Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1857-10-17

that food available for their own preservation
But We will let the Ne,cs tell the story of the
result of the just fmrore of excitement against
them, brought about by their conduct to the
suffering mercantile interest generally, as fol.
lows:
wall street itself presented a strange scene.
One dense mass of human beings filed the street
extending from Broadway to Pearl street, mostly
OF our first business men, with careworn looks,
despair depicted in every feature, each question:
ing eagerly his neighbor, seeking information
which no one could give.
The work had fairly commenced. There
was no child's play here. No hard listed labor
ing men, no Haunting servant girls or ''anxous
mothers' running the banks or seeking to ex-
change bank notes into the Constitutional cur
rency, only to be laughed and sneered at for do
ing so, but the "merchant princes" were there in
myrlads thronging every nook and corner, and
long lines Of these extending from the bank coun-
tiers far into the street, with ''evidence of depos
Its In hand, each anxious to ''drawn before the
final exhaustion took place.
There was in this vast throng no disturbance,
no unseemly haste, but a positive determination
apparently to pay off the banks for their niggard-
ly, senseless, and cruel course, which resulted in
crushing every business man, but the object Of
which was to save themselves. Had they pursu-
ed judicious course i'm making loans, II would
have averted this disaster, and not only insured
their own safety but protected the merchant also.
There has been, up to within the last few days,
the most kind and generous feeling toward the
banks, feeling entertained by the whole mer-
camille community, and every confidence was
placed In them. With such a state of feeling
these institutions might have increased their
loans even beyond their usual line, and no dan
ger need have been apprehended; but pursuing
directly opposite course, while the crisis was
upon us, refusing the least aid to the country
banks, calling in their loans, reducing their line
OF discounts In this space Of few days to an un-
-Of acfS rxri, fuor ard
dlsmay to the heart of every business man, what
was to have been expected from such policy but
a, general blowing up! The bank presidents
themselves planted with their own hands the
magazine under their own vaults, and even light
ed the match, and to apply it was the easiest and
the most natural thing in the world"
IMPORTANT Observation-Disclosures is the de-
cisioA of the Acting Commissioner of the Gen.
eral Land Office in relation to the refusal of a
Surveyor General to approve the survey of a
donation claim:
GENERAL LAND OFFICE, Oct. Is, 1857
SIR: In your letter of the 22d of July last, now
before me, you state that the Surveyor General
has refused to approve the survey OF donation
claim, made according to the abstract furnished
on the ground that ait was not in a compact
form, as it crossed a meandered stream - and
you ask the attention of this office to the condi-
ton of number of claims which have been per-
nitted by former Surveyors General, lying on
both sides of rapid streams, the disturbance OF
which claim would work great injury to claim
ants &c.
This office has decided against the right Of a
claimant to cross g naUigdb sfrsam' in order
to get the quantity Of land to which he NAV be
entitled in virtue OF his settlement &c, but what
you describe as rapid mountain stream, scarcely
navlSable with a canoe, cannot be considered as
coming under that head and the location of a
ciaim on both sides of stream Of this character
should not be considered cause for rejection,
where the improvements lie on both sides and
the claim Is in compact FORM even though il
may have been found convenient or necessary in
the prosecution of the public SURVEYS to meandcr
such stream nor should one passage of such a
stream through claim render II liable to obiec-
tlon on the score Of compactness of form.
The sixth section of the donation act of 1850 is
liberal IN It's provisions with regard to the loca-
ton OF claims. Whilst it provides that claims
"shail be in compact form, and where it is
practicable so to do, the land claimed shall be
taken a. nearly as practicable by legal subdi-
Visions" il also, ..where that cannot be done u,
makes II the duty of the Surveyor General ito
as claimed,
As you do not present particular case in which
this dihculty exists, these general views are mere
~ thrown out for your consideration, and are not
laid down as a rule for YOUR government in any
an actual case is presented for decision
IL Is desired that the most liberal course con-
slstent with law be pursued towards the settlers,
especially Of that class to which Won refer who
settled early in good faith, and have completed
thelT four-years term Of settlement and occnpa-
ton, and that every facility be afforded them for
the settlement of their claims and ouiatin, hi,
titles.
In reply to the closing paragraph Of your letter,
In which you inquire - whether il is the duty of
THIS your office or the Surveyor General TO de
clde In what shade claims may be takenr |
have To state that il belongs to the Re,,ister and
receiver, under the 9th ection of the amend aory
act OF 18th July, 1854 to make such decisions and
10 the surveyor General to see that the surveys
in tl.a
very respectfully, your obedient servant,
JOSEPH :. WILSON,
Acting Commissioner
n L. p F. MosHER, Esq, Register, Winchester,
The CRAFr.-We regret to say that the cur
rent financial troubles bid fair to fall with per
haps more disastrous weight upon the printers
than on any other branch Of mechanics Book
publishing every where at the North is coming
last to a stand-still. In New York. on Satur-
day evening last seven hundred journeymen
printers lost their situations, and our private
advices say that tonight quito as many more
VIII DC thrown out Of employment there, while
in Boston, Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Bal
timore the book publishing business will speed
lily be brought to close for the time being
During the crash of 1887, the effect on the in
eN'ooto Va tHo CIdt6 was very similar, and the
craft did not recover from it for four long years,
II our memory serves US. That ephemeral
newspapers, too, must stop in such times as we
are about to have, is very certain for people
will not buy any thing they can fairly do with
ont for the time being. We shall see in Wash
ington more palpable evidence of the condition
of the times in the multitude of journeymen
printers out of work hOckinv hither for am,
ployment in printing Offices doing Government
work, than in all else besides.
In the most prosperous times they come hith-
or to that end in undue numbers for the inter
est Of their resident fellow craftsmen, who
rarely fail to aid such of them pecuniarily as
are in want here. In the numbers in which
they bid fair to flock TO the Federal Metropolis
next winter to get work (under the patronage
Of members of Congress) they bid fair, we fear
to seriously impair the circumstances of their
fellow craftsmen residing in the District, who
we presume, will feel called on to share with