Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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. I . ; ' LEWiSr?LtGS[St,| |nbqptnbcni Jtr ;h? ^.hcnicticn of % pdi:ir;i; Social ^friraitural ;titi Commercial ^ntrrrsts cf tjjc ?ou% ^ VOL. 13. YOBKYILLE, S. P., THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, Ig67. ISTQ. S3. ihe $d0rg-?rller. THE MOORISH DOCTOR'S PARCHMENT TRANSLATED PROM THE FRENCH OP SOUVESTRE. Some traveler says, speaking of the Spanish po sacks, that they are a "kind of shelter, where certain men, called 'tavern-keepers,' furnish youfoi the night, smoke and vermin." Another has added that, "in the land of Cid, there were no landlords who fed the lodgers, but lodgers who fed the landlords." And a cotemporaneous writer publishes that strangers who go through the easterc provinces of the Iberian peninsula ought to cany their beds, if they do not like to sleep in sheets sowed to the woolen matt: esses, and only changed every spring. ? natever exaggerauuu iucic uuj Have been in these observations, it is certainly true that the inns now are far superior to those of two centuries ago. At that epoch they were, indeed, but a kind of caravansaries, frequented by muleteers, who found there a straw bed for themselvee and their mules. The most comfortable had onlj (besides the stable and the common eating-room] a garret divided into many compartments, called chambers by courtesy, which were reached by a ladder. Now, it was into one of these chambers that Bon Jose de Tuey d'Alcantra, admitted Doctor at Salamanca, hidalgo in his quality as Asturian, but possessing-in the world only the clothes he hod on, twenty reals and a passable opinion of his own merit, was shown. Although he was little over thirty, he had already tried many occupations, without finding in any the opulence which, in his opinion, would have suited him as well as any other, and now returned to Leon in the hope of being employed by the Count Don Alonzo Mendos, who possessed a magnificent estate, between Toro and Tamora, which had been already visited by the Doctor. Unfortunately, at his first questions to the inn-keeeDer. he was informed of the Count's death, and he was still depressed with the surprise and disappointment of this news at the moment our tale begins. "Don Alonzo dead 1" repeated he, stupefied. 4 'And buried,'' added the inn-keeper? "magnificently buried!?as became a man of his rank." "Is the chateau occupied by his heirs?" 4 The sole heir was the Count's nephew, and he has given orders to Peter Carallos, notary of Argellis, to offer the estate for sale, and it ought to be delivered to the new proprietor to-morrow, if I mistake not*' Jose thought that he woifld also need, apparently, agents to manage his new estate, " and he could, perhaps, get the place; consequently, after a moment's reflection, he declared his intention of remaining at the inn until after the transfer. The inn-keeper approved, and, assuring him he could nowhere find better lodging or better cooking, he confirmed his assertion by bidding him remark all the conveniences of the chamber assigned him". This was, indeed, so much the better ven tllated, as three of the four panes in the window were broken, and, as it was placed in the roof, he could enjoy an unlimited view of the sky. As to the furniture, it consisted only of a wooden bed, garnished with a straw mattress, a rickety stool and shaking table, but the spaces between the beams of the roof formed, as the inn-keeper observed, numerous compartments, which supplied the plaoe of wardrobes and closets. Most of these recesses, were, indeed, filled with soiled trumpery, earthen vases, glass vials, and, with what surprised Don Jose especially, books and papers. The inn-keeper confessed that all these had been left by an old Doctor who had lived in this room many months, occupied with studying, distilling plants and writing. But, suspicion having arisen that he was of Moorish origin, and the king's last decrees ordering expressly the expulsion of all the descendants of this race,"he had been obliged to go suddenly, and abandon all his baggage?that is to say, his vials, papers and books. Left alone, Don Jose could not refrain from thinking of all the long train of misfortunes and accidents which had followed him through life thus far. "I have tried every' thing in vain," said he; "chance has always disjmnointed mv hoDes, and made me the slave of circumstances. Oh! how happy are those who can always follow their fancy, control circumstances, and remain king of their lives, instead of submitting to everybody on all occasions." As these reflections threw him into a state of gloomy sadness, he sought to distract it by opening one of the books left by the Moorish Doctor; it was an expose of the Natural System, written in Latin. Jose looked over some pages, then chose another volume, which treated of the occult sciences, and, at last, a third, relative to the great work. The choice of these books clearly indicated that the old Moor * was an alchemist, perhaps a necromancer!?for al this epoch, it was not rare to find a man, especially in Spain, who had studied the art of controling the invisible powers. Rendered' curious by his firsl researches, Don Jose turned from the books to the manuscripts. He looked over many, which seemed to contain only general directions relative to the transmutation of metals; but at length he found, shut up in a leaden box, a roll of parchment, the first lines of which struck him; they were recipe of magic, to accomplish certain wonders, such as making oneself invisible, transformations at will, \ and passing instantly through immense space. Al last he found a paragraph entitled thus: "The way to make our will become the sovereign law. and accomplish itself instantly 1" The young Doctor gave a bound of joy. "By the holy cross," . -cried he, "if the means succeeded, I should asl nothing better! To make our will the sovereign Jaw! Is not that the last degree of humau felici a 1 t /? a?. i ty r Liet us see oniy u mis euu cau dm iltU&lUCt without compromising one's soul." He read th< recipe indicated in the MS., and found nothinj contrary to the ffiith. To acquire the promiset gift, it was sufficient to pronounce before sleeping a certain prayer, and to drink from a little flask hidden in the bottom of the leaden box. Jos< sought this flask, opened it, and found it contain ed a few drops of a black and odorous liquid. H< hesitated a mon:ent, not from doubt as to the po tency of the formula and philter, for his opinion were those of his age, but to be certain he hac made no mistake. He re-read them', the already deciphered lines of the roll, and, besides a post script, which he had not observed before. ThL P. S. only contained these words: "Our impotenc* "? :-l?il-l in mir frtllv hi IS a jjruYiuuuutu uyyvow tv ^ -? l God." "Good God! the old Doctor loved, lik< " others of his race, to sing the common places o morality, with everything; but now, I have onh to do with his sentences, and I prefer trying hi recipe." With these, words, he raised the flask t< his lips, and pronounced the long formula whiel was ordered; he bad scarcely finished, when his eyes closed and he slept * * * * Don Jose did not know how long his sleep had las ted, when it se emed to him that the day light came through his window. He rose with effort and remained s ome time in that state of semi-con sciousness whu ;h precedes complete awaking. A length his ide as cleared; the sight of the parch ment and the empty flask recalled what had hap pened the nig ht before; hut, as he perceived n< change, eithei in himself or his surroundings, h believed the I )octor's recipe had failed. "Oh! i was a delusioi i," said he, sighing; "I wake in m; garret, with t ay own jacket and my empty purse Yet, God kne 'Ws, whether I desired it filled." H did not finish ; his eye fell on the post on wbic he had hung his clothes, and was arrested by th leather pouch hanging from his pocket, stuffed ou with gold pieces! He started, and rose, rubbing i his eyes, and extending hisJiand, seized the purse, i : and emptied itout on the bed. There were crowns < of gold in it, indeed; more gold crowns than*, he i had ever owned maravedis at one time! The i philter.was acting; he could now realize all his de- < sires! Wishing to make instantly a second expe- 1 riment, he desired that the garret should be trans- 1 ' formed into a sumptuous chamber, and his rusty ( [ habits into a new black velvet costume, faced with t satin. His wish was immediately accomplished. 1 He then demanded a breakfast for an archbishop, i served by little negroes clothed in red. The break- i fast covered a table, which was suddenly laid, and ( the little negroes entered, with wines and choco- ] late 1 He continued for some time trying his new ? power in all ways. Atrlast, certain that his de- t | sire was, indeed, become the "sovereign law," he ( rushed out of the inn, in an intoxication of joy im- f possible to decribe. It was, then, true that this ? 1 parchment had made him, in a few hours, richer \ ' than the richest, stronger than the strongest! He ] could do whatever he choose! What was not in- j eluded in these words? and how he felt himself t rise in his own esteem as he repeated them!? r What were kings, emperors, the Pope himself, f , compared to him ? All these "were restricted by 1 established rules, by the laws of the possible, i ' whilst he, his domain was limited only by his fancy! c How fortunate that the Moorish Doctor's parch- j ment had not fallen into the hands of some igno- r rant and avaricious man, carried away by evil pas- v sions, instead of those qf an hidalgo, reasonable j in all his wishes, master of his passions, and ad- 1 raitted Doctor at the University of Salamanca!? 1 Thus humanity might be improved! t Don Jose Tuey d'Alcantra respected himself too s much to abuse his unlimited power. In accord- 1 ing it to hiiu, Providence had recognized his worth, r and he was determined to justify the choice by his t conduct. He resolved to give the best proof of it t, by himself moderating his ambition. In his place, o any one else would desire to be a king, with a pal- s ace, courtiers, and an army; but Don Jose was an ' enemy to grandeur. He determined to content f himself with the purchase of Count Mehdos's es- u tate, and to live there, with some millions, the ti- n tie of Count, and the privileges of a grandee of e Spain, as an honest and modest philosopher. He I prodeeded, then, without delay, towards the vil? t lage of Argellis, where the sale of the property was ' to take place. The road he had taken led to Turo v also, and was crowded with peasants, muleteers h and merchants, going there. As he proceeded, 8 Don Jose looked light and left, and made on each f! little experiments of his power. To the smiling h and affable young girl, he wished a happy meeting; h to the old merchant on foot, a scat in the carriage 1< which was passing; to the poor beggar, a piece of " gold rolling suddenly at h'_s feet, and all was instantly accomplished. Encouraged by success, tl Don Jose passed from the role of guardian angel e to that of archangel. After having succeeded, he n wished to do justice. So he punished a foppish e soldier by a gust of wind which blew his hat into p the river; the merchant who whipped his mules c cruelly, by frightening and dispersing them in the ti woods. The situlado, who seemed to him to look too disdainfully upon the foot travelers, from the t( height of his carriage, by suddenly breaking one c of his proud wheels. In all this, Don Jose obeyed j his first impulses, just as any one's air pleased or t) displeased him, according justice as though by in- S( spiration. In this way he arrived in sight of the Chateau de Mcndos, where magnificent woods bordered the road. Wishing to avoid the sun, 0 which was getting too warm, he took an avenue j. which he knew, by which he could reach the vil- ^ ' lage also. It was one of the most beautiful days of summer; the hedges were covered with flowers, and the forests resounded with the songs of thousands of birds. The wood-cutters, camped in leafy t l huts, worked the wood which was down, transforming it into different household utensils. Don j. Jose decided that when the ground belonged to t him he would systematize this work in accordance with ideas peculiar to himself. He even drew ^ with a pencil, on the corner of his parchment, the j plan of a forest hamlet, which should unite the , i convenient and the picturesque. On reaching the meadows, ho found there also that the irrigation , could be better extended, and calculated the prob- , . able amouut of profit tp arise from it. He was . better satisfied with the rivers, and recalled a num , ber of verses from Horace on the occasion, and e passages from Scripture, which naturally led to the cr strongly disputed question, whether the wine man- c ufactured by Noah was white or red. As to the j1 j grain fields, he decided that they should be con ycrted into pasturage for flocks, and he would > clear the coppices to make grain fields. He was ' ; thus occupied with his plans as next proprietor, r when a sudden and imperious voice demanded who * i had given him permission to go through the Men- c t dos estate? He turned, and perceived a young ' . man, whose costume indicated high rank. He 1 . rode an Andalusian horse of marvelous beauty, and 1 . richly equipped. Don Jose having taken time to 1 examine him, instead of replying, the young lord ' . repeated his question in an impatient tone. The ' i Salamanca doctor smiled with the placid and con- j j fident air given by consciousness of power. "Is ' there any need for permission to visit an estate ? t without a master?" asked he. "Who told you 1 . this had none?" replied the cavalier. "Those } I who told me that Peter, notaiy of Argellis, had < . orders to sell it to-day." "Then you visit it as a 1 ' purchaser?" "As a purchaser." "And do you i : know what is asked for it?" "That is-what I ex- 1 i pect to hear very soon." "It has been estimated 1 . at 400,000 crowns of gold." "The property is 5 I worth more." The gentleman laughed out. "Up- 1 j on my soul, here is a rich bidder!" cried he, in a ( r mocking tone, "who travels very modestly for his : i fortune!" "I am accustomed to going on foot," < I replied Don Jose, with princely good humor.? < , "That is being too humble," replied the young ! 3 man, "and your lordship would be, certainly, more - comfortable on my Andalusian." "Do you think i so?" said Don Jose, taken with a sudden fancy. j "So much, that I am tempted to dismount and j offer him to you, " ^answered the cavalier, still more ' 1 ironically. "It is easy to satisfy you," returned } 7 the Doctor, "and since you think so, I desire you - to dismount'' At the moment, the horse kicked, ' 3 and threw the young lord suddenly on the grass. i "You have frightened my horse," cried he, rising, 1 i i<T Imlnnrl <r? n/?/v?mnUsh vmir ' 7 paie witu uu^ci. j. t ^ 3 intentions," said Don Jose, who had taken the 1 f bridle, and was preparing to mount The young ! l man advanced towards him, with his whip raised. 1 3 "Get away, fool, or I will cut you in the face," 1 > cried he, beside himself. The blood rose to Don : i Jose's brow. "The Signor forgets that he speaks i to a hidalgo," said he, fiercely, "and that he car* ri.es a sword, like himself." "Then, let us see if ' you know how to use it," said the cavalier, drawt ing his own, and advancing upon Don Jose. On , any other occasion, the latter would have attempt ed conciliation, but the young stranger's threat t had moved his bile, and the certainty of having - nothing to fear, gave him unwonted courage. He - thought, also, that his adversary needed a lesson, 0 and he desired him a wound sufficient to make him e reflect upon the inconveniences of anger. This t desire was immediately followed by its effect; the y young lord dropped his sword, uttering an excla1 mation of grief, and Don Jose, who was sure he e he had desired only a slight wound, did not worry a himself about it, and willing to complete the lesson, e in playing his role out, excused himself gravely to it the cavalier for what had happened, and added ;hat he bore him no malice, and to prove it, would iccept his previous offer. Speaking thus, he mountid the horse, bowed to the cavalier, and took the road to the village, in a trot. This last adventure idded a slight degree of foolishness to the good jpinion which he entertained of himself. He had nystified a man; he was equally satisfied with his nind and his courage. He knew for an absolute certainty that nothing could withstand his will; ;hat it was permitted to him to conquer all opposiion, humiliate all pride, and he was already so amiliar with this thought, that he no longer felt istonished at it. The only thing which now asonished him was the idea of resistance in others, tie could not endure it; he regarded it as rebellion igainst legitimate authority. Thus, as he passed hrough the village, he found it prepared to run lown a muleteer who did not get out of the way ast enough. The instinct of tyranny grew in his oul, like a rising tide. He conducted himself towards the agent entrusted with the sale much more ike a master coming to take possession, than a mrchaser, inquiring the conditions of the proposed jargain. Unfortunately, Peter informed him imnediately that the Mendos Chateau was no longer or sale. You may imagine the disappointment [his estate, for which he had meditated so many mprovements in advance, aud oontrived so many changes; escaped suddenly from him. He had ex>ended so much imagination on it, and so many eminiscences from Horace, for the man whose rill had become the sovereign law I It was im- i >ossible! The mere idea of such opposition to lis wishes made him indignant, and it was with lauteur almost angry that he demanded of the no- , aiy the reason why the estate was no longer for ale? "Because Don Henriquez, the Count's ; tephew, has become heir of another cstateolso," eplied he, "and the re-establishment of his for- ] unes has decided him to keep the Mendos proper- ] y." "What!" asked Jose; "whatever price be , ffered him?" "He will refuse." "You are j ure?" "He told me so himself this morning." , 'He is here, then ?" "He left here an hour back j br the Chateau." Don Jose guessed it was his , mknown cavalier, and could not restrain an excla- , cation. The business man responded by some , xpressions of condolence, to which he added that , )on Henriquez was especially anxious to retain ( he chateau on account of the hunting this autumn. ( 'Zounds!" thought Jose, angrily, "I wish I had j rounded him enough to take away the hope of ( lis enjoyiug it." And he added to himself that. ( uch a motive should not hinder Don Henriquez I rom accepting his proposals. "The place pleases ] im," bowed the notary, "and I must say it com- 1 ines all attractions for that?first, an admirable i xation." "I know it," replied Jose, brusquely, t 'Woods, fields, gardens." "I have seen them,' i iterrupted the Doctor, again, whose covetousness ( his description augmented. "Very well," repli- 1 d Peter; "but what, perhaps the gentleman has { ot seen are the embellishments of the interior, 1 fleeted by the late Count There is a gallery of < aintings by the best masters." "Pictures!" ex- ( laimed Don Jose. "I have always adored pic- ( ores; although I prefer statutes." "The chateau i > peopled with these." "Isit possible?" "Not 3 a speak of a library." "There is a library, air?" 1 ried the Doctor. "Of 30,000 volumes." Don 1 ose made a gesture of despair. "And such a 1 reasure would be lost!" continued he; "this ar- 1 anal of science would remain in the hands of an 1 jnoramus; for this Don Hcnriquez must be ignc- < ant." The notary shrugged his shoulders. "Oh, < h!" said he, lowering his voice, "his lordship i ;nows what a young man of noble family, rich and 1 ond of pleasure is." "I was certain of it," inter- < upted J)on Jose, "he is a bad fellow." There is . ;ood in him. He is only a little fiery, which has si- < eady been the cause of his having several difficul- 1 ies." "That is it?a bully, a duelist," continued he Doctor. "I might have been sure of it" And ' le added to himself?let him especially be preveu- < ed from going on this way, by losing his swoi-d i .ml; that is justice. "Age will correct those uults," continued Peter, "and also, I hope, this ivish prodigalty. Notwithstanding his wealth, 1 le is always in need, and has already required all 1 he arrears from his uncle's farmers," "And they j lave paid ?" "Scarcely, for the last harvests were >ad." "That is cruelty," cried Don Jose, sincere- ' y indignant "What 1 press from men w^io need 1 verything, when he has the fortune of a prince, a 1 hateau with statues, pictures, and a library of ! .0,000 volumes! Such a man is a real scourge, .nd it icould be desirable that Spain should be de- , ivered from it" "What is the matter?" asked he notary. "A misfortune, a great misfortune," 1 :ried a domestic. "Don Henriquez has fought." i 'Aye? And been wounded, dangerously?" "No; ; >ut in trying to pursue his adversary, who was tscaping on his horse, he fell so as to aggravate lis wound, and fainted on the road. "And he was bund there?" "That is to say, a driver, passing vithout seeing him, brought him from his swoon, )y crushing his right hand." "Heavens! and le brought him here ! Thpn he is saved?" "Aas! this minute, just as he was passing under tho nason's scaffold, a stone fell and iujured him fataly?" Don Jose recoiled like a man suddenly struck with a frightful light All this was his vork. He had first wished a man a serious injury, ,vhich would make hunting impossible for him, hen the loss of his sword hand, then death, for the public good ; and these' successive accidents had mmediately responded to his wishes. Thus, after ' laving tortured and crippled a man, he had finaly killed him! This thought crossed his mind like i flash. He tried to upset it by crying it was impossible ; but even at that moment the door open;d and four servants appeared bearing the bloody ind motionless corpse of the young lord. Don lose could not support this sight; a violent emotion overpowered him; everything around him dislppeared; and he found himself on the straw pallet, in the tavern garret, before the window, through which the sun's rays began to beam. The Doctor's irst feeling was joy at his having escaped from his horrible vision; then the events of the evening before returned to him, and he comprehended all. The potion he had taken, believing in the Moorish Doctor, was one of those powerful narcotics wliich exciting our faculties during sleep, transform our habitual desires into dreams. All which he had taken for reality was but a dream. Don Jose reflected long in silence; then taking the roll of parchment which was still on his pallet, he read it over again, lingering on the last sentence, which he had scrawled the evening before; he reread it many times, and at last, shaking his head with a seiious air, he said: "This is a salutary lesson, by which I will profit, if I be wise. I had believed that to be happy, I only needed the power to do what I ehose. without thinkinc that the will of man, when unrestrained, passes from pride to extravagance, from extravagance to tyranny, and from tyranny to cruelty." Alas! the Doctor was right?"Our impotence is a providential barrier opposed by God to our folly." This dream was so beneficial in its effects on Don Jose, (now become simple Jose,) that he afterward accepted his humble fortune more patiently, and died long after second majordomo of the chateau of which he had once hoped to become the lord. t@T A modern philosopher, taking the motion of the earth on its axis at seventeen miles a second, says if you take off your hat in the street to bow to a friend, you go seventeen miles bare-headed without taking cold. jftetiM. From Dabney'a Defence ?t Virginia. HISTORY OF EMANCIPATION, ; " The motive for introducing the historical facta contained in this chapter is the Mowing: Thai the credit of Virginia as a slaveholding 8tate is relatively illustrated by the conduct of her partner! in the confederation touching die same matter.? Virginia never passed a general act of emancipation ; on the contrary, she forbade masters to fret their slaves within her borders, unless they also provided for their removal to new homes. Bui what was it which the Northern States . actuallj did ? The general answer to this question cannot be better given than in the words of the Hon. A H. H. Stuart, of Virginia, in his report to th< General Assembly, as chairman of its joint committee on the Harper's Ferry outrages. He says: "At the date of the decimation of our nationa independence, slavery existed in every colony ol the Confederation. * * * * "Shortly after the Declaration of Independence, the Northern States adopted prospective measure! to relieve themselves of the African population.? But it is a great mistake to suppose that their pol icy in this particular was prompted by any spirit of philanthropy or tender regard for the welfare oi the negro race. On the contrary, it was dictated by an enlightened self-interest, yielding obedience to overruling laws of social economy. Experience Ixad shown that the African race were not adapted to high northern latitudes, and that slave laboi could not compete successfully with free white labor in those pursuits to which the industry of the North was directed. The discovery having beer made, the people of the North, at fcn early day, began to dispose of their slaves by sale to citizen: }f the Southern States, whose soil, climate, and productions were better adapted to their habits and capacities; and to the legislation of the Northern States, following the course of public opinion, wat iirected, not to emancipation, but to the removal if the slave population beyond their limits. To effect this object, they adopted a system of laws vhich provided, prospectively, that all slaves born )f female slaves, within their jurisdiction, after certain specified dates, should be held free when hey attained a given age. No law can be found en the statute book of any Northern State, which conferred the boon of freedom on a single slave in ceing. All who were slaves remained slaves.? Freedom was secure d only to the children of slaves, corn after the days designated in the laws ; and it vas secured to them only in the contingency that :he owner of the female slave should retain her within the jurisdiction of the State until after the child was bom. To secure freedom to the afterx>rn child, therefore, it was necessary that the conient of the master, indicated by his permitting the -* . ? n. . i 1 t t 3 notiier to remain in tne state, snouia do superaaled to the provisions of the law. Without such lonsent, the law would have been inoperative, besause the mother, before the birth of the child, night, at the will of the master, be removed beyond the jurisdiction of the law. There was no egal prohibition of such removal, for such a prolibition would have been at war with the polity of he law, which was obviously removal, and not enancipation. The effect of this legislation was, & night have readily been forooeon, to induce th? jwners of female slaves to sell them to the planters of the South, before the time arrived when the forfeiture of the offspring would accrue. By these laws, a wholesale slave trade was inaugurated, unier which a large proportion of the slaves of the Northern States were sold to persons residing south rf Pennsylvania; and it is an unquestionable fact that a large number of the slaves of the Southern States are the descendants of those sold by Northern men to citizens of the South, with covenants Df general warranty of title to them and to theii increase." Thus wrote Mr. Stuart, after thorough research. A. brief recital of the enactments of the Northerr slaveholding States will show that his general representation is correct. We begin with Massachusetts. No law against slavery, (which had been long legally established in the colony,) was ever passed by her Legislature; and in thit sense, the right to hold slaves may be said to have formally existed, until it was extinguished by her adoption cf the "constitutional amendment," in 18G6!? Practically, slavery was gradually removed aftei 1780, by the current of the legal decisions against it, grounded upon a clause in the new bill of rights, adopted by the State in that year. This clause asserted, nearly in the words of the Declaration ol Independence, the native equality and liberty oi men. In 1781 a slave of N. Jennison, of Worcester County, recovered damages of his master foi beating. This decision, if sustained, of course implied the cessation of slavery. Although the Legislature of the State was moved in 1783, by this Jennison and others, to declare that slavery did not exist legally, so that the doubt might be ended, that body refused to act; nor did it evci after abolish slavery. But judicial decisions aftei the example of the Jennison case were made fron time to time, until, in 1796, the Supreme Court ol Massachusetts, in the case of Littleton vs. Tuttle, gave its countenance to the doctrine, that the bil of rights virtually made slavery illegal. That al this was a glaring instance of judicial abuse, am plianda jvrisdictionem, is manifest from many facts: That the Massachusetts Statesmen whe adoDted the same proposition in the Declaration ol Independence, neverdreamed of its possessing anj force to abolish slavery in the United States whicl set it forth; That the convention which drew uj the bill of rights for Massachusetts did not thinl of such an application; That this document de clared "no part of any citizen's property could b< taken from him without his own consent;" Thai slaves continued to be bought and sold, and ad vertised as before; And that the abolitionists, stil in the minority, continued after 1780 to remonstrafc against slavery as a sin still legalized. But such i mode of determining the question was well adaptec to the meddlesome and crooked temper of thai people. By this judicial trick the envious non slaveholders were enabled to attack their richei slaveholding neighbors, and render them so uneasj as to insure their disposing of their slaves; whih still there was neither law nor public opinion preva lent enough to procure a legal act of emancipation New Hampshire and Vermont embodied th< principle of prospective emancipation in their nev constitutions. In 1790 there were 158 slaves it New Hampshire, in 1840 tnere was sua one Rhode Island passed a law in 1784, that no persoi born after that year should continue a slave. Con necticut embodied in the revision of her laws, ii 1784, a law providing that all children born of slavi parents-after March 1st of that year, should 1> free at twenty-five years of age. In 1767 the tern of servitude was reduced to twenty-one years fo all born after August 1st of that year. Slaver; was not actually abolished by law until June 12th 1848; when the census shows there were no fewe than seventeen slaves in the State; and how ol< and worthless they must have been, appears fron the fact that the youngest of them must have beei born before March 1st, 1784. In New York, the laws for slaves were more se vere than in the Southern States, and the Africai slave trade was zealously encouraged during th whole colonial period. The slave could not testify even to exculpate a slave. Three justices, with sort of jury of five freeholders, could try capitally and inflict any sentence, inclusive of burning alive. It was not until 1799 that the State commenced a t - system of laws for the gradual abolition of slavery, t Every slave child born after July 4th of that year a was to be free, the males after twenty-eight, and J the females after twenty-five years. Iu 1810, the t benefit of freedom was also extended to those born r 3 before July 4th, 1799, to take effect July 4th, 1827, t the date at which the earliest born of those freed by c previous law reached their majority of twenty- e 3 eight years. Still the census of 1830 found 75 a slaves! The Revised Statutes of New York, after f | 1817, provided a penalty for those carrying them 1 : out of the State for sale; showing that the ten- e J dency to do so existed. c In New Jersey, the first act looking toward pros- t [ pective emancipation was adopted in 1784. By it, a " all born after 1804 were to be free in 1820. It was v not until 1820 that action was taken to give effect a ' to this promise; and then the nature of the law d was sqch as to postpone the hopes of the slaves, d . The firat section of thelaw of February 24th, 1820, b . says: "Every child born of a slave within this c State since the 4th day of July, 1804, or which d shall hereafter be born as aforesaid, shall be free; n 1 but shall remain the servant of the owner of his o ' or her mother, and the executors, administrators c and assigns of such owners, in the same manner as a ' if such child had been bound to service by the p ' Trustees or Overseers of the poor, and shali con- ( ; tinue in such service, if a male until the age of d twenty-five years, and if a female until the age of e ? twenty-one years." It was.within the scope of o j possibility that slave women whom this law left n slaves for life might bear children as late as the o year 1848: whence bondage would not have been C | terminated wholly by it until 1873. New Jersey v 1 had 236 slaves for life in 1850. It is stated by one \ 1 of the best informed of her old citizens, that the ? 1 prospective effect of these enactments was to cause a | a considerable exodus to Southern markets; and s; that when a boy, he heard much talk of the sale o of negroes, and the sending of them to "the p 1 Natchez," and was cognizant of the continual ap- it | prehension of the negroes concerning the danger, ti In Pennsylvania, emancipation was also pros- ^ ( pective and gradual. Her first act was passed li March 1st, 1780. The rate at which it operated a , may be seen from these figures: In 1776 she had it about 10,000 slaves; in 1790, (ten years after her first act) she had 2,737 ; in 1800, 1,706; in 1810, u 795; in 1820, 211; in 1830, 403; and in 1840, 64 ri slaves. w Thus, the emancipation legislation of the Nor- b thern States has been reviewed, and the assertions ^ of the Hon. Mr. Stuart, substantially sustained. a That Northern emancipation was prompted by no ' consideration for the supposed rights of Africans, ?' but by regard to their own interests, is evinced by 11 many facts. Of these, perhaps, the most general ol and striking is the persistent neglect of the welfare n of their emancipated slaves; the refusal to give I' them equal civic rights, until they found a motive u for doing so in malice against the South; and the ^ shocking decadence, vice and misery to which a tl nominal liberty, according to the testimony of if Northern "writers, has consigned their wretched free tl blacks. Another proof is found in the current d language of the men of the generation which effect- n . ed the chauge. That language, as is well remem- u bered by elderly persons still living, was usually tl | such as this: that now that the population had b , filled up the country, the question of emancipation k was simply one of choice between their own chil- tl , dren and the negro?whether their sons should em- d ' * . .i i ii? ,.:j _r n , lgrace, or me negro ue goneu jiu ui, ua mete ???o no longer room for both. Another conclusive e , proof is in the fact that while these States were t< getting rid of their own negroes, they were delibe- 1< rately voting (Massachusetts, New Hampshire and h Connecticut, in the Convention of 1787,) to pro- h long the introduction of slaves into the Carolinas P ( nineteen years more. Still another evidence is ti , found in the repugnance of those States to the in- d flux of free blacks, and the stringent laws of some b of them to prevent it Thus, Massachusetts, in P i March, 1788, (eight years after the pretended ex- tl , tinction of human bondage,) passed a law ordering * . every black, mulatto or Indian, who came into the tl State and remained two months, to be publicly n . whipped ; and this punishment was to be repeated _ ,"if he or she shall not depart toties quotiesThis P , law remained in force until 1834 ! as is shown by b i its appearance in the Revised Laws of Massachu- ti . setts, 1823. It is also to be noted that the scheme b . of gradual emancipation upon which the whole t ; North acted, obviously recognizes the property of o the master in his slave as legitimate in itself. It I , only touches it, (because private rights are here ^ f required to give place to public interest,) in the o p case of those born after a certain day. Thg slave- o . ry of the others is left as perpetual and legal as over, tl . And even as to the latter born, the right of the ? j master receives a certain recognition, in that he is o , allowed twenty-five years' service as a partial com- h r pensation for the surrender of the remainder. s, T?..A V?l.-rr x a r i^Ul 11UW UlllCreUli 19 U1C DUIliiiitu j avvubivu ivxwu ! upon Virginia and the South! Here, the general r r legislation of the State was steadily multiplying, 8 r elevating and blessing the black race, which in the P i North was so rapidly dying out under its pretended 1 f liberty. And private beneficence of Virginians, P , without any legal compulsion, had actually given 1 1 the boon of freedom to at least one hundred thous[ and blacks; which is more than all the citizens of 1! the New England States, New York, New Jersey, ^ r and Pensylvauia together, ever did, under the 0 > force of all their laws.* In this wise and benefi- 11 P cent career Virginia has been violently interrupted, 0 r against her recognized and guaranteed rights, by ^ i instant and violent abolition. The motive of the a ) North, as a whole, has manifestly been, not love ^ : for the negro, but hatred for the white man, and * lust of domination. This abolition is purely the y i result of a supposed military necessity, because the t North believed that otherwise she could not over- t - throw the South in an unjust war. But for this F 1 single fact, the Africans would still be in bondage, t ; so far as tho Yankee was concerned. The proof is v i that the Chicago platform of the Black Republi- o 1 can party in 1860, expressly repudiated the pur- v t pose ever to meddle with slavery in the States. Mr. n - Lincoln, the chosen man of the North, solemnly o r asserted the same thing in his letter to A. H. Ste- F 7 phens, of Georgia, in his public inaugural, and in a ? his messages. The Congress, after the beginning o - of the war, solemnly declared to the world by a y . joint resolution, that the purpose of the war was t - ? ?!?/ *n rwafr<ra fliA TTninn. and not to restrict or 1 3 \JUIJ VV ?VO?V*V ? - ?, r change State institutions. Mr. Lincoln constantly t i declared to the Abolitionists, that if the perpetua- L / tion of slavery tended to restore the Union, it t i should be perpetuated. His standing invitation to g - the States in arms against him was: "If you wish \ 1 to keep your slaves, come back into the Union." c 2 Can the North be believed in her own declarations? r ? Then, the charge made is true?that abolition in r i the South was prompted by ambition and hatred, t r not by philanthropy. 1 f * The negroes freed by Virginians, with their in- a , crease in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Liberia, etc., are o _ 100,000 at least. The maximum number of slaves y . freed by the above States was, New Hampshire, i 629, Massachusetts 6,000, Rhode Island 4,370, Con1 necticut 6,000, New York 20,000, New Jersey 12,- 3 422, Pennsylvania 10,000. Total, 59,421. Such was the largest number of original freedmen made by I those States of their own slaves. When we re- r i. member that the census has proved that in the t Northern States their natural increase has almost f a ceased for several decades, and in some there has t e been an actual diminution, it appears very plain c . that they and their progeny do not now number j ' 100,000. Meantime, the votes of the Now England t a States assisted to add more than 600,000 to the num- t ber of slaves in Carolina! ( Nor has this act been less wicked in its effects han in its motive. To the white race it was the nost violent, convulsive, reckless and mischievous ict ever perpetrated by a civilized government ts a war measure, it was calculated and expected o evoke all the savage horrors of servile war, teighborhood massacre and butchery of non-comlatants. Only the kindly relations which the belevolence and justice of the people of Virginia had stablished between themselves and their slaves, nd the good character which we had giveu to these brmer savages, disappointed this desired result is an economic measure, it was the most violent ver attempted in modern history; being a sadden onfiscation of half, (and in some of the counties wo-thirds) the existing property of the countiy; nd a dislocation of the whole labor system, just rhen the people were Dowed under the burden of gigantic war, and a collapsed currency. That it lid not then again result in a total paralysis of iniustry, in famine and anarchy, (wliioh was-probacy intended), is only to be explained by the exerise of an energy, versatility, good sense and inlustrv in the Southern neoDle. which' ore almost airaculous. By annihilating at one blow so much f the property on which the indebtedness of the ountry was based, it insured a financial confusion nd general bankruptcy which are destined to ilunge hundreds of thousands of innocent persons innocent even from Yankee points of view) into lestitution and domestic distress, which three genrations will not heaL It confiscated the property f "loyal Union men," of helpless minors and luatics, of venerable and infirm widows, without ompensation, just as it did the possessions of the Confederate leader most obnoxious to the Yankee rrath. And what was the species of possession ? Van it some foul lucre, like the spoils of an Aohan 3 unrighteous that it must be instantly plucked way, regardless of consequences ? No; it was a pecies of property legalized by Moses and Christ, wned for ages by the boasted ancestors of the desoilers, now owned by themselves in the form of s fruits and increase, guaranteed by the Constituon which alone gave them any right to govern us, sgalized by all our, State laws, which were of earer and superior authority to that Constitution, nd recognized by the sacred pledges of the North self, even so late as the beginning of this war. But the step has been for more mischievous and njust to the poor blacks, its pretended beneficiaes. It did not tarry to inquire whether they ere fit for the change. It has resulted in the outreak of a flood of vice, before repressed; of drunenness, of illicit lust, of infanticide, of theft; and bove all, of idleness, the least flagrant, but most oily mischievous fault of the African. It has sudeuly and greatly diminished their share of the laterial goods they before enjoyed. The supplies f clothing and shoes now acquired by them do not jach a third of what they received before the war. mmcdiately on their emancipation, all the rural lill-owners testified that their grists /ell off onealf and have remained at that .grade since. Id rose neighborhoods where the blacks did not emjrate, (which was true of many neighborhoods,) lis showed that the consumption of bread was reuced one-half; for although the large proprietors ow had no occasion to send the large grists, yet, nless there were less consumed, the aggregate of tie little grists of the freedmen's families should ave made good that decrease. Every statesman nows that any burden or disaster imposed upon tic Industrial pursuit of a country, is transmitted own by the property classes to the destitute class, nd presses there with its whole force; just as invitably as the weight of a statue placed upon the ip of a column, is ultimately delivered upon the iwest stratum of foundation-stones. For the great iw of self-preservation prompts each man, who as any property, to employ it in evading that ressure for himself and his family. Thus the ao ual onus is handed down, until it reaches that lass who have no property, and must, therefore, ear it, because they have nothing wherewith to ay for the shifting of it. Thus, all the malice of he conqueror, aimed at the hated white man, rhilts it crowds us down, also crowds down equally he laborer beneath us; and the blow alights ultilately on him. The famine which is now preying upon some arts of the South, illustrates the mischief done y the disorganization of labor, and the comparaive excellence of the old system. Such was its eneficence, that jt carried the Southern country hrough all the exhausting trials of the war, withut actual dearth in any part of the Confederacy, lundreds of thousands of our most vigorous men rere wholly withdrawn from productive pursuits; ur own armies were to be sustained ; great hosts f enemies were continually tearing the vitals of be country; the year 1864 brought a drought so evere that in some parts of the country the crops f grain were reduced to one-tenth of the usual arvest; and yet, such was the happiness of our ystem, that it endured all these enormous trials, nd met the wants of all. But after the new egime was well established, there came in 1866 uch a drought as the South had several times exerienced before, without inconvenience ; and alhough all was peace, there were no armies to suport, no laboring man was called from the farm to be unproductive toils of the camp and the inrenchment. famine immediately resulted. Here 3 a fair comparison of the system of free African ibor, with the old one. Indolence is the parent f crime. While the smaller misdemeanors are aore frequent, there has been an alarming increase f felonies. In the orderly little county of Prince idward, the criminal convictions of black persons veraged only one per year before the war. The ist year they numbered twelve! An inquiry into he statistics of crime in our cities would reveal a et larger increase.* Last, facts already evince, that the doom of uliraate extermination, which Southern philanthrotists have ever predicted as the result of premaure emancipation, is already overtaking the negro nth giant strides. About the end of 1866, the fficers of the State revenue made their returns, rhich showed that there were then about 275,650 legro males over 21 years within the present limits f Virginia. Repeated calculations made from irevious returns, show that there are usually fournd-a-half times as many souls among the blacks f Virginia as there are males over twenty-one ears. The entire black population of the State hen, at the end of the last year, was 340,500. ?he census of 1860 returned 531,000 blacks within he present limits of the State. The diminution 3 therefore 190,500; or nearly two-fifths, in less han two years. Home may suppose tnat more ne,to men have left the State since the war than romen and children. If this is true, the number if males is now relatively smaller, and should be uultiplied by a larger ratio than 4 J to find the corect total. But, on the other hand, it is certain hat the neglect and mortality have been much arger among the aged and little children than .mong the robust men. This fact, therefore, reluces the ratio of the total to the males over 21 ears, and renders it certain that 340,500 is a large From April 31st, 1860, to May 81st; 1862, two *eara and one month, there were two criminal convictions of negroes by Prince Edward Court. Trom April 31st, 1865, to April 31st, 1867, alesspeiod by one month, there were, in tne same codrt, hirty-five criminal indictments of negroes, and Ifteen convictions, leaving thirteen cases over to >e tried at subsequent terms. And this aggregate if crime has already accumulated in our once >eaceful litle community, notwithstanding that he jurisdiction of our courts over negroes Was toally suspended by our conquerors for a number >f months after April 31st, 1865. estimate. The same officers brought in returns' which show that the white population of Virginia* although decimated-by a terrible war, has actually increased since 1860. But we exposed no negro to the dangers of the battle. Thus it it made ma-, feat -that the philanthropy of Yankees has been to the poor negro an infinitely more desokting scourge than a tremendous war has been tothe aoe again* which the sword was openlywidded. And tt to* quires little arithmetic to discover hovloog it wiQ be, at this rate, before the monstrous consummation will be reached of the extraction of a whole nation of people by their professed friends. ; .4. ? ? i -i . . ? - Anothkb Word or Advto* to th* Nbgfrosl We have frequently endeavored to advise the weftdisposed Negroes in regard tothe true policy for them to pursue ; and, in this connection, w^i would especially commend to their serfoat consideration the subjoined words of wisdom taken from a speech recently delivered at Holly. Grove, Mississippi, by Hon. Albert G. Brown: Most of you want land. Allow metooy in all sincerity, as your friend, regarding you myour present position, that is the last thing you do waufc; If you had laud,, what would you do with it?? You would want provisions, plows, hoes, axes, carts, mules, everything necessary for carrying on a form, and where are these things to come from? Now I will tell you what you want?first of all, you. want a year's provisions and clothing foryouraelvas and families, or themeans of buying them Nest you want horses or mules, then yoa want fttmng utensils, and last of all aud most important, some- m thing to feed your horses and mules on. When you get these equipped, there will be no trouble about the land. There is land enough for everybody. If any one or fifty of you wiff oome to me, next year with the means of carrying on afarm oft your own hook, I now promise you land oh your own terms. -J C > ' %. But understand me. I do not agree to put up houses and fenoes, sink wells, and furnish mules, plows, hoes, wagons, firewood, provisions, clothing, and in short everything to cany on a farm, and then give youeveiythingyou make; that would be setting the ooulter a little too deep.' Bat ifyott want land and nothing else, ootne on, I am ready, for you. ; I have another little piece of advice foryqn :?* When you get land, as you will after awhile, pay for it out of your honest earnings, and themyoft have not by fraud or'force appropriated Other pwK *' pie's goods to your own use. I traveled .the other r day, with a black man who rode his own horse.? He had bought and paid for him, and I admired the honest pride with which he strpde him. If he had stolen him he Vould have slunk away like' a thief I look to the day when every honest muL among yon will own and set down in fail security' at your own door, protected by the majesty of the law. Bat I warn you that you must woo the com-' ing of that day by habits of industry, frugality and earnest desire of peace and good will among men. rrf T THE FRENCH GUN. ~ The Paris correspondent of the Star, writing on, the 2nd on the experiments that are being made at Mendon with the new French gun, says: It wonld appear that a more terrible arm has never been invented. None bat the irtaflery officers who* direct the experiments are aware of the construction of these guna They ?rf ? M.n (1m amnnihnn KlUUllU HI icoiiUCB ~?t and carriages are carefully concealed The practice takes place behind scaffolding. The only &ct which has transpired is, that these gone project ft perfect shower of balls on a target two yards itf height, and measuring three feet across, at the enormous distance of 2500 yards, each ball penetrating the half inch target Twenty rounds can be fired per minute, and the gun, its carriage, and ammunition only require two men for the taanjfc port It is also stated that they'are mosieftajy hauled Prussia has heard of these guns, and has sent some officers to Mendon for the purpose of finding out all about them. They disguised them-' selves in blouses and gray linen trousers, so as to present the appearance of German workmen in search of employment They were much pleased to find several Alsatian workmen near the exercise ground, with whom they-entered into oouversatMft in German. The Alsatians talked about the gam, gave them some details, and asked the Prussians to take a glass of wine at a neighbouring carbaret Some drunken men were there and got into a row; the police entered, and as usual in such cases ar- , rested every one in the caboose. Much to the ft- mazement of the Prussian officers, they discovered their quondam friends to have been mouchard*, disguised like themselves as workmen. This discovery they only made in presence of the prtfetsi&e police, who politely requested the officers to return . to Berlin by the earliest train, which they naturally promised to do. Thus has Bismarck been out* witted. Ex-President Davis.?We have been favored with a photographic view of the oooe great" chief of the Confederacy. We remember him* as he stood on the steps of General Chesnut's residence in 1864 addressing the audience gathered to hear his words of counsel and cheer.' Then, his hair was of an iron grey, his faoe full 6f fire, the eye undimmed, the brow clear, and the person straight as on Indian arrow. But time and trouble Lave evidently wrought a great change, and one cannit foil to observe that Mr. Davis had at least suffered from more than an ordinary share of misfortune. The figure is that of an elderly gentleman?plain, dignified, but depressed. His hair and beard aie white as snow. He leans upon a staff, and the weight of years shows alas too plainly, even in the picture. He looks sad and thoughtful, and the slouched hat which rests carelessly on his head is not needed to increase the shadows that seem to be owMinrl tlSft lowar nortaon of Ilia fkflft. UVCi UibVUig (MVUMV* M.V r? ? . It is not unlikely that'the picture will faH into the hands of some enterprising photographer, by whom copies will be made and sold It was taken only thirty days ago, and is said to be the only one of the kind in the Southern country. Columbia Chronicle. The handwriting of distinguished Englishmen is the subject of an article in the Manchester Examiner. It says that "Lord Derby writes p very n$at, but very lady-like running hand Lord Palmerston wrote boldly and most legibly, with large round letteers and thick up-strokes. MrDisraeli writes a large and angular running hand Lord Russel writes like a lady, but with small and ill-formed letters, very much such a hand as that of the late Robert Peel Lord Lytton writes slovenly and carelessly, and in an all but illegible manner. Lord Houghton writes an upright scrawl, Mr. Gladstone an Oxford hand, Mr. Bright in small, neat, scholar-like characters. Lord Lyndhurst wrote a fine, large, bold; legible hand, while that of Lord Brougham is fine, large and 1J/\?A?11?T /liffionlf 4A ?rnnm>nrtli UUt WUUVICXIviixj uuuviuu iv viwijuiu mxywuuwj" an expression of the impetnonsness of the writer's character." -4"v . t . . - - , ? J?* Wendell Phillips has expressed his belief that impeachment will follow immediately on the asembhng of Congress, and that President Johnson would not so persistently court such a ooraae if he were not prepared and determined to resist ft. The late Amnesty he considers treasonable,-andta effort to btuld up another rebellion. ! 18. New York city has contributed |30,0#ior I the benefitoftheyeUowfinrersafferenattiieSouth.