the arts of oppression and plunder. And to what good end? Does one solitary dollar of these militia exactions pass into your treasury? Is it not, on the contrary, a well known fact, that after seizing upon twice or thrice the just amount of the claim, the proceeds of the sale of these goods melt away before they reach the public treasury? The ostensible object of the law is to train the yeomenry in the art of war. My word for it, its actual operation is more to enervate than to strengthen, and while it forms a dark blot on the escutcheon of our state, there is not, in its consequences, a single salutary effect to compensate for the hardships it inflicts upon the followers of the great statesman, who laid the foundations of our public and private prosperity, our liberal institutions; of all, in short, which has rendered Pennsylvania the boast and the envy of nations. FOR THE RURAL MAGAZINE. ROUTE TO NIAGARA PALLS. _To the Editors._--During the continuance of the fervid season, some of your readers will probably beguile the tedium of mid-summer, by taking excursions in various directions, as health or curiosity may happen to invite them. The gratification to be derived from pursuing the route to NIAGARA FALLS, and thence to Montreal and Quebec, will amply repay all its fatigues, and realise the expectations of the tourist however highly excited. The following indicates one of the most agreeable avenues of approach to that unparalleled wonder of Nature. Having felt the want of some such information myself, it was thought it might be acceptable to others, who have no better guide. These distances, though derived principally from innkeepers, stage-drivers, &c. are sufficiently accurate for the purposes of travellers generally. _Distance from Philadelphia to the Falls._