The New York Herald

All eyes are turned to the dissemination of intelligence of the President from the channel of the paper for the message and other very much excited here as to the issue of the various important questions pending at Washington and the Herald is expected to relieve that excitement by the annunciation of the executive judgment and the steps determined upon.

Flour is quoted to-day at $6.25 a $6.75-firm.

I see, by the Herald that you will run another express from the Cambria to bear notwithstanding the spleen and envy of such of your neighbors of the press wonder if Horace not forgotten pretty little sentiment of Lacont that if man writes better than his contemporaries they will term him plagiarist -if as well, a pretender; but if worse, he may stand some chance of commendation as a genius of some promise, from whom much may be expected by a due attention to their good counsel and advice This remark is peculiarly applicable to the Fourierite, (Greeley,) in his contemporaneous distinctions. Contemporaries appreciate the man rather than the merit; but posterity will regard the merit rather than the man. We expect to have the important news by the Cambria through the New York Herald, in advance of any other paper!

Lockport, (Ill.) Monday evening, Nov. 17, 1845.

Singular Anti-Rent Movement-Signs of the Times.

Permit me to inform you of a great excitement at this place and vicinity, on account of an anti-rent demonstration. This morning a notice was found posted upon the Canal Office, stating that to-day there would appear in town a band of anti-renters, under the command of Big Thunder, and officers, with various appellations, would be in attendance-and General Fry was requested to move all the personal property belonging to himself out of the way, for the destruction of the State buildings might be expected, especially if any resistance was offered to what they were about to do-with other flourishes of what they intended doing, unless the leases heretofore exacted by the agents of the trustees were given up and destroyed, and the policy of renting canal lands abandoned by the Board.

Nobody, however, thought much of the notice until about noon, when the citizens of our village were astonished at the sound of martial music, drums beating, fifes playing, and men and boys hallooing-the noise coming from the direction of the grove in the rear of the town. Soon, however, their eyes were greeted by the sight of some thirty or forty of the most grotesquely dressed and artificially disfigured human beings ever beheld. Three or four were mounted on horseback, the rest on foot, with all sorts of arms and weapons; amongst the rest, they drew a small cast iron cannon, mounted on wheels. In martial style this motley band marched into the centre of the town opposite to the canal office, where they went through with divers manoeuvres and evolutions, using strange names and sayings, dark and portentous. After thus exhibiting for a long time, they moved off a few rods south of the canal office. Loaded and fired their piece several times, manoeuvred around town awhile, and finally, without doing any damage, marched out towards the forest, which they were seen to enter, and that was the last we heard of them.

I remarked amongst them such appellations on their pasteboard hats, as "Big Thunder," "Red Rover," &c. I am told they carried such mottoes as "Down with Canal land rent," "Agents better keep their distance," "No serfs in this free State," "No feudal tenures will be allowed on Illinois' free soil." Some of the first men in this community are charged with having a hand in the matter. 'Tis certain that several young men of consequence here have had business out of town to-day. There has been for weeks back nightly meetings held in bye and secret places, and something of a very mysterious character has been going on, and it is said that only the nucleus of the confederacy formed appeared in town to-day. That there is something extraordinary brewing, there is little reason to doubt, if these rents for canal land are insisted upon by the trustees.

I have merely given a sketch of the facts. Time will show what will be the result of all this.