Newspaper Page Text
Courier and 'Eomracrrial.
CONSOLIDATED APRIL lO, 1876.
HaTES OF SUBSCRIPTIONS.
FOR THE 'WEEKLY.
FOR THE TRI-WEEKLY.
Mr. Jefferson Davis has been invited
to deliver an address duringcommenca-
ment week, next June, at the Texas
State University. -
The new tariff and internal revemi
bill does noi touch tea nr coffee. Iw pro
visions will probably include a reduciioi
of the tax on tobacco, and tbeTe is
likelihood that the income. rax “ill
restored.
A marriage itissaid, will k e arrapeid
between toe Duke • f Connaught, Vic-
toria,s third aim, and Princess L >uise,
daughter of Prince Frednrtek.Charles of
The Princess . is seventeen
age, and much liked by those
know her
The January national debt statement
shows that the treasury continues to re
duce the debt. The reduction for Jan
nary was 8T.668.076. The treasury
now holds .8 84,149,186—»n increase of
S 50,985,209 since January of Iasi
year. :
Skobeleff, the Russian Genera], is said
to be only thirty-three years of age. Hi
is a very religions man. "Ooe canno
face death boldly,” he said, “who is noi
a believer in God and who is witbou
hope of a better world.” He leads tb
soldiers in prayer and joins in their pe
culiar chant, which is said to be very
touching.
The Cincinnati Commercial quotes ex
Uuited. States Treasurer John C. New
as saying the 412} grain dollar is equal
to the silver standard in any country
and therefore good enough for us,
debtor nation and a debtor people. Unti
its demonetization, the silver dollar wa
orth a3 much as the I gold dollar, and
en remonetized it will again be.
A movement has been inaugurate!
in France looking to the promotion ot
more direct and intimate commercial
relations with the United States.
Paris telegram notes the formation of
a committee of merchants and roeiubere
of the national Legislature to facilitati
the measure It baa bee- resolved
send au agent to this country with a
address “showing the benefits of ii
creased coiumeruiat intercourse, and
convene a Franco-American congm-
at Paris during the approaching intet
national exhibition.”
p. 0 j
C IN TRACT RATES OF ADVEftTlSHK
$ AL DWINELL, PROPRIETOR.
00
“WISDOM, JUSTICE AND MODERATION." Kw*’
TWO DOLLARS PER ANNUM.
l " VOLUME XXXII.
ROME, GEORGIA, WEDNESDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 13, 1878.
r’K; NEW SERIES-NO. 24
The mercantile disasters reported i
the city of New York during the pat-
month are the largest in number tha
have occurred,on any single m.iutl
-.since the memorable panic of 1873
There were 129 failures, suspensions
and assignments, , W n w’hieh the aggre-
labilitiisnre 87 113.039 and as
^sets S.433.839: The merrhandi-e lia
bilities are greater than in the Iasi
month of the year 1877,' in wnieh the
total was about 88,000,000,' but the lat
ter Was swelled hy the failures ot
banks, trust companies and defalca
tions to the amount of over 84,200,000.
In the number of failures there is an
increase of twenty-niue vver the record
for December.
Tberesultof Murphy’s temperance
I revival in Spriugfield is a total of 20,-
660 signatures to the pledge in that
city and its neighborhood; tint it is said
that hundreds of boys signed night
after night for fun. At first womei
monopolized the best seats in the hall
. leaving no room fur bummers; but at
terward that fault was in a mea-ur-
' remedied. Murphy was assisted b\
his son and several singers, besides the
local clergy. The Catholic priests fa-
.vored the movement, but protested
- against the incidental prayer meeting-
1 and the use of the Bliss and Sankey
hymns. Several of the worst drunk
ards in the place swore off, and thu
' far remain abstemious.
The Hon. Elias Root was appointed
Collector of the port of Oswi-go in 1871
He was one of the wealthy residents of
the city, a conspicuous member of the
East Side Congregational Church, a
Sunday-school Superintendent, and
temperance lecturer. He was one of
the chief stockholders in the Oswego
Times, the Republican organ. One of
his first acts was to put editors of that
newspaper on the Government rolls,
although they did no work for the Gov
emmeut. He allowed book-keepers of
Oswego grain firms to act and keep
accounts as Government storekeepers,
d illegally retained fees therefor.
These acts were proved in a recent se
cret investigation, and Mr. Root was
l compelled to resign, and to return to
the Government 86 600.
Washington special to the Baltimore
Sun: “Mr. Henry Soickbridge, of
Baltimore, applied yesterday to Chief
Justice Waite for a writ -if error in the
case of the colored lawyer recently de
nied admission to the oar of Maryland
by the Court of Appeals of that State.
The purpose is-te bring the case before
the Supreme Court ->f the United States
for a decision on tne q lestion at issue,
as-to whether auy State can by its or
ganic law exclude a practitioner from
its courts on account of race or color.
As some of the necessary bonds are
filed in the case, the Chief Justice will
.direct the issuance of the writ of error.
-It is understood as then probable that
a motion will be made to advance the
case on the docket, as in the ordinary
course of business it would not be
reached for some three years. Whether
the Supreme Court will consider the
case of sufficient importance to be
advanced is a question, as it is not
known that any similar cases are pend
ing anywhere.”
One nqnaro one month ...
One square three month
One square six months...
One square twelve monll
One-fourth column
One-fourth column three
One-fourth column six months
One-fourth column twelve
One-half column one month..
One-half column three month
One-half column six months—...
One-half column twelve months...
One column one month.
.... (1
so w
101 0)
One column twelve months—
The foregolnsc rates are fo” either Weekly c
Federal Taxes.
8;eci»l Telegraphic Correspondence of the
—i. : Courier Jonnra).]
Washington, Feb. 4.—Mr. McMa-
non, of Ohio, brought forward to-day
the resolution of which I made men
tion a few days ago, directing the com
mittee on Ways and Means to report a
graduated tax on all incomes above a
reasonable minimum. The move to
suspend the rules and pass the resolu
tion developed a much greater strength,
than even its friends had hoped for,
while to the Eastern- members it was
a stunning surprise. There were 165
yeas to 88 nays, not quite two-thirds,
but : a majority of 77 is about as em
phatic an instruction as the commit-
Washington Correspondence.
Washington, Feb. 4,1878.
It was demonstrated to the satisfac
tion of many who heard the testimony
elicited before the Court of Claims at
various tiqDTS daring the past five or
six years t'p claims based on the Geneva
award, that the rating of particular ves
sel* tlie American Lloyds, depended
more upon, tbe amount of money the
owners had to pay fur a certificate of
character to that institution than upon
the material or manner of their con
struction. The present is a good time
fur some Congressional Plimsall to come
to the resene of seamen and passengers
who are wont to trust themselves to go
down to sea in be rotton bottoms
tsd could receive. A majority of the owned by avaricious marine speculators.
committee, namely, Messrs. Burchard,
Harris, Tucker, Rollins and Gibson,
voted for the resolution. Mr. Fernan
do Wood voted against the resolution
of instruction, but he is not opposed to
incorporating such a feature in a gener-
d bill, and it is now an open fact that
the new revenue bill will include an
ncome tax. It is reasonably certain
hat the new bill will reduce the tax
on tobacco to sixteen cents per pound,
*nd that the taxes on the denosite in
savings banks and on bank checks will
he entirely abolished. Whether tbe
committee will or will not include a
redaction on the whisky tax is not set
tled; bat, if it shall be left out, the
motion can be made in tbe House to
reduce the tax to sixty cent*. Tbe
bulk of the opposition to the income
tax to-day came from the Eastern
States, but there were some striking
exceptions. Beebe, Hewitt and May-
h nn, of New York, Hale and Powers,
of Maine, Briggs and Blair, of New
Hampshire, and Landers, of Connect!
cut, voted for the resolution. On the
ither hand, Conger, of Michigan. Fos-
•«r, Garfield and Monroe, of Ohio,
Springer, of Illinois, and Walker, of
Virginia, voted against the tax. Ken-
ucky was solid in the affirmative.
Tbe vote-to-day was, perhaps a little
-trger than the real strength of the
ueasure, bat the names above given
mow that the rebellion against the ty-
moy and injustice of capital has ex-
—nded to the New England States.
The Chriatiancy Dollar.
Senator Christiancy’s bill to authorize
die coinage of silver dollars, bnt requir-
ng that they shall contain 434 grains
-tundard silver, is nothing more than a
-xiheme to defeat the Abject of the Bland
bill in a roundabout way. The Chris-
rimey dollar would contain 211 grains
more of silver than the old standard dol
I tr which was dropped from the coinage
in 1873. It would be 5.2 per cent, more
valuable than the old dollar. The ob
jection to the bill is that it alteis tbe law
ful standard; it increases the value of
the silver dollar at a time when tbe peo
ple are not prepared for it. If there is
a disparity between tbe gold and silver
coins, why not equalise the two by de
creasing the weight of the former 7 This
would be as reasonable and fair as in-
-.reaaing the weight' of tbe latter. But
there is no necessity at present for de
basing the weight of one or increasing
ha* of .he other. The silver advocates
do not seek to “ clip” the gold dollar;
hey are content to let it remain as it is.
They demand only that the mints shall
be allowed to coin silver dollars of the
wight and fineness established by law,
<o that the product of our silver mines
may be moulded into money aa well as
the product of our gold mines, and both
the kinds of money recognized by the
Constitution permitted to the people.
The gold advocates make a great pretence
>f being willing to admit the silver dollar
to the coinage provided it has “a dollar’--
worth of silver in it.” This is the very
hing the silver people propose, them
selves. A dollar’s worth of silver is 4124
grains, nine-tenths fine, exactly—and the
dollar authorized by the Bland bill will
contain this amount of metal. The word
dollar originally meant a silver dollar,
and it means that still.
The Cincinnati Gazette’s Washing
ton correspondent informs us that the
auti-administration Republican com
biuation to subdue Mr. Hayes or drive
him oat the party is still alive and me
tively at work—and, what is str -nge,
is supported by the very Republican
office-holders who remain in office with
the consent of Mr. Hayes. The cor
respondent (Gen. Boynton) says:
“Its chief leaders are in the senate.
Beyond question their plan is to solid
ify toe controlling influences.ot the
party against the President. These
leaders are men of political skill and
sagacity and of life-long experience.
They nave their hands upon the party
organization throughout the country.
Tbe office-holders, as a class, are. with
them. This may seem a strange state
ment, but it is true, and the President
himself is folly aware of its trnth. The
power which these senators wield here
almost absolute. It is but little less
in the States,' so far as the party ma
chinery is concerned. There is no
longer room for doubt but that they
intend to force-President Hayes to sur-
rendeiyor in case of refusal, to force
him aside, crowd him over where he
will be obliged to depend upon Demo
crats for his confirmations, and every
time the Democrats support him shout
to the faithful that the President has
Johnsonized.”
Doubtful story from an English jour
nal: “The Duke of Ed’nbuig is now
with the British Mediterranean fleet, and
is said has had the following put up in
his cabin to check unpleasant references;
please to remember that the emperor of
Russia is my'falher-in-law.”
Old- rotten, worm eaten, hulks .are
bought for a song; the seams, worm
holes and the ravages of dry rot are
filled by oaknm,. plugging or patching;
pitch and tar impart a false appearance
of newness; a metal skin is drawn bn
over these little “tricks of the trade”
and a liberal application of putty and
paint, with the new name on the stem,
complete the metamorphosis. The new
ship is rated A 1, is heavily insured
and loaded down to a depth inconsis
tent with the safety of even a new aitd
staunch ship. She is then sent to sea'
half manned, her owners, it may be,
hoping she may never be heard of more;
and they are oftener gratified than oth
erwise in this. Perusing Plimsall’s
speeches in the British House of Com
mons made on a similar subject a few
years since, would likely convince many
uow skeptics on these points; and what
was true at that time is probably true
to a greater or 1-ss extent among all
diaritine nations. The Metropolis was
an old, rickety patched concern used as
a transport during the war, and was
hired for a nominal snm, probably, to
take to South America, workmen and
their equipments ^ for a railroad in
Brazil. The absence of details in the
Captain’s account of the disas^^3 sig
nificant, bm tbe early determination ar
rived at to beach the vessel as the only
means of saving tne lives on board,
seemB to argue perfect familiarity with
her unseawurthy condition. Over 100
souls gone to swell the testimony that
has been accumulating for thousands of
years agaiost the rascally Bhip owners
who deliberately send old vessels to sea
in such a crippled condition that the vie
tiau of their greed havn’t one chance
in a thosand to ever reach the shore. It
is always noticed hat snip and cargo
had been covered bv insurance. It is
already noted that different parties sup-'
posed to have thoroughly inspected th«
Me'ropolis, and whose reputation as ex
perts is Lkely to suffer by the sad fate
which overtook her, are already in
print trying to snift the responsibility
to somebody other than themselves.
What of our life saving service 7 500
men cast ashore on the treachen >ua Cur
rituck beach within the last three
months directly tinder the nose of these
Ufa saving (?) crews who prove as use
less as so many Evan O’Neils. Tne
Superintendent of this service special
ly qualified himself for the responsi
bility of the place hy serving as mes
senger (I believe), 1st, 2J. 3d and 4th
class clerk successively, and finally as
ship clerk in tbe Auditor’s office. In
recognition of the vast strides he made
in theoretical and practical knowledge
of nautical »ff lira while thus workiog
up claims-nf soldiers for bounty and
arrears of pay, he was promoted to the
superinteDdency of a branch of service,
the utility of which must depend so
largely upou the energy, system and in
telligence with which grave responsi
bilities and peril-ius duties are directed
from the headquarters here. Our Su
perintendent, every summer, boldly
visits tbe stations along the coast, critic
ally exatning into' their workings
through a spy-glass from the deck of a
government steamer detailed for this
bazirdous duty. To thoroughly famil
iarize himself with all the details of
every bureau of liis dep irtment, it wiU
be remembered how Secretary Sher
man, scorning the dangers of New
England’s rock-ribbed coast, accompa
nied Secretary Kimball on his North
ward trip last summer, when less zeal
ous officials were spending their annual
leave at the various watering . places.
Though they suffered the horrors of
shipwreck off the coast of Maine, the
voyage was.not abandoned till every
nautical mile uff the coast, eastward,
had been traversed. ' Whether true or
not that Democratic meanness is charge
able with having crippled the efficien
cy of the eerviue, it strikes every one as
odd that for hours after the Metropolis
struck,, no one from any of the stations
appeared aware of it or that the furi
ous easterly gale was likely to duplicate
the Huron ca astro phe. Already it is
stated that no horses-were at band for
hauling the life saving aparatus to the
stranded ship, and when there, the life
line was soOld and rotten that it was un
able to bear even tbe strain of the ocean
current What an efficient inspector Mr..
Kimball must have on this Currituck
beach; to be sure 1 and we shiver with
dread lest tbe efficiency of his~life-sav
ing force and apparatus be tested at
other points along the storm swept
Atlantic coast during - the boistrous
months of February and March; yet'
remaining to finish their annual record
of disaster and death. It is an excel
lent subject, this Metropolis business,
for a searching non-partisan investiga
tion by an impartial jury who, don’t
believe in the efficiency of white-wash
when thousands of human lives are
set over again-'t the pay and emolu
ments of a . few small fry politicians.
Knox.
Coosa River Improvement. ■
Heport -of Col. D. S. Printup to the House
Committee of Commerce
The Coosa River is formed by the
junction of the Oostanaula and Etowah
rivers at Rome, in the State of Georgia..
From Rome it rnn3 in a tortuous but
generally south-west direction, for
about one hundred miles, then bends
gradually in a south and little east of
south direction until it arrives at We-
iumpka,in Alabama; thence takes its-
direction to the south-west until it ar
rives at its junction with -the Taliapoo-
Alabama river continues
and could not be less than two and one-
half cents per ton per mile; or at this
rate 33} bushels of wheat, or nearly 36
bushels of corn woold cost for trans
portation 100 miles by railroad 82.50,
or 7} cents per bushel for wneat and
nearly 7 cents per bushel for corn. For
^distances over 100 miles the difference
in favor of water transportation is much
greater.
The same can be Baid in regard to the
heavy products of the mines, such"a*
iron, coal marble, etc., as Well as of lum
ber and merchandise generally.
The difference of costs is much
er in the transportation of coal and iron
sa. forming the Alabama River—being than that given of wheat and com and
334 miits in length from Rqgae, Ga . to other commodities, so much so that it
its junction with the Tallapoosa. The ia almost needless to make the compare
- - ties in the - - - - - - v
same 0 f the co3t of carrying these ar
ticles by railroad with the comparative,
ing and bending to thesouth^ unites
with the Tombigbee river,' forming the
Mobile river, which empties into the
Mobile Bay—over -700 -miles from
Rome, in Georgia, or 800 miles from
the commencement of navigation on
the head waters of the Ooatanaula river,
one of the tributaries, as above stated,
'of- the Coosa.
From the point where naviga
tion commences bn the Coosawat-
tee, a tributary to the Oostanaula,
in miles to Rome is about 100
From Rome to Greens port ' 180
ait to Wetumpka 137
40
85
my ulc ojuch less the trifling cost of transport-
contmu- jpg the same by
From Greens port
From Wetumpka to Montgomery
From Montgomery to Selma-
From Selma to Mobile
273
Making a total of about 815
The volume of water in the Coosa is
sufficient, at all times, to afford a chan
nel of sufficient width and depth to
carry steamers of from 150 to 300 tons
harden. Its channel is very stable
and unchangeable; sand and gravel
bars are seldom found, and when found
are easily removed. Its average
width from Rome to Greensport is
from 400 to 600 feet or over, with an
average depth, at tbe lowest stages of
the river and at the moet shallow
points, of about two feet. Over this
part of the river steamboats carrying
the United States mail are making their
regular two rounds tripe weekly. There
is also a steamer at present making
weekly trips from Rome up the Oosta-
■ •aula river, a distance of about 105
miles. These steamers range from 75 to
330 to ns harden,and are doing a heavy
carrying trade. Tbe freight tonoage
carried by these steamers has been on
an averagh of about 30,000 tons annual
ly, for the last five years, which is in
creasing rapidly and necessitating far
ther means of transportation.
Here allow me to draw some from
the reports of the Chief Engineers re
cently made to the Secretary of War.
In that part relating to the Coosa river
he Beys:
“Tha Coosa river is- an exceptimuF
“ably favorable one for improvements,
“since its mean depth is greater in com-
“parison with its average width than
“most of the western rivers, and its
banks and channels are generally well
“defined and permanent. The neces
sity for its improvement has been re-
“peatedly urged by legislatures, com-
“mercial societies and engineers.”
The obstructions at the lowest stage
of the water to the navigation of the
Coosa river, between Rome, Ga., and
Greensport, Ala., (a distance of 180
miles), have been to a considerable ex
tent removedduring the last six months,
and navigation much improved under
nronriation made by Congress, in
1876,’for that purpose. Between these
two points there are thirteen shoals.
Some of these have been so far over
come as to afford the free passage of
steamers with little or no difficulty,
others require more work in order to
remove dangerous rocks, and by exca
vations to give more directness to the
channels. In some places wing or spur
dams tire needed in order to confine a
greater volume of water to the chan
nels, thereby deepening it What has
already been done has been found to
work most satisfactorily. It is hotted
and believed that daring another year
all obstructions between these two
points will be so fas overcome as to give
a channel at all times, with at least an
average depth of two and one-half or
three feet, and in all other respects suf
ficient to meet all the demands of navi
gation by each steamers as the commer
cial and agricultural interests along the
line of river now require.
The only part of tbe whole river line,
from the head of navigation on tbe
main tributary of the Ooetananla (the
Coosawattee) to the point where the
Mobile river empties its waters'into the
Mobile Bay, 815 miles, not now navi
gated by steamers' during nearly the
whole year, is that 137 miles between
Greensport and Wetnmpka, on the
Coosa river. In regard to this I will
quote from the report of the Chief En
gineer recently made and referred to
above, which says:
“Another important part of the im
provement-which will (shonld) be be
gan as soon as practicable is that part
of the river between Greensport' and
the Selma, Rome & Dalton Railroad
bridge (a point 70 miles below Greens
port). Tha obstructions here are of. a
more formidable character and will re
quire considerable money for their re
moval, bnt it is Believed that‘the im
portance of the work will amply justify
tbe expenditure required.”
By improving the 70 miles below
Greensport, the coal fields of St Clair
county, Ala., which lie contiguous to
the river, would' at once be opened to
supply the great demand for such coal
now existing in Northwest and Middle
Georgia.for domestic and manufactnr-
WeRavetibw to consider whether the
expenditure of the money necessary to
remove the obstructions mentioned so
as to-make the whole line of river (815
miles) navigable; will be justified by
the advantages to be obtained. ^
. - In comparing the great advantages of
franspdrbttum by* water over that of
any other mode of transportation we
find that all the advantages, to wit:
convenience, facility, certainty, cheap
ness; etc., are in favor of water.
On water, such as farm and agricul
tural products, can be carried' for lesB
than five mills per ton per mile; or at
this rate the transportation 100 miles
by water of 33i bushels of wheat would
cost 50 cents, or one and one-half cents
per bushel; or the transportation of
nearly 36 bushels of com would cost 60
cents, or not quite one and one-half cente
per bushel; wh.en by railroad, the next
cheapest, mode of transportation, the
coat of carrying the same articles would
water.
I will refsr briefly to a comparison of
the relative costs of the transportation
of coal by water and railroad, contain
ed iu a report made to the chief of th-
Bureau of statistics, at Washington, in
18/3, to the effect that the average cost
ot moving one ton of coal 336. miles by
railroad is S3 62, and the 'charge i*,on
an average, for the same distance, 85.64,
while the carrying of qne ton of coal
600 miles by water cost on an avenge
56 cents, the distance being nearly
twice as great. Further, the averag-
cost of carrying one ton of coal 2,000
miles by rail under the adoption of the
lowest rates of freight known to have
been made by any railroad company iu
the United States, would have been
81320, wnile for transporting one, ton
of co'i from Pittsburg. Pa., to New Or
leans, fc^iistaiics.bf^,000 miles by wa
ter, thKkverage cost is only about 81.05.
The Sfference of comparative costs
that apply to the inoving or carrying of
coal by rail and water, apply with equal
force to the cost of transporting iron
and, other heavy commodities.
The country that would be materially
and l^aeficially affected by the proper
opening of this great river line, by the
removal of the obatruc ions between
Greensport and Wetumpka, being a dis
tunce of only 137 miles out of the 815
and upward, now navigable, is that por
lion of Northwest Georgia lying be
tween the Lookout Mountain nn the
Northwest and the line of hills
mountains embracing the gold belt on
the Soutneast, traversed by the vaUeye
of ChatKoga, Connasauga, Coosawattee.
Oostanayla and Etowah rivers, and Big
Cedear creek and their tributaries, m
of whose waters help td^irm the Coo
sa, embracirc a popuhsfoi! of ove
175,000, and-Jn area of at least 6,0t>>
square miles, or 3,840,000 acres of lau-
which for its productiveness of soil hi,.
mineral r(t-uurce3 is unsurpassed
my other region of the same extA.li
the United State3 ; producing cotum
the finest grade fo^mhudMv well ..
tes-? ;*
ter, the hills'and mountains seem p-
culiarly adapted: being also rich ti
coal, iron, maogauess, b&rytese au
other minerals.
That portion of Northeast Alabama
that would be more or leas greatly ben
efitted by tbe improvement of the Coo
sa river, as suggested, is bordered .by
Raccoon mountain on the Northwest,
and the range of bills or low moon-
tains running parallel with, and distant
from the line of the river about 25
miles on tbe Southeast, having a gen
eral direction from the Northeast to the
Southwest and in Alabama, containing
a population of about 160.000 upon an
area of about 7,000 square miles or
4,490,000 acres of land; not taking into
tnis account any portion of thp coun
try on either .side of the line, traversed
by the lower half, or near 400 miles ot
the river. This section of Alabama is,
in riennesB of soil and mineral wealth,
equal to that in Northwest Georgia;
partaking much of the same n >ture,
besides having extensive and inexhaus
tible fields of bituminous coal, frow-
two to ten feet thick, of the very finest
quality, and suited to all purposes ot
manufacturing iron, driving machinery
and other uses to which this coal is ap
plicable, The coal fields traverse the
w’&te-area in Alabamaabove described,
aud are immediately by the side of ex
tensive beds of iron ore ot several va
rieties and finest qualities which also
traverse the same area of country witti
the coal fields. Sand stone, lime stone,
fire clay snu other minerals abound in
quantities sufficient to BUpply all futur.
ages.
From a statistical calculation it is
shown that tbe annual products ot
these portions of the States of Georgia
and Alabam jf embraced in the area of
country above described, which would
be beneficially affected by the improve
ment desired of the Coosa river are
over 2.125,000 bushels of wheat; 3,-
500,000 bushels of corn ; 250.000 bush
els of oats and over 100,000 bales of
cotton, besides live stock, fruits of va
rious varieties and other products of
the farm, in value equaling over 810,-
000.000. This is not taking into con
sideration the products of tbe mines,
snch as iron, coal, etc,, nor tbe manu
factured articles annually produced,
which are very large and extensive.
The annasd saving of the people
along the /ine of- river, in having cheap
transportation for. their snrplos pro
ducts wonld naturally - enhance tbe
wealth and prosperity of the country.
The manufacturing interests would in
like'manner be fostered and made pros
perous, and. as aptly stated by tbe Chief
Engineer of the Selma, Rome and Dal
ton Railroad Co., ia 1870, and which is
set forth in the report of the Cnief of
Engineers for 1871-2:
“The wonder is that this work (speak
ing of tire improvement of the Coosa
river) has not been accomplished a long
time ago. Indeed what channel of
transportation is better calculated to
spread all around industry, prosperity
and wealth. .‘*The money required to do
the work” of making navigation per
fectly safe over the whole line of nrer
is a matter of very small importance
when we consider the magnitude of the
advantages to be attained.”
“Capital and cheap transportation on
ly are wanted to make this section of
country an immense workshop capable j - _
of giving employment to thousands of
wbatanimmense economical revolution
this new channel of communication,
(through transportation once opened)
must produce in the country at large,
and particularly iu the States of Geor
gia aud Alabama and those immediate
ly contiguous thereto.”
“The climate of the Coosa. Valley is
salubrious, mild and temperate; its
winter? of short duration ; its soil rich
and productive; besides the staples
everything in abuudance which is nec
essary to make living cheap for work
man, laborer aid mechanic. This great
valley is intersected by a large number
of streams which never freeze, and on
them are a multitude of sites for. mills
and factories, with inexhaustible water
power, and are destined one day to be
the customers and feeders of this great
cbanueL
“For want of this great-thoroughfare
millions of dollars worth of the brat
long leaf pine, a great variety of oak,
ash, walnut, cypress und poplar, which
could be turned into the best lumber
for construction purposes, are now re
duced to ashes or rot upon the ground.
Of the lands along the lines or*the river
the Uuited States government owns
mUiibns of acres .in the shape of public
lands.
is almost impossible (the report
farther says) to estimate the increase in
the value of thesa lands, which will be
the natural and immediate result of
opening the river to navigation. It is
fair to suppose, however, that the in
crease will be many times greater tl
the amount necessary to pay for all the
required improvements.”
By removing the obstructions to the
free passage of steamers between Greens
port and Wetnmpka it wonld at once
open up by water communication the
extensive coal fields and iron beds of
Alabama and Georgia to the commerce
of the Gulf of Mexico and the trade of
South America and the West India
Islands, yielding millions of wealth
annually to our country.
The great and increasing benefits that
would be the inevitable result of mak
ing this great improvement would ex
ceed the bounds of tbe moet sanguine
calculation.
COOSA BIVER APPROPRIATIONS.
By Congress, in 1876, 830,000 00
Expended in 1877, 15,742 43
Leaving an unexpended bal
ance in treasury 814,267 55
Amount recommended
•j the Chief Engineers for
ne year ending July 1,
i 879. to be appropriated by
'i ingress $100,000 00
«>itun, wim me unexpended balance
i* iu the tremor*', will be sufficient,
i- ii -n-nt- r.d. f.r making the neces-
• v improvements and doing the work
q-iireil up oi that time.
\ oiuunt of >vork done on Coosa,
- 'I' all duringJastsix months:
R ick excavation, 900 yards; gravel
xcavatiOD, 500 yards; rock qttarri(*d,
t”7 yards. Riprap, or rock dams, 310
■ -et; log, or pen dams, filled with stone,
2,'OOfeet; snags dangerous to naviga-
ton, extracted, 21.
Length of line navigable:
Carter’s Landing to Lome, 100 miles,
Rome to Greensport,—.. 180
Wetnmpk to Mobile, 398
Whole length navigable.. 678
The whole length navigahle from
Rome, Ga., to Mobile, Ala’ is 578 miles,
with a fall in this distanceof 345} feet,
or 0.61 per mile
The average fall. between Greensport
and Wetnmpka is 1.84 per mile.
The Eastern Question.
Hen. A. H- Stephens in Reply
to Gen. Dick Taylor.
Wulingtoa Gazjtt*.
Hon. A. H. Stephens has in prepara
tion an oroide for the March number
of the International Review in reply to
the Confederate Reminiscences of Gen.
Dick Taylor, published in the January
number of the North American Re
view, in which he proposes to contra
dict a number of statements made in
Gen. Taylor’s article. Mr. Stephens
denies 'that resistance was offered by
the Confederate Government to enlist-
nrents for more than one year, and says
that he himself was at Montgomery and
favored such enlistments, and that his
position on the question was generally
known. He cites acts of the Confeder
ate Congress in support thereof. In
the spring of 1862,100,000 men were in
the field. He declares unfounded Gen.
Taylor’s assertion that Gen. Johnston’s
movements in 1862 were checkmated
by certain politicians in Richmond, of
whom “the leader was Mr. Alexander
H. Stephens, of Georgia, Vice-PreRident
of tbe Confederacy;” that Mr. Steph
ens had said that the people could “al
ways be relied upon when a battle was
imminent, bnt when there was no fight
ing to be done they had best be at
home attending to their families and
their interests;” that “as their intelli
gence was equal to their patriotism,
they were as capable of judging of the
necessity of their presence with the
‘colors’ as the commanders of armies,
who were but professional soldiers
fighting for rank and pay, moet of them
without property in the South.”
Mr. Stephens declares these asser
tions to be but the figments of s disor
dered imagination, without the shade
of a shadow of fact to rest upon. Of
thirty-three Major-Generals in the Con
federate army two only were born in
the North, which detracted nothing
then nor now from their integrity, hon
or or chivalry. Of one hundred and
twenty-six Brigadier-Generals only
seven were bom at the North. He
claims to have very rarely expressed an
opinion upon matters connected with
military affairs, bnt cites as one in
stance where Jeff Davis requested him,
after the fall of Port Royal, S. C., to
name some General to take charge of
the Southern coast defence, and that be
first suggested Beauregard and then
Joe Johnston, but finding that they
were not on good terms with the Pres
ident, bo then suggested Lee, who was
assigned to the command.
&lr. Stephens disclaims ever having
defended, much less advocated, slavery
in the abistrect, or as treated in public
law. He-claima to have always main-
at
London, Feb. 4.—The Standard’s
Bucharest correspondent telegraphs that
in eousequence of the armistice, the
garrison at Widden have been ordered
from Constantinople to surrender their
arms, after which thpy will be quar
tered in the neighboring villages.
The' Pera correspondent of the Times
reports that Austria is about to present
a note refusing to sanction any condi
tions of peace which would imperil the
existence of Turkey.'
The Pesth papers, announce that an
Austrian army corps is mobilized and
couCi-Dtrati-d at Veisetz.
The Odessa correspondent of the
Titm-s in a Mter.to that journal says:
Much relief is fnit at the prohaoility of
an armistice, as the people are natural
ly anxious to dispose of tbe grain accu
mulated here—about one million quar
ters. Nearly one million and a half
more are etori d at stations on the Odes
sa and Kehoskof and Nikatsief and
Sebastopo* and Koarsk and Azof rail
ways.
St. Petersburg, Feb. 4.—The Ved-
omosti calculates that after the conclu
sion of peace the Black Sea and Sea of
Azof ports will export five million
quartets of wheat.
Constantinople. Jan. 4.—The block
ade of tbe Black Sea between Odessa
and Constantinople is
mechanics and workmen and turning
out every year millions of dollars worth
of produce of all descriptions.”
“On the immediate banks of the riv
er are found the heavy and inexhausti
ble beds of iron ore and all materials
necessary for'its manufacture—coal,
lima stone and fire-proof stone, in the
greatest abnDdance.”
“Judging from the experience of eve
ry country under similar circumstances,
Germany and the Eastern Ques
tion.
Berlin, February 6.—The German
arliament was opened to-day by Herr
ilamphatucp, vice president of of the
council of ministers.,.
Tbe speech from the throne was read
T>y Herr Camphansen. In the passage
relative to foreign affairs the emperor ex
presses the hope that speedy peace will
enable the principles of the Constanti
nople conference to be applied and dura
bly established. The comparatively
alight participation of Germany in eas
tern afiaira allows the empire to display
disinterested co-operation in tbe arrange
ments that may be made by the powers
concerning future guarantees against a
recurrence of the trouble in the east, and
for the amelioration of the condition of
the Christian population. Meantime the
emperor’s policy has attained its object,
inasmuch as it had essentially contribu
ted to the preservation of peace between
the European powers, and the relations
of Germany with all powers remain pot
only peaceful, bnt altogether friendly.
Paris, Feb.. 4.—A telegram dated
Shanghai, China, yesterday, Feb.3,pnb-
for women and children at the city of
Tientsin was boraed. Over two thous
and persons are stated to have perished
in thefire.,vs- ; t»V..
Rome, Feb. 4.—The Courier states
Cardinal Howard is to be created Arch
bishop of Edinburgh and Primate ot
Scotland. ^ ; :
A hot shovel held over varnished
furniture will take out the white spots.
■ained that if the “institution” was not
*he best for both races, morally, intel
lectually, and politically, it was wrong
and ought to be abolished. He de
clares Taylor’s account of his visit to
Washington in July, 1865, and his visit
to and reception by Mr. Stephens, and
and the latter’s indifference to the suf
fering of: Jeff Davis, who was then a
prisoner at Fortress Monroe, a perfect
“Mnnchansenism,” as he (Stephens)
was at that time confined in Fort War
ren.
Hume on Money.
Home, in bis essay on money, says
“The policy of the good magistrate
consists in keeping the money of the
nation, if possible, still increasing; be
cause by that means he keeps alive a
spirit of industry and increases tbe
stock of labor, in which consists all
real power and riches. Accordingly
we flad that in every kingdom, into
which money begins to flow in greater
abundance than formerly, everything
tabes a new face; labor aud industry
gain life—the merchants become more
enterprising, the manfactnrer more dil
igent aud skillful, and even the farmer
follows his plow with greater alacrity
and attention.
“On the other hand, a nation whose
money decreases is actually at that
time weaker and more miserable than
another nation which posBest
more money out is on tbe increasing
hand. The workman has not tbe same
em ploy ment from the manufacturer and
merchants; t”e farmer cannot disDose of
his com and cattle, though he must
pay the same rent to his landlord. Tbe
poverty and beggary which must ensue
are easily foreseen.”
Hon. Montgomery Blaii is about to
write a life of Jackson, to be secceeded
by the life of Lincoln. In announcing
tbe proposed work to a friend at Fnlton,
Mo., he says:
“This will give me tbe opportunity to
put my father in his true position res
pecting tbe great events and the great
men of his day. I had hoped to have
begun it already, and should have done
so if Tilden had been si ated, so that 1
should have felt at liberty to quit active
politics. Bnt I actually feel it necessary
now that I shonld try to get the true is
sues of present politics before the people.
So many of onr leaders are in tbe em
ploy of the corporations, and so many
more stand in awe of them that for tbe
first time in my life I have sought pub
lic station in order to direct the public
mind against the usurpation of all power
by the political moneyed organizations—
the great railroad companies—the banks,
manufacturing operations, and other in
stitutions, created by the Governments,
State and National, to absorb the whole
governing power.”
New York, Feb. 4.—Over $250,000
damage wae done to the handsome sum
mer cottage district at Long Branch' by
Thursday’s gale, and with exception
of the Lowland House, not one of the
large hotels escaped between the High
land Station and Sea Bright. The
waves have cleared tbe narow belt of
■and separating the cccan and Shrews-
bemj river upon which the New Jersey
Southern Railway runs, and itnow forms
a wide and deep inlet. All railroad
travel on the Southern has been aban
doned and hundreds oi laborers are
making attempts to fill up and repair
the wash-out.
The most brilliant wedding of the
season at Baltimore occurred last week be
tween Lie t. Charles R. Barnett, of the
5th United States artillery and Sallie,
the daughter of Samuel M. Shoemaker.
The ceremony took place in Emanuel
Episcopal church, which was crowded
with a distinguihsed audeince, among
the guests being Preident and Mrs.
Hayes, Gen. and Mrs.' Sherman and a
large number of other prominent
folks.
Forty-Fifth Congress.
SENATE.
Washington, Feb. 4.—Tbe greater
part of the morning hour was taken tip
in the presentation of petitions from :.11
parts of the country. Moat ot tnem ri-
monstrating against charges in the ,»e--
eot tariff duties, aud the restoration ot
tax on tea and coffee. All were referred
to the Committee on Finance.
Messrs. Beck and Bayard occupied the
day. Mr. Beck offered an amend me't
looking to the prevention of debased
dollars of the double standard. Mr.
Bayard opposed Bland’s bill.
Mr. Beck spoke in support of his
amendment, and Mr. Bayard in opposi
tion to the silver bill.
HOUSE.
Washington, Feb. -1.—The following
Bills were introduced and referred:
By Davis, of N. C.—Reducing the
tax on brandy made from peaches and
By Shelly, of Ala.—For a commission
to inquire the best means of destroying
the cotton army worm. •
Hooker, of Miss., moved, to suspend
the rules and pass a bill authorizing a
special term of the Circuit and District
Court for the Southern District of Mis
sissippi, for the purpose of trying ■ causes
arising from seizure cf timber alleged to
have been obtained by depredations on
pu lie lands. Defeated: yeas, 145;.
nays, 97—not two-thirds in the affirma-*
tive.
A motion to suspend the rules and to
instruct the Committee of Ways and
Means to report.
A graduated income tax was defeated
by a vote of 166 to 86—not two-thirds’
in the affirmative.
Washington, Feb. 5.—In the Senate
Mr. Conkling said he had received a
large number of petitions from many
counties in New York in favor of the
remonetization of silver. He observed
that these questions were all printed on
one and the same form, and were the
product of organized effort. He deaied
that they represented the opinion or
convictions of tbe people of the state
of New York on the silver question.
a mare’s nest.
Among the petitions, he fonnd a note
to one, snch note being in writing be
low the printed matter; and it was
signed by sixty citizens of Montgom
ery, Orange county, New York. He
then read the note referred to, in which
they denounced tbe effort to remonetize
silver, and regard those engaged in that
effort as being half-idiot and half
knave. Resuming bis remarks, Mr.
Conkling said be thought proper that
these sixty persons shonld be heard
against remonetization as well as a
larger number in favor thereof. The
petitions were all referred to the com-
mitteb on finance. i ^ ■—
The Great Explorer.
The early life of Henry M. Stanly, the
African explorer, and even his native
country, has hitherto been -a mystery.
At length Mr. Guernsey, of New York,
evidently a warm admirer of his, ap
parently thinks that, in - the light of bis
recent glories, Stanley can afford to
have the whole secret of his early life
revealed. It seems that Stanley’s real
name was John Rowland; that he was
born near Denbigh, in Wales, in 1850,
and of parentage so lowly that at tbe
age of 3 years he was placed in the
poor-house at St. Asaph. There he re
mained for ten years and received a
good education, by which he profited
so well that be was at length appointed
nsherin a school atMold, in Flintshire.
At the age of fifteen he shipped as a
cabin boy on a vessel bound for New
Orleans. There employed by a mer
chant named Stanley, he waS at length
adopted by him and authorized to take
his name. Having joined the Confed
erates and been taken prisoner by the
Federals, he was cut off from his bene
factor, and became a newspaper cor
respondent
Memphis, Tenn., Feb. 5.—About 10:30 .
o’clock this morning a negro called at
the jail and demanded admission to see
a comrade there. Jailer Dawson re
fused, and the leg.o began abusing
him in a violent manner. Dawson,
drawing a revolver, tired. ' The ball
missing the negro, went through the
glass door of Cornelius Griffinn’s fami
ly grocery, corner ot'Overton and Front
streets, some two hundred yards dis
tant, and strnck Mr. Griffing below
tbe heart, as be was standing in the
room. He turned aud ran into an ad
joining room, and, falling into the arms
of his wife, exclaimed, “Oh, Katie, I’m
killed 1” and soon expired. He was a
highly respected citizen, and his sud
den death causes greet excitement
among his neighbors.
Silver and gold float in the sea; to-
'ether they wander on the current of
leated subterranean rills; together they
lie, silver in the embrace of gold, in
crystals of py rite. It is as if silver had
echoed the words of .Ruth to Naomi
and said to gold: “Entreat me uot to
leave thee or return from following af
ter thee; for whither tbou g .est I will
go; where tbou lodgest I will lodge;
where thou diest I will die, and thera
will I be bnried.”—Prof. Gunning.
Nashville, Feb. 5.—A gentleman
who arrived here from' Lee county,
Miss., states that the sheriff had been
ascertained to be a defaulter to the ex
tent of 840,000, and bad been hoard
from at Poughkeepsie, N. Y. It is
stated as a fact that Lee county has not
had a sheriff in the past seven years
who has not proved a defaulter.
Spurgeon in a recent sermon deplor
ed the prevailing infidelity of the age,
saying that clergymen were not afraid
to profess principles which formerly
only the most daring atheist had the
temerity to avow.
“God helps the man that helps him
self, but God helpthe man caughthelp-
ing himself here,"is a notice posted be
hind the counter of a silversmiths in
Boston. A double-barrel gun hang3
near the notice.
I f your flat-irons are rough, rub them
with fine salt, and it will make them
smooth. • ’
Frozen potatoes make more starch
than fresh ones; they also make nice
cake.
I Ribbons of any kind should be wash—J
1 ed in cold soap suilsg