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Representatives of the state. The Governor asserts the duty of the legislature to cherish with parental care such resources as may be in their power, for the encouragement of schools, colleges and academies. A fund for the support of common schools in this state, to a considerable amount, has been already set apart. With the amount of capital now at our com:nand for that purpose, it is not hoped for or expected that a successful plan could be immediately put in operation and sustained; but we should take care not only that there should be no waste of the original amount, but that there be a regular and reasonable increase.

The subject of Banks is next taken up, and the complaints that have been made particularly against the U. States Branch Bank noticed. Without conceding that there is properly any objection against the latter institution, that is not common to all the Banks, the Governor says:The good or evil resulting from banking operations, whether of local or national institutions, seems, even at this advanced period of our experiments in the science of government, to be still too much the subject of honest difference of opinion to justify positive conclusions for or against their general utility; and I submit with great deference, whether in the present posture of affairs, it would not comport with the best views of our own interests, consistency, and good faith, to direct the public attention to the support or opposition, which our best judgments may dictate, on a proposed renewal of corporate powers, rather than to an unprofitable conflict with existing establishments, whose hours are already numbered, and whose dealings are unexceptionable. As they were legally established, so they may at a proper time be legally removed.

A small part of the Boundary be tween the state and Kentucky, remains unadjusted, and the subject is laid before the legislature.

October. William Carroll was sworn in as Governor of the State, for the ensuing two years, on the 1st of October, and on the 3d inst. he addressed the Legislature in a message of considerable length. The first subject considered is the State Bank, established in 1820, for sustaining the credit of the state, at a period of great pecuniary embarrassment-the redemption of its notes being secured by pledging the proceeds of the sales of unappropriated lands, and the ordinary revenue of the state not otherwise disposed of.

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The causes for the establishment of this institution having passed away, the Governor is of opinion that good policy would demand a settlement of its affairs. He thinks it undeniable, that an agricultural people cannot afford by the small profits of their farms, to pay the ordinary interest upon borrowed money;' and adds, if this cannot be done with safety, the impropriety and bad consequences of borrowing from the State Bank must be admitted, especially, if it shall appear that the legal interest in most instances is not half the charge to which its debtors are made liable.' This he asserts to be the fact, from the expenses attending the operations of renewal, &c. Since the adjournment of the last General Assembly, about three hundred judgments have been taken against debtors of the Bank of Nashville, and it is not unreasonable to presume that at least one hundred have been taken at Knoxville. From this statement it clearly appears that the Bank debtors pay in interest and other charges, from twelve to twentyfive per cent, upon every dollar they borrow.'

Besides the risk in employing as it does, not less than sixtytwo agents, the annual expenditure of the Bank, agency included, is a tax on the people of not less than fourteen thousand dollars the interest of nearly one half of the whole capital.

The Governor believes that the number of those indebted to the Bank is likely to increase; and that, as the ultimate result, the tables of the Legislature will be covered with petitions for relief. He refers to the history of the last twenty years, in relation to the French Broad and Holston debts, and to the more recent case of the Hiwassee land sales, and says,—'Our experience furnishes but too much proof of the bad policy of the state's permitting its citizens to become its debtors; nor need anything more be added to show the total inability of a people engaged in the cultivation of the soil, to pay even legal interest upon borrowed money.'

He therefore recommends immediate measures to investigate and settle the affairs of the State Bank. The attention of the Legislature is then directed to a revision of the Criminal Jurispru dence of the State, as he thinks the unnecessary severity of the laws destroys their influence, by too often leading to acquittals and pardons. The introduction of the Penitentiary system on the most approved plans of some of the other States, is recommended.

Internal Improvements are next pointed out for encouragement.

As the means of the state may not justify the immediate commencement of such an undertaking, adequate surveys are recommended, as a preparatory step. The propriety of incorporating companies for the construction of turnpike roads and bridges, after the plans of other states, is also suggested:

It is scarcely necessary to remark,' says the Governor, that our roads in the winter season are almost impassable, and yet we have stone in greater abundance and more convenient for the construction of roads, than any other state in the Union.'

The Message closes with proposing measures of relief to the purchasers of land at the Hiwassee sales, and to the - citizens residing south of French Broad and Holston, in their debt to the colleges and academies of the state, which has been a source of much perplexity for twenty years; (and in both which cases the inability to comply with their engagements has grown out of the unfavorable circumstances in which the debtors have stood)- with suggestions for the preservation of the 5000 stand of arms owned by the state, suffering injury and loss by the present regulations of loaning them to volunteer companies -and with congratulations on the prosperity of the state and the Union.

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tern District, for internal improvements. The whole to be placed under the direction of a Board of six Commissioners, two from each district; of which Board the Governor is to be chairman ex officio.

A law was also passed authorizing any man whose wife shall have three or more children at one birth, to take up 200 acres of the state lands for each of his children.

A bill to establish a penitentiary in Tennessee, passed both branches of the legislature. The sum of $25,000 was appropriated, to carry the bill into effect and commence operations.

The official report of the revenue of the state of Tennessee for 1829, exhibited an unappropriated balance of $57,467 40 cents.

May 31, 1830. Accounts from Shelbyville and Charlotte, describe a very violent and destructive tornado, which visited those places on the night of the 31st. We quote from them as follows:

'Shelbyville is in ruins. On Monday night, about 12 o'clock, it pleased Providence to visit this place with a most devasting hurricane. The Court-house, Market-house, Methodist Church, the brick Hotel, the Bank, and many other valuable buildings were prostrated in an instant. Five young men were killed, and many others bruised and wounded. About thirtyeight stores and shops, and ten or fifteen dwelling-houses were overthrown. I shall not attempt to describe the scene. No one heard the fall of a tree, or fence, or house. It was one constant, monotonous, shrill roar -- the voice of the tempest: the lightning was a constant flash, rendering everything visible: the earth was covered with a sheet of water. From the Public Square east, all is in one undistinguished mass of ruins.

'Charlotte, June 1. About 10 last night, our village was visited with a tornado, the violence and the destructive effects of which no tongue can describe. The wind approached the village from the southwest; although the appearance of the sky was frightful, and one constant glare of lightning inspired awe and alarm, yet no one anticipated, none could anticipate, and even now it is difficult to realize what the ravages of five minutes have produced. The only house in the town that entirely escaped injury is that occupied as a store by James Steel & Co.; and, with the buildings destroyed, nearly all their contents were swept away and lost. The Court

house, a substantial brick building, is a heap of ruins. The Jail is nearly level with the ground. The public records are lost, and the fragments of the buildings are scattered through the country for miles.'

Under date of the 9th inst. the Nashville paper adds:- Accounts continue to reach us of the destructive effects of the tornado on the night of the 31st ult. Upwards of fifty houses in Rutherford county, were either blown down or unroofed; and although many persons have been terribly wounded, yet no deaths in that county have yet been heard of.'

June. SPRINGS. An explosion took place in the bed of a Creek, about 12 iniles from Nashville, on the 20th of June. The noise resembled that of blowing rocks; and on examination it was found that the rocky bed of the Creek was cracked and shivered to a great extent. Pieces weighing 2 or 300 pounds were broken off, and the earth and rock together were parted in a fissure extending near 40 yards. A spring issued from the edge of the Creek -the water, in taste and smell, resembling that which runs through a bed of stone coal.

GOLD MINES.-The gold region of this state is described in the following manner, by Prof. Troost.

I have visited the Tennessee Ophir, which I believe contains more gold than the African Ophir. It is situated about ten or twelve miles to the south of the Telico plains near the Unika mountain, in the Cherokee Indian settlement. The gold occurs in small grains, generally called gold dust, and is obtained by the washing of a stratum of 10 or 12 inches of soil. Judging from its local situations, this gold is not brought from a distance, but seems to have been produced by the disintegration of the rock of which these

mountains are composed. These rocks belong to the series of transition or rather to the clay slate formation. This slate has been filled with small tubes of iron pyrites which are now nearly all in a state of decomposition, leaving these cavities filled with the yellow iron ochre. These pyrites are often auriferous, and the gold not being susceptible of decomposition remains unaltered, and is disseminated through the soil by the disintegration of the rock, the lighter particles of which are carried away by the rains, &c, leaving the heavier ones still remaining among other gravel. This

seems to have been the case with the gold region this state, because the gold is not only found in the small rivulets or brooks, but also on the declivities of the mountains, and near their very summits; so that this district may prove an inexhaustible source of wealth not alone for those who are collecting the metal, but particularly to the farmers of the surrounding country, who will find a market for their produce among the people who are working these mines. In fact produce has already risen in price in East Tennessee since the working of these mines in the neighboring state of North Carolina.

The local situation of the present explored gold region is not well calculated for the operations of washing on a large scale. The water is not sufficiently abundant, and, judging from surrounding circumstances, I am induced to believe that it never will be, so that should my suggestions respecting the abundance of the metal prove true, it may be found necessary to transport the gravel about two miles, where there is a fine stream of water sufficient for every pur pose.'

KENTUCKY.

December, 1829. The Legislature met at Frankfort on the 7th Dec. John Breathitt, Esq. Lt. Governor, took the Chair in the Senate, and James Stonestreet was re-elected Clerk. In the House of Representatives, John J. Crittenden was chosen Speaker, and Robert S. Todd, Clerk.

A bill providing for calling a convention to amend the constitution of the state, after having passed the House, was rejected in the Senate, 18 Ayes, 19 Nays.

One of the objects contemplated by

those favorable to a convention, was the adoption of certain provisions by which slavery might be gradually, but finally, abolished in that commonwealth.

1830. A law was passed January 28th making it punishable with imprisonment of not less than 2 nor more than 20 years to entice a slave to leave his master to go out of the State.

Slaves ill treated by their owners were authorized to be sold by order of the Court, after proof of the facts.

A common school system was also established by law, passed January 29.

By this law the county Courts are authorized to divide their respective counties into school districts, in each of which three commissioners are to be elected by the legal voters annually. These Commissioners are to apply the moneys raised within the district to the use of public schools, and are to be considered as a corporate body and empowered to hold property to an amount not exceeding $50,000 to the uses of the school district.

The Commissioners are also to assess the voters in their respective districts from the tax list, and to divide the amount collected into 4 parts, each part to be appropriated to a quarter of the teacher's wages. A poll tax not exceeding 50 cents, may also be levied on each white male over 21. Widows, femes sole and guardians of infants owning property within the district, are authorized to vote in person or proxy for Commissioners, &c. The tax on property is not to exceed 6 1-4 cents on $100. peals may be had from the school district meeting to the county Court. These district meetings are empowered to lay such tax as is deemed necessary for the purposes of education to designate a site for school to authorize a school to be built, repaired &c.

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No person is liable to school tax in a district where he is not a resident.

January, 1830. PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. The Louisville Advertiser announces the establishment by that city of a school at the public expense, stated to be the first south of the Ohio. It is opened to the children of all the citi

zens.

300.

The number of pupils entered is

February. The Legislature having incorporated a company to construct a Rail Road from Lexington to the Ohio, which river it is to strike at Louisville, the books for subscription were opened at Lexington on the 9th inst. and $310,000 were immediately subscribed. $300,000 was the sum required before the charter could take effect. The distance is represented to be about sixty miles.

A report was brought in, January 27th, 1930, in relation to the resolutions of S. Carolina, accompanied by the following resolutions:

1. Resolved, by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, That it is a constitutional exercise of power on the part of Congress, to encourage and protect the manufactures of the United States, by imposts and restrictions on the goods, wares and mer

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2. Resolved, That Congress does possess the power, under the constitution, to adopt a general system of internal improvements, as a national measure for national purposes.

3. Resolved, That this report and the accompanying resolutions, be forwarded by the governor of this commonwealth, to the respective governors of the states of South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia and Mississippi, as the expression of the views of the General Assembly of Kentucky, on the constitutional power of Congress over the subjects of domestic manufactures, and internal improvements; and for the purpose of ascertaining the views and opinions of the several states of the United States on the subjects.

4. Resolved, also, That the governor of the commonwealth be requested to forward them to the governors of the other states of the union, respectively, to be laid before the legislatures of those states, for their consideration.

A substitute was proposed for the 1st resolution in these words:

Congress derives no power from the constitution to lay duties or imposts with a view to prohibit importations, (either partially or generally,) thereby destroying both trade and revenue, only intended to be regulated; and that the powers of Congress are not general, but special, not omnipotent, but limited, and defined by the constitution.'

This substitute was rejected, 82 to 12. The following substitute was proposed for the 2d resolution:

That Congress has no power to establish roads and canals in the several states, other than post or military roads, and on those roads have no power to erect toll gates.'

To this it was proposed to add the words, without the consent of the states.' Both the substitute and amendment were rejected, 54 to 37.

The remaining resolutions were not contested. Some debate arose on the preamble, particularly in reference to the following sentence:

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most distinguished fellow citizen, Henry Clay, whose zealous and able exertions, and whose eminent services in support of both measures, have been only equalled by his ardent patriotism and unbending integrity.'

Several attempts were made to exclude or modify this clause, but it was finally retained by a majority of 18 votes.

A Committee was also appointed to inquire into a practice prevailing in certain towns on the Mississippi of exacting wharfage from the boats on that riv er. This Committee reported that Congress had the right to regulate commerce between the several states and that these exactions were unequal, oppressive and contrary to the constitution. This resolution was passed and the governor was directed to transmit it with the report to the governors of Mississippi and Louisiana.

A resolution also passed authorizing the burning of $270,414 of the notes of the bank of the commonwealth reclaimed from circulation.

A bill was reported for the repeal of the law allowing pay for slaves executed,' the discussion of which caused much excitement. In the course of the debate, it was averred by a member, that the state of Kentucky contained one hundred and sixty thousand slaves, while only one-fifth of the tax paying whites were their entire owners, and that $68,000 had already been paid, from the state treasury as indemnity for slaves executed. The bill was finally laid upon the table, to make room for a substitute, imposing a tax of one fourth of one per cent upon the value of all slaves in the state, for the creation of a fund to meet such disbursements. Both bills, after much debate, were lost, leaving in force the old law as it originally stood, and causing great dissatisfaction among the non-slave-holding population. A bill subsequently passed to a third reading in the house, prohibiting the bringing into that state any slave for sale or as merchandise, which did not however be

come a law.

OHIO.

STEAM BOATS.-The improvement of the western country has been, for the three or four past years, without a parallel in the history of new settlements. Causes of great magnitude and power generally operate slow results. In nothing has this been seen more clearly, than in the results of the application of steam power to transportation on the western waters. This power, of immense influence everywhere, from the physical conformation of the western country at once promised a bearing upon the interests of the west, which, perhaps, exceeded that which it could have upon any other country of equal extent. The rivers in those states are of immense length, compared with those of most other countries. They have for the most part calm and unbroken, but strong and powerful currents. They are almost interminable natural canals, interwoven by a complicated tissue of hundreds of boatable lateral branches. No other river, it is believed, on the globe waters so many and so remote shores, as the Mississippi. Nor can any other be 'compared to it, in regard to the extent of its steam navigation. Taking lakes and all sorts of boatable waters into the computation, it is believed, that the Mississippi and its waters offer, without

calculating any artificial canal in the account, 50,000 miles. This immense alluvial valley, probably the most extensive and fertile known on the earth, is all the theatre of steam-boat navigation. Steam vessels traverse it in every direction, and form by far the most general and important facilities of transport and travel for great distances, which the country offers. Had it not been for the invention and application of steam to propelling boats on the water, the western country would have been at this time, a vast extent of sparsely peopled forest, cultivated by farmers, of habits, and in a state of improvement, like the people of western Virginia, and those of the interior of the western states. It would, perhaps, have contained 1,000,000 people uniting the habits of hunting, pastoral, and agricultural life, equally happy, it may be, with the present inhabitants but much more rude, simple and hunter like in their modes and appearance. The dense population, the large towns, most of the manufacturing establishments, the municipal improvements, the advances, real or pretended, in literature, the taste for modes, finery and ways of living, now witnessed in the western states, identifying the appear ance and wants of their population with

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