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this mining region by others. The lead is of the purest quality, and I think will yield eighty-five per cent. As the discovery is new, the extent of the mine is a matter of conjecture. I would remark, however, that according to Dr. Ure, Galena as it occurs in the primitive formations in Europe, contains more silver than that of calcareous formations.

I have also recently discovered Cobalt near Caledonia, accompanied with Manganese Ore, along with the yellow sandstone rock. The quantity of this ore is yet unknown. The quality is apparently very pure. It is well adapted to the manufacture of zaffre, smalts, &c.

In a late tour through the country I have discovered Manganese Ore and Black Wad in quantities. These are pronounced to be of good quality. They are found in the western edge of Cape Girardeau county. I have also discovered Manganese Ore in the southern part of St Genevieve county, which is very extensive and of the purest quality. It is located about twenty-one miles from the Mississippi river.

There has been some tin discovered near Caledonia, accompanied with quartzose felspar, but not in any workable quantity. Many other minerals have been discovered in this neighborhood, but it is not known yet what they really I will speak of them at some future day. Caledonia, May 12, 1848.

are.

F. WOOLFORD.

ORIGINAL POETRY.

LINES TO MISS GEORGIA W——.

BY HENRY F. WATSON.

I PRAY thee, fair lady, no longer accuse

The friends who admire thee of flatt'ry profuse;

If they look, they must feel; if they feel, they must speak,
Though unbidden it bring the deep blush to thy cheek.

In the far-distant realms of the East, we are told,
There are beings who worship the sun more than gold;
But fore'er would they turn from the light of those skies,
Could they catch but a ray of the light of thine eyes.

Then while the poor heathen is dazzled and won,
And looks with delight at the rays of the sun,

Deny not to us the one blessing we prize

Of bowing beneath the sweet light of thine eyes.

Other lights are around us, above and below,

And we heed not their rays; but the soft, witching glow That lurks on thy cheek, and distils from thine eyes,

Is sweeter by far than the lights of the skies.

Then a toast to the light of the eyes that outshine

The bright orbs of the Heav'ns, and the gems of the mine,
And a health to her, who, though caress'd and belov❜d,
Is with gentleness, kindness, and modesty cloth❜d.

LINES TO MISS

BY T. F. RISK.

THOU art a pure and noble creature,
With eyes of fire and lips of dew,
In whose fair form confiding Nature
Has thrown her brightest gems to view.

Thy voice is like sweet music floating

In air, at midnight's lonely hour,

When twinkling stars in Heaven are gleaming,

And sighing zephyrs kiss the flower.

Now 'tis heard in deep pathos gliding
Like music from the spheres above,
Now gentle, gay, fond and confiding,
In accents musical with love.

Thy smile is like the blush of morn,
When sunbeams sip the dews of night;
Thy laugh more sweet than hunter's horn
As first it greets the morning light.

When thus I see thee in thy brightness,
And smiling forms around thee glide,
Thou seem'st to be an Angel's likeness
Lingering o'er life's restless tide.

FAREWELL! I give this parting sigh

In memory of other scenes,

When the pulse of Hope beat warm and high,
And Life was seen through brighter dreams.

1

A SCRAP FROM THE EDITORS' TABLE.

Our life is two-fold.-BYRON.

OUR existence is three-fold: the impressions of the present are assimilated with our mental and moral natures; while memory and hope conjoining, extend the province of man to little less than infinite.

In our rapid and resistless speed on the wing of time do we bear along with us these captive impressions; or does the mind leave the subjects of its conquest in the occupation of their respective places, and expanding as it proceeds, add each new acquisition to its former dominion? Be this as it may, the impressions of the present are incorporated with those of the past; and are not the less permanent because the objects that made them may have perished from the earth. And thus this mental dominion of man is peopled with the images of forms which have ceased to exist in the material world. Nay more, the thoughts and affections which pertained to the beings of the past are also impressed upon our mental and moral natures; and thus rescued from oblivion, survive the corporeal existence of those from whom they emanated.

But still these images of the material world-as also those of thought and affection-adhere to time and place, and retain all their former relations to the past. Has the form of one whose love constituted our highest delight faded from our vision, and its substance returned thither whence it came; and do we desire to refresh our hearts at the pure fountain from which in times past we drank deep draughts of pleasure-we return to the time, the place, and the circumstances which called forth some unwonted demonstration of affection; and then, although long since dried up, the living fountain is again opened; and as the gentle showers of heaven descending on the withered plant, causeth it to rejoice-so do the consecrated impressions made by beings which have ceased to exist, revive our sympathies; and wrapped in the pleasures of the past, we escape for a season from the evils of the present.

Then, truly, the past is ours: and we are permitted even, in our present state of existence to draw both pleasure and instruction from beings whose material forms have been dissolved into their original elements.

The future, also, that illimitable space where dwell our hopes-that Eden of desire-that better land, abounding in every good that fancy can devise, is ours. Had we not free ingress into this boundless region, whither could we escape from present ills? Or who would toil, did Hope promise no reward beyond the present hour? Did not the anticipations of the future mingle with our present enjoyments, they would no longer afford delight and hope failing, life itself would

cease.

THE

WESTERN JOURNAL.

Volume I.]

JULY, 1848.

[Number VII.

ART. I-ARTIFICIAL AGENTS OF EXCHANGE.

In the last number of the Western Journal, we endeavored to show that although the whole civilized world recognize money as the representative of all other commodities, yet this recognition has reference only to its functions as an agent of exchange, and that its specific value is the subject of agreement between the parties to every transaction. We also noticed the constant tendency of money to accumulate at the great commercial emporiums, and the advantages which this accumulation give to those who reside at or near those places; and having made a practical application of these principles to the economy of the country, we now propose to examine the subject of credit as an agent of exchange.

No topic is, perhaps, more familiar to the people of this country than that of credit; yet, when we attempt to trace out its effects, and consider the subject with regard to all its bearings upon the condition of a people, we perceive at each step as we proceed, that it becomes more intricate and difficult of apprehension. Credit may be regarded as absolutely essential to the existence of society; for, without trust or confidence between individuals, no social compact could have been formed in the beginning, nor could society exist even at the present day. If an individual is employed to labor for but one day, he must either credit the employer until the labor is performed, or the employer must pay in advance, and credit the laborer until he executes his work. Hence, credit is the result of necessity, and must have preceded all laws designed to enforce the rights of the creditor; and in cases not induced by necessity, the inference arises that it was originally based upon the moral character of the individual. The introduction of money as an agent of exchange, did not, nor could it obviate the necessity of credit, for both are necessary to the advancement of civilization. The same functions, although differing in power, are common to both. The credit of an individual must necessarily be limited and local, and he who holds the obligation of another can turn it to but little account where the debtor is VOL I, NO. VII.-34

unknown; but he who holds money is in some sense the creditor of all mankind. From the fact that a very large portion of the business of every community is carried on through the agency of credit, we are apt to conclude that were credit to cease in the ordinary transaction of buying and selling, the number and amount of exchanges of property would be diminished to an extent equal to the whole amount of the credit transactions; but this result would not follow as a necessary consequence, for it must be borne in mind, that although a commodity may be exchanged for credit, yet this is but the inception of the transaction which is not complete until the credit is liquidated; therefore, in local transactions, it requires, in the end, as much money to effect any given number and amount of exchanges upon credit as would have been required, had no credit intervened. Hence, although the money value of property is occasionally affected by the increase or diminution of credit, yet if the average price for a series of years could be ascertained, we imagine that it would be found to have been but little affected by the amount of credit which had obtained. For, as the common transactions of buying and selling on credit do not directly increase the volume of useful commodities, the amount of money in the country bears the same relation to the amount of property after the exchange, as it did before. Excessive credit, founded upon a spirit of speculation, may raise the price of property for a time, but this advanced rate can not long continue; for the necessity of completing the transactions by liquidating the credits with money, brings the property again to its money value, and the necessity of forcing it upon the market, generally depresses it below the average standard, until the excessive credit is liquidated. Owing to the revulsions consequent upon a redundancy of credit, many conclude that credit is an evil, and opposing it as a system, advocate the policy of basing all transactions upon money. This we have shown to be impracticable, inasmuch as credit, to some extent, is essentially necessary to the existence of civilization. That many evils flow from a redundancy of credit cannot be denied; but we esteem it impossible to define the limits of credit upon any principle of political economy, or by legislative enactments, without doing violence to that free exercise of individual action which is so necessary to both individual and social prosperity. We can imagine but two ways of diminishing the evils of credit: the one by improving and elevating the moral condition of society, and the other by diversifying labor so as to bring the consumer and producer as near to each other as practicable.

If a community, occupying a territory of moderate extent, produced all or nearly all the commodities necessary for its own consumption, there would be little danger that credit would become so much expanded as to produce any material revulsion; but in proportion as the distance at which the exchanges are made is increased, the evils of credit increase also; for the necessity of sending the money out of the country to liquidate balances abroad, disturbs the relation between money and property at home. The former becomes dearer, and the

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