San Luis Advocate (San Luis, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 7, Ed. 1, Tuesday, October 13, 1840 Page: 2 of 4
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Brazoria County Area Newspapers and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.
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frSs & x- v
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i"' "V-g1 v "v
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ul-
-
noted by dulness. The horse is languid feeble
and inoffensive. Want of food tames the very
wildest; and sometimes vicious horses are pur-
posely starved to quietness. The time a horse
way fast before he lose any portion of bis vig-
r;Bil:s vciy uiutu ill uiuciuiiliuukiuuqw.
In tome lew it may depend upon pcci.ianiy 01
form. Light-bellied narrow chested horses
cannot afford to fast so long as those of round
and large carcass. But in general the power
of fasting depends upon habit the kind of food
and the condition of the horse. When accus-
tomed to receive his food only twice or thrice a
day he can fast longer by an hour or two with-
out exhaustion than when he is in the habit of
eating four or five times. As a general rule
liable however to many exceptions it may be
held that a horse begins to get weak soon after
his usual hour of eating is past. The degree
and rapidity which his vigor fails depends upon
his work and condition. If idle or nearly so
for a day or two previous he may miss two or
three meals before exhaustion is apparent Lan-
guor is probably felt sooner. If in low condi-
tion lie cannot fast long without weakness. He
has nothing to spare. If his usual food be all
or partly soft he cannot bear abstinence so
well as when it is all or partly hard.
Horses in daily and oidinary work should
seldom fast more than three or four hours.
They generally get corn four or five times a
day and between the feeding hours they are
permitted to cat hay ; so that except during
work very few horses fast more than 4 hours.
13 ut some such as hunters and racers arc often
required to fast much longer. Hunters are
sometimes out for more than nine hours and
they go out with an empty stomach or very
little in it The only evil arising from such
prolonged abstinence is exhaustion and among
fast working horses that cannot be avoided.
The work and the abstinence together may pro-
duce great exhaustion and dcpicssion and the
horse may require several days rest to restore
him. But if he had been fed in the middle of
this trying work he would have been unable to
complete it. The evils arising from prolonged
abstinence are less dangerous than those aris-
ing from fast work on a full stomach.
The work which must be performed with an
empty stomach should be finished as quicke-
ns circumstances will permit In order that
the racer or hunter may have all the vigor he
ought to have his woik should be over before
abstinence begins to produce debility. How
long he must fast before he is fit to commence
his task must depend upon the pace the distance
and the horse's condition. The stomach after
an ordinary meal of grain is probably empty
in about four hours. For a pace of eight or ten
miles an hour it does not need to be empty; if
the food be so far digested that it will not read-
ily ferment a little may remain in the stomach
without rendering the horse unfit for exertion
of this kind. Coaching horses therefore go to
the road in from one to two hours after feeding.
For a hunting-pace perhaps a digestion of two
hours will secure the food from fermentation ;
and in that time after a moderate meal the
weight and bulk of the food which remains in
the stomach will not encumber the horse nor
impede his breathing. For a racing-pace the
stomach must be empty and the bowels must
not be full. I do not know how long racers
arc fed before commencing their work. The
time appears to vary spare feeders not being
required to fast so long as those of better ap-
petite. I rather think that they arc often or
sometimes kept too long without food but I
have little right to venture an opinion on the
subject It appears that racers sometimes re-
ceive no food on running days till iheir work is
over. If hay were withheld for twelve hours
and corn for three or four before starting I
should think such restriction would be sufficient.
These horses however arc always in high con-
dition ; they can afford to fast for a long time
before fasting produces exhaustion and the dis-
tance they run is so short that the expenditure
of nutriment is not great. With horses in low-
er condition having less spare nutriment in
them a fast of twelve hours produces a sensi-
ble diminution of energy and in this state he is
not fit to perform all that he could perform after
abstinence of only four or six hours. In the
course of training either for the course or field
the groom should learn how long the horse can
bear fasting without losing vigor and that will
tell him how to regulate the diet on the day of
work.
When the distance is consideiable or the
woik requiring several hours of continuous ex-
ertion the waste of nutriment is greater than
when the distance is short or the work soon
over and the abstinence might be regulated ac-
cordingly. For a long road the sooner a horse
is fit to begin his task after feeding the less will
he br exhausted at the end of it
To prevent u Jionic degree the. debility of ab-
stinence -alien the w.i forbids food it is not
nnsual I believe to give av.ic - or .;nt
Between the heats of a race a pint j sherry or
-o glasses of brandy may be given ii a quart
of water. The horse will drink it and I i0 not
know of any objection to such a practice. The
energy it inspires is over in about an hour and
it is not developed in less than ten minutes.
From ten to fifteen minutes before running is
therefore the proper time to give it; the horse
may ran in five but in that case the rau will
be over before the stimulant operates.
I have said that the only evil arising from
prolonged abstinence is exhaustion. Therv is
however one more and though of little conse
quence it deserves notice. When the stomach
is empty and the bowels containing very little
the horse is sometimes troubled with flatulence!
The bowels seem to contain a good deal of air.
They arc noisy; the horsa has slight intermit-
ting colicky pains which do not last above a
minute arc never violent and cease as the air
is expelled. I have never known this require
any particular treatment; hut a little spirits or
half a dose of the colic mixture removes it at
once.
Ij "Still they Come." Forty-eight thousand
jour uunuic-ji auu ninciy-iwo passengers from
foreign countries have arrived at New York
from the 1st January last to the 1st inst; being
340 more than arrived during the whole of lasl
3"ear and nearly double the number who arriv-
ed during the whole of 1838! AT. O. Pic
There are five things that look very awk-
ward in a man viz: to see him lift his hand to
a woman "save in the way of kindness;" to
see him put any single article of female appar
el on to his person; to see him forget all the
rest of the world and sit languishing at a sweet-
heart; to see him stick the lighted end of a ci-
gar in his mouth; and to see him "kiss frog
fashion.'' X. O. Pic
A court martial has pronouccd Captain
ilcAdam who shct Lieut Farquhar in Cana-
da blameless ; it wes done in self-defence.
He is still in prison however to be tried at
criminal law. lb.
Two jore of the Craft gome. The Fe-
liciana Whig of the 5th instrnt contains the
marriage of Mr. John -E. Paschal of Clinton
nnd the death of Mr. Thomas 8. Nesmith of
Bayou Sara both printers. lb.
The corn crop in England lias proved to be very!
ctundaut.
COMMUNICATIONS.
For the San Luis Advocate.
Our Country's Want and its Remedy.
Much has been said and written within the
last few years about Texas with a view to
bring its claims to the notice of those in other
lands whose anxious inquiry is "who will
show us any good ?'' Wealth and health and
rational liberty- and national dignity and do-
mestic peace and social order have all been
proposed as inducements to the aspiring and
enterprising of other countries to come and try
their fortunes here. Many have come; many
others are on their way ; while multitudes more
arc turning their attention towards us and are
pondering with deep solicitude the pledges we
have made.
Th&y arc pointed to the boundless sources of
Wealth and the facilities for their devclopc-
ment to the abounding means of subsistence
still dormant in our soil and waters and forests
and minerals and which only wait to be elicited
by the proper application of intelligence of in
dustry and capital. They are rcfercd to the
elements of social advancement already here
to the protection and security of a government
wisely modelled judiciously balanced and like
ly to be permanent to the germs of social and
religious institutions promising a healthful and
speedy maturity. What then it maybe asked
is wanting to bring to our country a swarming
population from abroad ; and to enable us to
redeem the pledges so liberally made; that
those who come shall not only meet with a cor
dial welcome but shall find a prosperous and
happy home ? Why should not our invitation
be accepted our pledges credited and our land
soon be every where occupied with crowded
cities and flourishing villages.and prolific farms
and busy fectories and smiling cottages and
with a prospsrous contented and happy peo-
ple? Now all this can be done and in a compar-
tively short time if the present population of
Texas sincerely desires it. I say if they sin-
cerely desire it ; because if they sincerely wish
it they will earnestly endeavor to secure the
object of their wishes. They will earnestly
seek for the appropriate means and when they
discover these they will faithfully apply them.
If they will but do this success is certain. Pait
of these means we already possess and all
arc A'ithin our reach. It remains for us to say
whether we will seek and secure the future and
permanent good and glory of our adopted
country by seeking and lightly employing all
the means at our command for making this
country all that can be reasonably desired.
The means already in our possession arc a
government tolerably well organized subject
to improvement or modification by ourselves
in whatever we may find it defective. An en-
terprising population an unusual amount of
educated mind in proportion to our numbers
and materials in limitless abundance for agri-
cultural manufacturing and commercial oper-
ations. But these arc not enough. A liberal
government and spirited industry and indomit-
able enterprise and untold resources are not
alone sufficient to secure permanent prosperity
and greatness and happiness to a people. Gen-
uine virtue must unite her aid. Such virtue as
leads men to respect all relative claims as
leads them to look at right before expediency.
Such virtue as derives its sanction from the will
of God rather than from the mere inclinations
or the theories of fallible men. This is the on-
ly virtue which can give the proper consistency
and tone to principle from which conduct must
take its tinge or be found some mere modifica
tion of selfishness. As coin however ligiti-
mate the stamp and beautiful the appearance
if its metal be base is counterfeit. So the con-
duct of men is but a spurious issue however
plausible externally whenever it cannot bear
the test of genuine virtue authenticated by the
stamp of legitimate principle. And this will
apply to the conduct of communities as well as
to that of individuals. The conduct of public
men or of whole communities as such in order
to be denominated virtuous must flow from the
same source as that of individuals. There is
but one rule of virtue and that is the will of
God the Judge of all the earth. However
that will may be revealed when ascertained it
becomes the ultimate rule of virtue to all subor-
dinate moral agents whether they act in a pub-
lic and social or in a private and individual
capacity. This we suppose will be admitted
by all who recognize God as the supremo Gov
ernor of the world however they may differ
in regard to that vexed theological question
viz: Whether certain things arc right because
God commands them to be done; or whether
he commands them to be done because they
are right. However this question may be re
garded by men we suppose it will be granted
on all hands that the nearer men are conform
cd to the will of God in their feelings their
principles and their conduct the more virtuous
they are.
Intelligence therefore to ascertain what vir
tue is and virtue itself or a disposition to do
what is right ; and to do all that is right in ev
ery relation must lie at the foundation of all
true permanent greatness of nations as well
as of individuals. A nation's prosperity must
depend upon the exertion and direction of the
intellect which it possesses. All physical ad
vantages could contribute nothing to a nation's
aggrandizement without the controlling power
of mind and this powerdircctcd to the devel-
opement of those physical advantages! Gov't.
is but a means by which or a channel through
which intellectual power operates. Wealth
and the sources of wealth are also but a means';
without mind they can accomplish nothing.
And so of physical energy and also of know-
ledge. AH these are but instruments potent
though they be yet mere instruments to be
weilded by the great agent mind. And yet
there is a higher and nobler power than that of
mere intellect It is the power of truth 'or of
virtue upon which depends wholly the legiti-
mate and proper and useful employment of all
those other necessary means. Truth or virtue
I is that efficacious moral power which must give
direction to the operations of mind whose ener-
gy must set and keep in motion all the subor-
dinate instrumentobilities which secure the
greatness or happiness of a people.
A knowledge therefore of the true end of
civil government of which we have so good a
model of the true uses as well as of the vari-
ois sources of wealth of the proper applica-
tion of physical nnd intellectual energy of
what true happiness is and a hearty approba-
tion of the will of God requiring an acknow-
ledgement of his claims to the chief place in the
regard of his creatures and a regard for the in-
terests of our fellow men similar to that which
we feel for our own is just the sort of intelli-
gence and virtue we need to make us a great a
prosperous and ajiappy people.
In short we want only intelligence and vir-
tue in order to preserve and improve our civil
religious social and domestic institutions and
to dcvclopc aud rightly employ the exhausllnss
resources of national greatness already at our
command. We want more of the right kind
of knowledge and a great deal more of the
right kind of virtue of that virtue which leads
men to seek not merely their own worldly good
but the permanent good of others which draws
them beyond the narrow sphere of selfishness
into the ample field of universal philanthropy
as only worthy of their nature.
And it may not be hazarding too much to 'af-
firm that without more general knowledge of
what constitutes the highest interests of a peo-
ple and a good deal more virtue than as yet
exists among us as a nation our government
instead of gaining strength and beauty nnd
harmony and permanency by age will speedily
become a poor decrepid rickety powerless
thing eliciting the ridicule and contempt of our
enemies exciting the scorn of tyrants and
asking the pity of the fi iends of rational liberty
throughout the woi Id.
How then arc these wants to be remedied?
Not surely by closing our eyes against theii
manifest obtrusion not by supinencss and
apathy on the part of those to whom the mould-
ing and control of public sentiment is cither
tacitly or formally confided. These wants
can never supply themselves with a remedy.
Delay of suitable effort to meet them promptly
will but enhance the difficulty of meeting them
in future. Vice and ignorance contain within
themselves no purifying or self-enlightening
element. The only tendency cf the former is
towards a total and pervading corruption of the
heart and life of the latter to an entire per-
version of every intellectual exertion to a ray-
less and palpable blindness of the whole men-
tal constitution. Nothing less than prompt and
positive and poweiful and well directed effort
on the part of those who at all appreciate these
pressing wants will avail to counteract these
deplorable tendencies of vice nnd ignorance.
And such efforts the people of Texas are call-
ed upon to make ; and such thej- must make
and the sooner the more successful other-
wise all the toil and treasure and blood which
their emancipation from civil and religious des-
potism has cost them will have been worse
than in vain. THEMIS.
S&!NI IMm &ETOMT!a
TUESDAY OCTOBER 13
18IO.
15 Publishers of newspapers w ho receive this num-
ber of the Advocate w ill confer a favor by placing our
name upon iheir exchange INt. Those in the U. States
willaddrcss their papers to the San Luis Advocate New
Orleans wncrctnev win oe receiveu. ann lOnvarCSS ;o
us at this place by ou r agent. This plan of having our
papers sent to us in J?ew Orleans has been adopted to
obviate some difficulties which ari'e from the inter-
change of the Tcxian and U. States mails at that city.
tjf Rob't. J. C.M.Dr.n of Brazoria is the authorized
agent for the Advocate in Brazoria county.
1-Damei. J. Toller Esq. is the authorized agent for
the Advocate at 'Washington.
IQr James CoorEu Eq. is the agent for the Advocate
at Independence Washington County.
JOWe arc authorized to announce ROB'T.
F. CLEMENT as a candidate for County
Clerk of Brazoria Cotintv.
ECfWe are authorized to announce WM.
G. I1TLL as a candidate for Sheriff of Brazoria
County at the next election.
lEf Wc arc authorized to announce ROB'T.
J. CALDER Esq. as a candidate for Sheriff
of Brazoria county at the next election.
s Foreign Intelligence.
By late arrivals at New York intelligence is received
of the still unsrtllcd slate of European matters. The
difficulty between France and England continues to fur-
nish a ilicmc for speculation and rumor. The belter
opinion seems to be that not active hostilities will be
commenced as was anticipated. A convention of the
two Powers is proposed to be held at Vienna in order
to adjust the controversy. Louis Napoleon is a prison
er strictly guarded. The French House of Peers is to
be convened forthwith for his trial. A correspondent
of- the Evening Star and Times states that General
Hamilton will immediately on his return from Belgl
um proceed to negotiate a treaty with Lord Palmcrsom
as agent of this government; and further represents the
prospect of his procuring the loan as exceedingly flat
tering neither statement do we believe. Advices ie-
ceived in New Orleans from Matamoros contain the
threat that Arista intends to make his winter quarters
at San Patricio or Live Oak Point; nnd that the Tex-
iansinallprobabilityareso:ntohcarlhe"thundcrofhis Artillery-" Intelligence from (he Federal Camp which
we give to day puts rather a different aspect on the mat-
tcr and indicates ihc probability that it will require more
than all his exertions can accomplish to sustain himself
among his domestic enemies. The Eastern difficulty is
still unsettled. Wc hear nothing further of the Maine
Boundary matter.
The Austin City Gazette contains an account cf the
arrest of a man by the name of Nesler who has made
some disclosures calculated to lead to a discovery as to
the 37000 package which some time since mysteriously
disappeared from the Treasurers office.
The Steam Packet Columbia is advertised in the
Orleans papers for Havannah. She will no longer run
in the Texas trade. The Savannah is expected to leave
New Orleans for Galveston on the 15 th inst.
Three or four vessels have lately arrived in Galves-
ton bringing ihc usual quantity of goods provisions
passengers &c.
33 We are requested to state lhat; the Ferries at this
place are now under the management of one who will
take every care that attention and effort can aOord to
secure to the pnblica certain facility in crossing the
two passes. Travellers horse cattle and stock drivers
tuj VJ Ufuu niv .t-tlUMllJ V Ln.lil 11UKIUUC( Ul Utl
times when the difficulties which are to be overcome
t51f rolw lnnn thn fliirtiinlitnTtMiin) imt-mA nifar n( ill
can be surmounted. Ji .
- 'ia -lS.
-f.jJlL?!2
unswm Honwr Tr"!
We would respectluliy suggest to tnc Wj-wnlaiivcs
and senators in our next congress the propriety 0f re-
pealing that portion of our revenue laws which at pre-
sent renders it nccessarv for the shinncr of -roods i ho
furnished with a consular certificate by which the value
pi the goods are to be estimated. As ib&J&S' now
stands it is requisite that the importer exhibit at
the Custom-house an invoice of his goods stating their
price and verify it by oath ; and it mu& also be acchm
panied by a certificate of the consaVat the port -whence'
the goods were shipped if thgf e be one representing the
'nrm.n fAct In 1a the ficnl ihhfL-. T.r.in nf .it.n .l into.
in such port. In default of such document the goods
arc to be seized and forfeited. If there be no consul at
the port where the goods are shipped then notwithstand-
ing the value or cost is sworn to by the importer three
or more appraisers arc to be appointed by the collector
who are to value the shipment and are to be paid $15 a
day. (Such is our recollection of the law as it now ex-
ists. Wc depend on memory and may errin our repre-
sentation of some of its features. The copy of the laws
of the last congress which wc have received owing to
a mistake in the binder does not contain the laws from
pages 32 to 50 j but in lieu thereof is substituted a dupli-
cate copy of pages from 97 to 113.) This law we deem
oppressive in its operation and anti-commercial in its
character. Wc know of no'other country wheie asim-
ilar regulation exists except the United States; and in
that country the law has slept as a dead letter on their
statute booki from the period of its enactment in 1823
(we think) until awakened into energy by a late letter
of the secretary of the treasury. In England France
and Spain particularly the Island or Cuba so far as we
have had access to their commercial regulations we
have not been able to discover that any similar restric-
tive measures are in use. The object of this law is it
is urged to prevent peculations and frauds on the reven-
ue in those ca'es where an ad valorem duty is laid.
But if such is the case and the certificate is sufficient
to guard against fraud wherefore the necessity of the
oath 1 Why not simply rely upon the authentication of
the imoicc by the certificate and omit the affidavit al-
together. In case of a difference between the certificate
and the invoice and affidavit no respect is to be paid to
the latter but the goods are seized and the merchant is
the sufferer. It is first demanded of the importer to
swear to the prime cost of his importations and then
the unsanctioned and merely formal certificate of a con-
sular agent is permitted to contradicltlm solemn declar-
ation: when it is possible that ihc goods may have cost
less than the consul might have thought they were worth.
Upon such loose and slender representation of an irres-
ponsible foreign agent a whole cargo purchased and
shipped in good faith may be seized and forfeited to
the government. Is it right is it proper is it just that
the official representation of the opinion of the consul
upon a subject of which he is not capable nor has the
materials of obtaining accurate and minute information
to be taken against the certain and definite knowledge
of the shipper "i who is warned too from misrepresenta-
tion or prevarication by the obligations of an oath; du-
plicity in -which will not only lose hiin his property
but subject him to all the pains and penalties of perjury?
Of a verity our legislature must estimate the morals of
our mercantile coinmunityata very low rate when they
permit such a mere scintilla of evidence to out-weigh
the solemn declarations of our merchants.
But it is said that the temptation to increased gains
presented in lhcsaving of the duties by a diminution in
the price of the article may induce the merchant to sub-
stitute a false for a true invoice ; and that the necessity
to be furnished with a consul's certificate will be a check
on this disposition to fraud. This argument would
pei haps be the stronger if all men or at least all im
porters were knaves and scoundrels. But even then if
all mankind were obnoxious to this censure as the con-
sulship does not and can cannot invest any one with
an immaculate characterconsnls themselves wouldjhave
to be reckoned in the same category. If the temptation
tu gain would be so great as to make the merchant falsi
fy his oath by a division of the profit in the shape of
a bribe the consul might be induced to participate in the
fraud; particularly as his agency would consist only
in his signing his name to a formal paper and he would
have no risk to run by the way of forfeiture of goods.
But an argument founded on the total corruption of our
nature and the dishonesty of mankind in general must
always be false: and a policy which requires such ar-
guments to sustain it must be likewise false It is much
nearer the truth and far more agre?;We to consider
the merchant and Hie official equally honest and not
disposed to sacrifice virtue honesty and principle to the
slightest temptations or to the hope of acquiring the
smallest gains. And when it is remembered that if
the whole duty on the goods within the enumeration of
those for the protection of which this provision of the
law is advocated were entirely evaded by the shipper
his increased gains by this manoeuvre would not ex-
ceed 15 per cent in Texas money or three dollars in
the hundred good money: the argument against which
wc arc contending will be diminished to a very insig-
nificant weight indeed ; and must presuppose a remark-
able obliquity and perverseness in the moral constitution
of man that loves dishonesty for dishonesty's sake
upon which such a small temptation could have the in-
fluence to make him forget station character honor all
that men hold most valuable for the pelt hope of mak-
! ii.TTT """ ""' """a his investments and this gained
too by the violation of his conscience and the forfei-
ture of his oath.
There is another reason why the present regulation
is inefficient in working out the ends which its advo-
cates argue it proposes to attain. Consuls are not neces-
sarily merchants. Nay in some countries France for
instance it is absolutely prohibited for them to engage
in commerce. In Great Britain it is permitted lo them
to be engaged in trade in some places in others it is not
The better policyseemsto be to prohibit them altogether
from carrying on the business of a merchant. The du
tics of a consul are so multifarious and important are
so ramified and extensive as tu require the whole of
his time to comply with its exactions ; and but little op
portunity is afforded him to attend to the details of a
trading establishment. Bat it will be perceived under
our law it-is necessary in order to give the consuls cer-
tificate any approximation whatever to certainty or cor
rectness relative to the value of goods that he should
be acquainted with the market value of every thing im
ported into the country. He must be familiar with the
current selling price at wholesale and retail of cam
brics and cotton bagging needles and augurs silks and
axes Hour and assafictida spirits and books hardware
and calicoes gunpowder and calomel and of every oth
er article within the whole range of commercial trans
actions in order to ccnify to the real prices of merchan
dize at the port where they were furnished. Otherwise
he is'subject to make an incorrect representation and
must gather his information if he has any from others
who arc unknown and irresponsible to the government
No merchant pretends to makes himself intimately
acquainted with the traffic and trade and price of ar
ticles of every kind in the market. The best informed
know accurately the character of the trade &c. of but
few of them: and it is impossible that any one should
make himself acquainted villi that of them all. The
consequence is then thai (he consul when seeking for
uiu. m uiujmu uui ui ccrii'icau: uiiu. rcij ' not upon nis
own knowledge but upon a "Price Current:" and in
fact if he examines an invoice with critical care with
a design to correct errors or detect frauds he will doit
by the aid and assistance of this most ordinary and most
familiar source of informaiion. But this price current
is as accessible to the collector at the port where the
goods are landed as it is to the consul ; and it is as easy
for him when suspicion is excited that goods have been
under priced to refer to it for information as it is for
the consul to do the same thing. In a word we think
this matter should be left to the vigilence and intelligence
of the collector of the customs who is as ally qualified
to detect frauds as the consul and whose attention will
I IIVl W. v mj v vvuiuiuiuij mu a va b wu
ohis scrutiny and care the corroboration of the ship-1
not be an extra tax on the community. And if we add
'pcrsoath wc think that at least as ample security is I
furnished against frauds on the revenue as any that the
troublesome and expensive certificate of a consul can
supply.
If we donot very much over estimale the force of the
above reasoning we think wc have shown thisprovision
of th; law to be unnecessary and useless in attaining the
objec's it was designed to effect. It is our farther opin-
ion that it is oppressive upon us as a tax inconvenient
and impolitic. -' "
Foar dollars must be paid iaevery instance by every
shipper; for the consul's certificate if he would save his
goods.from forfeiture. Thir amount is Liken fiom ihc
individual and'substractcd from the general amount of
the circulating medium in the country (scarce enough
at best in all conscience) which should be husbanded
by.erery honest means that ingenuity can devise. By
the last Columbia wc understand there were sixty ship-
pers. For that one voyage of that one packet $210 were
paid by (he citizens of this country to a consular resiv
dent in New Orleans forsigninghfanamcand affixing
his seal to a piece of paper containing ndf more than a
dozen printed lines. . The .amount ofRoncy brought
into this country by every vessel .thafarrji cs is dimin-
ished by the operation of this measure an the searciiy
of that article rendered the greater. Money which goes
not to enrich our citizens nor to benefit our government
in any particular but which is expended in payment to
an official for a trifling act and a useless formality.
in consequence or our vicinity to New Orleans the
facility of comnfunication with it and the intimacy in
trade which has sprung up between this country and that
port it has been the place from which nearly all our sup-
plies arc procured and upon whi ch wc mainly depend
for our purchased necessaries and comforts. In fact it
is to us on the coast onr trading town where we do our
shopping. Wc have found this relation a great conven
ience from the ease with which goods provisions &c.
may be obtained their greater cheapness and the super-
ior quality of those thus obtained. But this convenience
and this economical arrangement is now destroyed. To
compel one to pay four dollars extra for every little bill
he may wish to have filled will in the coarse oi a year
amount lo a considerable and onerous because useles
tax. In order to avoid it it is necessary for us to pur-
chase our merchandize from the large dealer lo pay a
higher price get an inferior quality or go without them-
Again we think the law impolitic as its opcrati on is
to encourage the large and destroy the small importers.
The wholesale merchant brings in his goods and sells
them by ihc package or the quantity to the retail deal-
er who vends them to the community. The wholesale
trader must have his profits ihc retailer must have his
profits and thus the consumer is compelled io pay dou-
ble profits. Now any legislation which seeks lo encour
age one class of business or trade at the expense of
anomcr is in general unwise. The essence or a coun-
try's industry is freedom from legislative interference.
Let business rise naturally of itself attempt not to force
it. If it will not succeed without calling in the aid of
the legislature it is.not worthy to succeed. The answer
of the statesman and economist tohis sovrcign's enquiry
what he could do to assist the industry of his kingdom
was " let it take its own way." Such is our opinion.
The effort to encourage the large dealer and to discour-
age or shackle the small dealer is not in accordance
with the nature of thing- in the present state of our
country. It is a forced and constrained policy warring
against the present and is sure to redound lo the inj ury
ofthe future interests of the country. Honest trade de-
sires nothing but the liberty lo exercise its own energies
and its own enterprise. Lea7e it free to act in these par-
ticulars and it is a blessing. Hamper restrain and
trammel it by oppressive regulations attempt to force
unnatural channels or channels uncalled for by the
exigencies of society and it becomes the means of
oppression and an evil. The secret of industry is in
competition. Open wide its doors and give a welcome
to all who choose to enter.
" Hie patet ingeniis campus ; ccrtusque mcrcnti
Stat favor; ornatur propriis industria donts."
'For these reasons and for others of a similar charac
ter springing from the same train of thought we recom
m-nd a repeal of that portion of our revenue law.
Legal Kcfunn.
Wearcdesirousto direct the attention of our readers
to the article Mith the above caption published in our
colnmns to day from the American Jurist. Let noni
be deterred from the reading of it by the unattractive
nature of the subjects or by its great length. It will
amply reward attention and repay for the time employ-
ed in its perusal. If there is any subject which should
be familiar to the thoughts of aW the people in a popu
lar government it is the law and its administration; for
itacts upon all regulates the interests of all ; and as all
are though indirectly the law makers being ilie source
of power it is to the people we arc to look to reiorm
abuses and correct errors wherever they are found to
exist in any thing connected with the well being of the
country. Upon no inbject should the minds of men
unite more zealously in that portion of the noble prayer
of Ajax
"give Jir. TO SF.E"
tahnon every thing connected with the legal department
of the government and its code of municipal laws.
Law as a subject of reflection and study should not be
looked upon by the plainest man in community as some-
thing foreign to him and his pursuits or as a mailer
which he cannot and should not understand. It is c
subject which all should be interested in contemplating
for it comes home to the business and bosoms of ail-
None are lree from is power SZi ZCZZSW move with-
out obedience to its dictates. Its decrees reach alike the
Exccutire and the beggar the hero and the coward the
lofty mansion of the opulent and the humble cabin'of
the laborer. All of ihc rights most dear to us are guar-
ranticd and guarded by the laws. All titles lo property
are derived from and mantained by the laws. There is
not a temporal blessing we enjoy which docs not derive
its origin or security from the laws. By it the husband
and father possess the rights of these relations. By it
the rich man is secured in his possessions and protect-
edfrom the designs oftheabandoncd. Under its foster-
ing favor the poor man is shielded from the "oppressors
wronsr.and proud man's contumely;" and on his little
tract of ground or in his lonely dwelling nestlingbeside
the mansion of the great feels safe from the lawlessness
of power or wealth or influence or host of friends.
"And in that humble dwelling perhaps dilapidated Tmd
fallinc to pieces" to use the sublime illustration of an
Irish Orator "the rain may enter the storm may enter
the winds of Heaven and the blessed sunshine may en-
ter; but thank God! the King can't enter." It is his cas-
tle. THE LAW PROTECTS IT. Such is its uni-
versality none are so high as to be above its power;
none so humble as to be below its reach. It goes with
ns when we wake and guards us when we sleep. It at-
tends ns in our journies and waits on us in oar pleas-
ures. It floats in the atmosphere we breathe. All the
modifications of social life its ramified interests and its
varied relations it guides sustains sopports and con
trols.
The want of room prevents us from making remarks
wc had intended connected immediately with the sub-
ject of the article which we have commended to the
readers notice. We will return to the subject ere long-
By the schr. Wasp capt. Thompson which arrived at
onr port from the Federal camp (Corpus Christr on
the 9th inst. wc learn that Gcn'l Canales had captured
Generals' Varquzand Reyes together" with 300 men
and six pieces ot artillery and all their camp equipments.
Canales was in pursuit of Arista who being so closely
pursued was compelled to throw away hisbaggage &c.
There were only 100 men at Metamoras and the people
were anxious for the Federalists to take possesion of
the city. Three hundred of Arista's men while in
camp had mutinied and declared io favor of the Feder-
alists bat were all made prisoners.
The Britania and British Queen both made extraor-
dinary short' passages in their last voyages to Europe.
The one left Halifax on lhe4th of August and arrived
at Liverpool on tne 14th ; the other departed from New
York on the first and arrived at Portsmouth on the 13th.
Business is beginning loreyive in New Orleans.
mrT- VMai.i-.i.aii KKjrifHrvn .
If there he any at the preseitday-w
Here that the science of law isaportcticJf-
of human wisdom in the literal Atnf the'
words we do not'asktbem tori
iJ9-onlial1M
P-
lows ; for we know it would befuseles But
for our part while we avow otuvprofc-and ad-
miration of many parti of .trrecommon law we
cannot help believing that it has glaring defects.
When we consider howiit became what it is we
should conclude a priSft that such must be the
fact. Admitting that mankind are crowing
wiser from generation to generation howis it
possioie mat rules and maxims anaupf
which grew out of the circumstances of dark
and barbarous age should be suited tojhe pres-
ent time 1 Will not a total change in the hab
its manners opinions and political instita-
Jions of a people-make a corresponding change
necessary in their legal rights and LdfiLes ? We
think that these-questions adrn.it of but one an-
swer: and consenucntlv that anv nroiect of le
gal reform carries a presumtive expediency up
on its tace which entitles it at lejst to a hear-
ing. The subject is a vast and momentous
one well worthy of the ablest pens n our
country. The laws by which we are governed
affect so intimately all our relations and inter-
ests that a single defect in the system from the
universality of its operations swells into a
stupendous cvt In the United states to form
a true estima' if a legal abuse we must mul-
tiply its effect i. a particular instance by four-
teen millions and anon by still more.- The
means of legal refcrm are as simple as the pro
ject is plausible. Every state has a body of
men elected and paid for this very purpose.
To amend a constitution is always a difficult
and ofterrdangerous attempt But nothing is
easier than to amend or repeal an old law or
enact a new one. We do not ask our legisla-
tures to extirpate the common law but only to
prune it. We want more of the lexscripla and
less of the lex non scripla. The boldest minds
might well shrink from the task of supplying
by legislation an entire substitute for the whole
body of common law; but while the system as
a whole is retained its parts may be altered
without danger or difficulty. This is all we
wish to suggest. And while we think reform
demanded in a great variety of particulars we
shall confine ourselves in the present article to
one class of personal actions namely actions
ex contractu.
Our doctrine is that the three actions of con-
tract at present recognized namely debt cove-
nant and assumpsit may easily and safely be
reduced to one general action of contract.
If such a consolidation can be affected with-
out harm it is certainly desirable because the
law would thus be simplified to an immense
extent. Let us sec then how it can be done.
1. A law might advantageously be passed
abolishing the use of seals in private contracts;
which would at once annihilate the substantial
distinction between covenant and assumpsit.
2. A la w might advantageously be passed dc-
declnringthat in all cases where debt covenant
or assumpsit would lie the proposed action of
contract should lie and should be the only ac-
tion. 'Let us examine the first proposition as to
the abolition of seals. This we are sensible
will startle those who have not reflected" upon
the matter. But if they will follow us through
a short discussion on the subject of seals we
are confident they will come over to our side.
First then what is a seal in the eye of the
common law. Let its great oracle answer:
1 Sigillum est cera impressa qua cera sine im-
press ione non est sigillum? (3 Inst. 1G9.)
Thus saith Lord Coke: 'A seal is wax im-
pressed because wax without impression Unot-
a seal.' But these requisites teax and impres-
sion arc already dispensed with in manyof the
states particularly the Western and accord-
ing to Chancellor Kent the great virtue of a
seal is thereby destroyed. ' In the Western
states the impression upon wax has been dis-
used to such an extent as to inducethc courts
to allow a flourish with the pen at the end of
the name or a circle of ink or scroll to be a
valid substitute for a seal. This is destroying
the character of seals and it is in effect abolish-
ing them and with them the definition of a deed
or speciality and all distinction between writ-
ings scaled and writings not sealed.' (-1 Com
1 lo.) The encroachment here complained of
upon the venerable difinition of a seal is not
as above intimated the mere effect of usage.
The legislature of Ohio has bad the hardihood
to enact in so many words 'that in all cases
where a seal is required by fclw to be affixed to
any instrument of writin3Whc seal so re-
quired is not specific a seat either of wax wa-
fer or of ink commonly called a scrawl seal
shall be alike valid and sufficient.' (29 O. L.
349.) Now although wc regret that the effect
of such an enactment is not what Chancellor
Kent asserts namely the annihilation of the
distinction between writings sealed and unseal-
ed ; yet we know the fact to be that the same
legal consequences follow in the west from ma
king a scrawl as elsewhere from the most or
thodox seal. The truth is mat tne legislature
of Ohio not wishing at once to make so great
an inroad upon the common law as to abolish
seals and all their consequences and yet being
convinced that the formality of sealing was ut-
terly useless at the best judiciously determined "
to make it as little troublesome- as possible.
Now a flourish of-the pen is the easiestapolo-
trv that could be made for a seal : and the very
fact that it answers all the legal purposes of a
seal proves how utterly insignmcant seats are.
Let ns now look into the history of seals artd
see if this view doe not lead to a similar con-
clusion. We take the acconnt ajfen by Black-
stone. 'The method of the-Saxons was for
such as could write to subscribe their names ;
and whether they could write or not to affix
the sign of the cross; which custom our illite-
rate vulgar doforthemost pari to this day keep
up by signing a cross for their mark when un-
ablefi?write their nam4JSey tbjsiejs aoiw
sense in this and itfrjereases our respect for
our stem qldJfllUSks tore to know that
while they eviuced their refijjpus feeling by
signing the cross they did tot originate the
empty punctilio of scalirjg-" But the account
continues : ' In like manner and for the same
unsurrriQtintablereasonthe Normans a brav
but illiterate nation at their first settlement
France. ied the practice of sealing only wit-
nut writbts their names : which custom contin
ued 'when learning made its way among them
Ihntitrh A." rewtnn. for dmnit had Ceased. At
the Connuest the Norman lords broug? t
into this kingdom their own fashions ;
troduccd waxen seals only instead of
;-
glish method of writing their names and signing
with the sign of the cross. And in the reign of
Edward Iaevery freeman and even such of the
more substantial villeins as were-fit to be put
upon juries had their particular seals.' (2 Bl.
Com. 305 6.) Now.here we have the trre or-
igin of seals. The Hermans used them be-
cause they could not write and in order that
tbey might be of some effect each had his own
distinctive seal. This made a signature unne-
cessary even when he could write. An instru-
ment was sufficiently authenticated and identi-
fied by the seal alone. But as soon as men
could write according to Blackstone's own ad-
mission the reason for using bcals ceased.
This admission covers our whole ground.
There is no shadow of reason for retaining
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Durnett, S. J. San Luis Advocate (San Luis, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 7, Ed. 1, Tuesday, October 13, 1840, newspaper, October 13, 1840; San Luis, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth79934/m1/2/?q=%22%22~1&rotate=0: 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.