he was quickly thrust aside. And now came a tremendous rush on the part of the mob, to prevent my entering the hall. For a time, the conflict was desperate; but at length a rescue was effected by a posse that came to the help of the mayor, by whom I was carried up into the mayor's room. "In view of my denuded condition, one individual, in the post-office below stairs, kindly lent me a pair of pantaloons; another, a coat; a third, a stock; a fourth, a cap, &c. After a brief consultation (the mob densely surrounding the City Hall, and threatening the safety of the post-office), the mayor and his advisers said my life depended upon committing me to jail, ostensibly as a disturber of the peace. Accordingly, a hack was got in readiness at the door; and, supported by Sheriff Parkman and Ebenezer Bailey, Esq. (the mayor leading the way), I was put into it without much difficulty, as I was not at first identified in my new garb. But now a scene occurred that baffles the power of description. As the ocean, lashed into fury by the spirit of the storm, seeks to whelm the adventurous bark beneath its mountain waves, so did the mob, enraged by a series of disappointments, rush like a whirlwind upon the frail vehicle in which I sat, and endeavor to drag me out of it. Escape seemed a physical impossibility. They clung to the wheels, dashed open the doors, seized hold of the horses, and tried to upset the carriage. They were, however, vigorously repulsed by the police. A constable sprang in by my side, the doors were closed, and the driver, lustily using his whip upon the bodies of his horses and the heads of the rioters, happily made an opening through the crowd, and drove at a tremendous speed for Leverettstreet. But many of the rioters followed even with superior swiftness, and repeatedly attempted to arrest the progress of the horses. To reach the jail by a direct course was found impracticable; and, after going in a circuitous direction, and encountering many 'hair-breadth 'scapes,' we drove up to this new and last refuge of liberty and life, when another desperate attempt was made to seize me by the mob,but in vain. In a few moments, I was locked up in a cell, safe from my persecutors, accompanied by two delightful associates, a good conscience and a cheerful mind. In the course of the evening, several of my friends came to my grated window, to sympathize and confer with me, with whom I held a strengthening conversation until the hour of retirement, when I threw myself upon my prison-bed, and slept tranquilly. In the morning, I inscribed upon the walls of my cell, with a pencil, the following lines: "Wm. Lloyd Garrison was put into this cell on Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 21, 1835, to save him from the violence of a "respectable and influential" mob, who sought to destroy him for preaching the abominable and dangerous doctrine, that "all men are created equal," and that all oppression is odious in the sight of God. "Hail, Columbia!" Cheers for the autocrat of Russia, and the sultan of Turkey! "Reader, let this inscription remain till the last slave in this despotic land be loosed from his fetters.' "In the course of the forenoon, after passing through the mockery of an examination, for form's sake, before Judge Whitman, I was released from prison; but, at the earnest solicitation of the city authorities, in order to tranquillize the public mind, I deemed it proper to leave the city for a few days, accompanied by my wife, whose situation was such as to awaken the strongest solicitude for her life." Mr. Garrison, in 1840, attended the World's Convention, in London, as an agent of the American Anti-slavery Society. He was one of the originators of the Anti-Sabbath Convention, which held its first gathering at Boston, in the Melodeon, March, 1848. We doubt not the sincere devotion of William Lloyd Garrison to his favorite cause of immediate emancipation; but his published pamphlets and newspaper articles abound in a spirit of intolerance, sweeping censure, and rash, injurious judgment, tending to defeat the grand purpose of the contest. The endeavor to extend liberty forthwith to the slave, by the fierce, bitter, and exasperating spirit of fanaticism, has more firmly bound the chains of servitude than when abolition societies were founded. They partake largely of the prevailing ultraisms of the land. We doubt not Garrison's strength of principle in sympathy for the oppressed. Indeed, we hope the Liberty Bell will resound over the whole compass of this mighty republic, until the lash of every overseer is thrown away; but the system of affiliated Societies, held together by passionate eloquence, is to be deplored, and their intolerant spirit is without a parallel in any great work of reform in the land. "Let the Union be dissolved," said orator Douglas, at Syracuse; "I wish to see it dissolve. I welcome the bolt, be it from heaven or hell, that shall shiver it to pieces!" The twenty years' excitement for immediate emancipation is defeated, and the impressive theme on the mind of every philanthropist must be how to soften the hard fate of the enslaved, and what is the wisest plan of device for effacing the curse from our country. We admire the intense devotion of Garrison to the cause of liberty, in the same ratio that we deplore his intemperate zeal. Indeed, we know nothing in our language breathing so strongly of the spirit of disunion, as the ten violent anathemas of Garrison, in his "accursed" article denouncing the American Union. IVERS JAMES AUSTIN. JULY 4, 1839. FOR THE CITY AUTHORITIES. "NOT solely to those who sanctioned the federal constitution by their names," says Mr. Austin, "should its glory be ascribed. They who, poising themselves on their personal character, dared dissent from some of its principles, are entitled to more gratitude than posterity has bestowed. Had the advocates of a stronger government succeeded in the convention, had the president been invested with the useless tinsel of a regal title, and the fatal brilliancy of royal authority,— this anniversary would not now be hailed as the jubilee of freedom. If the executive, rising above the darkness of faction, make the national interest his cynosure, experience has proved that liberty is not endangered by the energy of government. "But if, descending from the elevation intended by the framers of the constitution, he mingles in the turmoil of political contest, placing himself first, his party next, and his country the last, in his thoughts, experience has equally proved that tyranny may be concealed by republican robes. The opponents of the constitution distrusted human virtue. They foresaw that the 'golden sceptre' of executive authority might become an iron rod to bruise and break' the disobedient. They exerted their influence to diminish its power. Whether such apprehensions were founded in wisdom, modern experiment will be able to decide. The problem is yet unsolved, whether American freedom has most to dread from the strength or weakness of the federal head. Executive power has already proved a formidable foe to popular virtue; --whether an invincible foe, coming events will shortly declare. "However mistaken the opponents of the constitution may have been in the extent of their objections, their opposition lowered the high tones of those who desired more energy in the government. It is well that the ultraism of neither party prevailed; but, were the executive stronger, republicanism, in this age, would be in danger of dissolution. The minority of the convention had a large, if not a principal share, in the compromise it effected. The spirit of independence animated their souls. It raised them above personal considerations. It led them to sacrifice at the shrine of their country the reward of long and successful toil for its welfare. If few in number, greater their praise. The cause of opposition was to them the cause of truth. They fearlessly maintained it; "And, for the testimony of truth, have borne Though worlds judged them perverse." Ivers James Austin, son of Hon. James T. Austin, was born at Boston, and entered the Latin School in 1822; pursued his education at the United States Military Academy, in West Point, where he graduated in 1828; engaged in the study of law in the Law School of Harvard College, where he received an honorary degree in 1831; in the same year he entered the Suffolk bar, and pursued his legal studies in the office of his father, and became a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company. He has been the commander of the Rifle Rangers, lieutenant-colonel of the Boston regiment, and its judge-advocate. He was of the school committee in 1836 and 1837. His elaborate report, as chairman of a sub-committee on the reörganization of the public schools of Boston, is a highly valuable document. In 1838 he was elected a representative to the State Legislature. He became a counsellor-at-law; and married Elizabeth Turner Amory, Oct. 9, 1846. Mr. Austin possesses an unusual share of legal knowledge, and is remarkable for soundness of judgment. He has been a frequent contributor to the Law Reporter; and his account of the origin of the Mississippi doctrine of repudiation, in that journal, was so highly esteemed, that it was printed in Illinois, Mississippi, and this State, in a separate form. He furnished a valuable article for Willis' American Monthly Magazine, on the facilities for vice and intemperance in the Tremont Theatre; and has contributed, also, to the North American Review and the Biblical Journal. His article on the nature and claims of the Military Academy at West Point is of great national spirit. THOMAS POWER. JULY 4, 1840. FOR THE CITY AUTHORITIES. WAS born at Boston, Oct. 8, 1786; and his birth-place was on the estate next above the Golden Ball in Hanover-street, where Benjamin Franklin was employed in the shop of a tallow-chandler. He graduated at Brown University in 1808, and engaged in the study of law, under the guidance of Hon. Judge Jackson. He became a counsellorat-law in 1811, opened an office at Northfield, where he practised law for a period of four years, when he settled at Boston, and was, during a period of seven years, an efficient member of the primary school committee. He married Elizabeth Sampson, of Duxbury, a descendant of the Pilgrim Fathers; and was the clerk of the Boston Police Court, from the foundation of the city government. It was in the office of Mr. Power, who conceived the idea, that it was decided to plant the four rows of beautiful elm-trees that flourish on the main street of Northfield. Mr. Power possesses a highly poetical vein, besides great capacity in the legal profession; and whatever he attempts he executes with all his power, whether as author or in his vocation at court. He is a fervid national poet. His Log Cabin Song, which was sung by the Louisiana delegation, on their entrance into Boston, in September, 1840, to attend the electioneering gathering for Gen. Harrison, and the song for President Taylor, in 1848, ""Tis a nation's jubilee, Honor to the brave and free; reflect much credit moreover, "The Old Grist Mill," from his hand, to the warmth of his heart. His contributions to the Daily Atlas indicate the purity of his judgment in musical criticism. Mr. Power has been a political admirer of the policy of Harrison Gray Otis; and, at a public festival in Faneuil Hall, March 4, 1829, when he was mayor of Boston, gave this sentiment," Hon. H. G. Otis: Made dearer to Bostonians by Washington railing and Boston railways." Amid the multiplicity of his engagements, Mr. Power has found leisure to exercise his native talent; and of his productions we find Masonic Melodies, 108 pages 8vo.; Secrecy, a poem delivered before the Knights Tem |