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____‘ _________-....___ . A^M_ __l_ __:-•--- •- --- --- .-—nr-:
: PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY. AT DES ARC. PRAIRIE COUNTY. ARKANSAS. BY l C. MOR .'HjBMg^jgJMiRYEAR. IN ADVANCE.
VOl.fM !•; V. I )KS ARCTA.It'fEAJ^BA.S. -N1 A ~Y .1 x, 1 h.~>< >._ N r.MBlI? 28.
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OTJR JOB PRINTING DEPARTMENT.
We have supplied ourselves with a good
assortment of Printing Material, and are
ready to execute all kinds of Job Printing, on_
reasonable terms.
We are prepared to print Pamphlet*, Cata
logues, Posters, large nr small. Cards, Ball
Tickets, Biil Head*. Blanks of every descrip
tion, for Clerks, Slier ill's, Justices of the
Peace.. Constables, tec.
| ?f. HENKEL.A- r)- IIY.NKKI.,
Memphis. New Oilcans.
I. N. Henkel & Co.,
{' O T T O .V T *rJ € T O Ml $
A x r>
(■05!MIS'sJOjX MKUCHASTS,
NO. 71. FRONT ROW.
mavl-’v Memphis, Trnx.
A. 0. HKXK El • • I. X. hen k el. • WAV. C. KELLEY
Now Orleans. Memphis. Goodman, Mi.
A. D. Henkel &_Co.,
BOTTOM MTOTOJ28
AND
i'.mnhiission .TfevrltfralS)
No. ■ a CARONbELET STREET,
may4“ly New Ojileans.
S. A.YDERSO’Ve
SADDLE, BRIDLE
HABITS 3 3 M AZUi
I)IvS AIK'. ARKANSAS.
rwA RESPECTFULLY informs
V the citizens of Prairie, ai d
adjacent counties, that he has on hand,
and is prepared lo mnnuiacture to oidei,
Saddles, Bridles. Martingales, Buggy,
Carriage and Hack Harness,
As well as every other description of work
usually done in such establishments.
tigr Shop on Lyon street, back of Fn li &
Jackson’s stoop ’TT L..
E. R. JtfcPIIr.usoA,
COUNTY SURVEYOR.
\ LL persons wishing my services in
this department of business, will please
address me at Brownsville, Prairie county,
Ark. Every cal! will he punctually filled.
novl3-ly __
IN E W it E STAl'itAiu:
*r33Cin
COSMOPOLITAN !
Corner of Buena Vista and Li/on streets,
DKS ARC, ARKANSAS,
IS now open for the reception of visitors.
The best of Liquors. Wines, Ale, Cigars,
etc., will be kept constantly on hand.
*,* Oysters, Game, &.C., will be furnished at
short notice.
, isr lie Restaurant will he attended to by ,
Messrs. J. C. Tarkinton and .1. E. Hoke.
jaiiH-6in. C. T. OLDHAM.
HARVEYS ?v CHANGE,
Corner of (Suena Vistiiand Foster
Streets,
NEAll the JACKSON HOUSE,
DES ARC, ARKANSAS.
HAVING completed our new building, and
. opened a first class establishment for the
accommodation of the public, and furnished it
with the best of Li<3Jiors. Cigars,
Tobacco, elc., the undersigned llatter
themselves that they will continue to receive
the patronage which has been heretofore be
stowed upon them.
Adjoining their Exchange they keep a
general assortment of FAMILY GROCERIES.
Also, Cove Oysters, Sardines, Fine Pickles,
Catsups, Pepper Sauce, etc., etc.
jy24-tf HARVEY & MATTHEWS.
A. S. HARRIS,
35* .i T V Si - «?I I M E Ml'
A N D
«T33'SA7’XI-jC.33X«.
i V'FICE Buena Vista
V / street, o p p o s i l e tbo^^K^jgsHBR^^* I
Nucleus House. Des Arc,
Arkansas. Clocks, Watchks asp Jkwllrv
repaired with neatness and dispatch, and war- j
ranted to give satisfaction. nov20-ttm
JAMES JOHN SONT”
f* (i ns; )t; i th,
HFS ARC, ARKANSAS.
cOft Having permanently located mvself,
.. yCl * am prepared to manufacture GUNS,
PISTOLS, A.e., to order.
All kinds Fire-Arms Repaired,
on reasonable to,; .
LOCKS repaired, and KEYS made.
In fact, any kind of work in mv line will be
promptly attended to.
Terms—Cash. apr3 ly
PROFESSIONAL CARDS^
DR. N. L. RAGLAND, having lo
cated on Wattensaw, at tlie residence
heretofore occupied by W. B. Means, deceas
ed. offers his professional services to the
public.
(TgF* Calls promptly attended to. [apr 1-1 y
DR. T. J. CUMMINGS, having per
manently located at Atlanta, Prairie
county. Ark., offers his professional services
to the public.
Having practiced in hospitals as well
as in families, he flatters himself that he can
render satisfaction to his patrons.
£3^* Office at Peebles’ Hotel, [apr 1-tf.
DR J. C GOODWIN, determined to
remain permanently in Des Arc, will
continue to treat diseases, both Acute and
Chronic in accordance with the most approv
ed principles of Scientific and Demonstrative
Medicine.
(jg?” Thankful for the liberal patronage he
has heretofore enjoyed, respectfully solicits
its continuance.
(jgg- Office at D. P. Black & Co’s., Drug
Store. Charges as low as any Physician in
town. aprill-lv.
T\R. J. L. NEEL, having permanent
-*^ly located in Des Arc, Arkansas, offers
his professional services to the citizens of
the town and vicinity. Office, over Washer,
Vaughan & Co’s Store. [mar ll-6m.
TlR. T. SANDERS, late of Memphis,
1/ having settled in the town of Des Arc,
tenders his professional services to the citi
zens of said town and vicinity; and, from a
long experience in the healing art in the West,
flatters himself that he will share their pat
ronage. !HsP Office on Buena Vista street.
Residence on vYoodruit street. ueco-tt
T\R. W. F. WALSH, having located at
(/ Des Arc, offers Jiis Professional Ser
vices to the public. Calls promptly at
tended to. may29,1858-ly*
IAR. Wi\L BETHELL, will continue
1 * the Practice of Medicine in Des Arc, and
vicinity. From his long expeiience in his
profession, and having resided in Arkansas
during the past fourteen years, he hopes to re
ceive a share of the public patronage.—
ijy Otlice at Lane & Watts’s Drug
Store. Residence in the building formerly
occupied as the Erwin House.” may22-tf
DR. J. J. LANE, will Practice Medi
cine in the different branches of the Pro
fession, and respectfully tenders his services to
the < itizensof Des Arc and surrounding coun
try. hoping to share at least a portion of their
patronage. OFFICE—-On Buena Vista street.
mayl5-tf
JA8. R. HARR 1NGTON,
** Mechanical and Sue.GicAL’^feX'i^a
Dentist, Near Oakland Grove,
prairie county, Arkansas. DR. HARRING
TON is prepared to perform any operation, or
execute any artificial work in the Dental pro
fession. He hopes by his particular attention,
carefulness and experience to merit the pat
ronage and influence of the citizens of Prairie
and adjoining counties, which he respectfully
solicits. may30-ly
tYoBERT H. CROCKETT, Attorney at
I t uv, Mount Adams, Arkansas county.
Arkansas. Will practice in the Counties of
Arkansas, Monroe, Desha and Prairie.
april22-tf. ____
WAKE MAN W. EDWARDS, Law
yer. Springfield, Conway county, Ar
kansas. Will practice in the various courts
of .Middle Arkansas, 'gy Prompt attention
riven to the collection of all claims entrusted
to him. r'3(l*
C|HARLES P. BERTRAND Attor
/ xky at Law, Little Rock, Ark. [jan21
P JORDAN, Attorney at Law,
. Little Rock, Arkansas. [decll-ly.^
WG. & B. D. TURNER, Attor
9 nf.ys at Law, and General Collec
tors. Searcy. White county. Arkansas. Prac
tice in the Circuit Courts of Randolph. Law
rence, Independence, Jackson, White, Prairie,
Monroe, Arkansas. Jefferson and Pulaski
•ounties. and in the Supreme and Federal
Courts at Little Rock Ark. (gP“ Prompt and
Faithful attention given to the collection of all
claims sent to them. fjan8-tf. .
r VV.AT1 .Z. P. H« FARR.
T71EATHERSTON & FARR, Attor
11 NF.V3 AT La^, and Real Estatf. Agents,
Clarendon, Arkansas. Will practice in the
counties of Monroe, Arkansas, Prairie, St.
Francis, Jackson and Phillips. Particular
attention given to collections. References:
Madison, Ark., Hon. W. G. Beaseley, S. W.
Childress; Clarendon, Ark.. H. M. Couch,
Panola. Miss., Col. Calvin Miller; Coffeeville,
Mis?.. E. C. Walthall; Memphis, Tenn., 1).
M. DuBose. Esq., W. J. Webb ; Holly Springs,
Miss., W. T. Featherston; Washington, D.
C., Jacob Thompson._J)'17
T E. GATEWOOD, Attorney at
J Law, Dos Arc, Prairie county. Arkansas.
Win practice in the counties of Prairie, Ar
k-niha:, Monroe, St. Francis. Jackson, white,
Conwav, and Pope. He will give prompt at
tention to all busiuess entrusted to him.
OFFICE—Over Town Hall, (Frith’s
N, w Building.) first door._ febl3-tf
T W. MARTIN, Attorney at Law,
,1 Ues Arc, Prairie county, Arkansas. VV ill
practice in the counties of Prairie, Aikansas,
Monroe, St. Francis, Jackson and White.
liST Prompt attention given to the collection
of claims; also, the locating, selling and pay
ing taxes on land. gJT Office on Lyon street.
sept2(5-tf _
WILLIAM T JONES Attorney
at Law, Brownsville, Arkansas. Will
practice in the counties of Prairie, Jefferson,
Arkansas, Monroe, St. Francis^ Jackson ami
White. Prompt attention given to the collec
tion of all claims in the middle and eastern
part of the State. sept26-'f
SAM’l. W. WILLIAMS.w. L. D. WILLIAMS.
WILLIAMS &. WILLIAMS, At
* V tornkys at Law, Little Rock, Ar
kansas. Office on Markham street. One of
oin firm will be almost always at Brownsville,
where he can be consulted on professional
business, and will give his personal attention
to all matters in Law and Equity, entrusted to
them. d(?c4
r A. MOON, Attorney at Law,
J , General Collecting and Land Agent,
For tile Northern and Eastern Counties ot
Arkansas, Des Arc, Arkansas. octid
i. i j* ILLOWELX...W. D, JACOWAY.
nOLLOWELL & JACOWAY, At
torneys at Law, Dardanclle, Arkansas.
Will practice in the counties of Yell, Perry,
Saline, Pulaski, Prairie, Conway and Pope.
je2(j-tf
The African Slave Trade.
From tho Mississippian.]
To the Members oj the Southern Conven
tion:
Gentlemen:—This subject is assuming an
increased interest every day.
The ninth section of the first article of the
Constitution of the United States, is in the
following words:
“ The migration or importation of such per
sons as any of the States now existing shall
think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited
by the Congress, prior to the year 1808; but
a tax or duty may lie imposed on such impor
tation, not exceeding ten dollars for each per
son.”
This is the only section, or sentence, in the
Constitution, which alludes to this trade.
Under this clause, Congress lias assumed the
power to legislate, commencing in 1807, and
running up to 1820, when the trade was made
piracy. We deny any such power in Con
gress.
Up to the formation of the Constitution,
each colony, or State, possessed and exercised
tlie light to import Africans. If they have
not relinquished the right by that instrument,
they still possess it. Congress can take noth
ing, except what is expressly granted, or what
is absolutely necessary to carry out an express
grant, in the above section, it is strongly in
dicated that, after 1808, Congress shall have
the power to prohibit such “migration and im
portation;” but as that is a mere inference,
and no express grant is given, we hold they
cannot do more than levy a “ tax or duty” of
ten dollars upon each person imported.
If tho Constitution intended to invest Con
gress with the power, liovv easy it would have
been to say so in express language.
To our mind, then, the proposition is most
clear, that Ihe right to import Africans origi
nally belonged to the States, and not having
been “ delegated to the United States by the
uonsmuuon, nor pioniorted Dy it to me
States, it is reserved to the States respectively,
er to the peopleand as a necessary corol
lary, any of (he States may now import Afri
:ans, subject to a “ tax or duty” by the Govern
ment.
Nor are we deterred in the expression of
his opinion by the fact that the courts have
iecided differently. No human tribunal is
perfect; and judges are but men. New fights
ire being shed every day, around even cousti
utional questions. When this question was
idjudicated, it was new, and many of the
itatesmen of the South not only acquiesced in,
rut desired it settled in the way it was.
Slavery was then thought to be not only a
moral, but a political evil; and the African
have trade, a crying sin. Under such circum
stances, it is not strange that the courts should
rave taken a latitude in construction, not war
■uuted by the Constitution, ana which they
rvould utterly refuse now.
The States of this Union cannot consent to
rart with their rights, upon the assumptions
rf Congress, or the doctrines of the courts,
rreatures of their own making.
Upon the preservation of these rights de
fends the liberty of the people, and the exist
jr.ee and purity of the Government. Let them
je tamely surrendered, and the constantly ac
juiiiulating power at Washington will soon
nuke Uiis a consolidated and despotic Govern
ment, with all the elements of evil, and none
rf the qualities of good.
At this critical juncture, when the power
rf tile Government is likely to pass into the
lands of an irresponsible and reckless, and,
.ve will add, villainous Black Republican ma
ority, ready to plant its heavy heel upon
jvery thing Southern, it behoves the Stales to
.vatch, with double vigilance and care, all
heir original rights and powers. Take it tor
granted, however, that Congress has jurisdic
,ion of this subject, by what light do they
make the offense piracy ?
Piracy is as well defined as any crime known
,o criminal law ; not only by common con
;ent, lexicographers, common law, the statutes
>f all nations, but also by the laws of nations,
it is “ robbery upon the high seasand
leuce a pirate is considered “an enemy to
namkind.” By what sort of reasoning, or
egerdemain, can Congress declare the ptir
■hasing of an African in Africa, or kidnaping
i negro on the coast of Africa, or the sale of
in African on the high seas, or the landing of
m African in any of our ports, withthe iuteu
ion to make a slave of him, piracy?
As a legislative body, Congress can do
10'biiig except what legitimately belongs to
t as such. Whenever the fundamental law
ixpressly authorizes an act, it can be done,
md such other acts as necessarily grow out
if such pow er.
A proposition, self-evidently absurd, cannot
>e made good sense, or logical, by act of Con
fess.
Suppose Congress were to pass a law declar
..... lY. ...1..1 ... r. i ... ....... nu.lr nr
hut two an i two make five, or that a monkey
,vas endowed with reason, or that larceny was
nurder, does any one believe such a law
vould be legitimate or effectual? It would
re considered not only a dead letter, but ridi
culous. And why ? Because such matters
ire not within the scope of legislative func
,ions and jurisdiction.
The very organism of that body, the pur
coses for which it was constituted, the rules
>f common sense which govern all legislative
jodies, as well as their usages, prohibit Con
fess from doing that which does not appertain
:o its duties.
Apply these principles to the act of Con
rre-s making the African slave trade piracy,
Ind they show clearly that they have done an
ret in itself absurd and preposterous.
We apprehend this power lias been assumed
under the eighth section of the first article of
the Constitution, in which Us powers are enu
merated, to wit: “To define and punish pira
cies and felonies, committed on the high seas,
and offenses against the laws of nations.”
That certainly does not give to Congress the
power to make any ether crime piracy, which
is not recognized as piracy, by the laws of all
nations. It certainly does uot mean that if a
man was to commit a rape, while sailing from
Afr ica to Charleston. Congress may rightfully
declare it piracy. “They shall defiue and
punish piraev,” etc. The term “piracy,”
used in the sentence, is an express limitation,
and shows that nothing more was meant than
that Congress might more fully and more spe
cifically “state and define piracy, so that no
quibbles and subterfuges should screen otieud
ers. If it had given to Congress the power to
define what offenses committed on th ■ high
seas should constitute piracy, then the as
sumption would be iounded upon more plau
sible giouuds. In the same sectiou of the
Constitution, Congress has power « to regulate
commerce with foreign nations.” Should the
advocates of this law claim the power under
this sentence, they would be aiming Congress
with a power, not only “to regulate ” but to
destroy commerce with foreign nations, tor
if the right can be exercised with regard to
Africans, as an article of commerce, it Can be
exercised with regard to any other article of
commerce; and Congress could ^declaie the
purchase of iron in Cuba, a blooded horse in
Arabia, a Cashmere goat in Persia, a bag of
coffee in Cuba, or a yard of silk m China,
piracy. This would be regulating commerce
with foreign nations, with a vengeance.
Looking at this question, then, from every
stand-point of constitutional construction, w e
cannot resist the inevitable conclusion, that
Congress has assumed a jurisdiction and power,
not legitimate and proper.
Property in slaves is recognized by the
Constitution of the United States, indeed it is
the only property \vaich is recognized by that
instrument. Not only so. but a guarantee is
given to those who own them, that it they es
cape into another Stata? they shall be deliver
ed up. Notwithstanding this clear, and ex
plicit recognition, Congress has passed a law,
making it piracy to import one from Africa.
In a moral or legal point of view, wliat is the
difference between bringing a slave into Mis
sissippi, from Africa or Virginia. If the tine
be unlawful why not make the other equally
so ?
In this incongruous and paradoxical situa
tion. the government presents the strange po
sition of encouraging and protecting slavery,
in her fundamental law. and having in her
code, extraordinary penal laws against slavery.
One or the other, is a stigma and blur upon
our national escutcheon.
As the one is the act of our fathers, who
wen our liberties and framed our Constitution,
and the other the act of their degenerate sons,
we cannot hesitate as to which should be ex
punged from the statute book.
Slavery occupies not only a high and lofty,
but a sacred position among us. Our Constitu
tion recognizes nnd protects it. and our eagle
is to defend and shield it. This day, instead
of having four war vessels on the coast of
Africa, to capture and swing tip fo their yard
arms, our seamen as pirates, who go therefor
a negro, our Government ought to have the
same force there, for the purpose of shielding
them, under the ample folds of her flag,
against the assaults of all nations.
Instead of hunting up with the harpies of
the law. and charging and convicting citizens
before the courts, for bringing slaves upon
our coasts, they should be planting their can
non to protect them when they come, and wel
come them home, with open arms.
We believe slavery not only ail element of
national wealth, but of national strength.—
Four nyllions of slaves occupying that por
tifiMnf n::r ; ■ n ; u, lr v s I most n liflftr the vertical
l ays of d'fivjiical sun, where it is tuoraliy
impossible for the Anglo Saxon race to rlo the
necessary labor, growing not only provisions
t’or exportation but three million bales of cot
ton annually, worth from one hundred and
twenty to one hundred and fifty millions of
dollars, is an argument so gratifying and con
clusive, that it needs no comments or adjuncts
to sustain it.
Why are negroes now selling for such high
prices? Is it because cotton is so high, or be
cause thpir labor is so remunerative? It is
neither the one or the other, because labor is
so scarce. Supply the demand, furnish plenty
of laborers, and the price of negroes will go
down at once, nor will it lessen Ihe production
of the slave States. The planter who works
twenty hands will make as many bales of cot
ton when those hands are worth ten thousand
dollars, as when they are worth twenty thou
sand. His income, and not the price of his
labors, is the true criterion and standard of
his wealth.
If we were all negro traders, and our ne
groes were for sale, the reduction of their
price would lessen onr individual and national
wealth ; bur as we desire to purchase more in
stead of selling those we have, it matters not
what their price may be, since they will do
the same amount of labor at one price as an
other.
To show the scarcity of labor in the South,
and the absolute necessity of more, to de
velop the agricultural and other resources of
our country, and at the same time to elevate
onr sectioii to the highest condition to which
it is capable, let us look at the statistics as
shown by die census of 185(1. The slave
States contain an area of oue million of square
miles, or Six hundred and forty millions of
acres; of this, only one acre in ten has been
improved, and this includes all that has been
fenced, and used for enclosed pasture.
tn the Soulh-western States, whore the best
lands lie. only one acre in twenty has been
improved ; and in the Mississippi bottom
proper, and the bottom lands of many of its
tributaries, not one acre in every hundred has
been improved.
Lying as these lands do, almost in the tor
rid zone, and much of it covered with water,
and subject to miasma. &c., it never can, or
will be impiovcd, but by the aid of the Afri
can race.
Out of this immense domain, much of it
the richest and most productive land on the
globe, only five millions have been planted
ill cotton. Can we not, indeed, ought we
not, very soon, plant ten, yes, twenty mil
lions of this land in cotton, and still have
more than enough left for grain, pasture, tim
ber. &.C. ?
He is but a short-sighted political econo
mist who does not perceive from these facts,
that we want more labor in the South, and
that is the main cause why labor is so high.
We have in the State of Mississippi bot
IUMJ milU CUUtlgU; »* 11U.H liui owvw wv.
reclaimed, to employ every negro in her
limits ; and we have enough on the Missis
sippi liver and its tributaries, to employ every
slave in tire United States.
It is asserted, that these facts taken as true
and the result verified, would ruin us by re
ducing the price of cotton so low, that il
would not pay to grow it. This argument
is more specious than solid : indeed it is
utterly false. The demand has, and will al
ways keep pace with the supply, until you
reach the maximum which the cotton belt i;
capable of producing.
The highest prices we have received have
been upon the largest crops. When the man
ufacturers know they will get a supply, they
prepare for it, and divert none of their laboi
or capital.
Cotton is not only king among the kings of
the earth, but is now. and will continue to
clothe the teeming millions of those kings.
A treaty has been recently ratified with
China, which will open a market for tha
fabric to four hundred millions of her people
It has already, to some extent, supersede
many articles formerly much ueed, in fact, i
is threading its Way into, and intermixing it
self into almost every article of clothing now
worn. Your woolen goods are often half, am
sometimes three-fourths cotton ; and many ol
your fine si Iks receive their elasticity if no
their stripes from cotton. Your linen shirts
are now made of cotton, and your silk hat
are nearly three-thirds cotton. No dange
from that source to the cotton grower
When you reach six millions of bales, yot
will get good prices, and when you read
ten millions of bales, yon will rea’ive a
much. But suppose it were to lower th
price- of cotton, and bring it down to eigh
cents, or even lower than that, still we cat
afford to grow it, and mck-' money. Giv
us, then, more and cheap operatives, and w
would not only have the will, but be enable
to diversify our labor, and improve ou
country. We would build our own vessel
anu steamboats, railroads and dirt road
erect manufactories and foundries, build ou
levees and dikes, beautify and make comforta
ble onr dwelling houses and negro cabin;
and fling over the whole face of country
smilinT cheerfulness which is alwaysevidenc
of ‘prosperity and happiness.
It >s asserted, too. that the slave-holders c
the South should he opposed to re-openin
this trade, for the leason that it will lesse
the price of the slaves they now on u. Ilii
it will most ceitainly do; and is one of th
most forcible reasons why we advocate it.
Have we not already shown that ihe pric
of his operatives has nothing to do with th
remuneration of their labdrV His object i
to matte money, ana add. to hu available
force. ITe can, therefore,” Vviui the .same
annual income buy twenty, instead of ten
hands. The slave-holder-;,’ above all others,
are most interested in the reduction of prices;
it is the property he wants, and the lower the
price, the more they can buy'.
They are interested In another way In this
question. It is no speculation or imaginary
interest, but a vital interest. It is in lire
permanency and stability of the institution.
Every steamboat or rdtutond gar that comes
from'the North or East is freighted With t;e.
groes purchased in Maryland, Virginia, Ken
tucky or Missouri. Yon hare now no other
maiKct, and negroes you will have, cost
what they may. Every negro you bring
from these States, you lessen the strength of
the institution there. One main reason which
induces them to sell, is (he hjgli prices. You
are therefore, first tempting them to sell and
then paying them to abandon the institution.
Lower the prices and get your supplies else
where, and these States will be compelled to
he loyal to the institution, and to stand by
you in weal or woe ; but buy all they have
and they will no longer sympathize with,
much less stand by you. As a matter then, of
self-defence and self-preservation the slave
holders should seek another market from
which to get their supplies.
But there is still another reason why the
slave-holders should not only desire, but de
mand the trade to be re-opened. It is that
this species of property may bo more gene
rally diffused among our own people. Our
own’ census discloses the startling fact that
less than one-third of the voters in Mississip
pi are slave-owners. The same state nf af
fairs, or nearly so, exists in most of the cot
ton States.
if they should come to the conclusions to
which the Abolitionists are now stimulating
them, they will be much more fenrfiilly to be
dreaded than all the Sewards; Hales, and
Garrisons north of Mason and Dixon’s line.
It is a sleeping lion among us, and smoulder
mg volcano beneath us. l'.veh under our
distribution and exemption laws this thing
must and will continue, under the present high
prices. A non-slave-holder can scarcely ever
hope to be able to buy a negro while lie has
to pay fifteen hundred dollars for one, but
when they sell for half that sum, he can and
will liny. The policy of enabling every man
among us to own a negro, must strike every
one with force. No conllict of interest would
then jar upon (he body politic. No legisla
ting for classes growing out of this species of
property. No jealousies against those who
own, by those who do not, and no domestic
foes could then be found in our camp. One
common interest and one common destiny
would stimulate and await us all ; and when
the time comes that we shall have to defend
this institution With more than talk, union
among ourselves-will make us impregnable.
This desirable and necessary consummation
cun never take jdace while neg'oos are so
scarce and so high. Re-open this trade and
reduce th-- price, and it will gradually be ac
complished.
Another objection, alike unsustained, is,
that if this trade is re-opened, our country
will be overrun and surfeited with negroes,
and that eventually we will have to abandon
the country to them. By reference to the
statistics shown above, it will be perceived
that danger is at once di-sipated.
We have now two whites to one liiack in
the slave States, aiul lib one can doubt that
if the matter were reversed the danger would
be as little as it mow is; indeed, you may
make the blacks four to one, yes, eight to
one, and still the danger is imaginary.
Whenever the demand is supplied wo will
cease to buy, and of course they will cease to
be imported. Like all other trade, it will
regulate itself.
In Athens, there were thirteen times as
many slaves as free people. In Sparta, the
very cradle of liberty and Gibraltar of strength,
tin re wove thirty-one thousand free citizens,
and two hundred and twenty thousand H'dots,
who were degraded slaves, and one hundred
and twenty thousand intermediate people, not
entitled to political privileges.
According to Gibbon, there were as many
slaves as free citizens in the whole Roman
empire at onetime. No inconvenience result
ed to those nations; nor will it ever be the
case with us, if the people are left to govern
their own slaves, without the interference of
the government
These objections are fallacious and delusory
when applied to our present limits, and when
applied to the limits wc intend to have, and
will have, they scarcely deserve notice.
To re-open this trade, the South would ac
quire political strength. Every live Africans
imported would be equal to three white men.
God knows we need it ; for already has the
North manufactured her ropes and forged the
chains to bind us hand and toot. Already by
Ihp infl'ionpp nF PiniP’ranfrlmvp t.hftV swoIImI
their population, anil settled up their prairies,
and cut down their forests, until they out
number us, more than two to one.
One leading reason why the resources of
the South are developed so slowly, is because
we have no labor to spare from the farms al
ready opened, and hut few emigrants come
among us. Re-open the African slave trade,
and give ns plenty of cheap labor, and our
deep forests will soon fall by the woodman’s
axe, our wide prairies will groan under the
rich, ripe harvest, and our wilderness literally
blossom like the rose 5 and. at the same time,
our influence in the government will rapidly
increase.
Texas has been in the Union a dozen years,
and her settlements are hut Specks upon her
broad surface j while the wild Indian and the
buffalo roam undisturbed, where the plow
man's farrow should he seen, aud the median
ic’s hammer heard.
Arkansas, t.00, has been a Statemuch longer
and yet she has but two members of Congress
while her rich minerals and broad plains, anr
productive savannas, still remain undisturbed—
all for the want of cheap labor.
No one doubts the frteigy and enterprise ol
the So .'hern people. Give them the means
and they will almost tunnel under the Sun U
accomplish their ends. Tied down as the)
; aie now, by these stringent and uncons)itu
tional laws of Congress, they ate compellet
to linger like a great sloth.
Gentlemen, having briefly stated the const!
, tional argument, and, as we hope, shown no
only the policy, but the absolute necessity o!
1 re-opening this trade, what should be done bi
1 the people of the South, and wh it should h
| doue by your body, about to assemble 1:
t Vicksburg?
Shall we, and will you advise us to stam
■ still, until a heartless'and fanatical majority
: shall get possession of the Government, whlci
i j will no! only not repeal those obnoxious laws
I but pass others,still more stringent and odious
> I Shall we fold our arms still longer, while lb<
, rights of the States are crushed and mangled
1 and the colossal consolidation principle b
- inaugurated and mare firmly established, a'
. Washington?
ft We do hope not. Let us act together, an
e demand of Congress the repeal of these abomi
liable laws If we fail in that, which is no
f at all improbable, then let each State act npo
j her reserved rights, and puss laws treating J
a Africans landed on her borders as slaves, an
s protecting those who own them, in the sum
e manner that ;he would those landed from Vii
ginia.
e We need not “ lay the flattering unction t
e our souls” that the times will be better, or th
s moment more propitious. Revolutions neve
go nacKwswu, noi was power ever Known 10
uncoil her complicated folds, or relax her
deadly gi asp. This fell spirit of fanaticism
will struggle and battle to the “bitter end,”
and strike slavory whenever and wherever a
blow will tell.
Although we may not. be permitted to send
out our vessels to bring in Africans, yet. under
the atgU of State Rights, we can defend slavery
npoi our own soil.
I. N. DAVIS.
Asiiwood, April 14, 1R.'9.
-- •-■
The Battle or Lexington.—The
following incident ol the batile of Lexing
ton, which commenced the American rev
olution, is related iu the Historical Mag
azine :
First Gun Fired by an American at
the Battle of Lexington.—The first Amer
ican who discharged his gun on the day
of the battle of Lexington was Ebenezer
Lock, who died at Deering, N. H., about
fifty years ago. He resided at Lexington
in 1775. The British regulars, at the or
der of Major Pitcairn, having fired at a
few “ rebels” on the green in front of the
meeting-house, killing some and wounding
others, it was a signal for war. “The
citizens,” writes one, “might be seen
coming from all directions, iu the roads,
over fields and through the woods—each
With his rifle in his hand, his powder-horn
hung to Ins side, and his pockets provided
with bullets.” Among the number was
Ebenezer Lock. The British had posted
a reserve of infantry a mile in the direc
tion of Boston. This was in the neigh
borhood of Mr. Loclc, who, instead of Iras
idling to join tlio party at the green,
placed himself in an open cellar, ala con
venient distance for doing execution. A
portion of the reserve was standing on a
bridge, and Mr.Loek commenced firing at
them. There- whs- no other American in
sight. lie worked valiantly for some
minutes, bringing down one of the enemy
at nearly every shot, Up to this time not
a shot had been fired elsewhere by the
rebels. The British, greatly disturbed at
loosing so many meli by the random firing
of an unseen enemy, were not long in dis
covering tiie man in the cellar, and dis
charged a volley of balls, which lodged on
tiie walls opposite. Mr. Lock within, re
maining unhurt, continued to load and fire
with the precision of a finished marksman.
Hu was driven to such close quarters,
however, by tiie British on tiie right and
left, that he was compelled to retreat. He
had just one bullet left, and there was now
but one way to escape, and that was
through an orchard, and not one moment
was to be lost; lie leveled his gun at tiie
tnau close by, and shot him through the
heart. Tiie bullets whistled about him.
Lock readied the top of a hill, dropped his
gun, aud throwing himself upon tiie
ground, tumbled downwards, rolling as if
mortally wounded. In this way he escaped
unhurt. At tiie close of tiio war he re
moved to New Hampshire, where he re
sided till his death, twenty years after.
He lived in seclusion and died in peace.
-♦ • ♦
Fiimalb Arts.—The Providence Post
lias tiie following very sensible remarks in
relation to the arts of the female sex to at
tract the notice of gentlemen :
Newspaper editors have a great deal to
say against the kind of education which
our young ladies get, and tiie arts which
they resort to, in attracting the notice and
winning the affections of tiie gentlemen.
They should remember that the young la
dies arc educated for a market. A modest,
plain speaking, unaffected, and very art
less young lady will stand little chance of
getting a husband, where gew-gaws, low
necked dresses, simpering, giggling, flirt
ing and scheming are advertised for. Is
it not shamefully true that the best young
women are overlooked, even by very sen
sible young men, in their search for wives,
iirkil«-» ilu> kni tsa r /I nxi nrn mnrrioil nff
scores? Undoubtedly, the sensible young
man says to himself, when he sees these
two characters together, that he would
much prefer the artless, modest, plaiu
speaking woman for a wife, but at the
same time he prefers the butterfly for
flirting purposes; and he finds a year af
terwards that flirting led to marriage, and
marriage to wretchedness. Whose fault
is it more than his own?
Bathing in the Dead Sea.—A pleas
ant correspondent of the Boston Post,
writing from Jerusalem, thus humorously
describes his Dead Sea bath :
The Dead Sea has nothing of the des
olation which it has been the pleasure of
travelers to describe, and it seemed to
smile at the secret dread with which it in
spires the pilgrim. I, of course, look a
bath here; and for a swimmer who has a
fancy to keep his legs as well as his head
out of water, I can imagine it must be
quite pleasant. My French friend, who
is not a little inclined to corpulency, com
plained that he could not get down into
the vvater, and floated about, now one side
up, now another, for all the world like an
' ■ inflated biadder. On emerging from the
1 water it was rapidly evaporated by the
sup; and tLe salt crystulizing oil our
bodies, gave us the appearance of anima
1 ted sticks of rock candy, or a family re
semblance to Lot’s wife. With a sensa
tion upon our skin, as if we had been
pickled for family use, and with a taste in
our mouth compounded of Glauber salts
and assafcetida, we concluded that one bath
1 iu the Dead Sea was enough for a life
- time.
t --
-Phillips, the Irish orator, sjieaks thus
1 feelingly of his birthplace: “ There where th<
scenes of my childhood reminded me how in
- nocent I was, and the graves of my father:
admonished iue how pure I should continue. ’
-When the heart is out of tune, the tongiu
i seldom gives good music.
jrrnm me mew rone rose.
THE UNDER DOG IN THE FIGHT.
BY DAVID BARKER.
I know that the world, that the great big world,
From the peasant up to the king,
Has a different tale from the tale I tell,
And a different song to sing.
But for me—and I care not a single fig
If they say I mu wrong or am right—
I shall always go for the weaker dog,
For the under dog in the fight.
I know that the world, that the great big world,
Will never fur a moment stop,
To see which dog may be in the fault,
But will shout for the dog on top.
But for me, I shall never pause to ask
Which dog may be in the right,
For my heart will beat, while it beats at all,
For tile under dog in the fight.
Perchance what I’ve said, I had better not said,
Or ’twere better Pd said it incoo. ;
But with heart and with glass fill’d chock to
the brim,
Here’s a health to the bottom dog.
Exeter, Me., March, 1859.
An Amiable Amusement of the Lion.
Among the numerous fearful stories
with which Gerard, the French Lion
Hunter, regales his readers, we find the
following description of a n a it in the
character of the king of beasts :
The lion treats a man very differently
from any animal that he is accustomed to
kill for food. If he kills a person who
has fired at him he never eats the bodv.
If lie meets ia his nightly promenade a
man well clothed in burnous, his experi
ence shows him that he is not a marau
der, and he may either kill him for food,
or if the fancy happens to take him, he
will kill him by fear, little by little, just as
a pastime.
In the first case he will give him bare
ly time enough to say his prayers, and
then bounding on him, will crush his head
with a single bite, instead of strangling
him. as he is accustomed to do with other
animals.
In the second case, he sometimes will
bar the passage of the unfortunate fellow
by lying down before him, and then he
will walk along by his side, purring nud
showing his teeth like a tiger. Some
times he makes believe to go away and
leave him alone, and then making a long
detour he will conceal himself along the
path, and charge at him with a roar.
Sometimes he crouches down iike a cat
and bounds on his victim, who gives him
self up for lost, but the tantalizer only
knocks him over with his paw, or, walk
ing around him, strikes him in the face
with a blow like a flail his muscular tail.
At last the victim succumbs to the agony
that is greater limn a thousand deaths, and
dies of fear.
These pastimes of the lion, that as one
can well imagine have never been told by
the victim himBelf, are reported by his
comrades, who having been in company,
sought safety by flight, by taking refuge
on rocks or trees, while the poor soul that
was captured, too much frightened to imi
tate their example, died before their ex
ample, died before their eyes of terror,
while they could do nothing for his relief
but pray to the Prophet, who only heard
when it was too late to save.
These attacks, so horrible in their fas
cination, have given a certain semblance
ot proot to the universally accredited be
lief in the magnetizing power of the lion.
-♦« «
Gen. Jacicsona.no the Minister.—
In the editorial correspondence of the
Nashville Advocate, appears the follow
ing interesting reminiscence :
I must tell of an interview with Gener
al Jackson, which brother Stringfield
with myself had, about twenty days be
fore the General’s death. We were rid
ing along, and called at the Hermitage.
General Jackson was sick, and not see
ing company, but the name of Thomas
Stringfield was a password. Stringfield
had been a soldier under him—a Chris
tian soldier, he was converted at eight
years of age—and through the war was
steadfast and brave. We were shown
into a room where the old warrior and
statesman sat feebly in bis arm chair.
The greeting between him and my broth
er Stringfield was hearty, it was like the
meeting of brothers long parted. The
sight of his soldier in arms, and the
thoughts recalled, put the old soldier in
tear3. They coursed down his furrowed
cheeks. Gen- Jackson was a man of
tears notwithstanding his iron nature.
* Ah, Mr. Stringfield, what times hare
been since we first met! You were a
I boy, in *a camp at Eumucfaw. and your
head was bleeding from an Indian bullet.’
So it was, and brother Stringfield’s
forehead bore the scar to his grave. He
was a modest man, and quickly turned the
conversation from himself.
1 Well. GeneraTT you are weak and
failing now, how is it with your soul?
What are your prospects beyond the
grave ?,
To which Jackson replied :
* My friend, I am not afraid to die.’ A
pause—My hope is in the Redeemer of
the world; if saved, I shall be a sinner
saved by grace.’
The place was turned into a sanctuary.
We all wept. The farewell was touching.
* Good bye, General; God bless you.
* Farewell, Mr. Stringfield ; I hope we
will meet where wars are no more.
And doubtless they have met—the
General and his soldier, not as at first,
but where,
a No rude alarms of raging foes,
No cares disturb the long repose.”
_^Ie is the wisest and best man who
crowds the most good actions into now.