Newspaper Page Text
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W&t weckljj,
OLD SERIES—VOL. ICII
NEW SERIES—VOL. LI.
Cijrotu'cle anfc gntfftiel.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL - 25, 1877.
PAY YOL'B 81? BSC Ml PTIO.N.
We request oar readers to respond
promptly to the bills which are sect
them for subscription accounts due this
office.
Let each subscriber who is in arrears
bear in mind that there are many others
also in arrears, and that while the
amount due by each individual is small
the aggregate amounts to a large sum.
We hope our friends will respond
promptly.
The Baltimore Gazette thinks a com
bination of Blaise and Butler will beat
any circus ever organized.
The New York Herald ventures upon
the assertion that a'man may be a coro
ner and yet have a few things to le rn.
Evsey son of the reigning family of
Germany has to learn a trade. Kaibeb
Wilhelm is a glazier; Übseb Fbitz is a
type sticker.
The Saliva is what they call the Spitz
in Boston. The poor fellow has been
so much abused lately that he is "down
in the month."
The crack light-weight jockey of Eng
land, Feed Archer, rode last year 657
races, won 207, and made nearly $50,000.
He is just eighteen years old.
The steamer Germania, of the White
Star Line, has made the fastest trip on
record. Her run from New York to
Li verpool was onlysevendays and eleven
hours.
Thb head porter of the Revere House,
Boston, is worth $40,000, aud one of the
waiters at the Parker House, who works
for S2O per month, has accumulated
$25.000.
The hard times do not bear heavily
on all the ohurches. The Easter offer
ing at Christ (Episcopal) Church, Bal
timore, amounted to $20,800. One lady
gave $6,500.
The President has picked out $904,-
000 of the harbor appropriation to be
expended chiefly in the West and South
west. Whereupon the fat pigs at the
East aro squealing in chorus.
The German papers are printing biog
raphies of Hon. Oarti Sohurz. One of
them, the Cologne Gazette , remarks that
"the fugitive of 1848 is among the warm
est admirers of the empire of 1877.”
Mb. Beecher, in a recent sermon, said
one Bob Inoersoll could not do much
harm to Christianity, but a million Bobs
would do incredible damage. We have
not heard from Bob, but he will proba
bly retort that a million avowed in
fidels are not so pernicious as one
Beecher.
The New York World has a queer
mis'ake. In writing the obituary of
Ross Winans, of Baltimore, it furnishes
a first class funeral oration about his
•on, Thomas. The father died, but the
World thought it was the son. Thob.
Winans, like Charles O’Conor and
Hon. A. H. Stephens, has lived to read
his own obituary.
Col. Carey W. Styles has purchased
the Gainesville Eagle, and is now the
editor and proprietor of that paper. The
Eagle is one of the most widely circu
lated and influential weeklies in the
South, and Col. Styles is well known to
journalism as a vigorous writer and ex
perienced editor. We wish him much
suocess in his new field of labor.
Bohr of our implacable brethren have
little faith in the sudden conversion of
Forney, Whitelaw Reid and the Chi
cago Tribune, They say these now
suoking doves will, at the first provoca
tion, beoome again roaring lions. So
they may, but the lion’s skin will not fit
any more, and nobody will be frighten
ed. They will stick to the olive branch
department as long as it pays.
Rhode Island is not hopeless The
fui.' vote shows that General Van Zandt
(Rep.) received 12,458 votes; Barnaby
(Dem.), 11,787; scattering, 230. General
Van Zandt’s plurality was only 671; ma
jority enly 441. The average Republi
can majority for the State ticket was
2,759. The average Democratic vote
was 177 more than was oast for Tilden.
The highest Republican majority was
653 less than that given for President
Hayes.
The New York Dag Book, ultra
Democrat, not only agrees with Deacon
Richard Smith that Mr. Dana, of the
Sun, has had some dealings with the
devil, but asserts that “bis paper is do
ing more to debauoh and break down
Democratic principles than all the Re
publican journals together in the coun
try.” As Mr. Dana is trying to break
down Hates, tbia testimony from an
i mpUcable Democrat like the Bag Book
aay mean something.
Fobit cities in the United States owe
four hundred and fifty millions of mu
nicipal debt, jnst one-fourth of the ag
gregate of our immense national debt.
He* York leads with $l4B 000,000, then
Philadelphia with $60,000,000, then Bos
ton with $43,000,000, then Brooklyn
with $42,00t?.000, then Cmcinnati with
$22,000,000, then New Orleans with
$22,000,000, and Chicago with $18,000,-
000; Charleston nwaa $4,672,663, and
Savannah $3,600,640. Of these forty
cities San Franoisco levies the lightest
tax—sl 12 per SIOO, and Toledo, Ohio,
the heaviest - $4 44 per SIOO.
Wm are glad to nee that Judge Wm.
H. Rersr is addressing the people of
his Keoatorial District upon the import
ance of holding a Constitutional Con
vention. Judge Reese has labored
assiduously in the cause of a Conven
tieu ever since his election to the Sen
ate, said contributed greatly to tbe pas
sage of the bill under which the ques
tion will soon be submitted to a vote of
the people. We are also glad to lean,
that in all probability Judge Reese will
be a delegate from tbe Twenty-ninth
District. With such men io the Con
vention we are certain of obtaining
Constitution under which the State will'
flourish and the people prosper.
Dynamite, so extensively used in en
gineering, is dow employed in agricul
ture. A writer oa the subject says :
"At the works now going on at the Tro
cadero, F.xri*, passers by may at certain
hours be startled by a deep rumbling
aonnd. This is caused by the springing
pf dynamite mines, which, without any
violent projection of materials, make the
.obstacles crumble away and break np
the rocks, the fragments j
of which used for the buildings of
the great Exhibition. Now, dynamite
will perform a similar service iu the
fields. The Duke of Sutherland, in
Sootiaad, and Dr. Hanson, iu Austria,
have employed it foi clearing land and
for digging much deeper tfcfiti any in
strument could. A certain n*safe?r of
•dynamite cartridges are buried at rqgwifcr
distances io the soil, and connected by
•electric wires. Tbe explosion is simul
taneous, sod though nothing is thrown
•up, tbe field is edCeetaslly plowed. ” Dr.
James should look into this matter ami
■report .progress.
HON. B. H. II II,I>.
Senator Benjamin H. Hill spent Sun
day in Augusta. He was on his way to
Oglethorpe Coart and, having great af
fection for this city and its people, de
termined to pass a quiet day in our
midst. His appearance on the streets,
in the morning, was the signal for many
hearty congratulations from passers-by.
; He seems to be in high health and ro
| bust spirits and bad no hesitation in
( giving bia views on the situation to all
, who sought them. His miDd is like the
i Nile, enriching all that it dwells upon.
He claims that the Southern members
of Congress, in defeating filibusterism
and expediting the electoral count,
saved the country from disastrons strife
and entitled the Democratic party, as
i represented largely by this section, to
' the eternal gratitude of patriots and
: lovers of the Federal Union everywhere.
He repudiates scornfully the idea
that Mr. Hayes was counted in
as the result of dicker and bargain by
certain Democratic gentlemen, on the
one side, and Stanley Matthews and
Charles Foster, on the other.. The as
sertion of such a theory, he declares,
belittles and befouls the grandest act of
the political history of the day.
Mr. Hill has faith in the President’s
policy and steadfastness. He believes
Mr. Hayes to be an honest man and a
determined one. He predicts that
Louisiana will very soon be as free as
South Carolina, and that her deliver
ance will come by the logic of events,
and not as the result of past or present
intrigue by busy-body statesmen or men
who are credited with being such. He
asserts that the Democratic party has
the noblest chance in its career for ob
taining power, and nothing but the
most stupid blundering can prevent its
securing the domination of Federal
affairs within a brief period. The hos
tility of extremists like Phillips, Gar
rison, Blaine and Ben Wade will com
pel the President to rely upon the
Democracy to aid him in the true battle
for peace, union aud the common weal.
Mr. Hill scouts the idea that tbe
House of Representatives will be organ
ized on any other than a Democratic
basis and with a Democratic Speaker.
He thinks Mr. Randall will be re-elect
ed to his old position. Mr. Hill drew
a grand and dramatic picture of the
future of the South. His words were
inspired by the prophetic character of
his visioD and kindled bis bearers with
an enthusiasm correspondential with
his own. He evidently awaits with
some impatience the meeting of Con
gress, when tbe war of intellectual giants
will begin. Amoog the prominent men
who will appear in that stupendous de
bate, in the forum of reason, there will
be no grander figure than £. H. Hill’s.
THE AMENDMENTS AND THE POLITI
CAL POWER OF THE SOUTH.
Au error was made in the publication
of General Toombs’ last letter to the
Chronicle and Constitutionalist con
troverting the statement that tbe Con
stitutional amendments, conceived as
they were in hatred to tbe white people
of the South and illegal aud iniquitous
as was the mode of their adoption, had
augmented the political power of the
South. A sentence in the letter a9
printed read, "The slaves were freed by
tbe Thirteenth Amendment and by the
original Constitution beoame voters.”
It should have read that by the original
Constitution the slaves became free per
sons instead of voters. Tbe error was
apparent from the context, but we cor
rect it here iu order to prevent any mis
take being made by those who read the
letter. It is interesting to inquire what
effect the Fourteenth and Fifteenth
Amendments have had upon the politi
cal power of the South. General Toombs
contends that as representation in the
lower House of Congress is based upon
general population instead of vot
ing popnlation the two last amend
ments have not increased the power
of the South. We think we can show
that they have, indirectly if not
directly. The Thirteenth Amendment
freed the negro, and under the Recon
struction acts, which were framed out
side of the Constitution, he was allowed
to vote. Afterwards the bastard Legis
latures organized under these recon
struction acts adopted tbe Fourteenth
and Fifteenth Amendments. Tbe first
provided, among other things, that if
the male members of any State, twenty
one years old and citizens of tbe United
States, were denied tbe privilege of voting,
except for participation in the “rebel
lion” or other crime, the basis of repre
sentation in suoh State should be re
duced in the proportion wbiob the number
disfranchised bore to the whole number
of male citizens twenty-one years of age
in such State. The second provided
that the right of citizens to vote should
not be denied or abridged on account of
race, color or previous condition of ser
vitude. It is evident that if any South
ern State after passing into Democratic
hands had taken tbe privilege of voting
from the negro it would have lost
representation in Congress in pro
portion to the number of negroes dis
franchised. If the Thirteenth Amend
ment increased the representation in
Congress of the Southern States, the
Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments
secured and protected that increase.—
As it is, tbe South has now twenty-one
more Congressmen and twenty-one
more electoral votes than it formerly
had. The pluok and brains of the
Southern people have taken the sting
from tbe villainy of Reconstruction,
and from the nettle danger they have
plucked the flower safety. Before a
great while the North will denounoe
uegro suffrage as loudly as it once clam
ored for it.
commercial statistics.
Contrary to genera! expectation, the
number of failures in tbe United States,
for the first three months of the present
year show a slight inorease over] those
of the corresponding quarter of 1876,
though the amount of liabilities is
somewhat less. The quarterly circular 1
pf the Mercantile Agency of Messrs. R. '
G. Dts A Cos. furnishes the following \
comparison i
i First Quirter. ~~
No. of i Amount of | A verse e
Failures. | Liabilities | LisbilVe.
1875 *43,176.953 *21.784
W 6 .1 2 806 54.645.156 23.038
1 8.86 ft $4.6(3.074 19.01 Q
The increase in number for the quar
ter appears to be only 63, end is only
significant because any increase at all
was unexpected. The /ailing oft in the
average of liabilities, however, is # gqod
sign, and ought to atone for the small
addition to the number. In seating to
account for the oontinned large number
of these casualties, the Agency states :
(Considering tbe poliueel uncertainty in Jan
uary JWfi February, and the restricted business
which baa throughout the quarter,
It ia rather surprising the increase in fiil
uree Is so wall, fl W bp that
the decline in the rot tune gi trade, t^g
put four years, hu been juob greater fitin
the decline iu the number of traders Fhogn it
sostains. It the eame ratio had prevailed in
the number off til ares and withdrawals from
business, in proportion as business became re
in extent during the put three years,
it is aetftgu the number of fail urea wonld have
been umch gjqptgr, and, so long u business
continues without improvement, so
long msv failures be naneri>ne. %Sfie inter
esting figures on this view of the attaataapi
mn t>P gleaned by comparing tbe duastara in
business with the decline in its extent. For
the three years, from the end of 1873 to begin
ning of 1877, the total number of failures in
the United States has been 22,662.* Th;s
amounts to less than fonr percent, of those
engaged in businees at the end of 1873. This
is in small proportion to the decline in the
volume of trade. It is difficult to arrive at
any definite conclnaicn as to the extent of
this decrease, bat if measured by the falling
off in imports, and tbe well known decrease in
the production of manufactures, the internal
basinets of the country to-day is less by thirty
to thirty-five per cent, than it was in 1878. So
tnat the number of withdsawals from business,
by failure or otherwise, is far lees than seems
either justified or demanded by the decline in
the extent of business to be transacted.
With regard to the trade of the past
three months it is alleged that, notwith
standing small stocks in the hands of
retailers, and low prices for many sta
ples, the demand for goods has been
weak and irregular, and tbe amount of
business done in ail branches of com
merce much Icbs than was anticipated.
The extent of business is indicated very
closely by tbe exchanges at tbe various
clearing bouses, of which there are now
some sixteen in operation in that num
ber of oities. Of these, thirteen made
returns last year, and a comparison is
therefore possible as to tbe amount of
transactions represented by bank checks
at these thirteen great centres. The to
tal clearings in tbe first quarter of 1876
were 7,677 millions, while in the first
quarter of 1877 they were 7,550 millions,
showing a decline of 127 millions. The
earnings of all tbe railroads publishing
returns indicate a decline in abont the
same proportion for the quarter. The
deoliue thus noticed it is trne is but
slight, yet on the face of an expeoted
increase is somewhat disappointing. In
relation to this condition of things the
circular says:
If our people could learn, even for a while,
to be content with a day of small things, the
results of the past quarter would not be disap
pointing. But unhappily all the arrangements
are for business on the grandest scale. Bail
roads exist to accommodate twice the traffic
that offers ; warehouses large enough to hold
four times the needed supplies of the country,
while the Dumber engaged in the business of
each locality is far in excess of its average re
quirements ; and altogether expenses and fa
cilities f®r an extent of trade only possible in
periods of the wildest expansion. These are
hardly the true standards by which to measure
either safety or real prosperity. Judged by a
more reasonable standard, the experience o f
the first three months of the year has not been
a bad one. On the contrary, though besineaa
has been small, it haa yielded a fair return. In
proportion to the amount of business transact
ed the profits havo been better than for many
a previous quarter. It is certain business is
done at vastly less expense than in former
years, that values are more settled, and, above
all, that foreign and internal indebtedness is
very materially reduced.
After charging upon the Bankrupt
Law an aggravation of existing commer
cial disabilities, the Messrs, Dun & Cos.
oonclude their review as follows:
3he early prospect of a practical settlement
of the Southern question is regarded as a
marked contribut.on toward a return of more
prosperous times. The great staples of this
section are of prime importance in the markets
of the world, and its power of absorption of
goods, especially in view of the small stocks
held, is too well known to need comment. If
recent events remove the clog from its mate
rial progress, and inspire its people with en
ergy to extend their productions and increase
their wealth, a better hope may be entertained
for the whole country. This, with other indi
cations, aro of an encouraging character, and
lead to the belief that the worst is past, and if
we are favored with another good crop of ag
ricultural produce, the remainder of the year
will enable us to mark a substantial progress.
SOME REASONS FOR A CONVENTION.
In a recent speech in Warren ton,
Judge Wm. M. Reese gave the follow
ing as his reasons for desiring a Con
stitutional Convention : Ist. To settle
forever the bond question. 2d. To pro
hibit lending tbe credit of the State to
railroads or other corporations. In
1870 the mania of lending the State
credit reached its climax, when State
aid was granted to thirty-two railroads
to the amount of over twenty-eight
millions of dollars. 3d. To restrain the
municipal and other public oorporatious
of Georgia in the abuse of their credit.
The great eity of Savannah, the pride
and boast of Georgia, is tottering under
a bonded debt of four millions of dol
lars. By taxing a population of only
twenty-six thousand, she is compelled
to raise $250,000 merely to pay the inter
est on this debt, and to raise as much
more for ourrent expenses—nearly twen
ty dollars for every man, woman and
child in the city. Augusta is laboring
under a bonded debt of two millions of
dollars. Our other cities, Macon, Co
lumbus, Rome, and indeed all of them,
exoept Atlanta, which seems to be a
little more fortunate in this respect, are
carrying a grievous load of debt. 4th.
To put the homestead law upon a respec
table and proper basis. The amount
should be reduoed, and the homestead
rendered more permanent. sth. To
prohibit, or at least restrain, the mass
of local legislation, which, in tbe shape
of bills for changing county lines,
changing the times of holding courts,
the everlasting liquor laws, etc., con
sume over half the time of every Legis
lature. 6th. To put a stop to the waste
and extravagance of the General As
sembly.
WONDERS NETER CEASE.
The rush of implacable Radical jour
nals to join the olive branch department,
to the utter abnegation of bloody shirt
howlings, is something very wonderful
recently. The latest, and perhaps the
most marvelous, oonvert is Harper’s
Weekly. In the last edition of that
sheet Mr. George William Curtis, its
editor, says: “The national bayonet,
under existing circumstances, is merely
a thorn of exasperation ; it is certainly
not a prop of peace. Did it prevent
bulldozing, or the murder of Eliza
Pinkston’s husband, or the Hamburg
massacre? Is it not, indeed, a ques
tion whether it did not promote them ?
The argument that non-interference in
the police ef the State.will but multiply
Hamburg massacres, is npt oply dis
credited by presumption but by expe
rience. The treatment of the negroes
has been worst where military occupa
tion was most stringent.”
This is taking the back-traok with a
vengeance ! There never has been a day
since the close of the war in the fisld
that the “national bayonet" has not been
.“a thorn of exasperation,” and that
great truth yas just as well known to
! the Radical brethren twelve years ago as
i it is now. The fact is the bayonet afore
i said was deliberately employed to exas
-1 pedate the South for the basest of pur
poses—the perpetuity of Radicalism, to
wit and the plupdef of this section.
There would have beep no V gambnra i
mfsgacres" had there been no Radical
ism; and it is ? triumph for the South
that her worst enemies are beginning to
confess that they hare committed gross
est crimes against liberty and society.
The wrongs of the white man in the
South are only paralleled by the miser
able condition of the colored people as
a consequence of these wrongs. And
; now, when the day of retribution has
cojne, vhoo all the cunningly devised
plots of the £epupliaan leaders have
returned to plague tip inventors :
when the distress of the* &pb&
has reacted upon the North; when,
in a word, the pyramid refuses any
longer to stand upon its apex, but, with
a mighty momentum, is established up
, cn its base—there is a general confession
tbat'Jfexwstrjfofipn was a blunder, and
AUGUSTA, GA„ WEDNESDAY MORNING. APRIL 25, 1877.
its enforcement a crime. Verily, tizr e
makes all things even. It is worth
while to have lived long enough to hear
the disciples of Sumner, Thad. Ste
vens and Wilson concede that they
were the workers of iniquity and re
pented of it.
A WORD TO THE WISE.
One of our Virginia contemporaries
has this sensible and timely counsel
anent the menaced war in Europe : “In
round numbers Russia supplies one
tbird the grain oonsumed in Enrope,
and tbe deficit occasioned by tbe block
ade of her Southern provinces must be
supplied by tbe United States. Of this
the South will furnish very little, while
the consumption of cotton will be di
minished. This being tbe outlook,
would it not be wise for the planters
from Carolina to Texas to prepare in
advanoe for high prices of food and low
prices of cotton ? They should raise
bogs, cattle, sheep and pitch greater
crops of cereals, for in the event of a
general warthey would find littiedemand
for their staple product, but war prioes
for their meat, bread aud plantation
supplies generally. This suggestion, we
think, is worth their gragest considera
tion, and as soon as hostilities begin,
every Southern Governor onght to ad
dress a proclamation to his people calling
on them to prepare to make their plan
tations self-sustaining.”
THE PAYMENT OF T*XE A PRE
REQUISITE TO VOTING.
In the recent presentments of the
grand jury of Warren county we find
the following which is of interest to the
people of every other county in Georgia:
We desire to call the attention of the citi
zens of this county to the loose manner in
which our State aud county elections have
hitherto been conducted. We aro determined,
so far as it lies in our power, to correct this
monstrous evil at once. * * * It has come
to our knowledge that out of 1,300 votes polled
only about 700 have paid their poll tax. We
feel compelled again to instruct our Tax Collec
tor, upon who.-e capacity aud integrity we
cast no reflection, to publish in future tho
names of all insolvent poll tax payers, at least
thirty days before an election, upon the Court
House door, and furnish the managers of elec
tions with a list of the same, as the law re
quires. Aud we also instruct the managers to
receive no vote from any one whose name ap
pears upon said list, unless he produces his
tax receipt, after tbe publication of said list.
Herein no reference to oolor or previous con
dition is intended.
We can sympathize with the feeling
whioh prompts such action. In every
oounty of the State the law making the
payment of taxes a prerequisite to vot
ing is shamefully violated at every elec
tion—State, oonnty and municipal. The
law is a good one. Though pat in the
Constitution of the State by the piebald
Gonvention of 1867, it is one of the
features of that instrument whioh is
worthy of retention. It was intended
to increase the revenue of the State or
to keep those persons from haviDg a
voioe in the selection of a government
who refused to contribute anything to its
support. If this constitutional provison
had been properly enforced taxation in
Georgia would be much lighter to-day
than it is. It is safe to say that since
the adoption of the Constitntion in 1868
up to the present time the State has
been defrauded of at least one million
of dollars by the failure of citizens to
pay this poll tax. If the Gonstitution
was properly enforced it would yield an
annual revenue of at least one hun
dred and seventy-five thousand dol
lars. But it cannot be enforeed
until there is a change in the
law whioh was designed to carry
it into effect. The law as it stands does
not increase the State’s revenue, nor
does it prevent those persons from vot
ing who refuse to pay anything towards
the support of the government. The
instructions anil recommendations of
the Warren grand jury are of no avail as
the law now stands. The Tax Oolleotor
may furnish a list of persons who have
failed to pay their taxes, but what then ?
The managers of election Lave no au
thority to refuse to take a vote if the
voter takes an oath that he has paid all
taxes required by law wbieh be has had
an opportunity of paying. When the
oath is taken tbe vote offered must be
received. This oath is either not admin
istered at all or else is shamelessly vio
lated. Thousands of men oommit wilful
perjury at every election in the State.
It may be said that perjury is a felony,
and that every man guilty of it ean be
sent to the penitentiary. This is true
enough ; but experience has shown that
this law is practically a dead letter.
Convictions under it are rare indeed,
and the illegal and false swearing voter
has a perfect immunity from punish
ment. There is bat one remedy, and
that remedy is plain and simple. Let
the Legislature say, or let the new Con
stitution say, that thirty days before an
election the Tax Collector of eaob ooun
ty shall publish a list of those eitizens
who have paid their taxes. Those who
have not will thus be notified to make
payment. A week before election let
the Collector give to the managers of
election a correot list of such persons as
have paid their taxes, and on the day of
election let no man’s vote be received
whose name does not appear on this
list. In this way, and in this way only,
can non-tax payers be prevented from
controlling the elections in whioh they
have no right to a voice.
Forney has a great deal to say abont
W*pg Ha#bton’9 “ haughtiness,” and
the Chicago Times aptly suggests that
Wade would not feel half so prond if
he had Forney’s $25,000 of Paoific Mail
slush in his pocket.
Even the London Times makes ridip
ulous mistakes. Tbe latest case in point
was an attack upon Sir Stafford North
cote, the Chancellor of tbe Exchequer,
for a supposed false estimate of tbe rev
enue. The financial man of the Times
figured out that the probable deficit
would be $550,000 in a revenue of $400,-
000,,0pp. The howl against Nobtucotk
was prodigious. Rut in ipes thap a weejt
the Chancellor's revenge was overwhelm
ing. Instead of a deficiency he showed
a surplus of £443,000 or $2,115,000. The
moral of all this is palpable, viz : It is
folly to go ofi half-cocked over a mat
ter you know nothing about. This
would be good advice to other people
besides the limes.
Tup Springfield BepulUcan says ;
" w that Blaine and Butler have
made it manifest that they 1 mean to
‘ knife’ the Hayes' Administration and
its policy, it will be interesting to see
what the leaders of the new South pro
pose to do, SAWrTou and Bjp Hpp,
Watterson and Lahab have been talk
ing very prettily; the curiosity now is,
hoy are they going to act ? The point
before tfapm rfiethej Wey are gojng
to be bourbons of the other thing.”
They will support the Administration in
the policy of Home Buie, local self-gov
ernment and justice to all men. The pa
triots of the South in Congress prefer
red Hayes to civil war, and they will
maintain him in his fight against the
Badioal Rebels.
%th pf April is "fast day” in
Main*, aud on to St day to apjpgp pep
pie are not permitted to eat anything
but beef-steak, mutton-chops, veal-cut
lets, breaded, a little roast fowl, some
game, soap, fish, vegetables, fruit, pas
try. puddings, coffee and tea, and some
HON. BENJ.JL HILL.
THE DUTY OF SENATOR* TO PAR
TIES SEEKING OFFICE.
An Bxplanalian—Why Senator Hill Has Not
Pressed Applications Tor Office—Tbe Doty
of Senators to Their Constitoeots—Thry
Have No Right to Advance Frieods or In
lore Eaenies—The Executive and Legisla
tive Departments Distinct—The Conclusion
Which Mr. Hill Has Reached.
Atlanta, Ga., April 12, 1877.
Editors Chronicle and Constitutionalist:
The cirenlar lette? to which Mr.
Wright called my attention has not been
received. I cannot, therefore, answer
the specific qaestioos of that letter.
The inquiries of many persons, daily
coming or writing to me, will, perhaps,
render it proper for me to explain more
folly tban I have yet done the rule
whioh I have prescribed for myself as a
Senator on the subject of appointments
to office. Ido not intend to prescribe a
rule for others, nor to censure others
who may differ from me, aud who have
prescribed or may prescribe for them
selves a different rule of conduct on this
subject.
When Mr. Hayes was inaugurated and
announced his patriotic purpose to give
the country a nen-partiSan administra
tion and a better civil Bervice, I deemed
it proper to consider what would be tbe
proper relations of a Southern Demo
cratic Senator to such a President. This
inqui-y soon ted me, for the first time
in my life, to a fall investigation into
the whole question of the proper rela
tions of a member of Congress, and espe
cially of Senators, to the appointing pow
er. The conolnsion at which I arrived
was announced to the public in a tele
gram in these words:
“With my sense of public duty, I can
make no recommendation for office—es
pecially for offices to be passed upon by
the Senate. There can be no reform
unless Congressional control of execu
tive appointments be broken up.”
Farther reflection, greatly aided by a
rapid experience, has most thoroughly
confirmed me in the exact correctness of
this conclusion. Some of the reasons in
support of this conclusion I will now
state.
1. Under the Constitution the func
tions of government are divided and
vested in three separate departments.
This division was unwise unless it was
neoessary and promotive of efficient and
harmonious administration. If the
division is unwise the Constitution
onght to be changed. If it is wise every
good citizen should aid its purpose by
observing its terms. But whether this
division was wise or unwise, it is the
Constitution, and every man who is en
trusted to take part in the administra
tion of that Constitution is under the
most solemn obligation of his oath to
respeot and observe it. Now the func
tions of Conaress are legislative. The
functions of the President are executive.
There are certain checks upon each not
material here to mention. The appoint
ments I am now considering are execu
tive. A member of Congress who seeks
to interfere with and control executive
functions is just ns much out of bis
place and his duty as would be the Presi
dent undertaking to interfere with and
control legislative functions; and either,
in tbe ease supposed, would be just as
guilty of violating the Constitution as
if he were to neglect and disregard tbe
functions of the department to which be
belongs.
2. But tbe Senate is clothed with cer
tain executive functions and duties. It
is, in this respeot, the advisory body of
the President. But advisory, how ? Is
a Senator to advise the President whom
he, the Senator, would like to have
nominated ? Is he not rather to advise
the President whether nominations made
are of fit and proper persons for the
offices designated ?
This advisory position is a public
trust. Each Senator is a trustee, not
for himself nor for his friends, nor
against his enemies, but for the public
good. The Senator represents the whole
State and every citizen in the State.
Every citizen is entitled to have that
representation fair, equal and impartial.
When a Senator selects one applicant for
an office, and represents that one, he be
comes partial for that one, and partial
against all others. He abdicates his of
fice of trustee for all, and becomes the
attorney for one, and, as experience
sadly shows, too often for a considera
tion in some form; and any considera
tion which induces such partiality is
quite as bad, morally, as a considera
tion in money. Each applicant for an
office is entitled to an impartial consid
eration of his merits forthe office sought,
and he is entitled, not only to that im
partial judgment of his Senator, but
also to impartial information from his
Senator as’an adviser of all others who
are to pass on the application, When
the Senator becomes the advocate for one
applicant, he, by that act, disqualifies
himself both as a judge and an adviser
upon the merits of all other applicants.
In my opinion a Senator bas no more
right to select one of a number of ap
plicants for office, and use tbe influence
of his position to give that applieant
success, tban a Judge on the bench has
the right to select one litigant in his
Court and use all the powers of his ju
dicial position to secure suocess for that
litigant.
No man can be fonder of his friends
tban myself. No man can be more grati
fied when bis friends succeed under a
fair and impartial consideration of their
merits. But I esteem the public good,
and my own duties as a publio servant
to promote the public good, far before
all personal ties or obligations. If I
were to use a public office to gratify pri
vate friendships, or to avenge private
wrongs, or to promote, in any way, my
private or political interests, I should
feel that I had become guilty of a gross
breach of trust, for which the proper
penalty would be disqualification to hold
any public office whatever.
These views, so plain when once
stated, prevailed with nearly all—if not
all—of our leading statesmen ifi our
early history. The first departure
from them was partisan in its char
acter and purposes. Tfie departure
bas progressed until it has assumed
a personal charaoter, and if I were call
ed to designate the crime of all crimes
in this generation, I wonld say it is per
sonalism in government— by whioh I
mean the use of the offices of Govern
ment to promote personal interests and
ambitions. Three-fourths of the evils
that now curse the country, and nearly
all the perils that have threatened the
Government, have sprung from this
great crime.
There are men—noisy men, tqo—in
both thp Senate and House at
ton, whose only idea of the science of
eovernment is defined by the art of con
trolling the public patronage as a means
of holding power. They form rings,
make combinations, organize cliques,
and in §nme instances absolutely con
trol large States- 'fhpy get tfiejr tools
in nearly all tbe departments of the Gov
ernment at Washington, and in the
States, and each tool regards it as his
sacred duty to keep the public supplied
with puffs of the noble deeds and great
eloquence of bis benefactor.
Thousands of offices have been made
solely to provide places for friends of
members of Congress. Millions of
mopey are leyied in taxes upon the peo
ple annnaily to feed IheSb supple ser
vants of some °f onr great men. The
President often finds himself denounced
or bia nominations opposed solely be
cause they do not suit the purposes of
these ring chiefs in Congress.
The large crowd of carpet-baggers
that were sent South a few years ago
were the mere tools of leading men who
desired, through their tools, to get con
trol of the Southern States for their own
advancement. And there are men now
in the Senate matting themselves most
valiant defehders of those who linger to
annhoy our people and disgust all good
men, ficflelf because they hope, through
these few who remain here, to get dele
gationa to suit them in the next nomi
nating Republican Convention 4
The offices of the country,' too, are fill
ed with mere politicians ready to serve
their masters, instead of with men of
business experience and qualification.
In their Struggles to control the pub
lic patronage at a wrench the Govern
ment from Ifs phi .functions and to
make it a'maCfime to serve individuals
and rings instead of the whole country,
we will find tfie aqtiye pafise qf tfie evils
•o foraibly gud truthfully described by
Judge Hook:
"Our national politics have been mar
red by bad passions and sectional ani
mosities for many years past, and the
only legitimate offspring of them have
been intense strife and bloodshed, and
the batching out of a brood of small
politicians all o?e* th 6 land, whose
brains and patriotism are as limited as
their statesmanship has been contempt
ible.”
How can we ever expect to elevate the
statesmanship of the country, reform
abuses and nationalize our politico if
even the high position of Senator is to
be degraded to an agency for office
seekers and general political jobbery ?
Even if the foregoing reasons were
not sufficient to justify the conclusions
announced in tha above telegram, 1 am
frank to confess that, with my limited
abilities, I am not able to discharge
the higher duties of the Senatorship if
I give my time to the business of pro
curing offices.
The proper rale is for applicants to
forward their applications for office di
rectly to the appointing power. Every
applicant from Georgia' has the right in
his application to refer to me, or any
other Senator or Representative, for in
formation touching his fitness for the
office sought. I will cheerfully and
honestly give such information as I pos
sess to the President, if asked, before
the nomination, and to the Senate in
passing on the nomination. Before the
President and the Senate every man
shall have from me an equal chance on
his merits. Disregarding the abuse and
misrepresentations of those whom I oan
not accommodate with a violation of my
sense of duty—the least worthy being
always the most exacting and spiteful—
I shall rely only for support on an in
telligent people who have no interest
but in good government.
We are entering upon anew era. New
and great questions will soon press us
for solution. If we would avoid a con
tinuance of the evils that have cursed
us in the past, we must abandon the
causes that produced them. If we would
elevate our politics we must improve the
ways of our politicians. If we would
relieve the burdens of the people we
must restore honesty toj government.
We must have no office that is not need
ed and no officer that is not competent.
Benjamin H. Hill.
TURKS AND RUSSIANS.
American Interest in a Foreign War.
[ Chicago Tribune ]
The state of John Bull’s stomach and
brother Jonathan’s pocket is the chief
matter of American interest in foreign
wars and rumors of wars. For the first
time in the loug list of complications
between Russia and Turkey has this
phase of the matter asserted itself ap
preciably. During all the time Russia
was apparently backing Servia, during
the negotiations between Turkey and
the friendly Powers, in spite of Russia’s
threats and in the face of failing nego
tiations and meaningless protoools, the
American speculators have vainly tried
to get up some excitement in bread
stuffs. England has persistently re
fused to respond, and temporary spurts
of advance have been followed by a re
lapse into a more inactive and sluggish
condition. Now the aspect of affairs
seems to be very different. England has
at last taken alarm. The outlook for
war evidently impresses the English
people very much as it has im
pressed the American people at
this particular juncture of affairs.
Turkey is unmistakably and recklessly
defiant. She refuses all terms with the
full knowledge that she must staud
alone in oase the combat shall oome.
Hussia has proceeded carefully, de
liberately, and diplomatically. The
sympathies of the Powers have gradual
ly been alienated from Turkey, until
they are pledged to a policy of non
interference. Meanwhile, Russia has
marshaled all her resources and seems
to be ready to strike at any moment.
She has gone so far, and met with so
little conciliation from the supercilious
Grand Turk, that she must fight or
back down in disgrace and humiliation.
Besides, there is a disposition in Russia
to fight Turkey, and, if need be, Eng
land. It seems to break out with every
new generation, and will not be satisfied
until the Turks shall have succumbed
and Constantinople shall have become a
Russian port. Probably there will
never be a time when Hussia can make
this fight under more favorable condi
tions for herself than the present offers,
with the other Powers virtually com
mitted to neutrality, bpr own people
ready and anxious for the contest, and
her armies thoroughly organized and
equipped.
It is this imminent prospect of war
that has occasioned the radical change
in the breadstuffs market within the past
few days, Jt is something more definite
than a rumor or a possibility. The
change has been the more remarkable,
perhaps, on account of the previous in
activity of the grain market, which was
largely due to the sluggishness of the
English demand. The positive threat
that the Russian grain will bo shut off
from Great Britain ou the one side, an<}
the increased indication of a partial fail
ure of American crops on the other sido,
have awakened the Britishers at last.—
There is but little doubt that, if war
does come, the superiority of the British
navy will enable it to blockade the Rus
sian ports, which, in addition tp tfie in
creased consumption and depressed pro
duction in Russia inevitably incidental
to a war, would make great Britain de
pendent on American props for its food.
The advantages of sueh a condition of
things are almost beyond estimate, for
the new demand and higher prices for
American staples would give new life
to all trades and industries. There is
little wonder, therefore, that a real pros
pect for war should create so much ex
citement in the trade centres of this
country, since it promises a speedier re
lief of commercial dppressiqn than can
otherwise be expected.
At the saipe time the spepulatqrs in
grain are very apt tp overreach them
selves in tficiv discounting of aft influ
ence like a foreign wav. It may be that
something of this kind has occurred iu
the Loudon and New York markets as
well as on the Chicago Board of Trade.
It may be that the speculative element
is anticipating. Though Russia intends
to fight, it is uot unlikely that she will
delay striking the first blow till the
Spring roads shall be in a better condi
tion for army movements. The initia
tive rests with Russia, and it is fair to
presume that the next few weeks can be
better employed in completing the pre
parations for war tfian by risking the
obstacles of a Spring movement ip a
country whpre tfle fpiffla almost im
passable at this time af year. Jn that
case the British demand for American
breadstuffs has been discontinued too
early, and a reaction will set in before
the actual demand shall come. There
are other conditions which the hopeful
speculators are apt to overlook. A con
tracted supply and excessive cost of
breadstuffs will soon teach the British tp
economize in their use tq extent,
and substitute as much as posstyld oth
ej articles of forifl not so di(flcqlt o$ cost
ly to obtain. If must also be remem
bered that the era of long wars is over.
When nations collide nowadays, they
come together with the full foroe of all
their resources, and almost the first
shock is decisive of the contest. If the
other Powers hold aloof, it is ppt reason
able to suppose tfiat Turkey wilf be afcle
to' resist ' fo j a very long period the
mighty Power that shall assail it. It
would be astonishing if such a war
should outlast the first Summer’s cam
paign. It will not do, then, to count
too confidently upon the effect of shut
ting out the Russian grain market; it
may not be closed against British con
sumers long pp&ngh give Ameri
can market anything like 'a permanent
monopoly of the'taue. Those trio go
slowly in this matter are likely to fare
the best in thpenq. * o .
- Imi'Wu
ANOTHER STEP FORWARD.
No More Federal Troops lor Crooked Whisky
Raids.
Washington, April 16.—The good in
fluence of President Hayes’ Southern >
poliev is penetrating and renovating the
vaviourf departments of the Government.
In Febrnary last the Commissioner of
Internal Revenue appealed to President
Grant, through Secretary Morrill, for
United States troops to aid in the opera
tions against illicit itr't\e
States of i*orth GanJlina and South Car
olina, Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee,
President Grant endorsed this appeal,
directing theJGeneral of the Amy to fur
nish the necessary force, apfl it was so 1
furnisflefl arifi used until’after President !
Hayes assumed the control of affairs,
when the pommissioner of Internal Rev
enue became conyincefl that it did hot
comport thc principlea of 1 aTepub
lican government id use tfle aymy to col
lect the so he issued a circular to
collectors of internal revenue in whose
districts troops were stationed, notify
ing them that in consequence of Con
gress having appropriated 840,000 for
the purpose of breaking up illicit distil
lation in the States above named, the
United States troops would no longer be
employed for this purpose, but, initdad,
an increased'nfimbfer of deputy collect
ors would be allowed for this purpose.
So the troops have been again with
drawn.
Greenville’s grand ball comes off to
night.
CROSS AND CRESCENT.
ARMAMENTS OF THE LEVANT.
An Estimate of the Faroes ef Russia aud
Turkey—T he Fute ef the OttoSaaa Iu Case
of English Neutrality.
L Chicaqo Tribune .]
Now that war is almost inevitable be
tween Russia and Turkey, the question
of armaments becomes one of extraor
dinaiy interest. Leaving out of con
sideration those European Powers whioh
may be ultimately dragged into the war,
what is the strength of those nations
and provinces that are immediately in
terested and most take one side or tbe
other ? We have very recently given
the strength of Russia from official
souroes. Her army numbers 1,500.000
men, of which one-half is used for offen
sive and the other half for defensive
purposes. The army of the South, whioh
has so long been concentrated at
Kischenev, and is now, if reports may
be trusted, across the Pruth on its
march towards Ronmania, numbers
250,000 men. The army of the Caucasus,
which will attaok on the flank and has
only a few weak battalions to oppose it,
is 150,000 strong. The reserve corps on
the Austrian side numbers about 150,-
000, and there are abont 300,000 more
troops stationed at various points that
oan be immediately brought into aotion.
The highest estimate that has ever been
made of the Turkish army is 700,000,
but this is without doubt greatly exag
gerated. The most competent military
authorities state that the maximum of
the Turkish forces is between 250,000
and 300,000 troops, and that they are
scattered over wide areas. It is evident
tLat in case of war her troops must be
so aouoentrated to meet the powerful
Russian army of the South that no re
sistance oan be offered to the Russiau
army of the Caucasus, or to tbe inevita
ble gravitation of Greece and the Solavio
provinces to the Russian side.
Theie are other provinces whioh must
take part in this great oonteat—Egypt,
Tunis and Tripoli, whioh will be likely
to give assistance to the Saltan; and
Roumania, Servia, Montenegro and
Greece, whioh will in all probability ally
themselves with Russia. It is only pos
sible to make a rough estimate of the
strength of Egypt, but it has been oalou
lated that the fighting strength of the
regular army is abont 60,000, with 144
guns, the reserve 30,000, and an irregu
lar foroe of possibly 60,000 more. The
force that could be supplied by Tunis
and Tripoli, consisting of regular and ir
regular troops, called Korouglis, de
scendants of the old Turkish Janissaries,
is very small, not amounting to over
18,000 very poorly armed men.
The military force of Roumania con
sists of the standing army and reserve,
territorial army and reserve, the militia
and the National Guard, and rural
levies. The standing army is organized
upon the German plan, and armed with
Prussian guns, both infantry and artil
lery. It is probable that Ronmania can
place in the field nearly 70,000 men, and
keep them up to their full strength dur
ing a campaign, leaving behind sufficient
troops to perform the ordinary military
duties of the oountry. The Servian
army, although it suffered greatly dur
ing tbe Turkish campaign, has been re
organized, and, although it is very infe
rior in fighting material and badly arm
ed, it could probably muster 100,000
men. The Montenegrins, who are a
race of warriors, make no profession of
a military organization, and yet have
never been defeated by the Turks since
the outbreak of the present Solavic re
bellion. They oan fnrnish a contingent
of 10,000 of the bravest troops in Eu
rope. A correspondent of the London
Times recently gave the following ac
count of their system of war:
“Their method of fighting is perfectly
well known, aud oonsists of retiring to
thedr mountain fastnesses, and laying
waste the country, if the strength of the
foe, is overwhelming. When they are
sufficiently numerous to fight, they hide
the greater part of their fpfpe behind
rooks or in cayprpg, spud out a few skir
mishers to entice the enemy into the
ambuscade, and then fall on him, sword
in hand. Or they will shoot him down
from safe ambuscades in the hills as he
marches through the ravines which are
the avenues from one part of the coun
try to another. If the persistent pouj
age and energy with wbiofi these moun
taineers have fought for their independ
ence during a long series of years were
not enough to show their character, a
proof of their werlike spirit may be
found in the saying of the friends of the
family when a boy is born. They bless
him with this speech, ‘May he not die
in bis bed !’”
Groeoe, although au independent
Power, willaundouhtedly be an ally of
Russia. She is weak from a military
point of view, and probably poqld not
muster more than 20.Q0Q men, although
she professes to have an amy of fIO.OQQ
The troops are poorly armed, and have
no organised train or trained aanitary
troops, The statement has been also made
within a few days that there exists a
secret treaty between Rnssia and Persia,
but it is hardly possible that Persia will
figure in the war, further than to take
advantage of it for territorial acquisi
tion.
It is hardly necessary to consider the
naval forces of Turkey and Russia. The
fleet of Turkey is the strongest, but this
is not to be a naval war. The contest
will bo fought south of the Balkan
mountains. Russia qnfl hey natural
f ll *?® Pl|oo in the' field first and
last l.? 00,000 men. Against this enor
mous foroe, placing the Turkish
army at its highest estimate, the Porte
can bring about 900,000 men. Accept
ing, however, the lower estimate, which
is the most likely to be correct, it can
muster a little short of 600,000 men.—
There can be but orje result to such an
encounter in the event that the other
Powers do not interfere—the utter col
lapse of the Turkish Empire.
A POLITICAL INTRIGUE.
T be ddnWWUta" friing to Cawarv toe
BrWWan8 r WWan af toe Home-A Letter ta
CrSn-Wh ß la toe Ex-ttoverner f-Oer.
on’ Indignant Denial-No Chance fer the
Intrigue to Succeed.
Washington. April 15.-There is no
longer any doubt that an effort is being
made to electa Speaker of the next
House in the interest of % Admmistra
atT w here taW WW oyerturea made
at to oi\e o$ tyro ijoutherij Demo
oratm meipbers who, are supposed to
have influence epoimfl with tfimr delega
fcions tp. Qomua&c| taeir united support
in ease the entire Republican minority
of the House could be secured to vote
for a candidate of their number. Either
the Alabama or Texas delegation oonld
SJT jb *wnUs? JSri
W J* 19 A no wn that m cme instance the
offey has been made and indignantly re
jected. The feeling in the Sonth is more
fully l.lustrated by the following extract
from a letter of a well known Democrat
who has been Governor of his State, ad- i
dressed to a gentleman in this c ty 'He ■
is severe it will itS “bar-
Sumw’ does
ijht hh sS“ ah aU i ad i ei 4 40
■ ta m L . V&iMwflWe ta the
in the cpuutVT to-.day, but Senator Gor
don and one John Young Brown. Had
it not been for the trade these men en
tered into with the grooms of Hayes,
Titden would most certainly have been
inaugurated President of tha emitted
States. The resultof thgi*bfi#tlr tbe
oontinued incvimbh*fcj in Federal posi
tion* South of unprincipled, knavish
carpet-baggers and arrogant negroes so
disgusting to the better class r>Cr neo-
P ,e - 1 ala ° learn that the
Sin? ,- rgani 94 *WPuse of
H? pr !r^iir*9 eohsidera
- fruitions bow
held by Hayek in'abeyanee for that pur-
Pf*®‘ an d company are to fur
nish enough Southern Democratic votes
for the jjtTwiljf ihdeed be
cheoil if this bargain be confirmed by
tta Wuthero
44 seem to me that
*,5, end trading OB the part
tLm wpany would consign
a Pnbtieal graves so deep that the
hand of idawreotion could ueyer reach
them.
~ ®. e “*4® r Gordon indignantly denies
.2®u “ n * knowledge of, or that he
* ou be a party to, any arrangement j
by which the Southern cfluld
organize the in the interest of the
Adqitotstrutiod. H e does not believe
that toera is a Democratic member of
the nett Honse who would accept a
nomination for Speaker at tbe faanda-of
any coalition the Administration might I
attempt, or that there is a Republican
elected to the ne?t HouSe #ho eaa son
mad t single Democratic vote for Speak
er. John Young Brown, of Kentucky, i
*2 A YEAR—POSTAGE PAID.
| is not a member of tbe next House, and
is not in Washington, but it may be
safely assumed that he would spurn
either feature of the proposition to give
the House an Administration organiza
tion.
If there were any possibility that half
a dozen Democratic members (for that
is all who are needed) could be found
recreant enough to enter upon a disre
putable bargain to give the House of
their friends over to tbe hands of their
enemies, (fie “murdered ooalition” would
still fail. It is now manifest that the
Republican side of the next Honse will
not be unanimous in support of the
President’s Southern policy, and cannot
be controlled, therefore, to unite upon
any one of that party who might be
named as a candidate for Speaker ac
ceptable to the Administration; while
on the other hand —assuming its possi
bility—they would not be able to oast
the solid Republican vote for a Demo
oratio member who oonld control the
half-dozen men of his own party and
consent to be a candidate in the interest
of poliev and place. The organization
of the Forty-fiith House, therefore, will
be completely Demooratio.
COUNTING THE CEREALS.
Washington, April 17.— The statisti
cal oorps of the Department of Agricul
ture report upon the condition of wheat
in 868 oounties of the Winter wheat
region. In 218 tbe returns are compara
tively unfavorable; in 659 condition
varying from average to superior ; thrift,
is indicated. In the Atlantio States
north of North Carolina, and in those of
the Ohio Valley, there has been far* less
injury from frost than usual. Of 320
oounties in the Ohio basin only 45 re
port below average, and six-sevenths of
the reports from the Middle States are
favorable. In Wisconsin the unfavor
able returns are from 15 of the 66 coun
ties reported. In Kansas, from 17 to 38
oounties. Grasshopper ravages are re
ported in 22 counties of Eastern Kansas,
from Nebraska to Indian Territory aud
as far west as Saline county. The wheat
growing distriot in Texas is also alive
with grasshoppers, whioh threaten the
destruction of the crop in several coun
ties. Mare than 20 counties report the
hatching of Spring broods. There is an
increase of the area of wheat in Texas,
and prospects are favorable with the ex
ception of grasshopper ravages. In the
other States a dry Autumn and variable
Winter have depressed the condition of
wheat below the average.
Scarcity la England.
London, April 17.—The Mark Lane
Express, in its review of the grain mar
ket, says unusual exoitement has pre
vailed in Mark Lane the past week, and
the increased strength whioh the trade
derived from diminished imports and
the steady consumption of stooks was
increased by the warlike aspect of the
Eastern question. Odessa and St. Pe
tersburg are about the only places
from which we could expect large im
ports of red whoat, and should war com
mence the door may be partially closed
on supplies, as the Turkish fleet is
thought to be sufficiently powerful to
harass the Black Sea trade considerably.
This contingently is especially momen
tous this year, beoause America seems
able to spare so little red wheat. The
large advance in prioes has made opera
tors cautions, but where millers have
been obliged to buy to meet require
ments a rise of three to four shillings
per qnartor on the week has been real
ized. The cargo trade shows an ad
vance of three shillings. There have
been very few arrivals of wheat at call
ing pools. Maige, aftey a long depres
sion, suddenly came into favor, and
values improved fully two shillings per
quarter.
THE EFFECT ON TRADE.
The European War aud Commerce—_A Panic
in Cotiofl,
SfEiy Vos, April 17. —There is a semi
panie in the cotton market, beginning
late yesterday. Prices have ran down
with unusual rapidity, touching the
lowest figures that have been reached
in many months. The dep.recsion is
primarily due to the threatened war io
Europe, by which the consumption may
be oheeked and manufactures interrupt
ed, But, iu addition to this, stocks are
excessive here and in Liverpool. The
threatened dangers to the next orop
from cold storms, and from an overflow
of the Mississippi river, have been re
moved. Tbe weather at the Booth has
for some days been clear, and the tem
perature is rising, while a telegram from
Memphis reports the Mississippi as
falling at that point, and the waters
reoeding in most of the tributaries of
the great river, Middling uplands
quoted |o. lower, say ll}c., and late
prioes for future delivery are April,
U Bfio.; May, 1123; June, 11 32; July,
It 24; August, II 65; September, 11 46;
October, 11 32; November, 11 23; De
oeiuber, 11 25, and Jannary, 11 33.
These prioes are from three to five points
above the lowest figures of this morning,
and the recovery is due to a demand
from the shorts,
® ear ! Wit H bU * “I Turkeys—The Eastern
Question Viewed Through Anaerienn Com
mercial Spectacles.
Nnw Yobk, April 17.—The effect that
a war between Rnssia anfl Turkey would
have on the United States is discussed
at some length by the New York Jour-
Mai of Commerce. That paper remarks
that the hostile rumors which have been
flying between the capitals of Europe
for a few days past have led to a sharp
rise in American wheat aufl uU bread
stuffs. Other causes, flave operated to
stiffen the market for these products for
the si* months, but it is noticeable
that American wheat bas been steadily
advancing since the early part of last
Fall, when the Eastern question began
to be most threatening. Since (ben the
rise in wheat has befifl flWly sixty oeuts
on a bushel.
The prevalent belief that the Spring
wonm see the opening of a great war in
the Bast, has certainly done its part in
thl* Improvement of prices. From
these facts we may conclude that snch
a war would be materially a benefit to
trade and oommeroe ip the United
States. It would c-rnate a large Euro
pean demand lor American grain and
floqy aud provisions of all kinds, and
the effect of this would he to stimulate
manufactories %ud business in nearly
e V e *Y brunch of industry. Ocean freights
w°hjd partake of the improvement, and
il England were dragged by circum
stances into the vortex of war, American
commerce having the preference for tbe
carrying trade would get a start which
it has not enjoyed for pearly twenty
years. Americans, with these thoughts
in their mfuda, say nothing of the oon
which they feel in the promotion of
Christianity and civilization in Turkey,
but will eagerly watch every day’s devel
opment of the Eastern question.
The Daly of Farmers la Flew toe Im
pending Eureka Vl(ar.
DiPAßmafii; Agbioultubk, l
tlfe Fqfrners of, Oeofaip.-
In view of the threatened war in the
East, which seem* now to be unavoid
ably it becomes us as prudent men to
•Vow, aa ta as possible, its disastrous
effects upon our industries by a wise
taccast in onr farm eoonomy. The in
dications now are that there will he a
protracted war, involving the feeding
powers of Europe, the ueedwary conse
quence of which wjdf u rapid advance
in tha (oed supplies. Even
the Tumor of war** has already oaused
an appreciable advance in meats and
breaaatniEi, and a decline in oar gseat i
SteSSkJgW?
ropean arc alfeady reported, and
continue so long as the war lasts.
The foreign demand for cotton may b,e j
greatly reduced, and its price f%fl below
even its present low figom
In view of feots, th.e fanners of
George aije urged, fo’ increase their
i areas in proton crops, ft ia nut yet
too late *9. increase, (be pres in corn,
even if it has fo, be done by reducing tbe
area ip cotton. Let farmers plant
enough com to insure an ample supply for
the ensuing year. Let them plant crops
for their hogs, and foroe them forward
to secure, as nearly as possible, a supply
of baoon for home consumption. Ijat 1
them plant liberally in millet
and field peas to supplement their corn
crop in feeding stoc% ift pijdm; that more
of their corn kW.
, K oe averted-of which
V present littte probably—we
i wIU have lost nothing by the above poli
cy} if not, we will have provided against
tbe possibility of loss or sufferings In
either event, those who fheTbove
advice will have nothiaurlo regret, while
those who dp not may De compelled to
ptfTvhase provisions at ruinously high
prioes, and pay for them with cotton at
Uoo* 8 ev v* below the of produc-
TaoMjUi P. Janes,
Commissioner of Agriculture.
THE STATE.
THE PEOPLE AND THE PAPERS,
Bishop Gross is in Darien.
Hartwell builds anew jail.
Columbus has a choral unioD.
Peas and strawberries in Cuthbert.
well 80n coun^'s w^ crop promises
middle Georgia promises a fine fruit
orop.
dead ,anc^er * °i Hartwell, is
Mrs. Susan O. Holmes, of Darien, is
dead. ’
si°ooo county ia out of dßbt ’ plus
R<fme eral buildinga Piu
Madison has some beautiful fish
ponds.
00l J. B. Estes, of Hall, is in feeble
nealth.
Sweet potatoes are scarce in Franklin
county.
-S 0 ? 6 deooratos her church pulpits
with flowers.
H. McKinney, Esq., becomes Mar
shal of Carnesville.
The Forest News favors the dried
blaokberry crusade.
The Maoouite now can ride on a
street oar for five cents.
.Au Irwin county hunter has the talons
ot three enormous eagles.
Butts county arose to tho dignity the
otlmr day of selecting n new Coroner.
• e i_.? rea< * onoe more to see our
tmnghtly little neighbor, tho Hartwell
There are now eight companies of
troops at Atlanta, numbering about 300
men.
The Valdoßt-a Jaimes will liaudflonaely
support Mr. Hayes so long as he may do
right. J
A fish hawk, measuring six feet from
tip to tip, was recently killed in Jackson
oounty.
A Butts oounty bee hive swarmed
(metaphorically speaking) four times in
fifteen days.
There are five lady telegraph opera
tors employed in offices upon the Geor
gia Railroad.
A Walker oounty man has patented an
animal trap whioh will catch anvthinir
from a mouse to a wolf.
Tearful April Tongs to rest hsr muddy
paws m tbe “flowery lap of blue eyed
May (to be continued).
The rumor that the anti-Convention
movement is “backed by brains and
money ’ is probably false.
Hon. Jas. Blue, colored, of Deoatur
county, was recently thrown from his
wagon and seriously bruised.
Before we forget it, we desire to state
that the Cuthbert Messenger will vote
solidly against a Convention.
T hoa - A. Griffeths, late pastor of
the Darien-Methodist Church, is now a
candidate for Episcopal orders.
Charley Meaoham, formerly one of
Grt enville’a most competent business
men, was adjudged a luna'io last week.
Putnam aud Jasper second Morgan
county in sending Hons. Joshua Hill
aD m Augustus Reese to the Convention.
The harrowing scent of bone phos
phate has given away to the gentle, in -
sinuating aroma of the blooming escha
lot.
A Franklin man reoenty killed a w<?ter
fowl resembling a dock in its body, with
a month like a chicken and a neck like a
goose,
Atlanta is now racked to the very cen
tre by a Library war originating from “a
piece of pleasantry” on the part of a oity
editor.
After all, the supposed indifference on
the part of the Atlanta Constitution to
a Convention ia only “a piece of pleas
antry.”
001. John T. Collins’ reappointment
as Colleotor of Customs for tbe Bruns
wick Distriot was hailed with general sat
isfaction.
It is reported that Col. Purcell allows
no one to ride free over the Oconee tres
tle who has not a life preserver around,
his waist.
A negro squaw in Clay county, going
out to a Saturday night frolic, lock- and up
her little children to fondle the kerosino
lamp until her return.
A marriage ceremony, conducted by
Judge Rice in open Court, was among
the episodes of the Banks county ses
sion of Superior Court.
The Southern Dental Association ad
journed on Thursday last in the city of
Montgomery, Ala., to meet next year in
the oity of Atlanta, Ga.
Butts county has a Sunday School
and organizes a dancing academy. The
Star of Empire still tangles herself ir
the Southern oanebrakes.
Butts county girls, the fair Goodies
who wear No. 2 shoes, retire at 7, p. m.
After all, any night editor can attest
that plenty of sleep ia accompanied by
physical beauty,
The Forest Mews has a temperance
column. 001. Stafford, we apprehend,
is one of the few editors in the country
who oan stand up to such a column like
the sentinel in the State oaat of arms.
J. W. Grigsby, executive clerk under
the Smith administration, has Been ap
pointed by Gov. Colquitt superintend
ent of tbe model farm connected with
tbe Agricultural College at Athens.
A man’s body has been found iu the
Chattooga river, near the State line, and
it is supposed thAt one Gris. Johnson
killed him, It is needless to remark
that Johnson is now held to be insane..
flljlijay wants a jeweler.
Brunswick wants a bank.
Cotton planting commences.
Tramps are still troublesome in Co
vington.
Stone Mountain wants a library asso
ciation.
Bainbridge aells bitters at 21 cents
per dram.
The Athens Georgian will become a
tri-weekly.
“A children’s day” will be celebrated
in Athens, May 2d.
Mrs. Francis Hencely, aged 85, died
recently in Forsyth.
Atlanta has oommeuoed her Stone
Mountain excursions.
Most of the Dahlonega merchants pay
for their goods in gold dust.
Hall county will cover her Court
House with a fire proof roof.
Hon. J. J, Turnbull is opposed to the
removal of the capital from Atlanta.
Conyers is to have a grand Sunday
school celebration on the sth of May.
The Gainesville Southron poetically
allndes to “Frankfort-on-the-Rliine.”
Col, Warren Aiken, of Cartersville, re
gar As the State Senate as a useless body.
An excursion to Toccoa Falls, the first
Tuesday in May, is to come off in Athens.
Martin D. Nelms and William Wylie,
charged with larceny, broke jail in Elli
jay.
Dudley Hughes, Esq., of Dooly couu
ty, killed 10,000 pounds of pork last
. year.
A series of religions meetings are in
progress in the Athens Methodist,
churches.
The Grand Chapter of Georgia ho Ids
its annual convention in Macon ou the
24th inst.
Mr. W. B. Hale, an old and highly re
spected citizen of Qoonee county, died
last week.
Chas. H, porter, a sewing machine
has absconded with a Griffin liv-
WX stable team.
Mr, Joun D. Ross, of Maoon, has re
ceived a patent on a car-ooupliug whioh
he bas invented.
The walls of the old Baptist church in
Covington we*e blown down by the
wind I*M Friday.
Athens will soon throw anew lattice
bridge across tho Oconee, near the Geor
gia Railroad depot.
Atlanta excursionists and picknickers
begin to regard Stone Mountain as a big
“pieee of pleasantry.”
| Social Circle is soon to have a lecture
jby Mrs. R. C. Hale, M.D., a practicing
physician in Walton county.
The blooming of the early Spring
hop seems to exhilarate the Stato editor
of the Bavannah News.
Hon. George T. Represen
tative iu the Legislature from Terrell
county, died last Sunday.
Mr. Emory Speer delivers the literary
address the commencement of the
Wesleyan Female College, in Macon.
Dp, to date the sales to spinners iu
t Columbus have decreased seventeen
hundred and ten bales over last season.
There is a private residence in Macon
1 where there re seven copies of tbe Tele
graph and Messenger taken regularly.
A Macon negro, on Monday evening,
slipped ofl a loot fog into the OcmuJgee
anq drowned before aid eonld reach
: mun.
A Covington youth has been heard
from in California. He is editing a
newspaper. Let Georgians think well
ol this poor yonng man’s lot before go
ling West.
The Wa/ckmap, learns that a negro in
Jackson county, while, waiting on bis
aged father who was dying, was shot,
through a crack in the side of the house,
on Saturday night last.