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About The Rockdale banner. (Conyers, Ga.) 1888-1900 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 26, 1890)
LEGISLATURE. e THE «. .KERS AND WHAT THEY JwrtG . . x tA GBASD TO ADVANCE THE staie’s interests. the house. DAT.--When the ho “. " ite 5 pm reorder I ue-sd ay mo r ni 1 a Slittle discussion the «*» aro se over .uuotun ^'consider fixing the bom ot l o’clock for Election jefoto of a u " ,te ^ ^ 1 fcor overwhelm on with its Mime the galleries iS sept constantly with much dititc that * the it was managed pull ti t}u>h . .wfcs to » submit , . Vidiioustask of reading bills and them to the house for con ue < * • J •*, hour of 1 arm ec u * when the settled - - ^ - tvtk 0 f quietude he hour of battle oxer wal'atimnd. * » V jjor 1 that the t £ Howell stat-d me J - for the house to take up the ; c_ of United States seuatoi. Clerk h read the resolution cal..n tofe J Hardin 12 clock, and then rea 1 Z election at o of baL laff governing the matmer >. The speaker then annnounced til. ■ir.ir. order. Mr. Gem. inatioos were m i w a brief speech, nominate . Putnam, m Senend Jolm B. Gordon. The, nomina was received wita tumultuous ap non It seconded by Messrs. Uay, plsosc. was Girin, Smith, of Greene, kslis, Oa’-tis Uya.s, Lai k, ctatv W Goodwie,. Martin, »eay .mu ? aV ne. ^ Ir - Berner,_ of Monroe, to seconded the nomination with an Ucnt appeal m Gen. Gordon s behalf. feral members rose to u point oforcler bainiii^ ^ laudatory 15, k ^ r * ^ lut speech. 1 } ans ?5 Mr e V Kemp, 1 to in his ofEm nuel, nominated lion. I. . i oi wood, Mr. Chapman, of Iiancc) v, Hr. Strickland, ot Bryan, ana of ler anickly seconded the nomina.ion tel lowed by great cheering. J hen Mr. &i> ley, of Cobb, gained the floor and said: ‘‘Mr. Speaker: As a repiesentative o n teg principles oi the new boutn, 1 nominate for United States senator lrom Georgia, lion. Patrick Calhoun. !. A P* isc, with nomination some evidences received of di-appro- many val.J The seconds. Mr. Chappell, of Lau rens, nominated, as be s:u d ]n the outset, without any laudatory words, Hou. J. K. Hines, which was sec ended by Mr. Hogan, of Lincoln, and others. Hammond Hon. N. J. a name was placed, in nomination by Mr. Unit, en Bibb, and it was seconded by Mr. Lth widgeand Mr. Phi bps. .Tbc roll w s then called and the vck- ; ing commenced. Ihe first ballot showed: Gordon, 83; Norwood, 40: Calhoun, 20; Hammond, 10; Hines, 12; Womack, 1. The result came within two votes of giv big General Gordon a majority. Mr. Kimbrough, of Greene, arose and begged to change his vote lrom Hammoud to Gordon. I hen Mr. Norman, of Liberty, changed tr> Gordon, giving him the ma jontj; liio result caused a pan .9roo The noise .and confusion that were overwhelming. The gal rocked with thundering applause thm WH7CLl a “ c fro « ,P er, «l t s ea * Wr f\ ha ndkcrcblefs , aud hats , On the floor of the , house the scene was equafly demoralizing. Senators and rep KU'Hvcs stood upon_ their desks and brew their bats high in the air shout triumphant Indians in their war I 1st this juncture, Governor Gordon’s election having been assured by the changes which had been announced, Speaker Unveil arose, and in a brief Ms speech, explaining his position, changed vote from Hammond to Gordon. This announcement was greeted with great applause iu the house and from thc galleries. When order was partially re¬ stored, Speaker Howell resumed his scat the following members changed their votes to Gordon, Matthews, from m Jefferson, Not from Hammond, Coffey Barrett wood, Brodnax from Calhoun, from Norwood, Graves from J°mack, Wilkinson, Mason from from Norwood, Norwood, Parker Cleave rote >rom 95. ^Norwood. The other This candidates made Gordon’s have: -'orivood, Hammond, 38; Calhoun, 19; Hines, 10, 7. For a quarter of an tom the din of applause was deafening. Cannons were fired with rapid and thun afflag wole succession on the outside aud the city seemed to gather all at once wand the statehouse. The house then tjoumed. 13th Day.— Among the bills intro auced ia the house on Wednesday were town following: A bill to incorporate the of Unadilla. To prohibit the sale spirituous or malt liquors within five of any county where the sale of uors is prohibited. To incorporate f °jvn of Aeree. To prohibit the sale spirituous and malt liquors within miles of Alt. Carmel church in county. To extend the limits 1 tee city of Macon. An act to author the building of court houses in the miiitia districts of the counties of state, and to authorize the levying of ,? ' x ior such purposes. An act to “Btod an act to amend, revise and con toliuate the common school law3 of the T?'t Approved Georgia and fur other following Srs ' October 27th, 1889. i bills were passed bv the Wednesday: To relieve L. Q j-,v. ’ the Dublin Light Infantry, of unity on account of certain arms hav * en destroyed by lire. To authorize the r rief!* 56 second battalion. number To of incorporate compnnie# “ c “aiiii-e Mutual Accident Assuciatiaa. lo prohibit any person who holds fed erat, state or county office from being and mayor ot Augusta. To make ta-tmvw councilrnen of Augusta ineligible b>i more than one term in succession. A bill entitled an act to make the mayor and count; linen of Augusta ineligible tore-election furore terra of said office-. A bill to create new judicial ircuit a < to be known as the I alia poosa circuit. A message from the senate was received stating that the sen ate had passed the house bill granting certain lands for the establishment of a military park on the Chicamauga battle ^ Also. Hint a resolution had been passed providing Tor the appointment of a joint committee of five to arrive at a h ablht v clause for the bills granting - charters , t > banks, etc. The h,use tnon upended business for the joint-ession Ht eain It. was the Po P° b, »- establishing a negro universite a« a branch of the Georgia State r-v versity, and, by arrangement, its dlscuv ston was made the special order of the day. After a few minor amendments the bill was passed, and now goes to the seu ate. Mr, Norman, of Liberty, introduced a b fil f or purifying the bai ot. This is t be flrrt bill of its kind that has been brought before the legi la ure for some t i m0i and for that reason it s doubly in teresting. Among the new bil sput on {ir6t reading were the following: A bill amendiag the charter of LaGrauge. To amend the charter of Elbcrton. To incor orate the Atlanta, Americas au( j Florida Railway Company. To confer upon the mayor and council of LaGrauge the power to issue bonds to the cstent of $50,000. A resolution for the relief of the Wadley and Mt. Vernon Railway Company. An act to amend the charter of Lithonia. An act to incorpo rate thc town of Xl)I . iD( ia Coweta couuty An act to incorporate the Dal ton> Company Spring Place bU and Eastern Railway j[ A , to infliet 1>CI3 . ll1k8 on a railroads that have failed to pay their taxes, Tho following bills were passed: To appropriate $750 to pay expert examiners ot - t j \y t and Atlantic railroad ie es erri last , car _ A bill regulating the sale of spir jt uous liquors iu Georgia. A resolution xu-ging tho Georgia congressmen of‘the to work for tho abolishment tax on Geor gia banks. Also one urging the congress men to work for the amendment of the the present incorporating hauk’ng laws. A bi.l amending act Harmony Grove, lorn Day.—T he mod important bill introdue d in the house Friday was by ]\j r Roltzclaw, of Houston, appropriat j 0 g $25,000 to provide for the better or g- a ntraining, arming, equipping an( j maintaining the volunteer forces of Georgi i, and a lull by Mr. Baldwin, of Randolph, jptkm to prohibit physicians or pre scr clerks in a drug establishment j'i-oui pursuing their profe-sion or calling w ] lfJ may become intoxicated from the use of intoxicating liquor or opiates and to jiving provide a penalty therefor. The fol new bills were introduced: A bill to compensate the tax receivers of this State for taking mechinical and agricul tural statistics. To amend tlie charter of jjniory college. To incorporate the Macon and Indian Springs Railway Company, An net to require the registrat ! ons of all x-eternns in the city of Macon in munici pa [ elections. An act to make the tax col lectors in all counties of this State which tain a population * ! riffs in certain of 75,000 or and more to ex _ officio h( cases, u t hcm to appoint deputies, and for other purposes. To appropriate $500 for % providing 0 couuty maps for the secretary stato > 8 officc To prohibit Sunday. the l'UU- To n5 ,? of escureion trains on inc cafie the uumb er of fertilizer inspec from six to ten. To require all cot tm geed meal offercil for 9a!e t o be sub¬ ject to analysis. To provide for accept¬ of ing the Confederate Veterans’ Home Georgia. To amend the constitution so that the sessions of the in-tead legislature bien shall be annually nially, and that the memuers shall be paid a salary of $200 instead of so much a day. To amend the charter of the Contractors’ Association. The following bills were read the third time and passed: To establish a system of public i-ehools for the city of Albany, lo amend the act incorporating the Baton ton and Macken Railroad Company. A resolution to relieve from penalty of failure to pay tax on time of the San dersville and Fennille Railroad Company. To require the registration of the voteis of Macon. Also to require the registra¬ tion of voters of Bibb county. To prevent peisms. in Effingham county from trespassing on the lands of another. A message from the senate slated that the resolution for joint committee to adopt speci d methods lor granting charters for corporations had been agreed to. Sev¬ eral motions were made to adjourn the bouse until Monday morning, but the ef¬ fort was voted down three tines. _ Tiie house adjourned until 9 o’clock Saturday. 16th Day. - The biggest bill of the session was introduced in the hous , Sat¬ urday, by Mr. Jackson, of Heard. a bill to provide a permanent lurid for the state public schools. The f'mdi according to tho provisions of the bill, will amount to $1,122,359. Mr. Good¬ win, of Fultoq secured the passage ot his bill amending the charter of Atlanta, granting the issuance of $350,009 bonds for additional water supplies and increas¬ ing the number of members of the board of health. The following bille, under the regular order of business, were read the third tim; »nd passed: To amend the charter of the Savannah, Americas and Montgomery railroad so as to allow it to increase its capital stock. To incor¬ porate the South Atlantic Trade an Navigation Company. a act inc >rporating the city of Atlanta, incorporate the town of Cecil, in Borneo. To amend the *ct establishing * ' ro lug were taken up. Mr. Craigo. of Gil mt '\ introduced a bill to incorjxirate the RHii'iv Loan and Banking Company, and then the house adjourned until Monday. TIIF. SENATE. Tweltii D.*y -r-i he senate was called to order at 10 o'clock T uesday. At ihe hour of opening the gallery was Idled, many ladies occupying seats. Ail was expectancy and uue vtainty and im¬ patience; crowds pass ng in and out the d' or with little’ regard for the sanctity and dignity of that honorable body, the senate; everybody discussing the senato¬ rial race — watching the clock creep ’round town ds 11. Nobody thought of the bills being read. About a quarter of a minute before 11 o’clock, President Mitchell's gavel fell and the score tary read the resolution of Monday under which the sena e ballot was to be held Tuesday at 11 o’clock. Then the law was read prescribing the method fot holding order,” the election. “Nominations are in said President Mitchell. In s'antly lion. Tom Cabauiss, from the twenty-second, in a few brief remarks, nominated Hou. John B. Gordon. The nomination of General Gordon was sec onded by Senator Smith, of the twenty eighth, the galleries applauding heartily. Senator Ellington, of the twenty-ninth, nominated Air. Pat Calhoun. Senator Walker, of the sixteenth, put in nomina¬ tion Hon. T. M. Norwood. Senator Harp, of the twenty-fourth, nominated Judge .1. Iv. Hines. The roll was called, and the result stood. Gordon—Beck, Bennett, Brown, Oabaniss, Callaway, Candler, Culpepper. Culver, Gill, Glenn, Golden, Harlan, Johnson, Johnston, Lamb, McRae, Mollis, O’Neal, Smith, E. B. Terrell, Todd, Vincent. Williams, Witcher, Mr. President—25. Calhoun—Beard, Ellington, Hodges, Lanier, Nunnally, Zachary—0. Norwood—Boyd, Eason, Hill, Lane, Smith. J. D., Tatum, Warren—7. Hines—Flint, Hart, Patton—3. Hammond—Irvine Strickland—2. Haw kins —Walker— 1. The that the an¬ nouncement of this resuit was tremen¬ dous. emptied All in a there heap the galleries were and was a rush for the representative hall. As soon as order could be restored, the senate ad jour ted. lurn Day. —uniy a lew new blits were introduced in the senate Wednesday; most of the time being taken up in ing house bills. One new bill by senator Lane, of the sixteenth, to provide lor a board of equalization of real and per sonai prouerty subnet to taxation in this State. Another bill by Se nator Lamb, of the fourth, incorporates the Southern Nation-] Railroad Company, the Georgia part of a line from Chattanooga to the proposed Chickamauga park, Other ning uew bills of excursion were: To trains prohibit Sunday, the run- and on describing sion what shall be kuown and make us excur¬ certain trains. To prescribe and sheriffs more of the fees of clerks the super or courts in the matter of di¬ vorce suits. Amending the act that designated the officers of tho county court of Terrell county, and to provide for their compensation. The joiut session of the house and sen¬ ate, held for the purpose of consolidating the ballots of ihe two bodies for senator, was characterized by no new < r interest¬ ing feature. Then the journals of the senate and of the house were read setting forth the results of the elections in these two bodies the day lx fore. The aggre¬ gate c«*unt in the senate showed the following result: Gordon, 25; Norwood, 7; Calhoun, 0; Ilin-’s, 3; Hammond, 2; Hawkins, 1; The journal of thc house relat ng to the election was tiien read by the clerk. r l he vote in that body was as follows: Gor¬ don, 97; Norwood, 36; Calhoun, 19; Hines, 10; Hammond. 7. President Mitchell then said: “It appears that John B Gordon has received a majority de¬ of the votes of botli houses, I hereby clare him senator to represent the state of Georgia in the United States senate for the full term beginiug January 1, 1891, and ending March, 4, 1897.” The joint session then dissolved. 14tii Day.—N othing of interest was done iu the senate Thursday and the body adjourned after a session of one hour. Most of that time was taken up in the reading of house bills, no new matter coming^ up. In executive session three appointments w re confirmed: Howell Cobb, judge of Sumter couuty court. F. A. Hooker, solicitor of same court. R F. Simmons, judge of Terrell broke c unty its record court. 15th Day. —The senate Friday by remaiuiiu; in session two hours—and then udjourned proceedings until Mon¬ day morning. The routine were as follows: Resolution to relieve Rome Street Railroad company. Penalty $209. Delay in paying taxes. Passed, 'lo amend act of December 29, 1889, amending section 3854, code, ns to com¬ petency of witnesses. Passed. Changing the name of the Chatham Dime Savings hank. Pas-ed. Transfer th- county of Laurens from the Oconee judicial circuit to the Ocmulgee judicial circuit. Passed. To incorporate the Banking and Trust Company of Thomasvilie. Pa-sed. Sen¬ ator Toad’s temperance bil! was, at his request, recommitted to the committee on temperance. To incorporate the Bank of Albany, Ga. Passed. To incorporate the Bank of Valdosta. Passed. To in¬ corporate the Fid lity Life and Accident Insurance company, of Atlanta, for fif'v years. Passed. To reincorporate the town of White Plains. Passed, To in corporate the Bank of Calhoun. Passed. On y one new bill was introduced. That was by Senator Callaway, ol the 17 b. It mskes several umecdBieuts to the consol¬ idated common s hool law of ’87. Most of the time was taken up in the reading of houa* bill# a third lime. 16th Day.—T he banal* stood *d “■***• SEA OTTERS. An Ingenious Wav of Obtaining Rare Pelts. The Fur Hunters Shoot Their Prey From Lofty Derricks. Tt is not generally known that some of the most expensive fur-producing animals are killed off the coast of the new state of ‘Washington, and it is re¬ markable Hint the extent of territory where these animals are taken is so ex¬ tremely limited, being only from Da¬ mon’s Point at the northern entrance to Gray’s harbor up tlie coast to Point Greenville, a distance of about twenty four miles. The animal referred to is the sea otter, the fur of which is man¬ ufactured into the robes of the poten¬ tates and princes of the Old World. Unlike that of the seal, the fur of the. sea otter requires no plucking of hair or coloring; in fact, the most valuable skins are those which are speckled throughout with a silver lipped hair, which is known as the silver-tipped fur, the addition of this hair adding 25 to 50 per cent, to thc price of the skin. There are now several hunters en¬ gaged in killing sea otters at the place referred to, and the modus operandi of taking them is very interesting. The hunters build for themselves derricks about forty feet high by tak¬ ing three slim poles or pieces of tim¬ ber, each about forty feet in leng h, and, bolting them securely together at one end for the top, they spread them about twenty-five feet apart, at the bottom, giving the appearance of a huge tripod. These are set on the ocean beach, about midway between high and lovz tides, the foot of the poles being embedded in the sand from two to tlnee feet. The structure js then thoroughly braced,and a ladder built to the top bv nailing pieces at convenient distances crosswise on the inland. About eighteen inches below (he top of the tripod cross timbers are secured to thc legs and upon these cross tim¬ bers a floor from four to five feet gquare is laid; and on tho oceanward and two adjoining sides walls arc built up three and a half to four feet in height. On the land side a door is constructed to allow the hunter easy ingress and egress to and from his “crow’s nest.’’ On the top of the tri¬ pod, which extends about 18 inches above tbc floor, a seat is constructed and around the inside of the wall a row of shelving is placed. At low tide, when thc wind is pro¬ pitious, the hunter hies himself to his crow’s nest, armed with a good pair of glasses, a Sharp’s rifle, a lunch, and for six long hours he scans the line of the ocean ju t outside of the breakers, where lie most expects his game to ap¬ pear. AYTien the tide first begins to flood, his range is about 600 yards, but as it runs in the range is shortened to 200 or 300 yards. Even at these lat¬ ter distances it requires close calcula¬ tion to know just how to shoot to over¬ come the rise and fall of Ihe ocean swell and the effect of the wind upon the bullets. It is said that not one out of 100 ihots of the best marksmen is effect¬ ive. When the tide is full the derrick stands in the midst of the breakers, and a land lubber feels a little squeam¬ ish looking down from the dizzy heights on the rolling waters below. Each hunter marks liis bullets with a mark known to the other hunters, and when an otter is found on the beach Die first duty of the finder is to look for the bullet and ascertain who is the rightful owner, for this sign is respected among the hunters as sacred¬ ly as marks and brands are a along stockmen. 'ihe season for killing sea otter ex¬ tends fr m M.iv to October, ami so scarce is tins game becoming that four a season is considered doing well by any hunter. In fact, some pass the season without taking any. 'I he hunters have a rule among themselves—which is strictly observed —that only one derrick can be allowed within a range—he., about a half mile, thus giving Die whole beach a regulari¬ ty of appearance not elsewhere observ¬ able.—[Oncc-a-Week. In tho reign of Queen Elizabeth a clergyman whose b notice did not ex¬ ceed $100 per annum was allowed to follow a trade. Imposingr the 15 ath Sentence. “How does a judge feel when he sentences a man to death?” lias often, teen asked. “Speaking tor myself, I can say it was the greatest trial of my life,” said a well-known jurist, in answer to the query of a Chicago News reporter. “I shall never forget that moment to my dying day. I doubt if the poor wretch I sentenced felt any worse than 1 did. And yet 1 had to do it. There was no help for it. The man had been found guilty of murder, and a jury had said that he mast expiate his crime upon the scaffold. “The scene dwells in my mind yet. It was a beautiful morning, and the grim, uncomfortable court room pre¬ sented a cheerful, sunny appearance, almost a rebuke from nature for the temerity of man in saving that a hit man being should be deprived of life. The criminal was a young man, barely twenty-four years old, and as he stood up at my command to receive the death sentence he fixed his eye# ou me with such a look of despair that inv nerve nearly forsook me. Hmv ever, I managed to articulate the words that told him his days were numbered. He did not say anything, or faint; it would have been a relief if he had.” It was in tho spring of 1882 that Judge Sidney Smith, who was then holding Criminal Court, was called upon to sentence a man to bo hanged. It was a most peculiar case and a rare one. Tho prisoner, a man name'd Gates, pleaded guilty to murder. “Do you know that on that plea I can sen¬ tence you to bo hanged?" asked tho judge. “I do,” answered the prisoner. < •Then let us hear the evidence,” said the Court, It took just an hour to get in all tho evidence, and Judge Smith told Gales to stand up. “Have you anything to say?” asked Judge Smith. ,,',q “Nothing,” was the answer. “Then I sentence you to bo hanged by the neck until you are dead, on the 21st day of March,” said tho Court. “Take him away.” It is a rare occurrence that a pris¬ oner is sentenced to death upon a plea of guilty. the calm Judge Grinnell was not person lie usually is when he imposed the death sentence upon William E. Purdy. He fingered the papers upon his desk in a nervous manner, and his voice was a shade less steady than usual as ho fixed the day for Purdy’s execution. A Luminous Sen. During thc whole of tho present year, as well as thc last five months of 1889, the whole of tho sea of Venice has been as one vast expanse of phospho¬ rescent wares whenever washed to cven the slightest extent by (be winds. Formerly this luminous appearance has only been noticed at intervals of about ten or fifteen years, fheu only from the beginning of summer until about the end of harvest, and in places abounding with sea grass. Now every¬ thing seems changed, tlie whole surface of the sea or gulf appearing as a sea of pale white lire as soon as darkness sets in on n windy night. In calm nooks thc mere drawing of a stick or cane back and forth through the water is sufficient to give the effect of an electric flash, the light dying out and again returning with the ebullitions of the water. A flask filled with the water emits no light until shaken violently; Die in¬ troduction of a lead pencil or small stick, however, will cause Die fluid to glow with greater intensity than any amount of shaking on the part of the experimenter. Strained through a lino cloth, tho water loses all of its peculiar properties, they having been imparted to the cloth,which now flick¬ ers and glows all over the entire sur¬ face »ike the spot where a damp match has been scratched in the dark. After the last-mentioned peculiarity was noticed scien ists made examina¬ tion of cloths used in such operations, and were rewarded for their pains by the discovery of the light-giving midge, a mi time worm or maggot, scarcely the one-seven-lmudredih of an inch in length, each bow-shaped and very lively. Each of these little creatures is ••rovided with twenty-two main ilia instead of feet, eleven on each side, and has eleven luminous rings aroxnd his liny body. Persons living on the chore# of the gulf say that when tlie waters sparkle more than usual it is a sure sigu of a storm.
