Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1858-06-05
The New State House.

OF n natural wish to know that the magnfi-
cent building is going up with all reasona-. +.
bic radidity. That it is undoubtedly prog
ressing thus, the public may rest assured.
The great basement is now noarly compile
ted to all the heavy work, and it may be
questioned whethcra superior foundation
was ever laid by mortal hands. The gran
lite walls, so far as they have bccn carried
up, appear strong enough to defy any pow
CT short Of Ii South American earthquake,
while their external finish need scarcely
shun contrast with the polished marble
Itself; many indeed prefer the effect of the
beautifully dressed granite in some points
OF view The partition walls of the base
"mcnt are made chiefly Of bricks, but they
are bricks indeed every one of them,
as far at least as is visible exactly shaped
and thoroughly burnt, and the whole so
carefully laid in the best of cement, as to at
tain degree of strength and durability in
fcrior only to the heavy granite of the mass
i've outer wall With the completion of
the basement the more bulky part of the
work will have been accomplished, and the
upper story may be expected to rise with
more pcrccp,ibo cclcrity The plan is to
carry on the building to its roof leaving
behind (to be finished aftarwards) all such
parts of the structure rs may be safely post
poncd until after the covering in. 1t is
hoped that in this way the pile will present
its full outward effect to the admiration Of
| the State in a much shorter time than some
have calculated. This being achieved, the
rest will be hurried OIL, it may be expected,
with all the speed which an approvcing
public can desire.
ltiS pleasant, even at this stage of the
world, to have pointed out to'onc's OBJ
scrvation the various arrangements and con-
vcnicncies of the bascmcut-thc committee
rooms, the puplic officers, the Governors
room, the Appeal Court Rooms, &c, all
soon to assure their proper dimensions
The great entry below, too, with its noble
granite columns, many of which have passed
from under the chisel, mayalrcady be pic
turcd as to its unwontcd strength and beau
ty in short anticipation of its approaching
existence. In a little time, the mechanics
will h" A"ss"scd in full force npnn the f,,i1re,
halls ofSouth Carolina legislation; and jud-
| ging by the present management and di-s
rection of their operations, it may be con
fdently predicted that no skill no economy,
no invention, will be LETT untestcd to insure
the final accomplishment of a work, so spir-
itcdly instituted by the representatives of
the people of South Carolina, and now so
generously sustained by that people 1t
will certainlybe, as allexpcricncod visitors
admit, one of the proudcst monuments of
American skill and lbcrality; and its rising
grandeur would seem to say, that, whatever
others may think of the dangers of COM
ing diSunion, of the shocks of fulatcsm,
of the crushing tyranny of reckless majori-
ties, South Carolina at least is "sctting her
house in order to live--not to die" So
may it be! so will it be, if we but build
up our future with half the care and vigi-
lance and circumspection and energy that
arc now being bestowed upon this magnif-
cent depository of the coming fortunes Of
our commonwealth.
| While upon this subject, we throw out
! the suggestion for what it is worth, that
| the. salary of the. present Superintendent
should be raised to $4,000 per amlni lie
/ has doubtless saved to the State four times
that amount already, by his indeG,tigable
attention to tho mhutife of the immense
work in his charge, by his mechanical sa
gocty in discovering and his judment in
using all the best modern appliance of skill
and machinery,and his energyin advancing
tho whole building on to as speedy q come
| pletion as possible. In doing this, he for
I'sakcs others employment that could bemadc,
with the same labor he is now cxerting, to
| yield him far greater income than he now
| receives 1t docs seem to us, therefore, that
AN increase of his salary as suggested would
be but his rightful dRe, while it would be
nothing more. than a prudent liberality on
thepart of the Legislature. : Elgcfe1d Id
UcrttSer.
THE CAUSE oFTnE GUIESrREAM. Tile
dcepsca soupdings of Lieut.. Bergman have
done much to confirm groyious theory as
to the causc--or one of the causes, of the
| Gulf Stream, 1t is ascertained that at
depth of two thousand feet, in the straits of
Florida, the temperature of the ocean is on
! ly three degrees above freezing, whilc in
the deep somdings on the telegraph
route 1T is found the temperature is ten to
fifteen degrees below the freezing point
Hence, according 10 well known laws, the
comparatively warsrand fglt watprs Of the
Cult made lighter by the masscs of fresh
water from the Mississippi aud other rivers,
rise and ilowotf towards tho, colder regions
of the nertsl At ths same time, the dem,
ser'watcls fie northern Atlantic make
their wa ward to restore the equilib.
rfum licYe arc two currents, an up
per and shder, flowing in contray direc-
tinnas 1ike MINOR 10 nnnoronf Yond we'll