The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1853-10-24
PRICE ONE CENT
RICHM0HD- -
The American Lova = T.s;

i s- As0se OF Titles.
The London Times, in its freoua,+ -.
cisms upon men and things in Amer;ca oe...
deals but scant justice to its American co.
sins, and sometimes gives utterance to Who'll.
sale ISLANDERS. But, in recent article or
the Earl of Stirling, it hits us, we must CON.
fess, between the joints of the harness. II
says: "No one can, for moment, doubt that
the States are the most favorable market for
aristocratic pretensions. Ii man, with a
handle to his name, as the vulgar phrase runs.
feels that he does not get as strong dose Of
adulationin Europe, as his heart would desire,
let him spend few months among the citi
zens of the great Republic, and he win come
back to Europe prepared to subside into
plain John Smith for the term of his natural
life
There is too much truth in this satire to be
pleasant. In all the great cities, and many
OF the small districts of this Republican
country, real live noble is an object of the
most intense admiration Native merit, of
the most sterling kind, has no 4arm at all in
competition with an aristoeratie title and
foreign air. There must be wide discrep-
ancy between our republican theory and
practice, to produce such aresult. Much of
this folly. may be ascribed to our literature,
which always has more effect than laws up.
on the manners of nation. In that depart
ment of literature which is most popular we
are principally supplied by British writers, and
the heroes and herOines are generally lords
and ladies. Even our own novels pander to
the same vitiated and anti-republican taste,
and rarely venture to hold up an until, d
mortal for the admiration of anybody. Be
sides, in this case as in others, distance lends
enchantment to the view IF lords and la
dles were as common in America as in Eng
land, we should discover that they are very
| ordinary personages after all, and neither in
tellectually, morally or physically superior to
the rest of mankind.
All the facts and all the reasoning in the
| world will never eradicate the folly of which
we complain. We can only hope that the
progress of the democratic principle will
| leave, st last the lords and ladies to be
lionized. Till that time, and until we can
have literature of cur own, we must sub
NIT in patience and humility to the weak
nesses of human nature
| The CENTRAL the Dispateh
of Friday last, we gave synopsis of letter
of Col. Fontaine, the President of the Cen
trail Railroad, to a gentleman in Staunton,
which has been published in the Staunton
Spectator, and which conclusively vindicates
the Central Railroad Company from the
charges which have been brought against it
in connection with the alleged delay in the
prosecution of the work. We may add that,
so far as the President of the road is con-
cerned we have not seen the shadow of eyi.
dence, and we do not recollect that we have
even seen an assertion that he has been in
anywise deficient in skill, energy or fidelity
in the management of the important interest;
committed to his hands. On the contrary
there are the most abundant proofs that the
progress of the work thus far has been ovine
In great measure to the extraordinary en-
ergy and sound judgment of its President
| who has given to it an amount of labor, ant
| made sacrifices of his personal comfort, ant
| even his private means, far beyond th,
demands of his duty and position The Char
lottesville Jefersonian has an article upo,
this subject, in which the editor pays fer
vid, and, in our opinion, well meritec
tribute to the services of Col Fontaine.-
The editor says that he speaks from his per
sonal observation, when he says that the
great work with which Col Fontaine is con
nected, owes its present success and impor
tance, in no small degree, to the ability, fide
lity and zeal with which he has devoted his
entire time and talents to further and pro
mote it, enabling it to struggle with and tri
umph over difficulties which no other road In
the State has had to encounter.
THE UsDGRGRoUsD RAILRoAD.-We see
every day accounts of the successful es-
cape of slaves from the border slave States
to the territory of our honest free neighbors
and their safe transportation by the under
ground railroad to Canada. A short tint
ago we had conversation with an intelli
1 SCut SChtlCuidn VI DctIUil, uiiehi5dl, WIG
informed US that scarcely day passed il
which one or more fugitiyes, and sometimes
| large parties, did not cross the ferry at tha
point to the Canada shore. Temporary pro
vision is generally made for them in som.
old barracks on the Canada side. The gen
tleman to whom we refer, informs us that ht
hat visited the principal settlement of ths
free blacks in Canada, and conyersed freely
with them upon their history. condition and
prospects. He says that the general story
of their grievances in the South, is pretty
much the same. They say that '.oid maste,
died, and they fell into new hands, which
did not treat them well, and so they ran off
but IF old master was alive, they d be nigh
ty glad to get back Our informant ex
presses the opinion that most Of them would
be happy to return without any such condi-
tion Their destitution both Of food and
clothing is great, and in the winter their saf-
ferings are severe. With few exceptions,
they win not work. and in the winter are in
the habit of crossing the river to Detroit
where they beg and steal to such an extent
4 ut.sa