Weekly Journal. (Galveston, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 15, Ed. 1 Tuesday, June 3, 1851 Page: 2 of 4
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Cde $curnal.
MONDAY, JUNE 2d. 1851.
FOR GOVERNOR.
BESJAMIX II. EPPERSON,
Of Rrd River Cmnty.
FOR LIEUT. GOVERNOR.
GEN. E. H. TARRANT,
f :
r f U
District Cockt.—The District Court for
this county, Judge Meggmaon presiding, com-
menced its session last week, and has already
disposed of all the criminal sorts on the docket
—none of which were of moment.
Chops.—Gentlemen from Austin and other
points in the interior give very favorable ac-
counts of the growing crops of cotton and
coro.
53* The Telegraph says it is estimated
that over 2000 bales of cotton have been re-
ceived in Houston within six weeks. The
roads are good and teams from the country
are arriving daily.
Scp&eme Court.—A private letter to the
editor of this paper, tteted " Tyler. May 8th.
1851." says : " The Supreme Court has been
in session about four weeks. '• There are nearly
two hundred cases on the Docket, of which
eighty or ninety have been disposed of. The
Court will continue in session for several weeks
to come."
53-The corner stone of a new College
was laid in Marshall, Harrison Co., on the
24th ult.
53* The Washington Ranger informs us
that the summer fights commenced in that
town on the 24th ult., and that the pugilists
were promptly fined ten dollars each.
53* B. E. Tarver Esq., formerly editor of
this paper, is announced as a candidate to
represent the counties of Washington and
Burleson in the next Legislature. We expect
he will be elected, for when editors gel so far
down as to run for office there's no stopping
them.
Hi
U'
X i
* ' !
Reform.—The Texas Monument is in fa-
vor of reforming the orthography oí the Eng-
lish language, and suggests that a convention
of editors, printers and literary men be called
for the purpose. The P:s and Q,'s, it thinks,
are not O. K., and it wishes to abolish the
hough that so annoyed the Frenchman. Nujj'
zed. r
53* Newspaper Mail-bags are now closed
by locks, instead of being merely tied as here-
tofore. The arrangement will have a good
effect, inasmuch as it will prevent curious, but
not very dishonest individuals, from prying
into these canvas sacks in search of news, and
borrowing other peoples' property without
permission. However, there is some force in
the remark of a robber, who said that when-
ever he seen a lock on a leather bag it made
his jack-knife laugh.
Blackwood.—The May number of this
Magazine reached us by the last mail. The
two most interesting articles in it, to the Ame-
rican reader, are, an able critique on Some
American Poets," and a review of two books
by transatlantic tourists—one by a delicately
organized Frenchman, and the other by a
plain spoken English adventurer. One can
afford to laugh at the little flings of these tra-
velers and the reviewer, at the United States,
and even find amusement in the sarcasm into
which trifles betrayed them.
The other articles in Blackwood are headtd
"Onward Tendencies," "The Papal Aggres-
sion Bill,"' " The Book of the Farm," " An
Evening walk," and continuations of "My
Novel."
Wanted to Know.—Whether the ladies
who have adopted the Turkish fashion of
dresses are also in favor of the Turkish cus-
tom of plurality of wives ? Nothing like go-
ing the whole figure.
Postoffice Department.—The Republic
says the receiptsof the Postoffice Department
for the quarter ending on the 31st December.
1850, amounted to $1,531,495 98; showing an
increase of $231,837 58, or about 18 7-10 per
cent, over the corresponding quarter of the
previous year.
The quarter ending on the 30th September,
1850, also showed an increase of more than
17 per cent, on the corresponding quarter of
the previous year; and it is probable that the
increase of the fiscal year, enning on the 30th
of June nfcxt, ever the receipts of the prece-
ding year, will be 16 or 18 per cent.
These results are extremely gratifying.—
the increase is much beyond the estimate
made by the Postmaster General in his last
annual report, and much beyond the usual
from year to year. The increase for
" 1850,
Internal Improvements. i I1 ree Banking.—This subject is being free-
There is no more important question, save discussed in «orne of our country exchange?,
that of Union and Disunion, in the present: asd a great many are beginning to understand
Congressional canvass, than internal improve- ¡ tie Absurdity and injurious consequences of
men's. We have heretofore alluded to Col. j ti£ provision in the Suite Consiit it ion prohi-
Howard's doctrines on this subject and h¡3 j bifng banking. The main effort oí many oi
attempts to reconcile the appropriations in the ; th writers is. however, to prove that Free
River and Harbor Bill with democratic prin- ; Basking is altogether democratic. While
ripies. However, we were gratified at his thw are wasting ink and time on this abstruse
support of a measure, such as has been a
standing article in the whig faith since its or-
ganization asa party, and we overlooked the
portt, we would caution them against eating
up 4ie> own doctrines, and suggest that the
policy of the measure would be a much more
e in-
previous years, as stated
last^annual report made by Postmaster
sr, in 1840, was as follows:
ending June 30, 1S47, 11 27-
For the year ending June 30,
For the year end-
19, 14 20-100 per cent.
3 and business of this Depart-
nearly doubled in the last five
and this increase affords very gratily-
continued and rapid pro-
7 in wealth, business and
bears the
appropriation of whig "thunder" in view of profitable theme,
the good to be accomplished by the measure
and the satisfaction it would afford the Texan
people. Gen. McLeod's views are embodied
in -the following extracts from his Austin
speech.
"The Colonel entertained us with a reading
of all tlie appropriation bills for internal im-
provements during Gen. Jackson's time, to
prove to us that our interests would be benefit-
ted if we would modify our old principles a
little, as he had succeeded in doing. He harp-
ed long enough on what all agreed to—a low
tariff—no disturbance of the present one. But
he failed to show to us how he could keep our
present low tariff, and pay at the same time
for all these improvements. He says Texas
will get §¿00,000 by the river and" harbour
bill. Yes, for this one year only, and by ac-
cepting in commit ourselves to a system that
will take from our pockets .$230,000 annually
to be paid out for dry docks, canals, harbors,
rivers, creeks and ponds at Boston, New York,
Buffalo and Chicago. Does he wish to com-
pare Texas to the wagoner who refused to
put his own shoulder to the wheel, but called
on Hercules to do all I What are we to do
with our own means? By the way. Colonel,
who is that whig in disguise the Bexar pa-
pers talk about ? Surely, Colenel, you are
not going over, are you 1 Shade of Gen.
Jackson and the MaysvilJe road forbid it.
If he mentioned the venerated name of
Gen. Jackson once, he did it a hundred times.
How often the politician—the Artful Dodger
of stumpology, has swung himself into favor
upon the mere cadence and syllabic harmony
of the words, Andrew Jackson! I heard a
very distinguished lawyer and politician in
Georgia once relate how he beat an exceed-
ingly popular whig, in a county where he was
odious himself, in the following way: He
would lay down a plank of the democratic
platform, and then say—Now. fellow-citizens,
/don't say that this is right; all I have lo say
is, Gen. Jackson says it's right. This would
tmil the plank so firm that his opponent could
not rip it up. But when the Colonel quits
the true faith, and attempts to forge Gen.
Jackson's name to support a system which he
was the first to break up, he demands a little
too much of his hearers.
The Rio Gfande is an international stream,
and ought to be made navigable as far as
profitable. It would be the cheapest protec-
tion that, could be given to life and property
on that frontier—nursing a foreign commerce
of several millions already, and capable of
being extended to quadruple the amount.—
The other- rivers of Texas were all needed
for quarter-master's transportation, and would
all have been opened under army appropria-
tions, if Col. Howard had not left that method
of getting them which was unobjectionable,
to seek ior them in a violation of party doc-
trine, by opening the old sluices of extrava-
gance and corruption—which has divided the
party, by ternptingtheir cupidity, and thereby-
lost the bill. Who is that Whig in disguise ?
Gen. McLeod in substance declares the
$200,000 appropriation to Texas a whig
measure, and announces his opposition to it.
But. he finds another method of obtaining the
necessary means for improvements. He has
discovered that all the rivers in Texas will be
needed for quarter-master's transportation,
and would be opened under army appropria-
tions. Now, if any one is silly enough to be-
lieve that tor government use, solely, our
rivers and bays will be improved, we leave
them to enjoy the delusion. If to save the
United States one dollar, five is taken from
the Treasury, this round-about doctrine of
" national purposes" becomes a humbug; and
all the objections urged against internal im-
provements at the expense of the General
Government on the widest scale, rest against
d, ' .
We are mistaken in public sentiment, and
in our views of their interests, if the people
of Texas are not in favor of internal improve-
ments at the expense of the General Govern-
ment, by a vast majority. They have every-
thing to gain, and little to lose by it, for if the
13tate is efficiently represented, Texas will
have her full share of the appropriations.
Nor, can we think that any such subterfuge
as Gen. McLeod advocates for arriving at the
same ends will meet with general approval.
The planter on the Trinity, Sabine or Red
River, with his cotton rotting at the landing
where it has lain for months awaiting trans-
portation, will be told in vain that his wants
will be met because the quarter-master at
San Antonio has a few hundred barrels of
supplies to ship, and the Trinity and Red
River will be cleared out for that special pur-
pose. The plain, straight-forward doctrine
^ ilux jejuora . ibankiarc Hxc llict
benefit of the country and the people, is the
one tor Texas—the only one that will effectu-
ally develope her resources.
Governor Bell on Morals.—Governor
Bell has issued an electioneering circular ¡j
which he says:
'• The. idea which seems to be entertaino:!
.UFUK.M &•. l Ot HT
from Ha ria Co-
y
UisiCi'IOSS Olf i Hti
Thi'masj. v. sky, r.ijtiittrm
ts SabahN Jaívi-.í;/ « '<"<
This w is a trial of the ri-ht f property levied
on in tirlueof nei«iui"'' mfi.TOrol the (ilarn-
hSuryorit.jMto- *■« j"!*"'"*
"o l,e „ v, ; but upon the .«• th.
£.„Lf «t «nd |.ll,,n«e
juts < f the ¡aw in the application for a
il It is not stated in the application that
"i.id used du« diligence in pre-
rial. This it was necessary
title the party to « new trial
ht. And had the court
, the ru|.
have held
upon the
must satis-
iiaT uníwrdfct \ coúrMhat the evidence has coma to bj.
knowledge since the trial, that it is not owing to
The claimant moved for a new trial on the the want of1'due diligence,that-it was
ground of newly discovered evidence. The facts j er,Mj sooner, and that it; w ou. p a >0. p^ -
stated in th, morion are that thenewlv discovered j „ different result uponni hert ^ ^
evidence will prove ihut the negroes in ciintruvei «y, |>e shown on an appht-i ¡ i.v\|p ina
,i,„M no. known >o ,hn ,, «)- before the trial. ¡ ti,„ W. l„or.h in Porter «. Ink « . It t
The motion was accompanied by the affidavits of pe:ir, he says, "that there
the witnesses hv whom i: was proposed to prove diligence, that the new evi <?nce w «^ ^
the facts. Upon argument, the motion was ad- ¡t has been discoveied since t , esneci-
iud 'ed insufficient for the want of the proper affi-, js not cumulative. 1 Corven o- . • P
davits to the f;:cr« stated. These admissions the a;lv requi-ite that the party npphn „ • IS
court permitted the party to supply and thereupon : visi|nuce apparent, for it is left even doubt idtbat
«■ranted a new trial, 'l'liere is no statement ac- ¡ j,e knew of the evidence, or tna • g«
eomnanVinj the motion that it was not for the ^ut for negligence, have known and p <> ,
want of due diligence that the evidence was not his application may well be refused it can ii er
discovered before the trial. There was a second he permitted to a party to produceju t ho mucü
trial which resulted in a verdict for the claimant, j evidence as lie may think proper, and ultimately
uoon which the court «¡ave judgment, and the obtain a new trial« n the gruunu that lie n no ,
piaintiff prosecuted a writ of error. There is no „n the first trial, give ail the evidence winch he
statement of the facts proved upon either trial. | then might,.and which lie has
new
bv some, and those too of enraged ft danmll] tiff in error as the property oi E. M. Jams, and tjie part.v applying
—1 ' — m:h;t.rs of po- claimed by his wife, the defendant in error as her | pari„g his ease h r
sliniild fini.l spíifra!!" nropertv* . .1 tohave t mw
Would not Batiks facilitate commerce and
agricultifre, and promote Internal improve-
ments 1 Is not Bank paper, secured oi course
by all the guaranties ,which experience dic-
tates as advisable to protect the bill holder,
preferable to the '• hard money currency'' our
democratic friends used to boast so highly of,
as a circulating medium 1 Is it wise, in Tex-
as, to give the benefits of Banking to other
States, and incur all the risk of their not very
strict system without any of the benefits?—
Texas wants banks, and sooner or later the
Constitution must be amended for that pur-
pose. On this, like the matter of internal im-
provements, the doctrine of the wbigs is best
calculated to promote the public welfare, and
no better evidence is needed than that of the
democrats laboring ingeniously to incorporate
these measures inio their political creed.
ICf3 The Houston Telegraph has been"
thrown into a fit of ill-temper by certain pam-
phlets which have been circulated in tfaittown
relative to the debt of Texas. The Tele-
graph, blinded by passion, hazzards several
assertions and presumptions, for whrh it can
have no grounds save in its own suspicions
and frightful fancies. It says the pamphlet is
evidently intended to influence the State elec-
tion, and that the anthor is a hireling writer
who is ashamed fo append his name. It thinks
the pamphlet will have a different effect from
what was intended as it 51 will o*ly tend to
render the people more cautious iu the selec-
tion of candidates who are to be entrusted
with the disposition of the public money."
Now, it appears to us. from long observa-
tion, that if there is a wrong view to be taken
of a matter, our ancient cotemporary of the
Telegraph is very apt to adopt it. though he
sometimes discovers his errors in time to rciract
and do some service on the right side. We
have read the pamphlet alluded to. and con-
cluded that its chief aim and object was to
make the people cautious in the selection of
their legislators. It has been the bane of our
legislation that the most ordinary men have
been elected law-makers, and no one can re-
view their course without coming to the con
elusion that there is great need of improve-
ment. Furthermore, the pamphlet in ques-
tion does not, so far as we have observed,con
tain an objectionable remark—not a word to
cast a doubt on the sincerity of the writer, in
his regard for the welfare of the State. That
the writer's name is not appended, cat be no
objection if the doctrine laid down is sound
and the principios correct. The plain tone
and honrsr senlimurita expressed in ¡¿^pam-
phlet will commend it to the people of Texas,
who will give it their consideration despite the
frivolous objections of candidates whose opini-
ons are antagonistic, and who are. more lax in
their ideas of honor and probity.
The "News" of Friday has the follow-
ing. We differ with a great many in refer-
ence to the luck editors so commonly meet;
but we are free to admit, that matrimony, es-
pecially when Wealth and accomplishments
give elasticity to the "noose," is not so bad as
going to Congress, or being assigoed to a bu-
reau in the President's Cabinet.
An Editor In Lcck—It is not often one
of the corps editorial "strikes a streak" of luck,
the New Orleans Delta, of the^áóth inst:
We notice the marriage of our contempora-
of the Picayune, to
Miss Fanny
4v';
The New Test.—The Civilian, about a
week since, suggested that inasmuch fs there
was a probability of Gen. Houston being
nominated for the Presidency, and a possibili-
ty of the election falling into the House of
Representatives, candidates for Congress
should declare whether or not, they are in fa-
vor of Gen. Houston for President.
This is entirely a new feature our neighbor
has introduced into Texan politics, and from
every indication he is sincere in the applica-
tion of the strange test. Principles are dis-
carded. party doctrines sink into insignificance,
and political tenets are swallowed up in the
question—Will you support the man ? The
Civilian is not satisfied, we presume, that
candidates declare themselves democrats and
advocate all the measures of that party. No.
they, must also be adherents of Gen. Hous-
ton. They must be men-worshipers, and
their duty to their country and their party
must be secondary to the elevation of one
man, and that man General Houston.
In his speech at Austin, Gen. McLeod said
i: One ol the newspapers of San Antonio,
friendly to Col. Howard, tells us that I am an
enemy of Gen. Houston. Is it come to this
—that principles are nothing, and a man be
followed, by every citizen of Texas, as -
qualification for office V
Yes, surprisingly as it may appear, it has
come to this," thatA man must, be follow-
ed " " a3 a qualification for office." So the
i, yvwwii 1 nipcv - ——j- miflk >■> n v% ika
litical economy, that our debt
[paid ?J according to the
its face, without any i
those figures at the time
its origin, 1 humbly cone
ual gain, at least in
which leaps over the boundaries prescribed
by the ethics of this utilitarian age."
It follows, we suppose, from the above, that
the woi Id has grown less honest. The school-
master in his travels has abolished all the old
lashioned notions ol probity, all the reverence,
with which men and nations regarded their
solemn promises, and established instead a
new code of ethics based on utilitarianism, as
elastic as the spirit ol ^selfishness is absorbing
and capable of being interpreted alike to suit
the agrarian doctrines of communism and the
pursuits of the pirate of the high seas.
The ethics of this utilitarian age is then
Governor Bell's standard in morals—the jus-
tification of the scaling system; and on this
law, as well as for the additional reason given
by the State Gazette, that "Texas has no
soul to be saved or damned : no body to be
imprisoned or set free," the State has no care
—no need to fulfill her obligations.
The logic of Governor Bell is—This utilita-
rian age does not require Texas to be honest;
ami that of the Gazette is— If Texas'had a
soul to be damned for the sin, or a body to be
imprisoned*^ tfie debt, then she would pay.
Surely these'di%radfng¡i.sentinieiits. propaga-
ted from Austin, will not be encouraged by the
people of Texas.
The Three Degree* iu Masonry.
As an entered A pprentice, a lesson of hu-
mility and contempt of worldly riches and
earthly grandeur, is impressed upon upoji his
mind by symbolic ceremonies, too important
iu their character ever to be forgotten. The
beauty and holiness ol Charity are depicted in
emblematic modes, stronger and more lasting
than mere languages can express, and the
neophy te is-directed to lay a corner stone of
virtue, and purity, upon which he. is charged
to erect a superstructure, alike honorable to
himself and the Iraterniiy of which he is here-
after to compose a part.
In the degree of Entered Apprentice every
emblematic ceremony is directed to the illus-
tration of the heart, in t' at of Feilow Craft,
to the enlargement of the mind. Already
clothed in the white garments of innocence,
the advancing candidate is now invested with
the deep and unutterable t*uths of science.—
At length lie passes the porch of the Temple,
and in his progress to the middle chamber, is
taught the ancient and uerring method ol dis-
tinguishing a friend from a foe.
But it. is not until the third or Master's rank
is reached by arduous labor and by.study and
by worthy conduct, that the full undimmed
effulgence of Masonry lights upon the enrap
tured vision. In this, which is the perfection
of symbolic Masonry, the purest, of trut hs are
unveiled amid the most, sublime ceremonies.—
None but he who has visited the holy of holie
and traveled in the road o[ peril. Cil!l have any
conception of the mysteries unfolded in this
degree. Its solemn observance difi'uses a sa
c.red awe. and inculcate a lesson of religion
truth—and it is not until the neophyte has
réfo'lliód this ¡«luitmit. of our ritual* that lie can
exclaim with joyful accents i,i the language oi
the sage o! old. '"Eureka, Eureka. I have lound
at last the long sought treasure." In the lan-
guage of the learned arid zealous Hutchinson,
somewhat enlarged in ¡Is illusions, the Master
Mason is a man under the doctrine of love;
saved from the grave of iniquity, and raised
to the faith of salvation.— Vnlmúi^íoa (Del.)
Gazette.
r1
were overrule 1.
fur t!i'? plaintiff.
a ore was a
test securing its favor and support.
The Brazos Steamers.—The Ranger
says, the steamers Washington and Brazos
have been purchased by Col, Butler of this
city. The Brazos merchants and planters
máy rest assured that Col. Btitler will manage
these boats in the best manner to accommo-
date and give general satisfaction. The
steamer Brazos left Washington on the 27th
ult. for Quintana.
H3® Henry Thorpe Esq. has been nomi-
nated by the citizens of Matagorda to repre-
sent that county in the Legislature.
■
We perceive that Messrs. Wildman
one of the Dake have received a splendid stock of
goods, extensive and varied as the wants of
community require.
We have frequently noticed the promising
of the corn crop in Western Tesc-
at this season, and are reminded to refer to
ring seen, within n
fields oflndian corn
tnsseled silked, giv-
er fears within a fort
deemed rather
. is coming
Advocate.
It is insisted that the court erred,
1st In permitting the claimant to file a new
bond.
21. In granting a new trial.
1st. The first objection to the judgment we do
since found, he
ou-dit to have given. £uch a practice, it has been
ti-oiv <aid. would be of most dangerous conse-
qupoce, Per llush. Prest. 2 Birm. 582, 1 Man.
2^3 Graham on New Trials 4/3. But although
to entitle a party to a new tri l upon the ground
tha hood of jjpwiv discovered evidence*!hese essential re-
!• • • ' i- .i , i.. , i. «nmtdied with, where
not think weft, taken, v %Í|'PIÍ|é|||I i , ? v t&ssw w t , .•* . .i
was the institution of the claim oí' Ene party.— i'quisife*rf tne law must be complied witn, wiiere
And it defective, when objected to for that ffúise,! tf,e new trial was granted, the judgment will not
it was, we think, within the province oí the coijrt necessarily be reversed because the party does
M permit the objection to be obviated by amend- J- not appear to haye- brought his application strict
ment, or by giving a new bond. • f ¡ iy within the rules of law. _
2d. In support of the second ground, on winch j This was expressly decided by the court ot np-
it is proposed to reverse the judgment, we are peels of Kentucky, in the case of Ewing vs Price,
referred to decisions of the courts of Kentucky {3J J Marsh 520,) a case very uearly m point
and Mississippi; where, it seems, the practice i¿ to the present.
for the appellate court to revise the judgment of j The court there say that they will be more in-
the court below granting a new trial, and if the ¡ elined to sustain a judgment granting, than one
new trial was improperly granted, to set aside the
proceedings subsequent*to the first verdict, and
nninbiin the verdict- rendered upon the first trial.
\b nr. 4. 7 flow. Mis*. R, GUÍ). Such seems
refusing a new trial. And they lay down these
rules, . .
'• When the motion is overruled the judgment
will not be reversed, nnless i( had been ciear-
Iso to be the practice in Indian and Illinois, [y shown that (hr complaining parly had
and perhaps in some o'her Statesi I Blackf 4/, j ftuide a good cause, coujcinhably (o the rules
l tíilman Í(j0, 1 C-iok R 90:- In .Mississippi and prescribed in such ca*es-" But,
Illinois thi- practice is founded on st.it ure 7 flow. ¡ "When the new trial is granted, this court
Miss. 11. 635, I Gilm. ltiU And. akfiongh the will not feel itself bound to reverse the judgment,
references made have not afforded us ih ¡t in for- ] unless i/ appears plainly that Ih^re was no
oiation, we think it not improbable th-it it i.* matter ¡ gtmd rt-as m fttv I he neiv trial, or uill ess there
of statutory regulation in other States where the- be soiw reason for apprehending that jus-
practice exists. Forit is the doctrine of the com tice ivas not en ntualli/ administered "
rnon law that the granting or refusing of a new t Ihe new trial had been granted on the ground
trial rests within the le^al discretion of the court, of newly discovered evidence and the question
and cannot be assigned as error, 2 Term 11. 4, 4 ! upon the application in that case, as iu this, was,
Taunt. 555,2 Ashun 31, I Dev. IUU. ; whether the party applying had used due dili-
It has been the invariable practice of this'getice. The court said tíie affidavit iu support of
court, from its organisation to the present time, ' the application did not show satisfactorily that
to revise the judgment of 'he District Court re- j the party could not, by the ex Tci.^e ot. proper
"Bkítisu.—The National Intelligencer, in
a long and able article on the condition of
things in South Carolina, cites the {blowing
article from the Camden Journal—a reckless
paper urging the State to secede from the
Union. In the event of secession and the
blockading of her ports, by the General Gov-
ernment, the Journal says;
We believe England would acknowledge
us as an independent Republic, and come iu
and trade with us. simply passing these block-
ading ship ships by and coming in; and if in
their pa sage those ships should fire on them,
why a broadsidefrom an English Steamship
would settle it, we think, rather to the dis-
advantage of a Yankee revenue blockade
cutter. Recollect, our ships that, have done
good service against. English ships have had
some Southerners aboard—and in their crews
disalfecting persons—This would be different.
England has never shrinked from a war for fear
of cripplinghercommerce, for it seems to flour-
ish by war. She would clear the blockade
for the reason that she would be glad tosee this
Confederacy broken up—because she would
be fighting against the North, hec natural
rivals of the loom. She would do it, because
then she would have an open and free Ameri-
can port. She would do it, in short, because
interest would drive her to it.
Beauty OfTheDctch Women.—Cole-
man, in his " European Life and Manners,*'
gives the following glowing description of the
women of Holland, every word of which we
can say is strictly true :
'-I think snme of the Dutch women the fair-
est and handsomest creatures I ever looked
upon, and made of the finest unmixed porce-
lain clay. Before I left England I thought
the English women the finest I had ever seen
I now consider them as belonging to the col-
ored races. Take the largest rose that was
ever plucked, with the glittering dewdrops
hanging among its petals, take the fairest
peach that ever hung upon the tree, with its
charming, blending tints of red and white, and
they are eclipsed by the transparency and
beauty of complexion of the Dutch women, as
I saw them at Brooek and Saardam. It their
minds are as fair, their manners as winning
as their faces, then I can easily understand
the history: of Adam's fall. It was impossible,
poor fellow that he should resist .
The Philadelphia Inquirer says that the late
advices from Paris state that bonnets have al-
together changed their form. They are made
very wide, are flat on the forehead and on the
chin and on the head have t!.e aspect of a, hori-
zontal oval. The two sides of the bonnet are
ornamented with large flowers, matched to
those outside. They consist of flowers, if the
bonnet is arranged with bouquets—of a bundle
of marabouts, if the bonnet is trimmed
the same—and of bows of ribbons if th
net is mad* simply for a morning toilet.-'
bonnets are of numerous kinds. Th'
some of Leghorn and others of fancy straws.
The white straw bonnet is also very beauti-
fW.' 1
* .
fusing a new trial. But there is no case in which
it has revised the judgment of that court granting
a new trial. .There seems, indeed, to be le~s oe
casion for the exercise of a revising power in (he
litter ea«e than in the former. If a new trial is
improperly refused, the injury is irreparable.—
This may be the case when it is improperly gran-
ted; but it is not necessarily so : nor is smái the
natural or probable consequence. Ordinarily,
and in the absence of those casualties which may
deprive a party of evidence upon the second trial
which be had upon the first, the presumption is
thiit the justice of the case will lie as certainly
att-uined upon the second, as upon the first trial.
«For'upon the second trial, as Biackstontvinfreat-
ini of this subject, justly observes : '• Th? par-
ties come better informed, the counsel better pre-
pared, the law is more fully understood, the
judge is more master of f lu subject, and nothing
is now trie i but the real merits of the case." 3
Hi. Com. 391.
Great injustice, however, miy he . done by
"lending too easy an ear" to applications for new
trials. A party whose cause is just, may be thus
delayed in its prosecution until his witnesses are
dead, his evidence lost or destroyed, and his rights
ultimately defeated; or, if successful in the end,
eve > success may not compensate for the har-
r Hsment, v- xatiou Hud espen-^e of causelessly
protracted litigation. But the law does not pro-
ceed upou tb'j supposition that the power entrus-
ted to kh ministers will be abused. Its general
rules do not contemplate extreme cases; nor are
such the legitimate or natural consequents of
the discretion with which the courts are invested
i i granting new triáis. And although in the ex-
ercise of that discretion injustice may sometime!,
be done, there is still this material and obvious
distinction between thu improper refusal and
granting of a new trial: In the one case the in-
justice is irreparable, unless by a revising tribu
nal, in the other it ordinarily is not so; for an-
other opportunity of obtaining justice is afforded.
But cnless the granting of new trials is sub-
ject to a revising power, it is not easy to perceive
what effectual limitation there can be upon the
discretion of the judge, or how it can justly be
said to be legal, as distinguished from that ab-
solute and arbitrary discretion, which lias been
characterized, in the extremely forcible language
of Lord (/amden, as "the law of tyrants, always
unknown, different in different men ; casu d, de-
pending upon constitution, temper, passion."
The l.iw. however, in respect to certain matters
does confide in the judge a discretion, which from
the nature of the case cannot be revised, and is
subject to no other limit or control than bis own
moral sense of justice. Such is the power of
granting continuances If a continuance be im-
properly granted, it cannot be corrected by a re-
vising tribunal. Yet th injury may fte as great
as tfrut of thir granting a íiew trial.
Whether this court will revise the judgment of
the district court is u great question, however,
which it does not become necessary in the present
case to determine. If the revi.dug power he con-
ceded to authorize a reversal, it must appear that
there is error in the judgmeutof the court granting
the nr*w trial. Where the revising power is main-
tained, it is hfdd that, when the new trial is gran-
ted, the court must presume that it ought to have
been /ranted unless the contrary appear by the
reyid. 4 Blackf. ¡40, 3 J J. Ms,rsh 520.
It is a salutary principle which runs through,
all the case upon this sulject, that in granting
new trials regard is always to be had to the
merits and substantial justice of the case. And
although there may have been irregularities, or
errors committed on the trial, not affecting the
merits and justice of the cas*5, a new trial is not
therefore to be -warded of course. 2 Term R
4, I Bos. and Pul. 339, Grab, on New Trial 7, 8
When, upon a second trial, the verdict is dif-
ferent from the first, to authorize setting it aside
and maintaining thp first verdict, there ought, it
justice was d-aie upon the second trial, or it
should at least appear that the first verdict was
1—' —d correct.
the present case there is no statement of
oes not therefore appear upon what
verdict was rendered. The ah-
«nt of ficts authorizes the pre
was done upon the ultimate
upon the
diligence, have ascertained all the facts, and by
whom he could prové them, and that it was in
other respects defective. 1 hey conclude that for
these reasons had the Circuit Court overruled
the motion, they would not h ive disturbed its
decision. But as it did not appear that the facts
or requisites for a new trial, omitted to be stated
iii the afad .vit, did not in fact exist within the
knowledge <d" the Circuit Comt, and it did not
therefore appear that th-j new trial was im-
properly gvanr-ed ; and as it did not appear that
injustice had rfisu'U'd from tin granting ol the
new trial, the curt affirm .d the judgment.
#fhe principle oi' the case and • he correct prin-
ciple seems to be that, to authorize the reversal
of a judgment granting new trial, 'it must be
shown that the court ,it -ed its discretion to the
prejudice of the party who seeks to reverse the
judgment.
Such a case is net, it is conceived, presented by
the record before us.
The court appears to have derived a knowledge
of the character and existence of the new evi-
dence from affidavits, accompanying the motion;
and, in so far, to have acted upon the evidence
there furnished; but the diligence used by the
party may have been otherwise made apparent
to the court. Every presumption is to be in-
dulged in favor of the judgment. The party
may not have si own, in the motion, sufficient to
entitle him to a new trial. But we must sup-
poee, unless the contr iry had been made to ap-
pear by the party seeking to reverse the judg-
ment, that there were sufficient reasons apparent
to the court, and that the judgment granting the
new trial was legal and correct; especially as the
party on whom it was incumbent to show error,
if it existed, has not caused to be embodied in
the record a statement of the facts.
The statute requires that the motion for a new
trial shall be accompanied by a written specifi-
cation of the grounds on which it is founded,
and none other than those specified shall be
heard." Hart. l>ig Sec. 766.
The '■ grounds" on which n new trial may be
asked are various; as, want of notice of trial—
misdirection of the judge—misconduct of the
jury—a void verdict—a verdict against law—or
against evidence—excessive damages—newly dis-
covered evidence, and the like.
The object of the statute is simply to require
the party making the motion, by a written speci-
fication, to direct tue attention of the court and
the opposite party to one or inore of these
several grounds recognized by the law, on which
he proposes to base bis application for a uew
Nothing more was, it. is conceived, con-
1
a (
th<
to
th<
tr;
be
sp
hi
ne
hi
in
B
P<
nt
I*
tr
ni
f
trial.
eeived contemplated by the statute. And aM
though a party has no right to be be$rd upon
any other ground than those specially assigned,
yet it could not have been intended to deny to
the Cf.nrt the i uth..rity,4i, any event, to consider
any other grounds than those specified. Should
a jury, as has sometimes been the case, return a
void verdict, or a verdict finding not the issae,
but a matter totally foreign to the issue, upon
which no Ifgai judgment can fie rendered, it can-
not be doubted, we think, that the court in that
case, may, ex officio, and witbout.a motion for
that purpose, set asid the verdict and direct a
new trial. The court would be very cautious in
the exercise of this power. Yet it is a power
which it must possess, and 'vhii*h,it is conceived,
the statute was not enacted to take away or
control.
The ground on which the new trial was sought
in the present case was specified in the motion.
And although ic does not appear uffirmatlrely in
the record that theis was sufficient cansé for
granting it, yet it is incumbent on tbe party,
se-kin^ a revars d of the judgment, to show that
it is erroneous; and as it does not appear that
there was not sufficient cause for granting tljfr
or that it was improperly or errone-
ously granted, the judgment must lie affirmed.
February 20,185L • WHEELER.
I «Üssent.—[Ih MPHTLL.
Despatch fro. i Texas"— A despatch has
been received at^he War Depart neat giving
an account of an interview bet | ■
chief Wild Cat and Cols. Cr
?e, the American commissioners in Texas.
Cut expressed great frfeodhhin and
fatdfe
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Gibson, J. M. Weekly Journal. (Galveston, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 15, Ed. 1 Tuesday, June 3, 1851, newspaper, June 3, 1851; Galveston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth182198/m1/2/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.