"1. Resolved, That we demand freedom and established institutions for our brethren in Oregon, now exposed to hardship, peril, and massacre, by the reckless hostility of the slave power to the establishment of free government for free Territories; and not only for them, but for our brethren in New Mexico and California.

"And whereas, it is due not only to this occasion, but to the whole people of the United States, that we should declare ourselves on certain other questions of national policy: therefore,

"2. Resolved, That we demand cheap postage for the people; a ' retrenchment of the expenses and patronage of the federal government; the abolition of all unnecessary offices and salaries, and the election by the people of all civil officers in the service of the government, so far as the same may be practicable.

"3. Resolved, That the river and harbour improvements, whenever demanded by the safety or convenience of commerce with foreign nations, or among the several States, are objects of national concern, and that it is the duty of Congress, in the exercise of its constitutional powers, to provide therefor.

"4. Resolved, That the free grant to actual settlers, in consideration of the expenses they incur in making settlements in the wilderness, which are usually fully equal to their actual cost, and of the public benefits resulting therefrom, of reasonable portions of the public lands, under suitable limitations, is a wise and just measure of public policy, which will promote, in various ways, the interests of all the States of this Union; and we therefore recommend it to the favourable consideration of the American people.

"5. Resolved, That the obligations of honour and patriotism require the earliest practicable payment of the national debt; and we are, therefore, in favour of such a tariff of duties as will raise revenue adequate to defray the necessary expenses of the federal government, and pay annual instalments of our debt, and the interest thereon.

to

6. Resolved, That we inscribe on our banner; " Free soil, free speech, free labour, and free men," and under it will fight, and fight ever, until a triumphant victory shall reward our exertions.'

Such were the rival principles which struggled for ascendency, and aspired to the honour of administering the affairs of this great Confederacy for the next four years. And although the Whigs were reproached by their adversaries with having no political principles, or with being afraid to avow them, and that they supported General Taylor only for his military merit, yet in point of fact, this presidential contest as decidedly hinged on party principles as any which preceded it, and with the exception of the "free soil men," who voted for Mr. Van Buren, and who deemed the question of extending domestic slavery the most important of any, nineteen-twentieths of the American people voted for General Taylor or General Cass, as they agreed with one or the other in political sentiment, as they favoured or disapproved

a protective tariff-a metallic currency-the power of the general government to make river and harbour improvements, and other facilities of transportation-the exercise of the presidential vetoand as they inclined to range themselves under the class of reformers or conservatives. At the present day, whoever would obtain the popular suffrage, must elect between the two great parties, which by well-known lines, and in nearly equal portions, divide the American people. Nor could General Taylor, though his personal popularity is, perhaps, greater than that of any other citizen, have possibly been elected, and in all probability, would not have received the votes of a single State, if he had not belonged to one or the other of those parties.

After a less animated and active canvass than has been usual, except in a few States, on the 7th of November, electors were chosen in all the States, as a late act of Congress requires. Although the power of electing a President from the citizens at large is vested absolutely in a majority of the whole body of electors, without regard to any nomination whatever, and though the framers of the Constitution intended that they should exercise this power according to their own discretion, without limitation or control; yet, according to the settled usage ever since the retirement of General Washington left the presidential chair a subject of controversy, the electors are held bound to obey the wishes and instructions of their constituents, and the choice of the electors, in the conflict of parties, is, by the force of this moral law, now regarded as deciding the choice of the President and Vice President.

Regarding the two elections then as identical, the returns from the several states showed that General Taylor and Millard Fillmore had

received from

Mr. Van Buren and Mr. Charles Adams received no electoral vote whatever.

The popular vote for the three prominent candidates, or rather for their respective electors, was as follows:

For Gen. Taylor,
"Gen. Cass,

"Mr. Van Buren

1,356,697.

1,220,071.

291,470.

The whole number of votes given in 29 states-for in South Carolina, the legislature chooses the electors-was, 2,872,783, which is about one-seventh of the present population, after deducting the coloured portion, a very small proportion of which have the privilege of voting.

Gen. Taylor and Gen. Cass received the suffrages of an equal number of states, fifteen states having voted for each. Of these, seven free and eight slave-holding states, voted for Gen. Taylor; while eight free, and seven slave-holding states, voted for Gen. Cass. These three millions of votes were given on the same day, without tumult or disorder, freely, fairly, and with very few exceptions, according to conviction of right; and though the result of the election was looked to with anxious interest by all, yet when once the result was known, it was quietly acquiesced in by the minority, as well in those states in which that minority was the stronger party, as in those in which it was the weaker. The disappointed, as well as the successful voter, returned to his wonted pursuits, and all the great and the little wheels of the social machine continue to perform their appropriate parts, just as if this great movement of the whole had never taken place.

After the territorial government in Oregon was established, and the acquisition of California by the Mexican treaty, the executive, under the authority given by congress in August last, provided for the transmission of the mail between those distant points, and other parts of the Union. Once a month it is to be carried by a line of steamers, from Charleston to Havana and to Chagres, a small town on the Atlantic, east of the Isthmus of Panama, across the Isthmus to the town of Panama, and thence, by another line of steamers, to be conveyed to the several towns on the Pacific, in California and Oregon. It is expected that this communication between New York and Oregon will require thirty-five days, and that it will be in complete operation in the ensuing spring.* From San Francisco, in California, it is expected that there will soon be an active and increasing commerce with China, and that the voyage from that port to Canton, though upwards of 6000 geographical miles, may be made by steamers in from 25 to 30 days.

A traffic between two countries under the relative circumstances of

* See a statement on a subsequent page in this number, of the several routes to the Pacific.

China and California, would seem to be particularly profitable, notwithstanding the distance which separates them, since in one, the price of manufactured goods is at its minimum, and in the other, the price of raw produce may be expected to be so.

But the recent discoveries of gold in California seem likely to check this trade for a time, or at all events, to alter its character. That metal has been already found there in abundance equalled no where on the globe, except it may be in the Ural mountains; and the success of those who have lately engaged in searching for it has been so great as to divert the labour of that country from every other species of industry; and consequently to make the prices of the necessaries of life, and of every species of human labour exorbitantly high. This feverish thirst for gold is rapidly extending to other parts of the Union, and companies are already formed in several of our principal sea-ports to send off expeditions to this new Eldorado of the west.

The effects of this abundance of gold may be very beneficial to the commerce of the United States, and may greatly hasten the settlement of California, but this benefit must be taken with the disadvantages inseparable from all countries, which owe their prosperity to mines of the precious metals. The extraordinary profits they occasionally give to adventurers, cause them by the illusions of hope to attract more than a fair proportion of labour and capital so as to reduce the profits of both so employed to less than the average rate; and, thus to divert industry from a more profitable to a less profitable employment. When, moreover, rich mines, after having built up flourishing towns and improved the surrounding country, cease to be worked, from having been exhausted or filled with water, or for want of a supply of fuel, &c., of which there are many examples in Spanish America, those towns and the neighbouring country, no longer nourished by the mines, sink into poverty and decay.

Another good consequence of the mines in California, may be in affording employment to the Indians in that Territory, by which they will be at once kept quiet, be trained to habits of industry and advance in civilization. It is gratifying to learn that the experiment now going on with the tribes west of the Mississippi, promises to be successful. They steadily improve in husbandry, the mechanical arts, and above all in the school instruction given to their children.

On the 4th of December, Congress assembled, and the next day the President sent in his annual message. As it not only sets forth with much detail the condition of the country, but superadds copious arguments on some controverted topics, it is, among papers of this character, of unprecedented length.*

The extreme length of the presidential messages is become the subject of general remark, and is seriously objected to. The first two presidents, following the example which prevailed in the colonies, as well as in the mother country, made speeches to the two houses of Congress on the opening of every session; and when

After congratulating the country on its unwonted prosperity, both in its foreign and domestic relations, it dwells with complacency on the benefits resulting from the war with Mexico, in proving the capacity both of our people and their government, for even offensive hostility without a standing army, and in the value of the territory acquired. He estimates the area of Texas, New Mexico, and Upper California, united at $61,598 square miles, which estimate, supposing Texas to contain 260,000 square miles, rates the new acquisitions about 590,000. With these recent accessions, he remarks that the area of the United States is now nearly equal to that of all Europe exclusive of Russia; and that 970 miles have been added to the line of Coast on the Pacific, which, including that of Oregon, amounts to 1620 miles. The value of California, in reference to the whale fishery, to a vast commerce with China, and other parts of Asia, other ports on the western coast of America, and the islands in the Pacific, and to its fertile mines of gold, quicksilver, and other minerals, are particularly dwelt on. In consideration of the great abundance of gold, he recommends the establishment of a branch mint in California. He urges on Congress the importance of organizing territorial governments for New Mexico, and California; and the conflicting views on the subject of slavery, in those territories which such organization produced at the last session, are adverted to, and earnestly deprecated. He argues at some length that this subject should be left exclusively to the territories themselves, but that under the example of the Missouri compromise between the slaveholding, and non-slave-holding States, the line of 36°30' may, and should by a like compromise be extended to the Pacific. The immediate attention of Congress is invoked to this question, which he remarks is the only one that seriously threatens, or probably ever can threaten to disturb the harmony of the Union. The hostilities of Indian tribes in Oregon is mentioned as an additional reason for the establishment of a territorial government there. A liberal policy towards the Indians is recommended.

By the increase of foreign commerce the imports for the year ending on the last day of June, the exports amounted to 154 millions of dollars; and the imports to about a million more, of which 132 millions were retained for domestic use. The receipts into the treasury were 35,436,000 dollars, and the expenditures 42,811,000 dollars. The receipts into the treasury for the succeeding year, ending in June 25, 1849, including a balance in the treasury, are estimated at 57,480,000 dollars, and the expenditures at 54,195,000 dollars. Of this sum, about 26 millions are thought sufficient for the ordinary peace expenditure, and the residue will be expended in the reimbursement of Treasury notes, and in the payment of the public debt.

Mr. Jefferson, thinking there was a tinge of royalty in this mode of executive communication, substituted written messages, the change was hailed as a decided improvement. These written papers have, however, given rise to a prolixity of detail, which probably no spoken address would have hazarded.