University of South Carolina Libraries
Carolina find it an easy task to perform the high and solemn duty of preventing those convulsions, by reforming that currency. Ther&' is another reform in our agricultural economy, to which every planter in South Carolina is invited by the most ! persuasive confederations, public and pri- j vate. It is t<? adopt and steadily pursue ? a system of permanent improvement, not 1 only in the soil* but in. the buildings and . . . ' fixtures of bis plantation, and to aoandon the improvident policy hitherto generally pursued, of exhausting the soil in the too , eager desire to realize a large present incortfe, without any regard to the figure.? It is absolutely distressing to contemplate the memorials of this wretched policy ex- : ? ,v hibited in every part of the State?a policy which, while it denies to the present generation almost all the rntioi.a' ' comforts vhich alone make weann uesir- 1 able, leaves to posterity an exhausted sdil, ruinous mansions, and a barren inheri- ' tance. , Now, it would not be too strong an expression to say that every dollar judicially J invested in the permanent improvement - - of hrs estate by a planter, would be worth more to bis children than two dollars in. vested, as is usual, in the purchase of 1 inore negroes to cut down the forest and 1 destroy soil. We have reached a point ! in our agriculture, which imperiously de. ( inands a fundamental change in this res. ! poet. However the virgin soils of, the j South-west may palliate the folly of such 1 a course, the alternative is distinctly pre- 1 sented to us, of permanently improving ! oar estates, or of deserting them. We ?- cannot contend with the planters of Alabaraa and Mississippi, in a wild and dc. structive, system, by which even they have sunk under embarrassment and ruin, with all their advantages of soil and climate. We can make up for our inferior J soil and climate only by a superior system of husbandry. 'While they are ex- 1 haustin<r their soil and preventing the ' ? - ? natural increase of their slaves by a reckless system of pushing and driving, let us improve the fertility of the one, by rest. ing and manuring it, and increase the number of the other, by moderate working, and by providing every thing ncc \s. /^saryjor their health aud comfort. And .I have no doubt that a Sjuth^C.irohna - - ' planter who shall limit his cotton crop to , five hales to the hand, and rely mainiy upon the natural increase of his negroes, will leave a larger estate to his children, at the end of ten or twenty-yeare, than a South-Western planter who follows the - system generally pursued in that quarter, though he should make eight bales to the hand, and annually apply his surplus income to the purchase of land and negroes. Though they are. really struggling for the benefit of their children, these is no class of men who do so little for posterity, and .will leave so. few monuments behind them, aa the cotton planters of the South. What sort of an estimate must be placed upon wealth, and to what rational end can he desire it, who, with an income of ten or twenty thousand dollars a year, brings up a family ofchildren imperfectly . educated, in a log cabin, with scarcely - the comforts of such a dwelling? A stranger travelling through our country ' ... could not be persuaded that it was inhah. { ited bv a race of wealthy, hospitable and " enlightened planters, so few of the monu. ments and improvements that indicate a , wealthy aud provsperous community would , meet his eye. And if, by one of those j ^ , great political revolutions which over- i . whelmed the ancient Greeks and Romans, / our race of conquerors,and our name only t descend to posterity, what classic memo. < rial, what substantial monument, would ' bear testimony that this "delightful re- t gionofthe sun" had been once inhabi- ! ted by a civilized and enlightened people, 1 eminently distinguished for their industry J their wealth, and the freedom of their in- ( atitutions? ' , In thus urging a more provident regard , to the future in our general economy, it < will hp iw-rrpivpH thai I have still kent in i view the important object of diminishing j < the aggregate cotton cropof the country, : I by giving a more useful direction to a portion of the capital and labor devoted too exclusively to its production. It will be also perceived that I nave* made no disclosure or recommendation of aOy im^ provernent by which large co'ttbn crops may be made. I have intentionally abstained from any suggestion of this kind, believing that every one rhav be safely left to his own impulses and his own resources on this point, and regarding over production as one of the greatest evils to which the cotton planting interest is ex' --posed. Indeed, if I could now reveal u - process by which our common soils could . be made to produce two hales of cotton to " the acre, I should have great doubt wheth" er the revolution would be a blessing or a curse to that great interest. I am ** aware that as I have obtained some reputation .for making large cotton crops, it may be supposed that I preach one doc- > trine and prrctice another. But such a . ? supposition -would do nie injustice.? - - .1 i . * i j , wnn me largest couoij crojvi ever mane , / -r-tbat of 1839?I combined all the other k branches of economy I have here recorn- j y ' mended. I have now a surplus of 1500 I bushels of corn made that year, hogs suf- ; i trcient tosupply'my-'wffnt*, that have been j < fat enough to slaughter since July* and ' * ycry lArge stocks of cattle and of sheep, 1 the latter of which supply ail the wool required forthe winter clothing of iny ne- j1 groesf aad a stock of young-horses and^' colt*fully adequate to meet the e.xegen- i cies of my plantation. After making i due provision for all these objects, it is of j 1 course the true interest of every planter to make as Urge a cotton crop as he can |( without ovcr-working his operatives. In | ' doing this, however, he should never lose j1 sight of the great object of improving the f productive power of his estate, instead of exhausting it. * To this end, it should be his constant j effort, by manuring and resting the,-soil, and by sqgpnor cultivation, 10 prouuce a r given result from the smallest possible | number of acres. It is scarcely possible to over estimate the value of this rule in j the actual condition of the old planting f sta'es. Every resource for making ma. 1 : ure should, therefore, be improvedrto the j uttermost, without begrudging the ne- * cessHry la'ior and attention. No labor 8 exerted on the plantation is half so well s rewarded. Every description of stock 5 should be regularly penned every night J in yards constantly covered wittr straw, l leaves.or other litter. The quantity of I manure that can be thus made in a year J j is quit#;inconceivable to those who have < not made the experiment. ?orn should ( he habitually planted in olcl. land, of a j quality least adapted to cotton, and ev. r cry hill should he thoroughly manured,! v scrupulously avoiding the miserable jj economy too often witnessed, of losing $ one half its utility, to save the inconsider. } able labor required to apply it properly. I v can bear.perso lal testimonythatbythe.se means the crop per acre can he invari. 1 ably doubled on soils originally strong.? ^ My corn is principally produced on level ^ lands that were considered to be exhaus. j t led when they came into my possession, c and vet by thorough and careful manur- j ing, I have reduced the number of acres r cultivated in com fully one half, making j a more certain and abundant crops than I . I did before with double the number of:t acres and more, than double the labour "of n cultivation. All the manure not required f3 for the corn crop, should lie applied to :1 the most exhausted of the cotton lands,1 r and it should he made an invariable rule,; 11 L-'L ! > 1 1 liufr I P lnjiii 113 rt'g?iru iu cut ii anil | M/ ?i?7% in and bury alt the stalks and vgetible (] in itter found upoi the soil. My expert- r mice justifies the lielief th;it th s procecs t i!one, if commence J before the soil is too |j far exhausted, will perpetuate if not iin. j jrove the fertility of originally strong a id | d evel lands, though constantly cultivated , t n cotton. In fact vegetable matter, as ( n t was the principal element in the origin- , h ii formation of soils, so it must he in their jr restoration and ^preservation. Nature i beneficently provides it to our hands, but j ^ we too often destroy it as if it were a nui- i J. jatire, w hile we vainly employ our spec, ilations and direct our researches as? to jj find out some more scientific means of improvement. In proportion as the t quantity of land required for cotton ami a ;orn is diminished by the means proposed, # will that be increased which is left fallow, y tnd for small grain. These, after one I rear's rest in good soils, and always be- c ore they become covered with broom li ledge, should be fallowed in the autumn. P carefully turning in all the stubble and n veeds, with two horse ploughs adapted to s he purpose. - u On the process of cultivation, one or o 1 ? L- u wo remaras may no* i? uu?p|?i u nade in this connexion. One of the most . imminent obstacles both to a system of ?ood cultivation an J to a system of permalent improvements, is the common prac- g :ice of over planting. It may be not unrptly denominated a system of trear and ear, in regard to land, negroes, horses and tnd mules. As one of its inevitable conse. c pjences, a planter almost certainly finds t liinself, when the seasons are in any de? s ;ree unfavorable, in that uncomfortable t condition usually expressed by saying" he s desperately in the grass."- Nomande- r serves the name of planter who gets into } his predicament, except in very extraor- c linarv seasons, any more than he deserves t the name of general who carelessly per- 1 mits himself to be surprized and surround, a id by an enemy. For tnough the one t may work his way out of the grass, as the t Jther may cut his way out of the toils of t fiis adversary, vet it is the hard knocks ind sweat of the laborers in the one case, t rnd the valor and blood of ?the soldiers in A the other, that imperfectly atone for the ( ncompetency of the manager and of lbs i Jdmmantler. It is my confident belfef i hat when even one half the crop is per- v nitted'tt) become grassy, the future culti- t nation of.the whole will require'double the h abor.that would have been otherwise, ne.* 1 ;essary, and with all that, it wiH be impos. ( iible to make a full crop, especially of cot- c on. In our climate and soil ift the tipper ! iounlrv. the onlv means of avoiding an h rarnense destruction of immature balls by ij the autumnal frosts. Is to push the growth i >f the cotton from the beginning, by thin- a [ling and preparing it to mature as early as t t can he safely done, and never permitting e te growth to be delayed for a. single day 1 iy want of working. For what is lost in his way can never be recovered; and I jo lave no hesitation in saying that six.acres o >f cotton to the hand, properly cultivated, i vill produce a greater result with one hrif t< he labor than ten acres to the hahd,tnilti- u fated in the rough and imperferfect man- r ler but too common even in this state, 'j md generally pre> lent in some Others. In q idopting it as a rule, therefore, to plant no r arger crop than can be cultivated' in the nost perfect manner, a planter will besr p - orrsult every view of sound economy ? md even the predominant desire to make n i large cotton crop. t' In the cultivation of a crop I know no a ule more important, and which is more c rally violated, than that ot' doing your rorlkhoroughly veil, cost u hat labor it may* a Vloie labor is improiitably waited and 0 norc crops injured by bltd cultivation < xom neglecting this rule, than from any >ther cause. The last strokes of labor re* juired to complete any operation are douby, often ten times ns valuable as those ised in the previous stages.o? it* ^ and yet. j heseare the Very stocks usually omitted, J n an improvideut haste to 4 get over the j rrop,' as it is expressed. The very causes vbich generally tempt managers to slight he work?wet weather and grass, for exunple?are those which most imperiously lemand the strict observance of the rule have laid down. Oneofth Jc resequences of over-cropping I tnd bad working which ism&t to be de- < ireented is the necessity th?y create, and < he apol riy they offer, for permanc ntTv tri- I uring the s .il by exc sslve p oughing, and 1 vhat is still worse, ploughing in imprope r j easons. I believe that it may be truly t aid that in the upper conntry at least, | louhh* the quantity of ploughing is done i n cultivating cotton, than can be justified M >v any sound theory. Everts-ploughing * vhieh turns rp fresh soil to the burning ays of a summer sun must tend- to ex- I laust its fertility.^But it is more impor- i ant to remark, tHjtoothing which folly an infiict on th^Hl, will so certainly I educe it to, a merWeaput wioftuujft us the ' I nurderous p actice of ploughing it in wet j vcather. There is but one way for a >'anter to avoid these evils, and that is by < 0 planning and so conducting his opera- i ions, as to be habitually ahead with his ! v r'f. ' i I have thus genth m m, drr wn up a has; y | md imperfect skttc-, presenting, for -our consideration the most prominent o> i ?f those measures and maxims which 1 leem to be assential for accomplishing hut reform in the agriculturul econorm >f South Cnro'ina, so imp riously deman 1 1 - - _ ; _L~ ; lea i>y ine circumstances in wmru sue ? iow placed. Our cultivated lands are ir i course of exhaustion and we nave scarce y any forest lands to clear. Thous hese sjetn to be public misfortures, the* nny bj con ve: tod in'o b'essin^s if we wi5! >ut rja'ii/.e our iruecencfition aid properly mprove the occasion. By ?r: law of our lature?expressed by a proverb of imm; norial antiquity?necessity -is the stern >arent of almost every great and useful rnprovement. No authority lis* irnperi. >ux cou'd have drawn mankind from the orn fort leas caverns of savage brutal.ty to he ha py mansions of social and civ.lizei ie. ... Wuile P oviJence seems to have or. iaiucd it as a law of human improvement hat communities shou'd not go forward luch in advance of their necessities, he as bunovo'e ltly endoved ttiem with moal and intellectual faeu tie* always equal n the emergencies in which they may e p'aced. May we not confidently hope herefore that the planters of South Caro. f maunder the awakening influence of thereat taw to which I have alljded will umwon all their energies to carry our ag. iculture to a point of high prrfection, j hat will fullfil ail the requirements of our ;ctual condition ? , Gentlemen, I sincerely hope and de. I outly pray that some of us, at least, may ive to see the day when this ardent hope I if every patriotic citizen will be fully rea- \ ized. and when South Carolina will be as i roudly distinguished by ail the enduring i monuments of a prosperous agriculture, as < he ever has been by an enlightened pop- ' lation sincerely devoted to the principles j f constitutional liberty, aridunconquera- ; ly resolved to defend them. j CONGRESSIONAL. rioin the Corrcspoiul ?nce of the N. V. Courier ' and Enquirer. ? Washinoton, 17th Dec. 1840. < The S ates ami Territories were again J ailed to-day for the presentation of petiions, dtc., and a goodly ntmiSer was pre- '( euted; none of thcin, however, oftmpor-1 ance. ' Mr. Randolph moved a resolution, di? .1 cctingthe clerk of the Sedate to pay 1 tfessrs. Aycrigg & CoM their per diern j I :ompcnsation and mileage, up to^the day 1 hat the House finally voted in Messrs. I L>ickerson Co. The resolution after 1 i good deal of turning, was passed under he operation of the previous quest ion 118 ( o 67; many of the administration mem- J ers not voting. 4 ~ ? ? M I I It appears by a return of the clerk ot 1 he disbursement of the contingent fund, < hat at the close of last session, he paid ' Jharles J. Ingersoll 81180 for expenses n coniesting-the election of Mr; Naylor; J n this was included per diem pay of his 5 vitnesscss, Ate. Mr. Botts moved that * he Clerk be ordered to report to the House * lis authority for making this payment.? 1 t seems that it was done by order of the ' 'orhmittee-oif Accounts; who also direct- I td similar allowances to be made to Mr. I Baylor and his witnesses. Mr. Naylor ] towever, was true to himself and the no- 1 >le and honorable princilpes by which he ! s ever governed; he never asked for the 1 llownnce, and when the money was sent ' o him by draft in Phi adelpbia, he return- 1 d it and paid the witnesses hi/nself.? rhere's a man for you! . . _ . ' i?i ? t\?? ?i.n r we IU1U IJUIIC a iiuiv-uj? iu luc nuusc, >n a motion of Mr. Adams to give the use v f the Hall.to the National Institue, foi he promotion of the Arts and Sciences ' i o hold their anniversary meeting in Jarr * :ary ne*t; on which occasiort the Sicretayof War is.to deliver ihc annual oration 1 rhe delratc was sharp and piquant. Tii. -' > uesMon was taken by yeas and nays, an. arried 89 Jo 83. Something-has leaked-out,-of a corres- 4 ondence l>etween the Treasurer and the 4 lecret&ry, and the clerks of the Depart- * sent, respecting the actual operations oi 1 he Sub-Treasury.bill as it passed the Sen- 1 te; and to-day Mr. Stanly called for that 1 orrespontfefteev You know there have been /many hints nH surmises as to the probability of an- c ther National Bonfire pr^ce'ding the Ides ? of March; and many cautions have been I brown out in the public prims. Mr. Stanly, of North Carolina, introduced a resolution to?day, hinting to the Post Master General, the propriety of packing vaults of the new Treasury building, all records and papers of his Do. partment not necessary for daily and immediate ase. Some days ego Mr. Fillmore called on the War Department for information relating to the sale of government tools, machines, &c. used in the harbor and pier I business on the Lakes. To-day Mr. Prof-' fit touched the same string, in the ina'.ter of the Cumberland r.?ad, and various oth ir public works. Doubtless some persons iave ob!aiiied g k)d barg i js out of Unch 3am, probably like Generial Jessup's sup. dies of bacon, corn, &c., as in the late Creek Indian war?bought it at enormous orices, suddenly sold it for almost nothing; ind shortly after the same articles were resold to the United Slates for nearly their original price. There seems to be no end of the Cumfierland Road. It may have had a beginning, but it certainly will never end.? To-day Mr. Rariden, of Indiana, moved that $300,000 be annually set apart from the proceeds of the public lands, to be applied to the completion of this road. In Mr. Webster's speech in the Senata on the reference of so much of the Presi dent's Message as relates to ihe finances, j he adverted to the confusion in the accounts of the Department relating to funds j placed in the hands of the United States 1 in trust for various Indian tribes. To-day j Vfr. Secretary Woodbury laid before the >iouse a report upon the funds of the Jhickasaw Indians?it was referred to the :ouimiUee on Indian affairs. Several notices of bills of an interestig character were given viz: By Mr. Barnard, of a uniform Banklpt Law, and for an appropriation to con. mue the improvement of the North Riv. *r. By Mr. S4anly, to pay the States the Uh instalment under thedeposite act, and o release the States from any obligation to return the three instalments already >aid. By Mr. Cross, to make an appropriaion to remove the Rait in Red R v -r. Mr. Mo.iroe introduced hu bill to aln.l.. h Imprisonment for Debt, and show ng ne necessity of it by stating, that a Hauler of very worthy Alabauiiuiis were r ow undergoing imprisonment in New Y^rn for debt. Mr. Proffit introduced a resolution for an appropriation ol $150 000 for tbc Cumberland Road, in each of of the Sales of Ohio. Indiana, and Illinois, during the year 1841?which, at the suggesiiou of W. Cost Johnson, of Maryland, was modified so as to givd 880,000 additional for that part of the road running between Fredericktown in Maryland and the seat of Government. On this resolution Mr. Proffit made one of his most exciting speeches. He tol J the House plainly that it had better deal gently and fairly by the West; for that the day was coming, and would soon be here, when she would help herself? thut the conduct at present pursued in relation to expending the revenues of the Government. would drive the North-West into a confederacy; which would make the States west of the mountains fear and tremble. The resolution was laid on the table: Ayes 94, Noes 92. To-day the Post Master General submitted his report on curtailment of mail facilities, since the adjournment of the lust session. Mr. John Quincy Adarns introduced a resolution caHing on the Post Master Genera! for a list of all Postmasters removed since the 3d of Mar. h, 1829, distinguishing those for cause?setting forth the cause,?with the evidence on which the Department acted; and whether the postmasters . removed were confronted with their accusers, or heard in defence. Tnis resolution will rip up all the secrets of the prison house. The House paused for a moment; at length the chairman of the post office committee asked thai it lie over till tomorrow; which was assented to. Mr. Everett moved a call on the President for all the correspondence with the British Government, relative to any projecting* on the part of the British which may have a tendency to interrupt our commerce with China: This call was tdopted. The subject of the establishment of a Vational Armory in the West, was to-day igain brought up and committed to the Committee on Military Affairs. This wbject has been before Congress more than 20 years. Every site in the West tias been examined by commissioners appointed by the United States for that pur30se?they reported in favor of Zanesville, in Ohio?but admitted that Beaver, in Pennsylvania, possessed very great advantages. It has been the jarring and * * * f ! /* A :onnictmg ciauns or ainereni sues, mm ias so long prevented the establishment oi the armory. An enquiry was ordered to be made, as o whose fault it was that the chandelier >f the Hall tell a few days since, and vhether it ha been paid lor or not. Mr. Hubbard of Alabama, gave notice >fu bill that any officer of the Govern." nent making an estimate or guess of the ;n*rofa public work, which should no urn out in the end to be the true and exact ;ost of me work, should be instantly dis. nissed. The balance of the day was consumed >n a motion of Mr. John Quincy Adam* o refer his bill of the last session, No. lOd to insure the more faithful execution o. he laws relating to the collection of duics on imports," with the amendments nade to it by the Senate, to the Commit &e oiTmanufactures, of which Mr. Adims is Chairman. This hill, it will be recollected, passed the House at the last session, was1 sent to the Senate, passed,, that body with amendments, and was returned | to the House?but owing to the press of| business, and a rigid adherence to the rules j of the House as to the order of business, I which was enforced by its opponents, it was strangled by the adjournment of Congress. Part of the amendments of the Senate, consisted of 9 new Tariff on* great number of articles or classes of goods, and was complained of by the anti-tariff men of ' the South, as an infringement of the Com-1 promise Ac. To-day. on Mr. Auam's j motion, Mr. Pickens led off; Mr. Adams ; answered and a general tariff debate en| sued, which continued till it was time to , adjourn when the question was put, and , thebill, &e? was referred to the Commitee on Manufactures. In this debate there were many sharp and piquant sallies. The disclosures of 1 Sicven&Oxt, in that last card business were 1 referred to. particularly his letter to Mr. Lee, in which he asks for inoncy from the merchants, &c., of New-York, with Which he says he could defeat this bill. Mr. Jftffray also came in for a handsome modicum of notice, and his speech about bribing members of Congress, with dinners and champagne, was freely referred to. From the Correspondence of the Charleston Courier. Wasiuxgtox, Dec. 22. It is rumored that Mr. Ewing has declined to receive the office of Post Master General tendered to him hy Gen. Hakrisox. I do not learn what his reasons are, but objections have been made to bringing so many western men info office. After another census, however, if not under the very next apportionment of1 representa. iives, the western men will probably sweep all the officers of trust honor, or emolument, under the federal government. The appointment of Mr. Webster as Secretary of S ate, gives general saii.sf.c-1 ion. h does no: fo low, however that be. cause he is premier, he will exercise a predominant .iuti tence in the cabinet oi Genera! Harrison. Mr. Clay is to b. the funster spirit there. As the designated successor oi Gen. rai Harrison. he will endeavor, no doubt and with entire sue Ck&s, to shape the p.-Iicy of the Uaur.sun A iiiiinis.'ra.'ion in accordance with h j own views, and thus render his own ad j ' rni :i>trnttOii a continuation of General h vrrison s. Every day gives us fresh evidence thathe great rjuestio.is agitated by the conn try, the cut renev, finances, &c. are no to lie touched at this session. The ad ministration have declined any revision of the lariif, and the whigs are not ready fori T.ia. knotty ques ion is, therefore to lie over till the next regular session, tin. less the whigs should deem it expedient to convene Congress, in May for the purpose of raising the wind. But this . is 110: at all probable, though many prominent whigs here say that they must go to hummering while the iron is hot. We have other Cabinet rumors, as to the , minor officers, Mr. George Evans, of Maine, is talked of for the Navy Departnient. A betterofficcr could not he found, but I had supposed that the whigs .would reserve hiin for Speaker, in case Mr. Bell should, as is probable, take the War Department. ' ' Nothing else remains unsettled hut the Post office. Inasmuch as Mr. Ewing, of Ohio, declines that department, there is yet to be a scramble for it. M:. Stevbns. of Pe.'tn., has been, and will be, urged for it. In the Sena?? Mr. Benton a-ked leaveto bring in a bill to tax the paper circulated! I in the states, as currency. Some debate took place on the subject, in which Mr. | Calhoun opposed Mr. Benton's notions entirely. Mr. Benton withdrew tho propoiioii. The su!?ject of the public lands was iii-n.nTki in, rKij in.viiinnr ni l mite an in. teres,iijg debate ensued. owing to a motion of Mr. Reynolds of Illinois, instructing the Committee on the Public Lands.to re|>ort a bill44 granting prospective preemptions to actual settlers on the public lands and to reduce the price to actual settlers on the said la ds, according to their value.*'" The debate was opened by Mr. Rf.ylold3. who gave us quite an interesting speech ? in relation to the sufferings of the new , States, and the injustice which had been practised upon thcin by their brethren, and by the general government. He coneluded by stating that unless something was done for their benefit, they might be prompted to nullify, and tax all lands belonging to the general govcrnmehf within their respective limits. * Mr. Picnens. of South 'Carolina, followed Mr. Reynolds, and regretted that the subject had been brought forward during this short session, as he had entertain.' ed the hope that the matter would be left for final settlement to (he next Congress. He confessed that the prospect of having justice done to the old States was very doubtful, if the returns of the late census were to be relied on ; but whatever course was pursued he hoped would he a permanent one. Mr. P. denouueed in strong terms the p!ans heretofore pjrsucd, of altering every two or three years the manner of disposing of the public lands, and said thai if the thrcais which were held out hv - -i - x-.j* i western incrnoeis -noma oe co ? niiiiiaa-n , i if nine S alts, t>y ti?.;ir majority of populn- j ion s o:i!d conclude upon taking to them> uclvrs ihat which belonged to ell, it would ! be a new system of colonial vassalage j ipon theoltl Sates, and he, for o e would j be ready to act as the colonics dL lit 1776, i a id go ;or redeeming and setting them free froin their chains. Mr. Johnson, of Maryland then made n very handsome speech in favor; of the old S a teg, and took ground at length A-. gainst the propositions laid dewn Uv the western. gentleman, He wished justice done to all, but the west setnud to think that taking every"thing was only doing her justice, while tiipse to ivhom^thc property belonged, were compelled to yield up their & possessions. He scouted, the idea that the people of the west were suffering. I Mr. Clay has not yet returned from New. York. It is understood, that the re. peal of the Sub-Treasury w ill be the first | step in the order of the new system of the Hurrison party,and that Mr. Clay, who I has aheadv brought it forward in the Senate, will be ready to push it. as soon j as the general resumpt ion of specie pay- J I meats by the Bauks shall have taken place. Ttiut resumption w ill prevent any difficult ; ty in the proposed tcpeal. The dues to tnc government will Then be paid in the notes of specie paying banks, and, in all cases where it inuy he convenient, such banks will be employed as the depositories and fiscal agents of the government. The quest ^>n of a National Bank will next follow, and is of doubtful issue. The Land Question is to tie discussed i i the House to-morrow, and for some days to come, unless the previous question should be resorted to for the purpose of cutting off the debate. There is great earnestness on the part of the South-western and Western members to discuss the whole subject of the policy of the government, in regard to the public lands: It is to be a troublesome question for the next administration. :: Dec. 28. There was some agitation in the Senate to-day, produced by Mr. Benton's motion to print his project to tux the S'nte Banks. It must be remembered that Mr. Benton's '4 last card,v the proposition to tax the Banks, was rulled out, because it was a I palpable infraction of the Constitution according to which revenue bills cannot originate in the Senate. Some hqve expressed surprise that Mr. Buxton should be so very oblivious to the Constitution, as to offer such a project! How much greater then was this surprise, when Mr. Brxton moved that the obnoxious proposition be printed. lie had witndraw 1 it, not by right, but by couriesy.' Tnon moving it again, it was almost universally repelled a..d thrown out. Singular F.ffkcT'of-a Sudukx Change ' of \v UATfinR. The Mfissacbuse ts (Tjencx) Fagle says, that the Midden change of weather on Monday, Nov. 30ih,;*o increased the draught of chimneys, thai five or six took iire and' we're burning almost simultaneously in different parts of the town. The sum.? tiling is said to have occurred in Lee, and Pittslivld. I ? ' ? . Rights in tug .V,aku.agg Relation. Tug Sr. Louis Gazette of December 7th, c6 jlniiis the substance of n hill betpre the Missourri Legislature, touching the rights of women in property, in the marriage State : All the properly owned by the wife, at the time of the murriage, and all she may acquire during the marriage, by descent or 4 ' .... .??.,?? gift, shall be cauea "ine wiics s?:jiur?iu property." > All the property which shall be ncqnir. ed dnring the marriage, cither by the i husband or by the wife Except that which is acquired by descent or gift, shall be cnl. led '-common property?* The husband's scperate property shall be liable for his debts contracted belora and after marriage, biH shall not be liable for the debts, of. the wife. The wife's separate property shall be I ab!c f.>r her debts contracted before the marriage, but shall not he liable for the husband's debts, contracted before or af> A er the marriage. The husband shall frnve unrestricted power to alienate and dispose of his own separate.prop., rty, and fbalienate and dis. -Pit... .n.nn-./in nr. narlv fliiriiifT tllA pi>9C Ul IIIC tUllllllVii ^ _ marriage, except that the, common property which is real estate, shall not be alienated or. disposed of,, unless the wile join the husband in the conveyance. The ^Uvihan'l.ota^ilurjnjr the marriage, alienate and dispose ofthe wife's so per. ate property, if the wiTe give her consent thereto ia writing. Mechanical is slated in the Philadelphia ledger, that there is now On exehibition at the Franklin institute in that City, a large and perfect telescope, the whole of which ;is the. work of a black man who earns hi? daily .bread as a stevedore on the wharvc$? mJ{: is said that ho worked at it only^t jiigJatj when the fatiguing labors of the raa^..^ere over. Not only the exterior m^hinery is his, but the materials of, the .glasses and lenses j were prepared entirely by the ingenious black. __ i "rV / Elections in M ass agji us ets, 1641.? A lookerup of by-gone things, in the Bay Stutc Democrat, furnishes the following as in vogue at ihe date above in reference to the modeef voting: 44 it is.ordored by this court, and the aitthori y thereof, that for the yearly choos* ing of assistan ts, the freemen shall use /? dian Com.anl Beans. <,The Indian to manifest election, the Beans contrary.? And if any freeman s'lalj.put in more than one Indian Corn .or Rla/ifor the choice, or refusal of any public'officer, he shall r<.-A!Ait Cm- e, vcr\r Qiu.'n nff tncp t<?n 1VI VVVI^ 0UVII VUWMVV) pounds.'* ... * "V Tae following in rilatiofl tomirriages, is supplied by the same hand: 'And ii a ly :>erso:ii,kahfel wilfu'ly and unreasanabiy deny rioy ci.ild a timely or convenient iriariagfe;?or .shall exercise any unnatural severity toivard hem suchchild or caidren sliu-lhttv^libur y to complain to authority lor rodfyos," A bill to protect the slave property of the people of Gcor^ig. hy coinpelliing vessels owned.or commanded by citizens of, or coming from the ports of the S'ate of Maine, and.the seamen and passengers thi roof, quarantine, and to provide. for* a.. yeirch thereof on thtui^e^rthe Ilotse of i