Our Inquiry Meeting

NO. I. One ofour agricultural exclmngc papers has a jourtial of the procet,dings of u weekly meeting of farmers held in its vieinity. At this meeting the members discuss their various cxperience in a practical mannó'r, and the resülts arè highly intóresting and salutary to all Who purticipate in the procceding's. Now, as ve are conversant chifcfly in the reading World, we have in contemphftionthc opening of a weekly inquiry meeting in óne column of the Signal. It is to btí devoted to thé infèlléctual and moral advancement of its membèrSj Who may be young people of both séxes. Wö shall let the "old folks" look oh as a sort of honorary me'mbér'sj ás they are not usually fond of ncw thlngs. The entire congregatioil whom we weekly address through the Signal, we suppose to number ut least six thousand. One third of these, or two thousand, are probably young persons. Of these we imagine that one thousand are capablö of coiiipréhending and treasuring up the valuable thoughts of others. Of this thousand we suppose that onc tenth part, or one hundred can be original and independent thinker3 : can iinprove themselves : can lay down principies of action, and follow them out through lif'e, and can, therefore, ronder themselves as great and excellent as tlió nature of their facultics will permit. W e say that onc young person in twenty can do this : but it is not therefore to be' suppoed that thcy wil?. On' the contrary, we expect that not more than one fifth of these, or one in a hundred of thcwhole number, will have that kind of selfinspired energy which will cnuble them to follow out their principies ihought all opposition. All of these will belong to our lyceum, and will look for the record of its doings f rom week to week with great interest. It is true gencrally of this class of young persons that while they are characterized by an ardent rhiisf of improvement, they are deficiënt; to a great extent, in definite purposes and ai nu, in systematic plans, and in Jast conceptions of the means nccessary to attain that elevated position they wish to occupy, and which they candimly descry in the far ofT dislance. They would rdjoice to be possessed of those stab'e, enduring and all conquering traits of character which they admire in othera : they are concious that thcy have them not except ill a vcry imperfect degree : and thöy despisê themselves for those instances of mental irresolution, wcakncss and imbeciüty of which thcy cannot but be conscious, While they are uttcrly at a loss in what nianner tu overeóme Ihem. Oür pt'ojöct is to assemble this class of minds in a kind of inquiry meeting, wheire all the learnCrs, ourself in the numbei-j shall examine our mental and physicnl malee, andtry to find out the extent to which the mind can be improved, and especially the details of those steps by which advances can be made. The female part of creition are also expected to join oür class of lcurnörs ; for aspirations and eflbrts aftereminenceand excellence are not by any means confined to one sex. Bcsideö, theie are some problems in their condition which we shall propose to have solved in the course of the discussion, and in which their help will be needed. Each week we will try to get at) comprehend, discuss and digest at least one thought. uWhat," cxclaims soinö flippant be-jeweled dandy or belle1 - "only one thought a week I Well, you must be a very intellectual set!' Don't judge too hastily, madam. One important thought each week makes fifty-two such thoughts a year - all fitted, impressöd upon and welded into the minds, hoi of silly dandies and coquettes, but of substantial and working tkinkers. Who can estímate their influence When every thought shall be adopted as a ruling maxim and unerring guide of future life ? Oür thought for this week is, that every onc of us is capable of very great improvement. Next eek we will inquire howfar a person may improve himself. OGeorge Thomson, the last of the three young men who were imprisoned some years ago in the Missouri penitentiary, on the charge of having counselled certain slaves to escape, was in Cincinnati yesterday on his way to his home near Granvilld, Liüking coimty. They wei e all sentenced tot ten years. Work was released by the Govörnor last January, a year ago - Burr was pardoned last Janüary. Thonipson hos been imprisoned for four ydars and eight months. He was releasöd through the interedssion of his father, who visited JefTerson City for the purpose. Thö prisoners had conciliated the good Will of thö keepers of hëjailj and of thö öitixens of the place, y their excellent deportment. - Cintinuiti Hcrald. i (tThe land Graduatioii bill pussöd he Senatë by á votö of 26 to 18, and a ebate had begun upon it in the House. ts pidvisions we believo nearly accord yith the recommendations on the subject ontained in the President's Annual mesage.ftftír: Giddings, M. from .Ghio, participáíing with the Garrison Abolition. ista in their opposition to the Libetty party, has aíso avotted their disunionsenU menta. In a recent letter he says : "Without further römark: I reDPn that our Union of 1797 has been èntirelv dl! s ,lved, and that the people of our Staie having at all times refused their consent to such dissolution, are now absolved from all iurther political obligation towards those btatcs which have united in th political confederation with Texas. "I rcpeat that Ohio is now a 'party to no subsisüng Union ; to our people therefore, belongs the prerogative of dictntine the future policy of our State. Thev may, if they choose, demand of our W ktüre, the passage of alaw enablingthem to express their views in regard to the propriety of entering into a Union with Texas. Or as we are now dissolved from all connexion with the slave States, we may rernain free from all further politi. calalliance with them. We may fortn a ühíon with such' of the otlier free States as shall preíer a unión with frecmcn, ancf discard all further politlcnl association with the institutlon of Slavery." (EFrederick Dougloss, the fugitive slave, thinks of removing permanently to England with his family, thathe may be secure from American bloodhounds.--- . Who can blame him ? In a recent letter' from that country he' wïitès i I have just received a letter from Mr. Sturge, the chairman of the meeting at which the money was raised, saving he will cause to be furwarded to any person whorn I may mention as my friend in the United States, five hundred dollars, to ba appropriatcd to the romovnl of my family in a land where they will not bo coostantly harassed by the apprehension, tliat some foul imp of a slaveholJer may Iny liis infernal clutch upon me, and teaf me from their midst.(t We have received the first numberof the "Hillsdale Whig Standard," published nt Hillsdale by Clarké & llowU son, at $2,00 a year in advance. (tTThö "demand" made upon us by the Free Press shall bc responded to next week. Keep cool, neighbor, and you shall have ampie justice done you. The bill for the retroecssion of the town of Alexandria, bas passed the Senatö and having prcviously pasiod the House, wants only the sanction of the President to bocome a hnv. CCTlie papers contain a long account of a "battle" between the U. S. ship Maryr and some Mexican gun boats, which was hcirmless on both sides. (X5Gen. Taylor, like most of our generáis, isa slaveholder. The Tribuno says he is a large and skilful planter on the Mississippi. The territory of Upper California i equal lo twelvo such states ná Ohio. - ' The eslimatéd popukition of the whola territory is as follows: 10,000 Mexicöns, 20,000 Indiana and 1,500 Americans.An exchange pacr says we will never b:vppeace xcith Mexico until the United States gels a piece of Mexico. W hoever first said bis, it is an appropriate sentiment for a thief and a robber.