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THE STANDARD AND EXPRESS.
A. HARM II4LK „
W. A. MAUSt H ALK,} Ed,lorß * nd Proprietors.
LOUISIANA AFFAIRS.
Special Message of the President to
Congress.
TANARUS„ the Semite of the United Staten:
I have tbe honor to make the following an
swer to a senate roHolution of the Bth inst.,
asking for information as to any interference
by any military officer on the part of the army
of the United States with the organization or
proceedings of the general assembly of the
state of Louisiana, or either branch thereof;
and also inquiring in regard to the existence
of armed organizations in that section, hostile
to the government thereof, aDd intent cf over
turning such government by force. To say
that lawlessness, turbulence and bloodshed
have characterized the political affairs of tnat
state since its organization under the recon
struction acts, is only to repeat what has be
come well known as part of its unhappy his
tory. But it may be proper hero to refer to
the election of 1808, by which the republican
vote of the state, throngli fraud and violence,
w as reduced to a few thousand, and the bloody
riots of 1806 and 1868, to show that the dis
orders there are not due to any recent canse,
or to any late action of the federal authorities.
I’repwatory to the election of 1872, a shame
ful and undisguised conspiracy was formed to
carry that election against the republicans,
without regard to law or right, and to that end
tbe most glaring frauds and forgery were com
mitted in return, after many colored citizens
had been denied registration, and others de
terred by fear from casting their bal'ots, whoa
the time came for a final comparison of the
votes. In view of foregoing facts, Wm. P.
Kellogg, the republican candidate for gov
ernor. brought suit unon the equity side of the
United States circuit court for Louisiana
against Warmoth and others, who had ob
tained possession of the returns of the elec
tion. represent ing that several thousand voters
of the state had been deprived of the elective
franchise on account of their color, and pray
ing that steps might be taken to have their
vo'cs counted, and for general relief. To en
ablo tho court to inquire into the truth of
these allegations, a temporary restraining
order was issued against the defendant, which
was at once wholly disregarded and treated
with contempt by those to whom it was di
rected. Those proceedings have been widely
denounced as an unwarrantable interfer
ence by the federal judioiaty with the elec
tion of state officers. But it is to be re
membered that by the fifteenth amendment
to tho constitution of the United States, tho
political equality of colored citizens is se
cured : and under the second section of that
amendment providing that congress shall have
pow*r to enforce its provisions by appropriate
legislation, an act was passed on the 18th of
May, 1870, and amended in 1871, the object of
which’was to prevent the denial or abridg
ment of suffrage to citizens on account of
race, color, er previous condition of servitude;
and has been held by all the federal judges
before whom the matter has arisen, including
Judge Strong, of the supremo court, that the
protection afforded by this amendment and
these acts, extend to state as well as other
elections ; that it is the duty of tho federal
courts to enforce the provisions of the consti
tution of the United States and the lawsnassed
in pursuance thereof This is too clear for
controversy. Section 15 of said act, after nu
merous provisions therein to punish an inva
sion of the fifteenth amendment, provides
that the jurisdiction of tho circuit courts of
tbe United States shall extend to all cases in
law or equity arising under the provisions of
said act and of the act amendatory thereof
Congress seems to have contemplated equit
able as well as legal proceedings to prevent
the denial of suffrage to colored citizens, and
it may be safely asserted that if Kellogg’s bill
in the above named case does not present a
case for the equitable interposition of the
court, that no such case can arise under the
act. That the courts of the United States
have the right to interfere in various ways
with state elections, so as to maintain political
equality and rights therein, irrespective of
race or color, is comparatively new, and to
some seems to be a startling idea, but it re
sults clearly from the fifteenth amendment
of the constitution, and the acts that have
been passed to enforce that amendment, as
the abrogation of state laws upholding slavery
results to the thirteenth amendment to the
constitution. While the jurisdiction of the
court in the case of Kellogg vs. Warmoth and
others is clear to my mind, it seems that some
of the orders made by the judge iu that, and
in the kindred care of Antoine, were illegal,
but while they are so held and considered, it is
not to bo forgotten that the mandate of his
court has been contemptuously defied, and
they were made while wild scenes of anarchy
were sweeping away all restraint of law and
order. Doubtless, the judge of this court
made grave mistakes, but the law allows the
chancellor great latitude, not only in punish
ing those who condemn liis orders and injunc
tions. but in preventing the consummation of
the wrong which he has judicially forbidden.
Whatever may be said or thoguht of those
matters, it was only made known to me that
the process of tbe United States court was re
sisted, and as said acts specially provide for
the use of the at my and navy when necessary
to force judicial process arising thereunder, I
cousidered it my duty to soe that such process
was executed according to the judgment of
the court. Resulting from these proceedings,
through various controversies and complica
tions, a state administration was organized,
with Wm. B. Kellogg as governor, which, in
the discharge of my duty under section 4,
article 4 of the constitution, I have recognized
as the government of the state. I. has been
bitterly and persistently alleged that Kellogg
was not elected. Whether he was or not is
not altogether certain, nor is it any more cer
tain that bis competitor (McEnery) was
chosen. The election was a gigantic fraud,
and there are no reliable returns of its result.
Kellogg obtained possession of the office, and,
in my opinion, has more right to it than his
competitor. On the 20th of February, 1873.
the committee on privileges and elections of
the sen te made a report, in which they say
that they are satisfied by the testimony that
the manipulation of the machinery by War
moth and others was equivalent to twenty
thousand voters, and they add that to recog
nize the McEnery government would be to
recognize a government based upon fraud, in
defiance of the wishes and intention of the
voters of the state. Assuming the correct
ness of tho statements in this report—and
they seem to have been generally accepted by
the country—the great crime in Louisiana,
about which so much has been done and said,
i-< that one is holding the office of governor
who was cheated out of 20,000 votes, against
another whose title to the office is undoubtedly
based on fraud and in defianco of the wishes
and intentions of the voters of the state.
Misinformed &Dd misjudging as to the nature
and extent of this report, the supporters of
McEnery proceeded to displace by force in
some parts of the state tho appointees of Gov
ernor Kellogg ; and on the 13th of April, in
an effort of that kind, a butchery of citizens
was committed in Colfax, which, in blood
‘inrsUness and barbarity, is hardly surpassed
by any acts of savage warfare. To put the
matter beyond controversy, I quote from the
charge of Judge Woods, of the United States
uremt court, to the jury j n the case of the
United States vs. Cruikshank and others, in
-New Orleans, in March, 1874. lie said: “In
ne case on trial there are many facts not in
tue controversy. I proceed to state some of
them m the presence and hearing of counsel
l ' u both sides, and, if I state as a conceded
! a ’iy matter that is disputed, they can cor
"v\ me - After stating the origin of the dif
j '‘shy, which grew out of an attempt of white
■ 1 rsonß to drive the parish judae and sheriff,
11 pomtees of Kellogg, from office, and their
attempted protection bycolored persons, which
'‘I 1 10 s °me fighting, in wliich quite a number
\ negroes were killed, the judge states that
most of those who were killed were taken
!'!!?r erS i" *'- fteen or sixteen of the blacks
tad lifted the boards and taken refuge uudor
he floor of the court house. They were all
sptnred. About thirty-seven men were taken
I risoners; the number is not definitely fried.
i hey were kept under guard until dark, when
hey were led out two by two and shot, .Mo t
*' men were shot to dea’li; a few’ were
'mauled, not mortally, and by pretending to
dead, were afterwards, during the night,
*Me to make their escape. Among tuem was
p! e Bevi Nelson named in the indictment,
lho dead bodies of the negroes killed in this
affair were left unburied till Tuesday. A pril
''hen they were buried by a deputy in r
and aii officer of the militia lrom New
■ leans. These persons found fifty-nine dea 1
, : ues. They showed pistol shot wounds, the
fheat majority iu the heart, and some of them
m (he back of tho head. In addition te the
'*• ad found, some charred remains cf dead
bodies were discovered near tbe court house.
- dead bodies were found under a warehouse,
:t “ -hot iu the heart but one or two, who were
snot in the breast. The only white men in
jured from the beginmug of these troubles to
their close, were Iladnot and Harris. 'I he
0011 r t house and its contents were entirely cou
sumod. There is no evidence that any one iu
the crowd of whites bore any lawful warrant for
the arrest of any blacks. There is no evi
dence that Nash or Cozabol after the affair
over demanded the office to which they had
set up a claim. But Register continued to act
as parish judge. These are the facts in this
case, as I understand them to be admitted.
To hold the people of Louisiana in general re
sponsible for these atrocities would not be
fair. But it is a lamentable fact that insuffer
able obstructions were thrown in the way of
punishing these murderers, and the so-sailed
conservative papers of the state not only
justified the massacre, but denounced as fed
eral tyraunv and despotism the attempt of the
United States officers to bring them to justice.
Fierce denunciations ring through the country
about officers interfering in said election nut
ters in Louisiana, while every one of the
Colfax miscreants goes unwhipped of justice,
and no way can be found in this boasted land
of civilization and Christianity to punish the
perperpetrators of this bloody and monstrous
crime.
Not unlike this was the massacre in August
last. Several northern young men of capital
and enterprise had started the little and
flourishing town of Coashatta. Bome of them
were republicans and office-holders under Kel
logg. They were, therefore, doomed to death.
Six of them were seized and carried away from
their homes and murdered iu cold blood! Not
one has been punished, aud the conservative
press of the state denounced all efforts to
that end, and boldly justifies the crime.
Many murders cf a like character have been
committed in individual cases, which cannot
here be detailed. For example, T. 8. Crafford,
judge of the parish, and the district attorney
of the twelfth judicial district of the state, on
their way to court, were shot from their horses
bv men in ambush on the Bth of October,
1873, and the wife of the former, in a com
munication to the department of justice, tells
a pitiful tale of the per.-ecutiou of her hus
band because he was a union man, and of the
efforts made to seize those who had. committed
a crime which, to uso her language, left two
widows and nine orphans destitute. To say
that the murder of a negro or a white repub
lican is not considered a crime in Louisiana,
would probably be unjust to a great part of
tbe people, but it is true that a great number
of such murders have been committed, and
no one has been punished therefor, and mani
festly the spiiit of hatred and violence is
stronger than the law.
Representations were made to me that tho
presence ot troops in Louisiana was unneces
sary, and that there was no danger of public
disturbances if they were taken away. Con
sequently, early last summer tbe troops were
withdrawn from tho state, with the exception
of a small garrison at New Orleans barracks.
It was stated tiiat a comparative state of quiet
had supervened, and that political excitement
as to Louisiana affairs seemed to be dying
out, but the November election was approach
ing, and it was necessary for partv purposes
that the flame should be relighted. Accord
ingly on ihe 14th of September D. B. Penn,
claiming that ho was elected lieutenant-gov
ernor in 1872, issued an inflammatory procla
mation calling upon tho militia of the state to
arm, assemble, and to drive out the usurpers,
as ho designated the officers of the Btat.e. The
white leagues, armed and ready for the con
flict, promptly responded. On tho same day
the governor made a formal requisition upon
me, in pursuance of the act of 1795, and sec
tion 4, article 4 of the constitution, to aid in
suppressing domestic violence. On tho next
day I issued my proclamation commanding the
insurgents to disperse within five days of the
date thereof, but before the proclamation was
published in New Orleans, the oiganized and
armed forces, recognizing a usurping govern
ment, had taken forcible possession of the
state-house and temporarily subverted tbe
government Twenty or more people wore
killed, including a number of the police of
the city. The streets of the city were stained
with blood. All that was desired in the way
of excitement had been accomplished. And
in view of the stops taken to repress it, the
revolution was apparently, though it is be
lieved not really, abandoned, and the cry of
federal usurpation and tyranny in Louisiana
was renewed with redoubled energy. Iroops
had been sent to the state under the requisi
tion of the governor, as other disturbances
seemed imminent. They were allowed to re
main there to render the executive such aid
as might become necessary to enforce tbe
laws of the state, and repress the continued
violence which eeemed inevitable the moment
federal support should be withdrawn. Prior
to and with a view to the late election in Louis
iana, white men associated themselves to
gether in armed hodids called white leagues,
and at tho same time threats were made in
tbe journals of the state, that the election
should be carried against the republicans at
all hazards, which, very naturalty, greatly
alarmed the colored voters.
By section 8 of the act of Feb. 28, 1871, it
is made the duty of United States marshals
and their deputies, at polls where votes are
cast for representatives in congress, to keep
order aud prevent violations of the so-called
enforcement act, and other offenses against
the laws of the United States, and. upon a
requisition of tbe marshal of Louisiana, and
iu view of aimed organization and portentous
circumstances, I caused detachments of troops
to bo stationed in various localities in the
state, to aid him in tho performance of his
official duties.
That there was intimidation of republican
voters at the election, notwithstanding this
precaution, admits of uo doubt. Tne follow
ing are specimens of the moans used: On
tbe 4th of October, eighty persons signed and
published tho following at Slrreveport:
“ We. tho undersigned, merchants of the
city of Shreveport, in obedience to a request
of the Shreveport Campaign club, agree to
use every endeavor to get our employes to
vote the people’s ticket the ensuing elec
tion, aud in the event of their refusal so to do,
or in case they vote the radical ticket, to re
fuse to employ them at the expiration of their
term of service.’’
On the same day another large body of per
sons published in the same place a paper, in
which they need the following language :
“We, the nnde-isignod, merchants of the
city < f Shreveport, alive to the great import
ance of securing good aud honest government
to the state, do agree and pledge ourselves
not to advance any supplies or money to any
planter the coming year, wbo will give employ
ment or rent lands to laborers who voio the
radical ticket iu the coming election.”
I have no information of the proceedings of
the returning board for said election, wliich
may not be found in its report which has been
published, but it is a matter of public infor
mation that a groat part of the time taken to
canvass the votes was consumed by the argu
ments of lawyers, severil of whom represented
each party before the board. I have no evi
dence that the proceedings of this board were
not in accordance with the law under wliich
they acted. Whether, in excluding from their
count certain returns they were right or
wrong, is a question tiiat depends upon the
evidence they had before them, but it is very
clear that the law gives them the power, if
they choose to exercise it, of deciding that
way, and prima facie, the persons whom they
return as elected, are entitled to the offices
for which they wore candidates.
Respecting the alleged interference by the
military with tho organization of the legisla
ture of Louisiana on the 4th inst., I have no
knowledge or information which has not been
received by me since that time and published.
My first information was from tho papers of
the morning of the sth of Jauuaiy. I did
not know that any such thing was anticipated,
and no orders and uo suggestions were ever
given to any military officers in that state on
that subject prior to the occurrences. lam
well aware that any military interference by
the officers of the United States with tho or
ganization of a state legislature or any of its
proceedings, or with any civil department of
the government, is repugnant to our ideas of
government. I can conceive of no case not
involving rebellion or insurrection, where such
interference by authority of the general gov
ernment ought to be permitted or can bo justi
fied. But there are circumstances connected
with the legislative imbro lio in Louisiana
which seems to exempt the military from any
intentional wrong in that matter.
Tire enforcement of tbe state law*, the
officers and troops of the United States may
well have supposed that it was their duty to
act when called upon by the governor for that
purpose. Each branch of tho legislative as
sembly is the judge of the election and quali
fications of its own members, but if a mob or
a boiv of unauthorized persons sieze and
hold the legislative hall iu a tumultuous aud
riotous manner, and so prevent any organiza
tion by those legailv returned as elected, it
might become the duty of the state executive
to mterfero, if requested by a majority of the
n embeis elect, to suppress the disturbance
and enable tbe persons present to organize the
house. Any exercise of this power would be
justifiable under most extraordinary circum
stances, and it would then be the duty of tLe
governor to call upon the constabulary, or, if
nece-sary, tho military force of the state.
But, with reference to Louisiana, it is to be
home in mind that any attempt of the govern
< r to use the police force of that state a,t this
time, would have undoubtedly precipitated a
bloody conflict with tbe white league, as it did
on the 14th of September. There is no doubt
but that the presence of the United States
troops on that occasion prevented bloodshed
and the lo*e of life. Both parties appear to
have relied on them as conservators of the
public peace. The first call was made by the
democrats to remove persons obnoxious to
them from the legislative hall, and the second
was from the republicans, to remove persons
who had usurped seats in the legislature,
without legal certificates authorizing them to
seats, and in sufficient number to change the
majority. Nobody was disturbed by the mili
tary who had a legal right at that time to oc
cupy a seat in the legislature. That the demo
cratic minority of the house undertook to
seize its organization by fraud and malice ;
that in this attempt they’ trampled under foot
the law; that they undertook to make persons
not returned as elected members, so as to
create a majority; that they acted under a
preconcerted plan, aud under false pretenses
introduced into the hall men to support their
pretentious by force, if necessary, and that
conflict, disorder and riotous proceedings fol
lowing, are facts that seem to be well estab
lished, aud I am credibly informed that these
violent proceedings were a part of a premedi
tated plan to have the house organized in this
way, recognize what has been called the
McEnery senate, then to depose Gov. Kellogg,
and so revolutionize the state government.
Whether it was wrong for the governor at the
request of the majority of members returned
as elected to the house, to nse such means as
were in his power to defeat these lawless and
revolutionary proceedings, is perhaps a debat
able question, but it is quite certain tiiat there
would have been notrouble if those who now
complain of illegal interference had allowed
the house to be organized in a lawful and reg
ular manner. When those who inaugurated
disorder and anarchy disavow such proceed
ings, it will be time enough to condemn these
who, by such means as they havo, prevent
the success of their lawless and desperate
schemes.
Lieut. Gen. Sheridan was requested by me
to go to Louisiana to observe and report the
situation there, and, if in his opinion neces
sary, to as-uime the command, which ho did
on the 4tli inst., after the legislative disturb
ance had occurred, at nine o’clock p. m., a
number of hours sifter the disturbances. No
party motive nor prejudices can necessarily be
impntod to him, but honestly convinced by
what he had seen and heard there, he has
characterized the leaders of the white leagues
in severe terms, and suggested summary
modes of procedure against them, which,
though they cannot be adopted, would, if
legal, soon put au end to tho troubles and dis
orders in that state. Gen. Sheridan was look
ing at facts, and possibly not thinking of pro
ceedings which would be the only proper ones
to pursue in time of peace, and thought more
of the utterly lawless condition bf society sur
rounding him at the time of his dispatch, and
of what would piove a sure remedy. He never
proposed to do an illegal act, nor expressed a
determination to proceed beyond what the law
in the future might authorize for the punish
ment of tho atrocities which have been com
mitted; and tho commission of which cannot
be successfully denied. It is a deplorable fact
that political crimes and murder have been
committed in Louisiana, which have gone un
punished, slid which have been justified or
apologized for, which must rest as a reproach
upon the state and country, long after the
present generation has passed away.
I have no desire to have United States troops
interfere in the domestic concerns of Louis
iana or any other state On tbe 9th of De
cember last. Gov. Kellogg telegraphed to me
liis apprehensions that the white league in
tended to make another attack. Upon the
same day I made the following answer, since
which no communication has been sent to
him:
“ Your dispatch of this date has just been
received. It is exceedingly unpalatable to use
troops in anticipation of dangers. Let tbe
state authorities be right, and then proceed
with their duties, without apprehension of
danger. If they are then molested, the ques
tion will bo determined wlieiher the United
States is able to maintain law and order within
its limits or not.”
I have deplored the presence of troops
among them. I regret, however, to say that
this state of things does not exist, nor does
its existence seem to be desired in localities,
and as to those it will be proper for mo to say
that to the extent that congress hai conferred
power on me to prevent it, neither ku-klux
klans, w’hite leagues nor any other association
using arms and violence to execute their un
lawful purposes, can be permitted in that way
to govern any part of this country, nor can I
with indifference union men or republicans
ostracized, persecuted and murdered on ac
count of their opinions, as they now are in
some localities.
I have heretofore urged the case of Louisi
ana upon the attention of congress, and I can
not but think that its inaction has produced
great evil. To summonize: In September
last an armed organized body of men, in the
support of candidates who had been put iu
nomination for the offices of governor and
lieutenant governor, at the November election
in 1872, and who had been declared not elected
by the board of canvassers, recognized by all
tbe courts to which the question had been sub
mitted, undertook to subvert and overthrow
the state government that had been recognized
by me. in accordance with previous precedents.
The recognized governor was driven from the
state-house, and, but for his finding shelter in
the United States custom-house, in the capital
of the state of which he was governor, it is
seriouslv to be doubted that he would have
boon killed. From the state-house, before he
had been driven to the custom-house, a call
was made in accordance with the 4th section,
4th article of the constitution of the United
States for the aid of the general government
to suppress domestic violence. Under these
circumstances, and in accordance with my
sworn duty, my proclamation of the 15th of
September, 1873, was issued. This served to
reinstate Gov. Kellogg to his position nomi
nally, but it cannot Ire claimed that tne insur
gents have to this day surrendered to tho
state authorities the arms belonging to tbe
state, or that they have in any Bense disarmed.
On the contrary, it is knew that the armed
organization that existed on the 14tli of Sep
tember, 1874, in opposition to tho recognized
state government, still retain their organiza
tion, equipments and commanders, and eau bo
called out at any hour to resist tho state gov
ernment. Uuder those circumstances the same
military force has been continued in Louisiana
as was sent under the first call, and under the
same general instructions. I repeat that tho
task assumed by the troops is not a pleasant
one ; that the army is not composed of lawyers,
capable of judging at a moment’s notice of
just how far they can go in the maintenance of
law and order, aud that it was impossible to give
specific instructions providing for all possible
contingencies that might arise. The troops
were bound to act upon the judgment of com
manding officers upon each sudden contin
gency tiiat arose, or wait instructions which
could only reach them after the threatened
wrongs had been committed, which they were
called on to prevent. It must be recollected,
too, that upon my recognition of the Kellogg
government, I reported the fact with the
grounds of the recognition to congress, and
asked that body to take action in the matter,
otherwise, I should regard their silence as
acquiescing iu my course. No action has been
taken by that body, and I have maintained the
position marked out. If error has been com
mitted by the army in these matters, it has
always been on the side of the preservation
of good order, the maintenance of law and the
protection of life. Their bearing reflects credit
upon the soldiers and if wrong has resulted
tho blame, with the turbulent elements sur
rounding them, must not rest on them
I now earnestly ask that such action be
taken by congress as to leave my duties per
fectly clear iu dealing with affairs in Loui-iana,
giving assurance at the same timo that what
ever may be done by that body iu the premises,
will be executed according to the spirit of the
law, without fear or favor.
I herewith transmit copies of documents
containing more specific information as to the
subject matter of the resolution.
U. S. Grant.
Executive Mansion, Jau. 13, 1875.
During the year 1874 mora than 66,-
000 steerage passengers left this oountry
for Europe. Many of them, no doubt,
took advantage of exceptionally low
fares to visit their old homes, and have
already returned, or will do so. More,
however, are believed to have been
driven away permanently by the hard
times. The New York commissioner of
emigration believes that about 44,000,
or two-thirds of the whole number, in
tend to be permanent absentees. The
revival of business will bring many of
them back, and tens of thousands of
new comers with them.
CARTERSYILLE, GEORGIA, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27. 1575.
RESUMPTION.
The Finance Bill Approved by the
President.
To the Senate of the United States :
Senate bill No. 1014, to provide for tho re
sumption of specie payments, is before me,
and this day receives my signature of approval.
I venture upon this unusual method of con
veying notice of my approval to tho house iu
which the measure originated, because of its
great importance to the country at large, in
order to suggest further legislation, which
seems to me essential to make this law effect
ual. It is a Bubject of congratulation that a
measure has become a law which fixes the date
when specie resumption shall commence, and
implies an obligation on the part of congress,
if in its power, to give such legislation as may
prove necessary to redeem this promise. To
this ©nd I respectfully call your attention to a
few suggestions:
1. Tne necessity for increased revenue to
carry out the obligation of adding to the sink
ing fund annually one per cent. The interest
on the public debt amounts now to $34,000,000
per annum, and to carry out tlio promises of
this measure to redeem under certain contin
gencies $80,000,000 of the present legal-ten
ders, and without contracting the national
currency now in circulation. How to increase
the surplus revenue is for congress to devise.
But I will venture to suggest that the duty on
tea and coffee might bo restored, without per
manently enhancing the cost to consumers,
and that ten per cent, reduction of the tariff
on articles specified in the law of June, 1872,
be repealed. Tho supply of tea and coffee
already on hand in the United States, would,
in all probability, be advanced in price by
adopting this measure, but it is known that
the adoption of free entry to these articles of
necessity did not cheapen materially, or en
hance the profits of tho country producing
them, or of middlomen of those countries who
have the exclusive trade in them.
2. The first section of the bill now under
consideration, provides that the fractional
currency shall be redeemed in silver coin as
rapidly as practicable. There is no provision
preventing the fluctuation in the value ef
paper currency, or the gold premium advanc
ing over teu per cent, abovo the currency in
use. It is probable, almost certain, that silver
would be bought up for exportation as fast as
it was put out, until change would become so
scarce as to make the premium on it equal to
the premium ou gold or sufficiently high to
make it uo longer profitable to buy for export,
thereby causing a direct loss to tbe community
at large, and great embarrassment to trade.
As the present law commands final resumption
on the first of January, 1879, and as the gold re
ceipts by the treasury are larger than the gold
payments, and the currency receipts than cur
rency paymenis, thereby making monthly sales
of gold neces-ary to meet cm-rent currency ex
penses, it occurs to mo that these difficulties
might be remedied by authorizing the secre
tary of the treasury to redeem legal tender
notes whenever presented in sums of not less
than sl(E£ and multiples thereof, at tho pre
mium for gold of ten per cent, less interest,
at tho rate of per cent, per annum, from
the Ist of January, 1875, to the date of put
ting this law into operation, and diminishing
this premium at the same iate until final re
sult ; changing the rate of premium demanded
from time to time as the interest amounts to
one-quarter ot one per cent. I suggest this
rate of interest, because it would bring cur
rency at par with gold at the date fixed by the
law for the final resumption,. I suggest ten
per cent, as tho premium at the beginning,
because I believe this rate would secure the
retention of silver in the country for change.
The provisions of the third section of the act
will prevent combinations being made to ex
haust the treasury of coin. With such a law.
it is presumable that uo gold would be called
for not required for legitimate business
purposes. When large amounts of com
should bo drawn from the treasury corres
pondingly large amounts of currency would
be withdrawn from circulation, thus causing
sufficient stringency in currency to stop the
outflow of coin, and the advantages of cur
rency, of fixed known value, would also l>e
reached. In my opinion, by the euactment of
such a law, business and the industries would
revive, and the beginning of prosperity,
on a firm basis, would be reached. Other
means of increasing the revenue, than those
suggested, should probably be devised, and
also othar legislation, in fact, to carry out the
first section of the act. Another mint be
comes a necessity. With the present facilities
for coinage, it would take a period beyond
that fixed by law for final specie resumption
to coin silver necessary to trausact the busi
ness of the country. There are now smelting
furnaces for extracting silver and gold from
ores brought from the mountain territories
into Chicago, St. Louis and Omaha, three in
the former city, and as much of the change
required will be wanted in the Mississippi
valley states, and as metals to be coined
come from west of those states, and as I
understood the charges for transportation
of bullion from either of the cities named
to the mint at Philadelphia or New York
city, amount to four dollars for each one
thousand dollars’ worth, with an equal ex
pense for transportation back, it would seem
a fair argument in favor of adopting one or
more of these cities as a place or places for
the establishment of new coinage facilities. I
have ventured upon this subject with great
diffidence, because it is unusual to approve a
measure, as I do this, if no further legislation
is attainable at this time and to announce the
fact by message. But Ido so because J. feel
that is a subject of such vital importance to
tho whole country, that it should receive the
attention of, and bo discussed by congress
and tho people, through the press and in every
wav, to the end that tho best and most satisfac
tory course mav bo reached, of executing what
I deem most beneficial legislation on a most
vita! question, to the interests and prosperity
of tho nation. U. S. Guant.
Executive Mansion, Jan. 14.1875.
Hotel Improvements.
The Ban Francisco Post writes of the
new Palace hotel in that oity : “ The
Palace will be unquestionably a hotel
born of new ideas. No modern im
provement will be ignored in its con
atruction or equipment. The latest
novelty adopted is the introduction of
an automatic fire alarm apparatus in
every room in the buildiDg. The in
stant the temperature of the room
reaches above a certain degree the ap
paratus will be affected and will trans
mit wrd to the fire indicator in the
office, bo that there can be no delay in
suppressing the blaze. Three watch
men will be required to constantly
patrol the building, visiting seventy
one different stations and walking two
and three-quarter miles in their rounds.
At each station will be located an elec
trical apparatus which will register the
time the watchman visited it. These
will thus act as tell-tales on the watch
man, showing whether he is attending
to his b fiiness or not. A large elec
trical clock is to be placed in the main
office. Dials in electrical communica
tion with this clock will bo distributed
to the number of 116 throughout the
building. There will be a dial record]
ing the time at the end of every passage
way. An electrical lighting apparatus
will also be among the features of the
interior. This will be on the same sys
tem as that in use in the California
theatre. Only the chandeliers in the
dining-rooms and the lamps in the cor
ridors will be lighted by the electric
spark. Eight hnndred and twenty
burners in all will be lighted in this
way.”
A grown up young lady of Minnesota,
who ought to have entertained a higher
sense of filial duty, has had the author
of her being arrested and fined twelve
dollars and a half for spanking her.
A NOCTURNE OP CHOPIN.
Wind, and the sound of set,
Heard in the night from afar,
Spending itself on an unknown shore,
Feeling its way o’er ar. unseen floor,
Lighted by moon nor star;
Telling a tale to the liet’ning ear
Of wounds and woes that the rolling year
Hath brought to the human heart;
Telling of passion and innermost pain,
Sinking and swooning, and growing again
As the wind and the waves take part;
Lifting a voice to the voiceless skies,
Pauses of sorrow that pass into sighs,
Born of a secret despair;
Fluttering back on the clear tide of tone,
Gathering in force till the melody’s grown,
Strong to interpret the accents unknown,
Haunting the dark fields of air ;
Speaking the longings of life, the full soul’s
Hidden desires in music that rolls,
Wave-like, in search of a shore:
Eddies of harmony, floating around,
Widen in circles of lessening sound,
Die in the distance, till silence is found,
Aud earth redemands us once more.
—All the Year Bound.
BEYOND A DOUBT.
m
■Paul Wayne waa a bachelor of forty
five. Not one of the wayward, noma
dic sort, but who occupied a splendid
honee and took excellent care of an
orphan who called him Uncle Paul.
He was blest with the beat heart in the
world, and possessed so many of the
requisites of a good husband and father
that it was a matter cf great surprise
among his friends that he remained sin
gle. Those who knew him best rightly
traced his single blessedness to his own
fault, a most wonderful obduracy and
unwillingness to give up an impression
once fully entertained. This character
istic injured him in his business affairs
too, but those with whom he had busi
ness differences attributed it to what,
for a better term, they called eccen
tricity.
Paul Wayne had his love passages in
his earlier manhood, but they came to
nothing but disappointment, because of
this obdurant and unalterable deternin
ation to abide by his first impressions,
whether these agreed with subsequent
facts or not; indeed, whether it suited
the other party ef the love affair or not.
Young girls do not generally like a
lover who is not the least bit pliable.
While their natures demand strong,
manly love, for something that shields,
there is intermingled with it all a touch
of the conquering spirit to be recog
nized. Paul Wayne’s lordly way of
wooing, a way which to his lady friends
seemed to say, wait until I am ready
and I have only to name the day,
brought him at least one ridiculous jilt,
but to it all he only said, as he put the
girl out of his memory, “ She will
regret it, beyond a doubt.”
Mary Dale did regret it; for she mar
ried a man who broko her heart by
brutal treatment, and deserted her
while she lay helplessly siok with a
girl-baby on her bosom. The girl
baby was given to Paul Wayne with the
last breath of the dying mother, and it
was baby Mary Dale who, at seventeen,
called him Uncle Paul.
“ Mary, Philip Hastings is a bad
man. I know it beyond a doubt. lam
not deceived.”
“ How do you know it, Uncle Paul ?”
“ Well, how do you know anything?
Why, there are many ways and reasons
for knowing and thinking so ; one is—
well, it don’t matter. I know it beyond
a doubt.”
He knew it, and that was enough for
him. And Mary knew him well enough
to end such an argument at once. It was
just the proper moment, too, for Philip
Hastings, the “bad man,” was an
nounced. While we leave the lovers
together enjoying a brief morning call,
we will go out with Paul Wayne, and
down town.
“Bad man, beyond a doubt. Bad
company. He is always with that man
Quigley ; what iu the worjd brought
that man, that wretched Quigley, back,
when we all thought him dead aud
buried years ago.” Aud Uncle Paul
thrust his caiu against the pavemen
with a nervous impetuous motion, and
looked up to see—Quigley.
They passed, Paul Wayne looking
straight ahead down tho street, the
other casting quick glances at the stern
face of the bachelor, hoping fer a look
of recognition, then stopping to look
at the retreating figure, as if to be cer
tain that it was the man. A few yards
separated them, and then Paul could
not resist the curiosity to look back,
aud tbeir eyes met. It was awkward,
but only for an instant, the baohelor
turning quickly and proceeding on his
way.
“If I could only talk to him a mo
ment. But the poor get but few words,
and these not kindly ones; I will let
him alone,” and the man Quigley
treaded his way among the throng of
men bearing strange faces. He had been
gone for years, and anew generation
had sprung up. Few gave him a look
betokening recognition. Now and then
a man with whitened hair and bowed
form would half stop, gaze - at him an
instant with a curious, inquisitive look,
as if trying to recall something of the
past, then pass on. Farther away from
the bustle of the business streets the
strauger paused in his walk, and said
again, aloud to himself, “If I oould
only talk to him a moment.” The half
pitecus tone fell upon the ear of two
light-hearted girls who were passing,
and a shade of melancholy passed over
the face of the younger as both turned
to look at the speaker, and wo recog
nize our Uncle Paul's Mary. Not a
superbly handsome girl with oriental
eyes and the eoft, sensuous languor of
the famed cast, but a good, healthy,
pretty girl, something to love fondly,
something tangible to stand the wear
and tear of life, something worthy o£
man’s striving efforts.
That evening there was an icy party at
Uncle Paul’s. Mary had been amusing
him in the earlier hours with “old
fashioned songs,” as Paul called them
and the two were in the midst of these
pleasures when Philip Hastings was an
nounced. Uncle Paul could not escape.
He had nowhere to go but to bed, and
it was too early for that. Yonng ladies
need not be told how really disagreeable
the position when a young gentleman is
present who loves her, while an elder
member of the family is immovably
anchored in the room, and who in turn
heartily dislikes, or thinks he does, the
young mau as a “ bad man.” She was
afraid of an explosion as she nervously
undertook the task of directing the con
versation. She endeavored to steer
clear of the quicksands, but in trying to
draw Uncle Paul into a conversation
she precipitated just what she was so
anxious to avoid.
Uncle Paul had sat quite still for
awhile, in a half-drowsy, brown study,
but he awakened suddenly when Mary
said, “Suisie and I met such a strange
looking, unhappy old man to-day.”
“A what—that old man—beyond a
doubt a bad man.”
“Why, Uncle Paul, have you waked
at last?” asked Mary. “I’m glad
something can fix your attention.”
Paul did not look as though he cared
to listen, as Mary went on. “So old
and feeble, and yet something telling
of better and happier days ; in bis face
curves worn deep by patient sorrow.
Just as we passed he was saying : *lf I
oonld only talk to him a minute, as if
some old friend had refused him sym
pathy. Who could it have been, I
wonder? I pitied him.”
Uncle Paul fidgeted, but said nothing,
though he felt the thrust so uninten
tionally given, while Philip Hastings
seemed happy and yet uneasy at the
turn things had taken, so different from
what he had desired. The two talked
of the strange old man, while Uncle
Paul grew uneasy at every word, until
finally he rose upon hiß feet and began
pacing the floor in an agitated way that
he could not conceal.
Mary watched her uncle for a few
moments, surprised, and wondering
what there was in the talk about a
strange old man to agitate her dear old
uncle. Philip said to her :
“ Miss Wayne, the old mau of whom
we have been talking is one entirely
worthy of your sweet sympathy, and, in
a word, is my best friend.”
Uncle Paul haulted suddenly, utterly
dumfounded at the declaration. He
raised both hands, as if the effrontery
of the avowal had filled him with sur
prise and indignation too deep for ex
pression.
“ Tell me, Philip Hastings, that at
least you do not know [this old man's
history.”
A thousand frightful questions sug
gested themselves to the mind of Mary.
She leaned forward to catch Philip’s
denial, a denial which she hoped he
would make, and she shared Paul
Wayne’s horror when Phillip said :
“ Every line and page of it, sir.”
“ Why, sir, he’s the wickedest man
alive, and if you—well, if he is your
friend, if there is any community of
thought with him, why—well, I’m
right, beyond a doubt. But there can
not be. He has given you his version,
and when I tell you all, you will cut
him off.”
“He has told me all, and I have
found that he has told me the truth,
the whole truth and nothing but the
truth. When men assume a character
it is not a bad one. The old man Quig
ley has made a clean breast of it all.
He arrested me in my downward career,
and I cannot, would not cast him ofl”
There was something in his speech,
so earnest, so manly, that Mary was
proud of her lover for having uttered
it, and even the lines in Uncle Paul’s
face were softened, and he was almost
ready to acknowledge that he might be
wrong, when Philip resumed his story :
“ I spent last winter at New Orleans,
as you know. One night I visited a
gaming table and was induced to play.
I lost heavily, and, becoming desper
ate, I was about to risk my purso and
its contents upon a single throw,
when a servant stumbled against me
and we fell. As I stopped to aid him
he whispered : ‘ I did it purposely.
Play no more. Meet me outeide the
door.’ I withdrew from the game and
met him, and he said : * Your antagon
ist there,’ pointing inward, ‘ was
cheating you ; I saw it all. Don’t go
back. I was ruined there ; I used to
play with thousands, and now I sweep
the floors.’ ‘ Why do you stay there?’
I asked. ‘ I must eat and drink, and
who will take me with a character from
there as my last place V’ ”
Mary felt relieved, and her uncle
Paul said, “ The servant was Quigley ;
but he doubtless did not tell you that
all these thousands he stole from his
deserted wife, or gained on forged
papers.”
“No, sir, not then. But I took him
as my servant and then he told me that
I could not trust him, and why. He
told me what you have just stated. I
did trust him and I have never had
occauon to regret my choice.”
Uncle Paul paced the floor for a mo
ment, muttering, “It will come out,
beyond a doubt; I had better tell it
all,” then went over to Mary and caught
her to his heart as if he would shield
her with his life, aud looking at Philip,
said: “You believo in this man’s
reformation- this man Quigley, One
more test and that will settle it beyond
a doubt. Would you many his daugh
ter ? ”
“If I were not engaged and”—ho
stopped. Surprise was flushing Mary’s
i face when Uncle Paul answered the ques
tioning face before him. “ There the is
—yes, my ward, my more than child, is
Quigley’s daughter, given me by his de
| sorted wife, and Mary’s dying mother.
I Prove your sincerity in this man.”
Philip took the poor amazed girl in
his anns and saved her from falling.
Uncle Paul hopped about the room as
one possessed, dashing a tear from his
eye and exclaiming, “ It’s all right now,
beyond a doubt.”
Quigley, by the aid of a gift left him
Dy a dying relative, was enabled to
pay those he had wronged in purse,
and with a lovely daughter to caress
an<J T oomfort his old age his was a happy
end." We should never distrust the
ability of any man for reformation,
and no one’s repentance should be de
spised.
ONLY A POOR HOK UM*
An Humble Missionary Ttiiinbla-rtgglng
for the Poor Heathen.
On the train, the other day, a very
solemn-looking man, dressed in black
and carrying a hat-box, came along and
dropped into my seat.
“ It is a fine day,” I remarked, desir
ing to be friendly.
“It is a fine day, but young man, how
is it with your soul ?” he replied, rolling
up his eyes and looking still more sol
emn.
1 asked him what he meant, and he
answered:
“ Where would yon go to if you died?
How does your record stand in heaven?”
I told him that I was jogging along
peacefully-like, paying my debts, saving
a little money, and dropping something
into the contribution box as it passed.
“That won’t do—ah,” he said, as he
folded his arms and closed his eyes,
“you’re a sinner, ah, a baneful sinner.
There is no mansion laid up for you in
the land beyond the skies—ah. Do yen
ever pray—ah ?”
•* Once in a great while,” I told him.
“ The devil is in your heart—ah,” he
went on. “You pray not, neither do
you siDg. Like a flower yon shall be
cut down, and the stem shall wither and
decay, and be seen no more among the
fields.”
“What would you advise me to do?’
I asked, feeling a little weak.
“ I am but a poor worm myself,” he
answered meekly, “like unto a puny
insect.”
“A cockroach, for instance,” I put
in, os he paused.
“Only a poor smuggling wor’nm,”
he went on, never minding me, “yet I
am trying to do my appointed work.
Away over the sea, in Africa, millions
are living in ignorance and vice, know
ing nothing of heaven, having no good
in their hearts, living like the beast of
the field. In my poor humble way, I
am trying to save a few benighted heath
ens, trying to redeem a few souls.”
“ In what particular way ? ” I inquired.
“ Partly by my prayers, and partly
by collecting money and buying Bibles
to ship them, that they may have the
word of life.”
There was a pause for a moment, and
then he laid his hand on my arm and
continued—
“ Young man, the Lord loveth a
cheerful giver! Out of your abund
ance contribute something for the cause
of the benighted. Even though you
are not a good Christian, your good act
will be pat to your credit in that land
where all is joy and bliss.”
I asked him if he coaid change a S2O
bill and give me back $19.95, and he
turned away and seemed weary.
We rode on in silence for about a
mile, and then he took a string from his
pocket, laid it on his knee in a way to
make two separate loops in it, and then
he said :
“Young man, thou art a sinner, and
thou wilt not freely contribute to the
cause of the benighted.”
“ Which the 6ame is true,” I mur
mured.
“ On the part of the heathen and my
cause, I desire to bet thee five to three
tiiat thou oaust not put thy finger in
the loop that will catch,” he said, Bmil
ing sweetly.
“It’s the old string game—seen it
forty timeß,” I answered.
“ Solely on account of the benighted
heathen do I wish to bet five to three
that thou canst not locate the joker,”
he went on, producing three thimbles
aud a pea.
“ Played it in the army for four
years,” I replied, turning away with a
mournful heart.
“Then you are willing that the heathen
shall struggle on like the beasts of the
field and birds of the air,” he asked,
putting up his thimble.
“ Yes, truly,” I answered.
“ ’Pis sad that one so young should
be so sinful,” he murmured, and went
to the other end of the car, and suc
ceeded in fleecing an old man out of
$34 and a watch on the cheok game—
for the cause of the heathen in Africa.
A “ Park” Seance.
The St. Louis Republican says : “It
was a rather queer sight to see a dog
bringing a man’s hand into the house,
their own dog and their own house too.
They were colored people, Jack and
Harriet Miller, and they lived in the
fear of ghosts and hobgoblins. Of
course, they were much frightened. The
hand was black and it looked like the
hand of fate. The dog lay down in the
corner by the fire and commenced gnaw
ing. Jack picked up the ugly thing
and threw it out into the gutter—or
tried to—but the hand just floated away
and up until it seemed to join a body
suspended in the air, and then the
thumb sought the nose, and the fingers
commenced gyrating, indicating that
all was well up there, and then the form
disappeared and left the darkies in a
state of profuse porspiration. That is
the way that some spirit of darkness
materialized itself for Jack and Harriet
Miller, and crowds have since visited
their house and seen them, and the dog,
and the window, and the gutter, but
i never a squint of any wonder as big as
Ia man’s hand.”
VOL. 16-NO. 5.
SAYINGS AND DOINGS.
Common sense is an element in ■which
many persons are sadly wanting. Com
mon sense implies souDd perception,
correct reasoD, mental capacity, and
good understanding.
It is now proposed that since the use
fulness of whales has largely diminished
through the discovery of mineral oils
for illuminating purposes, the animals
might be domesticated and employed
for towing ships.
The man only is truly educated who
has been so trained in his youth that
his body is the ready servant of his
will, and performs with ease and pleas
ure all the work that, as a mechanism,
it is capable of doing.
“ Yes, I like those short days,” said
Old Trupenny, the other morniDg, join
ing in the discussion; “ the interest
counts up so fast. Why, when I come
into my plaoe mornings, and get out
my securities, I can fairly hear them
di-aw interest, right through the side of
the box !”
When old Sam Crowder, down in
Pike, was running for justice of the
peace, his wife, in anticipation of hon
ors in store for her, said :
“My dear, when yon get to be jus
tice of the peace what will I be ?”
“You,” said old Sam, “why, you’ll
be the same old fool yon always was.”
Worth is, it is rumored, a perfect
petit maitre, and dresses in satin
trousers and lace-trimmed shirts, and
has his hair curled daily like a young
coqHet. The man-milliner has his bed
room hung with blue satin and white
lace, and the sweetest odors are burned
in his rooms.
Thb Sandwich islands are twelve in
number, comprising in all a little over
6,(00 sqn&re miles—about the size of
Connecticut and Rhode island. Two
thirds of this area belongs to the island
of Hawaii, although Oahu is better
known generally for its containing Hon*
olnlu, the capital city, which has about
16,000 inhabitants. The population of
the whole group in 1872 was 56,897, It
appears by the last census of the in
habitants that there were 49,044 persons
of the pure native race, 2,485 of mixed
origin, 1,938 Chinese, 889 American,
619 English, and the remainder hailed
from other European countries. The
twentieth degree of north latitude runs
throngh the gronp, so that they are in
the same latitude as Cuba.
The pretty little maid of honor whom
the Grand Duke Alexis married all un
beknownst to the old folks appears to
be as spunky as she is beautiful. Alexis,
it will be remembered, was sent to
Air erica that he might forget her, but
while that plan cured the grand duke, it
didn’t appease his bride, who was sent
out of the empire by special train. She
wen t to Geneva, and recently it appears
that Count Sbouvaloff was sent to treat
with her. It was proposed that she
should renounce alUclaim to the hand
of Alexis, should change her name and
disappear. In return for this service
she would receive one million roubles
down and an annuity of seventy-five
thousand roubles, which would be con
tinued to her child in case the latter
survived her; but Mrs. Alexis wouldn’t
do it. She loved Alexis too mnch for
that, and so matters stand at present.
C.vpt. C. W. Howell, of the United
States engineers, has had over five
yeais experience in dredging the mouths
of the Mississippi. This from him on
the subject is interesting: “Itis a
well-known fact that a multitude of
plans have been suggested for tbe im
provement of the month of the Missis
sipni, and that at each session cf con
gress sever al of these have been pressed
on the attention of that body. I have
officially reported on a number of them,
aud over forty have been brought to
my attention. The parties originating
and presenting these plans represent all
thexarious grades of inventive genius
to be found in this country, from tal
ented engineer to the man who ought
to be in a lunatic asylum, from tho
man who knows something about the
mouth of the Mississippi to the man
who knows nothing.”
Female Barbers in Cincinnati.
A report came into our office last night
that there will soon be opened in the
old church, south Bide of Sixth street,
betw aen Walnut and Vine, anew bar
ber shop. Now, the simple establish
ment of anew barber shop among ns
is no astounding item of news, but this
particular barber shop (to be) on Sixth
street will not be an ordinary one, from
the foot that lovely girls will wield the
razoi and “ run the machine.”
Ri mor says these girls have been
espeically trained for their responsible
positions, and that they manipulate the
razor with all the abandon of veterans.
The price for a “ square shave” at that
establishment will be “ a quartah of a
dolls h, if youpleathe thir,” Of course,
that’s a big price you know now, but
when a man wants a rare article he must
expe ct to pay for it. Just remember
that these barberous damsels are fair in
1 joku if they are unfair in price. They
won’t chew tobacco nor eat onions;
neither will they have two inch finger
nails stuffed with the soils of seven
counties. Moreover, they will ohnek
you under the chin with their soft
chubby hands, if you are a real nice
boy.
Wo feel sorry for the men barbers of
the city. They will lose custom as sure
as that female - church - shaving - shop
opens. Of course married men will
slip around to that shop sometimes, and
then there will be trouble in Gotham.
We have detailed a special reporter to
work up all the domestic broils and
secret associations and sad suicides
which will surely emanate from that
new institution—that sharp shootiDg,
shoulder-shifting, shampooing, shing
ling, shearii g and shaving shop.—Cin
cinnati Enquirer.