The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1854-08-02
tCorrespondence of the Ashland Union.I
FROM NEW r.

s Matters-Hems.
81 NEw York July 81, 1854
The>state of the thermoaaeser IS, in
these latter days, a pretty fair index of
the condition and temperaH1ent Of our
citizens. Cool blood rises to the boil
ing pitch, and hot blood cannot be salts
fed without a fight. Two battles. have
come up for public consideration. You
have probably heard something of the
personal rencontre between T. F. Mea-
CHER and MeMasters, of the Freem0n's
Journal. The question seems to be,
whether Meagher had sufficient provoca-
ton for the attack. He had inyeighed
against the Freeman's Journal in the
Citizen, and McMasters returned the
compliment in a personally abusive edi-
torial. And now that the thermometer
stands at ninety-fve in the shade, the
pugilists, Tom Hyer and Morrisey, have
been renewing their quarrels, and think
of " fighting their battles over again ]"
not in word, but in deed. Morrisey
-
wants to have a trough and tumble /"
fight, while Hyer wants to do up his adver-
sary in the ring. Oh the honor of men
How much dishonor and wickedness will
men bear and p~erpetuate, to sustain that
fictitious something which they call hon
or. These two fights form the prominent
subjects of conversation, in the ale-houses
and lager-beer saloons. Men in dirty
shirts, with rugged boards, delight in
laying down the code of honor to oue
another, as they daily owe brandy
smashes and gin cocktails. 1t is rumor-
ed that another disgraceful prize fight is
arranging between Hyer and Morrisey.
This, while men are dying of the heat in
New York and vicinity A catholic
priest fell dead on the 2lst inst, from
heat, while officiating in chapel.
Business is, of course, as dull as pos
sible, from several combined causes. A
general fright about the cholera in New
York, seems to have kept away visitors
from the country. This is foolish. There
is no more cholera in this city than
there is all over the State, in proportion
to the number of inhabitants, the class
of people who are infected being also
taken into consideration. With all the
unripe fruit eaten by poor foreigners,
and the miserable want of ventilation in
which they indulge, it is wonderful that
half of them we're not dead long ago,
with black vomit, cholera, yellow fever,
and every imaginable pestilence. For
one who keeps on the even tenor of his
way, being duly careful of diet, there
are few safer places than New York
City, so far as the cholera is concerned.
The cholera returns are large, but this
is a decidedly large village. The Ho-
tells are not doing much business. Du-
ring the overlooking of business prosper
ity, a larger amount of money was inves-
ted in Hotels han there ought to have
been. The proprietors of one small
Broadway hotel have failed. Another
has reduced its prices, from $500, to
$3.50 per diem, and the rest will soon
be obliged to follow. Every thing
must come down now. Rent and pro-
visions must get off from the lofty perch
of price where they have been lately
stationed, and condescend to come with
in the reach ofpeople who have very lit
tie money, but have to eat, drink, and
sleep, notwithstanding.
Asregards the money market, that be-
gins to wear a more cheerful aspect
There is plenty of cash to be had, on un-
doubted security, but people are panic
stricken about stocks of all kinds, and
especially about railroad stocks. Only
spread a panic and it is difficult tohead
it of. 1t is so much easier to distrust
than to believe. I think, on the whole,
this late crash will have a beneficial in
fuenee, in Withdrawing our merchants
from wild speculations, and retrenching,
perhaps, the extravaganza in their style
of living. One alledged cause of the
tightness in money, is, the excess of i'm
ports over exports. This has been
largely occasioned by the e~xtravagant
demand for foreign jewelry, and other
v~aluables, in the families of our city.
A good old colored woman died here
last week, at the age of rs years, who
is said to have tended the first Sunday
School in New York. She was origin
ally a slave, but bought her own free
dom. She used to call the street
children into her house on the Sabbath,
and procure persons to instruct them in
the Catechism. Her pastor was the
venerated DIR. Mason. He took a great
interest in the old lady, and while visit
ing her one day, heard this school. He
was so much pleased that he desired the
school to be removed to the vestry of his
church, and this was the first of these nu-
merous schools which now bless our
city.
The Temperance movement does not
seem to be in favor here justnow. This
hot weather makes people desperate,
and they arc determined to d5ink any
thing which will cool off their furnace