Newspaper Page Text
TliiniS 01’ SUBSCRIPTION.
Dailx —oue year $lO oo
“ six months 5 00
“ three months 2 50
Tki-Wekkly—one year 5 00
“ six months 2 60
WBEKLt-one year 2 00
** six months 1 oo
Single oopies. 5 cts. To news dealers. 2>£ cts
£ufearitions must in all cases be paid in
adranse. The paper will be discontinued
at th# expiration of the time paid for.
JAS. G. BAILIE, )
FRANCIS COGIN, Proprietors
GEO. T. JACKSON.)
Address all Letters to the Constitu
tionalist office, AUGUSTA. GA.
TERRIBLE EXPLOSION.
BLOWING UP OF A LOCOMOTIVE.
The Fireman Killed and Engineer
Badly Wounded.
[Special Dispatch to the Constilutionlist.]
Barnett, Ga., December 17.
There was another explosion here
at an early hour this morning, our
usually quiet town was made the scene
of a sad accident. It was caused by
the explosion of the passenger engine,
“M. P. Stovall,” of the Georgia Rail
road, resulting in the instant kill
ing of the fireman, Henry Downs, and
the wounding mortally of the engin
eer, Joe Reaney. The engine wa3pull
ing the down night passenger train,
which was due at Barnett at 4:32. It
arrived on time, and after a detention
of three minutes, required to change
the mail, it departed, but had only
proceeded about one hundred and fifty
yards, when the explosion or the boiler
of the engine took plaoe with the
result as above stated, and literally
tearing the machinery all to pieces, and
scattering it to the four winds ; many
pieces of which were blown hundreds
of yards in various directions. One
piece wa3 blown entirely through the
roof and ceiling of our depot. No in
jury was done to the cars. The fire
man was found on the tender partially
covered with wood, fearfully mangled.
The engineer was found about thirty
feet from the track on the ground. His
skull is fractured, one thigh broken,
and several deep and painful incisions
on his face. Both men were married
and their families reside in Atlanta.
Doctors Pilcher and Shields were
promptly sent for and arrived
in time :;o give much relief to Mr.
Reaney, who became conscious aoout
ten o’clock, and seemed to have some
recollection of the explosion. After a
consultation, the doctors decided that
his removal to Atlanta would not les
sen his chances for recovery, and con
sequently he was sent forward by the
up day passenger train, accompanied
by Dr. Shields. The remains of Mr.
Downs were also forwarded by the
same train to Atlanta. After procuring
an engine from a following freight
train, the night passenger train pro
ceeded to Augusta, leaving here at
half-past seven o’clock. The conduc
tor, Mr. T. J. Wood, stated
that the engine had been work,
ing niceiy all night. The explo
sion was distinctly heard several
miles distant, and after daylight many
persons from the neighborhood came
in, in quest of the mysterious rumbling.
Many supposed it to have been another
earthquake, as you remember we real
ized one a short time ago. Exactly
four months ago, within three hundred
yards of the same place, Mr. E. S.
O’Brien’s store was demolished by Are
and gunpowder. So we will have to
record this as explosion No. 2.
The “ M. P, Stovall ” was regarded
as one of the best and fastest passen
ger engines on the road. She was a
Norris engine, and was brought out in
February, 1860, and ran regularly un
til the Summer of 1870, when she was
takeu into the shops of the Georgia
Railroad and thoroughly overhauled,
the boiler especially; and, from the
character of the work done on the
boiler, it was regarded, by the Master
Machinist, as good for ten years long
er. The engine has made regular trips
since 1870, and the boiler never gave
any signs of weakness, but was re
garded as first-class in every particu
lar. So violent was the explosion that
the engine turned nearly completely
around—one of the immense driving
wheels beiDg blown off and sent to a
considerable distance.
The causes of the explosion are a
mystery. Mr. Reaney was regarded as
a careful and experienced engineer, and
was one in whom the management of
the road had great confidence. No de
lay was caused to other trains, as the
engine turned in the opposite direc
tion from the sideling, and the trains
now pass over it.
At a late hour last night it was un
derstood Mr. Reaney was still alive.
HANGING OF A MURDERER.
NICK THOMPSON. A NEGRO, SENT
INTO ETERNITY.
He Meets His Fate Calmly.
iSpecial to the Constitutionalist.]
Quitman, Ga., December 17.
The Governor having declined to
grant a respite, Nick Thompson, the
murderer of Capt. J. H. Hunter, was
hanged here to-day. The prisoner was
visited at ten o’clock by the colored
clergy of the town, and a regular class
meeting was held. The sheriff, guard,
family of the murderer, and a few
spectators, were present. The services
were opened by singing the hymn,
“Hark, Listen to the Trumpet,” by
special request of the prisoner, which
wa3 followed by prayer by two minis
ters present, and also the prisoner. At
11 o’clock the prisoner was brought
down to the gallows, which he ascended
with a firm step. After the rope had
been adjusted Nick was asked if he de
sired to say anything. He replied that
he had made his peace with God, and
felt that his sins were forgiven him,
and he was ready and anxious to go.
The black cap was put over his head
and his hands and feet securely tied,
and he was asked by the sheriff, “Are
you ready ?” “Yes, sir,” replied Nick,
“let it go.” The scaffold fell, and the
doomed man met his fate. His neck
was broken by the fall, and he died
without a struggle. No demonstrations
were made by the negroes to rescue
Nick, as was feared and guarded
against. Everything passed off quietly.
C.
ffl)£ CAutjusfn Constitutionalist.
Established 1799.
FROM WASHINGTON.
CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Adjournment Monday—Morton’s Mis
sissippi Resolution Laid Over Till
Monday—Resolution to Elect a Vice-
President, Pro Tem., Submitted —
Various Public and Private Bills—
A Resolution Laughed at by Both
Sides in the House—The Question of
Naturalization of Germans.
Washington, December 17. —The Sen
ato went into Executive session imme
diately.
The House agreed to the Senate re
solution to adjourn from next Monday
to January sth.
Senate. —In the Senate to-day Thur
man suggested that Morton’s resolu
tion for the investigation of the Missis
sippi election be laid over until Mon
day, as it would be impossible to dis
pose of it without an all night session.
Morton consented, saying he urged
it would be disposed of Monday.
Edmunds submitted a resolution to
elect a President pro tem. on the 7th of
January. He did this because of the
great importance of the subject. After
a brief discussion the resolution was
referred to the Judiciary Committee.
Very little doubt exists of the elec
tion of Ferry.
House. —A large number of bills of a
private nature were introduced in the
House.
Hemons, of Arkansas, introduced
bills for the improvement of the Talma
river, Arkansas ; also to repeal the tax
on leaf tobacco ; also to repeal the law
making restrictions in the disposition
of the public lands in the States of Ala
bama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkan
sas and Florida.
Page, of California, offered the fol
lowing resolution:
Whereas, The Constitution of the United
States, as framed by the fathers of the Re
public, imposes no limits on the eligibility
of any citizen to the office of President,
farther than that he must ne native born,
and of a certain age and time of residence,
therefore,
Resolved, That, in the judgment of this
House the right of candidates for
the office of President can only be lawfully
exerc sed by the people under existing con
stitutional restrictions, and has never been
delegated by the people to the House of
Representatives or to any of the members
of the same, and that any attempt by the
House of Representatives to limit or fore
stall the public will on a question of such
importance is an invasion of the power re
served to the people at large to be freely
exercised by them without any interfer
ence from any Legislative body whatever.
The reading of the resolution was
greeted with laughter on both sides of
the House, and the House refused to
second the previous question.
The following was introduced:
Resolved. That the Committee on Foreign
Affairs inquire into and report upon the ex
pediency and j ustice of giving to the Ger
man Empire the notice required by the sth
article of the treaty with the North German
Empire, signed the 22d of February, 1868,
for the termination of said treaty, or so
much thereof, and of the protocol of .June
12, 1871, as relates to citizens of the United
States, renunciation of naturalization
and their political condition in Germany
under said treaty and protocol.
Off for Philadelphia—Centennial Ex
cursion.
The Centennial excursion to Phila
delphia left here this afternoon. The
party numbers about four hundred and
fifty, including the President, several
members of the Cabinet, members of
Congress and newspaper men. Ar
rangements are perfected to give them
a grand entertainment in Philadelphia.
Arrival of the Washington Excursion
ists in Philadelphia—General Jolli
fication.
Philadelphia, December 17.—The
Congressional party, with the President
and members of tbe Cabinet, arrived
to-night. The journalists of the party
are being entertained by the Philadel
phia Press Club. The President, with
his family, are the guests of George
W. Childs. Postmaster General Jewell
is the guest of Col. Wm. McMichael.
Secretary Robeson and Attorney Gen
eral Pierrepont are stopping with ex-
Sec retary Borie. Justices Waite, Field
and Bradley are the guests of Hon.
Thos. H. Dudley, of Camden, N. J.
Justice Strong and Justice Hunt are
guests of Jas. M. Flanagan, Justice
Stroug’s sou-iu-law. The whole party,
the Cabinet, the Supreme Court, the
Senators and Representatives, and the
newspaper correspondents, number
about four hundred.
On their arrival, there was a large
crowd at the depot, and at the various
hotels where the Congressmen were
assigned quarters a large number of
persons had congregated. Chestnut
street, over which the train of carriages
passed, was handsomely illuminated,
the windows of private dwellings being
thrown open and lighted, likewise
stores, which were in many instances
handsomely decorated. The buildings
of the Reform Club, the American Club
and the Neptune Club were illuminated
and decorated, presenting a striking
appearance.
The crowd at the Continental wa3 so
great that the police were obliged to
put up ropes to make a passage way
for the guests. A committee of mer
chants escorted the part}’ to this city,
meeting them at Wilmington. Mr.
Mitchell, Chairman of the Committee
of Reception, presented to the Presi
dent at Wilmington a letter from the
Mayor of Philadelphia, extending to
him and tbe distinguished delegation
the hospitalities of this city. The
President replied In a few remarks.
Nominations and Continuations.
Wra. F. Prosser was confirmed by
the Senate as United States Marshal
for the Middle Distiict of Tennessee ;
F. W. Sawson, Postmaster at Sherman,
Texas.
The President, to-day, nominated
George F. Seward, of California, to be
Minister to China, and James Birney,
of Michigan, to be Minister to the
Netherlands.
SOUTH~CAROLINA.
The Columbia Races—Gov. Chamber
lain Addresses Students at Green
ville.
Charleston, December 17.—At the
Columbia races, third day, in the first
race, mile heats, four started. Lottie
Moon won in three straight heats; Da
mon second, Prussian third—Time,
1:48>2, 1:50, 1:48. In the second race,
mile dash, Larry Hart caine in first,
but was ruled out for a foul and the
purse won by Abdel Koree, Century
second. The third race, over hurdles,
was won by Vandal, Jr., Charles Cheat
ham second.
Governor Chamberlain addressed an
assemblage of students in Greenville
who had come there to participate in a
competitive examination in Greek, for
prizes given by Prof. Whitsett. There
teas an immense audience present.
An eating house in New Jersey still
reads: “Coffee and eggs fresh laid by
Mary Jones.” The hungry man cares
but little for punctuation, and Mary
Jones is doing well.
AUGUSTA. CTA., SATURDAY, DECEMBER 18, 187\5.
FOREIGN DISPATCHES.
The Dynamite Explosion—Total Kill
ed and Wounded—Aid for the Sur
vivors - Discrimination Against Ves
sels.
Bremen, December 17.—Thompson’s
wife returned to Dresden. She appears
to be innocent of any complicity in her
husband’s crime. The total number
killed and wounded by the explosion is
now estimated at 200.
The Empress Augusta has started a
benevolent association composed of
ladies of Bremen in aid of the survivors
of the Dynamite explosion.
Ottawa, Ont., December 17. — Owing to
the refusal of the United States au
thorities to allow Canadian vessels to
navigate American Canals on the same
footing as American vessels, tbe Do
minion government has prepared a
case and forwarded it to Secretary
Fish.
Men Still Clamoring for Bread in
Montreal.
Montreal, December 17.—This morn
ing. between 1,000 and 1,500 des
perate laborers again surrounded
the City Hall clamoring for bread.
Alderman Grenier, Chairman of the
Police Committee, addressed the peo
ple and quieted them, advising them
to wait till to-morrow. If immediate
aid is not given, it is feared that a riot
will be the result.
The Ministerial Crisis in France.
Versailles, December 17.—The min
isterial crisis cause! by the intended
withdrawal of M. Leon Say, the Minis
ter of Finance, continues, inasmuch as
M. Say persists in his determination to
resign.
In the Assembly to-day, Gen. Cissey,
Minister of War, was elected to the
Senate.
Egypt’s Zanzibar Expodition—Tele
graphs Out of Order —Movements of
Royalty.
London, December 17. —A telegram
from Cairo, dated to-day, in the Times,
confirms the recall of Egypt’s Zanzibar
expedition.
The telegraplm between London and
Liverpool have been somewhat dis
arranged to-day, and there has been a
consequent delay in the transmission
dispatches.
The Queen of Denmark and Princess
Thyria have returned to Cepeuhagen.
They'were accompanied by the Prin
cess of Wales, and her children, who
will spend the holidays in Denmark.
Going After a Mutinous Crew.
London, December 17.—English de
tectives and police are about to start
for France, to bring back the crew of
the British ship Leunie, who mutinied
in October last, while on a voyage from
Antwerp for New York, and killed the
master, mate and the boatswain. The
probability is that the Government
will dispatch a gunboat for the pur
pose. Eleven of the crew of the Leunie
will be charged with murder. A large
number of witnesses will also be
brought here.
SOUTH AMERICA.
A Bad State of Affairs in Peru—A San
guinary Election -Battle-A Boat
Race—Woman Suffrage in Chili.
Panama, December 17.—News from
Peru to the 28th iust. is quite disheart
ening. Business is absolutely stagnant,
gold and silver are on a rise, and mer
chants refuse to sell goods, as no ex
change can be procured on Europe for
remittances.
Election disputes have not yet ceased.
At Huanta, a town in the district of
Agacacho, a serious conflict took place
on the 16th ulb, between the rival
parties. For twelve hours a battle
raged among the polling booths,
to obtain possession of them,
and when night fell in, and the
ammunition became short, twenty dead
bodies lay in the plaza with the adjoin
ing houses filled with wounded. From
an absurd interpretation of the consti
tution the police were not allowed to
interfere le3t the government might be
accused of trying to intimidate.
A bdat race came off at Callao on the
11th ult., between one of those of the
United States Flagship Richmond and
another of the Peruvian man-of-war
Huascar. The Richmond’s crew com
menced and ended with the extraordi
nary pull of fifty-two strokes
per minute, but toward the
end of the second mile the better
qualities of the Huascar’s cutter be
came evident. She forged steadily
ahead, leaving her opponent some two
hundred yards behind. When the
stake boat was reached, the time made
by the victor was seventeen minutes
thirty eight seconds.
In Chili, the electoral registration is
going on. In Valparaiso one woman,
and in Santiago and in Capiapo several
friars have been registered as voters.
These occurrences have caused the
bringing before the Senate of a project
of law declaring that neither friars nor
women bo allowed to vote. This pro
ject of law passed into commission
after receiving general approbation.
CALIFORNIA.
Vigilance Committee Formed—Trouble
Apprehended from the Mexicans.
San Francisco, December 17. — The
citizens of San Diego have organized a
volunteer force to preserve order on
the frontier. Antonio Saorso, who has
been prominent in maintaining order
and punishing brigands was found
dead, shot through the head. The
vigilants are searching for the mur
derers. There is a great gathering of
Mexicans and a large camp in Treate
Valley. Either a raid across the border
or a revolution in Lower California is
intended.
AT SEA.
Collision—Vessel Ashore.
London, December 17.—The Chittoer,
from New Orleans for Hull, 'put into
Yarmouth, damaged by a collision.
Antwerp, December 17.—The steamer
Vaderland, from Philadelphia, is ashore
in Sceldt Belt. She is expected to come
off.
CHICAGO.
The National Transportation Conven
tion.
Chicago, December 17. — The National
Association of Transportation and Com
merce reassembled this morning.—
Resolutions were presented asking
Congress to make appropriations for
the improvement of navigable rivers,
and for the opening of two water
routes, oae from the Mississippi to the
Atlantic, and the other via Mississippi
to the Gulf.
The eyesight of a Massachusetts man
has been restored by the falling, of a
heavy weight on his head.
FROM NEW YORK.
Three Negroes Hu’ig—Stay of Fro
ceedings Ordered in. Dolan’s Case.
New York, December 17.—Wm. Ellis,
Charles Weston and William Thomp
son, the three negroes who followed a
peddler named Abraham Weissberg
into Lydig’s woods,! in Westchester
county, and beat his! brains out with
stones, in order to roij him of fourteen
dollars, were hung a|: half past nine
o’clock this morning. One of them
clung to the rope with" both hands and,
screamed in terrible a;gony.
A writ of error and stay of proceed
ings ia the case of John Dolan, who
was also to have been hung to-day,
was ordered last evening by Judge
Donohue. The writ and stay caiis for
an argument before the general term
of the Supreme Court in January.
Improved Condition of Charles
O’Conor.
Charles O’Conor is considered out of
danger. He ate heartily yesterday,
and his stomach has recovered its tone
aud functions. His physician states
that lie has conquered the disease, and
if no relapse takes place his patient
will soon be well again.
A Supposed Murderer.
New York, December 17. The
Brooklyn detectives have succeeded in
weaving out a strong .chain of evidence
around P. N. RubeoWtein, accused of
murdering the youn{'| Jewess in East
New York. admitted to
day to his fellow-prisoners that an in
timacy exised between him and the un
fortunate girl.
GEORGIA GENERAL NEWS.
There is snow on the Cohutto Moun
tains.
The Sehuetzen Society of Savannah
are preparing for the coming carnival
season.
Thirty-two gin houses have been re
ported burned in this State since Sep
tember Ist.
Columbus office holders are a good
deal depressed by the low salaries
which Council has voted.
Dr. C, P. Bernau, of Mt. Zion, a dis
tinguished Presbyterian divine, died
very suddenly, while seated in his
chair, last Sunday.
Samuel Hillhouae has struck a rich
gold mine, near Etowah mines, in
Cherokee county. Tins mine is said to
yield five hundred dollars to the ton.
Mr. Albert L. Richardson, formerly
agent for the steamer Lizzie Baker, left
Savannah for New York on Thursday,
to bring out another steamer to be
placed on the inside route from Savan
nah to Florida.
An old and respectable citizen of Sa
vannah attempted suicide Thursday by
taking morphine, but the prompt use
of a stomach pump saved him. Finan
cial troubles are said to be the cause of
the attempt.
On Monday night the gin house of
Messrs. B. W. Davis and Joseph Willi
ford, in Stewart county, was burned.
Loss, two bales of cotton aud six or
seveu hundred bushels of cotton seed.
Incendiary. No insurance.
At the regular communication of
Waynesboro Lodge, No. 274, F. and A.
M., held recently, the following officers
were elected for the ensuing year:
Amos P. Lambeth, W. M.i Edward A.
Carter, S. W.; John A. Barnes. J. W;
Thos. J. McElmurray, Treasurer; Jas.
E. Frost, SecretaM'; Robert A. Lawson,
S. D.; Thos. S. Blanchard, J. D.; Robt.
J. Skinner, Tyler.
At a communication of Mt. Herman
Lodge, No. 304, F. A. M., the following
officers were elected : F. M Brooks,
W. M.; John A. Urquhart, S. W.; G. W.
Gafford, J. W.; D. H. Burts, Treasurer;
T. A. Cantrell, Secretary ; Rev. R. J.
Corley, Chaplain ; J. H. Conway, S. D.;
M. Joseph, J. D.; C. B. Teasdale and J.
L. Jordon, Stewards ; Jas. M. Hughes,
Tyler. J. C. Porter, Marshal.
SOUTH CAROLINA NEWS.
About the first of January, the Rev.
Mr. Broaddus will leave us and set up
his rest in the flourishing railroad
town of Ninety-Six. The Baptist
Church is about to call a Rev. Mr. Al
exander. ,
Last Sunday, the Coroner of Chester
county held an inquest on the body o'
a negro who was found dead in a screw
press. The evidence showed that the
deceased was standing near the screw
box, and, when the others left, lay
down upon the cotton and fell asleep.
The rest of the cotton might then have
been put in without rousing him, and
when it was pressed down he was
smothered.
Julia Randolph, a woman of bad re
pute, was mysteriously murdered near
her house in Darlington county on Fri
day night last. A negro named Dave
Williams, with whom the murdered
woman was supposed to have had
some questionable relations, is sus
pected of the deed, and has fled the
country.
At the recent meeting of the County
commissioners of Marion, they raised
the price of license to sell whiskey to
$250. In Horry, th<| commissioners
have given notice thai after the Ist of
January they will refuse to grant a li
cense at any price. \
Robert Gadsden, a qegro, stole a bot
tle of whiskey in Charleston from a
store, and was pursued by a colored
porter aud shot in the thigh.
Death of a Hero of Two Battles.—
James Robinson, colored, the owner of
the “Robinson House,” on the Bull
Ruu battle field, near Manassas, Va.,
died a few days since. He witnessed
both of the memorable battles, remain
ing on his place with his family during
those terrible scenes of blood. His
house received hundreds of bullets and
one solid twenty-four pounder, which
went through a bed-room, carrying
away one post of a bed upon which lay
a sick Confederate soldier. He wit
nessed the death of the Confederate
Generals Bee and Bartow, which took
place within a hundrid yards of his
door. He saw the marble monument
erected to their memory, and saw the
Federal soldiers destroy the same at
the second battle. He gathered up the
fragments and preserved them, and up
to the time of his death would give
visitors to the battle field who desired
it a small piece of the marble as a me
mento.
At a prayer meeting the other eve
ning, a brother, who was relating his
experience, bore testimony to tbe fact
that religion had a great deal to do in
strengthening a man’s courage, and
added: “I never had to run for my
life but once, and that! was the second
year after I was marr-ed. If she hadn’t
stumbled and broken her ueck, I don’t
believe I’d be here now.”
THE POWER OF SILENCE.
[London Saturday Beview.J
It is a familiar observation that the
great processes of nature are mostly
conduced in silence, and noise is the
sign not so much of growth as of de
struction. It is not in the disturbing
forces of the earthquake, the tempest,
and the fire, but rather in the silent ad
vance of long geological periods, the
gradual development of animal life,
and the slow cooling of the igneous
globe, that her still small voice speaks
to the ear of science. It is, however,
of human conduct rather than of nat
ural laws that we are thinking when
we speak of the power of silence. The
power of speech in its various forms,
whether of conversation, of argument,
of oratory, or. in a wider sense of the
word, of written communication, is in
deed obvious enough—so obvious, that
without it, human iife would come to a
standstill altogether.
Language, as it is constantly ob
served, distinguishes the rational from
the brute creation. But, on the other
hand, the ingenious sarcasm of a great
master of diplomacy, who suggested
that the principal use of language is
to conceal our thoughts, has a basis of
fact to rest upon. At all events it is
very often used for that purpose, and
in such cases the language of silence,
wherever it is available, is the simplest
aud most effective that *;an be em
ployed. We say wherever it is avail
able, for a tell-tale silence, according
to the familiar proverb, may be the
s.urest means of revealing, not conceal
ing thought. It is not every one who
knows how “to be silent in seven lan
guages ;” to speak seven languages
with ease, if not a common, is perhaps
a less rare accomplishment. But the
capacity, where it exists, is a real
source of strength, and Solomon inti
mates that to be wholly destitute of it
is the mark of a fool, who “utteretli all
his mind.”
Avery simple illustration may serve
to bring out our meaning here. One of
the commonest objections to tbe whole
class of alleged phenomena, which are
vulgarly lumped together under the
comprehensive head of ghost stories, is
that they are almost always reported
second-hand. The fact is admitted and
accounted for iu several eases in a work
on alleged supernatural appearances,
reviewed iu our columns not long ago.
Now the objection of course has its
weight, valeat quantum-, but it is not
conclusive, for the simple reason that
“a man of understanding,” to use Solo
mon’s phrase, if he believes himself to
have witnessed any such preternatural
occurrence, is not likely to be commu
nicative on the subject. However
strong may be his own conviction on
its reality, he will have a keen sense of
tbe ridicule to which an open avowal
may expose himself and perhaps his
family also; while he will be so far from
sharing the fat boy’s eagerness “to
make yer flesh creep,” that iu propor
tion to the depth of his own conviction
will be his unwillingness to expose to
vulgar criticism, what to himself has a
character of sacredness.
Everyone has heard of Col. Gardi
ner’s visions, and there can be no sort
of doubt as to his own belief in them.
But when a rough military friend of
his, on first seeing the account in print,
after his death, remarked that it must
be a pure invention, because Col. Gar
diner had never told him a word about
the matter, oue feels at once that the
objection is absurd, whatever may be
thought about the visions. Thus again
it is related of Hallam and the poet
Rogers, that,, iu early life, they were
greatly impressed with some mesmeric
experiments they had witnessed iu
Paris, and on their first return to Lon
don began talking freely on the sub
ject; but when they found their revela
tions were received with a chorus of
indiscriminate ridicule, they agreed
never again to speak of the subject in
general society.
In such instances, and many more
that might be mentioned, silence is
chiefly used as a protective power, and
that is no doubt its most obvious,
though by no means its only use. Our
readers may be aware that in former
days the Fellows of Trinity College.
Dublin, were forbidden by statute to
marry; but the violation of the rule,
which in fact they seldom observed,
was connived at so long as they main
tained a discreet reticence on their con
nubial arrangements, and their wives
bore their maiden name in public. One
of these wedded celibates was asked by
a friend, who had been much perplexed
on discovering the state of the case,
how he managed to hold his fellowship?
“My dear, sir,” was the reply, “a man
can hold anythiug who can hold his
tongue.” It follows, of course, that a
man who wears his heart on his sleeve
will let everything slip through his
fingers.
The gift of silence is characteristic
of the “canny” Scot. A Scotchman will
never “tell a lee,” but he will make it
next to impossible for you to discover
what he wishes to conceal. The sur
gical operatiou which is said to be
requisite for getting a joke into him is
equally required for getting out of him
when he prefers, as he very frequently
does prefer, to keep his own counsel.
He is an adept at beating about the
bush, which is another way of saying
that he knows how to hold his tongue.
But silence is not merely a protec
tive power. If it often serves tc con
ceal what there might be an indiscre
tion in betraying, it may also prove a
positive means of influence. The
Greeks thought it so difficult to “speak
good omened words” that they used
the phrase as equivalent to what the
Romans more directly termed a “sacred
silence.” And, great as the repute
which their philosophers, orators and
poets have won by their writings, it is
difficult to determine how much of the
still grander reputation of Socrates is
due to his having written nothing.
In one sense certainly he was the re
verse of silent, but he did not commit
his thoughts to paper, aud he has been
credited—wo do not say undeservedly
—with more than the highest wisdom
of those who undertook to report his
utterance, while their weaknesses are
attributed to themselves.
How much, again, of influence and
reputation iu ordinary life is due to a
judicious silence. We have all heard
of Lord Thurlow’s awful nod, but there
are other professions than the law
where a sententious silence has proved
the secret of success. How many med
ical reputations have been built on a
capacity for looking wise and saying
nothing 1 A doctor who knows how
to insinuate by tone and face and ges
ture his perfect oommand of the situa
tion, without committing himself to
speciflo assertions, may make & little
skill go a long way, and may even
make serious mistakes with impunity.
It does not seem so easy for a preach
er to trade upon his capacity of re
serve, yet even in the clerical profes
sion many have gained the reputation
of profound divines and able guides in
the spiritual life by a judicious man-
agement of platitudes. Nor would it be
hard to show on the other hand, how
lofty reputations and brilliant prospects
have been blighted by too open
mouthed frankness. It matters little
what opinions an aspirant for political
or clerical promotion may hold, so long
as he understands when to hold his
tongue about them; but a single slip
may mar a whole career. It is not un
common, again, to hear people say that
they had rather not meet some famous
personage for whose character they
have conceived a high admiration or
reverence, for fear the spell should be
broken. This means that they are
afraid of his saying something that
would jar on their prec- meeived notions
about him; and, considering the im
mense diversity of tastes and methods
of judgment, such a tesult is certainly
likely enough. But no previously
formed estimate, though it may not be
raised, can well be endangered by
silence. The policy of reserve has been
stigmatized, and sometimes justly, as
cowardly, but it is usually safe. As
dead men tell no talec, silent men com
mit no blunders.
ANYTHING TO SATE BABCOCK.
The Rem oval of Henderson the Salva
tion of the Whiskey Ring:.
[New York World, 10th.]
The intelligence given in our Wash
ington special this morning shows that
the prosecution of the St. Louis Whis
key Ring has broken down at last.
Henderson had pushed on with terrible
persistency, convicting Joyce, McDon
ald and Avery in succession, and de
claring on the last trial that he would
establish the guilt of Babcock. With
wonderful zeal the grand jury handed
over to him, one after another, the va
rious victims, and had just committed
the President’s military secretary to
his tender mercies when the order
came from Washington that Hen
derson’s connection with the prose
cution should cease. Thus the Presi
dent counter-checks the indictment
of Babcock by a movement to destroy
the force of the prosecution. Hender
son had the courage, the ability and
the knowledge of the facts requisite to
push the case of the Government
against the conspirators to the bitter
end. Had a conviction been required
he would have been retained. His suc
cessor will understand that an acquit
tal is what is required, and wiy act
accordingly. Tho President’s repre
sentative, in the President’s court, can
so shape the case as to let the “guilty
man escape.” The pretense that,
Henderson is removed from the
prosecution because some of his
remarks before the jury reflected
upon Mr. Grant, is a hollow one. His
earnest denial of this charge should be
taken as conclusive, for he ought to
know 7 best what he said, and what he
meant by his utterances. We repeal,
that the prosecution of the St. Louis
“Whiskey ring” has broken down. Mr.
Grant, acting either through conscious
ness of his own guilt or through un
worthy affection for a subordinate, is
primarily responsible for the failure ;
and Mr. Bristow, who should have re
fused to turn back from the furrow, is
not altogether blameless. The tragedy
at St. Louis is over, gentlemen; let
down the curtain; we have no desire to
look upon a farce.
Why it Didn’t (Dome Off. — A few
days ago a Detroit widower, who was
engaged to a Detroit widow, each hav
ing two or three children, and both
being well off, determined to test her
love for him and at the same time dis
cover if she was actuated by mercenary
motives as some of his friends had as
serted. He called upon her at tho
usual evening hour, and after a while
remarked :
“My dear, you know I have two
children, and to-day I had my life in
surance policy for $25,000 changed to
their sole benefit in case of my death.”
“You did quite right, my darling,”
she promptly replied. “I have three
children, as you are aware. As soon as
we were engaged I had every dollar’s
worth of my property so secured that
they alone can have tho benefit of it.”
He looked.
She looked.
The marriage didn’t come off at the
time set last week, and it may never
occur.— Detroit Free Press.
The Wives of the Prison Birds. —A
correspondent of the Milwaukee News,
writing from Ripon, Wls., says: “Mrs.
Gen, McDonald, wife of the St. Louis
Revenue Superintendent, who was so
recently tried, convicted and sentenced
for frauds in the collection of revenues,
mingles as freely and unconcernedly as
ever in society; but Mrs. Col. Joyce,
the wife of McDonald’s partner in the
same business, is not now with her in
society (it may not be known that she
lives at the home of the McDonald’s,
near Green Lake) as she has lately be
come a mother. She, as well as Mrs.
McDonald, bears her trials, if suoh
they can be called, with admirable
grace. The McDonald mansion is the
largest, costliest, and contains more
elements of wealth and refinement than
any other in this vicinity.”
Death of One of the Astor Heir 3.
Mrs John Winthrop Chanler died in
New York Monday morning. She was
a daughter of Samuel Ward and Emily
Astor, the daughter of William B.
Astor. The will of Mr. Astor gave to
Mrs. Chanler a life estate in a house on
Madison avenue, in his country seat
in Dutchess county, in a large amount
of real estate out of John Jacob Astor’s
residuary estate, and $375,000. She
also received absolutely a large quan
tity of real estate. She was in the
thirty-eighth year of her age.
Behind the bars of Auburn prisoo
there pines a veritable genius. His
name is Mitchel, and during his term
of imprisonment he has busied himself
in cutting out of wood various fancy
articles. His entire collection is said
to be veiy beautiful, and the work
manship Is such as to excite the won
der and admiration of all who see it.
Skillful mechanios have placed the
value of the collection at SI,OOO. Mit
chell’s sentence was for ten years ; but
for good behavior it has been short
ened, and he will be free in the spring
of 1877.
A New Yorker has patented a ma
chine to freeze murderers to death in
four minutes, and he hopes that all re
spectable Sheriffs will adopt the idea
and the machine.—[. Detroit Free Press.
That will enable the weakest-kneed
murderer to meet his death with the
greatest cooluess.
A Sunday school soholar who went
along thinking of the kind Providence
that watches over goocHittle boys, and
oheerfully singing,
“Oh, I am on the road to glory, so I am,”
had a store sign fall on him and knock
out a whole set of lower-jaw teeth,
New Series—Vol. 28. No. 116
GRANTHENDERSON.
PRO AND CON OP THE MATTER.
Grant Transcends the Law.
[N. Y. Herald. |
In the interview with our correspon
dent, Mr. Henderson makes a strong
point in vindication of his address to
the jury, which has not been presented
before. He calls attention to the fact
that the President had not a shadow of
legal right to interfere with the assign
ment of internnl revenue officers to dif
ferent districts, although he did inter
fere to prevent the transfer of McDon
ald to an Eastern district. Mr. Hen
derson says the President had no more
right to obstruct and cancel that order
“than the Emperor of Japan.” It seems
that Commissioner Douglass did not
understand the law, and that he refer
red the matter to the President in ig
norance of its provisions, “ihe law
provides expressly,” says Mr. Hender
son, “that the Secretary of the Treas
ury shall, upon the recommendation of
the Commissioner of Internal Revenue,
make these transfers, and Douglass
himself did not know what the law was
when lie testified that the President’s
sanction was necessary.” President
Grant went beyond the law and tran
scended his authority when he coun
termanded the order for the transfer of
internal revenue officers. This illegal
action of the President was a full jus
tification of Mr. Henderson’s comments
in addressing tho court and jury.
A LETTER FROM EX-GOVERNOR PALMER.
The following very characteristic let
ter was received by Mr. Henderson,
this morning, from John M. Palmer,
ex-Governor of Illinois :
Springfield, Dec. 13th, 1875.
Hon. John li. Henderson :
Dear Sir—As a member of the legal pro
fession of more than thirty years service,
for mvself anU many others whom I have
consulted, I desire to thank you for stand
ing by your speech in the Avery trial with
out explanation or apology. It is not neces
sary for me to express an opinion upon the
merits of the argument, as a whole, or of
that portion of it which, it is reported, gave
offense to the President. It is enough that
you made it on your responsibility as
counsel in the discharge of your duties,
and that you refused to explain the lan
guage used or to apologize to any one for
its use. For this you deserve the thanks of
the profession and of the country, arid you
will receive the honors you deserve. I think
I may truthfully say that no one cherishes
feelings of higher personal respect and re
gard for the reputation of the President
than I do, or that any would more readily
resent improper imputations upon him
than I would. I did not favor his election in
1872, but my opposition to him was polit
ical, and there are matters of higher mo
ment than mere friendships, and one of
these is that the legal profsssion, to be use
ful, must be independent, and must not sub
mit to bo challenged even by the President
and his Cabinet for honest words spoken in
the courts in the line of duty. I trust that
you will find, in the increased respect of
the Bar and the people, ample compensa
tion for any mortification you may have
for a moment felt at the reported unfavor
able judgment of the President and his
advisers upon your professional conduct.
Respectfully,
John M. Palmer.
AN OLD CONFEDERATE’S OPINION.
At the instance of General Grant, an
old family friend of the Grants, ex-
Governor Reynolds, who will be re
membered as the Confederate Gov
ernor of Missouri, was asked to-day to
accept the position of special assistant
prosecuting counsel for the whiskey
fraud cases, but he declined this after
noon without stating reasons. It was
immediately surmised that Governor
Reynolds was too strongly in sympathy
with Henderson to accept such a posi
tion, but tho old gentleman especially
requested me to sav that this was not
true, and said violently:
“I not only am not in with
Henderson, but I think lie lias acted
like a perfect blackguard, and if old
Jackson had been President, I know he
would have come down and thrashed
him.”
A JUSTIFIABLE REMOVAL.
[Chicago Tribune.]
The removal of Mr. Henderson from
the prosecution of the whiskey cases
at Bt. Louis, while it will be received
with regret, in so far as it removes an
apparently able and vigorous prosecu
tor from tho case, was nevertheless an
act which the President was compelled
to perform to preserve his self-respect;
and the unanimous indorsement of his
action by the Cabinet at Washington,
and indirectly by the Grand Jury at
St. Louis, will be favorably regarded
by all but the most narrow and bitter
partisans.
When President Grant appointed Mr.
Henderson to the office of chief prose
cutor he did it with the full knowledge
that their relations were unfriendly.—
In selecting him, therefore, and in over
coming any personal dislike or ill feel
ing toward him, he in reality paid Mr.
Henderson an unusual and very high
compliment. He met him more than
half way. He offered him more
than reconciliation. With the frank
ness of the soldier-element in
his composition, lie went to one
whom he knew to be his enemy and
virtually said to him 7 ?“I have faith in
you that, notwithstanding your inimi
cal relations to me, you will do the du
ty entrusted to you. I am willing to
forget all enmities and place the inte
rests of the Government in your hands
for protection.” If Mr. Henderson
were not disposed to meet the Presi
dent in like spirit, and act with corres
ponding magnanimity, he never should
have accepted the appointment; but,
having acoepted, it should at once have
disarmed him, so long, at least, as he
was engaged by the President as a
Government prosecutor. He could not
have selected a more unfortunate or
ungracious time to exhibit his spleen.
It will he the very general impression
that no honorable man would stoop to
deliberately betray a trust oonflded in
him, and improve an opportunity, given
him by the President in good faith, to
assail the man who had placed him in
the position he held. To take advqq-,
tage of this position and strike a foul
blow at tbe President was, to put the
act in its mildest form, ungenerous, in-,
hospitable, and ungentlemanly. It was
a deed in shockingly bad taste, which
is all the more inconceivable, since hon -
or and chivalry are subject to hair
splitting conditions in the South.
The aotion of Mr. Henderson was
not alone ungraolous so far as the
President is concerned. It was a tres
pass upon the confidence which Secre
tary Bristow and Attorney-General
Pierrepont reposed jq him, and it
placed both these gentlemen in a very
embarrassing attitude towards the
President. They fixed upon Mr. Hen
derson as the proper person for prose
cutor, and as such recommended his
appointment to the President. He
aoted upon their wishes, and, regard
less of his own feelings, seeking only
the best interests of the Government,
anxious only that “no guilty man
should escape,” made the appointment.
Mr. Henderson therefore not only was
guilty of inhospitable and unprofes
sional ccmdqct towards the Secretary
of the Treasury and the Attorney Gen
eral, pud brought them into unpleasant
relations to tho President. They both
To Advertisers and Subscribers.
AJ TiS? date (April 21. 1875.) all
editions of the Constitutionalist will be sent
tree of postage.
Advertisements must be paid for when ban
aea in, unless otherwise stipulated.
au feßtine Candidates lot
office, 20 cents per line each insertion.
M jfpoaUi y Onier mitt ® and ** our rißk by Expreea
Correspondence invited from all sources.
And valuable special news paid for if used.
Rejected Communications will not be re
turned. and no notice taken of anonymous
letters, or articles written on both siaes.
felt the trespass upon them; and were
indignant and resented it. He was re
moved at their request, as he had been
appointed at their request. The re
moval received their hearty endorse
ment, as it did of the rest of the Cabi
net, and as it will of all respectable
members of the Bar, and of all fair
minded people in general.
AN ELEPHANT FIGHT AT BARODA
Writing of the Prince of Wales’ re
ception at Baroda, the correspondent
off the London Daily Telegraph says:
The chief feature of the entertainment
prepared at this return call was an ele
phant fight, for which sort of exhibition
the Court of Baroda has always, been
famous. Native Indian Princes hav©
indeed a remarkable passion for such
displays, but Khuuderao and his suc
cessor, the late Guicowar, were partic
ularly devoted to the dubious amuse
ment of watching the contests of ani
mals, so that at Baroda there has
always been kept up a large supply of
elephants, rhinoceroses, buffaloes,
tigers, rams, and camels trained to
fight for the pleasure of the Court.
Combats still more cruel, such as the
shockiug nukhi matches, wherein
naked atheletes tore eaeh other
to pieces with irom claws fitted
upon tho palm. used to dis
grace the leisure of the Gui
cowars ; but we may trust that such
sightsare now abolished there. The
savage struggles of beasts, starved or
excited into ferocity, are bad enough,
iu all conscience, to witness ; but these
are so very common at Indian enter
tainments that, like a bull fight in
Spain, one sees them once or twice as
part of the fashion of the country.
Nor, to tell the truth, is there wanting
an element of excitement in watching
the tiger and the buffalo bull manoeu
vre against each other, sabre-like horn
against dagger-like tooth ; or two well
fed rams come thundering brow against
brow with a shock that rattles far and
near. The Prince was introduced to
certain of these combats, and saw be
sides, the curious duel of rhinoceroses
where, despite their unwieldy bulk and
a.v\ kward weapons, there is really almost
as much science displayed as Capt. Bur
ton lias elaborated in his recent won
derful treatise on sword-play, with all
its deadly mysteries of moulinet and
the like. These cunning behemoths
fence and foiu to get the advantage of
the telling thrust under the jaw with
their hoi n, and over and over again
they will close, and press, and butt one
another baokward and forward in
clouds of dust, snorting and grunting
and champing foam, while the attend
ants refresh them with copious chat
ties of water, neither obtaining the
fatal opportunity. By-and-by one of
the two combatants grows weary, allow
ing his monstrous jowls to be’thrust
sideways or upward; and immediately
with marvelous celerity the successful
beast drives his armed snout under the
jaw of his adversary, producing a
wound which is acknowledged with a
frightful squeal and an inglorious re
treat on the part of the vanquished
monster.
For the elephant fight proper the
contending pairs are earefully trained
and prepared beforehand with stimu
lating food and drugs, and advantage
is also taken of that periodical frenzy
displayed in the male elephant which
is known as must. At suoh a time of
natural excitement the elephant be
comes fierce and formidable even to
his keeper, and only to lead two suoh
beasts forth into the arena and show
them for a moment the waving trunk
of the distant .female, produces a de
gree of pugnacity which wants little
additional encouragement. It was one
of the favorite pleasures of the unfeel
ing Roman populace to watch elephant
fights iu the amphitheatre. Augustus,
who gave the people four hundred and
thirty panthers, and Potnpey, who let
loose six hundred lions into the arena
were thought to be outdone by Trajan
when he produced twenty elephants iu
a state of must, and pitted them iu
deadly combat against six hundred Ge
tuhau captives. That was one elephant
to thirty men, nor would the odds seem
disproportionate to those who have
witnessed the Indian hutti in his wrath,
trumpeting out blasts of rage and de
fiance from his uplifted trunk, straight
ening his tail, dropping his great un
der-hung pointed lip to give fair play
to his ivory bayonets, and his little
eyes glaring all the while like flre-bailu
from the shadow of the huge ears. Yet
there are mahouts who will sit on their
necks and push in the thickest of the
fight brutes as mad even as this—dig
ging at their nape, this side and that,
with the a?ikus, or hook, though hardly
more secure than would be the captains
of two iron-olads coming into collision,
with thoir eighty-ton cannon discharg
ing, if they perched themselves upon
the bowsprit ends. But only the beßt
trained animals w 7 ould be trusted thus
to respect man amid their wildest rage;
ordinary fighting elephants cannot be
ridden to the combat; the mahouts ex
cite and cheer them, and then slip
off before the encounter begins. When
it does begin such as can look
with pleasure on these things behold a
colossol duello. The enormous crea
tures like mountains rolling together
their tusks clash and clatter, their
feet delve chasms in the dust and
scatter it iu clouds; and they rear up
on their hind legs and wrestle for mas
tery with aq agility as astonishing as
is their senseless fury. The trunk, ear
and flank are the weak places, as the
wise beast well knows; and what with
each keeping his own clear and seek
ing to seize that of his opponent, so
that he may force him aside and drive
an ivory sword-tip under the elbow or
hook, or wring off his leathern ear, one
and the other probosces fly about to
gether in the air like arms of an infu
riated wind-mill. Shrill signals of fear
or rage, of victory or defeat, accompany
the, rounds, for the wrathful elephant
blows his own battle music continually,
and screams with tremendous anxiety
when he is getting the worst
of it. Presently some advantage
is attained, and a blow or dig
which would annihilate anvthing but
Leviathan, is dealt, whereupon, ordi
narily, the sagacious brute who has
fought in vain knows that he is de
feated, and quite declines to stand up
to any needless punishment. He turns
tail and trots off, ungainly and discom
fltted, covered with dust and blood,
and pursued a little while by the victor
who, soon, however, is content to trum
pet out an insulting blast aqd range
the arena for another foo. It wants
considerable skill at such a moment to
slip the foot-ropes on tho triumphant
monster and get him out of the way ;
but this is managed by the adroit ma
liouta, either by cunning approaches or
by bringing iu a couple of females.
Sometimes a weak elephant is forced
to the earth and gored or stamped so
that he dies, but generally they “live
to. fight another day,” provided that
the tusks have not been fitted with
steel points, which is occasionally prac
ticed, *