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FIT. ANNUM. VOL- VII- THE weekly sin PUBLIBHEB Sfiutvxrcia.'y to .f# JOHNSTON, Proprietor Terms ok SubcriPtiom. it* ('o]*y• Ou e car., §2,00 * | (v,j,r. Six Months 1,00 V« Copy. Three Months 75 Invariably is Advance From the New York World. lie form our Presidential |j Elections F.ven before the lamented death of Greeley, which lends fresh inter to the discussion, the most in teliiiP at portion of the press of both . 4r ti, s throughout the United States, S( ,,ke with marked favor of the pro >al of The World for coinprehen s,vc amendments to the Federal Con stitution rectifying the cumbrous ab-iiml method of electing the Pres . hut anti Vice President which has n.n so long tolerated. The argu- In nt has been considerably rein f«,rce«l, or at least made more im j i'essive, by having for the first time „ contingency brought home to us which had hardly occurred to for ,* r reusoners on this subject, I lie death of a Presidential candidate between the day of the popular vote .'il the meeting of the Electoral 001, , gc, has never happened to occur before, and has been left out of con templation in all previous arguments .ir reform. In the recent instance it was of no practical consequence. 1 tut it suggests dangerous, alarming p.i.vihilities. If Mr. Greeley had been entitled to a small majority of tiie flee;oral votes, his death might leave caused exciting, and perhaps b.’oodr civil disturbances. It might "■>. ii !i;uv led to a terrible revolution. The way in which the Greeley Elee ‘ rs broke, and scattered their votes, - painfully suggestive. If the pop gar voice had given him a small tna ntv (as it probably would if the etetion had been held in August; Lis death between the casting of the popular vote and the assembling of ti:e Electoral Colleges might have [v ipitated the country into bloody commotions. In such a contingen cy, fi.e effective vote of the Electoral ('.'liege might have been controlled 1 • Federal influence or bribery.- SS.npp.ise Grant to have been in a g iall minority, in which the change ufiuluen votes would have sufficed I"elect him, it cannot easily be loubt *d bv any person acquainted with the corrupt state of our politics; that I xums would have been found for I '•'hanging a dozen electoral votes in I P favor. As Senator Benton said, I ins powerful speech advocating a [ vh-iugo of system in 18‘2I, “ The I Elector mav betray the liberties of ]h 'pie by selling his vote. Tilt* j ' is easy because he votes by j ballot ; detection is impossible be- < be does rot sign his vote ; the , straiiit is nothing but liis conscience j : th* re is no legal punishment for tls breach of trust.” In such a con- ; fngeney as we have supposed (ieneval brant would probably have been re- j c ‘Wted by bribery, and the people i “ * v ° been moved, by tlieir sense of -‘ r 'ss wrong and injustice, to rise in arms against the consummation of 1 fraud. The sudden death of Mr. btVviov, and the scattering of the T *c pledged to him, suggests.possi b.iities so painful and formidable as ' greatly strengthen the urgency of forming our method of electing “ • President and Vice President. s eason could be so opportune 1 r fteooin plishing this needed reform u ' -e present Besides discarding 4 llSl b>s. cumbrous machinery of -* vidor.t’.al Electors, it is desirable | aunt the President to a single 1 ‘ m< 1 Vending it perhaps to six ' t ' u ' s ' a reform can never suc- 1 d during the first term of any u nt; for we have never had a n "-lent who did not desire a re t■■•u, and the whole influence of I .' would be wield 1J ll ' a ‘ t au amendment proposed l^ 8 the fast term of a President. v probable that, after Gen. s dement, a President will j. I’ 1 '' re-elected in thirty years. < **" B " Hs re-elected in 1832. and there was no other re-election of a President till 1804—a period of thir ty-two years, or eight Presidential cycles. If thirty-two years should again intervene before another Pres ident is re-elected, a reform restrict ing that officer to one term would probably be deferred for that long period. There is no hope of effect ing it except during the second term of a President, when the settled rule against a third term takes away from the head of the Government all temptation to thwart the reform. Perhaps it may be said that, inas muen as the re-election of President has, for the last forty years, been an exception to the general rule, only two Presidents bavin » been re-elec ted during that long period, there is no pressing need of reforming the Constitution in this particular. This is a very superficial view. The mis chief does not consist in the actual re-election of Presidents, but in the uniform prostitution of their powers during a first term to promote their chances for a second. Almost ha bitual failure in these efforts is more pernicious than uniform success. If our Presidents always succeeded in getting themselves re-elected, every second term might be devoted to the public welfare, ihe constant re election of our Presidents w ould di minish the evil by one-half. But when every President aspires to a second term, and only a few ever at tain it, we seldom get a President who administers his office in any other view than to promote his own personal advantage. During second terms there is no great temptation ; but us most of our Presidents serve only for a lirst term, we are deliver- j ed over to a succession of abortive . attempts by Presidents to elect them- 1 selves, without the second-term ad- j vantages which would attend their ! success. If the limitation is not accomplish ed during General Grant's second term, another opportunity may not occur in the lifetime of men now active in A re-elected President has no motive to oppose it, and a long period may elapse be fore another President is re-elected. The mere restriction to a single term is not the important thing ; we could, in must elections, trust to the hos tility of the Outs to the Ins for that ; the root of the evil lies in the possi bility of every President being re elected, and the consequent shaping or every Administration to a selfish personal result. It is of the first importance to remove this great, de moralizing temptation ; which will never be done unless in the second term of some President, a President in his second term having no motive to oppose the reform, as a President in his first term intriguing for a sec ond always has. The contemptuous abolition of the idle machinery of Presidential Elec- j tors, in which the whole country would unanimously agree, if this branch of the reform could be brought to a popular vote, would not quite do justice to the intentions of the framers of the Constitution. — The idea on which they acted was eminently sound. It reflected credit on their wisdom and penetration. They failed only in their methods for carrying it into practical execu tion. The seminal thought on which they built their structure, was the great danger of allowing the Gov ernment to have any influence in the choicetof a President. Their esti mate of this great danger, against which they undertook to guard, is disclosed in this provision of the Con stitution : “ But no Senator or Rep resentative, or person holding an office of trust or profit under the United States, shall be pointed an Elector.” There could not have beer ; a more emphatic declaration of the , opinion of the framers of the Con stitution that the Federal Adminis tration and Federal office-holders ought not to have the slightest influ ence in a Presidential election. But, in point of fact, the influence which they tried .to shut out, is active and controlling. The re-ehgibility ol Presidents, and the packing of cau cuses and conventions by their place men, enable them to dictate the nom- iuation, and frequently to control the result. The framers of the Con stitution were wise in their foresight of dangers ; they were in error only as to the efficacy of the means they provided against Federal influence on the election of the President. It is for us, their successors, to accom plish their aim by better methods. Now the chief means by which official influence (which they so care fully tried to exclude) is brought to bear on the Presidential elections, is the re-eligibility of Presidents, and the influence of official patronage in packing National Conventions. In pursuance of the original sound idea of the framers of the Constitution, we must cut up this system by the roots ; which cau ouly be done by limiting the President to a single term. The reforms which we propose, and whose mei’its we desire to see thoroughly canvassed by the press of both parties, are these : First. Abolishing the machinery of Presidential Electors, and letting the people vote directly for Presi dent and Vice President. Second. Limiting the President to a single of (say) six years. Third. Giving all the appointed Federal officers a term equal to that of the President, bat commencing and ending at the middle of the Presidential terms. This would en able the President to become ac quainted with the merits of each officer, and to decide intelligently whether the public service would be promoted by his reappointment; and, what is more important, it would preclude appointments as the mere reward of party service in the elec tions, which is one of the most cor rupting things in our politics. Fourth. Requiring all the State elections to be held on the same day when the people vote for President, and thereby facilitating an honest expression of the public judgment, uninfluenced by the estimation of chances which degrade our Presiden tial elections to the level of betting on a horse-race. We most earnestly desire that these reforms may be discussed and push ed ; and we will gladly follow the lead of any statesman or any publi journal that will take up the subject with intelligent zeal. Important Decision. A ease of “ Civil Eights ” recently j . 1 occurred in Washington which was 1 promptly and judiciously disposed of by Judge Mac Arthur, of the Uni ted States Criminal Court. A res taurateur named Aman refused to entertain and furnish refreshments to a negro named Foole and a party with him upon the demand of Foole. Foole thereupon had him sum-. moued before the City Police Court. , Aman gave bond and appealed to the United States Criminal Court. Upon hearing the case Judge Mac- Arthur reserved the decision of the Police Court, and delivering his de cision said that the proprietor of a hotel or restaurant was the proper judge of who should receive enter tainment or lodging in his house. This decision of Judge MacArthur was eminently just and proper and indicates that the whole judiciary within the shadow of the Capitol will not be prostituted to base polit ical purposes or subservient to the accomplishment of partisan purposes Judge MacArthur has sustained the law and vindicated the right of the citizen to control his own house He deserves the plaudits of all men who have a regard for decency, or der and good government. We hope he will not be decapitated for the judicial independence and regald foi law he has exhibited. Josephine Mansfield Impover ished. It is stated that a gentleman re cently arrived from Paris says tnat the notorious Josephine Mansfield appeared in that city some weeks ago. She had about §37,000 in mon ey. This she deposited in the bank ing house of Bowles Bros. M hen the failure of that house was an nounced she wrung her hands in grief, and declared that sue was ruined. It is not probable that the will recover a cent of her money. FOB THE RIGHT—JUSTICE TO ALL. BAIN BRIDGE GA- DECEMBER 21st 1572. [Fn ni thn .Vln,»:\ Heiald.] The Code. On Friday last a duel was fought out side of the city limits on the Peachtree road, the account of. which we duly chron icled the following day. As the report we gave was not as full as it really should have beeD we republish the whole affair in full with some additional facts which have since been obtained. * • THE PARTIES to the duel were Mr. Carnard Thynne. an employee of the Kimball Uou-e. some twenty-five or thirty years old. and 0. M. Van Valkenberg, a mere youth, some eighteen or nineteen years old, also em ployed at the same place. It seems that the parties did not get along as peacably as could be desired, but frequently had their little spats, which fortunately term inated at all times without serious conse quences. On the day mentioned, early in the morning the parties had A QUARREL or at least had a large amount of words, that on the part of Thynne were more in the manner of teasing Van Valkerberg. The last named was angry in real good earnest, and felt himself highly aggrieved. The occasion of the dispute was AN AFFAIR OF LOVE. A girl was at the bottom of it. as it is, alas, too often the case in a number of in stances. Van loved not wisely but too well and Barnard twitted him so much about it that he could stand it no longer but determined ro make a settlement of the affair at once and forever under the provisions of the rule=> governing gentb men in a QUESTION OF HONOR ; and therefore the -note” was duly penned, and the friend requested to hand it to Mr. Thynne, demanding satisfaction or request ing a meeting. Early iu the afternoon the note was handed to the offending par ty. who received it with no little surprise and consternation. He was nut aware of anything which called for an apology, and was in no condition of mind to wash out the insult WITH BLOOD. Whatever may have passed through his mind had nothing to do with Van 's course; he had been grossly trifled with and insul ted, and he had sought satisfaction, and satisfaction should he have. He was too brave a spirit ro take advantage of his ad versary. and lie thought too much of his own honor to assume THE ROLE OF A BULLY, by attacking Thynne in a manner which placed him on unequal terms as to weap ons with himself. This the friend knew. and he admonished Tliynue that if he could not make a full and complete apol ogy. the only palliation for the wounded feelings of his principal that would be ac cepted, was A FIGHT OR BE TOSTED. This dire alternative left but one tiling to be decided, and that was to fix upon some one who would act as his friend to make the necessary arrangements for a meeting. While this was being done, a sensible idea was hit upon by the seconds and accepted by Mr. Thvnne. which was to go through the regular form of a duel, using pistols loaded with powder only, leav ing Van to suppose that he was going to meet in DEADLY COMBAT. The agreement was made, the place se lected and carria. es provided to take each of the parties and their seconds to the battlefield, carrying a surgeon. Arriving upon the ground about dusk, the toss was made for positiou. and teas determined in favor of Thvnne. The distance upon was twenty paces, The principals were placed in POSITION*, with the seconds about half way between them on either side. Ihe w ord was given, ‘•gentlemen are you ready?" which was re plied to. ready. "Fire. one. two. three. Between one and three both parties fired. Thvnne f-11. His second ran to his side, and said that he was mortally wounded, and the contest was ended. Ihe second of I'hynne had in his possession a lot of chicken blood, which he took out with him and while he was apparently examining the wounded man (.'j he skillfully smeared the BLOOD over Th rune's clothes. By the time the other parties came up to him the decep tion was most perfect, aud \ an <vas luhy impressed with the oelief that he had done the work. The groans and ejacula tions which came from 1 hynue carried out most thoroughly the impression created on Van's, mind that Yhyune was a DYING MAN. Thvnue was picked up and placed in his carriage, and was taken off the ground Van also got into his carriage, and rode back to the city. Arriving at the Kim ball Mouse, he immediately secreted him self iu his room to await further develop ments. He appeared to be very cneasy. , Several times during the evening after their return, Van's second was sent to the room in which Tliynne was iu. to inquire as to his c mdition. The last time he came, he bore a request that he. Van, might be permitted to see him. Thynne’s second informed him that he could "not be 1 allowed this privilege, that three doctors were in attendance doing all they could. 1 That he could not live.” HE WILL DIE. This of course did not ally his uneasi ness. Shortly after he received .tl> is mes sage. A note from the Clerks office was sent him saying: | “The officers are hunting you. Mr. Nicholls will have to allow the house to be searched ; fie low, get up on the roof of the house if you can.” Van was terri bly alarmed now, anil attempted to get out. on the roof of the Kimball House. Not being able to succeed, he at length mau j aged to find the man in charge of the laun dry. who secretly took him through a back way and hid him in THE COAL BIN |in the cellar. He remained in this place ' in the cold for some two hours, occasion -1 ally receiving messages from the outer ! world,till at last he felt that his only safe ;ty was in flight. He was taken through the cellar and coal bin. through the dark ness, till he reached an outlet on the SIEDEWALKOX DECATCH STREET. Through this he emerged, and speedily be gan his flight, at TO o'clock at night, on foot, lie took the track of the Macon And Western Railroad, walking towards East Point. This was • the last seen or beam of him imtil yesterday, wheh Col. Nicholls received a letter, addressed: to him, postmarked Savannah, which throws fur ther light on.the subject, aud is publish ed in full—to show what a decided sell lias been perpetrated on him. THE LETTER IS AS FOLT.OWS : savannah, December 10.1872. Dear Mr. Nig molls : 1 arrived here this morning at nine o'clock, and have failed to see Capt. Danforth, to whom you so kindly referred me I stopped two days at my uncle's, twelve miles north of Macon, he brought me twenty-four miles to the Mit BR E. It will cause me much pain if Mr. Thynne dies, for 1 had almost rather been killed myself than for it to hap pen thus. I)o uot blame me for defend ing myself, as 1 thought it the best way to settle it, and as I could not have the cow ardice to have taken the advantage of him. My conscience is clear and I thought I was doing right, and 1 have not discon tinued my prayers, which I am in the hab it of saying. If I have done w’rong I hope God will in some way punish me, and not place me in the hands of fiien that I am not known to. * * * * * If you think it safe for me to remain here, and I can get ft situation. I will do you ail the good 1 possibly can for your house, I am confident of getting my old place back again in New York, if I have to leave ; but I do not care to leave this State, as I claim it as a home, and feel that I have a full right to remain, I hope Mrs. Nich olls don't think 1 am a reckless boy, but knows otherwise; for I was cool and so ber the whole day as ever. From your most obd't serv t, C. M. V. the finale. We have given, we believe, the full ac count of the most practical joke that could have been perpetrated on any one, leaving out the fainting scene as witnessed at the Kimball House on the night of the affair. We can not help but admire the coolness and bravery of the young man, but we must admit he certainly appears in the aspect of being - mighty greeny but when it is known that he was kept in the most profound ignorance of the joke, we think that he can be excusable, and should not be run too hard if he comes back to the city. Not the one Wanted. — Pittsburg has had a modern comedy of errors. A Young wife suspected her lord of too great an intimacy with the come ly mulatto cook, and so one night when he acted suspicious, she laid for him. Sending the cook off, she covered her head with a shaivl and waited in for the confir mation of her suspicions. Some one rapidly eniered, shortly after, and she felt an arm around her waist and warm kisses on her lips. Then she threw off her disguise to trans fix the villain on the spot, but in stead ofter husband, she beheld the biggest, blackest negro in all that city. It was the cook’s sable “par ticular,” and lie had kissed her. Oh . She no longer suspects her husband. A Bamesville youth, after carry ing his sweet-heart to her father's door and faltering out a tender good night, was escorte 1 to the front gate by the deep-mouthed watch dog.. The voting man says it is impossible to shake himself entirely free from the suspicion that the old man was hid out in the shrubbery.—[Red Top. Startling 1 Exhibit of Crime in New York City. The criminal records of new York city show’ a startling array of crimes. Since the first of January 1870, there have been one hundred and thirty nine Cases of homicide within the city limits. Os these mau killeds, six committed suicide at once, ten were discharged by the coroners; twelve concealed themselves beyond finding, and two although known were never arrested, and one died of wounds after being arre Ted. Os the one hundred and eight remaining, whose cases came before the District Attorney, one was sent to the House of Refuge, and a second to the insane asylum; sixty oiie have been brought to trial, of whom seventeen were acquitted and forty four convicted- Os those convicted tw T o have been awarded new trials, two have been executed, four are sentenced to be hung, but are now awaiting the de cision of the Court of Appeals. Three have been sentenced to the State' prison for life, one for fifteen years, and the other for less than seven years. Iu sixteen cases indictments have never been found; in eleven other cases indictments have been found, but no trial has taken place, and three it is said have been dis charged on bail aftor indictment. In the abstract of the records, sixteen cases of those sent to the District Attorney have never been heard of since. Their names do not appear in any official paper, aud what has become of them no one knows. It appears from the records that the average punishment for kill ing a man iu New York is throe years’ imprisonment in the State prison. Brevities. If you want to know whether a tree is hollow or not, ax it. A brilliant daughter makes a brittle wife. A Danbury girl has married a poet and carries her own coal. A gentleman in a Boston horse car was heard to remark that lie knew upwards of firty native Americans who bad tartars for wives. An old lady bearing that the shock ing condition of the fireman’s hose had re sulted in the destruction of a large amount of property’, sat up nearly all night to put her husband's socks in complete repair. The Hon. Leonard Myers has introduced a bill in the House giving the widow of General Meade a pension of $2,000 a year. Maurice Daly and Cyrille Dion, the present champion billiardists of America, will contest for the championship and one thousand dollars in a game of fifteen hun dred points carom, at Irving Hall, New York, on January 2d. Knights of the cue are looking forward with much inter est to the event. President Grant has just received from Harvard his diploma as Doctor of Laws - It is to be hoped that this purely honor ary distinction will not induce him to make further attempts to doctor our laws, as his previous performances in that line have not bef*n particularly satisfactory. Moses Kimball declines the Republican Domination for .Mayor of Boston. Ilarri bal I did the same thing in Atlanta once, Jas. L. Orr, the South Carolina rene gade, already Well rewarded for his base desertion and betrayal of his State and people, is now to have his cup filled to overflowing by being appointed minister to Russia. The president has sent ?n his name and we suppose the Senate will con firm . New Orleans is to have another line of steamers to Liverpool and London, consisting of five large steamships, and the city is now mak ing a strong bid for the Western grain trade, of vtbich it will doubt less secure a large share. It is in tended to ask the government, this winter, for an appropriation suffi cient to clear away the bars at the mouth of the river, which has long been a serious annoyance to the commerce of New Orleans. A judge of Milesian extraction,charged a jury as follows : -Gentleman of the ju ry, you must find that the defendant in guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. A rea sonable doubt is such a doubt as will con vince a reasonable man that the defendant is cot guilty.’’ A Savannah gentleman, having set a steel-trap to discover what became of his j chickens, found his mother-in-law griev ously lacerated next morning. Since then I the demand for steel-traps is said to be something unprecedented in the hardware trade of Georgia. nr advanc*. PROFESSIONAL CA PBS. W. O. FLKMIN’U. J, c. RCTIIKI fWM# Fleming A Rutherford. ATTORNEY’S AT LAW. BAIKBRIWJK, ua. T. B. Huuewell ,% C#' store. liuktt 2&-7-3-U. HURLEY A liUSSF.LL. Attorneys & Counsellors at Law OITTOK IX COURT lIuL'HH, fc.UNBISIDGE, CtGOKGTA. Will practice iu the Pataula South "Western Circuits. September 21,1872. 14-lt c g Campbell] ATTORNEY AT LA t bainbmdgh, ga All business entrust oil to iu/ cal* promptly attended to Office in the tSa^ib->rr* buildu p July 13, iSTIi. 1* B. B. EOWLB W. H. CIUWFqKJJ BOWEB& CA> WFORO. ITTOBSEI’S AT LtW. B.Ub bill LG if. LA. J|ioF*OrncE in the Couit IIous«. Kept 7th 1872-Om. C. C. CREWS. A. L. *LAt* CREWS & PRATT' COTTON FACTORS —AXD COMMISSION MERCHANTS; Bay Street, Savannah, Oj4. B6OF Orders promptly attended to. Con signments solicited Oct. 5, ’72. IG-tf A. M. SLOAN. J. H. SLOAN, A. M. SLOAN &CO ; COTTON FACTORS AND General Commission MERCHANTS. claghorn i ccnninobam’s bangs, Briy Street, Savannah, Ga Bagging and Ties lowest market price Liberal cash advances made on consign raents for sale in Savannah or oh ship ments to reliable corret] undents in 1 iver pool, New York, Philadelphia, or B&lti more. Oct. 5, ’72. lti--3tu Till Will, Cheaper than itl« Cheapest 1 i H E COURTNEY* BAINBRIDGE. ttfcORGM Would respectfully inform the citwrtrtr 4ft Decatur county aud the public generally that he has on hand, a very large stock of mm rar mm v muz mm 9 tin ware, SHEET IHOV, COPPER And many other things too numerous t* mention. »«k,Job Work done at the shortest nttfie* WANTED For the year 1873, A posititaon as Book- Keeper or Book Keeper and Salesman combined. Apply to J. W C CBRlftfiEli, At L. M, Crillin s StofiK Nov, 16th-4w FERRY XT BELLEVLri, CHAT TAHOOCHEE RIVER. (hereby notify the public that the '‘Dell vi/e Ferry,” situated on the Chattahoo chee river, at Bellevue, is now open to tl » traveling public. Tbe flat is jtrfectly new, and the Tanks and road on either side of the river are placed in the best condition. L. PEACOCK. Bellevue, Nov. 13.1672. TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN. The undersigned hereby give* notice that be has filed his petition with the Or dinary of JtecHtar County* to be discharg ed from his Executorship on B. F. Pow ell's last will and testament ou the Ist Monday in Jan. 1873. Wx. Powell, Ex r B. F. Powell. GEORGIA — Decatur Cofinty On the first Monday in Jan nary nett, I will apply to the Ordinary of said cood ty for leave to sell for t{ieu>urpose erf dis tribution. all the real estate belonging to Duncan Nicholson of Said eoaftfer deceased. WTT Ex. »« 36