THE

REGISTER OF PENNSYLVANIA.

DEVOTED TO THE PRESERVATION OF EVERY KIND OF USEFUL INFORMATION RESPECTING THE STATE.

VOL. IV.-NO. 18.

EDITED BY SAMUEL HAZARD.

PHILADELPHIA, OCTOBER 31, 1829. NO. 96.

REPORT ON LAW SUITS.

which are undetermined and which never will be prose

to a tax on those offices, when above a given sum is received, the committee would invite the attention of the committee of ways and means to this subject.

The committee are happy to state, that there is am.

Report relative to suits in the several courts of the Com-cuted, remain unpaid. The state being entitled by law, monwealth. READ, MARCH 14, 1826. Mr. F. Smith, from the committee on the judiciary system, to whom was referred, on the 14th Dec. a resolution relative to obtaining from the prothonotaries of the several courts in this commonwealth, a statement ex-ple testimony of the efficiency of the district court & court hibiting the proportion which the number of contested suits brought in the several counties, during the last three years, ending with the 1st Dec., bears to the number tried, and such other information as would enable this House to judge of the efficiency of the administration of justice under the present system, made the fullowing report, which was read, viz:

That in pursuance of this resolution, the committee addressed circulars to the different prothonotaries of the state, requesting them to make out statements of the number of original suits, including appeals from justices, brought within the three years mentioned in the resolution-the number of them to which a plea, or defence had been entered, or which have been contested,-the number of them finally decided by arbitration,-the whole number of suits put on the trial list within the said period of three years; the whole number of suits disposed of by jury trial, within that time, the whole number of suits on the trial list disposed of in anyother manner within that time, the number of suits removed to the supreme court by writs of error, within the said 3 years, the number of those suits that have been determined by the supreme court, the number that have been reversed,the number of those reversed that have been since determined in the court below; and forward them to the committee to be laid before the House,

of common pleas, for the city and Co. of Phila. The prothonotary of the former says, "at the September term, 1825, every case upon the trial list was called, and enjoyed its opportunity of trial, almost with certainty, at the second term. Altho fewer suits are brought than before, nearly twice the number of cases are put to issue, and upon the trial list at each term. The list consists generally of new cases; and as exemplifying strongly the present efficiency of the court, it is worthy to be mentioned, that at September term, 1825, many causes insti! tuted to that very term were at issue and on the trial list, and that one of the very latest brought of these causes, was tried, and verdict taken in it." The prothonotary of the latter says, "I have taken the liberty to add, the state of the docket for December term, 1825, because it will show to the committee that the trial list has, since March term, 1825, been so far reduced, as to promise at the next period of jury trials, that very few if any causes at issue will remain undisposed of after the first term."

The prothonotary of the southern district of the supreme court held at Chambersburg, has politely furnished the committee with a statement of the business, in that district, from 1819 to 1824, accompanied with practical observations, which they have, from the usefulness of the information it conveys, incorporated in this report, although not strictly embraced by the object of the resolution.

The committee feel much satisfaction in stating that a general and prompt compliance, on the part of these officers, to furnish the information requested, has been manifested. They have received the returns from fortythree counties, and from the prothonotaries of the dis trict courts of the city and county of Philadelphia, and of the counties of Dauphin and Lancaster. These re-joyed the opportunity of being heard. Your committee turns contain much useful information. A table accompanies this report, showing a general statement of the whole. It will be perceived that a great portion of the suits brought, have been finally disposed of by arbitration. Much expensive litigation has thus been saved, which would otherwise have occupied the time of the courts. This mode of settling law suits, the committee are gratified to find, has answered the purpose for which it was devised, and the most salutary effects anticipated by its warmest advocates, have been realised. The ta ble exhibits a great disproportion between the original suits brought and those disposed of by arbitration, jury trial, or in any other manner. But it must be recollected, that very many suits are never brought to issue or are discontinued, non-prosed, or lay dormant or settled by the parties, without being brought before the court; and of those which are contested, many are disposed of amicably, and arrangements made in court, which must necessarily occupy much of the time of the court. It also exhibits a great disproportion of suits put on the trial lists & those disposed of by jury trial,& in any other manner; but very many of these suits must necessarily have been put on the trial list ore than once,&some perhaps frequently. By the returns of some of the prothonotaries, it seems that a great amount of old costs, in suits VOL. IV.

Of the suits removed to the supreme court within the three years, embraced in the returns, many appear to be undetermined. Some of these, no doubt, have been removed in the several districts, since the last session of the court, and have therefore not en

believe that the facility of taking writs of error is too great, and is productive of much distressing delay, prejudicial to the advancement of the ends of justice. In many instances, causes are removed to the supreme court, when substantial justice has been done in the court below, and there reversed, upon points of law by no means effecting the merits of the cause, and sometimes perhaps upon the mere informality of the record or some defects of the pleadings. This is not the fault of the judges of the court. They are bound to decide according to the existing law. The evil should be remedied by the Legislaure, otherwise the court will be burthened with such a mass of business, that with all the industry and talents of the judges they will not be able to prevent a procrastination, in the suits before them, which will be detrimental to the suitors, and injurious to the interests of the community.

35

The committee believe they have performed what was required of them by the resolution. It will give them great satisfaction to learn that they have been able to lay before the House any information on the subject of the judiciary, which may be useful in any investigation on so important a branch of the government. It is obvious that as the population of the country increases, and commerce and business of every kind are extended

litigation will increase in the same proportion, and the Legislature will be enabled to judge whether an additional number of judges and the formation of new districts, or any other organization of the judiciary, will be necessary to a proper and adequate administration of the laws. STATEMENT of suits in the Southern District of the Supreme Court, from 1819 to 1824.

Whole number determined by arbitration,

2165
361
209

275

who cannot conscientiously attend the religious exercises in College, such student, at the request of his parent or guardian shall be excused.

It frequently happens that young men who have acquired considerable literary and scientific information,

Determined by arbitration, & brot. within 3 years, 136 retain it but a short time, and derive comparatively lit

Whole-number on trial list,

Jury trials,

799

125

58

1204

35

15

12

534

tle advantage from their acquisitions, merely because they have not learned how to apply their knowledge to the arts, and to the various operations of the active and industrious classes of mankind. Knowing this to be the case, the Faculty will endeavor in all their instructions, not only to communicate knowledge, but also to show the relation which every science bears to the operations of the artist; not only to teach abstract truth, but also to habituate the mind to the investigation and acquirement of truth; to teach it how to think, to invent, and to apit is the design of the Trustees and Faculty, a design ply all its acquisitions to some useful purpose. In short, which they will ever keep in view and prosecute with unremitting exertions, to train up youth for the active duties of life, and prepare them for becoming honorable, profitable, and happy members of society.

ing two thirds the tuition of the previous year; and into the Senior by paying the full tuition of the previous year, in addition to the regular fees of the class into which they enter. Any student, however, who comes with recommendations from another College, may be admitted into the class for which, upon examination, he may be found qualified, without the additional pecuniary consideration just mentioned; and this consideration may also be remitted to those who have privately prepared to enter an advanced class, but whose circumstances, in the opinion of the Faculty, are necessitous.

Students for a partial course, may be received into any class they may choose to enter, and may pursue the studies of the class, in whole or in part, by paying the reg. ular fees for tuition.

There will also be a tax on all students of two dollars per term for the use of the Library, and three dollars per term for room rent to those who lodge in the College buildings. The expense of warming and cleansing the recitation rooms will be equally divided among the stu dents. Fuel will be furnished at $1.25 per cord; boarding in the College at $1.50 per week; lodging at 25 cts. per week; and washing at 25 cents. Boarding and lodging may be obtained in the neighbourhood at $1.00 to $1.25 per week, and in the village at $1.25 to $2.00. The whole yearly expense of a student, exclusive of vacations, and of books and clothing may vary from 100 to 150 dollars, according to his choice of residence and mode of living.

Grotius de Veritate. Greek Testament.
Stewart on the mind. Reed on do.

With the Professor of Mathematicks.
Review Mathematicks.

Rhetorick (Campbell's Philosophy and Kiames El-
ements of Criticism.)

With the Professor of Natural Philosophy&Chemistry.
Vegetable Chemistry.

Physiology vegetable and animal.
Zoology -

Composition, Declamation, and Forensic Debate, throughout the course.

Lectures will be given on all subjects, where they can

The requisites for admission, are—a good moral char-be made profitable. acter; an ability to read, translate and parse Salust, Virgil, Odes of Horace, Cicero's select Orations, Greek mildness, and approximate as nearly as practicable to The discipline of the College will unite strictness with Testament, and Jacob's Greek Reader, or Græca Mino- the parental. The President and Professor of Mathera, and to write correct Latin-also a knowledge of A-maticks, will occupy the wings of the College, and will rithmetick, English Grammar, and the Elements of Ge- exercise a constant superintendence of the habits and ography. studies of the youth.

The Meadville Academy, which is in a flourishing condition, will always afford a good opportunity for students to prepare for College.

The course of study and instruction proposed by the Faculty and sanctioned by the Trustees, is exhibited in the following scheme; subject, however, to such alterations as experience and the advancement of science

may suggest.

FRESHMAN YEAR.

With the President.

Review Latin and Greek Grammar.

The location and excellence of the College buildings, the character of the Library, and Chemical and PhiloNatural Philosophy, the health and society of the vilsophical apparatus, the arrangement for the cabinet of lage, the cheapness of living, and the course of study and instruction, together with the constant care and unremitting exertion of the Faculty, offer inducements which cannot but authorize the hope that many parents will select this as the place of education for their children, and produce a confidence in the Trustees, that any reasonable expectations in parents, as to the pro

Latin-Cicero de officiis, Horace, Latin Prosody.
Greek--Xenophon's Anabasis, Homer's Ilias, Greekgress of their children in useful knowledge, will not

Hebrew-Professor Stewart's works.

[Exercises.

terminate in disappointment.

Signed by order of the Board,

HENRY SHIPPEN, President.

T. ALDEN, Sec'y. Board.

PITTSBURG IN 1786.

Written by Mr. Brackenridge, afterwards one of the Judges of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, and published in the Pittsburg Gazette, on the 26th July, 1786. This article was written to encourage migration to this place, which was then as little known to the inhabitants of the sea-board, as Franklin in Missouri, or Galena in Illinois, are now. We trust, that this description, will not be uninteresting to our readers; it contains much matter, which will doubtless be new to many of the residents of our thriving city.

Forty-three years have elapsed, since this was a graphic and accurate description of our town; how dif ferent is it now! what a change has time produced. Pittsburg Gaz.

From Brackenridge's 'Gazette Publications.

city of Philadelphia I crossed the Allegheny mountain, It was in the spring of the year 1781, that leaving the and took my residence in the town of Pittsburgh:

"If town it might be call'd, that town was none, "Distinguishable by house or street—."

But in fact a few old buildings, under the walls of a garrison, which stood at the junction of two rivers. Nevertheless it appeared to me as what would one day be a town of note, and in the mean time might be pushed forward by the usual means that raise such places. Two or three years had elapsed, and some progress had been made in improvement, when a Gazette was established at this place for the western country, and one of my earliest contributions was the following, intended to give some reputation to the town, with a view to induce emigration to this particular spot; whether it contributed in any degree to this object, I do not know, nor is it material. It will serve to give some idea of what the town was at an early period, and the state of society at that time, July 26, 1786.

ON THE SITUATION OF THE TOWN OF PITTSBURG, AND

THE STATE OF SOCIETY AT THAT PLACE.

The Allegheny River running from the north-east, and the Monongahela from the south west, meet at the angle of about 33 degrees, and form the Ohio. This is said to signify, in some of the Indian languages, bloody; so that the Ohio River may be translated the River of Blood. The French have called it La Belle Riviere, that is, the Beautiful or Fair River, but this is not intended by them as having any relation to the name Ohio.

It may have received the name of Ohio about the beginning of the present century, when the Six Nations made war upon their fellow savages in these territories and subjected several tribes.

The word Monongahela is said to signify, in some of the Indian languages the Falling-in-Banks, that is, the stream of the Falling in, or Mouldering Banks.

277

bles of a fountain, gives vivacity and an air of cheerful

ness to the scene.

The fish of the Allegheny are harder and firmer than those of the Monongahela or Ohio, owing, as is supposed, to the greater coldness and purity of the water.The fish in general of those rivers are good. They are, the pike, weighing frequently 15 or 20 pounds, the perch much larger than any I have ever seen in the bay of Chesapeake, which is the only tide from whence I have ever seen perch; there is also the sturgeon and many more kinds of fish.

It is a high amusement to those who are fond of fishing, to angle in those waters, more especially at the time of a gentle flood, when the frequent nibbles of the large and small fishes entertain the expectation, and sometimes gratify it by a bite; and when those of the larger size are taken, it is necessary to play them a considerable time before it can be judged safe to draw them in. I have seen a canoe half loaded in a morning by some of those most expert in the employment; but you will see in a spring evening the banks of the rivers lined with men fishing at intervals from one another. This, with the streams gently gliding, the woods, at a distance, green, and the shadows lengthening towards the town, forms a delightful scene. Fond of the water, I have been sometimes highly pleased in going with a select party, in a small barge, up or down the rivers, and landing at a cool spring, to enjoy the verdant turf, amidst the shady bowers of ash-wood, sugar-tree or oak, planted by the hand of nature, not of art.

It may be said by some who will read this description which I have given, or may be about to give, that it is minute and useless, inasmuch as they are observations of things well known. But let it be considered that it is not intended for the people of this country, but for those at a distance, who may not yet be acquainted with the natural situation of the town of Pittsburg, or having heard of it, may wish to be more particularly informed. Who knows what families of fortune it may induce to emigrate to this place?

At the distance of about four or five hundred yards from the head of the Ohio is a small island, lying to the north-west side of the river, at the distance of about 70 yards from the shore. It is covered with wood, and at the lowest part, is a lofty hill famous for the number of wild turkies which inhabit it. The island is not more in length than one quarter of a mile, and in breadth about 100 yards. A small space on the upper end is cleared and overgrown with grass. The savages had There is a rock known by the name of M'Kee's rock, cleared it during the late war, a party of them attached at the distance of about three miles below the head of to the United States having placed their wigwams and the Ohio. It is an end of a promontory, where the rivraised corn there. The Ohio, at the distance of about er bends to the N. W. and where, by the rushing of the one mile from its source, winds round the lower end of floods, the earth has been cut away during several ages the island and disappears. I call the confluence of the so that now the huge overhanging rocks appear, holAllegheny and Monongahela the source of the Ohio. lowed beneath, so as to form a dome of majesty and Here are It is pleasant to observe the conflict of these two wa-grandeur, near one hundred feet in height. ters where they meet: when of an equal height the contest is equal, and a small rippling appears from the point of land at their junction to the distance of about five hundred yards. When the Allegheny is master, as the term is, the current keeps its course a great way into the Monongahela, before it is overcome, and falls into the bed of the Ohio. The Monongahela in like manner having the mastery, bears away the Allegheny and with its muddy waters discolours the chrystal current of that river. This happens frequently, inasmuch as these two rivers, coming from different climates of the country, are seldom swoln at the same time. The flood of the Allegheny rises perhaps the highest. I have observed it to have been at least 30 feet above the level, by the impression of the ice on the branches of trees which overhang the river, and had been cut at the breaking up of the winter, when the snow and frost melting towards the north-east throw themselves down with amazing rapidity and violence in a mighty deluge. The current of the Allegheny is in general more rapid than that of the Monongahela, and though not broader or of greater depth, yet, from this circumstance throws forward a greater quantity of water in the same space of time. In this river,at the distance of about one mile above the town of Pittsburg is a beautiful little island, which, if there are river gods and nymphs, they may be supposed to haunt. At the upper end of the island and towards the western shore is a small ripple, as it is called, where the water, bubbling as if it sprung from the peb

the names of French and British officers engraved, who in the former times, in parties of pleasure, had visited this place. The town of Pittsburg, at the head of the Ohio, is scarcely visible from hence, by means of an intervening Island, the lower end of which is nearly opposite the rocks. Just below them at the bending of the river is a deep eddy water, which has been sounded by a line of thirty fathoms, and no bottom found. Above them is a beautiful extent of bottom, containing five or six hundred acres, and the ground rising to the inland country with an easy ascent, so as to form an extensive landscape. As you ascend the river from these rocks to the town of Pittsburg, you pass by on your right hand the mouth of a brook known by the name of the Saw-mill run. This empties itself about half a mile below the town, and is overlooked by a building on its banks, on the point of a hill which fronts the east, and is first struck by the beam of the rising sun. At a small distance from its mouth is a saw-mill, about 20 perches below the situation of an old mill built by the British, the remains of some parts of which are yet seen.

At the head of the Ohio stands the town of Pittsburg, on an angular piece of ground, the two rivers forming the two sides of the angle. Just at the point, stood, when I first came to this country, a tree, leaning against which I have often overlooked the wave, or committing my garments to its shade have bathed in the transparent tide. How have I regretted its undescryed fate when the early winter's flood, tore it from the roots and left the bank bare.