The Sun. — London, England, 1830-01-07 00:00:00

~_'. SECOND EDITION PRESIDENT JACKSON'S MESSAGE The New President of the United State: (GENERAL .JACKSON,) sent the following MESSAGE to the Congress on the 7th of December : Fellow Citizens of tile Senate, and Housv of Represen• tatives, It affm de rae pleasure to t en d er my f r i en dl y greet i ngs to you o n the occasion of your assembling- at the seat of Go vernment, to enter upon the important duties to which you have been called by the voice of our countrymen. Thy task devolves on me, under a provision of the Constitution, to present to you, as the Federal Legis'ature of Twrnty. four Sovereign States, and twelve millions of happy peoph a view of our affairs ; and to propose such measures as, in the discharge of my official functions, have suggested them selves as necessary to promote the objects of our union. In communicating with you for the first time, it is, to me, a source of unfeigned satisfaction, calling for mutual gratulation and devout thanks to a benign Providence,tha• we are at peace with all mankind, and that our country exhibits the most cheering evidence of general welfare and progressive improvement. Turning our eyes to other nations, our great desire is to see our brethren of the hu man race secured in the blessings enjoyed by ourselves, and advancing in knowledge, in freedom, and in social happiness. Our foreign relations, although in their general charac ter pacific and friendly, present subjects of difference be tween us and other Powerss of deep interest, as well to the Country at large as to many of our citizens. To effect an adjuatment of these shall continue to be the object of any earnest endeavours, and notwithstanding the ties of the task, I do not allow myself to apprehend.unfa vousable results. Blessed as our country is with every thing which constitutes national strength, she is fully wle• (plate to the maintenance of all her interests. In dis charging the - responsible trnst confided to the Executive in this respect, it is my settled purpose to ask nothing that is not clearly right, and to submit to nothing that is wrong; and I fl atter myself that, supported by the other branches of the Government, and by the intelligence and patriutistm of the people, we shall be able, under the pro tection of Providence, to cause all our just rights to he respected. Of the unsettled matters hst , .vean the United States and other Powers, the most prominent are those which have for years been the subject of negociation with England, France, and Spain. The late periods at which our Mi nisters to those Governments left the United States, ren der it impoesible, at this early day, to inform you of what has been done on the subjects with which they have been reapectividy chaeged. Relying upon the justice of our views in relation ao the points coinmiitted to negociation, and the reciprocal good feeling which characterizes our intercourse with those nation, we have the best reason to hope for a satisfactory adjustment of existing differences. With Great Britain, alike distinguished in peace and War, we may look fooward to years of peaceful, honour. able, and and his elevated compnti d orns. E very thing in the con on tory of the twonation s is calculated to inspire sentiments of mutual respect and to carry conviction to the minds of both, that it is their policiey to preserve the most cordial relations. Subh are my own views, and it is not to be doubted that such are also the prevailing senti ments of our constituents. Although neither time nor oppor tunity has been afforded for a full developement of the policy Which the present Cabinet of Great Britaid designs to pur sue towards this country, I indulge the hope that it will be of a just and pacific character ; and if this anticipa tion be realized, we may look with confidenc e to a speedy and acceptable adjustment of our affairs. Under the Convention for regulating the reference to arbitration of the disputed points of boundary under the fifth article of the Treaty of Ghent, the proceedings have hitherto been conducted in that spirit of candour and liberality which ought ever to characterize the acts of So vereign States, seeking to adjust, by the most unex ceptionable means, important and delicate subjects of contention. The first statements of the parties have been exchanged, and the final replication, on our jpart, is in a course of preparation. This sub ect has received the attention demanded by its great and peculiar:. importance to a patriotic Member of the Co,.federacy. The exposition of our rights, al re• dy made, is such, as, from the high reputation of the Commissioners by whom it has been preparod, we had a right to expect. - Our interest at the Court of the So vereign who has evinced his friendly disposition, by assum ing the delicate task of arbitration, have been committed to a citizen of the State of Maine, whose character, talents, and intimate acquaintance with the subject, emi nently qualified him for so responsible a trust. With full confidence in . the jnstice of our cause, and in the probity, intelligence, and uncompromising independence of the illustrious arbitrator, we can have nothing to apprehend from the result. Froin Fratiee, our ancient all, we have a right to expect that justice which becomes the Sovereign of a powerful, intelligent, and m agnan i mous people. The beneficial eff ects produced by the commercial convention of 122.: li mited as a r e it s prov i s i ons, are too obvious not to make a *salutary impression upon the minds of those who are ch arged with the administration of her Government. Should this' result induce a disposition to embrace to their full extent the wholesome principles which constitute our commercial policy, our Minister to that Court will be ' found instructed to cherish a disposition, and to aid in condu cting • it t o use f ul practical conclusions. Th e claims . of ptir citizens for depredations upon their pro perty, long since committed under the authority, and, ---- in many instances, by the express direction, of the , • then existing Government of Fronce, remain unsat , unsatisfied ; and must, therefore, continue to furnish a subj ec t of unpleasant discussion , and possible collision, be , tween th e two Governments. I cherish, however, a lively hope, founded as well on the Nit of those claims and the established policy of all va enlightened i Governments, as , on the known integrity of the French Monarch, that the injurious delays of the past will find redress in the equity of the de lays of Minister has been instructed to press these demands on the French Government with all the !arnestoess which is called for by their importance and irrefutable justice; and in a pirit at tr evi the re spect which i s due to the feelings of th those ill from nce whom the satisfaction is required. O ur Minister recently a uthoriz e appoint e d t o S pa i n h as b een both d to assist i n removing evils alike injurious to fierecountries, either by concluding a Commercial Con ial ' by ur g i ng the Convention upon lib era l and reciprocal terms, or , acceptance in the full extent, of the inutu aliolY beneficial provision', of our navigation acts. He has bet% instructed to make a further appeal to the justice t) ,,„, 8 : Pain, in behalf of our citizevs, for indemnity for • sr "" st i°rls upon our commerce, committed under her oatbithority--an appeal which the pacific and liberal course se rved on our part, and a due . confidence in the honour 01°FaitibeaitnGo.vernizient, authorized us to exdect will not be vain. . With other European Powers our intercourse is on the torost friendly footing In Ru.sia, placed by her territo - ' l l the rank Htl limits, xtensive :population, and . great power, high States have always • fo und a of nations, the United . ~ 54,0 of 4titerakderatt friend. Although her recent int a- , wh, Y awakened a lively sympathy for those , ere e x ,,,,,,...., anticipate ,cv4 the desolations of war, we cannot but cau se or :'," the result will prove favourable to the Pin e ,-. c„Tlization, and to the progress of human hap- LarB„; been' l le Treaty of Peace between these Powers be ~Ife; ratified, we cannot be insensible to ;he great , Bt l ; - "I to be derived to the commerce of the United aft."' f"rn unlocking the navigation of the Black Sea— e.." Plasage . into . which is secured to all merchant tiv.'"6 bound to porta of Russia under a flag at peace with , l e Porte. This advantage, enjoyed upon conditions by -ths at of the Power s of Europe,-' has hitherto been withheld filNl ns.--During the past Summer, an antecedent, but etuevessful attempt to obtain it, was renewed, undercir . 41 . 0,"neea whi c h promised the most favourable results. atta°u2h the se results have fortunately been thus in part &eipe, further facilities to the enjoyment of this . new itir A f .or the enterprise our citizens are, in my opinion, . att,iat'ti!olintlY desirable to of ensure to them our most zealous atocelc, t rade with Austria, although of secondary import as t:, 14 1 been gradually increasing, anti is now so extended ‘,,,,,cat",eserve the fostering care of the Government. A ne- P o , I") commenced and nearly completed with that td by -"' by the late Administration, has been consummated aillabTr i ert . ty of Amity, Navigation, and Rommerce, which b li ,C, l ol befor e the Senate. Ivith ~Pg the recess of Congress, our diplomatic relations thin 4- ? r tugal have been resumed. The p o e f culiar state of • i0,, 4 In that country caused a suspension the recogni `).PPOZ th,e R epresentative who presented himself, until an , 4 • 111,2144 Y was h a d to o b ta i n from our official organ them Prol-"lttion regardine the actual, and, as far as practicable, eentaßetietive c ondition - of the authority by which the rep.re -o b eias. ` e in question was ap i , inte,l. This information t eceiv ed, the application of the established rule of Ct, -'.ertnnent in like cases, was no longer withheld. 4"erable :drawee have been made during the pre- i 'ent year, in the adjustment of claims of our citizens upon )enmark fur spoliation.; but all that we have a right to lemand from that Governmnt, in their behalf, has not yet been conceded. From the liberal footing, however, Ipon which the subject has, with the apprsbation of the claimants, been placed by the Government, togeth, r with he uniformly just and friendly disposition which bas been ..vinced by his Danish illaj,..sty, there is a reasonable (round to hope that this single subject of difference will Teedily be removed. Our relations with the Barbary Powers continue, as hey have long been, of the most favourable character. l'he policy of keeping an adequate force in the Mediterra nean, as security for the continuance of this tranquillity, rill be persevered in, as well as a similar one for the pro section of our commerce and fisheries in the Pacific.. The southern Republics of our own hemisphere have not et realized all the advantages for which they have been so "mg struggling,. We trust, however, that the day is not distant, when the restoration of peace and internal quiet, wider permanent systems of governimitt, securing the li ;erty, and promoting the happiness of the citizens, will crown, with complete success, their long and arduous ,fforts in the cause of self government, and enable us to 'aloe them as friendly rivals in all that is truly great and glorious. The recent invasion of Mexico, and the effect thereby ~ r oduced upon her domestic policy, must have a controll ing influence upon the great question of South American emancipation. We have seen the fell spirit of civil dis -ension rebuked, and perhaps for ever stifled in that Republic, by the lore of independence. If it be true, is appearances strongly indicate, that the spirit of Independence is the master spirit, and if a corresp rid ing sentiment prevail i❑ the ether St .tes, this devotion to liberty, cannot be without a proper effect upon the Coun cils of tlif mother country. Tha adoption, by Spain, of a pacifieltolicy towards her former colonies—an event eonsolisg to humanity, and a blessing to the world, in which she herself cannot fail largely to participate —may be most reasonably expected. The claims of our citizens upon the South American Governments, generally, are in a train of settlement, while the principal part of those upon Brazil have been adjusted, and a decree in council, entering bonds to be is sued by the Minister of the Treasury for their amount, has received the sanction of-Iris Imperial Majesty. This event, together with the exchange of the ratifications of the Treaty negotiated and concluded in 182 S, happily termi nates all serious causes of difference with that Power. Measures have been taken to place our commercial re lations with Peru upon a better footing than that upon which they hitherto rested ; and if met by proper dispo sition on the part of that Government, important benefits ens) , be secured to both countries. I/reply interested as we are in the prosperity of our sis ter Republics, and mere particularly in that of our imme diate neighbour, it would be most gratifying to me were I permitted to sty that the treatment which we have re ceived at her hands oad been as universally as the early and constant solicitude :manifested by the United States for her success gave us a right to expect. But it becomes my duty to inform you that prejudices, long indulged by a portion of the inhabitants of Mexico against the Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States, have had an unfortunate influence upon the affairs of the two countries, and have ditnintshed that usefulness to his own which was justly to be expected from his ta lents and zeal. To this cause, in a great measure, is to be imputed the failure of several ma eas ur es equally interesting to both parties; but particularly of the Mexican Govern ment to ratify a Treaty, negocivted and concladi d in its own capital and tinder its own eye. Under these circum stances, it appeared expedient to give to Mr. Poinsett the option either to return or not, as, in his judgment, the in terest of his country might require, and instructions to that end were prepared; but, before they could be dis patched, a communication waa received from the Govern ment of Mexico, through it Charge d'Affaires here, re questing the recall of our Minister. This was promptly complied with, and a Representative of a rank correspond ing with that of the Mexican Diplomatic. Agent near this Government was appointed. Our conduct towards that Republic hai ben uniformly of the most friendly charac ter; and haring thus removed the only alleged obstacle to harmonious intercourse, I cannot but hope that an ad vantageous change will occur in our affairs. IR justice to Mr. Poinsett, it is proper to say, that my immediate compliance with the application for his recall, and the appointment of a successor, are not to be ascribed to any evidence that the imputation of an improper inter ference by him in the local politics of Mexico was well founded ; nor to a want of confidence in his talents or in tegrity ; and to add, that the truth of that charge has never been affirmed by the Federal Government of Mexico, in its communications with this. I consider it one of the most urgent of my duties to bring to your attention the propriety of amending that part of our Constitution which relates to the election of Pre sident and Vice-President. Our system of Government was, by its framers, deemed an experiment ; and they, therefore, consistently proilded a mode of remedying its defects. To the People belongs the right of electing their Chief Magistrate ; it was never designed that their choice should in any case be defeated, either by the intervention of elec toral colleges, or by the agency coskned under certain con- 4 tingencies, to the House of Representatives. Experience proves, that, in proportion as agents to execute the the People are multiplied, their is danger in their wishees being frustratedr Some may be unfaithful ; all lare iable to err. So far, therefore, as the People can, with con venience, speak, it is safer for them to express their own will. The number of aspirants to the Presidency, and the diversity of the interests which may influence their claims, leave little reason to expect a choice in the first instance; and in that event, the election must devolve on the House of Representatives, where it is obvious the will of the people may not be always ascertained, or if ascertained may net be regarded.—Prom the mode of voting by States, the choice is to be made by twenty.four votes ; and it may often occur that one of these may be controuled by an indivi , lual Representative. Honours and offices are at the disposal of the successful candidate. Repdated ballotings may make it apparent that a single indi vidual holds the cast in his own hand May he not he tempted to name his reward? But even without corruption—supposing the probity of the Representa tive to be proof against the powerful motives by which he may be assailed— the will of the people is still constantly liable to be misrepresented. One may err from ignorance of the wishes of his constituents; ano ther, front a conviction that it is his duty to be governed by his own judgment of the fitness of the candidates; finally, although all were inflexibly honest—and accurately informed of the wishes of their constituents—yet, under the present mode of election, the minority may often elect a President; and when this happens, it may reasonably be expected that efforts will be made on the part of the ' majority, to rectify this injurious operation of their insti tutions. But although no evil of this character should result from such a perversion of the first principle of our system—that the majority is to govern—it must be very certain that a President elected by a minority cannot en joy the confidence necessary to the successful dsscharge of his duties. In this, as in all other matters of public concern, policy requires thit as few itnpeditnents as possible should exist to the free operation of the public will, Let us, then, en deavour so to amend our system that the office of Chief Magistrate may not be conferred upon any citizen but in pursuance of a fair expression of the will of the majority. I would therefore recommend such an amendment of the Constitution as may remove all intermediate agency in the election of President and Vice-President. The mode may be so regulated as to preserve to each State its present relative weight in the election ; and a fail ure i n th e fi rst . _ . attempt may be provided for, by confining the second to a choice between the two highest candidates. In connexion with such an amendment, it would seem advisable to limit the services of the Chief Magistrate to a singl e term, of either four or six years. If, however, it should not be adopted, it is worthy of consideration whether a provision disqualifying for office the Representatives in Congress on whom such an election may have devolved, would not be proper. While Members of Congress can be constitutionally ap pointed to offices of trust and profit, it will be the prac tice, even under the most conscientious adherence to duty, to select them for such stations as they are believed to be better qualified to fill than other citizens ; but the purity of our Goverment would doubtless be promoted by their exclusion from 01l appointments in the gift of the Presi dent, in whose election they may have been officially con cerned. The nature of the judicial office, and the neces sity of securing in the Cabinet and in diplomatic stations of the highest rank, the best talents and political expe rience, should, perhaps, except there from the exclusion. There are, perhaps, few men who can, for nny great length of time, enjoy office and power, witimonut being or logs under the feelings unfavourable to a faithful dis charge of their duties. Their integrity may be proof against improper considerations immediately, ad dressed to 4hemseelves, but they nterests, and of tolerating conduct from which anuninb a elinvibit of looking with indifierence lupon the public practised man would revolt. Office is considered at a species of property; and Government, rather as a means 1 -4* promoting individual interests th , n as an instrit ment created solely for the ic,d the pen : d.• Corrupeion is some, and, in whet- A oerversion mrreet feelings and principles, divert Government fro. ,ts legitimate ends, and make it an engine for the support if the few at the expence of the trimly. The sititieA in public officers are, or at least .inhnit of being made so Alain and simple, that men of intelligenre may r ea dih, hemselves for their pet!ormance ; and I cannot but be :ieve that mere is lost by the long continuame of men it office than is generally to be gained by their experience. submit, therefore, to your consideration, whether the -fficiency of the Government would not lie promoted, and ,ffieial industry and integrity better secured, by a general •xtension of the law which limits the appointment to four years. In a country where officef are created solely for the benefit of the People, no one man Ices any more intrinsic. right to official station than another. Officers were not c.stalilished to give support to particular men at the public expense. No individual wrong is therefore done by re moval, since neither appointment to, nor continuanc e in office, is matter el right. The incumbent became :an ufft.•er with a view to public benefits; and when these re quire his removal, they are not to be sact Aced to private interests. It is the people, and they alone, who have a tight to complain when a bad officer is substituted for a good one. lie who is removed has the same means of ob taining a living that are enjoyed by the milions who never held office. The proposed limitation would destroy the idea of property now so generally connected with official station, and although individual distress may be sometimes produced, it would, by promotiing that rotation which, constituter a le ding principle in . the republican creed, give healthful action to the system. No very considerable - change has occurred, during the recess of Congress, in the condition of either our agricul ture, commerce, or manufictures. The operation of *the . Tariff has not proved so injurious to the two former, nor as beneficial to the latter, as was anticipated. Importation, of foreign goods have not been sensibly diminished; while domestic competition, under an illusive excitement, has in. creased the production much beyond the demand for home consumption—the cons. qucnces have been low prices, tem porary embarrassment, and partial loss. That sucq of our manufacturing establishments as are based upon capital, and are prudently managed, will survive the shock, and be ultimately profitable, there is no good reason to doubt. To .regulate its conduct so as to promote equally the prosperity of these three Cardinal interests, is one of the most difficult tasks of Government ; and it may be re gretted that the complicated restrictions which now embarrass the intercourse of nations, could not by com mon consent he abolished, and commerce allowed to flow in those channels to which individual enterprise--always its surest guide—mighs direct it. But we must ever ex pect selfish legislation in other nations, and are, there fore, compelled to adapt our own to their regulations, in the marines best calculated to avoid serious injury, and to harmonise the conflicting interests of our agriculture., our commerce, and our manufactures.- Under these impres sions I invite your attention to the existing Tariff, believ ing that some of its provisions requite modification. The general rule to be applied in graduating the duties Upon articles of foreign growth or manufacture is, that which will place our own in fair competition with those of other countries: and the inducements to advance even a step beyond this point, are controlling in regard to those articles which are of primary necessity in time of war. When we reflect upon the difficulty and delicacy of this operation, it is important that it should never be attempt ed but with the utmost cautien. Frequent legislation ire regard to any branch of industay, affecting its value, and by which its capital may be tran►ferred to new chan nels, must always be productive of hazardous speculation and loss. In deliberating, therefore, on these interesting subjects, local feelings and prejudices should be merged in the pa triotic determination to promote the great interests of the whole. All attempts to connect them with the party, conflicts of the day are necessarily injurious, and should be discountenanced. Gur action upon them should be under the controul of higher and purer motives. Legisla tion subjected to such influences can never be just, and will not long retain the sanction of a people whose active patriotism is not bounded by sectional limifs, nor insen sible to that spirit of concession and forbearance which gave life to our political compact, and still sustains it. Discarding all calculations of politioal ascendancy, the North, the South, the East and the West, skould unite in diminishing any burthen of which either may justly coin- The agricultural interest of our country is so essentially connected with every other, and so superior in importance lance to them all, that it it is scarcely necessary to invite to it your particular attention. It is principally as manu factures and commerce tend to increase the value of agri cultural productions, and to extend their application to the wants and comforts of society, that they deserve the fostering care of Goaernment. Looking forward to the period, not far distant, when a sinking fund will no longer be required, the duties on those articles of importation which cannot come in com petition with our own productions, are the first that should engag e the attention of the Congress in the modification of theVariff. Of these, tea and coffee are the most promi ,iteqk they enter largely into the consumption of the coun try, and have become articles of necessity to all classes. A reduction, therefore, of the existing duties, will be felt as a 4ommon benefit; but like all other legislation connected with commerce, to be efficacious, and not injurious, it should be gradual and certain. The public prosperity is evinced in the increased reve nue arising from the sales of the public lands, and in the steady maintenance of that produced by imposts and ton nage, notwithstanding the additional duties imposed by the Act of 19th of May, 1828, and the unusual importations in the early part of that year. The balance in the Treasury on the let of Jannary, 1829, was 5,972,435 dollars and SI vents. Th e rece i pts of the current year arc estimated at 24,602,230 d o ll ars ; and the expenditure for the same time at 26,164,595 dol lars ; leaving a balance in the Treasury on the Ist of Ja nuary next, of 4,410,070 dollars, and SL cents. There will have been paid, on account of the publia debt, during the present year, the suin of 1 2,405,005 dollars and SO cents ; reducing the whole debt of the Go vernment, on the Ist of January next, to 48,5651406 dollars and 50 cents., including seven millions or five per per cent. stock, subscribed to the Bank of the United States. The payment on account of the public debt, made on the Ist of July last, was 8,715,462 dollars and S 7 cents. It was apprehended that dm sudden withdrawal of so large a sum from the Banks in which it was de positedf unusual pressure in the moncy market. might cause much injury to the interests dependent on Bank accom modation. But this evil was completely averted by an early anticipation of it at the Trevsnry. aided by the judicious arrangements of the officers of the Bank of the United States. Alter the extinction of the public debt, it is not pro bable that any adjustment of the Tariff, upon principles satisfactory to the people of the Union, will, until a re mote period, if ever, leave the Government without a con siderable surplus in the Treasury, beyond what may be required for its current service. As then the period ap proaches when the application of the revenue to the pay ment of debt will cease, the disposition of the surplus Will present a subject for the serious deliberation of Congress, and it may be fortunate. for the country that it is yet to be decided. Considered in connection with the diffi culties which hava heretofore attended appropriations for purposes of internal improvement, and with those which this experience tells us we will certainly arise, whenever power over such subjects may be exer cised by the general Government, it is hoped that it may lead to the adoption of some plan which wia reconcile the diversified interests of the States, and strengthen the bonds which unite them. Every member of the Union, in peace and in war, will be benefitted by the improvement of in land navigation and construction of highways in the seve ral States. Let us then endeavour to attain this benefit in a mode which will be satisfactory to nII. That hitherto adopted has, by many of our fellow-citizens, been depre cated as an infraction of the Constitution, while by others it has been viewed as inexpedient. All feel that it has been etnpleyed at the expense of harmony in the Legisla tive Councils. Nothing is clearer, in my view, than that we are chiefly indebted fir the success of the Constitution tinder which we are new acting, to the watchful and auxiliary operation of the State authorities. This :is not the reflection of a day, but belongs to the most deeply rooted convictions of my mind. 1 cannot, therefore, too deeply or too earnestly from my own sense of its importance, warn you against all encroachments upon the legitimate sphere of State so vereignty. Sustained by its healthful and invigorating in fluence, the Federal system can never fail. The Report of the Secretary yf War tvill make you acquainted with the condition of. our Army, Fortifica tions, Arsenals, and Indian Affairs. The proper dis cipline of the Army, the training and equipment of the Militia, the Education bestowed at West Port, and tne accumulation of the means of defence, applicable to the Naval force, will tend to prolong the peace we now enjoy, and which every good citiven, more especially those who have felt the miseries of even a successful warfare—must ardently desire to perpetuate. The accompanying report of the Secretary of the Navy will make you argol'btel with the eondition and useful employment no 6.,t branch Of Mir service during the pre sent year. Cou.tituto.z, as it. does, the best standing se cur;ty of this comary .cainst foreign aggression, it claim. the especial arention of Goveimm•rit. In time of peace we have tired of no more fibir, of war than are required to the protection o our commerce. Those not wanted for this object must Iry in the Harbours, whe:e, without prope, covering, they rapidly iiecav, and, even under the be s ! precautions for theirpreservation, uw•t soon become useless. Such is already the case with many of our finest vessels, which, though unfinished, will now require immense sums of money to be restored to the condition in which they were when committed to their proper element: On this subject there can be but little doubt that our best policy would be to discontinue the building o f ships of the first and second class ; and lcok rather to the possession of ample materials far the emerg. neics o' ‘var, than to the number of vessels which we can float in a son in peace, as the index of our aavai power. I row commend you, fellow-citizens, to the guid ance of Almighty God, with a full reliance o❑ his merciful Providence for the maintenance of our free institution : and with an earnest supplication, that who ever errors it may be my lot to commit, in discharging the arduous duties which have devolved on me, will find a remedy in the harmony and wisdom of your counsels. ANDIIENV JACKSON. CONTEMPT OF COURT. In 1793, when Swift executed the revision of Gulliver's Travels, he made the most bitter addition to the passages affecting the law and its professors. About the same time he indulged his humours with a most extraordinary mock trial in ridicule of the assizes then about to be held in the county of Meath. The scene was Ardsalla, in the house of Mr. Ludlow, where the Jacksons, Grattans, Mr. Stopford, and other favourites of the Dean, were assembled. Sheridan, it seems, had been guilty of a petty delinquency in his chamber. The rest shall be abridged from the narrative of Mr. Theophilus Swift :—" A tribunal is erected, and all things pre pared in dile and regular, form. A plain kitchen table is turned with its top downwards, and into this dock Sheridan is put wigless and bare-headed, while Swift himself mounts the seat of justice with his own wig, frizzed arid bushed into a full bottom, and set inverted on his head. A servant maid% scarlet cloak is flung over his shoulders, to represent the robes of a judge, and Aaron's band is converted into that of a chief justice. The grand jury are sworn and the bill found; the petty jury sworn in their turn, and the prisoner put on his trial. The crier commands silence, and the laWyers are ranged. The utmost gravity and decorum prevail, and the only smile that passed on the occasion arose from the ludicrous circumstance of Mr. Stop ford, who, being feed for the Crown, declared he could not do his duty as a true lawyer un less he should be feed on both sides. A se cond fee is therefore given him, in open court, on behalf of the prisoner; and he told my mother he actually received, by the double fee, eighteen shillings. He is said to have conducted himself with wonderful huinour and address through the whole of the trial. The Jacksons and Grattans had likewise their respective stations in the cause. Most of the servants are examined, and, in spite of prayers and entreaties, Mrs. Ludlow herself, who is made to swear on the vessel alleged to have suffered pollu tion. Their verdict, as might be expected, is that of guilty ; and Swift, with all the solemnity of justice, pronounces sentence of death on the trembling She ridan, awfully concluding with, The Lord have mercy on your soul !' A rope is produced; She ridan sees he shall be hanged pro forma; out of the dock he springs, and flies up stairs, the whole court in full cry after him. But fear having added wings to his feet he had sufficient time to bolt his chamber door, which he barricadoed as well as he could with what furniture was in the room. Here for two hours he remained besieged; at length he capitulated on a solemn assurance that he should not be hanged. In a day or two the judges arrive, and, hearing the contempt that Swift had put upon them, send an express with the account of it to the Lord Lieutenant, who very wisely laughed at the frolic.— Not finding the redress they expected they made a formal complaint to the Bishops, who had nearly re solved to take up the matter seriously ; but one more prudent • than the rest recommended that the whole should be hushed up."—Sir Walter Scott': " life moirs of Swift." THE ARMY. COURT MARTIAL. Mad Quarters, Kingston, Jainai , a, Oct. 23, 1829. At a District Court Martial, assembled at Port Royal, by order of Lieut.-Colonel Keyt, C.B.com manding the Forces, on the 13th, and continued by adjournment to the 19th inst., was tried gunner and driver John Robertsbaw, R.A. who was arraigned upon the following charge :—For highly unsoldier like-conduct, in writing, or causing to be written, on or about the 29th of September, 1829, to the Lieutenant-Colonel commanding in Jamaica, a let ter containing false statements against Lieutenant- Colonel Durnford, his Commanding Officer, and Lieutenant Stewart, the Officer Commanding his Company, and not forwarding such letter through his ComManding Officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Durn ford." The Court having most attentively and minutely examined, weighed, and considered the documents and evidence adduced in support of the prosecu tion, as likewise what the prisoner has stated and brought forward in his defence, is of opinion that he, the prisoner, gunner and driver John Robert shaw, Royal Artillery, is guilty of all and every part of the charge exhibited against him, which being in breach of the Articles of War, and con trary to the rules of the service, the Court does, by virtue thereof, sentence and adjudge the said prisoner, gunner and driver John Robertshaw, to receive a corporal punishment of six hundred lashes, in the usual manner, at such time and place as the Lieutenant-Colonel Commanding the Forces may be pleased to direct. The Court having thus discharged its duty, how ever painful, in patiently inquiring into the matter connected with the charge, and in according what it deems a punishment commensurate with the serious offence of which the prisoner has been convicted, cannot but express its regret at the occurrence of such a glaring instance of unwarrantable interfer ence with military discipline, by irresponsible per sons, as i manifest in the case of the unfortunate prisoner, who has unequivocally avowed to the Court that he has given play to " persuasions," and which has resulted in bringing him to punishment! The Court is also desirous of recording its sense of the wrong done to Lieutenant-Colonel Durnford, it appearing in evidence, that so far from denying the prisoner that redress the soldier is entitled to expect at the hands of his Officers, he in two dif feren: instances sent his Adjutant and the Officer commanding the company to which the prisoner belongs to ask if he had any complaints,which inquiry Was in both instances replied to in the negative. The Lieutenant-Colonel Commanding fully ap proves the finding and sentence of the Court; but after a careful examination of the evidence, for and against the prisoner, gunner and driver John Robert : shaw, taking into consideration all the various cir cumstances connected with the case, arid more espe cially the very good character of the prisoner which appears upon the face of the proceedings, he has been induced to remit the punishment; at the same time he uishes it to be clearly and distinctly ex plained to the prisoner, that his former good charac ter has been the sole motive with the Lieutenant- Colonel Commanding for granting an unconditional remission of the sentence, most properly awarded, for such a serious breach of military discipline. The prisoner will be released and returned to his duty, and the Lieutenant-Colonel Commanding directs that gunner and driver John Robertshaw may he sent to join the detachment of his company, at Honduras, by the earliest opportunity. G. HILLIER, Acting Deputy Atijt-Gen. SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOTJRNALS, In the Journal des Delats of Monday we find another article on the understood nominatim of Prince Leopold to the throne of Greece, which betrays more soreness towards the English Government, and makes a fiercer attack on the French Ministry for their supposed submission to English dictation, than the last. The ob jections of the journalist seem, indeed, directed almost exclusively against the parties who have made the selection of the new Sovereign, and not 'gainst the object of their choice. His personal character is not assailed,—his principles are not questioned,—his general fitness in point of knowledge, and rank, are tacitly ad mitted. He is not even contrasted with any of the candidates formerly mentioned, as to his qua lifications for a throne : nor does the .Delats mggest any new competitor whose latent merit and modest virtues, brought forward for the first time, would give him a superior claim. Prince Leopold may unite in his own person all the vir tues and talents which fit him for the arduous office with which he is to be invested ; but he is connected with England, he is the son-in-law of George IV.,—and the proxy which Russia put into the hands of Prince Polimuac ought not to have been employed to promote even the model of rulers, if in his elevation any credit was to be reflected on the English Ministry!! Such is the great argument—such is the only argument employed by our French contempo rary against the claims of the Prince. We no more hear of his being a pensioner of England, because it has probably just been discovered that in itself money can be no objection among the Greeks, and that the enjoyment of his allowance from the English nation cannot affect his inde pendence in his new station, as he is entitled to it so long as he lives and chooses to draw it, whether in Greece, in Germany, or England. At any rate, an objection of that kind would come with a bad grace from a journal which applauds the generous advances of money made by the French Government to the present ruler of Greece, and censures the English for its almost hostile parsimony. But we cannot ac cept of the argument with which the journalist supplies us against himself, at the expence of truth and of English generosity. " Great God I" says he, " was there a necessity to pass the Straits to find a Sovereign for Greece in the land that had refused it succours when France was collecting charitable subscriptions for its relief?" Has he forgotten that the first and most effective assistance and encou ragement proceeded from England to that un fortunate country ? What are all the fruits of ' the theatrical charity of Paris,- 7 of the begging boxes carried from door to door by liberal ladies,—of the sale of trinkets for the establish ment of national independence,—compared with what England advanced at first in the shape of free-will offerings, and subsequently in the shape of loans,—to be paid probably at the Greek Kalends ? What nation more effectually inter fered to protect the Greeks from massacre by our volunteers and ships of war, or what Go verment stirred before ours in effecting the treaty of intervention? It is true that the ardent sympathy of our countrymen was latterly some what abated from accidental causes, among which not the least was the misconduct of some of the parties, who pretended to imitate the extrava pant generosity of our neighbours, while they endeavoured to turn their/Ail/lel/clam to their own advantage ; but for some time nearly all the substantial aid which the struggling Greeks re ceived proceeded from this country. It is not a little inconsistent to hear French writers, who boasted that their expedition to Greece had no selfish or ambitious object, now declaiming against their rulers because that enterprise has not been rendered more profitable to France, because it has not been employed as the means of perpetuating their influence or extending their power. In passing the self-denying ordinance, that no Prince belonging to any of their three houses should be elevated to the Greek Sove reignty, the Allied Courts intended to cut off at once a source of jealousy in making their diffi cult election, and of future favour with the can didate elected. The proxy of Russia (if given to France as the Journal des Debats says) has for these ends been discreetly employed ; and as the suffrages of the three Powers have fallen, without any active canvass on our part, on a Prince unobjectionable to either of our Allies, and unopposed by any stipulation of their com pact, so England expects no farther advantages from the appointment, either private, political, or commercial, than if they had elevated to the Greek throne some tenth cousin of a German Landgrave. or the Royal Youth commonly called in Paris " Prince Paul of the Opera."— Tim es. The Sixth Report of the Commissioners of Aroods and Forests has been now for some weeks before the public, and we do not know _ _ that any thing could be recommended of greater usefulness, either to the Government or to the country, than an occasional examination of the matters contained in those records of mad and ruinous prodigality, the reports of the above mentioned Commissioners, rendered as they have been at once more intelligible and more exasperating by occasional discussions in the House of Commons, and perhaps in some few instances—but of that we are •not sure—by do cuments produced on the motions o f members less easily satisfied than their colleagues to take the words of Court minions for indisputable truth. Ministers, who are responsible by lay for misappropriations of the public money, can hare no rational motive for withholding the knowledge of the difficulties under which they labour from the people. They, the Ministers (as contra-distinguished from the Court), not being sensible of any interest apart from the nation, must be anxious to reinforce themselves against any wrong tendency in quarters not re sponsible, by making the people. of England wit nesses and judges of the manner in which, and the degree to which, the efforts at economy made by those servants of the state, who are constitu tionally answerable for their actions, have been thwarted and embarrassed by a pretended zeal to gratify tastes which may, indeed, by due firmness be restrained, but which are no other- wise amenable to punishment than as public re proof or indignation may affect them. We therefore do a service to th e St a t e , an d t o those Ministers who serve the State s by strenuously advising every man in office or out of it to scru tinize these reports from the Commissioners of NVoods and Forests: The reports ought not to be triennial: they would never have been so, had they not, by such long, intervals between their appearance, affurded opportunities for in dulging in monstrous and p ro fli ga t e expense , unchecked in its progress because it was unseen, until, after a three y ears ' saturna li a , t h e heaped :lp enormities rose at once upon the view ; and from the very magnitude of the offence, then for the first time visible, an argument was raised for pro- WNLA ~~ imam 11 seeding to its compLtion, th I" . tris 'sums ready squandered mig'it not be.lttigctiter. turown away !" How often, we ask, Sas \tf!is language been used in Parham. nt ? How Acii has the alter native been nut to the House of Commons—" We admit that the taste of this or tlint monstrosity is hideous,—wc regret that no adequ ice system of controul or prevention hasyet been established; but see how near the whole affair is -to ,matu rity ; and sure it is a pity not to give a little more money, for otherwise the building; will be destroyed Not once, but an hundred times, has t:iis unfeeling nonsense been echoed through the walls of Parliament : not once, but always, has i; been listened to, we cannot say with com placency, but (so much the more disgraceful) without eny effective opposition. Had it been left to any twelve sober-minded men in Eng , - land, they would hare said, when first such an alternative as we have presented was put to them, " Well, then, even at this late hour, let us save the public treasure, and instil a good lesson into the Treasury,—let the building be razed, not finished." We are amazed. on look ing back and considering some of the evidence before the committee,—we are amazed at tble freedom from salutary controul which has been suffered so long to flourish. Mr. Nash, in one of his answers, declared, that on some oteasionrs " he received orders direct from his %jests'," which he executed as a thing of couisc. Who can blame Mr. Nash for such obedience, especially when he does not aprear to have had any wan ing as to the personal risk which might at tend it But who, on the other hand, can fail to fbresee results the most fatal from such sty intermcddling with the public money ? Some persons have been silly or servile enough to ask whether the King was not the most proper judge what sort of house he would himself desire to inhabit. All that is mighty well, but the King (God bless him) does not pay one farthing 10- wards the cost of such an edifice. The King. moreover is a gentleman far advanced in year:, and is at most but tenant for- life of Buckingham or any other palace. The freehold is in tine. nation, who, with all deference, are better judges than the King pro tempore of the amount of money which they themselves choose to pay, and of the sort of house which they approve of for the King's successors. The hundreds of thou sands which Buckingham Palace has already cost are frightful ;—those which " new stables " have not yet cost (though we suspect the cash has been issued professedly for them), will frighten those who live to see the votes of Another aes sion. An end must be put to this. What is to furnish Buckingham Palace, we beg leave to ask ? How many more hundreds of thousands there ? So far from a commission reporting upon these offences only in three years, we at firm that there ought to be, not an annual, but a quarterly, investigation, and interposition, to in tercept each folly as it first takes wing, and to blight the budding mischiefs which,_ivhen full grown, it would appear that no wisdom or courage can disarm. Besides this exercise of especial vigilance in some appointed officers, we would urge most earnestly upon the acting chiefs of t,he Government themselves, an inflexible and inexorable disregard of every proposition which can be tendered to them for indulging wild pro pensities to extravagance in the charge of public revenue. The country cannot bear such weak ness as has hitherto been displayed on the mat ters to which we have adverted.—/bid. • Mr. Mance, Governor of the House of Cot rection, Pctworth, has just published a Letter to the Lord Lieutenant and Magistrates of time county of Sussex, on the subject of Prison Dis cipline, in which a variety of improvement on the existing anomalous system is pointed out. The Prison Establishment of this country, in importance, already takes its place beside the Church Establishment ; and judging from the progress of late years, we are war ranted in inferring that many years will not elapse before prisons will rank in importance before all our establishments. "On a moderate calculation (says Mr. Mance), the number of offenders confined in our respective prisons in England and Wales is not less than 95,000 in the course of one year, while the annual expellee of these establishments is little short of 50,0001." Where much money is expended there will gene rally be found talent ; and, accordingly some of the cleverest men in the country are now to be found in the once-despised situation of gaoler, only with the respectable title of Governors, &c. No men have such opportunities for the study of human nature or, at least, of morbid mental • anatomy ; and now that the ability to write en ables them to lay the results of their observa tions before the public, we may expect much valuable information from this source. It is, indeed, a matter of infinite importance to become acquainted with that large and growing portion of our population which crimes and offences conduct to our prisons. If 95,000 offenders pass through the prisons of England and Wales in one year, we may assume that those who have been in prison some time or other, for crimes and offences, amount to many times that number. Not a few of the 95,000 have, no doubt, been more than once in prison ; but making every allowance for this, still the number of people who have been contaminated by residence in a prison, spread over England and Wales, must amount to seve ral hundred thousand. Whatever relates then to so large a part of the inhabitants of England de serves the utmost attention. Nothing can well be conceived more absurd than the notions which prevail in this country respecting prison labour. Would it- be believed that there are persons suffered to walk at large, nay even Ma gistrates, who conceive that the labour of persons maintained at such an enormous expence should be thrown away ?—that there are persons so stolid as not to perceive, that if, for instance, an individual who pays U. towards this 500,0001. gets articles, in return, worth to him 11., he is better off than if he got nothing ? Yet these notions are deeply rooted in many a Magisterial and Ministerial head ; and hence, even in this county of Middlesex, we have expensive machi nery erected in prisons, merely for unproductive labour? " This injudicious practice (says Mr. Mance) of not encouraging prison labour is not confined to this division of the county of Sus sex, but extends also to the other division or the county, and its injurious effects are, I believe, more or less experienced in all the :prisons throughout the kingdom. if it is asked, why is this ? I answer, some persons object to these prison manufactories, be cause they think they are calculated to injure the honest manufactuor and the fair trader. But surely this objection cannot be seriously enter tained by a reflecting mind. No man, however selfish, thinks of seriously objecting to a new manufacturer attempting to establish himself in his vicinity, Why then should any person ob ject to a similar and necessarily limited mann fittory, supported by every one who pays poor-