About Weekly Georgia telegraph. (Macon [Ga.]) 1858-1869 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 12, 1869)
The Greorgia 'Weekly Telegraph. THE TB ’LEGRAPH. MACON, FRII> yy, FEBRUARY 12, 1869. Minor is Interesting Document. We have no neod to refer the reader to the a nnnal Be port of the President of the Macon and Brunswick Bai Iroad, on the outside of this issue of the Teleoi uph. All feel an interest in «hn< work, which j nnkesv every word about its condition andpro|p*ss detractive. The story of the President tc -day is i very plain and sat isfactory one. lit t ells how.fratn the depths of apparent frustrltio n and dubat, in one year the road has sprangVn x> a lusty rigor and energy- an activity of prog :ess and a vealth of pi •which rank it anw >ng the loading internal im provement project* | of Georgia. / Late jVews Items. C^rfriTU rwxALrrjy or the Amnesty Procla mation.—Judge T”'mg delivered an oral opinion on the 2d, in the I* ’ederal Court at Knoxville, upon the motion to j dismiss the prosecution in the case of the tTnitf d States vs. John H. Cro- rier, for treason, affii -ming the cons..rationality of the amnesty proclr mation. North western Assc ciated Press.—The North western Associated Press met in Chicago on Wednesday last. Ah long the proceedings was the rejection of applic ations of a number of pa- pars for membership. The result wns that the meeting was held at which it was resolved to form a now association, to be called the Missis sippi Valley Press 'Association, which will meet in St. Lonis, on February 24, to perfect an ar rangement for dispatches over the Mississippi Valley National Telegraph lines. Pbovxde Seats.—A bill lias been introduced in the Now York Legislature compelling railroad companies to provide every passenger with a comfortable seat, and will probably pass. Conylaoration in Pittsburg-.—A disastrous conflagration occurred; in Pittsburg Wednesday f night, by which the extensive gaspipe works of Evans, Clair A DolselJ, and eloTen dwellings were destroyed, the buildings all frame, and burned rapidly. Some of the occupants in the dwellings barely escaped with their lives, and in most of them their furniture and clothing were consumed. New Cattle Disease.-i-Several cattle have re cently died from some unknown disease on Haight’s farm, at Fislikill, New York. There is much excitement among the fanners. The Danville Fresh.—Full particulars of the disaster at Danbury, Connecticut, state that tho •upper reservoir, which was first to give way, is situated 2,. r >00 feet above the level of the river, which runs through the town, and is distant from it about five miles. The loss on property by the torrents is estimated at $100,000. Of thirteen lives lost only five bodies have been re covered under cakes of ice. The timbers were swept down the stream a great distance. Three ■ duns and five bridges were swept away. Dan bury would now be helpless in case of fire. Gen. Grant in New York. — General Grant arrived in New York late on the 28th ultimo, •and drovo to the residence of Hamilton Fish. About midnight he went to the charity ball, at the Academy of Masic, where he remained about an hour. He was to remain in the city a few dajB as the guest of Mr. Fish. Affairs in Arkansas.—A train from Madison, Arkansas, brought into Memphis, Monday last, a large number of refngees from Crittenden . county, fleeing from a party of negroes who ‘ represented themselves as militia. They hung a planter named Gibson Sunday morning and » were committing every species of vandalism. The Sharpe’s IIifxe Claim.—Legal opinions from Hons. A. H. Stephens arid Amos T. Ack erman are printed in the New Era, sustaining the arms claim and taking the ground that the Legislature may constitutionally pay it We claim all donbts for the benefit of defendant. The Florida Impeachment.—The Florida Legislature adjonmed sine die on the 1 st instant. ' The House, by a vote of 43 to 5, resolved that i“too Assembly finds nothing in said report or testimony justifying an impeachment of Harri son Beetl, Governor of Florida.” All the con- * narratives present voted for the resolution. ’Tfce -.appropriations made amount to near $100,000—a round sum to be raised by taxes from an impoverished people. One item, $ 15,- 000, is for arming and disciplining the militia. One bill passed provides for a system of com mon (mixed) schools and a University. Among the confirmations by the Senate on Saturday before adjournment was the following entry against the originial mover of impeach ment: “Wm. Edwards, to be county Jndge for Ala chua county, in plaoe of-Horatio Jenkins, Jr. removed for neglect of duty and for false and libelous charges against the chief Magistrate, which have brought dishonor upon the State and greatly embarrassed its finances and retarded its prosperity.” -- - - -Mr. S. M. Gmqt’fl New Family Physician. Tooke, now in Macon, is agent for the sale of .-this work, which is a great improvement on the -old original Domestic Medicine. It is a hand some work of 1200 pages illustrated with plates, and furnishing bints upon the character and • treatment of all human diseases. Wjnno in Vain.—The Press dispatches re ported yesterday that tho Be construction Com mittee were awaiting the arrival of ex-Goveroor Brown before deciding upon the case of Geor- • gia. On the same*day the Legislature decided not to send ex-Govemor Brown to Washington. SoottVMonthly Magazine.—Phillips & Crew, 'Atlanta, Ga., $4 a year. Tho February number is before us with a long 'list of articles, original and selected, and highly interesting. This work is well printed and con ducted with ability and should be familiar with Southern readers. No Special from Atlanta.—We failed to re ceive our spocial telegrams from Atlanta last night; but are unable to account for the fail- nro. Possibly nothing transpired in the Legis lature worth special mention. "To Correspondents.—We have several favors on hand waiting room. “Lawyer's” No. 5 shall, it possible, find place to-morrow. Six Oaks Cotton.—The Thomasville Enter prise tays: Mr. John White, of this connty, has sent ns a sample of the Six Oaks Cotton which he produced last year, and thinks it a superior and valuable cotton. Some who planted this cotton pronounce it a humbug, and others think it very superior. When doctors disagree, who shall decide ? Supreme Court of Georgia. Thursday, Feb. 4, 1869. Argument resumed and concluded in Jas. C. McBumt y vs. Patrick McIntyre, warrant for possession from Bibb, O. A. Lochrane, for plaintiff in error, Whittle Sc Gas tin, A. W. Ham mond A Son, for defendant in error. Wm. E. Carswell vs. The Maoon Manufactur ing Go., Equity from Bibb, was then argued, Nisbets Sc Jackson. Lochrane for plaintiff Si er ror, J. J. A T. B. Gresham, B. Hill, for defend- lent in error. The Court then went back to the continued cause (which had been put to the heel of this circuit. Mary Lamar ptaiqtiff in error, vs. Representation—A Promis- log Idea. A seleXct committee of the Senate agreed last Friday ilo report a bill which gives a chance of representation to minorities. The idea origin ated v^fith Mr. Buckalew of Pennsylvania, and is develf/jped in the unanimous recommendation of a bill/ whose purport is that in all elections for elecifors and representatives, each voter shall as many ballots as there are candidates, all me or one for each, which will make the chosen proportionately represent major! and minorities in the measure of their strength. This bill will not be hurried, nor it expected to be pnt through this session, it it will be passed, it is believed, before the forty-second Congress and the next President are chosen. It is regarded as tho most just and thorough measure ever sought to be grafted on our system. It is due to say that the leaders of each party cordially favor its provisions. Under the provisions of this bill, if we com prehend it, a voter in Goorgia, for example, in tho election of Kepresentatives in Congress, (the State being entitled to seven Bepresentatives,) would cast seven ballots, which he might ap portion to suit himself. He might cast one bal lot for each candidate, or the whole seven for any one candidate; and in this way a minority, by concentrating its strength, would be sure of electing some Bepresentatives, although weaker than the opposition in every district. So in the Presidential election: every State would be divided. Say the minority in Georgia amounting, iff round numbers, to 50,000, out of ISO,000 votes, choose to plump for more than their legitimate influence in tho Electoral Col lege, the case would stand thus: Nine candi dates and 1,850,900 votes cast. If the majority are content to distribute their votes equally upon a full ticket, each candidate would receivs, of course, one hundred thousand votes. Butin this case, the minority, by concentrating their votes upon four electoral candidates, would be able to give each of their four candidates about 112,500 votes and elect them. The Electoral College would then stand five to four between the parties. But, forewarned of this maneuver, the majority would, of coarse, concentrate their votes upon six candidates, and the Electoral College would stand six to three. It is obvious that the bill will work a vast and important change in our electoral system; but we believe it will be a jnst and beneficent change. Minorities, secure in their just influ ence, will not feel themselves proscribed, and the bill will, therefore, encourage minorities, which are the great safeguards to purity of ad ministration. It will abate the violence of our political contests, wherein, under the present system, an insignificant number of votes which make up the majorities, say ten to twenty thou sand, destroy the minority votes amounting in the aggregate to three hundred thousand, as in New York and Pennsylvania. Vie believe this bill is the grandest and most munificent suggestion which has been made to the country for many years. That it is fraught with the most wholesome influences upon the whole system of government; and we hope the people everywhere will unite in urging Congress to pnt it in operation as soon as possible. [For the Telegraph. To Mrs. Ellen B. Lady, I ween thou art lovelier far, Than the silvery light of the evening star; So sweetly and gently thou comeat to cheer, An angel must breathe o’er tliy pathway here. I could gaze fore’er in thy deep, dark eye, Ab soft and as sunny as Italy’s sky; Gaze in its depths while the shadows of feeling, Tho light of the spirit are richly revetling. One soft sweet word from thy rosebud lips, Twill bound and thrill to the fingertips ; Then sink to the heart with a tremulous air, And its magical note ever vibrate these— Forever—for who could withstand each a tone, As rich, and as sweet as the nightingale’s own ? And the heart-breathing ripples that sparkle along, Are like to the spirit enshrined in its song. Lady, all hearts must bow at thy shrine— I say not too much—thou art almost divine, And the spell which thy witchery round me has cast Oh, it never can be as a thing of the past. But glowing and fresh with the colors all bright, It will haunt me forever—an image of light Speak coldly, and trample my heart if you will, Tho life-breathing perfume will hangroundit stilt SUMTTEB. South Carolina, February 1st. From Sonthwestern Georgia, Discrimination In Railway Freights. When the Macon people vent their complaints against the railways for unjust or unfavorable discriminations in freight rates against this city, they should be reminded that there is in exist ence a complete legal remedy against such dis crimination, as to two of the roads at least. The act opprovedDecember 29, 1S47, entitled “An act to authorize the Central Bailroad and Bank ing Company, and the Macon and Western Bailroad Company, to form a junction of the Central railroad and Macon and Western rail road, in or near the limits of the city of Macon, ” makes the following stipulation: ‘Sec. 3. That neither of such connections shall take place unless said Central Bailroad Company and Macon and Western Bailroad Company shall first enter into stipulations with the proper authorities of Macon to charge no more freight from Macon on said roads than is pro rata per mile proportionable to the rates from the city of Savannah to Atlanta, or from Atlan ta to Savannah." See Pamphlet Acts of 1847, pages 105 and 106. Accordingly, these stipulations were duly en tered into by the said roads and are now of file in the archives of the city, so that, by solemn contract, the rate of freight per mile from Sa vannah to Macon is never to exceed the rate of freight per mile from Savannah to Atlanta. The act in question was drawn up by one of our lead ing members of the bar, an original friend of the junction measure, which was fought for ma ny years and was unpopular in Macon at the time of its passage. He drew it to protect the city against unjust discriminations, and, if any exist, it is the bosiness and privilege of the city and people to see them corrected under the stipulations of this act. Organization of tlie Randolph Agri cultural Society. From the Cuthlert Appeal.] At a meeting of a portion of the citizens of the connty, held in the Court-house, for the pur pose of organizing an Agricultural Society, upon motion of Judge Beal, CoL H. H. Jones was called to the chair, and J. B. Buchanan requested to act as Secretary. Upon motion a committee was appointed to nominate permanent officers for the government of the society, and also to select suitable men to represent the society in the Agricultural Convention to bo held in Atlanta on the second of the coming month. While the committee were absent, Col. Jones made a short but appropriate speech showing the necessity for the formation of a Connty Agri cultural Society and the great advantages our climate and soil possesses for remunerating the energetic and enterprising fanner. The committee after a snort absence retained, reporting the names of the following gentlemen as officers of the Society for the present year : For President, Wm. Coleman; for Secretary, J. B. Buchanan; for Treasurer, A. B. McAfee. The selection was ratified by the meeting. The following gentlemen were appointed to represent the Society in the Atlanta Conven tion : O. P. Beall, H. H. Jones, J. B. Buchanan, J. T. Handen, Wm. Coleman, J. T. McLendon, A. B. McAfee, G. S. Baldwin, C, R. Knowles and Wm. L. Baldwin. In consequence of a change from what was understood to be the arrangement made by the Secretary of the State Agricultural Society, sev- of the members appointed declined to attend for satisfactory reasons. Our Society will, however, be represented by a sufficient delegation of in terested and intelligent gentlemen. The meeting adjourned to meet again on next Saturday, the Cth of February. All persons, of whatever occupation, who feel interested in the agricultural and permanent advancement of the country are cordially invited to be present at the coming meeting. Let ns lay down politics, and take np the real interests of our country and try to advance them. EL H. Jones, Chairman. J. B. Buchanan, Secretary. Cuthbert, January 31, 18G9. A thief, in Hartford, broke into a store the other night, and among his stealings shouldered a bag of oats, which had a leak in it. The next morning an officer tracked him, by the sprinkle of oats that had fallen from the bag, to his house, where the goods were recovered. There is a lucky fanner near Dubuque, Iowa. On Monday night, of last week, two of his sheep ^ ¥o _ j became the mothers of seven lambs, one pro- Junes Glowson, complaint from Bibb it was • during three, and the other four; one of his argued by Bacon A Simmons, for plaintiff in er- ! cows had a calf; a sow had a litter of seventeen ror, and by the Reporter, representing W. Poe * P*# 8 i. ^ his wife presented him with two for defendant in error. ’ I bouncing boys. The next cause in order is the continued one No member of the Minnesota legislature was Jordan A Co. , vs. Digby, Sheriff from Jack- born in the State; but one of its Senators has —Constitution. resided within its limits for thirty years. E . . : . .... The Terre Haute Journal says that the women Bauoy tomw is grown in great quantities &fe ftbont to get x jg 1 t > -.tb s Legislature is Albany; its Condition and Trade—People of Southwestern Georgia—Lands, Fertilizers— Short-handed— What can be done for the We- gro Race—The late Rain Storm—Clearing Lands— Cotton Prices—Telegraph—Albany & Thomasville Road—Effect on Macon Trade, and so on. Correspondence of the Macon Daily Telegraph.] Albany, Ga., February 3, 1869. The Albanians.are a thrifty people. They are surrounded and supported by the richest country in Georgia; for in no other division of the State is the great staple so profitably grown as in Dougherty, Lee and other counties round about. Their town has met with three or four disas trous conflagrations since the war. Some of the bnmed districts have been partially and others wholly rebuilt. There appears to me to be plenty of store room in town, notwithstanding— indeed, too many merchants for the trade. They complain that their large planters send all their heavy orders to other markets, but they generally come in for the entire trade of the freedmen—now no small item in sneh a densely populated country as is this. My impressions of Southwestern Georgia are very flattering. The people have certainly ob tained a high standard of enlightenment and civilization. As a general rule they are abund antly blessed with this world’s goods. They have more money now than any time since the days of Confederate Treasury notes, and per haps more than ever before. The lands are rich and very productive, naturally. Added to this, planters will universally apply fertilizers to them this year, guaranteeing a larger yield than ever. There will be as mnch land planted in South ern and Southwestern Georgia this, as last year, and three times the amount of fertilizers used. So that the conclusion follows that more cotton will be raised in 18G9 than was in 18G8. There is a general complaint of a lack of hands on the plantations. The old ones are constantly dying out and no new ones coming on to supply their places. The Brunswick Bailroad has drawn abont four thousand from the fields, but the planters count upon getting many of them back when the hot weather and chills come along the line of that road. Perhaps so. They are in many instances preparing ground with this ex pectation. With the negro labor constantly and visi bly melting away, what on earth will this country do for laborers in ten or fifteen years ? But few people seem to realize the rapidity with which the negroes are disappearing. The Legislature might arrest their decay by passing more strin gent laws in regard to the marital relation among them. Since the days of slavery, they have lost what little virtue they possessed. This, of coarse, leads to decay, and will finally resnlt in the extinction of the race. We do not now exercise that fostering care over them that we used to. But, unless we do, the race will be lost before boys now living are gray. The late rain storm extended from Macon to the Gulf, arid to the Atlantic Ocean. The creeks and rivers were everywhere flooded, but not much damage has been reported. All along the line of the Southwestern Rail road, I found the planters clearing and breaking np their ground for the new crop. They are working with an energy truly remarkable, and appear to be full of hope that cotton will, for years to come, be worth 25 cents per pound. I cannot see how it will be any less before the great problem of labor now so seriously engag ing most thinking minds in the country is solved. The African will have to be supplanted by other labor before the quantity raised can make the price lower than it is now. The people here say the Telegraph is the greatest paper in the world. They admire your conservative course, and frankly admit that the time has wholly passed for hot-head, rattle brain counsels to prevail That is what brought the country well-nigh to destruction a few years ago, and we had better take things hereafter a little more moderately. Four hundred hands are hard at work on tho Albany and Thomasville railroad. A Director informed me this morning that they had plenty of money subscribed to complete the road, and that there was no earthly donbt of its construc tion in a year or two. It will be fifty-six miles long. Bat I fear it will be a hole in the bot tom of our barrel, as soon as it is finished. There is no question abont the merchants and planters all aronnd here going to Savannah, in stead of Macon, for their supplies. [Bet you on that, Mr. Grafton.) Wo sell goods in Macon now as low as we possibly can, and hence we will be unable to compete with Savannah. I see bat one hope to offset this coming disaster: that is when our Brunswick Road is completed, freights will be lowered upon New York goods, which will enable us to come down in prices. Our Western produce trade will not be affected. We must, also, induce our Southwestern road to reduce its tariff of char ges. By this means, I hope we will not be se riously hurt. Had the Savannah people held their control over the Gulf road and completed the Albany branch, they would have hit us a terrible blow. God be thanked for their blind ness !—they have given us a chance to retain the richest trade we have, or ever will have.— We will hold it until further notice. My opin ion is, after taking a look at the exact position of things down here, the selling ont of that stock was almost the most fortunate thing that ever happened for Macon. Will meet you again in a few days. Grafton. , tti t * .ft a ,4.. , BIG HUUUV Mi KCb UIC1I I1KUUI tut} AXJIfUUDUIO lo LhWy^*’ *** “ be * n nUhZ6d na * of a State Prison excluaively for fe- Thebe is a panther—a real live one—ranging around the country in the vicinity of White Greek, Tennessee, killing cows, hogs, sheep, and creating general consternation. The in habitants are out hunting for him, with guns and knives. He is supposed to have escaped from some traveling menagerie. The festivities of a Cincinnati wedding on Sunday night, closed with a free fight, in which the bridegroom and several of his friends were badly stabbed. Charles Dxoucks says he can always jndge of the character of a hotel pr restaurant by an nspection of the castor. The mustard-pot and the oil-cruet ore infallible tests. The Eligibility Question. We have in vain examined telegrams and leg islative reports to ascertain precisely the shape of the resolution passed by the House, referring the question of negro eligibility to the Supreme Court for decision. From the tenor of the At lanta press dispatch of yesterday, however, we infer that it was little more than a general de claration that the right of negroes to hold office in Georgia is properly a judicial question; and the resolution does not commit the Legislature to any action under that decision, be it one way or the other. The vote upon the motion to re consider, on Friday, sufficiently indicates that it was not in the nature of a compromise pro position, but was held by both parties to express a determination upon the part of the majority to adhere to the original action of the General Assembly, declaring the ineligibility of the ne groes to membership, and risk the chances of Congressional intervention. Before going to press, we may perhaps he able to determine more definitely whether this view of the nature of the action of the House be the correct one. The whole matter presents to our mind one of those vexatious coses in which a man is called upon to choose between evil alternatives. On the one hand, every intelligent mind is fully con scious of the mischiefs which must resnlt in this State from negro office-holding; and, on the other, we must regard the minatoiy attitude of Congress, which threatens not only to impose negro office-holding upon us, but may possibly rivet it there for a long time by disfranchising some portions of the whites,.and thus intro ducing into Georgia tho calamitous disorders which prevail in Missouri, Tennessee, Arkansas, North Carolina and Louisiana, and which may very probably befall Virginia and Texas—all of which have resulted or must resnlt from Con gressional intervention to pnt the negroes in po litical mastery over the large majorities of whites—a mad and reckless impolicy and injust ice' which must destroy tho peace, order and prosperity of any State, so long as persisted in, but which, we see, nevertheless, Congress does not hesitato to perpetrate. It is a serious question, then, how far a pru dent Georgia legislator ought to go to prevent, if possible, any alleged “Radical necessity” to take Georgia in hand again. We are sure to save nothing in that event, and we are in great danger of losing mnch. It is useless to talk of law, constitution and the plain reason of the matter. These amount practically to nothing, and we may as well save our breath. It is about equal folly to risk presentwrong in the hope of future redress. That redress, if it comes, will be too late, too far off—too uncertain to help U3 much. Consequently, in the exercise of the best judgment we can call to our aid in this impor tant matter, we have been disposed to favor, as far as possible, conciliatory action by the Legislature—and, above all, to avoid the resur rection of the old issue in the sharper form of revision and reassertion ! A committee to Congress would have done no harm. A resolution inviting the action of the Supreme Courts would have done no harm, Thero are many ways of treating such sub jects beside the irritating way; and when we undertake “to beard the lion in his den, the language of a member upon this point, we want to be provided with good defences and some reasonable chance of victory or escape. We don’t care to be strangled and drowned, just for a spectacle. The amusement is not com pensatory. We devoutly hope for the best results, and that no harm may come from the action of our Legislature; but that these apprehensions are not peculiar to ourselves we will close by showing first from on editorial and next from the Wash ington correspondence of the Savannah Repub lican of the 5th instant. The editor of the Re publican says: Coming down to yesterday’s proceedings, com municated in brief by telegraph, it seems that the Legislature is determined not to refer tho question of negro eligibility to office to the Su preme Court. Perhaps they see no way by which they can bring the question themselves before that tribunal, and for that reason have voted down the proposition. We are clearly of the opinion that if it can be done it ought to be done, for even with an unfavorable termination we shall be in no worse condition than that in which Congress will assuredly place us in case wo have no legal way of enjoining it from further action in the premises. We believe that Congress has no right to interpret our constitu tion for the Legislature, but then, are legal rights available to us in the present condition of the country ? This must be thought of, and if we can escape the risk by disposing of the ques tion for ourselves, would it not be better? The Washington letter from which we ex tract, is dated the 1st instant; Macon and Brunswick Railroad. ANNUAL BKP0RT oF TOR PRE8IDSST. Macon, Ga., February, 4,1869. To the Stockholders of the Macon and Brunswick Railroad Company. Gentlemen : The tenth annual report of our af fairs ia herewith respectfully submitted to your con sideration. TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT. Earnings have been for twelve months ending December 31st, 18S8: From freights $59,373 27 Passage, 28,952 68 Mail, etc. 1,752 18—90.078 13 Expenses for same period; Conducting transportation.... 21,118 05 Motive power 16,972 05 Repairs of road 31,855 70 Maintenance of cars 2,354 93 General expenses 8,066 56—80,367 29 Net earnings 9,710 84 This exhibit ia somewhat better than that made at our last meeting,.when the earnings and expenses were shown to be nearly equal. A falling off in re ceipts of nearly ten per cent, ia more than compen sated by the great reduction made in the operating expenses which have been brought down this year to ENDORSED BONDS. j GEORGIA LEGISLATURE. $600,000 of our let mortgage bonds have beer From the Atlanta Intelligencer.'- endorsed by the State. . Of these, there have been exchanged for Company’s Confederate bonds and cou pons, paid out for work, new engines, cars, etc. <259,000 Hypothecated for loans > 183,000 On hand I. 8,000 / $450,000 Paid out to Hull & Miller, on contract.V.. .$150,000 Total...... 9600,000 A strong effort has recently hsen made by parties of hostile interests to injureos by vexatious litiga tion, based on unfounded and frivolous grounds, alleging that under the contract made for the com pletion of the road, the <redit of the State has been or will be injured, and preferring charges of fraud. A sufficient answer to. euch complaint is found in the comparison of the present value of our bonds with those of the S tate, the quotations being respectively 90 and 92, whilst * discount of ten per cent, is the ubtihI difference between a State bond and one en dorsed. ... a Itisbnt toe evident that the rapid ana sure pro gress of our >oad to completion alone lends credit to its socuritifle, snd tli&t the St&to’s credit, instead of being jeovardized, ia enhanced by connection with solvent rturoad enterprises. eixtv-eight hundred dollars per'month, by the econ- A conunttee of the General Assembly, to whom omy which has been exercised in every department. • was refxr ed this question, has, after a patient ana w a* • Iiaam I maminufinn nr fhA matrpr rftnnrfpa unani- No new work in the way of buildings etc., has been (lengthy examination of toe_ matter, report edunani- nndertaken, nor any other expense incurred than jmonslyitt our favor,^anaitis^to behoved that cnar- what was absolutelv necessary to keep the road in (ges as frivolous as those made, may have no other - • ~ ■ ’ - -•—of I effect than to recoil on their instigators. successful operation. Judging from the earnings of. — —- tho three past months, a heary increase and im-j. In conclusion, gentlemen, yotu: .Directory beg provement in tho business over the road in opera- i leave to renew to you their conviction that before tion would undoubtedly occur during the coining I the lapse of the yeaE our work will be finished- year, but as our condition will be vastly changedbe- j that your hearts will be gladdened at the result of fore the expiration of that time, it is idle to dwell !ao many weary years of patient waiting and watch- on these unnecessary speculations. treat, «. am.ll .r.8 nnnmfitahln mart. It is gratifying again to state that no serious acci dent has happened, and that the business of the road has been conducted with the utmost regularity and dispatch daring the year. Table A, attached, will give in detail the earnings for each month of freight, passage and other items. Table B gives all items of expenditure such as op erating expenses, disbursements for new work, en gineering, construction, etc. ing, ana that from a small and unprofitable road, our enteiprize will rank as one of the leading lines in that network of roads which is the pride and glo ry ftf our State. F.espectfully submitted, GEO. H. HAZLEHUBST, President. The Georgia question, together with the avowed pniposo of the Radicals to oust the Con gressmen from that State, is discussed very free ly in political circles. The Democratic mem bers, generally, seem to think the Legislature of your State should at once authorize their Supremo Court to take up forthwith and decide the case of Clements vs. White. Tho construc tion which the Court would put on this vexed question of the political status of the negro in Georgia, it is thought, would go far towards har monizing and settling the impending troubles, provided the decision favors the eligibility of tho negro to hold offico. Tho destructives are fully determined on forc ing Georgia, as well as all other Southern States, to acknowledge the right of the negro to hold office and assist in making laws. I see very little prospect of any other solution of the trou bles pending between Congress and the State of Georgia, than thnt the latter should at once yield to the wishes of the majority in power hero, and accept the proposition of negro eligibility, in order to secure representation in both branch es of the national legislature. If this is not conceded by your State, her members in the House of Representatives will undoubtedly be ousted before the fourth of March. As the case now stands the Radicals need'a few more State Legislatures, in order to secure the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and they are prepared to go any length in order to secure this triumph.— The question then presented for the considera tion of tho people of Georgia is, whether it is better to place themselves in harmonious action with Congress on this question, or be thrust out of the Union and forced into a condition mnch worse than any which they have experienced since the close of the war. If Georgians think they see any prospects of bettering their con dition after toe inauguration of toe new ad ministration, let them give up the idea at once; it is a halucination. There is very little time to decide what course to pursue. What is to be done must be done quickly; do not stop at half way measures, bnt what is done let it be done fully and freely, and with a determination to stand or fall by toe act. There is not a Demo cratic member of toe Senate or of toe House but what advises that toe Legislature of your State should take this matter in hand immedi ately and perfect such arrangements as will savd the State from toe clutches of military despot ism, assisted by carpet-bag plundering and per secutions. REPAIRS OP ROAD. No new work of any consequence has been done on the road during the year. The track is k good repair, good surface ana timber sound. Nine thou sand threo hundred and thirty-four new ties have been put in during toe twelve months, and 3,720 stringers; being about seven miles of new ties and stringers: 1,333 lineal feet Of trestle bridging built and 1,252 feet of bridging' repaired. The masonry and abutments of the main bridges across the Oc- mulgee Biver stand well. No extraordinary expen ditures in connection with the present roadway will be necessaiy during toe coining year. MOTIVE POWER. Table D gives toe number, class and performance of each engine owned by toe company. AU the en gines aro in active service, none being in the shops undergoing repairs. Tho two now Binkiy Engines, “Macon” and “Brunswick,’’ are supplying toe place of the “Corsair” and “Georgia,” sent to toe lower Division. The company now owns eight engines, seven goodand one inferior. Tho “Gov. Crawford” is used as a gravel engine. The stock of Cara consists of— Passenger. Mail and Baggage and second-class.. 3 BoxCare 16 Platform Care 34 Section Cara 13 Crank Car 1 67 This outfit is ample for the fifty miles in operation and for laying toe track onthenewroad. CONTRACT FOR COMPLETION OF ROAD. We come now to the most interesting subject in tliiB report, and your attention is earnestly solicited to the history, terms and conditions of the contract made for toe completion of the road, which involves momentous consequences to us as stockholders, to theStateandtotho country at large. The humiliating condition that toe. affaire of this company present ed at our last annnal convention is no donbt fresh in your recollections; debts staring us in the face, notes becoming due with no means of redemption, overtures of amalgamation or lease to connecting roads on toe most self-sacrificing terms made ana refused, a call on you by your directory for relief by a proposed assessment or 10 per cent, on your stock met with a deaf car—all seemed to conspire to our ruin. The resolutions then offered by you author izing your directory to use any and all means for toe completion of too road, sufficiently attest toe do- spondency felt at that time. Oar State Government was in the hands of a military Governor, CoL Hu ger, and toe country seemed plunged into irretriev able ruin, through which no ray of light could be seen. State Bonds found dull sale at 65 cents in the dollar—bonds which, before the war. commanded a premium in gold. The endorsement of too State on our bonds, lent, therefore, but little additional value, and soon after the last convention, they were quoted at 52 cents in New York. The market value of our stock at homo, was but 10 cents in the dol-. lar. Under these discoimigements, it was but rea sonable to suppose that in enlisting parties to come to our assistance to save toe road from ruin, gene rous terms had to bo offored. Such terms were offered and accepted. Your Directory feel satisfied that the contract made was eminently favorable, and that it moreover was an extraordinarily good one for a road in our condition. Under its working we have not only secured the completion of our fine through to Brunswick, but will ultimately save the property to the Stockholders. It would bo tedious to yon, to do moro than present here a general synopsis of this contract. The parties known in toe agreement are Messrs. Hall & Miller, representatives of strong capitalists in New York City. These gentlemen contract to furnish the entire graduation, ma sonry, bridging, trestlework, buildings, water- stations, to furnish the iron, chairs and spikes, cross-tieB, lay toe main track and sidelinga, etc., and do everything else needed to pat toe road in suc- ceasful operation; also, to meet the interest accru ing on the bonds daring toe construction. The length of the road contracted to be biftt is, in round numbers, one hundred and fifty miles. Decisions of the Supreme Court of Georgia. delivered nr Atlanta, February 2, 1869. From the Constitution.] Margaret Johnson vs. Macon and Western Rail road Company, and Macon and Western Rail road Company vs. Johnson—case from Bibb. McCay, J.—1st. If a passenger on a railroad he injured by a collision of toe trains, and toe evidenc eshows that, though toe company or its agents was guilty of negligence, yet the party injured could, by the exercise of ordinary dili gence, have avoided toe consequences to himself of that negligence, he is not entitled to recover any damages from toe company. * 2d. If, in such a case, it appears that both the defendant and the plaintiff were guilty of negligence, and it does not further appear, from the evidence, that the deceased could at toe time of toe injury, have avoided the consequence to himself of toe negligence of toe railroad compa ny, or its agents, he is entitled to recover; bnt it is the duty of the jury to lessen the amount of their verdict in proportion to the negligence and want of ordinary care of the passenger. 3d. Where a suit is brought by a widow for homicide of her husband, under the 2920 section of Irwin’s Code, and there is no fault proven on the part of the deceased, the rule to be adopted for estimating the damages, is: The pecuniary damages to the wife from toe homicide, to be ascertained by inquiring what would be a rea sonable snpport according to the circumstances in life of the husband, as they existed at his death, and as they may be reasonably expected to exist in view of his character, habits, occupa tion and prospects in life, and when toe annual money value of that support has been found, to give, as damages its present worth according to the expectation of the life of the deceased, as ascertained by toe mortuary tables of well es tablished reputation. 4th. The opinion of one, who for many years has been a railroad Superintendent, in a matter within the scope of his employment, stands up on the footing of the opinion of an expert; but he cannot give his opinions of the object of a railroad company, with which he had no con nection, in putting up a particular notice on the doors of its cars. 5th. Though opinions are not generally evi dence, yet when the truth sought to be ascer tained is matter of opinion, a witness, not an expert, may give his opinion if he state toe facts upon which it is based. 6th. A card published by toe passengers im mediately after a railroad collision is not evi dence as part of the res gcsUr. 7th. Railroad companies may make reasona ble rules for toe conduct of their passengers, and a rule that passengers must not stand upon toe platform of toe cars, is such a reasonable regulation. 8th. If such notice be proven to have been posted in large metal letters upon the doors of too passenger cars of a railroad company, a pas senger will be presumed to know toe rules, and if that knowledge be denied, toe burden of es tablishing snch want of knowledge is npon the ** 9to. In^his case, this Court feels constrained to reverse the judgment of the Court below, overruling the motion for a new trial, made by the plaintiff in error, on toe ground that toe Court erred in its charge to toe jury, as to the rule for estimating damages in such cases, and on toe further ground that toe verdict of toe jury was decidedly against toe weight of evi dence, if not as to the absence of ordinary dili gence on toe part of the deceased to escape the consequence to himself from the plaintiff's neg ligence, certainly as to toe amount of the dam ages, in view of toe rule that where both parties Thursday, February 4th. Senate.—The vote on the Penfield olni m wag reconsidered and the report laid on toe table. The veto message of the Governor upon the Chatham jury bill was sustained by ayes 19 nays 15. ’ The special order being consideration of reso lution of Mr. Wei bom, to appoint commission ers to .Washington was taken up. Mr. Jordan offered toe following as a substi- tnte: 1 JOINT RESOLUTION. Resolved, by the Senate and House of Repre sentatives of the State of Georgia, That in view of the discrepancy of opinion existing, as to the right of colored citizens oi this State to hold office under toe constitution and lawB thereof, it is the earnest, desire of this Legislature, that an early and direct decision of the question may be made by toe Supreme Court of the State. Resolved further, That this Legislature dis claims all desire or intention to deny citizens of this State any political right or franchise to which he may be entitled under toe Constitu tion and laws of this State, or of the United States, and that it will abide by. and acquiesce in such judicial decision as toe said conrt may pronounce. Mr. Coleman offered as an amendment to Mr. Wellbom’s resolution, that the resolution adopt ed at last session, expelling members on account of color, be rescinded, and toe expelled mem bers reseated, and the members now occupying their place unseated at once. Mr. Wellborn, on leave, withdrew his original resolution appointing a committee to go to Washington. The memorial of Jane L. Mitchell, adminis tratrix on the estate of Samuel Mitchell, praying the Legislature to retrocede to the heirs of said Mitchell, the property now occupied by the city for a park, was read and referred to a special committee of five from the Senate and nine from the Hotise, to report by bill, resolution or other wise. - ■ . ;• • . The President appointed Messrs. Fain, Nuns nally, Speer, MoWhorter and Wellborn that com mittee. Od motion, transmitted to the House. On motion, the rnles were suspended and toe House resolution authorizing the Comptroller General to collect the balance of the Convention tax was taken up. An amendment was offered by Mr. Holcombe, giving the Comptroller full power to collect said tax. Adopted, and toe resolution, as amended, ordered to be transmitted to the House. Mr. Hinton offered a resolution to appoint a Joint Committee of two from the Senate and . , .. are at fault toe damages are to be diminished in e’" ml of "*■ Company, endorsed by too State; six thousand dol- j ^ty ® are °£ party injured, lara of too second mortgage bonds; and ten thou- Judgment reversed. _ ' sand dollars in stock rendered preferred in so far I B. Hill, Lyon & Irwin, for Mrs. Johnson, as being entitled to first earnings up to 8 per cent. | Whittle & Gustin, B. H. Hill, Cobb & Jack- son, for the railroad company. after interest on bonds and other expenses are met. Total payment is tons twenty-six thousand dollars per mile'in bonds and stock, this being about the av erage cost m cash of Southern roads, and much be low tho usual cost of roads farther North. This is tho valuation of tho Georgia Central, a road running through a similar country to our own and bnilt in the days of cheap labor and gold prices. Can wo, under these circumstances, but feel gratified at the result ? And, whilst on tbiB subject, let ns say a few words on the value of the stock, which has been thought by many to he compromised under this ar rangement. Our road when finished, including the branch of ten miles to Hawkmsville, will bo one hundred and D. Harris, plaintiff in error, vs. J. B. Breed & Co., defendants in error—Motion to vacate a judgment from Muscogee. McCay—Where tho Court below has ordered a garnishee, to perfect an answer to which excep tions has been filed, and toe garnishee neglected to answer until toe garnishment was called on toe motion docket at toe next term after the order had been passed, and even then, though present in Court, insisted on leave to answer at an adjourned term, which the Court Mules.—The Columbus Sun of Friday says ten mules were sold at Harrison’s auction sales yesterday: The average price was $125. Some brought $190. The animals were well broke, but common ones. We learned toe other day of a private sale of thirty eight mules in Macon to one man at an average of $311 apiece. They were remarkably fine large stock. Peterson’s Mao azix* for March is on hand bright and early. That Ball.—There has been a merger of a committee of private citizens into toe general Republican Committee on the inauguration ball. Messrs. Mullett, Supervising Architect, Mayor Bowen, and several other nffioinbi are added to the original committee, and now all parties aro satisfied, and the ball goes on. The preparations indicate one of toe grandest of all inauguration balls in our history. ninety-five miles in length. This road is first class had determined to hold, and toe Court permitted in every particular—with lower grades and better toe plaintiff to enter a judgment against the line than any other road of similar extent in the garnishee, held that this Conrt will not control United States—with a heavy rail—with new bridg-1 toe discretion of the Jndge below, in refusing, ing, new trestlo work, now ties and new appoint- \ a t the adjourned term, to set aside the judg- “itacapita^wffi represent $3,000,000 stock and S3,- i t0 ^ ZTSSsri*.**, «* mm * sons named, take toe case of the Central road, just error. cited, the most powerful corporation in toe South, —a road whose credit is unbounded, whose stock stands to-day at 135-but which,like our own, once sold at 25 and their bonds at 35 to 40. An almost unin- L. T. Downing, by Geo. fondants in error. S. Thomas, for d^- i . - .. , . ■v £ ,.John Doe, executor, Edmund B. Tait. et. al., ouiu vApoiui miniuno ui Oiupiuo wuu- t TS/mfmanf Tfavrno ings in grand improvements without a corresponding -“jeuimeni irom Harris. irw rnouo in MTlitnl fifnfflr AW liaKililino HHiniM < McCaV. *L An adver increase in capital stock or liabilities, tal to-day, for 191 mileB of road is Their capi-! McCay, J.—An adverse possession of real es- represented by , tate under written evidenoe of title from toe 5th $4,500,000 of stock and_$800,000 bonds—total, $5,- j of November, 1856, until the 24to of September, 300,000—an average of $27,000 per mile. Some as- 11867, gives a good title against all persons not sets held in too Southwestern and other roads would. 1 under disability to sue. I , 2 ‘ l8t of Jaunty. f l 8GS . ‘ he a “ e to give these “sons of bitches’-as Fitzpatrick and we have bnt 7 per cent, to pay on our funded ‘ ”}to operation, toere has nails them—hell; a letter was written in the debt for a long period of time, the capital of toe two no * b oen any statute of lnrutahon in this State as - roads may be considered as almost equal. By the * suits for real property. An actual adverse pos- connection with Savannah through tba Atlantic and j session under written evidence of title for seven Gulf Road, we have a road from Macon to Savan-1 years gives a good proscriptive right, as against nah fully equal to the Central—besides ths advan- all persons not under disability to sue. tapes of our original Imetotoodeep water and com- i 3 . The ordinances of the Convention of 1865, “toe road romplefXmay w™'under these wS^L^H^of Ja^® toC^Xd ircumstances, bo assured of the value of our prop- imitation since tbiB 19ni of January, 18CI, and circumstances, Do assured or the value of our prop- i'* mvv *» erty? Already under the influence of the rapid pro- o^cting that they should continue suspended press of the work, has toe stock advanced mmx 10 an til civil government should be fully restored, cents to 28—and the bonds from 50 cents to 90. inasmuch as it creates no disability to sue, does THE NEW WORK '< not operate so as to prevent toe ripening of a - u . , ’prescriptive title under toe Code, so far as that Operations under this contract commenced by title is dependent on -a possession since 1st of laying track from Brunswick in August last year. j aTlr ,orv isp.i !„ \ ■**««- of the Atlantic and Golf Boad at No. 6, aboutfour j der Code may tack to his possession since miles at that point being done, and seven miles 1 ,st January, 1863, a possession good before have been laid from Cochran at this end, south, - that time, as part of a defence nnder toe statute making thirty-one miles of new track hud. Seventy-! of limitations, if his possession has-been con- six miles of iron rails have been delivered at toe ! tinuous. porta of Brunswick and Savannah, and_two vessels j 5. When a new lessor of the plaintiff ia intro- are now due with additional cargoes. Chairs, spikes * and material of all kinds have been abundantly sup plied. The number of hands engaged at this time on the work amounts to fifteen hundred. It is our expectation to finish the entire line through to Brunswick by toe 1st of November next, and unless something now unforeseen should occur, we may reasonably look for its accomplishment Old and reliable contractors are engaged on the work— Messrs. Brown, Lane, Grant a Alexander, Bears A Holman, Blue, Denmead, Robertson, Kenriek A Dooly being of toe number and favorably known to FINANCIAL CONDITION. The balance sheet of the Treasurer herewith ap pended shows the monied condition of the Company to be sound, with no floating debt, miIm. secured by good collaterals with ample margin. Interest on the bonds issued under the contract, as >im been shown before, is payable by the contracting parties; hence we may confidently look to being able to pro vide for all obligations to the completion of tho road without difficulty. In ah Indian jail the female convicts out number the maleS three to one. ment, toe case, as to that demise, is to be tried as if the action had not been commenced until date of the amendment. Judgment reversed. Williams A Thornton, M. H. Blanford per Jndge Clark for plaintiff in error. Peabody & Brandon for defendant in error. Supreme Court. Wednesday, February 3, 1869. Argument in the case of toe Southern Express Company, plaintiff in error, vs. John L. Shea, was resumed and concluded. Messrs. O. A. Ba- oon, C. Anderson, and O. A. Lochrane, for plaintiff, and Jndge Nisbet and Mr. Dougherty, for the defendant James F. Wills, Esq., of Talbotton, and Dr. Samuel Bard, of the New Era, were admitted to toe Supreme Court Bor. Pending argument of Jndge Lochrane in the case of James O. McBurney, plaintiff in error, vs. Patrick McIntyre, the court adjourned till 9 o'clock, to-morrow.—IMsUigenemr. three from toe House, to examine the penallaws, and report such amendments as they deem nec essary, by bill or otherwise, which was adopted, and Messrs. Hinton and Candler appointed as toe Committee. Mr. Fain, from toe Committee on Petitions, reported on the bill to create a newcoonty from Troup and Harris, recommending its reference to Committee on New Counties and County- Lines. The House bill to amend act incorporating Gas Light Companies in Augusta and Savannah, read first time. Rules suspended, and the bill to incorporate toe Georgia Male and Female Life Insurance Company read. Report of Judiciaiy Committee recommeudingits passage agreed to. Bill passed and transmitted to the House. House.—Mr. Williams, of Morgan, moved to suspend the rules to take up the message of toe Governor. Rules suspended and message read, submitting a communication from toe National Cemetery Committee, asking an appropriation to build a monument in every cemetery in the United States to toe Federal soldiers, similar communications having been sent to all the Governors and General Assemblies in the United States. Mr. Price's resolution to send Messrs. Brown, Parrot and Stephens to Washington. Vote taken on motion to refer to Judiciary Committee. Motion lost. Substitute read referring it to toe Supreme Court for settlement. Mr. Flournoy said he was opposed to toe sub stitute. Mr. Bsrnum called toe previous qnestioa and was sustained. The vote was taken on the substitute refer ring it to the Supreme Conrt. Mr. O’Neal rose to a point of order but was overruled by the Chair. Mr. O’Neal appealed, but the House sustained the Chair. Mr. Bryant asked if the question under the resolution was to refer to the Judiciary Commit tee to report what legislation was necessary. The Chair. It was. Mr. Scott, of Floyd, said that two questions were before the House in the same resolution, and made a point of order. The Chair ruled that the question was divis ible. The yeas and nays being required on tho adoption of toe substitute, toe following is toe result of toe vote: Yeas—Anderson, Barclay, Bamum, Bell, Ben nett, Bethune, Bradford. Brewster, Brinson, Brown, Bryant, Burton, Caldwell, Carpenter, of Hancock, Carson, Clarke, Clower, Crawford, Donaldson, Drake, Duncan, Ellis, of Spalding, Erwin,Felder, Fincannon, Ford, Fowler, George, Goff, Gray, Hall, of Glynn. Hall, of Meriwether, Harden, Harper, of Terrill, Harper, of Sumter, Higbee, Holden, Hooks, Hudson, Johnson, of Wilcox, Kellogg, Kytle, Lane, Lastinger, Lee, McArthur, Maxwell, Morgan, Nesbit, Osgood, Parke, Perkins, of Cherokee, Phillips, Price, Reddish, Hamper, Scroggins, Seale, Shackle ford, Shumate, Smith, of Macon, Smith, of Cof fee, Smith, of Ware, Smith, of Telfair, Sorrell, Sparks, Stapleton, Strickland, Surrency, Tarn- ipseed, Waurins, Welchel, Wilcox, Williams, of Morgan, Zellars and Zelner—SI. Nays—Ayer, Ballanger, Barrett, Belcher, Bnchan, Burtz, Carpenter of Pierce, Chambers, Cleghom, Darnel1, Davis, Ellis of Gilmer, Ev ans. Farmer, Fitzpatrick, Flournoy, Franks, Greiger, Grimes, Gullatt, Hamilton, Harkness, Hill, Hillyer, Hook, Hundley, Johnson of Towns, Kimbrough, Kelley, Long, McComb, Madden, Manll, Meadows, Nash, Nunn, O’Neal, Page. Paulk, Pearson, PenlanJ, Pepper, Bawles, Read, Rouse, Saulter, Saussey, Scott of Floyd, Sisson, Taliaferro, Tate, Tomlin, Tweedy. Ware, Wilch- er and Wilson—60. A vote was then.taken on the resolution as amended, and resulted yeas 85, nays 56, and toe resolution as amended was adopted. Mr. Lee—A resolution referring the question immediately to toe Sapreme Court. The House refused to suspend toe rnles. The General Jury bill was taken seriatim ; and the bill, as amend, passed and was trans mitted to the Senate. Mr. Franks, of Bibb, presented the following: Whereas, Charges of corruption have been made against members of this body; Resolved, That a special committee of five be appointed, with power to send for persons and papers to investigate snch charges. This resolution refers to charges made by Fitzpatrick against Mr. Franks and Mr. Bryant, in a letter to J. Clarke Swayze, asking Swayze fn nrivn tVincm c rtf liitohno” as above style, and Mr. Shumate moved to lay the whole matter on'toe table as unbecoming the House. Pending the discussion, House adjourned till to-morrow 10 o’clock. Macon Telegraph. We invite attention to tho advertisement of this unrivalled paper. We regard toe Tele graph as among toe best papers in the United States. Its editor, Joseph Clisby, Esq., posses ses a far-seeing, discriminating, and evenly bal anced mind, rarely found in toe newspaper world. His editorials are models of oommon sense and sound discretion, and commend them selves to all who really understand toe true in terests of the country. The Weekly Telegraph is a magnificent sheet, and enriched with toe sound editorials of Clis by, toe lucubration of his numerous correspon dents, and the general news of the day, is worth fully five times toe price—which is only $3 00 a year.— West Ga. Gazette. We have already had occasion more than once to notice toe good sense and sound principles that habitually characterize the Macon Tele graph. While the temper and general course of toe Telegraph, like that of the Advertiser, are in the highest degree conservative, it abates no jot or time in its persistent and steadfast de mand respecting those principles it believes to be necessary in oar Governmental organisation, and those ideas it knows must be oo-eristent with a true American civilisation {Mont. Advertiser. Affairs ek Arkansas.—The Appeal says the last Wednesday a party of militia numbering twenty, a portion of whom were colored, wot to the house of Aleck Baugh, at Carson’s Lahe, Crittenden county, Arkansas, who was a cripple, and confined to his bed. They carried him ont and shot him, on toe charge of harboring Ku- klnx
