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About Weekly constitutionalist. (Augusta, Ga.) 185?-1877 | View Entire Issue (July 10, 1867)
THE WEEKLY CONSTITUTIONALIST Our New York Correspondence. New York, June 28. It is not yet fully demonstrated that President Johnson has prepared for himself and the South new humiliations, hut appearances indi cate that he has. His position before the coun try and the world is not unlike that of the fel low who, on beinjf kicked down stairs, hlueter mgly declared to his assailant, “ You have pulled my. nose, you have kissed my wife before my lace, and you have kicked me down stairs; and now let me tell you to beware, or you will rouse the sleeping lion!” "Bullied to his lace by Stan ton, his proceedings r died at by Sickles, and op?nly Insulted by Sheridan, he submits to all with perfect serenity, and we arc given to un derstand, by the latest intelligence from Wash ington, that he will m ike no sign in vindication of the respect due his official position, or of his honor as a man. It is impos ible that a man so submitting to his enemies, when he has all power for good in his hands, eau be of any ser vice to any good cause. Mr. Johnson has beet! making a lour through New England. I call attention to the fact that be is received -very much as an ex-President would be. He is regarded as entitled to some sort of respect for w!iat4ie lias been, but with how little fear or favor he Is regarded, his al most total neglect by Federal officials, and the semi-npologetic tone of the speeches made to him, will best attest. Mr. Stanton’s known oppositi m to the de- I clared views of the President and the rest of his j Cabinet, and his activity and success in thwart- j ing them, have given rise to the rumor that ■ Stanton is about to resign. There is no truth ' in it. Besides, no such contingency is likely : to arise. The question will more proha >ly be, , not whether Stanton shall give place to another, but whether lie shall permit Mr. Johnson, Mr. Seward and the other “dummies,” &e., who go to make "up the machinery of the Administra tion by Stanton, to retain their places. The contempt into which Mr. Johnson has allowed himself to sink lias given greater strength to the impeachment scheme. Every body now sees and feels that Mr. Johnson does nothing but relieve in a measure the dominant element of some share in the responsibility for their nets. If tilings go wrong, invective against the “ President’s meddling” squares the ac count. If they go right the “ wisdom of Con gress” is held to be fully vindicated. It is im possible to make substantial progress against the Radicals, with so moral difficulties to be overcome. MEXICAN AFFAIRS. The affairs of Mexico arc, if possible, more of a muddle than ever. We have the report that Maximilian before surrenderin';, abdicated in favor of his protege, Iturbide, the second, and that the Empire yet lives. We have also certain movements of Santa Anna, which are so wild and reckless as to justify the story that is heard, that he was inveigled into it by persons who have gotten possession of a large share of his property, with a view to the sacrifice ol his life, and his removal by this means of cer tain uncomfortable demands from him. There is nothing too vile for Mexican polities. It is probable, however, that the multiplication in stead of reduction of the number claiming to be supreme rulers in Mexico is the work of Mr. Seward and his agents. One or two speeches made by the Secretary ol State during his late journeyings, confirm the statement made in a former letter, that territorial aggrandizement has become his hobby, and be anxious to iden tify himself with some grand acquisition of this sort that will eclipse the achievements of that character by Jeiferson and Polk. Chaos in Mexico, he seems to suppose, will bring her early absorbtion by the United States Govern ment, with the consent and approval of Chris tendom. Thus will “ the flag of the free” wave over new fields, and Win. H. Seward be glorified. We shall see. PECULIAR SCENES. New York is full of strange and unsceneiy contrasts. Young, comparatively, as it is, I doubt if any medieval city presents contrasts more marked, or scenes more striking. A few weeks since 1 recorded the fact that the imme diate neignborhood of the Central Park, especi ally its western side, is succeeding Murray Hill and Fifth avenue as the fashionable location for. residences of the bon ton. But so rapid has been the growth of the city in that direction, that the meanest shanties of Irish squatters may still be found hard by the palatial man sions that have risen, as if by magic. The mid dle and northern parts of Manhattan Island were, till the Central Park was laid out and en closed, exceedingly rough, topographically. The grading of streets in that quarter left whole squares twenty and sometimes thirty feet below the level of the curb stones, and at other points the streets were cut for long distances through solid voek, rising fifteen to thirty feet above their level. A more expensive and unattractive spot upon which to lay out. a large city cannot well be found. These sunken squares and pro jecting rocks, were invaded without ceremony by thousands of poor foreigners. With a few posts and boards, they erected a shelter, and lived undisturbed for many years ; so long, in deed, that the driving them forth, when the low site of their shanties began to be valuable, was a work ot no little difficulty. These squatters are (for they are still numerous) worthy Irish and Germans. The former predominates and their habitations, were until recently to be re cognized by the noise which shared their shel ter. The German’s abode is usually embel lished by a few flowers, and perlfhps a small garden in which a few simple vegetables arc grown. As I have said, these up-town squatters are 6till numerous, and their squallid shanties give way slowly and sullenly before brown-stone Irouts, with their verandahs and cupolas. The nondescript population which disputes the reg ular growth of the city, have received this spring, from the great immigration towards us from Europe, many additions of a character that excites peculiar interest. Within a short i time, a tribe of Gypsies have arrived, and have pitched their tents upon the high ground be tween the northern end of the Central Park and j that part of the city which is known as Harlem. The tribe numbers eight families. True to their 1 traditions, the men pretend to be tinkers, j though it is observed that their hands are small and delica'c, as if unused to severe labor: They ! have the type of Asiatic physiognomy; hideous in the old, but in the children and young w<*- men, • exceedingly attractive. Their brilliant black eyes and teeth of dazzling whiteness, with light and agile forms, are*vcrv fascinating. Os course, the vfomeu have commenced fortune telling—an art whieh they claim to have derived from their ancestors, the Egyptians of old : and the languid and unrefined daughters of Shoddy and Company find it pleasant to while away an hour on those afternoons when they are wont to visit the Park, in consulting the mysteries of that mysterious people. business ratters, The severe storms Oi rahi that Uave visited the Atlantic coast in the past week or ten days, have given rise to reports of serious injury to the wheat crop in the Middle States, and to cotton further South. We have consequently a rise in flour of a dollar or two from the lowest Soint; aud cotton, in the face of dull accounts oni Liverpool and Manchester, is more steady and active. Farther North vegetation is not sufficiently advanced to receive any injury from the storm. A tew days, sunshine will remove any damage Chat has beeu done; and 1 suspect that the damage to the wheat has bfcen a good deal exaggerated ; but if this be so, there does not seem to be much prospect of lower prices until supplies increase. In the meantime, it is well to understand that the earlier receipts will bring much more raomey than the later. There is a strong speculation iu railway shares. Money has become easy, from the fact that the agricultural districts have now little to sell: and ou good securities, 4 per cent, pre mium is accepted for large sums. There is lit tle, intrinsically, in the state of railway traffic, to justify operations tor a rise at this time, and the drift of speculation towards railway shares has little to recommend it, except the fact in nothing else to purchase for a rise seem to promise and return. Speculation in nearly all kinds oi merchandize is very dull. Gold does not promise much; therefore stocks only offer any fair opening to the chronic speculator. YACHTING. The celebrated race across the Atlantic, and other circumstances, are making yachting the most fashionable amusement of the summer time. Jt is superceding t»ase hall and cricket, and even horse racing does not keep well op to it. One reason of this is, it admits of select parties, and avoids contamination from the mob. It is also so expensive that the shop girls and their “ fellers,” cannot indulge in It, and introduce their vulgarities into its practice. On this sconce, its popularity among people who delight in out door entertainments during the.summer, and to whom large crowds are distasteful. It has another attraction. Success in it is more a matter of skill and science than mere vulgar muscle. Some of the yachts owned in New York are of more lhan two hun dred tons measurement, and with their decora tions, cost a small for.une ; but we have also very swift and comfortable craft that only cost a few hundred. The growth of yachting is likely to vastly improve the manners and morals of the wealthy, and put a check upon vulgar ostentation. Willoughby. {Special Correspon lenee Constitutionalist. Letter from Jefferson County. Jefferson Cos., June 29,18 )7. Mr. Editor ; Whilst it may be thy case that a majority of your readers are not interested in matters oi a strictly local character, stili I ask for a small space in your colufnns to call the attention of the citizens of Jefferson, and es pecially the Inferior Court, to a subject pecu liarly interesting to our entire county. Our Justices of the Inferior Court have advertised that thej 7 will contract, <ftc., on the third Mon day in July next, soc-the rebuilding the seven bridges across the Ogeechec river, on the upper road from Louisville to Bartow. They design, also, keeping up the lower road, its bridge, &.*. The propriety of having but one road from Louisville to Bartow, aud consequently but oue bridge, or one set of bridges, lias before been discussed. But as slight objections were raised, and as our people were possessed of abundant pecu niary means, the subject, after a slight ventila tion, was dismissed, and we have continued to bear the burthen of two bridges without com plaint. But our pecuniary circumstances have changed. Our days of affluence are over, and it is high time the public, ns well as individuals, should earnestly 6tudy and practice economy. I propose, therefore, to agitate this question again, and endeavor to show that by having only one road, and consequently one bridge, a considerable annual expenditure can be avoided, whilst a material benefit will be conferred on the traveling public. 1 am assured by those best acquainted, that a good road can be laid out between these two points, which will .not exceed eight miles in length. The distance by either of the roads now used is eleven miles. This statement of itself is all sufficient to show the utility of this new road. Again, it is estimated that the entire expense of laying out this new road, building the bridge, causeway, &c., will not exceed the cost of the rebuilding now intended by the Court. In fact, it is supposed there will be a slight differ ence in favor Qf the new road. But the greatest advantage in the new road, as proposed, is discovered upon calculating the cost of keeping up these bridges. There are seven on the upper and ona on the lower road, making in all, eight. The amount expended annually in repairing these bridges is not definitely ascertained, but I suppose it to be between three hundred and fifty and four hun dred dollars. Besides this, at the expiration of every six or seven years, we are taxed with the tremendous expense of rebuilding the entire number. Now it Is generally supposed and admitted, that on the new road only six bridges would be required, thereby saving at least one fourth the expense of annual repair, and one fourth the cost in rebuilding. Asa further argument in favor of our new road, whilst, it reduces the distance from Louis ville to Bartow from eleven to eight miles, it would be equally useful and convenient for all other puiposes for which the two roads are now used; and it can be demonstrated, that it does not increase the distance to either place from any point in the county. lam informed also, that some of the land, owners—through whose premises this new road would pass—probably all of them—will tender a right of way so soon as they find that the matter is seriously contemplated. So far as ray information extends, all of our citizens who have reflected upon the subject, favor it. Here then is the occasion and time for our Inferior Court to make a decided im provement. It is sincerely hoped, they will at once take the matter into consideration, and enter into our suggestion with that spirit of en terprise which has heretofore characterized tfiem as worthy and intelligent conservators of the public good. Citizen. Letter from Covington. Covington, June 29, 18G7. Mr. Editor : The Commencement Exercises of the S. M. Female College, located at this place, were concluded on Wednesday, the 20th inst. The Rev. Mr. Burkhead, from Athens, Ga., preached the Commencement sermon on Sunday, the 23d, and on Monday the trustees held their annual meeting. On Monday night select, pieces were read by the members' of the sophomore class, and prizes were awarded by a committee to the two best readers, or those who showed themselves the most proficient in the rules of elocution. All the young ladies acquitted themselves with credit, the reading was excell “’:t without exception, and it was difficult for the committee to determine to whom the award should be made. The general opinion of the auditory, .however, so far as your correspondent heard it expressed, was decidedly in favor of a young lady from Put nam county. Miss Julia Denham. The member of the junior class read compo sitions on Tuesday, and immediately afterwards the prizes were delivered to the successful com petitors in the sophomore class by Capt. Jas. : McPace. His speech was short, but chaste, \ beautiful and appropriate. After the seniors : had concluded their exercises on Wednesday, ; and received their diplomas, an address was de-! livered to the large and intelligent audience by i the Rev. Dr. Lipscomb, Chancellor of our j State University. The matter and the oratory ; was fully up to the reputation of this distin guished gerftleman. The excruises of the week wifi compare j favorably, in every respect, with any preceding commencement of this, or any similar institu tion iu the State. The number of students in attendance is not so large as is desired, or as I has been here in former years. The number : ought at least to be quadrupled. The college belongs to the Grand Lodge of Georgia, and is I exclusively under Vaa management and coufrol : trustees appointed by that body, and the ' »iwsons throughout, the State in educating their daughters, should give it the preference.' Pre sident Gustavos J. Orr, who is at the head of the institution, is a gentleman of exalted char acter, profound learning, practical views, and has had 18 or 90 years, experience as a teacher, and professor in one of our most respectable S male colleges in the State, and the Masons | everywhere may entrust their daughters to his j care and tuition with implicit confidence that 1 every thing which is practicable will be done to j fit them for the refinements of society and the duties of life. The patronage of the S. M. Female College is by no means intended or desired to be ex clusively Masonic. The doors are open to ail who desire an education. A parent or guar dian, whether he belongs to the Masonic frater nity or not, can find no better seminary oi learning any where than this, in which to edu cote his daughter or ward, and besides the lite rary culture and attainments derived from the institution, every graduate is entitled to pecu liar privileges and bentfits from the Masonic brotherhood. Every young lady who receives a diploma becomes' a Masonic daughter, and is entitled to Masonic care and protection.— There is no more worthy institution in the land than this, and it is hoped that not only the Subordinate Lodges, but that each individ ual Mason, will become enlisted as its friqnd, and use their influence to fill the bmlding with students. I know we are all poor, bat let our sons and daughters be educated, if it should even require a retrenchment of the expenses of onr table and onr wardrobe. In these times of ! political derangement, with the uncertainties ol j the future, no safer investment of otir. money I can be made, nor one which will result io i greater benefit to our children. Philos. Toreign. GREAT BRITAIN. COMPLIMENTARY BREAKFAST TO W. L. GARRISON IN LONDON. London, Sunday, June 80.—Yesterday a com plimentary breakfast was tendered the distin guished American, William Lloyd Garrison, at St. James’ Hall, in this city. There was a large number ol distinguished persous'present. The principal speakers were John Bright aDd the Duke of Argyle. A letter from the Count of Paris was read, which warm terms, the services done by Mr. Garrison in the cause of humanity and freedom. Mr. Adams, the Minister of Ihe United States, who was absent, .also sent a letter, the tone of which was rather qualified and reserved. A number of friendly toasts were drunk, and the affair was a perfect ovation to Mr. Garrison. NO REFORM BIEL FOR IRELAND AT PRESENT. London, Saturday, June 29.— The Govern ment says that the state of Ireland at the pres ent time forbids the adoption of any reform bill iu her behalf, ROME. THE GREAT ECCLESIASTICAL CELEBRATION MAGNIFICENT AND IMPOSING CEREMONIES. Rome, Saturday, June 29th.—The religious ceremonies which took place to-day in celebra tion of the eighteenth centenary of St. Peter’s martyrdom, and in reverence pf St. Paul and the canonization of twenty-five Dutch, French and Spanish martyrs, who died in Japan, as saints, was one of the most gorgeous religious ceremonies witnessed. The observances were commenced yesterday with a general illumination of the City of Rome. Saint Peter’s shone like a great church on fire. At 7 o’clock this morniqg there was a grand procession of prelates, priests, monks and sol diers from the Vatican to Saint Peter’s. His Holiness the Pope was carried to the cbhreh on his throne. St.. Peters’ was most magnificently decorated with cloths of gold, silver tapestries, paintings, and two hundred thousand yards of crimson silk, and was lighted with many millions of wax candles. An immense‘crowd had assembled in the church before the arrival of his Holiness, and when the procession had entered there were at least 100.000 people inside its walls, including the ex King of Naples, the Foreign Ministry, 500 Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops, and many* thousand clergymen, priests, friars and monks. There werL even nuns and soldiers from almost every country in the world, and the assembled multitude made up a most bril liant congregation.. Pope Pius the Ninth celebrated the Gregor ian mass in Latin and Greek. There were two interruptions to the cere mony. The curtains of one of the windows of the church caught fire at one moment, but they were speedily torn down by the guard, and no damage occurred. After this a man who had become crazy from excitement, produced by the pomp and glitter and lights, cut his throat, and died just under the bronze statue of St. Peter. There was no confusion in consequence, and his body was quickly removed outside. The Pope at once proceeded to reconsecrate the church stained with the blood of the sui cide, and then proceeded with the service of the altar. Listz composed extra music for the grand mass, and a choir placed on the dome of St. Peter s made the angelical responses, the can non of Castle Sau Angelo thundering forth the accompaniment instead of the organs. The Pope s voice during the celebration was clear and very sweet, and was heard all over the church. It was a most sublime scene when, at the Elevation of the Host, the prelates, priests and nobles, peasantry and soldiers, who were spec tators, knelt to earth to do reverence to the Higher than the Highest, and who had become for men Lowlier than the Lowliest of all those present. The city illuminations, fireworks, races and general festivities iu honor of the centenary anniversary will continue during a week. Reduction of Rents in the Right Way. Mr. T. C. Dempsey,, of Macon, Ga., paid our city a visit a few days ago, iookiug after his real estate interest. He found his tenants doing perhaps as well as other merchants in the city, but, in bis opinion, not well enough to justify them in paying him the high rents they agreed to pay for the present year, for which he held the tenants notes. Voluntarily he reduced the rents from fifty to seventy-five dollars per month, from the Ist of April last to the Ist of October next, deducting for other rents in pro portion. Will not our landlords follow the generous example of Mr. Dempsey? f Columbus Sun and Times. The Georgia Black and Tan.— The At lanta Opinion conies to hand with an account of the “ Republican State (?) Convention ” held in Atlanta on the Fourth. A list of delegates is given. We quote : ******** Richmond —Roster Blodgett, Colonel John Bowies, Col. J. E. Bryant, S. W. Beard, Henrv Johnson, J. T. Costin, John Bryant, R. T. Kent, E. W. Jones. ******** The Committee on Permanent Organization then reported the following list of officers, which was unanimously adopted : president. Hon. Foster Blodgett, of Richmond county. vice-presidents. Ist Congressional District—Dr. J. J. Waring of Chatham, and Rev. T. G. Campbell, of Mclntosh. 11. Rev. Robt. Alexander, of Clay, and Wm. H. Noble, of Randolph. 111. Hampton Benton and Geo. W. Ashburn, of Muscogee. IV. Jos. T. Fincher, of Pike, and Sylvanus Carter, of Ballwin. V. Col. Jno. Bowles, of Richmond, and H. Strickland, of Greene. VI. P. D. Claiborne, of Gwinnett, and Robt. Brown, of Clark. ,Vlf. Col. James Atkins, of Fulton, -and Dr. H. W. Fite, of Bartow. Secretaries. B. M. Sheibley, of Floyd county. S. W. Beard, of Richmond. • C<pt. E. G. Nixon, of Chatham. The officers selected then appeared upon the stand, when the President, Hon. Foster Blodgett, addressed the Convention. [We have not room for the address] and hereafter may comply with the request contain ed in the following: Col. Harris moved that all the papers In this, State be requested to publish the of this Convention. The Hebrew Government.” —We copied a few days since a paragraph to the effect that a Hebrew Government. ” had been organized in this country, and that the “ Executive Depart ™ issued proposals for a loan to en able the “ Government” to dispatch the Jews to Palestine, where the machinery ot the nation | be put into operation. The Jewish Messenger pronounces the move ment a humbug, aud says it does not suppose icie are among the Israelites people likely to j a^ er the manner of tfie Fenian /®®^ o,< l ere - That paper admonishes its con : ®P°T ar !? s QOt , to give the slightest eounte ' “ “ ce *° 1118 Project, for the reason that it is a T “ r ,-^ te u Wlndle ” that BO respecta- I scheme aellte ba3 aay connection with the Death of a Good Citizen.— The painful in | w 2 B received in this city yesterday of the death of George W. Cuyler, who died in | Munich, Germany, on the 12th ultimo. The deceased had been for a number of years the cashier of the Central Railroad Bank of this city, the duties of which position he dis charged with the utmost fidelity and ability. f Savannah Neics, 3d. [Fiom the Chronicle <fc Sentinel!* Notes on the Situation —No. 13. BY B. H. BILL. I have said in all cases of doubtful con j stitutiowriity the Executive Department could not become a court or judge in the | matter. Neither can Congress lie a court. But it was necessary there should Ik? a final ■ arbiter, and, therefore, the Constitution provided a third department of government i called the Judicial. 1 ills Judicial power is expressly declared to extend to all cases ! arising under the Constitution, the laws of! the L luted Mates and * treaties, etc., But here again differences have arisen, and it has been insisted that the word “ cases ” ! has a legal technical signification and must; be confined within it, and, therefore, that the judicial power does not extend to all questions. arising under the Constitution.— I 1 his position was a favorite one with per ! sons °f the strict Construction State Rights school. When South Carolina declared the Tariff i Act plainly and palpably unconstitutional, she refused to refer the question to the Court, but proceeded to nullify the act in her borders. The Union men and Federal ists insisted that she should refer the ques tion to the Supreme Court as the final ar biter, but South Carolina refused to do so, insisting that the State was an independent,; separate sovereignty, outside of the express | powers granted to Congress—that this was a political question, affecting her separate sovereignty, and that she would not permit any other power to sit in judgment upon questions involving her sovereignty; that in this respect South Carolina stood to the United States as she did to France or Eng land. It was supposed that the peculiar doc trines of State Rights had been decided by the war against the position taken by South Carolina, and that hereafter the Supreme Court would become, what the old Union men always contended it was intended to be, the final arbiter upon all questions arising under the Constitution, so as to leave no excuse or necessity for an appeal to arms to settle controversies between the General Government and the States. Georgia and Mississippi were the first to act on the new idea. They did what South Carolina refused to do. They applied to the Supreme Court (in, I think, a proper case made) to enjoin the enforcement of bills palpably unconstitutional—admitted to be so—in their borders. The reply was the question made is a political question , and not a judicial case. The Supreme Court refused to entertain the jurisdiction, and thus sim ply affirmed wliat was called the ultra State Rights doctrine of South Carolina. lam glad the question was presented. lam es pecially glad they were presented by South ern States, showing a disposition thereby to abide the decision claimed to have been made by the war, and to recognize an arbi ter of future disputes short of arms. These decisions, therefore, so far from showing there is no remedy against these military bills, shows clearly the reverse.— They proceed on the very basis that the States are still separate political communi ties, and as such it necessarily follows that their internal domestic governments cannot be abrogated, regulated, or interfered with by Congress. Hence the way is clear for every State, citizen and corporation to make a case and test these military bills, when any person, by their authority, shall inter fere with a right of property, or of person, or of liberty.. I, therefore, beg every citizen, black and white, even the humblest of the ten millions who inhabit these ten States, to remember, never forget, that it is his right —his glo rious, unpunishable, unimpeachable right, to resist every interference, by any officer, high or low, with ixis property, or his per son, or Ids liberty, under these military bills ; and that each citizen owes it to every other citizen and to his State, and to pos terity and to constitutional liberty, to assert the right boldly and fearlessly against every such interference. Nor have military offi cers in such cases one particle more of pro tection from such resistance tlmn civil offi cers. The law is superior to all—is master of all; and the strength, the majesty and the merit of the law make the citizen’s pano ply in this issue. Hear what a distinguish ed American writer says on this subject: “It is now settled in England and the United States, that an officer of the forces who executes the unlawful order remains personally answerable. If the highest in com mand, the British monarch himself, order, contrary to law, an officer to quarter his sol diers upon the citizens to annoy and oppress them, as Charles I. did, the officer remains responsible, in the fullest sense of the term, to the law of the land , All that lias been ghiqpd by the arduous and protracted strug gle which began to show itself most signally j under Charles 1., may be summed up iu the ■ lew words that the law shall he superior to all aud every one and every branch of Govern ment ; that there is nowhere a mysterious, supreme and unattainable power, which, despite of the clearest law, may still dis pense with it or arrest its course. This is the sum total of modern civil liberty, the great, firm and solid common’s liberty.” Our Constitution—our supreme law, which no Congress, nor President, nor other earthly power can violate or authorize to be violated with impunity—is our ruler, our only ruler, aud all "the highest office-holders —civil and military—are but its servants and hound, under penalties, to obey its com mands. Our Constitution declares. “ The privilege of the writ of habeas cor pus shall not he suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it.” “ No bill of attainder or expost facto law shall be passed.” “ The trial of all names, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury." “No soldier shall, in fime of peace, be quartered in any house without "the consent of the owner.* f “ Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.” No citizen “ shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury.” “No warrant shall issue, but upon pro- j bable cause, supported by oath or affirma-! tiou.” These are the commands of the only un-1 perial power iu America — the Constitution. — They are so plain that a wayfaring man, though a fool, cannot err in reading them. They cover every State, and territory, and province and foot of -soil over which the jurisdiction of the United States can pos siblv go. Yet every one of these positive commands, and others besides, are violated and ordered to be violated by these Military Bills. They are, therefore, assaults—un mistakable, traitorous assaults—upon the Constitution; and every man, woman or child or officer, civil or military, in the United States who votes for these Bills, or approves them, or accepts them, or executes them, or passively submits to them, is an enemy of the Constitution and an enemy of every citizen whose rights are protected by the Constitution. I care not what excuses are made, nor what pretences are whined , out about the power of Congress and the i progressive Radical party. Such pretences | only show cowardice or the treasonable in ! tent in those who use them. The only way I to crush the Radical party is to bring down upon it that* power which is greater than riie Radical party—the Constitution. If the President is a slave and hound to execute the oiilcrs of traitors, the people are freemen and entitled to resist. * The only question and, therefore, the only danger as, hai*e they tiie courage to resist ? A freeman should know no master but the law, and bend the Knee to no earthly power but the Constitu tion. As the result of reason and 'settled au thority, I affirm; ; 1 hat every officer, high or low, who seizes the property of a citizen under these mill- 1 tarv bills, is a trespasser, subject to indict- ! incut and suits for damages as individuals. That every such officer who arrests a eiti- j zen under these bills is guilty of false im prisonment, and subject likewise as an in-! individual; and is amenable to the writ of habeas corpus before any court, State or Fed eral, having jurisdiction to issue the writ. .That if a single cijizen, white or black, is tried by a military commission and execu te the officer ordering the court, the indi- ■ viduals composing the court, the counsel prosecuting the case, the officer approving and executing the sentence, up to and iii-; eluding the President, each and all are guilty of murder, and indictable in the country where the crime is committed. And 1 again beg our citizens, everywhere, to assert these remedies, and assert them fearlessly. Do not be prevented by the sickly, cowardly, criminal statements, that the courts are prohibited from taking jurisdic tion. This is the poor defense with officii i those authorizing the crimes have sought to j shield those silly creatures who may obey j them, and is itself unconstitutional. The < power which cannot violate the law cannot j annul or escape the processes, or remedies i and penalties of the law. Sue in damages for every injury ; indict i for every crime. Be sure and include the I thieving treasury agents who-were lately i stealing your cotton or other things. Sue or indict in the county where the injury was or may lie. done, or the crime was or may be committed. Whether defendants are present or absent, get the true bills. Don’t let lapse of time bar yon. When ever you see me at a court, understand I iviil aid you without fee or reward. The written Constitution is my client, and the preservation of its protection the only fee 1 shall ask. The time for the law’s triumph over passion will one day come. If- our people will now, everywhere, assert these rights, not by again abandoning the Consti tution, but by claiming its remedies, that time will come quickly; and then we shall demand the criminals wherever found and they will he delivered. If the President him self should commit murder ip the manner I have indicated, I do not hesitate to say that I would urge a true bill against him and de maud him tor trial when his term has ex pired. We owe it to ourselves, to our child ren, to free institutions, to teach all, how ever high or low, who take advantage of degenerate times like these, to violate the great guaranties of the law, and trample on the rights of the citizen, that when the po litical spasm is over they can ttnd no hiding place from the law’s avenger nor take shel ter from its penalties anywhere in the juris-’ diction of the Constitution. Let tliis generation teach this lesson now, and teach it faithfully and well, and we shall have no return of such periods of sor row and crime for us or for our children. — If we do not teach this lesson, then sorrow and crime will increase their coming ivid prolong their stays, because rogues will steal; tyrants will oppress ; little officers “ will cut fantastic tricks apd traitors will use fraud and force to perpetuate their power, just as often and long as they think they can do so with impunity. 1 also earnestly hope the people of each of the ten States will go .boldly forward, and preserve and continue their existing State governments, and hold all elections in the manner at the time prescribed by existing State constitutions; -will choose officers qualified according to State constitution and laws, and votes qualified according to existing State constitutions and laws. If any citizen or officer shall be interfered with in exercising his riglits under these laws, or in discharging the duties of office to which he may be chosen, let him make the issue fearlessly. I would have them continue this until, and even after, pretended constitutions may be formed by deluded negroes and their de signing inferiors under these Military Bills; and if an attempt were made to displace existing constitutions and governments by pretended constitutions so formed and offi cers chosen thereunder, I would indict every officer so attempting to subvert ex isting legal State.governments, and I would then have our Governors or the Legisla tures (if in session), make application to the President, under the Constitution, to protect existing State governments “against domestic violence,” and thus compel the President to decide whether he js bound to displace by force what he admits to be ex isting legal State constitutions and govern- j meats for those he admits to he illegal, un- j cinstitutional and tyrannical. i will atld two important considerations why our people should thus resist and never consent to these usurpations : In the first place, if we once allow these new governments to become legally fixed on us by our consent, we can never get rid of them. The power will be in the hands of those who make and administer them ; and, though destroy, as they will, they will hold on to their iniquity. It will also re quire three-fourths of the States to concur in the adoption of the odious Constitutional Amendment, but if adopted it will then re quire three-fourths of the States to get rid of it. But, in the second place, if, as is clear, these bills are so grossly unconstitutional, then thej 7 can never be legally established if we continue to resist them. Let us com mence cases now and continue cases as fast and as often as they arrive, and if, even after these military constitutions are framed and organized, and have oppressed unwilling people for years, the Court finally decide the acts authorizing them to be unconstitu tional, then, unlike a case of emus between i belligerents, everything done under them will be declared void—the wicked govern ments will be displaced, every man who has administered them will be a criminal, and our existing State constitutions will be | restored to us. Then will patriots meet again at Wash-' ington and at every State capital, and, gath-! ering the records of these Radical traitors, j and of all their State subordinates together, will do, as our fathers m Georgia did when corruption had usurped fiower and soiled our honor as a people once before—we will 1 catch fire from heaven and bum them up. If, then, we yield now, our remedies are gone and we are conquered forever; but if we refuse to yield, our remedies will con tinue, aud we can never be conquered. Eccentric Suicide.— The suicide busi ness, says the New York Times, has now been carried to such a pitch of extrava gance by the performance at St. Peter’s that we hope to see a little reaction in that form of sensation. Now that a man has cut Jhis throat in the great church, in presence of a hundred thousand spectators, dying under the statue of St. Peter’s, we trust that it will be conceded that nothing else in that line worthy to be called novel is possible, and that eccentric suicides will be given up. The With esses Against Surratt. The Washington correspondent of the Sunday r Mercury calls attention to the char ! acter of the men wlto have testified to see ing Surratt in Washington on the day of the assassination. Some of them are not at all reputable. Dye has been arrested for passing counterfeit money, and another of them is thus spoken of: Another delectable witness was William E. Cleaver, the man who outraged the little beggar girl of the Seventh Ward until she diet! from his lust, and for which he was convicted and sentenced. For some reason, best known to General Carringtoii and Judge Fisiier, this damnable brute and murderer was ordered anew trial, and the benefit of bail extended to him al>out two weeks ago, and now he appears in anew role —a witness against Surratt, Now is not this a picture to bo commented upon by honest people? Upon the eroSs-exami nation of Cleaver, it came out that both Impeacher Ashley and Conover had a talk with him—Cleaver—and it was through them that he was summoned as a witness. Here is a man with the halter almost around his neck, and with the gallows star ing him in the face, brought into court to bear false witness against his neighbor.— \\ ho believes that Dye, or Cooper, or Dave Reed, the gambler, or this blood hound, Cleaver, ever saw Surratt in town at the time of the assassination ? No oue in this community. John Surratt was known to thousands of people here, and yet there is not one ol our populace wjio saw him, but mere sojourners and strangers, who never heard the name of Surratt until after the murder, now state they saw him muffled up and disguised at the theatre, and in two years after they are able to swear to him in open court as the man. The Best Government Upon the Face of the Earth, and Its Expense. If our Government is the best upon the face of the earth, it> is probably because we pay the most for it. The best articles gene rally cost the greatest.price. Last year the bill for running our Government in its Fede ral and State relations amounted to the modest little sum of eight hundred millions of dollars, or about thirty dollars a week to each man, woman and child in the country. Now a luxury is a good thing, but some times we have to dispense with it, because it costs too much for our means to afford it. We humbly submit that good as our Gov ernment is, it is getting a little too expen sive. If things go on in this way ive do greatly fear that we shall have to put up with an inferior article, and have a poorer Government, simply on the very plausible ground that we can’t afford it. We want other nations to adopt our institutions, but lo ! if they desired to they could not, on ac count of the expense attending it! The French and English governments combined don’t cost more than ours, and yetdhose nations are dissatisfied because tlieir gov ernments are not cheaper. This conkide ration somewhat diminishes the privilege of self-government, inasmuch as no nation can long stand the expeuse. We have been so w ell governed by our Radical friends for the last five years that we hate to speak or com plain of the expense, but really it has risen to such a height as to become aii unprofit able luxury much longer. —Cincinatti En quirer. Fourth op July— Some Time Ago.— As the writer has nothing to speak of with re gard to the celebration of to-day, he has turned to records of the first el'er held in Macon, which was in 1823. We regret to say it decided the fate of the late Emperor Maximilian. Here is the seventh regular “toast” then given, which was soon after the execution of the first Emperor of Mexico: “ Ytvrbide. —May the fate of every Ameri can Emperor be that of her first.” ' The fate of the last has just been sealed according to the malediction as then pro nounced on him. Who could escape it from such authority ? He should have consulted our files before committing the rasli act of becoming an already doomed Emperor. Strange it may be, but as trtie as that in the curse of David: “And thou, Mount Gilboa, let neither dew nor rain fall on thee bench forth forever.” | Macon Journal & Messenger. "V a i. uk of Old Rope. —Among the nu merous woruout and often considered worth less materials which the ingenuity of man has discovered means of remanufacturing and rending of equal value with the original substance, are old tarred ropes, which have long been in use at the coal pits. Qur read ers will be surprised when we inform them that out of this dirty, and apparently un bleachable substance, is produced -a tissue paper of the best beautiful fabric, even oi" surface and delicacy of color, a ream of fvliich, with wrappers and strings, weighs two and a half pounds. It is principally used in tlie potteries for transferring the va rious patterns to the earthenware, and is found superior to any substance yet known for that purpose. It is so tenacious that a sheet of it twisted by the hand in the form of a rope will support upwards of one hun dred weight. Truly we live’ in an age of invention. —Leverpool Standard. A Cold, Sad Virgin.— The following are two verses from a poem in the July number of the Galaxy: TO ELLEN*. {With Emerson’a “May Day.”] The maid that hath no music in her soul, N or Is not moved by concord of sweet sounds, If such there be by any waves that roll Down to the Concord stream where so; g abounds ; Even such a cold, sad virgin, that would shun A thought of low iu) nightmare in her dreams, Must love our Emctson —for he is one Whose thought iajjreater than liis music seems. Steam Between Memphis and France. —A monthly steamship line has been estab lished between Memphis and Havre. The New Orleans Bulletin says it will be the ob ject of this enterprise to export produce to, and import, from any of the French cities, merchandize consigned to that or any other city in the valley of the Mississippi. An application will be made to Congress at its next session to constitute Memphis a port of entry and delivery. Prize Ring. —Samuel Col Iyer, who fought Barney Aaron a week or two ago, lias published a card, in which he say* “ Having learned that my late opponent, Barney Aaron, has declared that, he will again fight me if I reduce my weight to one hundred aud twenty-six pound*, I now state that I accept the challenge, and will fight him at that weight for the championiship and SI,OOO to $5,000. Should Mr. Aaron agree to a match ui>on the above terms, my Mends will be ready at any moment to arrange matters. Should he disregard this notice, he must, according to the rules ot the ring, give up all claim to the champion ship, as he cannot presume to enjoy that title at a weight of one hundred and twenty pounds.’’ • The Chicago Republican counts on a wheat crop this year of .225,000,000 bushels, of which Illinois will produce one-tenth,
