{ title: 'The Spirit of the age. (New York) 1849-1850, December 08, 1849, Page 15, Image 15', download_links: [ { link: 'http://www.loc.gov/rss/ndnp/ndnp.xml', label: 'application/rss+xml', meta: 'News about NYS Historic Newspapers - RSS Feed', }, { link: '/lccn/np00110006/1849-12-08/ed-1/seq-15/png/', label: 'image/png', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/np00110006/1849-12-08/ed-1/seq-15.pdf', label: 'application/pdf', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/np00110006/1849-12-08/ed-1/seq-15/ocr.xml', label: 'application/xml', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/np00110006/1849-12-08/ed-1/seq-15/ocr.txt', label: 'text/plain', meta: '', }, ] }
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H o j i e s t e n d E x e m p t i o n i m I l l i n o i s . — T h e Illinois Senate at its late session passed the best H om estead Exemption bill we have seen yet. Its superiority consists in exem p ting from seizu r e and sale a certain quantity ofland w ithout reference to ifs estim a ted value; the m ain provisions of the bill are a3 follows : T h e bill for an act to exempt homesteads from sale on execu tion exempts from sale for debt forty acres used for agricultural purposes, and not included in any town plat, city or village, or instead thereof, at the option of the debtor, a quantity of land not exceeding one-fourth of an acre, w ithin a recorded town plat, city or village, and the dw elling house thereon, occupied by the head of a family residing w ith the same. The second section is as follow s: “ Such exemption shall not extend to any mechanics’ and laborers’ lien, or any m o rtgage thereon lawfully obtained ; but suclt m o rtgage or other alienation of such land by the owner thereof, i f a m arried man, shall not be valid w ithout the signature of his w ife.” T h e rest of the bill directs the course to be pursued by the officer and the parties in the execution to ascertain the home stead by m etes and bounds, which is the same substantially w ith that contained in all other exemption laws. T h e House have,a bill before them containing nearly the same provisions as the Senate bill, w ith no m a terial difference. Vfc- ► « <3> » 4 -«*> T h e F e s t i v a l . — W e have never seen a more g eneral observance of T h a n k s g iving west of the Land of Steady H a b its than that of yesterday. T h e good, if not old customs of social re-unions of family gatherings and neighborhood greetings, were pleas ingly prevalent. B u siness relaxed its intensity, and care for a tim e was banished, while the house of worship, the cheerful draw ing-room and the bountiful repast shared the scepter of the day, to the mental and physical gratification and improve ment of thousands of our citizens, who would be still further benefilled if sim ilar occasions occurred ofter.er in the current of their busy lives. W e have never before observed so early and universal closing of stores and shops; in the principal streets it seemed Sunday instead of Thursday, and those who still pursued their avocations looked as if ashamed of the act and seemed ready to say “ n ext year I ’ll not be caught in sueh a scrape as this at any rate.” T h e church attendance, aided by the cheerful influence of the clear, cool and brilliant day, was very f u l l ; exceeded only by the attendance at the dinner table, w h ich of course exceeded all other business. Thousands of our c itizens w e n t towards sunrise, via the Sound boats and the N ew -H a v en cars, to enjoy the dayjjin the land of their birth ; but though the purnpkin-pies may have been better, we doubt if their satisfaction was greater than of our metropolitans who stayed in town. W e trust that the custom thus firmly established will' continue to grow in public favor until the man who does not regard T h a n k s g iving as a day ot gratitude and rational enjoyment will be classed with him who disputes the claim of the Fourth of July to the usage of a holiday.— [Tribune. V i s i t o r s a t t h e N e w C i t y . — T h e Springfield Republican, says, the beautiful weather of Tuesday allowed a host of ladies and gentlemen from the cities^ and adjacent country to gratify their curiosity by seeing the dam at the New C ity . T h e cars from Springfield and Chicopee all w ent heavily freighted, and many came from the North. T h e shore on bolh sides was covered all day w ith spectators, and it is calculated that nearly or quite as many were on the ground as there were on Monday. T h e dam bears its honors bravely. It deiiveis from its iron lip as fine a sheet of w ater as flows in the world. It is asserted by gentlem en in Springfield, that oil M onday night the vibration of the a ir produced by the new fall was perceptible in the shaking of their window's, it w'culd seem a 'arge story, \ et the small fall at M ittencag w a r formerly felt in the same manner. (ftcram anii (Eountrji Item s. J j T According to a recent statistical account, there are in the A u strian monarchy, not including H u n g ary, sixty-one thou sand eight hundred and eighty-eight priests and nuns, v iz : thirty-five thousand seven hundred tw enty-eight cures or assis tants, and in seven hundred and three monasteries fourteen thousand five hundred monks and clerks, and in one hundred and thirteen convents three thousand six hundred and sixty nuns and no vices. The clergy of H u n g a ry is composed of twenty thousand individuals. 15= Commodore Stewart, in a letter addressed to Barnabas Bates, Esq. of New-York, expressed his conviction that the naval service is “ wholly and completely aristo c r a tic; th a t it has not, even under monarchy, its equal in existence,” B u t he attri butes a portion of the blame to the law regulating the service, which leaves no discretion to the officers as to the mode of p u n ishment, but requires whipping in all cases. He expresses the hope that Congress will do something, a t its next session to w ards a reform of the system. --------- «>- > < > -I -------- F r u i t s of an u n ju s t W a r — I t is stated on what seems to he good a u thorty, that there will be a defiicit of between fifteen and twenty millions of dollars in the amount of revenue which will be requisite to meet the expenditures of the Government for the fiscal y ears, ending the 30th of June, 1850, and 1851. This enormous short coming is occassioned entirely by the extraordi nary expenditures of the Government growing out of the Mexi can war, and the treaty with that country'. --------- <S*- > 4 ■fy- » 4 --■*«>— ....... f 5 ° In. a lecture at Southampton on George Fox, Mr. G. Dawson said ; “ L u ther and Fox were gentle—men of whom children were fond— to whom dogs would r u n —to whom nature was kind. They were feminine men, not effeminate men. Say a man is effeminate, you shame him beyond redem p tion; but say he is feminine, and you do him honor. So of a woman : call her masculine, and you tau n t h e r : but, like Ben Jonson, say she is ‘manly,’ and you compliment her.” There is now living in this city, in extreme-want, a man who at one tim e had one hundred and eighty thousand dollars, amassed by a few w eeks successful gambling. For some years he lived in the utmost luxury, h aving over four hundred suits of clothes, but the smiles of fortune deserted him, and at last he has been reduced to beggary. In threadbare coat, and w ithout either energy or character, he may be daily seen in Broadway. <•«<£>>« —— ------- fjj* Soulouque, the Negro Em p eror of Hayti, is said to be a stout, good-looking negro, about 30 years of age, w ith a mild or r a th e r a stupid expression of countenance. He is extrem ely superstitious, s till practicing the African m ysteries of Obi and Vandou. His court favorite is a professed sorcerer, who, with several priestesses, performs the “ wangas” of the Vandou ceremonies, although there is a Jesuit priest resident at court. <&— p 4 p < ---------- ■ A m e r i c a n M e c h a n i c s a p p r e c i a t e d A a r o a d . — American m achinery for London is in the course of construction at Tren ton, New J ., to be used in the m anufacture of India rubber. The Em peror of R u ssia has sevetecu ships of the line in the Black Sea, and tho Sultan of Turkey’ lias twelve, nearly all of which were built by Messrs. Eckford and Ehodes, of New York, aud are amoDg the best specimens ol naval architecture.
