Columbia telescope. (Columbia, S.C.) 1819-1821, March 01, 1827, Image 2
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OF THE LAWS.
rmimctl tko considera*
Mi heretofore offered by
(whkb m but another ?me for its
,) ought to feel wider may otrilga
my bowwebk^fHeed from* North
k (Mr. Saunders,) for haying brought
cct Involved wftVmolutian, to the
rthe house, I hope 1*411 not weak
en the very strong view which he hastahen
in the argument, by presenting ft in a wmc
?what different light.
I need not tell hini that, whilst I concur
felly with hint in a belief of the existence of
the evil of which he complaint,' that 1 will
?o*>p?rtte*Malou?lx whlt him in the effort
to apply a salutary remedy. I
I am happy to believe, sir, that it does not
necessarily lay in the way of my argument,
io indulge In any pcrspnal invcctlves against
the Secretary of. State. There are many
consideration* which would raahe such a
eoursc unpleasant to me, even were 1 provo
ked by the intemperate seal of his personal
friends, some of whom, I should infer, con
aider the discretion with which a friend is to
be defended, as a matter of much lew account
than the display of their own valor, in carry
ing the war into the enemy's country. The
argument is to be sustained by public consi
derations, rather that) as a matter of perso
nal crimination against that officer.
; ; With this view of the subject,' I will show
that the Secretsw of State, by the force of
'circumstances, which formed a sort of moral
destiny, Ms been induced to pursue the
course which he h^s taken, in reference to
the patronage of the public printing residing
In his department! that this course has been
the joint result of the condition of the admin
istration itself, and from the improper and
Irresponsible lodgement of the patronage
wlifre it is. The condition of the admin
istration (s, nothing inorcar less, than the si
. tuation of an executive in a minority in the
' country. , And the whole evil may he traced
hark, a6 ovo, to the election of a President by
the house of representatives, who is not the
choice of a majority of the people.
Now, sir, in a government organised like
our*, the slightest reflection must satisfy
every one, that an administration thus cir
cumstanced must sustain itself by the use of
itf.patronage t that, having no strength in the
confidence ami affection of the |>eoplc, it
must endeavor to find the basis of its power
in the use arid employment of that money,
-which the ordinary and extraordinary func
tions of government place at the dispose I of
those who Administer it This is nhilosopbU
eally true, and is susceptible of tnc most ri
j;id demonstration.
A minority administration must always
live under the palsy of a miserable name,
which disturbs the exerciser a sound judg
ment and sagacious policy. They wdl be
perpetually thinking, in all the great as well
as subordinate movements of government,
irathcr how their own existence is to be pre
served, than how the public Interest is to be
advanced. When a great measure of i?oli
ey is to be brought forward, or even an mfe
rtor appointment is to lie made, the first
question'is, shall we gain by this/ What
friends do we make/ What enemies propi
tiate? The substantial nnd ultimate inter
? ev* y>f the country are matters of sccotularv
^Consideration.
'Y I do not nay that these considerations arc
to'.Uly neglected. No, the love ol* |><?jmUri
? Att and even the natural sentiment of patri
otwn that belong* to the human bosom, pre
vent st his to a certain degree, but the in*tinct
<4" self-preservation operating on all the
feelings of cxcited pride, and a love for pow
ur, arc calculated to produce precisely the
mult I have predicated. These principle*
?re tllustnited by the history of such an ud
nvnlstratton, from the moment of its birth to
^ the celebration of it* obsequies.
*"v. You will find they will generally begin by
endeavoring to cxcite the national pride and
love of glory of the people by srfme splendid
pageant, by which their martial renown or
reputation for a great and singular benevo
lence in the Cause of human freedom and
Jtapplm'ss is to be promoted. These mea
sures will be urged with -* mawkish sentk
mentality, calculated to catch all those who
arc infected with the fashionable cant of the
dty* And will, above all, be prepared in such
a manner as to excite party feeling, ami give
a temporary triumph to fanaticism, and gul
libility over sobriety and good sense.
The next movement of stich an sdmims
' tratloc, should there be three parties in the
country* one of superior forcc, or of nicely
balanced strength with their own, ami a
third Of inferior numbers, all their efforts
will be made to conciliate this third party?
hence their appointments will be cast even
to the exclusion of their friends, in the ranks
of this third party. You will find, whenever
an office is to be filled, great hesitation and
delay, a perfect survey of the whole ground,
and vary often, after a procrastination great*
ly prejudicial to the public interests, distin
guished talents and long tried services arc
wade to fiva way tothe authority of a catch
word, and sometimeseveu a scalous, constant,
and faithful friend is compelled to yield to a
mushroom apostate that may have been pur
chased but yesterday.
If an administration, thus circumstanced*
lias any patronage incident to the press* It
will be sure to use it in a maimer best calcu
lated to render the power of this mighty en
gine subservient to their /ireuilqr nnd'jrr/w
sive interests. This, however, is a matter
ef great delicacy* and must be managed with
consummate caution. The Lion must be
mu*xkd before the noose is thrown round
Ills neck. It will therefore be found that
the process of Mibsidlsing new converts, nnd
of proscribing stubborn and intractable in
cumbents, Will be gradual* that the public
mind may not be Alarmed by any sudden ami
?iolattt changes -that* in the gnod work*
? than speed,
the most skill
AMefc the
their oeigiiud and innate weakness, suspect
ed by their cuctuio^ and, sometimes even de
iserted.by aomt, oft their friends, would W
guilty of Midi suicidal Jfolly u to neglect the
resource* of defence and warfare which this
IMtrouage would place ut'their disposal? No,
depend upon'it, the*? eighty-two presses
would be put ou the diet of a wholesome re
gimen, and in the cqurse ot a salutary disci
pline. The sturdy and independent would
be turntd out'to be fed on suctiuflalsastbey
might be able to pick up. until the whole pack
should open bi lull uM harmonious cry. In
one common uote, from the sturdy mastiff
that howls ?t the door of the Treasury, to
the moat starvling turnspit that bark* on the ;
farthest verge of our frontier?even to the |
wilderness or our Indian solitudes. ' '
:I do not conceive it is necessary to present
the revere of this picture; to shew what
would be the policy and measures of an ad
ministration In a majority in the country,
because we have hod at least four M admin
istrations of blessed mcmorv,'* during which
the interest and honor of the country were
consulted, without its being necessary for
those who composed them to look to the ex
istence or foutiuuaneo of their own power,
as any thing else than a? the natural conse
quent* e of the uTcctioi/ and confidence of the
peojtlc. v . *1
We have ludtoo, minority administrations;
the last two years of n short reign, totd the
current four years of the present dynasty.?
They both mul us instructive lessons, and
arc prcgnat with a moral, which, if rightly
usetf, It will not faQ to confer a more per
fect security and stable duration to our'in
stitutions.
There was however, one circumstance I
cannot overlook: which 1?. the fact that all
our administration*, which turac and conti
nued in power !?v a majority, seem to hnve
paid little attention to what in Europe iscall
ed the government pre**-?a term, the im- \
port of which, we ure beginning to under
stund heir. They might well allow ?? thin
chartered libertine," us it has been called, to
take it* own way to a freedom Itorderlng on
licentiousness: for they had us little to dreud
from its censures as to expect from itsdi*:
tempered ami venal praise. Let me not l?c
understood us saying that an administration
in u majority eau he trusted with a govern*
mcr.t press: for it is the purpohe of my argu
ment to shew thut it would be duugcrous in
either cuntingeney.
New necessities, however, result from new
conjrcturcst aiul in the vernal bloom of our
young republic, we find nn administration in
power, to whom even the maxims of the Car
dinal do Ki'tz, and the tart of Sir Robert
VV'nlpole may not be useless acquisitions.
Hut the deductions which 1 make from all
that I have said, isbriefly this: that the abuses
of which my firend from North Carolina
complains, are inherent in the very condi
tion of the administration, and the nature of
the patronage placed v. here it is. The se
cretary of Mate has used, this patronage as
mi?st men probably would, placed in his si
tuation, and urged by his necessities. He has
felt that the administration waxed a war
which admitted of no neutrals, and that they
rcuuired Imtterics of perpetual intonation,
aim which would fire upon the factious op
position with the most lusty and unmitigated
violence.
Hut here au important question arrises?
it to necessary to the harmonious action of
the different branches of our government,
that Che executive should have a govern
ment press, to be paid for by the people out
of the public coffers, to sustain the measures
of the administration whether right or wrong?
Disguise it us you will, this is pretty nearly
tho inquiry we have to settle. For, if the
Secretary of State can, by the exercise of an
irresponsible discretion, mi apply the patron
age of the government as to nourish in venal
accord eighty-two presses in our country, to
praise everv thing the administration should
do, and subject their proprietor* to the pun
ishment of the loss of this patnamge if they
dure to censure its measures, this forms dis
tinctly a government pre***, which is more
alarming to the liberties of the people, than
the organization of the whole of Crpn. Brown's
army of six thousand men formed into a guard
of the palace. Let me moreover *.?y, tltat a
control of this kind over the prCs?, is more
dangerous to our liberty titan ninst of the
di^mas of the law of lihcl, expounded by the
most subservient minion of power. The
liberty of.the press is liable to abuse by a cor
ruption of its purity, when bud public men
aod bad public measures are praised. A ltd j
when the government becomns the pay mas- i
ter for these services, the evil is infinitely 1
augmented. For what are the services!
which the press, under such circumstances,
is expected to render as a return for the par- .
tiul kindness of the government? Why to !
coverall theirApproacnesof arbitrary power;!
to defend each measure of misrule and corrup-;
tion;tofindcxcusrsamlApologiesforeveryact!
of imbccility, although the interest am! lion- J
or oi the country may be jeopardised by ig- !
nornuce, apnthy, or neglect; but above all,)
to subject those who do not think " the ex- t
istinij |H?werii" entitled to the confidence of!
the people, to the most unsparing calumny j
and abuse. If eighty-two presses ran be :
made to s|/cak, its it were, in one voice, that
all the government does U excellent, and all
those wiio arc opposed to them say is false
and factious, this constant,. combined, nnd
concerted language will ioon htve a tendency
to make those who hear little else, believe
all this la true. N?.r do the pernicious con
sequences of the venal praise of a distempcr
| ed press stop here: those who govern, read
almost exclusively, these sickly and pervert
ed organ* of public opinion, and therefore,
I want the wholesome chastisement, and salu
tary bitter of a free press.
It must therefore, be ot*k?* that there
cannot well be a greater abuse of the presa,
thft" ^
s?a?
pie as their epp< ^
field, thi* tame cnicinc* luwl
tor*. It their mtluurti juh nw wik>
the) will triumph; If the contrary, tbey >ill
be mh they ought to he, defeated. To avoid
this consequence, ought the government to
hn%e a mercenary1 squadron, to pervert that
?that it v improper to mute this m
th a view of preventing the corrup
tion otihe press, by Us being placed under
the pecuniary censorship of tne government,
are thrown on the tide of the wlhtiatlve ot
thl? argument.
Having discussed these preliminary con
skleratlons, which involve the elementary
principlea of the freedom of the press* be*
tori 1 close, 1 must be permitted to make a
| abort application of them to the resolution of
my friend. Firat?lwlll ask, whether thereto
lution Is founded oh a. reasonable probability
. that, if the manner in which the secretary of
! state hasusedthepatronage of the public print
j lngbelmiughtuut.it will establish the fact, that
this patronage has bech perverted from its
original purpose} snd secondly, whether the
; establishment of this fact may not be subset*?
ilent to the application of an adequate reme
y for the evil. % ? ? ,
The authority to designate printers who
should be charged with tne publication of the
laws, was rUen to the Secretary of State, 1
apprehend, more as a matter of convenience,
thun as a nctessary function of executive
power. It was supposed, that It might be
Rufcly confided to his discretion, advised by
the local Information of the representatives,
who would be best determined, what papers,
from their extensive circulation, were calcu
lated to give the widest diffusion to the pub
lic laws. That this power was so used, until
the commencement of the present adminis
tration, is true 1 believe, with few exceptions.
Hut from the authority of facts of undeniable
notoriety, the present Secretary of State has
felt himself at liberty to disregard the infor
mation of tho?.e who would be l?cst qualified
to inform his judgment on the only point,
which under the oojirct of the law. ought to
Severn his selection of the paper* In which
c public laws urc to be printed* to witi the
comparative cxiensivencss of their circula
tion and relative tocalit v. And it is asserted,
that he lias avowed, tliat in effect, he con
sider* it an incident of political power, which
belongs to the existing administration, which
he may exercise, by prescribing some press*
cm, antl putting others under n penal proba
tion for a limited period.
Now, Sir, it is aside front the purposes of
my argument to blame the Secretary tor this,
because 1 have shown that it is the inevita
ble result of the situation of the administra
tion, mid mi unwise lodgement of this pat
ronage. lint this docs not render uuncvcHsa
rv the ascertainment of the fact in an official
shape. It i* true, wo have it asserted in the
fiublic prints on the authority of a series ot
utters front nearly an entire delegation, in
relation to the Imiiof this patronage by a print
er in the State of N cw Hampshire, whose pa
per, in that qusrter is one of incomparable
circulation, and whose crime, of not bending
the knee to the reigning house, is not atoned
lor, even hy ? recollection of his incalculable
services to the country, in upholding her in
terest and bcr honor, at a moment when the
calamities of a foreign war were aggravated
by domestic discontent, if not defection.
It lias also been asserted, that another pa*
per, in an adjoining state, of similar charac
ter, lias been deposed for similar causes.
The last prominent instance* I shall leave
to the geqtlenten front Kentucky to settle
among themselves, to witi whether the de
nial to the editor of the Kentucky Argus, of
the privilcdgc to print the public laws, is to
be justified on public considerations, or not.
It I might l>c allowed tb premise a single re
flection, I sltould say, that his proscription
seems to wear the aspect ot a retributive jus
tice which if was proper for the secretary
of state to inflict on this editor, for having
made his paper the vehicle of an uttjust and
unfounded charge against Mr. Adams, of his
having been willing to barter the navigation
of the Mississippi, tor advantages hi the fish
eries.
Uut nil these un subordinate matters, in
comparison with the great principle a stake.
Has the Secretary of State attempted by the
use <>f a discretionary power, applicable
to but one consideration, to control the
rttmf. ' ? 'v
It seems that there is something inquisi
torial, in asking a public officer for his rea
sons for his public conduct; ami a gentleman,
who on Saturday addressed the house (Mr,
Buckuer) pushed this objection to such a
captious and testy length, as to. avow, that the
Secretary would regard It a* ail insult to have
propounded this inquiry. Vow, Sir, I do not
think that even Sir Anthony Absolute, or Sir
Lucius OTrigger, would so consider it; with
out, indeed, a man stands in the dilemma of
having no reasons to give, or those happened
to lie very bad ours.
Hut my friend from North Carolina has
modified his resolution, so as to make tht
call on the Secretary applicable to his giving
the cau?* which induced him to change the
printers of the public laws m the several
states. Now causes in the use thus made i
of the term, is a word of Identical import,
with facts which we surely have a right to |
require.
ftven if the word " reasons for the change*
had lieen retained, the administration ought
to be the last persons in the world to com
plain of this requirement; For altlio' they
may decline giving reasons on compulsion,
we sll know they are willing enough to give
them when they are neither asked nor ex
pected.
Sir, the administration*as begot in rea
son, bom in reason, it liaamed in reason, and
is the most reasonable anflh?wnlng govern
ment under the sun. It was beget because a
distinguished statesman and patriot could
net. in reason, bear the elected of * roil**
the folly to
venture to i
Uuit uy Uttle inaccuracies that may 1
crept into the geatlemanNi ana), will be cor
reeled by thc pcouli 011 or *boi|t Dc?tmbcr9
But to retumei the President, en the birth
d?y of the administration, Mssigncd his
sons why he ought not, and why he should
accept the trust His first message was
chat**! to the muftale with reau*i? which
made such a tremendeous explosion, that he
wits Mown "sky high** In the ancient doroin
on by the recoO.
?' Even the first budget el the chancellor of
thq exchequer, leaving the dry and beaten
path of arithmetic and statistics, waa filled
with reasoMa and poetry fat along homily in
favor of prohibition and restriction. Nor will
it be forgotten that, during the pendency of
the memorable Panama Msslon In the sfen
ute, a resolution: offered by myaclt, which
called for the information on which the Pre
sident has founded his acceptance of the In
vitation to that Congress, produced "an ar
gumentative exposition,'' of his reasons of
such amplitude, variety, and comprehension,
as would have suited any mission that had
ever been projected under the sun, whether
on the utrtace of the earth, or to a distant
planet
As the administration are, therefore, blest
with the most teeming fecundity in the pro
duction of reasons to suit any exigency, tneir
friends ought surely not to object to the call.
? If the secretary responds to the call thus
made, and avows the causes for the changes
in the public printing to be those which have
been imputed, then we have a fact which la
material to the Issue, Touched by the high
est authority) and it will be our duty to apply
the remcd) to an evil of increasing atyl per*
nicious magnitude. But, without thts infor
mation in an authoritative shape, wo might
well be stouped in the progress of any legis- I
lotion tlie subject by a demiuMl tor the |
warrunt and proof of the facts on which this |
very legislation is to be founded.
As subsidiary to the object of the movers
ot this resolution, I shall, in the progress of
the discussion, offer an amendment, with the
view of enabling us to form a Just notion of
the extent of tne patronage of the Govern
ment, which is brought to bear on the press,
by calling on the proper Department for the I
atnotJit annually paid f which, speaking from ?
mere coujecture, I should think was little i
short of sixty oi seventy thousand dollars)
for advertisements ant! Job nrintinjj, the in- J
variable incident to the appointment ofpnnt- i
ing the public laws. -- ? I
Anil, sir, after Retting this information, is
the inquiry to end in the gratification of au j
idle or niclevolent curiosity? ltnist n?4.?f
1 know my honorable friend too well not to t\
know tluit he will, to the letter, redeem his |
pl'dge. Hut, should any circumstance pre
vent his doing it, 1 promise to submit to the
Mouse a definite and practicable mode of
disposing of this patronage, by which the
public convenience shall be met, und the
press secured from the degrading thraldom
with which it is threatened. I care not hy
whom the duties of the Department of State
may be administered; it is wrong in princi
ple, and dangerous in expediency, that this
uatronage should luive Us residence there.
My purpose will be to co-operate in placing
it in thohands of those who are immediately
responsible to the Peoples who, In the exer
cise of this patronage shall be under a local
responsibility for the (mrity and disinterest
edness of this trust i who .will not abuse It,
because tBey cannot, dare not, do it
Let no man accuse me of having uttered a
libel against tins press of my country. I know
the services it has rendered, t know that
its general tone is lolty and indejiendent, and
that there are itiany of Its proprietors who
arc yet tolerated by the compromising cen
sorship of the Department ot State, wh<>
would scorn to purchase its favor by wearing
the livery of servitude. I made war on the
system, Mfton Individuals: on akystcm thut
is calculated to sap the vigor, degrade the
independence, and enfeeble the vigilance of
these sentinels on the wntchtower of liberty ;|
whose beacon-lights must bluxe with pure
and undying lustre.
When Mr. Hamilton concluded?
The ii/nvker arrested the debate, the
time allotted for the consideration of tcsolu
tions having expired.
War btlwten the U. Statu and Georgia!
The Georgia Statesman of the. 10th inst.|
printed at Milled geville, after some severe
strictures upon the hoatlle course pursued by
Governor Tnour, adds ..
'?We stop tha pre*s to announce petitntly, that
his Eaoalleoey the Qovereor, nt the uflb-isT ehar-l
seter of ta Chief of tha Armyaodl
Nsvv of this atata," lias bid d'Jfance to the I'resi
JmiIi iuUntfont and measures relative ta th?
Crwlc ftwlroiwjr, *wd has stfaally ordered oat
"the <Mh sail 7th IN visions of (hofjii Militia. to
repel soy hostile invasion of the 'Amleiy of this
tttate"?atturiof them that depots ?>f arms aad
ammunition will bt MihlUwd in ilea time.
The Georgia Journal of the J0U> say s?
" If Mr. A(Umi sepposas l?? eaa intimidate the
authorities af this 8tnlf, by threatening litem with
the military force of 11 to IJnmn, ha is vary much
io arrur, *? he will distinctly sae by the following
letter aad orders of ftovetitar Tioap. Georgia
?lo?? not vale* a straw, eilhar Mr. Adoau or his
haadful of regular troops, when thay undertake
*elieass aaaothor.red by law, or. lira r?Mi*t?taii..nJ
as in tha present in'Uor*. Aad wa should likel
to sae him altomot to make s levy of the aiilitia
of any of ilia sdjoiuingMetee, M a ?imiler pur*
pusa. Ut him try fbul li lia cbouees.'' ? *
> baos<iv? ntMrlmart.d'iMk, I
.1t<iu4A~w*, 17thf.b. itrrf|
Pi a?I reeeiesd this afternoon from Lieutenant
Viatuw, yoar latter of tha Mtk alt. aud read witli-l
ia the same finer, Iwth K aad the aopy of it a#
poMMied in the ftsltoaal ImelltKeuoer of the 7tl?
art. No room wm left (? mirtak* tba ?n?niug?f
this dapatoh ?-Lteuieoant' Vmtoe aoeoetttad
hiSNSlf ia aolatrodoetory iH>ta,?e?fpy *4 wkMi
.1
"??? "p| unu wr nr "ST*
?Ma, or* >jraa?Mljr?? thi iandm, tad
more, tbf Uobliftbiaf nllita of lb? Mfi|?
*
?lact UI
olVr tl
(o einjr 1st* iflfcl, ?
?otttrvnl.M la tor
yMioatrooij
coaoladtd ?l II
cUautlMkof Wh??ht um
Proid?at, 1 kit* Um ,
oUim |irrlri?o<-? vf tilt utw.aml llvt '
riihii m*( |?nWi lit* oty.trtaijr, Ilk*
gt*a4. ba? pfafrtwcoaf Ikn ??*. ,***
Y?* hav? d*emod H wmmary to1
NfHj ?.l l.itut. Viuhw.tu i?|>uMep
> _S? # * a ? 4
JUUi-tloA Of p^yPniM
roar ordm, wfcikt you csuto to *
Waabiagtoa tho vtrjr iotfri
tboM oru4W Mil Mkua Unit
ver jrour Uitpntch. You m
lh? |*opU of Otorgta 4
StatM, ?axag*l ia'Uw
ful <lutiM h?ri onIf to
lUl>D,tofind llMMMftf ,...
Georgia, u under IK* Hi* of tho
WMhiagtoa
1 bev? Um boaoar to bo jaarobodtoat anwt,
O.M. TftOUP.
Hoo. Jamb* lUnooun, ?
Stcretar^ ?fWmr.
Exrconva Dnaraut. Geo. |
MtJl*dgniik, 17tA, b\b. IW7. 1
ORDERED, That lb* Attorney *ad Solicitor*
General of this state, ia ?wy iattuiM (f Mi*'
plaint mnJo of Um arre?t of ?ny turveyor, rip
(?a ia th* wrrt; of lbfliUKq?i??d territory, by
?i.y civil pruoem. under tbf authority of tha go
vernment of Um United States Ho take ill torn,
eery and legal ?e?mre?lo efleot lb* liberation <4*
the person to arretted, and (A britf fo Jwtic#,
eiiht r by iadiMBMHit or otherwise, the oflUert of !
parties concerned in such *rr*?to|ioo, m oJ!c*der*
*g*ioHth* low?, *sJ violators of the peace and
personal Mouritf of the public oflksra awl citixens
of thb ?utj. Thai thai viva professional adviwa
and a**ittance in thair defence against any pcuee
cation or acliun which may be iaetitated agaiutt
them a* officer* ia the xnrica ofthe ?t*tr, nod <h*t
they promptly make known Io Uua departaiaat
their act! lud doings in tba premiae*. hit aor*
over enjoined on the rlvil mttghlrates of thii ststr?
having competent Jarmhctionof tha saase, to ba
aiding awl aniiting ia enquiriag into "the o*tts* of
every such arrest or detention aa aforesaid, that
the person may be discharged forthwith, if ille
gally or unjcutly detained, aad ia affording such
redrew to the aggrieved or iajared party at by
law ho may b# oat Wed to reaoivo.
By the Governor, ,?
E. II. PIERCE, See.
Febfaary 10 ?
iieaTTquarters, > '
MiUutgnUU, 17<A At IW-1.
Ordert,?The .M^o. Generals commanding th?
9th aad 9th Divisions will immediately Maae or
dera to bold ia realhim the several Regiment*
and Battalion* within their respeetiva aemmandr,
to rvpal any hostile invasion of the tesritoty Of
thia ?tata. -Depot* of vaa a?d ammunition can.
tral to eaeh DivUion will W >X>Wllhfcl la dua
time.
By the Commander in Chief.
JOHN W. A.SANDFORD,
. .lUtoCvmp.
February 90. ^
i Climate, dfc. of Canada?Neilson's Que
bcc Gaaettc, contains nn interesting statisti
cal statement of fauts relative to the elimato
of Canada, aa judged o^ by the comparative
number of births, burial*, fa. in Quebec,
Taking the population of that city at 00(986,
the death* in l'.3d were 1343, which b a*
one jfdeath in every sixteen persons, Bui
allowing an average during the year of 6000
?tailors, soldier*, raftsmen, Jcc. the number of
aoul* niay be rated at 3d,3Mi or ?n death
In every twenty-one persona: The number
of deaths in Boston, In 1?9J, was one la lAJr
ty-Jtve, and in New-York, one ia tktrty
three. "This comparison, (adds the Qa*
cette) without there la some great error In.
the returns of the population or the Mghturf
of deaths, give* but a sorry vie w of the supe
rior hciUthfulness of our climate, to often
boasted of) for Jt shew* thai; the demit, t in
Quebec, and firpbably In the large tow>*e /
Canada generally, exceed thoie in the targm
town? of the tnidaU and northern Hate*, by
full fify fier cent. This i*,%br every two
three in <^<tna4a. Whetherthb (uK be the
case) is to lie attributed to bur climate or to
accidental cause* ia worth inquiring and
would be a subject of intere*tingrand profita
ble Study. The extreme* of heat and eold,
which tfte human frame is exposed to here,
both from the chancea of the temperature*
of the atmo*phere Ttaclf, and front that b?.
our house*, to the external air In winter,
matt be greatly Injurious to life. The air of',
our houses, is raised in winter, almost con
stantly by warm stove*, to between TO and
95 degree* of Fahrenheit, white that of tha^
atmosphere is often at 32 degrees bclomr
freezing, a difference, on an average of its
degrees. To this chungc, moat of us, in the
winter months, are exposed, once or twice a
day, and it would lie surprising indeed, if by
such repeated shocks, the duration of life
was not shoitencd, or life itself often cat off
at once "
Mitt'jnal Gazette.
mend to pom {Main
that the time of tha Ifxyie I* wasted In the
discuudon ot f?en. Haqndera' reaolutkm) yet,
instead of taiyiiK oiTWa t?loi<t vote, oficn.
mittingit tojpats, tlitt tbeHccretary of HteCtt
may giv<; hi* Own reason* for his conduct,
they are commmlug the time" of
the hou*e in long sjx trCbes, to ptove i
will of the Heeretar^ hi bej
I