The Shasta courier., 1858-10-09
BehoId. Demt.God.

and notwithstanding their impulses generally
have an honorable direction, yet they generally
reach too far, and thus convert the sublime into
the ridiculous. They have no moderation-no
medium. Like Samuel johnson In the use of
wine, they only know abstinence and excess, no
moderation; but, unlike him, they have not wis.,
dom enough to take advantage of their self
knowledge. As the hart panteth after the water
brook, so do they thirst for Humbug. And if
they can't find that excitant ready made, they do
not hesitate moment to manufacture it out of
the most solemn works of religion or the most
wonderful feats of science. Humbug is the pabu-
lum upon which they most love to feed. They
thrive and fatten on it. Without it they are as
the Hasheesh eater without his hasheesh, or the
drunkard without his liquid ire'-dead to all
other joys. And as a little hasheesh, or a little
"liquid fire. only excites in their respective de-
votees desire for more, SO with the votaries of
Humbug" A little arouses into lifeian exceed
ing small worm sleeping within, which in few
moments grows into a monster, ready to swal-
low a behemoth. Ay, no humbug is too great
for the American people to swallow-their swal-
lowing capacities miraculously corresponding
always to the size of the subject presented.
These reflections are occasioned by reading
accounts of the over-wrought cable celebrations
made all over the Union. We fully agree with
the N Y. correspondent of the Philadelphia Sun
day Dispatch:
must confess that am disgrsted with much
,r
much of it. We are overdoingit We are pro-
jecting that step which leads from the sublime
and terminates in the ridiculous We ought to
be moderate. The line just established is to all
intents and purposes, British one Its termini
both British. The British papers allude to
it as their own private victory time and dis
tance- And yet they keep cool, calm, thought
fnl in their jeyousness; while we yell with de-
light, throw up our hats, set fire to our houses
waste money on rockets, spill out the cham
pagHe, exhaust ourselves in spread-eagle
speeches, and conduct ourselves like lunatlcs
generally. Pooh say distinctly and emphati-
calIy, pooh Let them make the best of it.
We presume almost enough money has been
spent in the United States in celebrating the sue
cessful laying of the cable, to pay for extending
a telegraph line from st. Louis to Sacramento
to say nothing about the amount spent by the U.
s.. Government.
If Americans would think over the matter a
little more, they would not go so far and spend
so much to make themselves ridiculous by en-
deavoring to make a God out of a successful
payer-out of telegraph cable We presume Mr..
Field can make no more pretensions to scientific
attainments than majority of the ordinarily
educated New York merchants. How prepos-
ferrous then the effort to claim for him a lofty
niche in the temple of science.
1t was the habit of certain people of antiqui-
ty, occasions of public distress, to take their
= gods out on public square and scourge them
soundly. We fear the blind worshippers of this
new god will not permit him to remain in his
elevated position long ere they eyince desire to
have him down and scourged So soon as they
find that the enterprise over which they have
been glorying like so many lunatcs, is not ours
that the United States has no positive owner
ship it-that it is essentially British enterprise
commencing in British territory and ending in
British territory-undcra British charter, which
guarantees its control by British subjects, them
selves subject to the superior control fthe Brit
ish Government-that, in short, the United
States Government notwithstanding she lent
her finest ship-of-war to the enterprise, at an
expense of thousands of dollars cannot have q
message sent over the line if her Majesty's Gov
ernment happens to desire the use of the line al
that particular time, unless the Board of Direc-
tors, "a majority of whom, it is provided in the
charter, must be British subjects,) may see fl
hereafter to place her on equality with the Brit
ish Government.
Section sc of the Charter declares that, "al
messages and signals sent forward for transmits
sion and delivery for her Majesty, or on he
Majesty's service, shall have priority over al
other messages whatsoever" prov
ded always, that the company may, in conside
ration Of &C., &C., grant and extend to tn,
United States Government the like priority fol
intelligence" &C., &C., and that thenceforward
the messages or signals of the two Governments
shall, as between themselves, have no right o.
priority, but be transmitted and delivered res
pectively in the order of time in which they may
be respectively rendered for transmission or de-
livery"
Section 62 authorizes the English Government
under certain circumstances to take possession
of the works of the company 1t says
At all times from and after the period of twen-
tyhve years from the opening of the said lines OF
telegraphic communication for the transmission
of messages, whenever one of her Maiesty's prin-
cipal Secretaries of State for the time being shall
be of opinion that circumstances render it expe.
dient to vest in her Majestys Government the
control of the operations of the company, it shall
be lawful for such Secretary of State, by warran
under his hand, to cause possession to be taken
&C., &C., for the space of one week from the dat,
of such warrant for the purpose of preventin,
any communication being made or signals given
save such as shall be directed and authorised b.
any such Secretary of State, and also by furthe
successive warrants to cause possession of tn
said telegraphs and telegraphic apparatus to b
retained from week to week, SO longas any sue
Secretary of State shall deem such possession ex
pedient for the public service, &c, &c.
Thus we see that the charter under which Nj
Field, so essentially assisted by the United State
Government, has been working, is altogether
British affair. If British subjects choose t
place our Government on an equality with th
Queens Government in the Companys telegrap
Offices, they can do so. If they choose not t
do so, however, Uncle Sam must play secon
q IL a.