GREAT MIDDLE CHAIN OF BALSAM MOUNTAINS BETWEEN SCOTT'S CREEK AND VALLEY OF TUCKASEGE AND TRIBUTARIES. Tuckasege River mill, below Webster, near the road to Qualla CHAIN OF THE GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAIN FROM NORTHEAST TO SOUTHWEST FROM THE BOUND OF HAYWOOD COUNTY TO THE GAP OF LITTLE TENNESSEE. The Pillar, head of Straight fork of Oconaluftee River 6,255 Thermometer Knob.. 6,157 Raven's Knob... 6,230 Tricornor Knob... 6,188 Mt. Guyot, (so named by Mr. Buckley in common). 6,636 Mt. Henry..... 6,373 Mt. Alexander.. 6,447 South Peak... 6,299 4,971 Alum Cave Creek, junction with Little Pigeon River. 3,848 The Great Bald's central peak.. South Peak..... Tennessee River at Hardin's. Hill House Mt., summit road to Montvale Springs.. 1,293 These measurements sufficiently indicate the grand traits of structure of that loftiest portion of the Appalachian system. It may be seen that the Roan and Grandfather Mountains are the two great pillars on both sides of the Northgate to the higher mountain region of North Carolina, 6,599 5,588 5,614 4,838 5,246 5,087 5,195 5,520 5,433 4,910 4,740 3,840 4,711 4,922 4,708 899 2,452 which entered between the two chains of the Blue Ridge on the east and the Iron and Smoky and Unaka Mountains on the west. That gate is almost closed by the Big Yellow Mountain. The group of the Black Mountain rises nearly isolated on one side in the interval between the two chains, touching by a corner the high Pinacle, and overtowering all the neighboring chains by a thousand feet. In the large and comparatively deep basin of the French Broad Valley, the Blue Ridge is considerably depressed, while the Western chains preserves its increasing height. Beyond the French Broad rises the most massive cluster of highlands, and of mountain chains. Here the chain of the Great Smoky Mountain which extends from the deep cut of the French Broad at Paint Rock, to that, not less remarkable of the Little Tennessee, is the master chain of that region of the whole Alleghany system. Though its highest summits are a few feet below the highest peaks of the Black Mountain, it presents on that extent of sixty-five miles a coutinuous series of high peaks, and an average elevation not to be found in any other district, and which give to it a greater importance in the geographical struc ture of that vast system of mountains. The gaps or depressions never fall below five thousand feet except towards the southwest and beyond Forney Ridge, and the number of peaks, the altitude of which exceed six thousand feet, is indeed very large. On the opposite side to the southeast, the Blue Ridge also offers its most massive forms and reaches its greatest elevation on the compact cluster of mountains which fill the southern portion of Haywood and Jackson counties. Mount Hardy in the Blue Ridge, which according to Mr. Buckley, rises to sixty-two hundred and fifty-seven feet, though this elevation may be found too great, seems to be the culminating point of the Blue Ridge. Moreover the interior between the Smoky Mountain and the Blue Ridge is filled with chains which offer peaks higher still than the latter. Amos Plott's Balsam in the midst of the great Balsam chain measures sixty-two hundred and seventy-eight feet; Richland, or Caney Fork Balsam, sixty-four hundred and twenty-five feet. Considering, therefore, these great features of physical structure, and the considerable elevation of the valleys which form the base of these high chains, we may say that this vast cluster of highlands between the French Broad and the Tuckasege rivers, is the culminating region of the great Appalachian system. As I intend this summer to visit the high group of mountains of the Cataluchee and those of south of Haywood county, as well as the Nantihala and others to the boundary of Georgia, I shall be happy to give you, for those who may be interested in these researches, the results of my further investigations. I remain, very truly yours, ARNOLD GUYOT, Professor of Geology and Physical Geography, Princeton College, N. J. [This speech and the one following it are presented to indicate the political condition of the country, with respect to party feelings and issues. Mr. Clay, from his youth, had been a leader of the Jeffersonian Republican party, and hence in principle did not differ essentially from General Jackson, likewise brought up in that school. Even on the tariff question, which seemed to be the chief material issue that affected the country, these two leaders did not differ much, both of them being merely in favor of protecting manufacturing establishments during their infancy, and until they had acquired strength sufficient to enable them to compete with the older establishments. Among the followers of each of them were both tariff and free trade men. Hence, in party debates it was rather difficult to present any well marked line of division as to principles. The personal qualities of individuals, therefore, became more important, and that may be regarded rather as an age of political hero worship. The views of Mr. Clay and of General Jackson, therefore, seemed to constitute what were popularly regarded as the principles of the Whig and Democratic parties.] SPEECH ON THE PRINCIPLES OF THE WHIG AND DEMOCRATIC PARTIES, DELIVERED IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, MARCH 7, 1844. MR. SPEAKER: It is not my purpose to debate the bill now under consideration. The gentleman from Ohio, (Mr. Duncan,) who introduced it, thought proper to devote very little of his long speech to its merits. On the contrary, he declared that he did not feel capable of enlightening this House on any subject; that he had never, heretofore, spoken with that view; and that he was then about to make a speech for Buncombe. As I am a citizen of that county, and have the honor of representing it on this floor, and as it has been my practice heretofore to reply to such individuals of his party as delivered political harangues to the citizens of my county, I regard it as proper for me to notice his effort of yesterday. I will suggest to the gentleman, however, for the benefit of any future exhibitions of this sort which he may be inclined to make, that he has utterly underrated the sagacity and mistaken the taste of my constituents. They are not quite gullible enough to swallow any portion of his doctrine, however well adapted it may be to the softer heads and coarser appetites of many of his own supporters. During the two hours which, with the aid of his friends, the gentleman was able to obtain, he discussed the expenditures of government, Democracy and coon skins-spoke of toryism, tariff, proscription, and the peace party-denounced the bank, blue light federalism, and banners generally-condemned abolitionism, cider and the land distribution; he manifested much feeling against the Clay party and Whig songs, and went at large into the merits of bribery, frauds, the Hartford Convention, Van Burenism and Humbuggery; he also boasted largely of his knowledge of Greek, treated us to a lecture on the anatomy of the coon, and exhibited drawings of its entrails, which he declared he intended to have engraved and published as a part of his speech. In addition to these matters, he said there were other things which he had not then time to go into, but which he intended to write out and circulate. That these topics have any relation to the bill of the gentleman, or to any bill which will probably ever be presented to this House, will not be pretended by anybody. But it was plain, Mr. Speaker, not only from the declarations of the gentleman himself, but from what we witnessed on this floor and from intimations in other quarters, that he was making a regular-built electioneering effort for distribution over the country. The fact, well known to everybody here, that he has been selected on this occasion by his party, as was their former custom, to promulgate their political doctrines, gives consequence to his effort of yesterday, and furnishes me a full apology for a reply. And if I should descend to things which seem trivial in themselves, or unworthy of the dignity of this House, I hope it will be borne in mind that whatever a great party adopts as its creed, is of consequence, however trifling or contemptible it may be in itself. Whatever our opponents regard as fitting to influence even the least enlightened part of the community, is worthy of examination. The gentleman declared, at the outset of his remarks, that he should not trouble himself with details, but that he should deal in wholesale falsehoods. The latter part of this declaration he repeated with great emphasis. As but half the time will be allowed me that was extended to him, I, too, will be prevented from going into details; but I design to deal only in general facts. On the subject of the expenditures of the government, it will not be necessary for me to say many words. The gentleman from Ohio alleged that the expenses of the present administration greatly exceeded those of Mr. Van Buren's; but as he did not give us the data on which he based his calculations, I presume we are to take it as one of his wholesale declarations. Taking the reports made by Mr. Van Buren's own officers as true, the total expenditures of his four years, independent of payments on account of public debt and trust funds, cannot be made less than the sum of $112,000,000. But he says that many items of this expenditure were extraordinary, and refers particularly to the Florida war and some other things. Nothing, surely, Mr. Speaker, could be more extraordinary than some of those expenditures. For example: the sending from the forests of Florida to the city of New Orleans for wood, so as to make it cost $20 per cord; the manner in which steamboats were employed, and many other items. When these matters were brought to the attention of the nation, in the canvass of 1840, the gentleman and his political friends, so far from condemning any of these expenditures, defended and justified them all. Sir, as they thought them right then, we are authorized in coming to the conclusion, that if they should get into power again, we should have a repetition of these extraordinary expenditures. To show conclusively the improvidence and extravagance of the late administration, let me call your attention to some other facts. When Mr. Van Buren came into power, he found in the Treasury, including the fourth installment which ought to have been distributed among |