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Xo. 4 6.
HALIFAX, X. C. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1S25.
THE "FREE PRESS,"
By George Ho-vartf,
Ts published cverv Friday, at
THREE DOLLARS per yeir,
consisting of 52 numbers, and in the
s;inie proportion for a shorter pe
riod. Subscribers at liberty to dis
continue at any time, on paying ar
rearages. Advertisements inserted at fifty
cents per square, or less, for the
first insertion, and twenty-five cents
each continuance.
Letters addressed to the Editor
musibtjiost Jmid.
Com Hiinicailons.
Par the Free Press.
NO. VI. j
But it may be asked, if Wel
don is not as healthy and as
well situated for health as Hali
fax? To this I answer express
ly and distinctly, that it is not
as healthy, nor as well situated
for health as Halifax. That.it
is not as healthy as Halifax is
clearly proved by the number
of deaths at each place; for the
deaths at Weldon far, far ex
ceeds in number the ricsths at
Halifax, in proportion to the po
pulation at each place. The
second question is answered by
statin that the situation of Ha
lifax for health is decidedly su
perior to that of Weldon. Ha
lifax has but one mill pond in
its immediate vicinity, and that
is a small one on a stream called
Quankey, which can never be
very unhealthy, as the extreme
height of the banks and the nar
rowness of the vale on which it
is seated, precludes its spread
ing to any great distance, or
having the baleful effects -of ei-
ther of the large mill ponds in
the neighborhood of Weldon;
so that though it is adjacent to
and rather south of the town of
Halifax, there is scarce any. bad
effects felt from it in the town,
not enough to occasion more
than a fever and ague, or some
slight disease of that intermit
ting class; for there are scarce
any diseases that are inflimma-j
tory known there as arising!
from the influence of that mill
pond. Indeed if that mill pond
was known, or even suspected
to have such dangerous effect?,
the amiable and public-spirited
family that own it, would suffer
it to remain in its present dila
pidated state sooner than jeop-i
ardize the health ot any mui.
yidual, or the interest of the
pi ace.
It is true that west of Halifax
there is a very large swam),
stretching along so.ith-eastward-ly,
but that is between three
and four miles distant, and is
th it kind of swamp that creates
scarce any vapour and emits but
little it any noxious miasma, as
it is whit is called a living
swamp; that is, the water is con
stantly running, and therefore
can never become putrid. The
trees in the swamp are all alive,
healthy, and vigorous, and
therefore cannot emit those poi
sonous exhalations, that are ever
tiie concomitants of mill-ponds,
v which every pore in the dy
ing and dead trees is a capillary
tube, pipe, or conductor through
which the most subtle and dan
gerous vegetable poison makes
its way from the rotten part in
to a:i 1 impregnates the air, to
tbo muiifist danger and injury
f the inh abitants. who fatally
:ffjr from its effects. This
swamp is susceptible of being
reclaimed by being ditched or
canalled so as to drain it com
pletely, which it would be the
interest of the proprietors to do,
as it will - give them a body of
ine nnest and most lerlile land
in the stale, capable of produc
ing in luxuriance every article
peculiar to, or cultivated in
North-Carolina, and thereby
greatly increase as well the
wealth of the individual propri
etors, as that of the country ger
ncrally, besides the great im
provement it must be to the
health of Halifax, and that part
of the country, to have it done.
Nor is the doing it chimerical,
for the effecting it would be nei
ther tedious, laborious, or ex
pensive, as is proved by the
work which was undertaken
and completed in Rocky swamp
by Col. Thomas Nicholson,
the enterprising and intelligent
proprietor, who with a few
hands in a very few weeks in
the summer of IS23, cut a
broad and deep canal between
three and four miles in length, j
the returns from wnich land
has richly and amply rewarded
him for his enterprize, public
spirit, and the expense he was
at in doing it; besides the great
improvement in the health of
that neighborhood, in conse
quence of the draining of that
swamp. Indeed the town and
the county of Halifax would be
greatly benefitted in health and
wealth, if the whole of that
dee) swamp, coming up to En
field was drained, and reclaimed
in the like manner that Col.
Nicholson has drained his
swatMO. Nor would the doinsr
jit be difScuit or expensive, for
the labor would be light, and
besddes the immense body of
rich
land i
would
bring into
cultivation
and into
market,
thfre could be staves enough of;
the best quality, as well a.s
shingles and other valuable lum
ber got from it, to pay for eve
ry improvement necessary, and
leave a surplus in the hands of
those interested fo enrich them.
Was it made the object of par
ticular instructions by the peo
ple of Halifax to their represen
tative, to get a law passed to
compe l toe proprietors to un- by the i Jectors, and that it de
prove. it by degrees, so as to el- volved on the House, it conven-
iectthe improvement in a rea-jed
sonabie time, and in a proper
manner, ltwouiu oe sound and
jood policy, as it certainly
would be a means of improving;
. lit
their health, and most undoubt
edly the staple products of the
country, and consequently its
wealth and prosperity.
Roanoke.
Mr. Secretary Canning, afier
advising with the Admiralty, has
refused to cede any land m the
Bahamas to the United Stales,
for the purpose of erecting
Light-houses there under the
control of the IJ. States, but of
fers, iivthe name of his govern
ment, to raise Light-houses upon
the points which the U. States
may point out, provided Amer
ican shipping will contribute
their proportion to support
them. Difficulties arose upon
the point of raising money from
American vessels to be paid o
ver to the British Treasury, Mr.
Canning replied that it would
be left to the American Custom
Houses and Mr. Rush having
no instructions on this matter
the correspondence? closed. It
appears to us that the right of
soil being in G. Britain and our
commerce having a vital inter
est in the erection of lights up
on liahamas, the proposal of
mr. banning was a fair one,
and the proportion to be paid
by our ships for the use and ad
vantage of British liglrts might
be very easily adjusted and re
conciled with our rights.
Washington, Jan. IS.
There was a vote taken yester
day, in tiie House of Repre
sentatives, which we regard as
a favorable augury of the suc
cess of the bill for the continua
tion of the Cumberland Road.
We refer to the vole, by a ma
jority cf 10, to fill the blank in
the hill with the sum of 150,
000 dollars.
The House was full, and we
consider the vote as almost de
cisive of the success of the bill.
The vacant places and privile
ged seats of the Hall were crow
ded with ladies, and the galle
ry was filled with the lords of
creation, attracted by the ex
pectation, apparently, of hear
ing Mr. Clay speak on the oc
casion In which expectation,
they were not disappointed.
Among the numerous audi
tors that crowded the Hall of
the House of Representatives,
yesterday, to hear the speech of
Mr. Clay, we observed (jener
al Lafavette and Son.
From the Boston Centinel.
Choice of President by the
House of Representatives :of
Congress. The choice of Pre
sident of the U. States, for the
second tin:e since the adoption
of the Constitution, devolving
this year on the House of Rep
resentatives, we give the follow
ing outline ot the Rules adopted
by that body in 1S01, when the
first choice was made" by that
body, and when the Electoral
votes for president were 73 for
Mr. Jefferson, and 73 for Mr.
Burr.
Tiie declaration of the votes
took place in the Senate Cham
ber, on Wednesday, the 11th of
February. After the declaration
that a choice had not been made
in its own Chamber, and tur
nished seats for tiie Senate, as
witnesses. The House had pre
viously adopted Rules, that it
should continue to ballot, with
out interruption by other busi
ness, and should not adjourn,
but have a permanent session
until the choice be made; and
that the doors of the House shall
be closed during the balloting,
except against the officers of the
House.
The following was directed
to be the mode of balloting:
"Each state had a ballot box
in which the members belong
ing to it, having previously ap
pointed a teller, put the votes
of the state; the teller, on the
part of the United States hav
ing counted the votes, duplicates
were. put by him into two gene
ral ballot boxes. Tellers being
nominated by each state for the
purpose of examining the gene
ral ballot boxes, they were di
vided into two parts, of whom
one examined one of the gener
al ballot, boxes, and the other
examined the other. Upon
comparing the results, and find
ing them to agree, the votes
were stated to the Speaker, who
declared them to the House."
The number of the states was
sixteen nine necessary to a
choice. On the first ballot, Mr.
J. had eight states, Mr. B. six,
and two were divided.
The first ballot took place a
bout 4 o'clock, P. M. Seven
other ballots, with similar re
sults, succeeded, when a respite
took place, during; w hich,-the
members retired to the lobbies,
and took refreshment. Mr. Ni
cholson, of Maryland, being
unwell, had a bed provided for
him in one of the lobbies, to
which the tellers took the bal
loting box of the State for his
vote. At 3 o'clock in the mor
ning of the 12th, two other bal
lots took place and at 4 o'clock
in the morning, the twenty-first
trial, several of the members
coming in with their niarht caps
on At 12 at noon, cf the 12th,
the twenty-eighth ballot took
place, when the House adjourn
ed to the next day, having pro
bably, in secret session, dispens
ed with the rule for the, perma
nent session. On Friday the
Hth, the House proceeded to
the thirtieth ballot, without a
choice and again adjourned to
the next day. On Saturday the
14th, the ballotings had the
same result. On Tuesday the
17th, at the thirty-sixth ballot,
the Speaker declared, at one
o'clock, that Mr. Jefferson was
elected, having the votes of
New-York; New-Jersey, Penn
sylvania, Virginia, Kentucky,
Georgia, Tennessee, North Car
olina, Maryland, four votes for
Mr. Jefferson and four blanks,
and Vermont, one vote for Mr.
Jefferson, and one blank vote.
Thus ended the scene.
Libels. A Mr. Judson has
been subjected in $750 dama
ges, in the Supreme Court at
Fairfield, (Con.) for a libel a
gainst a Mr. Rayner, arising
out of a dispute about f'Univerr
salism."
There was also an action,
Punning vs. Hill-house, for a
libel on the character of the plan
tiff, contained in a report of a
case made by 'the defendant, in
which the plaintiff was witness,
and in which he was charged
by the defendant with the crime
cf perjury. The plaintiff ob-
lameu a veraici oi ouu dama ges
and costs.
Small pox. It appears from
the Fayettevile N. C. papers
that the Varioloid species of
Small Pox has prevailed for
some time in that town.
A new thing under the Sun.
A writer in the Kentucky
Argus recommends that, instead
of turnpiking, our public roads
he covered with a roof from
town to town, similar to the
roof of a rope walk, which he
thinks could be done cheaper
than turnpiking, rnd be kept in
repair at a very moderate ex
pense. ' He says it will be necessary-
to use cedar or locust
posts, or stone pillars every 15
or 20 feet on each side of the
road; on these put your plates
and rafters, and cover the roof
with good oak or ash boards
(shingles?) about 3 teet long,
well nailed on. By thus keep
ing the road perfectly dry, the
writer thinks it would be a bet
ter and a cheaper one than any
now ia use, and it would last a
long time. The advantages and
comforts of such a road, the
writer adds, would be unequal
led upon earth. The traveller
in winter could pursue hisjour-
ney upon a smooth, dry, firm,
summer's road, and would be
perfectly secure without the in
cumbrance or expense of leg
gins, or an umbrella; in sum
mer he would be protected from
the scorching rays of the sun, &
the drenching showers of rainjhe
would also be relieved in a great
measure, from the suffocation
of the dust, which is produced
by cutting up the roads while
wet, and pulverizing the clods
when dry.
Whiskey. In contradiction
of a paragraph which has been
going the rounds of the news
papers, the Baltimore Patriot
states, that the lowest sales that
have been made, this season, of
the article of whiskey in that
market, have been at 23 cents
per gallon in barrels, and 21
cents per gallon in hogsheads,
casks included.
On Wednesday week, the
trial of Adonijah Baijy,agcd 79
years, for the murder Jeremiah
W. Pollock, commenced at
Windham county, Connecticut,
and after a protracted trial of
three days, the cause was given
to the jury, wdio returned a
verdict of guilty. He was sen
tenced to be executed on the
Sth of June next. It is stated
that the testimony disclosed the
most cruel and awful murder
that has taken place in Connec
ticut for many years. ;
Distresing Casualty. On
Wednesday morning the corpse
of Mr. Samuel Paschall, ' an
old inhabitant of this county,
was found within half a mile of
his own house. On Friday
night, during the falling of the
snow, he started from a neigh
bor's house to go home, but in
the dark, it is supposed that he
mistook his way (being found
on a different path) and finding
himself bewildered, laid down
where he died from the intense
cold. A search for him, we un
derstand, was commenced on
Saturday morning, but bein
completely covered by the
Snow, he could not be found.
He was 'accidently discovered
by a Negro. A Jury of In
quest was immediately held o
ver his body, whose decision
was, that he came to his death
in the way above stated.
Warren ton Reporter.
Perishing from cold. Ear
ly on Sunday morning (says the
Petersburg Intelligencer, 25th
ult.) a slave named Peter, be
longing to Mr. James Pace,
butcher, was found dead in a
field adjacent to his master's re
sidence. . He is stated to have
been a man of a weakly consti
tution, occasionally subject to
fits; and -is supposed to have
been overcome by the cold and
perished in the snow storm on
Saturday night.
Yesterday morning, Lucy
Clemans, a woman of color, was
found dead in Blandford; hav
ing been intoxicated the night
before, it is "supposed she had
fallen in the snow, and thus pe
rished on the public highway.