The Weekly constitution. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1868-1878, January 19, 1869, Image 1
Action vs. Non-Action.
No legislative body ever assembled before:
in the State of Georgia with more delicate j
duties to perform, than that which meets j
at the new capitol, in this city, to-day.—
Keenly alive to the emergency, all parties in
the State look with intense interest to its
action. Nor is this feeling confined to
Georgia. Her sUter States of the South I VOLUME I.
share it. It is felt beyond the limits of tne
WEEKLY jOWSTITUTION;
Jottings of Travel.
South. The North shares it. Nowhere,
perhaps, i3 this feeling more general than
at the National Capitol. Congress awaits
with eager anxiety the action of this body,
Its own legislation, in a great measure,
may be determined thereby. These things
being true, it behooves our Legislature to
act with the greatest circumspection. That
something must be done is apparent to
every thinking mind. What? That is the
great question to be considered. We are
aware of the fact that many intelligent and
patriotic persons argue “Non-action.”—
IVe regret that our solemn duty to the pub
lic demands that we should take issue with
them. Let ns see what is to be gained by
their course.
It Is very well known that there are at
the present moment no less than four bills
peBtfi.. g hef.-re Congress, having for their
object either the total abrogation of the
State government of Georgia or, what is
worse, the establishment of a gubernatorial
despotism.
All of these bills are alike obnoxious to
the sentiment of onr people. If nought is
done to anticipate some one of them or, per
haps, a new bill, embodying all that is ob
jectionable in each, may be reported by
the Judiciary Committee. Fast experience
warns us that the action of that Committee
is but the stepping s^ie to law. We ask
an intelligent Legislature whether, under
these circumstances, an effort should not
be made to stay the action of Congress,
and, if possible, avert the threatened evil ?
It is idle to question the powers of Con
gress. With that body, the hard experience
of the recent past should teach us that its
power and will are synonymous terms,
However much we dissent from its course,
we are forced to confess that it has not only
assumed, but, under the forms of law, ex
ercised, whenever desired, the supreme pre
rogative, and that nil its acts received the
people's approval in the late general elec
tion. Hence, to directly clash with su
preme power is simply suicidal. If it be
in the probable power of the Legislature,
by prompt diplomacy, to avert the catas
trophe, non-action is crime. The issne
we cannot avoid. It must be met. That
it can be met successfully we dare hope.
In expelling the negro from his seat, the
Legislature discharged what it believed to
be a conscientious duty. Holding that under
the State Constitution he was ineligible,
they simply asserted the fact. Up to that
time Congress had failed to indicate a dif
ferent construction of that instrument.
Therefore, the Legislature did not array it
self against any expressed views of Con
gress. By Congress the issue has been
raised, and the ruling party in that body
would, no doubt, be pleased should Geor
gia’s Legislature assumed a hostile attitude.
Without presuming to dictate any specific
act on the part of the le gislature, wc do feci
called upon to suggest a general line ol
policy, which, ia onr judgment, may be
productive of ultimate good. By all
means let us not furnish Congress with a
pretext for presuming a disposition on our
part to disregard any of its laws. It may
be well to consider the propriety of pre
senting to Congress a memorial setting
forth the real animus of the Legislature
in its past action, aud with all due respect
for Us recognized powers, with a view ol
bringiug the matter before the Supreme
Court of Georgia, we would ask a suspen
sion of further congressional legislation
on the subject until a decision shall have
been rendered, the State pledging licrseli
to abide in good faith the result.
We counsel action; but let it be temper
ed with wisdom and moderation.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 1869.
1
INUMBEB 44
Cotton Manufacture in tlie South.
Ever since the close of the war we have
been fully impressed with the importance
to the South of engaging in manufactures
as soon as she should recover from her pe
cuniary depression, with her general pros
perity restored through the agency of her
valuable products. The success of the cot
ton planters during the pa3t season is
highly gratifying, and their prospect for
the future is most cheering. The whole
people of the South have cause of encour-
agment in the flattering view ahead; and
there is no better time than the present in
which to consider how much they may
add to their real prosperity by establish
ing cotton manufactories in their midst,
and acting upon the result of their con
victions. It is worse than folly in them to
continue to pay tribute to New England,
when the means of converting their own
products into manufactured articles are
at hand, which would secure to them
the profits they annually permit to pass
into the coffers of others. We have it in
our power to monopolise the growth as
well as the manufacture of the staple, and
to secure to ourselves the immense profits
arising from both.
We have shown before that there is no
lack of sufficient capital among ourselves
to inaugurate the work, and carry it on in
dependently of the North. Nor is there
any excuse why we should lag back until
the sharp sighted New Englanders come in
and appropriate all these advantages to
themselves.
The Richmond Enquirer and Examiner
in ikes some remarks on this subject which
it would be well for us to consider. It
says:
New England was permitted to hold the
entire business of cotton manufacture,
without the least show of competition
from the South, and the sequel showed that
those who did the work requiring skilled
labor received the lion’s share of the profit
of the production, as experience has always
shown. Since the war, however, the peo
ple of the South have learned to investi
gate such problems for themselves, and
they have been taught, in consequence, to
look to their resources for manufacturing,
as well as growing cotton. New England,
we know, can never raise cotton, hut it
will not be long before the world knows
that we can successfully compete with New
England in its manufacture, for such is the
fact which our people have now ascertain
ed for themselves.
So much lias been written about the un
rivalled advantages which various locali
ties in the South possess as sites for large
manufacturing towns, that we would hard
ly go far wide of the mark in asserting that
in every tract ot country, one hundred
miles square, no matter in what part of the
South, moie available water-power is to be
found than in the wlioie of the New Eng
land Slates together. This fact indeed, is
new to the Southern people, but they
the officers in charge used their own d.s- 1 |wva „ wer tIl0U?ht it neC essary to avail
c ret ion, admitting every man who in- thelnst ., ve3 of tlie vast resources for mantl-
by Professor Rogers, himself an English
man, in a late number of tlie Edinburgh
Review:
Professor Rogers observes with truth,
“An artisan may rise to be a master, a me
chanic to he an engineer, a factory opera
tive to be a capitalist; hat no English ag
ricultural laborer, in his most sanguine
dreams, has the vision of occupying, still
less of possessing, land.” (Vol.t. p.693.)
Debarred from the hope of advancement,
life to the majority of them becomes a
dreary blank, labor a cheerless servitude.
From the highest service to the lowest, the
possibility of advancement is the sover
eign incentive which keeps the faculties
alert, and brings out whatever of energy
or vigor the man has within him. With
out this stimulus, the mind sinks into a
state of listless apathy, in which routine
duties are gone through with mechanical
formality. What prospect does the career
of the common day laborer in those dis
tricts where agriculture is the single em
ployment, afford to quicken his thoughts
or animate bis movement?
Assume that employment never fails,
and that health and character are main
tained, what is the history of his life?
From the period of early manhood when
he comes into full play as a laborer, be
may go in the same unvaried round from
week to week, from month to month, from
year to year, without having made one
step in advance, gained one inch of ground
above the level that he started from, until
the time when, his strength become ex
hausted by to 11, and his earnings having
yielded no provision for old age, he retires
from the field upon a weekly pittance
from tlie Union, the last stage between his
life of labor and his rest in the church
yard.
Communicated 1
Opening of Kimball's Opera House.—
Last evening presented a scene long to be
remembered by our citizens who had the
pleasure ot being present at the opening of
the “so-called” Opera House, which,lrom
dome to basement was brilliantly illumin
ated with gas. The exterior of the edifice
presented a perfect blaze of laze of light
that arrested the attention of every passer
by, and the immense throng of people who
were hurrying toward the building gave
evidence that everybody, and his wife, if
not invited, were quite sure to be present
on the night of opening this beautiful es
tablishment.
The building was originally intended
for a first-class Opera House, but the
four walls were no sooner built than the
Company fell through from want of means.
New plans were designed lor the comple
tion of the interior, which now, from the
elegance of its construction, nor. only re
flects great credit upon the City of Atlanta,
but, from all we are able to see, would be
difficult to surpass even in the largest cit
ies of tbe Union.
Attentive officers at the door received
the tickets of admission, which bore upon
them the.words.-ri_
COJIPLlMENTAnr.
KIMBALL'S OPERA HOUSE OPENING.
Admit one Gentleman and Ladies.
But, so far as the tickets were concerned.
Views of Eminent Democrats as to i rights of the State and of the people whose
our Duty. j representative I am. I will, as the Execu-
If there ever was a time when It become the® United”State^Tevwy^rcilr ol
the people of tlie South to rise above the ! authority, and in every patriotic
, , - .. , | eitort for the welfare of our common coun-
level of mere partisans and plant them-j try. The people will approve. War no
selves upon an elevation from which, dis- ! ' on£rer claims offerings of lives and treas-
„ .. . ... - ., j ure; peace now demands the sacrifice of pre
regarding the-petty animosities of the judices and passion. *
hour, with the eye of true statesmanship,'
they should guard the public interests,
John T. Hoffman.
It seems to us that under existing cir-
that time is now. In this connection, as ; cumstances it would be the part of wisdom
the Chief Magistrate of that noble 0 ld ; in behalf of the Southern people, to show
State which gave the largest majority a disposition to meet the incoming Presi-
against the President elect, it might he dent at least on half-way ground, and to
well to consider the views of that pure ^ ve assurance of. their support to his ad-
patriot and statesman, John TV. Stevenson.
As an unswerving advocate of the rights of
the States and a persistent foe to the ag
gressive policy of Congress, in the recon
struction of the seceded States, his opinions
ministration, should he avow a purpose
not to he President of a party but of the
entire country. Should his official acts and
measures have for their object, in the lan
guage of Gov. Stevenson, "the supremacy
are entitled to distinguished considera- 1 the Constitution of the United States,
tion. In hi3 message to the Legislature of
Kentucky, which convened on the 5th inst-.
on the subject of national affairs, lie says:
•‘Since your last adjournment, the per
manency of American representative gov
ernment has undergone a new test. Tiie
American people have passed safely
through their twenty-first quadrennial
election of President and Vice President
of the United States; the excited and an
gry discussion which marked so recently
the conflict of opinion between the great
opposing parties of the nation, and extra
ordinary exertions made by each in that
political struggle for success, have now
subsided and passed away; all yield a pa
triotic and ready assent to the voice of the
American people expressed under the pre
scribed forms and sanctions of the Consti
tution, by which two distinguished citizens
of tlie republic have been called upon to
discharge the high and responsible duties
of President and Vice President of the
United States, lor the term of four years,
from and after the 4th of'March next.—
Although the electoral vote of Kentucky
was not east at the election for the Presi
dent elect, yet I am quite sure I faithfully
reflect the voice of her people in sayin
of a party, but as the President of the
entire country, and as such they will all
unite as with one heart and one mind, irre
spective of the past, in yielding a cordial
support to all his official acts and measures,
having for their object the supremacy ol
the Constitution of tbe United States, the
restoration and perpetuity of tlie Ameri
can Union, the suppport of the State gov
ernments in all tlicir rights, as tlie most
competent administration for our domestic
concerns and the surest bulwarks against
anti-republican tendencies: economy and
rigid accountability of all officials in ad
ministration of the government.”
John T. Hjffmap, tlie Governor of New
York,,1s also a Demoeaat and friend of the
the restoration and perpetuity of tbe
■American Union, tlie support of the State
Governments in all their rights,” as Dem
ocrats instead of compromitting our prin
ciples, by declaring our purpose to uphold
him in these, we would but the more firm
ly resolve to adhere the more firmly to the
cardinal teachings of our own party.
Should we not be met in a like spirit by. the
Chief Magistrate of the nation, we - would
feel that we had discharged our duty with
out incurring any sacrifice whatever of
honor or principle.
The Works and Jobs Before Con
gress-Two Short Months’ Time.
The present Congress expires on the 4th
of March next, when the New Congress
(pretty much of the same kidney in both
houses) will take its place. Within tlie
interval of two months, however, tiie
Herald 1 thinks the business before
the present Congress must be finished
Of it will have to be commenced over
again at the beginning or abandoned.
Tlie calendar of both houses embraces tlie
A Cheerful View of Business. that their stocks command from two to
The New York Mercantile Journal, says | t "' ent J' times their original cost. That is
the Richmond Enquirer, takes a cheerful causec l '* e great profitableness of the
1 mills.
Wiiy cannot we have such mints in Geor
gia? Our labor is as cheap or cheaper
than it is in New England. Our water
power is unexcelled, and we will not be
compelled to pay tlie freights which they
pay. Isn’t it rather a comlortatble reflec
tion that §100 in stock will bring tiie snug
little sum of §2.000? Are our people will
ing that all these profits should remain
there? If they are not, let them neglect
no occasion to encourage, by every means
view of the business prospects of the com
ing year. It refers to the number of large I
failures which have lately oceurrdil in the
large cities, hut does not regard them as |
possessing any great importance. They
are directly traceable to operations in Wall
street, and were caused by the money
gambling, which is so prevalent there. A
monetary stringency in Wall street,
brought about for tlie purpose, extended
its effects into the various ramifications of
business throughout the country, and for
the want of the accommodation, which tlie P°'y er ’ t* le Northern capitalists to
“loeked-up” currency of Wall street cortlil
have afforded, many well known mer-
t Allowing list of legitimate, regular and
they look to him now, not as the President incidental measures and miscellaneous
Jobs :—
1. The regular annual appropriation bills,
involving, say §200,000,000.
2. Deficiencies, incidental appropria-
tionsand private claims, including nu
merous jobs.
3. Financial bills, including the national
debt, bonds, banks, currency, internal rev
enue and tariff measures and all the reve
nue rings.
4. Reconstruction hills, including tbe
ratification of the late Louisiana and Geor
gia elections, bills aud constitutional
amendment of universal suffrage and’am-
iiesty, the restoration of Virginia, Missis
sippi and Texas, &c.
5. Territorial and Indian affairs, entbrac-
ulgcil in the luxury of a - Idled shirt,”
ami whose facical indications did not
stamp him with tlie mark of having. :it
some time of his life, been a regular grad
uate of that highly popular institution, the j turc to theip *. colIntrymcn o of Xew Eng .
Georgia penitentiary.
The stair-ease resembled the Jacob's Lad- t.
der mentioned in Holy Writ, as angeiie
Immigration to Georgia.
One of the first questions which should
engage the attention of tlie Legislatuie is
that of encouraging immigration into the
State. Tlie importance of tlie subject is
only equalled by the practical wisdom nec
essary to accomplish satisfactory results.
Nothing short of money to be controlled
.by an organized system will .reach the de
sired end. We are well advised of the
trulli that there is a great surplus of Euro
pean population, the reward of whose la
bor is barely sufficient to secure the neces
saries of life, and that these people would
gladly exchange their cheerless condition
for the hapeful prospect which invites
them here. But liow we are to extract
them from tlieir European penury and
poverty and transplant them to the pro
ductive soil of Georgia, is a problem which
must be satisfactorily settled before we
can make any progress in tbe right direc
tion. State, county or individual co-oper
ation is essential to tbe result. However
strong may be tbe desire with tbe peasant
ry in those countries to better their condi
tion, they cannot do so without the neces
sary means. We will find it necessary not
only to visit them at home, to enlighten
them as to the peculiar inducements we
hold out to a change from their native
countries to ours, but we will find it nec
essary to assist them in the change—to ad
vance them means, and to make some tan
gible provision for them on their arrival
here. The inducements which we will ol-
fer them to emigrate are so great that they
will not hesitate in making the change
wb: n once assured that they will notsuffer
for the necessaries of life before they gain
a foothold upon our soil. Tlicir present
condition is one of hopelessness and pov
erty, and they would gladly escape from It
on the first intimation of a change for the
better. The condition of the working
classes in England is better perhaps than
that of the subjects of any of the other Eu
ropean powew, and yet theirs is without
any future better than one of penury. As
a correct picture of the agricultural labor
ing classes in England, we append the fol
lowing summary of their condition as given
i factoring which they possessed. They
| were satisfied with the profits of prod action,
| which were certainly large enough, and
l were willing to leave those ol manufac-
land. This satisfaction does not now ex
ist any more than the "Union,” and the
j people of the South aru directing tlieir at-
! tention to the advantage of adding the
| profirs of manufacturing cotton to those of
[ its production. Had they the capital
j necessary we should see in a very few
! months a wonderful development of our
_ . . , IT , „ ... ! manufacturing resources. We should see
Entering the House of Representatives. , . . , .. , . . . .
” , , , ... , . i hundreds of cotton factories sprmgiug up
ic ear was delighted with the sweetest , " ,
forms were ascending and descending con
tinuously. Wc had no idea that so much
feminine loveliness could be lonn,l within
the limits of tlie State, yet there they were
smiling, happy and joyous—delighted w ith
themselves and all around them.
the ear was delighted
music produced by the Military Band cf
this post; who, we venture to assert, have
no superior in the army of the United
States. Immediately above tlieir head was
tlie full length portrait of tiiat brave old
military chieftain and peerless gentleman.
Old Hickory,” a man whose name will
never, never die.
The house is brilliantly lighted by a cir
cular of gas jets some thirty feet from the
floor, and at least fifteen feet in its diame
ter. All around these jets was placed a
fluted glass mirror, that threw tlie bright
rays of light completely over the room,
rendering all side lights completely unnec
essary. Tlie fresco work on the ceiling, and
indeed all over the room, was really mag
nificent. and elicited loud marks of appro
val from all who visited the building.
Tlie Senate Chamber is very beautiful,
though not so imposing as the House of
Representatives. Over the seat of the
President of the Senate, is a full length
[Mirirait of George Washington, the first
rebel known In American history, from the
celebrated painting of Gilbert Stuart. It
is very beautiful, and an ornament to the
Senate Chamber.
Tlie Supreme Court Library contains two
full length portraits; tlie one on tlie left of
the Hall representing Benjamin Franklin,
tbe Printer, Philosopher and Statesman.
As we approached the other, a very beau
tiful young girl approached us and asked:
“Whose picture is that, sir?”
“Gilbert Mottier de Lafayette,” we re
plied.
“La! yes,” she responded, “he was a
Northerner, wasn't he?”
“He was something lor better,” we re
sumed, indignantly, “ he was a white man,
a brave and gallant Frenchman of noble
birth, who left tbe Court of France, relin
quished all the enjoyments so attractive to
youth, and the bosom friend of our
peerless Washington, did all in his power
to secure to us all the blessings of freedom.
Would to God that nine years ago onr un
happy country could have secured the ser
vices ot a friend like him.”
“Amen, to ilia: quiet prayer!” murmur
ed a soft and gentle voice at our Kdbow,
and turning around we saw a face so bright
and intelligent, that for years we shall be
apt to remember it.
The committee rooms deserve especial
notice for tbe extreme good taste in which
they have been arranged, but the apart
ments up-stairs, the doors of which were
all marked: “Sleeping Room—For Rent,”
were in bad taste to say the least of it.
They might very properly have been re-
seivedfor the use of .the attaches of the
building, but the idea of makiug a cheap
lodging house out of the topof so elegant
a building seems really absurd.
Among all the visitors,- and their name
was legion, we did not meet one -that did
not seem pleased and delighted with all
they saw around them. Itwas one of the
most charming re-unions we have seen for
a long time and we are happy to learn
that not the slightest accident occurred to
mar the pleasures of the evening.
_ . ,, ing numerous Indian jobs and jobs in the
South, whose views it might be well to | KO , d res , olls antl some ltl A i aska .
heed. His opinion as to the duty of thc-^-Commercial treaties and treaty..claims
Democratic party and its policy toward the hnd jobs, such
incoming ad ministration,Is distinctly enun
ciated in his late message to tlie General
Assembly of New York, from which we
copy as follows:
Few questions of principle or policy will
lie presented for your consideration to
ward the decision of which precedent or ex
perience will not furnish you an accurate
guide, or at least effective aid. We need
only, to the discharge of our trusts in our
respective departments, grave, responsible,
and numerous as they are. an earnest spirit,
a constant and vigilant regard forthc pub
lic interests, and an unceasing watchful
ness in maintaining the integrity, honor
and dignity of the State. With these we
cannot fail to meet tbe just expectations of
the people.
But beyond the limits of onr jurisdiction
there are questions and principle! of far
wider significance than those which en
gage our official consideration, which ap-
the Sandwich Island
.jreaty and Canadian reciprocity.
I 7. Internal improvement appropriations,
e.t the head of which stand the big' jobs ot
the proposed Niagara ship canal and tlie
rebuilding of the Mississippi river levees.
8. Pacific main lines, and branch rail
roads and other railroad land and bond
absorbing jobs—a tremendous schedule.
9. Steamship lines and subsidies, embrac
ing several promising jobs.
10. Patent extensions, embracing a bail
ee t of very profitable jobs.
• 11. New post offices and post routes, air
lino postal railroads, and bills for the gen
eral regulation of telegraphs throughout
the United States and with foreign coun
tries.
. 12. Miscellaneous bills and resolutions,
and jobs of all sorts,-not included in the
chants have been brought to grief. Among
the recent failures, it is to observed, how
ever, that the greater number are those
whose profits were made out of the war.
and whose business sprung up like a
mushroom under the tremendous rush
of activity and flow of money upon
which our “ countrymen ” at tlie
North fed their “patriotic” desires to
“rally ’round the flag,” aud "save the
Union.” This process, though highly re
munerative to tlie "patriotic” sellers of
“shoddy,” and the “Union-loving” dealers
in damaged supplies of all kinds, was, nev
ertheless, to tlie country at large, a tre-
meudous depletion of resources and dis
placement of values. Tlie present opera
tion is a slow hut sure and solid re-ailjiist-
ment. Rome of the prineely fortunes
which arose out of tlie war, and some ot
tiie lines of trade hastily built up during
that period,have almost as magically melt
ed away, "like the baseless fabric of a vis
ion.” Connections were formed by one of
these war merchants of the Newcome fam
ily with older and more “solid” houses, and
these connections have greatly damaged,
and, in some cases, ruined the old houses.
Tlie Newcomes were sure to succumb to
the lirst reverses, and their present pros
tration only mean3 that the first reverse
lias come upon them.
Besides tiiis endemic, there has also ex
isted a more general cause of depression
in the business of the country in the large
amount of the public debt and tbe heavy
taxation imposed upon the ipeople to sup
port it and the extravagant outlays of tlie
government at the same time. This latter
has made the pressure tenlold harder ta
bear where business was so enormously
inflated, and the consequence is now seen
Jn these failures.
But we need go no deeper into.our in
vestigations after the bidden causes of the
present depression. Let us look to the
causes which will bring about a better
state of things. Attention is turning Jto
the interior trade of the country, and the
people are directing their energies to
agricultural productions. We have already
more than once ol late referred to the flat
tering prospects of the cotton crop of the
South, and we may add now the extremely
promising condition of the agricultural
interest?, of the. Northwest, -and the en
couraging progress of the great lines
pitch their tents amoug us.
The Tribune on the Georgia Case.
The New York Tribune in a radically
extreme view of the Georgia case, as may
be seen by an article copied from that pa
per, forgets that tiie whole process of re
construction, in this State, was confided by
Congress to Gen. Meade, and that the Leg
islature, before it organized, complied with
all the terms prescribed by that officer, be
acting under tlie instruction of Gen. Grant,
and as advised by the Reconstruction Com
mittee in Congress.
It would be better for the Tribune and
the Radical party to frankly confess that
they had committed a faux pas in receiving
Georgia into tlie Union under a' Constitu
tion which does not recognise negroollice-
holding, instead of charging tlie Legisla
ture with a design to thwart the will of
Congress.
Congress Reconstructing Georgia.
The Hartford (Connecticut) Daily Times
says: Congress is proposing to reconstruct
Georgia, to dictate to the people tiie sort of
Constitution they shall adopt—and tiiis af
ter Georgia lias once complied with the
cenditions imposed upon her people,
through usurpation by Congress. The
new attempt to degrade tlie people of the
State, is rousing the entire people. Tlie
Radicals of the State now protest against
it as an dbtrage too intolerable to be borne
—and they are protesting in terms which
the “Reconstruction” Committee cannot
misunderstand. They feel that the time
has come for Congressional usurpation and
oppression to cease; and that Georgia
should now be a State in the Union, on an
Quality with tiie other States, and entitled
to regulate her own local affairs, according
to the principles upon which the Republic
was established. Having been humiliated
and governed and oppressed enough by
Vermont and Massachusetts, the Radicals
of Georgia now assume that the people ot
their State are entitled to the same rights
and privileges that are enjoyed by the peo
ple of Vermont. They will make their
own Constitution and their own laws, in no
respect violating tlie Constitution of the
United States. Being entitled to this they
demand their rights, and the friends of
freedom throughout the world, will accord
to them the justice of their cause.
The Plow of Currency South.
I which arc to open up tbe great trade of the | ,}° rk
t>.LuiA „„.t.. ....... A- rHerald, of the 8th iihstant, says: "Forty
peal to us as citizens of a common country, list mentioned.
all over the South. For want of capital
the South must wait a few years longer,
when, as we showed the other day, the re
turns of the cotton production will give
them the capital to engage in its manufac
ture. Then farewell to the prosperity of
“rocky-bound New England.”
Radical War upon the Catholics.
A Washington account of thenonse pro
ceedings on the Civil and Diplomatic Ap
propriation hill, last week, says: “Mr.
Brooks made an effort to get in an amend
ment to the bill providing for a renewal of
the mission to Rome. This gave rise to a
lively debate, during which Mr. Covode, of
Pennsylvania, made an onslaught, upon
the Roman Catholic Church in general and
the Roman Catholic voters of Western
Pennsylvania in particular. Advancing
towards tlie Democratic side of the House,
Mr. Covode declared, in an excited man
ner, that the Roman Catholics were en
gaged during the late campaign in manu
facturing fraudnlent naturalization papers,
wholesale and retail, and had defeated him
in his district. This was tbe grounds he
took against sending a Minister to repre
sent the United States at Rome. Mr. Co
vode spoke with much feeling, and evi
dently let out the animus of tlie dominant
party’s opposition to the mission to Rome.
Some of his friends took occasion to dis
claim a fellow feeling with him, but the
amendment was defeated by a nearly solid
vote of the Republicans.”
Cotton.
The receipts at tbe various ports up to
this time, says the Savannah Republican,
do not indicate that tbe large crop theo
rists will realize their estimates. There
has been a heavy falling off in New York,
Charleston, Savannah and Mobile, amount
ing in round numbers to 125.000 bales,
while thejincrease in Virginia, North Caro
lina, New Orleans and Galveston, is, In
round numbers. 250,000. leaving an aggre
gate increase of receipts to the amount of
125,000. The receipts at the Atlantic ports
and Mobile for the remainder of the season
are obliged to be far lighter tba n in 1863,
the high prices having brought the greater
portion of the crop into market. Last y ear,
owing to tlie obstruction of the western
rivers, the crop was slow in reaching New
Orleans; this year the navigation has been
open throughout the season, and high
prices have prevailed. Yet the receipts at
New Orleans up to this time are but 473,.
000 of the 1,2000,000 claimed for her, a fig
ure which will hardly be reached, if ap
proximated. The stooks at all the ports
are also some 10,000 less than last year.
From these facts and figures, the reader
will be enabled-to form his own. estimates
of the crop as compared with that; of last
year.
Cf Augusta Factory stock soW on Mon
day, in that city, at §1 50, after- the quar
terly dividend had been paid.
which press upon the people in the form of
unequal responsibilities, and in which we
all have a deep and abiding interest. I al
lude to tiie national issues which await so
lution. I do not intend to refer to them in
a partisan spirit, or to discuss them at
length. These issues have presented new
and difficult questions of government, ot
finance aud taxation, resulting lrom the
Rebellion, and we are without guides in
previous history to lead us to their deter
mination. Nearly four years have elapsed
since the close of tlie Rebellion, and the
Federal authorities have had unrestricted
power to re-establish civil government in
the States rescued from sedition, ..and re
store to their people peace and tlie motives
to industry * and yet how littie has been
done toward these ends!
Had they been attained, tbe South would
now be enabled to bear its share of the
taxation entailed by the war, and tlie
North relieved of its unequal responsibil
ity, while the whole country resuming its
former commercial relations, would be so
far advanced in prosperity and power that
in a few years our financial troubles would
cease to be the subject of anxiety. Instead
of securing these results Congress has di
rected its efforts to the suppression of rep
resentation, and the subversion of repub
lican government in tbe States, prolong
ing the subserviency of the civil to the
military power, and postponing the return
of peace. The people, at the late election,
have chosen by their suffrage the Chief
Magistrate to whose guidance they are
willing to commit tbe destinies of the
country, and the settlement of the issues
which disturb it. These questions do not
belong to party, but to the whole country;
and it should be our earnest prayer that he
who has been thus chosen, shall prove
equal to the great trust with which he is
charged.
Party organizations must he kept up a-
the means of preserving great principles
and maintaining the Integrity of the Gov
ernment and the liberties of tlie people.—
The majority of the citizens of this State
Here is a catalogue which would be very
alarming with a six months’ session of the
present Congress before us; hut as tiiis
Congress must wind up Its affairs by the
4th.of March it will bo simply impossible
to get through with more than a third or a
fourth of the jobs before the two houses,
while there is fair prospeet that not one-
tenth of them will be readied, for want of
time. Then, as with th8 new Congress
General Grant will take tbe helm in the
place of Johnson, we look for a vigorous
application] of the pruning knife in the
work of retrenchment and reform.
Pacific, and thence to the East Indies.
who opposed the policy of the presentdom-
inant party In the dfmiitry and the election
of its candidate for the Presidency, adhere
firmly to tlieir views of public policy, the
adoption of which they believe will afford
tlie earliest and bestsettlementof thegreat
questions which now distract us. They
will, however, lay aside all merely partisan
considerations, and join in a common
spirit of magnanimity and patriotism in
sustaining any administration of the Fed
eral Government In every earnest effort
which it shall make to restore its credit, to
maintain the public faith, to re-establish
the authority of the Constitution, to unite
all our people in amity and concord, to
givepeace and prosperity to all sections of
tlie Union, and to assert, among nations,
the honor of our flag and the rights ol those
who claim its protection.
There is a spirit of party intolerance
growing up which not only arrays men in
bitter political hostility, but which creates
personal hatred through mere differences
of opinion. It follows the elected repre
sentatives of the people with detraction
and misrepresentation, and impairs their
usefulness in the discharge of important
trusts involving the public welfare. I con
sider this a dangerous evil. Public officers,
both Federal and State, should be judged
by and held responsible for their acts, and
not prejudged by clamor and party intol
erance; nor should they be intimidated by
either. My duty is defined by the oath I
have Taken to execute the laws of this
State, and to support its Constitution and
the Constitution of the United States. I
shall endeavor to do it faithfully; and
while I shall uphold and maintain the po-
Morals of Public Men.
A Boston journal, tlie Commonwealth,
makes the rather exaggerated statement
that every afternoon after 3 o’clock some
twelve to fifteen United States Senators are
so drunk that they are unable to attend to
business. The Washington correspondent
of the Missouri Democrat, also says that
“ the coming session of Congress will see
the certain death and entombment of three
men now in the United States Senate, all
from drink. Take away the pay and good
clothes of these three men, and they are
already tavern suckers and parasites of tlie
most abject sort. I saw one of them at a
friend’s house, only yesti r lay, ask for a
glass of whisky as soon as he entered. He
took it with both hands, which shook aud
rocked rather a3 in some theatrical exag
geration of drunkenness than in real light
of common life, and to see his greedy lips
slip by tlie glass's edge, cheated like Tan
talus by his own nerves, was dreadful. He
is no worse than two others, but happily
his term expires on the 4th of March.”
The New York Sun adds:
It is not too much to say that tlie Senate
owes it to its own good name to expel these
drunkards. But we do not anticipate from
that body any action of so rigorous a na
ture. The disposition of Senators is to bear
and forbear with the vices of their col
leagues, no matter how gross or how noto
rious. If a Senator were openly to receive
bribes, or to commit forgery or murder, it
is not likely that he would be punished for
it by the votes of his feRow members.
Rethenciiment and Reform.—The
speech of Mr. Washburne, in tlie House of
Representatives, tho other day, on retrench
ment and reform, a synopsis of which wo
published last Satnrfiay, is taken as an in
dication of tho views of General Grant.
W ashburnc, if anybody, being esteemed his
right-hand man. If the policy of the in
coming administration is correctly fore
shadowed by Mr. Washburne, the country
has cause of congratulation on tlie near
approach of the 4th of March. The race
ot government swindlers and undertakers
in magnificent railroad schemes may be
considered as near its close, and a second
era of old fashioned honesty may be hailed
with the advent of the new President. At
iiU^"dTCttineirand - prfni5pi«“tovrhTchl events, we shall look hopefully for a
I am devoted, and assert and defend the consummation so devoutly to i>e wished.
There is so much good, practical,
common sense in the following, from the
Rome Courier, that wc adopt it entire, and
commend its home truth, to tho people of
Georgia:
in at I V'll They D> with the Money?
There will, by the first of March, be more
spare money in this section of the country
than was ever known before. Tlie cotton
crop will sell for nearly as many dollars as
it did in lS59-’60, and now it cannot go for
negroes, and will not for land. Hundreds
of planters in tiiis and adjoining counties
have now in hand, from §1.000 to §5,000.
and feeling sort of good over it. but really
not knowing what to do with their money.
They keep very quiet about this matter
and to not entrust.the secret to their most
intimate friends. Some have exchanged
their greenbacks for gold, anu it Is
known that over seventy-five thousand
dollars in gold has been carried home by
planters, trading at Rome, in the last six
oreight months. If all these men who are
thus hiding tlieir money, only knew that so
many others were doing the same thing,
they would realize tlie fully of their course.
AH this money should be, at once, put to
some good, safe and profitable investment
There is now no clanger of any immediate
great financial crash, and with Grant’s in
auguration, confidence in the stability of
our goverment will be strengthened and
the probable prosperity of the country
will be increased. Then why “hide your
talent in the earth” when all the dictates
of reason and duty command \ ou t« use it.
But our present purpose is to suggest a
safe and good investment for planters and
others having money. It is tiiis: forma
joint stock company and erect, at some
good letup top, a cotton factory, and go into
the manufacture of yarns and domestics.
Tiiis will, if properly manat.ed, give you
large profits and be of great advantage to
the entire community.
If you do not engage in some kind of
manufacturing, wliat will you do with
your money. It is time you were think
ing upon this subject, and talking about it
with your neighbors and friends. Will
you buy railroad stock, or State Bonds, or
Federal Bonds? Tim value of these is
almost as precarious and vastly less
promisirg than Factory stocks, and their
ultimate value depends on the good faith
of parties beyond your control.
The planters of Floyd county, as we be
lieve, can raise one hundred thousand dol
lars by the first of March, with which to
build a Cotton Factory. Polk, Chattooga,
Bartow, any other counties can raise near
ly or quite as much. Why not start a
Planters’ Factory, in each of these coun
ties. The profits of Cotton Factories at
tho North are immense and they might,
here, he 25 per cent, greater.
We find in otrrexchanges the following
statement of tiie prices which §100 worth
of stock in the several Northern factories
named, brings when offered for sale:
Androscroggin Mills, par value §1C0
185. t
Peppcreil Mann fact urir.g Conipany. 5100
1,105.
l’aciiie Mills, par value §100, 2.010.
Nashua Company, par value §100, 755.
Stark Mills, par value §100,1,275.
Chicopee Manufacturing Company, par
value §100.275.
Salisbury Manufacturing Company, par
value §100, 270,bj.
Boot Cotton II ills, par value §100,-1,080.
■ Laconia Manufacturing Company, par
value $100, 1,200. J< -a-
Amoikeag Manufacturing Company, par
value $100. L312J£.
Great Falls Manufacturing Company,
par value $100,215.
It will be seen, says the Augusta Press,
or fifty millions of dollars have gone South,
and have been, or will be, absorbed there.
The flow ol currency in that direction, at
the present time, is still going on, but on a
diminished scale. More will go in tiie
spring in the shape of Northern capital,
which , under the temptation of tlie high
price of cotton, is seeking investment
there. Emigration has set in, and there
will be a strong current in the spring. Tlie
revival of cotton culture is a fever just now
with capitalists.”
In confirmation of tiie foregoing, says
tlie Chronicle and Sentinel, we have been
shown Northern letters to the house of L.
& H. McLaws, of this city, authorizirgthe
purchase of a number of small farms, in
Middle Georgia, of two and four hundred
acres in extent, and advising that “spring
visits may be expected.”
Sumner aud the Georgia Negroes.
A Washington special says: “How the
Senate is Sumnurizcd may lie known from
the fact that one day this week lie submit
ted thirteen resolutions and petitions, anil
seven bills, all but one of which wore of a
criminal character. One of his petitions,
concerning the proper meaning of the
fourteenth amendment to tlie Federal Con
stitution, was from two hundred and fifty-
two negroes of Georgia, alt of who but
two signed with a cross mark, tlie column
intended for names of witnesses being en
tirely blank. And these are the class of
people whom the Massachusetts Senator
desires to rule the people of a State.”
«.»«. —
Cuba.—The Captain General of Cuba
issues a pathetic appeal to the insurgents
of that island to return to tlicir first love,
and cease their rebellious demonstrations
against tlieir affectionate old mother,
Spain. The venerable old mother lierscll
is so near the point of dissolution and so
beset with foes within that her maternal
entreaties are not likely to he heeded by
tlie refractory child without. In tlie mean
time tlie cry of the Cubans is “on with the
revolution;” down with tiie Spanish Gov
ernment in tlieir midst, and up with the
independent ensign of the Antilles.
Repeal of tub Civil Tenure Bill.
The repeal of this bill in the House, by a
vote of 116 to 47, is a hopeful sign. The
excesses of Radicalism are giving way
to returning reason, and tiie whole
country has cause of congratulation on
the repeal of an act so intemperately con
ceived. The wishes of the incoming Presi
dent are thU3 not only anticipated, but ap
propriately met. May we not- hoiie that
he will in like manner for the good of the
country influence the subsequent legisla
tion of Congress.
Nashville, Tenn., Jan. 10. I860.
Editor Constitution: One of the evi
dences of the returning prosperity of our
section is the revival of the mule trade.
This has been very heavily carried‘on this
season. I have just conversed with a stock
drover, who tells me that it is about clos
ing up. The demand has carried up the
prices in Kentucky so much that very little
can now be made. Tlie heaviest demand
lias been for medium mules, ranging in
price from $100 to §175; very line stock has
been in no demand. The peoples’ pockets
could not stand them. Profits have been
realized about §15 per head.
The farmers have been unable to buy be
fore tiiis; but something lias been realized
this year, and preparations are being made
for tiie next year's crop.
The mule trade has been principally in
Georgia; the other States not having been
supplied. Those who have not been able
to buy before tiiis will have to pay higher
prices, if they can buy at a'l.
During the war. tlie mule trade
sought the Eastern market, but it is
now working into its old and
more profitable channel — tlie South.
It will take a year or two. however, before
the supply will reach in amount what it
once was, owing to the great consumption
of stock North and South, for army pur
poses during the war.
The Georgia friends and stockholders of
the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad,
will be pleased to learn that under the ad
mirable management of President Cole
and the courteous and efficient Superin
tendent, Col. J. W. Thomas, the road has
much improved. The expenses have di
minished and its receipts increased, while
its general condition has been greatly bet
tered; but it will be impossible to recu
perate it thoroughly, until its mountain of
debt to the U. S. Government, is in some
way lessened and adjusted. It is fortunate
in its Superintendent, Col. Thomas, one of
the best railroad men in the whole country
and as gentlemanly as lie is skillful; his
thorough comprehension of his duties and
Ills masterly execution of them, have told
strongly in the improved status of tiie
enterprise. His recognition of and cour
tesies to the press, demand tlie fullest re
quital.
✓It is perhaps easy for an ordinary officer
to take a road in good order, and carry
out the regulations previously es
tablished, which have put it on a good
footing, keep it up; but to take a road
run down and injured by cruel misman
agement, deeply in debt, its stock low, its
credit gone, its stock worth almost noth
ing,"its running-gear badly damaged, its
material used up and badly worn out, and
nothing in tlie treasury to buy more—re
quires the finest exercise of tlie very best
abilities to make anything of it. This is
the very thing Col. Thomas lias done. In
four months his administration has worked
marvels, and evinced his efficiency.
Nashville lias somewhat changed since I
first saw it, seven years ago. Tiie rebellion
was then in its inception, and the “pomp
and circumstance of glorious war,” made
the city a gay and glittering masquerade,
f next saw it in all the dismal terror and
chaotic confusion of Sidney Johnston’s
evacuation of the place to the Federal
army. That was an appalling day. The
very elements seemed to share in tlie gloom
and disaster. I next saw it early in 183G,
when the streets swarmed with crushed
Confederates and a triumpant Federal sol
diery, mingling in strange peacefulness.
Every vestige of war is now gone,, save
thorough Radical niie. without any war
visible. Everything seems "citizenitie'V'
if I may coin a word. Business is buoyant,
trade vigorous, the citizens garb universal,
street railroadsiu full blast, handsome pub
lic buildings completed. And yet, some
thing is wanting. A dissatisfied people
meet you. Xortticrn enterprise has clone
wonders. But yet, we can still exclaim,
poor Tennessee 1 Ninety thousand of her
best citizens are disfranchised, aud their
rights, persons and property without rep
resentation, and under the control of per
sons hostile to them, and in many cases
irresponsible. Thirty millionsof pubiiedebt
burdens the State, causing bankruptcy.
The ruler is a pestiferous old Tliug-n-mud-
brained political Jeliu, who is driving tiie
body politic to smash at a spanking rate
with his wild team of scalawags, carpet
baggers and Africans; tlie latter frantic
under the imaginary visitations of a blood
thirsty KuKlux. A howling dervish in
religion and a cranky ghoul in polities, lias
this tliin-visaged, paralytic old man proved
himself. And a parallel picture to Nero
fiddling away in drunken delirium over
tlie conflragration of proud old Rome, will
be Wm. G. Brownlow, revelling in veno
mous ecstacy amid the desolation of his
noble State.
A moderate Republican Speaker of tlie
House of Representatives introduced and
ably supported a bill to call a Convention
to remove the disfranchisement from the
people of the State. After hot discussion,
-t was postponed, yesterday, by a vote of
*35 to 20, and the just measure is defeated.
Quill.
Ages and Salaries of the New British
Ministry.—Tlie following is a’list of the
new British Ministry, tlieir ages, and the
respective-salaries they receive:
First Lord of the Treasury (Crime Min
ister.) Mr. Gladstone, aged 69; salary
£5.000. Lord High Chancellor. Lord Hatii-
erly (Sir W. Page Wood.) aged 68; salary,
£10.000. Chaueellor of the Exchequer. Mr.
Lowe, aged 57; salary, £5.000. Home De
partment, Mr. H. Bruce, aged 53; salary,
£5.000. Foreign Affairs. Earl of Clarendon,
aged 69; salary, £5,000. Colonies, Earl
Granville, aged 53; salary, £5,000. War De-
Prosperity of the Cotton States.
Tho Selma (Ala.) Times says: “We do
not believe there was ever, before the war
even, as much surplus money in Alabama
as there will be when tlie crop of last year
shall have been disposed of.”
This agrees with what the Mobile Reg
ister recently said on the same subject, and
will be pleasant news to the whole coun
try.
The Georgia Question.—The Senate
Omunitlee on the Judiciary, at tlieir meet
ing on Wednesday, had - under considera-
was discussed at great length, biifn'o con
clusion wa? reached, and the subject was
postponed until the next meeting. The
Washington Republican (Radical) says:
The committee is understood to be very
much'divided on the question, arid It is
doubtful _what -action will be taken rela
tive, to the measures now before Congress
looking to the repeal of the law admitting
that State, and reducing her to. a provf
sional government. If Congress tails to
adopt such legislation the committee will
probably report on tbe question of admit
ting the Senators from that State at as
early a day as possible.
partment, Mr. Cardwell, aged 55; salary.
£5,000. India, Duke of Argyle, aged 45;
salary. £5.000. First Lord of the Admiralty,
Mr. 'll. C. E. Childers, aged 41; salary
£4.5000. President of the Board of Trade,
Mr. Bright, aged 57; salary, £2.000. Presi
dent of tlie Council, Earl de Grey, aged 41;
salary. £2,000. Lord Privy Seal. Earl of
Kimberley, aged 42; salary, £2,000. Presi
dent of the Poor Law Board, Mr. G. J.
Goschen, aged 37; salary, £2.000. Post
master General, Marquis of Harrington,
aged 45; salary, £3,000. Chief Secretary lor
Ireland, Chichester Fortescuc, aged 45-
salary, £4.000. The above form tuc Cabi
net. First Commissioner of Public Works,
Mr. Layard, aged 51; salary. £2,000. Vice-
President of tlie Council, Mr. E. W. Fors
ter, aged 51; salary, £2.000. Chancellor of
the Duchy of Lancaster, Lord Duiferin
aged 42; salary, £2000. Lord Lieutenant
of Ireland. Earl Spencer, aged 33; salary,
£20,000. Attorney General, Sir Itoliert Col
lier. aged 51; salary, £5.000. Solicitor Gon-
£3,5000 r ' J" 1) ’ Colcman ’ a £ud 47; salary,
Stock Sale in Savannah.—Last Tues
day the Republican gives tlie followin'':
Three shares Central Railroad stock at
$123 50.
Five shares Southwestern Railroad stock
at §95.
Four thousand dollar Albany and Gulf
Railroad bond, coupons in Mat', 1867, at
§70,
Ten shares Albany and Gulf Railroad
stock at §47.
Five hundred dollars city of Savannah
bonds, coupon due in February next, at
Five hundred dollars 7 per cent. Albany
andGulf railroad scrip at §70.
A five acre garden lot on the Skidawav
shell road, (our miles from the citv, was
sold for $105.
Newnan. Georgia.—They had a smart
contest lor Mirror and Aldermen of New
nan, on the 2d instant, resulting in the
election of tiie following by an average of
about lorty majority:
Mayor—Hugh Brewster. Aldermen—A.
R. Cates, J. C. Wooten, J. .1. Pinson, E.
Moncgan.
We see from the Herald tliat^|*wnanha3
but §702 of her bonded debt unliquidated
That is snug,—Macon Telegraph.