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About Weekly constitutionalist. (Augusta, Ga.) 185?-1877 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 4, 1868)
THE WEEKLY CONSTITUTIONALIST GOVERNOR SEYMOUR’S SPEECHES AT AVON, OALEEONIA, LEROY, BATA VIA AND ATTIOA. HE TAKES THE LAND BY STORM. HIS ADDRESS AT BUFFALO TO TWENTY THOUSAND REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS. {Special Dispatch to the N. Y. World. Buffalo, October 22. Governor Seymour left Rochester this morn ing by a special car on the Erie Railroad tor Buffalo. Before leaving the Osborn House, Governor Fenton, who visited this city in bis official capacity, to take part in the inaugura tion of tte new arsenal here, arrived at the ho tel, and paid his respects to Governor Seymour. A heavy snow storm had commenced in the morning, and continued during the dav. The first stopping place was AT AVON, where, notwithstanding the unpleasant weath er, an immense assemblage had gathered, com posed not only of citizens of the place, but delegations from neighboring towns. Gov. Seymour was esdorted-lo the platform in front of the depot, when he was introduced to the audience by W. H. C. Hosmer, the poet, amid the greatest enthusiasm. He spoke as follows: Fellow-CitJzens : I left my home tor the purpose of speaking in Buffalo and did not suppose that in the course of the journey to that city 1 should have occasion to speak to any other audience. But last night, in the city of Rochester, I was called upon to address one of the largest gatherings that I have ever met in Western New York, and all day, along the route, there have been demonstrations, such as 1 see here, upon a few moments’ notice, that give proof that the people of this country are disturbed and agitated with regard to the con duct of public affairs. At a time like this you do not expect me to address you at length. I go forth as your candidate, not because I sought it, but because you bade me to do so. [Cheers, and cries “That’s true!’’! Igo to speak to this people, not because I wish to do so, but because you have called upon me to go into this contest along side of you. [Cheers.] I respond to your call, and if we are successful in this battle, as I believe we will be, I trust the day will come when our Republican friends will lay aside the prejudices against our per sons and our positions, and will see that we have been contending for principles of govern ment that should be as dear to them as they are to us, and that it is well for our country that there was a party that stood up to restrain the excesses of their own leaders. Far be it from me to stand here or elsewhere to utter one word of reproach to our political opponents. But 1 believe it to be true to-day that there are many among our Republican friends firmly ad hering to that organization, who feel in their hearts that their leaders have gone too far. [Cheers [ I know the day will come when whatever may be the measure of our success they will acknowledge that our action has been of service io keeping alive in the public mind the sense of the value of these great princi ples which, in the sense of the value of these great principles which, in the end, they will see themselves were perilled by the headlong policy of their leaders. And in saying this I am Only expressing what has oeen more plainly,-and even harshly, said by their own wisest men and ablest journals. 1 thank you for this expression of your good will and' re gard. I trust that the future will be all glo rious for our country, whatever may be the result of this contest. 1 bid you good bye. [Great cheering.] The party accompanying Gov. Seymour from Rochester consisted of Hon. Sanford E. Church, Hon. Francis Kernan, Hon. Richard Schell, Hon. A. H. Bristol, F. Bissell, Aiderman Wheeler, R. B. Wisner, of Mount Morris, Israel Husbaum, Wm. Hasbruch, and the correspond ent of the World. They were joined by J. 3. Skinner, R. B. Fulson, and others at Attica, and by large delegations at the different towns. AT CALEDONIA another large crowd awaited the train, and Gov. Seymour appeared on the platform and bowed his thanks with a few words of acknowl edgment. A very large audience, including a club of “ White Boys in Blue ” in uniform, awaited at the depot. AT LEROY mottoes were tilso displayed, among which were the following : “ Obedience to the Laws by President aad the People,” “ One Currency for All.” A cannon was repeatedly fired during the stoppages of the train. Mr. Seymour appeared at the platform amid great cheering. He spoke as follows: Fellow-Citizens : We are now engaged in political contest in which are to be decided great questions of public and fianancial policy. I implore all here, whatever their political sen timents may be, to lay aside passion and pre judice and to consider fairly the far-reaching issues presented to our consideration, which concern so nearly our home interests, our busi ness prosperity, and the welfare of our coun try. [Cheers.] We believe that we are serving our country. I respset all clssses of our citi zens, and though I cannot see things as my Republican friends see them, I have learned to respect them when they are sincere. It is ask ing too much of them to accord to us an equal respect when we, who have an equal interest with them in the welfare of this nation, proclaim that we are sincere in our convictions and earn est in our desire to render service to the whole land ? We hove never stood before you as men advancing novelties of government. If we have asked that the Constitution shall be respected, it is the Constitution of your fathers, my Republican friends, as well as the Consti tution of our fathers. They taught us to culti vate love of country; to discourage all sec tional prejudice arraying us one against the other, and to look closely at the public expen ditures, and to see that there was no waste of that which was drawn from the labor of the people by taxation. We do feel that your ad ministration has not been prudent in its ex penditures. We are appalled at the vast sums which are drawn from the tax payers. We are appalled at the multiplication of the public officers and officials. We do not ask you to give us complete power. You could not do that if you would. There is a Republican Sen ate, a Republican House of Representatives, and onr armies are commanded by your own candidate, who has more power in that posi tion than be would have if placed in the Presi dential office, shackled and trammelled as it has been by Congressional legislation. We ask you only to rebuke and put a check upon the extreme and violent policy which your own most tboughful men have condemed. No party, holding unqualified power, can right its own wrongs or check its own extravagances. Those who framed our Government under stood this, and divided it into different depart ments —State governments, and national gov ernments, the judicial, executive and law mak ing powers—which would be controlled by different political parties, and which should be a check upon each other. I urge you to consider the questions presented to yon with out party prejudice. I do not complain for myself, as a candidate, that those who are placed in the field should suffer much harsh in vective and unjust aspersion, though I regret that good men in the Republican party should look upon nje as a bad man, and regret that they have not a kinder regard for one who, in his own way, seeks to serve his land, and who, in his own way, would do what he could for the good of his fellow-citizens. Let us hope that, when the heat of the contest shall have passed, we shall learn to look upon each other as citizens with a common interest, in earnestly and anxiously doing our part to promote the public good. [Cheers.] Another similar greeting was extended to Governor Seymour AT BATAVIA. He appeared on the platform and said : Fbllow-Citjzens : I know you will excuse me from trying to speak to you at any length. My voice is weary in saying to the people all along the line, from here to Utica, how much I appreciate the manifestations of their good will and regard. I have gone oat > at re- quest of my friends, to take part in thjs can vass, because ita result does not affect me more than it affects you. Whatever that result may be, I shall ever cherish a deep and gvateful sense of the kindness and partiality ot my friends. And let me say to my Republican friends that whether we, upon the Democratic side, are right or not in our views of public af fairs, we arc very earnest man, who are trying to serve our country and uphold the cause which we believe to be right. [Cheers.] I wish you good-bye, and may the election so terminate as to advance the honor of our coun try, preserve its Institutions, and carry happi ness and prosperity into every home and to every fireside in our land. Governor Seymour closed by saying that his friend, Francis Kernan, of Utica, would ad dress them. Mr. Kernan had only opportuni ty to speak very briefly before the starting of the train. With cheeriag and the firing of cannon, and with crowds rushing at the platforms, as at the other towns, the train entered ATTICA. Governor Seymour briefly expressed his thanks, and introduced Mr. Keruan. At the close of the speaking Governor Seymour and Mr. Kernan were greeted with rousing eheers. AT BUFFALO. Though no public notice had been given of Governor Seymour’s arrival, a large number oi persons, who had heard that he would come by this train, cheered him lustily as he passed, without further demonstration to bis carriage. [Specia Dispatch to the World. SECOND DISPATCH. Buffalo, October 22. The gathering here this evening, though got up on w-y short notice, was the largest that has bee wield in this city since the opening of the campaign. The meeting was held in the Skating Rink, which bolds 7,000 or 8,000 peo ple, and such a crush was never known in that place. The audience swayed back and forth iu a dense mass that could not be pressed closer. Shortly before the appearance of the speakers the crush near the stand became so violent that it threatened the safety of boys and weak per sons among it. Two persons were drawn to the platform who had fainted, and large num bers of boys were lifted out of the crowd where they were in danger of suffocating, and literally crawled halt way across the room on the heads and shoulders of the audience. As they tum bled from head to head the crowd shouted and cheered and called for the speakers. As many as twenty boys were thus passed to the plat form and escaped by the side. A splendid pro cession, with banners, illuminations, bands, cannon, and fireworks were marched to the Tifit House and escorted the speakers to the Kink. The building was brilliantly illuminated. The audience, by the time of the appearance of the speakers, had become somewhat impatient as the time approached for which the meeting was called. The reception of Governor Seymour was one of the most splendid manifestations that can be conceived. The immense auditorium was wild with the waving oi hats, and rssound ed with unanimous shouts of applause. There were at least twenty thousand people in and around the building. Hon. James Humphreys, chairman of the meeting, ca’led the assemblage to order at half past 8 o’clock, when Governor Seymour de livered the following address: ADDRESS OF GOVERNOR SEYMOUR. Fellow-Citizens : The first words uttered by the Republican Convention, in their resolu tions, congratulated the country upon the suc cess ol their scheme of reconstruction. The last words uttered by their speakers and their presses declare that reconstruction is a failure ; that the South is still in a condition of rebel lion ; that its social disorders demand the pres ence of great armies ; and that the first duty of Congress, when it meets, will be to turn recon structed Georgia out of the Union. | Applause ] At the outset of this canvass the Republican party asked to be continued in power upon the ground that it had governed the country for the past four years wisely and well, and thus demanded a popular approval of their polity.— After a full discuseion of three months, touch ing the wisdom, the integrity of the policy of the Government with regard to reconstruction and finances, it is found that order has not been restored at the South, that the burdens of debts have not been lightened, or the evils of op pressive taxation have not been lifted off from the labor and industry of the country, as they should have been. Driven from their first ground, and feeling that the people of this country were unwilling to approve their acts, they now'try to hold power by making the people believe, not that they have done well, but that the Democratic party would do worse if they succeeded at this time. To prove this they aver that the success of the Dem ocratic ticket will involve the country again iu civil war. They feel that nothing short ot civil war would be worse. [Cheers.] — They have declared that the Democratic nomi nees are ready to overturn their legislation by force. To make the charge still more dramatic I am to oe sent to final account at the hands oi my political supporters, and General Biair is then to tumble beneath his feet the reconstruc tion laws as ruthlessly as General Meade now stamps them out by his military orders, with the concurrence of this same Republican party. If I am to go to my last account I trust I shall be judged in another world by a kinder and more charitable tribunal than my Republican friends have proved to be. [Laughter.] If the Democratic ticket is elected and General Biair should reach the Presidential chair, how would ‘ the case stand ? He would be confronted by a j Republican Senate, by a House of Representa ' tives full of generals, by the army of the Uni- I ted States, flanked by the Loyal Leagues and by the grind armies of the Republic, under the command of their own candidate for the Presi- J dency. whom they declare to be the first cap- I tain ot the age. And yet we are gravely told | that, standing alone, shackled by Congressional I restraints, he can crush out all this opposing , power and plunge the country into civil war.— If this is true, then, General Blair is either the most vigorous man who has lived in the histo ry of the world, or Republican Senafore, mem bers of Congress and commanders of armies are the most imbecile men who ever disgraced public positions. [Cheers.] Now 1 admit there is a fear in the minds of the Republican leaders—but it is not-this absurd fear—it is the dread that the public mind, having been turned to its fiuanc al and political policy, is reaching conclusions which will sweep them from politi cal power. Therefore they seek to change the issue; therefore they have changed their front in this contest. We are admonished that it is a dangerous thing to change front on the eve of battle. I propose, in the course of the qjmvass, on occasions like this, to discuss the policy and conduct of the men in power. To-night, I must confine myself to a few points; elsewhere 1 shall speak of other wrongs and errors. When this war was ended, nearly four years ago, it left the Southern States disorganized and im poverished. The duty of restoring peace and prosperity to that secttan, and putting it into condition where it could add to the national prosperity and aid to bear its burdens, fell upon the Republican party. The difficulties of the task were increased by the fact that its population was made up of two distinct races, one of which had been held in slavery, and was now suddenly called upon, untutored as they were, to act a new part in our social and political system. I do not wish to underrate the difficulties with which they had to contend; but the magnitude of these difficulties demand ed that they should enter upon the task in a wise, great and thoughtful way. Armies alone cannot bring back prosperity or a due sense of the value of order to a community. They can only restrain violence. The two great objects to be kept in view were to give all classes that prosperity which tends to make man desire peace, which gives them hopes, and in the end a state of good order of society. Despair ever makes disorder. Another great object and end was to lift up the African as far, as fast as could be wisely done. Humanity dictated this; the interests of tne white population of the South demand ed it. As the two races were to live upon the same soil, their common interest called for harmony of puropse and of feelings. Under this state of facts wise men would seek aid of the most intelligent and influential men of that section of the country, taking care to guard againstany influences springing from their nre judices. Have these obvious truths been re garded by the men in power t Has not recon struction failed because they disregarded them ? he first step towards restoring order and pro ducing harmony between the races was, al ways to minister to the prosperity of that sec tion, which prosperity would be shared alike by the white man and the negro. The indus try of the South should be mate profitable. Unless the employer made a profit upon his cotton crop he could not pay the laborer.— Failing to do this, the disaster brought not only poverty, but confusion and discontent.— True statesmanship would have stretched out a helping hand, but what was the first act of the men in power ? It was to put a monstrous ex port tax of six cents a pound upon the cotton raised by the labor of the negro upon the plan tation of the white. Struggling with the evils of poverty, with the difficulties of their new positions and relationships, the first feeble ef forts of their people to gain the means of liveli hood were blasted by an unwise, selfish and vindictive act. I say unwise, because it has much to do wtth the future ot the Republicans to restore order at the South. The negro, ex asperated by the failure of his ruined employ er, became hostile to him. The employer, losing the little credit that he had betore In the North, renewed his efforts under still greater difficulties than before. I say it was a selfish act, because it was done in the interest of the Eastern manufacturer, already wealthy from the fruits of the war, protected by enormous traffics. This tax of six cents a pound upon all cotton exported was simply imposed so that he might buy it for a price six cents less than it was worth in the markets of the world. I say it was a vindictive act; for it you will read the debate in Congress, when this tax was levied to cover the selfish interests that prompted it, yon will find that it was urged upon the members from the Western States, who voted against the interests of their con stituents, upon the ground that it was to be imposed upon the South as a penalty. And thus we find that the black and the white man of the South were alike stripped of the market value of their staple product under circum stances of such great difficulty that they were hindered and not helped ou Che road to pros perity by the men in power. [Applause.] I might go on and show how, iu addition to this wrong, they were trampled upon by mili tary despotisms; how they were placed under the unrestrained power of vagrant men, who gained wealth and official positions by minister ing to the passions of the public and keeping alive disorder. These men, who now in the Senate of the United Stales, without consti tuents, vote down the Senatorial representa tives of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois and Indiana, gained their power over the South and over us, because they ministered to passion in the North and stirred up disorder in the South. Who, of the fairmlnded, thoughtful Republicans, will calmly sit down and look over this action, and not feel that the policy of his party has been unwise and hurtful. During the progress of the war another difficulty grew up, which excited alarm in the minds of men. It was found, as our debt rolled up its great volume, that the Government bonds were taken in the North Atlantic States, and the Union was thus divided with debtor and creditor States. This is a perilous relationship. It could not well be avoided. But the evil could have been mitigated if there had been a wise and economical administration, which should have kept down the volume oi indebtedness. — But the men in power saw fit to do another thing. They drove out of existence, by heavy taxation, the currency ot all State banks. They thus grasped the exclusive power of issuing pa permoney. They gave to the holders of Govern ment bonds the privilege of issuing bank bills under what is known as a national banking system This was a privilege of enormous value. I will not stop now to discuss the wis dom of that system. As Governor of this State I returned a law authorizing our banks to or ganize under that system, because I saw, as far back as 1863, that it imperilled the future har mony of our Union. The point to which I wish to call your attention is the unwise and unjust manner in which this great privilege was dis tributed. Wise men would look to see how it could be given out so as to minister to the gen eral prosperity of our country. But regardless ot all this, this great monopoly was given to the first comers. These were mainly from the old and rich States, which had been enabled to take up the Government bonds. Thus not only our debt, but our currency, was sectionalized.— While the State of Massachusetts, with about. 1.100,000 inhabitants, has about 857,000,000 of this currency, the State of Illinois, with about twice that population, has less than 810,000,000. In the State of Rhode Island they have about 840 to each inhabitant, while in Illinois, Michi gan, Wisconsin and other Western States they have only about 88. If so much currency is good for Massachusetts, why is it not a gooc thing out West ? [Cueers ] But the injustice of this distribution was the least of tbe evils which came of this lack of foresight and statesmanship. It is no answer to say in justification of this inequality, that tht West had as good a chance to get this priv ilege first as the other States. This was nol a matter to leave to chance. The Western States were not then in a condition to secure this currency, for the very reason that they most needed it. if the rule of proposition was be disregarded, it should have been done in favor of the very States that now have the smallest share. It was the duty of wise states manship to see that the currency was given when it would be of the greatest service to the public. It may be asked if the West was not able to take bonds, how would they avail them selves of this privilege ? If this action had been reversed, and 57,000,000 had been given to the State of Illinois ana 9,000,000 had been given to the State of Massachusetts, which would be much more lair than tbe present dis tribution, the people of Illinois could not have established these banks, but tbe capitalists ol New England and New York worJd gladly have established banks in these States*for the sake of the advantages gained. Now, this would not only have been more fair, as any one sees, but it would have avoided a great evil, to which I will call your attention, and in con sidering this will not go so far as to say that any State should have less than its due share. The people ot the Northern Atlantic States who hold about two thirds of all this currency do not need this amount for their business pur poses. Their modes of conducting business do not require this form of credit. Form erly, the banks ot the city of New York did not deem it worth while to issue notes for circulation. We now see that at cer tain seasons of the year they send currency to the West to bring forward the crops. When it is not.needed for these purposes it is accumu lated in vast sums in the cities of New York, Boston and Philadelphia, where, as it is not wanted for regular business purposes, it is used to promote unhealthy and demoralizing specu lations. If we tur® our attention to the agri cultural States of the West, we find that they do need currency in their business transactions, and that they suffer great evils and losses from the want of it. It is necessary for the welfare of our country, and for the health and comforl of our people, that tbe wheat, corn, beef and pork of the We»t should be sent to maiket nol only to feed our own people, but by its sale in foreign lands to pay tae interest on our debt and for the articles we purchase abroad. Thit is the first great financial necessity of our coun try. The beet commercial paper is that whicti is made for this object. It is payable at the commercial centres at short dates. It has nol only an acceptor at the East, but it is fortified by a bill of sale of the very property which if bought by ita proceeds. Why is it that this commercial paper, made for purposes so essen tial gnd meritorious, so amply secured, and having about it every feature which command? credit, commands the monstrous interest ol ten or twelve per cent.? This is a very grave question, affecting the welfare of every citizen of our land. There is a very great wrong here at the very basis of tbe business prosperity ana personal comfort of tbe people of these United States. When tbe Western dealer in pro duce goes to the bankers of Chicago, Milwaukee Toledo, or other commercial centres of the .West, and offers a draft payable al short date in an Eastern city, of undoubted credit, to get the currency to buy the wheat, beef, pork, or wool of the Western farm he is charged this enormous interest, and when he objects that it is ruinous and unjust, he is told that the banker can do no better, that he has no currency ol his own, that he cannot get it for himself; thal the whole volume authorized by Congress hat been. taken up mainly in the Eastern States that in order to get this currency he (the bank er) must go the East and borrow it, and must pay an interest for its use, and then he must charge all the interest and another interest as s compensation for himself. Then, says tbe bor rower, I find that I must pay interest to two bankers. Is it right that Rhode Island, or Mas sachusetts, or New York should have the share of currency which belongs to our Western States? Are not all the citizens of the West forced to pay to these Eastern States interest upon the currency which rightfully belongs to us? If I must pay you, the banker ot the West or the banker of the East, ten or twelve per cent, interest, when 1 ought to pay but one half of that amount, I must take it out of the price which I pay the farmer for his produce. Now till this is true; and here is a great wrong which ten Is to produce ill-feeling between the States ; a jealousy of the creditor States, and a sense of Injury which harms the national credit. This unwise distribution of the currency lies at the foundation of much of the feeling in cer tain sections of our country against the bond holders. It is no unusual thing to see it stated e .J x ! p< ; r 8 of .Chicago and other Western cities that the grain market is checked for want of that currency which rightfully belongs to that section. Not only is the farmer thus paid a lower price for his produce, but the car riers upon our lakes and canals and the whole commerce of our country, internal and foreign, are injured by this lack offore sight on the part of our rulers. (Applause.] But the evil does not stop here. When the curren <}’ has been used to place the agricultural pro ducts in the markets of the East, and is no longer needed for those purposes, it piles up in vast volumes in the cities of New York and Boston during the winter months. Those who bold are impatient to have it profitably employ ed. They invite borrowers to use it for pur poses that end in those wild and, demoralizing speculations that have done so much to corrupt the morals and destroy the habits of industry, which can alone make a people trily prosper ous. Not unfrequently it is used again to buy U P r' e beet, pork, flour and grain in the hands of Eastern holders, and in the warehouses of our commercial cities; and to put up their prices against the laboring poor, the toiling me chanic, and the consumer of the East; in this way, too, checking tbe exportation abroad, and destroying the commerce of our land. [Cheers.] Now, if with wise statesmanship under this same national banking system, care had been used. to place this capital where it was needed, the share which would have been given to the Western States would never have remained idle or have been employed for hurtful purposes.— There would always have been use forthat capital there, which would have promoted prosperity and advanced the healthy enter prises ot great and growing communities.— This error of our rulers is attended wilh anoth er great evil. There was no provision made for the South, no care taken to revive her pros perity so that its people might aid in advancing the prosperity of our land. It is for our inter ests as well as theirs that their pursuits should again be made prosperous. We find that this error in the distribution of our currency is cursing our business with enormous rates of interest, lessens the prices which the farmer gets for his produce, injures our carriers and barms both our domestic and foreign com merce. This great flagrant national evil should have been corrected; but it has not even re ceived the attention of the party in power.— [Cheers] There are other great wrongs to which 1 will briefly allude, and which I will discuss more at length on other occasions. We say that taxation should be equal upon every species of property according to its real value. The Republicans say so too. They declare in their fourth resolution that it is due to tbe labor of the nation that taxation should be equalized. With this declaration upon their lips, they tell us why they made it unequal ? Will they tell us why, for four years, they have allowed this conceded injustice to remain upon the statute books ? How can we believe that they mean what they say ? They charge upon us that we are in favor of repudiation. Have those who make this charge frankly said how they meant to deal with the public creditor ? We have said when the agreement was that he should be paid in gold he should have it; and when tbe contract did not define in what he should be paid he should be given a money as good as that which we use for the sacred pur pose of paying our pensioners and rewarding the toil of the laborer. We have sought to place the claims of the public creditoi among the sacred things of a nation’s faith. [Cheers.] We have tried to maintain a policy ot security, which should make bis debt sure, and of wis dom, which should put the nation’s credit so high in the markets of the world that the public creditor, the public pensioner, and he who toils for the public good in the workshop or in the field, should all be paid in a currency made good by a wise and honorable conduct of public affairs. [Applause.] Fruit Distilled Brandy Exempt from In ternal Revenue, The following is the text of the order issued ■ by Commissioner Rollins in relation to the exemption of brandy distilled from fruits : Treasury Department, j Office Internal Revenue, ( Washington, October 12, 1868. ) In occordance with the opinion of the Attor ney General of tbe United States, rendered on the lOch instant, distillers of brandy from ap ples, peaches, or grapes, exclusively, are here by, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, exempted from so much of the pro visions of section 59 of the act of July 20, 1868, as imposes a special tax of 8400 upon distillers producing 100 barrels or less of distilled spirits, and of 84 per barrel for every barrel iu excess ot 100 barrels. This exemption is additional to the exemptions heretofore specified in series 4, No. 7, and assessors and collectors will gov ern themselves accordingly. E. A. Rollins, Commissioner. Approved. Hugh McCulloch, Secretary of the Treasury.” The exemption in series 4, No. 7, is as fol lows : Distillers of brandy from apples, peaches, or grapes, exclusively, are subject to the same taxes and rates of tax as other distillers. They must register their stills, give the notice and file the bond required of other distillers, but are exempted from the additional requirements imposed upon other distillers who are not the owners of the fee of the distillery premises, and will not be required to furnish the plan re quired by section 9. Tbe survey must be made as required by section 10. They will be held subject to all the requirements of the law as to the assessment, collection or ascertainment of ' the tax due, and providing for the keeping of the books, and tor re:urns, except that instead of making returns iri-monthly they will make return on form 15 on the first day of each and every month, or wlthlu five days thereafter, and the tax on the spirits distilled by them during the period embraced in their returns must be . paid at the time of making their return. When , stamps shall be provided they must oe affixed as provided in other cases, and the tax paid , stamp must be affixed by the gauger before the spirits are removed from the distillery, and , until stamps are furnished the spirits must be , inspected and branded or marked, as in other cases, betore the same are removed from the distillery. They will not be required to provide a bond ed warehouse, nor to remove the spirits pro duced by them from the distillery to a bonded i warehouse, nor to erect receiving cisterns in the distillery. They will be exempt from any . penalty for non-complinnce with any of the provisions of see l ion 17; and also the provi , slons of section 22, in relation to suspending ’ work ; nor will they be subject to the per diem , capacity tax imposed by section 13 after the I ■ ■■ Queen Isabella succeeded to the throne at the death of her father, on the 29th of Septem . ber, 1833, and on the same day of 1868 the re . volution ended her reign. Os her infamous . private character, the London Times says: i “ Immorality might have been pardoned, not . so indecency; and the Queen has not had the , wisdom to hide her offenses behind the vale of decorum.” A French writer is still sharper i and more severe; he says that if it were necea , sary for him to refer to the incidents of Isa- ■ bella’s life, he would be compelled, for de r cency’s sake, to write of them in Latin. As , to the language and epithets which the Spani i ards themselves apply to their ex-Queen, they ; are frightful. The falls of Idaho are four hundred yards , wide and leap two hundred and ten feet in one b unbroken mass, almost equaling Niagara. [ , ; r (From the Richmond Whig. Chestnuts 'and Goober Peas. We observe that some writer in the Southern Planter and Farmer recommends the introduc tion among us of the Spanish and French chestnut. This might not be as absurd as the importation of blackberries into Virginia, where, in the present state of labor, it is a life and death straggle in many sections to prevent them from possessing the "whole land. But we would not be too positive in discouraging the growth of any spontaneous fruits. In the mu tinous spirit manifested by labor the world over, it may tome to pass that we may be de pendent for subsistence upon those products which nature yields without an effort. A man’s subsistence may come to be estimated, as in primeval times, by his heap of acorns. We hear, too, that in some counties in North Caro lina, famous for fheir high-priced tobacco, dried blackberries yield a greater amount of money than the crop of tobacco. That should admonish us of tbe importance of utilizing lit tle things as well ns great. Still, we think the active varieties, to the manor born, and which know how to do so well without work, are suf ficient without foreign aid. But to the Spanish chestnuts; they may have one advantage over ours ; they are about four times as large, and one roasted will stay hun ger twenty-four hours, which makes the report of famine in Spain sound strangely. But they are acrid and bitter as soot, and* unfit to be eaten raw. And we are not aware that they would flourish in this climate. The suggestion of tbe Planter, however, re minds us that we have too much neglected the propagation ot our own chestnut. At present the tree is not found much lower than a line running North and South, and- crossing at Point of Forks or the mouth of the Rivanna river. And what Is strange, is that the limit of the chestnut downwards is the limit of the mocking bird upwards, except in the case of rare stragglers. But the chestnut would flour ish iu every portion of Virginia. It is very easily propagated. If planted when gathered, or if the natural moisture of the nut is pre served by being kept in sand, it readily germi nates ; but, if once dried, tbe germinating pow er is extinct forever. It is a rapid grower, and in seven to ten years will make rails that never rot. In most of the Piedmont region it is the pre vailing tree of the forest, and at this season of the year every Nelsonian has his pockets full ot chestnuts, which be munches at leisure, with philosophical composure. Wish some of them would send us a bushel, with Pilot apples or Pippins to match—such apples as grow no where else in the world except in the adjoining county of Albemarle or the Garden of the Hes peridee. We would state, for the information of the philosophic historian of “ Bacon and Greene," that the chestnut is a very healthy and jocund fruit—sublimating and etherealizing— the darling of boys, old or young, who have sound molars, and makes them as lively and nimble as crickets. ■ Speaking of nuts and the Doctor, reminds me that the aforesaid historian wishts to know something about aodber peas— those famous nuts indissolubly associated with all the orator ical glories of old Virginia. In fact, so closely connected in the past were great speeches in the Hall of Delegates with the rattling of pea hulls, that the impression became universal that the former were Indebted to the latter for all their inspiration and their loftiest flights. We reter the Doctor for their natural history to standard works on gardening. We will only mention an incident growing out of them connected with one of the most useful and em inent men to whom Virginia has given birth— the late Edmund Ruffin— Tertius e ccelo cecidit Cato —who proved his patriotic sensibilities and his devotion to his country by refusing to survive its liberties— Catonis nobile letum! Mr. Ruffin was a large farmer, on a large scale, and marl was his hobby, and a very no ble one it was. Some fifteen or eigb teeny ears ago he had published some statistics ot the agricultural products of various countries, with a view of showing the advantages of marl.— In these statistics no account was taken of goober peas; no thought of such an item had ever occurred to his brain, which had a high patrician disdain for every species of villainous huckstering. By some means or other, the statistics were brought before the House of Delegates. The then worthy mem ber from the good old county of Southampton (Dr. Pretlow), whose great staple and main staff of life is the .goober pea, could not en dure the slight put upon his constituents by the grievous omission. He proudly and de fiantly asserted tbe politico-economic and com mercial value of the goober pea, and claimed for it a pre-eminence over all the products of mother earth. And, not content with this vin dication, he carried the war into Africa, by con testing the benefits of marl, and claiming for the goober pea a vast superiority over it as a public benefactor. In the war of the giants, marl on one side and goober peas on the oth er, we happened to throw a paragraph into the Whig intimating that the goobers had rather tbe better of the argument. Years afterwards, the last time we ever saw Mr. Ruffin, he recur red to the subject, and expressed his astonish ment, his utter inability to conceive how any Virginia farmer could harbor in his head such a monstrosity. A miserable grub, with its con teniptible, petty, penny system of huckstering! In tenderness for so much sensibility, such sterling virtue and ardent patriotism, one can scarcely regret that he is spared the scenes that await us ! *l—l I—l [From the New York World. Hard Names. There is no better evidence of the depravity of human nature than the number of words used to express contemptible or infamous ch Mr. Swinton, in bis “Rambles Among Words,” devotes an interesting chapter to the words of abuse, and quotes liberally from Shakespeare, who puts a profusion of nouns and adjectives of opprobrium into the mouths of Falstafi and others. It would be supposed that there were enough legitimate terms of abuse for all practical purposes, as : wretch, monster, ruffian, scoundrel, miscreant, liar, villain, dastard, craven, coward, nincom poop, poltroon, churl, crosspatch, lout, boor, booby, idiot, varlet, flunkey, fool, bumpkin, blockhead, numbskull, jackanapes, rapscallion, rogue, scamp, blackleg, scapegrace, scapegal lows, kuave, blackguard, etc. For the pur poses of dignified political argument in some journals the words “ liar” and “ villain” seem to suffice. But the vocabulary of slang opened a fresh fund of Billingsgate. Would not the gentlest of our readers feel his angry passions rise if he were caVed “aflat,” “a stick,” “a looney,” “a foo-foo,” “a softie,” “a cake,” “ a sop,” “ a spooney,” “ a quill,” “ a noodle,” “ a squirt,” “ a swell,” “ a guy.” “a hit,” “a beat,” “a sucker,” “a scalawag,” “a blather skite,” “ a shyster,” “ a dead duck,” “ a duffer,” “ a bloat,” “ a moke,” “ a shrimp,” “ a cod fish,” “a lummux,” “a lubber,” “a pumpkin,” “ a squash,” “ a blower,” “ a bummer,” “ a buffer,” “a son of a gun,” “a lunk-head,” “ a muffin-head,” “a cabbige-head,” “a bull-bead,” “ajolter-head,” “a chowder-head,” “achuckle head,” “a stick-in-the-mud,” “an old muff,” “an old codger,” “an old shaek,” or “an old rip?” Would he not prefer to be designated as “a brick,” “a trump,” “no sloutch.” “no sardine,” ‘,*a hunkey boy,” “a gay duck,” or “ some pumpkins ?” It should be known that “ a gay duck ” bears no more resemblance to “a dead duck ” than “a pumpkin” does to “ some pumpkins.” None ot the epithets given above quite equals that which occurs in a re markable volume of blank verse, by John M. Dagnall, in which Athol, the hero, declares : We’ll yet lower the pride of That pusillanimous puke! The Albany Argus describes this kind of verse as the true epic, or rather epic-ac. The same author gives an address supposed to be deliv ered by a secession general to his troops, in which he directs them when they find a “ das tard Yankee, wounded, bleeding out his crayen spirit on the ground Let all our breath be charged With Anaer’s poison; and, like a serpent, * Hiss Into his ears the venom'd bane: You damn’d Sneaking, lily-livered Yankee, die; We no quarter give, no me.cy have For nigger thieves; then with your bayonets pin Him to the ground. Daniel Webster used “ soft” in a sense simi lar to that of the word “ softie.” In his speech at Richmond, October 5,1849, during the Whig convention, he said: “If there be any question or questions on which you and 1 differ in opin«- ion, these questions are not to be the topie df discussion to-day. No; we are not soft enough for that.” Long before that, “ soft ” was heard in England as a synofiyme of “foolish.” John Calvin used such terms as “hog,” “ass,” “horse,” “bull,” “drunkard,” .“mad man,” to designate those who disagreed with him. Luther called Calvin a declaimer, and Calvin responded: “Your whole school is noth ing but a stinking stye of pigs. Dog! Do yon understand me ? Do you understand me, mad man ?” Do you understand me, you great beast ?” Chinese Temples—The Future Life —Wo- men Have no Souls—Luck Blocks—Fira Crackers and Worship. “ Carleton,” in his last letter to the Boston Journal, gives the following graphic sketch of the Chinese temples in Canton : It would take us a long time to visit all the idol temples, or “joss houses,” as they are called. The word “J6se” is not a Chinese word, but a corruption of the Latin word Deus— first used by the Portuguese; the Chi nese would not understand us were* we to use the term. A look into one or two oi the tem ples will be sufficient lor our curiosity.—• Every city in China has one, which is called the City Temple, dedicated to the god of the city, and these are more resorted to than those of any other god. Going up into the heart of the town, we find the temple on one of the principal streets.— There is such a crowd in front of it that we can hardly get along—not worshippers, but here at the entrance are gamblers, fortune tellers by the score, quack doctors, hucksters of all sorts. Near by a. man is keeping up a tremendous racket on a big drum, and calling upon the crowd to come and see a tiger and other curiosities which he has on exhibition.— On both sides of the wide passage are rooms containing plaster images, which tell the story of the future lite, as the Bhuddists understand it—the torments of the wicked. One man is being ground up in a grist-mill. The devils are turning the stone, and the victim has been put in head-formost. You see only his legs and feet sticking out of the hole in the stone. These people believe in the transmigration of souls—that is, that the wicked will live in the future in tbe shape of oxen, asses, monkeys, snakes and all sorts of animals, and here is the representation of the change. A boy is Chang- £ ing to a dog; one man has just begun to take on the head of an ox; another has become an ass—nothing very strange in that, perhaps yon will say. We see no women or girls taking the form of donkeys or other shapes, for they be lieve that women have no souls. There is enough about this temple to keep us staring by the hour—great gilt idols, fifteen feet high; long crimson streamers hanging from the roof; hundreds of small gilt images —the goddess of flowers, with her thirty muses ; room after room hung with flags and banners, covered with strange devices ; rooms where the story-tellers are sitting with listen ing crowds around them. • There is a woman worshipping before the idol, throwing upon the ground two pieces of wood, which are flat on one side and round on the other—they are luck blocks; if one flat surface and one round surface is the result of the throw, tbe day will be lucky. She tries them three times—they are against her. She rises, lights a paper, touches off a bundle of fire-crackers, and ber worship is done. So ■ many fire-crackers are let off throughout the : city, as acts of worship, that it is like a Fourth 1 of July all the time. ’ Were there time we might have a long talk about the temple of the Five Genii, also the 1 five-storied pagoda, the temple of the Five Hundred Gods; also we might talk of the 1 flower gardens, where the shrubs are trained in ! the forms of goats, horses, dragons, and a great many other shapes. We might ramble through these narrow streets for a week, and we should all the time come upon something new and strange, which would call forth our wonder, and perhaps make us laugh outright. Don Juan Prim. Public opinion in Europe and in this coun try points to Prim as the leading spirit in the Spanish revolution. We find a sketch of him in the French Courier, which gives a more fa vorable representation of him than we have met with before. He was born in Catalonia of a noble family in 1814. When 17 years old he became a vol unteer in Queen Isabella’s army, and took a a very active part in the seven years’ civil war which followed. He was at home in the battle field, and rapidly rose to the rank of colonel. He was very popular in the army, and was in debted very much for his popularity to his good fortune. He exposed himself to every danger, and was riddled by Dalls, I ut was never seriously hurt. His w onderful escapes exited the admiration of his comrades, who came to fancy be bore a charmed life. The war finished, Queen Christine, as Re gent, usurped all power and was banished, and was superseded by Espartero. Th« Progress ists, of whom Prim was one, were dissatisfied with Espartero. He fled to France ; returned and raised a revolt against tbe Regent, (Espar tero,) whom he succeeded in overthrowing. But the Queen mother, whom he had restored could not forgive his liberalism, had him ar rested and charged with a plot to assassinate Narvaez, of which he was convicted, and sen tenced to six years’ imprisonment. After six months he was released, and went to Constan tinople to aid the Turk against the Russian. On his return he joined O’Donnel in subvert ing the ministry of Narvaez. He was principal in the war against Morocco, and gained great renown. He was made Gran dee of Spain of the first class, and Marquis of Castillejos. Very rich by his marriage, he might have spent a pleasant life; but public affairs did not move to suit him. During late years the reactionary policy of Narvaez and Bravo made him expatriate himself. After rambling over France and Belgium, he settled in London, whence he might have returned at any time if he had only signified a willingness to support the Ministry. That he refused to do—preferring to await the revolution. He is of medium height, solidly built, rather pale, with eyes of great softness and singularly expressive. His sobriety is proverbial. He drinks no wine, smokes not more than one cigar a day, and is very domestic in his habits. While in London he rarely went out, spending most of his time with his wife and children. Some journals have represented him as a Re publican. In this they are mistaken. He is a Spanish Progressist or Liberal. If he declared against Queen Isabella it was because he was convinced that nothing could be effected by her; but has too much good sense to think that a country in the condition of Spain is c ipable of being a Republic. ~ I I. I Almost Incredible.—The municipality of Jastebeceny, in Austria, has issued the follow ing decree: “Swearing and blaspheming being thereat cause of earthquakes, it is hereby forbidden to all, whomsoever it be, to swear or blaspheme under penalty of receiving twenty-five lashes, and being fined the sum of twenty-five florins.” We give the above on the authority of a French paper. If the statement be true, which seems almost impossible, Austria can hardly have made much progress in the path of civili zation since the dark days of the Middle Ages, when poor old women, even in England, were thrown into a pond wheqaccused of practicing witchcraft, and if drowned were declared to be innocent, but if they escaped drowning were pronounced guilty, and burned as witches, in either case losing their lives. Why is Austria so much behind the age? Is it because she has been for such a lengthened period deprived of the blessings of liberty ? If so, let us hope now that the day of freedom seems to be breaking on her horizon, that the masses of hen people will learn the lesson with which the least educated of our own citizens are familiar, namely, that all natural effects are the results of natural causes, and that, as Pope says, when speaking, in his Essay on Man, of earthquakes swallo wing up nations, *** * { Acta not by natural, but by general laws.” oiji. F, Jpunnti, .-•00,1. od ul b-jli-Js at L ~,j ;
