University of South Carolina Libraries
THE BANNER. * [WEEKLY.] Vol. IIL Abbeville C. H,, S. C. April 1, 1846. No. 5. Published every Wednesday Morning, by ALLEN & KEKK. Jirto ffrrms. ONE DOLLAR AND FIFTY CENTS per annum, if paid within three months from the time of subscribing-, or TWO DOLLARS after that time. No subscription received for less than six months; and no paper discontinued ur.til all arrearages are paid, except at the op~ tioii of the editors. Subscriptions will be continued, unless notice be given other" wise previous to the closc of the volume. (for the banner.) DUELLING?TEXAS. Mr. Editor :?If common report^ and unfounded suspicions are to be credited, Texas is the worst spot in all this western hemisphere. It was at least before its admission into the Union, the grand depot of all villians, according to some reports or suppositions ; a sort of Botony Bay place, to which all the ring-leaders in crime transported themselves when threatened with law in their own Stale. But while it is admitted that Texas, has no doubt been a city of refuge to many an out-law, yet it is by no means peo pled with that class of persons ; on the contrary Texas would compare favorably. we presume, in this respect, with any of the older States in the Union. In^pod old sober South Carolina, we ' ' :. on hands a very general asiment of all grades of trifling characters, notwithstanding the hard times, and the great opening for such characters to the West. In Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi are to be found a superabundance of just such characters, many of them of domestic manufacture, and not a few of foreign exportation. Texas then, is not the only refuge of vice and of such characters, while at the same time are found in her, many noble hearts, and much correct sentiment. This is evident from the character of her lately adopted Constitution. Some of the provisions contained in the Constitution, could not be sccured at this day, we *nnnn?p in Smith P.nrnlin-i n Itlinnnrli she can boast over Texas of superior attainments in law, morals and religion. Nothing in the Texas Constitution pleases me better than that portion which relates to duelling, and if I mistake not, Texas is in advance of all the other States on this subject. This pernicious, murderous custom is effectually cut up by the roots in Texas. No man who regards his present character, or future prospects, would think of fighting a duel in now Texas. Under the " general provisions" of the Constitution. the fifth section contains the pro vision on duelling, which runs thus: " Any citizen of this Slate, who shall after the adoption of this Constitution, fight a duel with deadly weapons, or send or accept a challenge to fight a duel with deadly weapons, either within the State or out of it, or who shall act as seconds, or knowingly aid and assist in any manner, those thus offending shall be deprived of holding offices of trust or profit under this State." To make this provision effectual against duelling, the oath which the members of the legislature and all ojizers are required to* take before entering on their duties, contains the following clause,?" I do further solemnly swear (or affirm) that since the adoption of this constitutioaJby the Cod - 1- i I gress of the Uuited States, I, b^?g a c>ii-1 zen of this State, have fiot foagbfca duel with deadly; wpnnons within- this Sf*te^ or out of i' * L?"?^v P*f^ { A ch ' ' -^sis4ip ... i}rAi \; . ...thldWfe at .# left tne life w ;ian in Texas' grTnbout Is and woods dhootingfttt umps for two or three , order that he may rl nf thnt limp tn * the heart of his . paltry offence, public sentiment is nd that such a - and forever in so ciety that are reckoned honorable ? It will be said however that men will still rosort to the duel, regardless of exclusion from office. What then will be the motive prompting them to the fatal rencounter? Not considerations of honor, for an act that would debar a man from every honorable station, cannot be viewed as an honorable act, and it would never do for those noble and magnanimous souls who resort to the duel, to engage in it from sheer malice ; the most despicable villain can be moved to murder by the same unhallowed emotion. If the idea of honor is taken away from the duel (as it is in Texas by the constitution.) could such a custom be perpetuated ? All the niceties connected with the duel are scrupulously observed, under the notion that honor, requires attention to such puerile punctilios. It is the idea of honor that loads to the interchange of those ominous notes ...i i t ? - which ure a preiuae to me coming contest. A delicate sense of honor requires that such letters should be polity, it U honor that prompts to all the politeness, and hypocritical civilities that pass between the parties and their seconds. It is honor that measures oflf five, ten or twenty paces as a decent and gentlemanly distance to be shot at. it is honor that prompis the parlies to reserve their fire until some onecounts one, two,three It would be horribly vulgar and murderous for one of the parties in combat to re'ain his fin-, and then aim coolly and deliberately at the life of one w.io had shot at him in haste, and nnder the influence of n cowardly dread. It would be exceedingly indecorous for one of the parties to rush on the other, when they were required to stand five or ten paces apart. All these are nice points, and a high tone of honor runs ihfeiuh the whole. Fie on the man who would be so ill-bred as 10 violate any of the provisions of this precious code ! IS'ow why, we ask, do grown up men, men of srnse and solidity, loose themselves, and thcif moral heroism, and cow, and truckle, and submit with a double refined hypocrisy to ail the little niceties of the bloody code ? It is the notion that honor requires such things. The combatants prepsirc to kill each other veiy politely, not that they have any love or respect for each oflier, out (not lo speak now of malice a?id revenge which rani_i _ *i_ _r i v .?w uit; in meir nuuie soujsj uiey engage in the duel, and try to act the Chesterfield through the scene, with the hope that should they survive, they will be esteemed and honored, and the way prepared for their promotion to offices of honor, profit or trust. But suppose that the duel would exclude a man from all honorable office, as in Texas, would men in quest of honor engage in it ? Would those whose hearts were full of malice, and who weie ready to fly on each other !il?e tigers, submit to the code of honor, if no honor was to accrue ? Verily no. Keep then the notion of honor out of the question, and the duel is at end ; and the way to accomplish this is to adopt the course of Texas, and deprive the parties in a duel, both the combatants, seconds, surgeons, and advising friends, of all honorable or profitable office, and these i: affairs of honor" will be fe^' and far between." It would be almost impossible to get up a duel now in Texas, for although t\vo men might be so full of wrath and revenge as to resoive on each others de-" .struction regardless of the above sections of Jije constitution, yet it would be diffiI ^(Obtain two gentlemeA to act as . seconds-?two to act as surgeons, and' * 15!K> or three more to act as friends and tfdviiefg^ Not only the persons who ifi?tai} btftt all who have any part in a deprived of all office of profit or ipipfriih Texas. We say that the prospect of getting up a duel there, must be 'Very discouraging. Lack-a-day! what would the young heroes in South Carolina, or the old fools about Washington city* do jf they were in Texas ? They could'nt show off their courage j they could'nt act on the "code of honor" there, for that code is nullified, dead and hurried. Some of our men of fire and fame, it may be, will refuse to emigrate to Texas because their darling code is abolished ; while others will repair to that happy land just to get out of the reach of its monsirous and tyranical requisitions. ; Ctfnnot South Carolina have a clause 4 * on duelling in her constitution, and in the oath of office, similar to that of Texas? Cannot the citizens of Abbeville and other districts support Col. Memminger, and others, in their laudible efforts to suppress duelling, by sending up full ajad stronsr Detitions to th? nnvt meeting of the legislature ? Shall " we the people" connive at, or by our silence and inactivity indirectly sustain the murderous custom of duelling, or shall we by a rigorous and united effort forever wipe out the deep stain which this iniamous practice has brought upon the laws and honor of the State 1 Beecher. From the Greenesbo-o (N. C.) Patriot. ADDRESS TO MECHANICS. Our Mechanics ?Brethren?you lack knowledge?knowledge which you all have the means to purchase and the capacity to comprehend. Why don't you read some good perioJical which sheds scientific light upon the trades by which you make you inn Ice your bread and sustain your standing in society 1 The u Scientific American" j continues its weekly visits to our table, sustaining its original usefulness ancl spirit; its abundant and valuable practicable suggestions enable us to perceive what you loose by not keeping up with the mechanical improvements of the age. There is more useful information for the nrlizan >n one number of this little sheet I'm cm be found in a whole cart-load of the bragging mammoth " liternn? s" of the North. The latter, we uJ:: i, suusurve the purpose of their publication?that is, to kill time; the former, to improve it. Our mechanics must cultivate their minds, particularly in those branches of science connected with their callings, or they never can obtain that stand and influence in society which they ought always to command. They are hardy, honest, and industrious, as a class?the "the bone and sinew" and the very foundation of society in our towns;?but they have not that degree of intelligence to which they might readily attain, and consequently lack that dignity and power in thecommunitv to which their I numbers and the intrinsic respectability ol their trades otherwise entitle them, it is with themselves to elevate themselves. They must employ their heads as well as their elbows. There is a wide tieid for the useful and beautiful display of mind?taste?genius?in the mechanic arts, as well as in the fine arts .and learned professions. The plodding hand, who does a piece of work merely as he had been made to do it at the apprentice's betich, without the application of a single.prigihal idea in process, ?need not expect to succeed equally with the energetic, inquiring artizan, who slu'lia his subject, and t:ikes advantage of the suggestions he can command in this progressive ag.e. Superior mind and superior cultivation are exhibited as palpably?as honorably and profitably inil illivrnrs (illitn CIo innni>anllir irt the mechanic arts, as in any other field of human effort or human ambition. Mechanics?do not depend upon your trades to elevate you. " Keep your shops, affd your shops will keep you." The lawyer, the physician, the divine, are'not honored by their profession ; if they have not capacity and acquirement to enable them to act up to the standard of their profession?they, and > not their profession are disgraced. Epamjnondas, the gieatest patriot and lawgiver of yhfcbes was once appointed by his envious enemies, who happened to be in power, to clean the streets of the M_ * _ _ _1 . . 1 ' 1 cuy, wim me aesign 10 Dring aisgrace I and ridicule upon him by this mean oc- | cupation. The wise Theban remarked. ! that it was not the office which conferred honor or fixed disgrace upon the ; man ; but the man had it in his power to honor the office, however low, or to difrgTace it however exalted. He forthwith set about the exercise of his new , functions with such judgment and energy, that, in a short time, the streets of no city w?re to be compared Witfct those of Thebes 'for cleanliness and beauty. And for a long period thereafter, the office of street scavenger, was one of the most honorable-of the city. Avoid an angry man for a while. for bis passion will cool; but avoid a malicious man forever, for malice never dies. v Arrival of the Steam Ship H1BERNIA. Twenty-Two Days Later from Europe. The steamer Hibernia is in at Halifax and Boston, with advices from Liverpool to the 4th ultimo. The most important nem of intelliir. ' TT Sv..v,u 10 mc ?uw 111 uiu Diiiisu nousc of Commons, in favor of the new Corn Law Scheme and Tariff of Sir Robert Peel, by the decided majority of 97. The Iron Trade was in full vigor, and the iron masters were full of orders. The trade was consequently very brisk. Cotton, up to the arrival of the packet ship Patrick Henry, had been depressetU in price, but the news brought by her being considered of a somewhat hostile character, the prices rallied and the market became firmer. Provisions and flour were dull, and the money market?in consequence of the fifteen millions of pounds sterling I 1 eked up by the railways?was very I l'?ht. i mi.. __.:_i_ .i : i j: i iitj hi licit: ui mui^c, ui j.uui<iii turn, was becoming very popular among the people. The French have met with disastrous defeats in Algiers. , Accounts from Berlin state that Mr. Wheaton, the Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plfininotentinrv nf lhn T7nit?vl States, hod left that city for London. Louis Phillippe is said to be in favor of referring the Oregon dispute to the arbitration of three English and three American gentlemen?-thus carrying out the idea of Mr. Winthrop, of Mass. The American Minister in London, Mr. McLane, is confined to his house by severe indisposition. Father Mathew has published a letter, accompanied with specimens of bread and "stir about," made from Indian corn. Efforts are now making to introduce this excellent beverage, not only into Ireland, but into the three kingdoms generally, on the t>lan which marks its use in the United Slates. From the Liverfool Times, 4th ult. Prepa rations for War.?Whether or not we are to have war, great preparations are being made for it. The army is to be increased 10,000 men ; the militia are to be in readiness for immediate training ; the ordnance corps arc to receive an accession of 1500 men ; I hi> rnirnl miiriiioo ?.iav tMiKKIVO A-yVV/ lliril J <111*4 mull regiments of the line 6,000. The increase of the navy will be about 1,000 men. FRANCE. The French Chambers have voted a sum of money for the establishment of a line of steamers between Havre and New York, so that when all the projected " vapor ships" are in action, a daily, or at least a semi-weekly mail between Europe and America will have been secured. The spirited and successful managers of the Halifax mail stea mers are building another fine vessel, to add to their already splendid fleet of steamers. The Catholic Bishop of New York is in Paris, and has been preaching several sermons. The greater part of his auditories has consisted of English and Irish Catholics. The Bishop of Texas is also here, having come to raise money, and to obtain priests to accompany him to Texas, to assist in promulgating the faith. His mission is said to have been as successful as he could possibly wish. I The idea broached by the London Times of the re-establishmcnt of Monarchy in Mexico has been received, upon the whole, with favor by the Parisian press. Even the republican Nation al does not denounce it, if.it be the pleasure of the Mexicans, but insists upon the full liberty of action being allowed I them. It also advises that jn any mea[ 8Ure the French Government may be i ?-i - - ujuuicu iv juiii 111, euro ue i<ikcij mat II be not made the dupe of England. Mr. King, the American Minister, at Pari?, gave a grand ball on Monday, in celebration of Washington's birthday. The fele was a most splendid one, and appeared to afford the highest gratification to all the gaests, and will rank . - among the most brilliant of the presant season. ^ m a Washington trying, the UflitedjStatea L Minister at Madrid, ha&fl*it|ft& Paris af-1 I tcr several weeks;Wheaton, | " 1 I Advertisements WILL be conspicuously inserted at 75 cents per square for the first insertion, and 3?? cents for each continuance? I longer ones charged in proportion. Those 'not having the desired number of insertions marked upon them, will be continued until ordered out, and charged accordingJy For advertising Estrays Tolled, TWO DOLLARS, to be paid by the Magistrate. For announcing a Candidate, TWO DOLLARS, in advance. 0^7" All letters or communications must be directed to the Editors, postage paid. ' United States Minister at Prussia, is now here. GREAT BATTLE IN INDIA. Our advices from Bombay, since th? sailing of the steamship Cambria, come down to January 17, and furnish accounts of one of the greatest battles ever fought by the British in our Indian Empire, in which we have sustained the known loss of 3,300 of our brave soldiers, including the gallant Sale, Sir J. ivi'ivaskill and Major Broadfoot. .An Extraordinary Gazette gives the official account of all the military operations in this great struggle. On the 12th, 13th and 14th of December the Sikh army crossed the Sutlej, with, at the lowest estimate, 80,000 men (of whom 20.000 or 30,000 were cavalry) and about 150 cannon of the largest calibre moveable in the field. A fierce conflict ensued, in which the Sikhs lost the artillery attached to their division, in number 17 guns. It was in this stage of the battle that Sir Robeit Sale and General M'Kaskill fell. Imagination can scarcely depict the fury and the obstinacy of the two days' flight that must have preceded the capture of the invarlAv'a ramn with all i?o materiel and artillery, and the utter dispersion of the invading army on the 22d of December. Their loss is variously estimated at from 25,000 to 35,000 in killed and wounded. Our loss in killed and wonnded, it is to be feared, falls little short of 3300, including 50 European, officers. Sermons are like guns.?Some are long, others short; some are new, others old; some are bright, orhers rusty; some are made to be looked at, others to be used; some are loaded, others empty j some are owned, others borrowed. Some are air-guns, some pop-guns, some ol every size, from the pocket pistol to the Paixhan gun. Some are charged only with powder, and make a great noise and smoke. Some send only small shot, that irritates rather than kills. Some carry heavy metal, that does execution. Some discharge chain shot, mowing* down whole platoons. Some are widemouthed mortars, throwing only bomb shells. Some are duelling pistols, used only in controversy?vile things! Some go offhalf bent. Some flash in the pan. Some make a terrible fix, the charge all escaping at the priming hole. Some shoot too high, some too low, some side ways, a few i^rcctly at the point Some are aimed at nothing and hit it. Some scatter prodigiously, some kick their owners over. Some are unerring ; others always hit the wrong object. Some have too much wadding, and vice versa. Some are alarm guns ; others are complimentary guns, used only for salutes on special occasions. Some are in a series, constituting a battery ; others are swivels, made to turn in any direction. Some are useful, some useless,some dangerous. Some amuse, some frighten, some exasperate, some explode, some gain the victory. Very much depends upon the manner in which they are made and managed. 5 Christian Watchman. Making Manure.?The chief, the grand object with every farmer, should be the accumulation of manure, from one year's end to the other, day in and day out, and from every possible resource. Not a single pound of feathers, or of hair ?of horn or of hoof?not a single pint of ashes, or of soapsuds, of urine?not a weed, if it were pissible to prevent it, should be lost?all should be saved and converted into manure. Of one things every farmer is certain?that cultivation exhausts his land?something of course, must be done to restore that of which it is exhausted. How long will a horso work if he gets no feed 1 How long will the best cow give milk if she gets nothing to eat ? Neither can a farm bo worked and milked without bfeing fed.. Instead of looking.only to the ftfnhlfr. or the cowpen of the barnyard Sfo nure, and managing tfctn C*nglflK% and unskilfully, the, thinlnm*.*fcjrfWor will reflect that wilt rot but good fatume* ^d&r'Jiia farm. ...If?* hors?. dies on. tjp let hiptrbfeycp* feted with* cm/L loads&f vrt-y gases that escape in the coujra* juj/efactyjn, will impre^jy* fjftq4 manpie oTtljp T**' noting -J&lijaP' the^qwlp^ '