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/ Published by the Atlanta Snn Publishing Company. 'Alexander II. Stephen*, J, Tlenljr Smith, Proprietor*. Alexander II. SteplienSj Political Editor. A. R. Watson, - - - - >ews tuitor. J.* Henly Smith, General Editor and Busi ness Manages* CONTENTS VOL 2, NO. 30.! ATLANTA, GA., WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 3, 1S72. ( 'WHOLE l SUUBEK 82. “ATLANTA WEEKLY SUN,” FO» THE WEEK ENDING IVEDSESDAV, JANUARY 3(1,1873. page r—On tlia New Year. W. t A. R. E, What will It amount to? Speech of Hon. J. C. Conner, of Tex**, «to. Fnge li—Bullock's Hand Exhibited. TnoseFraud- nlent Bond*. Sun-Stroke*. Georgia Matters. Lo cal Note*. Telegrams. Literary Style, etc. page 3--The Appropriation Bill. Henry Clows & Co. Write a Letter. Heckles* Disregard of Truth. Georgia Matters. Sun-Strokes. To the People of Georgia, etc. Page 4—Henry Clews & Co. and the Cartersville and Van Wert Railroad. Radical Thievery—What It Has Accomplished in South Carolina. A Dic tionary. What Clews & Co. and the Plundering Bond Bing are Trying to Do. Philadelphia Corres pondence. Gen. John B. Gordon. Sun-Strokes. The Texas Cotton Crop. Georgia Matters. Local' Notes. Telegrams. Page 5—Conley Turns Desperate. Rufus B. Bul lock. A Model Letter for Scalawags & Carpet-Bag gers. Grant a Defaulter. Sun-Strckes. Book No tice. Our Athens Correspondence. Georgia Mat ters. Visible Supply of Cotton. Trains on the A and C. Bailroad Stopped Through the Insubordina tion of Superintendent Wheeler. More About Greeley'a Arabic. ladles’ Lee Monament Asso ciation. Commercial, etc. Page 0—Local Notes. Sun-Strokes. Atlanta and Its Vicinity as a Climate for Consumptives. Tele grams. Hauled Bown that Hag. Clews & Co. Again. Letter from Henry Clews & Co. Tho Bonds of Georgia—Official Notice to the Bond holders. Tho Central Railroad. Georgia Matters. Page 7—Poetry—A Sonnet from Saxo. Sun- Strokes. Local News. Telegraph News. Special Notices. Advertisements, etc. Page 8—Local incuts. Notes. Telegrams. Advertise CARRIICRS' ANNUAL ADDRESS TO THE PATRONS OF THE jiTLJtjrT*# Mpjiiiji' sujr. 187S. In his morning round, mode o’er and o’er. What has the Carrier brought to your door ? Simply a vapeb ? Ah, something more! The germ, the noise, the bustling strifo; The busy pulse of our busy life, That firmer boats, as the world grows ripe In the steady click of the sturdy typo. Oh, the wonderful types 1 What tales appear On their silent tongues in tho round of a year I The saddest talcs that ever were told, To chill ihc hearts of the young and old. Of storms at sea, when the heavens frown. And the waves roll up, and tho ships go down; Of fires that lick the sad earth clean. And leave a waste where woalth has been; Of floods that cranch in their madsome play. And leap and lash till tho shores give way, Then away o’er the country bounding fires. Bashing, widening into a sea, TUI tho unreapt harvest's hid in sand, And the fruit is swept from the sower'* hand. On, the wonderful types! Hath the voice of Might Bc-uttcrcd the words—•• Let there be light." Let there be light! Did the world rejoice And be glad in it* joy whon it heard that voice ? Did hearts beat high, and glad and quick, When the ear first heard the short, sharp click ? Do you know, oh world, in your earnest gripe, What a treasure you hold in glittering type? You may empty the hills of their goldcd veins, And gather the sUver from gorges aud plains, You may go to tho billowy seas below Aud pluck the peat Is and gems that glow Dew-pure in the wealth of the sea-maids' hair, Aiul trout caverns aud mines take the jewels fair, And all wore not worth that thought which crossed The magic brain of the •• wizzard Faust"— That great, strong thought, which, when fuUy tips, Burst forth on the world in the cuckino type 1 On, the wizzaud types 1 They speak, and fast Trooping up from the soundless deep of the past, The men who have made their race sublime Come marching down to our later time; Ahd they live again, and their old renown. Still bright, through the ages coming down, Makes tho old world grand. Ah, men never die, But glow in tho immortality Of the types, that shout through the centuries Of the man or the deed that never dios. The thunders of old Demosthenes Come ringing still 'cross the Attic seas: And Homer's epic still is sung In every laud and in every tongue; With tingling blood and flaming eye We bear tho jubilant battle-cry That forced the pass at Thermopylae: ' We see the Barons at Rnnnymede, Beard tyrant John of a Royal breed. Aud snatch from cowering majesty The charter that made the whole world free: We feel the Scotsman thrill, and yearn For his comlug foe at Bannockburn; Aud we see men die who dare not yield, In the bloody fight on Floddon field; And the guns of Waterloo ring out And Blucheb comes, and the Frenchmen's rout Begins, and we see the dust aud the smoke. And the greatest heart in the jrorld is broke, Broke, crushed and dead, though it beats awhile, On the bare, cold rocks of St. Helen's Isle; And Chatham speak*, and there come* a thrill Of the cannon peala from Bunker’s Hill; And we laugh with Hood, aud we sing with Buhns, With Lamb wo are gay and sad by turns, And wc feel the keen blade of Jerbold’s wit, See Boswell fawn and his master fret, And Shakspeabe's witches scowling and black. And the rare old Falstaff swilling sack. Oh, the thundebixg types 1 No longue can tell How art’s snpremest miracle Can rule earth's rulers,—Czar or King- While tyrants slink from their fearful sting. They speak, and the price of bread comes down. And laws are made, though the rulers frown; And cowards shrink from stinging thong. And the heel i* ground on the head of wrong. They speak in language bold and fair, i And labor amiles, for its shield is there; They speak as th’ oracles never spake, id man loves man for his manhood’s sake. nt whether they speak in the voice of song, t in deep-voiced thunder tremble along, * plead for the bight, or rage In their wrath, r scourge the rogue on his darksome path, heir voice hath ever the gbeaxsst stress, [ When it flows from the lips of the daily press! ►-*-< The Sun. Dnriog tlie present year a President and members of Congress are to be | electi (1. Liberty must be preserved or lost. Tho Corruptionists of the Day—the Bond Rings—the ambitions enemies of frfee government—are artfully, persistently paving the way to the overthrow of the Federal Republic, founded by Washing ton, Jefferson and Madison, and the es tablishment of a Centralized Empire and a Dynasty in its stead. THE PEOPLE can prevent this if they will. They can retain their free dom, or they can become slaves. The destiny of this Country is to be decided by tbe people's voles! If the Democratic party will but stand firmly upon its time-honored platform, aud erect the standard of Libebty, and honesty in the administration of the gov ernment, a glorious triumph will be achieved. Victory is within our grasp. The enemy is giving way—is receding from his utter disregarded of law and constitutional guaranties. Now is the time for a vigorous charge upon his wa vering lines. The Son, has been sowing the good seed of truth. It has already brought forth good fruit. We shall continue to sow the seed, and shall expect a rich harvest to be reaped in the triumph of honest principles in the next election. We trust our patrons will aid us in ex tending the circulation of The Sun. We have entered upon onr enterprise to assist in the great work of redeeming the coun try from the control of robbers, tyrants and money-changers, who are infesting the temple of Liberty. Their tables mnst be overturned and nublic opinion must scourge them from the public presence. We shall give all the news from the State Capital—proceedings of the Legis lature—decisions of the Supreme Court, and all important news and events con neoted with the State Government; and shall endeavor to make Thh Sun a wel come family visitor. See our terms elsewhere. RADICAL RULE IN TEXAS. Speech of Hon. John C. Conner, M.C. An Expose of Radical Frauds. Below we give an address delivered by Hon. John C. Conner, Member of Con. gtess, from Texas, at his old home, at Noblesville, Indiana, on the 18th of No vember, while en route for Washington. The speech is well worth perusal by the reading public, as it tells some whole some truths of how the Radicals have mismanaged affairs in the South. THE disgraceful REPORT of the ku-klux | unfamiliar with the clank of the bayonet. The Western and Atlantic Rail road Lease. The Committee of the Legislature to investigate the Lease of the Western and Atlantic Railroad will assemble at the Capitol to-day. It consists of Hons. Wm. M. Reese and A. D. Nunnally of the Senate, and Geo. F. Pierce, Jr., of Hancock, G. M. Netherland, of Rabun, and 0. B. Hudson of Schley, on the part of the House. Judge Reese is the Chair man. If we properly understand the matter, the investigation is a very simple one, and easily determined: Whether or not the action of Governor Bullock in award ing the lease, acted fairly and in good faith. The Road was given to the pres ent lessees, at §25,000 per month, while the other company offered $30,500 per month for it. Bullock alleged that the latter conu.any did not offer the necessa ry security, and therefore he awarded the lease to the company represented by Gov. Brown; while the company repre sented by Messrs. Seago, Wallace, Collier, Wyly and others, allege that they were ready to give a bond worth $8,000,000; and further, that the security given by the Company upon which the contract of lease was awarded, is really not binding upon the parties, and there fore worthless. Hon. John C. Conner’s Speech. He commenced by stating that five years ago he was appointed a Captain in the regular army of the United States and sent to Texas, and being there in the days of “reconstruction,” was familiar with its whole history and the practical workings of the carpet-bag and scalawag governments, which succeeded it. He said: The crimes which I have wit nessed there against humanity arc so shocking and revolting that you could hardly credit the facts should I repeat them. MY “REBEL” CONSTITUENCY. I know that you have come to hear what I have to say in behalf of my “reb el” constituency, who have twice lionored me with an election to Congress. And let me say in the outset (aud in that I may disappoint some of you) that I have no defense to make for them, for they need none. They have committed no crime, unless, perhaps, it may be in electing me, a Democratic Union soldier, to Congress over a loudmouthed, whining Radical, who served on neither side. I shall make no declaration in relation to the condition of the South that I do not know to be literally true. I could have no object in deceiving you. While I am sensitive to public opinion, and de sire the confidence and respect of good people everywhere, yet you will pardon me for saying that your likes or dislikes could not effect me in the estimation of a hair either on the one side or the other. My home is in Texas. Her people have honored me, and I am not going back on them, come what may. Their hope is my hope, and their destiny is mine. BEASON RESUMING ITS SWAY. For five long yaars t have watched with anxious solicitude the beating of tbe pop ular pulse of the American people. I have patiently awaited the hour when the people shall think and reason, rather than act from impulse or passion. * * * * * I am admonished by the changes that are gradually taking place in our form of government, that the revolution is still going on, and that a large number of the honest people of the North do not under stand or appreciate THE SOUTHERN SITUATION. Your sources of information are through the public prints that are always more or less partisan, or packed Congressional Committees, that, like Military Commis sions, are organized to convict. You have never had, and probably never may have a full understanding of the official cor ruption that prevails 'throughout the Southern States, aud that has, since the close of the war, disgraced Republican in stitutions in this country. I find in your paper (the Noblesville Ledger) published here, in its issue of yesterday, the follow ing characteristic and significant para graph: Wlsat Will it Amount to 1 When the Legislature meets on the 10th inst, it will proceed to count the votes cast at the late election for Gover nor. It will declare Hon. James Milton Smith duly elected and inaugurate him, If Benjamin Conley sets up any preten tions to being Governor and tries to hold the seat he now usurps, it will still fur ther disgrace him and the Bond Ring, and the party to which he is allied. No body will recognize him in that capacity, but everybody will recognize Col. Smith as Governor. With the Legislature and all officers of the State, and tbe whole people of Georgia, officially recognizing and communicating with him as tbe legal Executive of G- orgia, Conley will make but a poor show playing Governor. The Legislature will not receive any messages from him, nor send him any commanica tions. The Treasurer will not pay any of his drafts or warrants, and nobody will respect or obey any order or process from him. Verily, the dance will be a merry one—to outsiders who look on and wit ness .the ridiculous spectacle. Perhaps Benjamin Conley will enjoy it hugely. Bat suppose Le should try to play the role of Stanton, and bar himself up in side the Eascutive office to retain the re cords. The code provides that if the person filling any office shall neglect or refuse to tnm over to his successor the records, books or papers of his office after the same are demanded, complaint can be made to the Judge of the Superior Court, who must grant an order, setting a time for a hearing, and requiring such delin quent to show cause why he should not be compelled to deliver up the same; that the Judge shall proceed to inquire into the circumstances, and if it appear that such books are illegally withheld he must order the same to be delivered in- stanter to his successors, and the punish ment of failure is fine and imprisonment till the books are delivered up. "The Washington Chronicle, whose editor, Gover- Holden, is a personal friend of Attorney General Akerman, last week had the fallowing paragraph in relation to this Cabinet officer’s opinion of the South ern situation: ‘Attorney General Akerman, in dis cussing political affairs last evening, remarked that persons who had not deeply looked into the matter could not realize the extent of the Ka-klux organiza tions in some sections of the Southern States. He says that having been associated with the people of the South, and having recently traveled about in that country and observed for himself, that he is satisfied that it is impossible to govern the people with local courts, juries, etc.’ •* Can that declaration be true? Can the statement, coming from a member of the President’s Cabinet—his legal and con stitutional adviser—that the juries and the local courts of the country are unequal to the administration of justice, be true? The Constitution of our country says: “No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime, unless on the present ment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces," etc. A Grand Jury selected how? A Grand Jury selected in accordance with the law from among the qualified grand jurors of the county or district in which the crime shall have been committed. Again your Constitution says: "In ah criminal prosecutions tho accused shall enjoy the rh-ht to a speedy and public trial by an Impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime sha.1 nave been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law,” etc. A jury selected how? A jury selected according to law from among the quali fied jurors of the State or district wherein the crime shall have been committed.— That, gentlemen, is what our Constitu tion says. A jury is the only constitu tional tribunal before which an American citizen can be called to answer for an alleged violation of the law. And yet Mr. Akerman, the Attorney General of the United States, says that it is impos sible to govern the people of the Southern States by and with these constitutional tribunals. If his state ment be false, it is an official and a malicious slander against the people of the South, designed to prejudice and mislead you, gentlemen of tne North; and the administration that could resort to such a contemptible subterfuge is un worthy the respect, much less the confi dence, of the American people. If his declaration be true, I present it to your common sense judgment: Are not Re publican institutions under Grant a fail ure? Again, I find in the same paper, of the same date, the following: "The Journal says a private letter from Washing, ton has been received at Indianapolis, stating that Senator Seott, Chairman of the Ka-klux Committee, has intimated that his report to Congress will em brace tacts which will be a lasting disgrace to the country.” tP* COMMITTEE. There, gentlemen, you Lave the key note. The report of Senator Scott is to contain some startling revelations. The way is being paved, and your minds are being prepared to receive facts which will be r. lasting disgrace to the country. My opinion is that the investigation by the Committee, of which Senator Scott is chairman, is the most lasting disgrace the country has sustained since the ear liest organization of our government.— But, be that as it may, 1 am willing to hazard my reputation upon .he predic tion that Senator Scott’s report will con tain nothing more startling than the re port which I find in the Indianapolis Journal of to-day of crimes committed in your own State this week. I will read you a single paragraph from an entire column of the Journal: “THE CLARK COUNTY TRAGEDY. "THE THREE MURDERERS HUSO BY A MOB. "Jeffebsonyille, Nov. 17.—The three negro mur derers of tbe Park family, near Henryville, Indiana, were taken from the jail at Charlestown about two o’clock this morning, by a vigilance committee num bering about seveuty-five persons, and hung about one and a half miles on the Lexington road. Tho committee wore white masks. They demanded the keys of the jailor and Bheriff, but were refused.— They then forced tho doors, broke the' locks and hinges, and took the prisoners. Two of the priso nous were hung to one tree, and one to another tree. Taylor made considerable resistance.” KU-KLUXISM IN INDIANA. Now, gentlemen, what are you going to do? Here you have murders one day, and an organized band of Ku-Klnx over powering your officers of the law the next. In South Carolina tbe President declares martial law in counties where it is alleged that lawless bands or organiza tions are too strong for the civil power. What will he do here? Will he exercise his power under the Ku-Klux bill and suspend the privilege of the writ of ha beas corpus ict Clark county, Indiana? If he is a pure and a just man he will guard the interests and the lives of the loyal people of Indiana against combina tions of desperate and lawless men as rapidly and as willingly as he does those of the people of South Carolina. * * MORTON, THE AUTHOR OE THE KU-KLUX BILL, AND HIS OBJECT. Gentlemen—this whole Ku-Klux bus iness is a flimsy farce, gotten up by your own Senator, Morton, for the purpose of fanning into a flame the dying embers of an extinguished volcano, and to divert the public mind from the consideration of the true issues. So long as the war feeling prevails, he and his confederates in crime can plunder the public treasury with as much impunity as they could gamble away the State funds ou the gold board in New York duringthe war, and charge it to the account of the sol diers. He does not care if you do pay three thousand dollars per mile as a roy alty to Pennsylvania on the railroad iron that you are to lay upon tbe new road which you are constructing. He does not care if you do pay two hundred per cent to New England on the woolen skirt worn by your little daughter to school. He does not care if American commerce, which was second to but one nationality on earth when his party obtained power, has been driven from the seas and your American ships left to rot on the dry docks. * * * * * THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR DAVIS OF TEXAS Differs in but few essential particulars from the other carpet-bag or scalawag governments of the South. With it I am familiar. He was elected or declared so, at au election held on the 30th of November, 1st 2d and 3d days of Decem ber, 1869; and on the 31st day of March following toe State was declared, by a joint resolution of Congress, to be in the Union, and his administration went into effect. At that time there were four hun dred and fifty thousand dollars [$450,- 000] in the State treasury; the State was out of debt and the taxes were assessed at fifteen [15] cents on the hundred dol lars. He has a partisan majority of two- thirds in the Legislature. They have had control of the State less than twenty months, and iu that time they have squan dered the $450,000 in the State treasury; raised the tax from fifteen cents on the hundred dollars to two dollars and twen ty-five cents [$2 25] on the hundred dol lars; and the contracted debt of the State to-day is fifteen millions of dollars [$15,- 000,000.] That is summing up briefly the financial transactions of twenty months Radical misrule in Texas. All that we could stand with our im mense resources and still live. But there are other crimes—crimes against society —Crimes against the organic law of the land—that no State can long survive.— For instance, the terms of office for mem bers of the Legislature is fixed by the Constitution—that of the lower house for two years from the date of the gener al election. As before remarked, the election closed on the 3d of December, 1S69, and as a consequence the present Legislature of the State of Texas expires by constitutional limitation on the 3d of December, 1871, and yet, would you be lieve it, no election for members of the Legislature was held this fall, but on the contrary, a special enactment provides that no election shall be held until the fall of 1872. Thus you see we are to have an interregnum of one year, when His Royal Highness the Governor is to rule without a parliament But I imagine ho thinks, with his ARMY OF STATE POLICE, That he will be equal to the emergency. A state policeman is an individual to be found in but few sections of the Union —in fact, I believe be is confined exclu sively to the State of Texas. But there he is to be found in great abundance. He is distinguished from the unarmed citi zen, whom he often insults, by the deco ration of a six shooter and such other deadly weapons as it may suit his fancy to carry. He draws a salary of $75 or SlOOper month from the State, ahd makes negroes vote the Radical ticket on. election day. He cost the people of Texas this year a half million of dollare. He was very efficient at the LATE ELECTION IN TEXAS, in enforcing the provisions of the order which I hold in my hand, as well as many others of a kindred nature. This order is a peculiar document, and will sound strange to you men of Indiana, who are But it is simply a pioneer, blazing out the path for Grant’s second term. It will become a frequent visitor with Grant’s re-election, and under the Empire it. might become a necessity. Mark my prediction: If Grant is re-elected it wifi cross your threshold uninvited, without even stopping to knock at the uoor. But I must read you tbe order. It begins Headquarters State of Texas.” Who, in the name of Heaven, ever heal’d of an election order emanating from “ Head quarters” anywhere ? . « "Headquarters State of Texas, ‘Office Adjutant General and Chief Police, Austin, Texas, August 9.1S71. [“Circular.] . “P end that there may be no disturbance or intimidation at the registry of Toters and about the polls at the coming election, the following refrala tions are established for the government of tho ofli cers of the election, and of peace officer*. State giurd and militia on duty by order of the Governor, at such registry and election: v A 11 Persons coming to vote shall deposit their ballots with the least possible delay, and after this is done they are forbidden, under :iny pretext, tore- main about the polls or at the county seat ( unless s ta their residence) during tho time of election, but shall return to their homes and usual employ ment, and peace officers. S'ate guard or militia on duty at the polls shall see that this regulation is com plied with. “IL All persons are forbidden to sboat, jeer at, or in any way insult or annoy voters or candidates for office, during tho registration and election; and peace officers. State guard and militia ou duty, are directed at once to arrest such persons, and to hold them to be dealt with according to tho provisions of section 11 of the act for the protection and purity of the ballot-box. “HI. AU gathering, combination or assembling of persons in numbers at or near tho county seat dur ing tbe timo of registration is being made, or the election is going on, a nd for the purpose of intimi dating voters, is forbidden, and should any such gathering, combination or assembly take place in any county, it shaU be presumed that the same is for said purpose of intimidating voters, if such is tho effect of the same, whatever mightbe aUeged by such persons as the pretext thereof; and peace officers, State guard and militia on duty in such county aro directed to disperse such persons, provided, however, that in this regulation it is not intended to interfere with persons peaceably and quietly waiting at the registration office or at the polls for their turn to rogister or vote. * * “VI. The Governor hereby assumes command for and during the election, of all peace officers in tho State, including Sheriffs and their deputies, aud city or town poUce or marshals and their deputies, and those officers arc hereby directed to place themselves under the direction of the officer designated or to bo designated by the Governor, as set forth in circular orders from this headquarters, and to aid him in en forcing these regulations and tho laws of this State and the United States governing elections. EDMOND J. DAVIS, Governor. Official: James Davidson, Adjutant and Chief of Police of Texas.” ... j 1571.) That document has all the forms of a military order. When an order is issued to the American army it is dated: “Headquauteiis Army of the United States, ) Office of the Adjutant General, i Washington, D. C., Nov , 1871." ) And it would end with the signature of “W. T. SHERMAN, General. “Official: E. D. Towaeend, Adj't Gen’l." You men who were in the army have not forgotten that! This order is dated: ‘ ‘Headquarters State of Texas, ) Office Adjutant Gen’l and Chief of Police, > Austin, Texas, August 9,1871." ) And it closes with the signature of : “EDMOND J. DAVIS, Governor. Official: James Davidson, Aflj’t Gen. and Chief of Police of Texas.” CHARACTER OF THE ELECTION ORDER. But it is to the contents more than to the form of this document that I would call vour attention. Our people were commanded to deposit their ballots with the least possible delay,, aud forbidden under any pretext to remain about' the polls or at the county seat, but were com manded to return to their homes and usual employment, that is to say go to work. Where a Methodist Conference or Baptist Association was in session dur ing those four days of election, it was compelled to disband, adjourn or remove from the county seat, because all persons were forbidden under any pretext to re main. And when they arrived at home they * * could not even enjoy the luxury of sitting down under their own vine and fig tree and cursing Radical usurpations, but were compelled to go to work that they might thereby be enabled to sup port the State police, State guard, aud militia, whose duty it was to see that the orders of Governor Davis were obeyed The registration continued for ten days and the election for four, and during all that time * * * our people were for bidden to shout under pain of being ar rested and held to be dealt with. Here in Indiana it is not held to be a very serious offence for a man to shout, either at an election or at a Methodist camp-meeting, but down in Texas it was quite different. On the morning that I first received a copy of this election circular; or, rather > when I first observed it in the public ’ prints, I met Governor Davis at a town called Bonham, an important point in my district. We both had appointments to address the people there on that day, and after some little parley it was ar ranged that we should both speak from the same stand. There was a large crowd in attendance. The Governor spoke first and I followed. Finally I came to the discussion of his last election order, and before that assembled multitude I read the document which I have read in your hearing, and advised the people to obey it. And then reading for the sec ond timo a clause from the third para graph, I turned to Governor Davis and said: “This will interfere with my can vass. I have appointments to speak in several county towns during the days of registration, and this order prohibits the assembling of the people to hear me. I am the regularly nominated candidate of the Democratic party for Congress in this District. From time immemorial it has been the custom for all candidates for the high office to which I aspire to meet the people and discuss with them in a spirit of candor and fairness the political issues upon which they are called to act in their capacity as citizens of this proud and mighty republic;” and folding my arms I continued: “I humbly beseech your gracious majesty that I may be per mitted to continue the old time custom.” For a moment all was profoundly stilL The Governor looked confused; and then the shout that went np from two thou sand of as brave and generous men as ever trod the earth, and whom no power on earth can enslave, had the desired ef fect. The next morning a friend of the Governor handed me this document which I hold in my hand. It is a rare specimen. It is alone in this cold world with no mate to keep it company, and as such I am going to preserve it and hand it down to my posterity as a memen h > wit W to of these times. It is a permit duly and officially signed by direction of the Governor, by liis private secretary, Mr. Britton, authorizing mo to canvass my district, and disclaiming any inten tion on the part of the Governor to inter* fere with my canvass. Of course I then felt secure, and proceeded with the can| vass, which resulted in my return to Congress by twelve thousand five hun dred majority, and I have the Governor’s certificate of election in my pocket, for which I thank him, and only regret that he lias not treated my Democratic col leagues who were elected as fairly as my self, with the same degree of official can dor. THE MILITARY TAX. Strange as that election circular may appear, I have yet another document here that will strike the honest men of Indi ana with still mere force. I suppose it is the only one of its species that has ever found its way this far North. I found it sticking up in the office of the hotel at Groesbeck, where I had stopped for the night on my way North. Here it is: “Office Stecial Agent State of Texas, “Groesbeck, Limestone Co., Texas. October 24, 1ST "Pursuant to orders received from Major General A. G. Maloy, commanding Suite forces Limestone county. I am ordered to assess and levy a SPECIAL MILITARY TAX OF FORTY THOUSAND DOL LARS, ($40,000) to be paid by the citizeus of Limo- stono county, to defray tbe expenses of Military Commission and State troops now on duty in said county. “I, therefore, levy a tax of three per cent, on tho hundred dollars of all taxable property situated in said county, as por assessment roll of 1871. ‘•All persons owning property iu Limestone coun ty are notified to appear at my offico in the city of Groesbeck immediately and pay tho same. All per sons refusing or fading to pay said tax within three (3) days from above date ten (10) per cent will be ad ded and tneir property levied upon and sold to satis- fj- said tax. ‘‘GEonGE W. Farrow, Special Agent, State of Texas, for Limestone county." From this you will see that there is fax day a military commission sitting iu judgment unon the lives and fortunes of citizens of Texas and the United States, and that a special military tax of three per cent ad valorem is being collected from the citizens of Limestone county to defray the expenses of that commission. And these taxes are being collected AT THE POINT OF THE BAYONET, not by an officer known to tho Constitu tion and the laws of Texas, not the regu lar tax collector of Limestone county, but by a special agent of tbe State of Texas appointed for tho county of Limestone. And by what authority aro these taxes collected? By virtue of any statute of the State of Texas? No; by no means.. Have the taxes been assessed by any legal or competent authority? None whatever. Bat they are being collected by virtue of and pursuant to orders received by Ma jor General A. G. Maloy, commanding State forces in Limestone county. THE OBJECT OF MARTIAL LAW IN TEXAS. And now, my countrymen, what do you suppose was tho occasion for mariial law in Limestone county. Y*u will hardly credit the facts when I tell you of the cir cumstances that led to this most mon strous and damuaUl" villainy. I W 'll re . late them briefly. Limestone county is strongly Democratic iu politics; that is to say, the white population is greatly in excess of the negro, while it forms a part of the Third Congressional District, which it was thought would be very close at the late election. Both parties were expecting to carry the district. The Re publicans—no, they aro not Republicans, for you Republicans in Indiaua would not acknowledge or recognize the relation ship. They are the cast-offs of all politi cal organizations, seeking political power and official plunder through the ig norance and superstition of a semi-barba rous race. Iu Texas we call them Radi cals, while they call themselves Republi cans, and look to the administration at Washington to sustain them in their frauds. I will call them Radicals. Well, they began to realize a few weeks prior to the election that their cause was weak ening; that the German element could not be relied upon to support their little mau, while the Republicans of standing ‘' nA respectability, numbering among then Senator Hamilton, who is a violent Republican, but an honest man in finan cial matters, was openly opposing Clerk, the Radical nominee. Something had to be done. According to an election law of their own framing the State Board of can vassers,composed of the Governor, the At- torneyGeneral andSecretary of State,both of the latter holding their offices by virtue of an appointment from the former—had powbr to throw out the votes or refuse to count them in counties where, in their judgment, a free election was not had on account of fraud, intimidation or vio lence. They knew that a quiet election, with no man killed or injured, would re sult in the defeat of their candidate, and the consequent election of a Democrat. So they flooded the district with negro militia and State police, who were inso lent, overbearing, and insulting, thereby hoping to provoke the white people to some demonstrations of violence. In this they failed. Our people moved above them. They were determined not to be insulted by them, or be betrayed into a resistence which would give .their ene mies the slightest shadow of an excuse to contest the election. Maddened and provoked at the forbearance of the white citizens, and becoming desperate in their endeavors to carry the Third District, the Radical leaders resolved that some life should be sacrificed. They knew that martial law would follow, and the consequent throwing out of the vote of the county where the disturbance should occur. So they settled on Limestone as a strong Democratic county, without which they felt certain of a victory. The city of Groesbeck is to be the scene of the tragedy—the murder. The day ar rives. A negro State policeman display ing the badge of official power and au thority, shoots down, in cold blood, an unarmed citizen. The Mayor of the city, also an appointee of the Governor, summons a posse of citizens to arrest the policeman-murderer. A show of re sistance follows, but no one is hurt. A Ku-Klux bulletin, previously prepared for the occasion, is telegraphed to the Governor. He answers with a procla mation of martial law—a military com mission is organized, taxes collected, the people robbed, life and property rendered insecure—anarchy is established. And now, gentlemen, you have the history of martial law as it prevails to day in Limestone county, Texas. And, ofter all, Colonel Giddings, the Demo cratic candidate, is elected by 2,000 ma jority, independent of the vote in Lime stone county, though he had not yet re ceived the certificate of election when I left the State. It remains to be seen whether he will be forced into a contest in the face of all that has occurred.