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JTlie Greorgia, TX^eekly Telegra/pli.
(gSrgia (BtMlg Cdqnqj^
1S XHB SUPaBWE COURT POWER
LESS ?
Wchnvo maintained Unit it is the highest
iluty of the Southern people, iu tho present
crisis offtifeirs, to appeal to the law for pro
jection. There is not a sensible man in
America who does not believe the Sherman
Military bill a direct and llagrant violation
of the Constitution of the United States, and
that the courts would so declare it if brought
in lane before them. This is tho way to de
feat an unconstitutional law, and we linve
urged the people of the South at feast to try
it. If successful, as it is obliged to bo, we
shall got rid of the oppressive act altogether.
If unsuccessful, we shall only be remanded to
our original position. Wo hold that it would
be folly, nay madness, voluntarily to assume
tbe hardships and disgrace of tho tyrannical
law without evon so much as testing its validi
ty by all the i«rras pointed out by the laws of
the country.
Bat two objections have been urged to this
course. One is that the Courts, if they arc
all in our favor, will act too late—that a
whole year, or nearly that, must elapse before
wc can get a decision in the case, and that in
the meantime the odious law will have been
enforced against us, with others still more
oppressive.
The second objection is, that the Supreme
Court is powerless—that if it should declare
jl, c low unconstitutional, nobody will respect
its decisions.
To the first objection, we say that wo can
see no reason why a case could not be made
ap and a decision had in ample time to in
tercept the execution of the law. If wo are
correct in our judgment, it is not necessary
for the Supreme Court to decide upon the
law in order to give tho Executive Depart
ment of the Government authority, and even
make it a duty, to stay its enforcement. Why
could not any Uuitcd States Court, District
or Circuit, take cognizance of the matter?
Their jurisdiction is original, and the case
must come before them, wbilst the jurisdic
tion of the Supremo Court, in such cases at
least, is appellate. If the District Court of
Georgia, for instance, should, next week, de
clare the law’ unconstitutional, would not the
President be authorized to suspend the law
throughout the jurisdiction of that Court,
sad until a final decision can be had from the
Appellate Court t It is so with regard to
othe r laws, why not so with this ?
It lias been also said that tho Supreme
Court cannot be relied on for permanent pro
tection, that of the nine Judges who compose
it four are Radicals and five Conservatives,
but two of tho latter aro far advanced in
years and may die at any time, thus making
a tic (as by law no appointment can be made
until the number is reduced to seven) which
cannot be relied on, as a majority is required
to overrule a law. It is true the probabili
ties arc against old age and infirmity, but on
the other land it must bo recollected that in
the provid ncc of God those who are exp act
ed soonest to take their departure sometimes
linger on the stage whilst the hale and hearty
are called away. Death may remove one or
moro of the four Radicals, in which event the
odds will be increased in favor of the South.
Whilst making calculations on so uncertain
a thing as human life, this contingency should
not be left out of the question.
As regards the second objection, viz.: that
the Supreme Court is powerless and its de
cisions rrill not be respected, it is an alarm
ing position to ho taken in nn argument.—
Wo hope tho country has not yet reached
that hopeless stage on the road to ruin and
anarchy. If it has, the day for argument has
passed. All issues must be decided by phys
ical force, and we aro in tho midst of revolu
tion already. But we deny that it is so. Tho
two cases relied on in proof ot the extraordi
nary position, do not justify any such conclu
sion. They aro the decision of tho Supreme
Court ot the District of Columbia in tho Ma-
gruder test oath case, nnd tho arrest of citi
zens by military officers in various portions
ot the South.
As regards the Magruder case, the facts do
not make out the charge of a disregard of
the Supreme Court decision against tho test
oath. Tho District Court Judge, while ho
believed the Supreme Court wrong in its
judgment, did not argne the mandatory
[For the Georgia Telegraph
Tlic Charge of General Gordon’s
Division at spoUtylvunin Court
House, May 12, 1964.
On the 12th of May, 1864, near Spotfsylva-
uia Court House, Virginia, Brigadier Juo. B.
Gordon, of Georgia, made a charge that was
rewarded on tho spot with instant promotion
to a Major-Generalship—a charge, like De
saix’s at Marengo, that changed the fortunes
of the day—snatched the full blown wreath
from the hands of Grant, and probably gave
another lease of life to the imperilled Con
federacy.
Maj.-General Edward Johnson—without
fault, for always heroic, was hastening up
cannon at the moment—was utterly over-
wlielmed. Gordon, then a Brigadier, was in
command of a Division, consisting of John
son’s North Carolina, about 400 men of Ter
rill’s Virginia, and of Gordon’s Georgia Brig
ade, now under tbo immediate command of
the gallant Evans, of the latter State.
Tho Division was placed in reserve, some
distance, directly in rear of Maj.-Gen. John
son at the salient. Hearing the sudden out
burst of the tremendous assault that stormed
the salient, with the quick military instinct
never known to falter, to hesitate, or (we
think) to err, Gen. Gordon first threw for
ward Johnson's North Carolina Brigade »n o
direct line, winch, of course, spe»*l*lv met and
engaged the flushed host of the victorious
enemy. “Johnson's men fought like lions.”
said cjonion, (who is little chary of compli
ments unless richly merited,) and to them
unquestionably belongs the credit of having
first checked the enemy, in front, on this por
tion of the line. “They fought like lions.”
Such was the wont, ever, of the soldiers of
that noble State, from whose modest lips,
after such deeds, was never heard the fainted
whispers of commendation or self eulogy.
The attack on the salient commenced
about half-past four o'clock, and this
check wns given as night was vanishing
before the gray dusk of rising morn. Know
ing tbe immense preponderance of the Fed
eral forces, Gen. Gordon immediately dis
patched from his Georgia Brigade small de
tachments to open fire on the enemy’s line,
to distract him, and thus impose upon him
the deceptive appearance of far greater num
bers than his command possessed. Many of
these brave men were killed or captured; but
Gen. Gordon, with emphatic earnestness, had
impressed upon them the tremendous peril
of the moment, the necessity of exposure even
to the extent of self-sacrifice, for the last
moments of the Confederacy seemed at hand.
It was in this spirit of self-martyrdom, they
opened fire with most determined fury upon
the dense mass ol Federals, now moving like
some broad majestic river in its resistless
course before them. Now transpired an in
cident that could find development only
under the quick stimulus and stupendous
excitements of a mighty battle; when the
facnlties and senses of the truly brave, never
overwhelmed, seem to gather preternatural
energy and acuteness from the darkest frown
of most appalling dangers. An incident oc
curred which a Frenchman might pronounce
an inspiration, which veterans would deem
remarkable; bnt which the historian, in the
calm analysis of philosophic meditation,
would probably designate a stroke of rare
self-possession and military genius. The
fogs and mists of morning hung in impene
trable darkness over the wilderness, and
fortunate, perhaps, it may have been for Gor
don and Ills skeleton Brigades that it was so;
else the vast disparity of numbers, (present
on the spot), if known to the Federals, might
have inspired tbe confidence which seems
very strangely to have forsaken them at the
most critical moment The storm of battle
was all around him, but with the delicate
intuition borrowed, perhaps, from the very
extremity of the peril, he divined from the
whistling of the balls (he could not see) flying
in all, even in opposite directions, that the
mighty torrent had probably passed him, and
was rolling in unresisted triumph far away to his
right, inside the Confederate retrenchments.
And it was so. At the flash of this terrible
conviction, Gordon wheeled and double-
quicked his Georgia nnd Virginia brigades to
meet tbe startling aspect of this overwhelm
ing new danger. Making a quick circuit,
I with a forest of pines in rear, be drew up his
line in the enemy’s front.
It was here he met Gen. Lee, and the scene,
Spottsylvania, and his whole command, kin
dling with sympathetic flame, had struck
hands with fate and bargained to sell their
lives at the dearest possible price. At this
moment, while the noble responso to his ap
peal, “Never, never 1—go to the rear, Gen.
Lee; go to the rear,” yet rang in tones of
thunder along his lines, Gordon seized the
colors, gave the electric “forwardnnd led
his fiery columns on the enemy.
As the tornado of fire burst from the clond
of fog that covered the plain, and illumined
tbe dark morning’s mist with the quick flash
ing vollies of death, even Hancock’s veterans,
whoso metal bad been tried in the jurnace of
a hundred battles, stood aghast, for awhile,
in impotent astonishment. They recovered
soon, as such men would recover, and fought
with woDted courage. But Gordon’s men
were possessed, the furies ot old seemed to
have descended in their midst, and breathed
their wild anu sacred madness through their
ranks. Without a second’s pause in one un
broken peal, bayonets flashed and musketry
rolled. Of course this could not long con
tinue—stunned by the violence of the blow
resting before the sadden shock, the staggered
Federals give way. As tho red hot cleaves
the mountain pine, and hurls its shattered
fragments to tho base—ns tho dark rolling
Mississippi in anger, and with fury, strikes
the astonished wave, and drives it far away
into the bosom ot the startled Gulf— thus sunk
the towering Federal hope; so recoiled and
rolled back that sea of Federal bayonets be
fore the impetuosity of this memorable and
most bloody charge. They were driven over
and beyond the Confederate intrenchments to
some distance within their own lines, and a
broad lane of sickening slaughter was the
path of their retreat.
These fine brigades, under Gordon’s lead,
had become celebrated for rapidity of move
ment in battle, and this, doubtless, produced
the erroneous impression that Gen. Lee had
concentrated heavily upon them.
“I never expected to sec him alive again,”
(said a spectator to us), “as I saw Gen. Gor
don at the head of liis divis’on dashing in
furions charge upon the enemy, for they were
fifty to one, and might have slain every man
of us, if they had known their strength.—
Never was the plirenzy of enthusiasm with
which Gordon inspired his men, and could
hold them longer under fire than any man in
the army.” [The language of a Confede
rate officer moro happily illustrated
than by the terrible collision of this event
ful day.] It was here, we believe, the sol
diers first gave Gen. Gordon the soubri
quet of “ Young Stonewall.” Their imagina
tions, steeped in the dews of recent sorrow for
the great warrior, could invent no higher style
of eulogy for their beloved youn" General. In
expressing the belief that this charge of Gen.
Gordon’s may bavo changed the fate of the
day and saved the life of the Confederacy,
the writer is only repeating the emphatic
declarations of many who were present on
the spot, and witnessed the turn in the tide
of battle in this perilous conflict nnd most
desperate repulse.
But even in the presence of the possibility,
that the contemporaneous enthusiasm of the
day may have left a shade ot illusion on our
judgment, we venture '.he assertion, that the
reader will search in vain the wide page of
history for the example of a single charge
more timely, more opportune, than this of
Gen. Gordon’s at Spottsylvania—for one be
gun without information, without orders, and
guided solely by the instincts of the leader;
that bore more happy, rapid fruits of tbe
most brilliant success; for one that called
with more imperious and instant exaction
upon every capacity of generalship, and all
the profound and fertileresourr.es of difficult
and dangerous war; for one more pregnant
for the present or fraught for the future with
momentous consequences.
Such, Mr. Editor, was this great charge of
Gen. Gordon at Spottsylvania, on the twelfth
of May, eighteen hundred and sixty four—an
achievement that soars above the level of or
dinary tactics, as if Fortune had purposely
designed to teach and illustrate the truth
that there is an element ot omnipotence in
patriotism, when the great principle, kindled
with the sacred fires of passion, mounts to its
highest flame, and reaches the grandeur of
perfect development on the field of battle.
Coiton Production.
Forney's Philadelphia Press devote! a lead
ing article to the subject of cotton produc
tion, in which, after alluding to the explosion
of the popular delusion that cotton wns a
king absolute, the following sensible and
practical remarks occur:
But while cotton is not king, it is now, and
is destined to remain, the greatest article of
commerce amoug nations. Its value and im
portance generally naturally creates an inter
est in our people as to its present and future
prospects. Reports from all quarters show a
AXOTIICK VETO.
THE TENURE OF OFFICE BILL.
Washington, March 2.
To the Senate of the United States :
I have carefully examined the bill to regu
late the tenure of certain civil offices. The
material portion of the bill is contained in
the first section, and is of the effect follow
ing, namely: That every person holding any
civil office to which he has been appointed
by and with the consent of the Senate,.and
every person who shall hereafter be appoint
ed to any such office, shall become duly qual-
failure ot tbe crop of the past year. Suffi-' ifle(l to act tbetain, is and shall be elected to
ight,
four
cient data can iierc&chcd. to determine that
the entire crop of 1S66 will amount to about
1,400,000 bales, of 500 pounds to tho bale.
This gives 700,000,000 pounds gross wei
and 672,000,000 net weight, allowing
per cent, for tare The entire crop would
worth, at current prices, oyer two hundred
and twenty-eight millions in the New York
market.
The Government will reap over twenty
millions of revenue from it. These figures
do not compare very favorably with those
1859. The crop for that year summed up
5,335,354 bales of 400 pounds each;
4,2G8,2S3 bales, of 500 pounds each. But
must be remembered that the present high
price will go to nuke up much of the differ
ence in the money value of the two crops, the
increased cost of production to the contrary
notwithstanding. It lias been said that the
day is past for American Cotton. Never was
there a more erroneous assertion. It is un
doubtedly true that England, taught a severe
lesson by the late war. has sought by all the
means in her power to produce cotton needed
by her within the, limits of her own posses
sions, or, at least, to throw off some of her
yoke of dependence upon this country in this
respect It was well known, long before the
war, that she was making extensive experi
ments in the East, and her efforts were natu
rally redoubled on the outbreak of the rebel
lion.
But tin- South need fear no successful ri
val in the production ot the great staple,
she bestows upon its cultivation the proper
degree of industry and enterprise. No other
country known can produce the artie'e with
so little care and labor. Indeed, all crops
can be produced there with less labor than
in any other section; and no crops, anywhere,
return more profit than those which are pe
culiar to that prolific region, which embraces
both temperate and tropical zones, almost
every variety of climate, and every kind of
soil. It has been asserted that tlio Egyptian
Cotton Is destined to successfully compete
with the American growth in the Liverpool
market; bnt all who know anything of Cot
ton cultivation in the various present-pro
ducing localities in the world, know that this
can never be so until the South loses her
overwhelming advantages of climate and
soil. But we design giving special treat
ment on the subject of Egyptian Cotton at
some other day, when we propose laying be
fore our readers some facts relative thereto
that cannot but prove to be interesting, and
perhaps beneficial.
The South cannot afford to lie idle; she
has organized rivalry to meet now, possessing
the Government protection and aid of other
countries. The length of the war gave her
competitors time to strengthen and establish
themselves. She has no time to waste—she
must be up and doing; and the most im
portent work she has before her, in this con
nection—one requiring all her energy, expe
rience and perseverance—is the prompt estab
lishment of some system of labor that will
satisfactorily replace her late one
The crop of 18(56 is considered by Southern
men to be not more than a third of the pro
duction expected. The failure of the yield
is attributable to tbe werrn, the wet weather
of unusually protracted duration, and the
severe cold in various localities, all of them
unavoidable and natural causes. It is an er
ror to suppose, as some do, that the decreas-
resulted entirely from tie effects of the war.
Some planters, becoming discouraged, have
already declared their intention not to make
an effort next year to r.f.-e a large fcrop, one
equalling the average before the war; but we
think they will change their minds by the
time tbe next planting season comes around
The staple is wanted at home and abroad,
and. commanding tbe high price it must
bring for some time to come, it offers more
profit than anything else they can raise.
Stowart, tlic Dry Gouda Millionaire.
The Proposed Constitutional
Amendment.
character of its decision. Tho cases he claim-i Rg p a ; nte( j by spectators, was thrilling and
ed,were wholly different. “There, e sai » dramatic, borrowing uoiqae interest and epic
“tho questions were regarding an existmg | jeur from the presencc of Gcn . Lee upo n
member of tbe bar; here, the original ad- tho .. Lee i ooke d,” said a gentleman
mission thereto, to exclude or admit He w ho described the spectacle to us. “like a
claimed “ tlie right as inherent in the Court moantcd MarSi thc gran dest man of the
to admit or reject applicants. world.” Retaining the dignity and self-pos-
As to the arrest of civilians by military session never known to have deserted him in
officers in the South, we have only to say an y extremity, ho still manifested visible
that they wero clear infractions of the law, symptoms of the awful responsibilities of the
and in every case thc parties were discharged hour. And well ho might Gen. Grant,
withont trial or punishment. Such acts are whose forte of generalship is known to be the
the mere rolling in of the billows againsttbe art ot hurling successive masses of men upon
shore after the storm of war lias ended, end any given point, with grand, terrific, remorse-
witii just as much propriety the repeated in- Jess energy, had broken Lee’s lines, captured
stances of theft nnd murder might bt held the salient with the heroic Edward Johnson
up as evidence that thc laws have been. and nearly his whole division. And ns
abolished. ocean, swelling with sudden wrath, lifts high
To bo candid, we have no hopes of tbe her ponderous waves, and burling tbemwitb
South getting her rights for years to come, | her own wild omnipotence, nnd bursts the
and until tho whole country ims passed barriers that line the shores of Holland, and
through a fiery furnace; but the South can at | with vast rolling torrents whelms and sweeps
least avail herself of thc law so long as it ex-1 the wide plain with the resistless fury of tri-
iste for tho protection of the people against umphant floods—thus did Grant pour his
oppression, and thus suffer as lew hnrdsLips broad, massive columns through the wide
as possible until a returning sense of justice
and right, or something else, shall vindicate
her claims and restore her to liberty end
prosperity. We think thc man who believes
that the South can get into thc present Con-
gress on any terms, is unfit.to advise about
anybody’s rights, and should be cut for the
“simples.” ^
Tim Attack on Secretary MoCuiXOO.
Tbo speeches of Senators Sumner and Chand
ler, delivered in the Senate last night against
Secretary McCulloch, were severely criticised
by all parties to-day. The behavior of Mr.
Chandler is characterized by Republicans as
“intamous." Senator Sherman, wlio de
nounced these speeches last night, this after
noon took back much of what lie said, and
endeavored to mollify bis remarks, hm Mr.
i'esMnden adhered steadfastly to hi - pliil-
lippic on Sumner anil Chandler. What is
the private cause of quarrel on t jo part ot
Mr. Chandler, and bis personal complaints
breach, and tbus was moving onward with
the conscious might and momentum of tri
umphant nnd apparently irresistible power.
It was an awful moment; tbe peril was ex
treme—thc crisis had come.
Lee resolved to lead tho charge, to restore
the breach or perish in it. Just then Gen.
Gordon, elevating his voice that his whole
command might hear, exclaimed aloud,
“This is no place for you, Gen. Lee; go to
the rear. Gcn. Lee, I will lead the charge.
My men arc Virginians and Georgians; they
have never failed; they will not fail—will
you, boys ?”
As thc explosive shout, “Never, never 1”
burst from his lines, Gordon seized Lee’s bri
dle, and with an affectionate violence hurried
the grand old Captain slightly to the rear,
but not beyond the fire.
Is there not a fire of the soul that soroe-
A sketch of Mr. Alexander T. Stewart, the
New York dry goods millionare, in the At
lantic Monthly, contains some interesting
personal anecdotes, as follows:
Accident made him a merchant. Where be was
to be in connection with an experienced business
man and to contribute capital he suddenly loand
himself principal alone, charged with the rent of a
store, and with the whole responsibility devolving
on him. With that indomitable will and wonder
ful energy which has marked his whole life he at
once went back to 1 -eland, converted into money
the moderate fortune which he had inherited, in
vested that fortune in goods—principally the laces
which were manufactured at and around his birth-
E lace—and then returned to New York and opened
Is store.
And in this connection may be mentioned an in
cident ef touching interest—one of many show
ing, perhaps, somewhat of the Scottish olood in
his veins, which, if it rarely forgives an enemy,
never forgets a friend. A young lady whose ac
quaintance he had made said to him on the day-
preceding the opening of his store: “You must
not sell anything on tae morrow till I come and
make the tirst purchase; for X will bring luck."—
True to her promise, she drove up in her carriage
moved with her husband to a European city. Mr.
Stewart was in that city on business, and there
learned that his first customer was still living, but
in very reduced circumstances. Her husband was
dead, but before his death had squandered her lor-
tune. Procuring good apartments, he caused
them to be furnished In asljle corresponding with
her former position in life. Then calling upon her
and renewing his acquaintance, and alter convers
ing on old times and former Irlends, asked her to
take a drive with him around the city in his car
riage, which stood at tlic door. After looking at
some objects ol interest be took her to the new
residence, saying: “This, if it meets vonr appro
bation, is your future home ” He settled au an
nuity upon her, and during the residue of her life
she lived not only in comtort, but in comparative
affluence, supported entirely by his bounty. Truly,
If she brought luck to the young merchant, that
first morning’s purchase was a lucky one for her.
But there was another incident connected with
the sale ol the merchandise on the firet day, of far
more importance in its results, though apparently-
trifling in its character. One of the clerks stated
to a purchaser that a piece of calico was of a cer
tain quality, that the colors were “fast” and would
not wash out, ami it not so, the article would be
taken back and the money returned. The remarks
wero overheard by- Mr. Stewart, and he called the
clerk to him and spoke with Indignation: “What
do you mean by thus saying what you know to be
untrue?-’ The clerk, perhaps astonished at thus
being called to account, replied that the woman
would not return thc goods, and if she did sne
could easily he put oil by stating that she must be
mistaken, and the purchase must have been made
at some other store. But no; that was not the
point. A lie had been told to induce a purchase;
and no goods must be sold in his store or in his
name under any misrepresentation whatever. Tbe
clerk could conform to that rule or at once vacate
his place. This interview between him nnd one of
his first clerks was narrated to the writer a few
years since when in a familiar conversation the di
rect question was asked: “To what do yon attri
bute your great success as amerchant?” “That I
Lave conducted my business trom the first on the
basis of truth. Truth truth," he added, with great
emphasis, “is the tallsmanic word; and it I have
any one earthly wish ordesiregreaterth.nl another,
it is that in this respect my example may be com
mended by young men entering into business, and
cspeciallyby young merchants r*
I«»» ° ! >"‘ r r r ;
removal ot his brother-in-law, Dr. Hastings, ■ divine, in the warriors breast ? Is there not, — .
n martial ardor that scents to transport him, ] collected during the fiscal y
900,984. Of this sum, $170,87o,240 was col-
frotn the position of surgeon of the Marine
Hospital at San Francisco. Dr. Hastings
held the office for four years; there wero
'■‘•uplaints against him, and .Mr. McCulloch
removed him for cause, whereat Mr. Sumner
waxed wroth, and hence last night’s proceed*
ill, . — Cor. Jy. O. 2'imes.
l-,P Prince S.ilm Satin, who had command
bfa regimen , in the Army of Cumberland
hear the closo of thc war, is now command-
•fig tho Imperial garrison in Orizaba, Mexico.
The whole amount of internal revenue
illected during the fiscal year 1806 wns $310,-
As it has been some months since wo pub
lished thc resolution of Congress proposing
an amendment to the Federal Constitution,
it may be information to some whose atten
tion was not particularly attracted by its first
appearance. The full text is as follows:
Resolved by the Senate and House of Rep
resentatives of the United States of America
in Congress assembled, (two-thirds of both
Houses concurring,) That tho following arti
cles be proposed to tbe Legislatures of the
several States as an amendment to the Consti
tution of tlic United States, which, when rati
fied by three-foartbs of said Legislatutes,
shall be valid as a part of the Constitution,
namely:
Article—Section 1. All persons born or
naturalized in the United 8tates, and subject
to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the
United States, and of the State wherein they
reside. No State shall make or enforce any
law which shall abridge the privileges or im
munities of citizens of the United States,
Nor shall any State deprivo any person of
life, liberty or property without due process
of law, nor deny to any person within its ju
risdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Sec. 2. Representatives shall be apportioned
among the several States according to the
respective numbers, counting the whole num
ber of persons in each State, excluding In
dians not taxed; but whenever the right to
vote at any election for electors of President
and Vice President or for United States Re
presentatives in Congress, executive and ju
dicial officers or tlic Legislature thereof, is
denied to any of tbe male inhabitants of such
State, being twenty-one years of age, and
citizens of the United States, or iu any way
abridged, except for participation in rebel
lion or other crime ttie basis ot representation
therein shall bo reduced in tbe proportion
which the number of such male citizens, shall
bear to the whole vumber of male citizens
twenty-one yean* of age hi unit State.
Sec. 8. No person shall be a Senator or
Representative in Congress, elector of Presi
dent and Vice-President, or hold any office,
civil or military, under the United States, or
under any State, who, having previously ta
ken an oath as a member ot Congress, or as
an officer of the United States, or as a mem
ber of any State Legislature, or as an execu
tive or judicial officer ot any State, to sup
port tbe Constitution of the United States,
shall have engaged in insurrectien or rebellion
against tbe same, or given aid or comfort to
the enemies thereof; but Congress may, by a
two-thirds of each House, remove such disa
bility.
Sec. 4. Thc validity of the public debt of
the United States, authorized by law, inclu
ding debts incurred for the payment of pen
sions and bounties for service in suppressing
insurrection or rebellion, shall not be ques
tioned, but neither the United States nor
any State shall assume or pay any debt or ob
ligation incurred in aid of insurrection or re
bellion against tbe United States, or claim for
the loss or emancipation of any slave; but
all such debts, obligations and claims shall
fie held illegal and void.
Sec. 5. The Congress shall have power to
enforce, by appropriate legislation, the pro
visions of this article.
Queen Victoria, who gave her second
as the whirlwind wrapped theprophet above , ggv^ ^ Eastcm ^tra, §119,440,889 in __
the sphere of humanity, and endows him, or ^ 'Western States, including Kentucky and j son, Alfred, to the navy, now gives her third
develops, torn time, latent energies of thc I Tennessee, and only $2Q,599,740 in the ten ; son, Arthur, named for the Duke of Welling-
immortal spirit, boundless capacities of im- I Southern States. j ton, to thearmy,
mortal action, that sometimes Hash out in sud
den blaze along thc track of history
splendor and sublimity of almost superliu- '.,‘y “^ <( .‘j7a, the lr .no- « : i, r.».n-bml and j turned u Austria, are bring received very
nian achievements. As was Xd on :it Im
fulgar, Napoleon at Arcole. so was Gordon at
hold such office until a successor shall have
been appointed by tbe President,, with
the advice and consent of the Senate, and
duly qualified, and that the Secretaries of
State, of the Treasury, of War, of the Navy
and of the Interior, the Postmaster General
and the Attorney General, shall hold their-
offices respectively for and during thc term
of the President by whom they may have
been appointed, and for one month thereaf
ter, subject to removal by and with the ad
vice and consent of tbe Senate.
The provisions are qualified by a reserv
tion in tbe fourth section, that nothing con
tained in the bill shall be construed to extend
the term of any office tbe duration of which
is limited by law. In effect, the bill provides
that the President shall not remove from their
places any of the civil officers without the
advice and consent of tbe Senate of the Uni
ted States.
The bill in this respect conflicts, in my
judgment, with tlic Constitution of tbe United
States. The question, as Congress is well
aware, is by no means a new one. That the
power of removal is constitutionally imposed
on the President of the United States is a
prerequisite which has been not more dis
tinctly declared by judicial authority and ju
dicial commentaries, than it has been uni
formly practiced upon by the legislative and
executive departments of the government.
The question arose in the House of Repre
sentatives so early as the IGtli of June, 1789,
on the bill for tho establishing an executive
department denominated the Department of
Foreign Affairs.
The first clause of the bill, after recapitu
lating the function of the officer and defining
his abilities, had these words: “To be reliev
able from office by tbe President of the
United States.” It w T as moved to strike out
these words, and tbe motion was sustained
with great ability and vigor. It was insisted
that the friends could not constantly exer
cise the power of removal exclusively of the
Senate; that the Federalists so interpreted
the Constitution when they argued for its
adoption by the several States; that the Con
stitution had nowhere given the President
power of removal, either expressly or by
strong implication, but on the contrary had
distinctly provided for removal from office
by impeachment only; a construction which
denied the power ot removal by the argu
ments given ; from tbe danger of tbe abuse
of tbe power from the supposed tendency of
an exposure of public officers to capricious
removal; to impair the efficiency of the civil
service from the alleged injustice,- and the
hardship of displeasing incumbents depend
ent upon their official stations, without suffi
cient consideration, from a supposed want of
responsibility on the part of the President,
and from an imagined defect of the guaran
tees, against which a vicious president might
incline to abuse the power.
On the other hand an exclusive power of
removal by the President was defended as a
true exposition of the test of the Constitution.
It was maintained that there are certain
causes for which persons ought to be relieved
from office without being guilty of treason,
bribery, or malfeasance, and that the nature
of the things demands that it should be so
supported. It was said a man becomes insane
by the visitation of God, and is likely to ruin
affairs in the hands of the Government to be
defended by warding off the evil. Suppose
a person in offices, not possessing the talents
be was judged to have at the time of the ap
pointment is the error not to be corrected ?—
uppose he acquires vicious habits and in
credible indolence, or total neglect of the
duties ot liis office which shall work mischief
to the public welfare, is there no way to arrest
tbe threatening danger ? Suppose he become
odious and unpopular by reason of tbe meas
ures he pursues, and this he may do without
committing any positive evil against tho law.
must he preserve his office despite of the
popular will ? Suppose him grasjiing for iris
own aggrandizement and the elevation of his
connections by every means short of the
treason defined by the Constitution, hurryin^
your affairs to tbe precipice of destruction
endangering your domestic tranquility, plun
dering you of tbe means of defense, alienating
the affection of your allies and promoting the
spirit of discord, must not tbe tardy, tedious
desultory road by way of impeachment be
traveled to overtake tbe man who basely
confining himself within the letter ot the law
is employed in drawiDgoff the vital principles
of the Government.
In tho nature of things, the great objects
of society, and the express objects of the
Constitution itself, requires that this thing
should be adverse to uniting the Senate with
the President, and in the exercise of the pow
er, it was said would involve us in the most
serious difficulties. Suppose a discovery of
any of these events should take place when
the Senate is not in session, how is the reme
dy to be applied ? The evil could be avoi
ded in no other way than by the Senate set
ting always. In regard to the danger of thc
power being nbused if exercised by one man,
it was said that the danger is as great with
respect to the Senate, who arc assembled
from various parts of the continent, with dif
ferent impressions and opinions : that such a
body is moie likely to misuse tho power of
removal. It was maintained that it should be
exercised in this way by the band capable of
exerting itself with effect, and the power
must be conferred on the President by the
Constitution as the executive officer of tbe
Government. Mr. Madison, whose adverse
opinion in the Federalist had been relied
upon by those who denied the exclusive
power, now participated in the debate. He
declared that lie had eschewed his former
opinion, and he summoned up the whole case
as follows : The Constitution affirms that the
executive power is centered in the President.
Arc there exceptions to this proposition t
there are.
Tlio Constitution says that in appointing
office the Senate shall be associated with
thc President, within the case of inferior offi
cers, when the law shall not otherwise direct.
Have we (that is Congress) a right to extend
this exception? I believe not. If the
Constitution has invested all executive power
the President, I venture to assert that the
legislature has no right to diminish or mod
ify liis executive authority. The question now
resolves itself into this: has it the power of dis
placing an executive power ? Whatever is in
the executive, it is in the power of appoint
ing, overseeing and controlling those who
execute the laws. If the Constitution has
not qualified tbe power of the President in
appointing to office by associating the Senate
with him iu that business, would it not be
clear that he would have the right, by virtue
oi his executive power, to make such ap
pointment ? Should we be authorized, in de
fense ofthat clause in thc Constitution—the
executive power shall be vested in the Presi
dent—to uuite the Senate with the President
in the appointment to office ? I conceive not.
If it is admitted that we should not be au-
confirmed in all cases the decision thus early
made. The question was revived during the
administration of President Jackson, who
made, as is well recollected, a very large
number- of removals, which were made an oc
casion of active and vigorious scrutiny and
remonstrance. The subject was long and
earnestly debated in the Senate and the early
construction ot the Constitution was never
theless freely accepted as binding and conclu
sive npon Congress.
The question came again before the Su
preme Court of the United States, in January,
1839, ex parte Herren. It was declared
by the Court, on that occasion, that the pow
er ot removal from office was a subject much
disputed and upon which a great diversity ot
opinion was entertained in the early history
of the government This, however, related
to the power of the President to remove offi
cers appointed with the concurrence of the
Senate, and the great question was whether
the removal was to be by tbe President alone,
or. with tbe concurrence of tbo Senate, both
constituting the appointing power. No one
denied the power oi'the President and Senate
jointly to remove where the tenure of the offi
ce was not fixed by the Constiution, which
was a full recognition of the principle that
the power of removal was incident to the
power of appointment, but was very early
adopted as a practical construction ot the
Constitution that this power was vested in
the President alone. Such would appear to
have been the legislative construction of thc
Constitution; for in the organization of the
three great Departments of State, War and
Treasury, in the year 1789, provision was
made for the appointment of a subordinate
officer by the head of the Department, who
should have charge of the record books and
papers appertaining to the office, when the
head of the Department should be removed
from office by the President of the United
States,
When the Navy Department was established in
the year 1798, provision was made for the charge
and custody of the books, records and documents
ot the Department, iu case of vacancy in the of
fice of the Secretary, bv removal or otherwise.—
It is not here said by removal of the President, as
it is done with respect to the heads of the other
departments, yet there can be no doubt that he
holds his offlee with the same tenure as the other
Secretaries, and is removable by the President.—
The charge of phraseology arose probably Irom its
having become the settled and well understood
construction of the Constitution. The power of
removal was vested in the President alone in such
cases, although the appointment of the officers is
by the President and Senate. 13th Peters, page
139. our most distinguished and accepted counsel
upon the Constitution,concurs in thc construction
thus easily given by Congress and thus sanctioned
by the Supreme Court alter a full analysis of the
Congressional debate to which I have referred.—
M'-. -In-, ion Storey comes to this conclusion alter
a most animated discussion. The vote finally taKen
ill the House of Representatives is affirmative of
thc power of removal in the President without
any co-operation of the Senate by the vote of thir
ty-four members, against twenty in the Senate.—
The clause in the bill affirming the power was car
ried by the casting vote ot the President. That
the final decision of the question so made was
reatly influenced by the exalted character of tbe
‘resident then in offlee was assented at the time
and has always been believed. Yet tbe doctrine
was opposed as well as supported by the highest
legal talent and patriotism of the country. The
public have acquiesced in this decision, audit con
stitutes perhaps the most extraordinary case in the
history of the Government of a power conferred
by implication on the Executive by.a bare majori
ty of Congress which has not been questioned on
many other occasions. The commentators add:
“Nor is this general acquiescence and silence
withont a satisfactory explanation.” Chancellor
Kentremarks on thesubjectas follows:. “On the
first organization of the Government, it was made
a question, whether the power of removal, in case
of officers appointed to hold at pleasure, reside
nowhere bnt in the body which appointed, and oi
coarse, whether the consent of tlie Senate was
not required to remove. This was - the construc
tion given to the Constitution, while it was pend
ing for ratification beiore the State conventions,
by authority of the general acts; .but the construc
tion which was given to the Constitution by Con
gress, after great consideration and discussion,
was different. The words ot the establishing of
the Treasury Department, are, “and whenever the
same shall be removed from office by the Presi
dent oi the U. 8., or iu any other case of vacancy
in offlee the assistant shall act." This amounted
to a legislative construction ol the Constitution,
and it has ever since been acquiesced in and acted
upon as a decision of authority, and the case ap
plies equally to every other officer of the Govern
ment appointed by the President whose term ot
duration is not especially declared. It is suppor
ted by thc weighty reason that the snhoruiuate
offices in the executive department onght to be
held at the pleasure of the head of thc department,
because he is invested generally with the executive
authority, and the participation in that authority
by the Senate was un exception to a general prin
ciple, and ought to be taken strictly so. The
President is tiiu groat responsible officer for the
execution of the law, and the power of removal
was incidental to that duty, and might often be
requisite to fulfill it.
Tbus has the important question presented by
the bill been settled in the language of the late
Daniel Webster, who, while dissenting Irom it,
admitted that it was settled by the Constitution;
settled by the practice of the government, and
settled by statutes,.and the events of the last war
tarnished practical confirmation of tbe wisdom of
the Constitution, as it lias hitherto maintained iu
many of its parts, including that which is bow the
subject of consideration, when the war broke out
rebel enemies, traitors, abettors and-sympathizers
were found iu every department ot government, as
well in the civi( service as in the land and naval
seryice; they were found in Congress and among
tbe keepers of tho capitoi, on foreign missions, in
each and all the Executive Departments, the Ju
dicial service, in the Postcffiee and among the
agents of conducting Indian affairs. As upon pro
bable suspension they were promptly dispelled
by my predecessor, so far as they held their offices
under Executive authority, and their duties con
fined to new and loyal successors.
Ns complaints against that power or doubts of
its wisdom were entertained in any quarter.
themselves, whenever administration fails orsbems
to fail, in securing any ot tbegreat ends for which
r .-publican governments are established, tbe proper
c mrseseeins to be >o renew the original spirit and
fo. ins of the Constitution iue'.f.
Anokkw JOH8NON.
sincerely trust and believe that no such civil war
is likely to occur again. I cannot donbt, however,
that in whatever form and in whatever occasion se
dition can arise, an effort to hinder or defeat thw
legislative action of this government, whether by
providing the collection of revenue or dUtnrbin;
the public peace or 6eparatiug tbe States or be
traying tlie country to a foreign enemy, the power
of removal from oifiee by the Executive, as it has
heretofore existed and'been practiced, will be
found indispensable under these circumstances, as
the repository of the Executive authority of the
nation. I don’t feel at liberty to unite with Con
gress by giving my approval to the bill.—
At the early day when this question was settled,
and indeed at thc several periods when it has sufc-
eqnentlv been agitated, the success of tbe Consti
tution of the United States as a now and precious
system of free representative government wns held
doubtful in other countries, and was even a subject
ol patriotic apprehension among the American peo
ple themselves.
A trial of nearly eighty years through the vicis
situdes of loreign conflicts"and of civil war is con
fidently regarded as having extinguished all such
doubts' and apprehension forthe juturc. During
eighty years the people of the United States have
enjoyed a measure of security, peace, prosperity
and happiness never surpassed by any nation. It
cannot be doubted that the triumphant success o!
the Constitution is due to tbe wonderful wisdom
1th which tho functions of the Government were
distributed between the three principal depart
ments—the legislative, the executive, and thc
judicial, and to tbe fidelity with which each has
confined itself or has been confined by the general
oice of thc nation within its particular and prop
er sphere, while a just, proper, and watchful
jealousy ot executive power constantly prevails, as
it ought ever to prevail; yet it is equally true that
an efficient executive, capable, in the language ot
thc oath prescribed to thc President, ot executing
the laws, and withing the sphere of the executive
of preserving, protecting, and defendiug the Con
stitution of the United States, is an indispensable
security for tranquility at home, and peace, honor
and safety abroad.
Governments have been erected in many couu
tries upon our model. If one or many ot them
have thus tar failed in fully securing to tiveir peo
ple the benefits which we have derived Irom our
system, it may be confidently asserted that their
misfortune has resulted from their uajortunate
failure to maintain the integrity ot each oi tbe
great departments while preserving harmony
atnoBg them all. Having at an early period ac
cepted the Constitution in regard to tire executive
offlee in the sense in which it was interpreted with
the concurrence of the founders, I have not iound
sufficient grounds in tbe arguments now opposed
to that construction or in any assured necessity of
the terms for changing these opinions. I return the
bill to tc e Senate in which house it originated, for
the lurtlier consideration of Congress, which the
Constitution prescribes, in so-much as the special
facts of the bill which I have rot considered, are
Latest from Mexico.
We have news from Vera Cruz to tlie 24th
ult., announcing that all communication be
tween that city and the capital had been cut
off, and that the greatest consternation pre
vailed in the City of Mexico, and indeed
among the Imperialists all over the country;
and it would seem this alarm is not without
very good foundation.
On the 23d of January, Jaurez was at Zac
atecas. On the morning of the 27th the Im
perialist Gen. Miramon, with 2500 troops, in
cluding 500 French, attacked General Auza,
who was defending Zacatecas with a garrison
of 2000 Liberals. The latter were routed
with a loss of about 250. Where Juarez was
during the fight, or what has become of him
since,"it is not certainly known, though there
are abundant rumors in reference to the mat
ter.
The Liberal army- reached Jerez on the
28th. On the 31st Escobedo was within
twenty-five leagues- of Zacatecas, with 3,800
men, and General Auaa was marching to join
him with 1,200 men, and Cadena with 500
more. On the same day J.Iiramon left thc
place, but whether to meet and surprise Es
cobedo or to make a forced march on Aguas
Calientes, as some say, is not known; at all.
events, whatever might have been his inten
tion, on the 1st of February he encountered
Escobedo at the hacienda ©f San Jacinto,
midway betweertZacatecaa and San Louis,and
giving battle, he was in his turn surprised by
the arrival of General Trevino with a large
force of Liberals. The result, it is said, was
that Miramon was almost annihilated. His
trains were captured, also 1,500 prisoners,
Miramon himself making a narrow escape.—
His army was completely routed. Miramon
arrived at Aguas Calientes on the 1st of Feb
ruary.
This defeat is considered fatal to the Impe
rialist cause; there is now nothing to hinder
the Liberals from advancing upon the capital
from every quarter. Maximilian, it is thought,
will endeavor to reach the sea shore ere Juar
ez makes his triumphal entrance into the City
of thc Montezumas.
These are the reports. How much truth
they contain we are unable to state, as thc
news comes to us through channels not im
partial.—Ed’s. Tel.
News Brevities.
A barrel without staves is one of the latest
inventions.
Sunday night amusements are iu vogue at
Cincinnati theatres.
During the forty years from 1820 to 1860
we took from.Europe 4,512,171 emigrants.
In Sandusky, Ohio, they put new boilers
on the stocks and build steamboats around
them.
A Bostonian has completed a working
model of a machine for composing types,
which is said to eclipse all its rivals.
The Surratts were French Catholics in
Lord Baltimore’s time, nnd tbe alledged as
sassin is said to have the best blood of Ma
ryland in his veinSk
Meerschaum, similar in appearance to that
found in Europe, has been discovered in
Franklin county, Missouri.
A poor woman in Indianapolis, in order to
save herself and children from starvation,
sold her head of hair to an aristocratic belle
of that city for one dollar and fifty ceDts!
Greenwood Cemetery lias a population of
one hundred and twenty-four thousand in
habitants. It is truly a “ City of thc Dead."
It is but twenty-seven years since it was
opened to the public as a burying place.
Tho cell in which John H. Surratt is con
fined, at Washington is only a few rod3 dis
tant from his mother’s grave.
A subscription was opened in Cambray,
France, for a New Year’s gift to the Pope,
and a young lady of Lille sent 10.000 francs,
with the simple words: “A child to her
father.”
A Eaptist clergyman in San Francisco, Rev.
H. A. Sawtell, has come out for open commu-
nioD, and drawn a large congregation with
him.
Resolutions requesting tbe immediate re
lease of Mr. Davis, or that steps be taken for
an early trial, have been introduced into the
Kentucky Legislature.
It seems there is at least one man in
Georgia—though not of 11s, we are sure—who
is radical and degraded enough actually to
envy the disgusting and revolutionary condi
tion of affairs in the State of Tennessee.—
Over the signature of “Bohemian,” he writes
a letter to the Nashville Press and Times, of
which the introduction may be taken as a
fair specimen, as follows:-
Griffin, Ga., Feb. 27, 1867.
Editor Press and 2'imss .-
Grandl glorious «ld Tennessee! How no
bly she has performed her part, and thereby_
secured her place on the pinnacle ofgreatness
in the future history of human progress.—
Oh ! that we poor mortals away down here
could only taste the-joy that the patriot sons
of Tennessee hare-secured to themselves.—
Can we ever hope to accomplish such a grand,
result as has the Legislature of your State ?—
We are sometimes encouraged to think so by
the action of Congress, and then again all is-,
dark and hopeless.
Thc people of this section seem more defi-i-
ant and bold than ever, even though the ac
tion of Congress is directly against them.—.
The press continues to drum about tbeir
“ rights under the constitution.” and thc
' will of the people,” and all' such clap-trap,
entirely ignoring tlie little trifling fact that
they are traitors and have no rights, except
the right to bo bung.
li out in sud- 1 > ...... - - „„ ,
. , tag* Hi«« Violet Blair is said to he tlie , 11.e Joint.-
or\ " it.1 tne | uJes ' <r - ir | in Washington. An exchange 1 the withdrawal of tl
st superliu - s j IC t j, c fragrance of a rose-bnd and turned to Austria,
tllorizud, whether we have a right to associ
ate them in removing persons from office, the I writtL ; n ctflefly of detail's,and are based altogether
one power being as much of an executive na- J u ., 0Il t ue theory of the Constitution, from which I
ture as the other, thc first one is authorized I am now obliged to disse&t. Iharc not thought it
by being accepted out of the general rule es-,
by the Constitution iu thec-e w ords: i jA x ,,.. r ; eTK . c \ tuink, Iias shown that it is the easiest
-The Executive power shall be vested in the ! i t ls a ijo the most attractive of studies to
President.” The question, that was ably and ! frame constitutions for theself-governtaent of free
exhausting!}’ argued, was decided by the ' 8utes and nations, but I think experience has
House of Representatives by a vote ef 34 in ) ro preserv-e au^d*^ic£free
favor of the principle that the executive •; constitution of self-government. When once es-
power of removal is vested by the Constitu-1 tatdished, I kuow no other way which they can be
,0 Jesuits who led from Rome on J tion in thc Executive, nnd in the Senate by promoted and maintained except by a consti-
»»•»< Ol .bo htt troops. .»d ,0- i tb. casting We of the I WSZ
The question has often been raised in sub adaptation as may become necessary always to be
the modes tv of a violet, and is to be the wife coldly, and in some case- with decided oppo-! sequent times ot high excitement, and the; effected
of a clergyman. " 1 sition by the Catholics. practice of the government has nevertheless, the forms
Anclent Coffins Opened.—Tlie Trustees
of the old Stone Burial Ground in Cranston,
Rhode Island, on the Pontiac road^ a few
miles southwest of Elmwood, have i-ecently
removed tho remains of three of their ances
tors to that place—Job Stone (4),, his first
wife, Hannah Barnes, and his second wife,
Abigail Foster. Tho bones were ifl an entire
statu of preservation. The man had been
buried 107 years, the first wife 154 years, and
the second wife 106 years. Hannah Barnes,
buried in 1812, was a little girl at the decease
of Roger Williams, nnd died when between
thirty and forty years of age. and yet the
skeleton was ns sound and perfect as if.
cleansed nnd kept in a casetlia hair, also,
braided up in a coil, was astound and per
fect as ou tlie day on which 'he laid down to.
sleep, although one hundred and fifty years
of Summer and Winter have passed away,
varied by Indian warfare, French conquest,
colonial struggle, revolution,, independence,,
growth from less than two to thirty millions,
a rebellion crushed and the Goddess of Lib
erty enthroned throughout the land; since
that hair was braided'and coiled in sorrow
ing kindness on tho-head where the most of
it still rests. Her descendants are and have
been more than two thousand; more than
half that number- are now living. These
bodies were buried' from five and one half to
six feet deep, on a small ridge of laud near
a branch of the-Poclussett Iii.ver. the bottom
of the grave some seven or eight feet above
the',level of the branch, in a bluish, sandy
clay.—Provide tits (K. Li Journal.
Massachusetts U. S. Senator.—Mr. Bout-
well, Mr. Banks and Gen. Butler are all aspi
ring to the United States Senatorsbip in suc
cession to Mr. Wilson. Boutwell and Butler
are running 011 impeachment, Banks on re
construction, and Creswell on annexation;
and Wilson, who does not intend to with--
However, through the agencies and in \ ,, . , .
prescribed in the original Constitution draw, has taken tlie stump for temperance.
