Newspaper Page Text
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From the Chronicle A Sentinel.
The Cotton Tax BUI.
Editor* Chronicle A Sentinel :
From the “ House of Representatives,
Washington, D. C., April 10th,” there
issued a “card from the Hon. A. T.
Mclntyre, member of Congress from
Georgia,” about the “ Cotton Tax Bill,"
and addressed to the editors of the
Constitution. This card is in reply to
an invitation from that paper, after
publishing the “ cotton tax bill” which
is now pending tha action of Congress,
which demands the refunding of certain
taxes collected by the Government of
the United States on raiv cotton during
the years 1865-'67-’8 for the “ zealous
support ” of every member and Senator
from Georgia and her sister Southern
States. The editor, in his comments,
says : “ We cannot doubt but the bill
will get this support." The object and
purport of the “ card" is to inform the
editor and commentator that he (A. T.
Mclntyre), a member of the House of
Representatives from Georgia, cannot
give his support to the bill, and pro
ceeds to publish his objections to the
bill. Now, with all due deference to
the legal acumen and sound judgment
of this Representative of the South and
of Southern interest, I must say that he
certainly labors under a misapprehen
sion and misconception of the true
merits, intent and purport of this bill.
So far as I have been advised, and I
have had ample opportunities of testing
and ascertaining the full intent, scope
and animus of those who are engaged
in this great and laudable work —l
mean the recovery of the money paid by
the Cotton States as a tax upon its pro
duction—l say that the framers of this
bill arc as truly and soundly conjoined
and identified with the planting interest
as the Hon. A. T. Molntyr" can pos
sibly be. Now I must admit that lam
not personally acquainted with the Hon.
Member from the First Congressional
District of Georgi.*, and in this I may
l_ ~,M myself unknfwn ; but Ido know,
jtnang years , in-
living upon the productions of his farm,
and the right of which there is none
to dispute. He is also a lawyer of very
considerable renown and a statesman of
the first water, considered worthy to be
S laced second on the ticket with Stephen
- Douglas, the Little Giant of the
West. But while he has given his time
and his great talents to the cause and
the interest of his country, like his fast
friend, Hon. A. H. Stephens, he much
prefers the quietude and the indepen
dence of “home, sweet home.”! But
while he looks out upon his broad acres,
waving in the green cereals of Spring
and Summer, or in Autumn and Winter
time upon the snow white dominions of
king cotton, he does not ignore the
claims upon the Government of the
loom, the spindle, the mechanic arts
and all the industries of the country !
The choice made of the Hon. Herschel V.
J ohnson-wern ine confradiccntc-an Presi
dent of the first Agricultural Congress
of the Southern States, is proof con
clusive of the stronghold he has upon,
and the high appreciation in which he is
held by the planting interest. Beside
this, his public and private record would
forbid suspicion that he would be privy
to any arrangement or scheme which
was morally wrong and which would
work injury and injustice to any man or
set of men, much less would he be the
prime mover— yea, the head and front
in this offending, while his talents are
of the highest order, a shining and a
beacon light in the pathway of his pil
grimage of life, and in whose orbit lesser
lights would do well to travel; while
his mind is a vast house of useful
knowledge, and capable of comprehend
ing the entire workings of any measure.
His big heart has been too long respond
ing to just and holy impulses to delibe
rately and with knowledge aforethought
devise and concoct a scheme for de
frauding any portion of his fellow-citi
zens, even a respectable minority of
them. Far be it then from him to go
before the Court or Congress with the
deliberate intention of defrauding a
large majority of his countrymen, en
red in the very same interest in which
too is concerned. A “ producer"
himself, having felt in his own pocket
the effects of this unjust and burden
some exaction, and his legal knowledge
satisfying his mind that tie “ tax laic ”
was unjust and illegal, he, in common
with liis brother “producers, ’’uniteand
ask for the refunding of the money thus
unjustly and unconstitutionally demand
ed and required to be paid. But as
Governor Johnson has never been ac
cused of selfishness, much less of covet
ing that which was his neighbor's, and
seeing that the producer was not the
only party who had paid this cotton
BANNER OF THE SOUTH AND PLANTERS’ JOURNAL.
tax, he so frames his bill “that all who
have paid this tax shall be- recognized
as justly claiming and entitled to its re
turn. I, too, am a producer, and while
I knew that upon the production of
| the Cotton States fell the onus of
] the tax, yet I knew, too, that parties
other than producers paid this tax.
There were parties in Georgia, and I
suppose in all the Cotton States, who had
invested large sums of money in cotton
during the war, and just after its close,
and anterior to the passage of the tax
law. In other cases the cotton tax law
worked no injury to the producers who
had sold their cotton, and received
therefor the full market value. Subse
quent to this the tax law was passed,
and upon this identical cotton the
buyer had to pay the tax. To state the
case more fully, in 1864 John Jones
(a cotton buyer) purchased of John
Smith a lot of cotton at the ruling
rates, in 1865 Congress passed the tax
law, which, in its operation, hunts up
this identical lot of cotton still in the
possession of John Jones, and requires
of him tbe tax, and Jones pays it. Now
upon whom does the burden fall here ?
Certainly and only upon Jones, not
upon Smith, who sold his cotton for its
par value and anterior to the passage
of the tax law. Now we say that John
Smith is not only not entitled to the
refunding in this case, but that Smith
himself, as an honest man, does not so
hold or desire. But Smith continued to
grow cotton in 1865, ’66 and ’67, and up
on the production of these years is levied
this tax, and here the producer and the
buyer come in, and in this bill of Governor
Johnson, ask Congress to return to
them that which was unjustly required
of them. Now while tbe bill is pending
Congress provides for the return of say
seven-tenths of the amount paid to the
producers upon whom the burden did
actually operate. Is that any reason why
the South should loose the other three
tenths ; because found out of the pos
session of producers ? This bill provides
for all who actually paid the tax, noth
ing more and nothing less. It says give un
to Ceesar the things that are Caesar’s, etc.
The producers are entitled to and will get
the lion’s share in the division ; and
Governor Johnson’s bill so regards it,
and tbe amendment which the honorable
member from the First Congressional
District proposes will not better pro
tect the interest of the producer than is
already done ; but it will defeat the
ends of justice by withholding from other
I mg to the requirements of the law, paid
the tax, the equal benefits of this wise
legislation. Now I will go as far as,
Mr. Mclntyre or anybody else in honest-'
ly protecting what I believe to be the
best interest of agriculture. As I said, I
am a tiller of the soil, and my daily
breo<\ the product of my own farm.
But while doing this and standing up
for the rights of my fellow-producers,
I cannot and will not ignore the claims
of those of my fellow-citizens who are
just as much entitled to fair play, good
luck and honest restitution as are the
producers. Thete is and should be a
reciprocity of interest and good feeling
between producer and consumer. The
producers (particularly in an agricultu
ral country) are the bone and the sinew
of the land; but then are we not measur
ably dependent upon consumers to buy
that which we produce? I am satisfied from
the character I have had of Mr. Mclntyre
that it is his wish and intention to do
right, and a second sober judgment up
on the* merits of th is bill will satisfy
him that the interest of the producer is not
only amply protected, but that it was
this interest that first prompted and di
rected the movement. While this billis
perhaps not exactly in alii ts provisions
and details as we would have preferred
to have had it; yet under all the circum
stances and surroundings, it is a wise, dis
creet and just demand, which will come
as near doing justice to all parties litigant
as could have been framed to meet all
conflicting views. I have been taught
from infancy, that the hardest lessons
to teach is the unteachings of false
doctrines ! Byron expresses it thus:
•‘One heart laid open were a school
Which would unteach mankind the lust to shine
or rule."
Now this bill seeks to reverse past
legislation ; asks for the “ correction of
error ” in the Congress “ below." While
another great poet has said “to err is
human," we also know that men are
slow to admit that they have erred.
Now, of this bill for instance, no doubt
our people who are very poor and hard
pressed, would have much perferred to
have it so framed as to have had the
restitution in "greenbacks" instead of
“ long-running bonds," for the simple
reason that cash to run their farms
would have been to them a great saving
as against the ruinous rates of the
“credit system.” But to use a slang
phrase, when we “ can’t get pudding we
must take pie. ” I repeat tbe assertion,
that this bill was framed in the interest j
of the producer , but also to take in and
comprehend all bone fide claimants! Men
now, in Congress I learn, who were mem
bers at the time of the passage of this tax
law, and perhaps voted for it,are now go
ing to vote for the bill on the ground that
they were mistaken as to the effects of
the tax. They did not consider it a
burden upon the producer, but a second
sober judgment has convinced them of
their error, and like honest men they
will come out boldly in advocacy of re
funding the money to all the parties
who actually paid the tax, because it
was a “direct local tax," levied upon a
“lone agricultural product” in its raw
state, and consequently worked dis
couragement and injury to the planting
interest of “one section of the Union."
Now while this is the case, that mem
bers of Congress from the North, the
East, the West, and men of note and
high standing, are coming to our aid in
the support of this bill as presented,
because they see in it only a just de
mand and a correction of an error in
past legislation (acting upon the motto
that “he who never changes his opinion
never corrects any of his error”), a mem
ber from the South, and to the “manner
born,” comes in at the eleventh hour
and throws cold water on the whole
thing, by proposing to hamper it with
an “ amendment ” that will not add one
iota to the producers’ interests, while it
will take away from this refunding sum
several millions of dollars that of a
right and in justice should be returned
to those out of whose pocket this tax was
paid. But after all is said, there is no
very great difference practically between
Mr. Mclntyre’s position and the drafters
and supporters of this bill. For, as I
understand it, the only cotton in contro
versy is or will be that on hand at the end
of the war, and held by buyers who had
paid the producers their pnee for the ar
ticle. This cotton was subsequently
taxed, and the buyer had to suffer the
loss. Since the passage of the law to
its suspension, on all the sales of cotton,
out of the gross sales this and all other
taxes were deducted, and consequently
was paid by the producers, and to them
it should and will be returned; provided
this bill passes Congress in its present
shape. There may be a few loads of
cotton sold upon the street, and for
which there may not be in the posses
sion of the producers the necessary
vouchers, etc. If the producers in these
few isolated cases fail to account for or
trace up all the cotton upon which he
has paid the tax, it is only his misfor
tune, and to him only can any blame at
tach. j
I will here fake leave of Mr. Mcln
tyre’s card wit lathis remark, that while his
zeal for the interest of the “ producer ”
t&reuykth judffincnfj I must call the
attention of the honorable member to
, the fate of the amnesty bill. As he well
knows, that lull passed by a very re
spectable majority the House: but when
it reached the Senate, this bill, which
is a measure of justice, and only justice,
to the South, was hampered and killed
finally by Mr. Sumner’s amendment. If
death was not designed by Mr. Sumner,
it was certainly and only a piece of par
liamentarism, which was to secure for
him in this amendment that which was
far dearer to him than the object con
templated in the original bill. It was
to make this an omnibus bill, in which
his pet schemes— his pets—all could
take a ride of “ Social Equality ”
“away down South in Dixie.” But
the effect of the amendment was —it
killed the lull / Far be it from me
to suppose that Mclntyre ever contem
plated such a wish as the defeat of this
great measure ; for that is certainly to
be regarded a great and wise states
manship that proposes to return to the
desolated and impoverished South 65,-
000,000 of money tliat justly belongs to
her. I honestly believe that nine liun
dred and ninety-nine producers out of
every one thousand are satisfied with
this bill as read, and are not only
anxious to have it “pass,” but who will
accept it as wise legislation and a pledge
of friendship. But in this farewell to
Mclntyre, I have just seen an expres
sion of opinion from his District, and
coming from one of the oldest papers,
and a deservedly popular one, I feel
authorized to bring this in as a rebutter
to Mr. Mclntyre's rejoinder to the bill.
It is to lie found in the Savannah Re
publican. I will only give a few ex
tracts. The Republican says : “From a
“ careful examination of ‘ this Sill, it
“ seems to cover and proride for all par
“ ties interested—planters, freedmen
“ factors, shippers, etc.,” and concludes
with this : “We shall not stop to no
“tiee the representations and complaints
“ of letter-writers to the effect that the
cotton tax claims have been bought by
“ speculators, aid that producers will
“get nothing. There are pretty certain
*to be outgivings from the enemies of
*“L e bill. We have no regard for them.
\Ve have no idea that a single claim
' has been bought. No doubt law
yers and others have agreed to
collect,, if possible, for liberal eon
„ S? gent fees J this is all proper.
6 P eo Ple have aright to procure
the collection upon any tern's they may
<< .r r i °P er - We are, therefore, in
.. iw-2 s an *' 'we repeat our hope
that it will be supported by every man
m Congress from the Southern States ”
In conclusion, I will only add my testi
mony to the words of truth and sober
ness above. The bill is a good one, and
will, if passed in its present shape, “ se
cure substantial justice to the Southern
people,” and will unite in the wish ex
pressed by the Republican, “ that our
this) member in Congress will give it a
zealous support:” I have myself mixed
a good deal with the people, and heard
many discussions upon this tax bill, and
I can truthfully say that I have never yet
heard of the first sale by any producer
of his claim. The South needs more
hanking capital, and Georgia says to
Congress, pass this bill—give us your
“ 40 year 5 per cent, gold bonds,” and
we will square accounts with you here,
and say thank you too.
A Tax-Payer.
WALLS AND THEIR COVERINGS.
In the old days of wainscots, when
every room of any pretensions to ele
gance was banded with light or dark
wood to a height of three or four feet
from the base, it was far easier to ef
fectively ornament the portion of wall
left uncovered than it is when an un
broken surface sweeps, as now, from
floor to ceiling.
If the pattern which covers this sur
face be large and positive, the effect is
to lessen the apparent size of the room,
and confuse with vulgar repetition. If,
on the contrary, it is small and incon
spicuous, there is a wearisome effect of
monotony displeasing to a trained eye.
Even if the paper be of plain tint, and
intended merely as a background for
pictures, Ac., the effect is enhanced by
contrast and breaks in surface. There
are various methods to produce this re
sult, as for instance :
A space corresponding to the ancient
wainscot is left to the height of three or
four feet above the floor, and filled in
with paint or paper of solid color, har
monizing or contrasting with that which
is used on the upper part of the wall.
This is usually topped with a wooden
mouldiug to Berve as a “ chairing,”
above which the lower tint of plain
gray, pearl, green is repeated in sub
dued pattern, the surface being broke
at top and bottom by a narrow band of
contrasting color.
Or, again : The paper, which is of
any quiet shade, is relieved above and
below by a broad band of velvet paper
in rich, deep color, which, running also
up the comer of the room, frames the
large panels. This plan is sometimes
carried out very effectively.
Another w»y is to paper in three hori
zontal bands, the lower being of dark
brown, simulating wainscot, the next of
plain green or fawn, as background for a
line of pictures, and the upper of deli
cate, fanciful pattern, finished at the
cornice by soft fresco tints.
Os these three plans we should recom
mend the first to people of moderate
means and tastes. It costs no more to
paper the lower part of a wall with plain
paper than with figured; the strip of
moulding at the top adds little to the
expense, and the prettiness and effect of
the whole is infinitely enhanced by the
use of a cheap and simple method.
Paint versus paper is a point on which
rival housekeepers disagree. Very beau
tiful results can certainly be attained by
paint, but the real beautiful ones are la
borious and usually expensive. Kalso
miue, which is a process of water-eolor
mg, gives extremely pretty effects, and
for ceilings, cornices, or any place not
exposed to much nibbing and scraping
is sufficiently permanent. The process
of sanding paint and painting over the
sand produces a depth and richness of
color only equalled by velvet paper, and
far superior to that in durability.
Stenciling on wood, on rough plaster,
and on paint, is so cheap and excellent
a method of decoration that we wonder
it is not more often resorted to. A row
of encaustic tiles are often set, in Eng
lopd, as a finish at top of wainscoting.
Ihese tiles, which are but little used
among us, are susceptible of many
graceful applications to the ornamenta
tion of houses, and we hope the time
will come for their fuller introduction
on this side of the ocean.
The tone of the ceiling should be light
er than that of the wall, and the tone of
the wall lighter than that of the floor.
Attention to this simple law would ob
viate the distressing effect occasionally
produced in modem houses, when, by
reason of the lightness of the carpet and
the heaviness of the fresco, the room
seems m danger of falling in upon itself
and its inhabitants. —“Home and So
defy," Scribnei’s for May.
At a literary dinner in London, where
Thackeray and Angus B. Reach were vis-a
vis at table, Tliackarav—who had never be
fore met Mr. Reach—addressed him as Mr.
Reach —pronouncing the name as its orthog
raphy would naturally indicate. “Re-aek
sir, lie-ack, if you please. ” said Mr. Reach,
who is punctilious upon haring his name
pronounced in two syllables, as if spelled
Ke-ack. Thackeray of course apologized,
and corrected his pronunciation; but in the
course of the dessert , he took occasion to
hand a plate of fine peaches across the table,
a which only he possessed,
-Mr. Re-ack, will you take a pe-ack? ”
GEORGIA ITEMS.
Dr. Lovick Pierce commenced a series
of sermons in Rome on Wednesdav
night.
Mrs. Sabiah Hemphill, aged one hun
dred years and twenty-two days, died
near Rome on Sunday, 12th.
The Gwinnett Herald says Colonel
Winn has secured the right of way
through the county for the Ocmulgee
and North Georgia Railroad Company,
and forwarded the books to headquar
ters at Macon.
On the evening of the 10th, in Rome,
a little daughter of Major John H. Dent
was burned to death by the upsetting of
a kerosene lamp. The hands of the
father and mother were badly burned in
the effort to save their child*
The Columbus Enquirer says : Mr.
Herman, who resides a mile above Girard,
is turning his attention extensively to
the growing of silk worms, he having
two rooms of his house literally alive
with them. We understand he will send
the products to France to silk manufac
turers. He also contemplates sending
there, this Summer, thousands of the
eggs of these insects to be hatched next
Spring.
This is from the Atlanta Constitution:
We have before ns a circular from Capt.
Henry Jackson, from which we learn
that he will publish an Analytical Index
of the Reports of the Supreme Court of
Georgia, from the Ist to the 40tli vol
ume, inclusive. The price of the work
will be 87 50, bound; $6 50, unbound.
But a limited number will be printed,
and orders in advance would insure re
ceipt of copy. Works of this character
are indispensable to lawyers, and we
have no doubt that Capt. Jackson’s will
be decidedly meritorious.
On the 6th instant, Mr. Price present
ed to Congress the memorial of Governor
Smith, praying for the payment of mon
ey due by the Government of the United
States to the State of Georgia for the
Atlantic and Great Western Railway,
the property of the State of Georgia, by
the authorities of the United States since
the war. Also, a bill authorizing the
Secretary of the Treasury to pay to the
State of Georgia 8300,000, orsuch a sum
as may be found due, for the use of said
road as above. Both bill and memorial
were referred to the Committee on
Claims, and ordered to be printed.
r SOUTH CAROLINA ITEMS.
Mrs. Broadwater, widow of the late
Guy Broadwater, died at Edgefield C.
H., on Saturday last, after prolonged
suffering from an attack of paralysis.
Dr. Peake, the School Commissioner
of Fairfield county, informs the Winns
boro News that he is compelled to close
the free schools in that county on the
17th instant.
On Friday, the 10th instant, the dwel
ling of Mr. Wm. A. Watson, near Dry
Creek Church, in Edgefield conn tv was
destroyed by fire. The kitchen, barn,
smoke house, crib, stables and two other
out-houses, with furniture, com and fod
der, etc., were also burned. Mr. Wat-,
son’s loss is said to be 84,500, with no
insurance. The fire is thought to have
been accidental.
A mule, while being mounted by a
colored man, William Scurry, on the
plantation of Mr. Walton, near Phillippi
Chnrch, Edgefield county, became
frightened and ran away, dragging the
unfortunate man by one leg, which
caught in the gear, a distance of some
two hundred yards. Scurrv was so bad
ly braised that he lived only about two
hours.
Curiosities in Rates of Freight. A
prominent wholesale dry goods mer
chant in this city has all liis goods ship
ped from New York via Savannah,
through this city to Nashville ; and then
from Nashville back to Atlanta !
The freight he pays for this long trans
portation and reshipment amounts to
less than if shipped to Atlanta.
And while the goods were passing
through here on their way to Nashville,
he offered to pay the whole freights for
the grand rounds, if he could have the
goods delivered to him here without be
ing sent on to Nashville and back, but
the local railroad authorities hail no
such discretion, and could not accommo
date him, but sent the goods forward,
and in a few days they were returned
here to their final destination, and prop
erly delivered.
A prominent merchant in .Alabama
some twenty or thirty miles from Co
lumbus, has all his Western produce
shipped from St. Louis, Cincinnati,
Louisville, Ac., through his town to
Columbus, and then from Columbus back
to him. It costs less than if shipped
directly to him.
We have no object in view in men
tioning this matter save only to notice
what seems to us to be anomalous in the
carrying trade of the countrv. The
men who arrange freight schedules
doubtless understand their business.
We confess frankly that we do not, and
therefore have no criticism to make and
no suggestions to offer. We only men
tion the curious fact.— -Atlanta Sun