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" Life ! only to bo valued as It is usefully employed.?
VOLUME Iir-NUMBEM?,
ASnEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA, FRIDAY MORNING, JUNE 10, 1842.
WHOLE NUMBER i 101.
PRINTED AND PUBLISHED WEEK LY, BT
K- J. II. CHRISTY & CO.,
htllshen of the lm of the United States.
- .- -.
This piper is published weekly, at Two TAu
Mu amd F.m Crr. per annum, in advance , or
TiiatK PM-UM, if payment be delayed after the
(occipt of tha lmhNumberfrom tnotfmeof tub.
bribing. BT r wi all eases,
itrU-tly adhered is. ' . ' , .
No mibscription discontinued (except at the op.
lion of the publisher) antU all arrearage! are paid.
: T MISCEIMEdUSJ""""
" f From 'the Pittisbwg Adoeate.J
Au Iionr In a rxmdcr-uilll
" The Pittsbure Powdor-mnis aire situatfi
on tho North bonK ol trie Biononganam,
btKut two and a half milea from th city,
for the ipurposc of lcsacnnlng the dfaasters
attending explosions, tho buildings cover a
largo extent of ground, and each ottho
many processes to vhich the material is
subject before it w turned into the form
with which the world is but too familiar, is
performed itt a separate building. These
buildjngs are of stonej' and are connected
together by a railway. " "
But to begin at the beginning. Good
gunpowder, such as Mr, Watson makes,
requires good charcoal; young and sound
wood is require I, the -water mnpie being
the most desirable. -. Of these Mr. Watson
has large plantations which yield what wood
he requires, besides furnishing a considera.
hie number of young trees to the citizpns
for ornamental purposes. There are also
on tho premises plantations for, sycamore
for hoop-polcs, which yield at about 5,000
per year per year per quarter of an acre.
From tho plantations wa went to tho steam
engine. And here tho dread of fire, which
habit has made a second nature to the pov.
der maker, has suggested a number of in
geniouscoutrivances to prevent its coming
iu contact with tho" villanous saltpetre."
Tho smoko from the fires under the boil,
ers is conveyed under ground some 3000
feet, nd then by a chimney 60 feet high it
is carried off, at a supposed safe distance.
In directly the opposjto direction the steam
is carried .a considerable distance under
ground to the engine, which is distant from
the place where the last processes which
t.B ita ni,l tlm nowder undercoes, some
" 7000 feet. The engine has 6 boilers at-
-Uahcd;-to it, each 30 inches tn aiameicr,
and 22 feet 8 inches long, inu guusumus
busaclsJXoaLPCUia y.
Tho wood is converted into charcoal by
Sn larpo cast iron retorts, and
the gas that is evolved is conveyed by pipes
into the Jire unaer mo rciun oy which one
third nf tho fuel which would otherwise be
necossary, is saved. Tho pyroligncous
ncid which the'wood contains, and which
nmnpas evolves, it is tho nurposo of Mr.
Watson to distil it into vinegar, as soon ns
his arrangements lor that purpose can do
cuectcd. . ...
Wa fultft wed tho charcoal into tho 1 ' com
- riinitiner hno., Here . after having been
-crusliedJHJlwecn roUers-kislacefLin a
largo hollow cast iron globe, in which are
a considerable numoer oi smau oraas uuus ,
these globes are made to revolve rapiaiy,
which speedily reduces it to an impalpable
powder. It is then put with tbd "other in
gradients, in tho proportion of 15 of char
coal, 10 of sulpher, and 75 of nitre, into a
imixing harrclylwhich is made to re solve
a0 times per minute.
From the mixing barrel it is taken to the
" millhouse," where 4 largo rollers of cast
iron, weighing 240 lbs. each, of tho shapo
of mill-stortes, placed on end, chase each
other round a cast iron circle weighing 70,.
000 lbs. Under these rollers it is crushed
for about five hours, and then it is taken to
the press-room." In the press-room it is
put in layers between cloths and boards alternately,-and
-subjected to tho immense
pressure of a hydraulic press. . This is
dono to condense tho powder into a solid
. substance. .Tho cakes or slabs aro then
taken to another buildmgand passed ihrough
a pair of coarsely grooved rollers," which
breaks it' into small lumps. This is the
first process of " graining." -Thcso
lumps are then placed upon shelves
lifOoorahcafcrty slcaionpurpose
rtiallv-dried when. lhey are
ngatrpaunriroT
the desired "grain'' is ooiaineu. rrum
lhn ml r: Ihn minnOWUCr. DS U limy iiuit
4kj termed, passes through a hopper in a-reir
volving wire cylinder, tne amercm ugrw
of fineness in the length of which, screen
it into as. many kinds of powdor; the
finest, which is mere dust, is taken back to
be re-worked.
Tho remainder is placed in barrels, about
250 lbs. in each, which are made rapidly to
revolve for the purpose of glazing" it.
But ono operation now remains, and that
is tho final drying, which is effected in the.
manner which wo have before described.,
It is. then taken to the packing-house, and
fror that to tho magazine," which is a
fireproof building at a long distance from
the rest f tho works.
Bots, o too hear that. There is a
society of young ladies in Hartford, who
pledge themselves not to receive the ad
dresses of any young man who has not sign
ed the tee-total pledge. At a temperance
meeting not long since, a fair ono offered
tho pledge to her friend, saying, " John
will you sign that !" I le hesitated , and fi-
- nally declined. " Then," said she, "you will
understand, I shall not be at home next Sun.
day evening."
Ancdoto f Dr. Franklin.
The Doctor was walking one day on
Front streatv near Cheanut street, in tho
city of Philadelphia, at the dawn of the
Revolution, when he was thus accosted by
atari: '''jv 'V"V;;' ,
. ' Is you name Ben Franklin V
; 'Yesv'f V .
Are pu the man who invented tho saw.
dustpuddjigf " : : ' j , ;
Yes,' tepBed the Doctor.
: 4 Then J1 saVl lio sailor, f dbnY give the
recipe to jnako I to old F , our mor.
chant, as ho wilfeed all bis crew on it.1 r
- f The stow of ie ' saw-dust pudding,' as
ft wtij eiW, arose in this manner: The
Doctor had conducted an independent pa-
perin Philadelphia, which gave oflunco to a
class who wanted to rule everybody in their
own way; and the heads of this party,
some fifteen or twenty, informed the Doc.
tor that they would frown him down unless
ho would submit to the curb. The Doctor
proposed to explain, und fixed the time at
his own house, where the gentlemen were
invited to dine. He . requested his lady to
employ two pence in the purchase of a peck
of wheat bran, and to make two puddings
of it one for each end of the table, as he
was to have fifteen or twenty friends to dino
with him. The company met the two
puddinss were served on the table, without
any other dishes tho company sat down,
and each friend was served with his slice
of pudding. Their curiosity led them to
try it they examined cacn otners counte
nances, and at length were satishcd witn
tho pudding.
' Friends,' said the Doctor, ' will you bo
helped to more V
4 INo,' they all replied, we nnve enougn
of your pudding. But what docs this
meant' .. !
4 Why ,' replied tho Doctor, it means to
tell you that these two puddi rigs cost two
pence, and fifteen friends say they have
had cnoush. Know, then, as long as Ben-
iamin Franklin can satisfy fifteen friends
with two pence, no never win sacnuco mu
independence of his paper.'
Coloring Walls, It may not be gene
rally known, particularly in the country,
that bluo vitriol, when mixed with lime,
forms a very beautiful as well as exceeding
ly cheap coloring matter for walls. Take
good lime and slack it as usual, one and a
half pounds of blue vitriol, dissolve the
chrystals with boiling water, when dissolv
ed mix it with the white-wash,-rnd odd ono
pound of glue well dissolved. This should
bepreparod in & glue pot if possible, to pre
vent its being burned or scorched.' When
well mixed the first coat must be put on ho
rizontully, or from side to side, and tho se
cond coat vertically orup and down. Tho
wall will bo a brignt color resemDiing uie
bottles some times seen in apothecary shops.
By following tho directions, women can
put on the coloring is smoothly and as well,
generally, as men.
s' ,
From the Cretcent City.
A short time after tho conflagration, on
Sunday last, we entered the San Carlos,
which had been especially opened for the
accommodation of such Washingtonians as
believed in tho sovereign virtues of anchor
branJ Cogniac. There was, of course, a
tall gathering of patriots, who had distin
guished themselves a short time previous by
inn efforts to arrest the destroy-
ing.tlemcnt,ike. rnarinr3 cast upon a
Incndly shore, tne meeting was vuruiai,
and all felt tliat a cordial was necessary to
restore the usual flow of spirits, which had
been dampened by the mournful occurrence
of the past lew hours.
Tho glass passed freely around senti
ments were given, and every ono appeared
as happy as a. bank director on his way to
Te"xas. when tho hour for parting was On-
nounced. M this auspicious moment one
of the party a well known out and outer
drew a bcoline for the stairs which led to
his room in the castle; but it was evident
tn all nmsent that he was out of his reckon-
in" mid was nul exuclly '"' in town." Hr
D . . .. .. . I fl-.l 1
floundered about like a aismasieu numum
in a eale, but finally brought up at the foot
of tho stairs, the bannister of which he
grasped with the tenacity of an Arkansas
bear. '
Torrnvoure w fuddlecrasn sailor in.
port ,31 said a friend ,-wlia had-:watched Ms
gyrations.
Pn.r.t not n a dron-fliiccunW-1
tha v-'oWhiccup)fcaud-porW
pon honor !
The exertion to wncci aooui n vw
mnoh (nr Tom. and he made a pirouette
towards the- cijmr-ahop adjacent, against
which he brought up.
' "stand back sir niccup wuu
7" hfl thundered to the unconscious
door, at tho same time putting out his foot;
with th evident intention of placing it on
a step, judging all was right in that quar-
tor. and thai ne was on nia way vu iu w
room. Again and again ne raisea n ngm
treadcr, but it was no go he could not
make an ascent , any way it could be fixed.
44 Who the movea tne uie sians
(hiccup) here, waiter (hiccup) bring me
alight," bawled our roysterous blade.
44 Here I is what, is your pleasure t"
44 Show me up up stairs d'ye hear V
44 Aye, aye, sir," and up went tha bac
chanalian under an escort of ten of Mudge
& Watri&n'a body guard. - J
44 What's tho cause of that bell ringing !"
inquired Peter. .
44 Iris my deliberate opinion that some
body is pulling at the rope," replied John.
v The wifb. It needs no guilt to break a
husband's, heart ; the absence of content,
tha mutterings of spleen:, the untidy dress,
and cheerless home ; tho forbidding scowl
and deserted hearth ; these, and nameless
neglects without a, crime among thorn
have harrowed to the quick the heart's core
of many a man, and planted there, beyond
the reach ef care, the germ of dark despair.
Ob! may woman before that sad sight ar
rives, d well on the . recollections of her
youth, and cherishing tho dear idea of that
tuneful time, awake and keep alive the
promise she then so kindly gave; and
though she may be injured, hot the injuring
one the forgotten, not the forgetting wife
a happy allusion to that hour of peace
and love a kindly welcome to a comfort,
able home a smile of lovo to banish hos
tile words a kiss of peace to pardon all
the past and tho hardest heart, that ever
locked itself within the breast of selfish
man will soften to her charms, and bid her
live as she had hoped, her years in match,
less bliss loved, loving and content the
soother of the sorrowing hour the source
of comfort, and the spring of jory-Cwm-hers'1
London Journal.
A horselaugh. This is the sorry hack
upon which buffoons and jesters are fain to
rido home, when they want to make a re.
treat, and are at a loss for any other con
veyancc. Such Merry Andrews save their
credit as tho Romans did their Capitol, by
tho cackling of geese. To succeed in this
object, all expedients are considered fair;
to win the laugh, is to win the battle; if
you cannot, therefore,' check-mate your
adversary by reasoning, dumb-found him
by your superior learning, or surpass him
by tho brilliancy of your wit, knock him
down by a poor pun, the worse the better ;'
set the example of a hearty laugh, for this
is citching, though wit is not, and make
your escape while the company are exerci
sing their risible muscles ; they will gener.
ally bo with you, for they like to see a con.
queror capsized. The late Jack Taylor,
of pleasant memory, who was nomcan
proficient in turning the tables upon his op
ponent, when ho found himself losing, has
recorded one of his exploits. Ho was ra.
pidly losing groundirfa literary discussion,
when the opposite" party exclaimed, 44 My
good friendyou are not such a rare'scholar
as you imagine; you are an every day
man." - .
.t Well, you m eoi one," replied
Taylor, who instantly jumped upon tho
back of-a horselaugh and rode victoriously!
over his prostrato conqueror.
The bumsellers excuse. Ono day a
Quaker woman kindly asked a mmseller
some questions about his whiskey business,
ii i. i . if i. : n i.n
wnicn, uisiuruiny iua cuiubiuuw u utw., ire
eased himself with tho oft repented salvo,
that ho 44 sold to sober persons only.
14 Ah," said she, 44 and docs that better tho
easel Is it better to make drunkards out
of sober men, than to kill tho poor old
broken down drunkards V This came up
on him like a thunder-bolt; it overset his
best excuso, and he stopped the business of
making drunkards.
44 Sat Qtrrr That." When you see
your son making a bud trade, say quit
that. - - -
When you see two urchins fighting in
the street , say quit that.
W hen you see your oaugiucr casung sny
glance at a fop or loafer, say quit that.
When your littlo children make so much
noise that you cun't understand what you
are reading, say quit that.
When you see your wifo buying lacing
strings, say quit that. ( . ,
When you hear a politician say 44 Torn
going to a People's Meeting," say--quit
that
When you see a farmer buying lottery
tickets, sny quit that. ... .
When vou seo a person taking a news
paper from another man's door before day
A Fact. A man from an adjoining coun
ty called at a store to trade a few days ogo,
and after purchasing one or two articles,-
nulled out a five dollar Monroe- Railroad
note ToTiSV forthcrnrbut wasTrarprised 1o
bg-lnfoTmcd:'that it was only worth" about
15 cents in the dollar. He put it bp and
took out three dollars in Kincannon Tick
etsrwhich he hetept back as he might
need change, to nis utter asionisnmem no
was told That those Tickets were not worth
44 shucks. r With a sigh, he said 44 well I
reckon I can suit you," and handed out a
ten dollar bill on the Bank of Columbus.
This was his last, and that Bank also was
broken I He trembled with rage to find all
his money worthless. We inquired if he
took the newspapers. - He replied that he
never had done so, although ho had a large
family and several of them could read. Thus
for the small pittance of two or three dol
lars that might have known the worth ol
money every week and saved himself from
being imposed upon by trash and broken
Bank Daoer. besides bavins the news from
all parts of the world for the edification of
himself and tamiiy. L,nauanooga uazcu.
CUmnin'T GUt. The French mode of eleaninf
fine glua utensiU, etc., rives them rreat brillian
cy.. It done by finely-powdered indieo, and
dipping into it a moistened linen rajr, with which
the glaM mart be nneared and wiped off with
perfectly dry eloth. Ae a eubiiUtuta for thi. fine
iftad aahes. applied by rar dipped in spirit will
also answer very well ; bat Spanish white i apt. to
.1 .v.
ougnen aau wjujo .
- Corn-Stalk Sugar.
The experiments of Mr. William Webb,
of Wilmington, Delaware, prove the prac
ticabihty of manufacturing sugar from the
juice of the Cora stalk,. at a much cheapef
rate tban can be done from the caltt. . 1 he
machinery is of very simple construction
an 1 cheap. That used by Mr. Webb, is
tho cylinder, such as used for grinding Bp.
pies, r three upright wooden rollers, from
twentj to forty inches in length, turns to
run tnie and put into a strong trame win
answer. The power is applied to the middle
roller by means of a sweep, as a cider mill.
Mr AVebb describes a better machln, made
entirely of iron, three horizontal rollers
erected one above and two below, tho stalk
passes di rettly ihrough , receiving two press.
ures beforalt escapes. ' ":
I ho lower cylinders are contained in a
small cistern, which receives the juice. Mr.
Webb thus describes Ms process ot manu
facturing the sugar after tho juice is ex.
pressed :
The process which has been employed
in the manufacture of Maize sugar, is as
follows : The juice, after coming from the
mill, stood for a short time, to deposit some
of its coarser purities ; it was then poured
off, and passed through 0 flannel strainer,
in order to get no of such matters as couia
bo separated in this way. Lime water,
called milk of lime, was then added, in
the proportion of one or two table spoons
full to the gallon. It is said by sugar man
ufacturers, that knowledge on this"point
can only be acquired by experience ; but I
have never failed in making sugars from
employ ing too much or too little pf the lime.
A certain portion of this substance, how.
ever, is undoubtedly, necessary, and more
or less than this wilj.be injurious ; but no
preciso directions can bo given about it.
The juice was then placed over the fire, and
brought nearly to the boiling point, when
it waa Carefully skimmed, taking care to
complete this operation before ebulition
commenced. It was then boiled down ra.
nidlv. removing tho scum as it rose. The
juice was examined from time to time, and,
if there was an appearance ol feculent par
tides which would not rise to the surface,
it was again passed through a flannel strain
er. In judging when tne syrup was sum
cientlj boiled,a portion was taken between
the thumb and finger and it, wnen mode
rately cool, a thread half an inch long could
6o drawn, it was considered to be done,
and was poured into broad shallow vessels
to crystahzo. in some cases, crysiamza.
tioa commenced in j2 hours 'L in other, not
till icvcral days I And in no case was this
pneess so far completed as to allow tne
8ujar to be drained, in less than 3 weeks
frm timo of boiling, i he reason why so
gisat a length of time was required I have
nt yet been able to discover. There is no
doubt but that an improved process of man
uficture will cause it to granulate as quick,
lyis any other.
I From the Farmer's Monthly Visitor.
Weeds, leaves of trees," and all the
8UEulent plants which grow so abundantly
inilitches and waste lands, under hedges,
ani by the road side, if cut or pulled when
in flower, and slightly fermented," furnish
frm twenty to twenty-five times more
minuro than straw loes. These plants,
carefully collected, furnish to tho agricul
turist an immense -jesourco for enriching
life lands. Besides the advantage arising
frmlhe manure furnished by these, plants,
the agriculturist will find his account in
pievcnting the dissemination of their seeds,
which, by propagating in tho fields, deprive
tho crops of the nourishment of the soil.
The turf that borders fields and highways,
may be made to answer the same purpose
bt cutting it up with all the roots and the
earth ndhering to them, rooting tho whole
in a heap and afterwards carrying the mass
upon the fields, or what is still better by
burning it, and dressing the land with the
products of the corr bustion.
44 If straw did not serve as dcus tor ani-
time to their health and cleanliness, it would
be better to cut the ears of corn and leave
the stalks in the field, since they serve only
ftr rarmersin'Ncw"Eneland would set
their boys to bringing leaves from the roads
and by tho sides ofiheir fences, they would
- - . -r - ; r n
get as good beds lor tneir stocn as mey
have in their straw and refuse hay, and
would make much better and more manure.
TnSiybe36ne in the faTITafter harvest! ng ,
at a very little trouble and expense. Make
a light rack with stakes close together, and
weave in poles in a sort of wicker work,
put this upon wagon wheels, and a boy or
two, and a horse, would get up several
loads in a day, where leaves are not at a
great distance from home.
OCT An exchange paper has these perti
nent remarks : "
44 Many a man sees tho poor starving
around him without a sigh ; and when his
day of departure draws near, gives bis
whole substance to some foreign charity,
which to say the best of it is calculated to
lay the foundation for knowledge amng-
bloody, bigoted and unthankful race. Give
us the living, every-day charity ; that
springcth from the well of the soul, and not
that mean, miserable, deferred charity,
which comes from the chambevof. death in
weeds of mourning, and causes the heir to
rurse the parent for his liberality ere he is
laid in his narrow chamber forever.
Amonc-the lions which hare recently arrived
in Aew York it a dag with nx lege and two Ulis.
Speech of Mr. Preston,-
On the Loan Bill, delivered in the Senate of i
; ' the Untied, State, Aprd, 1843.
-' Mr. Pkestox said that, in the course of
the discussion on the loan bill, he did not
think that the facts which occasioned its
introduction, and made its passage necessa.
ry, were sufficiently bornsinmlnd. They
were of a verv imnortant and imperious
character, and could not be put, with too
much emphasis. The Government is out
of money and out of eredit i it is in 0 bank.
rupt condition. Its paper has been pro
tested, and its endorsers held responsible
for ruinous liabilities,.- Treasury notoe a
at a discount of five per cent; and the
creditors of tho Government are thus paid
in a depreciated paper a less amount than
they have earned and, we have stipulated to
pay. It is at once tyranny and trtud a vi
olation of contract by the force of power.
We should. understand our - position, and
not mince words in stating it.
The Government stands discredited and
dishonored. , The person and the" property
of an individual, under such circumstances,
would be seized by the minions ef the law.
This disgrace has penetrated, and is felt
throughout all the ramifications of the Go-
vcrnment, and taints every agent of it even
in foreign countries ; - for drafts of our
functionaries abroad have gone back pro
tested, proclaiming to the world oar shame
ful condition. This is a serious injury to
our country. We all every one of us is
soiled by it, and feel our citizenship with a
less proud and lofty sentiment ot patriotism.
The prido of country is a main pillar of re
publics. . National honor is a very substan
tial thing, and ought to be cherehed and
preserved not less scrupulously in discharg
ing the homely duties of good faith and
honesty, than in the presence of foreign
nations, or on the battle field. Fiom some
cause or other we have permitted, it to be
touched, and wo should hasten, with eager
solicitude, to redeem it. I could have
hoped, sir, that, in this acknowledged con
dition of things, under the pressure of a
disastrous emergency, we should have ad
dressed ourselves, with one cotiseat, to the
application of the remedy without wasting
time in ascertaining the cause or Renounc
ing the authors of the evil in bittej and un
availing recriminations, when it ismanifest
that, whosoever the blame, it is a, common
calamity of our common countrf, which
should be redressed by a united and vigor,
ous effort of all who lovo that country or
value its honor. -
The case is hardly less pressing than if
our flag was oorno down in the tide of rat
tle, and we paused in tho rescue to settle
some personal differences. I am sorry to
seo this, like every other occasion, seized
upon to indulge in partisan assaults and com
mon strifes, and that the gentlemen of the
opposition should think proper to assail us,
and throw themselves upon us, and encum
ber us with difficulties, and call off our at.
tent ion, by taunts and revihngs, at tho in.
stant that we are advancing with all possi-
bio speed to so sacred an object. 1 will
pause a moment, and but a moment, to dis
pose of these assailants, so much more in
tent on attacking us than relieving the coun
try. They say that all this is our doing ;
that our prodigality has created tho debt ;
that our want of forecast has failed to pro-
vide for it ; and that it is wo who have de
stroyed the public credit. If it were so-
if our folly or our crime has brought on this
stato of things can the Senators of the op-
position find, in reason, humanity, or pat
riotism, an excuse for their lethargy or
rather active hindranco of our exertions!
But what shall be said or thought of their
conduct, when it is known, as every body
does know, that the country is brought to
this pass by their own mismanagement, by
years and years of misgovernmcnt, prodi
gality, and recklessness, and that we, the
Whigs, have.bccn but this moment sent, by
an indignant and suffering people, to relieve
the body politic from the ruinous course ol
their empiricism! Both tho Senator from
Pennsylvania (Mr.Buchanan) and the Sen.
ator from New Hampshire (Mr. Woodbury)
charge on us the mighty evils which oppress
the pegple, and that we, in thirteen months,
and not yet at the end of the first constitu
tional Congress, have done all this. Sir,
this vigorous and young republic could not
be thus struck, down-at r ooe -blow ; these
grey hairs arcnotrof one rJghtV growthrr
this decrepitade is not of paralysis, but or
long and wasting disease, aggravated by
onskiltfutTreaTm
requiring time as well as potent remedies to
effect a cure. W here is that country which
the mistaken confidence of the people in.
trusted to them five years ago? Where that
overflowing Treasury, that cornucopia of
commerce, that abounding agriculture T
Did you give them back to ns as you re
ceived them, or in their stead chaff and
husks V"' k
One thing at least Is clear, that the
wretched system of Government paper,
which has now terminated, as all systems
of Government paper must terminate inevit
ably, in depreciation and bankruptcy j-was
of their begetting and nourishing. They
beganit they instituted the system of Trea
sury notes. The late Administration is the
first in the history of our Government that
in time of profound peace, was compelled
to resort to borrowing, and chote that most
fallacious, dangerous, and ruinous mode of
borrowing by the issue of 1 rcasuay notes.
They destroyed the equilibrium between
expenditures and income, and thus derang.
ed the whole financial order. From the
beginning, they have lived and had Iheir
being on Treasury notes. Touse tlie
word of the Senator from Now Hampshire,
more expressive perhaps than pure, they
fed their spend thnAness throughout On this
paper. Session after session they rushed
into this hall, proclaiming that the country
was in danger, that the Treasury was empty,
that credit would fail, and begging and sup.
5 Heating for a few more Treasury note.
'hey were always in debtt and paid bygiv;"
ing their notes. -
After the first terrific explosion in 1837,
the Treasury was a there Crater, which no
man might look into, throwing up at irreg.
ular periods masses of J Treasury notes,
with flaalie of Ulrid light from the agonised
Secretary, who writlied bdow like the gianjr
under jEmft, ! ,.-.
This crippled. Jbrokefk down, and now-
utterly discredited paper, was the financial
wisdow and the sole financial policy of our
predecessors, and is an evil which we have
inherited from them. Uut senators say
that they were frugal and we have been
prodigal. There is something grand lit
this contempt of history in this reversing
of the inexorable past- They frugal!
There is not one who has denied that they
spent every year more than they received ;
that every year they borrowed to pay the
debt of the preceding ; and - at length that
they went out, leaving, by tneir own-ac
knowledgment, five millions of debtwith
no provision made to meet it, and no re
commendation but that it should bo paid by
the economy of their successors a novel
mode of payment one which certainly they
had never tried. The sum stated is unques
tionably far short of their indebtedness ;
but the five millions they plead guilty to.
But. Mr. President, 1 hold in my hand
the official reports of his frugality, made
by the Senator from New Hampshire when
he was Secretary. I read from it the ag.
gregato amounts
1837 : ; ; : J ja,xuu,uj
1838 ; : : : : 4 - 89,455,438
1839 -i-i : : : 37,129,300
1840 : : : : s f 23,220,533
4)152,076,391
$38,019,000
Giving an average of
From this aggregate, I know it is Baid,
in tho first place, the public debt is to be de
ducted. What public debt?. It was tho
boast and glory of Gen. Jackson's Admin,
istration that the public debt was entirely
discharged by him, and that he tcrncd over.
to his successor an ample revenue and a
Treasury absolutely disencumbered. With
the payment of what public debt, then, docs -the
Secretary credit himself? Why, with
the debt of his own creation, and expects,
by the financial legerdemain of giving tho
year 1840crcdit for tho debt of 1839,'and
throwing tho debt of 1840 upon 1811 , not
only to keep a clear balance sheet for his
own term, but to throw an accumulated
burden upon his successors, which ho
charges upon tliem as extravagance.
That I may not fail to do justice to tho
fiugality of tho late Administration, and
the equally conspicuous financial abilities of
the then Secretary and ndw honorable Sen
ator, it is proper to state that, In the" re
port from whieh I read, he sets forth that,
for the permanent and ordinary purposes ef
Govcrnment, the annual average expendU -hires
were between thirteen and fourteen
millions, while the large difference is made
up of extraordinary cJxponscs. Extraordi
nary expenses, indeed, they are! Hero
Mr. Woodbuiy said the- distinctlon was"
called for by the Senate To be sure it was
by a resolution drawn by a confidential. ,
friend of the Secretary and of tho Admini
stration, and with a view to explain away,
and justify, and mistify ( at an . approaching
trial before the people : a bill of particulars
is drawn up, which the Secretary himself
designated as other than ordinary and per
manent expenses.A alrMci) and more op
propriate designation might have been found
in the word jobs, and the account, properly
stated, would then be thirteen million for
the Government and twenty-eight fur jobs.
The report was fashioned with tho solo
purpose of putting tho frugality of tho ad
ministration in the most favorable point of
view before tho public. It was the best that
the hard-tasked ingenuity of the Secretary
and his friends could devise at thanime. "
It has since been explained s nd re-exr
by a-roultiUKte-of glowecs, serviBg -oftly-t-
lliustrato the obscure by the obscurer, until
tho Secretary is like to escape like tho
ink-fish;tn a darkness of bis own creation.
The obvious intention of the account, as
stated, wastrrshow that the necessary ex- ,
penses bad not increased ; and, intent upon
this great object, h did not occur to the $a
gacious maker of the report that ho roust .
unavoidable at the same time show that tho
vnnecessary expenses had inecased. Tbo
only disguise attempted (more simple than
that of the ostrich) was to classify the great
mass of expenditure under the vague and,
as I will show presently, tnappropriate de
signctinn of temporary and extraordinary.
At the time this memorable documcLt was
called jbtyand heralded as tip extinguisher
of all charges of extravagance against the .
Adrainfstratidn,"we were bringing the au
thors of it to a fearful reckoning. The
voice of the peoplo demanded an account,
and the Executive came up to the examina.
tiqn with the affected swagger and fright- ,
ened effrontery of a prodigal youth, cate.
chised by his irritated father. 44 How is
this, young gentlemen? what -means this
extravagance? how dare you waste my .
money in such enormous sums 44 Good
father," says the youth f 44 be not in a pas
sion; you are altogether mistaken; you
,
v