Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

'1 J I I i *" " : " " 1 11 ' 1 '~~J " L~J^L ' 1 - ?*--J?l1 M -1.1 J !i 1?L LJ_LX!1.1J.jjJPU. J1I_ .JH.II JMUL 1.JMLJTLL!1IJLJ?JP-IJLMB I.I II f' 1 <HK %v 'V JL ^ -n tH# ffWfll 'NWrb ' v IJy?J|^|wjj Jp U li^%^ JJ^ if. IH' ^9 Jy DEVOTED TO LITERATURE, THE ARTS, SCIENCE, AGRICULTURE, NEWS, POLITICS, &C., &C. TERMS?TWO DOLLARS PER ANNUM,] "I^>t it be Instilled into tho Hearts of your Children that the Liberty of the PreBs is the Palladium of all your Rights."?Juniui. [PAYABLE IN ADVANCE* BY W. A. LEE AND HUGH WILSON. ABBEVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA, FRIDAY MORNING, AUGUST 26, 1858. VOLUME YIL?NO. IT r> o e x n -sr . PHANTOMS. DY HENRY W. I.ONOFKLI.O W All houses wherein inen liave lived and died Arc haunted houses. Through the open doors The harmless phatoniB on their errands glide, With feet that make no sound upon the floors. Vf? meet tlicm at tlie doorway, on the stair, Along the passnges they como and go, A scuac of something moving to and fro. There aro more guests at table than the hosts, Invited; the illuminated hall Is thronged wiM? quiet, inoffensive ghosts, As silent as the pictures on the wall. *Tho stranger at my fireside cannot sec The forms I sec. nor hear the sounds I hear ; He hut perceives what is; while unto me All that luis been is visible and clear. IV e have no title-deeds to house or lands ; Owners and occupants of earlier dntes From graves forgotten stretch theirdusty hands, And hold in mortmain still their old estates. The spirit world around this world of sense Floats like an atmosphere, and everywhere "VVufU tlirough these earthly mists an?l vapors dense A vital breath of more cttierial air. Our little lives are kept in equipoise Uy opposite attractions and desires; The struggle of t! < instinct that enjoys, And the inore noble instinct that aspires. The pertubntions, the perpetual jar Of earthly \vunt<> and aspirations high, Come from the influence of that unseen star. That undiscovered planet in our sky. And as the moon from some dark gate of cloud. Throws o'er the sea a floating bridge of light, Across whote trembling planks our fancies crowd, Into the realm of mystery and night; ??o from the world of spirit there descends A bridge of light, connecting it with this. O'er whose unsteady floor, that swavs and i bcnde. Wander our thoughts above the dark abyss. Lessons of the War.?The London * Illustrated News thus sums up what the recent war has taught. It tells the whole story : That the rulers of mankind have no faith in the intelligence, justice or honesty of one another; that they have no regard for either the happiness or prosperity of their subjects ; that they look upon those over whom they are placed as mere machines, without the faculty of independent action, as instruments of cute force to be used for the ac accomplisment of objects which they cannot comprehend, and in which they have no interest. It teaches us that the despotic rnonarchs of the world imagine that mankind -were made for them, and not they for mankind flint. thpir umhifinn nn/1 mvan/va i , .and Abominable selfishness, are the only impulses to be felt, and the only rules to be obeyed by the millions subjected to their sway. It teaches us that they despise the intellectual power of the mass of humanity, nnd look ubon their fellow men as of value -only as they assume the nature of so many -dangerousbeasts whose ferocity is intensified by a higher kind of instinct and rendered more destructive by the appliances of science. Hence, though the despots know that their protocols and bulletins are all false deliberate ^misrepresentations of facts, and coolly .contrived falsehoods, intended tc deceive the crowd,?>uch is their confidence in the stupidity and folly of mankind that they do not hesitate to launch their fraudulent .delusions, before the world?nay, they even yxpcct them to be admired and believed in. As they regard no man, neither do they /ear God. They play upon tho religious instinct of man as they do upon bis passions find weaknesses. Lover.?A man who, in his anxiety to obtain possession of another has lost possession .of himself. Lovers are seldom tired of one another's society, because they are always ppeaking of themselves. Let us not, however, disparage this fond infatuation, for ftil it* tendencies are elevating. He who |has passed through life without over being love, has had no spring time?do summer * jp his existence; his heart is a flowering . ?Jtokipt phich hath never blown?never developed itself?pever put forth its beauty and its perfume?npver giveq nor received pleasure. The love ofoqr yo^h, like kennel coal, is sp inflamipable that it ipay' he Jciudlcd by almost qpy match ; but If its Jumsient blaze do npt paw a^ay it) ?mo^ce Jts flame, too bright and ardent to 4ast long soon exhausts and consumes itself. Tbe Jove of pur mature* age is lijte <^ko, which pnoe ignited, burns with * steady and enduing beat, entitling neither jtnoke i\pr flame. No wonder that we hofl^so mnch of tbe sorrows of love, for there is apldftpre' pveu in.d welling upon its pains. Revelling in tears, its ?re, lijce tbfit of pqpfytlja Ulpa to ctsim unnn watr. A RINB THOUGHT.?A French writer hftg paid tbat "to dream gloriously, 70a mysl act gloriously while you are .awake ; and to bring angels down tp pQOFerse with 709 in your aleap, yon mutt l^bor ip tye eaqse gfyif^e dqnD^t^edflt," i EVERETT ON THE CHARACTER AND ELOQUENCE OF CHOATE. Like everything that comes from that inexhaustible storehouse of truth and beautiful thought?the mind of Edward Everott?his eulogy on Mr. Clioate, at the Public Meeting in Boston is one of those productions which aro drunk in by the mind and heart which an avidity that never tires. We make the following extract, and need not commend it to the attention of our renders: j ii ever tnero was a truly disinterested patriot Ilufiis Choate was that man. In his political career there was no shade of selfishness. Had he been willing to purchase advancement at the price often paid for it, there was never a moment, from the time he first made himself felt and known, that lie could not have commanded anything which any party could bestow. But he desired none of the rewards or honors of success. On the contrary, he not only for his individual self, regarded office as a burden? an obstacle in the way of the cultivation of his professional and literary taste?but he held that of neeessitv. nnrl nnrfioc nt. sumo a sectional character, conservative | opinions seeking to moderate between the extremes which agitate the country must of t necessity be in the minority ; that it was the ' mission of men who hold such opinions, not to fill honorable and lucrative posts which are unavoidably monopolized by active leaders but to seek prudent words on great occasions, which would command the re sped if they do not enlist the sympathies of both the conflicting parties and insensibly influence the public mind. He comprehended and accepted the position ; he knew j that it was one liable to be misunderstood, and sure to be misrepresented at the time ; but not less sure to be justified when the interests and passion of tlio day are buried beneath the clods of the valley. But this ostracism, to which his conservative opinions condemned him, produced not a shade of bitterness in his feelings. His patriotism was as cheerful as it was intense, lie regarded our confederate Republic with his wonderful adjustment of Stale and Fed eral organization ;?the State bearing the < burden and descending to the details of local * administration, the General Government ' moulding the whole into one general ' uaiiuiioiil^jllliu icpicacnnllj; III Mia IHIIIliy OI nations,?as the most wonderful plienom- 1 enon in the political history of the world. 1 Too much of a statesman to join the ' unreflecting disparagement with which ' other great forms of national polity are ' often spoken of in this country, he yet ' considered the oldest, wisest and the most ' successful of them, the British Constitution, ' as a far less wonderful political system than ! our confederate Republic. The territorial ( extent of the country; the beautiful play into each other of its great commercial, agricultural, and manfacturing interest; the material prosperity, the advancement in arts, and letters, and manners already made, the capacity for further indefinite progress in this vast theatre of action, in which ? :J i i 1 *i? * ?i ? ' jl iuviuoiiw iinspmueu me ^i.iigio-/vmerican ' race?stretching from the Atlantic to the ( Pacific, from the Arctic circle to the tropics were themes on which he dwelt as none but be could dwell ; and he believed that with patience, with mutual forbearance, J with a willingness (o think that our brethren, ( however widely we may differ from them ' may be honest and patriotic as ourselves ( our common country would eventually reach a height of prosperity of which the world as yet has seen no example. With such gifts such attainments and such a spirit, he placed himself, as a matter of 1 course, not merely at the bend of the jurists ( and advocates, but of the public speakers ' of tlie country. After listening to him at ; tbe bar, in the Senate, or upon the academic or popular platform, you felt that you had heard tbe best that could be said in either place. That mastery which be displayed at the forum and in the deliberative assembly was not less conspicuous in every other form of public address. As happens in most cases of eminent jurists and statesmen, possessing a brilliant imagination and able to adorn a severe course of reasoning with tbe charms of a glowing fancy or a sparkling style, it was ^ sometimes said of biiq, as it jfcs said before bid) of E)rs]fine, of Ames and Pinckney that he was more a rhetorician, tbaD a ' 8 logician, that be dealt io words &nd figures ofsppach more than io facts or arguments Tbesp are tbe invidious coRfments, by which dull or prejudiced men seek to disparage ibq?e gifts which are furtberest from their own reaob. ? 1 It is perhaps by his dit40pfces on 1 Roadpmioal and pogfclar occasion that be 1 y^??ten9irely known io the com 1 mow, V it v? these ^bicb sf&rfi listened J to wHb delighted admiration by the largest ' av^jeoce. Be lov?d, to trerf a pffeljterajy 1 tbeppd, and be knew bow to throw a magic * frpf^M?li&e a <09! jflorning dew 00 * clwter of pwple grapef?orer the most {tonHfcr toptea ft a patrwUo <jalebr*ti<yj Sfemeof ooeaslonal perfprnaapoes will ever be bald % Wgfcetf g?V ft? m* Tho eulogy ou Daniel Webster at Dartmouth College, in which he mingled at once all the light of his genius and all the warmth of bis heart, has, within my knowledge, uever been equalled among the performances of its class in this country for sympathetic appreciation of a great man discriminating analysis of character, fertility of illustration, weight of sentiment, and a stylo at once chaste, nervous aud brilliant. The long sentences which have been criticised in this, as in other performances, arc like those which Dr. Channing admired and commendcd in Milton's prose, well compacted, full of meaning, fit vehicles for great thoughts. But Tie does not deal exclusevely in j those noiuloroiis sentence?. Tlipri* is nntliinrr I 1 B o , of the nrlfiieial Johnsonian balance in his style. It is as often marked by a pregnant brevity as by n sonorous amolitude. lie is sometimes satisfied in eoneise epigrammatic clauses, to skirmish with his light troops and drive in the enemy's outposts. It is only on fitting occasions, when great principles are to be vindicated and solemn truths told?when some moral or political Waterloo or Solferino is to be fought?that 1 lie puts on the entire panoply of his gorgeous rhetoric. It is then that his majestic sentences swell to the dimensions of his thought; that you hear afar off the awful roar of his rifled 1 ordnance ; and when he has stormed tho ' heights, and broken the centre and trambled tho squares, and turned the staggering . DC 1 n era. r?f Ihq o/lforcin* (hot 11 a CAiinrlc liio imperial clarion along the whole lino of battle, and moves forward with all his hosts I in one oevrwhelming charge. 1 At lb is beautiful figure, forcibly nnd i elovuently expressed as it was, the audience I sould no longer restrain the expression of I their approbation, nnd burst, forth into t continued applause, which ceased, and was i renewed the second time,] i , J?ew Arrangement ok IIocse of Representatives?The ground plan of the Hall of the House of Representative?, under the order of the last session removing the Jesks, is now complete, although the j ?ofas which are to take the place of the j liuge and gorgeous chairs arc not placed. The rows of seats riso above each other on .he same elevations as before, but the pfoice , ID /lir/xtmcAfiKc/) *iAn*>1w l??lf J A t- ?. t iu vnvuuiowitucu ucm ij uuo'unii, miU llie members will be seated much more comfortably and conveniently for the transacton ?f business. The vacant space to the right ind left of the Speaker's chair, occasioned by the new arrangement, will be ocoupied with large writing tables and all the necessary appliances. No special provision of that sort was made in the resolution directing the change, but it was assumed to be embraced within the general idea. The alterations necessary to carry out the experiment are of such a character as to insure ? . 4^!.i r_? fti-_ i? i- * i u irim tur iuw wnoio 01 me nexi session ?t least, because it would hardly be prac- * icable to revert to the old system during ' lie period of an ordinary adjournment 1 >ver three days. 1 CoWAR^JCE OP AN ENGLISH OFFICER. ' ?During the last rebellion in India, in- 1 itances of heroism where common ; of 1 jowardice there was but one. Indeed, I Jeeply regret to have to record the fact ' :hat there isa: one officer of high rank, ana 1 in the prime of life, who never showed iiimself outside the walls of the barrack, nor took even the slightest part in the military operations. This craven-hearted nan, whose name I withhold out of consideration for the feelings of his surviving rela;ives, seemed not to possess a thought beyond that of preserving his own worthless ife. Throughout three weeks of Bkulking, while women and children were daily dvine iround him, and the littlo baud of combat- ' ints was being constantly thinned by * wounds and death, not even the perils of 1 lis own wife could rouse this man to exer- < ion 1 and when At length we ban embarked 1 Vl> the close of the e?6ge, while our little * iraft was s(uok upon a sandbank, no ex- < >ostulation could make him vuit the shelter * >f her bulworks though we were adopting * iVery possible expedient to lighten her * >urden. It was positively a relief to us < vben we foud' that his cowardice was ana- t railing; and a bullet through the boats 1 ide that despatched him caused the only 1 leath that we regarded wjtb complacency. 1 y ~j v. Experience.?'There is a petty German ( itory of a^Mind raan, who, even - under 1 nisfortune, was happy?happy in a wife ' io passionately loved; her voice was agreat I ipt} low, apd be gars her credit for that < beauty which bad be been pointer] was the ' object of hi* nlrtUtry, Apby?ici?n cam? ' ?nd curing the d>8f>wp( re?U*rpd the husband 1 to aigbt, which be ebiafly valued aa it would enable blip to gale on tbo lovely , faaturea at bis wife. He looks, and sees a face bideoqs io ugliness! He is restored is-over. Za out!' 4bis our history \ Qqr pqt'l pbyiujiap.is , Jpgjypx <* ?i Kroin the South Carolinian. Mr. Editor?Dear Sir: You will oblige mo bv publishing the accompany ing paper, prepared with some pains by its author for the purpose of rectifying a portion of Col. Benton's book, where he in his narrnlive deals unjustly and falsely, with the history of certain prominent events and men connected with the tariff and the Texas annexation controversy of 1814. This correction and refutation was intended to liavo been made at an earlier day, but in part owing to Col. Kenton's death, in the spring of 1858, it has been until the present time delayed. The reason Mr. l'ickens assumes the task to vindicate the name and fame of South Carolina and Mr. Calhoun from the aspersions of Col. Denton's book, he himself full discloses in the narrative. Being the original and now sole despository of the facts upon which Col. Denton grounds his assertions, the duty appealed imperative that he should suffer no further time to elapse before ho made public a true statement of every thing that transpired between Mr. Polk and himself during the visit alluded to in the "Thirty Years in the United States Qnn?tA? a ? it- -1 kjx.uoiv. iia it uiii^ nmui uji v iwaiai in utsveloping tlic political history of our times, likely from tbo "thirty years" to be perverted and distorted, its publication at this timo may be of some general importance, and may also be of some service to the State and to the reputation of Mr. Calhoun. Truly yours, * MB. BENTON'S BOOK?SOUTH CAROLINA? MR. CALHOUN?MR. POLK. lie who writes history, ofteu makes history, and perhaps his notions are innocent, because he only writes from his stand-point, and sees things as represented to him in a .otally different light by one set of men from what another set, viewing the other side, might represent them. This is eminently true of all those who attempt to give i history of their own times, particularly if hey were active partizans in the political conflicts of the day. Mt. Benton has relently published elaborate books, purporting to bo a full account of his thirty years ! n the Senate of tho United States. lie ! jwn iut*r?j iuiempieci to give iiic detailed 1 liistory of great events, in wliicl) lie might ' .veil exclaim, "Magna pars fui] Soon after 1 becarno of age, I was sent to 1 .he Legislature; and from 1832, became leeply enlisted in all the great questions of 1 he day from that lime until the present. * lliis circumstance led me to keep an accur- 1 ite memoranda, particularly of everything ( hat related to South Carolina. I see many joints in his hooks where lie has done the 1 grossest injustice to the State and to Mr. ' Calhoun, as identified with South Carolina. ' For instance, the minute exposition which * ie makes of Mr. Calhoun's course as Sccre- ' :ary of War, in Mr. Munro's Cabinet, in rc- ' ation to General Jackson, the taking of the Baranca^s and imprisoning the Spanish J Sovernor in l\ensacola, the 4,Jenny Rhea J etter," &c., &c.; nil appear to be quite plain 1 md truthful to any one not acquainted 1 minutely with the detailed history of these 1 ivents, and yet there never was a more per- ' "ect tissue of misconception and partizan ' news published in any book having the j slightest pretension to bi^ory. The paper published, as purporting to bo 'l eft by General Jackson with Mr. Blair as I lis last authentic record of the controversy ^ with Mr. Clalhnnn nnH liia Knfnro 1 .lie Committee of the Senate, raised on the 1 'Seminole war," contains the severest accusations against the integrity of Mr. Calhoun, *nd presented to the world under the cover >f the illustrious name of Jackson, is well calculated to produce a profound impression lpon the rising generation ; and yet the contradictions of the paper itself, he totally nnereni siyia in wnicn tno tirst part ot it is vritten from the latter part, and the appeal * vhicb General Jackson says "Hon. John ' ilhea" make to him under the instigation 1 >f Mr. Munro, as all were "brother Mason6," c 0 hum the famous "Johnny Rhea" letter? ' 1 document so essential to the vindication 1 >f bib own honor as to the true history of 1 in important event in the country and its ' idministration, all show that if Gen. Jack-- c >on were alive and in proper mind, he never sould have permitted such a document to ' ro forth as his deliberate produotion, 1 tfr. Munro was a Mason, General Jackson ? vnit it Mac;nn ntul no. tno. wns tha famous 1 Sod. Jobp Rbca, member of CoDgress from 1 reoneMee. Mr, Calhoun was do Mason, ' ?nd yet this "exposition" represent?* Mr+ 1 Calhoun a* instigating Mr. Monro to appeal * :o General Jsckson, through "John Rhea," * to barn this famous secrot letter, whioh re- 1 presents 5Jr. Jtfunro rs prompting General 1 Jackson, commander of the fir Ay, to invade < Florida and take pouession of ^eqaaoola, ' when be, Mr. Monro, as President, had m- ' jumed a tptallj different position ; and be j is applied to as a wbrotbev^fasonn to tup- { press the letter, 9Rd all dona qpderthe in triguts of Mr. Ojklkomti w^.o was oo Uasm' . This is doipg great injustioe to tM?*$je J ba?d of brothers, wb? bave skood t^n^tect 4 of toW, and d?t?a thtf "tllfefis i fi *j 1 poses. This transactionereprosents leading members of the brotherhood, combining ( together to suppress an important secret < document essential to vindicate honyr and t the truth of history, and acting under the < instigation of political intrigue. < Surely there must be some grievous error ] here, and what purport# to bo General < Jackson's "exposition,"* never could liavo i received the deliberate sanction of that re- < nowned man when it) th<^ full vigor of his i great intellect. Beside?,' ibo letter was , a ''secret" letter, and implicated Mr. Muuro ; 1 nml Mr. Khun was used as a "Mason" to an- < ' ? .J? peal to 11 is brother Masofr, "Qeneiiil Jackson, I to suppress it, and lie says be did burn it i about six years after it was written, that it i might not be used : and General Jackson < is made to tay he never showed it to any I man except Col. McNary, of Nashville. J Then, after all this solemnity, and afler Mr. : Monro and Mr. llliua are both dead, and < about thirty years after the date of tho lot- < ter, General Jackson himself is set forth as 1 revealing the substance and contents of this | very letter from memory, so that if there < ever was any harm in it, it is now made to * do a double wrong, and to intlict a far greater injury upon tho character of Mr. ' *r . . I 1 muiiru man in any aspect it over couiu ao ' to Mr. Calhoun. t But it is not my purpose to examine that f part of Mr. Benton's book, or any part of it, c except where, in some prominent events, he < linos me as a witness or evidence upon 1 which to make grave charges against Mr. Calhoun and South Carolina. I will not * examine his account of the meeting and ' organization of the twenty-sixth Congress, ' however unjust that account may be, but 1 merely a few prominent points he makes ' elsewhere, and particularly where I am the < anly living witness now who can set things forth in their proper light f Mr. Calhoun < ind Mr. Polk are both dead, and Mr. Ben- t [on has used my name to make grave 1 charges against both these distinguished I men. now the Dublin can never fu?l i I much iut&re&t in anything said or done by c ;o humble a citizen as myself; hut as every- f :hing connected with the integrity and t reputation of these two illustrious statesmen ' will be deeply interesting ir. history, and 1 particularly as Mr. Calhoun's life is hound jp in the character and history of South t Carolina, I trust, under these circumstances, { lie public will consider it no intrusion up- { in my part to place my evidence before i ;hetn. I do 60 entirely from a sense of ] July. f Mr. Benton's great labor and enlarged j : 11 i? 1 i i_ J ejjuiauuu win uiittyti UOOK more siuuiea ay the young men of intellect in the United States than any other political book of the iay. In fact, it is the only book that pre" ;ends to be a political history of the last brly years of our Government! 'n In vol. 2d, and at-page 050, I find an iccount of a visit I .tnade; to Mr. Polk, t\ugn?t, 1844. lie (ihrtt'is IV. made known -the co'hdftion'otf^ which tho /ote of South Carolina for Hi?n (Mr. Polk) _ a i_ - i i . A mi > _ * i fiiigiu dc uepenuem. iiiai conumon was x> discontinue Mr. Blair as the organ of the Administration, if he should he elected. < Mr. Polk was certain of the vote of the t State if he agreed to the required*condition," t ind ho did so. Mr. Blair was agreed to be t ;iven up, &c. That was propitiation to 1 Mr. Calhoun, to whom Mr.,Blair was ob- ; loxious on account of his inexorable oppo- f lition to nullification and it<rauthor" ? - . - ? I will not follow biin his comments and 1 he accouut he gives of Mr. Ritchie, and e he means used to purchase out Messrs. c Blair and Rives lie mentions no other I jndcretanding or condition, and Reems to t hink of no other object in view' in going c .0 see Mr. Polk at that period, then a f niserable and petty intrigue to turn out I Vlr. Blair* and then makes extensive develop* f fhrots whioh followed, all turning opon d hat. affair. There never was a more f sxaggyated or egregious mistake. The *r >ook will be looked upon, iu after time, fc is history. T feel it a duty to state fully ii be far more important objeots I was charged f with in that visit, than ibe one, be has i leveloped with so much solemn emphasis, j rpi.^ i m I lie great jL/euiuurniiu vyuiivcimuu whb r o meet in Nashville, August, 1844, when j lelegafes from all the States West and i ?<rith were anointed. J bad been authentic- I illy informed that tbis convention was got < ip in Washington, in consultation with c Hr. Calhoun And Mr. McDuffie, and under a heir express sanction. Mr. JfcOaffle was t o go to it as a representative from South c Carolina. There bad been some exoitement ? md division made in tbatriflute by what e iras called <fce "Bluftor* Meeting" and th<#? ? connected with it'were understood to be in s "aypr -of urging the State to a separate and \ independent mov*neut against the tariff c it that tune. Jfol;Jong before the ftoyfor t the meeting of the Nashville Oonvpqtiop, f received a letter' from MY. Gal boon, who f was"then Secretary tff State nude PrtsMeat 4 .xvrAr'i rw,V, >, Vifr liBent&n<* Thffty Vaefi to U?it?a * States Seeafcej* l<voi., peg* lift.,. tUr, aUq, J mmm* i >: . v; *. -hi . ryler'stating thai, owing to Mr. McDuftie's jxtreme delicate health ho would not go )ti to Nashville, as was intended, and irginsr, in the most decided manner, to go j in in his place. I was then a member of | lurStato Senate, and had withdrawn from j federal politics and most respectfully t leclinned ; but Mr. Calhoun immediately ivrote again, sill urging me to go . A few lays after, I met Col. Klmore, at a Demooatio meeting, in Augusta?I think 4th of \ucrust?who told mo he had received : utters from Mr. Callioun to tlio same effect )f inine, and after conversing fullv with lim, T agreed to fro to Nashville, but verv eluqy^nlly, and upon the condition that ho ! .vonld have the fuel announced in the Mer- | ury, that'fchey were glad to know that 1. j tad consented' toVgo to Nashville in tljc i >laceofMr. McDuflJe. I think Rome such ' innouncouiQnt will ho found in the Mercury's editorial, between thg 4th and 12th if August, 1844. Those acquainted with he local politics of South Carolina, at that particular period, will at once perceive my ihiect in havinrr this inserted in that nniur. *> o "* I "i ind by Col. Elmore. It will be recollected that Mr. Polk had written bis celebrated "Kane Letter" to Pennsylvania, which looked like adhering j o a tariff for protection per se, unless con- j itrued strictly by his former votos and speeches in Congress, This letter bad jrented great uneasiness in the public mind hroughout the South. My object in havng an interview with Mr. Polk, before I ;poke at any convention, was to have a .borough understanding as to the true meanng of that letter, and to know, in detail, ivuai would be tno policy ol Ins adinmistraion as to a tariff and the repeal of the odious and unjust tariff of 1842. With this view, we went over tho tariff )f 1833 and 1842, and compared theui ogcther, provision by provision, and if bis ibrary be preserved, pencil marks, in my land-writing, will found in tho margin of >otb these tariffs, and tho alterations and ' i hanges agreed upon in consultation. Sufice it to say, that specifics and minimum*, he bases of all protection, per sc. were to be .u.it.t i i ?i._ - J ? f ? ?* ' iuuiimiuu, Sinn nit) ut( vuiure/n principle wroduced in any measure to bo adopted. I remained at Mr. Folk's house two lights and a day, and was thoroughly satis- | aid that he was with us entirely on the jreat principles of a free trade tariff in all ts leading features. This whs one of the irincipal ohieots of that visit. But the irst great object was in reference to the innexation "of Texas. It was considered uineipally in relation to wiiat part Great LJritain^ might take as to annexation. She lad attempted to open negotiations with Jen. Houston, then President of Texas, to prevent annexation with us. I trust the mblic will bear with me, while I dwell ' iomowhflt in detail upon this grent question, or the young men of the day seem to have orgotUty) tbo points. Mr. Benton's book las suppressed tl: .$ . "itirely, as he was op- ( >osed to annexation, and went off with tyr. ^an Buren. I bad had a full intervievy (fith G^n. Jackson, and he had told me that lien. Houston had no idea of listening to j he proposals of Great Britain, but only in- ( ended to use tbo offers she had made with , i view of exciting the public mind in the . United Slates to tlio absolute necessity of ( iTnioxntion. The application of Texas for indexation had previously, under the adMinistration of Mr. Van Burep, while Mr. ( Forsyth was Secretary of State, been- fffict- | id, or at least received with entire i^diffurince. We had serious difficulties sriningfe) 1 letween us and Great Britain in relation'a o the Oregon question. Under the "jointIII tecupancy" treaty, her citizens, with the? privileges of the., Hudson Bay Company, j tad nil the advantage they wanted, in trrfp>?ng over the whole region, there being np. ( lefinite boundary fixed. We hadjdfcehter# (rising .population seeking a liomBig, that egion, and fronp th* uncertainty ns to the oundary, thpy were constantly brought f nto collision with the Hudson Bay (3om- j any and British subjects, and we were in ^ mrpinent danger of being dragged into-a s >ramati}re war by a wronged t\?\d excited j rontier population. It became eminently , >olitic, thorefore^ Ss ap.e^ce measure," th^t ] tolice to, terminate this joint occupancy , rp^ty eboqltf be (jtypn, and thus take tl^e | ] lies no n or peag? or war pin <>i me lianas j if an excited trtffl interested frontier people, , ind bold it under the control of govern , dent itself. Tbeas questions being Jtept , ipetfc might give Gjrest Britain a pretext to ^ nstigate Me^icQ-fi a w^r ^ith us hi refer- ] nee to Texas annexation, if it q^Rtyki t^e f iffeoted, and tbe difficulties that' might ( (rise were considered, ab-tba^ Unqe, r^ore ( rjtb reference to Great Bri tain and h?r , iiti?ww acting on ttj?n ,ip rt^a^ofl , 0 a dirflot wJlh Mexioo keree}f? Lord AWdeeo, ifiawtlr^f Foreign Af* I Mff in Great Britain, hj?t written that slab- < >fat? ?}d extraq^dwrlQ^tpr, fated $aKfnber 20, 1849, ? fmAod to T?sm and .he abolition of slaver^,-??t))oh he <JiwM mm oveomina^Wad to tb? ^tn?n-1 fe Sectary of the | course his government pursued towards. Texas in attempting to prevent annexation and ^v"ocv,ro eroaueipMiou, io the following language viz: "With regard to the latter point, (abolishing slavery in Texas,) it must bo and is well Uuowr,, both to the United States and to the whole world, that Great Britain desires and is constantly exerting, herself to procure the geaeral nbo>ilron ofslavery throughout the world." Again, ir^ the same communication, he says: "With regard to Texas, we avow that we wish to, seo slavery abolished there as elsewhere, and we should rejoice it tho recognition o? that country bv the Mexican Government should be accompanied by an engagement. on tlio part of T?xa8 to abolish slayery. eventually and under proper condition^ throughout the Republic." At the world's convention, held in London previous to this, Mr. Lewis Txppnn, of New York,said : "In a conversation I had with the Hon. J. Q. Adams oo. that subject, (the annexation of Texas.) Ue (Mr. Adamt) said, I deem it tba duty of G.reat Uritaip., a$ a Christian nation^ to tell the Texaua that slavery must be abolished, that it shall uol bo planted there, after all. the efforts and Facrifices that havo. been made to abolish it all over the world. The annexation of Te.^as will be a leading topic next Congress, but Iwill oppose it witl^ all the vigor and talent that (irod lias giver\ me. Jf slavery is abolished in Texas, it must speedily fall throughout America'x and when it falls ii; America, it will expiry inrou^noiit Christendom." It will by temombered that Mr. Adam^ was the first member of Congress, in 1836, who commcnced this great slavery agitation, on the shallow pretext ns to thfc abstract right of petition, used only by liin\ as the means of agitation and exciting lowprejudices. When he was in Mr. Munro'a Cabinet and a candidate for tbo Vresidencyv he courted the South, and in that Cabinet is represented ns being the only membeewho opposod declaring the slave trade piracy, ?^nd is said aUo to have been oppose^ to that clause in our treaty with Great Britain, by which our Government became hound to keep up a joint fleet on the roast of Africa to suppress the slave trade. ^ i$. also said that ho was the only member of the same Cabinet who opposed the adoption, of the Missouri restriction line as to slavery. It is said that Mr. Munro. required the opinion of each member of his Cabinet ia writing as to tho policy o.f supporting the re3triofinn n( ckvorr holnw tlio lirin nf Sft Ancr ... J ?..w .... 30, coiftmcnly ^r,own as tlio Missoqri Oora-. promise, and that each member gave his opinion in writing in favpr of tlie restriction, e^cep,t Hon. J. Q. ^dams. And yet^ after the South had unanimously repudiated him and voted fvr General Jackson, in 1828; at tho close of a hitter canvass, he tbei\ seems to have changed his policy, and become the bitter and angry assailant of tliei South, soon after ho t'ottfc his seat as ^ member of pongre^. It will be remftmber.edi, too, that it was said be was the man who made that secret communication in, rotation to the treason of the Federalists and al! conrected with the*. Hartford Convention, although hU own illustrious and oqI^o fytliei; baii, been head of llie Federal pnrtv. Soon afterwards, lie tvaa appointed to St. Petersburg, and regularly enrolled in the Repu,blic?ri party of :hat day, apji b,ecj\rflo one of its leaders, aejuring the Presidential purpje, in 1824, by. in election before the House of Representaive8. I mention these things to show that, jy his foreign reputation, and high position ltrl\4nae, he- bfcarae eminently suited for mjit agitaUioji, and to be ysed by those wo had overthrown slavery in the West India lalanJs, through filiation in the British Parliament to affect i\ie same purpose n America, arfd th\\s reduce the principal ipmtnercini and manufacturing rival ofSreat Britain to the same level with beryfftl!i the (uture race for power and ascendW Sir Robert Peel, immediately after this ieclaration of A^r. Tappan, at the world's 'air, carried the discriminating duty on bu jar; efiject of which v^aa to make a!^ jinYe.fgrQWQ spgar pay a I'.'gU tax over free, lafyof sugar^ and he put it upon the ground, jjaipg his oy(n words, "That it would enable, iym to. fbtce a treaty \yitb Brazil for U19 iboKRon of *V?WJf?ih? attempt, try Iff get cqqpesslqns frpm tho.se from, whom faq get your aqppliea. You may dejjntnd ijplQP it, tl\ere is n fjro.wing ^oyTiiition liDODg in? people or ttie&o gquotpe^ ilavery is Dot unHcoompnoie^ ^>y great danger. Io Cftta, in tli'e jjnitwd States, io thq Braiils, (here is a ferment an tl^e s^bjject of. Javery, tfftfoh is spreading aqd if ill spread imqefret* humane an 1 bonevolent motires, iotr)e on Hccavj^t of interested fears, begin to look At the great ?$*role W? have set, &nd begin to jc>q|c at Tfjp qqnaequenoea whioh may result fton^ that ?uanle nearer home. It fc itppotolbje to tyolf 4 .$*$*pussi(>n? in < Uie Uoiled- Sutea $f Ameriea, and especially to tb*r conflict* between the N6Kb%?gd without seOr ?Rg ibat aUye^ inf that afctlqq, fUnda on ^ precarious MmgUcheendfa "W poBoy is growing io Brafit apd 0iTOft, &o? ' * v* Wi W sWbsurate .1' 'j ; Unit > "3 . .v