About Weekly Georgia telegraph. (Macon [Ga.]) 1858-1869 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 5, 1869)
* s “ fkrf. " •»«. * • The Greorgia "W"eekly Telegraph. THE TELEGRAPH MACON, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1BG9. Virginia and Ala’ (mma—The Political tiro: a Ship. Correspondence oi the Telegraph. HON. ALEXANDER p. STEPHENS ON POLT.ABD, GRANT, AND THE STATE OP THE COUNTRY. Politics in. oar sistc or State seem latterly to hive been a good deal disturbed by propositions from some leading me- a—Judge Rice and others— to acquiesce in and suj (tain Congressional Recon struction andlthe adm inistration of Gen. Grant. . In Virginia, there h as also been a wide dis crepancy of .opinion i n relation 'to the proposi tion of the ♦‘Committee of Nine” (so called) who have been busily 'negotiatingwith the Radi, cals in Washington f< >r such amendments in the carpet-bag and negro Constitution of that State, as will countervail ti ie disfranchisement provi sions of that icstrnm ent, and rescue the bulk of the white population from the ban of disqualifi cation for Office. The. Gonuxdtteo of Nine are sustained by large majority ofthe press and the people of Virginia, buffiercely denounced by a minority of the people proper of that State on the one hand, and by the Underwood faction of carpet baggers and .negroes on the other. We think it is not improbable that the Committee will ulti. matelydefeat the scheme of the Underwood fac tion and secure, at last, a Constitution which will devolve-' the Government of the State sub stantially in the hands of the white people there of; although at the cost of the concession of universal suffrage, which, as an abstract propo sition, the Committee very pointedly condemn. They have simply proposed to accept it in the way of compromise, ns the price to be paid for universal amnesty. The proposition, however, is loudly*denounced by Governor Wise and otb- ersin Virginia, as an injufions and untimely con cession, nod they say it will be better to suffer the worstlhat-the Radicals can do, than to at tempt to make terms with them. •There-is no other analogy in the cases of Vir ginia and-Of- Judge Rico and his faction in Ala bama than, what, may be involved in the general policy of making concessions to Radicalism, with the view of averting the extremity of their evil intentions and malignant disposition toward the Southern vwhitepeople. There appears to us to be no other rule of •conduct--on this subject -than a simple, prac tical application of principle and common sense to the case, as it -is presented. It seems to us inthe case of Virginia, it is vastly important, if she -can, to- effect snch a modification of the Underwood Constitution as will allow the whites self-protection and a tolerable government. Once saddled with'Underwood’s government, many years must elapse and much distress fol low, before it can be thrown off. The concession of negro suffrage is practical ly none at till,, because that is certain to be im- posed har in any (tent; nor does an acceptance of it,-under.protest, bind Virginia in any way to the perpetuation of a policy which her judgment condemns. We understand tho whole proposed paction to be in the nature of a temporary ac commodation of existing issues, under which the State fihalbgo into • the Union, with tho same liberty and discretion of other States to adapt her institutions to the judgment and exigencies of her people. But <the difficulty in Alabama seems to be more of a theoretical character. Certain parties seem disposed to strike bonds with the Radicals in relation to their leading political theories and practices in general; and this, a meeting of tho “old Union seen of Alabama,” held in Mont gomery on the ,29th ult., eloquently and justly protest against, and call upon the people of the State to stand £rm by the democracy of the country. There are certain cardinal principles of free government in America which, we cannot see how any intelligent .Southern man can abandon, particularly in the .light of our experience since the war. When we see what a frightful tyranny a consolidated government has become in the hands of vast combinations of the Northern States and peoples, what conscientious man can :, for one moment abandon the doctrine of strict constitutional construction—of a Federal Gov ernment of delegated powers—and of-State gov ernments and peoples as the sovereign reposi tories of all original power under onr system ? These are the great fixed luminaries in onr political science and practice, and although under a total eclipse jost now, -the very dark ness and gloom which hare followed the obscur ation, only remind us the more forcibly of the inestimable value of these great political lights. Wo cannot abandon them, without giving up all hope of a brighter future, and therefore any proposition which lootfs like committing tho South doctrinally to an abandonment of these great fundamental truths, cannot be tolerated. But in respect to these temporary expedients of policy by which it is proposed to meet exist ing exigencies, we are reminded of the iron ship in modem navigation. It is said the mariner, be fore be adventures to sea with an iron ship, first takes her out of the dock and swings her round in all directions, recording carefully tho varia tions of the compass in all attitudes, and then he steers her by making allowance for the varia tions produced by the attraction of the metalic substance atf which she is built. The Southern Statesman is in a worse condi tion now than the master of the iron ship. He /find3 the constitutional compass not only de ranged, but practically inoperative, and all the -constitutional lights out In tho practical ab sence of these guides, except in the matter of .the genoral direction of the voyage, he is sadly at fault. He is forced to take on board such a miscellaneous cargo and so incompetent and hy brid a crew that his difficulties are vastly in creased. The man of the iron ship, should he steer by bis compass as it. points, would find himself thousands of miles oat of course and dashed on nnffjondlj rocks. The Southern statesman, .still more puzuled, is afraid to steer at all, and stil) ho knows be must go. 'That has been our con dition in the South. Our.ships have been driven •before Radical gales with nobody at the helm; 'because, as we have said,-(he compass is broken —the lights are out, and nobody knows bow to steer. Consequently, wo have been the sport of external winds and currents/from the time Mr. President Johnson first undertook to direct our course, until the present moment, when we are in a more perplexing and anomalous condition than we were just after the surrender. Underihese circumstances it is no wonder that diversity of .opinion should exist among the of ficers. Tho wonder u that there has not been more. 'Where oil laws of judgment and action are suspended and everything affecting the present situation left to conjecture, it is not to be supposed that judgments will harmonize.— Some will insist on total inaction, and others open such effort for the common safety as un satisfactory indications may suggest. What .wo can all do is to jjold fast to the ancient doctrines Of American freedpm anfl never give them up. And that is what we propose to do. * Crawfordville, Ga., January 21, 1869. Your correspondent arrived at this place yes terday, and resolved upon paying a visit to the ex-Vice President of the ex-Confederate States, lost no time in making his appearance at that plain, but neat residence, which is'observed by every passer by. The entrance to the dwelling of Mr. Stephens forms a striking contrast with the world-wide fame of its owner. Here is no “pomp of pride, no majestic frippery that causes tho weary trav eler to hesitate and turn his longing eyes in search of a more hospitable resting place. All is plain and unpretending, and the very air itself seems to say “come in, it is one of yourselves that lives here.” Upon my arrival at the house I was met by colored servant, who pointed out the door within which sat her old master. A light knock, and the words “come in,” uttered in that well-known voice, soon told me that the object of my visit was at home. No sooner did he see me than his hand was stretched forth with all the kindliness and generosity for which he is so proverbial. After words of greeting and an introduction to his nephew, Mr. Wm. G. Stephens, I found my self seated before the fire, with a small table separating me from my distinguished host. The sanctum—for sanctum it is—is a plain, unvar nished one, and reminds yon, at first sight, of an editor's private office—all newspapers, with a slight relief in the shape of books and writing paper. He was dressed in a suit of neat, com fortable brown woollen Jeans, of home manu facture and woven from the fleece of his own flock, which he informed me was raised on his own plantation. It is exactly similar to the suit which ho wore when ho was inaugurated Vice President of tho Confederacy, and warlike that, woven by the Misses Sharpe, two young ladies residing in the same county, who pride them selves very much upon having been the weavers of his inauguration suit, which was a present from them to him. When I entered he was engaged in looking over the papers which had arrived by mail a few minutes before, but kindly entered into a very pleasing conversation with me without delay.— ventured to call Ms attention to a paper wMch contained the article of Mr. Pollard on the flight of Mr. Davis from Richmond, and particularly that portion relating to himself, with an urgent request that he might allow me to publish his remarks in reference to it. He stated that he had seen the article, and would grant my request only on condition that I would give Ms remarks in his own words. I then took down in short hand as he spoke, the following: “ I have a great repugnance to having my name brought before the public in such a con nection, even in correction of the many misrep resentations, wMch I almost daily see in the papers; yet, I assure yon that what Mr. Pollard, this article, says, is without the least founda tion whatever, and Ms information, from what soever source derived, is entirelv incorrect. I was here, at my own home in Crawfordville, at the time referred to. Mr. Davis did not pass nearer to Crawfordville than Raytown, some eight or nine miles distant, and I did not know that he was passing through that part of the State, until some time afterwards. “Gris- woldville,” spoken of in the article of Mr. Pol lard, is at least sixty or seventy miles from my residence. “However-widely Mr. Davis and I may have differed upon public questions and public policy, either before or during the days of the Con federacy, onr personal and social relations were never interrupted Onr terms of intercourse were always friendly. No act of incivility on the part of either of ns was ever exMbited to wards the other, so far as lam aware of. In this connection I would add that it is not cor rect, as I here see it in the papers to-day stated, that I have accepted the ProfessorsMp of His tory and Political Science, lately created and tendered to me in the University of Georgia. The state of my health and existing professional, as well as other engagements, constrain me to decline it, at least for the present.” GENERAL GRANT. I asked Mr. Stephens what he thought would be the course of General Grant as President, and while he says bnt little upon public matters, Ms reply was as follows: “All the country wants is good government For General Grant personally I entertain the Mghest esteem. From the time I first met Mm at City Point, in 1865, I have regarded, and still regard him, as one of the most remarkable men I have ever met He possesses one of the rarest combinations of ele ments of character of perhaps any man living. I do not believe he will be easily influenced, much less controlled, by any person. He will act from the dictates of Ms own judgment, and what he believes to be the line of Ms duty. I regard Mm as a man of great generosity and magnanimity, neither selfish nor ambitions; and I believe be meant all that the words import when ho said ‘Let us have Peace.’ Gen. Grant, however, no more than any other man, can have all things as he might desire. The future of this country, therefore, is still enveloped in great uncertainty. All the patriot at the South can do is to bear in patience tho present—exer cise a generous confidence and look hopefully for time’s development.” Of tions—a man who commands respect by sim plicity and true greatness, rather than by over powering pomposity and dogmatism. Mr. Ste phens is not, I regret to say, in the enjoyment of even his usual bad health. He has lately had severe attack, and this has caused Mm to sus pend his labors upon the second volume of Ms “History of the war,” but it is hoped that his illness is not of a serious nature, and that he will soon be able to resume his work. Upon taking my leave, Mr. Stephens thanked me for my visit, and insisted on my making Liberty Hall (the name of his residence) my home while I remained in town. In good truth he has not misnamed his home, for no person can remain in it long without being convinced that the utmost “liberty” reigns there. Maguire. Since the above was written, we are pleased to say that the health of this distinguished Geor gian has improved. THE COUNTRY i No Colored G hitmen Ajcmttid.—It is nowsaid Mr. Menard, the oolored member elect from New Orleans, will not get a seat in the present Con gress, beside the doubts being probably resolved in favor of the rights of Mr. Jones, contestant of the late sitting member, Mri Mann. It appears that the committee does not regard the argument of Mr. Menard as at all conclusive as to Ms own right to a seat, so that the advent of a colored member upon the floor of the House must be loft to a future Congress, if over. he said, “ "With good government, there is much of * life in the old “land we love’ yet.'” He here refereed to a paper recently furnished from the Agricultural Bureau at Washington wMch gives the produets and the great staples of the conn- try, Indian com and cotton, daring the year 1868, and proceeded: From this it appears that in all of the States cast of the Pacific slope, the entire product of cotton was nine hundred millions bushels. Of this, more than one-half, to-wit: five hundred and nine millions in round numbers, was pro duced in the thirteen Southern States; while the cotton crop, estimated at two million three hun dred thousand 'Sales, grown entirely in these States, at on average market price, would amount to upwards of two hundred and fifty millions dollars, wMch will be more than one-half the for eign exports from tho entire country. These figures in themselves exhibit what vital energies we possess, if properly directed under good gov ernment” • NEORO LABOR. Mr. Stephens still retains all his former ser vants, both on the lot in town, and on tho old homestead, none of whom show any disposi tion to leave Mm. Harry Stephets, who bore his master s name .long before emancipation, and filled Ms present place while Mr. Stephens was in Congress, is still the Major Domo at Lib erty HalL He is steward, butler and general manager of the premises. His wife and chil dren, some of whom are nearly grown, consti tute the other domestics of tho establishment At the plantation, about two miles distant, all Ms former servants still remain, and cultivate tho land in parcels, as tenants. In Mr. Stephen’s own words, “they pay one-fourth of the pro ducts #s rent. They work as well and as faith fully as over, but I do not think that, upon an average, the product of their labor is over about one-fourth of what it formerly was, wMch I attrib ute to the -want of proper skill in agriculture, and the general management of a farm.” To me onr conversation was truly agreeable, and [For the Daily Telegraph, Agricultural Progress—No. 3. “labor omnia vincit.” There are some difficult problems to solve, as conditionsprecedent to tho generakprosperity of the former slave States. One is, how to produce crops on onr lands without work, or with Com- paratively little work; and the next is, how to get a population, on the lands, willing to do that little. If we could invent a machine, to run by steam or wind, to dig, and plow, and spade, and rake; scatter the manure, plant, replant, thin out, kill insects and vermin; gather, honse, gin, pack, shell and grind; slaughter, salt, smoke, bake, boil, fry, stew, and wash dishes, scour ovens and pots, and let ns all be overseers and superintendents, we shonld soon reach a degree of prosperity that would rival the days of slavery. That negroes are unwilling to work, is true with many exceptions. That wMte men are un willing to work—bnt I must not dare to tell the whole truth; if I did, somebody would say I am tinctured with Radical proclivities. However, I will split the difference and say, that neither negroes or wMte folks in the South are as wil ling to work as the wants of this country require. Commercial manures are good in their place, and so are home-made manures—and neither will enable ns to dispense with industry—neither will prove to be worth much without both labor and skill. Every pound of genuine guano that is sold and properly used, will to that extent benefit the country. Every pound of worthless stnff sold in the name of tMs fertilizer will, to the extent of the money paid for it, and the labor of applying it, prove an injury. Every poundof any fertilizer used, whether foreign or domes tic, is that much added to the common stock of the country. Every improvement in agricultu ral implements, and in tho art of using them to the best advantage, shonld be encouraged. But the great question—the one underlying all the others and antecedent to all—is, how to get the people of the South ttilling to abandon their habits of wastefulness, idleness and self-in dulgence, and apply themselves, not as overseers and superintendents, but as active operatives, in producing grain, in raising stock and growing the great wealth-producing staple of onr section. We are constantly whining and canting for some body to come from somewhere that is willing to work, and that will bring some money to buy out our land and afford us the means of prolong ing onr b'ves of indolence, indulgence and ease few years longer, until we can and will have spent and lived it out—until we shall seo a hardy race of foreigners the lords of the rich soil we possess, and they and their children the rich in heritors and recipients of the products of their toil and frugality, when we and our children, after enjoying the brief run of coveted ease, shall have sunk down into hopeless poverty and into qnasi equality with the expiring negro race. Aye; let all come who may or will. Let them bring all the money they have, and their habits and customs—good, bad, or indifferent, and all their skill and improvements. Let them get rich if they can. That is all well enough for them and their descendants, but not for ns and ours. YTth the institution of slavery, we were raised in ease; and with it died oar means and adaptation os a people, to that mode of life. We are inclined to drag out the remainder of our days in the same suicidal folly, and too many of us inclined to bring up our children in the same fatal errors. We must wake up from this delu sion, or our race will sink back to poverty and imbecility. It will not do to so act or so teach, as to impress our growing families that we still have a kind of property in the negro, and that kinky heads and black skins, and hand and mus cles already hardened and innured to toil, are the only kind net disgraced by labor. TMs system will do only for temporary purposes, while the father’s money holds ont to Mre and feed and clothe; where there is a successful and labori- onr merchant, or doctor or lawyer, or mechanic or fanner, able and willing to provide; and wMle there are negroes here willing to be hired. Bnt that state of things is tempora ry. These successful heads of families will soon be dead. The negro is being consumed by free dom like snow in the sun; the candle is lighted at both ends—they die off faster and increase more slowly, and soon the race will be numbered with things of the past. I ask the fathers and mothers of Georgia, what is to be the condition of your children and grandchildren twenty-five, fifty, or a hundred years to come? When your little savings and accumulations are spent and they are sent forth into the world with no qual ities or habits to sustain them in competition with the offspring of the new race we are inviting here, and the few frugal negroes who may re main and acquire property ? Can you conceive it possible for the daughter or grand-daughter of a man who owned a hundred or five hundred slaves in 1864, being the hired servan.- of anegro, or of some German or Irish laborer’s descendant ? or begging in the streets for bread, or the in mate of a criminal resort, driven there by sheer want ? Tho great question for the pMlosopher, the leader in agricultural progress, the divine and philanthropist, for ns all as a people—not only for temporary prosperity, but for the preserva tion, physical, mental and moral, of the race— is how to awaken our people from their lethar gy, and indnee them not only to provide sub sistence, but accumulate wealth by physical la bor. There can be no question that the negro is the proper Mreling, so long as we rely on hired labor, and while Ms race los^p. The idea of superseding the negro by any other race of permanent hired laborers to servo oar race in the South, is fatile. There is no people in Europe that would not, on what wo pay and provide for the negroes, in a few years, become proprietors. The great question that drapes the future in dark shades for our race, is how to become a self-relying people. Lawyer. A Bold and Original Proposition. Tire. GRAND ERIE CANAL OR GEORGIA. Early County, February 1, 1869. Editors Macon Telegraph : From the manifest interest that you take in the advocacy of any thing that advanoes the welfare of Georgia, I am induced to believe that tho following suggestion will find insertion in the columns of your paper; and, indeed, casting about, ns yon have been, for every means to rehabilitate the old State in her former glory and prosperity, it surprises me that this should have escaped your observation. The material history of New York anterior to the construction of the Erie Canal is known to ns all; the nnreclaimed wilderness verging upon the Hudson, the cultivated oases on the interior river flats—the surplus products of which, exclu ded from market, were drugs in the producer’s hands—the widely separated villages struggling to maintain their precarious existence, the varied crops of the teeming lake-shore—a tithe of wMch found a laborious and profitless exit through the St. Lawrence—these vre all remem ber ; it was but yesterday that they existed. This wildernesshasbeenmadeagarden, these worthless products exchanged for gold, those scanty hamlets increased to wealthy capitals and the genius of Clinton has adorned the meagre shore of his native State with the fairest city that the world knows. The palm of successful originality is withNew York—to Georgia remains a wise imitation. That vast river system of our continent, the wonder and admiration of the world, sweeps down invitingly, in the Tennessee, to onr very borders on the north-west, and the Altamaha furnishes a timely abridgement of the labor on the east, the two together suggesting unmistak ably the wonderful results to us of their easy junction. The length of the Erie canal (364 miles) ex ceeds, by at least seventy-five miles, this canal connecting the Altamaha and Tennessee.— The elovation of the water in the New York water-way would be avoided in tMs, and last and greatest, the Georgia canal would never be the cause of unrecompensed expenditure for the five most important months of the year, as is the Erie, by reason of its being locked np with THE GEORGIA EASE. A Glance at the Record of “Loyal” and , Disloyal Outrages. Georgia Agricultural Convention. From the Atlanta -Ve»r Era, ! City Hall, Atlanta, February 2, 1869. The Convention met at ten o’clock and was The following is from “Mack’s'-’ last letter to ^erident^ffie^eS A^cultiSs^iety^ the Cincinnati Enqmier : j On taking the Chair Mr. Yancey delivered a The Senate Judiciary Committee, through Mr. 1 most eloquent and argumentive address, ahow- Stewart, of Nevada, yesterday, reported against ing the great importance of the Agricultural and the admission of Joshua Hill, of Georgia, to a Immigration movement now on foot throughout seat in the Senate, and accompanied the report the State. His address is worthy of being print- with a long series of pretended facts to sustain ed, and if printed and circulated freely, is capa- it, and designed to show that Georgia had not ble of advancing the important interest which it been properly “reconstructed.” The number ; considers. of “murders and assaults” committed in the 1 Names of delegates from different counties State daring the past year is set forth to make . were then enrolled. a startling array, bnt it is an exMbit only of the | A motion was made that delegates from number of negroes or “loyal whites” murdered ; county societies be invited to participate in the or assaulted by “rebels.” Not a word is said j deliberations of the body. It was decided that of the other class of outrages commmitted all ’ such delegates should have seats upon the floor, through the South, in which the fiendishness j and their views could be heard, but they could and atrocity of the negroes figure most conspio- { not participate in the action of the Convention uously. “Three hundred and sixty-six cases of j without first becoming members of the State U* Society. The Chairman announced that the first bnsi- business in order was to select a President vice Mr. Dickson declined. A motion was made and seconded to nominate and elect by acclamation Hon. B. O. Yancey,’ and six cases” in ten months and a half, throughout 1 was carried ■rapturously before the Chairman the State of Georgia—that is, of “murders and could interpoie a constitutional objection. He assaults.” An analysis would probably show showed, however, that the election could only murders and assaults, were reported by the Freedman’s Bureau from January 1 to Novem ber 15, 1869.” This is the -weightiest allegation in Mil Stew art’s report, and the principal reason for not ad- milting Mr. Hill. “ Three hundred and sixty- Such a route as tMs, for instance—I merely suggest for the reflection of those better inform ed-tapping the Tennessee at Gunter’s Landing, in Marshal county, Ala., and running from there to Center, in Cherokee county, Ala., along the banks of the Coosa and Etowah, to a point in Cherokee county, Ga., due north of Acworth, from there to tho Chattahoochee crossing at Roswell, thence to Sweet Water, in Gwinnett county, on the head waters of the Yellow River, down the left bank of the Yellow River to the Ocmulgee, down its left bank to a point a few miles sonth of Tarversville, ifi Twiggs county, from there southwest to a prong of the Little Ocmulgee, in Pulaski county, and down its left bank to its junction -with the Ocmulgee, where uninterrupted navigation will be found and an outlet to the ocean at Savannah or Brunswick, would give a distance of not more than 290 miles. As for its practicability—the trend of the whole route, except that section from Center to that point north of Acworth, say a distance of sixty-five miles, is favorable to the construction of tho canal, being a decline from its feeder— the Tennessee, to its outlet, the Altamaha. The cost of construction would, as it were, be the entire cost, for a trifling annual sum would pre serve the original perfection of the work ; whereas, the preservation of similar works in more northern latitudes, entails an enormous yearly outlay. In tho Erie, for instance, no foresight can pro vent—no art protect from the ravages of their severe winters. Its trade and value as an in vestment can be seen at a glance. It has for feeders, the OMo and tributaries—the upper Mississippi and tributaries—the Missouri and tributaries—the lower Mississippi and tributa ries as far south, at least, as the Arkansas river, for ascending from the Arkansas, the Missis sippi and OMo to the junction of the Tennessee, ascending that to tho canal, and through it to the ocean, is a shorter route to the Atlantic, than via the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico. The Erie, though a prey to political cormo rants and subjected perpetually to party exper iments, Is a most valuable property in spite of its drawing heavily on its summer earnings for its winter support. TMs Georgia canal, besides enjoying the ad vantages of economical conduct and experienced management wMch all industrial associations of private, have over those of a publio character, would have as much greater a freightage than the Erie as is the area of a great portion of the North, the Northwest, the West and a great pari of the Southwest of the United States—greater than the area of the lakes. Yet, tho Mghest authority informs ns that daring last summer there arrived at Albany over the Erie canal 39,000 tons of freight daily—a greater tonnage than that of all the railroads running into New York—and tMs was stopped not by tho exhaustion of freight, but by the freezing up of the canal. The cost of the 364 miles of the Erie was es timated to be $4,880,000—certainly $5,000,000 should bnild the 290 miles of tho Georgia canal. Upon an investment so permanent as tMs, and involving so little annual outlay to keep in repair, 12J would assuredly be a satisfactory per centage; to obtain it, let us find the necessa ry tonnage and toll. The railroads are now ad vertising—with a profusion of exclamation marks—to bring coal from Chattanooga to Mil- ledgeville—a transportation considerably short er than tMs canal—at $4 per ton; and the At lantic and Gnlf Road, forced by strong compe tition, has been carrying cotton from Bainbridgo to Savannah—equal in distance to the canal— for S12 per ton. Now, concede that this canal would have freight within a twelvemonth equal to that wMch offers itself to the Erie, in six months, one-half the time, and a toll of eleven and one quarter cents per ton will pay the 124 per cent on the $5,000,000 cost; leaving, in all conscience, a sufficient margin for the boat own- ■ to compete successfully with railroads. But it will be objected that the delays incident six murders and three hundred and sixty “atf. saults,” and a comparison with the criminal re cords of other localities would undoubtedly show Georgia, according to the Senate Committee’s statistics, to be a most peaceable and law-abid ing State. The last census gives Georgia A population of 1,057,000—or or about four times that of the city of Cincinnati. According to this ratio, and to the Senate standard of morality, about a hundred assault cases per annum in our city would be sufficient to call for Congressional interposition, and a denial of onr right to rep resentation in Congress. If Mr. Stewart will take the trouble to look at the docket of the Cincinnati Police Court for the past year he will find not less than a thousand “assaults” equally as unprovoked as any that the Mstory of Geor gia can furnish. Then take the criminal record of New York city, with a population less than the State of Georgia and compare it with the three hundred and sixty-six cases raked up by the Freedmen’s Bureau, and now made the pretext for excluding a State from representation in Congress. There is more crime committed in the city of New York in a single week than the Judiciary Committee find to nave been committed in the State of Georgia in a year. Or, if you will, take Mr. Stewart’s own State of Nevada as a basis of com parison. There are more murders, more as saults, more villainies of all kinds, committed every year by the half-civilized constituency of less than twenty thousand whom he represents than by the million people who inhabit the State of Georgia. If the insecurity of life and prop erty were made the general cause of the denial of representation in Congress, Nevada would be kicked out at once, for it is well known that among the inhabitants of that State murder is a fine art, and throat-cutting a pleasant pastime. But Georgia is excluded from the halls of Congress, first, because she gave a Democratic majority at the last election, and, secondly, be cause Mr. Hill, who has been elected as one of her Senators, is a Southern man, and not a car pet-bagger. The intention is to keep her out until she shall give assurance of n Radical ma jority, and until she shall select as her Sena tors and Representatives some of the scoundrels from the North, who have gone down there to serve in that capacity. Such as the feast of “reconstruction,” and its consequent “peace, 1 to wMch the country is invited by the new re gime. Since the world began there has not been snch a cruel parody of all the principles of civil government, and till the world ends let ns hope there will not be another. From lVashington. Special to the Louisville Courier-Journal;] GEN. GRANT. Washington, January 30.—Gen. Grant has prepared his resignation as General of the Army, and will tender it to President Johnson next week, on the day after the electoral vote for President is counted and declared by Congress. CONGRESS. The feature of to-days’s proceedings in Con gress was the passage by the House of the Constitutional suffrage amendment by tho re quired two-thirds vote. But two Republicans, Bingham, of OMo, and Baker, of Illinois, voted against it. THE GENUINE ATI 1 ! 1 IfiT.TL The following is a correct copy of the pro posed 15th article, wMch is yet to pass the Sen ate, and be ratified by three-fourths of the Leg islatures of the States: Sec. 1. The right of any citizen of the United States shall not be denied or abridged by tho United States, or any State, by reason of race or color, or previous condition of slavery, of any citizen or class of citizens of the United States. Sec. 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce by appropriate legislation the pro visions of tins article. THE CABINET. Gen. John Cochrane, of New York, has been here in consultation with prominent Republi cans. His friends wont to make Mm Attorney General, but by general consent that place is now mortaged in behalf of John F. Wilson, of Iowa; at any rate it is conceded that Mr. Wil son is to have a place in the Cabinet. - BANK FAILURE. Ill'll The failure of the Merchants’ National Bank of Little Rook, announced yesterday, is a pretty bad one, with indications that its management was characterized by extreme looseness, if noth ing worse. It is said that depositors will lose heavily, and that a considerable amount of Gov ernment funds are swallowed up in tho smash, bnt it is likely that it has some security that will protect it from entire loss. MISSISSIPPI. The Reconstruction Committee held a’meeting this morning and examined ono witness relative to affairs in Mississippi. The committee will next week take final action upon the questions before them as to the admission of Virginia and Mississippi, and also upon the resolution of Gen. Payne, of Wisconsin, instructing the committee to inquire into the eligibility of the Georgia del egation in the House, that State not having com plied with the reconstruction acts. Tt is thought the committee will report against the delegation and declare them ineligible to their seats. THE DEMOCRATIC MEMBERS. " There was an informal gathering of Democratic members of the House, who had a free inter change of views on several matters of publio policy. Among these tho proposition to buy or annex San Domingo and Hayti was referred to. There were a few, but very few, who ex pressed themselves in favor of that project Brooks, of New York, Payne, and others, among the members, squinted at it, bnt the body of the Democrats were strongly opposed to the ac quisition of any more negro States. "There were other propositions beforo the meeting, to wMch no reference can be made. take place by ballot Accordingly ballots were prepared and Mr. Yancey was elected by every vote save four. The vote was then made unan- m ° QS . iHPNMil It was then decided to elect a Vice President, nice Mr." Yancey,’ elected President Col. David C. Barrow was elected. Thanks were returned to the City Council for the the use of the City HalL A committee of three was appointed to notify Hon. B. C. Yancey of Ms election as President of the society and request Ms acceptance. Mr. Yancey ;resumed the chair and thanked the society in a very brief but pleasant manner. Reports of standing committees were next called for. None of the committees were ready to report. ■ i Rev. C, W. Howard, chairman of a special committee to memorialize the Legislature upon the subject of forming a Land and Immigration Department, reported the condition of that mat ter before the General Assembly. At the re quest of the’Convention, CoL Howard delivered an address upon the subject of the report. The address was delivered in his usually profound style, using facts as the most potent weapons of oratory. : ■- -• Members of the General Assembly were invi ted to seats in the Convention, and a committee appointed to communicate the fact to the Presi dent of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives. Mr. Rees, of Bibb, spoke very pointedly upon the subject of immigration. The Convention then adjourned to meet at 3 o’clock. AFTERNOON SESSION. The Convention re-assembled at 3 o’clock. The Special Committee appointed to see the Governor and solicit the payment of the appro priation to the Society made by a permanent law ef the State made its report. CoL T. 0. Howaid, of DeKalb, offered a reso lution in reference to manures. It involved the appointing of a Committee of seven to investi gate tho subject of manures and tho chances of cheapening manures. CoL H. supported his resolution in his usual fervent manner. Mr. Logan, of Clayton, followed with some eminently practical and useful suggestions in regard to the manipulation of manures. The gentleman evinced a thorough knowledge of both the theory and practice of preparing fer tilizers. Rev. C. W. Howard followed in support of the resolution. The resolution was adopted. Mr. J. Norcross, of Fulton, offered a resoln- tion that a committee of three be appointed i> promise. The -IrreprcwiMe Conflict” <■ Inauguration Ball. GEN. GRANT s INVETERATE Disuse TO JOHNSON. The Herald's special Washington dispatch of the 30th has the following interesting revela, tions, by wMcb it will be seen the negro very heavily interspersed and stowed away ^ the superincumbent woodpile which crushed out the “inauguration ball.” Some who thought the correspondent of the Baltimore Grzette was j<*. ing will now recall their opinions. “ It ar a f ao ' dat Equality Dinah and Sambo jes use up ^ ball complete. Missey Grant and Miasev Golfer she no dance jnba wid Jumbo Jim, ’kaseshesa Of nigger good enuf to be Gnbnor downSouf, he no good enuf to commix widde wMte ladies and Brudder Sumner of de free Norf, an’ dar’s equal ity for you, spite of de dbil rights bill nebeid e ! Removal of the Macon Western and Rail road Shops.—We are sorry to see the following in the Atlanta Constitution of Monday: Col. G. W. Adair, our popular Real Estate Agent, has effected a sale of a lot on Mitchell street, near the now Macon Railroad depot, to Capt. A. J. WMte, President of the roadL The object of this purchase by the road is for the purpose of moving the Macon and Western Railroad shops to this city. The sale was for $13,000, cash. The Macon and Western Railway sheps in this city, being located near the swamps end sloughs of the city reserves, have, within the last few years, proved so unhealthy that the company have been contemplating removal of a portion of their machinery for some time. But boforo I sat many minutes with tMs great, and, j their establishment in Macon is so large and iu facL wonderful man, I felt That I had met'j complete, that we stillhope a large part of their with one out of the sphere of our daily associa- j work will bo done in Macon. THE GEORGIA QUESTION, together with the avowed purpose of the Radi cals to oust the Congressmen from that State, is disenssed freely in political circles. ’ The Dem ocratic members generally seem to tMnk the Legislature of that State ought to authorize their __ the canal would’drive away freight. TMs is j Supreme Court to take up forthwith and decide true of certain kinds of freight, but of how ! the case now pending whore a negro was clerk small a portion of tho aggregate! Was a sav-1 of a county office, now expelled therefrom on ing of time considered by those sMppers who, ! account of Ms color, and to wMch action he de- this winter and every winter, fill Bnffalo to over- 1 murred in the shape of a civil suit. Tho con flowing with freight shut up by the frozen Erie? j strnction tho court would put on the vexed Is dispatch sought by those dealers who send i question of the political status of the negro in grain from St Louis to New York via New Or- J that State, it is thought, would go far towards leans and the Gulf, at a saving of 17 cents per harmonizing and settling impending troubles. Supremo Court of Georgia. From the Constitution.1 1 .• Saturday, January 30, 1869. Argument was concluded by Judge Lyon for Mrs. Johnson, in the cause vs. the Macon and Western Railroad, from Bibb. Robt O. Bryant, not. executors, plaintiffs in error, vs. Zena Doolittle, complaint from Hous ton, was argued by the Reporter for S. D. Kil- len. There was no appearance for defendant in error. asm; i\‘j jJ* S. T. Bailey, plaintiff in error, vs. E. L. Stro- hecker, Mandamus from Bibb, was argued bv the Reporter for plaintiff in error, and B. Hiu representing L W. Cowles for defendant in error. bushel in transportation ? WiU the iron master of Tennessee,, the cotton planter of Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia pnt their products into market at an extra cost of from two to eight dollars per ton, for which they receive nothing ? A canal is no more a natural adversary of railroads than is a river— there is freight suited to each and plenty for alL Politically the influence of such an enterprise is astounding. It makes Georgia the collector and disburser of the results of a continent’s la bor. It puts Savannah and Brunswick in direct water communication with Pittsburg, Pennsyl vania, St. Paul, Minnesota, Omaha City, Ne braska, St Louis, Missouri, the whole of Ar. kansas, and the greater portion of Mississippi— a semi-circle, in fact, capable of supplying the world’s wants. The continued ebbing and flowing of this wave of wealth through the State would people our towns, cultivate our lands, utilize our water power, attract and diffnse capital, build roads, dig mines, and, in short, make Georgia what a bountiful nature intended her to be, the weal thiest and most powerful nationalitv on tMs continent. Should these crude ideas, Messrs. Editors, ar rest tho attention and excite the interest of thoso more competent to prove the feasibility, and display, the advantages of this project, i shall have accomplished my purpose. Georgian. investigate the cultivation of tho grape in Georgia, and what varieties are best adapted to our soil and climate, the committee to re port at the next State Fair. Mr. Norcross warmly supported Ms resolution, entering largely into a discussion of grape culture. Mr. Walker spoke facetiously for a few min utes upon tho grape question. The resolution was adopted. Dr. Newton introduced a resolution that two hours of to-morrow morning’s session be de voted to the discussion of contracts with freed- men, and one hour to improved plows.— Adopted. By Rev. C. W. Howard, a resolution was offered reorganizing the Executive Committee, having it composed of three from each Con gressional District, and that if anyone fail to at tend the meeting it be considered a sufficient excuse for the appointing, by the President, of another in his stead. Adopted. Convention adjonmed to meet at 74 o’clock. Business in the Committees—Anoth er Omnibus Bill. The World-dispatch, of the.29th, says : The Congressional Committees are practically in continuous session at this time, allowing for the intervals of rest and Congressional meeting. Tho principal committees of the Senate have been recently engaged, and are now occupied as follows: The Foreign Relations Committee considering the cable question and the St. Thomas treaty, with the certainty of rejecting the latter. The Judiciary Committee are en deavoring to frame a general bill of reconstruc tion, to include Georgia, Louisiana, Virginia, Mississippi and Texas. They meet at 10 a. jt., andfjp. m., daily. ■ The Pacific Railroad Committee are endeav oring to fix up a bill wMch only wants’ Congress to guarantee the interest on bonds, and wMch avoids other subsidies. The Pension Committee have been considering principally Mrs. Lincoln’s petition, and have, even after having agreed to Mr. Morton’s bill, had to re-examine it, and re port that, under existing laws, they can recom mend bnt thirty dollars a month, and ask a spe cial act to make it $10,000 a year. The Military Committee are busy patcMng up : Mr. Wilson’s bill reducing the Mgh grades in number, and abolishing some altogether. The Finance Com mittee h .ve combined most of their material into Mr. Sherman’s bill, though there are many amendments to it, wMch are to be considered, one by one. - .ia ■ i« m» A Continental “Damn.” A* <■ -” '• 5TTTTTT? i ... ' (« -J. A correspondent in Atlanta, Ga., offers the following plausible explanation of this term. He says: “I do not claim to be versed in slang phrases, tint I must confess that my knowledge of them is sufficient to explain the origin of an expres sion of this nature, of which Mr.' Richard Grant WMte admits he can give no account. In Ms article .entitled ‘Words that are not Words,’ which wns recently published, he says, with re gard to the combination of words, ‘Not worth a continental damn, I am at a loss to assign a source,’ etc. Those who are familiar with American histo ry will know that, during the revolution of 177C, the continental currency was counterfeited to snch an extent that it became necessary for the government to take some steps to ascertain wMch was genuine. To this end they required that. it should all be brought to the common treasury. Here the spurious were distinguished from the genuine notes, and such counterfeit notes had the wofit dam., an abbreviation of the Latin word damnatus, (condemned,) stamp ed upon their face. When the very small value of the genuine continental notes, and the utter’ wortMessness of those marked dam., is consid ered, it will be easy to assign a source to this phrase. Tho addition of the letter » to the ab breviation requires no explanation.” ’ The “ Tallulah ” at Haivltinsville.' The Dispatch of yesterday announces the ar rival of the “Tallulah,” the WMte Oak Com pany’s boat, at Hawkinsville, on the same day, and says : The “Tallulah” is now lying off the landing near Dead river, a few miles below here, where shelters are being built for the hands on board, and preparations made to cover the boat, so as to protect' the machinery and enable the work men to labor in bad weather. Very little work, if any, has yet been done, but everything will be in readiness during the PBWjPWBW.. .. present week, and wo understand the entire force The First National Bank of Macon, plaintiff will bo employed in filling contracts for sHp- in error, vs. Charles Mason & Co., Equity from , knees, etc., which were placed in hand at the Bibb, was next called. Lanier & Anderson, B. j commencement of the enterprise. Hill for plaintiff in error. Harris & Hunter, | for defendant in error. j More Land and More Negroes.—At a meet- Pending the opening argument by Mr. Ander- ing of Committee on Foreign Affairs, of the T "“’! . olution on Monday, declaring in substance that ■ »:• CoMiiERCLAL Bank of Gkiffin.—The Star the Government would cheerfully accept and says : The Legislature has chartered this insti- ratify any negotiations coming from the pepper tution and it will commence business soon. It civil authorities and people of Hayti and San has also amended tho charter of Griffin, but in Domingo, having in view an intention to be- what-respoct we are not advised. come a part of the territory of the United States, i order to perfect the organization. leaf and notwithstandin • The inauguration ball question seems to as far from a settlement now aa it was ifi ft beginning. Now that it is definitely decifcj that General Grant will not appear at any ban or reception held on the 4th of March, and as * consequence it is more than probable that tha.! will be no ball and reception, it may not b. uninteresting to give a brief Mstory of the ef forts made to arrange for these entertainment and to state the present condition of the oneZ tion. . The orignal committee wto'ch started the pto. ject of having a grand inauguration ball, wMch applied for the use of the Rotunda ua old Hall of Representatives of the Capitol for the purpose, was composed largely of repubfi. cans. The arrangements went smoothly on* there was no doubt entertained that Congress would allow the Capitol to be used for the Uu. the committee proceeded to develop the minor arrangements in regard to the management of the entertainment. Here they came vis a vis with an unforeseen obstacle. That obstacle was the negro. Sone insisted the ball should be free to all who pur chased a ticket, negroes included; others wen not prepared to go to that length, arguing tha such a rule would mar the success of the ball The contention over this important point gre* warm, and, in some way or other, the advice of General Grant was sought in the matter. The General examined both horns of the dilemma and settled the dispute effectually by : requesting the committee to drop the matter just where it was, informing them that the project did not ineet Ms approbation.’ Thereupon, the committee resolved to abandon the idea, in accordance with the Generals views. At this juncture the citizens took np the project, tMnking it much to be regretted that so commendable a measure should fall without an other effort. Prominent among the citizens were H. D. Cooke, ex-Mayor Wallach, Mr. Moiran and Mr. Sheppard. They were aided by a num ber of other well known citizens, most of whom are conservatives and democrats. This committee examined the National Thea tre, and one or two other buildings, which did not appear suitable for the purpose, so they fi nally applied for the north wing of the Treia- ury. Their application was favorably considered, and to-day they were informed that tho Treasu- ry could be used for tho purpose on certain con ditions. The Secretary stipulated that no injury should be done to the bunding; that the pro gress of the workmen engaged in finishing the extension should not he retarded, and that none of the government funds or employees should! be used in making the necessary preparations. 1 The supervising architect, who has the imme diate charge of this portion of the Treasury, consented, provided General Grant promised to attend the ball. All these provisions were ac cepted by the committee, and negotiations were at once opened with Grant to obtain the desired At this stage of the proceedings, however, fresh obstructions presented themselves. The original committee had boen watching the move ments of the citizens’ committee very closely. They soon saw there was a strong probability that they would succeed, and they became alarmed. They called another meeting, alluded to the effort of their rivals as a Democratic scheme to get hold of General Grant and deprive the negroes of their unquestionable right tt dance in tho same room—yes, even in the sum, set with the President. , They resolved that thc-ir meeting was an aa joumed meeting, drew up a formal request I the Secretary of the Treasury asking for the priw lege of holding a ball and reception in the nort wing of the Treasury, and claimed that this id* originated with them. Another attempt ws made to-day in the Senate to procure a recd- sideration of the vote refusing the Capitol fos ball, and asking that it be granted for a rece- tion. ■ The motion failed, and on the heels of tte defeat came another, wMch will doubtless pree decisive. In reply to the letters from both co|- inittees, General Badeau stated that Genekl . Grant would not attend any ball or receptions inauguration day. So the matter stands. . It has been intimated by those who clairdo he thoroughly informed that even had tore been no contention among the projectors of be hall, General Grant would not have conscubd to attend, for the reason that the ex-Presidtat would be .present, and he js unwilling to met Mm. It is also stated that important change will need to be made in the proceedings usrnl at inaugurations, inasmuch as General Grant is stated, has intimated- that he will not occupy the same carriage with Mr. Johnson in going to and from the Capitol. The Eligibility Question. Yesterday was the day assigned by the House to consider the question of tho relations of tho State with Congress. The Atlanta New Era says : We want no committees sent' to Congress.— That body understands the situation thoroughly. They are familiar with all tho facte and circum stances of the case. They understand the issue quite as well as any committee that may be se lected to visit Washington. The only thing now necessary is a resolution by our Legislature, referring the question to the Supreme Court of the State, and pledging ac quiescence therein by members oi all parties. TMs, in our opinion, is all that is necessary—is all that Congress requires, and will, if made in good faith, and honestly adhered to, put a qui etus to this controversy. cqqi — v. ■ President Johnson.—In calmer times, and in the hearts of less passionate, if not bet ter men than we, the record of Andrew John son’s public life will be elevated to a Mgh moral point It will then be said of Mm that he pre ferred patriotism to party, and written law to tho unsafe expedients of policy. That he was as cautious, cold, and unimpassioned in official conduct as he was impulsive, warm, and blunt in his popular utterances. Posterity * will see a logio in his conduct whose premises are deeply rooted in the Constitution of the United States, and in the example of tho good fathers of the f Republic. They will fail to trace a taint of sel fishness or bad ambition in Ms action. They will readMs state papers, and reflect upon them, and than him for the wise, able structure ot thought wMch they create.— National IntelU- g nicer. Terrible Disaster—Several Lives Lost. Danbury, Conn., February 1.—A terrible dis aster, destroying a number of lives and much property, occurred here last night. Tho upper Eopansa Dam, wMch supplies (he borough with water, .gave way forcing another dam below, where the two bodies rushed forward carrying all before them. Flint’s Dam and three bridges were swept away. Houses and several small buildings were destroyed and carried off in a flood of ice, rocks, trees, eta A. A. Clark s dwelling was carried away with Ms family, con sisting of himself, wife and boy, in it, and au drowned. Miss Humphrey, Mrs. Husted and Mrs. Charles Andrews, her mother, were also drowned. A number of other persons are miss ing. It i3 supposed that twelve or fifteen lives were lost- items from ti»e Americas Repub lican. Election of Sheriff.—Mr. A. B. Baiford was re-elected Sheriff of this county on Saturday last, without opposition. We hope there will be no farther cause for not oommwKoning Mr. R, thia frirpA, TTa makes ons of w most eio- cient officers the county has ever had. We have bad an abundant supply of rate during the past twenty-four hours, and from present indications, we think it will oontmue to fall for the next twentydour. Meeting of Stocxholdibs,—All persons who have suhsoribed to the building of the Cotton Factory in rhiV place, are requested to mee. u the. City Hall, on Thursday next, the 4Li m«. It is important that there be a full meeting m irinWitiiu * e - ■buhH
