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About Weekly constitutionalist. (Augusta, Ga.) 185?-1877 | View Entire Issue (July 3, 1867)
THE WEEKLY OOHSTITUTIOKALIST WEDNESDAY MORNING. JULY 3, 1867 - TO OtTB SOBOBIBEBS. The Weeki-v uoEsriTOTIoNALIsT will here after be mailed on TuewDy » f We(lncß ' and., morning. We make tbi. change to neeom modat. many anbecribcra. It i. out aim and purpose to make the paper a drat elass newa and fami» journal, and we conUdently hope that the influence ol onr anbacriber. will be exerted toaidna In doing so by extending iw eireu lation. THE JULY SESSION. Tfac Radicals are bestirring themselves vig orously to bring about a July session of Con gress, in order to counteract the Attorney Gen eral’s liberal interpretation of the Registration Act. Sewral M. C’s, who have axes to grind at the Federal Capital outside the creation of Republican forms of government, may already be seen on Pennsylvania Avenue. Among them looms up the mighty Jodo, who, by superhu man efforts, succeeded in getting ladders ex empted from taxation. The New York corres pondents crow over the arrival of the immortal Judd, and declare that his great ladder feat “stamps him as a legislator.” We have no doubt of bis energy in the matter, and, as times go, confess that his statesmanship is worthy of every ladder save Jacob’s. The Hon. Leonard Mterb has abandoned a trip to Europe, pre ferring the bliss of legislative perspiration.— Speaker Coi/fax has telegraphed to the hotel keepers for apartments, apd will substitute eold facta for warm theories. The whole Wisconsin delegation, eager lor the spoils of the lobby and the applause of unlimited Dinahs in the gallery, will be on hand. Gen. Schenck, the chief cook and bottle-washer of the Congressional. Co mmittee, is overwhelmed with letters and tele grams from different members of both Houses, and predicts that a quorum will be present on the third ol July. The Democrats declare their willingness to participate in the national love feast, which may terminate ilia new era of turbulence. If called together and a quorum be present, Mr. Stanbbiiy’s Opinion will probably be sfct aside and certain inquisitorial enactments or amend ments substituted. The Tribune thinks the President will insist upon bis construction of the law. Mean while, the tfiird of July is near at hand and Philip Sheridan still lords it over Louisiana, after pulling both ANDREW Johnson aud Ulysses Ghant by the beard, Mr. Johnson is tardy but Mr. Johnson is politic. He hopes and prays, no doubt, that Congress will meet and save him the trouble of administering justice according to the illuminatibn *of Stanbery. This consolation will probably be granted him, aud then the President will say : You see, fel low-countrymen, it is n great outrage aud the Cabinet did its level best to save you. 1 have sworn to execute the laws and Congress says Sheridan’s idea is better than mine. I will disappoint those who think my administration of this assault upon our institutions will be weak and effete. I will, on the contrary, vigor ously and scrupulously obey it. In conclusion, fellow-citizens of bur common country, let us never forget the Constitution of otir fathers. It has been in imminent -peril and when wc drift away from it, thte country bids fair to be swamped. Let us beseech Almighty God that so direful a calamity may be spared us. The future is full of hope ; we must never doubt the future while Seward, our Secretary, can raise three cheers for North Carolina in the hub of the universe and Geus. Pope and Sheridan assume the heaven-born right of American citi zens to suub the President of tho Uuitcd Stat.es. Fellow-citizens, I thank you for your confidence. Staud by the Constitution !” Very much in this style will President John son talk, if Congress replace the heart of the Military Bill so Ruthlessly torn out by the san guinary Attorney General. Wc believe that a failure of Congress to get a quonirn will be a miserable eventuality lor the Executive. In such a case, he is bound to do something or quietly pocket the affronts of his subalterns. Men who govern by policy and expediency may save their lives byt not their reputations. If there is any pluck or principle in the Con servative ranks, for the love of heaven, let us have an exhibit, Ii not, arise Philip Sheri dan ! yonr day has cotae, and -the world is ripe for your iron hpel and audacious proscrip tion. KELLEY AT HOME. Mr. W. D. Kelley made a speech on his re turn home, from which the following : “ At Atlanta I addressed a meeting resembling thit iu Montgomery, in numbers, character and good order. The same generous expressions followed mv remarks, and among the pdeasant things said by tbe many who gathered around me, wasau offer by th<! Quartermaster General of tbe Confederate State oS Georgia to pay toy expenses it I would remain in the State and address the people of every county. On arriving at Augusta, we were met by Mayor Blodgett, and al the Planter s’" House, to which he conducted us, were waited upon by large numbers of citizens. I shall always regret that my engagements precluded the possibility of my complying with their urgent request to remain and address the citizens.” The Quartermaster General must have saved a considerable pile of ” demnition cash,” if he made any such offer. Inasmuch as Kbleey re fused the inducement, there are many charitable objects more wortlfy than Kelley supplicating assistance and needing the benefactions of surplus wealth' We. hope the Quartermaster General will lend them a helping hand. The “ large uumbers of citizens who waited upon him at Augusta” mnst have been mem bers of the Happy Family, reduplicated from time to time, like mimic warriors at the theatre. Gen. Pope’s request to “ dry up ” and the publication of John Griffin’s terrible letter of exposure, were enough to hurry him away from this town in spite of the “urgent re quests” of his political brotherhood. Swindling the Colors® People -The iff norancc of some of the poor colored people of the proper way to become voters, and their eagerness to get registered, enable rogues ot all descriptions to practice upon them. The Fredericksburg (Va.) Ledger reports that a man recently appeared in that neighborhood and churned to be a registrar of votes, and for fan cied services in registering the names of colored voters, collected a dollar each from them, by which he realized 12,000 before he was discov ered. * REPUDIATION. . A celebrated English orator, Mr. Lowe, has been telling his clamorous Liberal fellow countrymen some plain trpths. Mr. Lowe is the most formidable antagonist that John Bright has ever met, and as the Bright party in England owns many features in common with the Radical party in America, Mr. Lowe’s remarkable oration is worthy ol attention as developing curions aualojdes. He shows that the popular cry for universal suffrage, now ram pant in England, was started by men who had very little original sympathy for the reatfmanntacturers grinding the faces of the poor—and their newly awakened enthusiasm was engendered by a lust of ppwer which could not be gratified by legitimate methods, and so, had to seek influence through the in flamed aspirations of the crowd. He farther l demonstrated that the storm thus evoked was | passing from the coutroj of those who had called it forth, and, if not cheeked, would rush to any extreme, even to' that which compasses the destruction of good government. “He protested against household suffrage. He protested against putting power in the hands of the millions, who. would soon learn their strength aud use it for selfish ends. He said that these men, to whom they now proposed to fling power, would soon legislate for increase of wages, for short hour3 and for throwing the burden of taxation on tho landholders* He said further that they would not respect a national debt which had been incurred by Par liaments iu which they had not been repre sented and for purposes of which they did not approve, and that they would deal with it sum marily. In plain words he spoke of repudia tion. He adjured the gentlemen of England not to flip g away what they had been battling for tor yea.’s and not to abandon principles whicli were the foundation of Engli&h liberty and England’s prosperity.” Making due allowance for certaiu local dif ferences, Mr.- Lowe’s admonition might have been addressed with equal force to the rale or rnin party orrthis side of the water whose leaders are setuated by the same motives as the English reformers and equqjly reckless as to consequences. If the grave responsibilities of universal suffrage could culminate in national dishonor among the masses of Saxon origiu, how fearfully true must the prediction t>f Mr. Lowe be when applied to the jvholesale en franchisement of a semi-barbarous people? and the partial political outlawry of a large number of the whites representing the intelligence aud blood of a vast domain? Precisely what Mr, Lowe prophecies of the lower orders of Eng lishmen is in course Os fulfillment among the lower orders iu America. Already the capi talists, who houßded .on the multitude to a war wbieh destroyed the labor of the South, are being plagued with their own inventions and hoisted by their own petard. Labor shrieks for short hours aud high wages. The Radical Reformers, intent only upon retaining power -nr! careless of every honorable impulse, catch up the scream of their victims .and tell them that not only shall they have all they desire, but very much more than they have demanded. Mr. Wade,' the Vice-President, speaking for lis faction, promises a divisioii of property at the North as well as at the South. The negro vote has been secured by a promise of forty acres of land to each suffragan ; the white laborer must be enticed by similar in ducements. The negro will be cleverly cheated out of his portion, because confiscation is only threatened in case of non-reconstruction under the Sherman jßill. As all the negroes and many meau whites favor such reconstruction, the forty acre alternative falls to the ground, since a divisiou of lands will not follow a Radicalization of the South. At the North, however, the case is different, Capital bought up labor to fight the “rebels,” while it stayed at home and plundered the Government. Capi tal owns the national debt, and labor begins to discover that it has been cheated. At tbi6 Stage of the game, wily Radicals like Wade bid high for labor aud turn it against capital for party purposes. More potent than Owen Glendow'er, Mr. Wade has called spirits from the vasty deep aud they come at his invocation. The great demand, East and West, is for repu diation of the national debt. The New York Herald , taking time-by the forelock, has long since smoothed the way for an abolition of the war debt by making raids upon the national banks. It shows that a certain kind of North ern confiscation began with their establishment arid can only cud with their demolition. It further shows that inasmuch as the poor have been systematically robbed for the benefit of the rich,.it is in perfect keeping with Radical ism to shift sides and invite the poor to rob the rich in turn. Mr. Lowe had ample warraut for his Warn ing, and will meet, perchance, with as much heeding in England as the Cassandbas of American politics met in IS6O. If the Bright anarchists win the da3% good-bye to tbe En glish Constitution, good-bye to the English debt, The national banks and the national debt of America begin to cower before *the unchain ed mpnstcr of Abraham Lincoln and tbe re cently unshackled demon of Benjamin Wade. George Francis Train made a speech to the senatorial party which followed Wade like the tail of a comet. Wade’s speech, ad vocating universal confiscation and general agrarianism, elicited a telling barangne from Train. As the doctrine of the Vice-President, pushed to a conclusion, necessitates a wiping out of United Btates securities, we reproduce a graphic exhibit of Posterity vs. the Radical Parly. A Senator having inquired as to the debt, the following statement was given: ’ . Mr. Train— Do you want to know ? Well, yon shall have what you probably have nCver seou before —a debit and credit of the war, a profit and loss account. . 1. You know that we have had a grand exhibi tion of fireworks, and mortgaged ißtr farm to pay for it. [“Oh !”J 3. The so-called wealth of the farmer con-! gists in his having his soldier boy hi the grave yard, and a seven thirty in his- pocket in ex change. [Sensation.] But here is the account; DEBIT. 1. $8,000,000,000 of national debt—a national curse to every body but Jay Cooke. 2. $1,000,000,000 State, city and county debt, born ot the war. 3. 500,000 able bodied farmers, mechanics and other white then dead, worth SIO,OOO a piece, $5,000,000,000. 4. 500,000 black laborers, worth SI,OOO each, $500,000 000. [Hisses.] 5. 4,TW0,000 black laborers, men, women and children, that it took three generations of white civilization to utilize into profitable labor— totally demoralized and disorganized lor the time being. [Applause and considerable dis sent, the Radicals getting uneasy, and endea t(i,6t?P Train’s “exposition” ot national nf thlir ? mn taUted them all down, made fun ovidpst du® 69 ’* carried his points, to the ' f °/ n y present.] 6. $5,000,000 of shipping, that it took us fifty years of American industry, since Waterloo, to whiten every oceau with our commerce, com pletely wiped out by England’s neutrality. [Applause, and “too true.”). 7. $4,000,000,000 worth of plantations, houses, farms, factories, real estate, personal property, wasted, burned, wiped out, completely de stroyed—the accumulated industrv of a hundred years. b, and lastly. An amount of swearing, gam ing, drunkenness, prostitution, demoralization that cau not he enumerated by figures. This wilt do for the debit; and when fanat icism “sleeps fora moment, the natiou’s eyes will open and a reaction will set in that will emancipate my constituency, the white people of the land. [ Applause and dissJbt.] Bo much for debit; what for credit? Gen tlemen, I have no figures. You must be con tent with ideas* ... - . . . ■ gerritsmith. This gentleman has written a noble article, over his own signature, defending his appear ance on the bail-bond of Jefferson Davis and combating the idea that treason must be j charged against the South, after surrender. Mr. : Smith was a decided Abolitionist up to the ! emancipation of Southern slaves. His an tag- j onism ceased at that point, but it has gone be yond him to the Anti-slavery Society which now proposes td abolish tße negro. As an honest fanatic, Mr. Smith is entitled to a hear ing, and had his countrymen one-lialf* the gen erosity he manifests, the problem ol reconstruc tion would no longer prove vexatious and un compromising. Alluding to the harsh aud per fidious conduct of his section, Mr. Smith says: The simple truth is, that we made a bargain with the South, however we may now lie tempt ed to deny it or to break it. Our Generals, in the terms of the sui reader ol the Southern ar mies, recognized this bargaiu—this bargain that we should treat each other, not sis traitors under constitutional law, bnt as belligerents under the law of war. The Supreme Court of the United States unanimously held that this was the bargain. Aias ! the iueff ible.jheanness, the revolting infamy of our breaking this bar gain now, when we have it in our power to break it! Alas, what a poor use is this to which" to put the power of victory ! How if dims the glory ahd reduces the value of victory ! The shame of defeat is as nothing, compared with the shame of abusing the power of success.— The holding of Juarez or some other Mexican chief for treason, iu ease we should conquer ■ Mexico, would be a uo more gross, a no more immoral breach of faith, than is our holding Jefferson Davis for it. No wonder thstt the en lightened and sensitive men of the South are stung to the quick by our perfidy. We may not recover so far from our passion and prejudice as to be ashamed of thi t $ perfidy, but our chil dren will be ashamed of it. Who doubts, for even one moment, that the North, had she beea conquered in this war, would have claimed at the hand of the couqueror the humanities of the law of war—of that law which knows no trea son. Are we doing as we would be done by ? I said the law of war knows uo treason. I add that treason ceases just when and where the ac knowledgment of belligerent rights begins.— Reason teaches this. Humanity teaches this. The political liberalists of Europe beseech us to believe this." They tell us that they mean to ’ undertake, from time to time, to overturn their “despotic and oppressive governments, and that nothing could be worse for them than when, now and then, they shall lie conquered, to have it in the power ct the conqueror to plead the exomple of liberal America for charging them with treason. Mr. Smith counsels mildness and argues aj«aiust further exactions. He points out the only true path to reconciliation and peace thus-: “ A sad mistake is it iu the present conquer ing party in Mexico to hold the contrary of this doctrine. It is argued that such punishments will warn and intimidate, and thus serve to pre vent wars. But a sounder philosophy teaches that they will exasperate and brutalize, and thus tend to multiply wars. The following of the present Mexican war with bloodshed will help to keep Mexico a laud of frequent and almost incessant wars. On the other hand, the closing ol it in the spirit of forgi euess would soften the nation’s heart, and prepare it to receive the seed of that higher civilization among whose fruits .«re the enduring peace aud established order, for the lack of which Mexico, though so favored by nature, is still so uuprosperous and unhappy. There is but oue legitimate, and in deed, but one peaeelul way, to prevent civil wars, aud that is justice- on the part of govern ment.- Had our Government been just — ever just, entirely just, instead of being ever a flagrant op pressor of the poor —this horrid war would not have been.''’ > "• - • He shows that an investment in Southern heart is worth all the Russias and their posses sions. He condemus the principles of confis cation and urges the greatest charity. On this subject he says i '] In the next place, the North must hasten to put an end to these threats of confiscation.— Cougress ought to say, without one dissenting voice, and at the earliest day, that there should bs-no confiscation. The disfranchisement I have just referred to is galling, and, as the masses believe, insulting to its subjects. But these threats, paralyzing the industry of the South, and making even her bread uncertain, are infinitely less bearable. They are fatally iu the way of her material prosperity. With the clond they bring upon her titles she can neither sell her binds nor borrow upon them. What coaid be a more trying disability to an agricul tural people who are destitute of money ? That strong and patriotic man, Thaddeus Stevens, would have certain losses of loyal men repair ed. I would myself be glad to see a liberal per ceuiage paid upon them. He would provide the means out of confiscation, and at the ex pense of the South ; I -say out of the National Treasury, and at the Expense of tbe nation.— There are three things which, in urging confis cation, Mr. Stevens Seems to forget. 1. That the North, as well as the South, was guilty of the war. 2. That while, the North is still very rich, the South, exhausted .by that war, for which the North, iu common with herself, was responsible, is exceedingly poor. 3. That con fiscation once entered upon, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to set limits to the spread of its demoralizing power. The spirit of lawless greed engendered by confiscation will no more stop at State or other lines than will tbe flames of a prairie-fire at the word of command. Let there be confiscation iu the South for the bene fit of these, Mr. Stevens’ loyal losers, and also tor the benefit of the poor blacks, as he also proposes, and very soon, under its debauching influence, immense numbers at the North will be clamoring, in the name of- “ Agrarianism,” i “Equalization,” aud other taking names, for their neighbors’ possessions. And these rich possessions, it must be remembered, will kindle' the spirit of robbery, as can none of the poor possessions of tbe desolated South. These tour requirements responded to, these four con i ditions of “ reconstruction ’’ enacted, and no others exacted, peace between the North and South will be sore to follow. Bat to make this peace more speedy and more cordial in other words, to effect with the least delay an endur ing heart union between the Norik and Sooth, there mast be one thing more. Oar Govern ment is getting in*the way of buying territory. There is a purchase it can make whieh would be immeasurably more Important apd profit able than the purchase of any territory. Let it buy the Southern heart, worth more to ns than a thousand Alaska®, nay, than all Russia. There is one way, and only one way, by which it can be bought, and that is by proving to the South that the North loves her—that the North has a heart to give in exchange* for her heart. It is related olMirabeau that, having start ed the ball of revolution in France, he was shocked at its impetuous course and strove to stay it. But vain were words ot eloquence and admonitory checks. The revolution rush ed over the thrones of Kings and the lives of thousands, until it spent its force upon the creation of Robespierre. Mr. Smith helpe'd start the ball of anarchy in America by his John Brown raid. His piteous pleadings are as barren as the East wind to the ears of the North. Stevens, Sheridan and Butleb are the monsters springing from his misguided zeal. One is a Robespierre without con tempt of riches; another, Danton without bis genius; the third, Marat without his rags. It is too late forjiious thoughts and generous, adjurations. The creatures of wrath llvfe by wrath, and wrath will they,M*uaihilated. TEE OABTEKSVXLLE. AMD VABWEBT ' " , EAILEOAD. . . ... We publish, iu another column,a commuuieu tion from Mr. S'.'F. Stephens, President of the Cartersville and Van Wert Railroad. This Is one of several branches projected to connect with Decatur and shorten the distance been Memphis and Charleston. We call attention to the communication and trust the different com panies may be able to harmonize on some gen eral plan of action. The necessity of pushing our way Westward by rail is urgent. The Hon. John P. King, in his late report to the stock holders of the Georgia Railroad, dwells upon this important enterprise and commends it to the energy of Georgia capitalists. Mr. Stephens gives cogent reasons for preferring-the routqbe represents. They should be examined and profited by. It Cartersville and Van Wert be the proper points of connection, the people of Georgia should aid the' enterprise as far as pos sible. REGISTRATION. All who can conscientiously register should do so promptly. A convention can be defeated only by a general registration of the whites en titled to the privilege. Should a Convention be called, the State Constitution it adopts, if objectionable, can be rejected. A July session of Congress may nullify the Attorney General’s decision, but the more prudent conrse seems to be in taking the registration as you find it aud not awaiting the possibilities of a Con gressional raid upon Mr. Stanbery. Welcome. —We congratulate Mr. Burr, of the Macon Journal and Messenger, upon the faCt of having engaged the services of A. W. Reese, Esq. (late special correspondent of the Consti tutionalist) as assistant editor of his journal. Mr. Reese is a vigorous writer, and true as steel to the interests and honor of the South. In a brief salutatory, Mr. Reese says : The Sherman-bill, with its logical sequences of military rule, and the Constitution aud laws gagged and manacled, seems to me the very incarnation of a despotism that even thetrained masters of the art in other lauds would not dis dain to father. So believing, consistency de mands that 1 declare my unalterable opposition to legitimatizing its usurpations, and putting my' countrymen on record as consenting to their own shame. Ragged and UnccrreNt Bills.—So many ol this class of notes are sent us, and our losses on this account are so heavy, we feel obliged to tell our friends, says the Christian Advocate, that our dealings -are with the bank, and we cannot use mutilated bills, except at a heavy discount. Wc would desire them to send uumutilated money, greenbacks, aud no “ shin-plasters ” whatever, except those of the Cit-v Council of Macon, and the railroads ter minating here. Tribute to the Memory of a Departed Patriot.— John R. Thompson, -now residing in New York, has published, or rather has printed for private circulation, a noble tribute to the memory of George Wythe Randolph, iu the form of au elegiac poem. We may take the liberty of quoting a few lines, in which the poet says that he - “ —was a lofty house and line. And own el, as heritage, au honored rarae; And with it, goodlier legacy than this, The low; of ail things ’ovply, noble, true. Wisdom with goodness did in him combine. Yet such a modesty most rare was his; And so apart he liv’d from noisy fame; Aud held so cheaply, he to duty vow’d, As ever only may the wise and few, The plauditory clamor of the crowd; . Content to do the task, to bear the burden, Careless to win the empty earthly guerdon, His greatness might have blossomed all unseen, Unrecognized, save in the narrow view Dfhome, had not the tumult of the time And sore calamity of commonweal Called him to action on the stage sublime, And to his life affix’d th’ - enduring seal.” And again: “Virginia mourns him, and with happier fates Warriors and statesmen might have borne his nail; And his had been a public funeral, Lamented by a league of sorrowing States, With eulogy and anthem, trumpet's wall, . And pealing guns upon the evening breeze; And nags bad droop’d half mast in distant seas, Where he, the sailor boy, had brav’d the gale; And we, when time all jealousies had still’d, Had placed his marble image,in a niche Os that majestic fame, that we shall never build.” Shall we, indeed, says the Mobile Register, never bnild that fame ? Will time never “still” those “jealousies,” to which the poet alludes ? Radicalism says no, but humanity whispers a hope of better things to come. * “ Would be Martyrs.”-?- We have “ laying around loose," in our otherwise quiet Parish, says the Iberville (La.) South, about a “ cor poral’s ghard” of earnest working candidates for martyrdom. One of this precious crew —a for mer Confederate officer —is a reputed spy and pensioned informer upon the words and acts of those who have heretofore respected, honored and befrieuded him. Others are bushwacking quill drivers—well known it is- true to our citi zens, yet too-base and cowardly to sign their names to the miserable lies and misstatements they would seek to disseminate concerning our people and parish; and all are candidates for offices which they expect to secure through the votes of the poor deluded negroes, to whom they “ never say turkey once." We hope the good people of i Iberville will neither barm nor molest these disciples of Brownlow and Stevens in their travels, scrib bliugs and teachings; bat rather give them all sie rope they want, and they wHk soon hang hemselves so effectually that even a score of military bills could not resuscitate their stink iug carcasses. A Washington correspondent of ,the Cincin nati Commercial writes: “Ou the whole, it is hardly probable that we shall fail to see gath ered a determined, united and crushing Radical majority in both houses. There may, and doubtless will, be some divisions—some renew al of the sore points of the ultra Radicals va. thd’Conservatives—some attempt to agitate tor confiscation and, possibly, for impeachment. But the necessity for harmony will bring the old pressure to bear upon all discordant ele ments, and Congress, after agitating the coun try from centre to circumference by ’furious discussions which may add fresh fervor to the scorching heats of dog days, will quietly re enact the reconstruction law, stop the gaps through which the astute Attorney General has been driving his coach and six, and adjourn to about the first ot October.” Merchants’ Union Express Company. A CARD. To the Editor of .the Tribune :' ' Sir—l notice in*to-day’is issue of the Herald - the Statement that a suit has been commenced ■for an injunction against the Merchants’ Union Express Company* * l tor a receiver of Us prop erty, ol the grounds of the reckless squander ing of the money of the company, its preseut insolvency, and the attempt on the part ol a portion of the officers of the company to effect, for their own benefit, a secret and clandestine arrangement for winding up the corapauy.” f , not true tMt any aqU of tMe character has Been commenced against this company; but a snmmons and complaint Waa yesterday served on me individually in the city of Auburn, wherein the above charges, with many others equally false and ridiculons, were set forth. The' complaint is bat a part of the tactics of the enemy, being a. tissue of falsehoods ; and every material allegation therein is utterly and recklessly untrue. The proceeding, although taken iu the name of an individual, is evidently instigated and con trolled by the managers of the old Express monopolies, and an unscrupulous ring of stock jobbers, who have, from the date of the organi zation of the company, sought every device to depreciate its stock, and shake the faith of its stockholders and the public in the value of the stock. - , Believing this to be the fact, we shall iutcr pose no obstacle to a full afid complete investi gation, but, on the contrary, we shall court such investigation, wheu we shall disprove every material allegation in the complaint, and satisfy foes as well.as friends that the facts set forth in the recent report of our trustees are literally true. Sb far from the company being insolvent, the fact is that it owes no debts, and never has owed any; aud there never has been a day since the opening of its lines whop there have not been several hundred thousaud dollars in its treasury. Its. business was never more prosperous than to-day, and itg receipts have japidly increased from the date of commence ment up to this time; aud during the same time the receipts of the old companies have as rapid ly diminished. The returns to the Uuited States revenue office show these facts. From them as published it apjiears that the receipts of the Merchants’ Union for the single month of May, just passed, were greater than those ever earned by any express company in the same time; aud were vrithin about $9,000 o( the receipts of the American Express Company for the whole of last quarter, embracing Janua ry, February;iod March, and for the month of March last were greater than the receipts of the United States and Atncricau Express Company combined.' Ti - No company of its magnitude was ever man aged aud operated with greater care aud econ omy. It is running more miles of line, and doing a larger business, aud is betterequipped than any other express company in the United States, aud its stock is without doubt intrinsically worth far more tnan that of any other express company. Touching the “ secret and clandestine” ar rangement referred to, it is simply ridiculous as well as recklessly and wantonly untrue. The complaint will be answered at once, aud the case forced to trial.at the earliest d;ty. J. N. Knapp, Secretary qf the Merchants’ Union Express Company. Office Merchants' Union Express Company, No. 265 Broadway, New York-, June 23, 1867. A Curious Revenge. —The publication, says the New York Times , of the map of West Point, made by Koaciuszko eighty-eight years ago, wi}l reveal the Polish patriot in anew light, that is to say, not only as an excellent topographer, but as execrable in the matter ot spelling English. His amusiug letter, which accompanies the plan, describes it as a “ ruff map,” with buildings “ for the fourage,” tbe “steble,” the “ artellery barracks,” the “bum prove for flvety men,” and so forth. The letter also alleges that the “ carpenters .complained about the provision that he hare not enof; he beg yoar honor to allow them more bred.”— This is almost as bad as Artemus Ward. How ever, “rough” and “enough” are stumbling blocks for any foreigner, both to pronounce and spell, and, besides, we have had a century’s revenge in spelling Kosciuszko’s name without the z. » Wilkes Booth and the President.— The Judiciary Committee recently sent down to Nashville a confidential person to ascertain the relations that existed between J. .Vilkes Booth and President Johnson when both were in Nashville, during the latter part of the war.— After interrogating many prominent men of both parties, nothiug further was discovered than that B*»otb and the then military governor of Tennessee had no connection with each other whatever. Apropos of this, a Nashville paper says: “ StraDge to relate, General Grant, whp knew that Booth was a rank rebel, and had re fused to take the oath, gave him a pass to go to New Orleans in the early part of 1864, writing and signing the document himself.” Coming to Taw. —The Times a while ago op posed w July session. Now it has slipped, slid, consented, and approved a July session as “ex pedient and even necessary to teach Mr. Stan bery the meaning of the law, and to tell Mr. Johnson that Congress chooses to be its own interpreter”—but not for any other purpose.— Congress will meet in July and proceed to de vise better means than these, which have failed, to organize decisive and trustworthy [Repub lican] majorities” in the ten Southern States, or else to keep them out till after the Presi deutial election. For this purpose, were the July session to “ organize hell” in the Southern States, we should look to the Times to find it “ expedient and e*en necessary,” and we should not be dis appointed.—N. Y. World. Cobps op Radical Orators Sent South ward. —The Washington correspondent of the New York Herald says that a corps ot thirty stump orators have been turned loose upon the Southern States by the Union Congressional Republican Committee, twenty of whom are colored men. These speakers go charged with the strongest Republican logic within reach of the Congressional Committee, and with the de termination not to permit even one of the smallest villages to escape share of political advice. Reinforcements to this corps are be ing recruited daily, and will wend southwards in a lew days. ’ - j i »«» mil i " - « [COMMUNICATED. J The Garters ville and Van Wert Railroad. Mr. Editor : A shorter railroad from Mem phis, Teun., to Charleston, 8. C., is a commer cial necessity, and uo longer to be disregarded by those interested. It can be made the short est and cheapest route from the Mississippi to the seaboard. Tho only question now to be discussed by enterprising men is : Which one of the various connecting links proposed .will be most econo mical, practical aud advautageous in securing the end iu view. Several roads have been chartered, aud effdVto made to build them, but either from want of means or difficulties in this way, or perhaps both, have failed. The object of this vommani catiou is to call the attention of the public, and especially the cities, and railroads to be beno flttpd to anew plan of connection, to wit: Let all the parties interested in this connection below Cartersville unite upon the charter granted at the last session of the Legislature to build a road from Cartersville via Van Wert to the West t The object desired can he easily and specially accomplished, and trade and travel will of necessity flow through the same towns aud cities that any other proposed route can carry it, obviating any objection that cau be raised by either Marietta or Atlanta. Self interest being the mighty lever by which individuals and companies are moved, and economy the chief guardian of wealth and great enterprises, it will only be necessary to present for your consideration the many ad vantages claimed for this route. First. Consider it iu an economical point o ( view and we think yon will decide in :t6 favor. It, has been surveyed by a practical engineer from Cartersville to Van Wert, a distance of 30 milesy imd his estimate of cclst of construction, ready for uso, lubor included, ia $24(),000. The labor, if furnished by the peuitentiary, as guar autied by charter, $150,000, aud we will have passed over the Etowah river by bridge, and though several little mountainous elevations, making this first 30 miles, by far the most ex pensive portion of the road, to the State line. Hence, you dbserve, we can reach the Stale line, a distance of a little over 40 miles, lor the small sum of about *:i00,000, aud where, in the annals of railroad history, can yon instance so much accomplished with so little money. From the State line to Decatur wo will have no advantage over any' other charter, but have already saved to the company, I think, without an exact knowledge, about $2,000,000. So much for its economy. From GartersviHe to VanWert is the finest planting Interest iu Georgia, running near an immense belt of pine land, through many large and inexhaustible slate quarries, grind stone quarries, and mountains of the finest limestone —all and each of these furnishing to tho road, both wavs, a very heavy daily freight business, which will, without a doubt, make this the best paying road in the South. From VnnWert, by way of Cedar Town, through fine pine lands and farming country, to the State line, and with all these advantages and this immense saving of money, the difference in distance, compared with the very nearest practical route, w ill not exceed a few miles. In conclusion, I would say to the citizens of Augusta, Charleston, and to those controlling their two Railroads, will you come forward to our aid at once and pay only ouough to buy provisions to feed the hands and pay for tools, <fec., and managers, and the work shall com mence immediately'. Our abundant harvest, will enable n3 to render you much material aid along the line. I am anxious aud desire U> commence the work before the summer closes. Respectfully submitted. S. F. Stephens, . President of Cartersville and V. R. R. Letter from Sparta, Georgia. Prog>css of the Macon and Augusta Railroad— The Crop Prospects. Editors Constitutionalist : Gents : Work on the Macon and Augusta Railroad is progressing rapidly ; the masonry fur the bridge over the Oconee river is finished ; track laying has advanced four and a half miles from Mayfield, and by the first ol xlucust the e'ngine will roll into Sparta. Seven and a half miles of rails have been received at Savannah for track laying from Milledgcvillc, and the same quantity at Charleston for the Mayfield end. By the 15th of November the Georgia and Central Railroads will be connected by rail via Sparta and Milledgcvillc. The completion of the road is now an assured fact, but the work would he greatly expedited if the stockholders would come forward and as sist the President iu his arduous duties of building a railroad, almost without money. Times are hard and money scarce, but it is hoped that eqcb stockhol ’er will come forward aud pay a portion of the installment called in. Crops arc very promising in this section of the State. Corn and cotton are well advanced. A few good showers about the middle of July will leave us ample provisions for next year. _ _ Ju* Forthcoming Proclamation of Governor Wells —Ex-Governor Wells, having waited suf ficicnt time for the President to decide on bis removal, and the latter not having acted in the mutter, has determined upon issuing a procla mation declaring himself still Governor/and Gov. Flanders a usurper; declaring null and void his subsequent and future acts, and direct ing the sheriff and other civil officers not to obey hia orders. This, he believes, to bo tbe law under the Attorney General’s Opinion. This will compel the President to act. He takes this course by advice of several lawyers here. His proclamation will be issued in a day or two, unless the President interferes. The United States Consul General at Calcutta has transmitted information to tbe Navy De partment at Washington of the wrecking of the U nited States steamer Sacramento off C’Oconada, Godavery, District of Madras. The date on which this unfortunate event transpired has not been given. The dispatch, however, mentions that all on board were saved. Rumors gs the Resignation of Mr. Stan ton, Secretary of War.— Rumors of th* re signation of Secretary Stanton are again making their way to the public. This time the report comes from parties of high standing in official circles, who have spoken of the resignation Os Mr. Stanton as reaching them In an unofficial way, but Is such guise as to admit ol but little doubt. It is stated that Secretary Stanton has prepared bis letter of resignation to be sent to the President, and is arranging the matters of his department with a view to an early depar ture. The gronuds of his resignation ore alleged to the want of political sympathy existing between the President, the Cabinet and himself, bat more especially On account of tbe great variance of opinions disclosed in tbe recent dis cussion of tbe instructions to military com manders. It is also stated that Mr. Stanton opposed the publication of the deliberations of the Cabinet council. • Chicago Tunnel Caved In.— lt appears probable that the hopes of Chicago respecting the Lake 'Tunnel are doomed to disappoint ment. On Friday morning last the sides of the Washington street tunnel caved In. It was ac companied by a tremendous crash and noise which aroused all sleepers in the vicinity, and caused many to suppose that an earthquake bad occurred. The tunnel had not yet reached the river, though it was within a few feet of it. Fears are now strongly entertained that tho river will break through and add its volume of water to the general destruction. This accident seems to stamp the Washington street tunne as an unlucky enterprise. It will indisputably delay its completion until next year, if, indeed, it does not much longer. It rained every day here during the past week. The ground is thoroughly wet, and the pros pect foor good crops is as good as can be. — Vegetation is growing finely, and the corn crop bids fair for an abundant yield. —Monroe Adv.
