Newspaper Page Text
fawmwrti Weekly flew
SATURDAY, KKI'EMBKK ‘AS. 1575.
AGENTS OF THE MORNISo SEWS.
The following ARent* ere authorized to receive
subscription* in their respective locmlltiei for
the Mormno New*:
tJKOItGIA.
BAVDWUTIIXK—E. A. Sullivan.
Monv*N— K. M liinh.
Bartow -Uvotx 1 ' C. Brown.
leu 'wvii.i.r. -Roberta A Boyd.
PtenvV Mia, Tattnali. C0.— .1. W. Jiasap.
Qt iTHAW—II. 11. Kayton.K. M. Griffin.
ATTArrul'i*—b. 11. Peacock.
Blackkiieah— M. C. Wade.
Bknoai.—Wil iam Iloiloway.
Hewarh— Win. K. Gray.
Olyattvti.i.e—.l. M. Clyatt.
KimVTi.u-W. N. McDonald.
Ta viajr a < reek—Dr. M. D. Moody.
Htatekviu.* —U. M. Eiiflinh, Jr.
St. Mary'* —John Beaactit.
Mn>ii.aß<>raiv— P. A. Bryin.
f>i m/k.kme—.John 11. Stephen*.
Hohok*!—l B. McKinnon.
GtEvnon*—J. M. John*.
Mnsßoa—W. 11. Goodwin.
St'Hi>riKi.i—Amoa Y. Kahn.
Watc*'*" —J. W. Hii{hamith.
TnoiTAaviu.i—W. C. Carton, Mine A. E. Mc-
Clellan.
Karnii.b—A. Crosby.
Garoi—Robert -I. Smith.
Scaievsv— C. C. Grace.
Ciliut-F. P. Burtz.
Ooeechke—J. R. Cooper.
B*ikbruhe—W. J. Bruton.
Bo*ton—J. Nevln* < 'arson.
DaKlE.v—lt. W. Grubb.
FLORIDA.
Manatee—,l. C. Vanderipe.
Wei.boun—A. W. McLeran.
Houston —■•I. P. Morgan.
Brookhviu.e—T. 8. (toogler.
Eu-aviu.e—B. T. Leek.
Lake Kita< e— James Hull.
Fort Makion —8. M. Owen*.
Hart s Road—B. .1. Farmer.
Shady Grove—T. B. Hendry.
Perrv—James A. Hodge.
Oakwooo—Cha*. Hutchinson.
Lawtet—T. J. Barrin.
Vernon—J. K. Skipper.
Walini-Samuel J. Kennard.
WacAsaci—A. J. Weeks.
Wuiti SruiNua—B. W. Ailama.
Hattan viu.B— K. L. Sparkman,
Monticello—Tboi. Siinmona.
Madison—John Hart.
*, Ja< aaoNviixs—Thoa. A. Britt, i'iiillip-WalAt*r,
KtsWltutn
iliisEsviut —M. E. Papy.
Lake Benton—lt. F. York.
Biuck Yard—J. V. Brain.
SOUTH ( AHOI.INS.
Beaceort—U. B. Lawton.
Farm Branch—John D. Handera.
Allendale —Harley A Cos.
C* r Any agent whoae name la omitted will
please notify us.
Jtiahop Haven Only Wauls to Pray lor
(•rant’s lie-election.
That mouthing, meddlesome, menda
cions old njonornaniac, “Gil. Haven,"
writeaft long letter to the New York Tri-
Imne, in which he endeavors with character
istic cunning and duplicity to shirk the re
Hponmbility of his recent political faux
f>aux in nominating Grant for a third
term. He denies that ho formally norni
nated Grant at the Boston meeting, or
that he endeavored to commit the min
isters of the Mothodist church, of which
it was composted, to the support of the
third term movement. He did make a
little speech, in which he eulogized “the
great soldier who saved the country,”
and he called upon all good Methodists
to “pray for the re-election of President
Grant," to which they responded,
“Amen.” Ho save:
This is tho head and front and llank
and rear of my offending. Nor is this
> an offouse. Prayer carried our country
into and through the great struggle a
century ago. Prayer carried us into and
through tho greater Htrugglo.a decade ngo.
Prayer must carry us through the strug
gles yet before us. Prayer is the
Christian's especial privilege, the minis
ter’s especial duty. I have prayed many
a time in my pulpit for previous Presi
dents, even for their election, and at
tended prayer meetings for that purpose.
Ho have thousands of ministers. If any
body of Christians chooses to pray for
the renomination and re-election of tho
President, I don’t see what busmens tho
root of tho world has to meddle with it.
Wo withdraw to a place and a communion
tho outside world does not care or dare
to outer, and where reporters are ex
cluded, even if present.
This version of tho affair differs vory
materially from that of the reporter# "l
the press and of many MetL^flHK[ Jn '
are wqjl iutujp'a* -i
place at t&i Hasten meeting, and who
denounce the action of Bishop Qaveu as
an impertinent and mischievous intrusion
of politics whero such subjects are out of
place.
If Bishop Haven only wants to pray,
and cannot find sufficient employment in
praying for tho purdon of his own sins
and the spiritual welfare of tho flock on
trusted to his care, why let him pray.
Wo are taught that only “the prayers of
the righteous aval loth much.” Therefore
there is no reason why evon those who
drotul such a calamity as another term of
-~’'ttadioal misrule under Grant, should
objeot to Bishop Haven’s employing his
time In praying for his ro-uominatiou.
What all good men do object to is his
attempt to drag politics into the pulpit
nud to inaugurate n religious crusade.
Negro- Radical Reform in South Car
oliua.
Chamberlain, the carpet-bag Governor
oH-fouth Carolina, has of late made many
professions of retrenchment and reform,
until some of tho white tax payers of
that unhappy State had begun to believe
that ho was sincere. They havo now an
example of his hypocrisy. A few days
since the Lower House of the Legislature,
a body which Chamberlain controls,
rushed through the “supply bill,” voting
a total tax of if 2,380,0(H), exclusive of cap
itation tax, township school taxes and
corporation taxes. This is upon a
property basis, be it remembered,
of no more than if 174,(HR),000, and
is quite equal to the worst years of
Governor Robert K. Scott's carpet-bag
regime. To show how burdensome and
unnecessary this is, it is only necessary
to adduce the fact that for the five years
1850-55, when the taxable basis was
$490,000,000, or three times as great as
at present, and two-thiols of the taxes
were laid upon slaves, the U>tal taxation
far fir* years was only $2,057,101, or
. .1f2J9,000 less than for one year under
Ohambcrlaiu's reform government. In
other words, the taxes of South Carolina
in 1875 are more than fifteen times as
great as they were in 1855.
If Bishop Haven likes notoriety he
must be the happiest man in America
to-day. It is difficult to tell whether the
Methodist or the administration journals
are the most provoked with him. The
third term advocates, however, are in a
state of mind bordering on desperation.
The ardent Bishop has seriously endan
gered their prospects by giving it so
strong a sectarian aspect, and has pulled
the third term spook from its grave at a
most inopportune moment, since that
reappearance gives color to the suspicion
that the President's message was a direct
bid for a renomination. There, are a
great many excellent people in the coun
try who would have been able to recon
cile themselves to almost any effective
dispensation whereby Bishop Haven’s
tongue should hare been tied forever,
rather than have had it wag so loosely
on that fatal day in Boston.
There is, says the Norfolk Virginian,
no likelihood that the constitutional
amendments proposed by General Grant
will ever make a practical issue. Tho
constitution requires a two-thirds vote of
Congress to propose constitutional
and that they .shall before
adoption receive the consent of thxee
fourtks of the States. The Republican
party has only p majority —not three
fourths of the United States Senate,
while the Democrats control a majority
of the States, and the lower House of
Congress. The “new departure” of the
Republican party is simply a device for
the Presidential election, and will be for
gotten when it shall Lave served its tem-
Mjferary purpose.
The Northern Methodist Church.
We are glad to say that there is a broad
line of distinction between the Methodist
Church North and the Methodist Church
South. The one, fired by fanaticism,
was the leader in the relentless war
against slavery. It forgot its mission as
the propagator of the Gospel to embark
as a fierce crusader in the worldly inter
ests of a political party.
The other, true to its principles, re
mained steadfast to the banners of re
ligion, its sincere and devoted ministry
! preaching the Gospel of peace. The
Northern branch furiously fanned the
flame of hate, and urged on their sections
to the extermination. The other quietly
pursued its holy work and kept out of the
arena of politics. Between the two there
was deadly antagonism, and they parted,
never more to unite, if the recent de
monstration at Boston is the voice of the
Northern church. For how is recon
ciliation possible when these ministers--
two hundred of them -proclaim undying
hate to the South, when they almost defy
Grant as the destroyer of slavery and
hold his continuance in power as es
sential to the national safety.
From such bigotry as this, anew and
dreadful danger looms up. 80 far in the
career of the country, the religious ele
ment has not loomed up. Sectarian in
fluences have not openly ventured to
direct political action. If the Methodist
Church North, rich, powerful and influ
ential, presuming upon its power, en
gages in the direction of the political
affairs of the country, it is safe to say
that other denominations, only a little
less rich, powerful and influential, will
have a word to say, and then may arise
that most calamitous of all strife, a reli
gious war.
Grant himself, by the introduction in
his message of questions connected with
religion, panders to this pretension of the
Northern Methodists and aggravates the
danger. His nomination by Bishop Ha
ven for the third term, and its unani
mous endorsement, taken in connection
with the message, has mueh the appear
ance of concert between the parties.
We believe that the Southern Metho
dist Church is too earnestly engaged in
its legitimate work to meditate upon
such extraneous and dangerous questions.
We believe they will be among the first
to denounce such departure from relig
ious propriety, and to rebuke those who,
in taking so positive a political stand,
convey an implied threat to all other de
nominations, and endanger the harmony
which ought to exist among all Christian
sects. —llaleigh News.
The Nov Yoik Herald’s Sagacious
Remedy lor Cwsarism.
Tho New York Herald has hit upon a
novel plan for escaping the dangers of
Ciesarism. The editor says :
“ The danger of the third term arises
wholly from the tendency of the enemies
of Gen. Grant to make the war against
Ciesarism a personal war upon him. Such
a war will end as it ended in 1872. The
friends of Gen. Grant whose ambition
leads them to hope for his continuance in
power have striven in every way to re
awaken this feeling which was so success
fully evoked four years ago. The ten
dency of the Democratic party to fly into a
passion, to do unwise and injudicious
things, is so marked, even in the
House, that already political critics speak
of the restoration of the Bourbons. The
way 10 destroy this impression is for Re
publicans to accept Mi. Randall’s amend
ment to the constitution as closing the
whole question of Cfesarism, and for the
Democrats to pass the amendment in suc.ki
a form that it will extend Gqjm*
term for two more yea** wor ds,
let the aqienan: ic yi', 80 that
Grant will Holdover until 1878.
Jy\,eu cfc ' .'ward the tenure of the office
w years and one term.
Could any proposition be mere pre
posterously absurd, or convey a greater
reflection on the intelligence and patriot
ism of Congress and the American peo
ple ? If Congress can, by an amend
ment of the Constitution, extend Presi
dent Grant’s present term two years it
can extend it for twenty years. If
the proposition was not so utterly
ridiculous it might bo called revo
lutionary. It suggests a degree
of truckling servility to Grant that
by any other American President
would be regarded with disgust. The
Herald seems to consider its plan as a
wonderful achievement of statesmanship
and ventilates it in half a dozen editorials
in the same issue. We will suggest an
amendment to the Herald's plan. It pro
poses to get rid of Caisarism by a com
promise with Grant. By our plan, which
is equally constitutional and statesman
like, tho country will escape the danger
of Caisarisni and get rid of Grant
at the same time. Instead of prolonging
his term two years, thus inflicting two
years more of misrule, extravagance,
corruption and outrage upon the coun
try, let Congress pass a resolution ten
dering to Gen. Grant one or two mil
lions of dollars, and a general amnesty to
the banditti by whom he is surrounded,
on condition that he will abandon his
third term aspirations and join his friend
Steinberger in his Vice Royalty of Sa
moa.
Progress of the Cuban Rebellion.
The report of the operations of the
Cuban insurgents since last January, re
cently received by the Cuban agent in
New York, is of special interest, when
considered in connection with the stress
laid on Cuban affairs in the President’s
message. The patriots have been most
successful in the Eastern Department,
and all the enemy has been able to do has
been to protect the plantations at Guan
tanamo and Santiago de Cuba. Thirty
nine plantations were burned and three
hundred and fifty Spanish volunteers de
serted to the ranks of the patriots.
Many encounters have taken place
between the Spaniards and the
Cubans in the large territory be
tween La Trocha del Picano and the dis
trict of Colon. Since the latter part of
July there have been fought eighty-seven
battles, so-called, which resulted in the
burning of nine sugar plantations and
thirty-one settlements by the insurgents,
and the capture of a large number of
rifles and horses. Their losses amounted
to twenty-one killed and thirty-five
wounded, which certainly shows a grati
fying absence of bloodshed in the warfare
conducted. It is charged against the
Spaniards that they have organized bands
of guerillas to attack small Cuban villages
and kill all the men and boys above the
age of ten, but this should probably be
taken with qualifications.
Our Wreck Register.— Congress last
year established by law a system of gath
ering, through the Collectors of Cus
toms, statistics of wrecks, and the first
report under this system has just been
made, giving the returns for the last
fiscal year. Every wreck in American
waters is recorded, whether occurring to
foreign vessels or to our own, and the
State Department sends the reports of
the disasters happening to foreign ves
sels to their respective governments.
Disasters to American vessels at sea are
also recorded. It appears that during
the year the number of disasters was
1,587, of which were total losses.
There were altogether 888 lives lost by
these disasters, whilst the value of prop
erty lost was over ten millions of dollars.
The disasters at sea and along the foasts
are two-thirds of the whole, and the
number of disasters on the lakes exceed
those on the inland rivers.
Who Is Responsible for the Dismiss*!
of Henderson I
Bull-headed and thick-skinned as he is,
Grant is evidently chagrined at his ridi
culous bluunder in dismissing ex-Senator
Henderson from his position as assistant
counsel of the government in the prose
cutionof the St. Louis whisky ring frauds.
He is very anxious that the responsibility
of the removal of a fearless and faithful
attorney shall be shared by the members
of his Cabinet, and the most persistent
efforts have been made by his organs and
by \V asbington letter writers to im
press the public with tho belief
that the step was advised or
approved by every member of the Cabi
net, including Secretary Bristow. Espe
cial pains have been taken to create the
imj ression that the latter gentlemen most
heartily approved the dismissal of Mr.
Henderson. There are, however, contra
dictory statements in regard to that
matter. While the abjeef severity of
the Cabinet is generally conceded, it
i3 asserted that Secretary Bristow
opposed the step, and only yielded his
assent as the last means of preventing a
Cabinet rupture. Senator Morton is
credited in a St. Louis dispatch with this
version of the affair, which is perhaps
more near the truth than he of the ‘ ‘bloody
shirt” generally gets in a statement of
facts. According to Senator Morton,
“when the Cabinet met President Grant
stated that so far as Mr. Henderson’s de
nunciation of him was concerned he did
not care to say anything, and wished to
leave the Cabinet members uninfluenced
by his opinions or prejudices. All the
Cabinet
decided that Henderson must be
discharged. Mr. Bristow arose and
said that he was opposed to
the dismissal of such a valuable counsel
lor. Gen. Grant quickly arose from his
seat and abruptly demanded: ‘Sir, do
you sanction the infamous attack which
Mr. Henderson made on me?’ Grant’s
imperious manner seemed to overawe
Mr. Bristow, and he replied that he did
not approve the speech, and straightway
voted for dismissal. Senator Morton
said if Bristow had not thus vindicated
the President from the aspersions cast on
him his continuance in the Cabinet would
have been impossible.”
Thus it seems that Secretary Bristow
was fairly bullied into consenting to the
outrage on Mr. Henderson. If, as Senator
Morton asserts, the portfolio of the Sec
retary of the Treasury depended on his
subserviency to the will of the offended
Ciesar, it is fair to presume that the
same considerations were not without
their influence on the minds of the other
members of the Cabinet.
The Foster-IHaine Sensation.
The authenticity of the Foster-Blaine
letter, says the New York World, is now
settled. It is genuine. Furthermore, it
contains facts and not speculations. Mr.
Foster has been interviewed, and not
only admits having written the letter, but
gives other interesting facts as to the
inner movements of the new political
secret society which it is claimed is to
manage the next Republican National
Convention. It appears from Mr. Fos
ter’s statements that Grant hasjunited with
this secret society and jumped upon the
no-Popery’hobby to gain a nomination
for a third term. Ascertaining this fact,
Mr. Foster, as a friend of Mr. Blaine,
writes of the situation, and
urging him to join die new secret society
on the sly, and thut-fee-0u an equal foot
ing with Grant and 1a a position
pete with him in the inner ring of al*
Republican party. T&is secret society,
Foster thinks, is to be the greqt powy il'f
the next ltepubiican National Conven
tion, and he is anxious that Mr.
Blaine should be on the inside.
The letter in some way having
reached a newspaper office in Maine,
was published, and the secret is out.
Now comes Mr. Foster explaining the
facts in the letter. In the course of the
explanation it comes to light that this
secret society is one of the means made
use of to get the liberals back to Grantism,
and furnishes an explanation of the sud
den conversion of General Merritt from a
bitter anti-Grant man to a supporter of
Grantism. It was all brought about by
his private initiation into this secret
society. Having thus become a fellow
member with Grant, he is nominated on
the Grant ticket in this State. But Mr.
Merritt’s membership did not prevent his
running behind his ticket any more than
his connection with a Know-Nothing
lodge prevented his defeat as Supervisor
in the days of that order. The letter
having in some way miscarried, it does
not appear that Mr. Blaine has been pri
vately initiated, and therefore has not
placed himself on an equal footing with
President Grant in obtaining the support
of this secret society, the power behind
the throne in the next National Republi
can Convention.
Proposition of the Southern Pacific
Railroad.
Close after the resolution of Congress
declaring that no subsidies shall, in the
present condition of national finances, be
granted to aid in private enterprises,
comes a proposition from Mr. C. P.
Huntington, Agent of the Southern Pa
cific Railroad of California and Vice-
President of the Central Pacific, who, in
behalf of the former corporation, offers
to build a Southern Pacific Railroad in
the vicinity of the thirty-second parallel,
on the conditions of the charter granted
to the Texas Pacific Railroad Company
March 3, 1871. The main difference be
tween this offer and the plan so strongly
urged upon Congress is that the South
ern Pacific is prepared to build a road
for the grants of public lands already
made, while the Texas Pacific requires
an additional subsidy in the shape of a
guarantee of forty thousand dollars per
mile. The act of March 3, 1871, granted
to the Texas Pacific the right of way
through public lands, with the use of all
material necessary for the construction of
the road, found adjacent. It also gave
to the company a space of two hundred
feet on each side of the track, and
grounds for stations and warehouses. In
addition, as a subsidy, twenty sections
per mile of the public lands on each side
of the road were given to the company,
except in California, where the amount
was reduced to ten sections. There were
branch or connecting roads —one through
Louisiana, with a subsidy in round num
bers of five millions of acres, and the
other, the Southern Pacific, of Cali
fornia, which was dowered with the same
privileges as were granted in the act of
July 27, 1866, which, as far as the grants
of land are concerned, are substantially
the same as those just set forth.
Checkmating Bishop Haves. —A
Washington dispatch states that Mr.
Springer, of Illinois, the author of the
anti-third term resolution adopted by the
House on Wednesday, was warmly con
gratulated upon the success of his move
ment by his fellow-members, and asked
how he had come to introduce his resolu.
tion, to which he responded : “I am a
Methodist, but lam opposed to a third
term. So when Bishop Haven down
there in Boston the other day put Grant
up for another term, I thought I would
show the country that all Methodifts
w&e not for Grant, and I wanted to
just how .Congress stood on the sJe
question. ” m
LETTER FROM JACKSONVILLE.
Paleontology —Ex - Governor Higgins—
Heady tor War—Braise* and Blood—A
Fool and bis Money—A Sol Disnnt De
tective—Lots of Fun—Brevet Kinship—
Everything except what has been Writ
ten Before —Marine.
[Special Correspondence of the Morning News.]
Jacksonville., December 16, 1875.
THE GREAT TRIUMVIRATE.
A mistaken idea has insinuated itself
into the minds of the human family, that
all proverbs are composed of a wealth of
wisdom. There never was a notion more
vulnerable, or less in consonance
with every-day experience, for
fully three-quarters of the proverbs,
which are generally accepted as indispu
table truths, are remarkable for nothing
but an absolute antagonism to all reason.
For instance, the expression “from one
you may judge all,” is calculated to de
lude any one who puts faith in it, and,
particularly, if the object to be judged
be a carpet-bagger. This outgrowth of
the late unpleasantness is capable of as
many forms as there are colors in
a Scotch damsel’s tout ensemble. The
Florida variety of this breed of vermin
is no more like anything else you
have ever beheld than a nigger
is like a statesman. This exordium must
be our excuse for discussing another
place of iniquity in the shape of a glori
ous trio of abject mortals, Away out upon
a Western wild some years since, a ge
nius, existing under the cognomen of
Higgins, by some inexplicable process of
legirdnmain was created Secretary to
the Territorial Governor of a reservation
in the great West, Borne say it was Ne
braska, others Utah: but we do not pre
tend to be precise upon this point.
Even Governors die sometimes, and
upon the sudden demise of the
Executive, Higgins promptly seized
the reigns and inaugurated a de
facto dictatorship. He ran the ma
chine in a decidedly original style for up
wards of five weeks, but the citizen ter
ritorialists took umbrage, it is said, at a
custom with which he struggled of ex
tending a velvety left hand to his subjects,
while his right paw was engaged in move
ments which must be left to the imagi
nation. The citizens of the United States
who were under the domination of this
self-made Governor, set measures in mo
tion to dispossess him of the Guberna
torial sceptre, with the ulterior motive
of figuring him out. But the autocrat
to ik time by the forelock and quickly
hied him with his prophetic soul unto his
uncle, in the land where eternal summer
gilds the plain as well as the handsome.
He was first noticed in Florida wielding
a briar-root pipe, and it was ascertained
that he revelled in the lucrative sinecure
of Deputy Collector of Customs under
the immaculate John S. Adams, who, par
parenthesis, will lose his official head as
Postmaster here shortly. Higgins main
tained the habit he had acquired of myste
riously keeping his left hand enveloped in
a glove while his right dexter arm flew
around in a suspicious fashion.
We next hear of this ex-dictator as
Clerk of Duval circuit, by appointment of
“Gubner” Stearns and the intercession of
his uncle, Randall. The price paid for
this office by Randall is an unflinching
obedience to the commands of Stearns.
If ever the diminutive Randall attempts
to thwart the will of our mediocre “Gub
ner,” the Florida potentate has but to
pronounce the cabalistic words, “Edward,
I’ll oust Edwin Higgins,” to'work a com
plete revolution in Jip’s tacifcs. Iu this
way Stearns moulds the opinions of the
Chief-'u.stice. We may recur to Higgins
hereafter 7
WAR EVEN TO THE KNIFE.
A fellow who misrepresents himself as
a State detective invaded s one of the
Laodicean mansions in the outskirts of
the city on Tuesday night, and applied
for board. The_jpr©prifetress, however,
w, < ouhJjß ! ffl®l _ hpon payment in advance,
out our hero displayed a ponderous
badge, and_at_once began to kick and
seriously disfigure the inmates.
Th nymphs called in the police for the
purpose of arresting the uproarious
official, who refused to submit to the
authority of the marshal. He claimed that
he outranked the municipal guardians,
but officer Rushing and another soon
convinced him of his error. The high
minded detective was courteously ten
dered the freedom of the city jail, but
tenderly declined to avail himself of the
chance to reduce expenses and furnish
security for his own safe keeping. The
morrow dawned, the sun gloriously shone,
also shone a bevy of female witnesses be
fore the Mayor. The bruised anatomy
of one was evidence enough to prove how
violent had been the demonstrations of
the prisoner. The testimony altogether
was of a lively description, and the
Mayor imposed a fine upon the bruiser
for twenty dollars and costs, which was
smilingly placed in the city exchequer.
LOOK NOT UPON THE WINE.
Clubs were trumps among the gamblers
on Monday, and the rivalry was most
enlivening. The old crowd became
furiously jealous of the inroads of the
new, and after frequent potations of
aqua fortis the old invited the new in a
saloon to inspect one of those chambers
of death, the barrel of a pistol.
A brisk row now followed, and two of
the party started pell mell up the
street, the pursuer discharging two shots
at the pursued without any effect—more’s
the pity. They turned the corner of
Pine and Forsyth streets and made an
incursion into a boarding house on the
latter thoroughfare, much to the annoy
ance of the guests and the ire of the
owner. Here they continued their war
fare until finally captured by the police
and jugged. After expending the fumes
of liquor in a certain measure they were
released on bonds to the amount of sixty
dollars, and very quietly deposited the
requisite sum, which they modestly for
feited by failing to appear next morning.
I propose, within a few days, to investi
gate these pickpockets thoroughly. They
are an aggravated nuisance and unmitiga
ted pests.
TOLL, TOLL THE BELLS !
It is not everybody that is so well con
nected in life as somebody else, and
thrice happy is he who, like you and I,
is not of an envious disposition. The
most enticing temptation to fall into such
a course is afforded in the good fortune
of C. H. Springer, Deputy Collector of
the port of Cedar Keys. He is one of
the gentry commissioned by Secretary
Bristow to look after his Presidential in
terests in the South.
The Morning News of a late date con
tained the startling telegraphic intelli
gence that the Prince of Waldeck (whose
quota during the Franco-Prussian war
was twelve men and a drummer) had
died—a dispatch which attracted but
little notice from every one else, but was
sufficient to agitate Mr. Springer tremen
dously. He claimed kinskip with the
Prince, and out of respect to the memory
of his deceased cousin, and in the ab
sence of the Collector, the sympathetic
deputy caused the Custom House to be
heavily draped in mourning and the
United States flag to be put at half mast.
It was truly affecting and as beautiful as
a sunbeam on the sea was this sponta
neous tribute to a departed Prince.
JOT, O ! YE PEOPLES.
The order of the Supreme Court of the
United States placing the Jacksonville,
Pensacola and Mobile Railroad into the
hands of the Radical oligarchy of Florida,
is the funeral knell of that corporation’s
usefulness. The road will be converted
into a vehicle of unscrupulous jobbing and
unblushing political engineering. A
number of petty offices will be
manufactured to make provis
ion for the hungry horde
of hangers-on who have foisted them
selves upon this commonwealth. The
only hope the people have is that in the
contest for the loaves and fishes the dem
agogues will fall out Of course the trip
to this place indulged in by Chief Justice
Bradley during the summer sug
gests nothing, and perish the
thought that the Administration
at Washington desired to place a
tremendous political machine in the
hands of its emissaries. I may be in a
position to enlighten the universe con
cerning this manumvre at any moment.
With the surplus negro voters of Georgia
and this formidable power in the hands
of the Radicals, the Conservatives may
as well face the certainty of a hard fight
for victory at the next election.
PERSONAL.
The celebrated billiardist, Maurice
Daly, of New York, is registered at the
St. James Hotel
INVEIGLING A BUMPKIN.
Felix is a pleasure-seeking scion of a
wealthy sire who is wandering around
Florida. He has one good qualification—
that s plenty of money ; an i one evil trait
—that san ardent admiration for spirits.
He fell iu with a jolly crowd of strangers
last week, while in his cups, aboard a
steamboat, and caroused with them
for several hours. They were such
pleasant, agreeable companions that Felix
imagined he never could forget their kind
ness and attentions. But the innocent
Felix was doomed to bitter disappoint
ment. He discovered before it was too
late that his friends, out of their regard
for him, had relieved him of his watch
and pocket-book. He encountered them
a few days thereafter and being just
drunk enough to be reckless, presented
his pistol and demanded the return of his
property. His friends explained that
they were only taking care of his things
for him. The explanation was satisfac
tory and Felix is again defraying the ex
penses of the entire lot.
SWIMMING FOR LIFE.
As the coasting schooner Magnolia was
off New Smyrna last week one of the
crew precipitated his weight into the
small boat for the purpose of making it
fast. It so happened that it was more
loose than he had anticipated and turned
him over into the sea as suddenly as he
had jumped into it. The sailor, whose
name is Isaac Graham, was in a critical
position, as it would require at
least three tacks of the schooner to ena
ble her to pick him up. He performed
the feat of shedding his shoes in the wa
ter, and continued to float, although well
nigh exhausted, until the vessel reached
him. He is an excellent swimmer, and
on one occasion, at St. Augustine, rescued
a lady, who accidentally fell overboard,
from drowning.
Ad BIANUS.
LETTER FROM THOMASYILLE.
\
A Severe Spell of Weather—Northern
and Western Winter Visitors—Hotel
Accommodations Improved—Change of
Proprietors ot the Enterprise—Grand
Fox Hunt at lamonia Fake—A Good
Word for the Gulf House.
[Special Correspondence of the Morning News.]
Gulf House, December 18,1875.
When I left Florida, several days ago.
there was a heavy frost on the ground,
and the weather was quite severe. This
state of things continued the entire route,
and last night it was fearfully cold. The
banana trees that I noticed all along the
railroad, from beyond Live Oak, Florida,
to this point, were blighted by the in
tense cold weather of the past week,
which old settlers say has been unusually
severe, and is looked upon as an indica
tion of a hard winter.
VISITORS FROM THE NORTH AND WEST.
There are many Northern and Western
families located in Thomasville for the
season, who tire delighted with the place
and the climite. One gentleman from
Wisconsin, however, remarked to me to
day that if this cold snap continued he
should go on to Florida. But he changed
his mind when I told him I had just left
the same kind of weather behind me in
that higlily favored State. If Colonel
Mitchell’s elegant and commodious uew
hotel was, opea for winter boarders, as it
certainly will le next season, the number
of Northern md Western visitors here
could be largely increased. The Gulf
House is thoroughly furnished and well
kept, but the proprietor t feels it to ha his
duty to reserve his rooms for transient
guests, of which he 'has a full supply.
Winter visitors are therefore obliged to
secure permanent board at private houses,
which they can readily do, and in most
excellent families.
CHANGE OF NEWSPAPER PROPRIETORS.
Calling at the Southern Enterprise office
to-day, to see Messrs. Bryan and Chas
tain, I found them absent, but learned
that this old established journal, now in
its fifteenth voh&me, is to pass into new
hands on the first of January. Hon. O.
P. Hansel], Mayor of the city, and Mr.
W. E. Davies, the well-known druggist,
have become proprietors, and being young
gentlemen of untiring energy and marked
ability, it is safe to predict that they will
wake up our excellent and popular friend,
Capt. John Triplett, of the Thomasville
Times. The editorial chair of the Enter
prise will be filled by Mayor Hansell, who
is a talented young lawyer, and who will
no doubt prove a valuable acquisition to
the fraternity. Thomas county can well
support two good papers, it being a very
wealthy and intelligent community, and
as these journals are on the best of terms
with each other, it is proper to wish them
the most abundant success in their future
operations.
A GRAND PRIZE FOX HUNT.
The greatest sensation here at present,
however, is the “Grand Prize Fox Hunt”
which Judge H. W. Hopkins, with char
acteristic zeal and public spirit, is work
ing up for next week. The entries already
made assure the success of the project,
and show that a wide-spread interest is
being taken in it, covering five or six
counties in this State and Florida. The
party will meet at Davis’s store, lamonia
Lake, on Thursday morning next, and
the sport will be kept up during two
days, or until the judges decide
upon the award of prizes.
There will be three in number for
the best dogs—first, second and third—
and one for the man who comes in first
and gets the “brush,” or tail of the fox.
If any of the “Forest City” hunters want
to enjoy some lively and exciting sport,
just let them join this party on Thurs
day next and they will have plenty of it.
Judge Hopkins and his associates never
fail of success in such matters, and Mr.
Joseph Fuss is one of their backers.
A GOOD WORD FOR THE GULF HOUSE.
In closing this hurried epistle I cannot
refrain from adding a word of commen
dation for my friend Mr. G. W. Parnell,
the efficient and liberal proprietor of the
Gulf House, from which hotel I am now
writing, and in one of the most elegantly
furnished and comfortable rooms that I
have ever occupied in a Southern hotel.
This house is located directly at the de
pot of the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad,
and enjoys a very liberal patronage from
the traveling public, being the regular
supper house of the down passenger
train. Although all the rooms are not
furnished as elegantly as the one I am
occupying, they qr£ comfortable and at
tractive in every respect. A most pleas
ant gentleman will be found for the pre
sent in the office, who delights to attend
to the wants of his guests whenever an
opportunity presents itself. Chatham.
A Game of Cards and its Consequences.
A paper printed in Litchfield, Ky.,
narrates the fallowing: “Agentleman and
his wife who reside in this county went a
short time since to visit a neighbor, with
intention to stay all night. After supper
the host proposed a game of cards to his
guest, to which the latter assented, and
they sat down to play. The wife of the
visitor, being religiously inclined,
raised a remonstrance against the
game, but this was disregarded by
her husband. She then became much
excited, and threatened to burn the cards
if they continued to play. At last
her husband turned to her and said: ‘lf
you don’t want to see me play and can’t
behave yourself, just get your bonnet
and go home at once.’ She took him at
his word, and all that night her lonely
pillow was wet with tears of bitter an
guish, called forth by the knowledge of
her husband’s wickedness. Next morn
ing the husband, who in the meantime
had been nursing his wrath, went home
and told his wife that she had disgraced
him, and she could pack her traps and
leave him forever. Remonstrance was
in vain, and she sorrowfully de
parted. That night the husband
retired to his widowed bed—to
think, not to sleep. Visions of
the past happiness and regret for his
hasty expulsion of his companion passed
through his mind. Presently he heard a
gentle tap at the door. ‘Come in,’ said
he. The door opened, and his wife
stood upon the threshold. ‘Betsy, ’ said
he, ‘what are you doing out this time 0’
night‘Oh, nothing, ’ said she. ‘Make
me some coffee,’ said he. This she pro
ceeded to do with more than her usual
alaority, and nothing more was said of
their disagreement Now a deck of cards
adorns the mantel-piece in their home,
and every night after the supper dishes
are cleared away, that husband and wife
set down to a cheerful game of ‘old
sledge,”’ I
HANGING OF A MURDERER.
Xick Thoinj>on, the Negro who Murdered
Capt. J. 11. Hunter, on the Gallows—
The Crime aud Its Penalty—Last Hours
of the Doomed Man—He Dies, Like
Others of His Knee, Singing Hymns.
[Special Correspondence of the Morning News.]
Quitman, December 17tb, 1875.
This is one of the “Black Fridays,” fa
mous in the criminal calendar, and has
witnessed the execution of a negro for
the murder of a white man.
On the day of the 1874 October elec
tion, Capt- J. H. Hunter, then the popu
lar Representative of this county in the
Legislature, was talking to an old negro,
whom he knew well, in regard to voting,
when one Nick Thompson, an officious
and insolent negro, interfered, and in the
heat of excitement drew his knife and
stabbed Capt. Hunter, who died a few
weeks after from the effects of the assault.
The deceased was highly respected in
this community, and his tragic death
caused intense excitement. Still, great
as was the aggravation, the people quietly
committed the prisoner to the hands of
the law, and he was tried at the Decem
ber term of the Superior Court of Brooks
county, found guilty, and sentenced to
be hung on the 20th of last January. An
appeal was taken to the Supreme Court,
which prevented the execution of the
sentence, as the case was not acted upon
until the following August, when the
verdict of the Superior Court was
affirmed. Efforts were then persistently
used to get anew trial, on the ground
that important developments had been
made, but without avail.
The prisoner was re-sentenced to be
executed at this place to- day, between
the hours of 10 o’clock a. m. and 3
o’clock p. m., yet his counsel ceased not
in their efforts to avert this terrible doom.
Colonel James Atkins, of Savannah, and
W. C. McCall, Esq., of Camilla, served
the prisoner faithfully to the last in their
attempts to prolong his life. Colonel A.
was in Atlanta yesterday seeking a re
prieve, and the other gentleman bore his
unfavorable reply, to their client at 10
o’clock this morning. A telegram from
Governor Smith to Sheriff Thrasher also
gave the same intelligence, as it read:
“Respite of Nick Thompson refused.”
Every preparation for the execution
had been made by Sheriff J. T. Thrasher
and his assistants, and I must say that
better or more complete arrangements
could not have been provided for the oc
casion. Everything indicated that the
prisoner was to be hung in an orderly,
humane and lawful manner. The scaf
fold was erected within a hi -h enclosure,
18 by 26, put up at the end of the jail,
and was very substantial. It was 18 feet
high, with a broad platform about 12 feet
from the ground, which gave a fall of
8 feet to the drop. This platform was
reached by a 12-foot ladder, which was to
be removed after the rope had been
adjusted to the doomed man’s neck. The
coffin was placed in the enclosure, where
a guard was stationed at an early hour
in the morning. The entire jail lot was
also surrounded by a strong armed guard,
in the event any attempt should be made
to rescue the prisoner.
Although a large crowd of white people
came to town and the most of them were
about the jail up to the time of the exe
cution, but few negroes were present.
The family and friends of Thompson,
and the colored ministers of the town,
visited him in his cell and remained some
time, holding religious services. At the
prisoner’s request they sang the hymn,
“Hark! Listen to the Trumpets as they
Call for Volunteers,” which was followed
by prayer by the two preachers and
Thompson, who was very enthusiastic in
his religious exercises. He claimed to
have been visited by the spirit of the
Lord, which had prepared him for death.
At the close of these services his wife and
child and other friends took their fare
well of him, and he was left alone in his
cell for a brief time.
Mr. H. M. Mclntosh, editor of the
Quitman Reporters soon after visited him
but found him unchanged in his
from what he was a few days ago. He
declared his innocence of any purpose to
kill Captain Hunter; said God had for
given the act, and he was ready and wil
ling to die and go to heaven. He asked
Mr. Mclntosh to write a brief letter to
his infant child Ella, now two years and
seven months old, to be given her when
of age by her mother. He also sent a
message to his wife in regard to properly
bringing up and educating this, their
only child. Soon after this interview I
visited the condemned man, with other
parties, and he greeted us with a happy
smile, and said he was ready to die. As
soon as we left him alone in his cell he
commenced singing a hymn in a very
cheerful manner, although he was to die
within ten short minutes.
At 11 o’clock he was brought out and
walked up the ladder with a firm step.
On reaching the platform he requested
the colored preachers, who were in the
enclosure to attend him in his last mo
ments, to sing with him the hymn, ‘‘Did
Christ o’er sinners weep ?” He then went
off into a boisterous and incoherent invo
cation to the Lord, hardly a word of
which could be understood, as he appear
ed deeply enthused with what he termed
spiritual influences. Prayer was then
offered by one of the preachers, after
which Thompson prayed very quietly and
distinctly, asking God to prepare him to
meet his “just deserts.” The preachers
then retired, and the Sheriff and his dep
uties proceeded to prepare the prisoner
for execution.
His hands were tied behind him, his
feet fastened together, the black cap put
over his head, and the fatal noose ar
ranged about his neck. The Sheriff then
bade him good bye, and said, “Nick are
you ready ?” To which he replied in a
firm voice, “Yes, sir; let it go.” The
hatchet was raised to cut the cord, and
to the question, “Are you ready?” he
again replied, firm and unmoved, “Yes,
sir.” In a second the hatchet did its
work, the drop fell, and Nick Thompson’s
life on earth ended. His neck was bro
ken by the fall, and after a brief quiver
ing of his body, all was still, death hav
ing quickly ended his sufferings. After
hanging about twenty minutes the body
was cut down and placed in the coffin pro
vided for it, and handed over to his
friends and relatives for burial.
Nick Thompson came to this county
from South Carolina in 1806, and had
lived about here since that time. He told
me that he was twenty-six years old, and
that he had been married some four or
five yens. He was a handsome, bright
eyed, pleasant looking fellow, rather
dark colored, weighed about 130 pounds,
and was five feet and a half in height.
Of his guilt there can be no doubt, as of
the fact that he had an impartial trial
and was defended and labored for to the
very last moment most faithfully by his
He met his fate as too
many of his race do, although sincere in
their professions, amidst a “flourish of
trumpets" of a religious character. Even
in the solemn hour of death a love of
airplay pervades their hearts. To me
the doomed man gave no evidence of
Godly sorrow for the terrible crime he
had committed, yet he declared that he
was filled with the spirit and glory of
God, and was ready to die cheerfully
and joyfully.
Phi Gamma.
P. S.—As your reporter on this occa
sion, it is due Messrs. Hall & Mclnto3b,
of the Quitman Reporter, Dr. J. T. Davis,
the next Mayor, Mr.tW. E. Barnes, Al
derman to be, and Sheriff Thrasher, all
most excellent and accommodating gen
tlemen, that I should thank them thus
publicly for favors kindly shown me to
day.
A boy in St. Louis was recently pre
sented with a jacknife, with which, boy
like, he cut and marked everything that
came in his way, from the dining-room
table to the cat’s tail. A few days after
he had become the happy possessor of
the knife, his father was startled by see
ing two men bringing home the young
hopeful in a very dilapidated condition.
His face seemed to be cut and bruised and
covered with blood. The father of
course, was very much alarmed, and in
quired of the boy who had hit him. “No
body didn’t hit me,” the boy answered,
between his sobs; “it was only a mule
kicked me in the eye.” “A. mule kicked
you in the eye, eh f” echoed the father,
I told you a thousand times or
more that mules and gunpowder were not
fit things forjboys to fool with ? What
were you doing to the mule ?” “I wasn’t
foolin' with him at all,” said the boy; “I
was only tryin’ to cut my name on his
back.”
FLORIDA FRUIT TRAFFIC,
Another Epistle About Fruit Trantporta
tion—Tbe “Florida Dispatch Line”—
Re-Packia* Frnlt at Jackson ville—
How to Pick and Park Oranges—Not a
Private Speculation—. Send for Ciretilar.
[Specia. Correspondence of the Morning News ]
Jacksonville, December 18, 1875.
In my previous letter on “Florida
Fruit Transportation, published in your
issue of the l()tb, I gave your readers my
views in regard to tbe importance of
providing rapid transit for properly
packed Florida fruit designed for North
ern and Western markets, and called at
tention to the careless manner in which
oranges and lemons were being packed
and shipped by many inexperienced fruit
growers in this State.
Since the publication of that letter I
have been handed several circulars and
printed postal cards, issued by fruit
deaiers at tbe North and West, and by
railroad and steamboat companies, call
ing attention to tbe same matter, and in
similar terms. This shows that I did not
over-estimate the importance of the sub
ject, nor sound the note of warning too
early in the ears of fruit growers. In
this case, as in many others, “line upon
line and precept upon precept” will be
found profitable: and this shall be my ex
cuse for again troubling your readers with
a special epistle upon the subject. The
Meekly Morning News penetrates into
every portion of Florida, while the
Daily Morning News goes to every busi
ness point. There is, therefore, no better
or quicker channel through which to
reach the fruit growers and shippers of
this State.
THE “FLOBIDA DISPATCH LINE.”
The efficient and clear-headed Superin
tendent of the Atlantic and Gulf Rail
road, Col. H. S. Haines, comprehending
the growing magnitude of the fruit and
vegetable traffic of Florida, and knowing
that its development depended almost
solely upon rapid transportation and a
ready market, devised and inaugurated
a plan by which these two much desired
objects could be attained. In my pre
vious letter, referred to above, I unfolded
the workings of that plan. But now,
almost in its incipient state, an important
addition has been made to its purposes
and operations. Capt. D. E. Maxwell,
Fernandina, General Freight Agent of the
Atlantic, Gulf and West India
Transit Company’s Railroad; Major
F. B. Papy, Tallahassee, Gen
eral Freight Agent of the Jack
sonville, Pensacola and Mobile Rail
road, and Colonel J. L. lioumillat, Savan
nah, General Freight Agent of the Atlan
tic and Gulf Railroad, acting for their
respective corporations, have become
parties to the scheme put in operation
by Colonel Haines, and hereafter they
will act together under the name and
title of the “Florida Dispatch Line,”
having its headquarters for the present
at least, in this city. By this arrange
ment agricultural products will be given
speedy transportation to the best North
ern and Western markets. They have
also established commission agencies in
both these sections for the sale of con
signments of fruit and vegetables shipped
by parties who have no one to act for
them in the disposal of their products
when a market is reached! How this
much needed systematized plan for secur
ing these important objects is to be
worked, and with what prospects of suc
cess, the following will show.
HE-PACKING AT JACKSONVILLE.
One great drawback to success in the
sale of Florida frnit in distant markets,
in numerous cases, has been the decayed
condition in which it reached the hands
of the produce brokers. Much of this
was due to carelessness in picking, packing
and shipping the fruit. In my previous
letter on this subject I referred to the
decayed fruit which I saw on the Ockla
waha and St. John’s river steamers, and
yet it had scarcely gone a hundred miles
from its original starting point. Could
it fail, therefore, t r be wholly worthless
on its arrival at a distant market ? This
was on the great St. John’s river, the
orange grove section of the State. But
Captain Maxwell, in an official circular,
has since confirmed my statement in re
'gard_tg_this.ii A attfij by givißg v t^hperTm"
tendent, his own experience on the rail
road. He says: “It has been our
experience, this season, that shipments
of oranges from Tampa, Manatee and all
points on the A., G. and W. I. T. Com
pany’s Railroad have scarcely ever reached
this point (Fernandina) in good condi
tion, which we attribute to the want of
proper gathering and packing at the
point of shipment.” He then goes on
to give instructions as to how fruit should
be properly picked and packed. It is safe
to believe, however, that many fruit
growers will continue to pack and ship
their oranges in a careless manner. To
meet all such cases, and that unnecessary
loss may be avoided, no consignment put
into the hands of the “Florida Dispatch
Line” for transportation and sale will be
carried beyond Jacksonville in a decayed
or injured state. At this point the fruit
will be re-packed and put in the best pos
sible condition, after which it will be
pushed forward to the nearest and most
desirable market. This department will
be in charge of Messrs. Hewett & Smith,
agents “Florida Dispatch Line,” Jackson
ville, Fla. Under this arrangement the
quality of the fruit put into the Northern
and Western markets will be greatly im
proved and the prices advanced, while at
the same time considerable loss and
trouble will be saved the careless or inex
perienced shipper.
HOW TO PICK AND PACK ORANGES.
As Captain Maxwell’s advice in regard
to picking and packing oranges agrees
with that given by a number of experi
enced shippers, I will copy it here, and
commend it to the attention of fruit
growers generally:
1. Do not pull the orange from the
tree ; when pulled, it breaks the skin and
rot is sure to commence in a few days.
Cut the orange, leaving but sufficient of
the stem to prevent the trouble referred
to.
2. After the oranges are gathered,
place them in hills, like potatoes, and al
low them to sweat, and then wipe them
dry. When packed immediately after
gathering, the sweat takes place in the
packages, and more or less damages the
oranges.
3. Ship none but the best. If there
are four sizes assort them and pack each
size separately. Mixed oranges never
pack well, and are always sold at a dis
count.
4. In packing, if in barrel, perforate it
with holes. Place first a sheet of com -
mon wrapping paper or newspaper in the
bottom of the box or barrel, then a layer
of oranges until the box or barrel is suf
ficiently filled, so as to prevent the
oranges being displaced. Do not keep
barrels packed remaining on their heads.
This last injunction calls attention to
one great objection to the use of barrels
for the shipment of oranges to market.
Barrels are like circus gymnasts—they
will “stand on their heads,” and that to
the great injury of oranges packed in
them, as the heavy weight upon the bot
tom layers frequently crushes the fruit
and causes the decay of that portion of
the contents of the barrel.
While barrels can be used ip many in
stances for shipping oranges to friends,
it is a settled fact that they are not suited
to the shipment of fruit of this
character for market purpo‘g g
boxes, with partition- in 'the centre to
divide evenly the weight of the oranges,
are much more desirable, and will soon
become the standard method for market
able fruit that is to be shipped any great
distance,
NOT A PRIVATE SPECULATION.
As I have previously stated, this new
combination is the result of a desire to
fully and satisfactorily meet the demands
which the rapidly increasing fruit and
vegetable traffic is making upon the rail
road and steamboat lines of Florida. It
is not a private speculation, nor a rail
road monopoly. The objects sought to
be accomplished by its operations have a
vital connection with the future success
of the fruit and vegetable business of
this State. It proposes to supervise,
when desired, the condition of all shipl
ments seeking a market, and whenever
they are found to be improperly packed,
or In a decayed condition, to re-pack
and re-arrange them for profitable
and speedy sale. This will lie accom
plished through a packing house
in this city, and. by the use
of ventilated fruit cars attached
to fast trains, The managers, in their
circular, state that they “desire to foster
any effort that will enable the producer
to advantageously pack his consignments,
ship to best markets, secure highest
prices, and realize honest returns in short
est time.” Without some such plan of
operation as that which the "“Florida
Dispatch Line” has inaugurated, and to
the support of which they seek to rally
the fruit and vegetable growers of the
State, in the future the agricultural in
terests of this section of the country will
become sadly demoralized. With such a
plan in successful operation, the quality
of Florida fruit and vegetables, which be
ing put into the Northern and Western
markets, will be improved, prompt sales
secured and better prices obtained. If
the railroad, steamboat and express com
panies share in this good fortune, as they
probably will, so much tbe better for all
concerned. As I have merely given the
main points of the proposed plan of
operations, it would be well for all parties
interested to write to D. 11. Elliott, Gen
eral Agent, or Messrs. Hewitt & Smith,
agents “Florida Dispatch Line,” Jackson
ville, Fla., who will cheerfully send cir
culars or give any needed information.
Every fruit grower or shipper in the State
should have one of these circulars for his
guidance in shipping fruit and vege
tables, as they contain a full tariff of
prices. Sidney Herbebt.
TELEGRAPHIC NEWS.
Siiinmiiry of the Week’s Dispatches
CONGRESSIONAL.
Washington, December 16.—1n tho Sen
ate there was tho usual number of memo
rials and private bills. Conklin presented a
memorial from praetifcal steamboatmeu and
persons engaged in navigation, designating
certain portions of the steamboat laws
which should be changed. In presenting
the memorial Conkliug said he took great
pleasure iu laying this paper before the Sen
ate, because it indicated particularly what
changes should be made, and it also showed
that the meu engaged in steamboats had
some regard for the safety of those travel
ing on steamboats.
Spencer said that at the last session of
tho Alabama Legislature, a committee was
appointed to inquire whether corrupt prac
tices had been used to secure his election to
the Senate. As the Legislature which ap
pointed this committee was not tho one by
which he was elected to the Senate, he hail
not appeared before it to answer the charges.
He denied the charges of fraud and corrup
tion, and said the Legislature which ap
pointed this committee was elected by fraud
the samo as the oue recently elected'in Mis
sissippi. The Alabama election by which
this Legislature was put in, was like that in
Mississippi, and was part of a conspiracy to
overthrow lawlul government in the
South. He recognized the Senate of
the United States as the only body having
authority to inquire into his election, and
his right to a seat in this chamber. lie
therefore offered a resolution instructing
tbe Committee on Privileges and Elections
to inquire whether George E. Spencor, a
Senator in Congress from the State of Ala
bama, did use, or cause to be used, corrupt
practices to securo his election to the Sen
ate, and authorizing said committee to send
for persons and papers, and sit during the
holidays.
Davis suggested that the resolution lie on
the table and be printed.
Conkliug said the Senator from Alabama
had been assailed, and he asked for an in
vestigation by a Senate committee. Ho
hoped the Senator from West Virginia would
not ask a postponement.
Thurman said he knew nothing whatever
of the caso, but it seemed to him that the
resolution as drawn simply directod enquiry
as to whether the Senator himself had used
corrupt practices. The broader qiuntion as
to whether bis election was secured by fraud
was not covered by the resolution.
Spencer said l\e would modify it to meet
the views of tho Senator from Ohio. The
resolution was then modified to read as fol
lows :
Resolved, That the Committee on Privi
leges and Elections are hereby a ins true ted
to investigate into and inquire whether, iu
the election of Geo. E. Spencer as a Senator
from the State of Alabama ,there were used
or caused to be used and employed corrupt
means or corrupt practices to secure his
election to the seat he now holds, and that
said committee be empowered to admiuister
oaths, to send for persons and papers, to
take testimony, to employ stenographers
and such clerical assistance as they may
deem necessary', and to sit during the recess
of Congress if considered advisable, and to
report the result of their investigation as
soon as practicable.
The resolution, as modified, was agreed
to.
The resolution which passed the House,to
adjourn on Monday next to the 4th of Jan
uary, was amended by inserting January
sth, and passed. It goes to the House for
concurrence.
Morton’s resolution, appointing a com
mittee to investigate the Mississippi elec
tions, was discussed with considerable bit
terness, without action.
ALABAMA BONDS.
New York, December 18.—A meeting of
the holders of Ala. B \.na bonds was held here
tu-hiy. Tho ooHnurttee-ftppmfited at a~pftv
vious meeting presented a voluminous re
port in relation to the direct debt, which is
stated at $14,718,178. The total deduction
from this amount is $2,780,000, leaving a
balance of $12,032,178. The committee pro
pose that in relation to the past interost up
to January 1, 1876, the State give bonds
payable in thirty years, interest to com
mence fivo years after date. It aIBO pro
posed that on the direct debt the interest
should be paid at the rate of three por cent,
for three years, and five per cent, for twenty
seven years. The report shows that the re
sources of tho State, if properly handled,
are sufficient to very easily pay this amount
on the direct indebtedness. An executive
committee of three was appointed to man
age and represent the interests of the bond
holders before the Alabama Legislature in
an effort to receive a better compromise
than that offered by the circular of the
Commissioners of tho Sinking Fund. It
was resolved that one-eiglitli of 1 per cent,
be charged on the bonds represented as an
assessment to defray the expenses incurred
by the committee.
DESTRUCTIVE EIRE.
Little Rock, December 29.—The Gazelle
block is burned. It was a three-story brick,
50 feet front by 100 deep. The fire caught
in the rear part pf Fred Haas’s cigar and
liquor store, adjoining the Gazette office.
Haas’s loss is estimated at SII,OOO. The
loss of C. Woodruff', proprietor of the Ga
zette, is $42,000. Insurance SIB,OOO. Most o f
the presses and machinery were saved. T’ '
Ashley block, adjoining the Gazette U uiF in „
was badly scorched,but not seriously.r ’.f ’
The Gazette will reappear to-morro- - , morn"
ing from the office of the late
During the fire a heavy rain fell **
The court house, one of the Hn eat in th
btatc, at Camden, was burped earlv
(lay morning. The books and records, and
tho papers pertaining to the clerk’s office
were destroyed. The loss is not stated.
OBTAINING GOODS UPON PAUSE REPRESENTA*
TIONS.
New York, December 18. Dickarhnfr
Roeffler& Cos sold $27,000 worth of
nnn a Ahlborn, and after collecting sl6 -
000, had him arrested, charging him with
obtaining goods by misrepresenting his pe
cuniary condition. A motion in tho Su
preme Court Chambers to-day, to discharge
the orders of arrest, brought up the ques
tion whether merchants, after trusting the
representations of persons seeking credit
could compel them to make good their rep’-
resentation under penalty ofjimprisonment.
The question was decided in tho affirmative
by Judge Donohue’s refusal to vacate the
arrest.
STEAMBOAT BURNED.
New Orleans, December 18 Tho steam
boat A. Pike, from Bayou Bara, with a full
load of cotton, sugar and molasses, while
lying at the wharf burned to the water’s
edge and sunk. A portion of the cargo will
be saved in a damaged condition. Mr. Bonnie,
one of the clerks, with several of the crew,
are missiDg. Othgrs, including two passen
gers, were badly burned. The boat was in
sured for SIB,OOO. She cost six years ago
SIOO,OOO. Her cargo was valued at SIOO,OOO,
insured as far as known for $50,000.
MORE CATTLE STEALING IN TEXAS.
Galveston, December 18, —Advices from
Fort Clarke, Texas, of yesterday’s date,
states that a party of Mexicans crossed the
river below San Eilipe and stole eight hun
dred head of cattle and fifty horses IV m
Stricklan and Slaughter. The citizen H
raising companies, and threaten to cross the
river. Groat excitement preva ;, , H anf i
citizens of San Filipo to-da- called on the
assistance. aUtlloritlfc * * &
AN ARKANSAS HANGING.
Little Rock, December 18. W. B.
Thompson was hung yesterday-"at Lewis
burg for the murder of Mr;;. Stover, a widow.
Thompson confesses the crime, but said he
cud ;t at the instigation of a son-in-law of
the decease',. On the scaffold he was cool
and cohected, and smoked a cigar before put
ting on the black cap • bid good-bve to the
crowd and kissed his hand to the ladies.
Six thousand people witnessed the execu
tion.
“babby.”
St. Louis, Decamber 18.—General Bab
cock has been sent for ana is expected here
to-day to plead and have his case set. It
will doubtless be certified up to the United
States Circuit Court, January term,and come
on after those of McKee and McGuire. The
report circulated here that some important
documents to be used against Bab
cock have been purloined from the desk of
the clerk of tho United States Court proves
to be entirely unfouncied.
l’amebique.
Queenstown, December 20.—The Ville de
Brest fell in with l’Amenque on the 3d of
December in latitude 50, north, longitude 18,
west. From that day until the 6th, heavy
gales prevailed, with very bad sea. On the
nth, however, the l’Amerique was made fast
to the ville de Brest, and her passengers
were transferred to the latter. The Ville de
Brest sailed this afternoon for Havre. The
1 Amerique will go into dock.
THE CANADIAN COMMUNE.
Montreal, December 17.— This morning
between one thousand and fifteen hundred
desperate laborers again surrounded the
City Hali, clamoring f or bread. Aide-man
Greenier, CbairmAn of the Police Commis
sioners, addressed the people and quieted
tneiti, advising them to wait till to-morrow.
■ is not it is fearedi a
not will be the result, \
CARPET-BAGGER VERSOS CARPET-BAGGER.
Charleston, December 20,-The News
and Courier this morning prints an inter
view with Governor Chamberlain on tfl
subject of the election of ex-Governor
Moses and Whipper, colored, as Judges of
the most important circuits in the State
The Governor, after describing the trick-rv
by which the leaders in the Legislature took
advantage of his temporary absence from
Columbia to precipitate the Judicial elec
tion, which resulted in the choice of Wbin
per and Moses, said : v
“I look upon their election as a horrible
disaster—a disaster equally great to the
State, to tho Republican party, and greatest
of all, to those communities which shall
doomed to foci the full effects of the mob
enco of Mosos and Whippet' upon the bench
I did, a year ago, speak publicly of Whinner"
who was then a candidate for iheverv
position to which ho has now b-eo
elected. Then I denounced him as in
capable and utterly unfit for the office
of Judge. Of Moses, no honest men can
have different opinions. Neither Whinner
nor Moses has any qualities which approach
to a qualification for judicial positions, ihe
reputatiou of Moses is covered deep with
charges which are believed by all who are
familiar with the facts of corruption bri
bery and tbe utter prostitution of ail i jg
official powers to the worst possible pur
poses. This calamity is infinitely great,,'
in my judgment, than any which has yet fallen
on this State, or, I might add, upon any part
of the South. Moses as Governor is endurable
compared with Moses as Judge.”
Question—“ What do you thiuk of Wig
gins ?’• “
Answer — “He is not to be classed morally
with Moses and Whipper; but, in ordsr to
defeat Judge Maher, he haß consented to be
the tool of the same combination which
olected Moses and Whipper, and, as such
tool, he will be expected to, and doubtless
will, do their work.”
Question.—“ What, iu your judgmeut, will
bo tho effect of tho election of these three
men ?”
Answer.—“ The gravest consequences of
all kinds will follow. Ouo immediate effect
will obviously be tho reorganization of the
Democratic party within the State, as the
only means left, iu the judgmeut of its
members, for opposing a solid and roliable
front to this terrible crevasse of misgovern
mont and public debauchery. I could
have wished, as a ' Republican,
to have kept off such an issue ; but
I have a profound belief in tho logio
of events aud a Providence, too, that
shapes events, and I do not allow myself to
think that tho good and honest men of
South Carolina will find it impossible, be
cause they are organized as Democrats, to
give their help to whomsoever shall bo best
able to undo the terriblo wrongs of last
Thursday. lam free to say that my highest
ambition as Governor has been to make tbe
ascendency of the Hepublicau party in South
Carolina compatible with the attainment
and maintenance of as high aud pure a
tono in tho administration of public affairs
as can bo exhibited in the proudest Demo
cratic State of the South; aud it
was also my fondest hope, by peaceful agen
cies, hero in South Carolina alono of all the
Southern States, to have worked out,through
the Republican party, the solution of the
most difficult and one of tbe most interest
ing political aud social problems which this
century has presented. If these results
shall not be reached, the responsibility for
the failure will not rest upon me, nor upon
the Conservative citizens of South Carolina,
who have hitherto, with unvarying fidelity
and generosity, stood by mo in my work ;
but upon those, and all li'ko them, who dealt
the cause of good government so deadly a
blow on Thursday.”
The Governor wont on to say that thero
was tho gravest doubts, on constitutional
grounds, of the validity of the judicial elec
tion as to four out of the eight circuits—
Whipper and Mosos being among the doubt
ful cases. The action of the Legislature
continues to bo the subjoct of groat popular
excitement all over the State.
m’donald’s resolution.
Washington, December 20. —The concur
rent resoluti. us which Senator McDonald"
of Indiana, will offer in tho Senate after tho"
holiuay recess, as a substitute for those re
cently submitted by Senator Morton, an ~f
which he gave notice to-day, have not uq,
been perfected, and therefore could not aM
presented to-day. The following is a rouglll
draft of them, containing tho substance ]
thereof, though the phraseology may be '
changed somewhat before their presentation
to the Senato:
Resolved by the Senate, the House of Rep
resentatives concurring, That tho people of
the United States constitute a nation and
are one people in tho manner only and to
tho extent provided for in the Federal Con
stitution, and the amendments thereto.
Resolved, That tho united colonies de
clared and achieved their independence, and
tho Federal Constitution was formed andg
adopted by the several States lormerm
comprising tlio Confederacy and called!
the United States of America, tho chiefl
purpose of which was to form a more perfec®
Union, to establish justics, insure domostiJ
tranquility and provide for the com mo*
defence, and the powers not delegated by*
to the United States nor prohibited by it
-rka-SWG*?. TveTVf' fr:ilgvTd-to~TK~~g ufetT
respectively and to tho people,
a Resolved, That as the States wero at the
time of the formation and adoption ol tho
Federal Constitution each sovereign, froo
and independent, except in ho far as such
sovereignty had been oxpressly delegated to
the Congress by tho articles of confedera
tion, the rights reserved to tho States and
to the people in the formation of tho
Federal Government were sovereign
rights which cannot be impaired
without usurpation, and the only safe rule
by which to administer tho Federal Govern
ment with respect to tho rights of tho
States and people is a strict construction of
the Federal Constitution and the amend
ments thereto and the assumption of
doubtful powers. 110
Resolved, That in tho formatior - ~
Federal Government it was the c' - . ®
to leave each State and the o' ear design
sovereign as to all matters copl®
mestic concern, and to °£ *' lCa or f} 0 "
Federal Government confer upon the
as to such matter sovereign powers
the general r i*- as affect
States, or as ve ! far ? ? f all tho
to secure dome- might be necessary
are defined J- aUc tranquility, Which powers
its anwmV xl fhe E ederal Constitution and
States “ Th ® People of the United
acter ’ -oerefore, from the nature and char
tin'- of tho ' r governments, State and na
r al, and from their relation to each are
ot a national unity in the ordinary sense of
that term.
Resolved, That it being the design to
make the government formed under the
Federal Constitution perpetual, tho rights
of any State or any number of States tj
secede from tho Union was not reserved,
and so far as such right has been claimed to
exist it should bo deemed forever settled
against it by the results of the late civil war.
CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEEMEN.
Washington, December 20.—After the
House of Representatives adjourned, im
mediately upon the announcement of tho
committees to-day, there was quite a gen
eral interchange of opinion among the mem
bers In regard to tho selections. Those who
had been well provided for commended tho
Speaker’s judgment, or said nothing; but
the prevalent expression was one of dissat
isfaction. The Speaker’s friends account for
this by tho fewness of tho prizes and tho
preponderating number of tho competitors
for them. On tho other hand, there are
many among tho Democratic members who
severely criticise his selections for a con
siderable number of tho prominent posi
tions as unsuitable or as unfair to Congress
men of extended service, who have been
passed over in the distribution of chairman
ships and important committee places to
make room for new men without legislative
experience. Of tho forty-seven cb ; r .
manships, exclusive of the Com r-,R,. n
on the Rules, of J tj J()
Speaker is ex-oflicio chairman, *'
are given to Western members ' south
K d and Eastern
third rate importance. • I . irteon < 81 * aro °*
expenditures in the - committees on
partments, etc., • , v ™ B Executive De
given to Wests- dd of . the chairmanships
same descr.- * u members, four aroofthe
Souther® - Jtlon - and four or five of the
imnnrtj- chairmanships are also un
hukis at ‘ ft l6 West, therefore,
ol’ i .“® *' rst place in the number
chairmanships of the first and second
class committees. Out of the total forty
seven, Ohio and Missouri have each five
chairmanships, Illinois four, Kentucky four,
■Di'fiana two, and Tennesse two. Virginia
and Pennsylvania have three each; North
Carolina has two, ana no other State lias
more than one. The comp isition of the
Pacific Railroad < .’ommittee by the
vote on Holman’s anti-subsidy reaoiu.'.uu
is as| follows: Chairman Lr mai
Messrs. Throckmorton anti O’Neil
voted against it. Messrs. Latteck, of Cab
fornia, Lynde, of Wisconsin, Thomas, ff
Maryland, Phillips, of Missouri, Garfield, of
Ohio, ICassoD, of lowa, and Blair, of New
Hampshire, voted for it, and Messrs. At
kins, of Tennessee, Walker, of Virginia, and
Platt, of New York, were recorded not
voting. The friends of tho Texas Pacific
biil claim that ‘a majority of the committee
will be found in favor of their proposition.
Trichinae— Fatal Effects of Pork
eating in Indiana. — Indvmapoliz , Ind. ,
December 17. — Dr. Pettyjohn, having a
medical practice near Westfield, on the
borders of Hamilton county, some ten
miles north of Indianapolis, day before
yesterday brought Dr. Fletcher, for mi
croscopical examination, a piece of pork
tenderloin, and some portions of human
muscle, which he believed to be .infested
with trichinae. It was learned from him
that a family named Beale ate freely of
pork tenderloin, and soon after the entire
family had become affected, some serious
ly, and one, a little girl, fatally, with
symptoms which he afterwards attributed
to the presence of trichime. After the
death of the little girl, he secured a por
tion of the gastric nemius muscle, also s
portion of the tenderloin, and the speci
mens were submitted to a close micro
scopical examination by both Doctors
Fletcher and Chambers. In t> piece of the
Liu-cie the size of a pin head. Doctor
Fletcher found twenty of the little ver
mins, of mature growth, and still show
ing signs of active life. Aa yet only the
little girl has died, but others of tliQ
family are dangerously ill.
