m
i'i'.
SPEECH OF HON. WM. C. RIVES.
Mr. Rivea began by remarking that th« habits
and pursuits of bis life for niaDj years past bad
removed him entirely from scenes of political ex
citement. I have no desire, he said, again to en
gage in them. While I had a public duty to per
form I endeavored to discharge it honestly, faith
fully, and to the best of my ability, more anxious
to serve than merely to please my constituents.
Cherishing with sincerity the principles I brought
with me into public life, I could not, as an honest
man, change them at the bidding of party. My
services were no longer acceptable, and I have
since lived a private citizen, contented and hap
py, with no complaints or regrets in the px'^t—no
aspirations in the future.
But, fellow-citizens, I should be sorry to say
that 1 have lived an unconcerned spectator of
public events. In a free country every citizen,
the humblest and most obscure, as well as the
highest, has a patriotic duty to perform in watch
ing over and defending, acconting to his op}>or-
tunities. the precious dcpo.sit of tlie public liber
ties. Candor compels me to declare that, from
time to time, I have seen much cau.se for patriotic
anxiety, but never so much as at the pre.-^ent mo
ment.
It is this conviction which has induced me—I
may ssiy constrained me—not without m;iny strug
gles against the force of habit and that love ot
retirement which grows stronger by every day’s
indulgence, to apj)ear before you. in obedience to
the flattering call tliat has been made upon me.
I know how incapable 1 am ot adding, by any
thing I can .say, to the force of the many able
and eloquent appeals that have been already ad
dressed to the intelligence and manliness of the
country; but, powerless as my voice is, 1 feel that
1 should be recreant to the duty of a good citizen
it I were not to raise it in such a cause, while,
there may be one of my countrymen willing to
listen to me.
I do not appear before you to plead for the
triumph of a party. No, fellow-citizens; it is a
far higher cause which now demands the exer
tions of us all. A bold and unblushing corruption
has invaded every department of our National
Administration, which, if not promptly and vig
orously checked by the sovereign rebuke of the
people, must soon en^ulph the public liberty,
as it is rapidly undermining the public morals.
The wisdom and valor of our ancestors be
queathed to us noble free institutions, which were
intended to place the public liberty securely un
der the guardianship of the public virtue. It is
these noble institutions which daring official
abuses, emboldened by impunity, would now per
vert to the destruction of Liberty, by undermin
ing every guarantee provided for its security—
even the virtue and patriotism of the people
themselves. Shall not, then, rally to their
defence, one and all of us? Shall we be told
that this is the cause of a party’ Believe me.
fellow-citizens, it is the vital cause of constitution
al freedom—the common cause of every Ameri
can citizen, Democrat. Whig, or by whatever
party denomination he may have been hitherto
known, who values his birthright, and is manfully
determined to defend it.
That I have presented to you no exatrgerated
picture of our public situation is unfortunately
too well established by facts, now of universal
notoriety. Revelations brought out during the
late session of Congress have placed them be
fore the public in a form not to be questioned.
Look at the report upon public printing, and
you will see there how elaborately and ingeniously
in that large department of the public expendit
ure, corruption has been organizcl inti* a .>jy.-^teni
to multiply bribes to the employees and support, r.-
of the Government. Every contract, whether
for paper, for printing, for lithographing, for en
graving, has been so managed as not only to
yield a rich harvest to the contractor himselt, but
to the officer of the Government who nwards the
contract, and to the intermediate agents emj.loyed
as brokers to procure it. Thus is a single job
made, by its ramifications, to enlist and remuner
ate a dozen or more political retainer.s, at un e-
normous oost to the Treasury; for the prices al
lowed to the contractor must be correspondin^rlv
high, to enable him to p.iy the customary tribute.'
to his patrons and a.ssociates.
And this rank scone of corruption has been
passing under the very nose of the i.lovernment
in the city of Washington. One of these leviers
of black mail, one who received the modest sum
of 839,000 for his good will and putrunage in the
s^lc and brokerage of public contract.-, was but
the other day owner and conductor of the o^icial
organ of the Government, and is even now, we
are told, public printer in fact, though not in
name.
Look now at the huge report ma.Se upon the
operations in the navy yards ot Philadelphia and
Brooklyn—a document gigantic in its jmjpor-
tions, but yet more gigantic and startlin-r in the
official iniquities it reveals. [ have neither the
time nor the patience to enter into the dis^rustlriir
details ot these revelations. Jiut one glaring and
monstrous fact appears from them all—the sys
tematic employment of contracts for every va
riety of work and materials in both of the.'c 'vast
establishments, and that with the direct appro
bation of the Government itseli’ to reward par
tisan services, and to debauch the suffrages of the
people.
There you will see contracts involving lar«-e a-
mounts of the public money, directed by the Gov
ernment to be given, in open violation of law, to the
highest instead of the lowest bidder, fro n the .sole
consideration of the number of subsidized voters in
the employment of the preferred ])arty. whose suf
frages were required in the critical inoment of a
contested election. So minutely and svstemat
ically was this policy carried out in one of those
establishments [Brooklyn] that Democratic mem
bers of Congress representing the adjoining dis
tricts were formerly constituted by the Govern
ment its authorized agents for mak-ng an equit
able division of the public spoils among its sup
porters, and in this manner the yard wab filled to
the number of several thou.sand with worthless
and incompetent men, whose only claim to em
ployment was founded on political service, and
among whom, in the language of the report, ‘‘idle
ness, theft, insurbordination, fraud, and gross
neglect ot duty prevailed to an alarming extent.”
The developments made present the Gov
ernment a.s movir g in a constant circle of cor
ruption. First, t.he Government, with the pub
lic money, corrupts the contractors and their em
ployees to vote for members of Congr^.-,s; then the
contractors corrupt the members of Con^ress,
with a stipulated per centage, to procure them
other contracts; and finally, the members of Con
gress, by one species of influence or other, cor
rupt the Government to bestow the contracts
which they had stipulated to obtain.
But, fellow-citizens, I cannot follow out these
revolting details; there they are upon record,
where you can examine them for yourselves and
ponder on the mournful degeneracy of the public
morals they disclose, and upon your solemn duty,
aa men and patriots, to rebuke and correct the
evil. I have referred to these things with the
deepest humiliation as an American citizen. I
sincerely wish for the honor of my country that
they could be shown to be party libels; but, un
fortunately, the facts are too notorious, the know
ledge of them 1.S too wide-.sj,rcud and unlven-jal to
ot denial or .suppression.
Ihe whole air is tilled With theui; they are pro-
p»g»ted on the winds to the cornerB of the earth.
I What has made Washington, as the central seat
j of the Government, the public offices. Congress
itself, a by-word and reproach with the yet uncon-
I taminated mass of the people but the belief that
j corruption festers there, and is thence diffused
I like a subtle poison through every branch of the
j public Administration depending upon it.'' Have
i not Senators of the dominant party, elevated by
j their character as well as their position, openly
i procluinied in the Senate chamber their solemn
I conviction that the (Jovernment of the United
I States, of which they form a part, “is the most
; corrupt now existing on the habitable globe.''”
j The time is come then, when patriots and good
men of all political denominations must serlou.sly
I reflect upon the dutle.s which they owe to their
j country, irrespective of mere party considerations,
t If we mean to preserve the noble heritage uf Iree-
; dom which onr ancestors have transmitted to us,
now is the time to make the effort. Public n)o-
rality is the only basis on which free institutions
can stand. If that is once .sapped, the edifice it
self must crumble to the ground.
I have not been an inattentive observer, fellow-
citizens. of what has passed in other countries, as
well as our own, during the eventful epoch In
which wo live. I have witnessed the downfall ot
an ancient monarchy In Eurojie. I have seen a
constitutional representative tlovernment estab-
li.xhed upon its ruins; and in eighteen short years
I have seeil that (Jovernment subverted by a
revolution, to make way, after a brief and con
vulsive period ot anarchy, for a military despotism.
What occasioned the premature downfall of the
liepresentatlve Government of rrancc? It was
political corruption undermining at its base. Louis
I’hllippe and his .^Hnisters. instead of resting im
the virtue and intelligence of the country for
support, sought to rule it by an o])on ind shame
less system of corruption. The tdectivt franchise
being confined to a comparatively small portion
of the nation, and that fraction being itself cor
rupted by the lovernment. the ma.ss of the people
could right themselves only by revnlution; and
the Government fell.
Ft is a remarkable instance of the certainty
with which effects follow their causes in the po
litical world, that .^l. de Tocciueville, one of the
most profound ]>olitical philosophers in this or
any other age. announced from his place in the
Chamber »f Deputies, while all ^eemed sure and
stable in the eyes of the Government, that the
country was sleeping upon a volcano, and that a
revolution was at hand. And what was the
ground of his prediction? There had then been
no popular tumults, no public disorders, lie
pointed alone to the depravation of the public
morals by the mal-practices of the Government—
to the system ot political corruption it had intro
duced, and on which it relied—a.s the fatal cause
which must inevitably bring on a national cata.'-
trophe.
Now. fellow-citizens, I take upon myself, with
some knowledge of facts in both -ountrles, to .-ay
that, great as were the abuses then committetl by
the Government of France, they were in no re
spect greater than those which are this day re
vealed to us as habitually, systematically practis
ed by our own Government. Fortunately for as
our political institutions have, in the general right
1 of suffrage, furnished the people of America with
j an efficient intrument for the peaceable correction
: of these abuses, if they choose to make u.se of it
. This great rlLrht, Mr. JefTerson hxs emphatical
ly told us, is the appropriate and •■jjeaceahle cor-
! rective of abuses, which in other countries are |
. lo]ipcd by the sword of revolution.” But if the |
j people, enslaved by their party leaders, will uui
; ajij'ly the corrective, it is the 'ame thing as it
^ they had it not; and we must then, like other na
tions, run the rl>k of violent reactions and revulu-
tion.s. of which few can foresee the is>ue, when
they are once entered upon.
We have had impressive admonitions that these
are not mere visionary speculations, even in this land
of the largest liberty. What have already been
the results of the hcedle.-Js exerci.se or of the party
enslavement of the right of suffrage in the hands
of certain portions of the American people?
Have we not .seen vigilance committees forcibly
i supersetling in several large communities munici
pal governments that sprang from the forms of
popular election, but whose abuses and corruptions
were so great that the most virtuous and in iren-
eral peace-loving citizens co-operated in their
overthrow; and even those who gave existence to
them by their suffrages looked on and rejoiced in
■ their downfall?
^ And what is this but revolution? And m.iy
I not what has oc'ured in your cities occur, in pro-
1 cess of time, on the theatre *f the nation, if such
enormous governmental abu.>es as 1 have ex{»osed
j to you this day be permitted to go on, not only
uncorrccted, but accumulating, and acquiring a
j more daring boldness by impunity? Leave not. 1
■ hc.seech you, fellow-citizens, this dear native land
j of ours to the cruel alternative of a tame surren-
! der of its libeities, or of a fearful re.iort to a ri;vo-
i lutionary vigilance committee taking po.sscssion ol'
the (jrovernnicnt at Washington.
No, fellow-citizens; let us organize our Iciral,
constitutional, .salutary vigilance committees at
the polls. Let us throw off the debasing shackles
of party thraldom, and a.ssert the majesty and
sovereignty »>f the popular will. Let us resolve
by the poteni voice of our suffrages to exclude
from the high places of the Gc>vertiment those,
whether individuals or parties, who have in any
manner sanctioned, particij)ated in, or been ac-
I ces.sory to the gross and daring abus(;s which dls-
I honor the country, while they imperil its liberties.
I Ihe startling abuses which have been recently
! brought to light in the various branches of the
I public administration are not accidental, or oc-
: casional, or simply personal. They are the neces-
j .'ury, logical, inevitable .results of the system (»f
political morality embraced, and Indeed profc.ss-
ed, by the party in power. If the Government
is to be administered .solely for the benefit and
selfish Interests of a party, then, fellow-citizens,
your rulers have not been unfaithful to their creed.
With Democratic traditions, and even profes.s-
ions of simplicity and economy, your two last
Administrations have, in six years, carried up the
annual expen.ses of the (iovernment from forty to
eighty millions of dollars—(1 speak approxlma-
tively and in round nun)bers)—having exhausted
a surplus of twenty or thirty millions, and now
living from hand to mouth, on the beggarly and
ruinous expedient of loans; while at the .same
time we liave seen Democratic members of Con
gress, by an act of unprecedented cupidity, and
in violation of all decency, as well as the spirit of
the Constitution, doubling their pay, and voting
the increase into their own pockets by a retro
spective provision, and surrounding theni.selves,
at an enormous wa.sto of the public treasure, with
luxurious accommodations and extravagant allow
ances, that put to .shame all we read of oriwital
magnificence and self-indulgence.
With like professions of Democratic jealousy of
Executive power, your President modestly calls
upon the Representatives of the people to transfer
to him the power of peace atid war; to give him,
in effect, the sole treaty-making j)ower; to place
millions of the public money at his discretion;
' and to invest him with military protectorates over
foreign States. With the the same professed al
legiance to Democratic principles, he tramples
unde’* foot the sacred regard inculcated by the
I i'oundcr of the Democratic party for the freedom
j of elections, and brings the whole patronage and
j influence of his high office to control elections in
i the States, from the humblest representative trust
to that of Senator of the L’^nited States. Succeed
ing to the Democratic maxim of peace and honest
friendship with ull nutionu, he threatened all by
bellicose denunciations, in order to keep up the
flagging spirit of party devotion by factitious ap
peals to national pride and honor.
But I may go further, and ask it there is a
single principle of any .sort held in common by
the members of the now dominant party? The
favorite and prominent measures of the present
Administration are the thirty million Cuba appro
priation; the transfer of the war-making power;
the ^Ie\ican protectorate; the Pacific railroad; a
protective tariff"; and, until lately, the Lecompton
constitution, is there any union of opinion in
the ))arty upon a single one of' these uicasureis?
No, fellow-citizens, tlienJ is division and dissen
sion u]>ot> nil of them; flagrant intestine war upon
some; and upon others, it is nard to decide wheth
er a majority of the party agree with or difier
from their President and chief in the measures
recommended by him.
But still, with rare exceptions, they adhere to
and sustain him. As the living representative
and emln>diment of the party, he is to be su])[)ort-
ed at all hazards. The political ascentlancy of the
pa*‘tv—the ])ower of disposing of the offices, em
ployments. emolnm *nts, solid personal benefits oi
the (ifjvcrnment—is not to be jeopardtMl by indis-
cr‘et scruples about matters of so little conipara-
tive im)io(-lance as jirinciplcs and the gi iieral iti-
tt'resfs ol‘ the country. Smdi, fellow-citizens, are
the results ol’the modern .system of party di.scip-
liue—of the code of political morals inculcated by
the party in power. What is it but to proclaim
by their own act the justice of the .sentence pro
nounced year.' ago by a distinguishel statesman
of South Carolina: “that they are held together
only by the cohesive power of public i>lunder?”
( )ne of the chief arts by which this jiarty has
so long held possession of the (iovernment, to the
serious injury of the country and in spite of the
reprobation of their measures by a large and un
questionable majority of tht' people, is the fabri
cation of sectional issues ami the foment ition of
sectional jealousies to divlle the countrv', and
thereby to jirevent numerous masses of virtuous
and hoiiOral)le men in both sections, who cordially
agree in detestation oi their practices, from
uniting in any ethcient co-operation to displace
them from power. The great instrument of pop
ular delusion which they wield for this purj)ose,
and to which alone they owe their unnatural foot
hold in the .'^outh. is the lnce»ant and jiernlcious
agitation of que.itions connected with slavery.
They i>ut themselves forward as the s[»ecial and
exclusivt friend' of the ri;:hts of the .slave-hold-
ini.’' States. They officiously voluntt'cr to make
political 1.SSUC3 for the Soiuh; and when, by means
of these I’actitious Issue.s, they have intlamcd the
South, and secured her votes, a jiart of them
equivocate atxjut the nn'aning and import of their
pledges, and others lictray her into false and un-
tt'nable po.^ition.s, where she is doomed to hu
miliating deieat, and where. wor*e than all, she
is shorn of that which has hitherto constituted
her chief anl Ih itself invincible strength—the
prestige of a character for high moral princijik-
that wouM disdain coinmuni>n with fraud, un-
fairne.ss, or indiscretion of wny .sort. Let the
late Democratic f luirctus' iii> ut in the Senate of
the Tnited States on the true meaiiini: anl im
port of the Kaiisas-Ntdir.iska bill—let the hum-
iliatini: history and si*qucl of the Lecompton con
stitution and of the Ln^lish bill—-say how far
this representation i.s justiticd by tacts.
No, tcllow-eiiizens;never should the South consent
to barter her pritu-iplos ;ind honor for such miser
able, 'Uch delu'ive su .-porl as this, .'she ha.s never
_Mincd any thinL’’. slit never can gain any thin;:
l»v unhallowed political barLrains. Have we siisoon
forgotten that he who obtained her votes for the
Presidency as “the Northern man with Southern
princijiles ’ was afterwards the head and Presi
dential candidate .>f the frecsoil party? I lei
rights have a far better and high* r guarantee
than any political ccuublnation can give. They
are writ'.ei» in the Constitution of tlio country.
'I'herc. they are imjiregnable. Let us disdain to
hold them by any lower tenure.
political agitition can do them nothing but
harm. They aro under thtr sacred guardianshij.
ot a tribunal instituted for the «lefence of con
stitutional rights—a tribunal which no political
agitation can reach. That tribunal, in the serene
and undisturbed exercise of its lofty functions,
has covered them with the panoply of the na
tional justice. On each succe.'sivc question in-
volvinii the rights of the .''outhern States, as they
have aristii, upon the constitutional obligation
and validity of the fugitive act, upon the right of
transt'er from one .''tate to another free from the
control which had been claimcil under the pow
er of regulating commerce among ibe Statt->,
ujion the limits of ('ongresslonal power with re-
irard to the common territories of the Tnion—on
all these (juestions the supreme judicial tribu
nal of the I’nitcil States has, by its solemn and
irreversible judgments, surrounded the rights
and institutions of the South in tin* only points
in whi;h th»‘y have ever been supposed to be
oj>en to invasion with an impa.s.sable wall of dc-
I'ence.
He who would, under these circumstances, in
dulge any .serious ajiprcheiision of encroachment,
either from Congress or the other States, on the
rights and institutions of the South, must be a
very credulous or a very timid man. Such a man,
as Dr. Johnson said ol the no ]»‘peri/ alarmist in
his day, would have been apt to cry “fire” in the
midst of the universal deluge. 1 trust fellow-
citizens, there is no .son of A’irglnia who would go
farther in defence of the co'istitutional rights of
the South in case of any real danger than 1 would;
but, as 1 cherish her honor, as 1 value her rights,
I loathe and deprecate all simulated panics to
“fright her f'rom her propriety,” to seduce her
from her ancient loyalty to the cau.se of pure and
uncorru[)t government, and to enlist her in the
obedient service of a party that would practise u[»-
on her fears only to betray her princijtles and in
terest's.
Fellow-citizens, there is one real, one pressing,
one overshadowing and imminent danger which
threatens the whole country. It is the danger to
the public liberty, to jiubllc morals, to our free
institutions tlu mselves, from the wide-spread cor
ruption and abuses which have invaded every de
partment of 'ur National Administration. To
reform these abuses, to purify the (iovernment
from its pollut^ .n, to bring it b.ick to its accounta
bility to the people, to replace the public liberty
upon the firm pedestal of the public morals, to
“drive the money changers from the temple;”
this is a high and holy work of patriotism, which
demands the united and be.st exertions of all for
the honor and interest of all.
It is the common cause of good men and pa
triots every where—in the North, the South, the
East, the West. Shall we permit ounselves to be
diverted from so vital and exigent a work as this
by the stale device of the adversary in attempting
to sow divisions among the friends of honest re
sponsible government, by the revival of extinct
and pestilent sectional issues for which there is
no existing foundation—by the absurd cry of fire!
in the midst of the deluge of corruption which
overwhelms the land?
We have recently heard a most honorable and
truthful voice from the North,* speaking in the
name ot a numerous, fnlightened, and patriotic
body of our iellow-citizcMis there, declaring their
willingness and earnest desire to sink, hencefor
*Gov. Hunt, New York.
ward and forever, these mischievous and danger
ous i.saues in our national politics. From oppor
tunities of information, which a late visit of a
wholly private character to that portion of the
L'nion afforded me, I sincerely believe that this
is the unequivocal, the deeply felt sentiment of a
large majority of our fellow-citizens in the entire
Norfi. Shall we not accept this peace-offering,
and be willing with them to consign to the tomb
of the Capuletd—a tomb, alasi that already con
tains so many victims of unnatural strife—an ill-
omened controversy, which, by the impunity it
has liitherto ensured to unexampled official abuses,
has brought into the extremest peril those glori
ous institutions which the wisdom and valor of
Northern and Southern men united in establish
ing, and which their descendants are alike inter
ested In defending and per])etuatiug?
.\t all events, fellow-citizens, you are engaged
in a noble effort to vindicate the honor and liber
ties of your country. It is an effort worthy of
the ancient fame of Virginia—of the be.st days of
her patriotism and renown. The spirits of her
great men, who consecrated their lives to the cause
of constitutional f’reedom, look down with ap[)rov-
Ing smiles upon your struggle. 'I'here can be no
purer, no higher glory than to be the saviours, or
else the martyrs, of the yniljlic liberty.
Soulhirn linptlM ('oncculiun.—(jn Tuesday a
resolution was adojited recommending that the
last Week in duly be ob.served thnmghout the
South as a special season of prayer for the out
pouring of God’s spirit and the success of the
missionary cause; and that the frl(!nds of the
cause throughout the South be urged to raise
during the ensuing year ^25,000 for the furth
erance of mi.ssionary operations, domestic and
foreign.
The (’omniittee appointed to consider tfie mat
ter declined to recommend a change in the »-x-
isting Missionary system.
Dr. Manly, of S. ('., addrc.ssed the convention
In behalf of the 'I'heological School at (irecnville.
I n the course of his remarks he said that pro
fessorships had been accepted by Dr. Boyce, of
S. C., Rev. J. A. Broadus, of Va.. and Kev. IJ.
Manly, Jr., of Virginia. The fourth professor-
shlj) had been tendered to Rev. Wm. Williams,
ofGa. Rev. A. E. Dickinson, of \'a., has been
appointed (jcneral Agent for the 'J'heologlcal
School, throughout the South.
The ('onvention adjourned on Tuesday night
On .^unday, during the session of the (’onven
tion, ‘JH places of worship in and around lllch-
n»ond, suys the Enquirer, were oecuj)Ied by Baptist
Preachers, now in attendance in (’onvention here.
The reverend gentlemen .selected t'or this duty num
bered sixty, and were from all Southern States
except \'irginia. The degree of moral and j:(;r-
suaslvc eloquence displayed ye>.terday. in the
pulpits, by these gentlemen, has raiely been sur-
I'a!5sel in our midst. Some of the discourses
were jironounced to be master-pieces of thought
and talk.
(’rup Pnixptcli,— It is yet too early to form a
definite opinion of what is to f>e from present in
dications, but the general accounts from all parts
of the country are unusually flattering. 'I he
sea.son thus far ha.s been propitious. An abun
dance of rain has been succeeded by a spell ol
warm dry weather, that has given a wonderful
lmpui.se to vegetation, and will be worth millions
of dollars to farmers and .ngriculturlsts. The try
ing months of spring have passed without disaster,
and the contingencies of protracted drouths and
the ravages of insects alone remain.
It 1;; true that sonie .sections of the couiitrv
have not been thus favored; but such exceptions
to the general rule are always to be ex{iccted in
so exit iisive an agricultural area as our own. The
floods in the Mississippi valley have been most
ii.'a.strous to crops «;f every description; yet the
inundated di.strict.s comprise but amodicum of the
whole. Many of the Southern States, al.so, have
been visited by repeat-d and destructive hail
storms and .severe Irosts during the j>ast month,
but the damage done is comparatively trifling,
contrary to all exj»ectation, and vegetation is rapid
ly recovering from these drawbacks, in the West
copious and long continued rains and the appear
ance of frost.s have caused great ap{>rehensioiis of
a failure of the crops. Freshets, too, have con
tributed to the damage. Neverthele.ss, those who
were the most anxious are now hopeful, and coii-
tidently looking forward to an abundant harvest.
In the more Northern districts, where farming
operations are deferred by the colder climate, the
fruit crop and the winter wheat are alone liable
to itijury from late frosts, and from these we have
been unusually exempt.
In the long catalogue of cereals, the wheat oc
cupies the first attention, and respecting this the
accounts from most parts of the country are very
favorable, ('orn and cotton in the more Southern
States are in a very forward contlition. Rye, oats
and barley are chiefly rai.sed in the Middle, North
ern and Western State.^.and mature after the wheat
is harvested. Fruit, not only ;is a luxury but as an
actual necessity, is scarccly le.ss an object of in
terest than the grain crop. In this there is a
promise of a beautiful yield. After the scarcity
ot’the past two years, this intelligence will be
most cheerfully received.
A failure of the grain crops this year in many
of the Western States, after di.sastcrs of the p:ust
two years, would be most ruinous. This is par
ticularly the ca.se in Wisconsin, Iowa, and Indiana.
To these an abundant harvest will be invaluable,
since it will enable them to pay their obligations
which have long since maturetl, and put trade up
on a g»M)d footing once more. It is yet too early
to form a definite opinion as to the result in the.se
States. Present prospects, however, are encourag
ing. A few days may e.ssentially change these
pros{)Ccts for the better. The sea.son is so far ad
vanced that further injury can scarcely be done.
Jour, of Cont.
Advance in Brtadsfiijfi.—The war news from
Europe is creating great excitement in the bread
stuff's and provision markets all through the Cnit-
ed States. At New York, on Tuesday, flour fur
ther advanced l(Ja25 cents per bbl.; wheat oao cents
per bushel, and yellow corn sold at 05a98 cents.
Beef and pork also further advanced. During the
last five weeks superfine flour has advanced in
New York from 50 to 75 cents per bbl.. and
southern extra To cents to $1.75. The Couritr
says:
“The transactions on the corn exchange on
Tuesday foot up about 30,000 bbls. of flour, 50,-
000 bushels of wheat, 40,000 bushels of corn, and
20,000 bbls. of beef, pork, &c., to the value in all
of at least ?G00,000. This for the season, when
stocks and receij)ts of breadstuffs are much smal
ler than at other periods of the year, is a very
very large business.”
All the saltpetre in the New York market has
been withdrawn to await events.
Bank of Cajjt Fear.—The annual meeting of
the Stockholders of this institution was held at
their Banking House in this town on the I'Jth
i instant.
i The following gentlemen were appointed Diree-
f tors by the State proxy: P. K. Dickinson, W. S.
! Ashe, Jno Walker, John L. Holmes.
The following were elected Directors by the
stockholders: Thos. 11. Wright, F. J. Hill, W.
A. Wright, W. Bettencourt, John Wooster,
J. H. Flanner. James Anderson.
At a subsequent meeting of the Board of Direc
tors, Thos. H. Wright waiJ unanimously re-elected
President, and H. R Savage, Cashier.
Wil. Herald.
'I he only change in the Board is that the late
! Dr. A. J. DeRosset, Sr.. is succeeded by Jai.
Anderson, E.sq.
The Jcmrnal gives some other particulars:
“'I he amendments to the charter mnde by the
last Legislature were accepted. These amend
ments give the privilege of issuing three and four
dollar notes, and prohibit the issue of any notes
above five dollars except thoseof the denomiiiation
ten or a mutiple of ten, the object being to do
away with the O’s. 7’s. S’s, and ‘J’s.
“Another amendment regulates the mode of
settling balances between the C;ape Fear and other
Banks of the .'^tiite.
“A proposition to divide the surjilus fund, or
a portion of it. was rejected, and the whole matter
referred to the directors.
“A resolution was j>assed doing away with what
has 1,-een kn(nvn a,s the “Director’s privilege,” of
borrowing' on giving .security and paying
the intere.st thcretm. Directors hereafter stand
on the .same footing as other borrowers.”
[The Bank at f-’ayetteville ha.s for many years
refused to act on this “Dinictor’s privilege.”]
State Kduratiunal Assm iation.—At the fourth
annual meeting, to be held at Newbern on the
4th of June, it i.s announced in the Journal ot
Education, .several addresses will be delivered,
which will ado much to the interest of the occa
sion. It is exf)ected that the sessions of the As
sociation will be opened by an address from the
President, Rev. R. (’legg. of ()lin.. Prof. F. M.
Hubbard, of the L’niversity, and one or two others
(conditionally) have al.so con.sented to deliver ad
dresses at such time, during the meeting, as may
suit the Association. At the request of the As-
.soclation, Mrs. Delia W. Jones is expected toprc-
[■are “.\ specific report upon the studies and mode
of coinlucting Female Schools;” to be read before
the A.ssociation.
Re[)orts are expected from Committees appoint
ed at the last meeting, on Common Schools, Edu
cational Statistics. Normal Schools, and other mat
ters of interest, ojienint' a wide and interesting
field for dl.scu.ssion.
A’. I’. Swamp JjUiuls.—S. H. McRae Esq., of
Plymouth, .sold to Mr. (’. W. .Skinner of (Jbowan,
j and to Messrs. Augustus Lewia and Thomas E.
j Skinner of Raleigh, the other day, six thousand
acres of his reclaimed Swamp Lands for the hand
some sum of twenty five thousand dollars. A few
years airo the same lands could have been pur
chased for a mere nominal sum. Some years ago
Mr. McRae purchased a large body of Swamj>
land, and ujion discovering the sufierior qualities
of the soil, he turned his attention to canaling
and after a few years’ labor, ha.s succeeded in re
claiming one of the richest and most desirable
bolies of land in the whole southern country,
.'^ince these lands have been thoroughly drained
; they are ea.sily cleared and brought into a high
state of cultivation, and are said to be capable of
yielding from fif'tcen to twenty barrel.' of corn to
the acre; and are reputed to be excellent Wheat
and (’otton growing lands.
Had the Swamp lands of Eastern Carolina been
reclaimed years ago. as they will be at some fu
ture time, and brought into cultivation, their
value coultl scarcely be estimated by dollars and
cents; and to-day, instead of Eastern North Caro
lina presenting an unhealthy appearance, it might
be the most flourishing country upon the face of
the earth. Nature seems to have done more for
us than for any other people, yet we have not
profited by it. Mr. McRae has not only amassed
a fortune by reclaiming .Swamp lands, but he hais
opened the eyes of many who have been asleep
all their days as it were, and convinced them
what tan be done by a little patience and labor.
('. Timrs.
i'r'ipa,—'ihe Wilmington Journal, one of
whose editors has been to (hislow Court, savs:
“W e founii that the crops of every kind were
sufl’ering very much from the want of rain; on
Tuesday rain came, however—a perfect god-send.
It wa s general, and everybody at Court appeared
to be in better humor than jjreviimsly ”
The Raleigh .Standard says: “'I'he wheat croji
in this atid in the wi'stern part of the State is said
to be very promising. We have not heard of the
rust or fly beiiiir in it.
Attempt tn Burn a Circus.—An attack was
made on L. B. Lent’s circus company at Fred
erick, Md., on Monday, while they were per
forming, by a large crowd of rowdies. Two of
the circus men were badly hurt while protecting
their property. Two or three outsiders were hurt,
but not seriously. The crowd set fire to the side
canvass, which was burnt up. They also broke
one or two wagons belonging to the circus. All
the persons got out safe. The cause of this is
said to be the price of tickets, which was fif’tv
cents. The compan}’ refused to put the price to
twenty-five cents, which had been done by others
before them.
^■1 JIi7it to f\irm(i-..—We have always thought
it a poor business for a farmer to neglect making
his own meat and bread and some to spare, for
the purpose of making a large market crop of any
article, with the certain pn»spect of buying corn
and pork. A jirudent Beaufort farmer remarked
the other day, that when he found every body
was going largely into cotton, he concluded that
he would pitch in for corn and give cotton the
go-by for the present.— Wash. iV. C. Dispatch.
The I)i vision of California.—A bill for the di
vision of (’alif(jrnia has pa.ssed both branches of
the Legislature, and gone to the Governor for his
signature. This bill is entitled “An Act grant
ing the consent of the Legislature to the formation
of a diflferent government for the Southern coun
ties of the State,” and undoubtedly looks to the
erection of the territory thus set off into an inde
pendent State. The name proposed to be given
to it is the “'I'erritory of Colorado.”
South Crops.—Texas and Louisiana
papers of the oOth ult. bring gloomy accounts of
the condition of the crops in portions of those
States, most of the cotton and corn having been
seriously injured by severe frosts. In some fa
vored localities, however, the prospects were very
encouraging.
P.TAYIiOR
HAS now in Store, a general Stock of Staple
Dry CnoocIk, IlatM,
.And the best quality of
Family Groceries^ Hard-icare^
MMolloir-trtire,
Table anti Pocket Cutlery^
Topeiher with almost all articles usually wanted in
the trade of thi.s place.
-Vgent for the sale ofBENlJOW'S COTTON YARN,
TWINE. CANDLE WICK, &c. Store formerly occupied
by W. F. MOOllE, Esq., North-East Corner Market
Square. Call and see. p. T.VVLOR
April 30. 18ol>. 10-1 mi
I). W BOWM.\X.] rj{ J, MURCHISON
BOWMAN & MURCHISON,
NO. 113 MAIDEN LANE, NEW YORK.
TIBERAL canh advances mad« on Consignments o*
J Cotton, Naval Stores and Southern Produce generally.
Kero!>«eiie Oil,
T LGHT colored,—beat quality, for sale by
•M 8. J. HINSDALE.
ADDITIONAL FROM EL liOI'i-:
The Rusfo-Frtnch Allianre. The foil,
are the provisions of the Rus,soFrencli trc '
given by the Times: '
Russia binds herself, in the event of j
being at war with Austria, to assist I’ruii, . i* '
the co-operation of her fleets in the iiaiti,.
Mediterranean, and to place an army of "
men on the frontier of Austria. 'fhi, tl'p
says, is directed obviously auainst Kn
its existence is proof that entcrpriv.',,
tlius to be protQCtini, are such as it w.,uM i .
possible for England to allow to pass uik I, J] ' *
ed. The Times concludes that the liu."in, . V '
of observation is to excite insurrectioiij. aii " '
the Hungarians. I'he second conditinn '
that in ca.se Austria invades Sardini.t i’ ^
shall declare war against her within fit'ti-tn\i
of the violation of Piedmontese soil
The Times maintains that EnLrl.uid
no active part so long as the war i (
Italy, but if France aiul Ru.>.'‘i\ ^l.
Austria in Germany, or if Prussia "
under contribution in her tt*rritory, tl,. ,
would become no h^ss than a partui>.ii l ;.. ,
and the first principle of .self-pre>er\iitii.i, v,
comjicl us to consider whether we can l.est i,
ourselves on the continent or on our owii i ,|.
steads. However much we may dr ir-- tu ^
clear of these complications, the exiv;,.,,,.,. ..
great (ierman Power Is es.sential to our sii. n-
There are al.so statements
•y
that the French anl liussian govt rniii, uts 1 „
lately been procuring large sujij licv ,.}
surveys, \c.. of the English coa>t ami .-tuii.iii,
and of the English stations in the -M* (atcrraiirai.
and have llkewi.se been engaged inakinr
purchaiJes of coal, irre.spective of price urijunlii'
It is also intimated that exierisive ordei> fur tlm.’!
had been received from the SpanL'h Guvurniiniit
and the inference was, that Spain woiilii tLr!;,
herself into the arms of France. Tu. utv--.- [.
gun-boats, with ve.s.sels of a larger >iz;-, arcLu' ,.
Ing for the Spanish government. It i>
that Spain might, possibly, be actir;.^ the
of others. Larire quantities of irun.' ainl .M'jh ■
nition are being shij^ped for the .Meaib
and Malta.
The Paris Constitutionnel and Loii;'in !):i-
News deny the rejiorted alliance between 1 nui^’e
and Russia. The latter says that tlu- Uni-uih.ni
signed is a mere conventnm.
The following is an abstract of a leiter p.-r the
steamer Ff rsia, dated Liverpool. Ajjrit ;iuth;
‘•The papers of this morning contain a h
from Vienna dated Friday, iti which it :i|.j ar^
that the official papers thdre have aiin .uuec'i the
declaration of war by Austria against Saiaii.i:-,
“Revolutions have occur red in Tiiscaiiv .uiu the
Italian duchies, and all Italy will .sooii le in
blaze, in consequence of the annoiinc.iueiit
Sardinia, that on her banner is iLicribcd. - The
Independence of Italyl”
“The steamer leaves, at too ear!\ au L .ar to
give you any news of to day s markets. Kviiica
closed in Paris yesterday at OL'f.
"Such is the confusion and alaiui
that it is almost impo.ssible to preJier the recall
of the war on cottjn. Purchases can be ma le,
however, at halfpenny decline on lue wc.k.
“(’obden and Bright have been returtieu tv Far
liainent by large majorities.”
Snrdima.—'ihe following is a suniiu.iry ni dit;
King of Sardinia’s proclamation to th..- .trmv:
“The King regards the demand to disarm n- uu
outrage on him.self and on the n.atiiiii. and hi'
therefore replied to the demand with .'orn '
The King calls to mind Italy's cry oi an_iK.h,
and says, “I will be your captain. 1 haveiii-i •
your valor on the field of battle by the'i .. •:
my illustriouos lather, "ibis time you will lu\.
for your comrades the gallant French soldii i'—
your companions of the Tchernaya—whoiu ih-
Emperor has sent to support and defend our jii.'t
and civilizing cause. Forward to victory.' IjH
our banners, like our war-cry, be ‘the independence
of Italy.’ ”
WA.sHJN(iTOX, May IJ.
Imjiortant tu Mail Aijcnt.'i—The Post Otfii c
Department has decided to pay all mail route
agents quarterly, instead of by ihe month, a.i
heretofore.
Nkw York, May 1_’
Failure of Jarolt Litth. Once M'>r-.—.lacob
Little, the great Wall street stock broker, tailed
to-day. Liabilities will probably reach
Amcriran Tract Socicty.— The lit ci>luti'‘iii:^!>
Ayain l)f tated.—The annual meeting of the
American Tract Society last week, was of irruat
Interest, and decisive in its results. I'hc revo
lutionists were again defeated at all points. The
old officers wce re-elected almost unaiiiinon?!;.
Even Rev. Dr. Nehemiah Adams, of lloston, wim
is specially disliked by the revolutionists, becaii'c
he once publishel a South Side \’^iew of Slavery,
containing .some truths which they did not rdisli,
rt'ceived votes, out of a total of 841>.
T H K O Mj W O « I .Y I O \
Corree Pot^
H.\VIN(i become indispensable to all wlio have
it.s value,
A FRK^H SVPPKV
Has been obtained, among which is a lower-priced arii-
ticle, viz: 2 qt. at 1 50 and 3 qi 1 75.
ALSO,
Trivets for this Coffee Pot (or boiling vessels of any
sort,) at 25 cts.. Iron Coffee Pot Mats (or stands) at
“W'e record our own opinion formed only by drinkiuu
the coffee made in this Coffee Pot; but those more im
mediately connected with its preparation, are peificilv
delighted with the simplicity and economy oi tii«
process. —Southern Guardian, Columbia, S. C.
' For sale at “THE CROCKERY STORE.”
W. N. TlLLINtiinsT
7. rj-istf
KXIVES Ai\D FOKKS.
While Bone Handle with
prong .itefl Forks, very good, §] ;;5 |;.-r -e;.
White Bone Handle with II
prong steel Fork.s, 3 large Rivets in Handle, ven.
well fini.shed, and altogether a prime article. .Si [ ‘ i'
set.
Ivory Handle Knivew only, and
Knives and Forks of good styles at low prices.
—ALSt)—
.TIore ot' tlioi^e $$iiper Horn lip
balanced-Handle Knives and Forks at 5t».
Just received at “THE CROCKERY STORE.’*
W. N. TlLLINtiilA.'^T
May 7, 1859 iL'-ni
Second NIoek.
We are now receiving an unusually large •'stook uf
spRLNii ,i\D mm
Embracing a great variety suitable for
Mjadies^ ami €ien'Henien''s
-\lso, a large stock of
}Vool, Ca s.'iimere and IjPtjhorn flats, Bonn>^^.
Boots and Shoes, Ready-Made Clothimj, •. il'
.\11 of which were carefully selected by one of tin I'tr'' -
and will be offered to Wkolesale buyers at the lowe^i
Market prices. All orders will be filled with eare.
YARNS and SHEETINGS generally on hand at Fhc-
tory prices. H. & E. J LILLY.
Fayetteville, April 25, 1859. 8*i4t
Podopliillin, CiielMeinin,,
OTILLINGIN, LUPULIN, &c., ic. For sale bv
O 8. J. hinsoaU.
April 25 &-
fl
The
crats of I’it
in most of t
They recon
fort (’ounty
The Cau
trict. Mes
made ;?peec
We are i
are thorou'.
that Mr. 0
than it was
run in opjio
>Ir.- (Jiln
is publishet
we traii.sfor
interest to
who are Mi
After thj
fpntion. ex
candidate a
stances, oi
detraction,’
ratify the
speak of po
“Whib
Keprescnta
gress, 1 wai
on all occai'
whom I act
after the m
sincere jiur
could comn
that 1 cone
take, were
present to
“My vol
namely-
the Tnion,
comptoti t't
distracted
wishes of at
pie, was th
■ verily belie
distinction
woubl have
have consld
given any
South, I
degree (d
the conaervj
ed with my
ful anxiety
them States
I think I ki
ing and .'sou
while they
that 1.S fuirlj
under any^c
a maxim tlii)
own good
she 1.S gradu
other policy
I have too n
suspect her
knowingly
I tru't, ?he
get that iti
arc not witlu,
dined to do
and Lccompl
rejdy. Sutli
concliided th
at last was,
tenden, and
to I' (.1 I
thcni^' 11
is rapidly coi
as to the wis(
aft^r all, bad
ation of that
extremists,
that, li’ oti
judgment o
the facts, W(
oi tjie Count
would inevi
the people c
a bloody col
arms on the
unnecessarii
speed to all
who desire
“I am fu
in acceptiufi
tion has te
which so in
cd at me an
not yet low
demanded,
of “the Sou
is to preclpi
begets like;
and the Soi
the whole
Southern se
tional party
happy Stat.e
the Father
his most sol
ef the Sout
when I c(m
for her own
“Should
to place rue
the respt
try, throug
terinine the
adiniuistrat
P'dicy ot th
economy, i
*///(» tilt).-,
^nlllous of
itig million
peace au in
and up
taxed some
‘^'Jild a R;ii
I'nblic pluii
^he peopl ^
'-'d with mi
"without the
presentatlv
>i> the (.'ulj
“•e States s
'•tnerul C
shall be trt
"*y and \a
f'atlouii, en
Warning
^t«es shall
^^dl uiure
'^^‘ether the
offered an
^iized forei^
possession
eouhi
pi
the
^he agitiiti"(»
^ ^•ds end l
African^
^^de the du