390 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER; AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY JOURNAL, 
I 
ROCHESTER, DECEMBER 5, 1850. 
Local Agents* 
James Van Horn, Ovid; also general agent fcr 
South Jury District of Seneca county. 
S. E. Norton, Phelps, Ontario county. 
E. Hopkins, Lyons, Wayne county. 
B. Farr and H. Goodrich, Albion. 
Samuel Heston, Batavia. 
R. B. Warren, Alabama, Genesee county. 
Theodore Dickinson, Newark, Wayne county. 
Silsby & Keeler, Seneca Falls. 
A. R. Frisbie, Clyde, Wayne county. 
Wm. Richey & O. A. Graves, Watertown, Jeff. co. 
John Harris, Sheldrake, Seneca county. 
Archibald Stone, Hinmanville, Oswego county. 
E. W. Fairchild, East Bloomfield, Ontario county. 
G. N. Sherwood, Camillus, Onondaga county. 
C. B. Dickinson and P. Parks, Victor, Ontario Co. 
J. W. Reed, Lockport, Niagara county. 
J. M. Trowbridge, Pekin, “ “ 
JohnB. Lowell, Yates, Orleans county. 
H. S. Frisbie, Holley, “ “ 
L. A. Morse, Knowlesville, “ “ 
M. Scott, Arcadia, Wayne county. 
T. Cunningham, Mohawk, Herkimer county. 
Andrew Sill, Livonia, Livingston county. 
E. C. Bliss, Westfield, Chautauque county. 
J. I. Eacker, Sheridan, " “ 
J. C. Sherman, New Baltimore, Greene county. 
L. D. Branch, Trumansburg, Tompkins county. 
W. K. Wyckoff, Lodi, Seneca Co. 
O. B. Scott, Woodville, Jefferson Co. 
B. F. Adams, Bridgeport, Mad. Co. 
M. Parke, P. M. Clifton Springs. 
W. G. La,cy, Scottsville, Monroe county. 
C. Moore, Gerry, Chautauque county. 
Orlando White, Farmington. 
W. L. Palmer, Syracuse—Publishing Agent. 
Back numbers from April, containing all of Prof. 
Johnston’s Lectures, can yet be supplied. 
The President’s Message-— Congress. 
We give the message to our readers this week 
to the exclusion of a portion of our usual variety, 
but as it is a matter of permanent and general in¬ 
terest we think none will have occasion to com¬ 
plain. 
In relation to its character, a reference to the 
document itself will satisfy those interested, far 
better than anything we have time or room to say. 
— The Senate met at 12 o’clock on Monday— 
thirty members present They organized and ap¬ 
pointed Senators Berrien and Dickinson to act 
with a like committee of the House to wait on tlie 
President. 
The House assembled at the same time, 160 
members present,—and was organized and Com¬ 
mittee appointed. The joint Committees reported 
the President ready to communicate with the 
houses, and five minutes after, the message was 
received and read by the Secretary. 
Our Premium List 
The Publisher of the Rural New-Yorker 
respectfully directs the attention of Post-Masters, 
Agents, Subscribers, and all other friends of this 
paper, to the List of Premiums on next page. It 
will be observed that the inducements offered for 
exertions in behalf of the Rural, are, to say the 
least, not inferior to those made by any similar 
journal. And, when the limited age and circula¬ 
tion of the New-Yorker is considered, in compar¬ 
ison with the long established literary weeklies and 
agricultural monthlies who have offered premiums, 
those interested will perceive at once that our list 
of prizes is altogether the most liberal and valuable. 
That the premiums can be more easily secured 
where there are but few competitors, needs no 
argument. 
— Many of our readers say that the New- 
Yorker will and must advance without any pre¬ 
miums—that its agents and friends will use their 
e'xertions without any such stimulus;—but we pre¬ 
fer to reward, so far as we can, those who devote 
a portion of their time and influence in behalf of 
the work. The premiums we offer are valiiable. 
We do not propose to insult our friends by gravely 
asserting that we will give each subscriber, in ad¬ 
dition to the paper, a picture or book worth double 
the money he may pay!—for no publisher ever has 
or can afford'to do any such thing. The transpa¬ 
rent humbug, started in Philadelphia we believe, 
of giving an engraving which costs from three to 
t%Del'»e and a half cents, as a dollar or two dollar 
premium, is as ridiculous as it is insulting to intel¬ 
ligent men. In most cases these “ splendid en¬ 
gravings," “ got up at an enormous expense,” 
turn out like the portrait of Gen. Taylor, given 
as a premium to each subscriber by a Now York 
city paper, and declared to be “ richly worth the 
whole price of subscription.” We once possessed 
this remarkable treasure—an ordinary wood engra¬ 
ving, not worth the postage to which such intrin¬ 
sically valuable documents are subjected—and not 
equal, as a work of art, to the Portrait of Gen. 
Taylor which has already appeared in the New- 
Yorjter, whose future numbers will contain other 
engravings equally excellent and costly. 
We endeavor to make our paper worth some¬ 
thing over its price to every subscriber, but shall 
not attempt to secure their favor or support by de¬ 
ception—much less by so flimsy an artifice as that 
which the Quaker City publishers have introduced 
and others adopted. 
Painful Accident. —Three carpenters putting 
up the cornice of a house in Adams st, on Satur¬ 
day, were precipitated some 20 feet by the falling 
of tlie scaffold. One of them saved himself by 
jumping in at a window. Henry Luxford struck 
a poet in his fall, breaking four of his ribs, and oth¬ 
erwise injuring him. A young lad, son of John 
Works, broke his thigh. A young man whose 
name we have not learned, received a severe 
wound in the head. Dr. Avery attended to the 
fractures, and reports them doing well. 
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE. 
{^Concluded from page 387.) 
For further suggestions on this subject and oth¬ 
ers connected with our domestic interests and the 
defence of our frontier. I refer you to the n'port ot 
the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of 
War. 
I commend also to your favorable consideration 
the suggestion contained in the last mentioned 
report, and in the letter of the general-in-chief, 
relative to the establishment of an asylum for the 
relief of disablad and destitute soldiers. This 
subject appeals so strongly to your sympathies 
that it would be superfluous in me to say anything 
more than barely to express my cordial approba¬ 
tion of the proposed object. 
The Navy continues to give protection to our 
commerce and other national interests in the dif¬ 
ferent quarters of the globe, and. with the excep¬ 
tion af a single steamer on the Northern Lakes, 
the vessels in commission are distributed in six 
different squadrons. 
The Report of the head of that Department 
will exhibit the services of these squadrons, and 
of the several vessels employed in each during 
the past year. It is a source of gratification that! 
while they have been constantly prepared for any 
hostile emergency, they have every where met 
with the respect and courtesy, due as well to the 
dignity as to the peaceful dispositioas and just 
purposes of the nation. 
The two hrigantinFS accepted by the Government from 
a generous citizen of New York, and rained under the 
cooimand of ail officer of the navy, to prcceed to the 
Arctic iSeasin quest of the iiriiish comraancer. Sir John 
Friinklin, and his comp.inions, in compliance with the 
act of Congress, approved in May lari, had, when lust 
heard from, penetiated into a high northern latitude, but 
the success of this noble and humane enterprise is yet 
uncertain. 
1 invite your attention to the view of our pres 
ent navai establishment and resources presented 
in the report of the Secretary of the Navy, and 
the suggestions therein made for its improvement, 
together with the naval policy recommended for 
the security of our Pacific coast, and the protec¬ 
tion and extension of our commerce with Eastern 
Asia. Our facilities for a larger participation in 
the trade of the East, by means of our recent set¬ 
tlements on the shores of the Pacific, ate too ob¬ 
vious to be overlooked or disregarded. 
The questions in relation to rank in the army and na¬ 
vy, and relative rank between officers of the two lirauch- 
es of the service, presented to the liiecutive by certain 
resolutions of the House of Bcprcscnlaiives, at the Iasi 
session of Congress, have been submiiicd to a board of 
officers in eaoh branch of the service, and their report 
maybe expected at an early day. ' 
1 also earnestly recommend the enactment of a 
law authorizing officers of the army and navy to 
be retired from the service, when incompe'ent for 
its vigorous and active dut es, taking care to make 
suitable provision for those who have faithfully 
served their country, and awarding distinctions,by 
retaining in appropriate commands those who 
have been particularly conspicuous for gallantry 
aud good conduct. 
While the obligation of the country to main¬ 
tain and honor those who, to the exclusion of oth¬ 
er pursuits, have devoted themselves to its ardu¬ 
ous service, this oDligation should not be permit¬ 
ted to interlere witii the efficiency of the service 
itself. 
I am gratified in being able to state, that the es¬ 
timates of expenditure for the navy in the ensuing 
year are less, by more than one million of dollars, 
than those of the present, excepting the appropria¬ 
tion which may become necessary for the con¬ 
struction of a dock on the coast of the Pacific, 
prop sitions for which are now being considered, 
and on which a special report may be e.xpeeted 
early in-j'our present session. 
There is an evident justness in the suggestion of 
the same report, that appropriations for the naval 
service proper should be separated from those for 
fixed and permanent objects, such as building 
docks and navy yards, and the fixtures attached; 
and from the extraordinary objects under the care 
of the Department which, however important, are 
not osseniially naval. 
A revision of the code for the government of the 
navy seems to require the immediate consideration 
of Congress. Its system of crimes and punishments 
had undergone no change for half a century, until 
the last session, though its defects have been often 
ably pointed out, and the abolition of a particular 
species of corporal punishment, which then took 
place, without providing any substitute, has left 
the service in a state of defectiveness, which calls 
for prompt correction. I therefore recommend that 
the whole subject be revised without delay, and 
such a system established for the enforcement of 
discipline, as shall be at once humane and effectual. 
The accompanying report of the Postmaster General, 
presents a satisfactory view of the operations and condi¬ 
tion of that Department. 
At the close of the last fiscal year, the length of tlic in¬ 
land mail routes iu the United Slates (not embracing the 
service in Oregon and California) wa.s one hundred and 
seventy-eight thousand six hundred and iweiiiy-two 
miles; the annual transportation thereon forty-si.x mill¬ 
ion five hundred and forty-one thousand four hundred and 
twenty-three miles ; and the annual cost of such transpor¬ 
tation two millions seven hundred and twenty-four thou¬ 
sand four hundred and twenty-six dollars. 
The increase of the annual transportation over 
that of the preceding year, was three millions nine 
hundred and ninety-seven thousand three hundred 
and fifty-four miles, and the increase in cost was 
three.hundred and forty-two thousand four hun¬ 
dred and forty dollars. 
The number of post offices in the United States, 
on the first day of July last, was eighteen thou¬ 
sand four hundred and seventeen—being an in¬ 
crease of sixteen hundred and seveniy during the 
preceding year. 
The gross revenues of thejDepartraent for the fis¬ 
cal year ending June 30th, 1850, am-iunted to five 
millions five hundred and fifty-two ihousand nine 
hundred and seventy-one dollars and forty eight 
cents, including the annual appropriation of two 
hundred thousand dollars for the franked matiei 
of the departments, and cxcludirg the foreign 
postages collected lor ..i.u ayable to the British 
Gov rnnient. 
The expendituree for the same period were five 
millions two hundred and twelve thousand nine 
hundred and fifty-three dollars and lorly-three 
cents—leaving a balance of revenue over expen¬ 
ditures, of three hundred and forty thousand and 
eighteen dollars and five cents. 
I am happy to find that the fiscal condition of 
the Department is such as to justify the Postmaster 
General in recommending the reduction of our in¬ 
land letter postage to three cents the single letter 
when prepaid, and five cents when not prepaid.— 
He also recommends that the prepaid rate shall be 
reduced to two cents whenever the revenues of the 
Depai'tment, after the reduction, shall exceed its 
expenditures by more than five per cent, for two 
consecutive years; that the postage upon California 
and other letters sent by our ocean steamers shall 
be much reduced; and that the rates of postage on 
newspapers, pamphlets, periodicals and oiher 
printed matter shall be modified, and some reduc¬ 
tion thereon made. 
It cannot be doubted that the proposed reduc¬ 
tions will, for the present, diminish the revenues 
of the Department. It is believed that the defi¬ 
ciency, after the surplus already accumulated shall 
be exhausted, may be almost wholly met, either by 
abolishing the existing privileges of sending free 
matter through the mails, or by paying out of the 
Treasury to the Post Office Department a sum 
equivalent to the postage of which it is deprived 
by such privileges. ’Phe last is supposed to be 
tlie preferable mode, and will, if not eiitiiely, so 
nearly supply that deficiency as to make any fur¬ 
ther appropriation that may be found necessary so 
inconsiderable as to form no obstacle to the propo¬ 
sed reduction. 
1 entertain no doubt of the authority of Con¬ 
gress to make appropriations for leading objects 
in that class of public works comprising what are 
usually called works of internal improvement — 
This authority I suppose to be derived chiefly 
from the power of regulating commerce with fo¬ 
reign nations, and among the States, and the 
power of laying and collecting imposts. Where 
commerce is to be carried on, and imposts collect¬ 
ed, there must be ports and harbors, as well as 
wharves and custom-houses. If ships, laden 
with valuable cargoes, approach the shore, or 
sail along the coast, light-houses are necessary at 
suitable points for the protection of life and pro¬ 
perly. Other facilities and securities for com¬ 
merce and navigation are hardly less important ; 
and those clauses of the Constitution, therefore,to 
which I have referred, have received from the ori¬ 
gin of the Government a liberal and beneficial 
construction. Not only have light-houses, 
buoys, and b aeons been established, and floating 
lights maintained, but harbors have been cleared 
and improved, piers constructed, and even break¬ 
waters for the safety of shipping, and sea walls 
to protect harbors from being filled up, and ren¬ 
dered useless, by the action of the ocean, have 
been erected at very great expense. .And this 
construction of the Constitution appears the more 
reasonable from the considera ion, that if these 
works, of such evident importance and utility, 
are not to be accomplished by Congress,they can 
be accomplished at all. 
By the adoption of the Constitution tlie sevcr.il States 
voluntarily parted with the power of collecting duties of 
impost in their own ports; and it is not to be expected 
that they should raise money, by internal taxation, direct 
or indirect, for tlie benefit of tliat commerce, the revenues 
derived from which do not, eilberin whole or in part, go 
into their own treasuries. Nor do I perceive any differ¬ 
ence between the power of Congress to make appropria¬ 
tions for objects ofthis kind on the ocean, and the power 
to make appropriations for similar obiccts on lakes and 
rivers, wlierever they arc large enough to bear on tbeir 
waters an extensive traffic. 'J'lie magnificent Mississippi 
and its tributaries, and the vast lakes of the north and the 
northwest, appear to me to fall within the c.xercise of the 
power, asjusily and as cl.arly as the Ocean and the Gulf 
of Mexico. 
It is a mistake to regard expenditures judicious¬ 
ly made for these objects as expenditures for local 
purposes. The position, or site of the work, is 
necessarily local; but its utility is general. A ship 
canal around the I’alls of St. Mary of less than a 
mile in length, though local in its construction, 
would yet be natiotial iu its purpose and its bene¬ 
fits, as it would remove the only obstruction to a 
navigation of more than a thousand miles affecting 
several States, as well as our commercial relations 
with Canada. So, too, the breakwater at the 
mouth of the Delaware is erected, not for the ex¬ 
clusive benefit of the States bordering on the bay 
and river of that name, but for that of the whole 
coastwise navigation of the United States, and, to 
a considerable extent also, of foreign commerce.— 
If a ship be lost on the bar at the entrance of a 
southern port for want of sufficient depth of wa¬ 
ter, it is very likely to be a northern ship; and if a 
steamboat be sunk in any part of the Mississippi, 
on account of its channel not having been proper¬ 
ly cleared of obstructions, it may be a boat belong¬ 
ing to eight or ten States. I may add, as some¬ 
what remarkable, that among all the 31 States, 
there is none that is not, to a greater or less extent 
bounded on the oc«an, or the Gulf of Mexico, or 
one of the great lakes, or some navigable river. 
In fullfilling our constitutional duties, fellow cit¬ 
izens, on this subject, as in carrying into effect all 
other powers conferred by the Constitution, wo 
should consider ourselves as deliberating and act¬ 
ing for one and the same country, and bear con¬ 
stantly in mind, that our regard and our duty are. 
due, not to a particular party only, but to the 
whole. 
I therefore recommend that appropriations bo 
made for completing such works as have been al¬ 
ready begun, and for commencing such others as 
may seem to the wisdom of Congress to be of pub¬ 
lic and general importance. 
Tlie difficulties and delays, incidental to the set¬ 
tlement of private claims by Congres.s, amount in 
many cases to a denial of justice. There is reason 
to apprehend that many unfortunate creditors of 
the Government have, thereby been unavoidably 
ruined. 
Congress has so much business of a public char¬ 
acter, that it is impossible it should give much at¬ 
tention to mere private claims, and their accumu¬ 
lation is now so great that many claimants must 
despair of ever being able to obtain a hearing. It 
may well be doubted whether Congress, from the 
nature of its organization, is properly constituted 
to decide upon such cases. It is impossible that 
each inomber should examine the merits of every 
claim on which he is compelled to vote; and it is 
preposterous to ask a judge to decide a case which 
he has never heard. iSucli decision, may, and fre¬ 
quently must, do injustice either io the claimant or 
the Government, and I perceive no better remedy 
for this growing evil than tli^ establishment of some 
tribunal to adjudicate upon such claims. I beg 
leave, therefore, most respectfully, to recommend 
that provision be made by law for the appointment 
of a commission to settle all private claims against 
the United .States; and, as an ex parte hearing 
must in all contested cases be very unsatisfactory, 1 
also recommend the appointment of a Solicitor, 
whose duty it shall be to represent the Government 
before such commission, and protect it against all 
illegal, fraudulent (r unjust claims, which may be 
presented for their adjudication. 
I'he District, which has neither voice nor vote 
in your deliberations, looks to you for protection 
and aid, and I commend all its wants to your fa¬ 
vorable consideration, with a full confidence that 
you will meet them wich justico,*but with liberali¬ 
ty. Jt should be borne in mind that in this city, 
laid out liy Washington, and consecrated by his 
name, is located the capiiol of our nation, the em¬ 
blem of our Union, and the symbal of our great¬ 
ness. Here also are situated all the public build¬ 
ings necessary for tlie use of the Government, and 
all these are exempt from taxa ion. It should be 
the pride of Americans to render ibis place attrac¬ 
tive to the people of the whole Republic, and con¬ 
venient and safe for the transaction of the public 
business and tlie preservation of ibe public records. 
The Government should, therefore, bear a liberal 
proportion of the burdens of all necessary and use¬ 
ful improvements. And, as nothing could contri¬ 
bute more to the health, comfort, and safety of the 
city, and the security of the public buildings and 
records, than an abundant supply of pure waier, 
i respectfully recommend that you make such pro¬ 
visions for obtaining the same us in your wisdom 
you may deem proper. 
The act passed at your last session making cei- 
lain proiiosiiions to Texes foi settling the disputed 
bound ry between that State and the Territory of 
New^Mcxico, was, immediately on £iis passage, 
iiansmitiedbyexpre 8 to the Governor ol Texas, 
to be laid by liiin belbre the General Assembly for 
its agreement tliei eta* Itsrecept was duly acknow¬ 
ledged but no official infbrniaiiori has yet been re¬ 
ceived of the action of the General Assembly 
thereon; it may, liowever, be very soon expected, 
as, by tlie terms of the propositions submitted, 
they weie to have been acted upon, on or belbre 
the first ilay of ili present month. 
It was hardly to have been expected that the .se¬ 
ries of measnri e passed at your Iasi session, with 
the view of liealing the sectional diflerence' which 
had sprung from the slavery ami lerritorial qnes- 
tion^.sliould :,t opce have realized their beueliceni 
purpose. All mutual concession in ihe.iiature of 
a compromise must necessarily be unwelcome to 
men of extreme (minions. And itiough wiihouisuch 
concessions our Coiistitulion could not have been 
formed, and cannot be permanently sustained, 
yet we have Sv'en them made the subject ol bitter 
controversy in both sections of the Republic It 
leqnired many months of discussion and deliber 
ation to socure the concurrence of a majority of 
Congress in their favor. 
It would be strange if they had been received 
with immediate approbation by people snd States, 
prej idiced and heated by the exciting controver¬ 
sies of their representaiives. I believe those 
measures to have been required by the circum¬ 
stances and condition of the country. I believe 
they were necessary to allay asperities and ani 
mosities that weie rapidly alienating one section 
of the country from another, and destroying those 
fraternal sentiments which are the strongest sup¬ 
ports of the Cons,itution. 'J'hey were adoptedin 
the spirit of conciliation, and for the purpose of 
conciliation. I believe that a great majority of 
our fellow citizens sympathize in that spirit, and 
that purpose, and in the main approve, and are 
prepared, m all respects, to sustain these enact¬ 
ments. I cannot doubt that the American people, 
bound together by kindred blood and common tra¬ 
ditions, still ctiei ish a paramount regard for the 
Union of their fathers; and that they are ready 
to rebuke any attempt to violate its integrity, to 
disturb the compromises on which it is based or 
to resist the laws which have been enacted under 
its authority. 
The series of measures to which I have alluded 
are regarded by me as a settlement, in principle 
and substance—a final settlement, of the danger 
ous and exciting subjects which they embraced — 
Most of these subjecis indeed, are beyond.your 
reach, as the legislation which disposed of them 
was, in its character, final and irrevocable. It 
may be presumed from the opposition which they 
all encountered that none of those measures was 
free from imperfections, but in their mutual depen¬ 
dence and connexion they formed a system of com- 
fH-omise, the most conciliatory, and best for the 
entire country, that could be obtained from con¬ 
flicting sectional interests and opinions. 
For this reason I recommend your adherence 
to the adjustment cstablislied by those measures, 
until time aud experience shall demonstrate the 
necessity of furiher legislation to guard against 
evasion or abu.se. 
By that adjustment we liave been rescued from 
the wide and boundless agitation that surrounde'- 
us, aud liave a firm, I'istinct, and legal ground to 
restupo.u. And the occasion, I Uust, will justify 
me in exhoiting my countrymen torallyupon and 
maintain that giound as they liest, if not the only 
meatis, of restoring peace anu quiet to the coun¬ 
try. and maintaining inviolate tlie integrity of ilie 
Union. 
And now, fellow-c itizens, I cannot bring this 
communication to a close without invoking you 
to join me in hvmble and devout thanks to tlie 
Great Ruier of nations, lor th- multiplied blessings 
which he has graciously bestowed upon ss. Hts 
hand, so often visible in our prese vaiion, has 
stayed the pestilence, saved us from foreign wars 
ancl domestic disturbances, and scattered plenty 
ibronghouttheland. 
Our liberties, religious and civil, have been 
maintained; the fountains of knowlede have all 
been kept open, and means of happiness widely 
spread and generally enjoyed, greater than have 
fallen to the lot of any other nation. And, while 
deeply penetrated with gratitude ior the past, let 
us hope that his all-wise Providence will so guide 
ourcouncils, as they shall result in giving satis¬ 
faction to our constituents, securing the peace of 
the country, and adding new strength to the Uni¬ 
ted Government under whicli we live. 
MILLARD FILLMORE. 
YVashington, December 2d, 1850. 
The Admission of California. 
When the news of this event reached San 
Francisco it excited gcneraf%ejoicings. The ships 
in the harbor fired their guns, the first one to 
blaze .away being a Bri.tish bark from Liverpool. 
The Alta California thus describes the scene in 
the city : 
The Oregon came gallantly into the harbor, 
gracefully decorated, and telling the importance of 
the news she brought by continued canonading. 
At once the American Flag went up from every 
possible place in the city. Oiie gallant fellow 
worked his way up the slippery flag-staff on the 
square, and rove the pennant halyards amid the 
cheers of the crowd. Then the Stars and Stripes 
went floating aloft, and every hat swung around, 
and every voice was brought into requisition, to 
welcome the first public flag ever raised there in 
honor of the thirty-first State of the Lbiion.— 
” Three times three” were given in token of pride 
and pleasure; as many more for Harry Clay, for 
having, “assisted in putting it there,” the same 
for Mr. Benton for the same reason, and many 
cheers for otliers. Then the people contributed 
between $200 and $300 for the benefit of the fine 
fellow who “shinned” up the flag-staff. Soon 
two splendid pieces of ordinance were on the 
ground beneath the flog, and a grand salute of— 
we do not know how many guns—fired in honor 
of the great occasion. 
Universal joy seems to prevail among all classes. 
The young republicans are glorious, and so are 
the old. The El Dorado and other buildings were 
illuminated, and crackers and fire arms aud hap¬ 
py voices all told unmistakeably of the love of the 
Union, which is one of the strongest feelings in the 
hearts of our citizens. 
The Freshet. — We continue to receive ac¬ 
counts of damage caused by the recent heavy 
rains. From the South we learn tliat many of 
the small bridges on the tributaries of the Gene¬ 
see, in Allegany and Livingston have been swept 
away, and considerable injurj’ sustained by the 
farmers. 
Honeoye Creek was swollen to an unusual height 
and the banks overflown in the Southern towns of 
the county. The mills at Rush and Honeoye 
F'alls are said to have been damaged, as also the 
bridges at the same place.— Adv. 2rf. 
Reduced Postage. —The Postmaster General’s 
report recommends a uniform rate of three cents 
on all prepaid letters, five cents on all unpaid let¬ 
ters, and one cent on newspapers. 
There is a surplus of $1,132,500, which, with 
the revenue to be derived if franked matter is paid 
for, by the several Departments, will enable the 
Post Office Department to meet the contemplated 
reduction in postage, without additional appropri¬ 
ation. __ 
Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio. —These 
three great States have lately held their elections. 
On reference to the returns we find the aggregate 
vole to be as follows: 
New York, for Governor,.428,448 
Pennsylvania, for Canal Com.278,621 
Ohio, for Governor,.265,448 
New York polled 149,827 more votes than Penn¬ 
sylvania, and the latter polled 13,608 more rotes 
than Ohio^^_ 
Two Suicides at a Husking. —Two men at 
Alton, N. H., at a husking last week, undertook to 
amuse the company by seeing who could eat the 
most of a great variety of food, including dried 
apple.s. One of them, Charles French, who made 
the husking, died the next day; the other, Henry 
Miller, died the day after. 
Weekly Meteorological Abstract, 
RY L. WETHERELL. 
Nov. 1850. 
1 thermometer, j 
1 MAX. 1 MIN. 1 MEAN. | 
1 RAIN. 
1 WINDS. 
27 
28 
29 
30 
Dec, 1 
2 
44 
39 
42.33 
64 
63 
58.00 
43 
39 
.41.33 
1.50 
50 
44 
46.66 
48 
31 
41.00 
48 
36 
40.66 
37 
32 
REMARKS. 
Nov. 26th. Cloudy and rainy—foggy evening. 
27lh. Cloudy and rainy day and night. 
28th. Continues rainy—river rising. 
29th. Fair and warm—river high. 
30th. Fair morning—cloudy in the afternoon_ 
beautiful evening—river up to high water mark. 
Dec. 1st Very fine day for the first day of win¬ 
ter—insects seen in the open air. 
2d. A little snow last night—cloudy and 
moderate. 
Note.— One of the very finest autumns ever en¬ 
joyed in Western New York has just terminated. 
The temperature was high—the weather fair— 
consequently very favorable for the farmers to do 
their fall’s work. The good husbandman must 
have, long before now, made himself ready for 
winter. He has little to prevent his enjoying the 
good of his labor during the next three months._ 
And may this enjoyment be sweetened by reading 
good books and papers. 
Canal Commerce of Oswego. —During the 
year, up to the Ist December, the tolls on the 
canal have increased $2,657 15 over last year. 
There have been shipped by canal, during ^No- 
vember, of Canadian Flour 120.357 barrels,and 
Canadian Wheat 1,090,157 bushels. The foI-- 
lowing are the shipments of domestic produce, by 
canal, for two years; 
1849. 1850. 
Flour, bbis., 195.237.202 360 
Wheat, bush., 321,700.603,055 
“ 77,050. 33^7(14 
Barley, •• 19.179. 27,124 
Lumber, ft. 3,270,000,... .3,984,073 
Freaks of F’Ortune. —The Advertiser tells of a 
gentleman who has been “clerking it” in a dry 
goods establishment in this city for several years 
has recently become heir to some $30,000 or 
$40,000 by the death of two relatives. He is a 
man of education and intelligence; staid, sober, 
and domestic in his habits—just such a man as 
will not be injured by this unexpected good fortune. 
We congratulate him on this event; and could 
wish that the fickle goddess were always as 
wisely discriminating in the distribution of her 
favors. 
A Rich Premium. —Messrs. Clowes, the emi¬ 
nent printers of London, have obtained the coa- 
^fset for printing the catalogue for the 1851 Exhi¬ 
bition. They give a premium of £4,000 for the 
privilege, and 2^d. for every copy sold towards the 
expense of the Exhibition. The catalogue will be 
sold for Is.; another catalogue will also be pub¬ 
lished, which will be printed in several languages, 
and be sold for lOs. 
Change of Name. —The name of the new lit¬ 
erary institution at Cleveland, Ohio, has been 
changed from the “ National” to the “Cleveland 
University,” and Ex-Governor Wm. Slade, of 
Vermont, has been elected Secretary and Treasurer 
to the Board. 
Items of News, &c. 
Election returns from Georgia, show the 
choice of 140 Union dele gates to 24 Disunioniets. 
According to the recent census the popula¬ 
tion of Kentucky is 920,000. 
The Post-office heretofore known as Cato- 
Four-Cornors, is hereafter to be called Meridan. 
The population of Brooklyn is about one 
hundred thousand. 
B;^ The poles for the telegraph along the line 
of the N. Y. & E. R. R. were being erected 
(Nov. 27th,) through Corning. 
Mr. Brittan McClendall, of Edgfield Dist, 
S. C., was murdered on the 18ih insL, by his step¬ 
son, Philip Hubburt. 
B^“ Mrs. Ann K. Simpson has been tried at 
Fayetteville, N. C. on charge of having murdered 
her husband by poisoning, and acquitted. 
8 ^" Vicksburg, Mississippi, was visited by a fire 
on the 11th inst which destroyed property' to the 
amount of $10,000. 
The Genesee river has been at high-water 
mark—indeed the water is seldom higher than it 
was on Saturday. 
B;^” Mr. Paine, “ the gas man,” it is said, has 
sent a messenger to London to introduce his gas 
at the Great World’s Fair. 
The annual cost of intoxicating liquors Ir 
G reat Britain is computed at four hundred millions 
of dollars. 
$10,000 and a valuable lot of ground has 
been tendered by Corcoran & Riggs towards the 
erection of a House of Refuge in Washington. 
Big'” A bill has been introduced into the Legis¬ 
lature of Arkansas, for the removal of all free ne¬ 
groes from that State. 
B^”A dog covered with advertising placards 
perambulates Fleet street, London, with tlie utmost 
gravity and decorum. 
B3^ The St. Louis Union says tftat since the 
return of Col. Benton from Washington, and his 
speech, the belief is gaining ground that he will be 
elected to the U. S. Senate. 
B^'” The Ogdensburgh Railroad promises to do 
a very large business. There are now 70,000 
barrels of flour at Ogdensburgh waiting transport¬ 
ation eastward. 
B^” Worket vs. the Auburn «& Rochester Rail¬ 
road Co. has been awarded $7,000 damages for 
having had one of his feet cut off by ope of the 
Company’s locomotives. 
B^” In the Leeds lutelligencr of Oct. 9th, 1764, 
the following appears;—“ Lately died at Liverpool, 
Mjs. Mayee, wife of Mr. Mayee, who was her 
nineteenth husband. 
The people of Michigan at the recent elec¬ 
tion, adopted the new State Constitution by a ma¬ 
jority of five or six to one; but rejected the “ equal 
suffrage ” proposition by a vote of about three to 
one. 
Gen. Garrett D. Wall, formerly U. States 
Senator from New Jersey, died on the 22d inst at 
his residence in Burlington, N, J. He was over 
70 years of age, and has left a widow and several 
children. 
