Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1873-08-16

The Philadelphia Age says This is very
much the type of the gentleman in the eyes of
persons called by President Grant, in his par
don OF Brown, the repeater, the prominent
citizens of Philadelphia '-promincut in the
sense Of stick out Extensively They commonly
call themselves gentlemen, ignoring the fact
that the term implies principles and manners
the opposite Of theirs. For it is not prominence
that makes the gentleman. Nobody would
give the title to the selfish dcspot who is now
on exhibition in Europe. The Shah only gives
a new proof that to be prince or monarch Is
not necessarily to be a gentleman. Indeed
that has become very vague term. In lists
Of pnbc bodies which give the calllngs OF the
members, We often fnd few who are tcrmcd
''genllcmen, with the imp'lcato that the rest
not been earned by truth and honor and c ,ur
tesy, but merely by the fact that the bearer OF
it has no honest calling In u list of the LcgS-
lalure it meaus he is member Of the Ring,
and does not work, but preys on the public.
We want new designation for this class OF
persons lD France man living on his means
is not Tor that reason, accorded the title OF
gentleman. He is called RENTER, man OF
rents or ucome We have no such word here
except Il man of property which Is cumbrons
and lnexact. tor our ''rlDgsters live OFT Of
other peoples property We must fluid new
naue Tor this class of persons. 1t is ridiculous
to see on a jury list the titles Of merchant, me-
chaulc, farmer, NC, and then gentleman,
When, perhaps, the man who bears it Is the
one on the panel least entitled by character and
behaviour TO be called gentleman. He is
probably ring" loater, with no honest call
ing or visible means Of support, who is put into
the box to prevent an agreement. and bring OFT
safely some other "geDtlenau' who has CON-
United Il murder or kept gambling house or
robbed the city treasury-i, Indeed, the ladies
and gentlemen who do that were ever brought
to trial. We think il were we'll to fnd some
other word than gentleman Tor those who
live without labor on accumulated Ca pital. They
may or may not have the morals and manners
OF gentlemen But it is farce 50 to designate
the prUiigate aud the dishonest, merely be-
cause they live without labor by pIuudcriDg the
public.
In the English tongue the word gentleman
does not mean, as in FreGch, the member of
an arlstocratc class but, as one Of the earliest
Ergllsh poets uses it, it describes those who
| love truth and honor, freedom and courtesy.
Such are the Distinguishing traits Of the Viz
ginia gentleman as well as the English gentle
man. No State ever had ii nOplcr class of trne
gentlemen than Virginia can boast. They are
the greatest treasure of any Commonwealth
No material riches can compensate for their
absence May Virginia never lack those jew
els -LonchJoug Virgin an.
LAWYERS. Probably no body of men in our
past history, says the Pearisburg Gazette holds
better place in the atfectious oil the American
people than does the first Congress, whose
members signed and put forth our immortal
Declaration Independence nearly century ago,
and pied gcd their lives, their fortunes aud their
sacred honnrs to uphold and maintain the
principles therein contained. How we'll that
pledge wa, kept, history has recorded in im
perishable characters Not one of the signers
ever fell from the high estate to which that act
elevated him, and it has been truly said that
the annals Of the world can present no political
body, the lives of whose members infinitely
traced exhibit so much Of the zeal Of the pa
triotic, dgui6cd and chastened by the virtues
Of the man. Of the htty-siX persons who sgu
ed the Declaration, thirty-iour were lawyers,
giving them as class controlling Influence in
that great patriotic assemblage, which launch
ed the then lrail bark Of American indepen-
frelghted with the hores of i brave people
painting for that liberty which they held dearer
than even life itself After the lapse of nearly
an hundred years, during which period the bar
has contributed more than any other class to
bill out long list oil l!!uStrous names OF whom
all Americans arc Justly proud We are told that
! lawyers are not proper persons to occupy seats
in our legislative halls This is prejudice,
we know, common to many good men who are
Conscientious 10 their opinions. Lawyers are
not the only fiji legislators, far be it from Us TO
contend; for many Of our most distinguished
statesmen have come from other avocatious,
and acquired their knowledge after election to
the duties of law mlkiug. The lights Of the
past show that iu all ages lawyers have been
entrusted with the cares aud Responsibilities
OF State, and found worthy, and they should
not be made the object Of a prescription in
itself unjust, aud Inconsistent with the cardinal
principles of our system OF fire. government.
PICTURES AND Books BELONGING TO Mrs
GEN LEE sunk IN THE CANAL.-We ytster-
| day saw at the commission house Of Mr. Geo. A.
| klnnear quautity Of books, pictures, NC, be-
longing to Mrs Gen.R Il Lee, which were 10 a
badly damaged condition from having been
sunk in the canal. They were aboard the
freight boat Cadet" Capt. Hicks belonging
to Mr.. r +. Station, of this city, for transpor
| tation to Lexington, when by encounterlGg a
suag the boat was sunk in JudiIh's pond 90
| "Wednesday night The cargo was recovered
and brought down to the city, much injured,
| however, by its subnlersioD. The articles be-
longing to Mrs. Ice consisted of oil paintings,
engravings, books, &c, and are pretty tho
roughly soaked. We suppose they have re-
ceutly been recovered by her from Arlington.
In one Of the books, school geography, We
noticed the inscription "R. +. Ice, esq, 1915
Alexandria Academy" which was evidently
the 6oyish chirography Of our late i!lustrlous
chief. Mr.. klnuear, under direction Of Mr.
Fisher, the artist, is doing all that be can to
restore and preserve the pictures aud books;
| One OF the former is portrait OF COL Daniel
Palke, aid to the Duke OF Marlborou Oh at the
battle Of Benheim -Lw.h. Erg. hug l3M
ASSESSMENTS AND TAXES. Mr.. Hall, ST.
perneudent of Assessment aud Taxes, has
made bis report to Gov. Cooke, which presents
the following figures:
City of Washington, SSO,o59 's1