Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1831-10-05

.,rn finds sssailants in its former followers IL
then the party which should naturally De conser,
Sat;ve. Yields On principle at every summons. an
pndes series of preclpitate changes with aiLtheir
attendant horrors must be the inevitable result;
e ,hev relax their efforts for an Instant, they must
be swept away by the fesistiess torrent OF nnoVa-
It would have been easy TO have illustrated our
:, comment from the annals Of our own country and
Of our own French neighbors. but the results OF
these struggles are not yet fully developed. and
national or party feeling might have biased the
imnartialitv of our judgments: we have therefore
preferrcd an appeal to the mighty DEAD whose
full career of glory. passion, CRIME ann run" ~
before us; at the approach to whose sepa'c"es a"
the sordid influences of interest ana petty jealous
les of party vanish. and from whose experience
we can only CLEAN the sacred lessons u "''"o"'
and Of truth.
Liberty is the vital principle Of every true Po'
litcal system, as oxygen Is OF atmospheric a'ri
and vet philosophers teach US. that ot ina! very
atmos phere four parts out Of five consist OF an IN
gredient hostile to life, and which cannot De
breathed for minute without inflicting sudden
death. One of the greatest lights and ornaments
Of our own PERIOD surprised at this proportion ot
baleful influence, surmised that the grand secret
for health and longevity would be to augmen! the
vital and diminish the deadly ingredients. The
experiment was tried: gas containing far great
er proportion of oxygen than the atmospheric AIR
was procured. and great was the delight with
which Sir Humphry Davy inhaled the resuscit-
atlng draught: his chest expanded, MS blood How
I'd more freely, visions of glory glanced before
his sves; but the action soon became involuntary;
orins not spontaneous, distorted his countenance;
his limbs severallv assumed independ ence OF &C
ton total se,ffOrgetfulness ensued; he was con-
scious only of an Unsuitable craving after the per-
n,cious yapor which had intoxicated his senses;
and had the experiment. been long continued,
inevitable frenzy must hGvs been the result.
The Missouri Duel The editor OF the Boston
Traveller has received letter from friend in
Missouri, detailing infinitely the circumstances
which took place in connection with the late IN
fortunate duel. The following is an extract:--
sit was not secret meningitis St Louis
shore was crowded with people; steamboats, stood
out in the river lined with spectators. n chill,
horrid silence pervaded the multitude-aIl eyes
were fixed on the fatal spot, and powers OF vision
strained to catch glance. through the nterven-
ing willows. The ground was marked offs
feet, (nurderous distance The word was gwen
both fired nearly at the same time. Biddle fell,
receiving the ball in the right side above the hip,
which lodged and could not be extracted. Petts
did not fall, though his antagonists ball passed
through his body. In few minutes they were
able to converse, and made friends at the request
of Major Biddle. " ounds declared mortal. They
fou sht on Friday, add OF Saturday after convcrs-
ing calmly with his friends, Mr.. Pettis died. He
was warm hearted. noble fellow. | cannot close
this hasty letter without reproaching myself. |
uroea tns Gaming ourur .AaJOr bidrIfr, after IN.
election, and at the same time knew the Major
would take the distance above given. But, under
the same feelings would have advised my bro.
ther to lose his life in the same way. The death
of Mr.. Pettis, with its attending circumstances,
has wrought complete change in some of my
sentiments. l have advocated duelIing in the
abstract, and on principle; but this melancholy
scene, the recollection Of which, is filled with so
many unpleasant reflections, will not permit me
to countenance the practice, at least not until the
memory of this shall fade A dark cloud rests
upon that transaction whenever nv mind reverts
to it, The course-bind, rash and murderous
which l urged in this unfortunate affair, has
left stIngs with me which nothing but religion can
extract. have had few moments OF peace since
the death of my worthy FRIEND"
A case has recently been decided before the
United States District Court of New York, of
some importance to our merchants, in their con-
struction of the tariff The Commercial Adver-
tser publishes the trial at length; but we have
only room for the following abstract Of the case,
as given in the same paper:
We understand that the points of law decided
were: That the tariff law is constitutional:
That, under the act of May 90, 1850. goods
are forfeited when the package or invoice is made
up with intent to defraud the revenue, whether
the owner OF the goods participated in the fraud.
ulent intention or not.
That the appraisers may found their apprass-
ment Upon the value of the goods at the place |
where purchased or procured. The place where
a package is made up for expectation being regard.
ed as the place of expectation equally with the
port Of shipment.
That it is only necessary for the Government
10 prove case involved in circumstances of su.-
picion affording probable cause for seizure. and
! condemnation must follow. unless the cIain,a nj
explains away the suspicious circumstances, the