St. Mary's beacon., 1859-05-26

Notwithstanding tie unpromising state ri
,be weather on THURSDAY evening last. large
enllec,ion of ladies and gentlemen from Leon
I'D Trwn and other sections II the county,
assembled a, the Court H use ~ the "Nrasi"n
of the Pusilic Debate. gotten MP under the
auspices Of the ST; Marys Reading Room and
Debating Society. The audience was decided
IL larger than any we ever recolIect having
sesn on q similar oeeasi'Hn in the Court House.
Tie ladies were present IN goodiy num'sF
and adAed much 70 the interess u the meeting.
The room was well-~aune,i and III M, and
tire seats tassvfuIly arranged. Al T"cioCk, inc
Presiieat 81 the S,,cieiy. DIR. 4. Jack. SP'i-
ding, called the meeting to order; and' amer
calling the roll, the Secretary read the question
for Debate-"which has bceu rhOre beneficial
~ soSietY, the Orator or the Historian
James s. Downs. Esqr.. opened the DISCUS
sim foF,she Orator; and, in closely reasoned
address Of thirty minutes, sought % establish
the theory. that Society was under greater OBJ
LEGATIONS 10 Oratcrs than Historians. The
specch Of Mr.. Duwns was listened 10 with
marked attention and was heartily arP!auded
hv the audience. The voice Of the speaker, We
Dotice,l was, at iiInes, - low as scarcely 10 DC
audible, and we make mention of tie defect.
that he mag profit by it hereafter. Mr.. J"meH
II. Wilson spoke for the Historian. Except a
disagreeabe drane in lis voice, which was
avoided whenever the speaker became ANNA
ted, we have little to say Of Mr.. WIl~o" :
speech, save Ia way Il commeudatiun. The
grace aud ease uf his delivery and gesture
might well have have excited the envy Of 4
practiccd speaker. The matter Il his speech
vas an eloquent review e the services OF the
Historian, in which pertinent reference was
made to the Sacred Writings Ar. Wilson
spoke nearly half en- hour and was much
cheercd at the conclusion OF lis speech. lie
was replied to by Mr.. T. X. PrruS'. This
gentleman commenced his address by paying
q glow ing but deserved tribute 10 the St. Ma
rvs RcSi!ng Room aud Debating Society,
winch was we'll received by tine meeting He
spoke IN impassioncd terms uf the great bene-
hts which the Orator had cunfirrrd upon So
cicty, and mentioned in that conncCtiyL the
names of many illustrious speakers, ancient
and modern. who had taken conspicuous parts
IN the civilization and progress Of mankind.
Mr.. Prcuxs, though laboring under = severe
cold, acquitted himself in very crr,liiaL!c
manner aud was loudly arpinut!cd on the
conclusion Of his speech. Tic next SPEAKER
was Dr. J. c. hshcom, who took ne side oi the
historian Though considerably embarrassed
in The beginning. he soon shook it or aud en-
tcrrd hoIlIy Lu; gracefully into tie discussion.
Though rather rnld in delivery, the articulation
Of the speaker vas sufficiently distinct, and
the audience, during the delivery
Of his speech, ~as alternately
Ewayed Uy Eurpr'.c and delight. The Ian
cuaCe aud illustrations 81 the speech were
those Of the finished scholar, and the argu-
merits employed were sound and directly TO
the point in issue. DIR. Aschom Was re-
pea.edly interrupted by applause during the de-
livery Of Lis address Gu the concluAi,n If tie
literary exercises, The question was called for.
and resulted in the following vote: For the Ora
tor For the Historian l.. After tie vote
had been taken the company adjourned to the
Washington Hotel 10 participate in the plea
surcs Of the dance, where we leave them.
thanking them. in the name 81 the ST. Ma
rvs Reading Ram and Debating Society, for
their presence at, and generous appreciation of,
its latest public debate