Thibodaux minerva. [volume] (Thibodaux, La.) 18??-1858, 1855-04-21
Negro Government.
New York Express copies the following

r. remarks truly enough that here is full Negro
government in a state of retrogradation-whil the
s,;xed White and Negro Government of Jamaica
: ,c.rcely better, even under the protection Oh
c,a.t Britain 1t says further, with great force and
18th that all such facts as the following go to show
,,tterlv impossible it is ever to realize in the
United States, the Utopian dreams of Greedy school
= rcldcians, in reference to the colored race.
rhsse mixed colored governments exist, more or
,.s too in all parts of Spanish America and there,
90 we'll as in Hayt and jamaica they are failures,
and hut damage the governed
aThere is not the least doubt, and we express
.s with real philanthropica regret, that the negro
vs. s,;ro of Hayti is going down rapidly with every
aap and will be lost, without help. The rotten
chine of state and society went on pretty well
g. while. As long as the illusion of the paper
.,nsv lasted, and the ignorant negro, by habit OF
'sao,;on received the bad shin plasters of this
carsrnmeut for good current money. During the
80 90 nudent as not to carry to an excess the
.a, Of this paper which has no specie
has;s Under President Boyer, the whole island
ss-,,od oae single State, the expenses of the Gov
a",nant were moderate, and living in Hayt was
ohooner than anywhere else IN the West Indies.
Erar rnser the last President Richie, the amount
af na,er money in circulation was but ST., 900, 900.
n,r;no the reign of Emperor Soulouque, the ex-
,,onsas Of the State have increased immensely, and
;n equal proportion the poverty OF the masses has
augmented. The circulating paper money has
reached the immense sum OF S5O, 100000 Forged
hank notes have been imported in great quantities,
and are not easlyt be distinguished from the good
IS how vic
and living is actually as expensive in Port-au-
prince as in any luxurious capital of Europe. The
army. the public officers the whole Government
costs now almost three times as much as at the
time Of the Republic, which, it is true, was likewise
by no means model State, yet, even in its worst
condition. did not attain such hig degree OF TO
tenness and corruption as the Empire.
"Soulouque seizes, as is well known, a fifth par.
of the whole annual coffee crop for his civil list
rather for himself The coffee cultiyating negroes
are obliged to sell their crop to certain privileged
SPECTATORS, from whom alone foreign merchants are
permitted to buy. 1t is from the privileged specu-
iators that the Emperor receives this fifth part
The coffee crop Is decreasing rather than augment
ina Nth erery year. According to gentleman
well informed in these matters, the coffee product
now amounts to about 100000 OF pounds annu-
aIy, while under the administration of President
BOYER, it reached more than 60,00o,O0o of pounds
On account Of the increasing depreciation of the
paper money, and the great injury suffered from the
usury of the licensed SPECTATORS the profit OF the
cultivators of coffee becomes smaller and smaller
they dissuade certain things which they had TOR
merlv bought from foreign manufacturers. Theil
dress resembles more and more the simple primitive
fashion of their ancestors in Soudan or Guinea
They hardly know shame, and the climate OF Hayt
is SO delightful warm, that its Inhabitants require
hardly more luxury in dress than it was the fashion
to wear in old paradise. Some bacon and few
plantains are sufficient to fill the negroes stomach
even without any labor. The negroes are not SC
strong and robust as the ancient slave population
Of St. Domingo, and we have the conviction that
small corps of few thousand disciplined white
soldiers would be perfectly able to put an end to
Soulouque's Imperial grandeur and the whole negro
empire
ANECDOTES OF DANIEL WEBsTER.-A cores
pondent Of the New York Post, in an account OF
the recent sale of the Marshfeld estate of the
late DANIEL WEBSTER, gives many interesting
anecdotes of that great statesman, which have
never been published before. Among other
things, he disclosed fact not generally known,
that Mr.. WEBSTER was once challenged by
JoHN RANDOLPH. After speaking Of the solitude
of Marshfeld, the writer says: --+ ..,.-
But from these ungenial airs Mr.. Webster
drew health and strength. His robust nature
delighted in the sports and hazards of food and
field, and found suitable home in the COM
parative solitude of his Marshfeld domain.
Summer never made a more apt use of his CLASH
cal studies than in political speech, delivered
in 1848, when he spoke Of Mr.. Webster's retir-
ing, on the nomination of General Taylor. and
"sitting, moody and discontinued, like Achilles
in his tent by the sounding sea-"
In speaking of Mr.. Webster's strength, I
ought to mention his wrestling accomplishments,
which have hardly had justice done to them.
He excelled as boy in this respect. and even
within few mouths of his death could send a
man much heavier than himself spinning to the
ground. His juvenile experiments with his
comrades on his fathers hay NOW may have
conduced to such facility in this serviceable
art However that may be, it proved source
Of comfort and protection to him, even among
the fire eaters at Washington. Though re-
peatedly threatened with personal violence, he
never felt the necessity of going armed, aver
ring, that before q man could raise his hand to
strike he could trip him aud knock him sense
less.
During the time of South Carolina nullifca-
ton, so great was the excitement in Congress
that almost every Northern Congressman, with
the exception of Mr.. Webster, wore arms He
himself was vastly aroused when one day at a
dinner party at his house, dozen members OF
Congress, including in the number Mr.. Edward
Everett whom he had invited as guests, came
to him in great trepidation, each one supplied
with brace Of pistols, asking him for drawer
for their safe keeping during the entertainment.
!, In 1916, Mr.. Websters courage was tested by
. challenge, of which, Ibelieve. Mr.. Benton was
the bearer, from John Randolph Of Roanoke,
who had taken 1mbrage at some remarks made
by the former on the sugar tax.
His reply was short, but courageous and to
the point, declining the challenge, denying the
right Of Randolph to demand an explanation,
but declaring his ability and purpose to punish
any one who should in any way "presume upon
the fact Of his refusal to fight duel. Mr.
Benton subsequently, wrote to Mr.. Webster, re-
questlng the publication of the correspondence,
but the permission vas withheld Further
letters passed between them on this matter so
late as the year 1850, which are still preserved
among the Webster papers.
BErTING.-We are opposed to betting, par
ncularly on elections, for sundry satisfactory
reasons, political, social and moral. But if
men must back their judgments we commend
% them such wager as two Of our citizens
nave entered into. A friend Of Mr.. Wise and q