Newspaper Page Text
Savannah -Weekly Hews
SATURDAY, DRCKMHKK 18, IBT6.
The Investigation of the Whisky King
Frauds.
The military court of inquiry, appoint
ed by Grant for the purpose of white
washing his trencherman Babcock, so as
to relieve him from the bad whisky odor
about him, organized in Chicago yester
day, but will for the present earn its per
diem by waiting the result of Babcock's
trial on the Indictment of the St. Louis
grand jury.
The military board may whitewash
Babcock all over and the Bt. Louis
court may make a mistrial, but the trou
bles of the President's cup-bearer will
not end there. It is said that the House of
Representatives are after him; that it is
bound to know what powerful backing it
was that the whisky ring received in
Washington. It is further asserted that
the House Democrats are very unchari
table on the subject, and they insist, not
only that Babcock is guilty, but that the
President is trying to shield him, and let
him out of his scrape.
Against all this sort of proceeding
Grant's organ, the Washington Chronicle
vehemently protests. Alluding to the
fact that resolutions are already prepared,
tb be introduced in the House on the
occurrence of the first opportunity, cal
ling on the Secretary of the Treasury
and the Attorney General for all corres
pondence in reference to the Western
whisky frauds, the Chronicle says :
“Unquestionably it is the desire of the
oountry to have the fullest investigation
all fraudulent transactions of a pub
lio nature. But why Congress should de
sire to participate in the investigation
already inaugurated, and the trials, con
victions and sentences of punishment
now going on against the guilty parties
in these irregular transaction is some
thing in which the country is also
interested. It is no part of Congress
ional work, and the only result will be
its cost, and the consequent additional
burden it will impose upon the people in
the shape of taxes. If the time of Con
gress is to bo frittered away in this style
of legislation (?), it is safe to conclude
Ihat much of the more important busi
ness will be left undone. It is not the
purpose of the Chronicle to censure or to
praise indiscriminately; but it cannot re
frain from denouncing this process as
unparliamentary and undignified.’’
It is a tittle undignified for Congress to
be looking after these “irregular transac
tions,” as the Chronicle calls the Bt.
Louis whisky frauds, but it is
much more to’the disgrace of tho country
that its officials from the White House
down should be concerned in such villainy.
Besides, this sort of protest against the
most thorough investigation of notorious
fraud and corruption oomes with a bad
grace from the President’s organ, while
his private Secretary is under indictment.
Down on a Saloon. —One of the Wash
ington Democratic Sunday papers has a
peculiar advertisement. It is a out of
the Washington Club House with a letter
press which contains the following;
If you are Democrats who really want
to see your party successful next year
and the republic preserved and honesty
again introduced into our administration,
then you will not go near that siren club
house within one hundred yards. If you
merely intend to use your Congressional
term for the purpose of making money
as fast as possible, then go there. Tin
papers that still war for liberty and Un
true republican form of government will
watoh youiyii^names—in
t in'-* , ■ mm > to yo>;r
-M ' tv ■ Tlwl‘
obtained tho swindling Freed
men's Bureau Bank, from poor colored
people of all parts of tho country. The
ground and every stone of the palatial
building belong to toiling masses of
former slaves, the negroes of the United
Statos.
Wholesale Confiscation. —The South
Carolina House of Delegates has rushed
through, almost without debate, the
“supply bill,” under whioh the State tax
will be ten and a half mills, and the
iunty tax three mills. Tho speoial
hnty taxes will average two mills more.
I those taxes must be added the county
tax of at least one and a half mills pro
vided for in a separato bill. This makes
a total tax of seventeen mills, or $2,380,-
000, exclusive of capitation tax, township
school taxes, and corporation taxes. Th3
taxpayers regard this ns an attempt at
wholesale confiscation, and the Charles
ton JVews and Courier calls upon them to
respond to tho call of the State Tax
Union, and assemble in convention in
Columbia next week.
From tint, report of the Comptroller of
the Currency we tind that the following
ohanges have taken place in the volume
of greenbacks and national bank notes :
Decrease of bank notes from June 20,
1874, to November 1, ’76 $4,307,280
Decrease of leeal-tcniters from June 20,
to December 1, 1875 9,604,939
Decrease of fractional currency from
June 20, 1874, to December 1, '76. . . 3,533,887
Total decrease $17,445,90t>
But this is not oil. There are two laws
which affect the 4 volume of currency:
the aot of Juue 20, 1874, and the act of
January 14, 1875. Under the operation
of these laws, relative to the reserve and
the greenbacks held by the Treasury, this
decrease of circulation has been greatly
augmented.
The Railroads Gobble Them Up.—
The Secretary of the Interior in his re
port shows that during the year ending
June 80. 1875, 7,071,271 acres of public
lands were disposed of, and of this the
railipads got the lion’s share, 3,107,643
acres having been certified to them, while
the homestead entries took up 2,357,067
acres, and there were sold for cash 745,-
001 acres, while there were certified to
agricultural sohools, common schools and
universities 181,163 acres. There yet re
mains of Uncle Sam's domain of surveyed
lands, 680,263,094 acres; uusurveyed,
1,154,471,762 acres.
The Vicksburg Herald calls public at
tention to the fact that the question of
tho gauge of the Texas Pacific Railroad
was not settled by the St. Louis Conven
tion, and asks “what gauge is it to be ?
Is it-to conform to the gauge of North
ern lines, which are four feet eight
inches, or to Southern lines, which are
usually five feet and over?’’ It will be
time enough to settle the question of
the gauge of Tom Scott s Pennsylvania
Pacific Road when there shall be even a
tolerable prospect of his getting his bill
through Congress.
An Eiohteen-Tkbmeb. —Mr. John W
Garrett was unanimously re-elected Presi
dent of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
at the meeting of Directors held on Wed
nesday last. This is the eighteenth con
secutive year of Mr, Garrett in the same
position, though now, as stated in his
remarks on the occasion of his re -elec
tion, he odnfines his duties to aiding the
management of the general policy and the
finances of the company, leaving the ad
ministrative services and the general
working of the road and its branches to
the V ic6-Pre*iden ts.
A voung woman of South Glen Falls,
New York, corresponded three years with
a Chicago man, and finally agreed to
marry him, all without seeing him.
When he came he told her he hadn't a
cent, had such poor health he couldn't
.work, and, besides, had a club foot
■tut she vtuok to her bargain.
Grist from the Radical Slander Mill.
The Radical journals expose the weak
ness of the cause they advocate, and at
the same time pay a poor compliment to
the average intelligence of their readers
when, instead of presenting them with
facts and arguments, they ply them with
incredible falsehoods and shameless
appeals to their prejudices and passions.
It seems as if no falsehood is too gross,
no charge too abhorent and absurd to
serve the purposes of the Radical press
in its efforts to “fire the North
ern heart” against the people
of the South. This is no new policy on
the part of the Radical organs. It is as
old as the beginning of the sectional is
sue which culminated in the late war.
Acting on the principle that “the end
justifies the means,' 1 it was the practice
of the abolition organs to fabricate the
most incredible and revolting slan
ders in order to intensify the hos
tility of their readers against
the Southern people and their institutions.
Later the pernicious principle has had
numerous exemplifications in high
quarters, none perhaps more disgraceful
than the admission of Lieutenant-General
W. T. Sherman that he deliberately
charged the burning of Columbia, South
Carolina, upon General Wade Hamp
ton, of South Carolina, not because he
had any reason to believe in the truth of
the charge, but because it would fix in
famy upon a gallant Southerner and
destroy his popularity with his people.
One of the latest specimens of this un
manly and disreputable system of politi
cal warfare is furnished by a corres
pondent of the New York Timet , in
a miserable fabrication, entitled
“An Unwritten History of the War,”
which purports to be related by an officer
on General Dix’s military staff,
wherein is described a conspiracy
hatched at Niagara Falls, pending the
“peace negotiations” at that place, in the
summer of 1864, which had for its object
the assassination of President Lincoln the
night of the election of that year. The
author of the story states that he was
sent to Niagara as a spy, and in that ca
pacity became acquainted with all the
details of the conspiracy. He says he 1
got them from one of the Southern Com
missioners, who invited him to take part
in the scheme that had been projected.
Democrats of the South and North, of
all degrees, high and low, Copperhead
and War Democrats, were connected in
the diabolical plot, and yet what will
strike the reader as very remarkable, the
writer fails to give the name of a single
living conspirator.
A great many of the Democrats
who took their seats in Congress
iast Monday were elected on their repu
tation as War Democrats. Three-fourths
of the Northern Democrats who have been
elected to office since the close of the war
were thus distinguished because they were
“War Democrats.” And yet this veraci
ous Timet correspondent has the unblush
ing audacity to put forth such a statement
as the following : “ The most influential
and prominent War Democrats were iden
tified with this cause. The plot was
to assassinate the President the
night before election, and the news
reaching the people on the morn
ing of the election thousands of Re
publicans would fail or refuse to vote I
their electoral ticket, not knowing who
tho choice of the electors would be. It
was not thought possible, under these
circumstances, that flleg:
toral ticket could chosen. The party
Without
H? opportunity to consult, and be
-ivffdered by their novel and distressing
position, the result would certainly be so
great a falling off of their votes as to give
all the ‘close’ States to the Democrats.
I'he election of a Democratic President
would thus be made certain, with a con
sequent cessation of hostilities, and a
treaty of peace between North*and South,
which would eventually insure the inde
pendence of the latter.”
This utterly absurd story, so vilely slan
derous of many of the purest and best
men in tho oountry, and so insulting to
the credulity of even tho fanatical rabble
for whom it is designed, is copied by the
Chicago Tribune with the following quasi
endorsement :
A curious story, apparently well au
thenticated, and bearing the marks of
consistency, is told by a correspondent
of the New York Times, and republished
in our columns this morning. It refers
to the summer of 1864, at the time when
the peace negotiations were in progress
at Niagara Fails, and tells of an infamous
conspiracy for the assassination of Presi
dent Lincoln on the day before election.
The plot had been thoroughly disoussed
and fully resolved upon by the Southern
rebels and Northern Democrats who
flocked to the Clifton House under the
pretense of discussing peace negotiations
which were never meant to be consum
mated, aud the fiendish scheme was only
abandoned because of the angry and in
dignant refusal of Dean Richmond to give
it countenance and his threats to cause the
instant publication of the details and the
names of the conspirators unless their
murderous machinations were discon
tinued at once and forever. As it was,
so the narrative goes, the matter was com
municated to Gen. Dix, and by him re
ported to President Linooln, whose rare
wisdom it was, opposed to the counsels
of his Cabinet, that kept the intelligence
from the world at a time when he rightly
judged the general discovery of such a
conspiracy would have a depressing effect
upon our armies, which were then meet
lug with but indifferent success at the
front. The story is interesting at all
events ; the more so that it is probably
true.
A viler slander or a more absurd fabri
cation was never coined by Radical brain
or promulgated by Radical slander mill.
After all the efforts that have been made
by Radical politicians and presses to con
nect Southern men with the assas
sination of President Lincoln, is it
at all probable that this Niagara
conspiracy, involving many Northern as
well as Southern Democrats, and which,
had it existed, must have been known to
others besides Lincoln, General Dix and
Dean Richmond, would not long since have
been brought to light ? It would have
been remarkable, indeed, had the exist
ence of such a plot been kept a profound
secret for years, when the proofs
could have been used with such tremen
dous effect against the Democratic party.
The story is a disgrace to the average
Bohemian, and the fellow who concocted
it should be stricken from the pay-roll of
the Radical slander-mill. Of course
the editors of the Times and Tribune
expect some at least of their readers to
credit a story which, if true, would stamp
with infamy the American character.
There is a class of people in the North
whose minds have so long been fed upon
just such slanders, and whose preju
dices have so warped their reason
that they are incapable of distinguishing
between truth and falsehood. Such are
to be commiserated. But the editor who
prostitutes his columns to the promulga
tion of such infamous falsehoods for po
litical effect merits the contempt of all
right-minded men.
It may be remarked as very queer that
the President makes no allusion whatever
to the whisky frauds in his message.
He makes no allusion to the corruption
and rascality that pervades every depart
ment of the government for the reason,
no doubt, that neither Congress nor the
public need to have attention directed to
matter so mortifyicgly notorious,
Cabinet Discord Growing Out of the
Babcock Case.
There have been various rumors from
Washington of serious disagreements in
Grant’s Cabinet, growing out of the pro
ceedings in the St. Louis whisky ring pros
ecutions involving Gen. Babcock, the
President’s private Secretary. Every effort
has been made to keep the proceedings
and the Cabinet discussions secret, and
matters have been so involved in
affirmations and contradictions of the
current reports, that it has been impossi
ble for the press correspondents to give
any reliable information on the
subject. It is, however, understood
in the best informed quarters—so
says the usually reliable telegraphic cor
respondent of the New York Bulletin—
that the question of General Babcock's
dispatches to the St. Louis whisky ring
were under consideration in Cabinet ses
sion on Saturday. It is also said that
upon a desire being apparent on the part
of the President that the investigation in
this case should not proceed beyond the
military inquiry to be instituted at
Chicago, the Secretary of the Treasury
insisted that every facility should be
afforded for bringing the matter before
the civil court in St. Louis. To this
the Secretary of War is understood
to have been violently opposed, and after
much heated discussion, Mr. Bristow
persisted in carrying out fully the Presi
dent’s instructions to “let no guilty per
son escape,” or to resign his office. The
Cabinet, after adjournment, retired to
Secretary Fish’sjresidence, and were there
closely closeted. The result of this
second discussion appears to have been
an aggravation of the differences, for it
is said the informal session ended in a
resolution of Secretaries Fish and Bris
tow and the Postmaster General to sur
render their portfolios at the close of t.hia
month.
The correspondent says: “Political
circles are profoundly agitated by these
things, and very important results are
predicted as likely to be developed within
the present month. Ido not vouch for
the accuracy of these reports, but give
them as things that are earnestly whis
pered among the few who get the first
hints of State secrets. Denials are given,
purporting to be ‘official,’ that there
has been any disturbance of the harmo
nious 4 personal ’ relations between the
President and Secretary Bristow, but
these denials do not pretend to apply to
their ‘ official ’ relations. ”
Rumors of War.
The utter freedom with which Presi
dent Grant manipulates our relations
with Spain for brewding war rumors and
keeping the air alive with them, again
emphasizes the necessity of having a
statesman in the Executive office who
would regard the welfare of the nation
above his own selfish ambition. It is,
says the Boston Pott, a most fortunate
circumstance for the country that an
opposition House of Representatives
stands at this juncture between the Presi
dent and his reckless experimenting. It
can never be unpatriotic to refuse to de -
clare war when it is obviously unneces
sary. It is simply what is expected
of statesmanship that it shall be
on the alert to ward off all such perils by
the exercise of the highest firmness and
discretion. Before a war with Spain will
be declared by a Democratic House, it
will rightfully demand of the Adminis
tration that all proper and reasonable
means of preserving an honorable peace
ihall have been exhausted. Especially will
it cause the fact to be understood that
no- Executive shall have it in his power
to create a war sentiment, whether by
deliberate provocation or a blind reck
lessness. International relations are
something that, as the Exective alone
cannot establish, so he is not at liberty
to interrupt and destroy them. There is
nothing in the recent conduct of Spain
toward us above the course of that con
duct for many years past to precipitate a
determination on the part of the United
States to seek an adjustment by resorting
to open violence.
This secret and irresponsible inflamma
tion of the war feeling in the public
mind is a flagrant mischief which de
serves the severest censure. It is a most
dangerous weapon for any one man to be
allowed to play with. The uncertainty
it produces on the one side and the appre
hensions it excites on the other are the
very worst elements which it is possible
to infuse into a time of business doubt
and industrial stagnation.
This free talk of war is but one of the
electioneering arts of the administration.
Now it is Cuba, and now it is Mexico;
to-morrow it is the school question, and
the next day it is the rebellion revived.
The policy of this administration may
be summed up in two words—third
term. But war is too serious a business.
Mr. Sumner declared that a war with
Spain would cost us five hundred millions
of dollars. Consider the destruction of
property, the additional derangement of
the currency, the dread results to busi
ness, and the longer distance it would put
between us and a final return to a condi
tion of public health and sanity. The
country rests its present hopes firmly on
the wise, restraining power of a patriotic
and firm Democratic House of Repre
sentatives.
The Radicals Organizing a Religious
Crusade.
In another column we publish a letter
from a New Jersey Radical editor to
ex-Speaker Blaine, which contains some
curious information that will not fail to
arrest public attention. It appears from
this letter that the secret Anti-Catholic
Society which constitutes the greater
part of the Reform Republican party of
Maryland, and which exercised such a
considerable influence in the Ohio elec
tion of October last, has really a national
existence, and is intended to exercise a
considerable influence in the Presidential
election. It also appears that, while the
President, who is said to be a member of
the society, may desire to use it as a
means to his re-election, there are mem
bers who are enthusiastic for Speaker
Blaine. The facts, that the President
substantially presented the aims of the
society in his Des Moines speech, and
then elaborated the points of that re
markable deliverance in his message
to Congress, and that Speaker Blaine
a short time since published a letter
which was also virtually based upon the
alleged platform of the Anti-Catholic
Society, all give plausibility to the letter
of the New Jersey editor, and make it
apparent that the Radical party will seek
next year to run the Presidential cam
paign upon religious prejudices —a course
which should be abhorrent to every true
American citizen. It would seem to be a
desperate cause which requires such anti-
Republican bolstering. We are fully jus
tified in saying that the Radical party is
endeavoring to force a re
ligious question into politics. For some
time carefully written editorials have ap
peared in the Northern and Eastern
Radical papers, intended to prepare the
way for just such utterances as the Presi
dent’s Des Moines speech and the
message and Speaker Blaine’s letter. If
the good sense and honest patriotism of
the people does not cry a halt to the in
cendiary plans of the Radical leaders,
the rapid decline of the American re
public may be dated at the inception
of the Presidential campaign of
1876. It is not pleasant to anticipate
such a result of partisan policy in the
centennial year.
THE LAND OF FLOWERS-So. 8.
Taking Leave of the Si. John’s—Up the
Ocklavrahn River—Silver Spring Land-
In*—A Cosily Sneeze—lncreased Travel
on the River.
[Special Correspondence of the Morning News.)
On Steimeb Tuskawilla, )
December 2, 1875. /
The best way to reach the Ocklawaha
river, if the tourist comes down from En
terprise, as I did, is to take the change of
steamers at Palatka. If he stops over at
Welaka, which is near the mouth of the
Ocklawaha, some thirty miles above
Palatka, he will find no good hotel ac
commodations at the landing, and the
up-boat passes at a very early hour be
fore daybreak. By making a change of
steamers at Palatka one can at once occu
py his state-room, and remain undisturbed
until breakfast time, when he will find
himself some fifteen or twenty miles up
the famous Ocklawaha river.
TAKING LEAVE OF THE ST. JOHN S.
elaka is fast becoming a noted place,
as the country back of the landing is
very desirable, and is being rapidly set
tled by Northern and Western people.
The river is quite wide at this
point, and the tourist sees
much to attract his attention. Wild
ducks are plentiful on Big Lake George,
in which the St. John’s runs, seven miles
above Welaka. This lake is eighteen
miles long and ten miles wide, and some
of the islands seen from the steamer are
quite attractive. Lake Beresford is also
a very pretty sheet of water, and after
passing through this the river becomes
quite narrow and crooked, with occa
sional long stretches of marsh on either
side. Alligators are frequently seen
in this portion of the river, and
all kinds of game can be shot
from the deck of the steamer. In
fact, I was somewhat annoyed at the
incessant firing of revolvers, rifles and
shot guns by the passengers. It became
really monotonous, and our only relief
was in the occasional cry, “There’s an
alligator,” which never failed to bring
every passenger to his or her feet in joy
ful and eager expectation of seeing a
monster. Sometimes we were disap
pointed, but frequently our hopes were
realized, and we were gratified to see an
alligator from ten to twelve feet in
length slowly slide off the bank into the
water. Small alligators and turtles of
various sizes were quite numerous all
along the shore.
I was fortunate in my trip down the
upper St. John's to be a passenger on
the “David Clark,” the largest and most
comfortable boat of the “Brock line”
now in service. The officers—Captain
R. H. Stuart, Purser J. S. Taylor, Engi
neer John Courier (an old veteran of
twenty years’ service with Captain
Brock), and Mate L. E. Hallo wes--iyere
prompt, efficient and courteous in the
discharge of the duties of their several
positions. In Captain “Dick,” as he is
familiarly called, I found a most agree
able traveling companion and guide,
and to Purser Taylor, one of
the most modest and quiet gentlemen
that ever trod the deck of a steamer, I
was under obligations for many kind fa
vors, all of which were most cheerfully
bestowed. My thanks are aho due Capt.
F. C. Sollee, the efficient general agent
of the boats at Jacksonville, for similar
kind favors. In leaving the boats of this
line at Palatka, where I took the Ockla
waha river steamer, I could truthfully
state that I had found in the officers of
every boat of the line (having traveled
on all of them) most agreeable and ac
commodating public servants; and, while
it is impossible to have such small steam
ers perfect in every respect, these gen
tlemen spared no efforts to make their
passengers comfortable and the trip
profitable and enjoyable to all.
UP THE OCKLAWAHA BIVEB.
Of the beauties and attractions of a
trip on this celebrated stream, and its
wonderful night scenes, I shall speak in
a future letter, which will be exclusively
devoted to this purpose. In the present
epistle I shall merely note the matter ol
fact scenes and incidents of the voyage,
and give some general ideas of the coun
try. Owing to the narrowness of the
river, and its extreme crookedness, only
small stern wheel steamers can run to
Silver Spring, and at the present time no
steamers are able to go up to Leesburg,
about 170 miles from Welaka. Although
small, these steamers are well fitted up
with cabiu and state-rooms, .nd every
effort is made for the comfort and con
venience of passengers. The time from
Palatka to Silver Spring is generally
from about midnight to midnight, but
the time of the return trip is somewhat
shorter. The boats leave Silver Spring
at niue o’clock in the morning and reach
Palatka before daylight the next morn
ing. The fare for the round trip, in
cluding board on the boat while at Silver
Spring, is ten dollars, which is as cheap
as could be desired. Some of our party
were on the boat from Thursday night un
til Tuesday morning, remaining aboard at
Silver Spring during Saturday and Sun
day, in the absence of good hotel accom
modations at that point. Others went
over to Ocala and spent the two days at
the excellent hotel in that place. Under
anew arrangement, to go into effect in a
few days, the boats will cease to remain
at Silver Spring a longer time than will
be required to discharge freight and re
load for return trip. This will be more
agreeable to tourists, who will have am
ple time to examine the spring and look
at its surroundings.
There are only two important landings
on the river, and at these but one or two
buildings are to be seen. Fort Brook,
some thirty-five miles from the mouth of
the river, is the landing for Orange
Spring, which is located between two
and three miles in the interior It was
there that Prof. Ochus was drowned the
present season. The peculiar forma
tion of this spring attracts many
visitors to the place, which is one
of the most delightful on the river.
The next landing, lola, is one of con
siderable importance, as it affords steam
boat facilities to the famous Orange Lake
region, about ten miles back. Of this
fine orange grove country I shall speak
in a future epist ! e, and astonish your
readers with a picture of immense wild
orange forests. Log, Eureka. Sunday
Bluff, Palmetto, Gore’s, Durisoe’s, Gra
ham’s and Delk’s landings have no at
tractions, and are used mostly by people
living in the interior. Like the St. John's,
there are no banks to the Ocklawaha. If
the shore does accidentally run up into a
little bluff or point, you are sure to see
there a house, clearing or landing, as no
water front on these rivers has escaped
the eye of the land seeker.
SILVEB SPBING LANDING.
It would puzzle a Philadelphia lawyer
to reconcile the conflicting reports of
distances in the rivers in Florida. Scarcely
two statements can be found to agree.
Captain Taylor, of this steamer, gave me
a list of distances from his official mail
book, but his list, like those in the guide
books, agrees with no other. One list
makes it 116 miles from Palatka to
Silver Spring, while another tells
you it is 129 miles. All agree,
however, that the spring is nine
miles from the Ocklawaha river. This
wonderful spring sends forth from its
huge basin at the landing an amount of
water sufficient to form quite a large
stream, and this flows down to Delk’s
landing, a distance of nine miles, where
it forms a junction with the Ocklawaha.
Owing to low water in the latter river,
above Delk - 8 landing, the steamers are
now running to Silver Spring, which is
thereby made the temporary head of river
navigation.
Silver Spring can in no sense be called
a town, although it is a very important
steamboat landing, and at times a lively
place. There is a wharf, with warehouse
on it for the storage of large quantities
of freight, one good country store, i
small whisky shop, a public house of somi
kind, and one or two dwellings. Thi
landing, store, a comfortable dwellinj
and fine banana grove, are the property
of Mrs. House, who is quite a pleasau
lady, a good business managei,
and a constant reader of tte
Mobning News. Some quarter of a mih
below, on the left bank of the stream, fe
the wharf at which the steamer Mancn
stops. At this landing is also a store aid
dwellings, and a large turpentine disti
lery. About one thousand barrels tur
pentine and four thousand barrels rosn
are shipped yearly, with quite a quantiy
of long staple cotton, and moss for mit
tresses. Oranges and bananas also de
stitute an important item of freight fm
these two points, and I feel sure that a
large trade will yet be built up there. The
country about the spring is being settled,
and from these two landings the people
will get their supplies and sell or ship
their own productions.
A COSTLY SNEEZE.
Our party was a very pleasant one, and
all seemed delighted with the clear, sil
very appearance of the water of the
spring, as we first beheld it in the early
morning sunshine. There were two gen
tlemen from Cleveland, Ohio, one from
Chicago, two from Portland, Maine: one
from Boston; J. E. Smith, Esq., of Water
bury, Connecticut: Henry Moehler, of
Boehm. Bendheim A Cos.. Savannah;
W. B. Barnett, the well known
banker, of Hiawatha, Kansas, and his
wife and son. One gentleman of the
party, who shall be nameless, was dazzled
by the sunshine and suddenly sneezed,
when, sad to relate, his upper teeth fell
into the spring. This, too, just before
breakfast. The water was clear and
transparent, and we could plainly see
them some twelve feet below the surface,
lodged on the tall grass that covered the
bottom of the spring near the wharf.
Poor man, how good-naturedly he smiled,
with half his mouth empty of teeth, as
I looked down upon them deceptively
sparkling in the water, and exclaimed
pathetically:
“Thou art so near, and yet so far.’’
As soon as the negroes heard that a
passenger had sneezed his teeth over
board, many of them who had never
seen a set of false teeth were amazed,
and rushed to the spot with eager eyes.
The generous sum of ten dollars was
offered to the negro who should suc
ceed in fishing them up. The first at -
tempt knocked them off the top of the
grass, and they quickly disappeared from
sight. Then the fun commenced. One
negro after another dived to the bottom,
and came back with his hand full of
grass and his mouth full of water, but no
teeth. So our friend went to his break
fast with a peculiarly uncomfortable feel
ing, which was repeated at dinner time,
as all efforts fed proved unsuccessful
up to that hour. As the teeth were lost
directly under my stateroom window,
and I was sitting inside busy with my
writing, I frequently put my head out
and “ bossed the job.” After clearing
the grass in a circle of ten feet, the teeth
were discovered in the dirt on the bot
tom of the spring, some fifteen feet from
the surface. Three times they were
brought up to within four feet of the
steamer, but the motion of the water car
ried them off the rake with which they
were being fished up. The fourth at
tempt, however, was successful, and it
was “as good a circus ’’ to see the ne
groes sing out to the owner, who was
just then coming down from the store,
“ Say, old feller, here’s yer teeth—cum
an’ git ’em.” It is needless to state that
he came, uIT that quickly, and cheer
fully paid the lucky negro the promised
ten dollars, remarking, “Now, I feel
like myself again.” We had a heap of
fun at his expense ; still, being a most
excellent gentleman, we not only sympa
thized with him, but worked nearly all
day to help recover his lost grinders. I
would in this connection warn people
who have false teeth to be careful how
they sneeze at Silver Spring.
INCBEABED TRAVEL ON THE BIVEB.
Few persons can realize the amount of
business which is done on this river,
although there is not a town to be seen
on its banks. And when I say river, I
mean from Silver Spring to the mouth of
the Ocklawaha. Some of the warehouses,
as at Fort Brook, lola and Silver Spring,
give evidence that there must be “a back
country”somewhere,by the large quantity
of goods in store. Orange Spring, Orange
Lake, Ocala and other places, not to
speak of the towns on the Ocklawaha be
yond where the boats now run, do all
their carrying business by this route.
Three boats have heretofore done the
work, but this season anew and ele
gantly fitted up steamer, earning the
United States mail, has been added—the
boat upon which I now write, owned by
Dr. S. J. Bauknight, a prominent mer
chant of Leesburg, and commanded by
Captain C. D. Taylor, one of the most
popular and efficient commanders in this
section of the State. Last year three
boats were crowded, and this season there
seems to be the same prospect for four.
In a future special letter I shall describe
the beauties and attractions of the trip
for pleasure seekers.
The Ocklawaha river, aside from its at
tractions for mere tourists, must be a
very important line of travel until one or
two railroads are built —one from Waldo
to Ocala and beyond, and another to some
other point not yet decided upon. At
present a very large section of Marion and
Sumter counties depend upon the
steamers on this river for
all their carrying business, which
is constantly increasing in importance as
well as quantity. Several plans are now
being discussed by which these steamers
can run all the year round to Leesburg
and that section of the Ocklawaha river.
Back from the river, from its mouth to
the fountain head, are good lands open to
free homesteads, and other lands for sale
at very low rates. New comers are almost
daily settling at different points along the
river, and while there is no excitement
made over it, a few years will show a
rapid and surprising develop
ment of the resourcts of this
section of the “Land of Flowers. I do
not refer, in this connection, to Leesburg
and Ocala, or other important portions
of Sumter or Marion counties, as I shall
speak of them in my next epistle. I can
see growth and development in the newer
country which lies along the river, satis
factory in all .respects, although it dpes
not in any degree compare with the pro
gress being made with Orange Lake and
other “garden spot” sections.
Sidney Hekbekt.
Blaine and the Presidency—An Anti-
Catholic Society.
Augusta, Me., December B.—The
Maine Standard of to-morrow will con
tain the following letter :
Office of the “Evening Chbonicle,”)
Newabk, N. J., November 6, 1875. j
Hon. J. O, Blaine:
My Deab Rib —Eighteen months ago I
told you that you could have New Jersey
in 1876. I wish now to emphasize that
statement; all the people are for you, and
we can carry the State beyond peradven
ture. Your danger is that the West will |
denounce the nomination. This can also
be averted, of course, by a union of the
New England and the Middle States and
strong votes from the South. A
potent factor in our next conven
tion will be the secret anti-Catholic
order. Grant is a member, and it has
a good deal of strength in Congress. I
think you ought to go in. It can be
arranged so that you can be initiated
anywliere by one person. The order is
spreading widely. My obligations do not
permit me to say more than this, except
that Grant no doubt relies upon it to
promote his aims. With wisdom at
Washington and in the States we have
carried we can surely hold the country,
but to hold it for a hap-hazard candidate
is hardly worth the candle. For one of a
vast mui’.iude I want to hold it for you.
Yours very truly,
(Signed) John T. Fosteb.
Mr. Foster is the editor of the Newark
Evening Chronicle.
A resident of Corbeil, in France, named
B , presented himself the other day at
tie house of M. Barthe, in Auteuil, who
had formerly been a furniture dealer, and
asked him if he remembered having
bought at an auction sale in 1867 a desk
of which R gave a particular descrip
tion, adding that if the desk still re
mained in M. Barthe’s possession he
should like to buy it at any cost, as it once
belonged to his father. M. Barthe an
swered that he still had the desk. “There
it is,” he said. “I do not care to know
your motive, nor do I wish to make a
profit out of your wish to have the desk.
If you will replace it by another, you can
have it taken away.” Two hours later it
was removed to Corbeil, and anew desk
was placed in its stead. The old desk
had a secret drawer, in which M. R
found 10,000 francs in gold, wrapped up
in paper. In looking over some old let
ters of his father a few days before, M.
R had first learned of the conceal
ment of the gold, which he was so fortu
nate in recovering.
Those who have affected to believe that
the affection of the dog was for persons
and of the cat for places have to consider
the fact that the Pawnees, who recently
left their reservation in Nebraska for one
in the Indian Territory, were unable to
induce their dogs to accompany them. It
was very reluctantly that the Indians
parted with their pets, but the dogs
would follow but a short distance and
then return to the old camp. People
from the reservation report that hundreds
of howling, yelping curs are running
around the old camping-grounds, hunting
for something to eat,
LETTER FROM JACKSONVILLE.
Jip—Considerable Sophistry and an Ah*
ward Deduction—Wheels of Justice Run
by Machinery—wrind C* a Dirge—
Harmless Thunder, bot No Lightning-
Not the Maid of Saragossa—Attitudes
and Altitudes —Oth< r flatter, Not Stolen
froui the “Morning News”—Marine.
[Special Correspondence of the Morning News.]
Jacksonville, December 9, 1875.
MOKE LUCID THAN CBTSTAL.
The splendid successes which attended
the arms of the victorious Napoleon
upon the bloody battle-fields of Jena and
Austerlitz have been elaborately ex
patiated upon by historiagraphers,
and the “ sun of Austerlitz ”
has been apostrophized in innumerable
tomes; while the wonderful strategy which
accomplished the capitulation of Mack, at
Ulm. receives barely more than a passing
mention. The surrender of the Austrian
commander was fraught with advantages
commensurate with, if not greater, than
those attained at the hazard of
battle, but it savors of peace and
is unburdened by the hurtling
of musketry and cannon, the moans of
the maimed and dying, the mangled
forms of the dead, or the inevitable con
comitants of conflict, devastation, dis
| aster, carnage and a gory sod. The
impetuosity of troops in motion and
confusion is lacking in the picture of
the Austrian General’s defeat, and,
consequently, a paragraph or two
suffices for the narration of the
achievement. The mind of the multi
tude, urged by some subtle influence,
delights in the horrible, and while good
deeds are not wholly ignored, they claim
but a small portion of our attention when
compared -to the records of sin. So,
while Lee, Jackson, Johnston, Clay, Cal
houn, Webster and a host of statesmen
in the chronicles of the future may be
consigned to some sententious sentence,
there is an agonizing probability that such'
excrescences as Archibald Kndßandall
will be voluminously discussed in the an
nals of crime. It has already been
proved that Archibald presided over his
own case, and it has been my misfortune
to unearth a proceeding of a similar
character on the part of the torvous
Chief Justice Jip. What are the benefits
to be derived from Republican institu
tions—which afford any man, even the
lowest, an opportunity of rising—if a
Chief Justice is to be debarred
fr jm adjudging his own business
in his own favor ? Let no
boot-licker of Randall’s disgorge the ep
ithet “liar” too suddenly, for on this oc
casion we have incontrovertible docu
ments —Vide 15 Fla., 355, S. Forbes Dog
gett vs. Philip Walter; appealed from
Duval Circuit Court. Appellant argued
the illegality of a certain tax levied upon
his property by appellee, as tax collector,
and prayed for an injunction. Ran
dall, C. J., decided that the order
of the lower court denying the in
junction be sustained. An examina
tion of the tax collector’s bond shows
“E. M. Randall” as one of the sureties.
Without dwelling upon the gross impro
priety of his name on the bond it will
appear that an opinion in favor of the
appellant might have rendered the tax
collector, and necessarily his bondsman,
liable in an action for damages. Hence
Jip was directly an interested party. Con
siderate Jip ! Jip, Chief Justice Jip !
BLEAK BLOWS THE BLAST.
The ephemeral monkey accompanying
Stearns’s daily organ in this city has been
presenting the cap to our citizens and
endeavoring to obtain contributions, with
a view to the maintenance of his master’s
tune. The people are rather more re
luctant than eager in responding, as they
admire neither the performances of the
master nor the antics of the monkey.
The inhabitants are so uncharitable that
they positively refuse to invest ten dol-
lßrs in any such a precarious undertak
ing. It is enough to disquiet a
saint to grind off about five
hundred daily tunes filled with
dead matter, and behold four hun
dred of them returned as unprofitable
merchandise. It portends bankruptcy,
and naturally enough the exhibitors are
in an extremely ill-humor. It will* be
worth living for to witness the mouse
colored Canadian evacuate Jacksonville
soon, with his baggage in a pill-box.
Thus the refrain on the 17th- “Jbe
News, for pecuniary interest, caters to
the taste of its readers. ” The Morning
News doe-s just as it pleases, without
consulting the wishes of any Iladical cur
in existence. The aim of the Morning
News and your correspondent, as under
stood and indorsed by every respectable
person in the State, is to prevent strangers
from being misled into the idea that the
nondescripts in authority here represent
the decency or respectability of the com
monwealth. If we mean that a man is a
blackguard and a thief he is forthwith
designated by his right name. The
Stearns faction of the Republican party
is largely made up of such material
Some attention will be paid shortly to
the biography of the assistant grinder of
Stearns’s organ.
AN INTERESTING INTERLUDE.
Polk’s Hall on Monday was the theatre
of a spectacle which Lord Dundreary
would characterize as a “wumpuss.” It
was a splendid sight to see “for one who
had no friend, no brother there.” The
impulsive female who recounts her own
deeds of valor as a belle and the
inmate of divers prisons, indulged in
a little personality, which was objected
to by a lady in the audience; whereupon
the temerarious termagant volunteered
the unexpected intelligence that she was
a woman, and also that she would not
engage in a fisticuff with one of her own
sex, but if the fair auditor would send
her husband upon the stage she, the
belle, would shiver his timbers in less
time than it would require for a dog to
wag his tail. The small number of peo
ple present retired from the premises
amidst some disorder. This incomprehen
sible specimen of feminine masculinity,
I understand, is anxious to bore a hole
through your correspondent, and inti
mates fchat if I will just swing around
her for about four minutes she will teach
me a lesson. I was never fond of swing
ing.
why don’t you fight?
A civil suit was pending before the
United States Court yesterday. Colonel
Horatio Bisbee, 'Jr., esquire, sir, arose,
and, darting a fiery glance around, very
uncivally asked that the ironclad oath
be administered to the jurors. Judge
Baker stated that he was unprepared to
enter into an agreement on the question
and that he had innocently labored under
an impression that the war had termi
nated. The elongated Bisbee, with the
instincts of a sleuth hound, mustering
an extraordinary quantity of truculence,
exclaimed, “No, sir, the war is not over.”
Here’s at you, then, Horatio —why don’t
you fight ?
RICHARD ANDERSON, CONSTABLE,
was acquiited of the charge of harboring
a criminal last week. Col. W. R. Anno
was counsel for accused, and as this is
the first instance of a Democratic
lawyer’s success in clearing a nig
ger, the result is not to be at
tributed entirely to the eloquence of
that gentleman. It was a shrewd dodge
to make the pestiferous nigger employ a
Democrat to defend him, and it was con
cocted with the intention of silencing
criticism. You can always distinguish a
vulture from a dove by the feathers on
the fence.
NEW ROUTE TO FLORIDA.
It is contemplated to establish a route
to the Land of Flowers from Savannah,
via Jesup, to Brunswick by rail, thence
by steamer to Fernandina, connecting
with Florida Railroad for Jacksonville.
The schedule will be announced through
the advertising columns of the Morning
News as soon as it goes into effect.
MAECELLUS.
“Gubner” Stearns reached this city
yesterday, and it is currently reported
that the first card received by him, after
his arrival, was that of the owner of the
building occupied by the Union , de
manding a speedy settlement of rent long
overdue.
NEW PASSENGER COACHES.
The traveling public will, rejoice to
learn that the passenger cars now in use
on the Florida Railroad will be supplant
ed about the Ist proximo by two elegant
coaches, built at Wilmington, N. C.,
especially for this road.
DIED,
on Saturday, December 4th, 1875, Jes
sie Taliaferro L’Engle, infant daughter of
Dr. Henry A. and Nannie N. L’Engle.
Our sympathies are with the bereaved
parents in their irreparable loss.
PERSONAL.
Captain D. E. Maxwell, Superintend
ent of the Atlantic, Gulf and West In
dia Transit Company’s Railroad, was in
the city to-day on business connected
with his road.
THE THIRD TERM QUESTION.
General Grant Re-nomlnated by the
Methodist Preachers—Significant Re
marks of Bishop Haven.
The Methodist preachers and the
Methodist Sunday School Union held a
joint meeting on Monday last in the
Temple Street Methodist Episcopal
Church, Boston, the Rev. L. B. Bates
presiding. After devotional exercises,
Professor William Wells, of Union Col
lege, was introduced to address the
meeting. He spoke on the subject
of '‘Bismarck and the Papacy,” re
viewing at length the train of circum
stances which led to the rupture which
exists between the German Government
and the Papacy. He declared that to the
school system of Germany more than any
other earthly thing belongs the honor of
the German success. In conclusion he
warned the people of the United States
of the danger which is threatening them
and their free institutions from the Pa
pacy.
SPEECH OF BISHOP HAVEN.
Bishop Gilbert Haven, in accordance
with an invitation extended by the
preachers’ meeting a fortnight ago, ad
dressed the audience on the condition of
the South. He said that there was one
class of people in the South who had
been recognized as a nationality by the
Pope, and they would welcome his fol
lowers to these shores; but the race freed
by the people of the North will never
strike a blow against constitutional lib
erty. Bishop Haven said that there is to
be a tremendous political battle this year,
beginning with the election of a Demo
cratic Speaker of the National House of
Represen ratives. He said that the min
isters of Boston are in the field of battle;
their words are reported, aud the South
ern papers comment on them. The ques
tion is, “ Shall the Northern people rule
the nation?” “Shall the Puritan or the
Cavalier be the ruler ?” “Shall Boston or
Charleston be the centre ?” The Hetho-
Church is the only insti
tvffllbn in lie South Ji>-<lay that repre
sents the America!! nation. I
You must, he said, stand by your
church. There are in the South nearly
300,000 members of the Methodist Epis
copal Church who know what they be
lieve just as well as the people of New
England, and better. They appreciate
liberty and those who gave it to them;
they never will be betrayers, and let the
people of the North never betray them.
The malcontents of the South know that
they were defeated by one man; that man
is President Grant, and if the people
throw him over at the command of poli
ticians they will rue it. Pray, brethren,
that President Grant may be elected.
Pray for the true people of the South,
and you will find that thus you will be
able to keep down the kindred threaten
ing powers, the slave power and the
power of the Papacy.
The Rev. Dr. Shearman, of Brooklyn,
moved that the meeting vote that they had
heard the sentiments advanced by Bishop
Haven with great pleasure and hearty
approval. This motion was unanimously
adopted. All opposed were invited to
rise, but no one person rose. There was
great applause.
WHAT IS SAID ABOUT IT.
The New York Herald, commenting on
the foregoing, says:
“Now, if Bishop Haven were a Catho
lic prelate this speech would have been
hailed throughout the country with
furious disapprobation. But the Bishop
is a prelate of the Methodist Church, of
which President Grant is an ostentatious
if not a sincere member. His church is
one of the most powerful in this country.
Vigorous in its discipline, untiring in its
energy, closely in sympathy with the
masses of our people, carrying its faith
to the frontiers and planting its churches
amid every discouragement, Methodism
represents in the Protestant religion that
missionary proselyting influence which
has given Catholicism its marvel
ous power. Nor do we underrate
the importance of a declaration in
favor of a third term by a Bishop of the
Methodist Episcopal Church. It shows
that President Grant, when he made his
extraordinary speech at Des Moines knew
the sentiment to which he appealed. But
we look upon this declaration of the
Bishop as deplorable from every point of
view. It is a reflection upon his religion
and an interference in our politics that
we are sure will be resented by the
Methodists themselves. If he supposes
that Methodists will, as a general thing,
submit to be told by a clergyman, even
if he is a Bishop, whose duty it is to win
souls to Christ, that they must vote one
way or another, their sense of indepen
dence will iebel. The declaration of
Bishop Haven in favor of a third term
will give new color to the intrigues which
have been on foot for some time in favor
of a third term.”
The New York Sun remarks :
“Suppose a Roman Catholic Congress,
incited thereto by Cardinal McCloskey,
should pass resolutions advising the elec
tion to the Presidency of Tilden or
Thurman or anybody else, what a howl
there would be throughout the country.
All good Protestants would despair of
the State unless they banded themselves
together to destroy the Papist. Yet here
a Bishop of the more powerful Methodist
communion, supported by two hundred
of its ministers, urges the re-election of
Grant! We know of nothing in the his
tory of our religious bodies, Roman
Catholic or Protestant, that compares
with the action of the Methodist Sabbath
School Union at Boston in impertinence
and presumption. We are sure it will re
ceive general rebuke from the great
denomination it misrepresented.”
The Present Cotton Crop.
As usual at this period of the season,
there is great diversity of opinion
Amongst those in the cotton trade with
regard to the extent of the incoming
crop.
In New York estimates which do not
exceed 4,250,000 bales are considered as
moderate, while very many estimates are
as high as 4,500,000.
Now, we take it for granted that a
sensible estimate on any matter must be
based on some known and reliable data;
otherwise it is but mere guess-work,
based upon reports, reliable and unre
liable.
It is difficult to conceive the possibility
of the present cotton crop exceeding
four million bales, if we make an estimate
of the quantity, which under the most
favorable circumstances could be pro
duced in accordance with results hereto
fore determined.
On examining the results of the three
large crop years since the war, taken
from the reports of the Agricultural Bu
reau at Washington, we find them to be
as follows:
Year Bales. Acreage.
1873-4 4,170,388 9,659,416
1872-3 3,930,508 8,694,071
IS7O-1 4,351,317 8,885,545
Total 12,453,213 27,239,042
The acreage for the incoming crop of
cotton is 8,755,461. Now, if 27,239,042
acres give 12,453,213 bales, the acreage
for the present crop may give 3,874,308,
under conditions equally as favorable in
the average as the conditions in those
years wherein the large orops as above
stated were produced.
It will be readily admitted by all par
ties in thejsotton trade that large crops
cannot be’ produced without the exist
ence of very favorable conditions during
the time of growth and the picking sea
son. Therefore any crop giving results
equal to the actual average, as above,
must have been produced under very fa
vorable conditions during the growth of
the plant, attended with fine weather
during the season of picking.
Allowing that the bureau returns of
acreage are not exactly correct, we still
must admit that the average thereby
would not be seriously affected.
General opinion in regard to the crop
amounts to nothing unless derived from
some accurately known basis. The gene
ral opinion last year about this time esti
mated the crop at 4,250,000. In New
York many in the cotton trade put the
figures at 4,500,000 bales. The result
proved that the crop was under 3,850,000
bales, and it also proved that the Agri
cultural Bureau estimate was correct.
Admitting that the present season has
been favorable to the maturing of the
cotton bolls of the second picking, we
must not forget the effects of the heavy
spring rains, the floods and frost upon
the cotton plant during the fall weather.
Viewing together the advantages and dis
advantages to which the present cotton
crop has been subject, and estimating it
in accordance with known results, we
cannot see the possibility of it exceeding
four million bales. —2V. O. Picayune, Bth.
Speaking of Mr. Beecher, an exchange
says: “Attrition will wear away cheek as
i well as stone.”
TELEGRAPHIC NEWS.
Mammary of the Week’s Dispatches
THE BABCOCK BUSINESS.
Chicago, December 10.—The Babcock
court of inquiry met. General Hancock
read the following: “A Beuse of duty to the
laws of the military service and the accused
compel me to ask a concurrence in a post
ponement of this inquiry for the present.
We are all bound to believe in the entire
innocence of Colonel Babcock, and this pre
sumption cannot be repelled without clear
evidence. It is due him to suppose that
this court was asked in good faith for
reasons given. What were those reasons ?
In the course of a legal trial in St.Louis.Col.
Babcock was alleged guilty of a high crimi
nal offense. He asked a hearing in the same
court, but was informed that he could not
have it, because the evidence was closed.
These circumstances led him to demand a
court of inquiry as the only means of vin
dication left. Since then he' has been for
mally indicted, and is now certain of get*
ting'a full aud fair trial before an impartial
jury, which the laws of the country guaran
tee to all its citizens, and the supposed ne
cessity for convening a military court for the
determination of his guilt or' iuuocence no
louger exists. It is believed that our action
as a military tribunal cannot oust the juris
diction of the court while the indictment is
pending. The President has said, through
the Attorney General, that such wag not the
intention. Then the trial at St. Louis and
this inquiry must go on at the same time,
unless we await the result. TANARUS! eu the difficul
ties are formidable. The accused must Do
present at trial on indictment. Shall we
proceed and hear the cause behind his
back, or shall we vex him with two trials at
once? The injustice of this is manifest. I
presume from the nature of the case that evi
dence is very voluminous, consisting of rec
ords,papers and oral testimony. Can we com
pel the production of these while they are
wanted for purposes of trial at' St.
Louis? Certainly not, if the military be,
as the Constitution declares, subordinate
to the civil authorities. Shall we proceed
without evidence and give an opinion iu ig
norance of facts ? That cannot be the wisp
of anybody. I take it fort granted that the
trial at St. Louis will be fair as well as legal,
and tnat the judgment wtjl be according to
truth and justice. Of coirse it will, with
out question, be binding and conclusive up
on us, upon the governmeu., the accused, aud
upon ail the world. If he simld be convicted,
No decision of oors could of
the hands of the law. Ji acquitted, our
belief in his innocence wilT be or no oonse
qnenoe. If we anticipate his trial in a civil
court our judgment, whether for the accused
or against him, will have and ought to have
no effect upon the jurors. It cannot even bo
made known to thorn, and any attempt to
influence them by it would justly be regarded
as an obstruction of public justioe. On the
other hand, his conviction there would
be conclusive evidence of his guilt, and
his acquittal will relieve him from the
uecessny of showing anything but his record.
I do not propose to postpone indefinitely,
but simply to adjourn from day to day till
the evidence upon the subject of our in
quiry shall receive definite and conclusive
shape, which will be impressed upon it by a
verdict of the jury, or until our action,
having been referred to the War Depart-
ment, with our opinion that our proceedings
should be stayed during the proceedings of
a court of law, shall have been confirmed.
In case of an acquittal by the civil court,
the functions of this court will not neces
sarily have terminated. The accused may
be pronounced innocent of the crime
against the statute, and yet be guilty of
some act which the military law might
punish by expulsion lrom the army. In
case.of an acquittal,, he may insist upon
showing to us that he has done uothius in
consistent with the conduct of an officer
and a gentleman, as the article of war runs,
but the great and important question is 1
guilty or not, in manner and form, as ho
stands indicted ? And this can bo
legally answered only by a jury
of his countrymen. The Judge-Advocate
then said, in substance, that the court had
been fully organized. He had received a
communication from Mr. Babcock, which
he submitted to court. This communication
requested the court to adjourn for the pres
ent in order to admit of his appearing
in St. Louis, to answer there the charges
made against him by the St. Louis grand
jury.” In view of this communication, the
Judgo-Advocate suggested that the trial bo
postponed for the present, and that the
court communicate to President Graut
the state of the case, with a view
that the court might adjourn to
meet again at the call of the President. The
court room was then cleared lor consulta
tion. On reopening the doors, it was an
nounced that the court would adjourn from
day to day until its action had been commu
nicated to the War Department, and an ad
journment waß announced till noon to-mor
row.
BABCOCK AND GRANT.
St. Louis, December 10.—The grand jury
presented three new indictments, including
one against Gen. Babcock, for whom the
officers have gone to Chicago. Mr. Ha-ri
son, replying to Pierrepont’s rebuke, says
that he stands by his speech, and has no
apologies to make. ..r
New York, December 10.—A Times spe
cial from St. Louis says : Tin indictment
against General Babcock was found, by a
vote of 18 to 1, in favor of a true bill. The
charge contaiued in the indictment is con
spiracy to defraud the Treasury of the Uni
ted States. The grand jury, before adjourn
ing, sent letters to ex-Marshtl Newcomb
and District Attorney Patrick, laying that,
although the charges had boeu against thorn
of conspiracy to defraud the government, a
full and exhaustive investigation had failed
to convince the jury of their guilt.
oh, bah I
Washington, D. C., December 10 Hon.
I). I‘. Dyer, United Stales Attorney, St.
Louis: The sworn report of lir. Hender
son’s speech, forwarded by Mr. Eaton and
referred to by both you and Mr. Henderson
in your dispatches of yesterday as a oorrect
report, was read in a full cabinet to-day,
and regarded by ever mombor as an out
rage upon professional propriety thus to re
flect, without a shadow of reason, upon the
President, by whom his employment
by this department was sanctioned, and
in order that no impediment might be
placed in the way of bringing to speedy
punishment every defrauder of the revenue
at St. Louis, you will advise Gen. Hender
son of his discharge from further service,
and secure in his place the most able and
efficient counsel you can find, without regard
to his politics.
(Signed) Edward Pierrepont,
Attorney General.
CROP REPORT.
Memphis, December 10.— The crop report
of the Memphis Cotton Exchange’for No
vember gives the following summary for the
district composed of West Tennessee, North
Mississippi, North Arkansas, and North
Alabama, received from ninety-four re
sponses : “The committee report that cotton
picking closed last year December 7, while
this year on December 1 we have reported
yet in field 35 per cent., and to this date
the weather is so unsettled that there
has been little if any picked during the
past week. Labor last year at this
date was reported efficient, and by this
report 50 per cent, is reported discouraged
and indifferent to saving the outstanding
crop. Our September report estimated 21
per cent, increase over last year. Our Octo
ber report reduced the increase to 16 per
cent.; and this report brings the estimate
down to 1 per cent, ’ess than last year.
BLACKMAIL.
Boston, December 11.—A remarkable at
tempt to blackmail P. Geldowsky, one of
the largest furniture dealers here, has cul
minated in the exposure of the plot and ar
rest of Ezra 8. Goodwin, a private detec
tive, and chief conspirator. Goodwin in
duced a former employe of Geldowsky to
swear that the latter hired him .o set fire to
bis (Geldowsky’s) factory in 1871, in order to
defraud the insurance companies. Goodwin
claimed to represent the companies and,
armed with a false affidavit, demanded
$42,000 of Geldowsky, or exposure and ar
rest. The latter secured the services of de
tectives and, ostensibly agreeing to pay a
portion of the blackmail, entrapped Good
wid in a room in a hotel, where he was ar
rested. He is now in jail in default of
$5,000 bail. William Fogg, who made the
false affidavit, is also arrested. He came
from Florida in order to carry out the
scheme.
grant’s message.
New York, December 12.—A London
special to the Herald says the message of
President Grant hag been chiefly influential
in determining the purposes of the govern
ment concerning the complications in Cuba.
It has outwardly removed the existing sus
picion that trouble was impending. It has
also relieved American bonds from a pressure
and a heaviness that was felt by those who
are engaged in their manipulation. It may
be added, however, that these se
curities are still feverishly held,
because of the suggestions of the
President concerning the school question,
and the opening of the new political issues.
On the whole, the message has been well
received and especially that portion of it
which treats of the finances of the govern
ment and the possibility that at a not dis
tant day the currency of the country will
be reduced to a basis that will correspond
with that of other specie paying communi
ties.
EXPLOSION OF A LOCOMOTIVE.
Macon, Ga., December 10. — An engine on
the Macon and Brunswick Railroad exploded
this morning, killing the engineer, George
Horning, instantly. A baggage car was
wrecked. There was a number of Florida
tourists on the train, but none were hurt.
A LEOPARD LOOSE.
Philadelphia, December 10.—A leopard,
shipped from New York by the Clyde barge
Chesapeake, escaped from the cage, and
holds undisputed possession of the hold of
the vessel. The efforts to capture the beast
are unavailing.
THE GRAIN TRADE.
London, December 13.—The Mark Lane
Express in its review of the trade for the
week says : The market in the French prov
inces is improving, while the tone in Paris
is quiet and steady. The Belgian, Dutch,
German and Russian markets are steady.
FROM ATLANTA.
Atlanta, December 11.—At dark Ed a
wards, of West, Edwards 4 Cos., delivered
up the books, assets, etc., to a receiver, dfl
der an order frpm Judge Hopkins, of jB
Superior Court,
OONOBESBIONAL.
Washington December 13—In the Sen
ate; Davis, of West Virginia, submitted a
resolution citing the law requiring the re
ports to be made to Congress annually of
riefeD 8 lnde ,k ted to tha government, list of
defaulters, the amount of defalcation etc
and calling upon the Secretary of the
ury to inform the Benate why such reports
have not been made. The Republicans
fought hard against immediate action.
Sherman moved its reference to the Com
mittee of Finance. The Democrats return
ed several such resolutions buried there
already. It was finally postponed to to-mor
row, ou motion of Conover.
The views of the Secretary were asked on
the importance, practicability and probable
cost of improving the channel entrance to
Cumberland Sonnd, Florida.
Mr. Merriman, of North Carolina, intro
duced a bill to repeat section 4716 of the
revised statutes which forbids the payment
of certain pensions. Referred to the Com
mittee on Pensions.
To repeal so much of section 3480 of the
revised statutes as forbids the paymont of
accounts, claims and demands therein
named, and all laws and clauses of laws for
bidding the paym-nt thereof. Referred to
the Committee on the Judiciary. The bill
refers to claims or demands against the
United States which accrued or exiated
prior to the 13th day of April
1801, in favor of any ‘ person who
promoted, encouraged, or in any manner
sustained the late rebellion. It further
authorizes the settlement of such claims
and appropriates *400,000 for that purpose’.
After an executive session, the Senate ad
journed.
Confirmations: Pratt, as Commissioner of
Internal Revenue; Tobey, Postmaster at
Boston; Duell, Comm ssioner of Patents •
Emery, Governor of Utah; Goddard, Post
master at Portland, Me.
Nominations: R. M. Arrell, Postmaster at
Fayetteville, N. C.; Sam G. Bradwell, Yazoo
City, Miss.; D. McAdoo, Marshall, Texas;
F. White, Collector of Customs at St. Mark*
Fla. ’
In the House tho appointments are: Olnef
Clerk, Green Adams, of Kentucky; Wm. Q,
Reeves, of Texas, Librarian.
Broadhead's commission as successor to
Henderson, was forwarded to St. Louis.
COLORED BIOT IN MISSISSIPPI.
Vicksburg, December 11.—A riot is re
ported at Rolling Fork, thirty-fivo miles
above here, gi owing out of an attempt by
the negroes to rescue one who was arrested.
Seven n-grocs, including two of their
leaders, were killed.
Mwurniajlt'ceinber ll.—Tko nf
the riot at itollmg Fork, Issauguona county,
Mississippi, on Saturday night, November
27, is as follows: A party of negroes
assembled at tho village and were drinking
and carousing, when one of them pushed
against a youth whom ho mot on tho street,
using rough language at the same time.
The youth drew a knife and inflicted
a scalp wound ou the negro and
then fled for safety. The negro
oecame very much exasperated and avowed
vengeance. To prevent this a warrant was
obtained for the arrest of tho youth,
charging him with assault with intent to
kill, but before it could be served, the
negroes broke into the store and beat the
lad severely with an iron bar. Finally, one
of the party shot the boy in the thigh. At
the report of pistols the negroes
ran, hut the whites had begun to as
semble, aud fearing a general riot,
pursued and captured ten of
them, put them in the station houso, and
placed a guard over them. During the
night one of the guard not upon duty came
out on the porch with a gun ou his Bhoul
der, and was ordered away by the sentinel
on duty. As lie turned liis gun, which was
cocked, struck against the window, and
was discharged. The negro | risonors,
thinking that they were being firefl upon,
stampeded, and tl>e guard opened up an
indiscriminate firing, wounding two of
their own number and two negroes, all
slightly, but the prisoners escaped.
On Sunday tho most intense excitement pre
vailed there, as it was learned that Noah
Parker and Arthur Brooks, two notorious
negrocß.woro trying to organizo the negrodl
for au assault on the place, and the white!*
were organized under Rev. Mr. Ball, a Bap
tist minister, who arrested Brooks and
Parker, aud in tho attempt to rescue them
tho rencounter reported last night oc
curred.
grant and the whisky frauds.
St. Louis, December 13.—Mr. Glover
stated tf> a friend that he was unwilling to
succeed Gen. Henderson under the restraints
imposed by Pierrepont’s telegram removing
Gen. Henderson; that he considered an ac
ceptance equivalent to an endorsement of
Grant's right to relieve any one engaged on
the prosecution for the slightest criticism
upon the conduct of the President or bia
Cabinet; in short, that ho regarded an ac
ceptance under the circumstancos as a con
cession of certain privileges which not only
every attorney, but every man, feels himself
entitled to in this country.
FROM ATLANTA.
Atlanta, December 13.—Hon. George H.
Pendleton was serenaded to-night, and
made an eloquent r' SDcnso. General Gar
trell’g nomination ot -irdleton for Presi
dent was received with applause.
The creditors of West, Edwards 4 Cos. to
day accepted a proposition to settle by a
compromise at fifty cents on tho dollar.
A COLOSSAL SWINDLE.
What the Union l’ncific ltnllroad Costs
the Government.
[Prom the New York Herald, Dec. B.]
The recent decision of the Supreme
Court that the Pacific Railroad is not
bound to pay interest on the bonds issued
to it by the government until the prin
cipal of the bonds shall have matured,
enables the country to see what kind of a
bargain was made with that rapacious
corporation. The enormity of the
swindle will appear on the application of
a little arithmetic. Had the road been
required to pay the interest on the
bonds semi-annually, as the government
pays it to the holders of the bonds,
there would have been a saving to the
national treasury, in the course of the
thirty years, of about two hundred mil
lion dollars. This is a stupendous sum,
but any person competent to compute
the interest will say that it is not an ex
aggeration. If the interest were paid
regularly the government could employ
it in such a manner as to get six per cent,
on its constantly accumulating amount,
and at the end of the thirty years the
compound interest on the accruing in
terest of the bonds would have risen to
two hundred million dollars. We insert
from the official debt statement for the
first of the present month the account of
the Treasury with the Pacific Railroads,
as it stood at that date :
Principal outstanding $64,623,812 00
Inter st accrued and not yet paid.. 1,615,887 00
Interest paid by United States 28,202,807 00
Interest repaid by transportation of
mails, etc 6,575,854 00
Balance of interest paid by the
United States 21,626,953 00
From the data here furnished we oan
easily compute the cost of these roads to
the government at the expiration of the
thirty years in 1894. About two hun
dred million dollars of the money retained
by the government for transportation will
have to be paid back under the recent de
cision, reducing it to about four and a
half millions ; but we will lay that out of
the account for the present. The genera*
account now stands as follows:
Pri cipal ofjtbe bonds $64,623,5i" w *
Accrued ii.t rest not paid 1.615,587 00
Balance of interes. paid; by Uuited
States 21,626,953 00
Now due the government $97,866,082 00
The simple interest on the principal for
the eighteen remaining years will amount
to $09,781,380, making the indebtedness
of the road to the government in 1894
$157,G>57,431. No rational creature can
suppose that the road will discharge this
colossal debt when it matures. In that
event what will the government do ? It
has a second mortgage on the road, and
can take possession of it by paying the
first mortgage, which amounts to $59,-
119,000. The cost of the road to the
government will, therefore, be :
Present indebtedness $87,866,052
Interest for eighteen years 69,971,380
First mortgage 59,119,000
Total $216,956,432
To this sum must be added the $200,-
000,000 which the government will have
lost in compound interest, making the
actual cost of the road to the government,
if it should take possession of it in 1894,
the stupendous sum of $416,956,432, or
$231,542 per mile, which is more than
four times what it could have honestly
cost to build it. We do not deduct the
small abatement for transportation, be
cause there is a set-off which greatly
exceeds it. We refer to the land grants,
amounting to 12,800 acres to the mile.
The government mortgage does not in
clude these, but only the road and its
equipments. The foregoing statement
of facts proves that the Pacific Railroad is
the most gigantic swindle ever perpe
trated in the history of the world.
A laborer in one of the manufacturing
districts of England recently offered his
wife for sale to the highest bidder. She
was sold to a young man for the sum of
fourpence, and the matter was duly set
tled in a written agreement, signed by
attesting witnesses. The woman, who is
thirty years old, persists in oarrying out
the contract.
The
ado;.; ;