*P.02i i •0

OFFICIAL JOURNAL. PLAQUEMINE, LA., PARISH OF IBERVILLE, JANUARY 30, 1850. VOLUME II.—NO. 26.

ADVERTISEMENTS. Tenndah Hotel.

rffi additions and improvements in this House, during the past season, will

render its facilities for accommodations inferior to no Hotel in the country. A new and ele­gant Dining Room and several suits of apart­ment« for families have been furnished in the adjoining building on St. Charles street, thus fp.Ung this department of the house more pier-feet than ever. The accommodations for gen­tlemen have been proportionately increased in extent and convenience. The proprietors, while acknowledging their obligation to the nu­merous friends and patrons of the Verandah for the liberal support it has received under their administration, would at the same time assure them that no exertion on their part shall be lacking to warrant a continuance of their favors. New Orleans, Dec. 17,184ft E. R. MUDGE, } L. RADFORD, [ E. R. MUDGE & CO. D. M. HILDKETH. ) janl6 LM

Mititl Beieftt Life aid Fire Itsi-raice Cwftiy,

O

BUSINESS OE THE OOMPAHY CONFINED TO LIFE IN­

SURANCE.

Permanent Fund by Act of Incorporation, $200,000.

Which permanent fund are to be invested as per charter, for the benefit of the policy holders, in bonds and mortgages on unincumbered real estate valued at double the amount loaned thereon, and in stocks of the State, and of the United States Government.

This Company being organized, not for the benefit of stockholders and capitalists, but sole­ly for the protection of the policy holders^ and their families against want and poverty, is in its operations a great National benevolent in­stitution, conducted upon the most secure and solid principle«, and affording for a small annu­al paid during life, a large and handsome legacy io widows and children after dea^fa.

All policy holders, whether for life or shorter terms, who continue the insurance till death, participate in the whole of the profits of the company, without any reservations.

Creditors «" insure the lives of debtors, thus ywuring * prompt settlement in case of death. A married woman can effect insurance on the life of her husband, for the sole benefit and use of herself and children,free from the claims of creditors.

Trus tees : John Hagan, Joseph Walker, Peter Coniey, Jr., Maunsel White, Robert J. Ward, Samuel Stewart, Isaac Johnson, Geo. Stcawbridge, John. 8. Allison, Wm. E. Leverich, Edward Sparrow, Henry 8. Buckner. PETEB ÇOKEET, Jr., President Board of Tnw-

* l. i r®"r Di rec tors :

Joseph W..Stanton, John 8troud, Sr., John L. Lewis, John Calhoun, Wm. M. Goodrich, Joshua Baldwin, John 1» Saffiurans, Warrick Martin, A. D. Oossman, Mark Walton, Cornélius Fellowe«, Jo^phLalUnde, Ed. Jenner Coxe, M.M. Cohen, Preston W. Farrar, William H. White, John D. Beta, Wm. C. Tompkins,

John B. Leefe. Jon HAGAN, President, of the Company. PKESTON W. FAERAR, Vice President A. J. WEDDRRRURN, M. D., \ Medical Board THOMAS HURT, M. D., J of Consultation. HASMOK DOARE,Secretory. £. L. GOOLB, Attorney.

RICHARD BE IR, M. D., Medical Examiner, No. 371 Magazine at Office hours for blacks, 7i TAT«4f<*Thitos, * to 3 r. at lus

He win examine white applicants attke ofBeédf the Company dsily, from 13+to 9 o'clock, P.M. He wäf not examine any one at his dwelling without a permit, which can be had on application at the office of the Comp*-

OThia for

I on all aad Negroes, st

is prepared to entertain Insurance And issue Poli-* healthy White persons

of Kates est less than the rates

Hie New York aad London offices, r restrictions as to residente in the «harter, dividends of pro-

ma am aecisrea annually, and the profitadjraw interest, andean be made available at once to thTertsat. of two-thirds of their amount, where the party bas paid hia premiums in full

Cahfenaa permits ase issued to life uiau-taaoe memhars at New York and London rates. Prospectus, table of rates, and all information rntù Ltotymnm. andall «pen nmr to vffiwt lasarenes,ean be Mat the office of (la Pinups»!

trRffflwAi Privilege! illoww. • Ofica ïPo.

1 |y ; Ifetmtm CsapandSt Charles sto.

ritatfttiM firflale. _ offers at twhrate sate i on Grand RFRW.designated

State of Louisiana-*-Parish of Iberville.

Succession Sale. BY virtue of a decree or order of the Fourth

District Court of the State of Louisiana, in and for the parish of Ascension, to me di­rected, bearing date November 29th, 1849, 1 will offer at public sale to the highest and last bidder for cash, on Saturday, lCth February, 1850, at 10 o'clock, A. M., the following described property, belonging to the

Succession of John N. Wilson, dee'd., the uudivided half of the SLAVES

Mania, aged about 40 years, and her two children Andre«), aged abont 9 years, and Cris-

jed about two years and a half. le to take place at the Court House of the

pariah of Iberville. J. L. PETIT, Sheriff.

Parish of Iberville, Jan. 15, l850-janl6

OQ the pU of eorvey as lot He. 3, sec. IfcT. 10, R. Unbounded above br lands of Mrs. Re-vet.and below brlands of Wm. tt Çûr.l ÇkH WOW vet,

and been

vérbaafc.

oe3

the eakareof aagar, 8T0N, of which 7 acres have that Of

now under eritiratio». AL- tefceathia outhouses and

eords ef wood on the

Etat de ta Louisiane—Paroisse <f Iberville.

Vente de Succession. EN vertu d'un decret de l'honorable cour du

4eine District, de l'Etat de la Louisiane, en et pour la Paroisse d'Ascension à moi ad-dresse, en date du 39 Novembre, 1849, J'expo­serai en vente publique au plus offrant et der­nier enchérisseur, pour du comptant— +

Samedi, le lt Fevrier, 1850, a 10 heures A. M., les propriétés ci-apres dé­crites appartenant a la

Succession de John A". Wilson, consistant en la moitié indivisé, a les ESCLAVES

Maria, âgée d'environ 40 ans, a et ses deux en-fans, Andrew, âgé 9 ans, et Crispy, âgé de deux-ans, et deuri.

La vente aura Heu a la maison de cour de la paroisse d'Iberville.

J. L. PETIT, Shérif. Paroisse d'Iberville, ce 15 Jan. 1850.-janl6

State of Louisiana—Parish qf Iberville.

Succession Sale. BY virtue of a decree or order of the hon­

orable 6th District Court for the State of Louisiana, in and for the parish of Iberville, bearing date the 15th of January, 1850, I will offer at public sale tothe highest and last bidder, on

Monday, lSUt ef February, 1850, at 10 A. M., the following described pro­perty, belonging to the Succession of Dranin Poujol,

deceased, concisting in— 1st. A Tract of band, situated in said

parish, on the left bank of the Mississippi river, at the distance.of about fifty-five arpents from the margin of said river, measuring one and a half arpents front by a depth of about twenty-nine arpents, the lines running parallel from the said front on the Bayon Paul to the Bayou Manch«:, and is bounded above by lands be­longing td James Teller, and below by land of Jules Yiois.

2d. A lot of Moveables. Terms and Conditions of Sale.

The land payable one-third in the month of March 1850, aria the remaining two-thirds pay­able in the month of March 1851, the purcha­sers to furnish their notes with security to be approved by the administrator, and special mort­gage on the land for the payment of the pur­chase money; the moveable property payable, all sums under ten dollars cash, ana all sums over ten dollars in all March 1860, with notes approved by the administrator. v

Hale to take place on the premises. J. M. BROWN, D'y. Sheriff.

Parish of Iberville, Jan. It, 1850. janl6

Etat die la Louisiane •Paroisse d'Iberville.

Vente de Succession. EN vertu d'un décrét de l'honorable cour du

i 6ème District de l'Etat de la Louisiane, en et pour la paroisse d'Iberville, en date du 15 Janvier, 1850, J'exposerai en vente publique au plus offiantetdernier enchérisseur,

Lundi, le 1S Ferrier, 1800, a 10 heures A. m* tes propriétés ei-apres dé­crites appartenant a la

Succession de feu. Drausin PoujoL 1. Un eertain morceau de Terré, situé dans

la paroisse d'Iberville, sur la rive gauche du Mississippi, à la distance de cinquante cinq ar­penta de l'éeord dédit fleuve, mesurant un ar­pent et demi de fine, sur une profondeur d'àpue prés vingt neuf arpents, les lignes courrant par­allèlement de la dite façade sur le Bayou Paul jusqu'au Bayou Manchse; borné ea haut par une terre maintenant appartenant à James Tel­ler, et eu bas par la terre de Jules Vrûia.

3. Un lot de Mobiliers. Conditions de la Vente.

Le terre payable un tiers en Mars 1850, et deux tien en Mars J8&1; les scquewurs fourni­ront leur» billets endossés à la satisfaction de l'administrateur de la dite succession. Hypo­thèque special sera retenue sur le terre pour as-Surer le paiement de leur prix d'adindieation. Le mobilier payable toutes sommes de dix pias­tres et an-dessosS comptant le jour delà vente, etfoutes sommes au-dessos de dix pfastrès payriile eto Mare I860, avec des billets approvés par l'admtaiahaffeur, la vente aura lieu a la der-

residence dutit feu Drausin Poqjot. ^ #. M. BROWN, D r. Shérif.

Paroisse dlberville, te Jàn. 15,18ÔO.-jal6

Coportaershlf fttfeë. ̂ ; HE undersigned, having associated with hin in business, on Bayou Grosse Tete, jam-

firm will hereafter be BROTHERS. Ho

ta tonider Ida thanksip tbôÉni of Gum» Tate for the very liberal ^ l̂ïtïwed^>on hin fron tho*n»

with them, and retmeetfoOr so-icite a continuation eoMNMD XI

selStf

for tin aev tin

J0HNSÏON

Police Jury—Parish of Iberville. On Monday the 7th January» 1860, being the

first Monday of said month, at a regular session of the Police Jury of the Parish of Iberville, begun and held according to law, the following members met at the Court House of said pa­rish, to wit:

W. C. ADAMS, member of 2d District; JAS. C. ROBERTSON, member of 3d District; A. STRINGER, member of 6th District; D. L. R. ORILLION, Pres't, of 7th District The session being opened, the following pro­

ceedings were had; On .motion, Resolved, that Thos. W. Brown,

W. R. Boote and F. V. Gallaugher, the absent members, show cause at the next meeting why they should not be fined, according to law, for not attending at this session.

Resolved, That the resolution passed at the session of the police jury on the 17th Septem­ber last, 1849, authorizing the sale of the pa­rish property whereon the old jailor's house and jail are built, the same to be sold in two separate lots, be so amended äs to read as fol­lows, to wit—That said property be sold in one lot by the Treasurer of the parish of Iberville, after the usual legal advertisements, to the highest and last bidder, payable as follows : one half of the price of adjudication on the 1st day of January 1851, and the other half on the 1st day of January 1852, purchasers to furnish their notes endorsed to the satisfaction of the President of the police jury, and special mort­gage to be retained upon the property, to se­cure the payment of said notes and all inter­ests, said notes to bear interest at the rate of eight per cent per annum from time due till paid, and payable at the office of th*> ^••»corder of said parish.

Resolved, That the President of the police jury be and he is hereby authorized to make a good and valid title of said property, and sign a bill of sale of the same to the purchaser or purchasers thereof, and further to do all and singular the acts necessary in the premises.

An account amounting to the sum of three dollars and fifteen cents was presented by A. E. Richards, being for medicines furnished by him to indigent sick, by order of a physician, and D. R. Orillion, President of the police jury; the same being put to vote, was unanimously alio wed, and the President authorized to draw on the parish Treasury for that amount—$3 15.

An account amounting to the sum of $47 00 was presented by W. P. Bradburn for printing of the election notices in the Southern Senti­nel, for printing blank oaths for commissioners of elections, and for printing circulars to the police juries of other parishes; the same having been put to vote, was unanimously allowed, and the President authorized to draw on the Treasury for the amount—$47 00.

An account for the sum of $30 50 was pre­sented by J. L Petit, sheriff, for blankets, &c., furnished to prisoners in jail; the same was unanimously allowed, and the President au­thorized to draw for the amount—$30 50.

On motion, the police jury adjourned until o'clock, P. M. At 2 o'clock P. M. the police jury met agreea-

bly to the above adjournment, present as before. Mr. F. V. Gallaugher, member from the 1st

District, appeared and took his seat. The petition of Auguste Dufour, praying the

police jury to come to his relief for services rendered as teacher of indigent children in said parish, during the years 1842 and 1843, a-mounting to the sum of $350, was presented and read to the police jury, and the same being put to vote was unanimously rejected.

An account for the* sum of $118 00, was presented by J. S. Leonard, late jailor of said parish, which being put to vote was unanimous­ly allowed, after deducting the sum of $18, and the President authorized to draw on the pa-rish Treasury for the amount, to wit: $100 00.

An account amounting to $3 06} was pre­sented by G. S. Rousseau, justice of the pence in said parish, being for costs due him in crimi­nal prosecutions; the same being put to vote was unanimously allowed, and the President authorized to drew on the pariah Treasury for the amount—$3 06}.

Resolved, That the sum of $1 50 be paid to Adonife Petit, clerk of the police jury, for a minute book, by him bought for the use of the

Slice jury, ania the President authorized to LW on die Treasury for the amount—$150. An account of $150 00 was presented by

E. W. Blake, Esq., for hia services as parish at. toraey; the same waa hud over until the next

On motion, the police jury adjourned until the next regular sesaion, to wit, the 2d Monday in April, 1850.

(Signed) WM. C. ADAMS, JAS. E. ROBERTSON, F. V. GALLAUGHER, A. G. STRINGER, D. L.R. ORILLION, Pres.

Attest: ADONIS PETIT, Clerk.

REGULAR PACKET—For the Corat, Fort Adams, Bayou Sara, Tunica. Williamsport and all the

Beads—The new and splendid steamer E,D. WHITE, Eugene Brady, master, wilf leave New Orleans as above on SATURDAY, the 12th instant, at 5 o'cleck r. *., and leave regu­larly every Saturday throughout the season. Re­turning will leave Bayou Sara and Port Hud­son every Wednesday after the arrival of the ears. For freight or passage apply on board or to J. H. fcmiSON &C O.,

jy2i 1 Front Levee.

^<mCE--The undersigned most res-

tbe jierchanUsand Traders of Ibervilh^tiiathe will attend to the collection and settlement of all accounts that may be entrusted to him.

J. H. HAASE. Plaquemine, Jan. 12,1860-jal6 tf

School. liyfRS. L. C. HASSE would respectfully III inform the publie that her school will be opened on the first Monday in February. She * " - - parente and

janlS

m The ark

Drug Store. RI ARD

PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY,

By William P. Bradburn.

Office, second house above the Bank, to the right, from the river.

TERMS OE THE SENTINEL. SIIÏSCKIPTIOM:—-Fire Dollars per annum, invariably in ad­

vance. No aubicriptiou taken for a less period than one year.

A UVERTIHK6:—One Dollar per square, (10 line« or lew) wil be charged for fjie fir«t, and Fifty Cent« forevefy inser­tion thereafter. All advertisements not specified as to numherof insertions, willbe published until forbid, and charged accordingly. In both languages,charged double

IL7Announcements for office $10, to be paid invariably io advance.

PLAQVEMI1VE:

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30, 1850.

GOVERNOR'S MESSAGE. Gentlemen of the Senate,

and House tf Representatives:

Assembled in your respective Chambers for the first time at the new Seat of Government, it affords me pleasure to congratulate you on the event, and to proceed briefly to lay before you such matters, and to recommend to you such measures, as in my opinion the interests of the State require: Fresh from the society of those who have confided to you the high and delicate trust of legislation; intimately acquainted with their condition, opinions and wants, and sympa­thising closely with them in all important inter­ests, the State may look to you with confidence for a faithful and efficient discharge of public duty. I regret extremely that unforeseen cir­cumstances have prevented the completion of theState House—and herewith transmitforyour information,acommunication from the Commis­sioners of the Public Building atB. Rouse, ex­planatory of the causes and reasons which have prevented the completion of it. The explana­tion to my mind is quite satisfactory. It is the intention of the Commissioners, at an early day, to make a special report to you of the expen­ditures incurred by thed up to this period.

The office of Attorney General nas not yet, with the other State offices, been removed to the seat of Government; and in communicating the fact, it is due to that officer to state the reasons which appear to have influenced his conduct in this particular, and to enquire whether some le­gislation be not necessary to relieve the embar­rassment of his position: The act of the 9th of March, 1846, for the removal of the seat of Government, as well as the act amending it, ap­proved March 16th, 1848, doubtless contem­plated the removal of the offices of the Attorney General and all other State offices; whilst on the other hand, an act of the Legislature, ap­proved February 10th, 1813,at page 26th. ofBul-lard and Curry, declares that an Attorney Gen­eral shall be appionted to prosecute and con­duct all suits in which the State shall be con­cerned arising within the First Judical District, and to prosecute all delinquencies for crimes and offences committed against the laws of the State within said District; and to give his opin­ion in writing or otherwise, upon all questions of law, when required by the Governor or any other civil officer of State. If the Attorney General had have complied with the acts of '46 and '48, it would have been impossible for him to prosccute the civil and criminal cases in which the State is a party, arising within the First Judicial District of the State—and if the duty of yrosecuting civil eases in the First Dis­trict shall be imposed on the District Attorney, he could not attend to it, as his whole time, although constantly assisted bv the Attorney General, is necessarily consumed in the prose­cution of crimes and offences in the Firet Dis­trict Court of New Orleans. In addition to this, it is the extensive duty of the Attorney General to represent the State in the numerous and complicated criminal rases appealed to the Supreme Court; and I am informed there are at this time many important civil causes pend­ing in the Courts of New Orleans and in the Supreme Court, in which the State is a party. In this conflict of duty arising from the state of the iaw, lam satisfied the Attorney General, in the course pursued, has beat consulted the pub-lie interest. But this state of things I feel as-sured, will not be permitted to continue longer than it will take the Legislature to apply a suit­able remedy.

I deem it proper to call your attention to an act of Côngress passed on the 2d of March, 1849, which conditionally grants to this State the swamp and overflowed lands within its lim­its, The act proposes to render cultivable this description of lands by applying the proceeds of their sale to the construction of such levees and drains as may be found necessary to the accom­plishment of this object As soon, therefore, as

granted, it is the business of tbe Governor to advise the Secretary of the Interior of the fact, whose duty it then k, to cause a personal exam­ination to be made of them by experienced and faithful deputies, under the direction and by appointment of the Surveyor Genend of the State. A list of tends, thus examined, will be

pared by these officers, and certified to the iretary of the Interior, who is required to ap-ive their acta with a reservation in fkvor of ividoal claims: This done, the title vesta ab­

solutely in the State. In discussing the expedi­ency of accepting the grant, the question of most importance will befouad tobe the question of expense; and that, I trust, will be relieved of its embarrassment by the valuable authentic information which, in aid of yoar enquiriea, I transmit to tbe House of Representative». A proximate estimate can oniy be expected, as the quantity of land affected by the act, aad the extent and cost of the service required to ascer­tain it, cannot be predicted with any eertainty. You will find, however, by a report from the General Und Office, ef tM 11th of April, 1848, based on a report from the Surveyor General's Office, in this State, of tbo 20th of October,

'the swamp tenda in Lou-was estimated, at that time, 'at two mfl-

lion two hundred and itety-s&i thousand and

seventy-five acres. But it appears that this es­timate was made from the topography of the country, as represented by maps from surveys of ten, twenty, thirty, and even of forty years standing. Much of the land, in lower Louis­iana especially, which is represented by those surveys as swamp, has, doubtless, changed its character, whilst, on the other hand, many town­ships on each side of the Atchafalaya river, not included in the list of swamp lands referred to, and not so represented on the maps, are known to contain large quantities of swamp land quite easy of reclamation. From this source the de­ficiency in the reported quantity of swamp lands may be supplied. What, then, will if cost to inspect and list them, as required by the act of 2d of March, 1849, is the question? A careful examination, a few years since, in the General Land Office, resulted in showing that the cost of surveying the public domain, amounted to one cent and ninety-four one hundreths of a cent per acre, and T have the authority of late ad interim commissioner of that office for suggest­ing that the cost of surveying and listing the swamp and overflowed lands in this State, will not exceed one half of that sum. He is inclined to believe that it will not exceed one-third of it Assouiing, then that the area of swamp and overflowed lands has been correctly reported, the cost of inspecting and listing them, cannot much exceed twenty thousand dollars. Of course, the amount will vary with the quantity of land affected by the law. But it has been contended, in view of the peculiar and unneces­sary phraseology of the law, that the survey of the local sub-divisions, or forty acre lots, de­mands an actual inspection of all the bounda­ries of each legal sub-division, which, if true, will increase the cost of surveying every sec­tion. A strictly textual construction leads to this conclusion. But this certainly was not contemplated by the law, and would result in useless labor, except irr some instances, when it may he necessary to meander the line between the swamp, or overflowed, and the high tends, in order to determine whether certain tracts par­taking of both character are embraced by the act. In those cases, even the survey need not be as expensive as ordinary and original sur­veys, as you will perceive from the frank and enlightened view of the present Commissioner of the General Land Office. An objection has also been raised to the act that "> determining the line on which those meanders should run, the stage of water in the river is obliged to be consulted. If this construction prevails, it will greatly diminish the value, if not defeat the object of the grant. I am happy to assure you there is no reason for this apprehension, as the commissioner of the General Land Office has decided that the reference must be exclusively to the stage of water on the swamp and over­flowed lands. Where there is timber, the wa­ter marks left by such inundations as render the land usafe for cultivation, will govern; and where there iàno timber, and doubts exist as to the extent of toe overflow, the testimony of credible witnesses of the neighborhood, will an­swer. It afferds me pleasure to congratulate the State upon the unreserved fairness in which the federal authorities are disposed to treat this subject in all its bearings. Hence, I am partic­ularly pleased to inform you that, as soen aa a sufficient appropriation is made, the Federal Land Offices in this State will be instructed to make special returffc to the General Land Office of the tracta embraced in the grant, which have been sold by the government since the passage of the law. This retroactive effect ia clearly due I» a just interpretation of the inten­tion of the law. If, therefore, the grant ia accepted, it will be proper to provide for the re­ception of the proceeds of the tenda in the mean time sold, and to empower the Governor to make relinquishment of title, if required, to those who have bought tend embraced by the grant, from the General Government

From thia source it is supposed a sufficient sum will accrue to reinburse the State Trea­sury in whatever advance may be made for sur­veys and making of lists: If the grant ia accept­ed the Legislature must provide the mode of compensating and contracting with tbe depu­ty surveyors: It only remains for me to add my unqualified recommendation of an immediate acceptance of the grant a subsequent Legisla­ture may provide the ways and means for the realization of its advantages, or it may permit the tend to reclaim itself by the effect of caus­es which in the test thirty year have poured thousands of dollars into the Federal Treasury. On the tenth of March 1845, the Legislature adopted a resolution authorizing the Governor to appoint three persons to form with the State Engineer, the mayor of the city and the judge of Jefferson, a board of commissioners to en­quire into the most effectual means of protect­ing the city of New Orleans from inundation, ana to report at the next session: The resolu­tion remained unexecuted until the recent deso­lating deluge of the city awakened enquiry and suggested the expediency of anticipating the Legislature with the statistics it would demand before acting on the subject To that end I ap­pointed Col.CampbeMjlMaj. Ranney.and Doctor Kiddell to co-operate with the other functiona­ries named in the resolution: From this Board you may expect a report detailed and scientific, tf not harmonious upon all pointa. The eity au­thorities have no jurisdiction over the levees in adjoining parishes, and the dty, in consequence, is annually exposed to inundation. It is there­fore, the plain duty of the State to eome effec­tually ana instantly to the relief of the eity in this important matter.

The experience of the last year has proved that levees, as heretofore constructed and eon-trolled, cannot be relied upon as safe barriers to the overflow of the Mississippi river. The ru­inous and distressing consequences of that ex­perience, disposed the public mind gravely to enquire into the means beatealcutetedto prevent the recurrence of such calamities; and, doubt­less, members have come prepared, in some de­gree, to meet the formidable difficulty. But „as it was the peculiar province of the civil 0||U neer thoroughly to investigate the subject In its diversified aspecta, I thfnk he has done «o, aad I take pleasure in commending his well-consider­ed and scientific report to your confidence. The views and suggestions of this officer touching the modifications of the existing system of im-Brer«iiaate,mo»dcrtownderitBieweabtlualt M entitled to the most respectful consideration.

Government cannot do more to enrich apeople than by removing obstacles to their industry, and affording them facilities in getting their pro­duce to market. Too much importance cannot, therefore, be attached to any plan which could extend and perfect a system of internal commu­nication throughout the State. In this manner every branch of industry is released from the heavy burdens of transit cost and the argu­ment for a tariff to protect what is called home industry from foreign competition weakened, and in the end annihilated.

With the operation of the free schools in this State much discontent prevails; and yet in that discontent 1 see a promise hal; fulfilled, that the system will stan 1 its ground against all assail­ants, be improved, ana gradually become more practical and popular. Let it be remembered that it is the fate of all valuable human institu­tions to advance to perfection through error, mistake, and protracted conflict. If, then, the first efforts to develop the free school system, imperfect as it is, and opposed all the while by powerful interests and prejudices, have not real­ized public expectation, still enough has been accomplished to encourage the Legislature to act with vigor in bringing about such modifica­tions and charges of the law, as have been sanc­tioned by experience and observation. The sys­tem has been practically in operation but a short time, and yet the State has been laid put into six hundred and ninety-two districts, in which six hundred and eighteen schools have been put in operation, and where twenty-two thousand children, have been educated. This result, un­der all circumstances, is more encouraging than could have been reasonably anticipated. But the resources of the present school fund are inadequate to edueate much more tban one-half the number of children who are entitled to claim the benefit of it; and if the constitution ia obeyed, which commands the Legislators to establish free public schools throughout the State; and if it is just to spend money for the purpose of producing the greatest good to tho greatest number, then 1 say the Legislature has no alternative, however repulsive, but to in­crease the means of education. - One of the decided tendencies of this age, as acknowledged by several despotic govern­ments, is that which asserts and enforces the principle of taxing equally the property of all, to give the primary elements of knowledge to the children of all. This prineiple forms

part of the constitution of the State, and must govern until stricken out by the people, or paralyzed by a refusal ef the people's repre­sentatives to tax and appropriate, to preserve its vitality. I have no fears, howerver, that the noble function and imperative duty of giving the elements of education to those whose hard lot exposes them to the unhappy consequences of a merely animal existence, can be misdirect­ed. The principle on which it depends, when once establishad, never retrogrades. In all. how­ever, that relates to this absorbing question, I refer you, with great satisfaction, to the lumi­nous and elaborte report of the State Superin­tendent of Public Education, who has vigorous­ly grappled with its numereus difficulties. Ow­ing to the failure of the Sate Legislature to agree upon an eligible site for a Seminary of learning, a tew was psssed on tbe 20th Decem­ber, 1848, under which I appointed P. W. Ro­bert, W. Aikenhead, and Col. Claiborne, as Commiss i :T ie rs , d i l igen t ly to enqui re in to the subject and to report the result of their labors to this Legislature in the first week of its ses­sion.

It is of great moment that this troublesome question should be disposed of at this session; but I fear an unyielding spirit of sectional com­petition for the site will prevent it

The capital of tbe seminary fund has been varied but little by the sale of a few acres of seminary tend since the 31st of Dec., 1848: at that time it was 990,346 and the interest $18,-S73 90 cents. So that with the interest which has acented at 6 per cent to the Slst gf Dec., 1848: at that time it was $90,346 and the in­terest $18,573 90 cents: So that with tbe in­terest which has accrued at six per eent to the 3 ls t o f Dec . , 1849 , the resources o f th i s fund may be stated at $90,346 of capital and $2ä,-990 66 eta, of interest. Of the seminary tends, there remain unsold, ten thousand seven hun­dred and sixty-two acres; but these acres are represen ted a s the re fuse o f the se lec t ions , and there is no prospect of sellingthem at the mini­mum price of $3 per acre. The price then, I think, should be reduced to $1,25 cts. per acre, especially as it is a matter of général interest to realizé the full amount of tbe seminary fund aa soon as practicable.

Permit me to recall your attention to some of the reasons which seem to require a change in the time of holding the congressional elections in this State. After the expiration of every con­gress by conatitutional limitation, pn Extra Ses­sion, no matter how great tbe emenrgency or grave the subject that demanded it would find the State unrepresented, and it is not probable that the lapse could be prevented by the most discreet and diligent action of the State author­ities. In addition to thia prominent considers* tion, the election is now field just a month be­fore the beginning of thefvongressional se's-

days within which ^report the resuit to the office of the Secretary of State. In a elosé con­test it is easy to aee toattbe State at thé open, iug of Composa «od for some time after, may be deprived of the services of at least two jpem. bera. One of the most striking proofs of thajprqgre»-

sive tendency of free institutions, is the fimility and steadiness with which the masses in this fa­vored land more in acquiring the direction of the great interests of Government The ma­ny, instead of the few, are the sovereigns; and if I understand rightly the popular sentiment of the State, it earnestly insists that the high­est and lowest place? of power shall become prizes for universal competition. ( Iaccordingly renominend a move in favor of an unrestricted exercise of tbe elective principle.

I herewith transmit copies of the i denee between the Secretary of Sta ram Powers, in relation to tfaaaseçwtiou of a statue of Washington, intended as a& em bel-

^ ^ the jjgj, i i .

i