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    ,„, ltlk, JLLjUb lUULb. Continual complaints are made of the slowness of the multitude to master the new knowledge which is from time to time revealed to the clever men of every generation. Their unwillingness, however, to adopt new truth is meritorious compared to the obstinacy with which their rulers, merely from prejudice, or sometimes from self-interest, refuse to follow the light by which all other men walk. It is a matter of notoriety that England owes much of her pro- spcrity and growth to having all her rivers ana ul- her roads free from any other tolls than'those no- eessary to preserve the roads in repair and the rivers navigable. It is a matter of cquul notoriety

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    m otives , and they ask for suspension of jublic opinion until their motives can be explained , and the * arguments heard . The proceeding , therefore , S t the , act of an individuat but of a party It is most likelv , indeed , to combine both aspects to be performed tinder the patronage of a party lor the profit of an individual . The Africans are said to have been four hundred in number . _ There seems to have been some difficulty in disposing of them , but it is scarcely denied that purchases were made . After the cargo was landed , Captain Gorne , the owner of the Wanderer , sent her round in care of another seaman to Brunswick , and in various ways efforts were made to throw any suspicious persons off the scent . ¦ . ,

    . While the extreme pro-slavery party , however , has thus participated in the proceedings of Captain Corfie , the authorities of another party , which seems to be more numerous , have not only expressed a strong opinion against the legality of the act , but have taken legal proceedings to bring those who are implicated' to trial . Several persons who have been arrested for complicity in the slave trade were . brought before the United States Commissioner ' s Court , and Judge Henry did his best to

    trace the proceedings of the vessel , its captain and crew ; but at the very threshold of the trial counsel raised an objection with no small amount of success . The question was raised whether the witnesses should be compelled to testify so as to criminate themselves , as the act of which they are accused is more than a misdemeanour—is a felony , subjecting those who are guilty to the highest penalty of the law , and on these grounds the judge decided that no person should be required to . give evidence / which should criminate himself or tend to . that result .

    With regard to the general character of the evidence there does not appear to be the slightest doubt ; but under these circumstances there was an evident difficulty in . rendering it complete , and it is more than probable that the failure which attended the appeal to the law in the cabe of the Echo would be repeat ed in this case . It is more than probable , however , that the course , taken by the patrons of-Cap tain Corrie would have a result very different from that which they anticipated . It was supposed that the success attending this x experiment would afford the occasion

    for a good deal of brag on the side of the extreme southern party . It is quite evident that it will afford a handle for the abolitionist party , and also for that more numerous party which resents any encroachment upon the laws of the republic j for there is not the slightest question that the law has been broken , and in the most flagrant manner . Captain Corrie and his coadjutors knew that they were forbidden to deal iu slaves , they knew that it was a capital offence , they have , however , done so deliberately although they have tried to evade the execution of the law ; they have done so in the face of dav ,

    and this extraordinary proceeding of a party which is in the minority , has aroused indignation amongst many who cannot iu any way bo rcckoucd with the advocates of Abolitionism . The majority of the Union are of course in favour of maintaining the law which has been passed and has been ratified by the representatives of the people iii Congress . The majority , comprising probably nine-tenths of the Union , will not permit its legislation and its executive officers to be defied by a very small minority . In this way not only is public spirit offended at

    such a proceeding , but till thoughtful men at once perceive that if it bo tolerated it will end in torminating all law , and in placing the country at the meroy not only of a faction , but of a fraction . It will , thoreforc , rall y to a settlement , of the question many who have hitherto stood aloof i ' voni it , either because they deprecated division of the republic , or because they could not share the extreme views of the Abolitionist party . Nor is the oflTpnco passed over without notice in the capital of the Eodcralion . Tho Union of Washington gives utterance to the opinion that thero is not a single oiroutmtanoo to relievo the moral turptitude of the orimo .- It has many circumstances to aggravate it ;—<• " The law of the country hns boon deliberately violated , and an net of piracy committod as sordid and as wanton as over disgraced the times of llio buccaneers . \ Vh , y havo gibbering negroes , liUlo more elevated' in intelligence t / han so many monkeys , been brought , from their nativo and congenial wilds to bo thrust upon our bqUP Simply for money value It is not protended , that any advantage o » n aeorue to this continent , its people , or its institutions , oxoopt the more pecuniary advantage that may result from a

    larger supply of labour . It cannot be asserted that anything but moral injury to society can come of these importations . The laws of the country have been broken , the public sentiment of the whole country offended , piracy committed , and guilt deliberately incurred , solely for sordid gain . Heretofore the pride of the South has been that her cause was the cause of the Constitution and the laws ; but now some of her own people endeavour wantonly to abrogate and set aside those instruments . " With regard to the sentiments of the federal executive there is no doubt j in no case is it probable that the Government at Washington could in any way toberate such a proceeding as that of Captain Corrie . There is no necessity for concession ; - _

    the party to be conciliated by accepting the outrage as an act of spontaneous legislation is too small to be really of any importance , although it is common in this country to assume that if the South is not unanimous in favour of restoring slavery , there is a majority holding t hat opinion . Yet it is obviously as impolitic to encourage such an idea , as it is false in fact . It is partly because the violent minority in the Southern States has been made much of that it has been able to keep up an appearance of success . There is another reason : by affecting to consider the South as countenancing 'these violent propositions , the North has made an enemy for itself which nocdriot have been called into the field . An

    outrage like this , however , is too excessive for the upholders , of the law iu the South to remain in equivocal silence . Accordingly , they are declaring themselves without reservation . The majority in the South , . therefore ,-and the North almost unanimously , would not only expect the President to take a course for the active vindication of the law , but will lend him an active , support in . doing so . Mr . Buchanan ' s own sentiments are well known ; he deprecates alike extreme opinions on both sides ; he has never countenanced the dictation of the North , which would make an easy sacrifice of other people ' s property to an abstract idea ; for to the federated republic of the North negro slavery is . abstract idea . Mr . Buchanan has equally

    discountenanced the proposal to relax prohibition upon the slave trade ; and , indeed , it is well known that his earliest political connexions belong to a distinguished perty which favoured the idea of prospectively abolishing slavery . While , therefore , he is the very man to hold the balance in the present disturbed state of the Union , he will heartily . share the feeling and conviction of the dominant majority , though we have in his well-known prudence the guarantee of that caution which would restrain him from any rc-actionary extremes either way .

    ,„, Ltlk, Jlljub Luulb. Continual Complaints Are Made Of The Slowness Of The Multitude To Master The New Knowledge Which Is From Time To Time Revealed To The Clever Men Of Every Generation. Their Unwillingness, However, To Adopt New Truth Is Meritorious Compared To The Obstinacy With Which Their Rulers, Merely From Prejudice, Or Sometimes From Self-Interest, Refuse To Follow The Light By Which All Other Men Walk. It Is A Matter Of Notoriety That England Owes Much Of Her Pro- Spcrity And Growth To Having All Her Rivers Ana Ul- Her Roads Free From Any Other Tolls Than'those No- Eessary To Preserve The Roads In Repair And The Rivers Navigable. It Is A Matter Of Cquul Notoriety

    THE ELBE TOLLS . Continual complaints are made of the slowness of the multitude to master the new knowledge which is from time to time revealed to the clever men of every generation . Their unwillingness , however , to adopt new truth is meritorious compared to the obstinacy with which their rulers , merely from prejudice , or sometimes from self-interest , refuse to follow the light by which all other men walk . It is a matter of notoriety that England owes much of her prosperity and growth to having all her rivers and alher roads free from any other tolls than those necessary to preserve the roads in repair and the rivers navigable . It is a matter of equal notoriety

    that tha commerce , with the prosperity of Germany , has been much retarded by the country being parcelled out amongst different states , each of which crowded its rivers and roads with tolls . They compelled continual delays and examinations of goods , and were intolerable burdens on all transit . After numerous complaints , and many attempts to lesson or get rid of such tolls , it was solemnly settled nt the Vienna Congress , iu IS 14 , that the " navigation of rivers along the whole course , from tlio point whore they become , navigable to , their mouth , shall bo entirely free ; " and " the tariff of duties on navigation shall bo regulated in such a . manner as to encourogo commerce by facilitating navigation , " By this latter clause it was meant

    that only such tolls should bo loviod on shipping as would sufllco to pay tlio oxponso of keeping the rivers froo from accumulations of sand , and providing accommodation for vessels . In opposition to thoso principles , and in defiance of experience , the Governments of Hanover , Meoklonburgh , and Denmark persist in levying tolls on vessels going up and down the Elbe , and impeding the

    communication between the heart of Germany and the other nations of the world . -Eor a long period England has remonstrated against the heavy tolls levied at Stade by Hanover on all vessels entering the Elbe ; and they having been fruitless , notice has been given to the Government of . Hanover by our Government that the treaty of 1844 , by which we werebound to submit to these tolls for . a ' specific period , should terminate . On English commerce entering the Elbe , according to a statement in the annual report of the Board of Commerce for Hamburg , these tolls levy a sum equal .- ¦¦ i j ¦ _'¦ j _ 1 1 l _ _ i ? /~ t « .. ¦ J " j _ 1

    to 60 , 000 / . per annum . A tax to that amount is paid to Hanover by the consumers of German produets brought from the Elbe and consumed in England , or by the consumers of English products in Germany carried thither by the same river . For this sum , or rather for the larger sum which Hanover levies on the whole trade of the Elbe , she performs no services whatever . She merely exacts the money for her special advantage , and other nations are patient under the spoliation . . The rapidly increasingtrade of Germany , which is diverted from the Elbe , and especially from Hamburg , by these tolls , is rousing a spirit of resistance even amongst the placid and submissive Germans . By the Board of Commerce public opinion is appealed

    to , and is expected " to remonstrate strongly against such illegal obstacles to commercial intercourse , and demand their immediate removal . " Too soon it cannot take place . While the whole trade of Germany is increasing with unexampled rapidity , the traffic on the Elbe of goods has fallen olF from 2 , 033 , 000 cwt ., in IS 45 , to 294 , 000 cwt . in 1857 . The tolls on the Elbe above Hamburg exceed the charge for carrying ¦ ' . goods by railway to Magdeburg-, Dresden , and Prajrue . In seventy-five miles from Lauenburg to " VVittenburg , oil which the freight ^ is from two to three silver grosschen the mile , the tolls levied , by Hanover , Mecklenburg , and Denmark amount to six silver grosschen five pfennige . Hanover has lately made Harburg , on her own . coastopposite Hamburga free port , and from this

    , , port railwavs proceed to all parts of Germany . Bj exonerating the goods landed at Harburg front the tolls she continues to levy on the goods ; , landed at Hamburg , Hanover now tries to ruin the trade of this ancient Ilanse-town . If she could accomplish , it by offering to the commerce of Germany greater advantages at . Harburg than it can enjoy at Hambursr it mi < rht be meritorious , but it is a flagrant

    wrong to continue for such a purpose the tolls she has no right to levy . She now deprives the Elbe of its natural usefulness , and p laces burdens on commerce instead of promoting it . To see the gifts of Providence thus wilfully perverted and destroyed is enough to make men rise in rebellion against the destroyers , who are at war , as it were , with Nature j but the Germans , long accustomed to submission ^ fancy no evil so great as restricting or throwing off

    an authority which can be so mischievous , lne time , however , is obviously coming when men will prefer the authority of facts to the authority of sovereigns , and when these are in conflict , as-hi levying tolls on the Elbe , the latter must and will go to the wall .

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    THOUGHTS , FACTS , AND SUGGESTIONS on PARLIAMENTARY REFORM . No . X . In a recent speech at Sheffield , Mr . Roebuck , with his usual courage , told the constituent bodies of tho kingdom that they hnd in a great degree themselves to blame for the cxclusivencss of past Administrations , and the doubtfulness of further reforms . Had the great industrial constituencies of the empire sent proper men to Parliament since 1832 , family compacts , and Cabinets of lords and their lacqueys , would have long since becomo matter of history j and had t he great cities and boroughs in this respect done their duty at tho last general election , it would not now bo a question whether sound and useful measures of progress would be carried during thocoining session , nor would it bo a question whether a Banapartist faction on one side of the House , or an Austrian faction on tho othef , can drag tho country into unnecessary war . But tho shameful truth is , that tho industry and intolllgonoo already enfranchised lms not done its' duty . ¦ Honourable exceptions thoro arc , like Birmingham , Southwark , Shofliold , Ashtou , and Glasgow , with some others that might bo named ; but the majority of tho largo oonstituouoics havo oithcr returned one man or

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    ¦ I ' .::. ¦ ¦ " " ¦ , ' : - . ' ¦¦ ¦ ' - ' - . ¦¦ - ' ' ¦ ' ¦ ¦• • ¦ : ¦ ¦ ' • ' " - " ' ' " ¦ . " 'V ^ ¦ ¦ . V ^ ' : ¦ " - ¦ ¦ ' . ' ' ¦ ¦ . ¦ • • ' : }¦ ' . . ¦;¦ - ... - . .. •¦ ¦ . . . ¦ . ; . . . - . . . .. .. . . ¦ : , I ^ ^ Takt ^ t 15 , 1859 . 1 TEE LMDEB . I : ¦¦ - - ¦ - ¦ ' ' ' ¦ ¦ ' ^^¦ r i —¦ —^^^—^ " * ""'^^^^^^^^ ¦

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 15, 1859, page 83, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2277/page/19/