Obrazy na stronie
PDF
ePub

revolt there. It will be impossible to prevent their being smuggled into the Texan ports.

4. The fourth argument is, that the measure would destroy the Union. It will, says Dr. C., "give new violence and passion to the agitation of the question of slavery," which now convulses the nation. It will give rise to difficult constitutional questions, it being very doubtful, whether Congress have any right to admit a foreign State into the Union. Texas has a territory of two hundred thousand square miles, in which twenty-five States as large as Massachusetts might be formed. These would be slaveholding States, and they would eventually give such a preponderance of power in the national councils, that, as Dr. C. thinks, the non-slaveholding States ought at once to withdraw from the Union.

These are the main arguments in this Letter. We leave them without comment. We may add, that a formal application has been made by the Texan government to be admitted into the Union. This application has been promptly rejected by our own government. It is believed, however, that a strenuous effort will be made at the next session of Congress, to procure the admission of Texas. The following is an extract from the letter of the Secretary of State to the Texan minister:

"The question of the annexation of a foreign independent state to the United States, has never been presented to this government. Since the adoption of their constitution, two large additions have been made to the domain originally claimed by the United States. In acquiring them, this government was not actuated by a mere thirst for sway over a broader space. Paramount interests of many members of the confederacy, and the permanent well-being of all, imperatively urged upon this government the necessity of an extension of its jurisdiction over Louisiana and Florida. As peace, however, was our cherished policy, never to be departed from, unless honor should be periled by adhering to it, we patiently endured for a time serious inconveniences and privations, and sought a transfer of those regions by negotiations, and not by conquest.

"The issue of those negotiations was a conditional cession of these countries to the United States. The circumstance, however, of their being colonial possessions of France and Spain, and therefore dependent on the metropolitan governments, renders those transactions materially different from that which would be presented by the question of the annexation of Texas. The latter is a state, with an independent government, acknowledged as such by the United States, and claiming a territory beyond, though bordering on, the region ceded by France, in the treaty of the 30th April, 1803. Whether the constitution of the United States contemplated the annexation of such a state, and if so, in what manner that object is to be effected, are questions, which, in the opinion of the President, it would be inexpedient, under existing circumstances, to agitate.

"So long as Texas shall remain at war, while the United States are at peace with her adversary, the proposition of the Texan minister plenipotentiary necessarily involves the question of war with that adversary. The United States are bound to Mexico by a treaty of amity and commerce, which will be scrupulously observed on their part, so long as it can be reasonably hoped, that Mexico will perform her duties and respect our rights under it. The United States might justly be suspected of a disregard of the friendly purposes of the compact, if the overture of Gen. Hunt were to be reserved for future consideration, as this would imply a disposition on our part to espouse the quarrel of Texas with Mexico; a disposition wholly at variance with the spirit of the treaty, with the uniform policy and the obvious welfare of the United States." EDITOR.

ARTICLE X.

MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.

NEW PUBLICATIONS.

Bancroft's History of the United States, Vol. II.

Life of Washington, by Jared Sparks, being Vol. I. of Washington's Works. The whole work is now finished in twelve volumes.

Life of Aaron Burr, Vol. II.

Lockhart's Life of Sir Walter Scott, in parts. There are two editions, one in octavo, and the other in duodecimo, of which latter edition, four volumes have been published.

A Narrative of Missionary Enterprises in the South Sea Islands, with remarks upon the natural history of the islands, origin, languages, traditions and usages of the inhabitants. By John Williams, of the London Missionary Society.

Sketch of the Reformation in England. By the Rev. I. J. Blunt, Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge, with an Introductory Letter to the Editor, by George Washington Doane, D. D., Bishop of New-Jersey.

Confessions of a French Catholic Priest. To which are added, Warnings to the People of the United States. Edited by Samuel F. B. Morse, Professor in the University of New-York.

The Young Wife, by Dr. William A. Alcott.

The Family Nurse, or Companion to the Frugal Housewife. By Mrs. D. L. Child.

Illustrations of the Holy Scriptures, derived principally from the manners, customs, rites, traditions, forms of speech, antiquities, climate, works of art, and literature of the eastern nations; embodying all that is valuable in the works of Harmer, Burder, Paxton, Roberts and others. By George Bush, Professor of Hebrew and Oriental Literature in the New-York City University. Practical Religion, recommended and enforced, in a series of Letters from Epsilon to his Friend. By John Woodbridge, D. D.

Letters on the Origin and Progress of the New-Haven Theology.

VOL. II.-NO. VIII.

80

ACADEMICAL.

Waterville College.-The commencement was held, Aug. 2. Four young gentlemen received the degree of A. B., the other members of the senior class having, for certain reasons, withdrawn. The degree of A. M. was conferred on four candidates.

New-Hampton Literary and Theological Institution. The anniversary was held, August 16. The seminary is said to be flourishing.

Hamilton Literary and Theological Institution. The anniversary was held, August 16. Eleven young gentlemen completed their literary course. Newton Theological Institution.-The anniversary was held, August 23. There were twelve graduates.

Brown University.-The commencement was held, Sept. 6. There were thirty-eight graduates, and the degree of A. M. was conferred on eighteen candidates.

Columbian College, D. C.-The commencement was held, Oct. 4. Eleven young gentlemen received the degree of A. B.

Rev. Dr. Going has been elected President of Granville College, Ohio, and has accepted the office.

Rev. Basil Manly, D. D., late Pastor of the Baptist Church, Charleston, S. C., has been elected President of the University of Alabama, in the place of Rev. Dr. Woods, resigned.

Rev. B. F. Farnsworth has been elected Professor of Moral Philosophy and Belles-Lettres in the University of Georgia, at Athens, Geo.

The project of establishing a Southern Baptist College, at Washington, Geo. has been abandoned. It is now proposed to elevate the Mercer Institute into a college.

Dr. W. Hooper has accepted the appointment of President of the Furman Theological Institution, in South Carolina.

A theological seminary, for the instruction of those ministers particularly whose age and other circumstances prevent their enjoying an extended course of education, has been commenced at Charleston, Maine. Professor Newton, late of Waterville College, has been appointed the Principal.

AMERICAN SOCIETY, FOR THE DIFFUSION OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE.

This very important Society was organized in New-York, in May last. The objects of the Society are-To promote the diffusion of useful knowledge among all classes of the community, by issuing pure, entertaining and valuable publications, in a cheap and popular form;-to elevate the character of our national literature, and raise the standard of morality, by the introduction of works of intrinsic merit, in belles-lettres, in Christian morals, in the arts, in science, physical, intellectual and moral;-to promote the improvement of our systems of common school education, by providing standard sets of books of instruction for schools, and by procuring and publishing statistics of facts calculated to illustrate the condition and prospects of education in our own and other countries;— to provide suitable works of entertainment and information for children and youth; to furnish the means of elementary instruction and general knowledge in their own language, for resident foreigners and their children;-to cherish the general interests of literature, education and religion, of agriculture, of commerce, and of the arts, by preparing appropriate standard libraries of useful knowledge, embellished with illustrative engravings, and imbued with a Chris

tian spirit, for families and schools, for the farmer, the mechanic, the merchant, the seaman, and the settler in the West, such as every true patriot and enlightened philanthropist must approve;-and to establish correspondence with societies and men of literature in our own and foreign lands engaged in similar objects, with a view to procure every facility for promoting intellectual, social and moral improvement.

The materials for carrying out this design are abundant:-Delineations of the works of our Creator; the innumerable objects of interest in the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms; the history of the world; the varied scenes and events of past ages; the origin of nations; the growth of empires; the ruin of cities; the overthrow of kingdoms and thrones; narratives of voyages and travels over every sea and land; the civil and political circumstances, the intellectual, social and domestic condition of the great family of nations; the biography of the great and good; the progress of knowledge; the opening prospects of society; the discoveries of genius; the improvements in the useful and ornamental arts; the wide range of science and philosophy, material, intellectual and moral; in short, the moving worlds of mind and matter furnish inexhaustible materials for useful publications, adapted to improve and elevate the mind, and to promote the best social and moral interests of society.

A committee of the Society have issued a " Prospectus of the American Library for Schools and Families." After describing the numerous advantages of providing suitable books for the young, they say:

"The library is intended to consist, in the outset, of fifty volumes, to be increased from time to time, as circumstances may require, until each school is furnished with perhaps two hundred volumes, comprising the following classes of works:

"1. History, ancient and modern. The whole to contain a condensed but lively and spirited view of the history of the world, its settlement, the distribution of its inhabitants, the families of nations and of languages, the rise and fall of empires, the present great powers of the earth and their connection with the past.

"2. Voyages and Travels, to be compiled from the works of the most celebrated travellers:-Anson, Cook, Kotzebue, Humboldt, Drake, Chateaubriand, Bruce, Park, Saussure, Peyrouse, Vancouver, Parry, Franklin, etc. The whole to be so arranged, as to bring all parts of the world before the reader, and to convey a general but accurate idea of the various regions of the earth, as they present themselves to the eye of the traveller and prepared in such a way, as to impart as much information as possible, in respect to the history, geography, and manners and customs of the countries visited.

"3. Biography.-The lives of great and good men, who have acted a conspicuous part on the great theatre of the world; and especially the lives of those from whose history good moral lessons may be drawn-Columbus, Washington, Franklin, Jay, Bacon, Newton, Howard, etc., etc.

"4. Natural Science, in its various departments, with a view to impart a general but systematic acquaintance with objects of interest and utility in the three great kingdoms of nature.

"5. Intellectual and Moral Philosophy, exhibiting just views of the intellectual and moral constitution of man, the grounds of human obligations, and the nature and claims of duty.

"6. Political Philosophy, presenting the nature and objects of government and law; the principles of civil polity and political economy; the rights and duties of citizens; and various subjects of general interest, affecting the welfare of society.

7. Agriculture. To consist of a series of volumes, on the nature and properties of soils; the products of the vegetable kingdom; the culture and use of all trees, plants and vegetables, usually cultivated for food or profit; on the history, nature and management of the different domestic animals and their productions; in short, on all subjects connected with the pursuits of husbandry, designed to furnish the sons of the farmer, in a country destined to such high agricultural interests as ours, the best facilities for acquiring all necessary and desirable knowledge connected with their employments, their interests, and their happiness.

"8. Manufactures and the Arts. A series on the various substances used in the manufactures and the arts; on the application of science to the common purposes of life; with descriptions of processes, inventions, machinery, and its results, calculated to be useful to the artisan, and interesting to every intelligent mind.

"9. Commerce. Its history and progress. Articles of commerce. Distribution and consumption. The nature of value, illustrating the principles of traffic and the office of the merchant.

"10. Literature and Education. Comprising a collection of standard works in English classics, with which every family should be acquainted. Works on education, giving its history, its progress and prospects, the philosophy of its principles, in a way calculated to extend and deepen the interest in universal education.

"It will be the object of the Society to embrace in the range of the publications all subjects of general interest and utility, and their greatest care, that the whole be pervaded and characterized by such a spirit of Christian morality as shall fit it to refine and elevate the moral character of our nation.

"The volumes are designed to be of about two hundred and fifty pages, duodecimo, to be bound in a uniform and very thorough manner, and boxed in sets, so as to be bought, sold and transported with the convenience and safety of merchandise; and the box to be so constructed as to answer the purposes of a case, when it reaches it final resting-place in the school-room. It is a flat box, two feet long, one foot wide, and six inches deep, divided into four compartments by partitions, which become shelves when the box is placed upright. The cover is to be attached by hinges,so as to become a door when the box is opened. "All the arrangements for carrying the design into execution are in a state of forwardness, so far as they can be, before the necessary funds are secured. It is estimated, that fifteen thousand dollars are required to manufacture the stereotype plates for fifty volumes. If this sum were furnished, the library would be at once completely and permanently endowed, as arrangements can be made with publishers, if the plates are furnished, to supply the market fully and constantly, and defray all the expenses of manufacture and copy-right out of the proceeds of the sales. Should, therefore, any benevolent individual, or the community, place in the hands of the Society the means to procure these plates, the perpetual supply of the books, at the cost of twenty dollars for fifty volumes, with their case, would be at once secured.

"The Society take the liberty, therefore, to lay these suggestions before the community, and they solicit from any individuals who may be interested in the subject, a reply to this communication, offering either suggestions in respect to the general utility of the plan, or proposals for furnishing particular books, or aid in raising the necessary funds.

"By the constitution of the Society, the annual payment of five dollars or more constitutes an individual a member; of one hundred dollars, within any one year, a life member; of five hundred dollars, a life director; and of one

« PoprzedniaDalej »