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m ■ ■■ — 7- ~ —‘ — JOURNAL AND MESSENGER. CLISBY & JONES, Proprietors. THE FAMILY JOURNAL—NEWS—POLITICS- LITERATURE—AGRICULTURE—DOMESTIC NEWS, Etc.—PRICE $2.00 PER ANNUM. GEORGIA TELEGRAPH BUILDING ESTABLISHED 1826- MACON, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1880 VOLUME NO— L V Politics at the Uf-BoUln;. I blebcs dat any nigger’s in a sorry sort-o’ way Dat swallows all de racket dat de politi cians say i For I’s been a grown up cullud man sum forty years or so, An I’s heard ’em make de same old ’ser- tions heap o’ times bcfo’. Dar’s lots o’ cttssed foolishness and gassln’ any way, ’Bout bustin’ up de coustercbuslon eb ry ’lection day; ’Cause I gib it as de notion ob a plain an’ humble man,: .. ' Y Dat de gub’ment an’ de country, too, is tough enough to stan’, I nebcr takes more polertics dan one good man can tote, And I don’t need any ’visin’ when I go to drapmy vote; «- .... I talks wld all de canerdates, an’ tell ’em what I choose, But I goes in on de side dat gib3 de big gest bobbykews1 Scribner’s Monthly. THE VICLODS WIFE. PRACTICE IS A GEORGIA CRIM INAL COURT. ' Harry bone rut a Boporter. BY “X. I. E.” Bibb County Court— State of Georgia f wife .1 ^TUhnar^Sarapson, colored. 1 Beating. “ i ou don’t see anything startling that, I suppose.” Marrybone paused, lit his cigar, and, with one foot poised gracefully on the railing of the hotel porch, sat si lently watcliiug the stars: “Well, I ad mit that it pretents no extraordinary points, as 1 have stated. I am told that all through the docket may be found sim ilar records, yet this case was shrouded with an interest peculiar to. itsfelf: You see the colored aristocracy were shocked, for the parties were from that fashionable resort well known under the classic name of Gum Swamp. This settlement does riot appear on the State map. Why it is, the colored mind has never been able to comprehend; yet, the fact that Gum Swamp exists is indisputable. I have been there. It lies east of Macon, on the county line. No gushing spring, charged with licaliug powers, tempts the moneyed gentlemen of color to invest their few dol lars there; no brown stone fronts-look out ,ipC" fashionable drives, nor does the fickle tide p!:jfully toss its white caps upon the woolly pat?2. Science tells os that the tide went out and ha; return- cd for a thousand years, and even colon!., capitalists in search of seaside building lots, will not purchase while the possibil ity of its returning is so faint. No; here reside the gentlemen, descendants of that ancestor who was left ont in the dark, to dry. Day after day they go forth into the fields and watch **•/■«» cotton ana the corn, while the owners of the land go to town and borrow money to support them in their leisure;- and there on the swamp edge ascends the smoke of their castles. No one save the ignorant would ever mistake the aristocratic dwelling In Gum Swamp for thcplebian; one unacquainted with the rules of good ■ colored society might, because the houses have a strange resemblance to each other—log pen, two room houses. To be sure they are alike, but the chimneys, ah! some are brick and some merely frame-wood plastered with mud. That, gentlemen, that, is the di viding line between blue blood and the canaille. You think, possibly, that the group of ragged piccaninnies are staring at you. So they are, but not at your charms. They are waiting to see the ex pression of wonder on your face—the awe struck gaze—the shadow of grandeur, that majestic architecture always casts upon the tonrist when first confronted by its graceful proportions. They are waiting to sec the effect that the brick chimney has upon you, just as the Roman guide smiles with superiority when he brings a party before St. Peters; for of all things earthly to the Gum Swamper, jr., the brick chimneys are the grandest.” “You can imagine,” gentlemen, contin ued Marrybone, ro-ligbting his cigar, which, during this outburst had gone out, “the stir in Gum Swamp, when • rumor like wildfire flashed through the place, that Tillman Sampson had been arrested for wife beating—(ar rested at church two miles off, pro baby, because Till’s fence was the county line, and more than once had served as a bar rier twirl him and the law)—Tillman Sampson, who livfed la a house with a brick chimney. What was the country coming to ? The grannies who sat in the door ways, for it was Sunday, ceased their search around the roots of the kinks that adorn the juvenile swampers’ heads, ceased cracking jokes, and turned their spectacled, wonder-stretched eyes, upon the news-bearer. Little Swampers, thus released, stood around him in open mouth ed wonder, each absently searching for the industrious red bug through his one greasy garment—garment which was ’.he very soul of wit—and then went off in chattering groups to view again the brick chimneys. Alas! it was too true. The John Jacob Astor, the Brummcll, the Chesterfield of Gum Swamp, was in the clutches of the law. Gum Swamp was .divided instantly into two factions. One half went off to side with and encourage the wife, at whose instance the arrest wa3 made, and who had directed the bailiff to the spot where Till, was engaged in his devotions —to other women—the other to sympathize with Old Kiah and Tildy, the afllicted parents of the imprisoned Sampson. Old Tildy was achast at this stain upon the Sampson escutcheon. “’Fore God, Kiab,” she said, “Ise neb- ber ’spected, ’wen I tuk dat gal out’n de cott’n patch, en gin her er a hous’ wid a brie* chimbley, dat dis day would cum.” “Xcbber you mine, old ’omatt,, i ’bout dat, dis by ah bisness dun cum, au’ got to be got Iru wid./-I’m gwine to townAis hvah very cummin’ day an’ -git me a white man fur to law de case. \Vhar dat stockin’ ?” ___ Old Tildy produced a dilapidalcd hose and early da’wn saw Old Kiah scanning with anxious eye the various law signs In the city. "Ah, gentlemen, the good book w as correct when It said: “It is an evil generation that seeketh after a sign.’ Once before he-bad been involved in court and, I regret to say, as defendant in a hog stealing case. The yejing lawyer, whose eloquence- bad earned nis silver dollar, had also earned Ills everlasting gratitude and confidence. He knew his sigu by the peculiar ornaments npon it, and made his way upstairs. The door was locked. The legal mind was doubt less, at that moment, acquiring force and refreshment in sleep. Somefaint wonder arose in the old'man's min'd that Philus Sharp could be absent from his- post, when Tillman Sampson, of Gum Swamp, languished in jail, but he quieted himself until, set within the circle of a white stiff collar, the legal head appeared above the steps. The confidential arrangements between client and counsel are Inviolable and cannot be touehed upon even were the facts known. It is presumable, though, that the old stocking sbed from its capa- — — , — - clous folds—heaven bless the large legged not hide from the jury the fact that a —i_i > -si Attk.. » -aaJ JaaI aT IvAaiinn tiai) ♦ a Iron nl a whose leg was withdrawn from mundane paths. It is presumable also that these “dolIars*of our daddies” found a new home in legal habiliments. Knowing, however, the abstemiousness that manes the conduct of our lawyers, It is neither charitable nor wise to presume that later In the day they were exchanged for the “spirit of our ancestors”—onr ancestors never drank beer. “Oh yes! Oh yes! The Bibb county conrt is now open; God bless the State and His Honor, the Jedge.” Such was the prayer, gentlemen, the bailiff offered up before serving the court with his daily hash, and'such was the cry that fell upon the ears of the Gum Swampers who, from beyond the rai 1 , gazed in vast num- bers upon the privileged few within. I sat within and near the rail, and to this short prayer responded, “Amen.” “Strike the Jury!” exclaimed the Judge, who sat upon the throne toying with a small croquet mallet. The jury sat over to the left, but did not appear much alarmed. While I was waiting to see the one man bold enongh to tacklo twelve, I heard a whispering outside the rail: “What fur he gwine to strik’umfur, Unc’ Kiah?” Old Kiab, whose experience bad made him a Solon among the Swampers, yet whose memory was very indistinct on his own case, he having been badly jostled, mentally, looked down 'on his questioner patronizingly: “Shaw, soney, don’t yer know how ter tell a came pup? Hole um up byde yean flat’s how dey tells er good jury- hit um; ef dey holler, den dey won’t do, honey; dey can’t lofe roun’ hyah.” “If such were really true,” whispered a young lawyer next to me, “what a lot of scarred veterans would frown from out our jury boxes.” I told him I thought so too, because, being a new hand in court business, I thought best not to appear ignorant. The Swampers were denied the pleas ure of hearing the jurors “holler.” A gentleman roso up and called out the names of twelve who took hold of a book, and listened, while another man rattled off something that sounded like a buzz saw trying to talk. Here Old Kiah was interviewed again. “Unc Kiah?” “Shr-r-r”— “What fur dey smell de book fur?” That appeared to be a stumper for Old Kiah, and he pressed the interrogatory Swamper to the rear with a second shr-r-r. nere I had timo to view the jury. Near ly all Were young men from about town, to whom the whole affair appeared to be a joke, but in the middle of the front row sat & three hundred pounder, whose fat person occupied all of bis chair and lay in folds upon its' arms. His round jovial f*ee looked like the moon at twilight, and his biji bill- e ves gazed good-naturedly throii'-h a pair of frow-r’mmed spectacles upon the scene. His hair, like tne poet’s “young companions,” was “scattered anu gone,” but the treachery did not seep*-*• welch. hioUa upon liim. ue earned a massive stick, upon whose ivory head, as he planted it firmly before him, rested his hands. Not a word escaped this juror during the course of the trial. He gave to every speaker, from the clerk to the judge, marked, nay, even cheerful atten tion. I instantly gave him the name of Pickwick. At this instant somebody began to call the names of the witnesses—Dinah Samp son, Gus Bell, Obc O’Neal,’ and ended with the command: “Come to the book.” From the sideofthe solicitor—so-called I was told from the solicitude he exliioits for getting people in jail—rose Dinah, the prosecutrix. Resignation and broken- fieartcdness strove for mastery in her gin- gercake face. Folding her hands meekly she stood before the book. A hum of ex citement rose out among the Swampers a3 a tall, well dressed darkey, answering to the name of Gns Bell (another “bricK chimbley” owner) advanced down the lane and grabbed the book. Then came a chill pestered white man and grasped the same object. The solicitor gave them the oath. “The evidence that you and each of yonr-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-selpyr God; kiss the book.” “Mr. Bailiff call Kiah Sampson, Tildy Sampson, Caesar Troup.” The bailiff called them, and in they came. “Take the book! The evidence that you and yonr-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-selpyr God kissthebook.” . “Put them nnder the rule Mr. Bailiff,” says the judge. The rule was outside I suppose, as they all went out but Dinah. I went out to see them put under the rule but the bailiff didn’t do it; he disobeyed a direct order of the court, and when I went back I mentioned it to the judge who only ordered me to sit down. Some men never can appreciate kindness. Af ter scowling at me a minute he said: “Call the first witness for, the State.” Dinah got up, but her lawyer, the solici tor, called her back. By close attention I made bis directions to be: “Cry a little for the jury if you can.” She could. She started off rapidly: “He beat me wid er pine knot, an’ boss my bed.” Here Till’s lawyer jumped up. “I object to this woman’s testimony, as she is the wife of the defendant.” Up coine the solicitor to wrangle about it, but the court tells the witness to go on. She begins once more: “He beat me wid a pme knot—” Up comes Till’s lawyer-again. His pen Is held high in air, and he gives the court a sidelong look: “I hope your honor will remember my objection?” The court gives bis word of honor that he will, and the witness goes on— “He beat me wid a pine knot, en buss my bed open, en offer me fifty cents ter tek off de bloody drcs’, en wore out ter three fut plane’ on me, an throw’d me’n my chile out’n de rode—boo-hoo-booboo- hoohoo.” The witness, who had been getting more and more wrought up, broke down. I felt moist about the eyes, but nobody else was affected. The jury waited pa tiently for a let-up in the shower, and the prisoner chewed away unconcernedly while he watched a fly navigate the ceil ing. He was a big buck negro—pardon me, a gentleman of color—and wore a blue cravat without a collar, liis court dress. His counsel in a low voice asked him camly but pointedly: “Did you?” He shook his head and devoted his atten tion once more to the fly. The solicitor here rose and turned off the shower. “Yon say he hit you with a lightwood -knot; when was that?” The witness sobbed once or twice con vulsively, and ber face resumed its origi nal meekness and serenity. “A year las’ spring—twixtde spring an’ de cole wedder.” “Where ’bouts. What county?” “Dis yer county!” “What connty is this?” “Wot county? Bibb county.” .“Who saw it, or who was present?” “Tildy Samptron an’ Unc! Kiah Samp son.” ~ . •- “And he offered yon—” “He tolc me he’d done gimme fifty cents ter tek off de dress, an’ he wore ont er three feet plane’ on me, an’ throw’d—” “Nevermind about that, just answer he questions.”- The Solicitor drew it all out in detail, and the defense cross-questioned her. He tangled her up, got her mad, but could stockings—sundry silver dollars, cither 1 good deal of beating had taken place. Old Klah’s .earnings air a legacy from one Then the defendant’s lawyer sat down. ‘‘Call Cullodious Bell.” In steps Cullodious, and the delend- ant’s lawyer rises: “I object to this witness, may it please yonr honor, on the ground of incompe- tency from youth. Will your honor ex amine her?” Collodions was about ten years old, she took her place and surveyed the court steadily. • “How old are you?” “Dunno sab?” says the court. “What are you here for?” “I cum to tell ’bout dat brie*.” Here there was a general laugh. Pick wick leans forward and smiles benignant- ly through his glasses. “Nevermind about that; where will you go if yon tell a lie?” “Dunno sab; spec’ de ole man’ll git me.” “Proceed Mr. Solicitor.” “Well, tell the jury all you know about this case.” The witness lifts her voice and sings out her testimony. “Bill Adams com up to me wid a brie’ bat in he ban’ en say, die! Cullojus! I’m gwine ter kill yer; en George Adams say, ale! Cullojus! Pm gwine ter hellpim—” The solicitor grabs his paper and jumps up— “May it please the court this witness is here through on another case; she has been called by mistake.” Exit “Cullojus,” amid a general laugh ter. “Mr. Bailiff, call Obe O’Neal.” Enters Obe. “If your honor please, this witness has been sick, and I ask that he be allowed to sit down. Take a seat Mr. O’Neal.” “Not any right now, thankee; ’ll sit down bimeby.” “Well, Mr. O’Neal, did Tillman ever make any admission to yon about whip ping his wife?” “Yes, sir; he said he hit ’er with a pine knot; he told me twice afterwards ’bout whipping ’er.” “When was it he whipped her?” “Last spring an’ las’fill.” “The witness is with yon,” says the so- licitorw The defense rises slowly but firmly. “What is vour name.” “Obe O’Neal.’.’ “Where do yon live?” “Gum Swamp.” “When did Tillman make these admis sions^ “Las’ fall a year ago. “You are positive about that?” “No, sir.' It was, I think, about Feb ruary or March.” “You are positive about that?” “Yes, sir.” The prisoner pulls his counsel’s coat tail and shakes his head. The witness further said (I give only the answer, gentlemen) “Don’t know; the next time was last year; in the spring: told mo in the swamp: nia wire, ne said, was abouC JP take out a warrant; other case was settled: tc!* ms three times; that’s all.” Exit O’Neal. “Mr. Bailiff,” says the solicitor, who sees the case progressing finely, and is consequently more suave, “will you please call Cicsar Troup.’ ’ Troup makes his entrance like a plow hand jogging home at night. There was nothing peculiar about Troup’s appear ance except his right leg. This limb ap peared to start out from his body with straightforward intentions, but ere it reached the floor had traveled towards every point of the compass. This gave an air of uncertainty to his intentions re garding the exact place where he intend ed to step. “Did you, or did you not, see Tillman Samp3ou strike hi3 wife?” “I seed ’im struck ’er wid er little piece er pine splinter, ’bout as big as my littl’ fing’r.” “When was thi3?” Witness pats his finger on his nose and fixes his eyes upon the floor in profound meditation. “Dunno, sah.” “Was it in the spring, summer, autumn or winter?” More meditation. “Dunno, sah, I spec’ it war.” “Which?” More meditation, during which the witness leaves the floor and fixes his gaze on the ceiling. “Dunno, sah.” “Had you planted your crop?” More reflection. “Dunno, sah ” “Had you gathered your crop?” Reflection as before. ‘•Dunno, sah.” “Where had you—had you been that day?” ‘•Dunno, sah.” “What— but never mind. The witness is with you.” Solicitor sits down overcome. Defense rises slowly. “What do you know about this case, anyhow?” * “Dunno, sah.” “You can go.” The solicitor announces “closed,” and the defense gets np. “Mr. Bailiff, call Kiah Sampson.” In comes Kiah like a race horse, a little old tnan without a coat; owner of a brick chimney and no coat. He takes the stand. “Is Tillman here, your son?” “Dat’s wot dey say.” Kiah tarns the palms of his hands for ward, shows his ivories and bows to the jury. Pickwick laughs and shakes the entire jury. “How far is it from your house to his?” “’Bout twenty foot, sah." “Did you ever see or hear him beat his Wife?” The witness throws his head ' to one side, rests his hands on his hips, and chuckles as if the question amuses him. “No sah! nebber did nor nobody else.” “Did you ever hear her crying and screaming?” “Nebber hyah’er cry from debeatin,’ butsbe cryen holler like a chile all de time—cry for nuthin’, en mek’ more fuss of any oom an in de swamp; datooman am dc debbil; steal! good Lori, wouldn't let ’er cam roun de hous’; steal de fedder off de thicken, en don’t ’predate nuthin’; dun gin her a hous’ wid .er brick chim bley”— •‘That will do. The witness is with yon.” Solicitor rises. “Kiah!” “Yes, sah!” “Don’t you remember”— “Yes, sab!” “Wait until I ask the question?” “Yes, sah!” “Don’t yon remember that Tillman struck Dinah over the head—” “No sah. Nebber did done it; dat ooman sah”— “Never mind; answer my question. You say you never saw him strike her?” “No, sah; she de very debbil”— “Just answer my question.” Solidtor is getting mad. “Ye*, sah!” “Don’t you remember?”— “Yes, sah!” “What do yon remember? Yon say you remember now what is it?” “Dat ooman am de very debbel”— ‘Yon can go.” “Call Tildy Sampson,” says the de fense smilingly. Tildy came. Her bat was on the back of her head; defiance was in every motion, and her testimony was hong npon a hair trigger. She' ex changed scowls with Dinah. “Are you the mother of Tillman Samp son?” “I is?” “Did you, or did you not, ever kUoy him to strike her?” “Hit ’er? No sab! She tell a lie, the nasty, stinkin’ ”— “Silence!” That came from tho court. Pickwick and one or two of the court were convuls ed. The court administers a reproof to the witness, and the case proceeds. “Did you ever hear screaming or the noise of blows in her house?” “No, sah; I hyah her all time cussin’ him, an’ tellin’ lies on him, an’ kickin’ up de debbil, runnin’ roun’ do neighbers— you needn’ look at me you yaller huz zy”— “Silence!” From the court, who administers an other reproof. “He never threw her out in the road, then?” “Throw her out’n de road! didn’t done it; she grab de chile en run eff en scream, en kick up, en cuss!”— “That’ll do.” —“En toll lies. She don’t hab no does”— lt , “Silence!” —“An’ done put ’er in de boos’ wid a brie’ ”— “Mr. Bailiff take”— “Never mind your honor, I am through with her,” puts in the defense. “And I,” laughs the solidtor. —“An’ she dun dun more deviltryment tellin’ lies”— Here the witness’ voice died away in the hall, whence the bailiff had dragged her. A fierce scuffle was heard outside, and another voice shouted: “Give ’em de sidewipe, Tildy.” There was a fall, and order was restored. The court settled back in its chair and the exdtement among the Gum Swampers died away. Pickwick took off his glasses and wiped them, and the jurors straightened their faces. The prisoner advanced before the jury to make his statement. His man ner was calm and unimpassioned, and his side of the affair was related in a way that left no doubt of its untruthfulness. “Din't dun it gempleums. And nebber whipper but oncst, en don it war wid er pine splinter. Nebber tole Obie O’Neal dat I blooded her up wid er pine kuot. En she enss, en tell lies roun’ de Swamp, en holler en mek er fuss, en I don’t know wat dat ooman mean, all time tellin’ lies en taken warrants en cossin me munny. I wurks ail day en night en can’t git Tong wid ’er no way. Nebber whipper tall, nebber hit ’or in my my life. Dais all I got ter relate in dis hyah fuss.” Having concluded this extraordinary defense, Tillman sat down and grandly rose the solicitor, running hi3 hand through his hair and letting a mocking smile play about his sarcastic lips. The solicitor, by the way, was solicitor pro rem. only, a young man of promise—in fact a young man of promises. Slowly but surely he opened bis book and be gan. “Gentlemen o* ili6 Jury, tho law re quires us to elect from the numerous in stances of beating we have proven which one we will rely upon for a conviction. We shall expect you to consider the cir cumstances of the occasion upomwhich the defendant beat his wife with a pine knot, and to bring in a verdict of guilty against him.” The solicitor then pointed out the law and sat down. CSHTBAL RAILROAD. poetical license could be tolerated, that would sing, “And e’en the harebell lifts its head Elastic from her fairy tread.” No, gentlemen! he cared nothing for all , - ,, . . _ . . this; something came over him like the , of the Central Railroad and Banking memory of a dream, bidding him kneel Company is a fine exhibit. We give only to the affinity which heaven had drawn i J 1 A be tl re ® d unto him. The lip was thick, and the ! J £ tte P tion ' . The hair more inclined to kink than curl, bnt exh ! blt of ****** y eara business shows tbe girl was solid and Samson washu- Report of the President and Directors -A Mpleodid Exhibit. The report of the president and direct- man. Metaphorically, he .molt. Yon cap imagine the rest; the sylvan glades, the moonlight walks, the fetes au clair de tune, and the midnight jamborees among the ripened com shacks, and that event ful night, when, with but the stars above them, she laicl her hands in his, promis ing in the homely language of her race to stapd by him ‘until tlie cows came home to roost.’ Oh, yesi and so he built his home in the fairy palace of 'an eventful future. The day-came, and the pair knelt before the preacher and beard him, as the ceremony ended, proclaim: “She is his’n en he are hern”— “£u I guv her a hous’ wid er brie’ chimbley. Ther yaller back hornet”— “Silence!” thundered the court. Mr. Bailiff take that woman out, and if she Creates-a disturbance again lock her up Iki the house without a brick chim ney.” Old Tildy had crept back into the room and, burning with the recollection of her wrongs, had joined in the argument. “Gentlemon of the Jury,” continued the counsel, “I must ask your indulgence for the poor woman who has been so summa rily ejected from this room. A mother’s affection is her apology. Still she has suggested a fact to me which has great weight. When Samson rose from the al tar and led his bride into a new life, where did he locate her? Was it in some mud hut in the cancbrake where the fire place was in the middle of the room, and the chimney a hole in the roof? Was lt a hut with sticks crossed outside the wall, and plastered with mud, through which the sluggish smoke might wind itself a tortuous path? No. But beneath the spreading pine, near where a bubbling spring mnnnured the livelong day, a solid log cabin was built, and rising from the forward v-nd a majestic brick, cbimney smote old Dame Nature in the face with an architectural stateliness. He, this la borer of the fields before you now, points to that monument of his love,and asks, ( is not the charge of unkindness refuted?’ But let us pass inside. No Chickering piano meets the observant eye or salutes the ear with mellow music, but on the door hangs a banjo. No costly paintings adorn the walls, but the best liis wealth affords are there* and a colored print, representing Moses Banding down the laws, faces the girl- in the flying trapeze across the room No aiabaster clock swings a gilt Cupid tlirough the flying mo ments of the day, but, set within the ad vertisement of Simmons’ Liver Regulator, an energetic little time piece keeps cheer- fill steps with old Father Time. NoBrus- an immense increase over the previous year, and is a credit to the excellent man agement of the company’s interests. The following statement exhibits the earnings and expenditures of the company for the year ending on the 31st of August: EARNINGS. Central Railroad, Savannah Division, $1,681,142 55 Central Railroad, Atlanta Dl- iiBi' MtABoapi L. 46,387 07 844,866 13 14,513 87 vision, Central Railroad Bank, Southwestern Railroad, Upson Connty Railroad, Total for roads and bank, $3,100,480 82 EXPENDITURES OF AT.T. KINDS. Cental Railroad, Savadnali Di- vion . . . $850,020 59 Central Railroad, 303,000 46 17,105 00 460,478 48 14,831 52—1,652,554 06 Atlanta Divis ion . . . . Central Railroad Bahk . . . Southwestern Railroad . Upson County | {Railroad . Leaving net . ... $1,537,034 86 This shows a very gratifying result as compared with the operations for tho pre vious year, the increase in gross earnings having been $365,043.20, wmle the expen ditures have only increased $36,253.85, leaving the net income $329,689.35 more than for the year ending on the 31st of August, 1879. ‘ The report to the stockholders of the Ocean Steamship Company shows the re sult of its operatious. The collision of the City of Savannah with the bark To- bey, on the 17th day of January, in the harbor of New York, has cost the com pany $41,187-00, and there are yet seme unadjusted claims, which will somewhat increase this amount; but, notwithstand ing the loss from this accident, the earn ings of the company have been more than for the previous year. The report says: “The Board desires again to call attention to the fact that there has not yet been a partition of the branches of tho Western railroad between the Georgia Railroad and Banking Com pany and our own, as contemplated by the agreement between the competes." During tho year $144,000 of South western railroad bonds became due and were paid, using S60 shares of the stock of that company, the balance—$58,000— in cosh. In reference to tho railroad cointuission, the report says L- “A'inlliiug that some mediator between the railroads of the afels carpet covers the floor, but it is white j country and their patrons is necessary and and tidy, and Pisib Was there to keep it desirablo, it is certainly but reasonable to A liusb fell upon tbe scene as Philus Sharp, Esq., rose for the defense, his smooth handsome face drooping over tho recollection of his client’s wrongs. “Gentlemen of the jury,” he began, ad vancing sadly to the bar, “out of the mul tiplicity of the testimony, the State has selected that relating to the pine knot. And why? Because, gentlemen of the j'uiy, it is upon that evidence a conviction is expected, and hopes are had that yon der fettered unfortunate will be punish ed.” Here he indicates the defendant by a faint but gracefully suggestive wave of the band. “The case then before you, narrows down to that ono instance, and now let us see what is the evidence. The laclirymose witness for the State tells you that the defendant ‘busted her head open with a pine knot, and wore out a three foot plank upon her.’ Whether the plank wa3 three feet thick or three feet long she does not say, and I call your attention to this because it is a fair sample of her tes timony and its general looseness. She tells you, furthermore, gentlemen, that Kiah and Tildy Sampson were "present and saw it, and that she was all bloodied up, so much so that Tillman offered her fifty cents to take off her bloody dress. In this she is contradicted by Kiah and Til dy who tell you—and never in my whole practice have I heard witnesses testify so truthfully—that nothing of the kind ever happened in their presence. So much for tiie Iacbmnose witness. The next is Obie O’Neal. Obie did not know much about it; be remembered tbat on one or two occasions, when, he could not recall, the defendant told him he had been beat ing his wife; but, gentlemen cf the jury, not one word docs he say about the time of which they complain. Not one word. He tells you it was In tbe fall, then the spring, that tho beating was acknowl edged to have been given. - Here are two distinct times positively stated, and it rests with you, gentlemen, to believe neither or both. When a witness shows such eagerness to testify that he places the offense at two different periods of the year, it is safe to believe that - neither is true. You well know, gentlemen, that two negatives are equivalenttorm affirm ative; it now rests with yon to say that the rule works both ways, arid that two affirmatives are equivalent to a negative. If you do this you cannot find the pris oner guilty.” Pickwick was much im pressed with this logic. He leaned his head upon his stick, and appeared to be lost in thought. The younger members of the Jury seemed to be somewhat con fused. After carefully wiping his mouth with a blue silk handkerchief, 'Philus Sharp came out. from his pile of hooks, whence he had slowly retreated, and re sumed his argument in a voice that trem bled as he proceeded: “Gentlemen of the jury, I see before me, men to whom I can speak and be undeistood. Few of you are married, I presume”— Pickwick drew out a bandanna, and mechanically wiped the bald spot on liis head. “Yon cannot, therefore, know the an guish which overwhelms the husband when he first is taught that tile angel, whom as a girl he had wooed and won, is beginning to shod the beautiful wings to which his fancy had linked her. Ah! gentlemen, the realization is bitter indeed when it comes. I am confined to the evi dence it is true, but were I allowed to go beyond, I might picture to you scenes in the lile of this man that would destroy your hopes of happiness forever. Think of this strong man Sampson. By some woodland spring methinks he first beheld his Delilah; it may be, tbat coming from his daily toil she joined him, supporting npon her woolly bead with Tbalian grace the full and overflowing cotton basket; or lt may be, that in the gentle gloaming of evening,-she burst upon him from the canebrake, whooping up with mellow voice and guiding with nimble step tbe belated kine, she, Delilah, the thing of beauty but alas, alas, not to him a joy forever. Ha cared not that ber skin was dark, or that the dress tucked in one great roll about her waist revealed to him it. iiias, alas for our unfulfilled expeta- tions. Walnut furniture and costly bric- a-brac are scarce, in fact absent, but a couple of split bottom ebairs stretchout their arms invitingly, and an old fashion ed bedstead lilts up its pillars to the ceil ing. Here in this virgin spot the fires of another household were lit amid the myriad homes of earth. “Not many weeks had elapsed before a change was apparent. One day Tillman had to duck his head to avoid the flight of a flat iron, which caromed on Moses, broke his laws, and knocked the girl out of the flying trapeze. On another occa sion the wild sweep of a broom grazing his intended head, put the Regulator hors du combat, and sent the clicking moments of the day into the middle of the follow ing week. One of the chairs lost an arm, the other a leg, and the headboard of the bed began to look like a war map of Par is. Tho angels’ wings had shed their feathers and displayed a muscle sickening to look upon. My client, gentlemen, was a man. He caught her, and with a pine splinter, taught her that the way of the transgressor is hard. He. chose a splinter because the laws allowed a man to whip his wife with a switch the size of Ills lit tle finger, and switches being siarce the splinter was apt to confer the most good, with the least eflort. Had he not a right to whip her?” “Uv course he did, honey; w’y de law contemplate dis yer very case. De low down huzzy ought ter had five hun dred”— “Silence!” thundered the court again, and Old Kiah, whose presence of mind was lost in the argument, shrank away mumbling: “You jes’ let me git my ban’s on ’er en i’ll frazzle dat yaller hide inter fodder. Dar aint no foolishness ’bout e!” This produced a laugh all around, and the defendant, who had slept through the eloquent recital of his wrongs, sat up and gazed about him blankly. “Gentlemen of the jury,” concluded Philus Sharp, who had lost tbe thread of bis argument, “into your hands I leave my client; well knowing tbat justice only will be meted'out to him.” I turned around and bet cigars with the young attorney that the verdict would be “not guilty.” He took it. The Solicitor rose again. He let ont at full speed before the first quarter was reached. He began by calling the pris oner names. In one breath he called the i defendant’s lawyer “my distinguished ! brother:” in thn next he intimated that he I expect that so large an interest as that represented by the railroads, and which has done so much to develop the resources of the country, should hare some protec tion beyond the rulings of any tribunal (however competent and honeat in its in tentions), from which there is no appeal. The present act puts in the hands of the commissioners unlimited au thority over the railroads of the State. This large property is no longer man aged by its owners, and whether its earn ings are greater or less, virtually depends upon tbe rates and rulings made hy tbe commissioners, tbe officers appointed by stockholders and directors being power less. The mere statement of these facts will show on what a precarious founda tion your property rests, and it.is believed would even startle tbe Legislature tbat passed tbe act, could they review it in the light of experience. It is understood tbat tho present commissioners recognize some, if not all, of the imperfections of the law in its present form, and it is to be hoped that they will recommend the needed modifications, so as to render its adminis tration, under all circumstances and in any hand, just to all parties.” The Savannah News, commenting edi - torially upon this report, says: In our local columns this morniDg will be found the report of the president, Mr. MV. M. Wadley, and directors of the Cen tral railroad, to the stockholders of that coiporation. It will be seen that the gross earnings of the road during the year end ing on the 31st oi August last, were $365, 043.20 more than during the previous year, while the'expenses were much less than usual, leaving a net income for the road of $320,680.35 more than on the 31st of August, 1870* This is indeed a gratifying exhibit, and one which will tend to make the hearts of the stockholders glad. It will be seen, however, that Mr. Wadley, in the spirit of conservatism, which has been the marked characteristic of his administration, and which has been amply justified by expe rience; cautions tboie interested in tbe road that this is an exceptionally good report, and that the result of the work of this line may not be so satisfactory in the future. The increased earnings of the road last year were, in the main, due to the general prosperity.of the entire coun try and the universal revival of business. This may or may not continue; bnt, as the report says, aven with the same amount of traffic and equal rates, not only an advance in the cost of material and labor must be ex- Colquitt and HiaDefiuners. Editors Telegraph and Messenger Parties standing aloof from the present political contest in this State are amazed at the number and variety of the charges brought against its chief magistrate, and not a few have expressed disgust in stronger than polite iauguage at its con tinuance, after they have all been prompt ly met and disproved. One reason, perhaps, why they have been so generally believed and accepted as truths is the supposed high standing of the accusers who first gave them voice, Tbe extreme acidity, not to say acrimony, with which the rump nominee has planned his attacks,-and which have af forded the key to his assistants, might furnish an excuse for adopting the same line of procedure, bnt as Norwood and his followers have the monopoly of- bill ingsgate, it is proposed to let them retain it, as they will need every safety valve open—some men affect to find relief in cursing—when the result of the coming election is known* •, ■ To enter their field of accusations and review them, would take more space thau is usually given to such subjects, and is needless now since the Governor has over his own signature so ably and completely refuted them. . To review his accusers or some of them is the object of this paper, and if some Georgians of other days find themselves photographed, let them con sole themselves that at this late day they should not come from that quiet obscurity to which an' Gver-nnappreciating De mocracy so long ago consigned them. This mode of treating the subject is more desirable, since it is the pride of Norwood and his disciples to point to their follow ers as tchile, while those of his opponents are all black; in other words, if Norwood is beaten, it will be by the colored vote as. the white vote is for him solid and vice versa. It is rather humiliating that a na tive of Georgia; one who has illustrated her courage upon innumerable battle fields—her Christianity in the pulpit, and her wisdom hy his councils in tbe inter ests of peace and concord—is' forsaken of the whites, his kinsmen and his friends, and cau only claim, in the language of his defamers, “the miserable negro follow ing” of t he Stale. I shall not dispute the assertions made by somejpersons, who by their dress might be taken for gentlemen—neither shall 'I dispute the {ilea that all the gentlemen are going to vote for Norwood, because com mon sense teaches it to be an impossibili ty to be a gentleman and a blackguard at one. and tbe same 'time.' Before jsgjjgjae WrttaWnsftS! liced, viz., a good many who condemn him on account of his poverty, in other Words his inability to pay liis debts. Some of tuese gemlemen are very loud lunged in their denunciaation of him, fore the fact S3 some or them seem to'do that their own estates would crumble to dust if the claims against them were paid. Among the chief accusers, however, steps to the front ex-Governor Jas. M. Smith, whose administration as Gov ernor of Georgia was notable for three things, viz: The Smith-JoHnSon contro- very, in which the said Smith;-Was shown up to be a doubledealer—a po litical hypocrite—a man whose word was not to be trusted, or whoso pledges were to be taken—none of which he denied,or resented. Coming from a'source like HerschelV. Johnsou, backed up with time, date and place, the accusitions were entitled to respect, and the people of Georgia did respect them enough to decide them to allow their late Governor to retire to private life. The next exploit, the execution of Su san Eberhardt, is claimed by his ptesenl converts to the Norwood faith, as the act which killed his popularity in Georgia. This needs no denial here. The laws condemned her under the evidence; the people of the State had been so thorough ly disgusted with the non-enforcement of the law in mnrder cases,that an executive who wonld see them enforced wa3 hailed with delight, rather than frowns of disap proval. Some newspapers tried to get np a little sentiment on it, and perhaps suc ceeded just as we see papers now working themselves up on the present rump issue. The act, aside from the sex of the con demned, was approved by every thinking man and woman in the State. The ex-Governor thinks Gov. Colquitt honest but weak. It is a pity that the New York bondholders of the Macon and Brunswick railroad could not be con vinced tbat weakness was his only mala dy I The ex-Governor, after that fishy transaction, involving the honor of the State, as well as hi3 official pledge, should urge much charity in judging of bis hon est, but weak (?) successor. More anon. Sphtnx. brother;” In the next he intimated that he was an ass. He"picked up the testimony pected. but a considerable increase m the and fitted it together like a prize puzzle; rolling stock of the road (to the he took up the defendant and made him [ value of at least $200,000) must be made sudh a scoundrel that L unconsciously be-J during the coming year. Besides this, gan to edge away from him. He dwelt - also contingent liabilities now uriforseen ailectingly upon tbe condition of tbe poor j but not unlikely to occur .at any time, woman who asked her countrymen for' and from which tbe company has .been the protection that her husband.denied ' remarkably free during the year just post; her. “God forbid,” he exclaimed excited- j must be considered and provided against, ly, “that the day shall ever come when Hence, we may infer that President Wad- tjie women of this land shall be turned J ley and the directors, while exceedingly away empty-handed when they seek jus- pleased with tbe present exhibit of the tico here in these halls!” j earnings of the pad, are not inclined to I heard a faint “Amen” from Pickwick, • indulge in undue elation, hut rather warn and responded by applauding, but was in- ' their stockholders from expecting too stantiy suppressed by the bailiff, and so • much lu the future—a very wise_ sugges- the speech boomed along to tbe end. We . tion, certainly tending to prevent possible were tickled at ono moment by light ze- j disappointment ana consequent' abuse oi pbyrs of pathos, aud overwhelmed in the t the administration, next hy torrents of eloquence. When it J Onejof the cost interesting features of ended I went round to where the judge this report is the allusion therein made sat eyeing tbe prisoner. I to the tbe railway comriiission law of “Fine speech that yOUr honor; the coun-_ Georgia, and the injury it is capable of try”— j working the 'railways of the State. The “Who are you?” _ I commissioners are admitted to be gentie- I looked at him a little startled by his men of the highest standing aud unques- ahrupt manner. I tioned: integrity, but the law Itself is “Didn’t you hear that eloquent’^- | shown to be stringent and despotic. It “If you don’t sit down,” he roared, “Pll plaoes unlimited authority over the vast fine yon for a contempt.” | Iron highways of the Stats in the hands ot 1 sat down and. he proceeded to charge the,commissioners, and, to u«e the lan- the jury in a matter-of-fact way. I never guage of the report, “this large property saw a man so impervious to eloquence, j is no longer managed by its owners, and The jury went out, but In five minutes . whether its earnings are to be great- Pickwick and one of the jurors came in ; er or less virtually depends upon to be re-chaiged. I afterwards learned' the rates and rulings made by tbe they bad had a difference of opinion on a | Commissioners, tbe stockholders and di point in the judge’s charge, and badhlteh- rectors being powerless. The mere state- cd. Pickwick had hit the junior over the ' ment of these facts will show upon what head, and tho junior bad butted Pick, in I a precarious foundation the value of the the stomach, so .that neither of them bad i stock nsts, and it is believed it wonld much idea of the case. The court called * even startle the Legislature which passed them all back and charged them again, tbs act, could they review lt in the light and in ten minutes they brought in a ver- J of experience.”- The report then proceeds diet of “guilty.” Amid many laments- to recommend that the law be altered so tions from tbe Gum Swampers, the court astomake the Board of Commissioners adjourned. Whisky, did you say? I be- ' simply a board #f arbitration to settle all lievelwill. I differences wln-h may arise between the B I roads and their patrons. This, our read- a leg, the calf of which extended to the I —Ask for Silver Spray Cologne and en well know, is what the-Nines has ad juster and a foot which, when it fell, no {lake no other. vocatedfrom the very first. How Gen. Hancock Receives His Visitors.—The . Globe-Democrat says that the General receives at bis headquar ters, and the warlike character of the es tablishment would never be dreamed of, for from chief to messengers they are all clothed in sombre, stupid citizens’ clothes; not a bit of glory and glitter about it. Regular visitors send their cards, and are marched un straights to tbe sanctum, while for ladles the General comes down and shows all the courtesy and politeness for which he is tamed. If he :s a Demo crat, no one could fall to be charmed with the manners and appearance of the elder ly, white-moustached gentleman. Having been ushered in, there entered to us, in Shakespearean speech, a finely built and handsome man, who looks worn and wearied; and, in the hoodlum language of Lotta, he evidently finds that this being a Presidential candidate “is not what it is cracked up to be.” There are circles un der his eyes already, aud for the harass- ments, the weariness and vexations that are to follow, one must pity him. With all this pressure of affairs, the General declared that he liked to receive ladies; their calls were a recreation and.a pleas ure to him, besides the honor and the deli cate compliment implied in their making the pilgrimage across to the island. His mail comes in bags now; telegrams and letters cover his table a foot deep, and al though lie may begin opening liis mail, he never has time to finish it. Even while he insisted on offering us chairs and chat ted with us, the wires overhead were clicking ominously, and telegrams were pouring in from the men in Maine, who were laboring for him on that day with tbe undreamed of results. Democratic Cordial. The Washington correspondent of the Baltimore Sun says: A letter received here to-day from Senator Wallace says Pennsylvania is sure for Hancock, and Sergeant-at-Arms Bright, of the Senate, who is just back from Indiana, says the Democrats will run away with the State in October. Information from Tennessee is tbat the Republican candidate for gov ernor, Judge Hawkins, and Judge Wright, the Democratic candidate, will have joint discussions on the issues of the canvass. The Democratic State committee has is sued an address admitting that Demo- . cratic success is imperiled by the split in the party on the debt question, and counseling the utmost activity on the part of the regular organization, In Democratic circles confidence in the resalt of the Presidential election is esti mated the encouraging reports re ceived daily from all directions. Senator Vest writes from Indianapolis to a friend here that Indiana will give ten thousand majority for Landers. Not the least en couraging feature of the Democratic out look is the assurance that comes from many sources in Virginia that the electo ral vote of that State is safe for Hancock. The Republicans had little thought of Virginia in their calculations before the Maine election, and now, on the heel of that disheartening result, they have nei ther energy nor money to spend upon such an unpromising field as Vir ginia would be for Republican en deavor, even under the most favorable cir cumstances, It is stated upon authority of a Republican member of Congress from tbe South, that recently Senator Don Cameron earnestly advised the national committee of his party against making any fight for the electoral vote of Virgin ia, declaring it to be. plainly out of the power of the Republicans to capture it, even though the committee should have the means requisite to pay the capitation tax for the negroes, and otherwise put the demoralized and disbanded Virginia Re publican party in fighting shape. It is stated also that General Mahonetolda member of the Democratic national com mittee that whenever it should become apparent that the Republicans would se riously contend for the electoral vote, of Virginia he would urge his friends to take down their electoral ticket. The trouble is that such an event might not become apparent until about sundown on election dqy. But General Mabone has no idea of any such thing. He counts confi dently on 15,000 to 20,000 majority, which he could only obtain by Republican aid. GlWnljack Floppert in Indiana. A special Indianapolis dlsjsatch to the Philadelphia-Tinier says a geuePsM J >mblq‘ of Greenbackerg into the Democratic party seems to have set ih in' this State. 1 To- ’ 1 morrow tbe Sentinel will contain a letter from Jacob B. Yeagley, addressed' to' C. C. Post, chairman of the Greenback State committee, in which Yeagley announces his withdrawal from the Greenback ticket and declares his intention to support the Democratic party and its ticket through the remainder of the campaign. Mr. Yeagley says, among oilier things: “For the Nationals to continue the hopeless struggle against the two parties Is practi cally, to slap a friend and foe in the face with idiotic vehemence. To elect such a man as General Garfield President of the United States over so brave a man as General W, S. Hancock, • against whom his political opponenta have not been able to make a single derogatory charge in his lite-long services to bis country, would be a national calamity. The true and logi cal question therefore, is, shall we con tinue the present administration or defeat it? I shall, therefore, act with the Demo- ceatic party in, tbe future.” George Par ker, National candidate for State Senator from Marion county, has also withdrawn aud declared his intention to support the Democratic ticket. Young Mr. Latehours, was sitting on the porch the other night watching a seventeen-year-old girl trying to keep awake long enongh to see the morning star rise. They talked astronomy. “I wish I was a star,” he said, smiling at his own poetic fancy. “I would rather yon 'vere a comet,” she said dreamily. His heartbeat tumultuously. “And why?” he asked tenderly, at the same time tak ing her unresisting little hands in his own; “ and why ?” he repeated imperiously. “Oh,” she said' with a brooding earnest ness that fell upon his apul like a bare foot on a cold oilcloth, “because then you wonld come around only once in 1,500 years!” He didn’t say anything until he was half way to the front gate, when he turned around and shook his fist at the house and muttered between bis teeth that “by the dads, it would be a thunder ing sight longer than that before he would come around again.” But by that time the poor girl was in bed and sound asleep. Poor Lady Coutts has been forced by the vicious intermeddling with her priv ate af fairs to announce through a friend in a formal way that tbe Queen has not object ed to her marriage; that her Aiture ■ hus band, Ashmead Bartlett, has never been in her pay as private secretary, the only connection between them being the purely honorary one which sprang from their mutual esteem, and that she will not lose her property oh marriage. Somewhat neatly, too, Lady Contts drops tbe remark that no one objected when ber grandfather at 86 married the actress, Miss Welton, at 38; or the actress, alter “his death at the ripe age of 49, married the Duke of St. Albans in his 25th year. Weddings be tween January and May seem to run in the family; bnt then, it is generally under stood in these matters that January is masculine and May feminine. Sir Garnet Wolseley has lately been giving a piece' of advice to the English army which meets warm approval. The army has got rid, it is said, of much of that rigidity of movement which ‘it bor rowed from the Prussians, and now “It should find out wbat an action is really like and then adopt a drill adopted to tac tical realities.” lienee, as “the culmina- tory point of any action is ntter confusion, tbe drill ought to prepare for it and regu- jations ought to be framed for it.” The story of Charles Smith, second as sistant engineer of the ill-fated YeraCiuz, contains a thrilling narrative of the sea. Mr. Smith cannot swim a stroke, but yet floated on different pieces of the wreck from the spot where tbe vessel went down to the beach, fifty miles off. By the violent action of the waters his/ entire clothing Levity and cheerfulnkss Be tween these two there is a wide distinc tion ; and the mind which is most open to levity is frequently a stranger to cheerful ness. It has been remarked that trans ports of intemperate mirth are often no more than flashes from dark clouds; and in proportion to the violence of the effhl- gence is the succeeding gloom. Levity may be the forced production of folly or vice; cheerfulness is the naturial offspring of wisdom and virtue only. The one 5 an occasional agitation; the other a perma nent habit. The one degrades the charac ter; the other is perfectly consistent with the dignity of reason and the steady and manly spirit of religion. To aim at con stant succession of high and vivid sensa tions of pleasure is an idea of happinesa perfectly chimerical. Calm and tempera^-. enjoyment is the utmost that is alloted to man. Beyond this we struggle in vain to raise our state; aud in fact depress our « joys by endeavoring to he^gbtma tbem. Instead of those fallacious hopqs cd per petual festivity with which She world would allure us, religion confers npon us a cheerful tranquillity. Instead of daz zling us with meteors of joy which sparkle and expire, it sheds around us a calm and steady light, more solid, more equal, and udAro testing. The importance of protecting chil dren’s shoes from wear at the toe, all par ents are aware of, but many have neg lected to avail themselves of this great wviliflJDW account of the appearance of , , , , , . „ „ , the stiM bn. All such will find the A. was torn from his body. Piece after piece S. T. 0»*8. Black Tip, advertised in an- of wreck, on which he caught, was broken ! otbeg asMtea, just the thing they have by the see, end yet, though no swimmer, bees leaking for. Beautiful, neat, thev he managed to get another. • will wear as long as the metal. Iw 1