Newspaper Page Text
qrfltomcle and .Srnfnitt.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1877.
EDITORIAL NOTKS.
Tiie Hartford Courtin', calls this a “fe
cesh Congress."
“Blind Tom’s” full name is Thomas
Greene Bethpxr. I
Krdpp, the cannon maker, runs his shops
every in the year.
Two widowers of Perry county, Texas,
married each other’s daughters.
Beecher and Bon Isgersoll have a
common point of agreement—a disbelief in
hell. , ,
llamun is the oldest Senator, Dorsei
the youngest and Edmunds the oldest look,
ing. , ,
Kate Field gives as a reason for noi
marrying that she loves too many men to
settle down with one.
Some of the papers say Mr. Blaine is
going hr recuperate in Florida, and not at
the Arkansas Hot Springs.
Nearly every pa|s*r in the country has
a paragraph beginning thus : “If Governor
Colquitt should die ”
The children of Andrew Johnson ate
erecting over him an *.*.000 monument,
which weighs twenty-eight tons.
It in said that the reconciliation between
Blaine and Conkliso was owing to tin
discovery of a straw I* try mark.
Lexington, Kt., r<quires only SIOO a
month hr provide for her destitute. He.
population is 20.000, one-half negroes.
The Inter Ocean pathetically alludes lo
Mr Lipscomb, of the South Carolina Leg
islature, ics Mr. Tilden’s one constant
friend.
A Philadelphian * sported to have
died “worn out by *"• severe mental effort
in the study of how to live without work.
Most |>eopUi fatten <>n it.
THE last carpet-bag ofticial in firginia is
charged with diverting public funds. .Neigh
borhood bands serenade him with the tune
“We’ll not leave thee, thou lone one.”
Ok Leonard Bacon says: “Thou shall
not !-• found out” is not one of God’s com
mandments, and no man can Ist saved by
trying to keep it. Is this is a sly dig al
Mr. Beecher ?
John Bright said lately: “You might
almost as well ask a spider to give unweav
ing hi* weh or to destroy what he had
woven as to ask the great body of lawyers
to consent to a simplicity and purification
of the law.”
The National Republican says: “Au
guste, Ga„ is indulging in mysterious ui
r ides The latest is that of an unknown
man killing himself in a cemetery.” 'Hie
editor ot the Republican thinks Hamburg is
in Augusta. .. <>r
General Toomus is going to the Paris
Exposition next Summer, and says he does
not wish to go as a Commissioner but as a
gentleman. He is so well acquainted in
France that he does not need an appoint
ment to givehim standing or acquaintances.
The Constitution of Mississippi makes
all citizens ineligible to hold office who
have taken part in duels, either as prinri
jiaLs or seconds, and the Jackson Timex in
timates that a number of the officials elect
ed in November have violated the Constitu
tion in this respect.
*S
The Choctaw and Cliicasaw Indians re
spectfully decline to become American citi
zens am! have protested against the lull
„ ow ’ before Congress. A comprehensive
glance at the politics of a recent period has
“kind of sickened” them. They will not
take universal suffrage in theirs, if they can
possibly help it. t
The New York rimes' funny man has
dipped into theology. Speaking of the
fact that the. Rev. H. W. Beecher denies
the existence of hell, he says : “It theie
really tvasu hell there is no doubt that, out
■of respect to Mr. Beecher’s eloquent re
marks, it would he promptly abolished.’’
There have been several parallels for the
Bi.aink-Cgnem.no reunion dug up lately,
hut the Hartford (Journal has found one in
the Bible. It is in Luke, xxiii., 12 : "And
,14* same day Pilate and Herod were
dilate friends together, for before that they
\were at enmity between themselves."
-
17 Governor Colquitt should die, and
it shoukl turn out that Mr. Lester is not
President of the Senate, and that there is
no one to draw a legal warrant on the
Treasury, General Toomus consents to pay
the salaries of all State officers during tlte
interregnum. But suppose General Toomus
should die or be absent in Paris, who would
do the paying f
no oRCE does not exist in France, hut
there is what is called separation de corp*.
Of this ttu? Marquise De Caux availed her
self. The report of the keeper of the seat*
to Marshal Ma* Mahon shows that in 1870
there were 3,946 separation de corps cases,
of which 2,997 only were judged; 2,585 of
these were heard on the demand of lnts-
Luads, and 412 only on the part of wives.
- —-
All the Georgia boys in Congress have
come home to spend the Christmas holidays,
.except Messrs. Btefijkns and Blount.
‘The former has been invited to spend his
vacation in Richmond, but it is not stated
whether the invitation has been accepted.
Mr. Blount is a jolly bachelor, who ha
nothing to call him home, and hence he re
mains at the North.
Last Thursday New York was the
scent* of one of those frightful tragedies
that of Mte years have occurred so often in
the great cities of the country. It is safe
lo say, however, that the loss of life by the
explosion and tiro in the candy shop has
tieen exaggerated First reports arc always
the worst. The facts, however, are bad
enough. Heaven knows.
The government of Virginia is highly
plcMt-d with the operations of the Moffett
bed punch in that State. A bill for its in*
truductwu into Tennessee is now pending
ill the Legislature at Nashville, and the
New Orleans lianoerat clamors for its adop
tion io Louisiana. It seems to furnish an
easy and effective mode of raising revenue,
-ami its success in Virginia wilt raise up ad
vocatos of itlu most Southern State*.
CoxfrntNTNii the succession. General j
Toombs asks: “Didn't Conley take the.
office after his term :is Senator and j
President of the' Senate,? had expired ?" j
He did; ami it was generally non-1
sideml an act of palpable usurpation,
which, unless we are greatly mistaken, j
Gen. Toombs vigorously denounced. It j
was ooly tfae fear that Grant would inter- I
fere with the bayonet that kept Conley j
Irutn being summarily ejected from the Ex-1
■eciMhrc office, lbs case does not furnish a
•very savory precedent
The Haltmvjic Oazetie says: “Some fA
the Northern pai*rs are making disgusting
remarks about the Gordon and Conklins
affair, calling it the 'crack? of the slave
drivers’ wliip,* etc., etc. Ix 4 the worst lie
■saai of that deplorable quarrel, it was at
ieaat camducteil wiih more decency and dig
wit v riw? those in which only tuli-Mondetl/
Republic—Si have appeared, as witness tliatj
oM feud betwxHtt Conkliso and Blaine, j
or Butler and Buuham, BorrwEi.L and
Chandler, and so on. The brutal element
in our jiolities? uover was the 'slave driv
ers’ whip.*"
The gross earnings of twenty four rail- *,
roads for November, reimrted by the Cowt
■mtrend and Financial ChronieU, aggregate
$7,425,125 against $6,931,622 last year,
•showing a net increase of $433,563. The
aarne reads for the year to November 30 rv
|Krt gross earnings $71,847,141, a decrease
of $705,449. The heaviest increase is that
of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and South
ern, $474,708, and the IVnver and Rio
Grande, $366,582, or over 00 per cent The
Central Pacific shows a loss of $1,370,688,
or uiiout 8 per cent., tlie Chicago and Alton
$4:17,483. or 10 per cent., and the Toledo,
Peoria ami Warsaw, $295,706, or 30 per
cent. Nine companies re pert their gross
earnings for October at $3,041,461, an in
crease of $134,769 over last year, or about
4 per cent. For the ten months they were
$7,070,130, showing a decrease since 1876
of $280,453.
THE LORY OF THE WORLD.
Not many months ago the name of
Ben Holladay waa brought into some
prominence from the fact that it aas at
his house Senator Mobton entered upon
the last stage of a fatal illness, in conse
quence of imprndently eating for
supper soft crabs and peaches and
cream, arranged with deadly seductive
ness by a French cook. Mr. Holladat
r again oome before the people in a
most melancholy way, his daughter, the
young and beautiful Baroness de Bus
siebbe, having snddenly died in New
York. It is reealled that her sister, the
Countess de Pout-tales, died in a palace
car while en route to New York from
Ban Francisco two years ago last Spring.
The Count de Poult ales, who is now
attached to the French Legation at
Washington, had, with hia wife and
child, been passing several month with
her father in Oregon, and was hurrying
to New York to see Mrs. Holladay,
then laying very ill in Westchester. The
fatigne of the journey wore upon his
wife, who had been in delicate health
some time, and when only a little way
from Chicago she died very suddenly
and unexpectedly, The death of Mrs.
Holladay, which occurred not long
ago, wae hastened by this sad event.
Mr. Holladay has, we believe, sur
vived all of his femily. His life
has been one ot romance. By
stage contracts on the plains be
fore the trane-continental railway
was built, be made a prodigious for
tune, only the huge wreck of which now
remains. His wife was a very religious
woman, but ambitious and fond of
splendor. Her charities were lavish be
yond expression. Several years ago she
resided in Europe, and there her daugh
ters married noblemen. We remember
to have seen what purported to be
exit acts from her last will and testament,
which bore most severely upon the aspi
ration of American women to become
the wives of foreigners of quality and
title. We judge from these alleged ex
tracts that Mrs. Holladay was some
what disappointed in her own projects
with regard to her danghters, and she
was not the only woman similarly cir
cumstanced.
THE TAX QUALIFICATION.
An Atlanta correspondent of the New
York World has made a very wonder
ful discovery concerning the new Con
stitution. “By a strange oversight the
new organic law contains a feature that,
unless it is changed, must result iu
diminishing the Congressional repre
sentation of Georgia.” The State is
“self-disfranchised,’’ and something
must be done, and done Bt onoe. The
exuse of all this alarm is found in that
provision of the new Constitution wbioli
prescribes as a qualification to vote that
the citizen "shall have paid all taxes
"wbioli may hereafter be required of
"him, and which he may have had an
"opportunity of paying, agreeably to
"law, except for the year of the elec
“tiou.” The World's correspondent
quotes from the Fourteenth Amend
ment to the Constitution ot the United
States the paragraph which says that
when in any State the right to vote at any
election, etc., is denied to any of the
male inhabitants, being twenty-one
years old and citizens of the United
States, or in any way abridged, except
for participation in the “rebellion or
other crime, the basis of representation
in such State shall be reduced in the
proportion which thd number of such
male citizens shall bear to the whole
number of male citizens in the State.
Tl e correspondent believes that under
tho new Constitution sixty to eighty
thousand citizens will be disfranchised
in tho course of eight or ten years, and
that at the next apportionment the State
will lose several Congressmen and "thus
bo shorn of her power and dignity in
the National Counoils.” We anticipate
no such calamity. It is well known that
this paragraph of the Fourteenth Amend
ment was intended to prevent the dis
franchisement of the colored race in
such States as might fail into the hands
of the Democracy ami waa not intended
to bo enforced, nor can it ba enforced,
in any other case. Besides, the clanse
of the State Constitution is not a denial
of the right to vote; it only prescribes
a condition precedent to the aot of vot
ing. '4'bo old Constitution prescribed
as a conditio* precedent to the act
of voting that the foter should
have paid ail taxes required of him
by law for tho year preceding the
election, and under tho operation of
this provision oitizens were “disfran
chised,” as the correspondent of the
World terms it, at every election be
tween I*6s and 1877. At the election of
1870, especially, it tote charged that the
citizens wera "dUfraimbiteii”' kf whole
sale on acoount of bob payment of
taxes; yet the Republican OoßgrteS of
1871-72 when passing the Apportion,
meot Act, did not diminish, but increas
ed, the number of Congressmen from
Georgia. The fc>ofl#l#;?tion of Massa
chusetts prescribes aa a aoioitfiflP pre
cedent to voting that the oitigsu dial*
be able to read and write, and nearly
one hundred thousand persons, above
the ago of ten, in that Commonwealth,
cannot comply with this condition. Of
these a large another are necessarily
voters; yet there has been wo4jto*nn
tiou of the representation of to at
State iu Congress. If the Fourteenth
Amendment means what the correspond
ent of the Worl/f thinks it means how
can it l>e enforced 1 ftow is it possible
for the Congress of the |JuiW .States to
ascertain how many male inhabitant of
the State of Massachusetts have been
deprived of the right to vote because of
illiteracy ? The new Constitution of
Pennsylvania, like the new Constitution
of Georgia, require* the voter to be
a tax payer. How It it possible
for Congress to know how many male
inhabitants of Pennsylvania and Geor
gia are denied the right to vote beoanae
of the non payment of taxes? But we
do not Iveiietra that this construction of
tho Fourteenth Amendment is correct,
and we are confident tbet the Courts
would so decide if a ease should be
brought before them. The provision of
the new Constitution to whieh the;
correspondent of the World nilndee will
do, a it wos designed to do, good in
stead of barm Iff the State. As the or
ganic law of Mn—busetts endeavors
to educate the voter, so the organic law
of Georgia strives to make the votes a
tax payer. The State will be benefited
iu every point of view by this tax quali
fication. Men will pay their taxes, be
cause they wilf sjsb to vote, and the ;
barthens of grw enuaewt will be equalized ’
and lightened. Taxation this he lower, |
because every ctotean will oontrwwjtei
something to the State, Mad as sh o ag
gregate amount grows larger (he aom
|l . it - l oa4 against each individual will bc
eome Property is caucus;
tax payers etm jcqnservativea. Men who
have to give aeeoahm ip their means to
the support of government exercise
aare in selecting the person* to fee
tmF -U* with the administration of gov
ernraeat. The result will be cheaper
C overnmeM tetter government.
The South Carolina Repre
sentatives has decided by reanta(*qn
that its Speaker and Clerk shall wear
robes, and those officials will hereafter
appear to blue eilk gowns. The idea is
commended to Messrs. Hammond, Yan
cey, Strwam, Baoost, £t alt., who ss
pire to the Speakership of the Georgia
House.
L’.v ls Sam wishes to get even n the
award of the Fishery Cos mas is* on. It
is reported that Government agents have
discovered in the different countries of
Europe ten or fiften million dollars be
longing to the Confederacy. This
amount it is proposed to recover and
place in the Treasury of the United
States, after giving the lawyers employ
ed fifty per cent, ae feea for their ser
vices. The lawyers are easily satisfied,
it seems.
TUB OFFICIAL VOTE.
The official vote of each oouuty in
the State at the recent election has
been received at the office of the Secre
tary of State in Atlanta. The aggre
gates reported to the Governor are ae
follows: |
For Ratification of the Constitu
tion.......V'.
Against Ratification 40,947
Majority for Ratification 69.495
For the Homestead of 1877 94,722
For the Homestead of 1868 52,000
Majority for Homestead of 1877 42,722
For Atlanta as the Capitol 99,147
For Milledgeville as the CapitaL 55,201
Majority for Atlanta 43,946
The total vote cast on the different is
sues was as follows :
On the Constitution 151,389
On the Capital 154,348
On the Homestead 146,722
The highest vote was cast on the
oapital and the lowest on the homestead
question. There were many voters in
the State who did not favor any home
stead at all, and, therefore, declined to
express a preference between the two
laws submitted. In but seven counties
of the State was there a majority given
against the ratification of the new Con
stitution. The vote oast was a very
large one when it is remembered that the
location of the capital was the only is
sue which caused any excitement. The
full vote of the State is about 200,000.
In the Presidential election, November,
1876, 189,294 votes were cast. In tho
State election, Ootober, 1876, 145,146
votes were oast. In the Presidential
election of 1872, 144,993 votes were cast.
MS. EONKLINti’* DAY.
Senator Oonkling has reached that
dizzy altitudo of success which may be
token higher flights of ambition, or por
tend swift descent into ruin, Napoleon
was never bo oolossal a figure as when he
stood in the palace of the Czars at Mos
cow, and yet he was, at that very time,
on the verge of the most tremendous
downfall known to modern days. “Had
I died when I first entered Moscow,” he
said afterward at Saint Helena, "my
glory would have been the most
complete in history. Imagination of a
possible future would have electrified
the nations, and disasters which follow
ed would have been attributed to my
removal from the earth.” But life was
vouchsafed him and he exchanged tri
umph for disaster; a dungeon for a
throne.
Mr. Oonkling towers above all his
oompeers of the Republican party. He
has beoome the individual experiment
of what is left of the Radioal idea and
policy. Behind himhere is a power
ful popular baoking and it would be
foolish to disregard that fact. He will
oontinue to push his personal and party
fortunes with a haughtiness and dash
that cannot but fail to secure more for
midably the leadership already acquir
ed or else provoke revolt.
In spite, however, of Mr. Conk
lino's reoent victories, we are in-
clined to think that tho masses
of tho peop'e are not with him, or not
enough with him at least to consent to n
revival of old methods which are inex
pressibly odious, and which have been
so signally overthrown at the South,
Wo hear repeatedly that, in the end, tho
President himself will have to succumb
to the pew dictator, and then the party,
with the Medline in full blast, will be
gin a campaign for the Presidency rival
ing the last experiment of that kind in
intensity and oloseness. We hardly
credit that Mr. Hayes will lower bis
crest to Mr. Conklins on any terms; and
we prefer to believe that Ghazi Conk
lins has already reached the perilous
apex of his renown and prosperity, and
very soon will enter upon a decline
which means discomfiture for him and a
Waterloo for his parly.
A BRILSHT POLITICAL FUTURE.
During the past fourteen months the
gains made by the Democracy are
summed up as follows: It is stated that
the Democratic party entered the
Presidential aampaigu of last year with
only fifteen States assured to them—
Alabama, Arkansas, Gonneotiont, Dela
ware, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland,
Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey,
North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vir
ginia and West Virginia—and four of
these, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi
and Texas, were repent acquisitions.
New York and Indiana, two powerful
States, whose electoral weight counts
heavily in a Presidential contest, were
neither Democratic nor Republican ;
they were debatable gronnd, olaimed
with equal confidence by both sides,
California and Oregon had voted Demo-
ftt their last previous State elec
tions, bt they yere not regarded as
Demoerstifl Stgtes. *6 ffrft Presidential
election the Democrats cams t Wth
twenty States, having carried two de
batable Northern States, Indiana and
New York, atid Louisiana, Florida and
Cfr/ifljina, also. South Carolina’s
electors* yotes ypye /a'cty cast ,or tlie
Republic candidates, bhf tfco £e mo
crats carried tha Slate for
and South Carolina is to-day absolutely
Democratic. The same may be said of
piorida and Louisiana. This is tho way
ji.l stood then, in No vernier of
the present Democratic and 18
Republican. In tfca WWW* November
elections Ohio amf PennsylyaPW. twp
other powerful Northern SUtes. wore
added to the list of Democratic con
uuqpts, changing the proportion into 22
Reßaomaiw #tates to 16 Republican.
But this majority qf jpif States does not
exhibit the whole q( the
Democratic acquisitions. At the last
oount of electoral votes 185 we* given
to the Republican candidates and 184
to the Democratic candidates, the for
mer having jpajority of one. Taking
the electoral States tt*rding to their
present attitude, w# have:
254; Republican, 116 { ft Renwaiio
majority of 139. The Democrats, there
fore, have gained and the Republicans
have lost 70 electoral votes, making a
of 140 in the dispos tion of the
vote* ante jtyoyember of last year.
Nothing stands tv etwee* {£r. E. C.
Wade and the Collectorship ot ihp.
Third Revenue District of Georgia but 1
tbe bond. As soon as that is given he
sac Sfftde it. _
If the Atlanta Gorufitifti&in't estimate
of the value and extent ot the Marshal’*,
patronage be correct Colonel Firesniosts
will have a weary life of it until ail the
pap is distributed. We feel confident,
however, either that the estimate is in
<*yr<4 pr that the office has been very
grossly jqigffSßAgPd by former Marshals.
The CotqawGbßWN h** re
ceived every variety U treatment Jroia,
the press—abusive, saroastle, humorous.
Here are some specimen verses from the
Times. They are entitled
"Romp** or, The Escape
from Dang6ia*id jjfcejjieated to the
Peace Society of the world ?
:*Oo there youraalf !" the flary Ctoaoo*reared,;
Till a? 1 the Senate trembled At the word ;
And Conkliso, bulging with imperial pride,
'•*<*. are another "blisteringly” replied.
Then Moody Jlrander rumbled through the
air ;
And, ghostlike, by one AJemaerfpt Father’s
chair,
Boee gallant Mo=bt, spoiling for the fray, !
With Shiridas but half a mile away!
But fateaato (re the Peacemakers '. The scene
Is quickly cugqgftte With proud but amiling
mien,
Cosxuqw and Gordon, see —with measured
pace.
Advance to meat, uuarmed, and to ewbreoa-
Fseh “You can kias me,” in a whisper epeaka,
And to tha other turns both manly cheeks.
While all mankind rejoice that now tbe pair
Can mmuitaneouMti go together there 1
The oaricatorists will next take hold
of tbe unpleasantnees—and then, good
Lord deliver a*.
WILD LAND WALKS.
The Comptroller-General has levied
fi. fas. on from fifteen to twenty thou
sand acres of wild land on which he says
the taxes have not been paid, and has
advertised tbe property for sale on the
first Tuesday in January. A strong ef
fort is being made to have the sales
stopped and the collection of the tax
suspended until the meeting of the
General Assembly. A correspondent of
the Macon Telegraph and Messenger
says:
From tbe advertisement ot the Comptroller-
General, there appears to be 15,000 to 20,000
lots in def&nlt. The cost to effect sales, 50
cents for each jS. fa. issued by Comptroller-
General, *IO.OOO ; tor advertising by the Btate,
*5,000 ; sheriff’s levy, advertising, sale and
issue of deed, $lO each, $200,000 ; making a
grand total of $215,000, besides the interest
owners would have to psy to redeem their
property and cost of same. In some in
stances there would be an in expensive
litigation, especially to estates and legal
heirs, to prove ownership. Admitting that
there are 1,800.000 acres unretnrned and in
default, the actual value at an estimate of 26
cents per acre, as per Comptroller-General’s
report, wonld be $274,000, one-half per cent
State tax is $2,340. Tho grand total of cost
of collecting this pitiful sum is found to be
over $200,000, besides tbe extortion and shame
in depriving the owners, unrepresented es
tates, widows and orphans, of their propel ty,
and more than this, it is seriously questionable
whether there is any legality in such an act of
nsnrpation and oppression.
This is a strong statement, ami one
which, if true, calls for action on the
part of tbe Governor. This whole
wild land system seems to be a muddle
which legislation is powerless to simplify.
Every time the law is changed the mat
ter becomes worse instead of better.
There is certainly a great injustice com
mitted in the •manner of advertising
these fi. fas. They are pnt in but one
paper of tbe State, while the land own
ers reside all over Georgia. The land
should be advertised either in the coun
ty where it is situated or iu the county
where the owner resides.
TALKING WITH TOOMBS.
Some Fresh Ideas From the Great Common
er"—He is Going to Paris as a Gentleman—
What He Thinks About the Gubernatorial
and Homestead Stuff.
[Atlanta Constitution .]
One of the trusty fiends of the Con
stitution heard that General Toombs
had reached the city. An inspection of
the Kimball House register proved that
this information was correct, so, with
out card or announcement, the fiend in
vaded No. 13 and took a front seat. The
General, with his accustomed kindness,
greeted the fiend cordially and made
him feel at home. This was the first
opportunity we had met with to talk
with the General about recent events.
The Pari. Bueinee*.
"General, are you going to Paris ?”
"Yes, sir. You boys have written a
good deal in your paper about my going
there as a Commissioner. I appreciate
the kind motive, but I must beg to be
excused.”
“Why is that ?”
"Well, I can’t afford to take a com
mission from anybody. I want no office.
As you have said I know enough people
in London and Paris to feel at home.
Let somebody who needs the influence
of a position to introduce them have
these commissions. I am going to Paris,
however. ”
"f am glad to hear that.”
“Yes, sir, lam going. It will be the
third Paris Exposition that I will have
attended. I attended the Exposition of
1855 as a Senator; I attended the Expo
sition of 1867 as a refugee, and I am go
iug to this one as a gentleman !”
The Governorship.
"General, how about the omission in
the new Constitution to designato a suc
cessor to Gov. Colquitt in case of his
death before the organization of the
Legislature ?”
"Well, that is very idle discussion.
Suppose Gov. Colquitt should die to
morrow, what is the result ? A lot of
fellows in the State won’t get their war
rants on the Treasury signed. That is
about the extent of the damage done.
Why, the whole army of the United
States has gone seven months without
its pay—why can’t forty men in Geor
gia do the same ? They can find some
one, just as the soldiers did, to cash
their claims upon the Government. I
will pay the Judges and the clerks up
there at the Capitol their little salaries
if suoli a contingency takes place. It is
really.a very sip)l mattcy.”
"But who would be the legal succes
sor ?”
"Why not Rufus E. Lester ? Didn’t
Conley take the office after his term as
Senator and President of the Senate had
expired ? Does not the Constitution—
the new Constitution—fix the date for
the meeting and organization of the new
Legislature without any interference
from the Goyernor ? Is the Stqte ever
withont a Legislature 9 and should the
Governor die why wouldn’t Lester be
his successor until another is elected
either Governor or President of tho
Senate ?
"That is the point of the discussion.”
"And I think it a very nonsensical
dis.cussipn at best.”
Ttjp Nejy 11 oil. t'Hjcud■
“Well, Geperal, how about the home
stead ’/ There is gome question made
about that jf"
“That is worse folly than the other. It
may be knavery. There is a sensible
view of the homestead matter which
should readily commend itself to every
man. The homestead of 1877 has been
adopted and, is now a constitutional
right belonging to the citizen. It is not
an imperfect right, to be supplemented
wit 4 legislation in order to become
available. Any Jegisjatjon upon the
subject is tor mere convenience. L't
the man who wants the homestead file
his claim to it—it is $1 ,000 in amount
and absolutely not subject to levy and
sale. Who dares to trespass upon this
; constitutional right ? Who is fool
enough % ffayr a y an( l r i ß k his money in the
face of such a claim? It is sheer non
sense to talk jsbfjt'a jgan fteipg de
barred from this great right by reason
of lacking legislation, prescribing the
mere details of its enforcement.”
“Then yon deem the right absolute
now ?”
"I do, and I will undertake to enforce
it iq guy jjourt in Georgia. I defy all
the pojyeyg of eajftji to interfere with it
in any otl)er tyay fjiap ftal pointed ont
in the Constitution itself J’
The New Constitution.
"Of conrse, you are rejoiced at the
success of tbe uew Constitutions.”
/‘Jt is the grandest triumph of the age.
ft jig .$ Constitution, and will
snryiyp fopg alteif Jpg J are dead.
It contains gjregt principles. It adopted
itself. Who worked for it ? Who tried
to have it adopted T All that wag 4one
with reference to it was done against it,
but it triumphed just as the honest and
true principles of human government
wiff alwtog ffiumph. It is a Constitn
tiop ppptains no word
abopt face, color or previous condition,
exeap* jga to schools. Jt'is whaf:' the
people wanton, and they
A PEN SKETCH OF STKFHE#fB
- tlie Great Commoner Appears to a
New "paper Corre.poadeut.
Chicago Tribune .]
A little to the left of tbe main aisle
of the House, and jnat fetreen the
first row of desks and the Clerk, is a lit
tle, withered np, nervous old man.
Mounted upon a complicated pedestal
bnilt of wheels, platforms and a back,
he bqbe bis head or nods it in aocord or
discord to o speaking.
Barely is his voice heard. Whoever
passes stops to shah o hajnds with him
and speak a few words to him, not that
they all have anything special to say,
but the green members think it looks
well from the galleries robe seen in con
versation with the Hon. Alexander H.
Stephens, of Georgia. The old man is
pitifally thin. His face is livid and ca
daverous. His head is snnken between
hit shoulders. His chest is depressed,
and hia arms aad tower limbs are fear
fully and wonderfully to 1- But, weak
and emaciated as he looks, ids muscle*
are always in operation, and lie f6gs
backward and forward in his wheeled
chair, or taps the floor nervously with
*r>p foot continnally. Generally he
weark>to-~ : soft, black felt—and his
many infirmities baem to .excuse this ap
parent breach pf .Cbdgi’wgateimetßt unite
and, in fact, swat Ayerytiyng he does is
referred to the ecce,: trinities ,of a man
broken down in health and rapidly ap
proaching dissolution. Yet this mas,
weak as tie tooks, and worn as be is,
manifests a Titeuty. He is
seidqm absent from his pOKj is always
on the’ alert, wxtehfnl, wary and reSffy.
In this he is in 'stnmg? eontrast with
certain coxcombs in both trtwvaiy who
deem it derogatory to their dignity to
pay any attention to the proceedings,
and who affect a profound indifference
to ail that goes on around them. Steph
ens, on the contrary, listens aa atten
tively to the Jbitl to pay John Smith, of
SmithviUe, $lO 76, as to a measure reg
ulating the currency of the untry.
He appears to think that he waa aent to
Congreea to know what is going on, even
if he does not participate, and it is
painful to watch the rapt attention the
little, shrivelled-up old man pays to tbe
proceedings.
WRAPPED IN FLAMES.
THE FIRB-OOD’B CAPERS ON
LAND AND BEA.
Terrific Explml*. la a New York Candy
Factory—Sidewalk Torn Up and BuUdln*
Buried in Flames and Fumes—Mnotkerrd
and Barned to Death—Excising Details and
Katina at ea nf tke Dead.
New York, December 20.—An explo
sion occnrred at ten minntes past five
o’clock this afternoon in the immense
candy manufactory of Greenfield &
Strauss, at 63 Barclay street, which ex
tends in the shape of an L to College
Place. The boiler was under the side
walk on the Barclay street side, and
bnrsted, tearing away the entire front
and scattering the wreck in all direc
tions. Over 150 girls were employed at
tbe time in the building. The walls fell
a few minntes after the explosion. A
policeman on duty near the building
says he saw the front of a building five
stories high fall into the Btreet. The
street is filled with screaming people.
There were abont 200 at work. The po
liceman rushed to the police station
and gave the fire alarm. Several girls
jumped from the top of the building in
to the fire. Severed boys were blown
through the roof. Fifty-six wounded and
one dead were reported at Chamber
Street Hospital at 6:45 o’clock. A num
-1 ber were sent to Bellevne and other hos
pitals. It is estimated that the wound
ed will reach 125. Of 275 employed in
the factory, bat a few escaped nnin
jured. The number of dead is uncer
tain, and until the wreck is cleared
away cannot be ascertained. The fire
was under control at 6:30, and by 6:45
only a dense smoke surrounded the
rains.
New Yobk, December 20.—Mr. Green
field, owner of tbe factory, could give no
idea of how many were in the building,
but it is thought abont 110, and of those
abont 50 escaped by College Place en
trance and a small number got ont by
the sky light and walked over roofs and
got down through the sky lights of
other buildings. A book keeper, who
was in the Barclay street side of the
building, was blown out through the
window to the street, badly ont in the
head. Several jumped from the second
story and escaped with slight injuries,
their fall being broken by policemen and
citizens on the sidewalks below. No
fair estimate of the loss of life oan be
given to-night. Parties employed in the
factory were principally young girls and
boys from Bto 20. Owing to the ap
proach of the holidays a double force
was employed, one working daring the
day and the other at night. The force
changed at 5 o’clock and the faot of the
explosion occurring at ten minntes past
that hour renders it still more difficult
to know how many or who are the vic
tims.
The loss is fully SIOO,OOO. No. 65
Barclay street was a frame building,
with a cigar store on the first floor, the
upper floors being occupied by Colonel
French for the last thirty years.
An Exciting Incident.
Mr. French and family got ont safe,
when French remembered having left
SIO,OOO in United States bonds in a
book case on the second floor. Fireman
Joe McGill, of engine No. 32, and
Roundman Coffee, of the First Precinot
Polioe, volunteered to go in for the
bonds, although flames and smoke were
bursting out from the building. They
climbed up on an awning and entered
the window, seenred the package of pa
pers and came out. The package was
found not to be the bonds. The second
time they entered through the flames
and smoke and brought out the bonds
iu safety. Some girls had their hair
burned totally oft their heads. The
greatest sacrifice of life is among the
young girls employed in selling and as
sorting aud packing caudies on first
floor over the boiler. None of those are
known to have escaped. The total loss
is probably a quarter of a million and
there must be fifty bodies in the ruins.
Tlie Steamer Huntsville, from Savannah,
Burned at Sea—No l.ives Lost—Details of
the Mishap.
New York, Deoember 20.— The
steamer Huntsville, Capt, Faircloth,
from Savannah, December 16, for New
York, was burned at sea, December 19.
No lives wore lost. The crew were pick
ed up by the pilot boat Washington and
brought to this port. Capt. Faircloth
makes the following report : Decern
ber 19, at 9:45, p. m., near Little Egg
Harbor, an alarm of fire was given. We
started the steam and deok pumps im
mediately and stopped the main en
gine, in abont seven minutes. The fire
came from the after part of the fore
hold and drove the engineer from the
engine rooms, but he was compelled to
keep the steam pump to work on the
midship part of the vessel, dtiriDg the
lowering of the boats, aB the flames
came through the deck and deck
houses. It was about forty minutes
from the tigie tho alarm of fire till all
hands abandoned the vessel. W 0 were
picked up by the pilot boat Washington
at midnight, December 19. The
Huntsville was 1,011 tons register and
was built in New York in 1857. Captain
and erew in a card, tender thanks to
Capt. Quick, of the steamer New York,
for lying by and offering assistance, also
to Capt. Dickerson, of the pilot boat
Washington, for picking them up.
Terrible Accidenf at a ixondon Jfofel.
London, December 2Q. —The gable at
Milne’s Hotel at Hdinburg, weakened
by fire, fell to-day. Ten are missing,
and three bodies have been recovered.
Large Hotel Ucked Up in PortHUieutb.
Portsmouth, N. H., Deoember 20. —
The City Hotel, a large four story build
ing, was burned this morning with most
pf thp furniture. The gposta lost tho
most of their priyate effects. The loss
is heavy. Tlie building was owned by
Hon. Frank Jones, and the furniture by
John York. Insurance small.
Another Element of Destruction*—A Broken
Rail.
Pottstown, Pa., December 20.—A
broken rail wrecked an engine and forty
heavily laden freight cars. The trains
were much delayed.
Furrier Details From the New York Factory
Bxpjosipif—lteeoyerlh* t|ie Bo|les— Impos
sible to Find Out Who Arp Ai|joi/u tbe'liost.
New York, December 21. —A defec
tive boiler and drunken engineer are
understood to have been the causes of
the disaster at Greenfield’s candy fac
tory. A little after three this morning
one body yas found, that of a well
dressed gjan wjtji' delfckte hands, prob
ably a person passing wl)o was Crushed
by the falling wall. His head was un
der a heavy black stone, which had
pressed it into a shapeless mass. It is
stated that abont twenty customers were
in the store at the time, and the thor
oughfare on whieh the building faced
was erbwded with persons. Twenty were
to the ‘ phlide last night as
missing. Two”wore u'fi&q h oc }' y, ere
found this morning.
Extent ol Hurroundlng Damage.
It is with the greatest difficulty that
the debris can be removed, on account
of a orowd surrounding the ruins, and
horsC car lines in that vioinity are
blocked. ‘ yf&iar JJ'.Khapp, Engraving,
Manuiauturinn; and JjUbpijrapJiibjj Com
pany’s building, directly ppposite
Greenfield & Son’s, escaped with the
loss of windows and doors, which were
shattered by the explosion. The upper
nar'o of Groce s' Bank was complete
ly gaited, and a marble front building
adjmiifog tb jUiogers, Peet * Cos. had the
appearance Df old- ruins, the marble
looking as if it had'been meftetj. five
story ftaf]de ‘front’ building, occnptd by
Bucket ft Handef gjjff Josiah Quincy,
dealers in earthen-ware, also by Pay,
Hoogland & Bliger, dealers in drugs,
was injured by tlie explosion in
Laving tho front windows jf the third
and fourth floors blown in. The force
of the explosion was so great that the
iron frame word protecting the windows
on the first flo&trite beufcinwwd. The
crockery establishment of James HfOe
man, 66 Barclay street, was injured in a
like manner as well as some of the
stock. The front windows of W. H.
Montague & Cos., coffee dealers, 64 Bar
clay IgteA damaged in like
manner aba the' jfavets f?° n * torn
away so" that thS eriglnd riidm Under
neath was visable.’ 'TompkinS ft Cos.,
and 71 Barela? street yerp M l * 3 am :
aged by fire and water, &n,4 keyeral
bouses in Greenwich street were a * Bo
badly damaged. Greenfields' toe# W
estimated at abont $175,000, partly In
sured, The rear walls were taken down,
so toil laborers could dig ont the ruins
with safety a O4 }fioV tor bodies.
A Cbamirsl E*rtosi*n Alter Aji
New York, Deoember 21,— According
to the records of boiler inspectors, the
two boilers of Greenfield & Son were
examined in November, ’76. Both
Were locomotive toilers, were tested to
105 pounds' pressure Jo wed 70
pounds; Engineer'Pliflip Be*ax,s&,r
was last examined on tbe _J3th tt this
month and waa regarded competent,
with reputation good. A. boiler inspec
tor visited the ruins to-day and found
both titers intact. The sidewalk un
der which the 6di!r were "teatedwM.
not to-r- up or destroyed. One boiler
was Mand'oaU fdl of water, and the
other nearly fnH.
that one of the coppertaritefinfed With
material for making canity moat have
exploded and broken all the lamps, the
building being lighted witii kerosene,
and these added much to the rapidity
with whtoh the flames spread.
Bhnc Fort.rx in ***-**•# Cammed.
South Braintree, Mass., December
21 —Last night a large three-story shoe
factory of P. 4 N. Copeland ft Go., was
burned with contents, including 810,000
worth of machinery, 25,000 sides of sole
leather and a large quantity of finished
and unfinished goods, patterns, lasts,
etc. Loss, from $50,000 to $60,000,
One hundred hands are thrown out of
employment.
Killed By a Falling liable.
London, December 21.— Ten were
killed by the falling of the gable of
Milne’s Hotel, Edinburg.
BBECHEK’S BRAVADO.
Remarkable Utterances of the Plymouth
Palpit-Pounder—Heresy, or Blasphemy f-
Or Are These the Wild Ravines of au Irre
sponsible Lunatic ?
New York, December 16 — The vir
tuous Mr. Beecher seems to be gradu
ally shaking off the old fashioned doc
trine of the Congregational body of which
he is a member, and striking out in his
accustomed sensational way. All doo
trine hangs lightly upon bis shoulders,
aud it has long been easier to tell from
his public utterances what he does not
believe than what he does. He indulged
in a vast deal of swearing to-day on the
doctrines of the Trinity aud of hell.
Speaking of the Trinity, ho said he be
lieved there were three persons united
in one God-head; but if any one should
ask him why he believed it, he should
tell him he did not know any thing
about it, only that it was easier to be
lieve that which he thought coincided
with the doctrines of the New Testament
than to deny it. Orthodoxy says that
men must believe in the Trinity or they
can not oome into the church. That is
called orthodoxy, but he oalled it heath
enism.
"It is not an easy thing,” said Mr.
Beecher, "for an honest, conservative
man to know just what to preach and
what not to preach. A man who values
morality, and who has the good of his
fellow-man at heart, can not be careless
as to the things he ought to teach. It
was said that Adam was created perfeot.
It was also said that Adam sinned, and
that in oonseqnence of that sin the
whole human race fell. The human race
bad existed on the earth for thousands
aud thousands of years, and had gone
on propagating and multiplying until all
the waves that had rolled in upon the
shore during those centuries did not
contain drops enough, nor the sands of
the sea particles enough, nor all the
figures of the arithmotio numbers
enough, to compute the preface, to say
nothing of the great history of the hu
man race. The numbers of the human
race were actually beyond computation,
and for thousands and thousands and
thousands of years they had been born
into the world, had lived and struggled,
and finally died and gone—where ? If
you tell me that they have all gone to
Heaven, my answer will be that snch a
sweeping of mud into Heaven would de
file its purity, and I can not aocept that.
If you tell me that they have gone to
hell, then I swear by the Lord Jesus
Christ, whom I have sworn to worship
forever, that you will make an infidel of
me.
“ The doctrine that God has been for
thousands of years peopling this earth
with human beings during a period
three-fourths of which was not illumi
nated by an altar or a church, and in
places where a vast population of those
people are yet without light, is to trans
form the Almighty into a mouster more
hideous than sntau himself; and I swear
by all that is sacred that I will never
worship satan, though he should appear
dressed in royal robes and seated on the
throne of Jehovah. Men may say: ‘You
will not go to Heaven.’ A Heaven pre
sided over by such a demon as that, who
has been peopling this world with mil
lions of human beings and then sweep
ing them off into hell—not like dead
flies, but without taking the trouble
even to bill them—and gloating and
laughing over their eternal misery, is
not such a Heaven as I want to go to.
The doctrine is too horrible. I cannot
believe it, and I won’t. They say tho
saints in Heaven are so happy that they
do not mind the torments of the damn
ed in hell. But what kind of saints
must they be who could bo happy while
looking down upon the horrors of the
bottomless pit ? And by the blood of
Christ I denounce this dootrino. By the
wounds in His bauds and in His side I
abhor it. By His groans and agony I
abhor and denounce it as that hideous
nightmare of theology.”
THU INCOME TAX IN UEUMANY.
How It Is Assessed—Not YVlint a [Unit Re
ceives, But What He Pays Out—But Kittle
Chance lor Fraud.
[letter to the N. Y. Times ]
They have an income tax in Germany
—not levied by the Empire, but by the
separate States—and in many instances
it is assessed on a system exceedingly
detailed and minute, not to say doctri
naire. The intention is that every class
of income shall pay according to its
character, and that no class skull oscapo
the cognisance of the revenge officers.
In some places in Saxony, for instance,
when it is a question of assessing the
income of a foreigner or any other per
son as to whose resources it is a matter
of difficulty for the official to obtain ac
curate information, they estimate his in
come by his outgo, and as they cannot
tax what he gets they tax what he
spends. If a man lives in a two pair
back, blacks his own shoes, and ljyes op
a diet of fioggenbrod, ffiurst and CH\-
faches lirojrf. he stpndß a chance of es
caping notice altogether or getting off
for a very trifling contribution; but if
he luxurates in the first floor of a fash
ionable quarter, keeps a staff of ser
vants ana entertain? company, it js as
sumed. whatever hp (pay H ?y t' the con
trary, tflat hp is possessed of considera
ble property, and he is mulcted accord
ingly. Thp precautions taken by the
German Government to fletept the
dodges ofjfraijdnlpnt ta>; payers arp not
confined to the living; they extend be
yond the grave. If a man, who during
his lifetime has professed to have a
small income, leaves beiud him a large
property, the emissaries of the State
call his heirs to account and stop their
legacies in transitu until all arrearages
have been cleared off and probably some
heavy fines exacted. A case of this sort
has just occurred in Stutgart. The for
tund left by Hacklander, the well known
publisher and author wfio rpepntly tjieil
in that city, is said to be one out of all
proportion to the amount he was in the
habit of returning for assessment to the
income tax, and all the property be
queathed by him to his family has been
seized by tfie oncers of the revenue
pending satisfaction of the claims of the
crown'. His house |*as been temporarily
confiscated, his balance at his'banker’s
attached, aud even an embargo laid on
tho original manuscript of the Roman
Mines Lebens. Whether Hacklander
really did defraud the Government re
mains yet to be proved—it is on suspi
cion that these steps have been taken,
and we are not surprised to learn that
the abthor’s laihily Uaye appealecf to the
King of Wurtemburg to put a stop to
these apparently arbitrary and, as they
probably think, unnecessary proceed
ings. j
• TpBKEY liOBBLKU HTRUTTINU.”
The Origin of the Blalne-Conkling luplean
[From a Debate in the Uoo.se in lses.j
Mr. Oonkting desired to add that no
commission, paper or authority what
ever was issued to him, except the letter
of retainer which had been read. If the
member from Maine had the least idea
how profoundly indifferent to him his
opinion wab on the subject he bad been
discussing, of on other'kafliect, he
thought'no wogjij tho tron
ble to express it. He apologized to thb
Honse for the length of time he had oc
copied in consequence of beiug diawn
into the matter by au interruption which
he had before denounced to be ungen
tlemanly and impertinent, and having
nothing whatever to do with the matter.
Mr. Elaine said he knew that this was
what they called down East “ rnnning
emptyings.” The gentleman from New
York could not get off on the technical
pretense that he did not hold a commis
sion as j ndge advocate. Many an officer |
had ledi a brigade-, a division or a corps |
with p ore of a commission than snch |
a one as the gentleman from sew Y6rk i
held. As 1 to the 'gdntl6mari;a cruel'sar- j
casm, Mr. RlainP Continued ft hope 1
fie will let file edcape his disdain. ’ His I
lordly pmuOfifr, ‘ }}js grandiloquent j
swell, hik'lmajesfic o^toweripg. 7 his:
tarfcey-gftbbjer' strutting fffjve bete so
crnohiag to raygplf, B n fl IP #4 members
of the Honse, that I knew it was ap set |
of the grossest temerity on my part to |
ventnre on provoking them. But I know
who was responsible for it all. I know
that tut the last five weeks an extra |
stmt has seised the geptlem a P- I 1 is 1
net bis fault, it is the fault of another, j
That gifted and satirical man Theodore
Tilton, of the New York Independent,
was over here spending some weeks and {
writing home letters, in which, among
seme serious things, he put some jocose
things; among the arnelpat of which was
that the mantle : of tfie late Wiatoa.Davis j
bad fallen uppp the"memßferfrom {few!
York. He (Conkling/ took ft as serious, j
and has sinee strutted mote, than usual: i
Well, the reßemblanoe is great. As
striking as Hyperion to a Satyr, Ther
sites to Hercnles, mad to marble, a dung
hill to a diamond, a singed cat to a Ben
gat tig pt, a whining poppy to a roaring
lion, SbadS'td the J>avis, for-1
give the almost profanation nf that. t° ,
cose satire. _ 11 J
It is estimated that the personal gifts
Pins IX has received since he became
Pope amount to upward of $130,000,000,
exclusive of the ipany millions known as
Peter’s Pence.
CONKUSd’S VICTORY.
“GATH’S” REVIEW OP THE SITUA
TION.
What it Was All Absat and What the Result
Menus—A Battle far the Senatorial Pre
rogative The Sources at Csnkllna’s
Strength Autoug His Associates and In the
Party.
Washington, December 13 —The in
teresting news here is political, not ma
terial. Rising above the silver dollar,
anti-resnmption, female suffrage, and
even above sectionalism, is the game of
ambition and leadership. Rosooe Conk
ling has pat himself not only at the
bead of the Republican party, but he
has oarried a large section of the Demo
cratic aide, and confronts the President,
only two or throe months after the Ro
chester Convention, as his equal, if not
his master. This victory is due to only
one main principle—the dislike of both
parties to Hayes’ reforming party-con
trol-of the patronage. That touches the
Democrats, confident of an early nation
al victory, as well as the Republicans,
balked in the spoils of the present, after
cheating for them. Under the surface
politicians of the same rank agree with
each other aoross party lines. You will
st e old Isham G. Harris, the insurgent
Governor of Tennessee, eraoking anec
dotes with a pairof carpet-bag Senators;
Thurman and Edmunds taking snuff out
of the same box, and Conkling and Ker
nau cheek by jowl. They belong, in
one sense, to a Senate ; in another, to
a elub. They respect eaob other's
rapacity and have a golden rule abont
the patronage : “ Whatsoever ye would
that yonr President should do uuto
you, do ye also unto their President for
tho Republicans.” In short, the Dem
ocrats have made up their minds not to
adopt Hayes ; to stand clear of him bat
respectful, and to extend some aid and
comfort to their Senatorial opponents.
Conkling has always respected an op
ponent, but not an insurgent. He aots
in politios as obivalrio generals do in
battle—sends presents and compliments
to the enemy, but menaces defection in
the camp. His mind and energies are
strongest where he is embittered, and
in this trial be has been as diplomatic
and warlike as Francis I, whom, among
others, he resembles. When he was at
war with Charles V,. Franois allowed
that Emperor to cross through France
with a safeguard to put down his in
surgent Flemings. Holding himself
lofty, and of visibly fine intellect, noth
ing pleases like Conkling’s condescen
sion to a Democrat. He lias had great
power and could so often oblige the
minority, and did so, that they exclaim :
“ Well, if it’s a tight of Evarts to get
Conkling’s seat, we prefer Conkling !”
There has never been, to my view, a
more artistio pieoe of work than Oouk
ling’s speech against Butler, of South
Carolina, made at the critical period of
his New York confirmations. There he
stood, with his patronage imperilled by
every word he spoke, yet speaking with
his best partisau effectiveness. Specta
tors and reporters said: “He has in
censed the South as well as Patterson
and Conover; now the Democrats will
give his ‘appointments’ fits.” But in
the splendid piloting of that speeeh he
gave the enemy his broadside, passed
the bar without scraping, stood off and
saluted, and all said: “There’s a sailor.”
His own party were brougbt together
by fear and admiration; the Demoorats
rather respected his pluck and couldn’t
impugn his language.
Mare than thirty years ago Henry
Clay, in the nobility of his faculties, un
dertook to bridle a President, but be
never could get the Democrats to help
him do it. Clay lacked the dear, witful,
educated intellect of Conkling; the pub
lic man has advanced sinee the days of
Clay. Clay was swelling and indis
criminate aud attacked too much. It
seems to me that the United States Sen
ate of the present has a higher average
than ever in its histoiy. The return of
the Southerners has brought a social
tone; they respect to the
wary but experirced leaders of that
other great party, whose oouuoils have
tamed Presidents aud humbled generals
and foreign States. This Senate is full
of Governors, judges, great lawyers and
military commanders; look there at Gor
don, Ransom, Morgan, Maxey, Withers,
Cockrell, Oglesby, Burnside. They
have seon such armies meet uh
Napoleon found Dukes and Mar
shals in. Look at Kirkwood, Hur
ris, Randolph, Saunders, Harlan,
Booth and Garland, who ruled great
States as Executives or organisers. And
in the law are Judges like Davis, ohton,
Christiancy, Merrimon and Thurman
and advocates like Edmunds, Matthews,
Hoar, Conkling and Hill. The infusion
of the military has given the tone of
honor; of Governors a knowledge of the
populace, and of the lawyers talent. I
very much doubt whether in this Senate
Calhoun would not be a dreamer, Clay a
swashbuckler and Weflstpr a I'hPtorori
ciafl. SnoU a Senate is not dagaied by
Executive powGr uor moved from its
sense of privilege by the accidental
benefioiary of a Presidential electiou.
To enter there Secretary Evarts would
gladly lay down his portfolio; to resume
his seat there, Carl Schurz would, if he
was able, execute a handspring all the
way from the Patent Office to the Capi
tol. Without discussing soy propriety
in the Senate’s attitude, I observe that
it is full of Senatorial spirit. The Ne
uitiau Counoil that tamed the Doges is
revived here, and rank and patronage
always stand together,
Conkling is not t|ie lpafler of the Sen
ate, but EdPßurids, who is, does notrep
rpseut a large State where the offices are
influential. The occasion, therefore,
bringi Conkling forward and makes lflte
the embodiment qf the spirit of the Sen
ate. He puts tflis question : ‘.‘.Shall a
President >yhq professes to maintain
oiyil service rules, turn out my Collector
and Naval Officer without *akiug
obargi s against them ami before their
terms hate expired?” With a timely
finesse, Conkling aocepts the nomina
tion of Merritt to be Surveyor and thus
appeases the Fenton influence. He
points the Senate to the fact that the
day after Hayes was petitioned by all
the New York delegation to retain Ar
thur and Cornell, he sent back other
names, without reply, aufl tfoe Sec
retary of the 'f'r pas-pry treated an inquiry
of his committee with soaut courtesy.
The strength of Arthur, too, with the
merchants autl public of New York, is
greater than Roosevelt or any other man.
He is backed up by E. D. Morgan, who
is a formidable merchant and politician,
too. Then, behind everything, is a gen
eraj sense of dislifto to Krafts ip ibe Sen
ate, and a belief that he would be bpyo
critically using the same patronage to
get admission to the Senate. The de
feat, indeed, is of Evarts, not Hayes,
and it sounds the first hell for the down
fall of the Cabinet.
The ruling elements of fjqnkiing are
sense, camwetitjoji (ndignation. He
is always greatest in a minority, fight
ing upwards.' Rebind an indifferent ex
terior is a knightly heart. Captured by
a touch of nature he becomes an ally;
crowded in the name of au obligation be
bristles with hostility. Gallant to wo
men, regardful of young men. unholy in
his pride, overbearing in battle —be
stands alone, game of the Senate.
His priyate iiptyers are all hfiadsfl with a
shiejd of thyee prows, *ue urpst a cock,
and underneath I‘vigilanset audax.”
TilK “ I>IFAANI'III*EMKNT HIKE’S
NEST.
Senator Illll’n Opinion of the f4t|er ljtl|>
11 New‘York “ 'Wjjrtd.p
Allusion made iq the Cfl
and Constitutionalist,' of yt sp-rclay, to
a letter written fruro Atlanta fo the New
York World about the tax qualification
for voters iu the new Constitution, reu
ator B. H. Hill’s attention was called to
this article Thursday night by a reporter
of the Atlanta Constitution :
Senator Hill replied: "It is all bosh
—miserable bosh. There is not a word
of troth in it. It is a gross error, per
haps unintentionally made. No one is
disfranchised by the new Constitution,
The right of suffrage is 'conceded to
every man entitlcid Under the laws to
tbe exercise of that right. No la#s of
the ynitfed BtateS is trespassed upon
and iff no wiad c;a'n tfte bg plaped
fn the’ position ussumecj as possible in
that'article. The requirements of the
Constitution are simply regulations of
the fight, kd far as 1 its exercise by the
4'Vf) ) The RUtp flas the
power, pJfßb M inflispHtshle, to rpgq
iate the e*erpie oi tbs conceded right
atnl no one cau be Disfranchised except
by bis own act. The State does net dis
franchise any one. As well might it be
said that the requirement that a voter
shall exercise the right of suffrage in
the county, in which he lives, and then
only after u certain term of reuidenoe in
the V*unty is a disfranabisement. Bat
it is no such thing. It is one of the
necessary regulations to preserve the
purity and honesty of the flallot. The
State, says 'its-citizens i,shall pay their
taxes as a recompense for the protective
autbor.ty au4 ihenencient operations of
good goyertfjfcefit. Eyery cifci-pn' thould
disebarge hisfluty to the at4te and'**
is not a worthy citizen if he does not.
The State says payment of taxes is one
of the requisite* to entitle her citizens
to participation in the governmental or
ganization. This she has a clear right
to do and tbe failure to accept the rignt
upon ii-eau torßs ig-flot the . act of the
State hut the tntiaou. himseu.ii i
- gentleman, reprimanding his little
son, was surprised to hear the youngster
observe : "Father, remarks are nn
neceesary.”
A MILE OF J)ANCING FIRE.
THE TOWN OF PATERSON COURS
ED THROUGH BY A RIVER OF
BURNING PETROLEUM.
(HI Tasks Broken by a Collision Sending
Their Blazing Contemn Down the Pamisic
[Xeio York H’onci.]
One of tbe most remarkable confla
grations on record was that which, as
noticed in a dispatch in yesterday's
World, ooourred in Paterson Monday
evening. During two hours iu the early
part of the night a lino of fire a mile in
length and twenty feet high cut the
town in halves, bringing tbe people of
Passaio out of their houses in alarm,
and illnminating the oountry round
about to tbe furthest hills of Preakness.
And yet, strangely enough, there was
no loss of life, and the damage done to
property was only trifling.
Between 7 and 8 o’clock an oil train
eastward bonnd on the Erie track broke
a coupling and lost four cars, including
the “caboose,” which always goes along
in the rear of freight. The acoident oc
curred abont half a mile below the sta
tion, near the Eagle Brewery. At this
point tbe track, which runs along an
embankment about ten feet high, be
gins to take an up grade. Accordingly
when the coupling broke the detached
oars rolled backward down tbe incline,
tbe oaboose, reversing its position sud
denly, taking the lead, with three oars,
supporting iron tanks full of petroleum
oil, following. From a point a little
further below, abont whore Straight
street crosses, the track stops its down
grade ftom the station and immediately
begins another up grade towards tbe
west; so that abont here is the lowest
part of a hollow and naturally tbe veiy
worst plaoe for a oollisiou to occur. It
was precisely here that ou Monday
night a collision did oconr. As the oil
oars, preceded by the caboose, rolled
downward with constantly accelerated
motion ou one side, a heavy freight lo
oomotive, which had been following tbe
oil train, earne thundering along the
other. The man who was in the ca
boose leaped for his life, and in anoth
er instant came the collision. The ca
boose was lifted olean over tho top of
the smoke staok of the locomotive and
left standing on end on top of the boil
er, while the looomotive, still retaining
its momentum, dashed into tbe oar fol
lowing, overturned it and ripped an im
meDse hole iu the iron tank, through
' which the oil poured forth in streams.
Immediately a sheet of flame leaped
high in the air. How it was set is not
known; probably it caught from a blaz
ing journal. The engineer fortunately
was able to back his looomotive away
from the wreck and run the train of ooal
oars which he was drawing to a safe dis
tance from tbe flames.
The track where the oollisiou occurred
was wreuohed out of shape and oue or
two rails were torn up. One of the
tanks was thrown down the embank
ment on the side towards the town. A
little house standing just under the track
was deluged with the blazing oil and
broke into flames in an instant. The
good wife was about stepping into bed,
having just drawn up the shades on the
windows to admit the moonlight. The
house was wood, and the family had
barely time to run out and no time to
save any of their household goods, so
quiek was its destruction. The tank
continued to vomit forth oil, which rau
down and collected in a blazing pool in
a hollow right in front of the culvert
running under tho track at the point
where the oars had toppled over. This
hollow was a partially opened sewer,
which led into a brook rnnning away
underground to tho Passaic. The fire
oompanies eame running promptly, and
people seemed to rise out of the ground
so rapidly did the crowd gather. Within
a few minutes there were 5,000 people
collected about the blaziug tank. All at
onoe there was a cry of wonder. From
a pqint 50 feet away, across the road to
wards the town, a sudden flame leaped
up as it seemed out of the bowels of the
earth. It did not stop in one place, but
ran ou through tho lots in the direction
of the houses. As it approaobed the
first bouse it took hold greedily, setting
it ablaze iu an instant, and then ran on
in the direction of the River Btreet
Bridge. It passed straight through a
number of back yards, wrapping itself
around trees and outhouses, until there
was a continuous line of fire, in some
places where it caught dry material leap
ing a hundred feet into the air, one hun
dred yards away to River street. There
it suddenly ceased, seemingly thwarted
in any fufther progress by an embank
ment along which the street -Was laid.
But in a moment out it started again
from the other side of River street. It
rati along through the bare lots lying
between River street and the river,
eatching a honse and barn on its way
until it met the Passaio about one hun
dred feet above the bridge, It did not
stop there, but hugging tbe right bank
of the river passed under the bridge and
ran along the water, leaping high np to
oatoh the trees and the loDg, dry grass
which overhung the stream, in thedireo
tion of the gas works.
Never was a stranger sjght. At 8
o’clock a broad ribbon of the Passaio,
which an hour before was flowing on
properly in its shadows, was on fire for
a mile along through tho town. Night
was ohanged into day. The fields along
the sides of Dean’s Hill, o' r ‘, the other
side of the railroafl, were blaok with
people. Tho windows of all the houses
were thrown wide open and the whole
interiors were displayed. Above, where
lay the thick of the town, the blaze
shone back from tbs Copies an j tf lQ
high buildings if these too were all
on fire. fltpon the hill where the sol
diers’ monument stands people could i e
seen plainly more than a mile away, qfcl
those who were there say they could
read the finest print with ease by the
light of the burning oil.
When it was discovered that the oil
was running through tho sewer into tbe
brook aud so ou far down the bosom of
tbe river, attempts were made to dam
up the stream where it escaped uuder
the first road. It is fortunate probably
that these attempts were not successful.
If the oil had collected \ih. e F e it first
escaped, or i; had spread out in the
vioipity' there must have been great
damage. As it was, it took the most
harmless course possible. The brook
where it was open ran for the most part
through large yards and field? and along
tbe bank of the river, as far as
the gas works, is lined with a high wall
of stone, there was little to burn.
By the time the gas works were reached
the flames were pretty nearly expended.
The wooden docks there were soorohed
and that was all.
At 8:30 came tho climax of the fire.
A second oil tank had lain exposed to
tbe intense beat, and had some time
previously given signs of exploding.
According to an eye witness who was
standing near it, the thick iron compos
ing the tank was so affected by the heat
that it rose and fell in, bubbles, like tbe
skin op thq top of a baking podding.
Tbe people singularly enough seemed to
have no thought or fear of the oonse
qneuces of an explosion, and were
crowffed about the spot where the tanks
lay iu startling proximity. At length it
eame with a detonation tike that of near
, thqnfler, Tfle tank vanished, and in its
place appeared a vast ball of liquid fire,
' which to tho imaginations of those who.
saw it appeared to. pulsate for the part
of an instant and tbeiji, burst forth in
sublime wrajjh. A globe of solid Are,
ever increasing, rofled upwards to an
incredible height, consuming tfle thick
clouds of smoke and sending forth a
fierce heat that blistered the paint on
honses hundreds of yards away. Then
came a rush. The nth°l e mass of peo
ple, bflnded fly tfle intense light and
feeling iheir lungs scorched with the
air they breathed, broke into flight.
There were many women in the crowd
who fell and were trampled under foot.
It is a marvel that none were killed.
Their protection, undoubtedly, was the
extent of tbe open space abont the
scene of the explosion and which ad
mitted of tbe qnick separation of tbe
crowd. As it was there were brnisea and
broken bones, and notbiDg worse.
TDF OHIO HENATORHHIP.
Uenlleman (Jeorae’n I'bani es B(ea<|il f ■ Ifß*
proving,
OoLpMpos, December 20. —Quite a
number of political gentlemen here
abouts express the opinion that Pendle
ton will fle nominated on the first ballot,
and that if hp is not chosen on the first
he will surely catch the nomination on
the second °t third ballot, So far as
can be seen there appears to be a move
ment of certain elements in his favor,
gome who have heretofore had other fa
vorites going over to him simply because
tbe popular mind appears to be setting
in that direction, and they want to be on
the winning side. These persons affect
to believe that the fight will be short,
sharp and decisive. Others do not see
it in that light, and say that if Pendle
ton is not successful on the first or sec
ond ballot &is doom is sealed ; his fol
lowing Will-begin to dwindle away, and
fortune will 'favor some great unknown.
. .1 "-*• '
"Andrews' haznr “puts the fashion
centres of Europe 'undeJr contribution
for the tasteful oostumes which appear
in its columns. No lady who desires to
dress well oan afford to be without it,
IU low price of subscription is far from
corresponding with its high standard of
excellence. Published by W. fl. An
drews, Cincinnati, at ope dollar per
Annum.
_ .
Tbe latest style in women’s hate is the
“Cinqne Mars.” It would probably
iflk Pali? to pay for one.
SOUTH CAROLINA.
PALMETTO NEWS LEAVES.
The last of the Federal troops have
left Columbia.
Tbe fruit-tree peddler is stumping the
State at present.
The Legislature adjourns to day for
nearly a month’s interim.
Mr. Jnlins Day, near Pine Honse,
lost his gin house last week.
Greenville bought five hundred and
fifty bales of cotton Tuesday.
Persimmon hunting is becoming tbe
fashionable amusement in Abbeville.
Columbia invalids carry Irish pota
toes in their pockets to cure rheuma
tism.
Mr. Stephen Latimer lost his gin
house by fire recently in Abbeville
oounty.
The Rev. Mr. Hnndley will preach
his first sermon in Edgefield on the first
Sunday in January.
The Colombia Register thinks that
there’ll be no division of tbe Democratic
party in Booth Carolina.
The officers of the Butler Rifleman,
at Hodges, treated their men to a splen
did punoh last Friday week.
The Edgefield Advertiser thinks that
the President has certainly treated
Judge Northrop most shabbily.
The Edgefield Advertiser propoaes
Mr. Elijah Keese for the Paris Exposi
tion Commission from Carolina.
Mr. A. W. Lynch will continue in
charge of the Johnston Male and Fe
male High School for the coming year.
The press of the State seem to be
down upon the usury law, whoso only
virtue seems to be that it is u "popular
measure.”
Tbe Columbia Register oalls atteution
to the faot that there is a large amount
of property in the State virtually reliev
ed from taxatiou.
Major Lee, of Asheville, N. C., was
married to Mrs. Lee, of Abbeville coun
ty last week. The groom was eighty two
and the bride fifty-seven.
A meeting of tbe directors and stock
holders of tbe Groenwood and Angnsta
Railroad will he held at the stockade on
Thursday, 27th January next.
Two daring youths near Abbeville
waylaid an old colored man the other
day, and would have robbed him, but
the old fellow bad spent all of hia
money.
The Jndioiary Committee of the Sen
ate have reported unfavorably on a bill
to transfer a portion of Edgefield coun
ty to Newberry, and the Senate adopted
the report.
The ladies of the Confederate Home
in Charleston have seoured from Eng
land a number of useful and ornamen
tal artioles of Chinn, ou which there is
a finely executed likeness of Governor
Wade Hampton.
The Abbeville Banner thinks that the
fair structure of onr State ednostion,
with its solid foundation in the common
schools, and its strong oolnmua in the
colleges aud high sehools requires ns its
orowning oapital a great, froe and flour
ishing University.
York will change her fence law.
Only seven per oent. interest now.
York seems infested with robber*.
Belton will have a tilt on the 271 b.
Barnwell now has a billiard rhlood.
Chester shipped 2,062 bales of ootton
last month,
Tbe artesian well has struck water in
Charleston.
Lancaster is rapidly buying np Ten
nessee hogs.
Townville has anew Baptist Church
and a grog shop.
Newberry farmers arc backward in
sewiug small grain.
Wm. Blum Dingle, Esq., Sheriff of
Richland, is dead.
Blaokville don't think much of the
County Court system.
The Aiken Hussars have a graud hall
on New Year’s night.
Congressmen Evins and Aiken are at
home for the holidays.
Greenville wants a Government Court
House and post office.
Two brothers are running for tho
Legislature iu Newberry.
Tbe Chester Reporter does not th<nk
that Patterson will resign,
A Charleston brig recently oarried out
521 bales of cotton to Spain.
The Sumter Watchman considers the
usury bill a relio of barbarism.
They are agitating iu Charleston tbe
subject of a paid fire department.
Tho Aiken Courier-Journal is satisfied
with the workings of the Legislature.
Dr. Reynolds died of neuralgia of tbe
heart, Wednesday morning, in Green
ville.
Dr. Jameß M. Sloan, of Walhalla, and
Mr. James Allen, of Lowndesville, aro
dead.
Rabk. P. Hemphill, Esq., of the Ab
beville Medium, becomes Brigadier-
General.
The Newberry herald opposes the
establishment of a State University at
this time.
The Carolina darkey finds himself
celebrating Christmas with somebody
else’s hog.
It is thought that tbe Sumter ootton
factory will soon be established on
paying basis. i
The time for payment of taxes with-1
ont penalty and oost has been extended
until January Ist
The House has passed a bill requiring
all executions of tbe death peualty to
he Imposed privately.
Col. D. Wyatt Aiken thinks that Car
olina oould easily grow all the tea con
sumed by the United States.
Mr, Milton Gambrille, of Audersori
county, had a difficulty with a colored
tenant the other day, in whioh the latter
was shot.
The Charleston News proposes to Mr.
Baldwin, the newly appointed Collector,
a thorough reorganization of the Cus
tom Honse.
The new fenoe law in Chester county
will go into effect ou the first of tbe
year, but as yet little preparation has
been made for it.
Col. James McCuteheon, the Demo
cratic nominee for tbe State Henato, has
been elected to succeed Swails from
Williamsburg oounty.
Rose Moore, an aged negri/ss of 101
years, died recently in York vide. She
was not iu speaking acquaintance with
any of the revolutionary heroes save
Lord Cornwallis.
While a party of gentlemen were
amusing themsnlves horse racing in Or
angeburg a few days ago, one of them,
Mr. R. M. RobitiHon, was thrown from
his horse and killed.
It is currently rumored and believed
that tbe appoin tment of Major-General
of all the mil) Via forces of tho State has
been tendered to Captain Henry L.
Maysou, of Beech Island.
Mr. William A. Boyle, of Charlestou
county, has been appointed by tbe Gov
ernor Inspector-General of the First
Brigade, First Division, Volunteer State
Troops, with the rank of Major.
jv/dge Mackey and Mr. G. W. Curtis
have been elected delegates from the
Palmetto Association to the National
Convention of the Mexican War Vet
erans to be held at Washington.
The State Superintendent of Educa
tion will at onoe issue a circular to tho
School Commissioners of the several
counties directing them to open the
pnblic schools as soon as possible.
The Charleston News says : “In tho
elootiou to-day for members of the Gen
eral Assembly, to fill the vacancy occa
sioned bv the resignation of Gon. Walk
er, R. W. Shand, Esq., the regular
Deiuociakio nominee, wan elected over
the Independent candidate by a hand
some majority.”
Berry Harlen, a very respectable col
ored man, aged 115 year*, died on Dr.
Little’s plantation last week. He had
been a member of the Baptist Church
for one hundred years, and hail always
remained faithful to the church of his
white friends, which he regnlarly at
tended. CaroKna Spartan,
On the day of adjournment of the
Carolina Legislature the following bills
were introduced ; To establish a mar
riage license law in Sontn Carolina; bill
to incorporate the Port Royal Lime and
Warehouse Company; bill to alter and
amend the school law of South Carolina;
bill to reeharter the Newberry College
and Evangelical Synod of South Caro
lina and adjacent States.
Ueeernl Twl*V> Mw^nU.
[ Vorrespofidenct: iMu'utxnUe Courier-Journal, j
In traversing the Treasury Depart
ment the three swords presented Gen
eral Twiggs by tbe State of Texas, tbe
oitisens of Augusta and tbe United
States Congress for gallantry in the
Mexican war, were ahown me. They are
ornamented with diamonds, amethysts,
pearls, and riohly ebased, and are val
ued, intrinsically, at $35,000. I asked
how they oame there, and learned that
they were taken from a bank vanlt in
New Orleans by General Bntler, and
forwarded to the Government. I am
told the heirs of the veteran soldier have
made no iffort to recover them, bnt
sorely, with a sense of returning justice,
these tributes to the valor of a great
soldier will not be withheld from those
who pride themselves in the memory of
his gallant deeds.
Yon Can Have Money
By using Doo|ey;s i'east Powfler, for
less butter,‘florir, eggs, etc., are rerinirod
to accomplish satisfactory results. ’ This
is not a needless hap-hazard Statement,
bnt a faot verified by the experience of
many thousand' families. Try if and
prove the claim. ‘
Opium eating is qnite common in At
lante.
Tbe President and Mrs. Hayes cele
brate their silver wedding daring the
Christmas holidays.