The New York Herald Newspaper, May 22, 1853, Page 2

INTERESTING HOME LETTERS. Our Albany Correspondence. ALBANY, May 4, 1853, Excitement as to the Aggany Postmaster’s Appotnt meni—The Merits oMihe Respective Candidates Discussed in Detail, &¢., &e. As you are generally posted up in matters which not only have transpired, but those in prospect, pray tell me what is the prospect in regard to the Albany Postmaster. | don't suppose there is another office im the gift of the federal powers which has created 80 much excitement, so much interest, so much bet- fing, so much cursing, and so much swearing, as ‘this same Albany Postmaster. It is generally sup- posed that the two candidates most strongly pressed Dy the two sectious of the great democratic party are French and Johnson. They area pretty couple, to be sore, and pity ‘tis they both can’t have it. [t would be a blessed thing for the party. What the result will be if neither of them get it, or even one of them, the Lord only knows. The influence each of these men peasesses in his section of the party is beyond com- prehension, much less expression. I have heard it whispered by those upon whom the utmost reliance ean be placed, as speaking the true sentiment, that anjess Johnson is appointed the democratic party im this State, and consequently in the Union,) will go to And I have heard the same expression in re- gard to French not being appointed. Now, if fhis is the case, is it any wonder that there | should be excitement, interest, betting, cursing and | swearing’ Is it any wonder that Johnson should be running to the telegragh office forty times a day to see if there had been a despatch received an- nouncing his appointment? Is it any wonder that Hastings, of the Knickerbocker should con- wider it a ‘free fight,” and “go in” with ali | his might on Johnson's side? Is it any wonder that another whig concern here shouRi one day | denounce Peckham, our Congressman, charge him | with “going over’ to the softs and betraying Jobn- son, and the next retract on the authority of the | Knickerbocker? All these parties have the ‘stability of the democratic party at heart, and is it, [ ask, any wonder that they take such a deep interest in the matter? On the other hand, there npbeste to ben | jose who claim | to have democratic principles at heart. No outsiders | interest takenin French outside of ti in the cry for him, consequently it must be that is not the popular candidate. While the Kilkenny _ cat row is going on, others, it is said, are working like mischief for themselves. Wasson, one of the former postmasters in this city, and one of those Song-headed men who have looked on seen jast enough of tights to know where the advantage lies, is worming himse!f have worked in the same traces, side by side, wit Croswell, for a number of years, and know just where to run the knife iu to draw blood. With them it isa neck and neck business. For either of them to get ahead of the other would be the hardest work in creation, and to see either of them appointed would be less surprising, and perhaps less disastrous im its consequences, than any one else. It would come 50 natural. They both have enjoyed office all their lives until within the few past years, and some People say they have only been resting for the pur- pose of refreshing themselves for new and important duties upon the incoming of a democratic adminis | tration, which they scented from afar. Ido wish, Mr. Hurap, that you would inform us poor Albanians who is to be our postmaster, and when he is to be appointed, this year or next. ‘The present incumbent is a pretty clever fellow, and perhaps the retaining of him would do about as well aa to appoint a democratic successor. would irritate the Seward whigs more, while many of the democrats would like him as well as some of the candidates [ have named. Ixpex. Aupasy, May 9, 1853. The Enlargement of the Canals—The West Plan and the Vanderbilt Scheme—The Proposed Im- peachment of Mr. Mather—Split in the Democratic Party—Synopsis of the Report of the Committee against Mr. Mather—The Canal Frauds of 1845 —The Proceedings against Mc. Mather a Political Maneuvre. political discussion throughout the State, and especi- ally in this city—the head quarters of all party move- | ments—are the plans for the enlargement of the canals, and the accusation against Canal Commis- sioner Mather. The former question is simply a ehoice between twe Joan projects. Each proposes to raise money upon the most advantageous terms, but differs from the other as to the most advantageous method of re- payment. The West plan, brought forward in the Assembly, proposes to tax rea! and personal property to repay the money borrowed; while the Vanderbilt © seheme, which has passed the Senate, pledges to the | lenders the surplus eanal revenues, without other re- | course, and refuses to levy a cent of tax. The battle will be vigorously waged upon the reassembling of the Legislature; but it is scarcely doubted that the Vanderbilt plan will suceeed in the end. The proposed impeachment of Mr. Mather has elicited a discussion which smacks more of the old fashioned hunker and barnburner warfare than any- thing since 1449. The two factions of the democratic | party are quarrelling over this bone of contention with a hearty good will. The whig papers are | silent, enjoying the fun; while most of the nen- tral press follow the example of the Heranp in @enouncing the manner in which the i be ment was attempted, at a late hour of the ses- sion, and without notice to the aseused, and in commentiog upon the frivolous character ot the charges. ‘The report of the.committee has now been published, and the accusations con generally been noticed and respouded to by the bunker presses, so that the indictment and plea are already virtually before the public. A short synopsis will show impartiaily the nature of the charges and deniais. The special committee charge Mr. Mather— Ist. With paying illegally certain moneys to labor. ers on the job of contractor M’Caughin. 2d. With expending money at the j Hadson river and Ene Ganal, not pro; the precincts of the canai. 3d. With retaining two charges of misconduct had been brought against them. tion of the rly within 4th. With extravagant expenditures at the West Troy dock, &c. Sth. With not visiting the canals as often as re quired by law. 6th. With extravagant outlay for repairs on the To which Mr. Mather and the presses which sup: | him, reply— re That he acted as the agent of, and under the direction of the Canal Board, which had ordered the | , money to be paid to M’Caughin's men, the contrac tor having absconded, and Jeft them unpaid. 2d. That the expenditares on the Hudson tiver were within the line of the Canal, adcording ty the | State maps. 3d. That the superintendents were tried and ac- | quitted of all misconduct by the Caual Bowrd, the enly competent tribu 4th Levad se Troy dock expenditures h ted ye been rd, and approved. for the visitation by the Canal {o missioner, and that such inability existed 6th. That the committee's figures do not allow for | certain materials purchased for repairs, and not « from some reason, and which are n of the State. That this amount, if reduce the expenditure to a very mode 3, and especially of Mr. Bissell, then Canal Coramissioner upon the Western division. The whole matter is familiar enongh to such old politicians as then trod the political stage, bat there are not many of them still “surviving. Politicians are a short lived race, and six years is a Seneration to them. During the jyear 1845 certain charges of fraud ‘were brought before the Canil Board to be investi- ry implicating the then Superintendent of the | Valley Canal, and by oonsequence, as was seppored the Canal Cornmissioner having charge of beection. The matter as to the inferior officers having been partially investigated before the Board the Legislature, in its capacity as the impeaching body, took the matter in hand, and five members of | the heey were appointed a select committee to | whole affair, and of courw particular. ‘the culpability of the Commissioners themselves, | committee jed the time from the adjourn. | ment of the session of 1546 up to the middle of | Fel , 1847, at which time they made their re. fort: in taking testimony, in the course of which y seem to have scratinized every.rat-hole along ‘the line of the canala whence the tail of « fraud | Might bo supposed to protrude. Thetr report, pub- | (that is the expression.) | and | about | in admirable style, while Blanchard is doing likewise. | ‘These are a couple of well-trainedwire-pullers. They | Nothing | ned in it have | superintendents aiter | inability of the Com. | y | © struck’ lished among the Assembly documenta of the 70th session, is comprised in “a arenp eeaene. oP nearly nine handred pages, and embodies complaints, not ouly against the subordinates of Commissioner Bis- sells division, but also against himbelf. ‘The committee in this case alleged that under the Commissioner's directions, and without the anthority of law, an entire new canal had been excavated and completed near Black Rock quarry, at Buitalo, the cost of which to the State amounted to over seven- teen thousand dollars. They charge the engineer, Mr. John D. Fay, with complicity in this “ violation of law,” and award to him an almost equal share of the blame. Stronger language could scarcely have been used than is exaployed by the committee to- wards these functionari one 88 Tn the course of this investigation it appeared that the Canal Commissioners of that day ‘ passed over the canals not more than two or three times during each season, and then only in a cursory manner.’ It was shown that a earnest of gravel had been purchased by the superintendent, and that the amount paid for it by the State had considerably exceeded the value of the farm upon which it was found. There was a grave accusation of peculation, by means of false check rolls, of the work performed by the laborers, Ly It was maintained that large quantities of lumber purchased for the Genesee Valley Canal had mys- teriously disappeared—had been purloined and sold by persons in the neighborhood of the work, &e., &c. Now here were materials enough sure for almost any amount of punishment; and, from the serious nature of the allegations, it will be supposed, of course, that the offending Commissioner was at once | impeached and put upon his trial. Quite the con- . Mr. Bissell was a decided and active bara- | burner, and the investigating committee brought no | resolution of impeachment against him. Whatever were their motives they were right. 4 Doubtless this Commissioner exceeded his powers } in several instances; but it was evident that in most | of the cases he had merely been deceived by the superiftencents and others directly upon the works. > Asa member of the Canal Board, the Commissioner is obliged to be at Albany almost continually ; and were he e pt from that attendance, he must pos- sess the pi of ubiquity who could overlook every | structure and zepare upon his division oftener than once in eight weeks. Every circumstance connected with the attempted impeachment of Mr. Mather is contributing to show that your correspondent was right in speaking of it from the beginning as a po- litical manwuvre, designed much more to have effect upon the next Democratic State Convention, than ; upon the present Senate and Assembly. Our New England Correspondence. Boston, May 14, 1853. im Boston—The Constitutronal Conven- ve Standing Committees—Their Charac- Discussion on the Berlin Vacancy Question ter —Report on the Reconstruction of the Senate— Country Appoiniments—Lynn—Gloucester—Sa- lem—Waltham—Fitchburg—* Bolting” Coali- tionists Taboo'd—The Maine Law—Power of its Opponents—The Boston Post Office, Se. | Boston is one of the liveliest places in the world | just atthis time. Hverything “ is being” torn down, | and everything else “is being” built up. You cannot | go through a street without finding it more or less | blocked because of the work of destruction that is | going on, or the work of renovation that is going up. | A few years must see everything that is old re- moved, and a good deal of the comparatively new as well. The dsmand for “ business accommodations” | issuch that a man of even tolerable means cannot | afford to live here nfuch longer. In a short time | none but the very rich and the very poor will re- side in the city. What has happened to State street must soon befal the greater part of the town —its conversion into a vast mart, when man shall be too busy to merely live. Whether the change | isto be for the better is “a great moral question,” | which need not now be discussed. | The Convention has done next to nothing, except to talk on subjects, the discussion of which do not tend to advance its business, and which relates rather to its organization than its action. Some fifteen standing committees have been appointed by the President. They are far from being satisfactory, though it is understood that they are much better | than they were when first formed, when they were | During the legislative recess, the prineipal topics of | in such a state that their publication would have ex- cited “inextinguishable laughter” throughout the community. Itis understood that more than forty important changes were made in them, and there is room enough to make eighty‘more. Of the chair- | men of these committees but ten are whigs, though | that party has the largeat number of delegates, aud those ten are not on committees of a political cla- | racter. The freesoilers are largely favored, both in | having chairmen, and in the further construction of the committees. Messrs. Charles Sumuer, Charles | Allen, Henry Wilson, Moreus Morton, and Amasa Walker are at the head of the five most important committees, and they are supported by their faithful vassals on those bodies. Mr. Davis, of Worcester, who is only a nominal democrat, and really a free- soiler, is head of the committee on so much of the constitution as relates to the Governor, | while Mr. Knowlton, of the same place, is at ' the head of the Committce on the University at Cambridge. Mr. M. Knowlton has never had much to do with colleges, while Mr. Davis has been concerned with them all his life. The ludicrous im- propriety of the two appointments is apparent to all, while nothing cou’d have been better than an exchange of places between the two gentlemen; but, as some say, Mr. Banks has no idea of appointing menu to places where they are best calculated to figure. His idea of the fituess of men for their places does not go beyond the selectioa of compe- tent persons for presiding officers in large bodies. My opinion is that his blunders in this respect spring trom bis entire and unqualified ignorance of men and his indolence, which latter failing prevents him from giving due attention to any subject. He is industrious nowhere except ia the chair, and tive only when on his fe: The latter position he very raiely obtains now-a-days, and that i it What suits him. td ct of the E to whom t ahas been reli yho has been Hoase of only prominent democ: ppointed to au important place, and this to the fact that he is too far west to be in the President's y. People will be uncharitable, and are always looking for causes of action that have no existenee, the re uses lying right before their therefore are not secn. There has been any amount of talk, aud some of it very eloquent, on the question of filling the yacan- cies in the Convention, though nominally it bears only on the ferlin vacancy. ‘Tue real ob part of a portion of the | out of that be chosen on the Tuesday succee of November, instead of on th some other cha ‘The rep to the committee. The probabilit! thatthese amendments will be ad very general desire to have t single districts, and the sa T. appointinent of Mr. Sti ter of Lynn has a decidedly hunkeristr | opinion of some worthy people. Mr. Stickney has been for years quite a prominent man among the Havex democracy. He was run f ngress ten years ago. When the ‘‘old I'ners,” or hunker, ainet the coalition, two years ago, he | Was one of their most effective leaders. But the | huokers theinselyes split there into two parties, and Mr. yw ief of one of those parti i er, though tolerably familiar with | . ts politics, n able to the grounds of ‘this quarrel. aboli tionists said at the time it related only to “ the spoils.” It would seem that Mr. Stickney knew | what he was about, judging by his an | though the public generally wil about the matter, some of tt y to the place of iderstand what wer nong the democracy. Dr. Loring, who has re ceived the place of postmaster of Salem, though now a hunker of the impurest water, was formerly ono of the most thorough-going coalitionists in the State. ile was a strong bee ns Aethd Mr. Rantoul when that gentleman was run for Congress by free soilers as well as democrats. They were intiraste personal friends. He was a member of demoeratic con- vention which nominated Mr. Routwell for Governoria- 1860, and which act led to his election in considera tion of the elevation of Mr. Sumner to the place of United States Senator. His coalitioniam was of roof until last sammer, when, to the great aston shment of the unknowing onbs, he came ont strong oD the opposite side. An address from the hunker » | shaft has become filled wi lle | $326 74 per ton. @, and | not care a straw | politicians will be an thing but pleased with his appointment. There tos | always been a queer state of things in Ewex ¢ ounty democrats in favor of the pairs save law was written by him. He held a office under the coalition government, bein; inted a commis- sioner, or something of the 4 by Governor Bout- well, to visit some place on Cape Cod, to ascertain how deep the water was, or the physical condition of clams at high water, or the exact place of eel rass in the scale of creation, I do not know precise- iy which, and I have not time to look overthe docu- ments. He has cleverly contrived to make some- thing out of each shade of the party, which shows capacity of a peculiar kind, and therefore that he is deserving of elevation. It was thought that Mr. Burchmore would get something handsome from ‘overnment, as he was formerly an officer of e Salem custom house, and a ve good one, too. He is the gentleman of whom Mr. Haw- thorne speaks so highly, in the “introduction” to the Scarlet Letter. It was said when Mr. Wellman left the place of deputy collector in our custom house that Mr. Burchmore would be appointed his succes- sor, but the place was quickly given to Mr. Androas. It is thought that Mr. Miller, son of General Miller, and who succeeded his father as collector of Salem, will retain his place. Mr. Stacy, a leading coalition democrat, was strongly recommend e admin- istration for the place of collector of Gloucester, one of the best offices in the State out of Boston, but it has been given to Mr. Manning, of Rockport, hunker. Captain Lovett, of Beverly, and a coalition senator in 1852, was also powerfully backed for the office of collector of Salem and Beverly, but it would seem that he isnot to have the place. Report sa’ that he will be offered the naval officership of the same port, which was held by Mr. Hawthorne, under Mr. Polk’s administration. The reason why the Es- sex appointments have taken the hunkerish turn J believe to be this:—Some of the Essex coalition dem- ocrats last full got up a “bolting” electoral ticket, from which they omitted the names of Col. Greene and Mr. Hallett. This was done because those gentle- men were supposed to have had something to do with Mr. Bantoul’s dismissal from the Baltimore Conven- | tion, and the proceeding is now remembered to their disadvantage. In other parts of the State thoroughgoing coalitionists have been appointed withouvany trouble.jThe new fpostmaster of Wal- tham, Mr. Stone, was the coalition candidate for representative last year. Mr. Todd, new postmaster of Fitchburg, is a coalitionist. ‘The Maine law is to remain as it is, without alter- ation or amendment, judging from the votes of the- House, which, first, by a majority of forty-six, re- fused to repeal the law, and then, by a tie vote, re- fused to adopt the “‘stringent’’ amendments recom- mended by the committee which had the subject under consideration. The regular opponents of the law are about to organize thoroughly so that their political power shall be fully felt at the next elec- tion. If they shall carry out their plans in good shape they will hold the balance of power in every county in the State, not even excepting Suffolk and Worcester. The whigs have manifested a great want of sense in not repeating the law, and so se- curing the support of a band ot resolute mei, whose | power is great. It is true that they (the whigs) could not have rallied all their men against the law, but there are democrats enough who would be glad teaid them. The whigs would seem to be doomed, because they lack courage. S The report that Mr. Woodbury is to be our Post- master has assumed such shape and consistency that I have some faith in it, which I had not last week, as I had always understood that, so far as he had any official aspirations, they were directed to a foreign appointment. It is said that Mr. Woodbary is a voter in New Hampshire, but he certainly has resided here for some years. It is understood thaf there will be no more custem | house changes until next month. ALGomA. PrrreReEci, Mass., April 10, 1853, Pepperell—Its Productions in Agrieulture—Man- ufactures—Paper Machines, Blinds, Sashes, Shoes, €loths, §&c.—Silver* Orc—Population— Value of Property—Water Power—Fish—Gene- ral Appearance—Education—Emigration—His- torical Sketch of Pepperell—Its Revolutionary Ser- vices—Heroic Women—Co!. Prescott and Bunker Hill—Origin of the Prescott Family—Its Histor- ical Eminence—Various Taleats, Services, and Distinctions of its Members—Judge Prescott— William H. Prescott, the Historian—His Works —Tenacity with which New England Families adhere to the Soil—The Prescott Mansion House and Estate—€ol. Prescott’s Grave—The Want of @ Public Monument—The Grave of his Wife. The town of Pepperell is about four and a half | | miles from Groton, and little more than forty-three from Boston by the Boston and Fitchburg and Worcester and Nashua Railroads, The latter rail- road just grazes the edge of Pepperell. Like Gro- ton, Peppercil is noted for the excellence of its soil, and the amount and variety of its agricultural pro- ductions; but it excels the parent town in the extent of its exports, aud the various character of its indus- trial pursuits. Great quantities of hay are raised for sale after the very large home demand is supplied. Potatoes of cxcellent quality are produced | abundantly and sent to market. I'ruit of all kinds | known to our latitude flourishes, and the amount an- | | | nually sold is no small item ia the amount of the | Whitin, | Producers’ incomes. Apples, pears, peaches, plums, make g: ulreturns for the care bestowed upon | fitably and on alarge scale. Butter and cheese are | sources of profit to all who make them here. Corn is raised in considerable quantities, and also rye, | oats and wheat. The timber of Pepperell has ahigh reputation in the building and manufacturing world. It is of chestnut, oak and pine, and is used for ship- ping as well as for lighter purposes; much of it is sent from the town. Of wood, though much is an- nually cut, but little is sold abroad, th being Jarge at home for consamption in manufac- | sories, &c. | place having a name for them. Pork is sold exten | si The chief markets for the Toppers farmers | } are Nashua (N. H.,) and Lowell, with which com- | | munication iseasy and cheap. | | The manufactories of Pepperell are numerous and | profitable. There are four paper mills, two of waich | rodice | by Mr. manufacture for newspapers, aud the others wrapping paper. One of the former is owne Harvey, and is run by Grant & Daniell. of Boston; | another by Mr. Dewitt, of Worcester county, and | now a meinber elect of the new Congress; a third. | | by Mi. itichmond, of Lowell, and a fourth by Mr. H. | ia | G. Hartwell. The amount of capital invested here | this business is about £70,000. Forty persons employed. ir. Blake, formerly of ppeeesla has a manufac: tory here, pretty near all the work in which is done | | by members of his own family. Himself, five of his six sons, a son-in-law, and two apprentices are em- | ployed in the manufacture of tenoning machines, and | | is called, I believe, the Turbin water wheel, a | | ver ‘cuious invention of Mr. Blake's, aud which | is admitted to be the best thing of the kind going. | It isin use ali over the Union, aud Mr. Blake haw | just returned from putting up four of them in pay inills at Raleigh, N. C., where they work beyoud the | expectations of the purchasers. His sixth sen, Mr. | Blake told me, he found too honest to go into th machine shop, and so he made a miller of him. Thi fe ‘ormerly made steam engines, but have not ything in that way very lately. They alse | carry on a large fa Inst reons, | uc of the | Mr. Brooks is engaged in the manufae- ad pantaloon stuff, at a small factory | on the Nessitisse | Mr. Joeeph Heald, some time in the last century, | worked a silver mine in this place, which was quite | | productive, though now the mine has long been un- | | worked, ft is in the side, or rather at the | _ bottom of the side of a precipitous hill, and exienda | about an hundred fect into it. Veople used to ex- | plore it by way of curiosity, but the trees that for- | merly clothed the hill having been removed, the h water, and there is no | entering it without experiencing a potent foot-bath. Other places have been opened in the town, and have afforded more or less evidence that Pepper situated in an “‘argentiferous” region of country. Mr. | Whitney lately opened a spot from which hé took ore that was pronounced by so experienced a scien- | tifie man as Dr. Charles Jackson to be worth ‘The work has been discontia which is almost a sin in these days of silver scar: | and when the value of the two great metals of Mu | mon would seem to be changing place utnam Shattuck has an eminent shoe manu‘acturers, left this place for N tick, and laid the foundation of the great prosperity | of that fine town. The Lag see of Pepperell is about two thousand, | | allowing for the increase that has teken place since | the census was taken, three years sin The value | of the property of the town is about « million of dol- | lars. It bas but iow po people. The namber of town paupers is |. The town farm is in ad- | mirable order, and is not over valued at $4,000. The water power here is great, and is capable of being turned to much more. account than it ever has heen. The Nashua is here a beautiful stream, and also a strong one. The Nissitisset is a far inferior | stream, but it supplies the power for one paper mill | and for the cloth inanufactory of Mr. Brooks. The | other three poper mills are ou the Nashua. There cherries, quinces, &e., § ike th ji | tuck who figuresin this affair was wile of th cherries, quinces, &c., seem to like the situation and | man who led the Middlesex insurgents in the Shays’ | Rebellion. | them. Milk is sent to Boston and is disposed of pro- | ways | There were eight Pepperell men killed at Bunker e demand for it | | fore he had completed bis fortieth year. | men” raised in his neighborhood in 1774. ‘This re rivers. All these abundantly aapp! with fish, princi; Cats ‘ond a mee the brethren of the fe there can Indeed be no finer place than gentleman told me that he and a friend, at the Jest Shing aeenon, took on one occasion over seven hundred it, most of which weighed from half a pound to two pounds each. The pickérel are equally complaisant. ‘The general appearance of Pepperell is very plea- sing. The scenery is more regular than at Groton. ‘The farms are all highly cultivated. Every one is busy, and all appear to be prosperous, and unques- tionably they areso, During summer numerous strangers visit the place, many of whom remain throughout the season, captivated by its attractions, and the facilities which it affords for an indulgence in moral amusements, ‘There is a private lunatic asylum here, under the charge of Dr. J. 8. N. Howe, who has been ver, successful in his treatment of the mentally diseased. In pole Pepperell is strongly democratic. In 1848, like most of the Revolutionary towns of Middle- sex county, she gave a handsome plurality to en. Cass, and did comparatively better for Gea. Pierce last ere ‘There are but fewfree soilers in the town, which in this respect much resembles Groton. In roportion to her population, Pepperell casts a much ger vote than some towns of larger political pre. tensions. In the matter of education Pepperell has done her t toward sust the fame of Massachusetts. jven before the town a@.corporate existence the yple of the parish showed an interest in this sub- ject. There are now eight public school houses in ihe town, and it isin contemplation to establish a public high school. The Pepperell Academy was incorporated in 1841. Itis now under the care of Mr. Blood, who instructs forty pupils in the higher branches of learning, and who has been very suc- cessful. Mr. Perry has an academy, where he pre- res twenty young gentlemen annually for col- or inj to them a “ business education.” Mrs. Conant’s school for young ladies is always full, and has a high character. The town is a tavorite resort for the purpose of obtaining an education, as the climate is good, the terms of living are ver, reasonable, the teachers are persons of responsi- bility, and the means of communichting with all parts of the country are ample. No other town in New We ree sends forth every year so large a proportion of its population to other places as Beprerell, Its most valnable export is women—the next, men. ‘The men of Pepperell are to be found in Sven repar of the Union. 1 am as- sured that of the Massachugetts-born business men in New York, Pepperell has produced a larger num- ber than any other one of our towns. The female sex furnish school teachers, who rank in intelligence and ability second to none in New England, which isthe very land of school teachers and professers. The existence of Pepperell, as an independent cor- ration, dates back just one hundred years. In 742 that part of Groton on the west of Nashua river was set off and named “Groton West Parish.” In this condition it remained for eleven years, when, on the 12th of April, 1753, it was erected into a town, by the General Court, and named Pepperell. It was thus named in honor of Sir Wil- liam Pepperell, who, eight years before, had led a New England army to the capture of Louisburg. The minister of Groton West Parish, Mr. Emerson, had been a chaplain in Sir William’s-army, and the town’s name was probaly: suggested by the valiant clergyman, though there isa tradition that the fa- mous Colonel William Prescott, (then a mere youth, and, some say, a lieutenant in the conquering army,) had a conversation with General Pepperell and sug- gested the name. As if animated by the spirit of their valiant namesake, the people of Pepperell have always fee fine military disposition. The first minister, Mr. Emerson, always had a partiality for military pursuits after his retura from Louisburg. In the old French war,a company was raised at Pepperell which suffered severely in contests with the Indians. In 1775, on the outbreak of hostilities with England, Pepperell was one of the first towns that sent her men into thetield. The Rev. Mr. Emerson was a zealous patriot, and is said to have made the first prayer that was offered up in the army that drove the British out of Boston. He bad a large number of parishioners in that army, and it was while on a visit to them that he died. The women of this pert of the country seventy-eight years ago do not appear to have been much addicted to talking about ‘woman’s rights,” but they knew how to discharge men’s duties when occasion required. On the 19th of April, 1775, soon after the departure of the military under command of Col- Prescott, Mrs. David Wright, of vent erell, Sirs. Job Shattuck, of Groton, and the neighboring women, collected at what is now called Jewett’s Bridge, over the Nassau, between Pepperell and Groton, clothed in their absent husbands apparel, and armed with muskets, pitchforks, and such other wea) as they could tind, and having elected Mrs. Wright their commander, resolutely determined that no foe to freedom, foreign or domestic, should pass that bridge, for ruyors were rife that the regulars were ap- proaching, and frightful stories of slaughter flew rapidly trom place to place, and from house to house. Soon there apneerel one on horseback, supposed to be treasonab! . Sr iba in conveying intelligence to the ena: y the implicit command of Sergeant Wright ‘he is immediately arrested, unhorsed, searched, and the treasonable correspondence fourd concealed in his boots. He was de- taincd prisoner and sent to Oliver Prescott, Esq., of Groton, and his despatches were sent to the Committee of Safety. The person thus arrested and searched by the women was Leonard | , a New Hampshire boy, who was carrying | despatches from Canada to Boston. The Mra. Shat- same The Shattucks appear to have been al- a spirited and sanguine race. Hill,and the same number wounded. As the com- | mander at the redoubt was Colonel Prescott, a Pep- perell man, and as he was the only man who appears to have had anything like a regular command in that action, the people.of Pepperell feel as it the | bad a more than ordinary interest in that extraordi- | nary affair. fl § | his may not be an inappropriate place ‘for | giving some account of the Preseott family, so famous in our annals, and distinguished for having produced soldiers, jurists and scholars. The founder | of the family inthis country was a native of Lan- There are numerous cows bred here for sale, the | cashire, England, who removed to Barbadoes in 1638. He is supposed. to have come to Massachu- setts about 1640, setiling first at Watertown, and then at Nashua, in Worcester county, afterwards called Lancaster, which naine {t now bears. He was 4 blacksmith and mill-builder; but as he had in his possession a complete set of mail armor, it has been conjectured that he or his ancestors must have had some claim to military honors. The third son of this John Prescott, Jonas, was born in 1648, at Lancas- ter, aud from him are descended the American Pres- cotts. He married Mary Looker, of Sudbury. Con- cerning this pair there is enough of romance told to furnish out half « dozen tales of moderntimes. The course of true love was as rugged in their case as it has so often been in that of others; but the fact hat Mary Looker lived to see her descendants to the number of one hundred and seventy-five ‘ may merye foung hearts to prove as true’ as were those of Mary and Jonas. He hada large property in Gro- ton, while seven of his eight daughters married. The second son of this Jonas, Benjamin Prescott, was destined to het up the family name. He wasa man of remarkable wbility, and filled a great num- ber of civil and military offices, though he died be- His eldest son, James, inherited his father’s talents, and was a member of every branch of the government of the province and State of Massachusetts—scrving in the militia in various grades, fourteen years a member of the House of Representatives, then a member of the Senate and of the Executive Council, of the Pro- and of the Board of War. After the Revolution over he was appointed First Sheriff of Middlesex, and then Judge of the Common Pleas Court. He died in 1500. But it was reserved for William Prescott, younger brother of James, to win the Ha by place for the family name. He was born in 1726, at Groton proper, but removed to that portion of the town from which Pep- perell was afterwards made. He served in the pro- Vincial forces that were raised during the two wars with France, between the peace of Utrecht and the breaking out of the Revolution ; but it is a curious illustration of the uncertuinty of history that it is by no means positive that he served under Colonel Vepperell in the expedition against Louisburg, though there must be men living who might have conversed with Colonel Prescott on the subject. He was appointed colonel of the regiment of “ minute ment he led to Cambridge in 1776, and it fought under his orders at Bunker Hill, with other troops. He served through 1775 and 1776, and distinguised himeelf in the operations near New York, so that he was especially praised by Washington. In 1777 he volunteered to serve against Bargoyne. He three times represented Pepperell in the Legislature. He died in 1795. He had the strongest mind of his fami- ly, which he had cultivated by well-digested reading, though he was not what is commonly called an edu- cated man. His firmness, benevolence, purity of character, and deep-seated patriotism, were well known to all bis cotemporaries, and there | 18 not in the entire roll of Massachusetts’ Revolution- ary worthies a name that is held in higher reveroace than that of Colonel Prescott. This gentleman’s son William was man of eminence. He was born at Pepperell, in 1762, and after having graduated at Harvard, he stadied law at Beverly, in the office of the celebrated Nathan Dane, but removed to Salem, where he resided for nineteen years, when he took up bis residence in Boston. He was a member of both branches of the Legislature, and of the Execu- | tive Council, and a‘delegate to the Hartford Conven- tion. For a year he held the place of Judge of the Common Pleis bench, and. was twice offered a jus- ticeship of our highest court, which he would not accept. In 1820 he was a delegate from Boston to the Constitutional Convention. He died at the close of 1844, leaving a very high repntation. He left but two children, a daughter married to the Hon. Frank are many fine brooks in the town, falling into the lin Dexter, and William H. Prescott, the well-known historian. Judge Prescott was a very feat man; he knew that his father had won ing fame as a soldier, and he saw that his own character as a law- yer was thoroughly established, and he had the ppiness to live to hear the literary world, the old ‘as well as the new, acknowledge the excellence of his only surviving son as a writer of history, There was something more than the autumnal felicity of which Gibbon speaksin Judge Prescott’s latter days, Mr. Prescott, the historian, first appeared before the public at the close of 1837, when his “ History of Ferdinand and Isabella” was published. Six ears later he gaye vo the world his *' Ilistory of the ‘ouquest of Mexico,” and in 1847 his last work, the History of the Conquest of Veru.” An octavo volume ‘containing some of his miscellancous wri- tings, contributions to the North American Revew, a was issued some years since, On all these works @ approbation of the literary and mere reading world been deeply stamped in Ame: and Eu- rope. They are popular with general readers, and at the same time are valued by critical scholars. Each of them has gone through many editions, and it is well known that the author draws an ample an- nual revenue from their sale—a gratifying fact, not only as sowing that desert is sometimes attended to in this world’s judgments, but also because it wili | encourage other men of talent to engage in literary pursuits. Mr. Prescott is now said to be engaged on a “ History of the Life and Reign of Philip the Se- cond,” perhaps the noblest theme that a writer of modern history could select, for the life of Philip the Second extended over a period of almost seventy- | two years, and the history of the forty-three years of his reign must be a history of the world—Christian, Mabomedan, and Pagan—of France, of England, of Germany, of Italy, of Holland, of Ireland and Scot- land, of ‘Turkey, of Hungary, of ‘‘ Spain and the Indies.” It must treat of the final destruction | of Spanish freedom, of the exhaustion of Span- ish energies, of the reaction against the Re- formation, of the rise and developement of the national marine and maritime power of England, of the Wars of the League, of the establishment of the Jesuits, of the decline of Italy, of the rise of Holland, of the | conquest of Portugal,’ of the extension of Spanish rule in the Orient and the Occident, of the Siege of Malta, and of Lepanto and the Armada. Surely here are materials enough to give opportunities fur an artist like Mr. Prescott todraw a series of mag- nificent historical pictures. No doubt is entertain- ed of his doing justice to his subject, though it is | not known when the work will be given to the world. J have dwelt somewhat extensively on the history | of the Prescott fumily, because it shows how erro- , neous isthe common saying that in New England families do not endure. " Here is one family, at least, | that has existed in almost the same land for six gene- rations, and whose founder we can trace back to his English abode. Without engaging in any money- making pursuit, unless that of the law be so con- sidered, the Prescotts, in the direct line, though | generally Pee younger sons, have always been wealthy; and always furnishing military, political, and judicial officers, though without any hereditar, privideges. Their position for two centuries has b the result of their own works solely. Could he tary honors always show so good a basis the w: would not seriously object to them. { may here remark, speaking of New England families, that in no part of the republic are to be found people better qualified to speak understandin, ly of their ancestors than many New Englan¢ lany are the families in Maseachusetts who are liv- | ing on Jands that have been held in the same name and blood for more than two hundred years. You find the most common names in the old towns are those of the first settlers, and illustrating every vari- ety of fortune. Instead of a desire to leave the soil being a common New England sentiment, the exact reverse is the case, and men frequently endure almost all the ails of want before they can be prevailed uj to abandon what have been the homes of themselves and their ancestors for six generations. Few, of course, can arrive at distinction, but some do, and maintain it. The Prescotts are at the head of these, and, at a considerable interval, come the Winthrops, whose fame is mainly political. “The advantages which the family of sas in wealth, talents corporeal and intellect says the historian of Groton and Perper “aided by education, and their connection with the most respectable families, by their numerous intermarriages, gave them a con- trolling influence in the moral, social, and municipal affairs of the town. Hence, better regulations, and a more refined state of morals and manners in former | times in Groton (and in Pepperell) than in most country towns in the vicinity.” So that the Prescotts would seem to have exercised some such influence ag was wielded in Peru by the childron of the Sun, whose character and arts one of that family has de- scribed so well. The Prescott mansion is beautifully situated in the northern part of Pepperell, ona farin of upwards of | two hundred acres, which is held and cultivated * on shares” by Mr. Henshaw, a fine specimen of the best class of New England agriculturists. The house is very old, portions of presume, being older than the town where it stands, and which was formerly part of Groton. Everything about it, except the oc- ‘cupants, scems old fashioned; much of the farniture is certainly old, and was used far back in the last century. The chairs are stiff as iron ramrods, and have a most uncomfortable appearance. I have a theory that much of the restlessness of our fathers was caused by the form of their chairs, which made it a pevance to sit down. Rocking chairs, had they | been introduced into America in 1765, would have enslaved the people, while the stamp act made them a nation. Mr. Prescott, whose chicf place of residence is Boston, passes the summer months here. One would expect to find man; books in the house, but there are but few in it beside those which belong to the Henshaw family. I saw an old edition of Scott's novels, Misa Seagwi ck’s | “Clarence,” a few volumes of the British Essayists, and rome other works of a sim'lar character. Mr. Prescott brings his books with him from the city. | ‘The room where he writes is at the back part of the honse, and cannot be accused of luxurious arrange- | ment. In this room hangs one of Colonel Prescott's swords—a short and slightly curved blade. That which he wore at Bunker Hill is crossed on the wails of his grandson’s library in Boston, with that of Captain Linzee, who, on the same day, commanded the English sloop Falcon, which took part in the cannonade of the American works. Mr. Prescott’s wife is the granddaughter of Captain Linzee. , There are numerous trees about the Prescott man- | sion, principally the oak and the elm. But one tree that was on the place when the house was erected still remains—an ancient oak, that is taken great care of, and which probably was in its morn of life when Columbus was seeking the evening land. The place must be very favorable to study; and toward | the close of a summer day, amid | “A double shade, By trees and liogering twiligh: made,”? J should think that even a dull man might get up | respectable pretensions toinspiration. But that the | trees were as yet leafless, J should have sought some revelations from the past through their mur- morings~-but I was consoled hy the recollection that the art once so well understood at Dodonce, had perished long ago. The grave of Colonel Prescott is in the old church- yard of the town, and hard bythe oldest church. There nothing but a plain stone tablet over it, with an inscription, setting forth the day of his death and of his birth, in terms dry and brief as avy that occar on the least noted of the moss-grown slabs that are scattered so thickly around; not a word that would lead the stranger to suppose that this grave is the last resting-place of one of the chief of our couutry’s | heroes. It isa scandal that the rich State of Mas sachusetts should have so neglected his meimory. Two or three attempts have been unaucesssfully made in our Legislature,to have a monument erected here in honor of Colonel Prescott. Perhaps another attempt may prove more fortunate. The wife ot Colonel Prescott, who survived him more than | twenty-six years, sleeps by his side, and has the same monumental honors as her husband. I cannot close my letter without expressing my | obligations to Hon. C. W. Bellowes. one of the select- men of Pepperell, and formerly a member of the Massachusetts Senate, for many attentions shown me here. Mr. Bellowes, it was supposed, would be a) pointed sheriff of the county of Middlesex, after the return of the whigs to power, but Governor Clifford passed him over. He would have made a very effec- ive oilicer, and he is a very influential man in his party. Caries Ly-Caarye id Grovoy, (Mass.) April 15,1853. | The Industrial Character of Groton—Agri- cultwye—-The People Prosperous—-A — Soli- tary—* The Community”—Mr. Hollingsworth’s Payer Manufactory—Soapstone— Granite—Iron Ove Historical Sketch of the Place—Indian | Wars—* Lovel’s Fight"—Groton’s Revolution- ary Services—Captain Job Shattuck—T Shays Relcllion”—Distinguished Men—The Lawrence Family—-Timothy Bigelow—Samiel Dana— Judge Richardson—Governor — Boutwell—Mr. | Forley—Mr. Butler—Education—The Lawrence | Academy-—Benefactions of Amos and William Lawrence-—-The Beawty of the Town—Ponds, Rivers, and Brooks—Ice—Mineral Springs— The New Cemetery—Line Views—Hills—Fruit and Forest Trees. ‘The industrial resources of Groton, though abun- dant, are not of a very varied character. The town is emphatically an agricultnral community. Most of its people are farmers, whose estates yield largely in return for the labor bestowed upon them. Consider. able quantities of hay are raised above the wants of the place, which are carried to market. Fruit is also'raised for sale. The place contributes its share to the quantity of milk consumed in Boston, almost | thirt; forty miles distant. Some butter is sent to the city. But the agriculturists here seem not over ambitiou: and although there is not one of their number who can be called poor, they do not meke #0 mouth | genius. | recollected that their money as some other places less favored by position 8nd the quality of the soil. They live to a consider- able extent within themselves, and manage to in- crease their substance from year to year. There is an air of comfort about the town that J have rarely ‘ween equalled, The fertile meadows have, even at this season, a lawn-like appearance, and the orchard« are neat and trim as an old-fashioned garden owned by an old-fashioned gentleman. I do not recollect. seeing more than one shabby dwelling in the place - and on inquiry } learned that that was the abode of a solitary gentleman, a bachelor and a stiff whig,. who has contracted an aversion to women, and whose buttonless and woe-begone appearance shows that women are of some use in creation. The houses in the centre of the town are mostly large, and many of them are very elegant, and are finely situated, trees being especially abundant. which speaks much for the culture of the people. ‘There are not a few wealthy people here, retired mer- chants, and +o forth, who * farm it” by way of amusement, and whose establishments ore model af- fairs in their way—and a very pleasant way it is, to: ‘The business and podcast men of the place ha: fine estates. Mr. Soutwell’s mansion, lately erected, is large, commodious, and tasteful. Just before the traveller reaches the town, by the old road, he comes to what is ealled * the Comma- nity.” Eleven years ago, when the ‘ Miller delu- sion” was so common, and a cheerful belief was en- tertained that ‘immortal smash” was about to en- sue, the destructive theory found many pupportere among the good pesple of Groton, and intelligent men headed them. You must have noted that when a religious delusion rages it is the wise who are most | affected by it. The fools have too much practical sense to be so deluded. As time rolled away it was found that Mr. Miller was either a false prophet or —, and this feeling is common with prophets—that he was a bad hand at arithmetic. The world was not destroyed, greatly to the vexation of many excellent people, the Groton believers among others. ‘These men, as the world wouldn’t go out, determined to go out of the world. They gradually formed a sort of settlement of their own, and their houses and barns, very neat and com- fortable-looking, can be seen scattered over good land. They have their own modes of betief and forms of worship. The forenoon of the Sabbath they pass in ordinary labor, but the afternoon is set apart tor formal religious observances. They are very up- right, sober, and decorously behaved people. “Here they are called The Community,” a name which does notconvey any very accurate idea of their opin- ions or acts, for there is nothing communistic | about them. They preserve the family institution, and that of property, in their full force. Unlike the Shakers, or Quakers, they have no pecuharities of dress or address. To politics or public matters ge- | nerally they pay little or no attention. They have a sort of patriarch in Mr. Hall, formerly a respectable Boston merchant, and now equally respectable as « farmer and country gentleman. Occasionally they | are joined by some person from abroad who is of their way of thinking, but they do not aspire to pro- selyting. My private’ opinion is that they are a community tor minding their own business, and therefore to be respected, The only manufacturing business carried on in Groton on an extensive scale is the production of paper. Mr. Hollingsworth, of Cambridge, is erect- ing very extensive works for the manufacture of pa- on the site of a mill not long since destroyed by ire. They will soon be completed, and 1 be as. perfect as human annenelh and liberal expenditure can make them. A! Crea as little wood as possi- ble is made use of in their construction, it is intend-- ed that no fire shall ever be allowed in more than one of the buildings, and that isfire-proof. The best kind of book paper will here be made in large quan- tities, for various markets. Mr. Hollingsworth has other milla, where coarser kinds of paper are made. He supplies government wil pont office » which he sends to different of the country. There are two or three tanneries, on a small le each ; and some shoes, not many, are manufac- tured. The business of the place is aasialy con- fined to supplying the wants of a thriving population, the poorest of whom live comfortably. Some soap- stone is “got out,” and more Bae be procured, but that the gentleman who owns the quarry is of slow order of mortals, belonging to a generatéon tl does not like the iden of exhaus e rocks of the Commonwealth with too much and precipita- tion. Iron ore is te be had, bué not of a superior quality, and latterly it has been used only for cast- ings. Granite is abundant in the northern part of the town. Groton is one of the old towns of Massachusetts. Of the 321 towns in the territory of Massachusetts, including the old colony, 277 were feunded after Groton, which dates back to the year 1655, or 198 years ago. The chief of those engaged in getting up the settlement was Dean Winthrop, « +on of Gov- ernor Winthrop, from whose native place, Groton, in Suffolk, Eugland, the new town was named. The original orthography of the name is Groaten, which may help to the proper pronunciation of the wegd. Of the fifiy towns in Middlesex county, Groton ral tenth in point of age, being younger than Charles- town, Watertown, Medford, Cambridge, Concord, Sudbury, Woburn, Reading, and Malden. Town records exist to as far back as 1662. It would seem that the place was early prosperous. It had its fail share of the Indian wars of those times, how- ever, to keep the good Christians from becoming too strong in the belief that they were saints on carth. “King Philip's war” was the great event of our early colenial history. Philip was a vort of Wal lace, who aimed at the extermination of the white race, but whose means bore no proportion to his It is difficult to say which party behaved most savagely during the war—the savages or the Christians. On the whole, I am inclined to assign the palm of brutality to the latter, considering their eminent picty and high pretensions to something like divine excellence. in March, 1675, Groton was assaulted by the Indians, and suffered the loss of forty dwelling houses and other buildings. The settlement was pretty much broken up by this event, many of the inhabitants re- moving to Concord. The place, however, recovered on the return of peace. In 1694 another Indian at- tack caused the deaths of some twenty persons. It was not until about the middle of the last century that Groton was fairly freed from Indian troubles. The event known in our colonial history as “ Lovell’s Fight,” and in which several Groton men took part, shows the nature of the wars of those times. Oar pious ancestors had put the price of one hundred pounds on every Indian's scalp, so that to hunt the | Savages was as good a mode of business as any other, quite as humane certainly not less profitable. . A band of volun , mostly from Middlesex towns. was got up, under command of John Lovell, of Dun: table, for the purpose of hunting Indians sca); These men were deliberate assassins, for it must object was not self-defence, like that of most whites in their contests with the red men. but the acquisition of scalps for the sake of the bounty thereon. Lovell's first and second ex- peditions into the wilderness were eminently success- tul. On the second he and his band killed seven sleeping Indians, and three others who were roused by the attack, the last being torn to pieces by dogs, or caught by thove auimals and killed by their Chris- tian masters. For this pious exploit Lovell’s men received almost £2,000 trom the government of Maseachusetts Buy. On the third expedition the tables were turned, for, while seeking to circum- vent the Indians, the whites were themselves drawn into an ambuscade, aud, after one of the hardest and moet interesting Indian fights on record, were almost all destro: No single event in our Indian con- tests had a higher place than “Lovell’s Fight.” It has been a favorite subject with romance writers. One of the most interesting pieces in Mr. Haw- thorne’s ‘ Mosses from an Old Manse" —" Roger Mal- vin's Burial”’—ia founded onit. Of Lovells band, seven were from Groton, six of whom ‘ell. »ton was a very patriotic town during the Revo- lution, Her citizens turned out in full on receiving intelligence of the advance of the British troops upon Concord, and marched to Boston. In granting “‘ma- terial aid” to the national cause this town ranks reyenth in the o y of Middlesex. She contri- buted LI plc $12,000 in money, and large quan- tities of provisions and clothing. The number of men raised for the army, at different times, was up- wards of five hundred. After the war was over, the people hese shared in the general distress, and what are commonly called “agrarian ideas” became quite common. Few towns in the State had more sympathy with the Shays’ movement than Groton, i and their action, and that of the people generally remind one of the political contests of antiquity where the masses, the debtors, are found contend ing against the few, their creditors, for very exis - ence. ‘The step ts overt acta was not very diff cult to take, “Oaptain Job Shattack, of Groton, a Revolutionary soldier of great force of charac ter, was the leader of the." insurgents " in Middlesex. He shut up the courts at Concord, and otherwise showed his sincerity and ¢ ery When govern- ment finally got the upper hand, Captain Shattuck was not arrested until he had made a vigorous re- sistance. He was tried and condemned to death. which sentence would have been executed but for that political change which unseated (Governor Bowdoin and gave his place to John Hancock, who was a wise, and, therefore, a merciful man. But for him the new government of Massachusetts would have been baptised in civil blood. A history of the Shays Rebellion, aa it is called, is yet to be written which shall do justice to the ‘ insurgents” Captain Shays was a superior man, and had done his coun- try good service in the of the Revolution. Groton has given birth to quite a large namber of dist'nguished men, The Jawrences—Amos and Abbott—who have been so prominent in the business and the politics of Maesachusetts during the Inst years, were born here. They belong to » family Which dates from the settlement of Grotou, and the American founder of which came over with John Winthrop. Their father was a Revolutionary officer of distinguished patriotism dnd some celebrity ‘Timothy Bigelow was a Groton man by adoption,