The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1844-11-09
THE AMERICAN ALMANAC,

American Almanac Of previous years, from the
valuable compilation OF ASTRONOMERS, Meteorological
and Statistical information il contained, had obtained
wide circulation. Acting wisely, and heretofore
keeping aloof from all political interference, the
work was calculated TO be equally acceptable 10 al
parties was reserved for the compiler in the pre-
sent number to abandon that ground, and TO assume
at once the attitude Of fierce partisan.
Ii has been the practice of the Department oil
State to subscribe for considerable number oil CO.
pies (39) with the view to supply the Foreign ms
sions copy EACH the residue for It's own use we
are now informed that the acting Secretary OF Stale
has decided and very properly, not 10 AID III encu'
latDg, abroad at least, work which not only I'M
pugns the official acts Of the Department but at
templs TO disseminate gross and impudent ialsehoods
relative to documents printed under its authority.
| Ii is true that there had been some abolition me-
MORALS presented 10 Congress, complaining OF errors
Of the Census They presented al late period oil
the last session. and the committee TO whom they
were referred, expressly declared that they had not
sufficient time for full investigation OF the allega-
tons There has been no time for the Department
of State to communicate TO Congress the result OF It's
Investigations. But Notwithstanding ths,the editor OF
the American Almanac jumps to the conclusion that
the errors complained Of by the aboiitonlsts are as
well calculated as his solar and lunar ecliPses.
| The subject has been under investigation and 1t
appears that the abotonists, who undertook to ex-
anime the returns of the census printed at Wash
ngton with the view to discovery of error succeeded
most admirably The law required that copy of
the returns of each assistant marshall should be sent
to the Department Of State; that another copy
should be deposited with the clerk Of the U. 5. Court
of the Judicial District wherein that portion of the
census was taken. The law further required, that
the copy sent to Washington, duly sworn to and at
tested, should be examined and corrected IN the De-
parment of State. This done; and more than
90 900 corrections were made and may now be seen
upon examination in red ink upon the face OF the
returns of Massachusetts, alone. 1t requires no ar
gument to prove that the two copies, after such a
multitude of corrections, can no longer agree The
printed census at Washington conforms, OF course, TO
the copy in the Department of State and every cor
rection made at Washington causes disagreement
with the Boston copy But the abolitionsts take the
printed copy and compare it with the uncorrected,
unrevised Boston copy, and every discrep ancy
existing they alege to be an error, with how much
of truth is plain enough The fact is, the miserable
condition of the negroes in the FREE NEGRO STATES,
as shown by the census, had touched them in ten
der place-and they determined, with what effect
will be soon hereafter SEEM to impair or to destroy
its authority. The American Almanac has taken
the abolition cue and tries It's best to make out some
errors also. One sample OF the veracious editor
discoveries will here be noticed for it is not the time
or place to expose fully all the falaiiications
The American Almanac states, page l56, "the
o,anffv of biiisminous coal mined annually IN .Nsu
J.. Hampatire is stated at 90 go bushels" We are SOL
nv to be compelled sometimes to call things by then
nYoper names; but the whole of The quota alton is q
pure and unnitigated lie. The Census returns DC
not show one bushe Of bituminous or anthracite
coal raised in the State of New Ham, shire. By re-
ferrng 10 the Compendium Of The Census, page lOI
printed by r. Allen it will be seen that in the coun
10 of Merfimack there was quantity OF charcoal
- ,e,urned; but no, one bushel of other coal Th
faIsenooJs, with here and There a veTsimitude d
n truth only calculated 10 impose upon those who
not examine the documents themselves. Bitter com
i, plants are now made that the statistical Information
is defective. What fine thing il would have been
if the information required by law had been full and
perfect Well, why was it no, full Who refused
to answer the oper questions, when put 10 them .
Z Were they not the Federal merchants If the mel
chants Of Salem, Massachusetts refused to answ err
how was the Department of State to obtain The nfor-
mationi Was not the column, of necessity, a blank,
which should have given the Information Let US
inquire farther who It was that instgated the refusal
u to answer the inerrogaions put by the malshals-
Were they not the same canting hypocrtes, who now
complain of defective statements and false conclusions;
They are.
The following extract is fiom the Richmond Wing,
July II, 1910
d, To The People efyiginia.
"FELLow CITIZENS; On this day, | was waited
upon by tue gentleman appointed to take The Census
for this county. i furnished
him with what properly constitutes Censtp that is
a list OF the persons, black and white, male and ie-
, male, young and Old composing my family. This
: being completed rather embarrassing silence for
naif minute ensued, which spoke plainly as ST.
lence could speak, that something renamed behind
which the Census-taker felt awkward about ntiodu.
cling 1 understood what 1t was and to relieve him
observed, that j presumed his duty comprehended
, other particulars, besides listing the members of my
family. Wuh slight confusion, as l thought, he
then pointed tn various Investigations which II had
been his duty to PROFOUND TO tue citizen, portion
only oil which annex lOr the anus, ment of those
no have not seen them"
IL this Federal prying into the domestic ecor omy Of
the people precursor TO direct fares Is nothing e.
escape Its lnqusition OF It's tas-gaihorersi Are even
our hens chickens to be listed and an authent-
Gated ,rpou orwarded to Washington
" But presume The object of these inquiries Is to
collect body of statistical information at least that
Is the prefsIi IL these
thogs at all necessary or justi6abe, or spper-
tanning TO any GoveInment, they belong to Slate
| Domestic Government, not 10 the Federal. But 1t
seem. to that they imply an invasion of domestic
privacy which IT is essential tyranny to enfolce and
savishncss to sub nit to therefore, ] for one have
denied jurisdiction, ADD refused 10 anuoer and in
rife all Republicans 10 join in his ooni,uaey 10 the
FEDERAL powr.
| JOHN III. PEASANTS"
With the usual complaceney of the editors Of The