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A UTHORS.
** An author! 'Tls a venerable name!
How few deaerve it, and what numbers claim!
Unbleat with sense above their peers refilled,
Who shall stand up, dictators to mankind ?
Nay, who dare shine, it not In Virtue’s cause?
That sole proprietor of Just applause.”
That erudite, colossal-brained Jupi
ter tonans in the realm of English let
ters, Dr. Samuel Johnson, declared that
41 the chief glory of every people arises
from its authors.” Os course he meant
—he could only mean—good, wise,
pure-hearted and noble-minded au
thors, whose works are wholsesome in
their effects upon the minds and hearts
of their readers. He meant writers
whose pens are a potent force in hu
man life for the promotion of virtue in
all its forms, and who help Civilization
in the achievement of whatsoever is
best, truest and most beautiful, within
reach of the human soul. In this
sense Dr. Johnson’s declaration is axio
matic.
Deplorable indeed is the fact, that
the high duties of authorship are often
neglected, and the power of the pen
made to serve ignoble purposes. How
lamentable it is that Genius should
suffer himself to become the slave of
Vice, the dupe of Craft, the hired
drudge of Falsehood! Thus degraded,
how deep the shame of authorship—
how vilely shorn of its glory! The
greater the power, the persuasiveness,
the beauty of argument and rhetoric
employed by Genius in his fallen estate,
the more pernicious will be the work,
the more deleterious the influence ex
ercised upon the life of the age, the
darker will be the shadow cast upon
the history of the people among whom
he fulfills his evil purposes.
With this exception duly considered,
the rule, as stated by Dr. Johnson,
that “the chief glory of every people
arises from its authors,” is irrefutable.
Nothing can be nobler than the majesty
of noble thoughts, filled with wisdom
derived from heavenly sources, brilliant
with the inspiration of genius, arranged
in harmonious order, embellished with
the graces of language, and given to
the world, as a precious heritage, in the
permanent form of books, which are,
as Mrs. Browning tersely says:
“The only men
That speak aloud for future times to hear.”
Quaint, child-hearted Charles Lamb,
whose sensitive temperament embraced
all nature with the tendrils of affection,
and to whom the commonest enjoy
ment of the senses was a blessing to be
devoutly grateful for, speaking of say
ing grace before dinner, remarked:
“Why have we not a form of grace for
books, those spiritual repasts —a grace
before Milton, a grace before Shake
speare, a devotional exercise proper to
be said before reading ‘the Faery
Queen’?”
Good books are, under all circum
stances, a blessing for which we can
never be thankful enough. A home
that is without them lacks one of the
main elements of genuine domestic
happiness. The light that radiates
from a good book shines with a steady
flame; the darkest cloud of misfortune
can not deprive us of its warmth and
lustre; nay, the light becomes brighter
by contrast with the surrounding gloom.
There is no selfishness in the counsel
given by a good hook ; it is not influ
enced by the poverty or wealth, the
humble or exalted rank, of him who
asks. Good books are the friends of
ingenuous Childhood, the bosom com
panions of Manhood’s ardent prime,
the solace of the retrospective heart of
Old Age. They are the same gems of
truth, in the palace or in the hut—no
matter what their setting may be; and,
borne aloft by the magical power of
genius to the pinnacle of some grand,
sky-piercing thought, beggar and
prince—looking from that standpoint
into the illimitable beyond of Time
and Eternity—become profoundly con
scious of the fact that, as souls, they
are equals, and that
“the rank is but the guinea’s stamp,
The man's the gold for a’ that.”
The author of a good book is a bene
factor of mankind. He is a creator of
ideas, and ideas are deathless. There
fore, he has a just claim upon immortal
ity. Greater is he than the victor in a
hundred battles; mightier than the
conqueroi of a nation. These men
overcome the material only; they con
trol bodies; their success is confined to
the perishable. But the Power whose
symbol is the pen is limitless; it con
trols the human will by divine and in
disputable right; its victories are the
victories of peace, which are worthy
of far higher renown than the victories
of war; its field of operation is the in
conceivably glorious world of the
spiritual; it does not destroy bodies—
it builds up the souls of men. What
soever is best in the work performed
by this Power is beyond the reach of
decay; it is so deeply bedded in the
heart of Humanity, that it becomes in
dissolubly a part of it; it is a deathless
thing, blest of Heaven forevermore.
Time touches only to adorn it, just as
the invisible fingers of the passing
Years clothe with beauty the forms of
venerable ruins, hiding the destructive
effects of the elements with fresh and
fragrant greenery, and adorning their
rugged fronts, night and day, with the
glory of Summer blossoms, or the daz
zling jewelry of the Winter-King.
Who, then, can refuse to pay homage
to this transcendent Power? What
man or woman, divinely commissioned
to wield the sceptre of creative Art,
will not acknowledge the force of Words
worth’s claim for its excellence? In
Secular Editorials—Literature— ?--■ ‘ Domestic and Foreign Intelligence.
—— ~~ * ... ...
the fine sonnet addressed to the artist
Haydon, he says:
“High is our calling, friend! Creative art
(Whether the instrument of words she use,
Or pencil pregnant with etherial hues)
Demands the sei vice of a mind and heart
Heroically fashioned."
It may come to pass, in the course of
time, that it will be impossible to ascer
tain precisely the paternity of a work,
or the name and birthplace of the au
thor, or to state the particular circum
stances under which the work was con
ceived and written. Every authentic
trace of these things may pass from the
memory of man, buried under the gray
dust of the mouldering ages; yea, the
substance of the work may have wasted
away to a single and tiny gem in the
world’s treasury of Legend and Song,
yet its spiritual effect will be intact;
with protean adaptability it may have
assumed a thousand different forms,
but in each the light of its truth will
shine as brightly, the fragrance of the
thought will be as fresh and sweet, its
ability to move the heart will be as
potent, as in the golden day of its birth
within the soul of the author.
The trophies of war are worthless;
the flames of implacable hate will
shrivel the blood-flecked laurels; the
tears of orphans and widows will,
eventually, turn the wine of victory
into the gall and poison of remorse—
and its monuments are curses in stone.
Science would achieve her triumphs in
vain, but for the preservative power of
literature, which embalms in humble
“printer’s ink” the precious results of
the discoveries made in the arcana of
Nature. Brief would be the triumph
of impassionate oratory, and circum
scribed the power of speech in thrilling
the hearts of a people and directing
the course of empire, did not the omni
present pen catch the silver-ringing
words as they fall from the melodious
tongue, and rescue them from oblivion
by fixing the celestial images they por
tray imperishably upon the printed
page.
Talk of the might of imperial scep
tres! The might of one word is some
times immeasurably greater, and be
comes
*‘A voice that in the distance far away
Wakens the slumbering ages.”
Crowns and banners are the trum
pery of a passing masquerade. They
amuse for a time. They cause the
idle to stare and to wonder; they flat
ter the vain. Ignorance adores them
as symbols of divinely derived might,
and of mysteries that must be dreaded
but can never be solved. The crafty
use them for the accomplishment of
selfish schemes of aggrandizement—
the wise alone despise them.
Measured by the conceit of lofty sta
tion, how great is the difference between
the bare-footed churl, who drives his
master’s cattle afield, and the crowned
and purple-robed monarch, sitting upon
histhrone! Indeath—howequal! Nay,
placed in the scales the churl’s dust
may outweigh the monarch’s.
Talk of glory in connection with the
empty pomp of fortune, or the perilous
accidency of political exaltation, or the
unsatisfying, cloying fruits of wasted
riches! Ah, such glory is
“Figured in the moon; they all wax dull
And suffer their eclipses in the full."
The glory of the mind, only, is true
glory. Thought, the child of the Soul,
is immortal. The sceptre of Fame is
the pen. Wise Doctor Johnson! well
hast thou said - “The chief glory of
every people arises from its authors.”
The Woman’s National Christian
Temperance Union, with its twenty
four auxiliary State Unions, is the lar
gest society ever composed exclusively
of women, and conducted entirely by
them. It has not less than two thous
auxiliaries in as many different towns.
It is a union of Christian women of
all churches for the purpose of educat
ing the young; forming a better pub
lic sentiment, reforming the drinking
classes; transforming, under the power
of Divine grace, those who are enslav
ed by alcohol; and removing the dram
shops from our streets by law.
' ♦ ♦ • "■
The Presbyterian General Assembly,
at Buffalo, took advanced ground on the
temperance question, although a con
servative minority stoutly opposed the
action. A permanent committee on
Temperance consisting of 15 men (8
ministers and 7 laymen, among them
Hon. Wm. E. Dodge and Rev. Dr.
Cuyler), was appointed to report a
plan for active church temperance
work. It was also reaffirmed that each
local church session decide the ques
tion of using grape juice instead of fer
mented wine, and declared that women
may speak before Presbyterian
synods.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, THURSDAY, JULY 2,8, 1881.
NEW BOOKS.
—Horne Grounds. By Alexander F. Oakey.
New York : D. Appleton & Co., publisher.
A pleasantly-written and well-illus
trated little volume giving directions
for the tasteful and practical disposition
of the surroundings of our homes. It
includes: The general arrangement of
grounds; walks and drives; lawns and
grass-plots; planting trees; fences and
gates; summer-houses, shelters, etc., etc.
—The Home Garden. By Ella Rodman
Church. New York: D. Appleton & Co.,
publishers.
Flowers, practical planting, poetry,
flower-pots and floral philosophy, ire
quite agreeably blent by the writer.
The prose and poetry of garden life and
labor find brief and appropriate ex
pression. The illustrations and general
make-up of this “ Home Series ” is up
to the usual high Appleton standard.
—Manual of Commercial Correspondence
in French. By Prof. H. M. Monsanto. New
York: D. Appleton «fc Co., publishers.
The object of this little work is to
show, at a single glance by practical
illustration, those technical forms of
expression and idiomatic phrases which
constitute the chief difference between
two languages. Technical terms and
peculiar forms of speech are best un
derstood when presented in connected
discourse.
It will be found a valuable hand
book for students in commercial col
leges.
—Dyspepsia: How To Avoid It. By Jos
eph F. Edwards, M.D. Philadelphia: Pres
ley Blakiston, publisher.
This is another of the useful series of
“American Health Primers,” issued by
this publisher. They are well written
and eminently helpful. This book re
lates to food, digestion, how to cook
food, and how we ought to eat —the
latter is a most important theme, con
cerning which there is a lamentable
amount of baleful ignorance among all
classes of people. To throw light upon
a dark subject is the purpose of this
booklet.
—Anthropology: An Introduction To The
Study of Man and Civilization. By Edward
B. Tylor. 1). C. L.. F. R. S. With Illustra
tions. New York : D. Appleton & Co., pub
lishers.
A very interesting book. Full of
valuable knowledge for student or gen
eral reader. Helpful in a clear, direct
way, to our understanding of what man
is, according to the researches of
science. A good comprehension of the
general science of man will be profita
ble to kwowledge-seekers in every
branch of education. The work is not
allowed to go beyond the reach of the
averagely well cultivated mind into the
vague sphere of hair-splitting abstrac
tions, hedged by high and sharp tech
nical terms familiar only to the special
ist. It is sound, good, lucid, every-day
reading.
The author has had the help of emi
nent scholars and scientists, and in the
small compass of his work has con
densed a really surprising amount of
valuable, entertaining and instructive
matter. The book is well made and
handsomely printed.
—The Rise and Fall of The Confederate
Government. Bv Jefferson Davis, Vols. I
and 11. New York : D. Appleton & Co.,
publishers.
Through the courtesy of Mr. Geo. F.
Bolles, General Manager Subscription
Department Georgia and adjoining
States, No. 40 Marietta street, Atlanta,
we are in receipt of this work. Stated
in a general way, the object of the dis
tinguished author is, through this book,
to show that the Southern States had
rightfully the power to withdraw from
the 'Union; that the denial of that
right was a violation of the letter and
spirit of the Federal compact, and that
the war waged by the Federal govern
ment against the seceded States was in
disregard of the limitations of the Con
stitution, and destructive of the princi
ples of the Declaration of Indepen
dence. He has sought, also, to furnish
valuable material for the future histo
rian, and to correct misapprehensions
that have grown out of misrepresenta
tions as to the acts and purposes of the
people and the government of the
Confederate States. It is an eloquent
plea by the great chief of the Secession
movement for a just verdict by the
world as to the course, conduct and
consequences of the war, the author
hoping that the reader “will admit that
the South, in the forum of conscience,
stands fully acquitted for the deplora
ble fact of the war, for the cruel manner
in which it was waged, for the sad
physical and yet sadder moral results
it prodiiced.”
The work is certainly a most valua
ble one, both on account of the promi
nence of its writer, and for its relation
of events of extraordinary historical
interest, and its portraiture of the dis
tinguished military and political men
who took part in'the great drama of
1861-5.
No recent book has excited as much
general interest, at home and abroad, or
has been as thoroughly reviewed and
criticised as this, and over no other
have the critics been more at variance.
As indicating, somewhat, the extremes
of this criticism, and the consequences
to which all extreme views naturally
lead, we append a few lines from an
elaborate review in the columns of the
New York Sun, and a paragraph from
The Athenxuni, a leading periodical of
England. The Sun review holds that
Mr. Davis’ book will “outlive every
thing that has thus far been wiitten on
either side, and that the work is pro
foundly impressive because of the
breadth and quality of intellestual force
displayed.” The writer says the book
will live long after the rejoinders of
those upon whose conduct and policy
Mr. Davis passes judgment, have been
forgotten, and concludes by saying that
this work “ belongs to that very small
but precious class of narratives, wherein
events of great significance and mag
nitude are chronicled by a chief actor
and eye-witness. It belongs to the
category of which the writings of Thu
cydides, Xenophon, and Ciesar, have
been reckoned heretofore the most emi
nent examples, and what it may lack
in comparison with them as regards the
graces of literary treatment is more
than compensated by the incomparably
greater moment of the theme.”
To the contrary The Athenieum says:
“The work of Mr. Jefferson Davis will
disappoint some readers and weary
others. Those who turn to his vol
umes for revelations will find that he
has little that is new to tell, while those
who hope to get from him a concise
and clear view of the organization of
which he was the soul and the chief,
will be repelled by the vast amount of
dissertation with which he cumbers his
pages.”
—Year Book. City of Charleston, 8- C.
This is a well bound volume of over
three hundred pages, for a copy of
which we are indebted to J. 0. Lea,
Esq., of the City Treasury department
of Charleston. It is a valuable history
of the famous “City by the Sea,” with
full statistical information gathered
from all the municipal departments.
There is a concise review of the city’s
ancient and modern status, of its
commerce and finances, with maps of
the old and the new city.
The volume has been compiled with
great care and labor, and is a monu
ment to the enterprise and prosperity
of the citizens, reflecting credit upon
the city government under whose aus
ces the work has been perfected.
To the City Treasury department
especial praise is due for the fine show
ing made by this important branch of
the city government. The Mayor
gracefully acknowledges this fact in his
report, saying: “I cannot close this
review of the affairs of the Treasury
department without expressing my
great satisfaction at the intelligent,
painstaking and laborious services of
Mr. Campbell and his polite and oblig
ing assistants, all of whofn I commend
to the kindly regard of the City Coun
cil.”
An old Kentucky law makes it
possible to sentence a man to impris
onment for life on his third conviction
of grand larceny. The first time that
this extreme penalty was imposed in
many years was in the case of Elijah
Carter, who stole a dozen pigeons, and
the Court of Appeals has just decided
that the statute is unconstitutional,
because the punishment is unusual.
Private letters from Russia show
that that unhappy country is confront
ed by a fresh difficulty. Thirty thous
and Grieco-Uniates, forcibly converted
to Orthodoxy in 1875, have refused to
recognize the new faith, and have re
sumed their old form of worship, in
spite of the threats of the local authori
ties. The total number of Gneco-
Uniates driven into the Orthodox fold
was a quarter of a million, and if these
join the malcontents, as they are ex
pected to do, a fresh thorn will develop
in Russia’s side in Poland.
—Symptoms of an outbreak of fanat
icism between Hindoos and Moham
medans have manifested themselves at
Lahore and elsewhere in India, not
withstanding the efforts made by the
leading men of both religions to smooth
over the differences. The Hindoos are
the aggressors, and have given much of
fence by publishing a pamphlet, which
is simply a violent and silly attack upon
Mohammedanism. So far the Moham
medans have shown remarkable pa
tience under circumstances of the most
wanton provocation; but it is doubtful
how long they will do so.
NOTES.
—Yellow fever is ravaging the West
India Islands.
—lntensely hot weather is prevail
ing in France.
—Dean Stanley, the eminent English
divine, scholar and author, is dead.
—The English House of Commons
is still wrangling over the Irish Land
Bill.
—The famous Indian chief “Sitting
Bull” has surrendered to the govern
ment, with two hundred of his people.
They are at Fort Buford.
—Another plot to assassinate the
Czar of Russia has been discovered.
The Nihilist upon whom the lot fell to
murder him committed suicide.
—The New York Legislature, after
weeks of political labor, succeeded in
electing Elbridge G. Lapham to the U.
S. Senate vice Conkling resigned.
—The French invasion of Tunis has
caused great excitement among the
native tribes. The entire Arab popu
lation of the country, it is feared, will
soon be in open rebellion.
—A statue has recently been found
in a mound on the Egyptian Govern
ment railway line. It is believed to be
4,568 years old, and if this is confirm
ed it will probably be one of the oldest
known statues in the world. This
statue is about being removed to
Cairo.
—Two hundred thousand dollars
have been subscribed to the Atlanta
International Cotton Exposition.
—The black measles are almost epi
demic in certain districts about Macon.
A number of deaths have occurred
recently.
Chalybeate Springs Hotel.—The
attention of invalids and pleasure seek
ers is called to the advertisement of
this popular hotel at the Chalybeate
Springs, Meriwether county, Ga. The
waters are excellent, and the accom
modations are all that could be desired.
—At the session of the Georgia
Teachers’ Association, a committee
consisting of Messrs. W. B. Bonnell,
W. H. Baker, A. B. Niles,B. M. Zettler
and 8. C. Caldwell, was appointed to
secure funds for the proper publication
of the “Mallon Memorial Volume,” to
be issued by the Association.
—Marks’ Folding Chairs. —We
call the attention of our readers to the
advertisement of the Marks’ Adjusta
ble Folding Chair Company, New York.
These chairs, for solid comfort, either
in sickness or as adjuncts to elegant
leisure, are unsurpassed.
If you want to get the cosiest chair
in the world, get the Marks’ Chair.
—Columbus Female College.—The
attention of parents and guardians is
called to the advertisement of this
popular College. No institution in the
State excels it in its advantages for a
comprehensive study of the arts and
sciences. The social and religious
associations are of the very best, and
the health and comfort of students are
specially cared for.
The faculty is large, and embraces
teaching talent of the highest order.
Write for further particulars to the
President, G. B. Glenn.
—We note with great pleasure the
election of Prof. G. J. Orr to the dis
tinquished position of President of the
National Teachers’ Association, in ses
sion in our city last week. It is a well
deserved honor. Mr. Orr will fill the
position with great ability, and with
profit to the high interests of which
the Association is the conservator and
representative.
His faithful and fruitful services in
the cause of education in Georgia, as
State School Commissioner, are well
known and universally acknowledged.
We are glad to see such men deservedly
honored in their day and generation.
—The Oratorio of Daniel.—Last
Friday night, and Saturday afternoon,
the fine Oratorio of “Daniel, or the Cap
tivity and Restoration of Israel,” was pre
sented to large audiences at DeGive’s
Opera House by a number of ladies
and gentlemen of our city. This grand
musical composition has been dramati
cally reset by Lieutenant G. N. Whist
ler, U. S. A., now stationed at McPher
son Barracks, Atlanta. Prof. Schultze,
of the Southern Musical Conservatory,
was Director of Music for the occasion,
and a number of our leading vocalists
took part. The Oratorio was eminent
ly a success, and delighted the select
audiences present.
We are glad to note the publication
of a card requesting another perform
ance for the benefit of those who failed
to witness the two performances last
week. We hope the managers and
participants will gratify our citizens by
another rendition of the Oratorio.
GEORGIA NEWS.
—Columbus is to have extensive water-*
works.
—There are fifteen prisoners in the jail at
Seale.
—The Rome ice factory will probably not
lie completed before next summer.
—Mr. A. T. Hough has been elected Pro
fessor of Book-keeping in Emory College.
—A prohibition petition, asking for a pro*
bibition law for Polk county, has over 1,100
signatures,
—The summer session of the Georgia State
Agricultural Society will beheld in Rome,
beginning August Ist.
—Douglasville Star: “The ladies manifest
much interest in the restriction of the sale of
spirituous liquors m this county.”
—The colored hands employed on brick
works in Albany have struck for higher
wages. They were receiving $2 50 per day.
—The Chattahoochee Cana! Company is
organized, subscription books are open, and
a preliminary survey will be made in a short
time.
—Dooly county shows an increase of
$77,459 in taxable property this, over last
rear. The total value of the property is
$1,605,688.
—Montgomery county: The corn crop is
estimated at about one-half, but if we can
get rain soon the cotton crop will do a little
better than that.
—Several cases of sunstroke, resulting
fatally, have occurred in this Slate — a rare
occurrence. The “heated term” has been
unusually severe.
—The citizens of Seale are taking steps
toward the erection of a school-house. A
committee to solicit and collect subscriptions
has been appointed.
—Prof. W. P. McKennie, of Opelika, Ala-,
has been elected superintendent of the pub
lic schools of West Point in the place of Col.
A. P. Mooty resigned.
—The Cotton Exposition building in At
lanta will be one of the handsomest struct
ures in America—seven hundred and twenty
feet length, ninety six feet depth, cross wings
four hundred feet length and ninety-six feet
depth.
—lrwinton Southerner and Appeal: “The
crops of cotton and corn throughout this
section give promise of a more abundant
yield this season than for seven or eight
years past. If this promise can be realized,
it will put our farmers firmly on their feet.”
—The city of Savannah has given to the
Central railroad the land occupied now by
the water-works, on condition that the road
move the works to their new site and con
nect them with the city. The laud gained
by the company is very valuable to them.
—Cherokee’ Advance: “The crop pros
pects all over the county were never better.
Our farmers are diligently at work, and they
are promised a rich reward for their labors.
Corn is looking just as well as could be ex
nested, and there is a splendid stand of cot
ton.”
—Newnan Herald: “Consumption is
alarmingly on the increase among the ne
groes. Dr. C- D. Smith says that he never
knew of but two cases before the war, while
now it is quite common among them. There
are several cases in Newnan now in the last
stages of that disease. Dissipation is the
cause.”
—The capital has been subscribed to build
a railroad between Live Oak aud Rowland’s
Bluff. The Waycross Reporter says: “The
work will be commenced at once, and by the
first of October,—the distance being twenty
three miles, —the scream of the locomotive
will resound its echoes on the banks of the
placid Suwannee.”
—The Georgia State Horticultural Society
will hold its sixth annual Convention and
exhibition of fruits, vegetables and flowers
in Atlanta on the 4th and sth of August
next. Fruit-growers, progressive farmers,
and all who are interested in the pursuit of
horticulture, are cordially invited to attend,
and earnestly solicited to contribute fruits,
vegetables, flowers, etc., to the exhition. The
Southern Express Company has generously
agreed to earry, free of charge, all articles
intended for exhibition, aud such articles
may be sent by express up to Wednesday,
August 3d, inclusive, addressed to Dr. Samuel
Hape, for Horticultural Society, Atlanta.
—North Georgia Citizen: “There has been
a great improvement in this section of the’
State within the last two years. For a long
time after ‘grim visaged war’ stalked through
the country, decaying houses, barnes and
fences marked the course of revolution. It
was natural that such a result should follow,
as a greater portion of the labor was per
formed by slaves, who were liberated by the
war. A new system of farming had to be
inaugurated, as a new epoch had dawned on
a land where blight had followed bloom. By
slow decrees the agricultural interest im
proved. Lands all over this section which,
for years after the war were uncultivated or
poorly cultivated, are now yielding crops
worth annually from twenty to twenty-five
dollars per acre. Good wagons, mules, horses
and other improvements indicate growing
prosperity.”
—Rome Courier: “Thefollowinglist will
readily convince any person that railroads
are having a boom. The present Legislature
is asked to charter these: Atlanta aud Ala
bama railroad, passed; Rome and Chatta
nooga railroad, passed; Rome Southern
railroad, in direction of St. Marks, Fla., with
branches; R ome and LaGrange railroad. tWo
hills, same title; Richmond County railroad:
Rome and Atlanta railroad; Cumming and
Suwannee railroad; Buena Vista railroad,
passed; Logansville railroad; Rome aud
Carrollton railroad; Kingston, Welaska and
Gainesville railroad; Logansville railroad,
second bill; Tennille and Wrightsville rail
road; Covington and Ocmulgee railroad;
Covington and North Georgia railroad;
Covington and South River railroad; Haw
kinsville aud Florida railroad; Gainesville,
Jeffersonville and Southern R.R; Brunswick
and Pacific railroad, extending from Macon
to Atlanta; Bek railroad and Union railroad,
both to encircle Atlanta for transfer purposes;
Cleveland and Lula railroad. Some of the
above named roads to form links in very
important through lines, while others are
simply small local enterprises.”
—Scene in the Georgia House of Repre
sentatives : Mr, Northen, of Hancock, moved
to suspend the rules that he might submit a
memorial. He was aware that it was an
unnatural proceeding, but he was sure it
would be received with pleasure. “I hold
before me the evidence of the work of the
Christian women of Georgia. While we
have been trying to build up the material
resources of the State, they have gone into
our homes and found there ruin and sorrow.
Strong men found humble; young men with
brilliant intellects and high hopes wrecked
before life's morning is passed; little ones
crying, ‘God pity us in our desolation.’ For
such women—our wives aud our mothers—
can I ask toe much of the gallant men of
Georgia? They come to bring j>y where
there had been sorrow. They come
to bring sunshine where there had
been darkness They eome as the
harbingers of that day, when the angels
shall again proclaim peace and good-will to
man. I move that by a rising vote the rules
of the House be suspended, that this memo
rial for a geueral local option law may be
displayed and then referred to the Special
I’ommittee on Temperance.” [Applause on
the floor and in the galleries.]
The memorial was sent up in a large bas
ket, which it filled. It was run out all the
aisles and then there was enough left to car
pel a good sized room. The petition was
600 feet long. It contained 30,000 names,
coming from every county in the State. The
unrolling of the petition created quite a sen
sation, and as it was unfurled there was
continued applause.
