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the weekly constitutionalist
WEDNESDAY MORNING. JUNE 10,1807.
TO OUB BUBOBIBEBS.
The Weekly Constitutionalist will here
after he mailed on Tuesday instead of Wed
day morning. We make this change to
modate many subscribers. It i»om aim an
purpose to make the paper a first class ne
family journal, and wc confidently hope that
theinfluenee of our subscribers will be exerted
. , . an extending its circu
to aid us in doiug s° y
lation. ' , , '
. THE NEGBO VOTE.
A few days since, we prepared our readers for
the registration farce recently perpetrated at
Washington immediately under the learned
nose of the elaborate Attorney General Stan
hery. We looked for great outrages upon the,
purity of the ballot, but the most vivid imagi
nation could not have anticipated the tilth and
infamy that really transpired. The New York
Tribune congratulates the country upon the
result and adds: - 4 If our friends had managed
the canvass with a little more prudence w r e
might have increased the vote.” In order that
this phrase of a “ little more prudence” may be
interpreted, it is necessary to understand the
exact amount of prudence the friends ol the
Tribune contrived tomuster. In the first place,
every effort was made to iotimidate and thrust
aside the white vote. The negroes took posses
sion of the polls at an early* hour, and managed
to keep such possession as am' unted to a gross
exclusion. Although the Commissioners
of Election agreed to a fair distribution of the
voters by double lines of white and black, the
Superintendent of Police ordered the whites to
the rear ol the negroes, and thus debarred very
many from voting at all. It is stated, upon
the undoubted authority of the National In
telligencer, that those negroes having Conser
vative ballots were forced to exchange them for
Rudical tickets, by a swarm of interlopers,
who plied their dirty trade throughout the en
tire day aud along every column of voters.
Hundreds of negroes were imported lrom the
adjacent State of Maryland and the territory of
Virginia, for the express, purpose ot givlug
what the Radicals call “a fair and square con
test.” On this point the Intelligencer testifies
that, on the morning "after the election, these
hundreds “ were sitting about the comers,
waiting anxiously for the Republican commit
tees to provide their meals and transportion
home.” It is recorded further that, though
great efforts were made to bring these pets of
a Republican form of Government from dis
tant places, there was, after the work had been
accomplished, a sublime indifference manifest
ed as to how they were to take up their beds
and walk back.
Having succeedcd.so famously at Washing
ton, a like triumph is regarded as certain all
over the South, and, as forewarned is forearm
ed, we advise the people of Georgia to make
every legitimate preparation against a repeti
tion of similar transactions in our midst, if in
deed a band-cuffed people can make any solid
resistance to a predetermined and bayonet
backed organization deliberately resolved upon
crime and fraud. The grand difficulty appre
hended is in the county districts; the cities are
looked upon as secure through the compact or
ganizations of the negroes themselves aud the
unscrupulous artifices ol their mean white
affiliations. Wherefore, a mighty clamor comes
from the Radical camp for a “ thousaud mis
sionaries to flood the South, traverse the rural
districts and visit every plantation and cross
road.” We have no doubt but they will instill
the lorty acre confiscation dogma and promise
every darkey a fat slice of the land he is now
cultivating lor his employer. As confiscation
is only to be visited upon the South in ease of
her going against Radicalism, we leave it to
the comprehension of every freedmau how
much he will benefit in the matter of land when
voting the Radical ticket and ensuring triumph
to the party which will not confiscate the acres
ol a State which has voted itself thoroughly
“loyal.” The negroes are to be duped in this
matter as they were at Washington, and when
they ask for the promised land will probably
gel as much satisfaction as the Maryland and
Virginia freedmen did with regard to trauspor
tation the day after the election.
We may as well make up our minds to the
fact thats what has happened in District of
Columbia and iu the territory of Louisiana will
be repeated in Georgia. The military com
manders are hacked by Congress, and will do
nothing to come under, suspicion of disloyalty
to that imperial body. Only one ot them has
shown an inkling of individual responsibility
and a sentiment ot independence, Gen. Ord.
He has plunged iuto hot water; as will be seen
by the following extract, republished by the
Charleston Xetcs. It sayß:
General Ord has been getting himself into
trouble in Mississippi. He has issued an order
which has been construed to mean that he “ con
siders the vote* of the freedmeu to be secondary
to his labor and obedience to his contract
and this, is held to be degrading the colored
man to the position of “a mere manual labor
er.” The General, fn reply to this accusation,
says that he does regard it as much more im
portant do the negro and everybody else, that
he should learn to support himself by his own
labor ; and he docs not see how this can be con
strued into hostility to Republican principles or
policy. The active politicians in his department
declare that no organization of the Republican
party can be effected there without direct aid
from the military authorities, and he is com
plained of for not giving >t.
We do not see how Gen. Ord can hope to
save his head without surrendering his good in
tentions or showing a pluck equal to that of
Hora.ce Greelt in his contest with the Loyal
League. Army officers are not famous for that
sort ot bravery and hence we expect to hear
that Geueral Ord, like General Longstreet,
has gone under the yoke and cried j*eccavi.
As to the negro, when he has voted to serve
the Radical party, what will become of him ?
The refusal to discontinue the Antbslavery So
ciety may reveal his future fate iu the hands of
his present tyrants. The reason given for con
tinuing the Auti-Slavery Society stated by a
certain Mr. Wright, who avors that though its
primary object was to abolish slavery, its° uhi
mate object is fa abolish the negro. Here is
a whole sermon for the blacks to inwardly di
gest. Meanwhile, the New York Times is hor
rified at |bis new evangel and cays “ it is possi
ble the tiegro may be abolished in a way the Anti-
Slavery Society does not contemplate ; bnt per
haps they won't be particular as to the means of
doing 1 1, so it is only done.”
the powers of district COMMA*#;
EBS.
Mr STAN BERT’S Opinion as to the powers
, n ‘ a limitations of Military Commanders is
looked, for with some impatience. We believe
,eat he will strain the law as far as possible m
, <tvor ot the people and against the arbitrary
despotism now running to riot. Whether his
opinion will have any effect, remains to be
seen; and, if unbacked by Executive firmness
aud decision, it certainly will not legislate or
trigiiten the imperial generals into propriety
or moderation.
As an anticipation of some attempt on the
part of the civic branches of government to as
sume a portion of delegated authority, the re
cent address of Chief Justice Chase to the
members of the North Carolina Bar decides at
least that — *
Ist. The Courts of the United Stales are sa
cred from military interference.
2nd. That the chief end of military occupa
tion is to protect the people against violence
to person and property, to facilitate a return
to equal rights in the Union; that it must re
tire from all supervision of national or State
courts.
Commenting upon this subject, the Charles
ton Mercury says :
“ In opening his address, Mr. Chase ver}’
properly said that when the war ceased in 1805,
national military authority took the place of all
ordinary civil jurisdiction or controlled its
exercise ; aud that all courts, whether State or
national, were subordinated to military supre
macy and acted under such limitations, and iu
such cases, as the commanding general under
the direction of the President thought fit to
prescribe. 4 Their process might be disregard
ed and their judgments and decrees set aside by
military orders.’
“ This was the status at the close ol the war.
The civil law was subordinated to the military
power ; and the Judges of the Bupreme Court
could not, with propriety, hold circuit courts
while they knew that their decisions might be
set aside or reversed under the operation of
martial law. ‘At length, however,’ says the
Chief Justice, 4 the military control over the
civil tribunals was withdrawn by the" Presi
dent,’ the writ of habeas corpus was restored,
and ‘ military authority iu civil matters was
abrogated.’ The civil law having again become
technically supreme, there was no objection to
the holding of circuit courts ; and, under the
act of Congress authorizing allotments of
judges, the Justices ot the Supreme Court have
agniu been assigned to the several circuits.
“It is evident, then, that in the deliberate
judgment of Chief Justice Chase, civil law is
now supreme in the Southern States; and ho
announces his opinion in the following em
phatic words:
“ The Associate Justice# allotted to the other
Southern circuits will join in holding the courts
at the regular terms prescribed by law, and thus
the national civil jurisdiction will be fully re
stored throughout the Union. It is true that
military authority is still exercised within these
Southern circuits, but not now, as formerly, in
consequence of the disappearance of local au
thority, and in supervision or control of all tri
bunals, whether State or National. It is now
under acts of Congress, and only to prevent
illegal violence to persons and property, and to
facilitate the restoration of every State to equal
rights and benefits in the Union. This military
authority does not exteud in any respect to the
Courts of the United States.”
“ It will, of course, be objected that the opin
ion of Chief Justice Chase does not alter the
fact; and, that, whatever may be the theory,
the practice is that the commanders of these
districts do set aide the decisions of the civil
courts, United States or State , at their will.
But might does not make right, and the same
objection would apply to the discussion or the
attaching of any importance to the late opiuion
of Mr. Staubery. The views of Mr. Stanbery
•have no compulsory force until they are pro
mulgated by the President as Qp authoritative
interpretation of the law ; the opinion of Chief
Justice Chase will not, in itself, restrain the
acts of the district commanders or compel them
to cease their interference with the civil power.
One thing, however, is certain: Mr. Chase,
with the military laws*before him, and standing
within the limilfe of District No. 2, announqps,
as the chief of the judiciary of the United
States, that the district commanders have no
authority in any respect over the Courts of the
United States, and that it is not now exercised
that is rightfully exercised —in supervision or
control of any tribunal,, whether Slate or
national. This is his legal opinion, and caunot
fail to have weight both with Mr. Stanbery and
with the President, even if it is not intended as
a precursor and indication of what the Presi
dential order will be.
“ In his message vetoing the Military bill, the
President certainly took the ground that that
bill gave the military commanders absolute
control over life, liberty and property ; but the
President is not now to explain what might
arise from the unrestrained exercise of its pow
er, but to declare, as eommauder-in-ebief, how
far these military commanders shall go. The
President is not to ‘ assume that the possible
danger will he the inevitable result,’ but to de
fine by geueral orders the powers the military
acts confer. A general officer has uo higher
law than a general order. That is his only rule
and guide; and, whether that order be legal or
illegal, he as an officer will implicitly obey its
instructions. This is why so much importance
is attached to the declarations of Mr. Chase.
They expound the law ; they announce a fact;
and will probably bp the guiding principle of
an order deciding the extent and limitations of
the authority in civil matters, to be exercised
by the district commanders of the South.”
Female Suffrage.— The New York Times
says: ”Blauk petitions are in circulation for
signatures, praying the Constitutional Conven
tion to concede suffrage to worr.cn. The speech
of Mr. Mill in the British Parliament and the
vote of seventy-three members of that bod}’ in
favor of female suffrage, have excited anew in
terest in the subject here. To the objection that
comparatively few of the women of the coun
try desire the ballot, the reply is made that
manv thousands of women have signed the pe
titions for it and have done every thing iu their
power to secure it. It will not be easy, cer
tainly, to give any good and substantial reason,
based on any thing higher than party necessi
ties, for refusing to women what has been con
ceded to three millions of ignorant negroes in
the United Statci; but we do not believe.it will
be conceded to them nevertheless. If either
party felt certain of being able to control the
female rote, it would give women the suffrage
very readily; but they do not feel all safe on that
point.
JUDGE GEIEB.
We have received the following communica
tion : •
Augusta, June S, 1807.
To the Editor of the Constitutionalist:
“ Dear Sir : I have noticed with regret your
severe editorials on Ju-tice Grier, of the Su
preme Court of the United States, as I hap
pen to know that his health was so much iin
paired as to render him unable to retain his
seat in the recent long session of the court. I
know the Judge to be a Democrat of the old
State Rights school, independent, honest aud
fearless, who would scorn to evade his dut\
for the purpose of seeuriug popular fa\ or or
escaping the venom of Radical tongues. Aoout
a year since he bad a severe attack of paralysis,
which prevented him from sitting in his Dis
trict Court in Pennsylvania. His health has
somewhat improved since, but as he is an old
man of more than seventy he Was unable to
sustain the fatigue ot the recent long session of
the Supreme Court at Washington and was
compelled to retire before the Georgia and
Mississippi cases were disposed of by absomte
inability. Justice to a worthy Lnd able Judge
induces me to present you this excuse for his
absence.
Our criticisms upon the conduct of Judge
Grier were founded upon his inexplicable ab
sence, now so ingeniously palliated by t. The
venerable Justice stands excused before the
countrv as absent oh sick leave; but he would
have rendered his name immortal had he drag
ged his aged limbs to thi»beutli of the Supreme
Court and given, expiring testimony for his
country. Dying men have been carried to the
polls to decide some trifling municipal ques
tion ; Judge Grier, iu veiw of the majesty of
the recent cases, might have been borne hither
on a litter, rather than allow constitutional lib
erty to be cloven down by his absence. Hav
iug remained on the bench nearly up to the
rendering of the verdict, he certainly might
have tarried a short time longer, though such
delay had brought him the last of earth. W hat
is the health or life of any man, old or young,
iu comparison with the life of freedom?
While Judge Grier must, therefore, be releas
ed from blame, allowed an opportuity
to escape him which no individual of seventy
years has had since the discovery of America.
Chatham finished his course iu Parliament,
rather than dribble out a few weeks at home.
Judge Grier had a chance to rival or surpass
Chatham, but he missed it. Henceforth let
the epitaph of Republicau institutions be thus
recorded — Died of paralysis. .
THE LAST PERFORMANCE OF GEN
ERAL SHERIDAN.
The last performance of General Sheridan in
Louisiana is the removal of Governor Wells
aud the appointment of Thomas J. Durant in
his place. This caps the climax of the audacious
effrontery ot this pretentious military usurper,
who in all things has been exercising authority
as absolute as that of a Turkish Pasha. Here
tofore in tyrannical usurpation Generals Butler
and Banks have borne oft the palm, but Sheri
dan has shown us that there is a lower depth
still for military violence to descend, ana his
acts have been characterized by a spiteful hate
and malignancy more apparent than that dis
played by his predecessors. A monkey with ®
lighted torch in a powder magazine could not
be more dangerous than Sheridan is to the in
ternal peace and tranquility of the department
over which he has been unfortunately placed.
The President and General Grant owe it to
common decency and self-respect to remove
this man and appoint somebody in bis place
who will not be needlessly a tyrant, and who
will act with some sense and discretion. _
Cincinnati Enquirer.
Meanwhile, the President goes hither and
thither prating of the Constitution and con
stantly declaring that the arrogance and license
of the military commanders do not meet his
approval. Here is a fiuc opportunity to put his
theory into practice and prove himself a power
iu the land and not a mere "automaton. Fine
words do not mend broken china or broken
pledges. If he disapproves of Sheridan’s acts
aud yet permits them ; if he apostrophizes the
Constitution and yet winks at its infraction, his
words may be as eloquent as the voice of
lsrafel , “ the sweetest of all God’s creatures,”
but it is sounding brass and tinkling cymbal
vox et prmtereg nihil.
Radical Assertion of State Rights.—
When, says the National Intelligencer , it was
proposed to foist negro suffrage upon the
States in the North, the friends of the bills of
Messrs. Sumner and Wilson alleged that the
Constitution confers the power upou Congress,
afid pretended to get it from the clause relating
to a republicau form of government and from
the amendment abolishing slavery. But in
Mississippi, General F. P. Blair, having been
denied his vote because of his declining to
take the iron-clad oath, is refused any redress
by the Supreme Court of the State, which pays
no heed to the decision of the Supreme Court
of the United States, but coutends that it is not
applicable to voters, averring the right of each
State to regulate its own conditions of suffrage
in the following tinqualified terms. We put it
on record as the broadest assertion of State
rights seen from any court during the war, aud
in order that the followers of Radicalism may
mark the gross inconsistency of their leaders
whenever a special -object is to be accom
plished :
“ Prior to the adoption of the Federal Con
stitution, the respective States possessed un
limited and unrestricted sovereignty, and re
tained the same ever afterwards, except so far
as they granted, certain powers to the General
Government or prohibited themselves from do
ing certain acts. Every State reserved to itself
the exclusive right of regulating its own inter
nal government and police.”
Well Put.— President Johnson’s
allusions to the Constitution ought to make the
relics .of that venerable instrument scorch the
breeches pockets of Judge Grier. Hi 6 position
is happily illustrated by the following anecdote,
which “Quondam ” relates as occurring conver
sationally between Judge C and a young
lawyer, Mr. G., of Atlanta. The Judge wa6
advocating the passage of a law to wipe out all
iudebtedness and to enable the people to begin
anew, and was very earnest iu his support of
wholesale repudiation, when the young lawyer,
very modestly, drew his attention to the fact
that the Constitution forbids the passage of any
law which impairs the validity of contracts. —
The Judge, after regarding his young friend for
some seconds, with evident compassion, re
marked, “ My friend, your talk about the Con
stitution and validity of contracts reminds me
of a parcel of boys riding stick-horses in a cir
cus, after circus is go.ie.” The young attorney
made no reply, and the Judge remaiued master
of the situation.
New York and Charleston.— Attention
is called to the advertisement of the New York
and Charleston st'eamship line. Messrs. Cour
tenay aud Trenholm, of Charleston, are the
•agents to whom freights arc to be consigned.
An Interesting Celebration. The sub
joined invitation has been received by the edi
tor of this journal from the Rev. B. A. Ma
guire, President ot Georgetown College. Ac
companying the circular, we have to acknowl
edge a request to deliver the Poem, in place ol
Mr. George H. Miles, whose health will not
permit a lulflUment of the engagement. The
brief time allowed for preparation and the tur
liioil of political controversy prevent an accept
ance, but we deeply appreciate the honor in
tended and regret-the impossibility, on this oc
casion, of speaking as a man amid those classic
shades where our youth drew its first inspira
tions.
In order that old Philodemlcians may be
made aware of the approaching reunion we
publish the circular:
jGeorgetown, College, D. C., )
April 10, 1807. $
Dear Sir : The Faculty of Georgetown Col
lege in connection with the Philodemic So-,
ciety wishing to renew the ties of association
which once bound to the College and the So
ciety their many children now scattered
throughout the land, have decided ou a grand
reunion of;the Philodemic Society, to be held
at the College on the 2d day Oi July next, at
lObif o’clock, a. m., on which occasiou, m addi
tion to other exercises, a Poem will be deliv
ered by George H. Miles, Esq., of Maryland,
an oration by Richard T. Merrick, Esq., o.
Washington City. .' , „
To that reunion the Alumni ol the College,
and the members of the Philodemic Society*
both non-resident and honorary, are cordially
invited, and the Faculty hope that all the chil
dren of Alma Mater who can possibly do so,
will respoud to this appeal and partake of her
hospitality. , ... . .
To you sir. as one of that number, this imi
tation is hereby personally extended, in the
confident expectation of acceptance; bnt as,
owing to tune and changes, the residences of
many others who ought to be present are now
unknown, your assistance In the dissemination
ot intelligence in this reunion, is heartily so
licited. Please, therefore, send the enclosed
copies of this circular to 6uch persons as you
may think likely to be of the class mentioned,
aud also, as far as you can, by means of the
newspapers in your neighborhood, or any other
mode you may think feasible, communicate the
invitation to those entitled to receive it, and
direct public attention and favor to the celebra
tion.
' One of the features connected with this re
union is the collection of material pertainiug
to the history of the Philodemic Society. To
promote this end, you are requested to bring
with you your, photograph, “ Vignette size,”
eudor6ed with your autograph, and stating the
date and place of your birth, your present resi
dence and occupation, date when the photo
graph was taken, and, if a former student of
the college, the dates of your entering aud
leaving the institution. It is designed to pre
serve these among the archives of the society.
Should it so happen that you will not be able
to attend the celebration, please send the pho
tograph endorsed as above described, as yonr
representative, together with a toast or senti
ment, which will be read at the celebration fes
tival.
As no effort on the part of the faculty and
the resident members of the society will be
spared to make this re-union an interesting oc
casion, it is hoped all the children of Alma Ma
ter will co-operate by their exertions and pres
ence. Very respectfully,
Your obedient servants,
Rev. 8.. A. Maguire, S. J.,
President of Georgetown College, D. C.
Rev. James Clark, 8. J.,
President of the Philodepiic Society.
Charles W. Hoffman, Committee ot Invita-
Arthur Lee, > t j on
Charles S. Abell. \
[Frsm the New York Herald.
Startling Decrease in the Revenue —A Bad
Prospect Ahead.
According to the best information that can
be. gathered, there will be a falling off in the
internal revenue income, for the current year,
to au amount more than double the estimate of
Secretary McCulloch, in bis last annual report.
A list of the taxes assessed upon manufactures
aud productions, lor March aud April, iu near
ly all the districts ot New York, and in a great
part of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Is
land, New Jersey, Pennsylvania aud Maryland,
as compared with the corresponding mouths
ol last year, show a falliug off from this
source ol revenue of over forty per cent. —
The new tax law, with, reduced rates
aud large additions to the free list, went into
operation March 2, 1867, and the returns for
March and April, therefore, show its first re
sults. Although the list is only partial, the
uniformity in the decrease and its rate is suffi
cient evidence that the same condition of af
fairs exists throughout the couutry, aud justi
fies tbe estimate that the aggregate decrease
from this source of revenue will reach forty
per cent. In the receipts from the tax upon
incomes there is a yet greater falling off'; but
assuming a decline ol forty per cent, all round,
we have a total decrease in the revenue from
internal taxation for 1867, as compared with
last year, of one hundred and twenty-five
millions of dollars. This throws the calcula
tions of Secretery McCulloch into confusiou,
his estimate of the decrease for the present
year, based upon the reduction in the rates,
being about forty millions. In addition to
this, the expenditures will be largely in excess
of the Secretary’s estimates, in consequence of
the expenses ot the reconstruction act aud the
Indian troubles in the West.
This is a startling exhibit, and shows the otter
iucompetency of Congress and the Secretary of
the Treasury. They are struggling and floun
dering about in water out of their depth, and,
as they are ignorant how to swim, they must
go to the bottom. By their blunders and ob
stinacy they will increase the public debt this
year one hundred and fifty millions. When
these facts are known in Europe our stocks
and securities will go down ; and it will not be
the fault of the Secretary or of Congress if we
do not have a terrible panic all over the country.
And what have they gained by bringing all this
financial trouble upon the country ? Six nig
gers in Congress, and perhaps a nigger on the
ticket for Vice-President in the next Presiden
tial election, according to the programme of
their pioneer, Wendell Phillips. The people
will soon ask the question whether six good
fat niggers, fit for members of Congress, are
worth'what they will cost—five hundred mil
lions apiece. Before the rebellion, when Mason
was Minister in Paris, some person pointed out
to him a stoutly built colored man as Minister
to the French Court from Kayjj. apd asked him
what he thought of him. “ Weil,” replied
Mason, “ I think he might fetch two thousand
dollars if he was in the market.” This was a
high valuation for a nigger in those days, even
if qualified for a foreign minister ; and it there
fore seems extravagant to pay five hundred mil
lions each for nigger Congressmen now.
A writer in one of our weekly papers says
that “women grumble mnch more than men,”
and enters upon a long course of philosophi
cal reasoniug to. explan why. May it not be
because they have men to grumble at, while
'men have only women ? Someone once ex
plained the curious fact that women are fond
of kissing each other—which men never ‘do—
by saying that men can do better than kiss
eaeh other, while wqmen can’t. The explana
tion of the grumbling phenomenon, we fancy,
is somewhat similar.
Gov. Well’s Reply to Gen. Sheridan.
A CLEAR CASE OF POT AND KETTLE.
State of Louistana. Executive Dep’t, £
New Orleans, Juue 4, 1867. $
To Major Gen. P. H. Sheridan, Commanding
Fijth Military District: . q
General : I had the honor to receive at the
hands oi oue of your orderlies this morning, at
l,alf past 3 o’clock, at my residence in Jefferson,
a written document purporting to be “ Special
Orders, No. 59,” iu which you promulgate that
you have removed me from the office ot Gov
ernor of Louisiana. ~ , ,
For the delicate consideration you displayed
Hi delivering your order at that earl} houi, I
owe you many thanks, as I suppose you meant
that I should etijoy one good night 6 sleep be
fore my decapitation. It may appear ungra
cious in rne.to disappoint your expectations,
but strauge to say, the effect of your order did
uot drive.sleep from inv eyelids. I returned to
my couch with a feeling of relief that my fate
was no worse. When the morning paper came,
containing a cony ot your telegram to the Sec
retary of War, I again congratulated myself on
my merciful sentence, ns, knowing your ideas
of the uulimited power you possess, I might
have been condemned to the Dry Tortuga!-, or
been shot by a drum-head court martial. From
the tone and temper of that document it is very
evident, General, you were in oue ot your
wrathy moods when vou penned it, and that I
was not hanged, shot or banished appears to
me under the circumstances, as if 1 were in
debted for my safety to the interposition of
Divine Providence. _ * ,
In your order removing me, General, you
allege as a reason therefor that x am impeding
you in the execution of the law of Congress ;
but how and in what way you do uot conde
scend to state.
Now, General, it may appear discourteous in
so humble an individual as myself to contra
dict so exalted a functionary as you co ceive
vourseit to be; yet as there is not a word of
truth in the charge you make, you must excuse
me if I decline to give you the benefit of so se
rious an accusation. . ,
To go back to tbe date of tbe July riots ol
last year, your memory caunotfail to serve you
that you availed yourself of the occasion, in
your telegrams to General Grant relative to
that affair, to make a direct personal attack on
me, impeaching my efficiency as a public offi
cer and recommending my removal from of
fice’. Not conscious of hhviug deserved your
serve strictures, I confess I was surprised aud
paiued wheu I read them in print, the more so
as you were not iu the city ou the daj of the
riot, you having found it convenient to be off
to Texas several days before, I will not say iu
anticicipation of a riQt, nor will I use the word
44
I bore your damagiug accusations a long
while iu silence, but finally exercised the right
belonging to the humblest individual, of de
fending myself publicly against your charges.
This 1 did iu a letter addressed to an honorable
Senator from Illinois, but couched in language
devoid of scurrility and personalities.
I spoke of your military services in the
highest praise. At that time I did not suppose
for a moment that auy personal hostility, on
your part would result from that publication.
Iu fact, I had dismissed the transaction from
my mind, ar and when you received your appoint
ment as commander of this district, I called ou
you as if there had been no controversy between
us, and tendered yon my co-operation in carry
ing out the laws of Congress. You received
my visit courteously, and I fully expected there
would be harmonious relations between us.
When, however, the time arrived for you to act;
in the appointment of registrars, and in the re
moval and appointment of officers, I discov
ered no disposition on your part to consult me
in the slightest manner, which as a loyal Gov
ernor, and intimately acquainted with the peo
ple of the State, I did not think unreasonable
in pie to expect of you I did not complain,
however ; my official intercourse with you was
frequent, though about this time I saw pub
lished what purported to beau extract ol a let
ter lrom you to the Secretary of War or Geu.
eral Grunt, in which you asked for advice as to
your power of removal, as it was probable you
would tiud it necessary to remove me from
office. I have seen no denial from you as to
the authorship of that letter. Notwithstanding
these repeated evidences of an unfriendly spirit
on your own part, I said nothing, and it was
only when you assumed to nullify my appoint
ment ot a Levee Board and to substitute one
of your own, for which I think you had no
authority under the law of Congress to do, that
I referred the question of your right to appoint
to the proper officers at Washington to decide.
If to remonstrate against the illegal and arbi
trary exercise ol power by you—having no
connection with the law of Congress, which
specifically defines your duties—is an “ impedi
ment ’* to the execution of the law, then your
powei is supreme, which, in my opinion, was
never contemplated by the act of Congress.
But, General, you arc not content with charg
ing me as au “ impediment” to the execution of
the law, as your sole reason for removing me
from office.. As if conscious that the charge was
a mere invention of yours to afford a pretext
for doing an act you had predeter mined on to
gratify an ancient grudge, you come down to
your true forte, and pour out the vials of your
wrath in a stream of abuse and acumiiiy on my
devoted head. You will pardon me, General,
for not imitating your example by way ol re
taliation. My education has been sadly deficient
in that polite branch of literature, and I am
willing to leave the field to you as without au
equal. 1 cannot lorbear the remark, however,
that when a Major General of the United States
Army has to play the part of a “ bugler” in
sounding in person his own honesty, if may
well excite a curiosity iu the community to sur
mise the cause therefor. As to your charge of
appointing 1 rebels to office, if it is a crime, I
would like to ask, General, if you are free from
the same accusation. Out of a Levee Board
composed of five members, one of your appoin
tees was a member of the Secession Conven
tion, and signed the ordinance of secession;
another is not a citizen of the United States,
but claimed the protection of the British flag on
the arrival of Coin. Farragut and his fleet, and
a third was a blockade runner, who was arrest
ed and tried by a military commission. There
is a trite maxim, General, iu this connection,
which it would be well for you to remember In
your future personal controversies. Equally
faulty and unfortunate in point of memory is
your iusinualion that you could not tiud me on
the day of the riot, when I called at your office
on mv way to the Mechanics’ Institute, and
talked ovi”r the matter with you. 1 did not call
on you for a guard, because one had been fur
nished me by Gen. Baird.
Having disposed of your mistatements con
cerning me, and defended myself from what I
conceive to be a wanton and malicious attack
ou my character on your part, I leave the pub
lic to judge between us.
It is with no pleasure 1 have bceu forced into
this controversy. My desire was to hold the
most amicable relations with you officially, but
to silently submit to your arbitrary exercise of
power, and your aspersions on my character,
would be to prove false to my official trust,
and to admit the truth of your slanders.
And I now call on you to make good your
assertion of dishonesty as charged against me,
if you expect to avoid the verdict of the people,
which is always-meted out to the calumniator
and slanderer.
J. Madison Wells,
Governor of the State of Louisiana.
Perhaps.— The New York Herald is growing
bilious at the progress of Radicalism in the
South. It says tile Radical policy may be so far
successful in the South that in the new South
ern representation there will be half a dozen
niggers. Should this be the case it will excite
the wonder and disgust of the world. It will
be justly regarded as the most remarkable and
revolting spectacle of the age. It will furnish
an argument to those who hold that a tendency
to degradation exists in institutions based upon
universal suffrage, since it will seem to show
that in choosing our law-makers from a race
just brought from a servile condition we do
not seek to be governed by the wisdom, educa
tion and intellect of the nation, but are ready
to pander to the most debasing debaucheries of
domestic theory.
Our Position in Mexico —The Murder of
Maximilian.
The letter of Senor de Tejada, the Mexican
Miuister for Foreign Affairs, rohst go far to
destroy the last hope that the Liberal Govern
ment had sufficient moderation in its success to
spare Maximilian’s life. I must confirm the
fear that lie was, in fact, shot ''hen takcu, as
we have had it vaguely reported from several
sources,' Senor de Tejada justifies the act m
advance ; he gives us the official argument for
it—couveys in some sort the atmosphere of
passion that prevailed in government circles
aud made the* act possible. He answers Mr.
Seward’s request on the part of Maximiliau b\
statiug the .Mexican view of the ill-starred
ruler’s position. He pictures the Archduke as
one who “ has desired to continue shedding the
blood of Mexicans alter tbe departure of the
French has made hopeless the cause of the
empire: who has kept up the business of deso
lation and ruin without object, surrounded by
men notorious for plundering and their grave
assassinations.’’ He. then succinctly declares
“in case there be captured persons on whom
rest such responsibilities, it does not appear to
me that they can be considered as simple
prisoners ot war.” He describes Maximilian,
and tells us that if such a man be taken tac
Liberal Government cannot treat him as a
prisoner of war, but must in his case consider
“ the duties which it has to perform toi the
welfare of the Mexican people. He inform*
us, with all the circumstance of diplomatic
civility, that, our request to the not
withstanding, his Government will, wheu it
catches Maximilian, do what it chooses wi ll
him—intimating clearly that It
shoot him at the first cross-roads. I- ' . ‘
mint has caught Maximilian ; and whoc\er iu
dulges the hope that that hapless gentleman
not'been dead for mauy days «ust suppose that
Senor de Tejada was not well I “ fo ™ l ®J
the purpose of bis Government, or tbßt . l “ €
Government had at the hist moment relinquish
ed a bad intcution in favor of a goodl one an
event not known to have ever occurred in the
history of any Mexican ruler.
This official answer shows the exact wei„m
of our influence with the Liberal Dovenuncnt.
That Government will not forego even out si
trie opportunity of gratifying the brutal and
bloodthirsty instincts of a
though requested in a grave and andi has on
uer by the only respectable Mendl it lus
earth. We are responsible beforc thc wor
for this semi-organized atrocity called■ k
eminent < f Mexico. We are disgraced by that
responsibility. Our protests droveoutotMex
ico the enemies of her freedom. She is mat
ed to us to-day for her existence us an m
peudent nation—and she throws in °ur Dee th
insult that she will not keep our will,
though at so cheap a rate as the life ot ont
poor lugitive. It was because the shado
the Stars and Stripes fell across Mexico tbt
the troops of France went out; ®“ d
that shadow arc consummated butcheries tn
recall the human sacrifices of former Mex car
worship. Our national standard protects, cov
ers and gives immunity to these horrors.
France, with the power of a million bayonets
behind her, respected our utterance, and aa
mittedly went-out of Mexico, accepting
humiliation, in deference to the expressed wilt
of the American people. But we make a re
quest to Mexico, and see how quietly she
scorns it! We ask her what ? Not to relin
quish a vast expedition that has cost many
lives and millions of money—not to abandon
great political purposes and projnets—but sim
ply, trivially, to forego a brutal revenge; and
she insults us with refusal. Can we stand any
longer in the position we now hold before the
world of guardian and next friend to such a
disgrace to government ?—N. Y. Herald.
Extremities of Human Endurance. W e
observe that General Longstreet officiated as a
Viee-Fresident at a late Mongrel meeting in
New Orleans, called to listen to a speech lrom
Senau r Wilson’ ol Massachusetts. Well, why
uot ? The dogma of the “ Free Will Baptists
is no doubt founded on a lundamcnt.il t. uth.
God permits individuals as well as masses to
destroy themselves, or commit suicide, if hey
wish it. This man Wilson only asks three
things of such men as Longslreet, all of which
he no doubt, believes, or fancies that he be
lieves, arc right, and will really benefit the saia
L °fK<—He asks bun to give up self govern
ment, and submit to be ruled by the conqueror,
He expects him to harmonize aud
amalgamate with his own niggers ; and
r/m-rf-He insists that Mr. Longslreet shall
admit that Mr. Wilson has conferred infinite
benefits on him, aud vastly improved his pros
pects iu thus striking down self-government,
ami especially in forcing him to a level with
niggers! —Day Book. .
A League in Alabama Come to Grief. —
We clip the paragraph below from the Mont
gomery Mail'
The secret society framed by the Yankees for
the purpose of controlling the votes of colored
people has come to grief at Autaugaville. lhe
honest portion of the members, who loined as
they believed a simple Union society, finding
that it was intended to bind the consciences of
men, and compel them to vote the Republican
ticket, have bolted the concern, and broken t
into flinders in Autauga county. W>
a renegade Confederate soldier, who is reported
as having participated in the hanging of some
Union citizen near Blue Mountain, during the
war and who siuce the war has been a loud
mouthed Loyalist” so-called, and right bower
of Gen. Bwayne’s party lor that county, having
made threats against the respectable citizen
who refused to join his secret league, a targe
number Os the whites and negroes turned J
him, left tbe society, and denounced vvholc
thing as a swindle, gotten up by the Radicale
control the votes of colored men.
We are glad to make the announcement; and
would caution all respectable people from hav
ing any connection with so nefarious concern
A Yankee Libelling the South.— The
editor of an obscure Radical sheet in Mobile,
which the Commander of the Post thought
proper to suppress recently for the use of in
cendiary language, was a member of the Patton-
Fekler-Doster-Menagcric at the Capitol. On
yesterday lie introduced r. resolution for the con
vening of Congress, because of the opinion of
Mr. Stanbery and the reported determination
of the President to stop the high-handed out
rages of the military satraps. He accompanied
his resolution with a speech, declaring that, if to
take the registration oath was the only criterion
of qualification, the late Con federates,or “rebels”
as he called them, had taken and broken oaths
for six years and would not hesitate to take any
oath that might be required. Southern «men
who had served in the Confederate army sat by
and heard this infamon3 libel without opening
their lips in defense of the South. To the hon
or of Maj. H. C. Semple be it said, he replied
to the Yankee liar, and defended the integrity
of our Southern people. Can Southern gentle
men remain longer in a convention or party
which receives its inspiration from Swayne, of
Ohio, Fairbanks, of Rhode Island, Keffer, of
Pennsylvania, Cramer, of Nebraska, and Griffin,
of Chicago ?—Montgomery Mail.
An Editor Tight. —We believe it is rare that
an editor indulges in a drop, but when they do,
their readers are sure to find them out. A co
temporary was called upon to record a “melan
choly event” at a time wheu his bead was rather
heavy, and did it up after the following man
ner:
“ Yesterday morning at 4 o’clock, p. m., a
man with a heel on the hole of bis stockiug,
committed arsenic by swallowing a dose of
suicide. The inquest of the verdict returned a
jury that the deceased came to the facts in ac
cordance with his death. He leaves a child and
six small ftives to lament the end of his un
timely loss. * lu death we are in the midst of
life.”
A young man in Ashland, Ohio, recently jilt--
ed by a coquette, who married another, recov
ered $230 for presents made to her duriug
courtship, and six cents for injured affections
A young lady of Montgomery, who was re-,
cently caught smoking a cigar, gave it as her
reason lor the, act, “ that it made it smell as
though there was a man around.” *
The President’s tour to North Carolina isuot
6 o much of a trip as his la6t year’s journey to
the West.