baid Anson, with a binge of disap|?wntnu-ttt.
"If you think it would be for votit i j
good to go, of course 1 should want you
to go."
"And how can it be otherwise I"
'You won't be offended, Anson, if I tell
%oi."
"I'wli! an idea ! f !* offended
* w it It J'rtl. No. Collie, tell IMC y?rtir J
thought*." : |
A* the young man s|M>ki>, liu moved ( #
bin chair lo the side of Id* wife, and put x
his arm about her neck.
'Wile,*' rotunicd J.iunie, in an earnest, v
yet pleiuant'tono, *1 wa* thinking of the *
-jfa *'Ha, hn, ha! TIm ?ipc?M. Why, it
won't be over five dollar* at thefartheM." j
"Jtut five dollar* i* considerable. Vou ,
Vnow we are young yet, ami all we have . ,
4a the bonne we live in aud yot.r email ;
ebojt." ?
"And k not Chut enough f How many a
of My young friend* arc there who arc y
not even to well off an that." I
"1 know, we are fortunate, Alison,but ,
none arc bevonnd the reach of misfortune.
For a few yeara we bad better live as ecu l
m inieally as poewMe, with eonsuteiit en- I
yiyraetiL" i
So I intend to; but what is Ave dollars I
compared with the amount I shall l>o able 1
to lay up in a year P i
"Why, It will make that amount some i
eight or ten dollars short." a
* "That is strange logic, Liwni<\" i
*Not at all, Ansou. You will spend
five dollars in money, and lose the time j
two working days.** I
t"HQ i shall; but I tell you Linnie, I'll; t
work enough harder for it whoa I come <
back. Sr. f may go, mayn't I 1" ?
I V J t
md the young iiuui kissed his wife sis he
poke. i
"Of course you may," returned Liuuie, 1
with a smile, "but I suppose 1 shall have 1
o go without a little sum I wanted."
"How much was it!" 1
"Five dollars." I
"Oh, you can have that, of course, and
nore, too, if you want it." '
Anson Kimball took out his wallet and
landed his wife a lire dollar hill, end the ?
onvcrsatioii then turned ujhiii other and 1
nrioiis matters. I
Anson Kimball was like thousands of 1
titers who are situated in like uireum '
tanccs. With a free and open heart, he :
narled out his future for a lield of enjoy- I
nctit, without taking enre to make much '
reparation for the sum ho might be like- '
y to meet on the war,"
And then, again, like all others, he mis- j i
oo't the character of life's real enjoyment, j I
lost sight of some of the higher and !
nore noVIe sources of happiness, and | '
I welt too much ill the satisfaction of tin* j '
?h\sieal appetite. True, he enjoyed liini I'
elf, and kept clear of all extremes, but j i
ret lie tailed to see that his enjoyments j 1
veie nearly a'l ephemeral; that he was I '
aving iiii little or iiothiin' tor ti tic to I '
1
* 'III**,
A year passed * way, ami the annua! 11
idling excursion eaiue in cmitse along. 11
"Well, l.innie," Mtid llfco young man, !'
'.o-inorrovv tlie boys go down tlie harbor '
ind I am going with them; of course you !
till have no objection-*."
"No," returned the wife, in her usual M
leasanl tone, "if you can alford it." M
*t>h, there's no trouble about tlot." '
"Itoll't yon remember the conversation
t e had a year ago on this same subject I
ukitl 1.initio.
"Yes, I remember then you talked mH>ut
saving money, but we ain't any pooir
now then we should hare lieen if I had j
!atd at home."
"Hut tell ine, Anson, have you laid tip I
i< niueh during the past year as you had
xj eete.l to."
"Whv, as for that matter, I haveli't laid
in milch of aiivthiiig. The fact is, l.innie 11
on have drawn rather harder on mo than
expected."
"I'm I haven't -|> nt anv more ineonoy ' ,
i-r trivial affair* ami amusements than <
ouhave, Alison, ami I don't tliinV I have
o much." j j
"I didn't iikan to blame you, my dear. !
-lily mentioned the circumstance to ox j1
ilaiu vvh\ I had ie>t laid tip anything.? j
bit never mm 1. there's time cuougli Vet, ! j
itid besides \v? have onjoved oUf?clvc?. I
hink after this fi*h'.ag excursion is o\er '
iowever, 1 shall begin to dock my e\]?clies
a little, for I must lay tip a little some- i
liing the next year.
"We certainly have every chatico to
ve money," returned l.innie, "for hoth
louse and shop are ours without rent, and
ve are free from debt,"
Alison Kimball started at that last re
ii.irK, nuu iiinici his !:?? ? toward* the
vindow, l.ut 1?wife <li-l n<?t appear to
lotiee liis emotion.
"Yon know. An sort," continued Mr*.? ,
vitnbull, "that yon |>r*?ntim*?l n.c I should {
lave fix o dollars when vou went on *n tlier
excursion, ami I shall certainly hold i'
. . i
oil to that promise!
"Of course?that's fair,' returned the
' l
oung man; "but do you need it iiov-j"
"Yes."
"What are you going to do with it?"
"Yon won't Ihj offended ?"
"No."
"Then, to tell the truth, I owe a little '
um." I
The young inoti looked earnestly at his
rife, and though lie evidently wished to '
a v something about her running in debt, '
ret for reason* best known to himself, he <
iept quiet, and handed over the five 1
lobars. '
Anson joined his old schoolmate* on 1
heir excursion, and when he returned, I
le thought Home about lioginiug to cut I
?ti some of his unnecessary expenses, but I
10 introduced no new system of operations. I
Two or thro lime* he did refrain from i
lidiilging some petty ap|K)tite but he soon I
^uLJ i t_ .1 n . I i *
?nin? iwi'k JIIICI IIIU Hill irnCK, MIKI IMS I
mail bit* of money aliped away us fast I
is ever. I
Three years had paused away nine? the t
'oiing couple were inur ed, and few c?>uld I
tare wi?he<l <dr more social comfort than I
hey had enjoyed during the greater part i
?f that time. For a nautili or two, howrver.
the voting man had l?^en gradually i
roiiuimoil almost untouclic.l upon Ins plat** !
when Ins iii<>vcd away, an.1 li?- would have
left tin* house had not his wife stuitjH-J
liim.
"Husband," she said, in a soft, gentle
tone, nl the same time laying her hnnd
npoii his aim, and gazing imploringly
into his face, "v.hat is it that troubles
you?"
' Nothing, Mmiie," half fretfully returned
ho, and lie made a motion as if to r. move
his wife's hand from 1 is arm.
"T ere is something. Aason, I know |
I here i*. Como do not keep it fiom mo." j
"There is nothing that you need know." I
"Htilii wife need know all that ran
iifl'eet her husband thus. What is it, I
Anson?" |
It is nothing but my o?n business and I
i wife need not know all that."
This answer w as harsh, and tears gushed .
to Mimic's eyes.
' My dear hiuhaiid," >he said in tender I
decent-, " to whom, old to whom should |
you tell your sorrows, if not to her who j
loves veil 1 letter than li'b itself."
"forgive mo, forgive me, Mimic ? I
meant m>t to woiin I your feelings. I am |
verv miserable, and I hardly know what .
I said.'*
"Then tell me all. Come, sit lowu in
my oa-y chair, for your h*o\v is hot and
feverish.
There iu?w tell me.
A tier the voting man had taken the I
proffered seat, lie gazed for a inoiiieiit
into the hue of his wife, and a look of
ih ep anguish rested upon his features. j
' l.iimie." he said, "I may as ivcll tell j
you all, hut you must not chide me, nor j
must you despond, for all is not as dark 1
ss might be. I am deeply in debt, and
to-morrow my shop, and all that it con- '
tains will be advertised by the sheriff (or !
sale."
"Ill debt." murmured the wife.
"Yes.
During the last two years I have J
Ixfpn purchasing stock ou credit, at <1
paying for it as it has !>oen convenient.
\t first it aeemcd an easy way of doing
[>usine?a, but it baa proved fatal; fir when
I received the pay for my goods I forgot,
>r at least did not sufficiently liecd, that
ill that money was not mine. I forgot
hat more than half of all the mom y 1
received belonged to the men of whom I |
liad purchased stock. Two notes fell duo
the day before yestrday, the man to whom
f garc them sold the n in the way of
msiness to a Wc*tcrn firm, and now they
must ! ? paid. To-inoriow an vfiieor will
Im placed at my ahop, and nearly every
thing will have to ho sold. It ia not the
om of ir.r atock and tools that I care ao
tnueh about, for I havo health and
rtrongth and I can euro more, hut it i?
the diegrnce of t)ie tiling. To think that
I kIiuuKI frill like thit- m?- i\ healthv,
it out good mechanic."
-How much do you owe 1" nuked Lin
ni?, in a trembling voice.
' ****
iuviv ouuci ami liltugllllUI, UIllll
lie at length liaii become really sail and
down hearted. His wife had endeavored
to cheer him up, though sho was unable
to learn the cause of his dejoction.
One evening, just before dusk, 1.initio
?aw two men pass her window and enter
lic-r husband's shop. One of them she
knew to be the sheriff, and the circumstance
troubled her not a little. She
waited half an hour for her husband to
:omo to supper, but he did not appear,
mid her sufferings began to be acute.?
V thousand conjectures flitted through her
mind, but they brought no consolation,
ind at length she determined logo to the
diop door and seo if she could not over
hoar something of what was passing within,
feeling that such a course would at
least be pardonable.
Tannic stole out from her front door
mid went towards the shop. She placed
licr ear to the keyhole anil listened, but
die could only hear an indistinct hum of
voices, among which was that of her husband.
The latter was evidently supplicating,
for his tones were earnest and
impassioned. Pooti there was a movement
of feet towards the door, and f.itiuic
hastened buck to tin; home. Kro long
her husband cnteriil. lie looked pal) and
troubled, and with a nervous movement of
the muscles of his face, as though lie would I
have concealed the grief that bore liini j
down, lie took 11is sent at the t:il !<.
l'oor l.iunie watched her companion
witli an anxiety almost atomi/. 1:0; luit
she spoke not a word until after Anion
had set hack from the l a hit*. '1 lie food
, . . ... I
doC"' "UlC" """""" '? ""?d"
A ||<1 haven't you any part of it J"
"Only about fifty dollars that I can co
lect readily."
"And ,f those two notes were paid, vo
would be sal, ?"
"Ves."
'Then tha.ik God, you will not suffer!
exc aimed Linnie. And overcome bv h<
feelings she sank upon her husband's'nec
and burst into a flood of tc irs.
"Linnie, Linnie, ' eried the young mat
what do you mean ?"
"W ait a moment, my husband."
The wife brushed the tears from he
cheek as she spoke and left the room, an
>n a few moments returned bearing in h<
hand a small book. There whs a hr.Vl
sm.lo upon her face, and her husba?t,
looked upon her with utter astonishmer,
ifere, my husband," she said, stoppin
to Ins side, and placing the hook in h
hand, at thosa.ne time winding her an
about his neck, "if you earry that to tl.
bank they will give TOU thrco hundre
and seventy five dollars for it."
"Three hundred and sevens-five do
ars. repeated the astounded man, bar,
y crc'Tt|ng the evidence of his own sei
e*.
"Yes, Anson," returned tho wife, sinl
"ig into her husband's lap. "That is nn
""V that I have |,cen laying up during tli
last three year*."
'Aon laid it up, Linnie? But whoi
could you hare got it."
'A on gavo it to me yourself to spftU
, Vou hioir I have claimed ...
share of such money. Do not blame m
Anson, but I feared that you did not a
tacli sufficient importance to the a-rgrega
of the small sums you were almv?at d*i
spending.
"Ot.ce or twice I >would have remo
strafed, but you could not be made casi
1? SCL; 1 waa ,M,t a young girl, and
feired to set up a will against mrbt
bind, so I resorted to tins means of pro
ng >"J position. O, my ,Uar husban
you cannot know what sweet pleasure
experience now in finding t|int m ex
ime.it has been the means of such good
"Ifyour pleas,,rj i, eMu.,| to mine, tlu
you must he happy, indeed," exclaim,
Anson, as ho drew his fond wife to 1.
bosom. "God bless you, Linnie, a,
make mc able to repay you for this. \a
I see to whom you have owed the litt
debts you hare sometimes contracted, ar
w hich I have ludped vou pay."
"Ves," returned Linnie, with a smi!
it was to you I owed them. And vol
lie added, with a meaning look, and in
lower tone of voice. "I have not drawn
much from the amusement fund aa
"Hush, Linnie; I know I have ape
moro than I was aware of, but my or
are open liow and I see it all."
"And you do not blame luc fur what
have done ?'*
-l!l.""o Vo" cxcUimeJ A",o?, i?
printing a warm kiss ujwii his wife's bro
t my future course show you he
fondly you are cherished, and how fait
fully I will be guided by your judgment
I I*. ll... ..rt,,! I 4 _ _ .
vii int.; ut ai ti.t y .iiim'ii I\ IIII1MII jfil
off those who would hare sold his atoe
and had the pleasure of tearing his tv
notes in pieces. He spent no more mom
foolishly, and as lie found the products
his lalnir beginning to g itlier in bin banc
his house grew brighter, and his enjo
ments increased. By steady degrees 1
rose to a position of honorable affluent
but through a!! his successes he ne??r 1c
sight of the gratitude he owed the gent
faithful being, who had first opened I
yes to a knowledge of the secret of an
cess, and sared him from pecuniary d
grace Ho was an honored and respect*
man, but ho felt he owed it all to 1
Wira's Fohkthoooiit.
fW Krskino College opened its sessit
on Inst Monday. The prosp?ct ia got
for at leant the usual number of atudent
which considering the fact that the endo'
ment scheme is on hand and incomplei
is regarded as an advance. Quite a nui
ber of new students from North Carolir
Alabama, and Tennessee, as well aa fro
South Carolina have boon enrolled, ai
more are coming it is said. Let the
come there is yet room,?Due West Te
scope.
M.4T Vhere ta a man in Troy so met
that he wished his landlord to reduce t
pA* of his board bill, because lie had ti
teeth extracted.
ftiisrelliieotts. j
From the Lourell Arctr*.
u Female Accomplishments.
llowr few of our young females truly
understand the meaning of the word
' "accomplishment." They think it merely
?r an outward show, a something which
k may gild tho surface, hut not tako root in
| the soil; shown off like sweets that are
1? j "wasted on the desert air" at every opI
portunby. Tho mind is not cultivated,
though the form may he, the understand,T
ing is not tattered though the complexion
^ he whitened or painted to suit the various
!r tastes of the wearers. It seems as though
some of our girls never had an idea ahead
_ ?
u of present time; as though they knew not
that beauty would fade, or else that their
every aim must ta to make a "market,"
w and when that is accomplished, there is I
n j nothing tnofe to do. What ignoramuses!
lC Whatman is there, that, after having,
been deceived in a wife once, will not ever
after have a mistrust that she may deceive
him again. If her face ta painted, why!
not her actions likewise? I.et us sav to j
tho girls that a plain face with a well!
*t<>red mind is far mure preferable on a |
v* long acquaintance, tlinn tlie most bcanti- (
^ fill features with ignorance. <iv*nJ breed- j
,e ing is just as essential to happiness in j
lite as go *1 bread and butter, and when j
0 this or that young fellow, if he has any i
sense, finds that a Mis* who. on a casual
l(* acquaintance, he t ikes a "shine" to, is
| intent on palming <>lF oil him a base conn- i
e? tcrfeit of manners for the genuine, it does j
not take him long to become disgusted
and leave for somemore attractive spot.
'X Outward show, ogling, simpering, sighing
and eajK.T-cuittng.uiay do for a first visit;
n" j so may gingeroread, soda crackers, aud
'j j milk toast do for a working man, for one
' | dinner, hut the next lime they both want
| a more aubstantial fare. If ho Jias any
V" gumption, a man will marry no such wo'''
man, and if he hasn't any, why, he is not
lit to marry,?so, girls, tlio* odds are
!r" . igainst von cither war.
ii | ?
I We were much amused with the rcj
mark of an acquaintance, the other day
. ; who had been farorcd(l) with an iutroducI
tion to a young lady, in tho city, who
1 evidently desired to be considered one o f
j ! tho belles. It was at her hous?, and in
' j j recounting the visit to us, said he?"She
displayed her every accomplishment to mc
in less than five minutes, running them
,' j over one after tho other, in the same
. maiiuer that she. did the keys of her leased
i three hundred dollars piano." And so it
? j is. Instead of sitting down to attain the
real valuable acquirements, there are girls
foolish enough to get a smattering, and
| then think tliev arc angels. No reading
? ?
j but that of novels, no conversation but
j that of mere frivolty, no thought but on
; dress, beaux, dancing, and concerts, is not
, lite tbin^, by a long chalk, for our girls.
" | A knowledge of human action, an ac>w
j ijiiaintaiicu with tho past and present
world, a cultivated taste for reading, a
' (judicious system of exercise, labor and
j amusement, well formed and corrected
' 1 habits and deportment, aro some of the
VO ' studies which youug ladies should go
i through with before they can begin to call
! themselves "accomplished;" ami even then
I they will seriously doubt their claims to
' ' the title; for it is a fact that tho ruore a
',c nutn knows?ami tho samo of a woman
?the less confidence docs he have in his
** abilities and attainments. Wo like to sec
le beautiful?hattdtnme girls, as well as
,,H anybody; and we like to see them neatly
lc* and jwettily dressed; but, at tho same
M* time, we should as lief, (a word which
*<1 should take its lie/,) sit down in a nicely
furnished apartment and talk a half hour
to a lithograph print of a pretty French
,n girl, as to spend the same length of time
^ in conversation with some young ladici
^ we have seen during our short lifetime.
w ) Man was made for a noble purpo:e, and
^ it is nowise suppoeable that a woman was
n made for a lets.-?Therefore, we would
ia taj to our girl readers, if you would bo
loTod and respected by yourselves and the
nd ?PP?"'te "*x? n"x ^eM this alloy with
(m the pure gold and you will pass the better
among thoto who nro accustomed to the
true coin.
in, Hons.?The first drove of the season
Ho passed through our Village last woek. The
! drovers demanded .1 els. per lb.? Qrrfn1
villt Momitoinfrr:
'
I
Early History of Alabama.
We ropy tlio following bit of State history
from an article, which appeared yesterday
in the editorial columns of the J/obile
Register.
"The first settlements in Alabama, by
the present race of inhabitants, wero not (
made in tho Teuncssee Valey. During j
the American Revolution, large numbers ;
of emigrants from South Carolina and j
Georgia, found their way to the region of
country about the junction of the Tombeckboe
and Alabama rivers, in what is
now Clarke, Washington ami Haldwin
counties. Ilere the first infant settlements
of the subsequently tlourishing State of i ,
Alabama were established. ( We of course j (
Icavo out of this view, the French and | ,
Spanish occupations in and about Mobil; |
which were long antecedents Idescen- '
dants ?1 of those first "American settlers."
J .
still reside in the homes which their fore- j
fathers hawed out in tho "neutr al territo- ,
rv," between the dominions of the Creeks ,
and Choctaws. Here, as carlv as 1800, ! ,
i i
the country of Wanking ton, including all |
"the Tcnsaw and Toinbeckbce settle- ^
met its." was laid out, and tho inhabitants
|
w<'ie computed at "five hundred whites
and two hundred and fifty Macks, thinly
scattered along tho Western banks of tho
Mobile and Tombeekbce, for more than
seventy miles and extending eastwardly
for twenty-five miles on the Alabama."
(Bee "American State Papers," vol. 5, p.
659.)
The settlements in the Tennessee Valley
were not begun until after duly, 1805,
when tho Chiekasaws and Chctokees, hy ^
treaties, ceded their claims to the lands ;
! "in the Ureal Pond of the Tennessee."?
1 About that time, an adventurous pioneer |
1 from Tennessee, named Hunt, penetrated !
' the region, and pitched his cabin by |
' tho "Pig Springs," around which the j
j flourishing and beautiful town bearing his i
! name now stands, lie was the first "set- j
1 tier" in that now populous region. Kmi- j
I grants poured in rapidly, and in .Decern- ;
her, 1808,(lor. Williams, of the Mississip- j
| pi Territory, laid oft'Jluditutn county, re- j
citing that there were then "several thoui
. . . .
i sand inhabitants within the limits com- j
J moiily called tho"(?rcat Pond."
i Prosperity of the United States.
Ok a!! the pacificators which the present ,
war like crisis has culleJ into action, the ;
difficult} of finding money is undoubtedly :
the most potent. The Chancellor of the j
j I*Acbc?pier is, as Mr. Uladatonc truly '
observes,rs-ojfficiu a man of peace. The 1
difficulty of making both ends meet, j
I renders the prospect of war, appalling a-> '
it is at all times, doubly appalling to a i
Financial Minister, That which cuts ofi" j
i th* ways and means, while it enorinousjy !
increases tho expenditure?which dams j
up the sources of taxation at tho very mo- |
incut when it is draining them dry?that i
' which ca.i convert a surplus into a deficit, '
and a deficit into a bankruptcy?is a legitimate
object of financial abhorrence, i
Austria cannot keep tho excess of expenditure
over income within tho mon'
strous amount of fifty millions of florins.
In France, Imperial omnipotence cannot
coerce the budget within rcasouablc !
I .. . . - i
uiineiifions, even we snow too much j
pride at our surplus for persons who re- J
gard it as h durable and permanent pos- j
session. Hut there in one man in the world j
and that man a Finance Minister, who is j
j troubled wtli none of these difficulties? )
nay, is just now suffering under difficulties j
' of a precisely contrary character. The j
American Secretary of State, Mr. Guthrie,
; is |?ersccutcd by an obstinate surplus,
j which clings to him like the Old Man of
the Sea to the neck of Sindhad, and is
l perpetually claiming appropriation where
, no moana exist of devoting to the public
service the superabundant riches of the
revenue. This cotncs of a double system
of taxation, of a certain enumerated functions
which it cannot exceed, and a local
Government forbidden to raise a revenue
i byjnicans of Custom houses on the frontier,
j The authors of the American Constitution
' when they considered and minutely de.
fined what should and what should not
be left the centra' authority,never|drcampt
of the difficulty which the rapid increase
of capital would introduce in adapting the
revenue to the wants of the state. It never
' occurred to them that the Central Gov;
eminent would bo too rich, and tbut one
of the moat embarrassing problems for
future statesmen would ho bow to cut
1
1 % ' ' 1
* ' Jy ? 7. t: Vf - *. .*
down its resources t<>Jthc required amount.
Hud it been any other kind of taxaton
than that levid through the Custom
house on which the Central Government
was to subsist, the matter would have
been easy; but tho difficulty lies in the
peculiar nature of a revenue has a two fold
operation, protective as well as financial,
that the difficulty has arisen. Nobody is
fond of paying taxes fur their own sako .
and the resources of the Federal Government
would long ago have been cut down
to a level within its expenditure if the
question had not been embroiled by the
fact that large classes of American citizens
claim an interest in the imposition of taxes
which the State no longer wishes to receive
or the people to pay. In other wore?
the question of Protection supersedes that
of the duty of the Government to its
subjects, and requires that more revenue
than is wanted should bo raised, in order
that one part of the community may levy
* tax on the other.
The advent of Free-trade doctrines
into America has dismissed this apparent
difficulty, and the people are beginning to
learn that raising revenue has fno necessary
connection whatever with showing
particular favor to any branch of industry.
It docs not appear, from the tone of tho
American papers, that they have yet acquired
very clear or accurate notions of the
doctrines of Free-trade. One of them
protests, with much earnestness, against
what ho calls in language moro expressive
than accurate, "a blind horizontal tariff!1
and another is eloquent on the enormous
evils which fall upon a country whoso
imports continually exceed its exports.?
Still,however, if the theory be not very
accurate, the conclusions deduced are
tolerably sound. The dread of English
competition is much alleviated by the
increased cost of production, resulting from
die effects of emigration to Australia, and
conlidunco is felt, and that with groat
justice?in the rapid increase of capital,
and the ndv nice which lias taken place
ot'Iato years in the management and application
of inaehienrv. Moved by these
considerations, tho great majority of the
American people is prepared to second
the efforts of Mr. Guthrie, and to divest
him of that superfluous wealth which he
finds so griovous a burden.
This is indeed a singular spectacle,?
a great nation voluntarily relinquishing its
revenue because it has more than't knows
how to sp. nd, and seeking to pay off their
debt on terms exteremely beneficial to the
holders of slocks, in order to be rid of
some portion of the treasure which is
poured into its lap agaiust its will. We
heartily wish Mr. Guthrie success in his
undertaking. A concomitant to this freetrade
principle he i? about to substitute
a system of a specific for ad volorem.
duties. The frauds that were committed
under the former system seem to havi
been barefaced and innumerable, and we
doubt not that the revenue will be a'ooitsiderable
perhaps an inconvenient gainer
by thus transferring the jiowcr of taxation
front those who pay to those who receive
tho lax. Altogether, the prospects of tho
change are extremely gratif* ing, especially
as it can, it would seem, be effected without
displeasing any political party, or
making the repeal of the present duties a
portion of the capital of any class of
politicatis. It is fortunate that the change
conies in the shape of an imperious
necessity, ami that in order to contnuethe
present system the American Protectionist
would have to rcqtiiro that taxes
utterly superfluous and in no deoree what
? 1 " ?
ever needed for the walfare of the State
should bo rained merely to enhance the
gains of one |?ortion of the comnuinity.
It is refreshing to turn from tho contemplation
of tho worn out and effete
despotism of the Old Word, where the
\ revenuo of tho State are asorbed by profitless
standing armies, and squandered in
the maintenance of a I'olioe employed Ui
suppress thought and of spies organised
to defect it?whero tbo annual deficit
threatens to abaord in its ponderous jaws
all, and more than all, which can be
, wrung from tho exhausted peasantry?to
this now and vigorous country, actually
bowed down by the weight of ft* own
prosperity? and otnbnrasscd in selecting
those burdens which it i? actually ?Am- ?
pelled by iho force of rircuimt >m?wto rj- ^
mit With us, when a l'ttle surplus gives '
us theopsrtunity of remission, thero are
always so mai\y injustices to remedy, <?