Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Oregon statesman. (Oregon City, O.T. [Or.]) 1851-1866 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 28, 1858)
r : ' - i VS?- VT1 rT irTAViY-VI 'it, 't . r 1 I .i .1 ' ; : ii I ; tt :;",'.-.;f T;r: !' f;- ; : . yj A'- I-ii iv i x rii- '.v--"-i: '-"'- . ; , ....... ..... . SALEM, OREGON, TUESDAY.feScF , . , ' f't :,4-- VOL. 8. NO, 42. WHOLE NO. 40(5; ....... -'?-:'! '...- v . ' "' "" ' 1 . V .V i -.- i -I Tfc Way r Ue Wbria. A votilh woold marry a maiden, ; v tor fair and fond was she; But she whs rich nd he was poor, And so it mifrht not be. A lady never could wear -: . . . Her mother held it firm A gown that came of an India plant, -And not of an India worm ! - And so the cruel vord was spoken, And so it was two. hearts, were broken. . A youth would marry a maiden, ' , For fair and fond was she ; -Bnt he was high and she was low, And so it might not be. - A man who had worn a spar . . ia ancient battle won. Had sent it down, with great renown, To goad his future son ! . And so the cruel word was spoken. And so it was two hearts were broken. " A yooth would marry a maiden, ' For fair and fond was she ; . ' But their sires disputed about the Mass, . And so it might not be. T A couple of wicked kings, . Three hundred years agone, t ' Had played a royal game of chess. And the Church had been a pawn ! And so the erne! word was spoken. And so it was two hearts were broken. Drtkr oh the Witness Staxd.; Dryer earned a little unenviable fame in a fruitless attempt to swear the physician who cured his blind eyes, out of his fee. He was also a witness in the Dall riot case at Portland. A correspondent of the San Francisco Bul letin speaks of him as follows : The case was admitted 16 the jnry in the after part of the day, and nearly twenty-four hours were consumed, - before they returned into court and rendered their rerdict. The subject-matter of their disagreement resulted from misunderstanding some of the testimo- ' ny, which, upon their being recalled, easily led them to agree upon a verdict of " not guilty." Some of the jurymen, however, re marked that had one of the witnesses who testified against the accused been a reliable man, tbey would hare agreed upon a rerdict of 'guilty" immediately on going into the jury-room; but the disreputable character of the witness referred to, although unim peached, caused his testimony to be wholly rejected by the jury. At the examining court he testified that be- "was in company with Capt. Dall when the assault was com mitted," and that he (witness) " was hit on the hat with a brick," nod that he " was hit ia the side with a rock." But on the trial he swore positively that he was not hit on the bat with a brick, nor did he have a brick in kis hat ! The conflicting statement thus made by the witness rendered his testimony u worthy of confidence, and hence its rejec tion by the jary." Had this testimony been givcn with that .ree of candor and good judgment, which characterizes a good citi zen, I have no doubt that the accused would hare been fonnd guilty -of the charge pre- - ferre dagainst them. But, in consequence of a disreputable witness being placed upon the stand to testify, when the character and repu tation of our city was at stake, it most be coweteVd that en injury - has been cwHsiaeri, which it wi!I require years to amend and place again in its former good repute. The same correspondent speaks of Gen. Adair, as follows-: The little political world of Oregon is "now under the influence of enlightenment by a somewhat angry discussion going on be tween General John Adair, U. S. Collec tor at Astoria, the Hon. . Chief Justice Wil liams of Portland, and A. Bosh, E-q , Ter ritorial printer, and editor of the Oregon Slalesman, at Salem. Notwithstanding the knowledge wbich the people may gain from this discussion, I have no donbt bnt that it will prove deleterious, not only to the De mocratic party, but to some of the officials of this Territory, who are depeudnet upon the present Administration for the honora ble position which they now occupy. As regards who may be right, or who may be wrong in this discussion, it is impossible to determine; bnt I can safely vent ore an opi nion, that some startling facts have been developed, and I fear that President Bucha nan will make himself interested in the wel fare of some of the parties before the mat ter meets with a final disposition. Mr. Bash, it is conceived, occupies a pro . ninent position in the rank and wishes of the Democratic party, and at a recent elec tion he was the regular Democratic nominee for State printer. Mr. Adair, having some personal objection, to him, erased his name from the Deniocatic ticket, thereby violating the most binding obligation of the party, and by so doing,- giving aid and comfort to the enemy. In this breach of a Democratic principle on the part of Mr. Adair, Mr. Bush as editor of the. leading Democratic paper of this territory, conceived it to be his daty to expose Mr. Adair as a bolter and disorganizcr of the Democratic party. Mr. Adair took offence at an exposition of facts as they appeared on paper, and for this commenced an attack on Mr. Bash, snd also at the same time burled a missile of Tiaegar at Judge Williams. The reply of both Judge Williams and Mr. Bush,, was nlaia aod decisive, and at the same time - firmly adhering to the pure Democratic prin ciple of the party, while Geo. Adair labors bard to prove the validity of his position, ' aod also asserts . that he (General Adair) - was born between " Ashland and the II er- J ' aitage." I am at a loss what the General has reference to in his allusion, nnless it is to illustrate his political career for the few years last past. One thing is certain, be v '-' has, since his appointment to the Collector- ship at Astoria, occupied a very favorable . V. position in the eyes of the political parties; i .for, daring each successive Presidential con . test, he was not, by residing in a Territory, . compelled to declare openly bis political sen ' ", timents, bat wisely withheld them until the ' contest was over, and when there was no danger of committing an error, which might prove deleterious to kis position. - ' - A young woman :f the tribe of the ' Oldtown Indians the other day in the cars, was asked by a rowdy if she wonld not like to marry a white man. " No," was her re ply, because good white men do not want . to marry me, and poor scamps like yon 1 won't bare! ' The Towdy left at the next station. I9 A woman in New Orleans ran away from her husband, taking with her three v. children. She left a note for her husband J ; oa bis arrival home, to the effect that be : needn't concern himself about the- children, M none of them were his. ...... The Salt Mines mt C rorgir. BY BAYARD TAYLOR. After descending 210 feet we saw the first re hs of rock salt, in a bod of clay and crumbled sandstone. Thirty feet more and we were in a world of Fait. Level galleries branched off from the foot to the staircase; overhead a ceiling of solid salt, under foot a floor of salt, and on either side dark gray walls of salt, sparkling here and there with mi nnte crystals. Lights glimmered ahead, and on taming the corner we came upon a gang of workmen, some hacking away at the solid floor, others trnnding wheelbarrows full of the precious cubes. Here was th chapel of St Anthony, the oldest in the mines a byzantiuc excavation, supported by columns with altar, crucifix, and life size statue of saints, apparently in black marble, but all as salt as Lot's wife, as I discovered by putting my tongue to the nose of John the Baptist. The hnmid air of this pppcr story of the mines has damaged some of the saints. Francis, especially, .is running away like a dip candle, all of his head is gone ex cept his chin. The limbs of Joseph are dropping off as if he had the Norwegian leprosy, aud Law rence had deeper scars than his gridiron could have made, running np and down his back. A Bengal light bnrncd at the alrar, brought iiito sudden life this strange temple, which presently vanished into darkness, as if it had never been seen. I cannot follow, step by step, onr journey of two hours through the labyrinths of this wonderful mine. It is a bewildering maze of galleries, grand halls, staircases and vaulted chambers, where one loses all 'sense of dis tance or direction, and drifts along blindly; in the wake of his conductor. .Everything was solid salt, except where great piers of hewn logs had been bnilt np to support some threatening roof, or vast chasmsh left in quarrying, had been bridged across. As we descended to lower regions, the air be came more dry and agreeable, and the saline walls more pure and brilliant. One hall, 103 feet in hight, resembled a Grecian theater, the traces of block taken ontin regular layers representing the seats for the spectators. Out of the single hall 1,000,000 cwt of sail bad been taken, or enough to supply the 40,000,000 inhabitants in Austria one year. Two obcliks of salt commemorated the visit of Francis I and his Empress in ano ther spacious irregular vault, through which we passed by means of a wooden bridge resting on piers of the crystaline rock. Af ter we had descended to the bottom of this chamber, a boy ran along the bridge above with a burning Bengal liglit.Jlhrowing flashes of bine lustre on the obelisks, on the scarred walls, vast arches, the entrance to deeper halls, and the far roof, fretted with the picks of the workmen. The t flVct was magical wonderful. Even the old Prussian, who had the faee of an exchange broker, exclaimed, as he pointed upwards : 'It is like a sky full of cloud lamkins:' Presently we entered another and loftier chamber, yawning down ward Uke the month of hell, with cavernous Cii riiES ' fj "e r. n g cot of the further end. "In these tunnels the workmen, half naked, with torches" in their hands, wild cries, fireworks, and the Dring of guns (which litre so rever berate in the imprisoned air that one can feel every wave of sound,) gave a rough re presentation of the infernal regions, for the benefit of the crowned beads who visit the mines. The effect must indeed be diabolical. Even we, unexceptionable , characters as we were, looked truly unearthly in our ghostly garments, amid the Iivid glare of the fire works. A little farther, we (truck npon a lake four fathoms deep, upon which we embarked in a heavy square boat and eutered a gloomy tunnel, over the eutrance of which was in scribed (in salt letter) 'good luck to you ! ' In such a place the motto seemed ironical. 'Abandon hope, all ye who enter here,' would have been more appropriate. Mid way in the tunnel, the halls at either eud were suddenly illuminated, and a crash, as of a hundred caunon bellowing through the hollow vaults, shook the air and water in such wise that onr boat had not ceased trem bling when we landed in the further hall. Bead Tasso : " T reman le spazloee atre eaverne. CI dor eieco in qiut rumor t imbpmba. " if yon waut to hear the sound of it. A tablet inscribed ' heartily welcome!' sainted us on landing, finally, at the depth of 450 feet , oar joarney ceased, although we were but half way to the bottom. The remainder is a wilderness of shafts, galleries aod small er chambers, the extent of which we could only conjecture. We then returned through scores of tortuous passages to soma vaults where a lot of gnomes, naked to the hips, were bnsy with pick, mallet and wede, blocking out aud seperating the solid pave ment. The process is quite primitive, scarcely differing from that of the ancient Egyptians in quarrying granite. The blocks are first marked out ou the surface by a series of grooves. One fide is then deepened to the required thickness, and wedges beiug inser ted under the block, it is soon split off. It is then split transversely into pcicea of 1 cwt each, in wbich form it is ready for sale. Those iutended for Russia are rounded on the edges and corners until they acquire the shape of large cocoons, for the convenience of transportation iuto the interior of the country. The number of workmen employed in the mine is 1500, all of whom belong to the oppcr crost' that is, they live on the out side of the world. They are divided into gangs, and relieve each other every six hours. Each gang quarries out, on an average, a little more thau 1,000 cwt of salt in that space of time, making the aunual yield 4,500,000 cwt! The men we saw were fine muscular, healthy looking fellows, and the officer, in answer to. ray questions, stated that their sanitary conditiou was quite equal to that of the. field laborers. Scurvy docs not occur among them, and the equality of the temperature of the mines which stands at 54 deg., of Fahrenheit all the year around has a favorable effect upon such as are predisposed to diseases of the lungs. He was not aware of any peculiar form of dis ease induced by the substance in which they work. The wood I may here remark never rots, and where untouched, retains its quali ty for centuries. The officer explicitly de nied tue story of men having been born in these mines, and having gone through life without ever mounting to the upper world. So there goes another interesting fiction of onr youth. It requires a stretch of imagination to conceive the extent of this salt bed. As far as explored, its length is two and a half iiOglisu miles, its breadth a little over, half a mile, and its solid depth 690 feet! It commences 200 feet below the surface, and is then uninterrupted to sandstone, such as forms the peaks of the Carpathian moun tains. . Below this there is no probability that it again re-appears, The general direc tion is east and west, dipping rapidly at its western extremity, so that it may no doubt be pushed much further in that direction. Notwithstanding the immense amount al ready quarried and it will be better under stood when I state that the aggregate length of the shafts and galleries amount to four hnvdred and forty miles it is estimat ed that at the present rate cf exploration, the known supply cannot be exhausted under 300 years:" The tripartite treaty, - on the partition of Poland, limits Austria to the full amount 4,500,000 cwt annually of which she is bound to furnish 30,000 cwt to Prussia, and 800,000 to Russia, leaving 4,000,000 cwt i.to herself. This sum yields her a net revenue from the mines, of two millions of floi-ius, $1,000,000, annually. It is not known how this wouderful depos it more precious than gold itself was ori ginally discovered. We know that it was worked in the 12lh ceutury, and perhaps much earlier. The popular faith has inven ted several miracles to account for it, giving the merit to favorite saints. One, which is gravely published in ' The history of Cra cow,' states 84 Polish King, who wooed a princess Elizabeth cf Hungary ( not the saint of Wartburg) in the teuth century, asked what she would choose as a -bridal gift from him. Something that would most benefit his people. . The marriage ceremony was performed in a chnpel in one of the satt ruiues of Transylvania. Soon after being transferred to Cracow, Elizabeth went out to Wielieska, surveyed the ground, aud after choosiiig a spot, commanded the peo ple to dig. In the course of a few days they fonud a salt crystal, which the Quern cansed to be set in ber wedding ring, and wore nutil the day of her death. She mnst have been a wonderful geologist, for those days. The bed actually follows the Carpa thians, appearing at intervals in small de posits, into Transylvannia, where there are extensive mines. It is believed, also, that it stretches northward into Russian Poland. Some years ego the bank of Warsaw expen ded large sums in boring for salt near the Austrian frontier. There wns much excite ment and peculation for a time; but al though the mineral was found, the cost of quarrying it was too great, and the enter prise was dropped. Not a Washington. A friend of ours tells the following story of himsi If : Wheu young, he had read the well known story of George Washington's love of trnih, Rnd the father's love of the noble principle of his son, so well manifested on the occasion re ferred to of his cutting down the cherry tree, acknowledging his transgression, and receiving a full and f free pardon, . betides praises and caresses, from his father. So Jim, actuated by so noble and example, thought he wonld try the experiment on. He supplied himself with a hatchet, ami, going into his father's orchard, cut down some choice frnit trees. He then cooly sat down to await the old man's coiuiug, and, as soon ns he made his appearance, marched np to him with a very important air, and. acknowledged the deed, expecting the next tiling on the programme to be in tear?, ben edictious and embraces from the offended pirent. But, fnd to relate, instead of this, the old gentleman caught up a hickory, nnd gave his son an " all fired lamming, " Jim was not a Washington. Old Mains. The editor of a country pa per, having been taken to task by n female correspondent for noticing a receipt to pre vent ladies from takiug cold, viz : " to keep the mouth shut r hits back as follows : We could never make ourselves popular with the old maids. Do what we could sqnccz'5 'eui behind the door, which they dearly love flatter 'cm on the sofa dance with 'em at partieB take 'em to pic nie, and treat 'em to icecream, soda water, 'kisses' in short, attend ever so gallently to their wants, save making them a direct offer and the moment our back was turned they would turn to and show their teeth (false ones of courife). Well, hope deferred maketh the heart sick, aud we never blame 'cm. Editor ix the Country. The editor of the Ciuciuituli Times has been in the country. He says : " The robins sang sweetly from the tree tops: the cattle lowed to each other as they luxuriated among the dew clover; the fiel.ls had On their gayest robes of emerald; the brooks danced away in joy; the bob-o-links chattered in the shrubbery; the geese wad dled sedately towards their bathing places; the old oaks waved their arms in concious strength; the hills held np their beads in pride; the world blushed in beauty. Sclah!'' How touchinglj rural. At a Virginia prayer meeting, the chorister being absent, the presiding elder, whose name was Jeter, called upon one of the deacons and said, after reading a hymn, " Brother Moon, . Will jou raise a t-unef " -The deacon lifted np his voice, but instead of singing at once, he inquired, " Brother Jeter, . What's the metre 1" This being satisfactorily answered. Dea con Moon pitched the tnne. Edward Colo committed suicide near St. Peter, Minnesota, under singular circum stances.. He took down his gun, when by some accidcut it went off and killed bis wife. He wrote to his son informing him of the circumstance, and telling him what dis position to make of his property. He said that himself and wife had not lived on good terms, md that as the accident might bo attributed to design on his part, he wcnld prevent any further trouble by leaving tho world. A Fable. " 1 have something to ask you," said a young eagle to a learned mel ancholy owl; " men say there is a bird nam ed Merops, who, when he rises. in the air, flies with his tail upwards, head towards the ground; is that true?" " Certainly notl " answered the owl, "it's only a foolish tradition of man. He is him self a Merops; for ho would fly to heaven without for a moment losing sight of earth." Oregon Legislature. Council, Mmday, Dec. 20, A. M. Mr: WAIT presented tho petition of Geo. H. Flanders and others, praying that a charter be granted to Henry I). Green aud his asso ciate?, to establish a. gat manufactory in the city of Portlaud. Referred to committee on corporations. . ' Mr. MACK presented a petition: of Ben jamin Taylor and others, praying for a char ter for a wagon road across the Cascade mountains, from Philip Foster's, ui Clacka mas comity, to the Dalles, in Wasco county, for the term of five years. Referred to the committee on corporations. i : Mr. CORNELIUS introduced a bill to amend an act relating to estrays. r Adj. Covscil, AfU'ttoon. Mr." WAJT-iutro duced the following joint resolution: lie solved by the Conucii. the House Howcarring, That the interests of the town of Dalles, aud tho long residence of American citizens in portions of the country, cast of the Cas cade mountains, together with the recent rapid settlement of that country, require the earliest possible extension of the gov ernment 6nrveys over that portion of Ore gon Territory; aud therefore, and for other good reasons, our delegation in Congress is hereby requested to nrge a liberal appropri ation by Congress, at ns early a day as pos sible, to enable the Surveyor General of Oregon Territory to extend the government surveys over that pcrtion of the Territory lying cast of said mountains. The resolu tion was adopted. ' Sir. CORNELIUS, from committee 00 corporations, reported a bill to authorize Henry I). Green, to establish a gas manu factory in the city of Portland. The rules were suspended and the bill pasaeiL Adj. HovsE, Monday, Dec. 20, i4, BL Mr. CHAPMAN moved to snspead; the rules, nnd take np the unfinished business of Sat urday. After debat?, Mr. Chapman with drew, his motion, which was immediately re newed by Mr. Dryer. Motion lost yeas 10; r.oys 16. - ' ' Mr. SLATER called for the unfinished bnsiness of Saturday. Ruled out of order. Mr. Slater took an appeal to the House. The Speaker's decision was sustained yeas 15; nays 10. Mr. McIXINCII presented the petition of Lydia Casney for divorce referred to committee on enrolled bills. Mr. NEWCOMB.frotn committee on cor porations, reported a bill to incorporate the Williams Creek Water Ditch Company. On motion, the rules were suspended, and bill read a second time by title, and ordered en grossed and rend a third time to-morrow. Mr. CHAPMAN moved to proceed to unfinished business agreed to yeas 17; navs 8. - - The SPEAK ER stated tliat the question pendi:ig-nt the adjounfroeut on Saturday last, was the amendment offered by .Mr. Shattnck to Mr. Chnpm.-in's substitute to the location bill, to Rlrike out Sec 2 of the sub stitute, and iuseit the following: "That the sent of government shall be . removed from t-alem, and relocated at , in the comity of ; nnd that each and every session of the Legislature shall be held at the said place, until a suitable place shall be other wise provided by law. The question being upon the adoption of the ameudmcnt. Mr. D It YE II did not want-to seethe question submitted without debate. He was in favor of the amendment. From the sub stitute, he thought there was an evident (J is-7 position oif the part of certain members of the Honse to avoid the responsibility of re moving the Feat of government from Salem, aud to leave the question of removal and relocation entirely in the discretion of the governor. The section proposed to be strict en out, left it entirely to the governor to designate the place for the seat of govern ment; to a man who had no legislative au thority, and no connection with this Legis lature. In former times, the governor wns kicked out of this legislature, sir, and his message ordered to bo carried one by the doorkeeper on two chips. That's the way the governor used to be treated, sir. The governor was not the law-making power, and it is not right to place the disposal of this question in his bands. We have no as surance that in case the State is not admit ted, Gcv. Curry will not convtne the State legislature here, at Salem. There was uoth ing in the substitute to prevent it. . The amendment proposed to locate the capitol at blank. Wasn't thut fair? wasn't that open! wasn't that honorable? It seemed there was a disposition to head off Portland as seat of government. He didn't know wheth er the gentleman from Lauo was concerned in it or not, but from his substitute thought he was. He was in favor of removing the scat of government from Salem, and setting it down at Portland. He took the ground that we are not a State, and are not likely to be. Look at the Democratic Bible, plac ed on your desks this morning for nit to read, aud you will see that all confidence in our admission is scattered to the four winds, and that all Gen. Lnue has said in regard to our admission is false. He wouldn't agree to leave the question of location to Gov. Carry, who wouldn't dare to fttco tho imnic, and net in opposition to the will of the Sa lem clique. When Bush issued an order for removal of officers in the Indinn war, Gov. Curry surrendered, and he was afraid be would surrrender ogain. The organic net gave the legislature power to locate the scat of government, and gentlemen wanted to shift the responsibility upon the shoulders of tho governor. The governor's message con tained strango and revolutionary doctrines, aud he wouldn't trust a man who would ut ter, such nonsense. Believed leaving the matter to the people was all humbug. Ho would favor the ameudmcnt. (Mr. Dryer had a good deal to say about the Salem clique, &c.) Mr. SLATER proposed to give some plain common sense reasons for rupporting the amendment. Ben ton county was becom ing somewhat disentangled from this ques tion. The substitute proposed to submit the question of location to tho people. If gentlemen were s anxious to submit this question to the people, why was not the proposition made before the motion to strike out Portland and insert Eugene City? We had two governors ouo governor de facto, the other would be governor when the State was admitted; Tho member from Lane could well afford to vote for Mr. Shattnck'a ameudmcnt, for if Oregon, was v admitted, the governor of the State, who was a citi zen of Lane county, would doubtless con vene the legislature at Eugene City, wbich was just what the me'rober desired. If the gentlemen propose to do a tiling,; why do they not put their, bill in a shape to do it? There is upon our statute book a law passed in 1855, locating the Capital at Salem. The substitute of the gentleman from Lane pro poses to repeal the statute of 1851, bn leaves the statute of 1855 in full force aud validity.- No act of the Legislature, sub mitting this question to the people, can have any binding force. The net of 1855, sub mitting this question, was extorted from the legislature who should have taken this mat ter in their owu bands. - Ha was opposed to making this question of submissiou a sub terfuge behind wbich members can skulk from responsibility. When the capitol was burned, and we were without public build ings, and without a public library, then was the tiro wheM the legislature should have provided for the permanent location of the seat of government. A suitable place sho'd have beeu provided for the location of the capitol, and the general government should have been petitioned for funds to construct permanent buildings. That this was not done, the fault laynt the door of the Salem clique and the federal officers in Salem. Mr. Slater adverted to the loss of the Jackson connty returns in 1S5G, the blame of which he attributed to the persons who had con trol of the military express. We were on the point cf entering npon a State organi zation. .We have nothing we want, nor nothing we ought to have. Who is respon sible? Those in power, who have withheld from the people their just dues The people demand that the capitol shall be removed from Salem ; but they do not desire the submission of the question at this time. Let us meet'the question fairly and squarely. Let us take up the seat of government and set it down again at some suitable point. Mr. BONHAM rose to reply to some re marks of the gentleman from Benton, (Mr. Slater) of which he did not clearly nnder stend the consistency. The gentleman tells us of the trouble and expense of former re movals, and he "is now advocating another removal, which is untimely and must cause additional trouble and expense, ne agreed with the gentleman that these removals of the capital were tronbleome and expensive. They had caused more ill-feeling than any other question which had arisen npon the floor of this nonse. The gentlemau has the honor to represent a constituency, one of whom, it is generally believed, removed one of the strongest arguments in favor of let ting the capitol remain at Salem. He did not know certainly which of the gentleman's constituents it was, or that it was any of them; but it was his belief, and it wa the settled public conviction, that some resident of Corvallis applied the torch of thf incen diary to that bnUding. The burning was not accidental. The testimony of the inves tigating committee clearly proved that it could not have been arcidental. The incen diary torch was applied by some one villain ous nnd reckless enongh to perpetrate any ! - in th catalogue of criine. The act was done for the pnrpose cf opening the question of the seat of government, and giv ing all places like chances in it. It was this act that caused the trouble and expense which the gentleman fro.-n Benton talks about. The people do not desire that this question shall be disturbed now. They wish it left alone until it can be finally and per- wtieiitlj fettled. V hen the time comes wtien the question can be properly submitted. every Representative of Marion county will vote for such submission. The people of Marion county are disgusted with the agita tion of this question, and are ready aod anxious for its settlement. Mr SLATER replied with some warmth to the charge that any of his constituents had burned the capitol. Adj. IIorsE,' Aflernor.n. The question still pending upon Mr. Shattnck's amendment, Mr. SHATTCCK said that the public voice demauded the removal of the seat of government from Salem, and further de manded that the question of relocation should be submitted to the people, that they may decide where they want the capitol. Were there any certainty that we would be admitted into the Union ns a State before the adjournment of Congress, he would be inclined to waive the matter for the present but there was no certainty abont'our admis sion, and he was not disposed to proceed further in legislation, on the supposition that we would be admitted. He had no confi dence in the influence or ability of two or three geutlemen from this Territory, that their presence at Washington will increase the probability of our admission. Other States have sent men there, asking for the some thing, and they have been sent home again, and it is not certain that our3 will be received. Some portions of the Territory are clamorous upon this question of remov ing the seat of government; lot ns then ac cede to their request. In regard to public feeling, gentlemen deny that ony exists in regard to this matter ; bnt the vote indi cates that it did exist, and public sentiment has increased rather than diminished since that vote was taken. (Mr, Shnttuck here branched off into a learned disquisition upon democracy, and tho history of the capital question and the Salem clique, evidently col lated from the columns of the Oreganian. The only thing original about, it was the style, which was a very slight improvement upon Dryer's corduroy.) Mr. HOLMES thought the subject under consideration had been so far departed from, that it was hardly necessary to refer to it. He would inform the gentleman (Mr. Shnt tuck) that ho was laboring under a mistake in regard to the former history of the capi tol question, and had evidently been keep ing very bad company of late. It was true that at the time the capitol was located at Salem, there were uo party Hues drawn in the Territory, and consequently no political parties no wbigs, no democrats, and, thank God, no knownothings! He was a member of the Legislative Assembly which located the public buildings. They weut on and located the Capitol, and the University, -and the Penitentiary. Tho little faction to which the gentleman belongs, took issue with the majority upon the location of the seat of government at Salem. Then it was that party Hues were first drawa ia the Ter ritory. The people took up the matter, and rebuked the political ' tricksters, with the gentleman from Multnomah at their head, who were making a fuss about the location of the seat of government at Salem,' by re turning to the Legislature every member who had voted for the- measure. i3 (Mr.' Holmes replied at some length to the politi cal portion of Mr. Shattdbk's speech.) Mr. PARKER said, that as members were talking about the Democratic party, he would like to tell what be knew about it. Leave, being granted, he proceeded ; to tell what he knew, which was very little. - ., - Mr. LASSATER thought as the House had to be bored to death by this question, he might as well help bore it. 1 He did not intend to discuss politics at this time. He had had bis turu at that; aud he bow pro posed to discuss the merits of the amend ment.' The gentleman from Clatsop wished to insert Portland in the amendment. ' He supposed the gentleman from ' Washington aud Multnomah would have inserted it bat that be knew it. rouldu't be. done. He op posed the, amendment altogether. He would favor the proposition of the gentle man from Iisue, for the reason that it salt ed him best.- He held his seat by favor of the voters of Marion county, and be intend ed to do the very best he could for the in terests of his coustiueuts; and he thought that, uow the best he could do for those In terests wasr to vote for the substitute propo sed by the gentleman from Lane.' The sec ond section declares that if there is an extra session - of the Legislature called the Gov ernor shall call it here, unless some place shall provide a suitable hall ' and accommo dations for the Legislature for four years, and also furnish transportation for the pub lic property free of. charge.. This will save expense to my constituents, and also to the yonng State; aod if any place wants the cap ital bad enough to incur the -expense, let them take it. The question is to be sub mitted to the people in Jane. .That is all my constituents wwl ask. - They did not de sire the question disturbed at this time, and I did not distnrbe it; it was agitated by ah unruly member, who threw it as a firebrand into the House, to divide and distract the Democratic party. I wiH vote for the sub stitute of the gentlemau from Lane, because I believe it is the best thing that can be done for the country at this time, to quiet the agitation ou this question. ' . Speeches were made by other members, which we were unable to report. Mr. Shat tnck's amendment was lost yeas 11; navs 1G. Mr. TVAULT offered the following amendment: Amend sectiou 1, by inserting after "1851," and before "be the following "Also an act of the Legislative Assembly relocating and establishing the seat of gov ernment at Salem, in the county of Marion, passed the House 7th December, 1855, aud passed the Council 12th December, 1855." Adopted yeas 21; nays 6. Adj. Uocse, jErruin. The substitute of Mr. Chapman to the bill relocating the seat of government still pending, Mr. BOXHAM offered the following amendment: Amend section 0, by striking out the words "calling a special election to be held 011 the first Monday of October, A. D. 1S59, in the several precincts of Oregan," and inserting "It shall be submitted to the people at the next general election." Adopt ed yeas 18; nays 10. " Mr. DRYER moved the previous ques tion. Agreed to. The question being upon the substitute to the bill, the yeas and nays were called, and resulted as follows: 1m Messrs. Chapman, Crooks, Han nab, Uolton, Holmes, Jones, Lassatter, Me Gee, Newcomb, Stevens, Smith of Yamhill, Smith of Polk, TVault, Ziebar 14. . . . JSays Messrs." Bonhatu, BowSby, Craner, Dryer, Hedges, Jennings, Mcluiueb, Nich ols, Parker, Slater, Shattuck, "Watson and Mr. Speaker 13: - So the substitute was adopted. . .. f ; Mr: CHAPMAN moved that the bill be engrossed, and read a third time to-morrow. Mr. Holmes moved to amend by ordering the bill engrossed,-' and made - the spee'al order of the day for Jan. 5 tb, 1859. Agreed to yeas 15; nays 12. Adj. : s ' ' Cop?gil, Tuesday, Dec., 21, A. M. Bill to ameud an act relating to estrays read second time, and referred to committee on ways and means. Anj. ' Cocxciiv Apernoon. On motion of Mr. WAIT, the Council coucurred in the House joint resolution, providing for adjournment this evening, until Jauuary 3d, was concur red in. ' Adj. - - ; ( Housk, Tucid'jyl Dec. 21, A. M. Mr. CROOKS "offered a joiat resolution, that whoa this Legislative "Asein'ly ' adjourn, this evening,' it adjourn uu til Monday, Jan uary 3rd, 1S59. Adopted. ' 4 . - ; Mr. HANNAH moved to suspend the rules, and take up Alio Council Judiciary Bill. After discussion, the motion wus withdrawn. C . . , , :, . Mr. JENNINGS presented the- peti tion of Dr. Geo. Kel!bgg for divorce. Re ferred to select committee,- consisting " of Messrs. Stevens, Jennings and Slater. : - ? Mr. HOLMES presented the petition of R. P. Olds for divorce. Referred to Commit tee on Counties. Mr. TVAULT presented the petition of James R. Peters, R. F. Maury aud others, for a charter for a water-ditch. - Referred to a select committee of three, consisting of Messrs. TVault, Chapman and Newcomb. Mr. ZIEBER presented a petition for the relocation of a part of the Territorial road from Salem to Dayton, by wayof Matheny's Ferry. Referred to . a select committee, consisting of Messrs. Zieber, Holmes and Jennings. . - Mr. -McININCH.- from committee on En rolled Bills, to whom was referred the peti tion of Lydia Casney for divorce, reported by bill, granting divorce. ., . ;; ; fi Mr. WATSON moved a reconsideration of the vote, ordering the bill to incorporate William's Creek Water' Ditch Company to be engrossed and read a third time to-day. Lost. Mr. PARKER introduced 1 a bUI lo ex empt lands of homesteads from attachment and forced sale. 'i! ; : Bills to divorce Mary E. Dennis, to di vorce Kaucy B. Walling, to divorce Nathan aud Fanny Cohen, to relocate Territorial road Trom Oregon Ctty to Pleasant Hill in Lime coanty, to incorporate Illinois Valley Wagon Road company for relief of N. A. Ccrnoyer, Sheriff of Marion county, to ameud aa act to regulate the fees of certain officers and other persons, to amend sectiou one,-title one, chapter two of Oregon Stat utes, to divorce 1 biles ter Lee,.- to divorce Lucy Smith, to divorce Buel Howard, to di vorce Mahala Card, to change 4 Territorial road from Albany. In .Linn county to, Drift. Creek in Marion county, ordered engrossed., and read third time on subsequent day of the Bession. 'Bill -to' ' incorporate -North' Umpqaa River Bridge company, referred to committee on corporations. . Bill for. relief; of J. H. Lewis, Treasurer of Polk county., referred to committee 6f the Whole. . Bill to ' legalize informal vote;, locating county seat of Curry county referred to'cofnmittee ' on counties. Bill for the relief of Philip Geerbart referred to committee on Claims.: Adj. .. . . . . - . Hocsk, Af7rroYn. CanncTl bill to incor-, porate Tamhifl Water Lock and Transpor-r tatioa company read first time. - ' Mr-HOLMES moved to- reconsider the? vote on Mr. Chapman's strbstitnte for the lo-; j cation bill.' , Mr. Bonbam moved to lay the. j motion dn the table. Agreed to, . . - I -' Bills to incorporate the - Wniiam-t Creekf Water Ditch Company, to extend the char-' I ter of ihe Illinois Valley Wagon- Road Company, and to authorize the Coanty Com- j raissioners of Jackson county to levy a spe-. ! cial tax and create a redemption fnnd to pay. j the county indebtedness,' were passed. ' Mr. HANNAH moved to reconsider tHe bill to charter Willamette , Falls Railroad. Agreed to. The bill was .then ordered en grossed, and read a third time to-morrow. " Conncil bill granting a charter to Henry D. Green to establish a'gas mannfactory in"' the city of Portland taken up and read first time. Council bill to change practice and fix times of holding courts read. Raies sus pended, read second . time and referred to committee on Judiciary. Council bill to di vorce Miriam Martin, read. Conncil Joint Resolution, to memorialize Congress for ap propriation for surveys east of Cascade Mountains concurred in. Adj. . . .The Ouest Mas v America. The last number of Ba! Ion's . Pictorial, contains an interesting description of a colored man nam' ed Peter Nassau, a resident of Woodstock, i Vermont, who has reaebed the extraordina ry age of one hundred and twety,-six years? This fact has been established by the town clerk of Woodstock, who has taken great pains in order to correctly to trace oat Pe ter's history. When quite yonng, he came as a gentleman's servant ' from) Martinqne, his native, place, to Boston, but. for many years past, oodstock lias oeen his home Peter Nassau is as well known in Vermont as the Green Mountains themselves. He is a thin, spare frame and nearly bald, but his skin is remarkably smooth and unwrinkled. He has no son, but two daughters, both of whom yet live ia "the viflisge of i Woodstock, by which place he is supported. Go, how ever, where he will, and he. is very fond of wandering about, he always finds friends who are glad to give him food and shelter. His eyesight is still good, and his teeth re- : marsaoiy souuu tor a man 01 uis age. iio- converses freely, bnt, unlike most old menr is not garrulous. While he was sitting in the office of the Windsor Hou, lately,, some one asked him bow maBy more winters he expected to see. "Ah!" said Peter,. "ifT this yere house was offered to me full of gold, I wouldn't 'cept" it to live my days over again." :" It is almost certain that Peter Nassau is the oldest living roan in America. Rates of taxation: -The tax rates "ort $1,000 in several cities and towns are as fol low i Boston $S,C0, ; Cambridge $3,10, Roxbury S8.50, Lawrence $3,40, New Bed ford $S,50, Lowell, $3,40, Newburyporf $3,30, Salem ""7,40, Lynn 7, WaJtham$5,90, Newport R. I.; $4,30 Portland, Me., $3,60 Bangorv Me, $14,30. --A table prepared iri the interior department.- at - Washington shows the rates of tax&an in IS states, ia 1850 : North Carolina pays less tax, per capita, than either of her sister?, it being ! only fifty-two cents for each individual an- nually ; while the tax of Maine, the highest ; ia iue list, uuiu'iuts lu per ueau. eit . - 1 r. - x- tt t - in oruer siier Aiauie, comes jew nampsnirea Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. The aver age rate prevailing in tho whole eighteen states is $1 -52f? - ' - i -" ! Joh Jacob Astor, says" the Philadel phia Iftquirer, visited Philadelphia in early life, and consulted some of the oldest hatters as to the policy of his settling here and es tablishing himself in .bnsiness. Considera ble attention was given to the matter, bnt it was determined that the trade was overdone, and that in fact there was" no opening. The enterprising stranger immediately directed his footsteps to New York, and in the course of years, as is well known became the great millionaire of the commercial metropolis. Many years ago when a bill for the relief of an aged officer was under considera tion in the senate, a member who wished it set aside suggested - that it could be well nostnoned " Congress sits ctwt vpstr Mr, Fromentin, , a Frenchman, a senator from Louisiana, who advocated the bl',' pointed energetically to the venerable peti tioner, conspicuoBS in the lobby, and ex-- claicned " s, Mr. speaker. Congress sits every year, but Deaik silt ecery dag Look." 1 1SS A - Kinkerhook slioemsk r once promised to have a pair of boots fiuished on a, specific day for Ex-President Van Buren, but failed to , have them done when called for. - In the meantime the ex-president start ed for Europe, and was gooo three years. Upon his retura be called for bis boots, ant was told they were finished, vi'i tJic txerp-, tion of treeing tiU! - . . w . - - , - . ST" The Methodist of this city are en joying a spirited revival just at this' time.. They now hava been engaged in the work, some two weeks, and we learn that they have already added materially to their haaa ben. Tltw. . - " Billy Bowlegs has shown his grati tude to Mr. Mix, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, for kindness received, by presenting that gentleman with a gold headed, cana taken from the Florida everglades. , . .- BL. It has recently been published that Benedict Arnold was the only. Amcricaia general of the revolution who waa not a mason.' It now' appears that he also was a masoa. :"' - " : ' A noted physician says that one of the best things to appease hanger i ia opi um piil. ;. We wonder if the doctor eveV tried a bcafsleak flanked with several diebea of "mashed taters." We doubt it. ., - Right as Wboxg. Alphonse Karr says very keenly: " 'He ia wrong means 'ho does not think as I do. 'Us la right' signifies. he is of my opinioB."r -