t
w. L. antui, aoiToa anu raoraiKTo.
0BJ3O0N CITY:
SATURDAY, MARCH 5, IMP.
To the Republicans of Oregon.
Thrre will be Convention of tho Uopublictiis of
Oregon at SAI.KM, on Tin seotv, Tux Tritmv
rixr UAY o Aran., IS.'iO, fur the purpose of nom
inating Delegate or llepreiiefiuilive lo ('onurrx,
in I fr tlx purpw- of transacting tnch oilier buei
mil mny come before tin C'onveiilinn.
Tht Committee 'f!f"t tli.it the following nppor-I'omn-iit
bo adhered d) iu electing delegate :
Curry I, Coot I, Jucknun 4, Jiskphiu 5, Dou
gla I, I ' nip iirt 3, I. a ne 6, I .inn 0, Kniton 4,
I'olk 4, Yamh II 4, Marion ?. Clackamas 5, Wash
Ingion 3, Multnomah 4, Column a 1, Clatsop 1,
Tillamook 1, (inl Wasco I.
The Conmi'tlee also enmeitly reiUwt lliat a full
n't complete orgmiuuion of tlio Itepiiblicune be
peif. eted in every county at an early day, end
thitt the clialinun uf each counly commute iin-rneJiuU-ly
sen J his name ami post-office addnt to
W. C. Joiinmin, Cleik of the Central Committee,
at Or go City.
W. T. Matlock,
W. C. JollNSON,
U HoLMES,
I.. 11. WsKKFIKLD,
Rep.
Cen.
Com.
W. L. Autu;
Jan. 23. W9.
The tNatlonaWi to be HeettoaatUcil.
The Standard of this week lias tuken the
advice tendered by us two weeks siuce, and
bus concluded to let tho ' national' organiz
ation slide. Near tlic close of a leading ar
ticle upon the future course of the Stundurd,
it thus gives its advice lo the 1 nationals':
" We therefore advise that the Xatinn.il Demo
cratic organization be i.bandoiiecl ; that the mem
ber of lb party will honorably aid in the proinnl
gitinn of true Dunocrat'c prini'iplea, and pledge
their unqualified support lo properly chosen ii"iniii
eeeof the Democratic Convention whieh it to meet
at Salem, on the 20th duy of April next."
Our national friends arc thus plainly ad
vised to a retrogressive motion backward
into the kennel of the once hated ' federal
clique,' instead of a progressive motion for
ward into tho rauks of tho Republicans.
Wo have carefully read two articles iu the
lust issue of the Standard, and then turned
back to its files fur 1858, in order to dis
cover the reasons given for its zigzag course
in leading on tho party of which it now
claims to be the ' sole organ a parly which
last year it rallied with all its zeul to an ut
tack upon the citadel of the Suletu cliqui,
a citadel which tho Standard represented
to be filled with little less than political
thieves, ' bogusites,' ' blue-light fedcrulir-.ts'
and a ' prescriptive junta.' Wo have
peeped into the files of this paper in order
io see how its past, present, and future
courses could be reconciled, as well us to
discover what kind of a torch-light was to
head tho column of such 'nationals' as
choose to follow the Standard in its future
turnings and twibtings through tho dark
labyrinth of fog and gloom through which
the black democracy is now wading to a
still darker destiny. Our researches have
led us to exclaim with the preacher, ' Van
ity of vanities all is vanity!' The whole
thing is a bundle of incongruities, inconsist
encies consequently profoundly 'demo
cratic.'
Now wo havo no desire to quarrel with
tho Standard or find fault with it for its
courses. Its icriodical political 'courses'
may be as regular cs the changes of the
moon, and all brought ou by established
laws that govern all democratic bodies
which revolve around the U. S. Treasury
laws only known to such political philos.
pliers as have given their whole time to
researches into ' the time-honored usages of
our party." In fuct, wc honor the Stand,
nrd the more for having forsaken the na
tional fold, whero it has ulways been uppa-
rcnt to us that it was bedded on little else
than Shucks and .fed on Shucks, for a
warmer sty und more comfortnblo quarters,
with soiuo little prospect of an occasional
car of corn when Uncle Sam's crib shall be
emptied in the troughs of those Democrats
who are all actuated in their movemeuts by
a common purpose, governed by a common
creed, and united by a common sympathy.
From tho time that the Standard took
sides with the Administration and favored
its Lcconipton iniquity ns against Douglas,
we have seen that it litis been slowly und
surely drifting back toward that same ' Sa
lem federul faction' which it once denounced
as a despotism, but which wo havo ulwnys
told our readers was the best representa
tive of tfuchannn Democracy in the Ter
ritory. AVc prefer to see the Standard nnd
all other papers range themselves on one
sido or the other of the two political par
tics which nro now marshaling their hosts
to a conflict which is to decide the might
iest issues that have ever yet divided the
.American people issues between the polit
ical animus of tlia Declaration of I tide
:pcndcncc on the one side, and tho soul of
toryism that prompted a few Americans to
.stigmatize our Revolutionary fathers as
" rebels,' and induced Fettit to denounce
the Declaration ns a 'self-evident lie' is
sues that will decide whether this Govern
ment is to be ruled by a national, economi
cal Administration that is willing to build
the Pacific railroad, foster iuternul improve
ments of a national character, encourage
free white labor by protecting tho poor
man in the Territories against the degrading
and crushing influences of a slave capital
aristocracy, put down agitation on the sla
very question by putting1 a stop to slavery
extensiou, and executing the laws against
piracy an Administration that will culti
rate friendly relations with foreign (towers
by treating them with respect, recognizing
their rights, and enforcing our just demands;
or whether we are to have an Administra
tion that is so sold to the slave-breeding se-'
cessioniits tlwt every contract for carrying
eren an overland mail, and every move for
it Pacific Railroad, shall be either made a
sectional enterprise and funned out to
stock jobbing schemers, or crushed out an
Adiniiilhtrution that sneers at Freedom as
sectional nnd regards Slavery os national,
Ruptmrts the Constitution as a mnnimotb
Juggernaut on which shivery rides Into the
Territories with a standing army to protect
it, crushing whito labor ' squatter sover
eigns,' who riso to resist it, into the dust
an Administration which in a time of per
fect peace can use up an annual revenue of
nearly a hundred millions and run the Gov
ernment in debt from twenty to forty mill
Ions per annum In rewarding party whip-pers-ln,
In carrying elections, and iu curry
ing on wars against ' popular sovereignty'
iu one Territory and ' domestic institutions'
in another au Administration that keeps
the whole country convulsed by agitations
on the nigger question, gotten up by filling
President's messages, communications to
officials, and diplomatic papers, with nig
yrr, nigger, nigger an Administration
that, to strengthen tho slave power, holds
out In one hand a hundred and eighty mill
ions for Cuba, while it brandishes the
sw ord in the other, accompanied by a threat
to tako it by forco if it cannot get it by
purchase.
These are some of the issues between the
Sectionnlists and the Republicans, and,
when such issues are to be tried, bow silly
for men to be getting up pnrtics on per
sonal issue's where no principles are in
volved ! That the issues between the 'softs'
and bnshites have been merely local and
personal, us wc contended last spring, the
Standard thus acknowledges:
"The trouble existing in the Democratic party
of Oregon can bo traced directly to local or indi
vidual cauaet. Let ua coat this petty quarreling
wi.hin the ranks.''
Xoie, the trouble iu the ranks heretofore
is traced back to mere ' local or individual'
(personal) causes. The Stundurd of June
IT, 1858, used the following language:
" Aa we have before said, the inane between the
Nat'oiwU and Hie Salem faction Inn been ono of
prino'ple, afll'eling every citizen of the government.
It haa been almost the only real inane in Oregon
aineu the adoption of our Constitution. It would
have been well then that had all the cilizena in nil
the couu.iri tuken their position upon this iaaue,
nnd not have forced a tranu'ar contest by intro
ducing a foreign iaaue. Then we should have
been able to know with the precision of malhema-ti.-inl
demniialratinn bow deeply haa been imbedded
in the minda of the people of Oregon, during the
re git und tcnohingf ef the Sulrui Junta, Blue
light Federalism, which wns ao rank in John Ad
am' day, but wh ch via ihomughly exploded by
the teachings and example of 'l'homai JerTcrtjii,
the great fu.her of Democracy ."
So then this terrible wur w hich was car
ried on between the nationals and the clique,
and which was regurded by the Standard
iu June lust as a fight on 'principle' so im
portant that it affected every cit'zen of the
government,' is now viewed through tho
spectacles worn by the Standard of March
2, 1859, as a mere ' petty quarrel,' growing
out of 'local or individual causes' a quar
rel so insignificant nnd boyish that it ought
to be 1 dried np' immediately. The Stand
ard of June IT, 1858, told us iu the fol
lowing extract how long the issue should
be kept up:
"TIlii inane muat bo kept before the people, until
every Federalist ia forced to shrink from the public
arena and drsinl from asking olliee at the huudauf
a people whom he ia constantly aeeking to deride,
iusuk and oppress."
Note the Standard proposes that the
1 shrinking' be all done by the nationals
instead of tho ' federalists.' ( Here we tal
off our hut and halloo, Bravo!)
Rut hero is nioro of tho 'principle' in
volved iu the fight of June, 1858:
" The Sn'cm Federalists have adopted and reaf
firmed, and now urge aa a part of their creed of
luiili anil aa n teat ol fellowship in their party, the
following resolution :
ltrsolaed, That we repudiate the doctrine that
a Representative or Delegate can, in pursuance of
tnt utunes or Janciea interests of the district he
represents, go into or remain out of a caucus of
hia party, and refuse to support the nominations
thereof, and still maintain hia standing na a Demo
crat." The same Standard, after quoting from
the rennsylvuniun to show thnt a Demo
crat was bound to obey tho instructions of
his constituents or resign, says:
" In thia quotation, a respect for instructions or
wish, s of n constituency is umdc a test of democra
cy, while in the Salem resolution ditobedience to
iii'tructions nnd wishes of a constituency, consti
tutes A test of Democracy.
Give them bambi with an occasional shot of
gran unJ cannier, to the bitter end."
Now, that the Standard has crawled into
the fold of tho 1 caucue sovereign federal
ists' wc suppose tho 1 bitter end' has come,
and the nationals may cense giving them
'bombs, grape, nnd canister' and commence
giving them vote a change of tactics
truly refreshing to tho 'federalists.' Tho
Standard of lust Wednesday gives tho fol
lowing highly satisfactory excuso for its
conversion:
" We recede from no principle which was enter
tained lent yenr, wo offer no upology for our course
in mat ctnrpaign. lint the Democracy or Uiegon
havo iud c.ilnl their displeasure at the existence of
two sfpuralo Deniocrutio organizations, and it ia
but proper tliut one ahould give way. The Na
t onal organization beinj youngest, and least com
plete in ita domestic management, ia beat entitled
to withdraw."
. Here two Democratic, organizations are
recoguized, ono a full-grown . one, and the
other rather young, somew hat green, nnd
ilightiy unhealthy. Now let ns see what
tho Standard of May 6, 1858, thought
about this young ' national' calf, which has
shriveled into such "diminutive dimensions
thut it is proposed to ' withdraw' it from
the ' rack' where the bushite federal bull is
feeding:
' hi the first place, the Nationals are the Demo
crnliu party of Orepon and the only party who
stand upon a l'eniocratio platform. Any
man who has a thimble full of brain, will re.id.ly
acknowledge thia, an I hence there ia no necessity
for a lengthy argument in supp rt of thia assertion.
In the same article, the bushitcs are de
nounced as ' the iniquitous, antidemocratic
inquisition aud tyrannical juntei.'
aVotf, this ' iniquitous anti-democratic in
quisition nnd tyrannical junta,' is recognized
as tlie oldest democratie organization, mott
complete in its domestic tnngtnrnlt and
one which from Its superiority has a right
to cull on the national one to ' withdruw,'
Xoie, Cznpkny's orgnn will no doubt
take into full fellowship him whom it for
merly denounced as a ' Know Nothing,' a
' California adventurer,' ' political trickster,'
Ac, Ac,
All thoso who havo hitherto cluiined to
belong to tho Democratic party, but who
havo becomo disgusted with the Iniquities,
bribery, corruptions, nnd inconsistencies of
what is fulsely culled the Democratic party
hero and elsewhere, are cordiully invited to
unite with tho Republicans, who will give
them a permanent, wholesome, nnd consist
ent platform to stand on.
Tint Yamhill Trade. Tho Hoosicr Is
now permanently attached to tho Yamhill
trade, running ns high as Mc.Minrille ns
often as practicable in tho winter. Copt.
Swcitzcr, of the Elk, has got a charter
from the Legislature for construting a lock
at the mouth of the Yamhill, and tho prol
ability is that ho and Copt. Miller, of tho
Hoosicr, will unite in building tho lock aud
building a new boat cxpessly for thnt trade.
The Hoosicr will during low water this
summer bo kept running from Dayton to
tho mouth of the Yamhill, connecting at
that point with the Elk. Although these
Captains will then hare tho sole right of
navigation, no fears need be entertained of
an unreasonable increase of the tariff of
prices. Neither of these gentlemen would
tako a cent wrongfully if they had the
chance. We hope that tho growing trade
of Yamhill will amply remunerate them for
all their trouble iu trying to accouimoduto
tho Yamhill people.
Bad Memory. The Oregouian quotes a
pointed paragraph from tho People's Press
condemning the assault ou T. J. Dryer iu
Suletn, and then says:
'' It is the first and on'y expression of eundem
nation which nny newtpajier in Oregon boa dare 1
to breathe agaiust the moat cowardly and dastard,
ly act of brutality imaginable."
Those who read our ' expression of con
demnntiou' just after the affair happened,
will be at a loss to account for the above.
We ore disposed to be charitable, and ac
count for it from the fact that friend Dryer
forgot what we had said about it.
Temperance Revival. We are truly
rejoiced to be able to chronicle the fact thut
the Temperance cause is prospering glori
ously In this city as in other sections of the
country. The Sons have had numerous
nnd valuable accessions to their ranks In
this city, nnd others whom wo had long
since considered beyond tho reach of hope
ore thinking seriously of embarking in the
glorious cause. We feel a new attachment
to such as hnve quit the poisoned bowl und
set out on the path of temperance, prosper
ity, and pence.
Emigration. We lately astonished a
friend by telling him thut there wns a pros-
p?ct of forty thousand emigrants to Oregon
next fall. We see a correspondent of a
California paper estimates tho emigration
to the Pacific coast this season at a hun
drcd thousand. The waters East arc troub
led, nnd we shall ere long have live settlers
rolling over our mountains in swarms.
, Convicted. Charles I. Roc, who was
arraigned before Judge Boise last week,
in Sulem, charged with murdering his wife,
pleaded guilty, nnd, niter the examination
of a few witnesses in order ta-detcrmine
the degree of guilt, the Judge decided it to
be murder in the first degree, nnd sentenced
Roe to bo hung in Sulem on Saturday,
April 2, 1859.
Back Again. We reached home Into
tflis week, after nearly a month's tour over
terrible roads and through almost incessant
storms of snow nnd rain. We have made
only tho circuit of Multnomah, Washing
ton, nnd Yamhill counties, mid, owing to
the bad weather, wo shall defer tho remain
der of our journey till near the close of
April, when we hopo the roads will be pas
sable. In the mean time, we nsstire friend
Pengra of the Press that we will ' suit those
horses' occasionally, so that they will be on
hand about the time we get ready to start
sure.
Communications. Upon returning home
we find a heavy file of communications on
hand, which we will attend to soon.
Removed. The Post Office in this city
has been removed to a room in Moss's
building nearly opposite Charman &
arner s.
For the Argus.
Tbe Prratdeat Kansas. Affair.
Mn. Editor Sir: In addition to other
things which came by tho last mail to com
fort or afflict, to solace or distress, the pa
triots of Oregon, was the President's Mes
sage. And ' when, in the course of human
events,' it becomes my duty as it is the
privilege of all good Republicans to no
tice it, I shall at least try to do him justice,
keeping in memory the grave and learned
precept, somewhere in the Bible or out of
it, to 'give the devil his due.'
Ilts Excellency recapitulates for about
the fifth or sixth time his old sophistical
anil pettifogging story about Kansas af
fairs, as familiar to every gentleman and
lady who 1 reads the papers' as household
words. And since he deals mainly in the
past of Kansas, and Congress, the body
addressed, is as well posted in its history as
himself, why did he not stund upon his per
sonal and official dignity, as all great men
do, and leave the Republic to make its own
comment npon ' the poxt,' ' relying on the
justice and intelligence of the people' ?
Or, if he must retrospect, why not tell the
truth? Ills conduct reminds mu of tho
reply of an Irishmuu who manifested soiuo
alarm on being brought into court to bo
tried for crime: ho wus requested to bo as
composed as possible, with tho assurance
that in thut court he would bo sure of ;'ui'
lice; ho replied, ' Oh, faith, and by St.
Putrick, that's what I dread!'
Ti truly humiliuting to contemplate the
unenvluble predicament in which the Exec
utive is placed by his iniquitous and diubol
ieul efforts to force a spurious constitutional
government on tho people of Kansas, In
violation of the known will of a very large
majority of Its Inhabitants, to sco him
lubor between wind and water to weavo a
' fig-leaf veil, behind which ho and party
may shield themselves from the public gnzo.
For tho light of truthful history (over in
tho direction of Kunsus) Is to him and
party as 1 tho worm thut never dies,' tho
'fire thut Is never quenched'; hence tho
inqicrutive necessity of fulsehood, slander,
sophistry, egotism, which stund out In bold
relief, each in its full and weil-develoed
proKrtious, in every general statement
about Kansas. Justice, however, demands
tho concession thut the messnge is In soiuo
respects an extraordinary document: not,
however, for its profundity in'thc science of
government, its truth, its candor, its logic,
or its sagacity ; nor yet for its classical and
literary style aud associations but ou nc
count of its enormous length In dull, prosy,
circuitous detuils, apparently to avoid the
withering disgrace aud odium which, like
an adhesive plaster, sticks, nnd will con.
tintic to stick, so long as the faithful pages
of history shall be preserved for future gen
erations, to detuil tho unequaled jicrfidy
und villainy of his Excellency and subordi
mites In their murderous efforts to muk
Kansas a slave State, in opposition to tho
known and acknowledged will of about
niuo tenths of its people, and consequently
in violation of the fundamental principles
of our form of government. And yet he
the standurd-benrer of Democracy!! A
pink of democracy, indeed! 'I would ra
ther dwell in the land of sinners than
among such saints.'
All tho abettors and defenders of the
KnnsAS-Xcbrusku act, while pending be
fore Congress, pleaded that tho poople (of
a Territory) the people (what a lovely
and cuchanting word!) were left entirely
' free to form and regulate their own do
mestic institutions iu their own way' by
which everybody understood that the set
tlers or citizens of a Territory might nt
discretion legislute upon all matters that
were proper subjects of legislation in a
State, such as the location of the capital,
penitentiary, common schools and colleges,
crimes aud misdemeanors, mills, State
banks, slavery, tic, 4c, free from adven
titious restrictions or external pressure
hands off iu every direction leaving the
people frco to legislate with tho freedom
and latitude of a State. And, notwith
standing all this, instead of extending tho
liberties und privileges of tho ' dear people,'
thut very act orguniziug the Territory cur
tailed nnd circumscribed the privileges of
the 1 dear people' far more than nny other
organic act for the Inst twenty ycurs. It
contained more lutent villainy under a plau
sible guiso than all tho other organic acts
put together. They were frank, open, and
candid, speaking what, and only what, wns
intended by them ns Congressional acts;
but this was nothing better nt its highest
orb than a ' white lie' promising to the
car what it broke to the heart; promising
in theory, in cunningly-devised verbal garb,
to extend nnd amplify the liberties of the
poor backwoods settlers in tho Territories,
when to curtail and blast those liberties
were the absolute designs; ns clenrly evinc
ed by its effects in Kansas (by their fruits
shall ye know them) nnd by the subse
quent declarations of its passionate admi
rers while pending before Congress, and by
the absolute provisions of the bill itself.
J Squatter Sovereignty' was the watch
word of tho party, a sine qua non, the
lummum bonum, the very essence nnd quin
tesscneo of civil government. That was
Democracy then; I mean, of course, verbal
Democracy. But what is it now ? It is
repudiated and denounced as ' the most
childish conception,' as ' the most unconsti
tutional and impracticable humbng,' by
the Washington Union, the organ of the
party. It says ' one of the great merits of
the Drcd Scott decision is the total extin
guishment it gives to the dogma of ' squat
ter sovereignty' in the Territories.' 'It
utterly negatives the idea that there is any
original jurisdiction or legislative authority
in the Territory, and asserts that all au
thority therein is derivative, coming from
without, and not inherent in its inhabitants
or tribunals.' See the Union for Nov. 13.
1858. Near two columns of tbe Presi
dent's organ are devoted to the total extin
guishment of the dogma of squatter sover
eignty in the Territories.' Mr. Buchanan
was the first man who put his foot on squat
ter sovereignty which the intelligent
reader can see by reference to his first mes
sage, designating the time when a Territory
could legislate on the subject of slavery.
The gentle reader will please bear in mind
that Territories had all along enjoyed legis
lative privileges, but nnder limitations and
restrictions, nnd this act (the Kansas-Nebraska
act), as asserted by its friends and
believed by the masses of society, took off
these restrictions and limitations threw all
these Congressional limitations and impedi
ments to the four winds of heaven and
left the settlers in a Territory entirely free
to legislate ad libitum; consequently the
subject of slavery was one of the subjects,
und ierhiips the subject, more cscclnlly
contemplated by the act as an additional
privilege or favor now granted to tho clth
zcus of a Territory; and this is snfllcieiitly
proven from the course which tho Presi
dent's bogus Legihlitturo took In Kunsus
under his patronage anil protection, ns they
did ' legisluto on aluvery.' Aud thoMi very
luws are note enforced in Kaunas at tho
point of tho sword, when he and party aud
tho Supremo Court are duclaring by all
sorts of statements and arguments nnd lu
dicrous raillery that tho jicoplo of a Terri
tory cannot legislute' on tho subject at all,
' until they becomo sufficiently numerous to
frame a constitution fur admission into the
Union.' Sco Buchanan's first mcssuge,
and tho Union ns above. And at the
snmo time, as I will show, tho President Is
throwing out a bait, and tenoning tho doc
trine of squatter sovereignty hi the most
palpable terms. Doubtless this swivel In
the chain, this 'nil things to all men,' this
positivo contradiction, this blowing hot and
cold with tho snmo breath, can bo explain
ed only by a knowledge of tho fuct thut
tho Democratic party is a pro-slavery party;
Democracy Is pro-sluvery, and pro-tUvcry
is Democracy; these two words stund for
tho same idea, consequently it is a proper
subject of legislation, provided oh! herds
tho tug of wur provided they legisluto in
favor of slavery! But if against it, then
it Is a subject thut a Territorial Legisla
ture cannot touch ' until its inhabitants be
como sufficiently numerous to frame a con
stitution for admission into the Union'! t
When men under the solemnities nnd re
sponsibilities of high official positions arc
giving such examples of hypocrisy, of un
bridled Iniquity nnd official corruption, we
cease to wonder at the alarming increase of
official villuiny in their subordinates, whoso
very tenure In office depends upon Its pros
titution to the use of the donor.
Aud even now, while Mr. Buchanan is
laboring through his orgnn, the Union, to
disprove the doetrino of squatter sover
eignty nnd render it even contemptible and
ridiculous, he in his lust message (as food
for the ' simple-minded') asserts the doc
trine in. plain, unmistakable terms, lie
says: " But acting iu an official character,
ueither myself nor nny human authority
had the power to re-judge the proceedings
of the convention, nnd declare the consti
tution it hud made to be a nullity. To
have done this, would have been a violation
of the Kansas-Nebraska act, which left tho
peoplo of the Territory perfectly frco to
or und regulate their domestic institu
tions in their own way."
Who can doubt thut he intended by the
above declarations to teach squatter sov
ereignty in its mast ample dimensions ?
This one of the faces presented to the 'simple-minded';
but now for the other face,
fixed in the back of the hi ad, nnd of course
exactly in an opposite direction; here it is:
"subject only to the Constitution of the
United States."
Will any man say, or can nny intelligent
man believe, that the fore part of this quo
tation nas not intended to tench squatter
sovereignty in the most acceptable terms to
its admirers? and tho latter part to endorse
tho Drcd Seotl decision in disguise, which,
tho language of the Union (tho President's
organ), 'extinguishes the dogma of sqnnt
ter sovereignty in the Territories' ?
But, it was no port of Mr. Buchanan's
duty ns President to ' re-judge' the pro
ceedings of nny legislative body, . cither
Stnto or Territorial, rror was he a judicial
officer to pronounce them ' a nullity.' Then
he need not insinuate that these things con
stitutcd nny part of his duty, or nny part
of tho public expectation, ns a consequence
of not making application for thnt Lc
conipton swindle. As n patriotic and faith
ful officer of the Government, and protector
of the people, ho should either have been
wholly silent, leaving it to the justice nnd
wisdom of Congress, or have spoken of it
ns a spurious fraud, as a villainous swindle,
us he well knew it to be.
Feb. 3, 1859. w.
For tbe Argus.
AVa&Ulaiilen's Itlrtn-Day at Oakland.
Mr. Editor: Knowing that yon take a
lively interest in whatever tends to elevate
your fellow-man in the settle of moral aud
intellectual worth, I send you a brief state
ment of what I witnessed yesterdny at the
above-named place. On nenring the school
house, my attention wns drawn by a splen
did array of horse-ten ms. I noticed one
wagon thnt had six fine horses attached,
four of which had the Stars and Stripes
waving over them, and their proud pranc
ing gait seemed to say they were not igno
rant of the honor conferred npon them.
For a moment I was puzzled to determine
whether I was indeed in the French Prai
rie or back in the States in Harrison times.
Not being able to discover any coons in
the crowd, I was forced to the conclusion
that it must be Oregon after all. I then
turned my steps toward the school-honse,
which was crammed to overflowinpr. The
door was open, and I could distinctly hear
the voice of Rev. Ncill Johnson as he
opened the exercises with an appropriate
prayer. Dr. Magers was called for to de
liver the oration npon Washington, which
he pronounced in a gentlemanly and inter
esting manner. I have not space to give
you even a synopsis of the discourse; suf
fice it to sny it was every way worthy the
man and the occasion. As he concluded,
the band struck np ' Flail, Columbia,' to
the infinite gratification of all present, and
though the band were but few, they ap
peared to make up by diligence what they
lacked in numbers. Jos. Engle was next
called upon, who spoke of the character of
the men of the Continental Congress and
here I will observe, that, without intending
any disparagement of the numerous speak
ers, Mr. E., in my judgment surpassed them
all. I noticed one blunder, however, which
I trust I may be pardoned for pointing out.
Hiong that galaxy of Illustrious"' nam,
irown i kt Him Hh.it it..t nm
our
looked by the s,kcr. The vocal .?
' the choir favored i .Ml?1
opening until tho eloshig of tl?
I havo never heard equaled ontheP,S
coast, and seldom surpassed anvwhir. .t
AnHl.,lh,tlw.Lofa"JJ
ere. s i declamation npon the Imjiortai li
youthful application, that wouldf Un
honor to uu older heud, H mirZ
nmrkiibly well: his iminly .write hi?
ed every ono iu the home, nn(j
took his sent ho received ul
ion ho well imrilcd-the approbating X
l
lhero .was plenty of cdibh, M
ground, furnished by the lhVrnlity of h.
citizens. Everybody seemed Well , J
und certainly no osscmbh.go of cmml T
could have conducted itself ft mm
eonilng mi er. Tjio choir, with l)r
Adnirutits head, gave a concert Inthi
evening, which wus well attended Tliera
wus a bcutitiriilly.ptiintcd mm mf
speakers' stand that would constantly Z
mind one of tho States and I unhwiui
Ingly pronounce tho mun who got it Dp u
artist of no mean pretensions. I willcloa
by offering this sentiment: The WasLii
ton Literary Society of French Prairie 0
T., A credit to themselves, and au honor
to Marion counly.
Feb. 23, 185U. "
Further AllaiUe !.
Tin recall of Lord Napi.r is now alt,ibuj h
the iH-st-iuformrd circlet, lo French Influent,'.!.
The French Kmperor reKar,li counlr; t4
distrust and dlslke, and wulclus with interest ,
indication of a arowiuj friendliness tf fctlin
tween ua and Kiiglaud. 8a far as pulaical iala
dices art concerned, lit ia neneully aware Hut
England and tht V ailed States bare far mors ia
common than KiiKkiud aud Franc. Hi, Miajtw
her hn louj teen that Lerd Xaf BM jtM
moie, by far, than any other British Minister Iu.
ever done, lo render an Fnglwh alliance pepalar
in this country ; and he hat been eoireapeadioily
anxiout for hit withdrawal. This U has at last
acenitplishad. Lord Napier's successor ia a disk,
mcitist of the red-tape tclmol.
Tht Secretary sum i)k number of teatwi la
the naval service ia that authorised by law, namely
8,500. Number of murines, including non-cs
m'asloned officers, musicians, drummers, ftfeniai
privates, 1 ,HU5. Number of other employe aadtr
clinrjFB of the Navy Department, aa near at eaa be
ascertained at the aeecial Navy-yards, 8,671..
There are Iu the Navy 10 ahips-of-liw, 10 frigstit,
21 t'onpi-nf-vrar, 3 brig, 1 schooner, 8 Rrew
tiennieit of the first class, 0 of til second class,!
of tho tliird c!ni, 2 acre lenders, 3 tidc-whril
attaint rs of the first class, 1 of tin second class, S j
Im third class, 1 aidu-wliecl lender, 3 store Teasels,
nnd 5 permanent sloro and receiving ships. The
lotul number of vessels ia 88.
The Tost-mastcr-General stalti that tinder lb
pwtagi) law of 1615 the revenues and expenditure
were about equal. Since th psssag of the la
of 1851, fit'tig the present rates, the eictssii i
pcuditures bus been regularly aud largely iaenat
iug. Tlicso facts obviously sii'ccst, if Congrtsj it
determined to make tho Department seV-sit.
jng, tli.it the surest menus of doing so would be It
return lo tlie law of 1845, or five cents postage Us
distances under, and ten emit for distances our
3,000 miles hence he furors the passage of t kill
Introduced iulo the Semite at a former srssios.
This, together with hit suggestive amendmeat ia
regard to the malt of inviting pn-puab for any
ing the mails, and substituting postage stamps (er
tho franking privilege would render the Depart
ment sclf-Kiista'ning in all that relates to its rrgo
lar nnd proper operations. Two tela of Mrv.ee
were called into ex'stcMc by reasons tf State aa
I lie IVific, the other the great Overland reatt ts
Cnllforn a. The former, alter deducting Ihe potl
ugx-s, will cost $3rGt.fSG per annum, and the Utter,
wheu the Salt Ukr line shall be added, $I00r
OtlO, for which there will not probably be sufnVitat
postage revenue lo puy.
It appears from a pubiio document thai thf
amounts puid nnd incurred by the Eiecutive of Kt'
tnt on account of elrardi.iry cspendilure wer
by Governor Geary, $G90j by Governor Walkers
$l,IOGnnd by Governor Denver, 11,343, lo
gviher with S6U7. Tli Secretary tf Stat rcconv
mends un appropriation to meel the indebtedness.
The Secretary of the Treasury lias submitted
Congress his plan for reducing tht enpensee for
the collection of the revenue to tlie extent of $400,.
000 per annum. He propotei Ihe re-orgaotiatwa
of tlie collection district, the reduction of the tnt
hundred and lixteeii port! of entry lo eeveoty-firi,
nnd tho diacontlnunnce of twenty-on of th H"r
six pot to of delivery th salaries of officers t r
ninin Ihe tame, as under.lhe recommendation ft
dullet would bo increasod.
Tub Kansas Gold Reoios. The Law
rence Herald of Freedom gives a
of Charles Nichols, who has just rctumett
from the gold mines. Mr. N. say i there
is a country there extending over 800 tw
of territory north nnd south, in which titer
is some gold, nnd he has explored .lie wins
for n hundred miles from eust and west.
How rich it is, ho cannot sny. In plnc.
it will not pay at all; in other places
will pay very well. To say how mocha
man cun make is preposterous, as it
matter of elinncc on the one hand ana in
dustry on the other. There are bbwJ
there from nil parts of the worldr89
from California, others from Georgia in
Australia-each of whom say that
Kansas mines are different from any otter
deposits they have ever seen. W sou,
strata, 4c., is entirely different, and M jslat
bottem, which was common to Australia.
Mr. N. prospected from the B'Jl",
the Arkansas, through the ent.re regm . J
country thence on his route to theBooa
Platte; but gold . found - IP-JJ
abundance on mo rmw, n.
above the mouth of Cherry Creek, jw
thinks there is plenty of gow r; '
Creek, but there was not water sufficient to
work with. .
- .. TvnllVS. BT
Seizure of v essels ; - . ri
the arrival of the Constitution Capt A-
Gove, .this morning, from on,
learn that the brig Swiss Bay, or P
Francisco, Captain Weldcn on her "y
.. t,-J nJcA n Victoria, with a car-
go of lumber, sprung aleak, and on
ary 31st put into -itnatSound wbfrt
came to anchor in 21 fatnoros o.
Captain having the it.tcnt.on
the vessel and making repairs. W "
Inst., the vessel was boarded
several hundred Indians, who
ping, and the action of fire sent we
Lt over the side. They also -Ibgj W
cabin, and robbed the seamen t J
were held prisoners iw -nj
timately managed, by promng to m
A