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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.