Newspaper of Burlington Free Press, May 5, 1837, Page 2

31 it. wr.Msrr.ms m'hixii. "o:u coUN.ruv om: cii.nstitutiom om: )KsTIY." Mr Ciiaiiiman, am Fr.i.i.ow Citizens ; it would bo idlo I" mi' Id nllVo.l to he in OifTorctit to llif circumstances under which I have nnvv Ihu honor of addressing you 'S find myself in lliu commercial inoiropn. lis nf t he continent, in 1 h e inula of n vast assembly nf intelligent nion, drawn from nil the? classes-, profusions, nnil pursuits of life. And yon havo been pleased, gentlemen, to mceli ttm. in this imposing manner, nml to offer mc warm nnd cordial welcome to your city. 1 tliunlt yon. I loci iho full force mid importance of thin manifestation of your regnrd. In the highly flattering resolutions which invited mo hero, in the reepiciubdily of'.lhis vast niuhiiutli; cf my tclluW'cilis Mia. and in Ihu approbation nnd hearty pood will, which you have here tnnnilt'Mod. I fool cause lor profound and grnlclul ncknow lodgment. To every individual of this meeting, therefore, I 'would now, mnft respectfully, make thai neknowlodgmcnl ; and with ev ery one, as if with hands joined in mutual greeting, I reciprocate friendly salutation, respect nnd good wi-hes. , pciininoii, nti linon'1 ' "in well as sured of your personal regard, I cannot foil to know that tin; times, the pnhticnl tnd commercial condition of things which exist mining ns, and an intelligent spirit, awakened to new activity nnd n now tie- grco of anxiety, have mainly contributed to fill these avenues and crowd these hulls. At n moment of difficulty, nnd of much alarm, you come here, as Whigs of Now York, to meet one whom you suppose to be bound to you by common principles, nnd common Bcniiments, and pursuing witli you a common object. Gentlemen, I nm proud to admit this community of our principles-, and this indentitv of our object. You are lor t Iio constitution of the country, so am 1. constitution, oni: mutiny. You ore for equal la ws, for I he equal rights Gentlemen, of our interior ndministrn of all men, for constitutional nnd just re- lion, the public lands constitute u highly Ktraints on power for the substance and net! important part. This is n subject of great the shadow, only of popular iintitn. interest, nnd it ought to nltract much more tions, for a government which has liberiv i attention Ihnn it has hitherto received, os- for its spirit nnd soul, ns well ns in ns form.-; ami so nm I. lull Icel, that if in warm party limes, the executive power is in hands distinguished for boldness, lor grent success, for perseverance, nnd o'her quali ties which strike men's minds forcibly, there is danger of derangement of the pow. era of government, danger of a new divis ion of those powers, in which the executive is likely to obtuin (he lion's part; and dan ger of a state ol" things in which the more popular branches of the government, in stead of being guards and sentinels against any encroachments from the executive, beck, rather, support from its palronage, f-afcty against the complaints of the people in its ample nod all protecting favor, and refuge in its power; and so I Icel, and so 1 have felt for eight long and anxious years. You believe that a vcrv efficient and powerful cause, in I lie production of liie evils which now fall on the industrious nod commercial classes of community, is the derangement of the currency, the destruc tion of exchanges, nnd the unnatural nnd unnecessary misplacement of the specie oljof acic-of public unsold land, have been ihe countrv. bv unauthorised nod illegal treasury orders. So do I believe. I pie- dieted all this from Ihe beginning, and from before the beginning. I predicted it oil, loot spring, when l tint was attempted to bu done by law which was afterward done by executive authority; nnd from ihe moment of the exerci.-e of thai executive authority, to the present lime, I have both foreseen and seen, Ihe regular progress of tilings under it, from inconvenience and embar rassment, to pro.-suro, loss of confidence, disorder and bankruptcies. 4. Gentlemen, in spooking here on the sub jocls which now so much interest the com .mupily, I wish, in the outset, to disclaim nil personal disrespect towards individuals. He whose character and fortune have exer ciscd such a decisive influence on our poli tics for eight year'-, has now retired from public s-to: ion. I pursue him with no per sonal reflections, no reproaches. Between him and myself there bus always existed a respectful personal intercourse. Moments have existed, indeed critical, nnd decisive upon the general success of his adininistra lion, in which he has bo n pleased to re gard my aid, as not altogether unimportant. I now speak of him, respectfully, as a dis tinguished soldier, as one, who in that char octcr, has done the Mate much ccrvico ; n a man, loo, of strong nnd decided character, of unsubdued resolution end perseverance, in whatever he undertakes. In speaking of his civil administrations, I speak without censorimisiiess, or harsh imputation of mo lives; I wish him heallh nnd happiness in his retirement ; but I must still speak as 1 think, of his public measures, and nf their general bearing and tendency, not only on ihe presonl interests of tho country, but nl bo on the well being uud security of the government itself. There arc however, some topics ofn less urgent present application nnd iinpoiiance, upon which 1 wish to say n few words, bo fore I advert lo those, which are more im mediately connected with tho present dis tressed sinlo of things. Looking, genllcmon, over our whole country, comprehending in our sur vey Ihe Atlantic coast, with its thick popu lation, advanced agriculture, ils extended commerce, its manufactures and mechanic nrts, its varieties of communication, its wealth and its gcnerul improvements; and look. ng, then, to tho interior, to Ihe im memo tracts of fresh, fertile and cheap lands, bounded bv so innnv hikes, nml u-n- terod by so many inngnificont rivers, let mc obi, ii hiiui n ninp was ever before present' cd to Iho eye of any statesman, as tho tho ntro for the exorcise of bis wisdom nod oat riot ism ? And let me ask, too, if nny man is in iu aci u pan on md, theatre, who does not comprehend the wholuofu, wilh in the scope of his policy, uud embrace il all as his country ? Again, gontlcmen, wo nro one in respect to tho glorious Constitution under which wo live. Wo arc all united m iho grem brotherhood of' American Liberty. J) Bconded from Iho sumo nuccsiors, bred in Iho some school, lauuht. in infancv. bibotho Bumogonernl political bciitiineuis. Americans an, tiy utrlli, education, nod principle, whut hut a narrow mind, or woo I ignorance, or besotted selfishness, or I i judice, len times leu times blinded, can ml iiov nfns. to regnrd the citizen ofnny I" lend pari of I lie country us hi I augurs nnd It 1 1 s ? ) lie MHCllin iroio, inninover, id unmv oi), thai a common political late ullonds us Under Ihu present constitution, wisely and conscientiously admiuUiorcd, nil are safe, hnppy nnd renowned. Tim measure of our country's fame may fill nil our brcnsls. Il is fame enough for us all to partake in her glory, if we will carry her rhotactcr ouwnrd to its true destiny. But if the system is broken, its fragments must fallnlikcon nil. Not only the cause of American liberly, but the grand cause of liberty throughout tho whole earth depends, in a great measure, o" upholding tho con-$-1 it ut Kin nnd union of these states. If shattered and destroyed, no matter by what cause, the p'culinr nnd cheri-died idea of united American liberty will be no more forever. Tlicro may be free stales, it is possible, when I here shall be separate slnies. There may be many loose. nnd fee. ble nnd hostile confederacies, where there is now one great and united Confoderney. But the noble idea of united American lib erty, of our liberly, such as our fathers es tablished it, will ho extinguished forever Fragments anil puturuil i:ulimtoi of'the edi. fioo mav be found remaining ; nnd inelnn choly and mournful ruins will they be; t ho ungual loniplo itself will In' prostrate in the .dust. Gentlemen, the citizens, ol tins re- public cannot sever their lorlunes. A com. men futenwnits us. In the honor of up. holding, or in the disgrace of undermining the constitution, we shall all necessarily partake. Let ua then stand by the consti. tulion as il is, and by our country as it is, one, united, and entire1, let it be a truth engraven on our henrts, let it bu borne on tho llig, under which we rally, in every exigenev, tliat we have oni: cou.NTnv, onu pccinlly from the people of the Atlantic states. The public lands arc public pro pcrty. They belong to the people ol all the slates. A vasi portion of I hem is com posed of territories, which were ceded, by individual stales, to the Uniled States, af ter the close of the revolutionary war, and before the adoption ol the present consti tion. The history of these cessions, and the rensons for making them, arc familiar. Some of the old thirteen possessed large tracts of unsettled lands within their char tered limits. The revolution had estab lished their title to these lands, nnd as the revolution had been brought about by the common treasure and the common blood of it 1 1 I he colonies, it was thought not un reasonable that these unsettled hinds should be transferred to the United Stales to pay the debt created by the war, nod alterwan to remain us a fund for the use of all the stales. This is the well known origin ol I he title possessed by tho Uoileil Klutoa to lands northward ol tho lliver Ohio. By treaties with France nod Spain Looi-inna nnd Florida, with inanv mill. on since acquired. I he co-.l ol these aeqoi eitioiis was paid of course, by the general government, and was thus a charge unou ih.: whole people. The public hinds, there, fore, all nnd singu'ar, are national proper ty; granted to tho Untied Slates, porchn sed bv the United States, paid for by all the people of the Uniiul Slates. The idea, Hint when a new stale is crea ted, the public lauds lying within her tern lory become the property of such new stale in const quenee of her sovereignty, is too preposterous for serious refutation. Such notion- have heretofore been advanced in Congress, but nobody has sustained them. They were rejected and abandoned, al though one cannot say v, bother they may not be revived, in eonsrquonco of recent propositions, which havu been made in Ihe Senate. Tin; new stales nro admitted on express conditions, recognizing, lo the fullest extent, the right of tho United Slates, to the public lands within their bor tiers ; nnd it is no more reasonable to coo. lend that some indefinite idea ol statu sov. ereignly over rides all thesu slipulalioiiH and makes tho lands the properly of the stale-, against the provisions of their own const i tutioti, and the constitution of the Untied States, than il would be that a similar doc trine entitled the statu of Now-York lo the monies collected at the custom house in this city; since it is no mure inconsis tent with sovereignty Hint one government should hold Iniid-, for the purpose of sale, wit hin the territory of another, than it i- that it should lay and collect luxes and du ties within such territory. Whatever ex. truvaganl pretensions may have been set up, heretofore, there was not, I suppose, an enlightened man in the whole West, who nisi-led on any such right in the states, when the proposition to cede Ihu lauds lo the stale-, was made, in the lute sc-sun of Congress. Tho public lands being there fore, the common property of nil tho peo pie of nil ihe states, I shall never consent to give them away to particular Mates, or lo dispose of them otherwise ihnn for Iho general good, and thu general iiac of the whole country. I fell bound, therefore, on thu occasion just alluded to, to resist, at the threshold, u proposition, to cede the public lands to ihu states in which they lie, on certain con ditious. I very much regretted the introduction of such n measure, ns its effect must be, I fear, only to agitnto what was well settled, nnd to disturb that course of proceeding in regurd to tho public lands, which forty years of experience have shown to be so wise, nnd so entisliict ry in its oporntiou, both to ihu people of tho old stales, and to those of the new. Hut, gentlemen, nlthough the public lands aro not to bo given nwny, or coded lo particular states, n vory liberal policy in regard In them ought undoubtedly to pro vail. Such n policy has prevailed, and I have steadily supported it, and shall con tinue to support it so long as I may remain in public life. The main object, in regurd to thesu hinds, is undoubtedly to settle them, so fast as the growth nf our popu la tion, and its augmentation may enable us to settle ihem. Thu lands, thoroforc, shniild bo sold nt a low price, and, for one, I linvo never fill doubted llio right or expediency or grant. ing portions of the lamlsS themselves, or of making grants nf money, for nbjec's nf in terual improvements connected with I hem. I huvo always suppnneo imcrni appro priations for tho purpose nf upeniu com munications, to nnd through these lands, bv common roads, canals nnd railroads f and where lands of little value have been long in market, and on account of their indifferent quality, nro not likely to coin, nion price, 1 know no objection to n reduc lion of price, as to such lands, so llmt they may pass into private ownership. Nor do I feel any objections to remove thoso re slraints "which prevent the Stales from taxing the lands, for five years after they are sold. Hut while in these nnd all oilier resoecis. 1 nm not only reconciled lo a lib. oral policy, but espouse it and support it, nnd hove constantly done en, I hold, still, Iho national domain to be the general pro. nerlv of the country, conhded lo Ihe care of Concress, and which Cong'css is solemn ly bound lo protect and preserve, for the common good. Tho benefit derived from the public lands, after all. is nnd must be, in Iho great. est degree, enjoyed by those whohuy them, nnd settle npon them. The original price paid to government, constitutes but a small nnrt of their actual value. Their imtnedi- nlo rise in vnluo, in the hands n ihe pet tier, gives him competence. lie exercises n power of selection ovur a vast region of fertile territory, all on sale at tliu same price, and that price an exceeding low one. Selection is no sooner made, cultivation is no sooner begun, and t'ic first furrow turn il.ihnn hn n'rendv finis himself n man of 1 nmnnrlv. Tliesf " n re t ho ndvnlltorrps of western emigrants, and western and western settlors: and they nrc such, certainly, as no country on cnrlh ever before ofibrded lo her cili zens Tins opportunity nt piircunsu nun settlement, this ceitninty of enhnnced value, those sure means of immediate com. putence and ullimnlft wealth, nil these are the rights, and Ihe bbssings of the people of thu west, nnd thsy have my hearty wishes for their full and perfect enjoyment. In tho next place, gentlemen. I nm of opinion thai with no morn Ihnn usual skill in the application of the well tried prin ciplcs of discriminating and specific duties all Iho branches of lutional industry, may bo protected without imposing such duties on imposts, as shall overcharge the Treas ury. And ns lo loo reveines. arising from the sales of tho public Inrds, 1 am of opinion that, they ought to beset opart for the uso of the states. The states need I bo money. The government of lie United Sines does not need it. Many ofthe slates hnve con trncted largo debts, fir objects pf internal improvement; and oilers of them have important objects which I hey would wish to accomplish. The lands wuro originally granted for the use of the several states ; and now that their proceeds arc mil neces sary for t he purposes of general govern meut, 1 am of opinion that they should go to thu states, audio the people ofthe stales, upon an equal principle. Set npnrl, then, ihe proceeds of Iho public lauds for Ihe ue of tho slates ; supply the treasury from duties on imports ; apply to t hn-,0 do ticsn jusl and careful discrimination, in favor of nrtcles produced at home, by our own labor , and thus support, to an ex tent, our own manufactures. I hose, gen tleincn. appear lo mc to bo the general out lines of Ihal policy which the presonl condition of the country requires us to a dopt. Gentlemen, proposing lo express opinions on the principal subjects of interest, ul the present moment, it is impossible to overlook ihe delicate question, which has arisen, from events which have happened in the lalo Mexican Province of Texa. The Independence of that 1'raviiicc has now been recognized by ihe Government nf the United States. Tho Congress gave thu President the means, to bu used when ho saw fit, nf opening n dipluina'ic inter tiourio with its Government, nnd the lalu President imiiicdiatlj made use of those means. I saw no objection, under the circuui slnces, to voting an appropriation lo bo mod when the President shouid think thu proper time had come ; and he deemed, certainly very promptly, that lime hud al ready arrived. Certainly . Konllemo.j. the A very few people, in n very shorl lime havu established a government for them selves, against the uulhorily of the parent state ; nnd which government, it is gen. ernlly suppused, them is but little proba bdily" at the present moment, ofthe parent stale being able lo overturn This government is, in lorm. n copy of our own. It is un American Constitution substantially after thu great American model. Wo nil, therefore, must wish it success ; nnd I here is no one who will more heartily rejoico Ihnn I shall, to see an in dependent community, intelligent, indus trious. and friendly inward us, springing up, and rising into happiness, dj-iiuctinn and power, upon our own principles of lib erty nnd government. Hoi it cannot bu disguised, gentlemen, tl-nt n desire, or nu intention, is already manifested to annex Texas to tho United Status. On n subject of such mighty mag nitude as this and nl a moment when tho public nt tout ion is drawn to it, I should feel myself wanting in candor, if I did not express, my opinion; since all must sup pose, thai on such u question, it is impos sible I should bu without some opinion. 1 say then, gcntlcmn, in all frankness, that I seu objections, I think iiisurmnun. table objections. In the annexation of Tex. ns to thu United Slates. When the con siiiution wns formed, it is not probable Ihal either its frnmcrs, or the people, ever look ed to the admission of nny states into the Union, except such ns then already exis led, nnd such as should bo formed, out of territories then already belonging to tho United Slutcs. Fitcen years after iho adoption of iho constitution, however, tho enso of Louisiana arose. Louisiana was obtained by Ireaty wilhFrnncu; who had recently obtained il from Spain ; hut the object of this ncqu isitjon, certainly was not mere extension of territory. Other great political interests were 'connected wilh it. Spain, while she possessed Lou isianu, had held thu mouths of tho great rivers which dsn in Iho western states, and flow into thu gulpli of Mexico, Slio had disputed our use ol these livers, already, nnd with n powerful nation in possession of I these outlets In the son, it is ubviom that the commerce ol all the west was in danger ol perpetual vexation. Tho command of thesu rivers lo the sea, was, therefore, tho great object aimed nt in the acquisition of Lou isnnn. Uut that acquisition ncccssnrily brought territory along with it, and three states now exist, formed out of that an cient province. A similar policy, and n similar necessity, though perhaps not entirely so urgent, led to ihe acquisition of Florida. Now, no such policy, requires the nn. nexntion of Texas. Tho accession of Tex nslo our territory is not necessary to the full nnd complotu enjoyment of nil which we already possess. Iler case therefore stands entirely different from that of Ijuuif ir.na nnd Florida. There being then no necessity for extending the limits of l he union, in that direction, wo ought, 1 think, for numerous nnd powerful reason?, to be content with our present boundaries. Gentlemen, wo all see, that by nhomso. ever possessed, Texas is likely to bo n slave-holding country ; nnd I frankly avow my entire unwillingness to do any thing which shall extend the slavery of the Afri can race on this continent, or add other slave-holding states to the union. When I say that I regard slavery in itself as n great, moral, social, and political evil, I only use language which has been adopted by distinguished men themselves citizens of slave holding stoles. I shall do nothing therefore, to fayor or encourage its further extension. Wo have blavery already among us. The constitution found il among U3 ; it recognized it, and gave it solemn C U il r 0 ntice. To the full CXlOlltof these guaranties wo nrc all bound in honor, injustice, and bv tho conttilutinn All the stipulations contained in thu constitution, in favor of the slave. holding stales which nro already in the union, ought to b& ful filled, in the fulness of their spirit, and lo the exactness of their letter. Slavery, as il exists in the states, is bevond the reach of Conuress. It is a concern of the states themselves; they have never submitted it to Congress, nnd Congress, has no rightful power over it. I shall con cur, therefore, in nonet no mcasore, no menace, no indication of purpose, which shall interfere, or threaten li interfere, wilh the exclusive nutlioritv of the sever nl stnles over the subject of slavery, us it exists within their respective limits. All this appears to mc to bu matter of plain and imperative duty. Hut when we come to speak of admit ting now .slates, ihu subject assumes an entirely different aspect. Our rights and our duties are then both different The free states, and all the stutcs, are then at liberty to accept. When it i proposed to bring new members into thi political partnership, the old member have n right to say on what terms such now members aro to comu in nno what thev aru to bring along with them In my opinion thu people of the United States will not consent lo bring a new, vastly extensive, and slave bidding country, large enougu lor half a uosyn or n dozen States, into tho Union. In my opinion they ought not to consent to it. Indeed I am alto gether nt a loss to conceive, whut possible benefit any part of this country enn ex pect to deriye from such nnnoxatiun, All benefit, to any part, is at last doubtlul and uncertain; the objections obvious, plain, nnd strong. On the general question of slavery, a great portion of Ihu community is already strongly excited. The subject hns not only attracted attention ns n ques of politics, but it hns struck a far deeper toned chord. It has arrested the rcli gious feelings of the oonnlry : it has taken strong hold on the consciences of men. lie is n rnsb man. indeed, little conversant w'nh human nature, and especially hns he n verycrrniienus estimate ofthe character ofthe people of this country, who supposes that a feeling of this kind is to he trifled with, or despised. It will assuredly cause itself tube respected. It may lie rnaoncd with, it may bo made willing, I believe it is entirely willing to fulfill all existing en gagements, nnd nil existing duties, to up hold mid dU'cnd Ihu constitution, ns it i established, with whatever regrets abnnl some provisions, which it does actually contain. Uut to cocrcu it into silence, to j en(,(,nv;r , ,clai) g froe CXncsiiou l0 seel; lo compress and conhno it, warm as it is, and more healed as such endeavors would iocvimhly render it, should all this be attempted, 1 know nothing even in the constitution, or in the Uuiin itself, which would not be endangered by the explosion which might follow. I see therefore, no political neces sity for tho nnncxalion of Texas to the Union ; no advantages to bu derived from il ofa strong, und in my judgment, decisive character. I believe it will bo for the interest and happiness of whole Union, to remain as it i-, without diminution and without addi tion, (o be continued) Impohtant Vkudict. A case of some importance to travellers wns tried in the Court of Common Pleas on Tuesday. It wns nn nction for damages brought by William Lowlhcr, Jr, against Benjamin Wrilhington, a stage driver, for nn assault. Plniiilitr tonic nn in-ndo sent in thu concli at Providence. On arriving al Pawtiicket, the defendant requested linn to take an onlsidu seat, to accommodate, some ladies wliu wished o passage. lie al first decli. tied, but being told that tho ladies must lako tho outside if ho refused, ho got out of the coach, look his valissu, and said he would go no father. Tho driver then de manded twenty-five cents faro, which Lowlhcr refused to pay, and Wrilhington then seized him by Ihu collar, throw him against thu wheels nf thu conch, uud took his valissu from him. Thu valisso contain ed money and other valuable property, and Lowlhcr rather than part with it, got on to Ihu top of the conch nnd came to Bos ton, and brought this uction for damages. Tho following is from a report of tho case in tho Advertiser ; Tho Counsel for the Defendant confinod himself to tho question of damages. It was admitted that something might bo re covered, but it was contended that tho amount should bo merely uoininnl, ns there was no nclual injury sustained. For the Pluinlff, it was insisted that the jury should uward cxomplury damages. Tho Plaintiff wn9 n slrnnrrer. nnd his feelinrrs wore deep-1 ly wounded al tho manner in which ho was treated. lie had taken nn Inside sent nt Providence nnd bnd n right to keep it the wholo dislnnco to Hoslon. Hy ma king him give it up, I tie driver violatod his contrnd, and had no right to nsk for any pay, nnd if bo had, it was no just meat inn ofthe insolent manner in which ho behaved Inwards Mr. Lowlhcr. The jury wore not to consider the actual injury suffered merely, but they were lo take into consid eration Iho mortification to which tho Plaintiff was subjected. They should also award such damages as might prevent such occurrences in future. Under the circum stances of this case most, men would have taken the law into ihcir own hands and in flicted summary punishment un thu Defen dant, but the Plaintiff had very properly brought the whole matte; into a Court of justice ; in doing this, be has been at Irou- ble and expense, and the jury should not award such damages ns will make him re pent lint he had taken this course. The Court instructed tho jury, that Iho meas ure of damaircs wos not the nclual ininrv sufiered. Thu feelings of the Plaintiff were to bo considered. If nirnn spits in his neighbor's fnco, the actual injury w trifling, hut no jury would besi'.nlo to look beyond it. In this ense the jury should look to the whole circumstances of the case; the situation and character of tin; two parties, nnd the provocation which was given. The tury found lor the I'laintitt. and assessed damages ill Iho sum of jJGO and costs. linu. Trans. Unil Road Improvement. A Mr. Rooke, of England, is said to have lately invented n met hod to obviate the danger arising from the displacement of the points nnd switches upon rail roads. It is said that the engine itself performs the work of pul ling these switches to right, in case of dis placement, and that perfect security, in that respect, is thus attained. Dhstiiuctivk Firf.p. The extensive and valuable engine manufactory of Lwis Seyle, at Rochester, and the wnllen facto ry adjoining, were consumed on the night nf the 29lb nil. The loss is 35,000 dol lars, on which there was an insurance oT 2-2.000 dollars. Since the nbnvo wa in type, wc have henrd of two dc-tructive lircs yesterday. One at Hudson, Iho oilier at Stoninglon, Ct. That al Hod-ion broke out in the dry goods store of II. B. Van Dozer, nnd ex. tended to tho three large granilo buildings adjoining, occupied by S. Van Loan, Leon nrd Wells, Solomon Shnltuek, Mu-ick & Dean, Reed & Gage nnd David Monde ville. The property lost is estimated nt fifty thousand dollars. Tho lire in IMoninglon broljo out in Wa tor street, and, ns wo nrc infiomed, de stroyed nineteen buildings, six of which were stores; loss estimated nl sevnly three thousand dollnri A". Y. Com. Jldo. The Gm.AT Finn in Utica. We gave yesterday somu account of the destructive firo in Utica, which occored on Friday lat. The following particulars of this sail event wo copy from nn exiro, issued from Ihe office of the Baptist Register Both sides of Gencsse street from Broad street lo Whilesboro, and the south side of Whitethorn to Henry Sangers brick edifice on the corner of Borchurd street, aro in ruins. The entire block on the ea-l side of Genoese street, bounded by Broad, John and Maine w gone, wi'h the exception of Mr. T. 13 Clark's building on the corner of Maine and Jhon streets, owned bv J K. llinman, and of H. B. Shearman's on John street. The buildings are chiefly brick, and those of wood were qnitu sub stantial. JT. V. Com. Adv. A Cunio-rrv. A gentleman from Waynesboro', Pa, stopped nt one of our hotels, siMiie days since, having with him a pumpkin, which ho represented as having weighed but five piunds from Iho vine, in the fall of 1C31, nearly t hree years ago, nnd now weighs upwards of CO pounds, wilh every oppoarnncu of still growing. The stem wn ns hard ns n bone, whilst every other part of Ihe pumpkin wns quite green. It has been preserved in n warm room, without receiving nny moisture other than what it might derive from the iitinosnhcro ofthe room. JfcsUheslcr Jdd. Carrulloni an. If the proceeding story he true, who shall dure say, Out of nothing nothing i made? The important question, what is the food of plants, and pumpkins in partic ular, is we fear, to be revived with more wordy nccriinony than philosophical inves tigation. Arrival if young Honaparle. A slip from the Norfolk Beacon states that l!ie French frigatu Androincdc, Captain Henry Do Villeneuve, S3 days from Rio do Jiuei'. ro, having Louis Napoleon Bonaparte on board, arrived in Hampton Roads on Thursday night last, Wo loarn that he, ond also iho officers nnd ships compnny, nrc in good licnllh. The Priucu will laud ut Norfolk. As soon ns ihu ship can ho provisioned she will re. turn to R o tie Janerio. The frigate Sirein Com. Dupnrler, hav ing on board ,M. L-iporlier, Minister lo thu United Slates, suilod in company. Ball. Atncr. Mcktino or Muuciian rs A'v Nr.w Youic. A meeting ol IMcrchnnts was held nt tho .Masonic Hall. New York, which was one of the most numerous ever assembled in this country. The Hall was crowded, and tho silrectsand avenues leading to it were filled to overflowing, A scries of Resolutions were adopted, of which wo subom thu most materia! : Resolved. That a Commilteo of not less than fifty , bo appointed to repair to Wnsh. inglon and remonstrate wilh the Exccu tivo against tho conlinuenco of Ihu "Spo. cio Circular ;" and in behnlf of this moo ling, nnd in the nnme ofthe Mcrchnnts of New York and the people ot mo unucu Slntes, urge ils immediate repent. Resolved, That tho same Coniuiittoo be nnd aro hereby instructed, nlso In ask that instrnclinns be given to tho collectors of tho Revenue in nil thu ports of Iho Uni ted Stoics, not lo commence suit upon nny bonds which may Ho over for non pay ment, until after Iho first day of January next, in ordur that Congress may ndopt such measures of relief ns thov in their wisdom may deem necessary and propor Resolved', That they bo also instructed to urge upon the FiXeculiv. the propriety ofcnlling nn extra session nf Congress, at nsrarly a day as possible, in order that tho Ilepresenlativcs of ihu People, coining di rectly from their constituents, duvi.se suit able remedies for the unprecedented alarm ing ombarrassiiicnnls of the country Resolved, That the Merchants of Phi. Indelphin, Boston, Baltimore, und the coin mcrcial cities of the Union, be respectfully reqosted to unite with us in our Remon strance nnd Petition, nnd to use their ex ertiuiis, in connection with us, to induco the Hxecullvo of iho nation to listen to tho Voice of the People, nnd lo recede from n measure under Iho evils of which wo aru now laboring, and which threatens lo involve the whole country in ruin. Mn Wkiistkr on tiik Si.avc Question The following is an extract from Mr. Webster's New York speech. When ! say that I regard slavery in it self as a grcnt moral, social and political evil, I only use language which has bech adopted by distinguished men themselves, citizens of slave holding States, I shall do nothing, therefore, to favor or encour age ils further extension. Wo have shi very, already, amongst in. The Consti tution found il among us; it recognizod if, and gave il solemn guarantees. To t lib foil extent of those guarantees we nrc nfl bound, in honor, in justice, nnd by tho Constitution. All the stipulations con. laincd in ihe Constitution, in favor of tho slave-holding States which are nlrcady ih the Union ought lo bu fulfilled, and so far ns depends on me, shall be fulfilled, in Die fulness of Ihcir spirit, nnd lo the exactness of their loiter. Slavery as it exists in tho Slates, is beyond the reach of Congress. Il is n concern of the States themselves; they have never submitted it to Congress, and Cmigrcs has no rightful power over it. I shall concur therefore in no act, no meas ure, nn menace, no indication of purpose, which shall interfered, or threaten '.o inter fere, with Iho exclusive authority of the several States, over Ihe subject ol Slavery, as it exists within their respective limits. All this appears to me to be a matter of plain and imperative du'y. FRIDAY MO UN ING, MAV 5. Wc commence to-day tho publica tion of Mr. Webster's Speecli at Niblo's Garden New-York. It will bu read with satisfaction by cvory one who takes an interest and who does not nt the present time? in public nfl'iirs. This Speech, s.iys the lnlelhgencer, conlnins something lo interest every reader; and there aro few things in it which will not, we hope, com mand the assent ofa largo proportion of our readers. Thu charm of it, as a whole, is its purely national spirit ; its rejection of all topics that nrc what is called ccctionnl in their character, and its enlargement upon those themes which belong to Iho wholo country, and ought to command the atten tion of every American cit zen who aspires to ihe character ofa patriot. Probably there is not o man lo be found-, not swayed by by partisan feelings, but who is able to trace the origin of present difficulties, to the destruction ofthe United Slates Bank. That wretched and suicidal act has brought upon the country n cata logue of evils, which years of prosperity cannot eradicate. Men need not to bo told that they exist, for who docs not feel them, and with accumulating force? The murder of the United Slates Bank, we say, is the cause. That occasioned the panic in 1833 ; the removal of the public dc posiics, the creation of hundreds ol local banks, nud in consequence an enormous issuu of paper money , which produced over trading, forced from the Bank millions of her specie, brought into existence the in iquitous Treasury Circular, carried tha price of every article far beyond its actual value, and now that Digland calls for her debt, and tho Government locks up Ihe specie beyond the rench of debtors ; now that Iho grent slnplu of iho country has fallen upon the hands of honest traders, made them bankrupt, nnd in its courso Iia9 and is sweeping away the fortunes of thou sands of our fellow citizens; now that the mechanic is out of employment, iho labor er crying for bread, and nil classes every where suflering from the reckless schemes of Government, amidst all this distress pre sent and to come, Iho Globe, the organ of Govornnient, issues a manifesto deriding the misfortunes of the people, and telling them that yet greater miseries arc in store. Where and when these evils aru to slop who can tell? Either a change must bo made in the measures of Government, or tho entire commercial, mechanic and nianti fucturing energies of tho country must bo prostrated. Why is it that tho President docs not repeal tho infamous Treasury order? Why is tho olinost unanimous voice of Congress, and the loud and univer sal distress among I lie people disregarded? Why and for what ore our enterprising, citizens sacrificed? all for political ag' grandizemenl! ! The destruction of tho Uniled Slates Bank was a political blow, and tho measures which hnve followed had the snmo origin. In Mr. Van Huron's estimation, therefore, tho hopes and tho prosperity of tho people aro noining when placed in the same scalo wilh his individual prcfeis condirmerii. Thtion of affairs colli