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CLISBY & REID, Proprietors.
The Family Journal. News—Politics—Literature—-Agriculture—Domestic Affairs.
GEORGIA TELEGRAPH BUILD id
ESTABLISHED 1826.}
MACON, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1869.
VOL. XLIII.—N0|
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PROCEEDINGS OF MONDAY.
Atlanta, Ga., Feb. 15—Night
Senate.—Tho Senate met as usual, and after
the usual routine had been gone through the
reading of bills a first time was proceeded with.
Mr. Candler offered the following resolution:
ADJOURNMENT.
Resolved, That from this date the Senate
meet at 9$, a. m., and adjourn at 11*.
Tho resolution, after some discussion, was
lost.
Mr. Hinton offered the following:
Resolved, That the General Assembly take a
recess for fifteen days, to take effect on Mon
day next.
The resolution did not prevail.
Mr. Bums offered the following resolution:
Resolved, That a special committee of three
be appointed to inquire into the report of the
number of clerks in the Senate.
On motion of Mr. Hnngerford, the resolution
was laid on tho table, by a vote of yeas 18,
nays 12.
Mr. Bivins notified the Senate that be would
move a reconsideration of the resolution to
morrow.
The following House bills were read a third
time and passed:
To change the time of holding the Superior
Courts of the Middle District.
To change the time of holding the summer
term of the Superior Court of Cherokee Cir
cuit.
The greater portion of the day was spent in
reading bills.
HOUSE.’
Shumate moved a suspension of the
Mr.
rules for the purpose of taking up a resolution
authorizing the loan or the State Tax of the
county of Washington to that county.
The rules were suspended and the resolution
taken up.
Mr. O'Neal moved to amend by adding
Lowndes county to the resolution.
The amendment was lost and tho previous
question called on the resolution, when it was
also lost
CONFEDERATE DEAD.
Mr. Scott offered a resolution to the effect
that the sum of one dollar a day out of the per
diem of members during the present session be
app.-opriated for the purpose of burying the
remains of the confederate dead in the State of
Georgia.
Mr. Scott accompanied his resolution by some
very pathetio remarks, stating that they owed it
to the memory of their honored dead, and to
their own dignity as men to assist in paying this
slight tribute to the brave departed, many of
whom were'lying in various parts of the State,
unsheltered and uncared for.
Mr. Darnell objected to the resolution, and
stated that none of his money should go to any
such association.
Mr. Sanssey did not think the proposition prac
ticable. He did not see how any such resolu
tion could bind'the members voting against ft,
and it was, in his opinion, enough that tho at
tention of members was called to the matter.
He moved that the resolution be indefinitely
postponed.
The motion of Mr. Saussey prevailed.
Mr. Hall, of Meriwether, offered a resolution
to the effect that a committee consisting of the
following gentlemen: Messrs. Flournoy, Phil
lips and Bryant, be appointed to co-operate with
alike committee from the Senate in bringing
shout a speedy and satisfactory understanding
between Mr. Jones, the late State Treasurer,
and Mr. Angier, the present one. The resolu
tion was adopted, and on motion transmitted to
the Senate.
Mr. Parks offered a resolution authorizing the
Comptroller General of the State to receive five
P« cent for all convention taxes collected by
Him. The resolution was adopted.
On motion of Mr. 'Williams the following from
the Governor was taken up and read:
Executive Detabtmeet, >
Atlanta, Ga., February 12, 1869./
*' J tfo House of Jlepresentatices :
Ike following joint resolution, adopted by
J°ur honorable body on the 4th day, and con
curred in by the Senate on the 8th day, of Feb-
nu J. instant, has been presented to me for ap-
next, that as a sequence to the non-execution of On a call for the yeas and nays by Mr. Bums
laws which were specially enacted to prevent 8tood folIow3 .
such a result, the Legislature has assumed to _. . _ . _
expel a large number of its members, all of Yeas—Adams, Bowers, Dickey, Fain, Hams,
whom were known to be earnest and faithful ad- Hnngerford, Jones, Jordan, Merrill, McWhor-
herents to, and supporters of, the Congressional ter, Nunnally, Richardson, Sherman, Smith,
oy ***.«*.) w.®™. w**,w«*».
the people, of an equal number of citizens, ail I8,
of whom were known to be opponents of that i Nays — Adkins, Anderson, Brock, Bruton,
policy. . Bums, Candler, Griffin, (7th,) Hicks, Hinton,
There cannot be a doubt resting upon the Holcombe, McArthur, MeCutcheon, Moore,
mind of any intelligent citizen as to the correct- _ ’ ’ ’ ’
ness of the presentment hero made, of the ob- “P eer » Winn Id.
stacles which stand in the way of harmony: The motion to reconsider was lost,
among ourselves, and of our recognition by j Mr. Hinton moved to reconsider the action of
iX e vJ^a Stat6 Cntitled t0 repre9 ° ntati0n ; the Senate yesterday in relation to changing the
The evil results which have visited our people, '■ between Talbot and Meriwether,
growing out of our anomalous condition; tho j A motion to lay the motion of Mr. Hinton on
absence of proper restraints to insure the due tho table did not prevaiL
SaS3^^S3S^fi2iSh£;
aro but the natural effects to be expected from I 016 motlon to reconsider, when they stood,
the absence of properly organized civil govern- I yeas 14; nays 14.
ment, and do not theiefore enter into the qnes- [ The President having the casting vote on the
tions at issue. I*. . ,,,. . _ °
First, then, let us consider whether the law I * e Tote ’. recorded “» TOta m negative, and
covering the organization of the Legislature bag j the motion to reconsider was lost,
been complied with. For tho sake of reducing, A bill to amend the charter of the city of
as much as possible, the nnmber of objections : Griffin, was passed and transmitted to the
urged to the maimer of organization, we will not! House
discuss the requirements of any Act of Congress
proud:
A RESOLUTION.
.‘.'^btreas, It is believed that a judicial de-
the question of the colored man's right
office in Georgia, under the Constitution
“J* °f force, would restore tho State to her
position in the Union, and give qniet
~°?gkont the State; and, whereas, said ques-
one which the Courts of the State can
take cognizance of; and, whereas, we,
i^&presentatives of the people of Georgia,
drilling that any effort shonld be spared
our pan to bring about a state of peace and
. Ppntaa to the people, and a settlement of
important qnestion; be it, therefore,
rtJr*?* Ted Hy the Senate and Honse of Rep-
Ass, wf™ of the State of Georgia in General
8* 9°uvened, That a case involving the
men to hold office shall, as soon
tithe
P roper ^ y brought before the
t of the State, be heard and de-
6 >«d Court, and we believe that the
of the State will, as they have heretofore
the fj 5 * 8 8°° d faith, abide the decision of
tribunal of the State whenever so
c/ji*®Hregr8k that I findtheresolutiontobe
le^ja a character os to force upon me the un-
anty of returning it to your honorable
^thoat my assent. J
khctiSr wIdc b>“ believed, actuates both
fit«Jgr~tive and Executive branches of onr
*» ^ eminent, is so to shape our course that
*tft. Harmony between the two. and
* ——^ » recognition
^‘-ncan Union! 188 m P ort * on °f the
?f^afeT,fi? solQtion re torred to, does not, in
«E!s recommen d itself as tending to
VtSiS?* very desirable result^
^ tench °b°n does not settle, nor does it
•*ifcoe -- “P^ettber of the two leading points
ender ni , 0 organization of the Legiala-
JMbw. i 8 * &w » “ d its subeequent action in
of^j^S 0 portion of its members on ao-
»^hi r "
okjoetion urged against
branch is, that the original organ-
rr*°a of M- 7 , ^ original onran-
2* the mta ° in accordance
pt *» which* s P lnt of the laws of Con-
provided for its existence; and,
prior to that of June 25th, 1868.
By that law, it is specifically enacted that “no
person prohibited from holding office under the
United States, or under any State, by section
threo of the proposed amendment to tho Con
stitution of the United States, known as Article
XIV, shall be deemed eligible to any office in eith
er of said State*." It will not be admitted that
a resolution adopted by a majority of your hon
orable body, to the effect that all sitting mem
bers were eligible under the law, was of suffi-
cent force to decide in the affirmative a qnes
tion which it is alleged, would be, and is, nega
tived by the facts in the case of many of your
members.
Can it be demonstrated that there are not
now, and that there have not been since the or
ganization of the General Assembly, many
members participating in legislation, who took
an official oath to support the Constitution of
the United States, and afterwards gave aid or
comfort to the enemies thereof ?
If this cannot be done successfully, the leg
islative branch is clearly liable to the charge of
not having, in good faith, executed the law.
So far as any action has been taken by Con
gress touching the State of Georgia, this posi
tion has been adhered to, and tho result is that
action by the legislative branch upon the Con
stitutional Amendment, and portions of the
State Constitution necessary to our admission,
is not yet recognized by Congress as valid.
The Becond point of objections made is upon
the expulsion of members, on account of “race”
color”; members too, who favored the sys
tem of Government that was established under
the authority of Congress; and the seating in
their places of citizens who were opposed to
that system, and who had been defeated at the
polls by a large majorities, thus, to that extent,
practically subverting the government and si
lencing the voice of the people.
The views of the Executive as to the constitu
tionality or propriety of that course were at the
time of its adoption, communicated to_ your
honorable body, and will not be repeated. *
As before stated, these aro the more promi
nent obstacles which block the way to harmony
and peace. The qnestion which, as patriots
and lovers of our country and our State, and
advocates of their prosperity, we shonld unit
edly and earnestly consider, is how shall those
obstacles be overcome or removed?
The resolution under consideration ignores
the question of original organization, and pro
poses action simply in tte direction of asking a
judicial decision upon the eligibility of colored
citizens to office, withont either pledging the
body adopting the resolution to abide by such
decision in regard to their own membership, or
even indicating a disposition so to do.
In fact, it may be urged with force, that a ju
dicial decision cannot be made effective upon
the question of eligibility to membership in tho
General Assembly. The laws at present in force
are ample, and under them any citizen, since
the adoption of our present Constitution, could
have had the question tested before the courts.
In fact, such a case is now pending before the
Superior Court of Chatham county, and “the
same will be properly brought before the Su
preme Court of the State, and be heard and de
termined by raid Courts" withont the interven
tion of a joint resolution of the General Assem
bly, which, were it mandatory, might be con
strued as being an improper interference by the
legislative with the judicial branch of the Gov
ernment.
Tho querry naturally presents itself,why adopt
a resolution which practically means nothing,
and cannot effect anything?
I am unwilling to believe that your honorable
body, in adopting this resolution, intended to
submit it to Congress as the deliberate and final
action of the General Assembly toward the estab
lishment of harmony among ourselves and with
the National Government!
Are well worded “ resolves,” which do not
touch npon one of the vital points at issue, and
which have no binding force as to the other,
likely to satisfy a body of men, whose firmness,
wisdom and patriotism conducted the country
successfully through the great rebellion ?
May we not expect that Congress will ask
stronger guarantees for the “rights, privileges
and immunities” of over five hundred thousand
American citizens of the black race who are
among us, than the fallible jndgment of three
citizens of the white race ?
After a careful examination of the whole sub
ject, with the aid of tho light which has been
shed npon it by the action of Congress and of
your honorable body since the opening of your
session, I feel constrained to renew the recom
mendation then made.
“It is therefore respectfully recommended
that wo, ourselves, take the initiative in the
consummation of the policy of Congress, and
acting upon onr own sense of the obligation we
owe to the authority from which we derive all
we now have or may expect to enjoy, of civil
self-government, undo what has been done.”
“Restore the colored members to their seats,
and exclude every person from participation in
your Legislature who took an official oath to
support the Government of the United States,
and afterwards gave aid or comfort to its ene
mies, until such person shall have been relieved
by Congress of the disability thus incurred—
bearing in mind that the only relief from such
disability is found in the action of two-thirds of
each house of Congress, and cannot be accom
plished be the individual opinion of the person
A bill regulating costs was taken up from the
table and referred to the Judiciary Committee.
House bills were next taken np and pnt on
their first reading, after which Senate bills were
taken up for first reading.
Tho greater portion of the day was spent in
reading bills.
Mr. Speer offered a resolution, which be after
wards withdrew, authorizing the Comptroller
General to issue instructions to Tax Collectors
of the State to conform to the Constitution, and
not collect more than one dollar for poll tax.
Mr. Barton, Chairman of the special com
mittee to examine into tho State balances in the
Georgia National Bank, presented a report from
that body.
A resolution was offered by Mr. Winn, to the
effect that the State Treasurer be directed to
enter the sum of 365.42 arising from the inter
est on balances, to the credit of the school fund.
The resolution was laid on the table for the
The Senate then adjourned.
House.—The House met as usual
Mr. Scott gave notice that he would move a
reconsideration of the action of the Honse on yes
terday in relation to the appointing of a commit
tee to settle existing difficulties between the
late and present State Treasurer.
Mr. Scott, on his motion to reconsider, said
he made the motion because he thought the mat
ter had undergone a very thorough investigation
already. Tho matter had been investigated on
several occasions, so far os the Honse conld do
it, and he thought farther investigation unnec
essary.
Mr. Lee sustained the motion. He thought
tho matter had been thoroughly settled. Mr.
Jones' books bad been examined. Mr. Hall
thought it due to tho country that the matter
shonld be thoroughly investigated. He did not
see what objection gentlemen could have to on
investigation if it was all right.
The Chair refused to take any action inas
much as the resolution passed yesterday had
been transmitted to the Senate.
Mr. Williams, of Morgan, gave notice that he
would move a reconsideration of the action of
the House yesterday in relation to the bill pro
hibiting any one contractor hiring more than
twenty-five convicts.
Mr. Williams asked a reconsideration because
he thought the bill had not been properly un
derstood by the members. (The confusion of
sound was so great when the clerk was reading
bills that it was almost impossible to hear
him.) He thought such a course calculated to
cripple the internal resources of tho State. If
snch a law was adopted and every person en
abled to hire convicts in this way, the conse
quence wouljl be that the convicts would be
hired out to ^irresponsible parties and no good
conld come from it.
The motion to reconsider prevailed.
Mr. Williams, of Dooly, moved to reconsider
the action of the Honse in relation to a bill
laying off a new county from Decatur county.
Mr. McCullough said this matter affected no
body but the citizens of Decatur county. It
would be of no earthly good to the State. The
Committee on County and County Lines had
considered the matter, and there was no objec
tion offered to it before that Committee. On
yesterday, when it was before the House, they
found some interest taken in it by members
from Thomas county, in order that they might
have a^ understanding with the citizens of tho
new county in regard to the location of the
county-seat
The motion to reconsider prevailed.
Mr. Scott asked a suspension of the rules to
take up a resolution, which prevailed.
The resolution wasread, requestingthe Senate
to return the resolution transmitted to it yes-^
terday, in relation to appointing a committee
to bring about a settlement between tho late
and present State Treasurers.
^Mr. Hall, of Meriwether, thought the matter
ought to be thoroughly investigated, and that
the resolution shonld not pass.
Mr. Lee said he thought the Treasurer, Mr.
Jones had done all he conld to give satisfac
tion, and that all he (Mr. Hall) wanted was to
have justice done.
Mr. O’Neil thought there should bo a full in
vestigation, and he conld not see what objec
tion any gentleman could have to it He
thought it was putting the matter in a very
strange light to ask the Senate to send back the
affected, that the aid or comfort was not cdun- j-ggointion, in order that the Honse may recede
tarily afforded.
The adoption and execution of this course by
ourselves will, I am quite confident, secure for
us full and complete recognition as a State in
the Union.
Rufus B. Bullock, Governor.
The message was made the special^ order for
to-morrow, after which, there not being a quo
rum present, the Honse adjourned.
PROCEEDINGS OF TUESDAY.
Atlanta, Ga., February 1G.
Senate.—The Senate met as usual
Mr. Brock moved a reconsideration of the ac
tion of the Senate yesterday in relation to re
pealing section 3525 of twin’s Code.
The motion was adopted and the resolution
referred to the Judiciary Committee for per
fection.
Mr. Bums moved that a reconsideration of
the action of the Senate, in relation to tabling
a resolution appointing a special Committee of
three, to examine clerks appointed by the Sec
retary as to qualifications and appointments. |
Mr. Bums spoke at some length in favor of j
from its action on yesterday. He did not say
Mr. Jones had not settled the affair fully, but he
could not see any harm in having a full investi
gation.
Mr. Scott said that a bill had passed the
House yesterday, authorizing and requiring the
Governor to issue his warrant or warrants on
the present State Treasurer, and requiring the
State Treasurer to honor the warrants, and to
settle with, and pass receipts to Mr. Jones,
the late Treasurer, on the basis of the reports
of the joint committee of the two Houses,
adopted on the 14th day of September, 18G8.
‘With such legislation before them, he thought
any such resolution as that passed yesterday
inconsistent and unnecessary.
On the resolution of Mr. Soott a division was
called for, when the vote stood yeas 55, nays
37.
The resolution was declared adopted and, on
motion of Mr. Soott, was transmitted to the Se
nate.
Mr. O'Neil gave notice he would move to re-
1 oonsider the resolution to-morrow.
The Committee on Military Affairs reported a
his motion. , .
Ur. Hnngerford opposed the mo 0Dj , tho uomuuiwe uu jiuuiaa^ aunuo
tor isome observations moved to lay it on the feiU tQ appropriate ^ capital at MUledgerille
for a Military Institute back, and recommend
hat it do not pass.
Bills were read a third time, after which the
message of the Governor, which was made the
special order of business for 11 a. m. to-day,
was taken up.
Mr. McCullough moved to suspend the read
ing of the message, inasmuch as it had been
read yesterday, and to take up the resolution.
Mr. Price regretted that it was necessary to
take up the resolution. He approached the
discussion of the veto message with no misgiv
ings. As a representative, he had the right to
give his views on it. He was ncl ; ty .be driven
from bis duty by tho misrepresentations of the
press of the State. He hoped to be able to show
that members of the press had misrepresented
the object of the resolutions, and that those
misrepresentations had been taken np on the
floor of that Honse. The Governor had taken
his view of the matter because he believed it
would subserve his interests and those of the
Republican party.'
Mr. Price here read from the Governor’s
message of the 24th of July last, and proceeded
showing the difference between the opinion of
the Governor now and then. If the House had
decided on thl eligibility of its members, it had
done notliing'more than every other Legislature
had done. Our Constitution had been passed
upon by Congress, and on our sworn oaths we
interpreted that Constitution. The resolutions
now before the Honse do not convey the inter
pretation that they have reference to scats of ne
groes in this House, and he that insists they do,
does so at the risk of hazarding his reputation
for intelligence. That portion of the people
headed by the Governor are unwilling to trust
this qnestion to the Supreme Court of Georgia,
because it is too dread a question to be left to the
fallible judgment of three men. Can that party
which has declared, from Chicago down, that it
was in favor of peace, can that party be asked to
come up now and declare tHrat we are not in tho
Union? He asserted that the Governor was
going out of his duty when he went to Wash
ington and declared that we were not recon
structed. He did not believe that if the Gov
ernor had not gone there and arraigned them by
memorial, that the present state of things would
exist to-day. Wo cast back upon him the im
putations cast npon us. We are, in order to
show that we aro acting on principle, and on
principle only, willing to let the qnestion go
before the Supreme Court. They are unwilling
that we shonld be beard before Congress, and
this is the reason why the Governor has vetoed
the resolutions. Then wo are compelled, if we
are to be heard at all, to resort to this means,
and this veto is nothing more than an effort to
prevent us from going before the country.
That is the only object we have in view and
we have a right to sustain the reputation that we
are not actuated by prejudice.
Mr. Shumate rose to a point of order. The
gentleman’s time was exhausted air! bo thought
that every body understood ti,’* natter. He
moved to prolong his time five minutes.
Mr. Price. It shows a weakneis of their posi
tion when they resorted to force rather than to
principle to prevent us from going before the
only tribunal that was competent to settle the
question.
Ho wished to correct a resolution as unjust as
it was false published this morning in the Atlan
ta Intelligencer.
Mr. Price then read the following from the
above paper.
“We published last evening the veto message
of the governor of the joint resolutions (attempt
ing) to refer the elegibility of negroes to seats in
the Legislature, to the Supreme Court."
The speaker proceeded:
If the Supreme Court were to decide that
color was not a disqualification, it would not af
fect the General Assembly. Wo aro dealing
with facts. There is a qnestion between ns and
Congress, and we ought to be heard. Our repre
sentatives in Congress are not allowed to be
heard, and this is our only resourco. He thought
it the only mode of settling the question. He
was willing to risk even a Republican Supremo
Court on the qnestion, and whatever might be
its decision, he was willing to abide by it, and
he who was not, was not in favor of good order
and good government He had spoken warmly
npon the matter, because he thought the occa
sion demanded it. He was not making war
upon the Governor. He had simply tried to
lift the veil from his actions, to show that he
was unwilling to let the matter go to the only
tribunal competent to decido it.
Mr. O’Neal took the floor.
Mr. Anderson would like to know the state of
the business now before the House.
Mr. O’Neil—You’d like to know if I have a
right to speak.
Mr. Anderson—I want to know if there is any
resolution before the House.
Mr. O’Neil—I’d like to know if there is not
as much before the House now, as there was
when the last gentleman was speaking.
The Chair stated that the resolutions and the
Governor’s Message were before the House.
Mr. O’Neil denounced the idea that the ques
tion of negro eligibility had any reference to
their membership in that House. The gentle
man who had just spoken knew well that the
law on such matters, outside of the House, was
as full as could be made. Had the gentleman
just come to the conclusion that he would abide
the decision of the Supreme Court. It seemed
so. Now, if the resolution had no reference to
negroes sitting in tho House, it was superfluous.
It was nothing, and he knew nothing like it, ex
cept tho half cent paper published in this city
called the Atlanta New Era, and that paper
would be a fit substitute for it so long as it
amounted to nothing.' >
Mr. Price wanted to know if the gentleman
went with the Governor in his attempt to let
Congress resea t the negro without referring
it to the Supreme Court
A member moved to postpone indefinitely.
Mr. Price rose to a point of order. He did
not think the veto message could be indefinitely
postponed.
Mr. Shumate moved to make it the special
order for the first Monday in March.
Mr Tomlin moved to amend by makingit the
special order for Monday next
The amendment did not prevail
The motion of Mr. Shumate was then taken
np and adopted.
Mr. Grimes moved to suspend the rules for
the purpose of taking np a reconsidered bill re
pealing so much of ft bill levying a tax to ool-
lect insolvent cost as relating to Muscogee and
Richmond counties.
Mr. Bryant trusted the bill would not be ta
ken up to-day, as General Bethune, who was
personally interested in the bill, was not in the
House.
Mr. O’Neil did not reply.
Mr. Price—“Are you in favor of a Military
Governor?”
Mr. O’Neil—“No.”
Mr. Price—“What are you talking about
then?” (Laughter.)
Mr. O’Neil—“ I introduced a bill to meet this
matter; why did you not accept that bill? 'Why
did you not show your faith by your works?
don’t think the Superior Court can take action
on this matter.”
Mr. Price—“Do I understand yon to say that
your bill was an unconstitutional one ?”
Mr. O’Neil—“Ido.”
Mr. Grimes said that Gen. Bcthnne was not
interested in the bilL
Mr. Bryant wished to know if the gentleman
insinuated that he was mistaking the matter.
Mr. Grimes—I say this, that if you say Gen.
Bethune is “personally” interested in the bill,
you are mistaken.
Mr. Bryant said that he did not mean to say
Gen. Bethune was personally interested, whatLe
wanted to say was that that gentleman felt an
interest in the bill
Mr. Scott rose to a point of order. He did not
think that what General Bethune thought of the
bill was before the House. He was of the opin
ion that, as General Bethune was absent on pri
vate business, the matter should not be delayed
on his account. Besides, he understood that
gentlemen could not be so very deeply interested
since from the places named.
After some further discussion, Mr. Grimes
moved the previous question.
Mr. Smith, of Macon, moved to amend by
adding Macon county.
Mr. Grimes accepted the amendment, and the
bill was passed as amended.
A bill repealing sections 145G, 1457, 1458,
1459, 1460 and 1461 of Irwin’s Code so far as
they related to Houston, Morgan, Monroe, and
Macon counties, was taken np as unfinished
business from yesterday and passed.
A bill changing the line between the counties
of Taylor and Macon was taken np and passed.
A bill incorporating a company to remove the
obstructions from Gum Swamp, Pulaski county,
and authorizing the same, was passed.
A bill was read authorizing a change of time
in holding the Superior Court, in Clinch, Pierce,
Appling, Wayne, and Ware counties, with
amendments by Mr. Grimes, and Mr. Hall, of
Glynn, the former inserting Muscogee, and the
latter to authorize the holding of Superior Courts
in Glynn two weeks.
The bill as amended has passed and the Honse
adjourned to three o’clock for the reading of
bills.
Virginia—Eloqncnt Extract.
The following beautiful tribute to old Virginia
was delivered by Senator McCreary, of Ken
tucky, in the Senate of the United States, a
short time ago, and it extorted praise from the
most unfriendly sources. It finds a response in
the hearts of all feeling men, and no Virginian
can read it withont the liveliest emotions of
gratitude to the eloquent author:
Of the situation of the Southern people, I
know little from actual observation. Since the
war I have been no farther than Gordonsville,
in Virginia. Manassas, which has risen from
the ashes, reminds us of the opening scene in
the civil strife. I passed Cedar Mountain, or
Slaughter’s Mountain, as the people of the coun
try call it, in whose shades Jackson marshaled
try call it,
Ins forces, and from whose summit swept the
charge that never failed of victory. I crossed
the Rapidon, where Grant and Lee, the great
masters of military science, for seven long
months confronted each other from opposite
banks. Dicthes and earthworks may be seen on
all sides, bnt where are the farms, the orchards
and the gardens, the corn, the froit, and the
flowers? These rich valleys like western prai
ries, spread ont before Fyon, bnt no fence ob
structs the view and no sound breaks the solemn
silence that reigns around.
There remain, however, soms evidences of a
banished civilization. Now and then a single
chimney, like, a monumental column, points yon
to the past. It bears no lettered scroll, but
still it speaks of happiness and home. Its
warmth has been a comfort to age, and spark
ling eyes and ruddy faces have reflected its
light. But the scene is changed. The thunder
cloud of war drew near, until its angry flashes
gave fearful warning of approaching doom. The
mother kneels at the family altar, invokes the
blessings of Elijah’s God, and goes forth with
her children, a fugitive in the land. Every
thing that will bum is given to the flames, and
the chimney stands as a landmark, a starting
point for the surveyor in his works of re-estab
lishing metes and boundary lines.
I know not how others may feel, bnt as for
my single self I confess to a weakness for the
old Commonwealth of Virginia. If she has
sinned in the sight of heaven, heaven and earth
have witnessed the terrible retribution. When
we speak of Virginia, the long past rises before
ns, and we are associated with the heroes, the
statesmen and the philosophers of other days.
The sword of her Washington hangs in the
Patent Office, and there, too, is his camp and
his camp furniture, even down to his pewter
plate, held as the sacred memorials of a patri
otism which endured all things for his country’s
sake. Jefferson and the Declaration, and Madi
son and the Constitution, the eloquence of
Henry, tho learning of Marshall, all protest
against the divorce which severs the
bonds of union and degrades Virginia from
her position of equality in the family of States.
Dismembered and divided, spurned and insult
ed. suffering and bleeding, the frail and totter
ing remnant of her former self, if we cannot
alleviate, let us do nothing to increase the ca
lamities which overwhelm her already. Neither
the vicissitudes through which she has passed,
nor the furnace of affliction through which she
walks at present, haye ever been able to extort
from her one word of complaint or reproach. If
it is believed that she can be driven or persuad
ed to a profession of the radical creed, it is a
mistake; she will live and die in the faith which
has been handed down from her fathers.
Accident on the Selma, Rome &. Dal
ton Railroad—Jacob Scavey Killed.
A very distressing accident occurred on the
above named road last Sunday, about 3 miles
below Oxford, Ala. Tho train was running at
abont 18 miles per hour—the road at that point
in apparently good condition and so far as was
known, the running gear in perfect order.
Suddenly the truck under the baggage car was
turned loose crosswise between the rails, and
and consequently the following trucks were
knocked out of place as they came to the first
one. The baggage car, the Express car and
two passenger coaches whre thrown from the
track. The coupling before the Express car
broke, and the engine, with two cars, moved on
without injury.
Jacob Seavey, grandson of Jesse Lamberth of
this city, acting as brakesman, was standing
probably on the platform of the express car at
the time of the aooident. The presumption is
that he jumped off and fell down. Atalfevents,
he was found under a car that had tilted over,
the edge of the car laying across his^ stomach.
Every possible effort was made to extricate him,
bnt without avaiL Life was not quite extinct
when they got to him, though the injury must
have proved fatal even if he could have been
removed at onoe. No other person on the train
was seriously injured. The passengers bestow
at praise on Capt. Kays, the conductor, for
coolness, prompt action and judicious con
duct under the distressing ciroumstanoes.
[Home Courier.
Views of a
Reconstructed Rebel
Officer.
The Washington correspondent of the Troy
Times gives the subjoined account of an inter
view with an officer in the Confederate army,
General Longstreet, we suppose, being the
officer alluded to:
Walking down Pennsylvania avenue to-day,
on my usual trip to the Capitol I toll in with an
ex-Confederate officer, who carved his name
high on a hundred battlefields of treason, bat
who, since the unholy war ceased, has renounced
the errors of his way in the same fall, manly
spirit with which he fought, and has accepted
the decrees of fate and of Congress with a
hearty and yet a dignified submission. He was
exceedingly cordial and communicative, full of
hope for the future, and glowingly sanguine
that the South, purified from the blight of
human slavery and recognizing the equal rights
of all men, would grow, and flourish, and
blossom all over, like unto a second land of
promise.
< “ General” said I, “ what more peril have
these obstructionists at the South undergone,
what more suffering have they endured, what
more bravery have they shown, that they shonld
revile yon for the frank renewal of your loyalty
to the Government ?”
“None,” he exclaimed.
“ Then why not follow your example,” I in
quired, “ and give us the fruits for which we
fought ?”
“Simply,” said he, “because you of the
North—I rather mean your administration—
made a wrong start when the war ended. If
vigorous means of reconstruction had been put
in force when the Confederate armies surren
dered, there would be no obstructionists now.
It was the dallying policy of Andrew Johnson,
tolerated too long by your people, that fed tho
spirit of the South with false hopes of recover
ing the suppremacy they had lost, and while
these false hopes prevailed, it required no small
amount of moral courage to take the stand that
I did. Up to the 3d of last November this same
delusion existed, and had Seymour and Blair
been elected, good-bye to peace and reconstruc
tion at the South.”
“But Grant will set all things right, down
there," I observed.
.“Very favorable, indeed,” he returned,
“ Grant, to my mind, is the beau ideal of a sol
dier’s companion. To explain this to yon, 1
might lay it down as a rule that a soldier detests
long sentences of rhetoric—he prefors a short,
nimble mode of expression, and likes a man of
general information who is not a bore. Grant
has not read very extensively, bnt it is amazing
how clear and precise he is on every subject.
His mind would appear to flash across a ques
tion like lightning over the wire, and then, after
a brief pause, he give 3 yon his opinion in the
simplest words but in the tersest form. It is all
a mistake about his reticence. In public he is
taciturn, but meet him, as I did, in social con
versation, and under the convivial cloud of a ci
gar, and no man living can be more entertaining
than Grant; at least to my mind he appeared so,
and I had no favors to ask. Grantthmks deeply,
but talks little on what he meditates most. Yon
will find him develop his policy—and be assured
it will bo a grand one—in detail, as a general
develops his plan of battle. Under his adminis
tration this country will take a bound forward
and achieve a degree of prosperity beyond our
most sanguine expectations.”
“I begin to think, General,” said I, as we
were drawing near the Capitol gates, “that you
and General Grant must have been talking over
your old campaigns in Mexico, and looking into
the horoscope of that country’s destiny.”
“Well, I confess,” he replied, “we did talk
a little about Monterey and Chapnltepce, but I
can’t positively say if ho looked into tho horo
scope, though I know I did. It has been an old
dream of mine that Mexico is bound to be onrs,
and I hope, before I die, to pitch my tent some
where in her pleasant valleys."
Idle Insurance.
Mr. Williams, United States Senator from
Oregon, has introduced into the Senate a bill
relative to life insurance, which provides that
no policy hereafter issued shall be forfeited or
become void by the non-payment of premiums
thereon, any further than regards the right of
the party insured therein to have it continued
in force beyond a certain period, to be deter
mined. The net value of the policy, when the
premium becomes due and is not paid, shall be
ascertained according to the combined expe
rience or actuaries’ rates of mortality, with in
terest of four per cent, per annum. After de
ducting from such net value any indebtedness
to the company or notes held by the company
against the insured, which notes, if given for
premium, shall be cancelled, four-fifths of what
remains shall be consideredas a net single pre
mium of temporary insurance, and the term for
which it will iusoro shall be determined accord
ing to the age of the party at the time of the
lapse of premium and the assumptions of mor-
lity and interest
If the death of the party occur within tho
terms of temporary insurance covered by the
value of policy, and no condition of the insur
ance other than the payment of premium shall
have been violated by the insured, the company
shall be bound to pay the amount of the policy
the same as though there had been no lapse of
premium, provided that notice of the elaim and
proof of death shall be submitted to the com
pany within ninety days after decease; and pro
vided, also, that the company shall have the
right to deduct from the amount of the policy,
at seven per cent, per annum of the premiums
that had been forebomo at the time of the death.
All endowment policies on which two annual
premiums have been paid, shall be non-forfeit
ing for such proportion of the original sum as
the number of premiums paid bears to the to
tal number required by the policy; and such
paid up policy shall receive an equitable share
of the profits or dividends until it matures.
The passage of such a law as this, says tho
Washington Express, ought to be pressed, both
for the protection of the insured and the in
surer. It cannot injure the insurance com
panies, because under its operations thousands
who now hesitate to insure their lives from a
fear or future inability to continue their pay
ments would be enabled to enrol themselves
upon the life insurance lists with the certainty
that what they paid in would not be lost in the
event of snch failure. In this manner the in
surance companies would find an active revival
in their business.
The Extravagance of Congress.
The appropriations actually made by the Con
gress of tiie United States for the contingent ex-
mses of that body for tho fiscal year ending
une 30, 1868, were:
For the Senate ©537,784 84
For the House 699,906 50
Total.
These'are the
$1,237,691 34
'contingent expenses” of the
two houses of Congress for one year. Among
the items paid for by the Senate are $35,000
worth of stationery; a body oomposed of seven
ty-two members uses $35,000 worth of station
ery in one year! Then, again, $104,554 was
paid to clerks of committees, pages, and for
lorses and carriages. Sixty thousand -dollars
was paid for “miscellaneous.” Heating and
ventilating the Senate Chamber cost $25,000
for one year! Capitol polioe $25,000.
In the House one item for cartage is $3,800;
for clerks to committees and temporary clerks
-mostly fc
$39,392; folding documents—meetly for elec
tioneering purposes—$117,000; furniture and
packing-boxes for members $60,000; for horses,
carriages and saddle horses, $10,230, (What are
saddle horses wanted for?) For “miscellane
ous,” $73,650, for pages and temporary mail
boys—mostly for electioneering purposes—$16,-
200; compensation of employees, $142,621;
capitol police $25,488 ; making an expense for
the “polioe” of thejtwo Houses of $6,488!
How long can the people endure a Congress
that expends one million and a quarter a year
for “contingent expenses” abont the capitol and
that gives away to corporations and speculations
one hundred and twenty-four millions of acres
of the public lands ?
Letter from “Mark.”
Correspondence of the Cincinnati Knqnirer. j
Washington, February:
GRANT AND THE OFFICE-HOL
' There are very strong intimations J
that General Grant vull move a'" 1
change of office-holders, and that
means recognize the rotation prin
dally will this be tree in regard
served in the army and have
the war been appointed to office.
Aleck Sandi’ slate for Hamilton i
includes all our old friends of
will be badly smashed. There is
that slate who was south of
during the war, although I believe I
to be veterans in the noble army of
stayed at home “to fight coppej
rear.” Fighting rebels at the front isl
recommendation to Grant than fighting copper
heads in the rear, because no ons knows better
than he that the latter branch of the service
consisted mostly in getting Government
contracts. Let every man who has a good sol
dier’s record behind him, and whom the Radi
cals want to oust, see to- it that General Grant
knows the fact of his faithful service; and there
is little doubt that he will be retained in spite
of the cliques and combinations in favor of civ
ilians. Ohio is fall of this class of office-holders.
They will all be turned out, if the cliques can
do it—but they can all be kept in if the advice
of this paragraph is acted upon. I am well sat
isfied this is tree as to most of the office hold
ers of Hamilton county. Sands is making a
raid upon them all—but he can be outflanked
changes are either needed or desired, <
are likely to be for the better. Let the hungry
Chronicle fellows get in as best they can. They
onght to consider themselves well enough off
in the undisputed enjoyment of the honors of
“the official organ of the city and county.”
What more do they want ? Is there no limit to
their ambition?
THB WHZSKT BING.
The whisky ring (or rather the right wing of
of it, under eommandof Major-General Robert
O. Schenk,) is working vigorously for an increase
of the tax, bnt is not likely to accomplish any
thing during the present session, so rapidly
drawing to a close. Unfortunately, however,
under tiie Radical regime, the close of one Con
gress is no relief to the people, for a new one
succeeds it the next day. The Forty-first Con
gress will meet on the 4th of March and com
mence a new series of legislative varieties to
swindle the people and destroy the Government.
The latter branch of this work will be easy,
considering how little there is left of the Gov
ernment now. The whisky ring will then renew
its operations, bnt I do not think there is a
strong probability of success for it. The Trea
sury is not likely to be benefited by an increase
of the tax, and the only result of it that can be
foreseen is an additional premium upon swind
ling, to be derided among the Government de- *
tectives and Treasury agents. It would be far
wiser to abolish the tax altogether, since it
seems impossible to reduce it below the stealing
point. It costs now nearly as much as it comes
to. But for that matter tiie whole internal re
venue system is a nuisance that can only be
abated by being abolished. Under a judicial
and economical administration there is n6 more
necessity for it now than there was before the-
war.
A REPUBLICAN FORK OF GOVERNMENT.
It is amusing to hear the latter-day statesmen
of the Radical party brace themselves up against
the constitutional guarantee of a “Republican
form of government,” as a justification for
negro suffrage. They have at last discovers dr
that the fathers of the Republic meant by this
provision that Congress shonld guarantee uni
versal suffrage—which is strangely inconsistent
with the fact that the fathers were slaveholders,
and that not one of them ever advanced an. idea
in favor of the modem Radical doctrine. Sum
ner has harped upon the subject every day/ora
week, insisting alwa;
.ways, of course, on the Radi
cal interpretation of it. Now, if he were as
great a student as he professes, if he had. read
as much of the history of his own country as he
has crammed of the history of other coun
tries, he would know precisely what was
meant by that clanse of the Constitution
which requires Congress to guarantee
Republican form of government to the
States. If he will look into the' proceedings
of the Congress of 1787, and the record of what
Is so well known as the ordinance of that year,
he will find it all explained. The fourth proviso
of that ordinance, as originally drawn up, was
in these words: “That their respective Govern
ments” (that is the Governments of the new
States) “shall be republican in form, and shall
admit no person to be a citizen who holds any
hereditary title." In the debate which the or
dinance elicited, the words I have quoted in
italics were stricken ont as superfluous, as tau
tological, proving clearly that the framers of the
Government meant by “a Republican form of
Government,” simply a form that was not mon
archical and that they had no reference to the
question of suffrage as to whites or blacks.
This ought to put an end to the mouthing and
word mongering of the Radicals in their at
tempts to distort the meaning of a plain phrase
in the Constitution. Mack.
Rochefort’s disclosures relative to the fact of
Napoleon HI haring given orders to remove
the master-piece from the Museum of the Louv
re to tho Imperial mansion, has created a first-
class sensation in Paris. In Brussels a cartoon
has been published on the subject- It is a
night scene. Napoleon and Eugenie, armed
with burglars’ tools, are trying to break into tha
Louvre. Napoleon says: “I must have, to
night, three Raphaels and one Titian. ” Eugenie
replies: “I want only the two best Murillos.”
Rochefort appears in the back-ground. He
holds in his hands a large lantern, which sheds
its rays over the burglarious couple.
Apparent Death.—A prize of $4000, it is
stated, has been recently offered in France for
the discovery of a sure and simple means of
recognizing if death be real or apparent. A
French journal announces that a Dr. Carriers
intends to claim the money fox a process which
he has successfully employed for forty years.
This system consists in placing the hand, with
the fingers closed before the flame of a lamp or
candle. In the living person the members are
transparent and of a pinkish color, showing the
capillary circulation and life in full activity;
whilst in that of a corpse, on the contrary, all is
dull and dark, presenting neither sign of exist
ence, nor trace of the blood current.
Valuable Patent to a Georgian.—We have
been shown a patent for a Non-ribrating Pro
filer, granted by the British Government to
ames A. Joyner, a young man bom at La-
Grange. in this State, and whose father resides
in this city. From the description of it by the
Liverpool Daily Post, we should think it des
tined to supersede all others as the motive.
power in propelling vessels.
Joyner’s history has been rather an eventful
one since the close of the war. He is now only
about 26 years of age. Sixteen months in the
Confederate army, he was subsequently com
missioned 1>y Mr. Davis as master of a vessel in
the volunteer-navy. Running the blockade in
1863, he remained in that servioe until the doee
of the war. Next he took oommand, in 1866, of
a Liverpool merchant vessel and Bailed to Cor
dis, in Whales, thence to South Africa. His
vessel was then chartered for Hong Kong,
China. He then returned to Germany, from
that to Holland, from Holland to Constantino
ple. In 1868, with arms, he ran the blockade
:it the Cretan war, loaded with refugees, and was
captured by a Turkish man of war. After being
released he traveled through France, then went
to Liverpool where he invented the propeller
. . _. 1U £
alluded to.—Atlanta Constitution,
Four Norman stallions were lately sold by
auction at Irwin Station, Ohio. They had re
cently been imported, were six, four and three
years old, and Drought $2,385, $2,475, $2,935
and $1,500 respectively. All were purchased
by parties in Ohio.
. % 'V
•V.