Newspaper Page Text
thet daily sun.
jffhcoCornvrof Broad and Alabama St’*
Published by ilio. Atlanta Sun Publishing
('<>inn:iny.
Alexander H.
Archibald SI.
j. Henly Sm:
Stephens,
Speights,
th.
\ XMOlSTlWCT Pff>mT t
Toprietors.
Alexander H. Stephens, Political Editor.
A. R. Watson, .... News Editor.
I. " :lv Smith, .... Jlanatrcr.
Bocal Editor t
WILLIAM H. MOORE.
Traveling Agents :
j. M. W. WILL- J. W. HEARD,
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2, 1871.
ME31 PHIS CORRESPONDENCE
Politics in Tennessee.
CONTENTS
ATLANTA WEEKLY SUN,”
JOB, THIS WEEK ESDIXQ
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 217, 1871.
page l*t.—Business Notices. “The New York
Wjrl l Once More”—by the Political Editor—(Be-
priuted to meet the demand of new subscribers.!
Alexander H. Stephens on “Lead Issues”—from
she ^twjqtk World. Georgia Hews. Miscella-
acoua Neva.
rage sill,—Supreme Court Decision*. Crawford*
I vine Correspondence. Tho Georgia Western Rail-
r al—Uonglss County. Tho PlSjfns of Hew York
City. Items of Telega h News—July 25th. Trial
Sentence ot James O. Oxford. Alabama Poll-
ti s. Tennessee Politics. Another “Borgia” in
tUc Field. Miscellaneous Items.
page 3d Sun-StsokcB. Tho Belief Law. List
of Delegatee to tho Agricultural Convention. Air-
Lino Railroad. Pomological Society. Marietta
iYiualo Collego. Items of Telegraph News. Cul
ture of Flowers. First Bale of Cotton of Crop of
1871. LaOrange Fwnirio College. Miscellaneous
Items.
page 4th.—“ Kentucky Politics "—By tho Politi-
cal Editor. Hon. Purmodua Reynolds and W. P.
C of tho New York Journal of Commerce—By tho
Political Editor. Kentucky Politics—Extract from
a Speech by Judge G. W. -Craddock. The Scauda-
loti.-; Report about Mr. Bavis. David Crockett. A
Mcara in Georgia. Miscellaneous Items.
sanctioning the whole? This is the tenor of the ar
gument.
_ Xovr doe* the World really thiDk that “negro -*uf-
Tlie New YorK World Once 3Iore l&K**!**
Much better would it lie for the liberties of this
[From tho Atlanta Daily Sun. of the 19th July—Re
published to meet the demands of new subscribers.]
, uence contend that tlio old Alien and
l Sedition lavra and the Embargo law are
J live issues. By tlie very terms of tlio
1 reconstruction acts they censed to be op-
• erative in any State from the date of the
admission of Senators and Itepresenta-
j tives to Congress from that State. All
5 the States are represented, and the re-
; construction acts have become void by
their own limitation. Au agitation to
repeal them would be ridiculous. There
| is nothing to repeal. What practical
form, then, shall the opposition to them
! take? If Mr. Stephens wishes to over-
1 throw the State governments which were
We have had on bur table for Foveral days, a copy
of the paper which heads this article, in which is rn
editorial pointedly directed to the political editor of
The Sirs. This will be found in full in another col
umn of our issue to-day.
We have taken such time to respond to the WorWi
overture in this instance, as we thought the great
gravity and high impo t dr the subjects required.—
We now reply in that tone and spirit in which the
IVorW indicates a disposition to di-cuss the ques
tions involved.
In the first place, then, we must say, that wo are
not aware that we have heretofore been either “mis
ty” or “vague” at all in our marking out the linn
which properly separates, in our opinion, tho “<lca>l"
from the “living unw,” indhe great civic struggle
which is to come off in g»is country in 1872—those
which should be “laid away in the hortus siccus,"
and those which should be held np for public con
sideration, and popular approval or condemnation at
the polls.
On this point we tiionght we had been exceeding
ly “precise” and "e*.plicit.” It may be that the
1 Yorld has not seen what wo have Heretore sLl.l on
that subject, and we, therefore, now bricily repeat
our views upon it in lacgusgeeo plain that there can
be, »*it seems to us, no misunderstanding la regard
r - id a
Page 5tn.—dun-Strokes. Items of Telegraph
News. An Address to tho Baptists of Georgia.
N,w Orleans Going Ahead. Board of Trade.
\ JT- nstcr of the Deep Caught by a Fishing Party.
Ijcttnr from Oglethorpe. Miscellaneous Items.
Page Ottt—“ Dr. Bard Again ”—By the Political
Editor. Georgia Politics. Alabama Politics. In
diana Planters. Of Intercsi to Cotton Planters.
Georgia Nows. Origin of Financial Abbreviations.
A Female Odd-Fellow. Crop Report Poetry—
Dying for Love. Decision which Ought to be
Published. A Man with an Appetite. Miscellane
ous Item 3.
Page 7th.—"Tho Louisville, Ky.. Courier-Jour
nal Again”—By the Political Editor. Politics in
Arian-as. Columbus. Sun-Strokes. Poetry—
Memphis, July 26, 1871.
Editor Sot: Your accession to
the ranks of journalism carries me
back in History to the better and
purer age of our Federal Republic,
when such men as Jefferson and Mad
ison, Hamilton and Jay, Livingston
and Calhoun, Blair and Ritchie, and
a host of others like them, did not
disdain, by their writings, to instruct
their fellow-countrymen, through the
public press, in the true principles of
Constitutional Liberty.
It is a3 lamentable as it is mortify-,
mg to think of the degeneracy of
modern times in this particular.
Many .of those who now address the
public through the Press are bare ex
pediency men. The people are al
most daily advised by-this latter class
to surrender some right or to aban
don some principle. They never
teach, as did the great men above re
ferred to, that constitutional liberty
can only he piaintained and preserved
by those who have the intelligence
and courage, to defend it against the
insidious encroachments of power.
Nor do we anywhere read where they
exhort their countrymen, as did those
great men, never to suffer an invasion
of their political Constitution, in I ware dtepostd of witbiu tha limits of the period so
however unimportant a particular, to j <ll xhe C xnith fl ameu,im<.-nt to the constitution of the
pass without a stern condemnation, United S sate a, by which the previously existing ro-
1 -, , . j . ■ , lation between the white and black races in some of
and. a determined persevering resist-I the States was forever abolished and prohibited, we
nrin a [ therefoj-e consider no longer a living issue. It was
“ ** adopted within the period stated. AJl the States of
Blit the, , former were statesmen, the Union had a. hearing.. .upon it, and an
who had made the science of Govern- v0 cSnsatmfonai 11 coZtunencielf^wo’
ment their study, while most of the therefore, regard it as for'however reluctant-
latter rise to no higher dignity than Lttonpto’a^to^
that of mere politicians. The former i
had learned from reading “old books, tmion oi tho united statute; and was so ratified in
hv pvnpriprice and from nhqprvn firm good faith by them without the slightest disposition
Dy experience, ami irom ouservauon, “ ntheirparttodistnrb it ItiB therefore, in our
that one precedent creates another, opinion, properly classed among the “dead issues;”
ii , ..I v _ not because an attempt to disturb it wonld “kindle
til at tliese soon accumulate and be- the whole country into a conflagration,” hut because
come law, and are then resorted to as
. ,1,1 t • settle what they have agreed to, "in good fault, as
pretexts by bad and ambitious men, I one of the actual results of the war, whether a legit-
seeking to overthrow the liberties of I
their country, in order the better to be reversed,
conceal their real motives. 1 So muchfor the “ dead issaei ‘
These men have appeared to us, of
country if that view was correct. We, however, look
upon this as hardly constituting tLe ‘•husks.” Tho
“kernel” is in depriving the States of the power of
regulating tlil3, as other local questions, each for it
self and as it pleases. This Amendment in its “ker
nel" strikes at the very foundation . on which all our
institutions rest. Its object was. and effect will be,
if it shall ever become au “accomplished fact," to r*-
fnm’A IVift rinlv harrier hitr^!nfnro MisUrm nrtaintftbfi
still believes that the secession doctrine borQ of tLe ^construction acts, let him
is tenable in logic; that it is a fair deduc
tion from tlie history of the Constitution
and.the structure oi the Federal Gov-
say so. He has avowed no such inten
tion; but if the State governments are to
, ...... ., stand, vhv raise unpractical qnestionsre-
ernment; and yet, though behoving it 'El cctius £ieir origin? A change in their
f'nvrPftr. m vjrinr.inlA. ha rmnp«if:ntinorlv i r .• ___
in principle, he unhesitatingly; ;4 pect f ve constitutions, if desirable, is
,S it to tho limbo of lost things.— ! „ JT Q F.vlprn.1 nolifci«t hnfc of
correct
consigns it to tno umbo ol lost things.— I no £ a onestion of Federal politics, but of
The Constitution has not been changed | statc p 0 u t i cs an d Mr. Stenhens would
on tlns.point, by amendment or other- placo iu rj , e if i„ gl aring contradiction to
the winter of 1861, when Mr. Stephens domestic government of the States a
felt coustnuned by the paramount alio- v ,. i.-sq.."
giance hc owed to theGtateoi Mr. Stephens shall BM more
to tl&h on the part of any one of ordinary intellcc-
c Ueiwop.
■ )'ir p"siilo;; I lill|Hlltilll1|i but clearly stated, is:
that all question* and matter* pertaining to tun war,
growing out of Recession—its causes, conduct ami
actual results—from its commencement to its close;
from the firing^m Fort Sumter to tbe surrender of
the last Confederate. armed squad; from the seccs-
► ion of South Carolina to the restoration of tho
Union, l>y tbe resumption ot their obligations to it
under the Constitution on tho part of the States
which had attempted to withdraw from it, and tbe
claim by them of their reciprocal and equal rights
in the Federal Councils—all these questions and mat
ters, wo say, which are embraced in these clearly
defined limits, should, in our judgment, as hereto
fore expressed, be “laid away,” and consigned to the
tomb, never to be alluded again to as entering in any
way, into the practical living issues of Federal poli
tics.
Among these nctuul .resuits of the war—whether
one of its legitimate results or not—wo include all
questions relating to negro shivery, or servitude,
as it previously existed in some of the States of the
Union, because in point of fact, all these questions
to follow it out of the Union against his
own judgment of expediency and his own
eloquent protests. Why then does he sd
fully explained his views we have strong
hopes that we may be able to agree with
him, because he is too practical and con-
move the only banior here? ofonfexistag against the 'wise. It remains precisely as it stood in ; n v n idiprislieu orinoioles bv making
Federal Government becoming a centralized despo- *t-J —.. i— -* roe-: —' * v_ cn—i. -— 1' * ■ - - J ~
tism.
What right can any State be said to liave, if it is
deprived of itsjiower over"suffrage? Ti'isis the vi
tal principle of all State Rights and Stato Powers. It
is tho removal of this barrier and the destruction of
tuis principle, aimed at by the “kernel” of the XVth
Amendment, wliieh are to lead to the reduction of
the States of this Union, according to the Idea of Mr-
Attorney-General Akerman, to mere .corporattous or
monicipatitics, which shall depend; even'for their
existence, upon tho will of an Imperial Dynasty.—
This is the “kernel'.’ of the fruit o' this worse than
Upas tree. It is the euncenlr: :ed poison of tiio
whole, which strikes at the very heart and every vi
tal fibre of our whole system of local self-govern
ments. . This, as we view it, is far from being “uolii-
ing Vat ordain!, tg negr-isnfcnpe, ••
Again, is it true that the “substance” of tbe Xr. tb t
Amcndmcut i* nothing but tho security of lhcir civil ‘
rights to th* blick race? Ts <>•- dw W in earnest?
Now to those of a living character.
How is it with the XIVth and XVth Amendments,
jluvuj—|. , . -- ,, , | so-called? If we undeistand the position of the
I n e rtinc " etc. Goorria Nows. Montpelier late years, Under SO many names, tliat World it is lhat these should be classed in the same
f*’ . „ ... « | T Am iii flnnhl liow to tliPITl I category sis the XUIth, and considered among tbe
Items of Telegraph Nows. Miscellane- | J- am 111 CIOUDL UO W IO aCSlgnau, bilbul ac /^ results of the war, whether legitima*e)y or
at this time! Only yesterday they rightfully so or not; and that consistency in rcason-
were known as Conservatives-, 15)114 sli0uM EOacecpt
Is it serious in thus speaking of tr.is most iniquitous
usurpation V What! la a ‘ • bill of Attainder,” in the
thee of the Constitution, aud without a hearing,
agaiostat least cite hundred and ffly thousaivl white
citizens, including nearly every due in ten States
who was ever honored with ti n public confidence,
from the office of Chief Magistrate down to that of
Justice of tho Peace, by which they are declared
“ disabled” and “ disqualified” from ever hereafter
holding aify place of public trust, cither in the State
or Federal Government, “nothing but securing civil
rights to the black race 1“
Is the declaration that no one laboring under these
disabilities,” except by the gracious permission of
the usurpers, shall ever be qualified to represent the
people in Congress, or servo tbe people of their
States in any public capacity, nothing but securing
civil rights to negroes V Has not the Constitution
declared ard fixed the qualifications of members of
Congress? How, then, in the face and teeth of tliese
provisions, does the XIVth Amendment assume to
add to these qualification* ? We maintain that the
attempt to do so by “bills of attainder,” acts of
“ disabilities,” or “ test-oaths,” are as flagitiously
criminal against the organic law and the public lib
erties of the country, as to' add to or take from the
Sacred Text would be impiously wicked against the
mandates of the Most High 1
Are not these now Jiving, practical facts ? Aro we
moving in “the serial region and cloudland of vague
declamation,” in thus characterizing some of the
hideous features of this so called XIVth Amendment?
Are these mpnstrous acts nothing bnt shad
ows? Are they not, in fact, and in truth, most sad
and pernicious realities to he met, considered and
condemned by the people, if the liberties of this
country are to be preserved? We assure the JForJd,
in all earnestness, that we so consider them. Not
only so, hut we look upon them -;s among tho most
practical and live issues now to bo presented to the
people of the United States.
Nor are we, in assailing them, engaged in any such
ridiculous ad venture as Don Quixote in his charge
upon tho wind-mills, unless the people of these
States are ripe for despotism. Nor aro we engaged
in any such fantastic political comedy as that of call
ing upon the people to repeal the unconstitutional
Reconstruction Acts, or anything founded upon
them. Unconstitutional acts, and 'everything that
rests upon them, are not laws. They are nothing
bnt nullities. So Mr. Jefferson and the Democracy
in 1800 declared tho Alien and Sedition Acts to be.
They set out upon no such “ridiculous windr-mill'
contest as seeking to liave nullities repealed. The#
frankly qLbs secession as a dead issue?- giaerata a statesman to disturb the liar-
Solely because tae logic pf events ld mony or break the uuitv of the onlvpar-
pracaeally more conclusive than tlie an-1 ty 4 ich carries the banner of State
related diniecacs ot Mr. Calhoun. We j 1 .jg[ 1 t s _ copy with pleasure and hearty
insert wliat Mr.. Stephens says on that indorsement the closing paragraphs of his
article, and are far more solicitous to find
points of agreement than points of differ
ence with this able, publicist., and, as we
believe, sincere patriot. These admira
ble, ringing, paragraphs hit the mark in
in tho bull’s-eye:
One of tho groat live questions now, therefore, be
fore the Peoples of tho United States is, indeed, tho
constitutional question, not whether a Stato has a
right to secodo, or to nullify an act of Congress, but
whether a Stato has airy right which the Federal
government may not at its pleasure set aside.
On this ALonmoe we willing to unite with nil friends
of liberty in all the States of the Union, in the coming
contest U> put out of potc-:r those who havt tho presetti
control of the Federal government, and who have so
wickedly abusetTlheir high trusts—whose progress, if not
arrested, will end inevitably in despotism.
If the battle be pitched upon this ground aloke.
with no soft words for usurpations of any sort, there
will he no need of “levies." Volunteers of their own
accord, when the signal is given, will pour forth from
every quarter with that enthusiasm for the cause
which lovo of liberty inspires, and which in popular
elections is ever tho surest “earnest of victory.”
topic:
The riiht of secession for all practical purposes
was, as we understand, derided by the war mot that
war can ever settle or decide any principle or truth in
matters of government or justice between men or
States, any more than in matters of science, art or
religion. War may decide and may determine per-
mknentty questions of policy, but never questions of
right.
A legitimate result of the late war, we believe, was
the settlement, and settlement forever, in this coun
try, of the'policy of secession os a practical mode of
redress against any .usurpations on the part ef the
Federal government.
This legitimate result 4 f tlio war has been accepted
in good faith by all those States wliieh recently re
sorted to this mode of redress for what they regard
ed breaches of the common compact and threatened
usurpations by their confederates. Hereafter the
mode of redress for all abuses of power by the Fed
eral government which they seek will be to mate
common cause with all the friends of the Constitu
tion in all the States.
for sal
mu iv, ms.
Page 8th.—Local News. Telegraphic Items.
Financial and Commercial. Advertisements.
them.
Uj- TH DMAS N. HOPKINS, of Thomasville, is
;; duly authorized Agent for Southwest Georgia.
i:g- JAMES ALLEN SMITH is our duly author
ized Agent for East Tennessee. His receipts will
be respected by this Office.
the people discovering their real char- To this we say. by no means. They arenot result*
. , ii* i ,, i i • I of tins war. either legitimate or actual. The> arc in
actor find design, find utterly repucll- I no way connected with it or its declared objects.
at?TKr them tliev re-smneiir to-dav ] These are the results of open, palpable, and avowed
14 3° ,V I1? V usurpations of p jwei- bK aj^tioriiv irr-ermt-
nnder the new and captivating appel- gross, since the war—nine* the proclamation ot peace
. ,. .» ,, TV of o * face the restoration of the Union by the reaump.
lations ot New oJepai try. ists, j lion of their obligations under the Constitution on
“ Youmr Democracy,” and “Progres- the part of all the States which attempted towith-
. , r ° „ . . . 'ii i l -i. I draw—and alter the full accomplishment of every
Sive Men, whichever Will best suit I object for which the war from its beginning to its
tlipiv rtfirHenlnr lnenlitipq ll (miner to I end, was avowedly waged by the Federal autliorities.
Juju, T. Robert, is our nathoriMdftgcntto I Unwary^^fTll- I Uwftt^MOOTitof r ^S!e I ^f ww *w,ged!
dor whaler n^thoy may W
wifi bo respected by The Sun office. the people may he 8SSUred Ot One These xrvth and XVth Amendments can, in no
• — In* ^ *i* * 1 proper sense, too considered in any waj as timer leg-
r> .... nf Athona Gi Is duly author-1 tiling—that the leading spirits who jtimatG, rightful or actual results of this war. They
1 t„ receive subscription^ ’and' advertisements, will eventually Control the movement ^‘^EXtiom XVthe^ends “ oS
nd gue receipts for the same. | are nQ Constitutional Lib- were attained, and rest entirely upon meat flagrant
ovfx- lint rm enntrnrv imnmr I usurpations of j>ower, infinitely more dangerous to
eit), blit, On tlie contiary, aie amon o |y 10 mj er ti es of the country than the “rebelhon lt-
its most determined and deadly ene- self, so-caUed, for secession afterallthat may be said
mies. In this section of the country, iE^Umable^fit"of , loeM 0 6el^go e vernme^ < on 'the
E5£x;&fc‘” «■»>• assumed, as best ™ted to their
V erJn Lnding it purpose, the name of New Departu- of which these amendments are some of the results,
N, P^er will bflMDt tamn U- offloottU Uto with which they had been
dubbed upon their first re-appearance. aQ American free institutions are founded.
a 3 +L?a A <3fofo nf Had the seceding States been permitted to “dopait
Some politicians in this Dtate, Oi J Jjj peace,” and compelled to return, a3t’ ‘
the class ivlio are always on the look- alltho other States, as well as themselves,'
bne UA.S « u« »»t. x1 __ui: _ questionably have been guile as weU off as
eceipts i
HOW TO REMIT MONEY.
Wo will be responsible for the safo arrival of all
money sent us by Registered Letter, by Express, or H11CS.
for. and names will always bo erased when tho limo
ji.xid for expires.
t persons sending money by Express must pre
pay charges.
Make up Clubs.
03 they were,
es, would un-
i , « - - n i ,, i quesnonamy nave ueeu guile as well off as they were
Out to get theil’ lingers in the public at the time the Union was formed. There .would
„ ^ ovih lmWl hv the temntinff motto, in bavo been no loss to them, or either of them, of any
rsting—containing all the latest news. Wo shall | CUD, 1U1CU U) me ItlupuiiQ niULWj, i I 0 f tho essential principles of liberty. The only pos-
911 it with good reading matter, and shall have in substance, of 11 Anything JOT VlClOVlf sible loss, in this particular, would have been the
■Mch issue as much reading matter as any paper in , « 7 „ « Aivrfliiritr in win » greater security for the maintenance of thewipnnci-
Ocorgia and wo shall soon enlarge and otherwise (111(1 opOKS, iiny lUing to IV in, pj eg an q rights, which it was one of the leading ob-
mprove it, so as to give it a handsome appearance „ | ias f e that WAS AS imprudent jects of the Union to establish. The usurpations,
a,l make it easily reed aud desirable to have in the , * A, however, upon which these amendments rest, and
Umily. 1 in them as it was indecent lor honora- W hich marked the beginning of this new war, were
We isk our friends to use a little effort to make up -.1 iniymed at tllC bait thrown thoroughly revolutionary in their character—^bolffiy,
1 club for us at every post office. See our dub rates. Die men, junipeu. tti, lug u.iiu ‘ dariDgly, and confessedly revolutionary-ui tbe fun-
\ very tittle effort is all that is needed to mako up a 1 out, and hooked themselves ; but tllC dameutal principles upon which thewhole iabnc of
'»“■ - great mass of tho Democracy have I ”” "im
t. co CTt .ro,„u»t.. almost .maaimously refused to give ™SS?,
-—7 _ - - ... it their approval or sanction, notwitll- OJ,, jou of commonwealths, at the very time the ob-
Mr. Htephcns will remain in Crawfordvmo. ™ rppom- Meet or the war against secession was accomplished,
onnection with The Sns will not change his red- standing the UlUlUttlOriZCa^ recom 1 liavin; , them restored to their “practical
Jeuce. All letters intended for_him, eittar on pn- ni endatiOU to this effect by the State relations to the Union." Their entire popu
late matters or connected with the Political lie-
only called upon the people to declare them nullities
by popular vote at tho polls, and toputinpower men
who would so declare them to be in their respective
official positions. In this way the Alien and Sedition
Acts of usurpation were gotten rid of, not by repeal,
hut by electing men to office who-held them, to be as
they were, not valid laws, but niduties. These Acts
still remain upon the statute book as a monument
aud record oi tho iniquity of their authors, and as a
beacon to guide posterity^iArj*!! time to come,
how to pfitrid-pf jdi tivr,pym?TMitioa*i
—xrtTo Suitors ot five wish to Snow how wo
propose to deal with these fraudulent Amendments,
wo say to them that we propose, to deal with them
just as Mr. Jeffersonand the Democracy of 1800 dealt
with the Alien and Sedition Acfs.
Let tlie people everywhere be aroused to a proper
sense of tho danger which now threatens the over
throw of their institutions, and called upon to vote
for no man for any office, from the Chief Magistracy
down, who will give his sanction of validity to any
measure based upon such usurpations as these so-
called Amendments aro known to be. Is not this
an easy, peaceful, and effective mode by which tho
complete rectification of all these wrongs can he se
cured?
IVe assure tho World that it is our object, above
every other earthly consideration, to save tho insti
tutions of this country, if possible, as they were es
tablished by our ancestors. TVc believe this depends
entirely upon the Democracy. To succeed, we know
harmony and concert of action are essential.
Wo have thus given fully, and frankly, and clear
ly, we trust, our views of that line which distinctly
separates tho “dead" from the “living issues," and
that tine of policy which, if adopted, will most surely
lead them to success in tho coming conflict; bnt if
those views should not meet the approval of the ma
jority, then we shall have one thing to ask (this we
shall askin the name of everything that is sacred),
and that is, that the masses of the party, in arraign
ing their opponents for their misdeeds, shall not by
any platform orpronunciamenlo, be committed to a
sanction of the validity 01 policy ot any measure
which is based entirely upon “usurpation, fraud
and perfidy.” L H. S.
>-»-«
We are glad to find from tho ablest po
litical pen iu the Southern States this
clear admission ! that policy and practica
bility are legitimate grounds for setting
a great controversy at. rest. We submit
that by this clear admission Mr. Stephens
is estopped from again arraigning the
progressive majority of the Democratic
;iarty for recognizing irreversible facts.
In such cases charges of deserting prin
ciple for expediency are as irrelevant as
they are discourteous. We do not accuse
Mr. Stephens of bartering right for pol
icy becauso he has yielded the convic
tions of his judgment to the fortune of
war ; nor can it serve any good end for
him to use such censorious language to
ward Democratic opponents who apply
the same rule of judgment to other cases.
Every argument employed by Mr. Ste
phens and his school against the pro
gressive Democrats is an equally valid
argument for keeping-alive the contro
versy on the right of secession. They
are as much exposed as anybody to the
charge of renouncing principle for ex
pediency. On the secession issue Mr.
Stephens reasons like a statesman ; and
if he will apply the same rule of judging
to other issues, there will presently be no
difference between us as to which issues
are dead.
Mr. Stephens classes slavery as well as
ttoftpryj-n firqontr the- dfrftfl isflqpa. pith on gh
he does hot seem very positive as to
whether this should, or should not, be
regarded “as a legitimate result of the
war.” He says:
GEORGIA NEWS.
From the New York World, 8th July.
Alexander II. Stepliens
“Dead Issues.”
on
Terms of Siibserlptloii:
DAIXiY:
ected 'With the Political Do- I _ ( -r-, . • /-* _ , _/? ii. A | i a tiona of over seven millions of people, with
I-artmentof this paper, should bo addressed to him Central ExCCUtlVO Committee ^01 tllC liberty, and property, were subjected to abso-
»*. Crawfordville, Georgia. Porfxr This T Irnntn to be liaTticular- lute military rule, without legal protection or even
All letters on business of any kind, connected with Jrai LV. -LIUS 1 lUlWll j , the recognition of any one single civil right whatev-
Thk Sun, except its Political Department, shonld be 1 W true of tllC Middle ttUtt \Y extern er Tliese ten States were aU then claiming their
addressed to J. Henly Smith, Manager, Atlanta, Ga. | £ . » ,. Of„+ p equal rights in the Federal Councils, to which they
CtlOllS Ot tllC OLHie. w ^re unquestionably entitled, but the right to be
111 tlie Cities aud towns, one may heard upon these Amendments was denied thorn by
. -i .I, n « "NVw the majority taction in Congress, in the face and
meet, here aud there, R Itll a ” ] ver y teeth of the Constitution, which declares that
<<each Stato sludl have at least one Representative”
in the House, “aud that no State, withont its con-
* yy I mocraey ; blit It is almost lrnpussiuic l sent> 8hl|U b0 deprived of its equal suffrage in tho
Turee Mouths ’ " ts Un find nno such ill the country. Senate." Nay, more; these usurpations making tho
Giie Month — 7S IO 1IHU UI1L ‘-‘Jt'it lu J beginning of this new war upon the Constituuon,
_______. r^Tix-vTTxr • Y onr course is indorsed and approved eu ? le d, not m ths expulsion of ten states from the
00,,.™]'.*“^'..'. }« by the great body of the Democracy
*“ • 88 luocnie? arc sincerely and devotedly -*• ’22£^*& , S£2tZgT8i
“ “ 1 attached to the Constitution of their |
Fathers and will never stultify them- g i llicUWi - - * - -
■ -nty “
ttity « ;...
P> „ ] Fathers and will never Stuitlty tliem-| g'piJV^'werrcaTriea, as lsnotoriously known, by
WEEKLY—SIX MONTHS : I i,_ Q.v,vr>fi miintr inCilttlire 5 ivllich military force, and not by tho voluntary action of
■Mtjrie Copy, Six Months, 1 JW l tGiA Ca b\ ^dUCll onu)_. IlltoLUic-, even these creatures of the revolutions so affected.
2 25
7 00
13 00
.... 27 50
-"entv •< «« ••
i-i'y ' •• *• “
No subscriptions, to the Weekly, received for a
•Jit Tier period than six months.
AU subscriptions must be paid for in advance ;
all names will be stricken from our books when
I- time paid for expires.
they have, for years past, denounced as These ratifications
“ usurpations.”unconstitutional, revo- acc - epte d, that
lilt ion arv and void.” I Congress can monldand_6hape, change and modify
_ Jl not the acts of these States,
majority faction ia Congress: And
n TI>POT I th ^Constitution of the United States, - as well as the
Li.Lr.Kl. | constitutions of the several States, aa they please,
these Amendments, so proposed and so carried, can
never be considered valid by any man or people
People who attend the springs oT^btic K
drink a wonderful deal; but tbeir pot.\- ^ ivoiid, ihe usurpations, monstrous
B5U The Okolona, Mississippi, News, | tions ^ not always of water. J “ 1 “
‘The I , . * ”. al I pealed, tor they no longer Have any tovea-they have
venerable Indiana dame, eleven 1 done their'work.
Bnt is their work defunct ? ‘ '* ‘
anuouncmg a marriage, says :
very leaves live but to love.” It is rea-1 Eof & - Tf •
Autumn * years old, is suing for a divorce. It i&
singular how people can make np their
sonable to suppose, then, that iu
■he leaves “fall in love.”
ic-jL, The New York aSuii asks, “will Mr.
i'isk please settle up?” If .Mr- Fish will
I lease settle down upon whether he is!
Suing to resign or not, he would do the
Public a favor; but who ever heard of a
Radical office-holder settling np.
minds to separate after living together so
many years.
A great many folks continue to
seek the watering-places. A great many
who can’t get out of the city continue to
seek the brandy-and-watering-places.
The people get around reading
Reade’s “A Terrible Temptation, ’ by
quoting that passage of Scripture which
says, “lead us not into temptation.
JBtir* “Where are we now ?” the
If one is permitted to
Ana these etnpendons
/raiidCknoivn as the XIVth and XVth Amendments,
obsolete? Arc not thesa inflraaoTts acts boldly
claimed as oelual results of the new war now being
waged against the Constitution, the rights of the
States, and tbe liberties of the people? They are;
and they, together with the flaring usurpations upon
which they rest, constitute living questions, as we
maintain, for pubtio consideration and popular con
demnation. Can the fan dameutal Jaw of tlie Union
The New York Globesays: “John
•' issoli Young has got home. He was
' uc ‘ only American journalist who saw
iv.ris Inirn.” While no doubt a great
taan y regret not having witnessed the
spectacle, a great many more regret that I Courier-Journal. _ _
^°lui Bussell Young was not burned in- j judge by the coloring you give to po 1
s tea l of p ar j s ._ • cal matters, you are in the Radical enmp.
be changed by such acta of violence, perfidy and
wrong ? We say it cannot be. The World, in a late
article, admitted that it ought not to be. Then why
not call upon the people in their majesty and control
ling power at the polls, to declare that it shall not
be?
The World seems to think—we regret to see—that
these Amendments—tho results of these usurpations
—after all. do not amount to mush; they only secure
civU rights, including suffrage, to the black race; and
as ice have no disposition to disturb these rights
without a fair trial in our own State, or in any other
Stato where the people are willing to award them,
why not—it asks—let these Amendments, with all
the usurpations upon which they rest, pass withont
censure or condemnation ? Why quarrel with tho
“form” when the “substance” is accepted? Why
“waste time over the husks of a question after accep
ting the kernel!” Why not join what It is pleased
to can the Progressive Democracy ia accepting and
We have no reason to retract or re
gret our cordial welcome to Mr. Ste
phens on his entrance into the field of
Southern journalism. We desire to see
no important question of party policy
decided without thorough sifting and
full debate; and there is a manifest ad
vantage in having in the arena of discus
sion the keen logic, ripe experience, and
robust sincerity of a statesman like Mr.
Stephens. He compels us to respect his
views even when we are constrained to
dissent from and combat them.
Although Mr. Stephens’ statements
are usually crisp and clear, and quite
free from trimming vagueness, he seems
for once a little misty upon the dead-is
sue question. We aro not certain that
we fully understand him, and suspect
that our views and his are not so widely
at variance as they may seem. We beg
that on one or two points he will be
little more precise and explicit.
In a long article signed with his initials
in Tee Atlanta Sun of July 3, headed
“On What Issue Shall we go into the
Fight?” Mr. Stephens maintains that
some of the issnes of our former politics
are dead, and others full of sap and vi
tality. Thus far, at least, we agree. So
far as we differ, it is in drawing the line
between the issues which have become
obsolete and those which still remain as
questions of political politics. We only
disagree as to the comparative length of
the t wo catalogues. Onr list of the issues
which shonld be labelled “dead” and laid
away in the hortus siccus of dried speci
mens is a little longer than his; but this
seems to be the whole difference.
One of the points on which we wish
Mr. Stephens would define his views with
more precision is the principle on which
the dividing line shonld be drawn. What
are the symptoms of death? By what
rule of classification must we determine
which issues shall be inserted in the cata
logue of dead and which in the list of
live issues? If we can agree upon such
a rule, the controversy is practically
ended. m-u:
Mr. Stephens declares it to be his
opinion that the right of secession is a
“dead issue.” Now let us examine the
grounds‘on which he . rests this opinion
and see if the some rule of judgment
would not include several issnes which
he insists are not obsolete. Mr. Stephens
So of the old question of negro slavery. The
Southern seceding States all—every one of them—
abolished that institution by their own acta. This
act on their parts respectively may or may not bo
considered as a legitimate result of tho war. Wheth
er the one or the other,- however, it was done by
these States themselves, aud after tho close of the
•war—after they had fully resumed all their obliga
tions to the Union under the Constitution, and were
fully recognized by tho Federol Government as
constituent members of the Union, and entitled to
an equal voice upon all questions pertaining to its
welfare, even those touching changes in the organic
law. It is by tlio acts of these States that the XUIth
Amendment of the Constitution is now a valid part
of the organic law of the Union.
These questions, therefore, relating to the right of
secession, for all practical purposes and consider
ations, as well as those relating to the nature and ex
tent of negro servitude in the Southern Sates, wo
consider emphatically among tho "dead issues." We
have do disposition to revive them, nor any question
relating to them antecedent tc the war. We believe
also that in this matter we but repeat the universal
sentiment of the Southern States.
It is true that the Southern States rat
ified the amendment abolishing slavery
by their own acts;” bnt nobody knows
better than Mr. Stephens that those acts
were not voluntary. They were done at
the bidding of Andrew Johnson, then the
master of half a million of soldiers. Mr.
Stephens would need bnt a small share
of bis acumen and logic to make out a
strong case against the validity of those
extorted ratifications; but it would be an
idle expenditure of argumentative skill.
The real reason why the abolition of sla
very is final and irreversible is, that it is
sanctioned by such a body of settled and
strenuous public opinion, that an attempt
to re-establish slavery would kindle the
whole country into a conflagration. It is
because of this state of public sentiment,
that the stability of emancipation is so
immovably fixed, and that it wonld be so
idle and futile to contest the validity of
the thirteenth amendment. And if there
is a similar state of public feeling respec
ting negro civil rights and negro suffrage,
it would be equally futile and unprofita
ble to undertake a crusade against the
fourteenth and fifteenth amendments.—
If we accept their substance (as we be
lieve Mr. Stephens does) what will it
avail to quarrel with their form ? Prac
tical statesmanship disdains to waste ef
fort on the husks of a question after ac
cepting the kernel. As Mr. Stephens
does not wish to deprive the negroes of
their newly acquired franchises, he prac
tically admits that negro suffrage and ne
gro civil equality are dead issues. In op
posing the amendments he is therefore
fighting with shadows. The contests of
Don Quixote with the windmills had
more of the character of a real battle.—
There could not be a more fantastic po
litical comedy than to admit negro suf
frage to be a dead issue and at the same
time make the fifteenth amendment
(which does nothing but ordain negro suf
frage) a live issue. The comedian laughs
with one side of his face and weeps with
the other, and it is not easy to tell wheth
er he is really jocose or grieved. Be
consistent, Mr. Stephens, and if you do
not wish to spill the water make no futile
attempts to break the pitcher.
Mr. Stephens seems equally chimerical
in insisting that the reconstruction acts
are a live issue. ‘When we descend from
the jereal region and cloud-land of vague
declamation to the solid ground of fact
and precise ideas, we find that the re
construction aots cannot he repealed, for
the simple reason that they are no longer
in force. How can an obsolete and de
funct act of Congress be alive issuo ?
Mr. Stephens might with as much perti-
Col. Halbert has a long letter iu the
Columbus Sun, advising the people of
that city to build a railroad of their own.
The Sim says: One of the best lawyers
in Columbus and most excellent speaker
—who is rising in liis profession—could
not read when he was nineteen years of
age.
The Macon Telegraph and Messenger of
the 29th says: Freight which left New
York per steamer San Salvador on Sun
day morning, July 23, for Macon, and
which came via Savannah and Central
Railroad, was delivered to consignees in
Macon on the morning of Thursday, July
27, in four days, being one day faster
than the shipment from Baltimore to
Macon via Charleston, noted in a late
issue of the lelegraph aud Messenger.
• The Augusta Chronicle anil Sentinel of
the 30th says: Mrs. Small, the widow of.
Mr. John Small, deceased, who was one
of onr most respected citizens, died yes
terday morning i^t her residence. About
seven e’clock she complained of a pain
in the region of tho heart, and had a
mnaffl.pl plaster put unon her chest. A
few minutes aftenvlUxrsTsnuexpirea. —
death is believed to have been the result
of disease of the heart.
Some of the Augusta officials appear
to be very jealous of formality. The
Chronicle and ,Sentinel of Sunday says:
Between eight and nine o’clock yester
day morning a colored man, whose name
is unknown, was brought to the Freed-
meu’s Hospital—which is situated at the
head of Center street, on the outskirts
of the city. He was brought there in a
waggon, driven by Jonas Sangfield, col
ored, and accompanied by a white man
and two colored men. They stated to
the keeper pf the hospital that the man
was sick and destitute, aud they wished
to get him admitted into the hospital.
The keeper replied that lie was not al
lowed to receive any patient into the
building except upon the order
of the Ordinary of the county,
and that the man could not be
received until such order should be ob
tained. The men then attempted to
leave the sick man upon the steps of the
building, but were prevented—the keep
er repeating to them his instructions.
The man was removed from the steps
and carried back to the wagon, aud one
of the men stated that he would go to
the Ordinary for a permit and then return
to the hospital. But when at a short
distance from the building the wagon
stopped, the sick man was placed upon
the ground and his companions went
away. There, upon the sand of the na
ked commons, the poor wretch lay, pros
trated with fever and exposed to the rays
of an almost tropical sun, until at about
one o’clock in the afternoon God sent re
lief, and he died.
BgL. Kev. J. B. C. Quillian, of tms
State, has ready for the press, a book
which he calls “The Star of Redemp
tion; or Thoughts on the Mediation and
Glory of the Redeemer.” The work has
been in preparation for some time, and
is now about ready to be committed to
the printer. Those who know Mr. Quil
lian, anticipate a most excellent book.
He is a learned and eloquent divine, a
close student, a clear writer; has a fruit
ful imagination, while his descriptive
powers are magnificent. The following
titles to some of the chapters will give a
general idea of the plan and scope of the
book: “The Tree of Life or Waving
Symbol of the Earthly Paradise.” “The
Golden Promise, or Light breaking
through, the Gloom.” “The Ark Float
ing on the Waters.” “The Covenant Bow
in the Cloud.” “The burning bush of
Horeb.” “The Smitten Rock of Heri-
bah.” “The Cloud of Witnesses.” “The
Wonders of the Incarnation.” “The
Mysterious Agony.” “The Wonders of
the Cross.” “The Tomb of Christ.
“The Glory of the Ascension.” “The
Great High Priest in His Sacredotal
Robes.” “The Song of the Redeemed. ^
“The Last Promise of the Apocalypse*
——
Bowen’s case establishes the pre
cedent that a plurality of wives is onoo
the rewards of loyalty. That being the
case, much marrying may be expected
scalawag and carpet-bag circles.
ir
IS**!