Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1830-05-01


dsinterested in the opinion, speaks OF the report
of the committee of Ways and Means IN the
House Of Representatives, upon the Na'io0ai
Currency, in the following terms:
..This Report contains the most satisfactory
evidence Of Mr. Mc'Duffies talents, and OF his
nol;tical INTEGRITY. Although on various sub
iects, it is not improbable that we should differ
from him. of his bold and manly spirit, his up
rightness according to the views which he enter
tains and of his independence, there cannot De
any difference of opinion among dlslnterested
people"
-aaR5e5a~
We find the following in the New YORK Mer-
camille Advertiser:
Fra,M In Domestic Goods.-We were shown,
Yesterday, a package of goods said to be Diaper
manufactured in Penny!,ania, the sample END
of which, for about half yard exhibited hand
some specimen Of the 'lrti-ie--ft for ablecloths,
but the residue was liz the coarsest Bunting,
and almost coarse emo. t2r a seine. The PIE
ces (about AZ wards eacr fail short in measure
about yards each.
fin Essay on the Practire Of duelling. By
James Sega, L. L. D.-This is the idle of a
pamphlet lately issued from the Philadelphia
press, by an Italian jurist who resides in our
city and who intends to become an American Cit
iZen.
DIR. Sega after mentioning that ducls were un-
known to the Greeks and Romans. traces the orr
yin of the practice to the nations of northern Eu-
rope Will, them he thinks 1t ought to be regarded
as the first step towards civilization No regu-
lar civil jurisprudence was established among
them, and the settling of disputes by single COM
bat, was the means of preventing conflicts in the
consequences of which great portions OF society
might have been involved.
In modern society, he considers the practice
of dueling as every way unjustihabe, and attrl-
butes its existence to the impeilectlons OF the
laws. The laws do not provide adequate pun
ishment for many offences against the person or
against feeling, and therefore, the man who IS.
or who fancies himselfinjured, takes the business
of retributive justice into his own hands. Again,
the laws are defective in not drawing proper
distinction between homicide in duel, and otheT
kinds of man-killins 1T is absolutely unjust
SAYS the author, $50 punish the wretched man,
who in such meeting, kills his adversary. in the
same manner, that ''an assassin is punished:
..because, indeed there are two very different
..cases, that of waiting, with treacherous arm
ssfor an unexpecting and unarmed person, and
IS that of exposing ones self to the chance that
.. the ball of an adversary may pass through ones
.sheart. or through the body of the opponent
.sThere is no doubt that duelllng is a crime, a
"horribe one, which violates the divine, the hui
s.man, and the natural laws, together with those
:sof civilization: but why should we persist in
considering the killing of man in duel as
:: murder, if good sense and all human reason re-
''fuse to give their assent.
=
Sc I wish it not to be inferred that hold the
"killing man in duel not punishable: all
sscrimes must be punished, and this more than
''any other: but it is not by furnishing an event
s.ual manslaughter that we can prevent dueling;
''an express law, fixing penalties even as severe
"as those inflicted upon murderers' must make
..duelling a crime"
There is force in these observations. One of
the reasons why our laws to prevent duels are
ineffective, is their confounding man killing in
single combat with man killing under circumstan-
ces entirely different-The people retain in their
minds distinction their Legislators have
lost sight of, and public opinion refuses to en-
force the same penalties against him who kills
another in open combat, and HIM who stabs anoth-
er in the dark.
We despair, however, of seeing duelling, or
the offences which give rise to duelling, ever put
an end to by bills of pains and penalties. If
those feelings which prevent the giving of often
ces and the avenging of offences, ever prevail
generally, they will be produced by combina-
ton Of moral, religious, economic, and political
causes, which have no immediate connection
with penal legislation.
-sxHE5es-
Philadelphia, 4pril on the Che
sapeake and Delaware Canal, which has hitherto
been brisk, is constantly increasing. We under
stand that one of the existing regulations of the
Company is, thut & no steamboat, raft, or float,
shall be permitted to pass through the canal;" but
the Directors having taken into consideration the
Importance of the lumber trade on the Susque-
hanna, and the advantages to be gained bydivert-
ing its course through the canal, have lately
caused experiments to be made, which, it is be-
lieved, will result in giving free permission for
the passage of RATS, sc. in the same shape they
descend the river.
Dyspepsia-The New Haven City Gazette
states that the secret cure for the dvspepsia dis