Newspaper Page Text
WEEKLY' CONSTITUTION.
voivn.
ATLANTA, GA, TOESDAY, JULY 21,1874
Jk
No. 25
H. I. KIMBALL.
Hi* Reply to the Chronicle and Sen
tinel.
The II. L Kimbali. Hoi .se, Room 43,)
Atlanta, Ga., July 17,1874. j
Editor* Chronicle and Sentinel, Augusta,
Georgia:
From your issue of the 12th insant I
clip the following:
“We have received a letter from Mr. H.
I* Kimball, complaining of the injustice
done him by our Atlanta correspondent
in a letter published Thursday morning.
He characterizes the statements as utterly
fabe, and, in view of the fact that they
arc calculated to do him great injury, re
quests us to do him justice. Prominent
as Mr. Kimball has been in involving the
State in the most reckless and extrava
gant wild-cat railroad enterprises, and
guilty of peculation, as he is believed to
lie by the great mass of our people, we
have no desire to prejudge him since it is
justice he seeks. All men, no matter
liow flagrant their abuses or revolting
their crimes, are entitled to justiec, and
to a trial before their peers. Public
opinion is overwhelmingly against Mr.
kimbilL The people of Georgia be
lieve him guilty of the wildest extrava
gance and of having appropriated to his
own personal use money borrowed on the
credit of the State. They attribute the
linancial embarrassment of the State to
liis railroad development mania, and con
sider him equally as guilty os Gov. Bul
lock of peculation and fraud. Mr. Kim-
1>all will have to suffer from the imputa
tion of being dishonest until a jury of the
citizen* of Georgia, acquit him of intentional
fraud. The people believe him guilty.
They lielicve that he ought to be arrested
and tried. We desire, however, to do no
man injustice, and if Air. Kimball still
feels aggrieved at the comments of cither
«»ur correspondent or ourselves, we will
give him a hearing through our columns.
The people of Georgia would like to hear
from him. They rather admire his check
in coming back to face the music, and
:hey would doubtless admire his candor
if he would crane out and make a clean
breast of it. If II. I. Kimball would only
tell all he knows, the people of Georgia
outside of Atlanta would rejoice at his
disclosures. Until he exculpates himself
the verdict of the people will be against
him.”
When I addressed you the letter
referred to, callinging your atten
tion to the scandalous and libelous
letter from your Atlanta corres
pondent, published in your issue of the
nth instant, I fully bdieved what I said in
that note, viz: that it had been published
without your knowledge or consent, and
that I had only to call your attention to
the. fact to have you do me full justice.
I was confident that from the position
which you had occupied you could not
be ignorant of facts that would wholly
controvert the statements of your corres
pondent, but judging from your comments
upon my letter, I assume that you are
still in ignorance as to the facts, and while
I dislike a newspaper controversy, and
diAclhim any intention of entering tlic
lists against so distinguished and polished
a writer as yourself, or of descending to
the opportunity offered for “u hearing
through your columns.”
The charges which arc malic against
my character are generally of that vague,
indefinite kind, founded only on belief
without evidence, and upon surmise with
out knowledge, and are, therefore, very
difficult to answer specifically; but in this
“hearing" I shall endeavor to meet with
the plain facts every charge against my
character that has come to my knowl
edge from any responsible source—and
with this 1 have done.
The cliargc that such railroads as the
Brunswick and Albany, the Cartersville
and Van Wert, and the Marietta and
North Georgia, are “reckless and extrava
gant wildcat railroad enterprises.” is not
supported by the fait. 1 will not pro
long this bearing to lay licfore you the
history of these enteprises; suffice it to
say they were inaugurated, advocated,
and encouraged before the people, in the
legislative balls of Georgia, and before
the financiers of the world, by many of
Georgia's ablest men, for many years be
fore I ba;l the pleasure of a residence in
your State, or the honor of a connection
with tlicoe great enterprises. This Is an
undeniable fact. State aid was urged
before the war, and the men and the
newspapers that urged it were among the
substantial and most able in Georgia.
Sixty-five miles of tlie Brunswick and
Albany Railroad were completed and run
ning bi-fore the war, and hundreds of tons
of iron lay at the wharf at Brunswick to
extend it. No man can deny this
When the secession convention of Geor
gia met. Judge Nesbit introduced and
passed an ordinance guaranteeing the pro
tection of the State to ‘ works of
internal improvement on her soil, belong
ing to aliens. This convention is said to
have been composed of the best men of
Georgia. Would they have solemnly
guaranteed protection to “a reckless and
extravagant wildcat railroad enterprise?”
The iron was taken from this road bv
the public authorities during the war and
used, on other railroads in the State.
After the war the owners demanded pay
ment (under the authority of this guar
anty) for the railroad which had beende-
.-troyed to the amount of three millions
four hundred thousand dollars—this
claim was presented to the Governor and
by him submitted to the Legislature—a
committee was appointed who recognized
the legality of the claim but were unable
to agree upon the amount.
As a solution of the matter the State's
indorsement on the first mortgage bonds
of the company at the rate of '(#15,000)
fifteen thousand dollars per mile was of
fered by the State in settlement of the
claim, in consideration of a release of the
State from that claim. Was it “a wild
cat enterprise" then ? It has been charged
that the Legislature making this settle
ment, and granting the State’s indorse
ment, was a Radical Legislature which I
manipulated. The facts do not support
this charge. At that time, the Democrats
had at least thirty majority in the House
of Representatives, and this bill passed
that body by so overwhelming a majority
that the yeas and nays were not called!
Its strongest opponents in the Senate were
the President of the Senate and the Chair
man of the Finance Committee—the two
leading Republican members. I had no
interest in the bill, and scarcely knew
such a bill was pending, nor did I have
any interest in the road until nearly one
year thereafter. Is there any evidence in
this that it was a Radical scheme passed
by & Radical Legislature under my manip
ulation f The people even cannot be ac
cused of believing that charge.
At the outset of rebuilding the Bruns
wick & Albany Railroad, the contractors
were met with lawsuits, injunctions,
strikes and other impediments wnicli
came near overpowering them, and in
this condition of affairs I was appealed to
by the contractors to take an interest in
the enterprise. Before doing so however
I looked carefully into its whole history,
consulted with Judge Dougherty, Hon.
Linton Stephens and other leading law
yers of Georgia, who had fully examined
the Constitution of the State and the act
granting State aid, as to the possibility of
the law being declared unconstitutional.
All advised me that although temporary
injunctions might be granted, and some
technical legal embarrasments thrown in
the way, they could not stand, that the
law was strictly constitutional as the act
was a legislative contract founded upon
codsideration and the opposition must
surrender in the end. I then discussed
the prospective business of the road with
some of the ablast financiers of Georgia
and New York, all concurring in the
opinion that it was destined to be the
Eastern portion of the Southern Pacific
route, ami could not fail to prove remu
nerative.
Not one of all these men ever intima
ted to me that they considered it a “reck
less, extravagant, wild-cat railroad enter
prise!” On the faith of the information
obtained as above, I embarked in this en
terprise and pushed it forward with a de
gree of rapidity and enterprise never be
fore witnessed in Geoigia, completing in
splendid working order one hundred
and seventy four miles, and grading some
forty miles in addition, all within
eighteen montlis. This fact is unde
niable. So much, as to the Brunswick and
Albany being “a reckless, wild-cat en
terprise.”
It is charged that I committed deliber
ate fraud in obtaining the indorsement
of the State upon the bonds of th£ Bruns
wick and Albany Company. It is a fact
which no one, so far as I am aware, has
ever attempted to conceal or deny, that
the bonds of the company were indorsed
by the State before the road was fully
completed, but that there was any fraud
committed by me in this ihatter, inten
tional or otherwise, I do emphatically
deny.
Under the advice of eminent counsel,
for reasons which I fully explamcd in an
official communication to the Governor
early in the spring of 1871, and which I
presume is now on file in the Executive
office, I as President of the company ap
plied to him to issue the entire amount
of bonds on the road. In that official ap
plication I set forth the facts, that I had
just returned from New York, where I
had made arrangement for the successful
negotiation of the bonds of the company
through -a .^rontiiwuit European house,
but that in making sales of bonds abroad
it was necessary to place them in the
hands of a great many agents, who must
actually have the bonds in hand for de
livery; therefore time is required by the
principal house taking these securities at
various points in Europe for sale, and
the}' would not take the matter up with
out absolutely controlling the whole se
ries. I, therefore, in the interest of the
State, as well as my company, decided to
lay the whole matter before the Governor
and usk his co-operation. I stated to him
that the road was being very rapidly
pushed in construction, Knd would be
open to Albany early in September, and
to Cuthbert and Eufaula in season for
the cotton business of that year, surely
on or before the first of January of the
ensuingyear; that the entire grading was
under contract and very nearly com
pleted to Albany, and more than half
done between Albany and Cuthbert, all
by good and responsible contractors, who
were pushing it rapidly; that the iron for
the entire road had been purchased, and
enough already delivered at Brunswisck
to lay the track west of Cuthbert;
That a large amount of rolling stock was
at that time being manufactured, and by
November first the road would be lib
erally stocked. I also stated to him that
if that opportunity to make sale of the
bonds could be embraced and taken ad
vantage of. it was believed that the State
would be secured against any possibility
of the company’s failing to complete the
road, or to meet its interest payments
with an unfinished road on its, ‘or the
State’s hands. But that if he did not feel
authorized to comply with my request
and i&ue the entire amonnt of bonds
authorized to be issued, then the company
would be compelled to use its securities
as collateral in making temporary loans,
thus locking up a large amount in mar
gins and at high rates of interest. While
if the company was forced to this policy
it would do all in its power to carry the
work through, but I felt it my duty to
inform him that it might result in so em
barrassing the company as to force it to
fail to meet tlic interest on its bonds.
The Governor informed me in response
to my application that he had carefully
considered my communication, and
had decided * that under the act
approved September 30, 1870, he
had the authority to comply with
the request, and that he would
issue the bonds upon so much of the
road (in addition to that which was com
pleted.) as was graded and for which the
iron was in Brunswick, retaining
bonds to the amount of four
hundred and forty thousand dollars to
complete the road west of Cuthbert.
These facts which are on record in the
Executive office and in the office of the
Secretary of State, and always open to
the inspection, of the puUJjc, show
plainly, that there neveBFwas any
attempt on . my part to deceive
i Executive or any officer of the
I was exceedingly anxious to cany
Tfc the enterprise and took this
In perfect good faith, fully ex-
pcCMfEto be able to push the road on to
eoiSpietion.and I still believe that I should
have done so, had I not been assailed in
the moat violent manner by rival corpora
tions and prejudiced persons, whose un
ceasing efforts to break down the enter
prise, through the press, - in the courts and
by anonymous communications addressed
to bankers and.capitalists in this country
and in Europe, so. depressed the financial
standing of the State, and depreciated my
securities as to defeat their sale and effect
my financial ruin.
Vouchers which have been approved
by the Court, and I understand are now
oh record in Glynn county, show an ac
tual expenditure in cash of three million
two hundred and nineteen thousand dol
lars; and there was expended in addition
to that amount for interest, commissions,
legal fees and other expenses, for which
vouchers have not been presented on ac
count of my absence, to an amount suffi
cient to swell the sums actually expended
to more than three and one-half million
dollars. Every dollar of which came from ,
without the State. Any one by examin- « r that the State received the money real-
I j v . * ^1. _ T» J 17.P/1 Tyi nrmfVinv norf ♦Kft emwo ronnrf
money on account of said bonds. On
page 156 the Bond Committee say, refer
ring to the gold quarterly * bonds:
“Of the twenty-five hundred and
ninety-eight bonds disposed of, three
hundred and fifty were given for the
Opera House and Executive Mansion.
Mr. Clews sold sixteen hundred and fifty
and the remainder was manipulated by
H. L Kimball. * * * * \ye are un
able to state what amount Kimball real
ized from the bonds which he sold.”
It would appear from this report that
I sold five hundred and ninety-eight of
these bonds belonging to the State, and
that the committee were unable to discov-
ing the testimony taken before the Bond
Committee will find that the amount
claimed under oath to have been advanced
on all of the endorsed bonds, and the
State bonds issued ift exchange for the
second mortgage bonds of the company,
does not much, if any, exceed the above
amount, showing tlmt every dollar real
ized by the sale and hypothecation of
these bonds was expended on the enter
prise. The State has the full benefit of
this vast expenditure, which in addition
to the value of the road, has increased the
taxable property of the State $2,219,000,
as is shown by Col. Frobel’s report. If I
have, in any measure, committed any
fraud in connection with this enterprise,
neither myself or my legal advisers know
of it; nor have the parties who furnished
the money on the securities ever charged
it. As regards the
CAUTEnSVILLE AND VAN WERT RAIL
ROAD,
what I have said in regard to the fact that
the Brunswick and Albany Railroad was
not regarded by the best people of Geor
gia, and elsewhere, as “a reckless, extra
vagant, wild-cat railroad enterprise,” will,
in the main, apply to the Cartersville and
Van Wert Railroad, therefore I will not
multiply words by discussing that. Suf
fice it to say I had no connection what
ever with it until years after the State
had, by repeated acts of the Legislature,
declared the building of this road to be
of great service to the whole country.”
It is charged that I obtained the indorse
ment of the State, first upon the bonds
issued by the Cartersvillle and Van Wert
Railroad, and that after the name of said
road had been changed to that of the
Cherokee Railroad, that I procured the
indorsement of the State upon the bonds
of the Cherokee Railroad, also,
without returning those which had
been previously indorsed under the
name of the C. & V. W. R. R., thereby
securing a double endorsement upon our
road. This matter is now undergoing
very thorough investigation in the unitei
States District Court, and I have given in
my sworn testimony in regard to the
facts, which it is hardly proper for me to
make public at present. I may, however,
say that the parties who advanced large
sums of money on the “Cherokee Rail
road” bonds. have investigated the facts in
the whole case, from' its inception to the
iresent time, employing some of the best
egal talent of New, York and G^orgi?,. -
and do. you imaging that if they had dis-
covercd/rautf, or even misrepresentation,
they would not at once have instituted
proceedings against me?
I need not tell you that a man wlio-ob-
tains credit in New York, no matter how
small the amount, by misrepresentation
or by fraudulent means, is not allowed to
escape the full penalty of the law. I deny
any fraudulent transaction on my part in
rapnection with this matter and look for
Complete vindication of the charges in
connection therewith, in the decision of
the United States Circuit Judge before
whom this case will be tried.
ized. In another part of the same report
the committee say:
“We made every effort to ascertain
hbw much money the State received from
Mr. Kimball on account of the sale of
these bonds by him as agent for the State,
but failed to do so, except five hundred
bonds hypothecated with Russell Sage to
secure a loan previouslv made to the
State of $575,000.
TJie/rtcte are, I never had in my pos
session a single one of these five hundred
and ninety-eight bonds which the com
mittee allege that I “manipulated” and
“sold.” And by reference to the testi
mony of Mr. Sage, (page 137 of same re
port) you will note that Mr. Sage says
under oath, .that, “ In May, 1871,
witness received from Gov. Bullock five
hundred gold bonds of one thousand dol
lars each.” He does not say he received
them from me, nor does lie mention my
name in connection therewith. How this
committee could have reported that I
“manipulated” and “sold” these same
five hundred bonds is a difficult question
to solve, and I am also unable to recon
cile the facts with their report in regard
to the balance of ninety-eight which they
claim I “manipulated!” The following
are the facts in regard to the disposition
by Gov. Bullock of the issue of $3,000,-
000 of the gold quarterlies:
For Executive Mansion and Capi
tol Building. $350,000
To Henry Clews & Co 1,650,000
To Russell Sage 500,000
To Fourth National Bank 500,000
PAWNING BONDS OF THE STATE FOR niS
_ OWN USE.
You charge that the people of Georgia
believe I have appropriated to my own
use money borrowed on the credit (bonds)
of the State. If the “people of Georgia”
so believe it is because they have been
misled, and are totally Ignorant of j the
facts. They have gathered their belief
from the report of the Bond Committee
and from what lias been published ind
republished by the press of Georgia, said
publications being seasoned with such
abuse as the political accidents of the
time seem to have demanded, and were
therefore swallowed with great gusto.
While I do not desire to cast any reflection
upon the honesty of said committee; I
can show that they were mistaken in
many of their conclusions; but their in
vestigation took place at a time of great
political excitement, and very naturally
they looked for such facts as they had
been led to expect they should discover.
Tliey say, on page 153 of their report:
“Mr. Kimball received from the Fourth
National Bank the currency bonds held
by that house, and instead of returning
them to the State or cancelled as directed
to do by his letter of instruction from
Governor Bullock ***** lie
hypothecated them, * * * and re
ceived money * * * * on liis pri
vate account.
Ia m unable to determine from the evi
dence taken by the committee how they
arrived at this conclusion, for their state
ment is not true. I did not receive any
bonds from the Fourth National Bank,
as the following telegraphic correspond
ence conclusively proves:
Atlanta, Ga., July 15, 1874.
To the Fourth National Bank, New York:
The Bond Committee charge that I re
ceived from you in 1871, the currency
bonds then in your possession belonging
to the State. Did I ever receive from you
a single bond of any kind belonging to
the State? Please answer.
[Signed.] H. I. Kimball.
REPLY.
Nf.w York, July 16,1874.
Toll. I. Kimball, Atlanta, Ga.:
I do not find that we delivered vou any
State bonds.
[Signed.] A. Lane, Cashier.
Neither did I receive from any other
person any bonds of the State, except
those issued directly to me by authority
of the law. As agent of the State, and’
acting - under the letter of instructions
frd»* Governor Bullock, (which letter the
.committee refer to,) I simply requested
the Fourth National Bank and- Messrs.
Clews & Co. to cancel and return to the
Treasurer the currency bonds held by
them. I never saw; -or touched, any of
§3,000,000
Afterwards Gov. Bullock gave Henry
Clew3 & Co. an order on the Fourth Na
tion Bank for one hundred, and to A. S
Whiton an order for one hundred, leav
ing in the possession of the Fourth Na
tional Bank three hundred, which the
committee report as having been returned
to tlie Treasurer. Mr. Whiton used the 100
which he received from the Fourth Na
tional Bank, upon the order of the Gov
ernor, as collateral for a loan of seventy-
five thousand dollars which he negotiated
for the State, with the New York State
Loan and Trust Company, and which I
understand the State has since paid.
I have been particular in stating the
facts in detail in regard to the dispositions
and use of these bonds and my connec
tion therewith, for I am satisfied that the
people are more interested in knowing tlie
facts i(i this than on almost any .other sub
ject, which heretofore have been misun
derstood, but I believe the Bond Com
mittee themselves, with the lights now be
fore them, will readily admit the troth of
my statements.
You say the people “attribute tlie
financial embarrassment of the State to
(his) iny railroad development mania.”
On this charge I take issue. It was not
my railroad development mania that ori
ginated, advocated, chartered or inau
gurated a single one of the railroad enter
prises with which I became connected.
It was only when the repeated failure of
others rendered necessary the choice of
new leaders who could command in
creased energy, enterprise and capital,
that I accepted the leadership.
This fact is well known to the people
of Georgia, who can never he made to
attribute their present financial embar-
rassi tent to the expenditure of five mil
lions of money in their midst that has
not \ ost them one dime—and for the
amount of which they have shaken off
every obligation for the future.
Your broad and*sweeping assertions as
to what the people believe do not seem to
be sustained by the facts. The evidences
of confidence and esteem shown me
during my former visit, and which are
now being daily repeated, in my judg
ment, wholly controvert the statement
that “Public opinion is overwhelmingly
against Mr. Kimball.”
And I will add, at the risk of being
thought egotistical, that I feel the pulse
of the people in the warm grasp of the
hand extended by hundreds of Georgia’s
best citizens, many of whom it was never
my pleasure to know personally until they
voluntarily called upon me, and who
assure me that I have many warm friends
in every part of the State, and urge me
to again take up my residence in Georgia.
You say:
“Mr. Kimball will have to suffer from
the imputation of being dishonest until a
jury of the citizens of Georgia acquit
him of intentional frand.” “The people
believe him guilty,” they believe “that
he ought to be* arrested and tried.
We desire, however, to do no man in
justice.”
I am bound to believe that when you
wrote the above you neither intended or
believed you did me injustice. But
ask, in all candor, is it no injustice to de
clare a man “guilty of the most disgrace
ful frauds known to the commercial
world,” wholly upon ex parte evidence
and without a hearing? Is it no injustice
to proclaim to the world that the “people
believe me guilty and that I ought to be
arrested and tried, when no obstacle but
the want of proofs prevent my arrest and
trial? Is it no injustice to declare that
the people will believe me “dishonest
until a juiy of the citizens of Georgia
aequitme of intentional fraud? If not, it
changes the whole common law which
declares that a man shall be held innocent
until proven guilty.
If I have outraged, in any manner, the
laws of this State, it is the duty of every
good citizen and member of society who
have the proofs of guilt, to make specifiic
charges, swear out a warrant as the law
directs, and bring me before “a jury of
the citizens of Georgia.” If I am guilty
the way to conviction and punishment is
clear; if I am not, **hy should my in
tegrity be further questioned? I have
not avoided the law. My place of resi
dence has been advertised and well known
andlam assured that the law officers of the
formance of their duties, have not been
neglectful of their duty to the people in
this case. 1
When I was here in February last I
called upon his Excellency, Governor
Smith, on the very morning of my arrival,
and said to him that I had heard charges
had been made against me, and that I was
then here for the purpose of answering
them.
He replied saying that soon after he
assumed the duties of the Executive office
that bold charges were made against me
in connection with the issue and use of
the bonds and obligations of the State, to
the truth of which my departure from
the State gave force and color. He said
it became his duty to thoroughly look
into the matter, which he did by direct
ing Hon. Liuton Stevens to employ such
assistance as he required, and to investi
gate my connection with these matters so
fully and completely as to leave no
possible chance of escape if I
lad in any manner made myself
amenable to the laws of the State;
and, says the Governor, “Judge Stephens
took a deep personal interest in the matter,
and was in earnest in searching for the
truth, and I am sure he performed his
duty faithfully to himself and the State,
and if there liad been any wrong doing
on your part he would no doubt have dis
covered it; hut he reported to me that he
teas utterly unable to find any act of yours
on which he could even base a charge, much
less prove one. And,” continued the Gov
ernor, “therefore I know of no reason
why you are not as free to go and come
in Georgia as any man in the State, and
the surprise to me ha#been, that knowing
yourself to be innocent, that you ever
left the State.” I think I have stated to
you almost the exact language of the Gov
ernor, for I was interested, and the Gover
nor's frank and cordial manner impressed
me.
In conclusion allow me to say that I
am sufficiently charitable to bclive that
persons who have made these sweeping
and unjust charges against my character
have done so under a misapprehension of
the facts. I have never for a moment
doubted that the calm arbitrament of
time, even though I spoke not, would
convince the people of Georgia of my en
tire integrity of purpose throughout all
my dealings with themselves and with
the State. If this letter, which contains
only the simple, plain truth, has the ef
fect to hasten that time, I shall be glad;
if not, I can wait, for it is sure to come.
Bearing no malice, and desiring only
justice, fam, respectfully,
H. I. Kimball.
these bonds referred to as above by' the { State, than whom there are none in any
Bond Committee, neither did I receive any | State - -
s more vigilant or just in the per-
Cotton—Volume II.—No. 40.
The receipts this week are 8,000 bales;
6,000 less than last year, and 5,000 more
than two years since. It is likely the re
ceipts for next week will be about 7,000
bales, compared with 12,000 last year,
and 4,000 the year before; and the re
ceipts at the interior towns 1,000 bales,
compared with 8,000 last year, and 700
the year before. * ,
The thermometer has averaged 85. de
grees at noon. Clear and hot four days,
cloudy, warm and showery three days.
Rainfall for the week 1.03 of an inch.
The same week last year the thermometer
was 85 degrees at noon. Clear and hot
five days; cloudy, warm and showery two
days. Rainfall for the week .70 of an
inch. The same week, year before last,
the thermometer was 85 degrees at noon.
Cloudy and rainy every day. Rainfall
for the week, 1 75 of an inch
ATLANTA MARKET.
RECEIPTS.
1874
1873
Receipts this week
Receipts previouslv.
OO
!53,091
105
29,985
53,113
30,090
SHIPMENTS.
Shipments this week...
Shipments previously...
. 33
.52,484
800
29,320
52;517
29,620
STOCK.
Stock on hand
. 596
470
price.
Low Middlings
14
RECEIPTS.
The daily receipts, at all ports, for next
week, for the past four years, are as fol
lows:
1870 1871 1873
Saturday 965 2,138 561
Monday 1,609 L843 898
Tuesday. 1,073 2,458 538
Wednesday.. 952 1,558 324
Thursday.... 749 890 484
Friday .".. ...1,960 1,932 821
Various 14 12 4
1873
2,057
2,225
1,458
2,140
1,895
3,179
618
7,322 10.826 3.G80 12,572
WEATHER.
The rainy season we have had thus far
this month, is about over! We shall
have some local rains and storms, of
course; but we expect a generally dry
and hot August—perhaps a burning
drouth in some sections.
BCREAU REPORT.
The Agricultural Bureau report, which
should always be issued the 15th of 1 each
month, came out promptly this month,
and agrees very well with our own re
ports. The average condition is now 92
per cent, which is 8}£ percent, better
than the June report, and 4 per cent,
better than the July report for last year.
All the States show a very good condi
tion, except Louisiana, which is only up
to 73 percent, caused by the overflow
malcimr the plantin
NEW;
This market has bedBVeA j but more
active for spots, follow4*j;'eiactly the
course we indicated last week that it
would do. Sales of spots 5,481 bales, at
a decline of one-fourth of a cent in the
price. There is still no demand for ex
port, and as this market is still from one-
half to three-fourths of a cent alyrirea
shipping point to Europe there ia no:
likely to be much demand until
there is some change in the
general situation. Contracts have been
more active: Sales for the week 105,000
bales, at a declining of to of a cent
On Thursday the market was very
weak: July selling for 15 15-16, and Au
gust for 16 8-16; which is fully. 3 cents
decline from the highest point At the
close values were up a little, winch is a
natural reaction after such a severe de
cline.
LIVERPOOL.
This market has been dull and lifeless
all the week. No change in the price.
It is not likely this market will fall much
below the present price—8 3-lGd.—and
any serious damage to our growing crop
would likely make a sharp reaction to
8J-£d. with large sales.
CROP PROSPECTS.
All our correspondents report the crop
as still doing as well as possible. Intho
section immediately around and tributary
to this city the prospect is as fine as pos
sible; not a single complaint. The aver
age plants are six inches taller than lost
year, and much fuller of fruit, but about
five days later, as indicated by the first
blooms, where it was planted thesamo
day. The time from the planting to the
first blooms is usually about ten weeks;
tlxis year it was eleven weeks.
NEW COTTON. (“v
The first bale of the new crop was re
ceived at Brownsville, Texas, on the 9th.
Last year the first bale was received at
the same place on the 3d of July, tad
the year before on the 10th of the same
month.
Last year the first bale was received in
New York July 16th, and sold for thirty-
six cents. This year the first bale was
received on the 17th inst, and sold for
thirty-six cents. How are these receipts
for a crop three Weeks late?
There is open cotton in Southwest
Georgia, and we hear that a bale of new
crop will go forward in a week or ten
days.
CATERPILLARS.
We continue to hear reports of cater
pillars, but those persons who have stud
ied the habits of these worms closely are
pretty generally of the opinion that they
will do but little damage this year.
There is one notable thing this year
as compared with last: Then the fruit
and forest trees were, in many places,
stripped of their foliage by caterpillars,
(we never knew them so bad,) whilst this
year we have not seen or heard of any.
It is true the cotton worm is entirely a
different variety, for it will grow vexy
fast whilst - eating the cotton plant, and
die from starvation when there is no cot
ton to eat. Still, as all caterpillars are of
the same species, and thrive under the
same influences, it is likely the cotton
worms will not eat the plant this year
until about the last of September, if at
all, when they will really be a benefit by
stripping the plant of its too luxuriant
foliage.
PRICES.
The present figures show about as much
decline as we have ever expeeted. It has
been fully three cents a poupd, and this
is a very heavy one, considering the low
prices prevailing and the absence of any
panic. The decline has been a natural
one, as will always follow the same
causes, and we are only surprised tfiat
men of good sense and sound judgment,
on almost any other subject, should lose
their money by buying or bolding spot or
contract cotton in the face of such over
whelming evidence of a decline. We ad
mire their pluck and perseverance. Such
a determination to win would succeed in
almost anything else hut the cotton trade.
This trade like most others is governed
by the laws of
PRESENT AND PROSPECTIVE
supply and demand, and he who puts up
his money in opposition to these laws
must expect to lose it.
PROSPECT.
We cannot see any particular reason
for the price going down much more. If
there should be a severe and burning
drouth in August, we may have a short
and sudden rise, and the price is likely to
be as high six weeks from now as it is to
day. ^ ^ ^
DEPARTMENT NEWS.
John C. Chew was commissioned, yes
terday, Justice of the Peace for the 64th
District G. M., Burke county.
W. C. Griffin,the defaulting tax col
lector of Decatur county, on being ar
rested, waived a coihmittmg trial and
was bound over to the Superior Court in
a ; bond of $6,000. The Sheriff lias ad
vertised the property of the defendant
and securities for sale under the State
fi. fa.
Hon. R. R. Harris was commissioned,
yesterday, as Judge of the Connty Court
of Floyd county, to fill the unexpired
term of W. B. Terhune, deceased. His
term extends to the first Monday in Feb
ruary, 1877. He was elected on the 13th
inst., by the Board of Electors.
A reward of $250was offered, yester
day, by the Governor for the apprehen
sion and delivery of James Williams to
the Sheriff of ‘Wilkes county, who is
charged with the murder of Wilev T.
Marshall, whose father, Thomas C. Mar
shall, has offered also a reward of $300.
The crime was committed on the 28th
day of last May j
.(INDISTINCT fMNT)