The Weekly chronicle & constitutionalist. (Augusta, Ga.) 1877-188?, March 28, 1883, Image 1

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W<cddi]<Cl)rnnidt & titntion alist »-l CONSOLIDATED MAUCH 17,1877. THE CAMPAIGN. WHAT MAJOR BACON SAYS ABOUT HIS POSITION. The Charge That He Old Not Give Gov. Stephenx a Cordial Support—He De clarer it is Altogether Unfounded. (Telegraph and Mom eng er.) While upon the grand rounds yesterday we dropped into Major Bacon’s office where we found him busily engaged. “I am glad you have come in, ’ eaid he, ••as I have something to say. I am in a position now where the public have a right to hear from me, and the time is too short for speech-making. It is due to the public, nevertheless, as well as to myself, that I should speak for myself.” We assured him that we would willing ly be the medium of his communication, and he continued : ' “I learn through letters received from friends in various sections of the State, by a very persistent and diligent effort is being made te array against me the friends of Gov. Stephens, as well as the tender senUment naturally excited by - -Mtf’death, with the charge, directly made or insinuated, that in my present candi dacy, 1 am seeking directly or indirectly to reflect upon the memory of Governor Stephens. There never was a charge more utterly unfounded and unjust. So far from its being true, it has been my most earnest wish, expressed upon all proper occasions, that no word should be spoken concerning him that could possibly offend or wound his most sensative friend. No such word has been uttered by me. My d'-sire was and is to make the present con test without any reference to last year’s contest, further than the present one might bo affected by the fact that I was one of the opposing candidates in such former contest and then yielded to the will of the majority, and in good faith, from the very beginning, supported the nominee to the be*t of my ability.” "I suppose you have seen that it is charged that yon did not give Gov. Ste phens a cordial support?” "Yes, of course I have, and I am coming to that. That charge is as unfounded as the formet one, as I am satisfied I can show to all fair minded and unprejudiced men. Upon the day of the nomination in last July, in the moment of defeat, with all its disappointment, I voluntarily and openly announced in Atlanta, to my friends and the friends of Mr. Stephens, that I would give to him my unqualified support. There are men of prominence in the State who then supported Mr. Stephens who will read what I now say, and who will remem ber those declarations then openly made by me.” “But I did not stop there. A short time after the nomination of Gov. Stephens I went North. I myself needed rest and re cuperation, as I was worn, in no small de gree, by the fatigues and anxiet’es of a most arduous campaign. My principal ob ject, however, was to be with my children, who were absent from home—one of whom after a protracted illness of nearly half a year, was aannvalid and had been recom mended by my family physician to travel - -ar the North uuring the summer months. At the time of my leaving, about the Ist of August, the party in the State was to a large extent inharmonious; and, knowing that fact, I took occasion before leaving the State to address to a public meeting in my own county a letter in which I again, but in a more formal manner, announced my unqualified support of Mr. Stephens. That letter wtu by my direction published at that time in the press of the State. I did not intend that my friends should be in doubt as to my position, or that my enemies should have the shadow of an e x euse to misrepresent it. “But the main charge which is pressed against me, in this connection, is that when invited by the Executive Committee to make speeches for Mr. Stephens, I failed to doso;and I wish now to give the history of such invitation and my action in response to it. Upon my return to the State I was anxious to contribute what I could to har monize the entire party in support of Mr. Stephens, and I felt that as the representa tive of tbe portion of the party which had opposed his nomination, there was a re sponsibility on me to make an effort in that direction. I had not then been invited to take any part io the canvass, and the invi tation which I subsequently received and which was published, was solicited by my self. With the desire to do what I could under the circumstances, I express ed my wish to a friend, and stat ed that if requested to assist, I would respond either by a speech or a s public letter, and requested him to sug gest to the chairman of the Executive Com mittee that he should extend the invita >■ tlon to me. I said to my friend then that the time was short, and I believed the public letter would do the most good. The ) friend by wbom that request was conveyed <. is Senator Pope Barrow. It is due to the 3 chairman of the Executive Committee to r state that when this request was made to him by Mr. Barrow, he said that it but an ticipated the invitation which he had in- I tended to extend to me. In response to r e invitation thus procured, I wrote atl letter a column or more in length, in which I endeavored to the very best of my ability to set out the reason why I thought all Democrats in the btate should give an earnest and united support to Mr. Ste phens. That letter was published in all the leading papers in the State, and was read by thousands, where the speeches I could have made would have been heard by comparatively few, “I am willing by these facts to be judged whether the charge is true that I failed to give to Mr. Stephens my cordial support. I announced my support of him from the beginning, and never wavered for an in stant in continning to the end, when I cast my vote for him. “There is one other matter upon which I wish to say something. Prejudice is sought to be excited against me by tbe charge that my candidacy was announced too soon after the death of the Governor. The facts are these: I re ceived from Governor Boynton, on Sun day, two telegrams requesting me to go to*Atlantato confer as to the State’s in terest, one of them calling me there on Monday. I did not go until Monday night, so as to be there on Tuesday morn ing. I was very much surprised that morning to find m the Atlanta Constitution a dispatch dated from Macon to the effect that I had publicly declared my candidacy. That dispatch was sent and published without my authority, knowledge or con sent I have no doubt the author of it did so in good faith upon the basis es street rumor: for whatever I may have said to I my friends and in response to their in quiries, I certainly designed no public an | nounoement at that time, and would have preferred that it should not have been I made for a week later. During that day I I was called on at my hotel in Atlanta by a reporter nf the Constitution with the I statement that the proprietors and edi- I tors of the paper (naming them) had I sent him to me with the request I that I would state to him for pub- I lication what my intentions were with I reference to being a candidate in the ap- I proaching contest. I did not at first com- I ply, and it was not until his third visit to I me that I consented for anything to ap- B pear.- I was then controlled by the advice ■ of friends, who said that as the dispatch H from Macon had been published, and as other Htatements would appear in otber papers with or without authority, it would be better if my intentions should be defi nitely stated by myself. The interview was certainly not sought by me. At that time the Executive Committee had been called together, and the pipers were laden with a:tic!es and dispatches about other parties who were then prospective candi drtes. •T have sought no personal controversy or antagonism in tbe contest. I feel con scious of having done my whole duty in yielding to the decision of the majority upon the former occasicn, and in assisting to carry out its command; and having en tered this contest, I will again, in the same spirit as before, submit myself to the will of tbe people, as expressed through the convention.” A FLORIDA COLONY. The Plan of an English Company to Supply Homes—A Sale Effected of Forty Thousand Acres on which Houses will be built for European and Other Emigrants. (From the Philadelphia Press, March 14.) The great sale of Florida lands, < fleeted by A. B. Linderman during his recent trip to London to a syndicate in that city, was consummated yesterday. Mr. Linderman paid over to the Florida Land an d_lm pre ve in ent Company the balance of $25,000, by draft on a leading London banker, for 49.- COO acres of land in Orange County. This sale was really effected last winter, and the action yesterday was a formal completion of the contract of the London syndicate, which is composed of leading capitalists of Great Britain, seme of wbom are members of the peerage. The corporation name under which the syndi cate will in future act is the Florida Agri cultural Company of London (limited), which has been charted by act of the Eng lish Parliament. The general manager of the company is A. B. Linderman, ot this city, who has been since bis return from London actively engaged in developing the interests of the new company. To this eud he has obtained from the Florida Legislature a charter for a steamship com pany, whose steamers will run between Liverpool and Fernandina. On all the land of tho company fruits of all kinds, sugar, rice, cotton and early vegetables for the Northern market will be grown. It is thought the settler will be able to earn a good living during his first year’s residence Owing to the improve ments made by the company, Mr. Linder man has already on the ground the "first settler” in the shape of a sawmill. The cutting of lumber, the erection of dwell ings and the clearing of the land will be immediately commenced. The plan of the company to effect a col onization of their lands is comprehensive and rather unique. Tbe whole tract will be divided by General Manager Linder man into twenty acre farms, upon which a frame dwelling house wiil be erected. At least two acres on tach tract will be cleared by the company. The farms will be sold to emigrants at SSOO each, which will in clude all improvements made by the com pany. The payment may be made in easy annual instalments, which will place the farms or “Florida Homes,” as Mr. Linder man calls them, within the reach of the poorest peasant of Ireland or Italy. In order to bring this plan before the peas antry of Europe, Mr. Linderman will visit Ireland, England and several continental conn trie" this spring. A strong effort wiil be made to induce Italian emigration, for the purpose of introducing in Florida the growth of the silk worm. It is well known that the mulberry tree flourishes in that State better than almost anywhere else, and it is the intention of the company to make a thorough attempt to develop silk culture on an extensive scale. One teature of the colony deserves men tion. The company will furnish for the use of the colonists at once a library, and a lecture hall will be erected, where the people will be enabled, by the liberality cf the managers, to listen to discourses on l sul jects which will be useful to them in their everyday life as agriculturists. Al ready Mr. Linderman has had numerous applications from persons desiring to buy these Florida homes, from Nova Scotia. C -.nada and the Northwestern States. It is hoped that from five hundred to one thousand families will be domiciled on the company’s lands within a year. Post Office Points. If you cut this out and stick it in your memorandum bcok you will find it con venient for reference, and be spared the trouble and expense of writing letters of inquiry to the newspapers. On and after October 1, 1883, letter postage will be 2 cents for each half ounce or fractional part thereof between all points in the United States. The rate will then be the same on drop letters and all others. No changes have been made in rates on other classes of matter. On and after the Ist of July, 1883. you can obtain at any money order office postal notes in sums of $5 and under by paying a fee of 3 cents. These postal notes will be made payable to bearer without corre sponding advices. They will be payable at any money order office within three months of the date of issue. After the lapse of that time the holder can obtain the par value only by applying to the Pint-office Department at Washington. On and after the Ist of July, 1883, you can obtain a postal money order for as large a sum as SIOO. The present limit is SSO. The feesen and after that date for orders will be as follows: Net exceeding $lO Scents. From $lO fe sls 10 “ From sls to S3O 15 “ From $33 to S4O 20 “ From S4O to SSO 25 “ From SSO to $69 30 “ From S6O to S7O 35 “ From S7O to SBO 49 “ From SB9 to sloo* 45 “ The postal notes will, no doubt, be found more convenient in one respect than the fractional paper currency was, since they can be obtained for any num ber of cents under $5. There will also be less liability to loss by theft than there was when fractional notes were used for transmission through the mails, especial ly if the department uses judgment in prescribing the size and form of the notes and in selecting the paper on which they are to be printed. On the other hand, they will be less convenient in that they can only be obtained at money order of fices at a considerable sacrifice of time, es pecially in large cities. It will be observed that after the Ist of October the cost of sending any sum under $5 postal note will be 5 cents—2 cents postage and 3 cents fee. RAILWAY MATTERS. Arrangements Made by the Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific. (By Telegraph to the Chronicle.) Cincinnati, March 22.—The Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway Company, lessees of the Cincinnati South ern Railway, have made arrangements whereby their trains, both freight and passenger, will run to Louisville over the Lebanon branch of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. This gives the Cin cinnati Southern control of the shortest route from Louisville to Chattanooga, and all points Sooth and Southeast and makes it the only competitor against the Louis ville and Nashville system. The com pany will open offices in Louisville. PALMETTO STATE. WHAT OUR CAROLINA NEIGHBORS ARE DOING. Free Public ScliooLs—The School Taxes— The Penitentiary—Fish Culture. (Cor. Chronicle and Conetitutionaliet) Columbia, S. C., March 19. —At a recent meeting of the School Commissioners of this city a petition was presented to them asking the use of the academy buildings for the free schools soon to be established. The request was granted, and hereafter the old system of private pay schools will be abolished and the free public schools will be substituted. This arrangement has been made possible by the levy of a special school tax, which was vjted by a conven tion of the people, held not long since. The school fund will be supplemented by an appropriation from the Peabody fund of tl ,260? It is stated that the effect of this arrangement will be to grease the number of white pupils at the schools in the city from 159 to 450 or 500, and in crease the length of the session from three months to nine, and increase tbe number of colored pupils from 400 to 600, and the length of the session from three to nine months. It is generally conceded now that a per feet school system can not be obtained in any country unless it is under government control, and the advocates of the public school system point to the success which has followed the establ shment of all such schools, it is a very difficult matter, how ever, to regulate in the Southern States, and < specially in South Carolina, where the colored population doubles the white, and where the whites pay ninety-nine hundredths of the taxes required to sup port this expensive system. The two mill constitutional school tax raised in 1882, three hundred and thirty-eight thous and five hundred and twenty-six dollars, and the poll tax one hundred and four teen thousand four hundred and thirty eight dollars. making the total taxes collected for school purposes four hundred and fifty-two thousand nine hundred and sixfy-four dollars. The whole number of pupils attending school was one hundred and forty five thousand nine hundred and seventy-four, of which eighty thousand five hundred and seventy five were colored. The negroes contribute tbe very smallest imaginable sum to the school tax, and the great majority escape the payment of the poll, to that the whole burden falls upon tbe white prop erty owners of the State. The education of the masses is almost universally conceded to be the greatest protection to society and the safeguard of property, white it perpetuates good government and sound morals and inculcates religious ten dencies in the community. While this is admitted, there are many who oppose the education of the negro because they do not believe he is benefitted by mental culture. A gentleman said to me that one of the Circuit Judges of the Slate who has been on the bench for some years informed him that he had kept a record of the convictions of colored people in his court, and that five in eveiy six negroes convicted were edu cated. " Those who oppose his education use such facts as these to prove that educa tion only gives him the ability to commit greater crimes. They say that if the ne groes are to be “hewers of wood and draw ers of water,” and they cannot, as a race, be anjthing else, that they are far more competent and of greater value to the State without school training than with it, and they ask if all of them aie to be educated what is to be done with them then ? They leave tbe farms and the work shops and endeavor to secure positions in the cities and towns, where tbe physical labor is lighter and the compensation better. The well known unreliability of the negro, they assert, will exclude him, as a rule, from such positions, and then what is to become of him ? This little learning has led him from the humbler places and the h’gher walks of life are not open to him on account of his color and proverbial immorality. Feeling thus, and conscientiously feeling so, it is not surprising that very many taxpayers are beginning to raise objections to the further payment of a tax that they believe is worse than wasted. Cn the other hand, however, Governor Thompson’s free school record elected him to his exalted position showing a strong and conclusive endorsement of bis course in advocating the education of all classes and col •rs. Timo a’one can tell who is right, but many thinking people are reluctantly screed to the conclusion that so far the result of a large expenditure of public funds for their education has been a dis mal failure. There are many others who admit that the result at present is not en couraging, but they contend that it is due to long years of bondage, the influence of which cannot be eradicated in a single generatiqp, but that with the education of successive generations tbe race will be ele vated morally and religiously, and they will become more intelligent workers and better citizens. Perhaps it is well to continue the experiment and let the future decide a question which is at present involved in so much doubt. It is surprising how hard it is to please the majority of mankind. When the Democrats came into power in | South Carolina they found tbe penitentiary ‘ an enormous burden npon the tax payers ot the State, and it was a serioua matter to determine what disposition should be made of the convicts so as to relieve an impoverished people of such a frightful incubus. All manner of schemes were proposed, and the best brain and ablest talent ia the State were called into requisition to devise some plan t<? jeduce the expenses of the institution. The very best thing that could have been done was done. Aboard of direct: re, composed of practi cal men, and a superior superintendent, were elected and the whole conduct of the institution was left to their good judg ment. Under their magnificent manage ment it has not only been self-sustaining but last year there was expended from its earnings $10,609 for the Columbia canal, $6,000 for buildings for offices, $5,500 in the purchase of land, $2,000 for building barracks, and on October 31st, 1882, had on hand in cash and available as sets $55,084 12. This splendid result has been obtained only by the best and wisest management. Among other means adopted by the directors for the support cf tbe penitentiary was the hiring of convicts to work in a shoe factory established with in the walls of the institution which has yielded a handsome revenue. Many of the convicts engaged in this work are long term men, some life prisoners, who could not be hired outside of the walls. Now some of the papers in the State,' without due consideration, are saying that the shoe makers throughout the State are waging war on the officials of the penitentiary for placing these shoes in the way of the trade. They say that while it is legitimate it is certainly a hardship placed upon the shoulders of honest labor, affecting poor tradesmen to that extent where their busi ness will be ruined if it is continued. I have it from high authority that there is_not a merchant in the State that sells SSOO worth of shoes in a year that does not deal in penitentiary made shoes. This class of convicts are similarly utilized in nearly all the Northern prisons, and the Southern merchants who purchases from Northern jobbing houses patronize convict AUGUSTA, GA., WEDNESDAY MARCH 2- 1883 labor. The number of shoes made in South Carolina, outside of the penitentiary is insignificant, and the wages paid for the hire of convicts amounts to considerable, which now perceptibly reduces the taxes ot the capitalists and the workingmen, honest shoemakers and all othera, and in the future, with the growth of ithe enter prise will make still greater deduction. In view of these facts it p strange that any one should be found to oppose this industry, for the competithm of “con vict versus honest labor” is too small for consideration, and the advantage* derived by the State are patent to all. In a recent issue of the Macon Graphic it is stated thst seventeen citizensjof Worth county are to be tried, at the next term of court for that county, for the nfarder of one George Kerce, committed some twenty years ago. It is stated that Kecce emi grated from one of the and a gentlemen who knew hirn well fells me that he was bom and raised neaij Er win ton, Bkrnwell county, in this State,; and that he was often accused of Bftd was fibally tried and convict* : well Court, for that offense. uMbeoame so objectionable to the good people of that section that he was forced to have the county. Kerce’s brother Dick induced an ignorant negro, who to the Rev. Joseph Lawton, to fire the iesidence of Gen. J. D. Erwin, and it was something in that occurrence that hastened Kerce’s leaving. The man seems always to have had an unconquerable passion for cattle stealing, which ultimately caused his death at the bands of Judge Lynch. Mr. C. J. Huch, the Superintendent of Fisheries, recently received five thousand California trout eggs from the United States Fish Commissioner, that were taken and impregnated in California and shipped in ice cars via Chicago to Columbia. They arrived in splendid condition, and were within forty-eight hours after arrival trans ferred to the trays and hatching troughs, which bad been prepared for them in the Agricultural Department building on Main street. As Mr. Huch was engaged at tbe State shad butchery in Edisto, he put Mr. George E. Fuduy in charge of the trout eggs here. A few days ago they be gan to hatch out and now the troughs are alive with them. Hundreds of visitors call every day to see them and the young salmon are the chief attraction in the city. Arrests of Inoffensive Citizens—No Evi dence Against Them—The People Be coming Desperate. Columbia, March 21.—You have already been informed by wire that the political cases had been renewed in this city against the Fairfield Democrats, but these persecu tions are of such au outrageous character that they should be repeatedly held up to the public, that they may be seen in all their naked deformity. In nearly every county citizens have been arrested, in most cases, upon the most trifling accusations, and in some cases it would be hard to decide just what offenses are alleged. The evidence shows no vio lation of any law of the land, and the witnesses are the most and degraded white men and negroes. McLane, the other defeated Greenback candidate for Governor, is travelling in all parts of the State, seeming witnesses, who, for $1 50 par day, will come to Columbia or elsewhere and swear to any thing that may be told them, from morn ing until night, and as long as the per diem continues. A negro preacher, iq the employ of Melton, Willard, Snyder ACo., at a recent church meeting in Fairfield county, called for “volunteer witnesses,” and about twenty responded to his call. They came to Columbia to appear against the Democrats, and a more repulsive ciowd could scarcely have been gathered together. Yesterday your correspondent visited the United States Court House, and, in a room adjoining the room where the trials were in progress, saw these witnesses hud dled together like sheep in a pen, while a mulatto stood guard at th« door, and the stench issuing from this temporary prison was sickening. In Clarendon county, white men were dragged from their homes and carried a long distance under arrest to ap pear before a United States Commis sioner. They offered to give bail, but it was refused because, if they had been released the Deputy Marshal would not have received his mileage. Similar outrages havebeen per petrated in various other places. Reputable citizens all over the State are being taken from their homes, at the instance of this vile crew, at a season of the year when their work is requiring their closest atten tion. These men have committed no of fense against the laws of their country; they are peaceable and law-abiding, and yet convicted criminals never suffered harsher treatment. The Department of Justice (God save the mark !) at Washing ton hires Pennsylvania lawyers to send to South Carolina to harrass and persecute her cit : zens. Col. Youmans said, in the trials at Charleston, that Judge Melton, the District Attorney, did not need assist ance, as he was persecuting his people with a bitter hatred that no foreigner could equal. While Willard has been put forward in these Fairfield cases, with Sny der, the imported lawyer, as adviser, it is well understood that Judge Melton is the moving spirit in all this iniquity. The people are becoming weary of this continued persecution, and are fretting under the indignities and outrages heaped upon them. If some of these marplots feel the effect of their just indignation, they will have no one to blame but them selves. A prominent gentleman said to me to-day that Governor Thompson ought to convene the Legislature in ex tra session and ask them to vote an appropriation for the defense of the peo ple. He thought that the Governor should issue his proclamation setting forth the great wrongs our people have been subject ed to and call the attention of (he world to the infamous conduct of the petty government officials in South Carolina. So desperate are the people becoming un der this treatment that they are almost willing to resort to any {method that promises relief. Every man who has con sidered the subject at all is convinced that no frauds or intimidation were practiced at the iast election. It there had been a de sire to do so there was no occasion for it. The opposition to tbe Democratic nomi nees, both State and Federal, was insig nificant, the Greenback and Republican defeat was overwhelming, and for this off-nse our people must suffer. This relentless persecution of a free peo ple is without a parallel in the history of the world, and "exhibits the vindictive spirit that inspires the representatives of the government in South Carolina. Can such things continue always without re buke ? Are these prosecutions instituted to provoke the people to open resistance for the purpose of furnishing political capital for the Republican party ? If so, these efforts will be fruitless, for, while some of the unscrupulous scoundrels who are instigating theirj ignorant dopes to such action, may feel the weight of out raged public opinion, there will be no re sistance to Federal authority, and no ob stacle will be thrown in the way of the execution of the laws. Our people know that they can prove their innocence of any crime, and feeling that they have done nothing to merit such treatment they are justly indignant. The defendants in the Fairfield cases are represented by Hon. H. A. Gaillard and Col. John C. Haskell, and the defense is being ably conducted. Richland. THE NATIONAL CAPITAL. NEWS NOTES FROM WASHINGTON CITY. How a Postmaster Was Removed—The Star Route Trials—lnternal Revenue Receipts—The Savannah Bond Case. (By Telegraph to the Chronicle.) Washington, March 22.—The Governor of Montana sent the following dispatch to the Postoffice Department to-day: “Vigi lants at Greenhorn, Montana, have re moved the Democratic postmaster by hang ing. Government fuel must be scarce, as he was caught barn-burning. The office is now vacant. The sureties have been no tified to take charge of the office.” The Treasury Department has ordered the payment of the interest due April Ist, on the 26th inst, without rebate. John A. Walsh was before the grand jury to-day. It is understood that the govern ment is making another attempt to indict ex-Poetmaster-General Brady, in connec tion with a former United States Senator, for conspiracy in the Star Boute matters. A statement has been prepared by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, show ing the receipts of the office for the last fiscal year to be $146,400,C00. The re ceipts from July 1882 to March 21, 1883, exceed the receipts for the corresponding period of last year, by $2,200,030. It is estimated that the receipts for the current year, if there had been no reduction in taxation, would amount to $148,625,000. Deduct on account of changes in the rev enue laws $5 €03,000 leaves the total es timated receipts for the current fiscal year $143,625,000. The estimated in creases or decreases oi revenues during the remainder of the current fiscal year as compared with last year, are as follows: Increase on spirits, $1,500,000; decrease from banks and bankers, $2,400,0C0; de crease from special taxes, $1,600,000; de crease from adhesive stamps. $500,OCO; decrease from tobacco, $2,000,COO; total increase, $l,5C0,000; total decrease, $6,500,000; net estimated decrease, $5,- 000,OCO. Summary—The total Internal Revenue receipts, from July Ist, 1882 to March 21st, 1883, were $105,225,000; estimated receipts for the rest of the cur rent fiscal year, $38,403,0C0; total, $143,- 625,000. In the Star Route, trial to-day Theodore W. Torrey, R. F. Mullins and Wilburn F. Kellogg, former employes of Dorsey’s, were examined for the defence. Their testimony was a contradiction of Rerdell’s statement concerning his visit to Dorsey’s office in New York, and the books which Rerdell said were in that office. They swore that Rerdell was not at Dorsey’s offieel on the date he named and that no such books belonging to Dorsey,as Rerdell describes, were kept in that office. At the conclusion of the examination of these witnesses, the court adjourned until Mon day *■ i Argument was concluded in the United States Supreme Court to-day in the bond case of the Mayor and Aidermen of the city of Savannah, plaintiffs in error, against Eugene Kelly, brought here upon a writ of error from the Circuit Court of the United States for the Southern Dis trict of Georgia. This was a suitin -titu ted by Eugene Kelly upon certain coupon bonds of the Savannah. Albany and Gulf Railway Company, which bear the en dorsed guaranty of the Mayor and Aider men of the city of Savannah. The de fendant seeks to recover from the guar antors the amount due on the bonds. In the court below the city set up the defense that the guaranty was made without consideration and with out any legal authority and was, therefore, void. The court, however, instructed the jury that the evidence, if creditable, showed that there was a valid consideration and that the bonds guaranteed were issued for purposes of internal improvement within the meaning of the city charter. Under these instructions the jury found a verdict for the bond-holder. Judgment was entered accordingly. The city now seeks to have that judgment reversed. The issue of bonds in controversy bears the date of January Ist 1859 and amounts to three hundred thousand dollars. The expected reorganization of the police force of this city began to-day with the ap pointment of Wm. Me. E. Dye as Chief of Police, in the place of Major Brock, re signed. Dye is a native of Pennsylvania, and a graduate of West Point, and served with distinction during the lete civil war, as colonel of the 20th regiment of loxa volunteers. After the war he went to Egypt upon the recommendation of Gen eral Sherman, and was one of the foreign officers who assisted in the reorganization of the Egyptian army. Edward Hanlan, the oarsman, arrived here this morning from Toronto. He brought with him a practice shell, for use in training here for bis race with John Kennedy, which is to take place near Bos ton, May 33th. He has been invited by the Analostan Club to make their house his head quart rs. Kennedy is now a resi dent of this city, and both men will go in to active training at once. Hanlan said to night in regard to the differences between himself and Wallace Boss, that he was willing to submit the matter to any com petent boating or sporting man in the country and abide by his decision. Boss’ latest proposition is that the man naming the course shall give the other expenses. Hanlan says, “I have already conceded $1,500 to Ross in stakes. Seeing that he was not able to raise $2,500, I consented to row him for $1,000; each man to pay his own expenses, the race to be rowed in neu tral waters, and the winner to take the stakes and receipts. These are the terms of my race with Kennedy, except that the etahe is $2,500 a side. If Ross really wants to row me, let him agree to submit the difference to arbitration and then cover my forfeit of SSOO, now up with the Turf, Field and lam. I will pull him on any water between Toronto and St. Johns that is wide enough for one boat to pass an other.” «— NEW ORLEANS ELECTION CASES. The Evidence Adduced Yesterday. (By Telegraph to the Chronicle.) New Orleans, March 22.—Among the witnesses in the election cases were half a dosen co’ored man. John Short, one of the defendants, is shown on trial to have acted as Commissioner in the place of his father, Owen Short, and to have signed bis father’s name to the official papers. F. X. Earbot, chief clerk of the registration office, testified that no duplicate registra tion certificates were issued except under the oath of the party having lost the origi nal. Chks. Cavanac, registrar of voters, testified that his books and papers were all correct; that no frauds were committed in his office, where only competent and honest men were employed. The official books and papers in his charge, relating to this case, were filed in evidence. United States District Attorney Leonard read to the jury and submitted in evidence the certificate of Dr. Jos. Jones, president cf the Board of Health, giving the names of eight persons who had died previous to the late election, but whose names ap peared on the poll lists as having voted. THE CASH AND HERRON CASE IN COURT. Each of the Parties Fined For Violating a City Ordinance and Cash for Carry ing Concealed Weapons—The Election Cases—More Arrests to Be Made. (Special to Chronicle and Constitutionaliet) Columbia, S. C., March 22.—Cash and Herron were fined twenty dollars each in the Mayor’s court this morning for viola ting the city ordinances and Cash was fined ten dollars for carrying concealed deadly weapons. Pennsylvania Snyder and Greenback Willard appeared as coun sel for Cash and stated that he was a Deputy United States Marshal and was instructed to carry arms. Mayor Rhett replied very emphatically that Snyder, Willard, Gash or any one else offending would be punished m his court if con victed., and if counsel, as they intimated, desired to make an issue between the city, and the government on this q««Uen ho was prepared to meet it. The fines Were paid and no appeal taken. The court room was crowded to suffocation during the trial and the excitement, though sub dued, was intense. Subsequently Cash was arrested on a charge of carrying con cealed weapons and bound over by Trial Justice Marshall for trial at tho next term, of the court. The Fairfield cases were closed to-day, and argument was begun and concluded by Willard for the government and John C. Haskell for the defendants. Willard abandoned every legal position he had as sumed and rested his caso on the broad proposition that a crowd of men at the polls constituted a conspiracy. Col. Has kell replied in a most eloquent oration and taking up the evidence against each de fendant in turn, showed conclusively the utter weakness of the prosecution and the infamy of the whole proceeding. Tbe commissioner reserved hie decision un til Saturday. Three other warrants have been issued for a number of Democrats in Fairfield county, among them some of the defendants in these cases. There is great excitement in the city. Men are gathered in knot? dis cussing the situation and asking if the peo ple of South Carolina have no rights that Republican officials are bound to respect. Richland. Another Account. Columbia, S. C., March 22.—C01. W. B. Cash was fined to-day for an assault on James Herron in a hotel here last nigbt during a dispute arising from the Fairfield election cases. Herron was also fined. Cash drew a pistol, but did not use it. Two pistols were found on his person and he was fined for carrying concealed weapons in addition to other fines. Cases at Charleston. Charleston, March 22.—United States Commissioner Gayer to-day commenced the preliminary hearing of the caso against McFadden and other managers of the Witherspoon precinct, in Clarendon coun ty, charger, with conspiracy to pftvent qualified voters from casting their votes at the election. Seven witnesses (all white men) were examined. They testified that they did not vote on election day and that they could have voted but did not desire to do so. Some of them said the reason that they did not desire to vote was because of the" peculiar construc tion of the poll, which was fenced in. There was no evidence of intimidation. The case was adjourned over until Satur day to bear the evidence of J. T. Coley, one of tbe managers and defendants, who it is claimed by the government, has turned States evidence and made a confession. Result of a Suit Against the Augusta and Knoxville Railroad. (Special to Chronicle and Constitutionalist.) Edgefield, March 22.—Our court is yet in session, being the third week. The most important case that has been tried during the term has just concluded after three days being consumed in the trial, Tompkins et al., plaintiff vs. Augusta and Knoxville Railroad, a suit for ejectment and twenty five hundred dollars damages. The verdict was for the defendant. Every part was ably contested by counsel, Er nest Gary, Abney & Abner for plaintiff, Ganahl and W. T. Gary for the railroad company. The city of Augusta is deeply interested in the result of this suit. L. A. R. WEST INDIES. Haytien Export and Import Duties— The Crops. (By Telegraph to the Chronicle.) Havana, March 22.—The mail from St. Thomas brings advices that the Haytien Chambers have passed a bill reducing the export duties fifty per cent, and raising the import duties thirty-three per cent. Coffee will now pay $125 per 100 pounds, with the previous additional twenty per cent, remaining. A fire on the third instant, at Port au Spain, on the Island of Trinidad, destroy ed warehouses and stores. Loss, two hundred thousand dollars ; insurance, $170,000 in English companies. The weather in Barbadoes has been favorable to the crops. In Trinidad the weather has been alarmingly wet while at Demerara it has been rather dry. The exports of sugar from Demerara from January Ist to Feb ruary 24th amounted to 23,000 hogsheads against 19,500 hogsheads for the same period last year. THE MOLLIE MAGUIRES. John Kane Still Alive Bat Dying. (By Telegraph to the Chronicle.) Uniontown, Pa., March 22. - John Kane, the Mollie Maguire shot by Superintend ent Keighley, cf the Youngstown coke works yesterday evening, is still alive, though he cannot survive much longer. His wonderful hold on life astonishes every one. He has four 38 calibre balls in his body, two of them in the ab domen and two in the breast, one being in the right lung. His physician thinks he can live at most on’y a few hours. He persists that he did not intend to barm Keighley. No pistol was found on his person. His friends are up in arms. Keighley remains in the sheriff’s office. No informations hsve yet been made against him. Buck Collins, Kane’s Mollie Maguire companion, is now under arrest. He swears he will put a bullet through Kelley’s heart. Floods in Canada. (By Telegraph to the Chronicle.) Halifax, March 22.—The latest reports from throughout the country give state ments of widespread destruction and dis aster by the freshets. The Halifax and Cape Breton Railway has been seriously washed out. A telegram from Sherbrooke states that the town is flooded and that some buildings have been swept away while the people had moved to the upper stories of their dwellings. All mining has ceased, and all the small bridges have been car ried away. There are no single losses of magnitude, but the aggregate is enor mous. TERMS—S2.OO AYEAR. THE STATE CAPITAL. MATTERS AND THINGS ABOUT AT LANTA. The Gubernatorial Campaign Gen. Phil Cook a Candidate—Judge Brown Declines—Counties That Have Declar ed—The Atlanta Park—The Railroad Commission. (Special to the Chronicle and Constitutionalist.) Atlanta, March 22.—The present gub ernatorial campaign, short as it will be, and uneventful as it was hoped by many that it would be, seems destined to be marked by surprises. The latest caprice of the contest is the announcement of Gen. Phil Cook, who formally and over his own name declined to enter the race on the ground that the harmony of the State should be above all personal aspiration, has. deliberately withdrawn his refusal to run-and has beqome a candidate. Mr, 8. O. Elam telegraphs the ConstHidwn ** is authorized to say that Gen. dock with draws his letter. This withdrawal is creat ing much comment, and, in the judgment of thoughtful men, is not a wise biep-fpr this worthy gentleman. His letter of withdrawal from the contest released his friends, who have on the strength of it, probably fixed their support elsewhere. His revocation of his withdrawal can hard ly please the friends of the other candi dates ;while the changeableness will impress unfavorably those who are missionary ground. His friends here rather regret this new move of the general. Judge James R. Brown has written a letter declining to be a candidate. He thinks “it would be in bad taste, even for those who have gubernatorial aspirations, to enter into a contest for the successor ship. No gentleman who has sufficient character and qualifications to fill the office could maintain his self-respect and enter into a struggle for the nomination at the present time; and neither the Slate nor the Democratic party could afford to have such a contest." Judge Brown gives as additional reasons that he feels it his duty to serve out his term as Judge, while ho could not while on the bench enter into a struggle for a higher position. It has been rumored here to-day that Mr. McDaniel told a gentleman yes terday, in Covington, that he was not in the race, and that the statement of his can didacy had gotten into the papers through a misapprehension. The name of the gen tleman to whom he is said to have told, this is given, and he is a responsible per son. I state it simply as a rumor. Henry county has given a delegation to Boynton, Banks county to Bacon, and Ber rien county for A. T. Mclntyre, with Boyn ton as second choice. This gives Boynton four counties; one of them in reserve, and Bacon two. The Columbia county Sentinel, published at Harlem, puts up Gov. Boyn tm's name. Col. Lamar in the Telegraph and Messen ger of today in an editorial has a para graph that shows a misconception on his part of the purpose of my statement that the sale of the $160,000 of United States bonds paid by the purchasers of the Macon and Brunswick Railroad, at a pre mium of $20,000 for the State's benefit, and the redemption of $115,00 of bonds not yet due, in the beginning of Governor Boynton’s administration was an auspi cious financial commencement of his in cumbency and may be considered an au gury of the healthful beneficial term he would give as Governor. The happening of such a piece of pecuniary good fortune in the inception of rule is certainly a good start off in State finances for Governor Boynton, and may well be considered a sign that his clean, industrious, practical and vigilant discharge of Executive duty will benefit the State. Dr. Charles F. Deems, the famous New York minister, has arrived in Atlanta and lectures to-night on the subject: “The Two Revelations, or the Bible and Na t ire. The hundred acres given by Col. L. P. Grant as a park to the city of Atlanta has been named the “L. P. Grant Park." A park commission has been appointed of Brotherton, Day and Longley from the City Council and Col. Grant, S. Root, E. L. Voorhis, citizens, to manage the park improvement. I have just met Dr. Deems. He is a small, well-preserved, refined looking gen tleman, with a fine intellectual face and a pleasant simple manner full of quiet courtesy. He is devoting the day to look ing at Atlanta and thinks the town a very sprucy, wide-awake place. The Railroad Commission decided in the matter of freight on brick, that the Georgia Pacific Railroad should carry for Lockett & Co. a car load of brick of 25,000 pounds for five dollars. This allows the brick men 5.0C0 pounds more to the car load for the same freight. The contestants could not agree, so the Commission made the settle ment. In back letters I have alluded to certain Western Railroads withdrawing from the Green Line Clearing House in Atlanta. The thing is done. After April Ist the Louisville and Nashville, Illinois Central, Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans, Louis ville, Cincinnati and Lexington, Mobile and Montgomery, New Orleans and Mo bile, Nashville and Chattanooga, Cincin nati Southern and Lt uisvdle, New Albany and Chicago roads will not be in the ar rangement. The Green Line committee of about 15 railroaders met yesterday. The Green Line organization south of Chatta nooga is continued, which includes the Central Railroad combination, the State Road, and South Carolina Road, and the Savannah, Florida and Western lines. The headquarters will be the rooms of the Southern Railway and Steamship Associa tion. The Western roads claim to desire a nearer and more central point than Atlan ta. In some respects the disintegration of the old Green Line is to be regretted. It was a useful concern in settling freight complications. Os course roads are gov erned by their interest. The Western roads conceived it better for them to arrange dif ferently. It remains to be seen which is the wise course. The Fulton county Democ:atic Execu tive Committee have settled upon Satur day, 31st March, to chose gubernatorial delegates. The polls will be opened from 11 to 4 o’clock. Ten of the committee were for Boynton and one for Bacon. Richmond. — A DEFAULTER’S DEFICIT. Montgomery, Ala-, March 22. —The Di rectors of the Merchants and Planters Bank have been working on the books of Ray, the late book keeper. When an ex amination was made by Curtis, the National Bank Examiner, the deficit was said to be SIO,OOO. It is now ascertained to be fully $60,000. The bank will meet the loss by using $30,000 of the reserve and accumu lation and by reducing the stock $25,000. These amounts will obviate any demand on the stockholders for additional pay ments. Ray’s bondsmen will pay SIO,OOO. Speculation in cotton futures, cards ete., was the cause of the deficit. The bank has suficient money to meet all demands. No run has been made on it and there is no sign of one,