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COhUMBEI
TUESDAY DnHtsm”! SEPT. It.
diamond found recently in Georgia
fold for * 1,000.
Major C. Wallace, superintendent of
fin. State Road, has been pardoned by
the President.
Wc are informed that Harrison Reed,
late Postal Agent for Florida, has been
recently appointed agent for Alabama.
Gen. Lawton, late Quartermaster
General of the Confederacy, has re
sumed the practice of law in Savannah.
Washington College, now under the
Presidency of R. E. Lee, is expected to
contain five hundred students next ses
sion.
The Republican State Convention of
Kansas at Yapeka, on the sth, unani
mously nominated Gov. Crawford lor
re-election.
The Republican State Committee of
Louisiana lias formally requested the
President to maintain martial law in
New Orleans.
Anew series of geographies is an
nounced as in course of preparation by
Capt. M. F. Maury, late of the Confed
erate States Navy.
Mr. Randall writes to the President
of the Brunswick railroad that lie thinks
he can raise funds in New York to com
plete the line to No. 7 anyhow.
They have stopped reporting cholera
cases in St. Louis “because the disease
has ceased to be epidemic.” There were
only forty-seven interments reported on
Sunday.
Michigan has requested her delegates
iiy the National Union Executive Com-
vote for the expulsion of Hen
ry J. Raymond, and, if he does not re
sign, it must come to that very speedily.
"We judge of the character of thejate
demonstration at Deimouico’s by one
incideut. At the conclusion of the
least, three cheers were given for ‘John
T. Hoffman, next Governor of New
York.*
With the exception of John Minor
Bolts, Parson Brownlow, Jack Hamil
ton and a few colored men from Ken
tucky, there are no Southern delegates
worth mentioning at the mulatto Con
vention.
Gen. Hood, when in Austin, Texas,
tlie otlcer day, was waited on by a com
mittee of tlie Legislature, and escorted
to a seat of honor in that body. All
the members rose as the crippled hero
entered.
A Slate convention of the colored
men of Illinois, will be held on the 17th
of October next at Galesburg, and its
leading object will be to secure equal
rights at the ballot box, iu courts of
justice and at the public schools.
Gen. Geo. W. Morgan, of Ohio, a sol
dier of the war, says the authorities of
Mobile, have conveyed as a free gift
three acres of land within the corporate
limits of that city, for the interment .of
the dead of the Union army.
The “River Queen,” the steamer se
lected to convey 1 lie President and suite
from New York to Albany, is tlie same
on which A. H. Stephens aud the Peace
Commissioners from the South met Mr.
Seward, at Hampton Roads.
Alex. T. Stewart, of New York, who
rejoices in the largest income of any in
dividual in the United States, wears a
ring upon the seal of, which is a Latin
motto, which on being interpreted sig
nilius—“keep busy and mind your
chances.”
The last of the colored troops station
ed in the interior of Florida left Talla
hassee Inst Saturday for St. Marks,
whence they were to be sent to New
Orleans, where the whole force, togeth
er with those at Barrancas, are to be
mustered out.
G. W. Woods, who attempted to as
sassinate'Col. GaUasvay, editor of the
MemphiAvalanche, has been arrested
aud bound over in the sum of SI,OOO,
charged with attempting to commit a
rape on a mulatto girl, engaged as
chambermaid at a Memphis hotel.
The Secretary of War intends issu
ing, within a day or two, an order di
recting the honorable muster out of ser
vice of all volunteer officers now on
duty, including those attached to the
Freedmen’s Bureau, and also those
doing duty in the provost marshal offi
ces of the different military depart
ments.
The Charleston Courier announces the
sudden demise, by disease of the heart,
of 11011. J. Harleston Read, a univer
sally esteemed and distinguished citizen,
which took place in that city Friday
night, and says : “The deceased w r as in
the fiftieth year of his age. He was the
grandson of Dr. Win. Read, of revolu
tionary fame.
A dispatch has been received from
Gen. Sherman, dated at Fort Laramie,
stating that the reports of Indian depre
dations have been gross exaggerations,
and are mostly without any foundation.
The telegraph lines have not been in
terfered with, no bands of Indians are
roaming about, aud no trouble is ap
prehended.
The Brunswick (Ga.) Courier says
that a large portion of the iron which
was taken from the Brunswick and Al
bany Railroad by r order of the Confed
erate War Department, lias been re
stored to the company by the United
States authorities, and the President,
Mr. H. G. Wheeler, is in Europe nego
tiating for enough to complete the
work.
Mr. Seward, in introducing Senor
Romero, the Mexican Minister at the
reception in Auburn, New York, made
a remark which, if literally correct, sis
nifies a good deal. »s reported as
having said : “This is Senor Romero,
the Minister to the United States from
Mexico, in whose behalf and against the
destruction of whose country the Uni
ted Slates has notified all governments
that interventions from Europe must
cease on the first of November next.
The semi while and negro Conven
tion in Philadelphia on the night before
the Convention met had a prayer meet
ing. Senators Harris of New York,
Lane of Indiana, Conway and several
preachers were speakers. The meeting
was a singular intermixture of radical
prayers and political negro equality'and
suffrage preaching.
At tire reception of the delegates
Charles Gibbons, chairman of the recep
tion committee, then came forward
with a gavel in his hand, and said : “I
hold in my hand the identical gavel used
in Charleston, S. C., when the Conven
tion assembled.”
We learn that the raising of the Cuth
bert Manufacturing Company’s build
ing commenced one day last, week. Tlie
machinery, engine, etc., have arrived,
and the concern, it is reported, will be
in complete operation by the first of Oc
tober. Under the supervision of Cap
tain John Hardy we doubt not it will
begin to turn out “truck” in a short
while, though we have our own doubts
about its being in operation by the time
stated, as we know it will require at
ieast two months yet to get everything
in complete running order .—Early
County tfeicß,
The Raiload Meeting in Macon.—
The Convention to take into considera
tion the subject of aid to the Memphis
and Savannah Railroad assembled in
Macon Wednesday morning. Mayor
Collins was called to the Chair aud S.
G. Burr requested to act as Secretary.
The names of Delegates to the Con
vention were ordered to be enrolled,
when the following were announced :
From Opelika—Col. J. R. Slaughter,
Dr. E. C. Bowen, J. H. Swearingen, J.
W. C. Rogers, J. M. Kennedy.
From Columbus—Robert M. Gunby,
W. L. Salisbury, A. M. Allen, I. J. Mo
ses, Thos. DcWolf, J. J. Grant.
From Macon—Stephen Collins, J. A.
Nisbet, J. M. Boardman, Virgil Powers,
Geo. M. Logan, G. H. Hazlehurst, Na
than Bass, Geo. W. Adams, W. K. De-
Graffenreid, A. L. Maxwell, J. V. Grier,
L. F. W. Andrew's.
From Cuthbert—Col. C. B. Harkie.
Col. Slaughter, President of the Mem
phis and Savannah Railroad, being call
ed upon, made a lucid exposition of the
condition aud prospects of the road, and
of its advantages to the people of Ala
bama, Georgia, &c.
The above is all of the proceedings
we find in the Macon papers of yester
day.
Horrid Murder. —We learn that an
old gentleman named Love, from Au
tauga county, was found on the road to
Burnsville, about three miles from the
city, (says the Selma Messenger of the
2d inst.,) on yesterday evening, brutal
ly murdered. He had been in town
trading during the day and was shot
while on his way home. Tlie object
was evidently robbery. This ihe
second horrid and revolting murder
u.ivt Kac Uiqjjrse.ed our community iu
one W'eek. Such crimes indicate the
presence in our community of a band
of assassins, who set a cheap price upon
human blood, and are willing to take
life for tlie mere hope of gaining a few
dollars. The whole community should
rise against such monsters and search
them out. No man’s life is secure when
such dire crimes are committed with
impunity. Proper diligence and effort
can always bring the perpetrators to
light.
Suicide in Augusta. —ln Augusta
on Monday night, between ten and
eleven o’clock, we learn from the Con
stitutionalist, a youth named Henry C.
Summers committed suicide by taking
prussic acid. At the time of the rash
act the lad was sitting on the door steps
of an acquaintance named Fan 113' Mor
ris. He seemed to be quite low spirited
and talking of preferring death to com
plying with the desire of a near relative
and returning to liiS home in the coun
try. The next moment he had swal
lowed the fatal draught and expired al
most instant]}'. The young man has
acted somewhat strangely for several
weeks past, and more than two months
since it is remembered that he remark
ed he had as soon die as not, What
cloud may have come over his young
reason has not been ascertained.
The Gate City. —Atlanta is perhaps
the most enterprising city in all* the
Southern States. Just now she has
three great enterprises on hand, all of
which she will carry through or break
her hack in the attempt. She has an
agent at Nashville soliciting pecuniar}'
aid for her starving poor ; she is about
to commence tlie building of one or
more street railroads; and she has al
ready begun the work on her seventy
thousand dollar Opera House. The
poor can go on with their starving, and
she could, by a strong effort, do without'
stregl railroads for a while longer, hut
she 4s realty suffering- for an (YjWa
ITouAe.
Another City Disgraced.—ln the
Common Council of Pittsburg, on Mon
day, Mr. Torlee offered a resolution,
authorizing tbe appointment of a Joint
Committee of Five —two from the Se
leotlnnd three from the Common branch
to make necessary arrangements for a
fitting reception of President John
son, on his proposed visit to Pittsburg.
The resolution gave rise to considerable
debate. A motion was finally made to
lay the resolution on tlie table, which
was adopted by a vote of 18 yeas to 2
nays.
Another Smash-up on the Cen
tral Road. —The down train due here
at five minutes past seven o’clock last
evening, (says the Savannah News of
Ihe sth) did not arrive until about 20
minutes before 9 o’clock. The delay
ivas occasioned by the running off aud
smashing up, about twenty three miles
front Savannah, of four or five freight
cars, including that of the Southern
Express Company attached to the up
train yesterday morning. The acci
dent. was occasioned by the spreading
of the track. No lives lost.
Death of a Prominent Alabama
Mason. —We regret to learn the death
Past Grand Master William Hendrix,
of Marion, w'liich occurred of conges
tive fever, while en route to Illinois to
visit a brother, accompanied by his
wife.
Mr. Hendrix was Deputy Grand
Master of the Grand Lodge of Alabama,
in 1850, and chosen Grand Master in
1851. That body wrill doubtless pay
appropriate honors to his memory at
the ensuing session in December.
Population of Selma. —A late cen
sus shows that Selma, Alabama, has a
population of 1,444 white males, audt
1,109 white females—total whites 2,553.
Blacks, males, 1,060 females 1,815 —to-
tal blacks 3,465 —total population
which shows an »»*»«««» oi nearly If tree
lUonmnd since the taking of the census
of the city during the last part of the
year 1860,
Reports of Montgomery Officers.
—The following are the reports of the
month of August, 1866:
otty Clerk $1,523 89
Market Clerk 182 05
Magazine'Clerk _ o , ; ;o
Public Weigher 77 50
Marshal’s Report 445 35
Wharfinger 1,03a go
Treasurer’s Report:
Cash on hand August 1 13,383 25
Cash on hand, September 1 12,036 18
Illinois. —A special from Chicago
says :
The Democratic State Convention
met at Springfield this afternoon. There
was quite a large attendance. General
McCiernaud was chosen president of
the Convention.
The Convention endorsed President
Johnson.
Release of Mr. Davis. —lt is con
sidered probable, says the Richmond
Examiner, that Mr. Davis will soon be
released on his parole. Several sur
geons, especially commissioned for that
purpose, have recently examined the
physical condition of the prisoner, and
upon their report the action of the Pres
ident depends.
Grand Mass Meeeting at Knox
ville. —A grand Conservative Mass
Meeting is announced, to take place in
Knoxville, Tenn., on the 19th and 20th
of September, to ratify the proceedings
of the Philadelphia Convention. It is
expected to be the grandest political
rally ever held in that State,
The Capital Prizes.— The follow
ing numbers drew the principal-prizes
in the Alabama State Lottery, at Mobile,
on Monday evening last: 7967, $50,000;
11580, $25,000; 21187; $12,500 ; 27606,
$5,000. _ .
Personals. —Rev. Dr. Loviek Pierce
was in. Augusta Monday, in the enjoy
ment of his usual good health.
Hon. John Gill Shorter, of Alabama,
and Henry R. Jackson, of Savannah,
were in the city also on Monday.
New Orleans and Memphis.—Du
; ring the last cotton- year New Orleans
lias received 870,940 bales of cotton, and
shipped 768,543, leaving on hand, Au
gust. 31st, J 02,3117 bales. -•
In Memphis on- 31st there
were 10,831 hales. ,
President Johnson’s Speech Sent
to Europe.—A synopsis of President
Johnson’s speech at Delbumico’s, in
New York; 0f478 words, was telegraph
ed to Reuter’s European Press Associa
tion, on Thursday, by tlie Atlantic ca
ble, at an expense of $5,019 in gold.
Odd Fellows. —After a separation
of nineteen years the Grand Odd Fel
lows’ lodges of southern and northern
New York have re united, and held
their regular annual meeting under the
old name of “ Grand Lodge of the State
of New York,” in Odd Fellows Hall,
New York city, last week. There were
about 196 lodges in attendance.
Death op Professor Thomas.—
The Washington papers announce the
death, in that city last week, of Prof.
F. W. Thomas, of Maryland, aged 56.
Tlie deceased, it will he remembered,
was connected with the South Carolin
ian in Charleston last fall. He was the
author of “Clinton Bradshaw,” and
several other works of fiction.
An Energetic Woman. —An ex
change says one of the young ladies
now setting type in the office of the
Montgomery Advertiser had three hun
dred bales of cotton burned in Mont
gomery during the Wilson raid. In
stead of repining in idleness over her
misfortune, she goes nobly to work at a
business suited to her intellectual taste.
We commend her heroic self-reliance to
the impoverished of both sexes.
The Cable Tariff. —lt is announc
ed from London that in order to adapt
the Atlantic Cable to the wants of the
public,it is proposed to divide the mes
sages into three classes, the first to have
precedence of others, and to be charg
ed the highest, and the messages of the
other classes to have delivery guaran
anteed within a certain time. There is
little probability, nowever, of any rate
of charge less than five dollars in gold
per word being established.
Well Said. The Fredericksburg
Herald says well: It is neither necessa
ry nor incumbent to point out where
we agree and where we disagree with
the Philadelphia Convention. We are
011 the boisterous deep, and we mean to
get into harbor before we have words
wi-tli the crev/. It will require the en
ergy and good will of one and all to
accomplish that mighty work. Criti
cism can only distract the patriotic
men at the head of the movement. It
weakens the situation. Il gives .joy to
the radical camp. They shall get none
from tliis quarter.
The Poor of Alabama.—Gov. Pat
ton, of Alabama, recommends that the
number of destitute families of the re
spective counties of that State, who are
willing to emigrate to any locality
where provisions may be plenty and
labor in demand, lie ascertained, and the
State will help those xitT who are willing
to move. Public and private charity
have been exercised to such a large ex
tent during the present year, that the
above expedient is considered the best
mode for securing relief to the thous
ands in the destitute portions of the
State.
Body of a Female Soldier Found.
—The Petersburg Index says the grave
diggers at the Crater, have unearthed,
a short distance in front of that famous
place, the body of a white woman,
dressed in Federal uniform. The body,
when found, was in an excellent state
of preservation—the bust especially was
perfect. The features, pallid with the
hue of death, revealed the delicate cast
of her woman’s face, and her hair,
though cut short, possessed a gloss and
softness which alone might have exci
ted a suspicion of her sex. She had
been shot through the head. She was
carefully placed into one of the new
coffins, provided for her stern comrades,
and taken off with them to be buried
amongst them.
Postal Arrangements in Florida.
—Mr. Reed, Postal Agent for Florida,
says that with but three or four excep
tions, all these to be soon supplied, post
masters and postmistresses, have been
appointed to nearly every locality of
any prominence in the State, though
all have not yet received their commis
sions, which, however, may be expect
ed soon. He considers this work, in
this respect, as nearly completed.
A tri-w'eekly mail route is to be es
tablished between Quincy via Concord,
Ilarvins, and other points. The last
will be established as soon as the people
of the line make some demanstratum iu
its favor.
Cotton Planter’s Convention.—
A large number of influential planters
and business men from various sections
iu Georgia, we learn from the Citizen,
assembled in Macon Thursday moru
inp; tne city Hall. ‘The meeting was
organized by the election of Hon. J. V.
Jones, of Burke county, as President,
and Mr. O. A, Caldwell, of Macon, as
Secretary.
The chief feature of the morning ses
sion was the highly interesting speech
of Major Yancey, of Athens, who con
tended that the paramount question for
the consideration of the convention
was that of Labor of Georgia, under
existing circumstances. Major Yancey
also presented and read an Essay upon
Labor, from the pen of a distinguished
officer iu the Confederate army. Dur
ing the reading the paper went to press.
Serials Aitaiu, — On Tuesday even
ing in the drug store of Dr. Jas. L.
Ware, on-Commerce.street, Montgome
ry, Ala., a general and serious fight oc
curred between several policemen in
which a young man, Henry Porter, who
was wholly disconnected with the affair,
was, it is feared, mortally wounded.
The ball entered the lower part of the
stomach and had not been extracted up
to Wednesday night. Policemen Duffy
and Ilill were badly bruised and Mar
shal Maxwell was cut in the arm. Other
policemen coming up, several young
men—William and John Metcalf, Thos.
Cromneliu, and William Porter—were
arrested. The latter was fined by the
Mayor SSO and bound over in the sum
of SSOO to appear before the city court.
The cases of the other parties were
continued.
The youug man, Harry Porter, who
was accidentally shot in the affray in
Montgomery on last Thursday, died
Thursday evening in that city. His age
was about twenty-one years.
The Bitterness of Radical Hate.
The evidences of popular approval
1 heaped upon the President, as he jour
neys to Chicago, and the hot shot he has
taken occasion to pour into the Radical
ranks, in return for the vituperation
and insults received from their unman
nerly partizans, has stirred up the hate
; of the. Radicals, of high and low degree,
to the very depth of bitterness. Not
I even in tire days of-slavery agitation,
; do we remember to have seen the “Tri
i'buiic,” the -acknowledged organ of the
Radical party, so wildly and mcrciless-
ILy malignant as at present. All the
j slanders upon the South and her people,
! which have been gathered and circu
i lateil during the past year, are being re
produced in an intensified form, and no
i means and appliances, no matter how
untnuliful or unfounded, are overlook
! ed, in order to inflame the Northern
mind against the South. The “philoso
pher’ of the “Tribune” seems to have
j. deserted the realms of reason and now
i raves and rages like a maniac. Asa
fair specimen of the political food upon
which Greeley’s readers arc fed we give
the following extracts from his leading
artiele in the “Tribune” of the 31st of
August:
IV. All over the South, While Union
ists are being driven into exile because
of their steadfast loyalty. There have
been two, if not three considerable mi
| grations from North Carolina on this
j ground. The Rebel press fairly boils
i over with venomous denunciations of
| “Yankees.” The leading Free-State
! men of New Orleans are fleeing in ter
' tor from the doom of assassiuation with
| which they are threatened. Gov. Ham
ilton’s life would lie as much imperiled
! in Texas to-day as when the Rebellion
I was most rampant ; and hundreds like
; him are escaping as fast as possible. All
| over the South, it is safe to have been a
fighting, persecuting Rebel; it is peril
i ous to be known as a steadfast Union
ist—it is still more so to be marked as a
champion of Equal Rights for All. And
! still the work of murder and expulsion
I goes on, under the patronage and pro
tection of the chief director of the New
j Orleans tragedy. Not till the last
| Unionist shall ha ve been killed or terri
j fled into apostacy, the last negro con
-1 fined to his master’s plantation and
! compelled to take such treatment and
I recompense as that master shall see fit,
| shall we have attained the perfection of
; a Rebel-Copperhead-Johnson Peace.
It is not strange that people who see,
• hear and read nothing but such slanders
as are contained in the extract above
! quoted should raise black flags, -and in
sult the Chief Magistrate of the land,
by the execution of funeral dirges at
public receptions gotten up.to honor his
presence.
As “straws show which way the
wind blows,” so these public exhibi
tions of partizan malignity and spite,
indicate that the fortunes of the party,
reduced to their use, are waning. The
Conservatives of the North may not in
the coming elections accomplish all that
is desired by tlie country. They may
even fail to reach the limit of success
bounded by. their own hopes and aspi
rations, but the re-action which has fol
lowed in the wake of the Philadelphia
Convention, will destroy the invinci
bility and discipline of the Radical or
ganization.
A distinguished friend at our elbow,
who passed through the North aud
West prior to the meeting at Philadel
phia, and who retraced his journey
since, brings us cheering intelligence
from our friends in that section.
Before the meeting of the North and
South in Convention, the best informed
and most prominent and influential men
| of the North were despondent as to the
future. By some it was seriously be
lieved that nothing Could avert the in
auguration of a civil war within six
months. But since the promulgation of
the platform of principles adopted at
and more particularlysince
Mi, Johnson’s bold and manly speeches
to the people, men of all sections have
felt a renewed hope in the success of
the cause upon which depends both
country and constitution.
Hamilton, Underwood., Saffold, Ash
burn, Durant, and Brownlow, have
lived to give a practical refutation to
the assertion of the “Tribune” that
Southern Loyalists were not permitted
to live at the South. If they now de
sert the homes they have enjoyed in
peace, and the people whom they have
robbed, persecuted and slandered, and
cast their future destiny with the North,
their action will be prompted rather by
a consciousness of their own unworthi
ness longer to live among a long suffer
ing and honorable people, than any
w r ell grounded apprehension of person
al violence or bodily harm. Freed of
the presence of all such people, the
Sotrth will he thoroughly united on the
policy to be pursued in conducting her
own affairs, and Mr. Greeley may devote
himself to the task of seeing that the
refugee Radicals from the South are
suitably rewarded by their Northern
brethren for their honest hut unsuccess
ful efforts to complete the ruin of the
South, by the inauguration of a war be
tween tlie white and negro races.
RESTORATION.
i The plan of restoration slowly but
: surely progresses to a final and peaceful
| consummation. The acceptance of the
platform of principles of the National
j Convention by the patriotic masses
| throughout the length aud breadth of
| the land was a most important step in
j the onward march of reconstruction,
j But it cannot be compared in signifi
: cance and importance to the result of
the Radical disunion assembly which
has just completed its inharmonious
labors bj r a ridiculous failure and fizzle.
The strength, the influence and the
temper of the disunion party have been
completely and thoroughly unmasked at
Philadelphia. All the magnates of the
: intensest Radical school of the North
! were there assembled in solemn con
: clave, with the entire strength of the
j Radical element Smith, consisting of a
; few notorious political vagabonds and
renegades, and a score or two of un
known lazzaroni, who were left behind
by the late disbanded armies, or who
have since straggled Southward to glean
the fields which have been harvested by
military columns and treasury agents.
After a preliminary preparation in the
ivay of public addresses and incendiary
prayer meetings, these Jacobins set
themselves to the work of maturing a
plan to'perpetuate their power, or to
precipitate another revolution. After
nearly a week of wrangling and quar
reling, they have confessed their incont
petency for the discharge of the task by
disbanding in confusion and disap
pointment. The ridiculous result of this
Convention is hot a forerunner of that
fate which awaits radicalism at the close
of the struggle now being joined for the
establishment of the Union under the
Constitution as it is. The party which
could not furnish brains sufficient to
engineer a convention, in which men
from the extreme South were willing
and plastic tools, to a conclusion upon
which its members and their constitu
encies might act in concert, can never
muster the numbers or courage ade
quate to accomplish their designs by
force. With the close of this Conven
tion, we think, ends apprehension as to
the ultimate and complete success of
that party now marshalled under the
lead of the President, and puts to rest
all fears of a civil war, which could pos-.
— —— w -
sibly become respectable in its propor
tions. ■
From this time forward it is not un
reasonable to hope that The South will
rapidly advance in that restoration of
her rights and liberties so imperatively
demanded by her necessities. The
causes which have heretofore impeded
her progress have nearly all been £e
mdved or mitigated in their operation.
The scanty element witldn her borders j
which claimed that, in consideration of
their services and sufferings they, and |
they alone, should control the political j
actions aud destinies of the Southern !
States, to the exclusion of that large |
population which lias ever vindicated
its devotion to the principles upon
w'liich alone this government can be
maintained and administered; those
men who for a year have been blatant
in their protestations of loyalty and.de
vot.idn to the Union, who have slander
ed and villified bfilfer” men, who have
by lies and incendiary appeals prolong
ed the military restraints under which
we have suffered, these very men have
at length confessed by their words and
acts that they are the real Disunionists
of the country. 'The result of the late
war so completely settled the fact that
the great majority of the people of the
country are pledged to the preservation
of the Union at all hazards and under ;
all circumstances, that the fate of those
who stand in opposition to this senti- i
rnent is too palpable to admit of discus
sion. Few perhaps of the men who
misrepresented the South at Philadel- ’
phia will return to report to their con
stituencies. Brqumlow will go hack to
the office fate has
permitted by occupa
tion. But the rank and file of Southern
delegates who stood out for equal rights
of their friend, the negro, will hardly
return to abiding places where t.'ey will
forever be exposed-to ihe loathing and
contempt of all by whom they maybe
surrounded. Whether they come or
not, tlnur capacity for good or harm has
passed away forever, and with the fit
ting close of their ignominious carters,
will pass away the riots, the bloodshed,
the bayonets and bars which have stood
between the South and the open gates
of the Union.
Relief for the People.
From our State exchanges we learn
that several meetings have been held in
different portions of the State, all hav
ing for their object Ultrctevising of some
mode of relief for tbe people from the j
process of law requiring the payment
of debts. So imminent has become tbe I
importance of this subject that it is \
more than probable that popular ex
pression thereto may be elicited in al
most every portion of the State.
That some measure of relief is need
ed is beyond question. Tbe almost to
tal failure of the provision crop of tlie
State, and tlie now well ascertained and
settled fact that under affy and all con
tingencies the cotton crop must fall far
below auy estimates heretofore made
public, together with the unprecedent
ed burdens of taxation imposed upon
every department of-«u(htstry, render
it utterly impossible that the people can
provide for their maintenance the nec
essary provisions lor another planting
year, and at the same time meet that
proportion of their indebtedness requir
ed by the provisions of the Stay Law
enacted by the late Legislature. The
Governor can afford no relief. It is
problematical if the wisdom of the
Legislature can devise a scheme that
will stand the scrutiny of judicial in
vestigation and decision adequate to
the popular w'aut, and it fs certain that
county meetings 'dinate no plan
which "*H'MI lWjc e ept able
and uniformly just. Anu yet, some
thing must be done to avoid pending
ruin and distress. Tlie consideration
is one that appeals most strongly to
public thought and attention.
After mature del iteration w'e incline
most favorably to the suggestion of the
Macon Telegraph, that the desired re
lief must be found in the spirit of com
promise between creditors and debtors.
In times of universal distress like tlie
present, men must exhibit towards their
fellow men a spirit of leniency and lib
erality in tbe settlement of liabilities.
We of course mean that the practical
exhibition of this spirit shall be mutual,
that the creditor shall propose or ac
cept such terms as the necessities of the
case demand and the debtor make all
honest and honorable' effort to meet
just and legal responsibilities. Much
of the large indebtedness due from
Southern to Northern merchants has
been liberally compounded and settled,
and trade throughout tlie South is fast
beginning to seek its accustomed chan
nels. If Northern men who have at
hand the powerful and immediate ma
chinery of the Federal Courts to en
force their demands, can afford to com
pound, compromise and grant relief by
delay, surely our own people who are
fully cognizant of the distress and em
barrassment which the war has made a
common heir-loom to us all, might well
afford to imitate examples which in ev
ery case will produce the desired re
sult of relief, and in many, perhaps, re
sult to the mutual advantage of credi
tor and debtor. By the pursuit of this
suggestion, the desired end may he ac
complished, and w'e submit if it he not
a public duty upon the part of each citi
zen to do his part in an effort to avert
calamities which threaten the prosperi
ty of individuals and the credit of the
commonwealth.
Important to Our Alabama Plant
ers.—The following letter has been re
ceived by Jos. E. Webster, Assessor 2d
District of Georgia, whise office is in
this city. We presume that. Assessor
Rease, of Alabama, has received his in
structions in accordance with the state
ments in the circular :
Tteasury Department, i
Office of Internal Reveuune, >
Washington, Aug. 22, 1866. }
Sir : I have had the pleasure of an in
terview with S. B. Warnock, Esq., in
troduced by your letter of the 17th inst.
The statements presented ancl en
forced by him to the effect that the ac
tual market and most convenient place
for unloading the cotton which conies
into Girard, Ala., is Columbus, on the
other side of the Chattahoochee, in
Georgia, have been duly considered ;
and I have therefore authorized the As
sessor of the Second District of Ala
bama to designate a particular place in
Columbus, Ga., where cotton from lhat
district will he weighed and marked by
the proper revenue officers of the same.
You are therefore directed not to
seize any cotton from that district at the
place so designated, nor on its way
thither.
Very respectfully,
Thomas Habland,
Acting Commissioner.
Narrow Escape.— We learn, says
the Opelika Recorder of the Btli, that J.
P. Waddell, E 3 q-, Probate Judge of this
county, came very near being drowned
iu crossing the Uchee Creek, last week.
He lost his buggy, and barely escaped
with his own life, and that of his son,
who was with him. We congratulate
the people of Russell on being spared
the services of this worthy and useful
public officer. Long may he survive to
discharge the responsible duties of the
office which he is filling with credit to
himself and the county.
From the Augusta Chronicle & Sentinel.
Letter front the Hon. Herschcl V.
Johnson—He Endorses the Philo
delphia Convention.
Augusta, Sept. 1, 18(50.
Messrs. Editors: —Having received
many enquiries for my views of the
proceedings of the Philadelphia Con
vention, and as to the course the South
ern people should pursue in reference
to its action, T take this method of re
sponding, because it. gives me less labor
and a more general dissemination of
lhy opinions. - •, -
Although I telt the necessity of.some
means of bringing the conservative
men of the North and the people of tlie
Sffluth into co-operation, yet I' doubted
the expediency of the call for the Phila
delphia Convention. After it was call
ed I was very timidly in favor of send
ing delegates, fearing that the passions
engendered by tire war bad not suffi
ciently subsided to admit of harmony
in council and wisdom In action. lam
glad that my-misgivings have been dis
appointed,and 1 believe that much good
has been done and progress made to
wards restoringliarmony, upon the ba
sis of the constitution. Though not all
which I could wish, yet more than I
expected, was done. With the spirit,
tone, and in the main, the sentiments
of the resolutions adopted, I am satis
fied. Both in language and principle,
I would malte slight modifications. But
take them as a whole, considered in the
light of surrounding circumstances,
they furnish less ground for complaint
than I could have' anticipated. They
were evidently dictated under the in
spiration of patriotism and phrased in
language intended not to wound the
sensibilities of an overpowered, but
proud and gallant people. Viewing
them in this light, T am willing to accept
them in the spirit that gave them form
and utterance, and ignore whatsoever
is distasteful, as a tribute to the gener
ous enthusiasm of the patriotic body
from whom they emanated.
The question is frequently asked by
those who honestly opposed the repre
sentation of the State in the Convention
and who now withhold their approval
of its action, what good lias it accotn- |
plished? I reply, it lias, in my judg- j
ment, effected two very important
things—important to the whole conn-!
try, and especially to those Stales
which are denied representation in
Congress. In the first place, it inaugu- j
rated tire beginning of good feel in er hh<) .
understanding between the two sec- j
tions. The. war has engendered bitter- 1
ness and hatred. There can be no real
political fraternity between the North
and the South until such feeling shall
have been soothed and confidence re
established between tli§ two sections.
We at the South, looking to the treat
ment we have received from Congress,
since the surrender of our arms, are apt
toforget, that we have friends at. the
North and to class its whole people as
enemies,to the restorationx>f the Union !
and to our welfare. The people of the j
North, attaching undue importance to
the falsehoods of hired letter writers, j
who distort and magnify every act of j
rashness or imprudence that occurs in
our midst, or mistaking the honest, lint,
injudicious comments of a portion of
our press, for the true exposition of the
general sentiment, imagine that a spirit
of insubordination to the Constitution
and laws pervades the South. The re- i
suit has been the perpetuation of mutu- I
ally bad feelings—crimination and re-I
crimination. Doubtless, many of the
intelligent, of both sections knew the,
error, but, they could uot expose it to
the masses, for the lack of some prac
tical demonstration, that would arrest
general attention. The Philadelphia i
Convention furnished that demonstra
tion. It was signalized by .scenes of
enthusiasm unparalleled in the history
of Conventions, in this country. The
better feelings of the heart—charity, j
magnanimity, generosity, love of jus- |
tice, patriotism—were started from their ;
icy repose and thawed into happy fn- i
sion. It was a meeting of the North !
and the South, not on the battle field,
but on the field of reconciliation; and
the representatives from each section
returned home, prepared to testify
truthfully of the temper and spirit of
the people of each, that, whilst honest
ly differing on some questions, they
agreeto co-operate with each other in
the great work of restoration.
In the second place,, the Convention
has organized a parly, pledged to the
restoration Os the Union, upon the basis
of the Constitution and of representa- j
t-ion to the Southern States, without
any other test of loyalty besides the
oath to support tlie Constitution of the
United States. This is deeply interest
ing to us. It is the overshadowing |
question, paramount to all others, It
is vital. I surrender none of the eher- j
ished political opinions of ray life, so
far as they are applicable to flic situa
tion, in which we are left by the war,
nor do I endorse such as I believe to be
erroneous in the Philadelphia platform
and address. But what avails the dis
cussion of these now? What can we
gain by argument? We have no audience
are practically out of tbe Union; we
have no voice in the action of the Gov
ernment. Shall we waste our powers
in vain debate, and refuse to co-operate
with the Conservative men of the North
because they differ with us upon some
questions? Shall we throw obstacles
in tlieir way, by jealous criticisms of
the proceedings of the Convention at
the very time they are fighting our bat
tle ? Shall we not rather aid, sustain
and encourage them by earnest co-oper
ation ? For one, lam prepared to do it
with my whole heart; for the issue is
vital. It involves, in my judgment, not
only tbe destiny of the South, but that
of constitutional liberty.
Some such movement as that of the
Philadelphia Convention was necessa.
ry, in order to afford tbe conservative
element of the country a defined basis
of action, on which it could organize
and concentrate its forces against the
destructive policy oftlie dominant party.
It cannot fail to produce a powerful ef
fect.. The people have but to open their
eyes to see that liberty is in peril, and
that the Constitution is sought to be
substituted by the will of an irresponsi
ble majority. The people everywhere
love liberty'; they love the Constitution ;
they are honest; they are to be trusted.
Show them the right and they will
pursue it ; make them sensible of the
danger and they will quite to avert it;
expose to them the bad ambition of
power, drunk with the love of domin
ion, and they will rise to overthrow it.
The campaign in tlie Northern and
Northwestern States is just now open
ing. The Philadelphia Convention
boldly and clearly presents the issue
between the conservative and destruc
tive elements, of restoration of all the
States to representation, on tho hasis of
the Constitution on the one hand, aud
on the other the perpetuation of strife
and discord, by the wicked outlawry
and disfranchisement of nearly one
third of the States df the Union. The
appeal is made to the calm, sober patri
otism of the Northern people. With
them the battle is to be won or lost.
Liberty and the promise of good govern
ment is tlie prize on one side, against
misrule and despotism on the other.
May we not, since the late demonstra
tion in Philadelphia and the patriotic
response oftlie President to the resolu
tions of the Convention, indulge a hope
of final triumph for truth, justice and
State equality ?
Prior to the action of tbe Philadelphia
Convention, the President had no parly
to sustain him. He stood alone, so lar
as organized eo operation was concerned
against the assaults oftlie Radical Con
gress and press. Tie has exhibited cour
age worthy of Jackson, and a determi
nation to restore the Southern States to
rightful representation in Congress
which cannot fail to challenge our sup
port and commendation. The Conven
tion was confessedly a movement of his
conception. He desired it, First, to
inaugurate good feeling and understand
ing, between the friends of the Union,
under the Constitution; Secondly, to
organize them into a party, to sustain
his policy of restoration ; and Thirdly,
to present fairly to the people oftlie
whole country the distinct issue of re
instating the ten excluded States to their
constitutional relation to the' other
States, without unconstitutional tests of
loyalty. The whole programme is
deeply, vitally interesting to the South.
Shall we not hold up his hands ? Shall
we uot give him our earnest support ?
Shall we not-do all in our power to
crown the action of the Convention
with the most triumphant success ?
Whilst this great battle is to be fought
at the North and Northwest, in which
the South cannot practically.participate,
still, we have an important part to act.
That is—what I have just above intima
ted—uphold, encourage and sustain the
efforts of thoso who are rallying under
the banner which the Convention un
furled to the breeze. The inscriptions
upon it may no* be all that we wish ;
hut, prominent among them is the rec
ognition of the equality of the States,-
ami their right to representation with
out the odious test-oat h. We, therefore*
cannot but view tiro contest with an in
tense desire to sec that banner planted
in triumph uponjthe dome of the Capitol.
Let our press and people abstain from
captious and ill-natured criticism oIH he ,
action of the Convention. Forgetting j
or ignoring whatsoever is distasteful, in
plmaseulgy or , erroneous in principle,
let us look rather to its patriotic spirit.
ReoiprociUiqg that spirit, let us practice
forbearance, a manly resignation to the
necessities of our condition find respect :
for the Constitution and constitutional
laws of the United States. The wires
will he busy in Hashing from North to ;
SouWr, and from South to North, every- i
thing calculated. Jo irritate the people, !
prQvoke tlicm to rash and intemperate!
expressions, and widen the chasm that j
divides them. The people, and partic- !
ularly the press of the South, should not
torget this ; and in view of it, they j
should take special pains to afford as
little capital for the destructives, and as
much, for the Conservatives, as possi
ble.
The Radicals are evidently greatly
chagrined and astounded by the success
of the Convention, and painfully exer
cised because there was so little speak
ing, especially by Southern delegates.
They failed to realize, their expected
feast of discord and wrangling; they
gathered hut little pabulum for the gree
dy maw of slander ami viturperation.
So, by a similar course, let the people of
tbe South disappoint, their morbid
and insatiable appetite. Let us feel
and realize, that all that we can over ex
pect, of constitutional rights, is involv
ed in the pending, campaign, and that
our fate depends upon the final triumph
of the Conservative party. When we
speak and act, it should lie in their in
terest ami with a view to their sjacbess;
for in their success is our hope for the
future.
Nor will the alliance, to which 1 re
fer, be impotent, in asserting the prin
ciples of constitutional interpretation,
essential to,the healthful working of our
governmental machinery. The doc
trines of ’llß and MW may yet be re as
serted- by the Congress of tiie United
States. They arc as valuable now as
ever mey were- -as true anil fiomid ns
ever. They survive the war, however
ignored and forgotten, amidst the thun
der and smoke of battle, because they
are endued with the immortality of
truth. Our rights under the Constitu
tion, slavery excepted, aye precisely the
same that they were before the war;
and whatsoever else may be object
ionable in the Address of the Philadel
phia Convention to the people of the
United States, it is both gratifying and
encouraging that this truth is recognized
in that document,. It declares:
The world knows the people of the
South do not approve of all that, was
done by the Philadelphia Convention ;
nor is it>pretended that our delegates I
did. Protest against what is objection- j
able, by our press or our people, is to- j
tally unnecessary, even as a matter of
justice to ourselves. There is no need
to define our position upon controverted
questions of principle or policy ; it is
known and read of all men. When re
stored to representation we can argue
and debate if occasion require It. We
shall then have an audience ; we shall
even constitute a part of the tribunal to
decide the questions discussed. If we
never get restored to representation,
then argument is useless. We can,
therefore, afford to be silent as to what |
we cannot, endorse, tor tbe sake of the I
prize that, is staked upon the issue: Our
Government, the Constitution, the
whole frame work of our political insti
tutions were in the beginning the result
of mutual concessions and com promises.
They will never be restored, and when
restored they cannot be preserved, with
out the exercise of the same spirit.
True, as a section, the South will be
in a minority and powerless, of herself,
to arrest, unjust.and unconstilutioinii
legislation. But that great change in
popular sentiment in the North, which
shall secure to ns representation, will
also bring into Congress friends who,
united with tlie Southern members, will
constitute a majority of the House, or,
if not a, majority,'a sufficient number to j
sustain the Presidential- vetoes of mu !
coustiiiitional enactments. .Extra va- ;
gancc of expenditure can he checked, i
tlie burden of-taxation equalized, cor- 1
fuptioii exposed, and the annoyance of
the present dominant party tamed and
chastened. When we can be heard,
there will he hope, at least, by appeal to
reason and justice, that the ship oi state
may be, again put upon t he.course which
it's-builders intended it to navigate.
If this can be accomplished, there is
hope of regaining good government,-
and finally material prosperity. Long
before the war I had come to the con
viction that the best hope for this coun
try was in a close alliance with the
great agricultural States of the North 1
west. They, like us, are interested in
low taxation and economy. United |
with them, and such friends as could j
always he elected from a few districts :
of the Northern States, I believed, on j
the day of secession, that the South was I
stronger in than out of the Union. This J
conviction, so deeply fixed, explains
the true motive of niy adhesion to the |
noble and lamented Douglas, in 1800. j
I knew lie was justly the idol of the j
Northwest; I knew his great ability, his .
firmness, his courage and tried friend
ship for the South. I knew that we j
could.trust him, however we might dis- .
fer from him, upon some points of
theoretic I believed that,
through him, if the Union should stand,
the alliance, to which I have referred,
could bo consolidated. Hence, I con
sented to share Jiis fortune, knowing at
tlie time, as well as I knew after the
event, that his election was impossible.
Thus; looking for a defeat, 1 still hoped
that, a fragment of the National Demo
cracy, North and South, might be pre
served in a state of organization, around
which that glorious old party might
again rally, and preserve the Union and
the rights of the South in the Union.
Nothing, however, could stay the ten-,
dency to secession, after Mr. Lincoln’s
election by a strictly sectional vote. We
have passed through tlie conflict and
been overpowered. We came out of it
with slavery abolished, our labor de- j
ranged and prostrated, our fields deso
lated, and our homes draped in mourn- j
iiig for our noble and gallant dead. We
have accepted these results in good
faith. We are ready to resume our \
place in the Union, endeavor to recover
from our reverses, and promote the har
mony and welfare of our common,
country. And now that slavery is abol
ished, and consequently must cease to
beau apple of discord, my min'd re
turns with strengthened conviction of
the policy of renewing the ties which,
in other days, bound us to the agricul
tural States.of the Northwest. Once
restored to representation in Congress,
nothing can prevent such an alliance.
Whilst alt our revenue was raised by a
tariff upon imports, the agricultural
class did not appreciate the amount of
their taxes, nor the inequality with
which they were imposed. It, is quite
different now. The tax gatherer goes,
toe very man’s door and levies tribute
upon the products of his labor. Let ex
isting passions subside ; let, harmony be
restored ; let fanaticism starve to death,
because tlie carcass of slavery, on which
it ted, lias been forever removed, and
we shall soon see and hear the masses
who till the soil, inquiring into the ope
rations of ta x Ja ws’, and live expenditure
of revenue, and holding their represen
tatives to a strict accounlabilty. Labor
will assejrt its right to just and equal
treatment at. the hands of the Govern-j
ment, Willi associated and ineopo j
rated capital. Heretofore tlie country >
has been harrassetl about shivery : las
naties using the question as the means
of obtaining power obtaining power
in order that they might, levy tribute
upon agriculture, to pamperand protect
manufactures. The issue will be a naked
one—shall agricultural labor he taxed
to uphold ami sustain incorporated cap
ital ? The result, is not to lie fearted.
Agriculture does not shrink from a just
sharaof the burden, which the immense
national debt must impose upon every
interest. But it. will demand economy
tlie lowest taxation that will meet the
emergency, and equality in its impo
sition. This is all the South asks, and
m demanding it she must and will re
ceive tlie co-operation of agriculturalists
in all sections, but especially of tlie
Northwestern States. This is my hope
for the future of the country. It is found
ed upon the potent affinities of interest;
which, when left free to act, will as cer
tainly bind together the tillers of the
soil 'as gravitation does the works of the f
universe.
There are turning'points in the histo
ry of nations as well as individuals—“a
tide in the a slams of men, which, taken
at its flood, leads on to fortune.” We
are now in the midst of sucli a crisis.
The momentum of destructive fanati
cism—ruinous, -relentless, desperate, de
vilish—will become irresistible, unless
its progress be arrested. It can be ar
rested only by the uprising of the peo
ple in their majesty. I indulge a hope
that the action of the Convention will!
awaken them to tlie perils of the crisis, i
I t rust, the lire that warmed tlie hearts
of that body will be diffused hi expand
ing.circlos until it, shall begirt the whole :
land and dispel the darkness that now !
hangs like a funeral pall over our dis- :
traotul.country. Now is the time and
the opportunity for the masses of the
North to rally. Tlie Government is in
their hands; we are excluded; if the j
Temple of Liberty 1-otter to its fall, the
responsibility is theirs. Do they not
begin to see it ? The ground-swell be
gins to heave; the reaction has com- \
meuced; let tlie people, North and j
South—those who desire Constitutional
Union and-good government—be true
to themselves and their posterity 7 and
rise to the height of the great occasion.
Then woe, woe, awaits those who now
pollute the altars of liberty and lord it
over the heritage of her children.
“TheGovernmentoftheUnited Stales j
maintained by force of arms the supreme
authority over ail tlie States and people
within its jurisdiction, which the Con
stitution confers upon it, hut if acquired I
thereby no new power, no enlarged ju
risdiction, no rights, either of territorial
possession or of civil authority, which
it did not possess before tlie rebellion
broke out. All the rightful power it
can ever possess is that which is confer
red upon it in express terms, or by fair
and necessary implication, by. the Con
stitution of the United States.
# * *- * * ■»
Neither war nor the victory by which
it WMjxnuled changed in any way tlie
Con-c/tuiion of tlie United States.
And to-day, also, precisely ns ’before
the war, all the powers not, conferred by
the Constitution upon the General Gov
ernment, nor prohibited by it to Die
States, are reserved to the several
States or to the people thereof.”
These are announcements of that
“Address.” They are significant. They'
avc file principles WmcTi underlie me
doctrines of ’OB and’oo. They show
how truth will creep out. The Southern
States, by the act of secession, put in
issue two questions : first, the right, to
secede ; and secondly 7, the perpetuation
of slavery 7 . Both have been decided
against us, and we have accepted, in
good faith, the award of the sword.
With this exception, our constitutional
rights are just what they were before
the war; for it is certain that, if, in
the language of that “Address,” the
“Government acquired no new power
by the war,” the Southern State’s lost
none. It were bootless to discuss these
principles now. It is a great point
gained that, amid the fiery play of the
passions, a party lias been organized
that announces them. Wo can discuss,
when the right of representation shall
be accorded to us, wit h hope of success.
For the ordeal through which the Gov
ernment is now passing, will satisfy
right-minded men, in all sections, that
constitutional liberty can be maintained
only 7 by a recognition of the rights and
equality of the States. Their abroga
tion or disregard means despotism—not
Hie despotism of a single ruler, who
might lie humane and just, but the des
potism of an irresponsible majority.
But to realize these anticipations we
must first be admitted to -our represen
tation in Congress. This is the great
question—the essential vital condition
precedent to any hope of better days for
the South. And this depends upon the
final success of the Philadelphia move
ment. Let us encourage thaf success.
Wc owe it to frankness and candor ;
we owe it to the conservative men of
the North ; we owe il lo ourselves to do
justice to the Philadelphia Convention
its Resolutions and Address. I regret
to’see that some who opposd the Con
vention and now withhold their approv
al of its action, dwell upon and express,
in the light of .severe criticism, all that
is-distasteful in language and objection
able in principle, without also holding
up for commendation and support what
is emhicni ly a, riqilahle to the Southern
people. This is wrong. It can do wo
good at the South ; it, i& calculated to
weaken those at the North who are en
gaged in the struggle to restore- the
Union upon the plan of the Adminis
tration. Bui while T thus comment on
this course of the opponents of the pro
ceedings of the Convention, it, affords
me pleasure to award to l hem holiest
and, patriotic purposes. They are not
more wrong than those who would as
sign them position of alliance with the
Radicals. Wc must tolerate among
ourselves honest differences of opinion.
Sharing common calamities, we all
have n common desire to he relieved
from an unfortunate condition. Our
differences of opinion upon these topics
do not destroy tlie unanimity witll
which the entire people of the South
earnestly wish the triumph of the Con
servative party. Whatever may be ob
jectionable in them, both the Resolutions
and the Address contain much that is
true and encouraging, but little in sub
stance to condemn. They 7 are sound
upon the vital, practical, living issues of
the crisis. They assert the equality 7 ot
the States, the right of all to represen
tation in Congress, their right to “pre
scribe qualification for the elective
franchise.” They deny the right ot’the
States now represented to propose and
ratify amendments to the Federal
Constitution. All these We can endorse,
and they are all that belong strictly to
the issue that more deeply than all others
concerns ns. They are boldly an
nounced, both in the Resolutions and
Address, and discussed, in the latter
with clearness and ability. I have al
ready quoted a tew sentences from tlie
“Address ;” 1 will quote a few more,
in order to bring them prominently be
fore the reader, as worthy of his ap
proval. See how forcibly 7 it puts the
pretentions and schemes oftlie Radi
cals :
“It lias been proclaimed by Congress
that in addition to the powers conferred
upon it by the Constitution, the Federal
Government may now proclaim over
the States and the territory, and the
people iuvolved in the insurrection, the
rights of war—right of conquest and of
confiscation, the right to abrogate all
existing laws, anil to subject the terri
tory conquered and its inhabitants to
such terms and regulations as the legis
lative department of the Government
may see fit to impose, under the broad
and sweeping claim that the clause of
tlip Constitution which provides that
no Stale shall, without its consent, be
deprived of its equal suffrage in tlie Sen
ate of the United Stales, lias been an
nulled; and States have been refused,
aud are still refused representation al
together, in both branches of the Fed
eral Congress; and the Congress in
which only a, part of the States and of
the people pf the Union are represented
has’ asserted the right to exclude others
from representation and from all share
in making their Own laws and choosing
tlieir own rulers, unless they shall com
ply with sucli conditions and perform
such acts as this Congress, thus com
posed, may itself prescribe. That, right
has only been asserted, but it has been
exercised, and is practically enforced at
the present time.”
What a graphic and vivid picture of
the designs of the Radicals is here
drawn! And now remember, that the
“Address” combats-all these positions
with ability and eloquence. It argues
that they are subversive of the Govern
ment. and fatal to the Union, for the
preservation of which the war was
waged. It brands them as despotism
and usurpation. Aud after pressing the
argument with irresistable power, it
concludes, that, whilst it is the unques
tionable right of the people of the Uni
ted States to change the Constitution,
yet it must be done in the mode which
the Constitution itsejf points out. Says
the Address:
“Wo deny the right of Congress to
make these changes in the fundamental
law, without the- concurrence of three
fourths of all the States, including es
pecially those to be most seriously at
tested by them, or impose them upon
States or people as conditions of repre
sentation or of admission to any of the
rights, dnljes or obligations which be
long, under the Constitution, to all the
States alike ; and with still greater em
phasis do we deny the right of any por
tion of the States excluding the rest of
the States from any share in their coun
cils, to propose or sanction changes in
toe Constitution which are to affect per
mnnently their political relations, and
control or coerce’ tile. legitimate action
of the.several members 6t the common
Union. Such' an exercise of'power is
siiiiply a usurpation/just as unwarrant
able when exercised by Northern States
as it would be if exercised by Southern,
ami not Ur be fortified or palliated by
anything in the past history either of
those by whom it is attempted or of
those upon whose rights and liberties it
is to take effect. 'lt finds no warrant in
the Constitution. If Is at war’with the
fundamental principles of our farm of
government. If tolerated in one in
stance it becomes the precedent for fu
ture invasions of liberty and constitu
tional right, dependent solely upon the
will of the party in possession'of power,
and thus leads 7 by direct and necessary
sequence to the most fatal and intoler
able of all iyrannjes, tlie tyranny of
shifting and ‘irresponsible political sac
tion. It is against this, the most form:
dable of all the dangers which menace
the stability of tree government, that
the Constitution of the United States
was intended most carefully to provide.
Wo demand a strict aud steadfast ad
herence to its provisions. In this, and
iu this alone, can we find a basis of per
manent union and peace.”
Extracts similar, in spirit and senti
ment, might be multiplied. But theSo
are enough to show that wc may well
afford to acquiesce in silence to whatev
er may be objectionable, when the prin
ciples so essential and vital to us in the
present crisis, are distinctly recognized.
;—More than this: when such announ
cements are made and a great party
organized, who are now engaged in the
struggle to make them good at tlie bal
lot-box, does it become the Southern
people to damp their zeal and weaken
their moral power by fastideous criti
cism ? 1 cannot do it. Wherein I differ
from the Platform and Address, I will
differ in peace, as with frlaAdw, and lock
shields with them against the common
enemy. 1 say God speed to the work
which has begun in Philadelphia Ev
ery consideration of interst and patriot
ism calls upon ns to aid iu tlie work of
restoration. We can never successfully
organize our agricultural labor : capital
will not flow to us for the development
j of our unbounded natural resources;
; population will not increase rapidly,
i nor prosperity return to us so long as
| tlie present political derangement, con
j tines. We shall be tlie helpless victims
of misrule and despotism. Tlie domi
nation of the’Radicals must be broken
['down or constitutional liberty is lost
j and the South doomed to the saddest
! fate that ever befell a civilized people.
Our duty is plain. Involves no dishon
or. It requires us to practice patience,
! forbearance, conciliation and rcsigna
i tion to present evils for the sake of
i greater future good.
We cannot expect to have things our
own way. If we could, our situation
were quite different. We would wish
that w’c were free from debt, and that
no stay law were necessary to save the
people from utter ruin. But the war
brought the one, and a sense of self-pre
servation, among the people, demands
the other. If we could have things
all our own way the war had resulted
differently, we we would have taken
our position as an independent power
among the family of nations. But
Providence ordained otherwise, and we
must oliey the irrevocable decree. It is
the part of wise and liberal statesman
ship to tolerate what it cannot prevent,
and seek, by appeal to reason and pa
triotism, to mitigate what it cauW
control. To lean this, is one of-tlie
most valuable lessons for individual
life. Tt is equally so for States. It
brings comparative happiness to both,
whilst the heart frets and chafes uiulei
the friction of resistance.
Respectfully, Ac.,-
llehscheii V. Johnson.
Relief Meeting.
We attended a meeting in Greenville,
Ga., last Wednesday and heard several
able and patriotic addresses upon the
subject of Relief. Rev. J; Blakeley
Smith was called to the Chair, and
Judge W. B Adams elected Secretary.
A committee was appointed to draft
resolutions, but we left for home before
they reported.
The Hon. Hugh Buchanan, member
elect to Congress from that District, ad- \
dressed the people at some length. He
recommended that the next
extend kho Slay Law until lfriO, which 1
would gJB?s-t*»c‘ ppo-pli-. time t- pay a poi -J
tion of tufsir indebtedness. He thought 1
tlie Supreme Court would hold that ifcj
was constitutional—and said that lv*T
knew Joseph Henry Lumpkin well, ana
that he liad a big heart, full of mercy
and that he would do all in his power'"
to relieve the people. That it, wasifii
possible to have one-fourth of the pres
ent debt, in the country liquidated m>xt
January. Tlie planters had acted in
good faith, had made an honest effort
and the crop had failed, and they were
now in a worse condition than twelve
months ago. The cotton on hand had
been sold, tlie money consumed, aud
the present crop was inadequate to feed
and clothe the people. He advised the
creditor to forbear—that the debtors of
the State were honest men and would
make every effort to pay, and that they
should have time. lie believed it was
to the interest of the creditor to wait
for his money, and illustrated it by say
ing that M owed $15,000, and his land
was worth $10,000; he owes A SI,OOO,
B $5,000, C $3,000: D, E aud F the
balance—A lias the oldest execution and
lias the land put up for sale ; he bids
SI,OOO, B C and D cannot bid, they have
no money. They lose all, and the land
isj sacrificed, lie said that if the collec
tion of debts were enforced that one
mail would own nearly the whole comi
ty of Coweta.
Mr. Stewart, a member of the Legis
lature from Spalding, next addressed
the meeting, and thought that Stay
Laws could do no good. The country
was hopelessly in debt and could never
pay out. It was impossible and it was
useless to try and make men do what it
was not in the power of man to do. He
thought a Homestead Bill could do no
good, 7 as, it would be an e.r pout facto
law and void. A Bankrupt Law would
have to be passed by Congress. They
might pass' such a law or might not.
We could not depend upon help from
that quarter. We were in trouble —
present religf was necessary—the Gov
ernor was was opposed to the Stay law,
and the Legislature had its hands tied,
to an extent. He was the author of the
present Stay Law, and would vote for it
from.year to year, but could not vote to
extend it long. —Middle Georgia JVews.
Mk. Saffold Again. —The latest is
sue from the brain of this newly fledged
Radical, to-wit: bis radical pamphlet, is
nothing more nor less than an acknowl
edgement of his own perfidy; and if
anything could arouse so honorable an
emotion in the breasts of bis present
associates, would incite a feeling of
contempt on their part for this undoubt
edly miserable aud abandoned nmn.
That he held Confederate office he
does not attempt to deny, save by
coupling with it a qualifying clause,
that would relieve any Confederate,
mean enough so to make so base a con
fession as that he served one govern
ment while secretly favoring another.
Among his more corded exploits in
' behalf of. the oppressed “Union loyal
ists” is a trip that lie made when in
command of a detachment of Confed
erate cavalry to arrest prominent Union
men in Randolph county, Alabama,
and bring them to Montgomery for
trial. He was liberally supplied with
Confederate money, and did not hesi
tate to aid in hunting down the small
class of men to which he now claims to
belong, and which he appears to be in
most harmonious affiliation, and over
whose “wrongs and oppressions” he
simulates so many briny tears aud affects
so much eloquence.-— Montgomery Ad
vertiser. ' ■ -
A Beautiful, Trio.— We notice,
says the Augusta Chronicle, among the
Southern Loyalists’ Convention in Phil
adelphia, those of J. E. Bryant, Am
brose Spencer and N. S. Morse*. Brown
low, in his Philadelphia speech boasts
that he and his Tennessee delegation
are what are called “poor whites and
mean sneaks.” In that boast the Par
son lias no advantage over his Georgia
confreres.
New Cotton from Georgia.— The
Nashville Union and American says:
Our friends Messrs. Hugh Mcßea & Cos.,
were the recipients yesterday of the
first bale of new cotton sent to this
market from the State of Georgia. The
cotton was grown by Mr. W. J. Doyle,
of West Point, and in point of quality
it is ahead of any bale yet brought to
this city. It was sold at 33 cents.