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GEORGIA WEEKLY OPINION THE WEEKLY OPINION. BT V. L. 8CHUOOS AND J. B. DOUBLE. WEDNESDAY MORNING:::: SEPT. 28. The Ji’ROK Quehtion.—Tne correspond ence between Judge Reese and Maj, Gen. Tore will arrest the attention of the thoughtful reader. Judge Hunan sets out with thu proposition—which. If not enun ciated, la plainly Implied—that the State Government of Georgia, an organized un der the dictation of Andrew Johnson, In a legal and Constitutional Government. The law-making power of the Government has declared differently; and Gen. Porn, as a faithful officer of his Government, charged with the special duty of enforcing the laws •ol Congress, seeks only to enforce tho law as against the opinion of Judge Reese. As they cannot agree, and as the existing State Government is only Provisional, and by tho terms of tho Reconstruction Act, subordinate to the Military, it only remain ed for Gen. Pope to suspend the official functions of a provisional officer who ro- fiiscd compliance with the regulations of the Military. ••SOCIAL KQUALITY.” The Union Republican or Reconstruc tion party of Georgia Is not a revolution ary party. If Is not a Repudiation party. It Is not an agrarian party. It Is not a “social equality” party. It seeks to pre serve, not to destroy. Republican govern ment. It seeks to place ull men upon terms of equality before the I.aw, without In fringing upon the vested rights ol any. It seeks not to Impair the obligation of con tracts. It seeks not to exempt certain classes from their Just proportion of taxa tion. Kqual taxation, equal justice, equal legal rights, the demolition of monopolies, the establishment of Public Schools, a united country under one common Government— these are the aims and hopes of the Uulon Republican party ot Georgia. Is there anything very horrible In this? Is there anything very objectionable In it? If so, where ? Mr. Jefferson once said that each and every man In tho country constituted a part and parcel of tho Government. If that Government Is to be free, Its several parts or integral members should be free. There should be no distinction before the I.aw. All were equals] before tho bar of State. “Sochi! equality ” Is ono thing; political equality Is another thing. The Drat is not possible in any country; the latter Is prac ticable only In a Republican Government. One man may be learned and refined; an other unlearned and uncouth. Their tastes, their habits, their enjoyments arc differ ent; and hence their associations will be different; their social status will be dif ferent. Rut they are both citizens of a common Government. They have the same right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Both have the same obliga tions of citizenship resting upon them. They are therefore equally Interested in the choice of rulers, In the enactment of laws, and In the malntalnance of Impartial justice. You may not force a man to join you in she dance, to eat at your table, to share your pew at church, or even to recognize you on the street; but, as a member of so ciety, you may force him to pay taxes, to sit on juries, to pay Ills debts, to keep the peace, and to glvo testimony before the civil tribunals. If therefore, A and B are both forced to pay taxes, to sit on Juries, to testify from tho same witness stand, or to sue or be sued before the same tribunal, does It necessarily follow that they are so cial equals ? Does every man on a jury feel under obligations to regard his rellow jurors as his social equals! Docs the act of voting together at an election make men social equals? Is every man who stops at the same hotel at which I am stop ping my social equal ? Is every man I meet at the polls my social equal ? Tills bug bear of “social equality” pos sesses no terrors for those who feel secure In a respectable social status. Gentlemen of merit and education, whose social posi tion is unmistakable, can well afford to meet the less gifted and loss fortunate Afri can in the discharge of the duties of a citi zen, without Impairing his social status. Indies of culture and position may recog nize their house maids as their equals be fore the Law without fear of Impairing their social position. It Is only your snob, your Ignorant, Ill-bred upstart and pre tender. who Is constantly afraid yon will suspect his meanness, that ts ashamed to be seen in the street car, at the polls, or In the Court room with the humble. Bap Policy.—A paper in Southwestern Georgia advises planters to hold up their cotton for twenty conts. Such advlco as this, at a time when staple goods at the North are on a descending scale, and when the mills at Lowell are crowded with man ufactures which they cannot tell, looks stupid. Better sell upon first market, and pay debts. tSTTho worms, says a gentleman wri ting to tho Now Orleans PIcayvno from Enterprise, Miss., under dato of tho 10th lost* arc slaying cotton In this section of the country. Old farmers say they havo not appeared so numerously before in twenty-sbe years. They have damaged somo crops llfty per cent., and stUI at work. What will becomo of us poor unfortunate cotton planters ? Bf The number of Immigrants arrived at New York last week was 4,000.making a total of 181,009 from the 1st;of January to date, against 179,234 for the correspond ing season last year. Personal* The numerous friends of Henry Tlmrod the poet, will regret to learn of hit extreme Illness. lie Is lying very low of lung fe ver in Columbia, S. C. It is learned from a well informed source that the British Government will not at present appoint a successor to Sir Freder ick Bruce. The duties of legation will bo performed by tho flrst Secretary, Francis Chi reford. .Mr. Blackburn, who returned to the United States after the issue of the Amnes ty Proclamation, has gone to New Orleans. The Soldiers' Union, ft is said, threatens to prosecute him for'his alleged conspiracy to murder thulr friends by sending Infected clothing to them during the war.—Il'asA- ington dispatch, 23d. The Baptist Association at Mt. Zion, Parties from the city, says the Columbus Hun of Tuesday, who attended the Baptist Association, held at Mt. Zion Church, esti mate the number of people present, Sun day, at the lowest calculation to be ono thousand. Dr. J. H. Dovotlc, of that city, delivered In the morning, the Missionary sermon, an effort highly spoken of. A dinner provided on the previous day, suf ficient for nil who attended, was spread In the open air. We arc nlsotbld there was preaching in the afternoon and at night. We presume that the Association adjourn ed yesterday, and that a summary of tho proceedings will lie furnished us. Cotton Items.—Receipts of cotton In Montgomery last week foot up 1,788 bales. Market quoted at lO'^c for mid dlings. The Augusta papers mention tho pur chasing in that city on Saturday, by the Grnnlteville Manufacturing Company, of 223 bales of cotton at 20, 1 ‘jc. Selma Cotton Statement.—Stock Sept. 1, 18011,301 bales; total receipts of tho past season, 33,155; total shipments, 32,471; stock Sept. 1.1807. 338; since Sept. 1, and to the 13th. 083 hales had been received; stock on the 13th, 703 bales, Floyd County Supebiob Court— An adjourned term of this Court met on Mon day, Judge Underwood presiding. Captain Charles Danlcll, summoned for a talisman on the Grand Jury, was excused, on the ground that he had not registered as a voter. The following Grand Jurors were sworn In: Geo. S. Black, Foreman; Thos.‘J. I’orry, John N. Perkins, James W. Belman, D. F. Holman, 11. S. Harbour, Elkanah Everett, A. W. Metcalf, Wiley J. Selman, John Mc Kinney, James M. Barnett, w. B. Ford, Riley J. Johnson. James M. Spurlock, W. A. Frost, Augustus C. Ware,. Wallis War- W. Gilliam, Green It. Duke, The Pubksological Joubnal.—The Oc tober Phrenological Journal contains Por traits and Characters of Mary Queen of Scots; Charlotte Bronte;Thomas Nust, the Artist; Ira Aldridge, Tragedian; Alfred Sewell, and others. Well-written articles on Anthropology; Married or Slnglo? Boots and Beauty; Sick Headache, Its cause and Cure; The Fashions, Illustrated; Man’s Spiritual Nature; Forming Cuabacteb; tho American Physiognomy; “Express ion ;” Whining Women; Grapes]and Black berries. Illustrated. *3 a year, or 30 cents a number. Address S. R. Wells, Editor, 380 Broad way, New Y’ork. The Atlantic ani> Gulp Railroad, Tho Macon Telegraph has Information that this road will be llnlshed and tho cars run ning to No. 20, fourteen miles west of Thoiuasvillc and twenry-one froiuBaln- bridge, by the 1st of October. Tho com pany expect to complete the road to Bain- brldgo before tho close of tho pear. Suicide in Acocsta.—Michael Owens, a native of Ireland, committed suicide In Augusta Saturday night, by swallowing six ounces of opium. He was 45 years of age, and had roahled In Augusta for a num bers of years. |ff A pclllcan was killed on Monday, near Knoxville, Tennessee, measuring eight feet from tip to tip of its wings, and when standing erect about live and a half feet. ^ tar Recent experiments prove, so a Ha vana paper says, that the leaf of the potato Is a perfect substitute for tobacco. Then we shall soon have cigars of “mercer filler” and “pinkeye wrapper.” HT A half Interest In tho Albany Tri weekly News Is offered for sale. Cause or the “Black Death” in Ire land.—The cause of tho mysterious cases of tho “black death" which occurred in Ireland a few weeks ago Is said to have been discovered. A good many cattle have been dying recently of a form of blood disease known as carbuncular fever, and In two or three Instances the flesh of these cattle has been eaten by other animals. In ono case a dog lapped some of the blood of a deceased bull, and, after suffering from a black eruption, died in a few hours. In another, a pig which had eaten of a de ceased cow's offal died under similar cir cumstances. The eruption and tho symp toms are said to have been prechcly llko those observable in the human victim of “black death,” and it Is, therefore, supposed that the latter disease may have been en gendered by the eating or meat front ani mals In a stato of carbuncular fover. HTThe two white men and negroes that made an attempt to escape some tlmeslnco from the Penitentiary, sixteen In number, were tried at tho Superior Court term last week, and sentenced for four years more, the Jury recommending them to tho mercy of the Governor, who alone can remit the sentence, and pardon them out at the ex piration of tho time for which they were originally sent. It was a new Idea to the negroes that an attempt to escape was a penal offense, and that their time could be prolonged for four years more. They will hardly attempt It again.—Milledgevtlle Re corder,Sid. WHO MAY BE JURORS. IMPORTANT fOHUESPONBENCE. A Superior Court Judge thinks the Johnson Slate Government C'onstl- lutloual. Tho following Is the correspondence passed between Judge ltccso aud General Pope: Madison, Ga„ Sept. 5th, 1807. To Molor General Tope. Commandant Third Military District, etc,.: General: Since I have been on tho Bench Of the Superior Courts, I havessdu- touely endeavored to have justice adminis teredaccording to law, “without discrim ination us to duties or Individuals;” how far I have succeeded is beat known to the people, the liar, and “thu Supremo Court, for tho correction of errors.” Since tho passage of wliat arc commonly called the Military Bills, looking to my own Interest, ns well as the Interest of tny constituents, 1 have labored to conform to all military orders, and until the publlcn- tlun of General Orders Nos. 53 and 55, ho|icd I should he able to do so. Truthful ness. General, requires me to say that 1 cannot obtain my consent to be niado in strumental In carrying out these orders; and It Is due that you should have my rea sons, which I will now proceed to give without much nrgumcntutlon. General, when 1 received from the peo ple of my Judicial District, through tho Executive of the State, my commission, I took and subscribed the following oath, viz: “I awear that I will administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal rights to the poor and tho rich, and that I will faithfully nnd Impartially discharge ami perform all tho duties Incumbent on me as Judge of the Superior Courts of this State, according to tho best of my ability and agreeable to tho laws nnd Constitution of this State, and the Constitution of the United States.” IVhen, how and where I have heen absolved from this obligation, l am not able to understand. With tlds ob ligation remaining, after a careful review of tlio several theories, touching tho status of the Southern States, 1 am unable to adopt any processor reasoning by which I can arrive nt the conclusion that the or ders referred to are the laws of Geo: the Constitution thereof, or the Const tion of the United States, or arc otherwise within thu purview and meaning of said obligation. My analysis of these orders is, that tho competency of jurors is made to depend upun the ]K>litics of the person summoned. It tho citizen summoned has registered, ho Is a competent juror; If ho has nut regis tered, ho must be set aside. Now, if regis tration, like the payment of taxes, was a legal duty upon the citizen, there would be some plausibility In the legislative author ity’s excluding lilm front tho jury box until lie discharged that legal duty. But the Military Bills even do not make regis tration a legal duty; on tho contrary, It la left to the free will uml discretion of every citizen who can tako the required oath to register or not. If these orders were In tended as a punishment upon such citizens as cannot taka tho required oath, It must not bo forgotten that there are hundreds, if not thousands, In Georgia who havo ever been considered true to tho Federal Gov- crumcnt, and who can take tho required oath, hut who havo not and will not regis ter, fearing they may by registering com mit tliomsclvcs to a programme which will, in their judgment. If successfully carried out, work an entlro change in the form of Government under which tho people of the United States were for so long a time prosperous and happy. This last men tioned class of citizens, I think, are in error; for I hold that every citizen who can, ought to register, and thereby qualifj' himself to prevent mischief; but these citizens In declining to regis ter are but exercising the rights or Amer ican citizens—rights conceded by tho Mil itary Bills, nnd in declining to register, commit no crime, und violate no icgul duty. Thcso orders carried out cannot fall to affect most injuriously the rights and Interests of parties in court, especially as they have the rigbt under our system. In equity, appeal, and criminal cases to select impartial Jurors. You will pardon me. General, In saying that under most latltu- dlnsrlnn construction pf tho Military Bills I can Hud no authority for making the politics or a citizen the test of his compe tency to serve on a jury, and thereby It may bo jeopardising to parties In court the right of being tried by an Impartial Jury. If tho officers of court wero ordered to have the juries made up ftom the list of membership in the Baptist, Methodist or Presbyterian, or any other church, I can not see that such order would he more In conflict with Americanism, than these or ders. In the one case tho religious creed of thu citizen would bo the test of his com petency tosit on a Jury—In the other case the test of his competency Is his politics. Were I absolved from tho obligations re ferred to there arc other considerations sufficient to deter me front undertaking to administer Justice through tho Instrumen talities Indicated. Precedents, General, ill all public mat ters, especially In judicial matters, if based upon wrong principles, are dangerous things—their Influence for evil Is felt long after tho occasions, which gavo birth to them, and their authors havo passed away, 1 am unwilling to ho iiuulo Instrumental In engrafting upon American jurisprudence thu principle that the competency of a 'itryinan Is dependent upon Ills politics. The principle would endanger the Impar tiality of juries, and sooner or later destroy all protection to life, liberty, and property. Again: without (briber authoritative legislation, in view of my raponslblllty to the law whenever the people of the United B|atcs should become eanc, aud in view of m.v accountability “to Him that It ready to Judgo tho quick and the dead,” no earthly consideration could Induco me to past sen tence upon a person convicted of a capital offcnco by tho verdict Of Blury organized az Indicated in Orders No. 63 and 65. Whilst I do not expect you, General, to eonear IB tM views herein presented, 1 do clalm|to havo accorded to me frankness, and honesty of purpose, qualities, once consid ered virtues the cxlstcueeof which among Georgians, 1 fear you havo had too rarely occasions to remark, since you were called to your present position. General, I regret to nave to present these considerations; but I dare not Ignore my convictions of duty. If you should feel ft to be your duty to prohibit me from the further exercise of judicial powers, notice of that fact at your earliest convcnlcnnce Is desirable. I shall make no Issuo with you, for the reason that I know of no appellate officer or tri bunal In the country at the present time adequate to the occasion. With high consideration, General 'I am yours, most respectfully, en v > -i ■ vy-■ • ‘ Augustus Riese. N. B.—The regular term of Greene coun ty Superior Court begins on Monday next. HEADQ’BS THIBD MiLITARYDISTRICT.) (Georgia, Alabama, and Florida,) > Atlanta, Sept, 1867. ) Honorable Augustus Iteese, Madison, Ga. Dear Sir: I havo the honor to acknowl edge tho receipt of your communication of tbo 5th Inst, lu which you luform me that you cannot as Judge of a Superior Court of tbo Stato of Georgia, obtain your con sent to bo made Instrumental In carrying out orders 53 and 55, issued fr-om these Headquarters, and stating your reasons therefor. Whilst I thank you for the candor of your communication, I regret that yon have reached such a conclusion. I cannot undertako to outer Into any argument to convince you that my orders are legal and obligatory upon you. It seems not Im proper, however, to stato that tho position upon which your conclusion Is based, apr pcara to me to be totally untenable. Your argument is founded npon tho theory that tho State Governmontof Georgia Is a legal one. and that all acts contrary to tho laws of the State, even when done In pursuanco of tho acta of Congress, are Illegal. The preamble of the Reconstruction acta con tradicts this theory In direct terms in tho following words, viz: “ Whereas, no legal Stato Government or adequate protection for llfo or property now exists in the rebel States of • Georgia, * • Ac.” Tho acta then proceed recognising tbo existing State Governments as provisional ■ncrqly, and establish a Military Govern ment to which tho Provisional Govern ment la made, in almost every respect, sub ordinate. - As tho laws of the United States aro paramount In Georgia, it follows that no proceedings of the existing State Govern ment of Georgia possessed any validity whatever prior to the enactment of the Beconstructlon acts, and that whatever validity they possess now thoy owo entjre- ly to that recognition. Whenever the pro ceedings of tlio Provisional State Govern ment, cither in Its cxccutlvo or judicial departments, conflict with tho provisions of the Reconstruction acts, or with the or ders of tho military commander acting In conformity thereto, such proceedings are without legal validity. Thu power Is vested In me, by tho Re construction acts, to tnuko such orders as I consider necessary to carry out tho objects therein spcclfled, and such ordors, there fore, curry with them, In this District, all tho force of law, until they aro modified or countermanded by higher authority than mine. Any law of the Provisional Stato Gov ernment lit conflict with orders thus issued is null and of no cffuct, and any proceed ings whatever under a law thus set aside by military orders, arc without val idity. Jly orders 03 und 53 were Issued by vir tue of tbo power thus vested In me, and I consider them necessary to tho execution of the acts of Congress above speciAed. As tho Reconstruction nets became laws of the United States in the manner provided by tho Constitution, nnd ns the question of their Constitutionality has been presented to the Supreme Court of tlio Ulilted States, and that highest judicial tribunal of the country has decided that it has no jurisdic tion in tho case, tlio consideration of that question by subordinate military or judi cial officers Is scarcely admlslble. Your arguments against political tests ts very good, but totally inapplicable to the My orders require Jurors to bo selected from the registered voters, but make no discrimination ns to their politics. Whilst I do not, for the present, prohibit you from tho further exercise of judicial powers, I do require you to observe tho above orders, uml will not overlook any failure on your part to carry them fully Into execution. I am, sir. very respectfully. Your obedient servant, Jxo. Porn, B’tMaJ.Gen.U.S. A, Commanding. Madison, Ga, Sept. 16,1867. To Maj. Gen. Pope, Commandant Third Military District, de. General: Owing to my nbsenco In liold- lng[Grceno county Superior Court, your letter (without date) In reply to my com munication of the 6th Inst, was not receiv ed until tho afternoon of Saturday last. Ypur suggestions In relation to Orders Nos. 63 and 55 have caused mo to give my communication of the 5th Inst, a most careful and searching review, to see If I could And any fallacy In the argument, or error In my conclusions. Candor compels me to say that I have been unable to de tect either. You say “my orders require the furors to be selected from the register ed voters, but make no dlstlnctlona as to politics.” Now, It is certainly true that the orders do not, In so many words, make n distinction as to polities, but upon what ground Is It that a large number of our citizens who can take the reglstratloqoath are excluded ? Tliotr politics Is, not to moat respectfully submit that my analysis of these orders, as contained In my first 1 m. Is correct, to-wit: that by be pol made the test of Ills competency to alt up on a jury. I concede to tho foil extent tlio doctrine that the private citizen ts bound to conform to all lawa passed by sutborlty. until they aro declared void by the Jlidictary; but a Judicial officer in the dlsclinrgeof tits duty, sworn to administer bis office agreeable to fundamental law, oc cupies a very different position. I thank you, General, for the deferential consider ation you have pleased to glvo my embar rassments upon this subject. 1 can't see that 1 have any alternative in the premis es, other than to proceed with the discharge of official duties as heretofore, until you shall ftel It your duty to have given to me a prohibitory notice. With high considerations. General, I am yours. . Most respectfully. Augustus Reese, Judge Superior Courts, Ac. N. B. I havo an adjourned Court In Bald win county, commencing to-morrow. Next week Is tho regular term for Putnam county. Atlanta, Ga, Sept, 17,1807. Dear Sir: I received this morning your letter of the 16th Inst, in answer to mine of the 6th inst. As our vlows of your duty to observo and comply with orders issued by mo as District Commander are irreconcilable; and as Icooalder it my duty to enforce my own opinion on the subject, and as I am unwilling In tho caso of a gentleman of your character suul standing, to resort to so unpleasant an act as your removal from your office.! suggest that; to avoid on- pleasantness, which I am sure neither of us seek, you resign your office. . . _ , If yon should conclude to do so, bo pleas ed so to Inform me, aud to consider, this letters positive prohibition against the forther exercise of your office, unless you ment should deprive the State of Georgia of the aervlces of so competent and worthy a Judge. I am, sir, vety respectfully, Your servant. (Signed) . _ John Pope, Bvt. Maj. Gen. U. S. A. Com.3dMII.Dist. Hon. Augustus Reese, Madison, Ga. Hilledoeville, Sept. 20,1867. To Maj. Gen. John Pope, Commanding 3J Military District, ie.: General: Yours of the 17th inst. In re ply to my letter of the lOtli, was not re ceived by mo until last night. I cannot, as yon have been heretofore advised, con sistently with views of duty, be made In strumental In carrying out Orders Nos. 63 and 55, nor can I bring my mind to the conj elusion tbatl ought to resign. Your let ter, therefore, Is accepted by me as “a pos itive prohibition against tho forther exer cise of my office,” and will be acquiesced In by mo at such. I think you for the kind and compli mentary manner in which you have been pleased to communicate your prohibitory order. With high consideration, General, I re main yours, Most respectfully, Augustus lima ffomf.'"’ 0,1 Milledgeville, Sept. 14,1867. To the Hon. Dawson A. Walter, Dalton: My dear Judge: 1 received your letter of the 5th Instant, referring to our frequent eonversatlona heretofore concerning our condition as a people, and desiring me to reduce to writing the views expressed by mo as to “the status of GcoreU” at this time, and the course which 1 thought It most expedient to pursuo In reference to the proposed call of a Convention to re vise the State Constitution; with the addi tional request that you might exhibit or publish tho same, as you thought proper. I sat down at onco to comply with tho request to rcduco my opinions to writing, but found, after I had done so, notwith standing a constant effort at condensation, that I could not either till! sent them within such linn of good tasto require In a letter. I. there fore, must beg you to excuse me for not forwarding tho article prepared, and to substitute therefor, very much compressed, a mero outline of tho course of thought by which I have been conducted to tlio con clusions herein stated, nnd on which I would act, were I not disfranchised. It Is my conviction, after long and ma ture thought, that the many great ques tions involved In the Inquiry, “What is the status of Georgia at this time?” cannot bo solved by considering them as falling wlth- ’ ’ — ithcr municipal or con the application to them of the principles of international law, to which domain of jurisprudence exclusively belongs the ad justment and determination of tho con troversies of States lately belligerent, and tho relations which, upon the cessation of hostilities, tbey bear to each other. Let mo in advunco say, that, educated from early manhood In the political school of Jefferson and Troup; and believing In the sovereignty of each State, and, conse quently, In the abstract right of secession; my opinions are, as you will see, the neces sary result of such an rnueaf Ion. Now, I tako It to be an undeniable fair! that Georgia, by the Ordinance of her Cun ventlon ill 1861, did dissolve her connec tion with the Federal Union, and renounce the Federal Constitution. This set put Georgia out of tho Federal Union. I take It to be also an undeniable fitet, that Georgia, as a State, has not been re stored to her former position in the Federal Union. Tbia being so. she Is still out of the Fed eral Union. What Interest or property as a State; tr my premises are right, she has In a! Constitution which she solcmly re nounced, and which has not been re-ex- tended over her as a State In the Federal Union, 1 am at n loss to discover. Having none ns a State, how can she, In reference to political rights and privileges, rightfully claim its benefits and protection ? Upon thla view you will perceive that I utterly deny that there waa a civil war In Its legitimategense—that we were rebels— traitors; A necessary consequence from this position is, that vpon tho termination of hostilities there can be no confiscation or amenability to the muoletpal laws of the conqueror. The claim that the Constitution Is Ours, and that wo have never parted with It,con tains within It the fatal admission of onr guilt as traitors. “Tho status ot Gcorgis, then, at this time,” Is that of a conquered State out of the Federal Union. If thU Is so, It Is In the light only of tho laws of nations that our aituatlon can be properly considered. It must, I think, bo conceded by every j.rlst, whose reading has extended beyond Blaekstono and tlio Constitution of the United States, that It la a settled and un questionable doctrine of tho laws of na tions, that tho conqueror, according to tho customs of Christian civilized nations, may rulo tbo State conquered at his will, as by moulding Its political Institutions to that will, with no other restrictions on his pow er than the customary usages of such na tions. Tho Congress of tho United States, from t5fs source, and this alone, derived their power to paaa the Reconstruction Acta: they do not spring from tho exercise of enumerated and delegated powers to Con gress, but from tho power outside of the Constitution Inherent In tlio victor. Viewing those acts, then, in the light of terms imposed by tho conqueror or con quered—and I am driven bv a stern logic to look at thorn in that fight, and none oth«r-so regarding them, I am called on to determine what lino of conduct It Is moat expedient tc pursue. I am compell ed to remember, alto, at the same time, that there ts oo earthly tribunal to which tho a red can appeal for remedy or ro- Arowe not, then, by an inexorable ty, compelled to choose between ac quiescence In those acts, or resistance? Tho other alternative la. the only thing left J. , From the views I have thus taken of onr situation, and. thoroughly convinced that a Convention will be called, that tho opposi tion of the whites wilt not only be utterly unavailing, hot actually prejudicial, I am constrained to say, being very much con trolled In my judgmentoy what I deem a wise expediency, as also .by reasons which prudence forbids tks .utterance, of now. that if 1 had the right to'a vut* I-would vote for the call ot a CdRveuUou. l wquld then cordially oa-opctibwOjrltny the colored voters In ,the. jhsctWa to that Convention ot tbo ''mostv. In telligent, Independent, dlspataWoate'and prudent delegated not dlsfraoeotyfr ouldflnd. To them I would commit conform to my order concerning Juries, in could find. To them _ this State.' ■ ”“••**•“•** high task of moulding our organic law I regret very mush t that this disagree* according to onr altered oonditkon, so as to fulfill tho requisitions of tho recostructlon acts, that Georgia may bo restored to ths Federal Union | and If our present State Constitution needed other guards for the protection of public and prlvato property Against plunder or legislative abuse, they should bo provided. By tbo apoptlon Or the provisions of these acts in refer ence to suffrage, I would dose at once, which, If not thus disposed Ot, will prove a perennial fount or agitation, anxiety, alarm. It Is difficult to over estimate the import ance of vigilance and concerted action on. tho part or all good and true patriots in preventing tlio convention from getting Into tho power or under tho control of aelflah, unprincipled, lmd men, who, for alnlster purposes, It Is believed, aro now in dustriously occupied in striving to estrange aud alienate permanently the whites and black/). It Is my best judgment that the course Indloated bv me will more effectually con tribute to thwart tho purposes of such vile creatures than any others If, however, all effort to guard tho Con vention against a power and Influence so much-to DC dreaded should prove unavail ing, and a Constitution under their man agement, embodying other provisions than those required by the reconstruction acts. ot a proscriptive, unjust, and offensive character to the whites, should be made by It, and presented for ratification to a popu lar vote, rten let the whites unite, ana with manly scorn Indignantly reject It. Accustomcn to form my own opinions and freely to express them, I know of do sufficient reason why I should withhold the permission desired. They are, there fore; placed atyhur discretion. | am, veryreipectfully, Your obedient servant, Ivebson L. Harris. Tbe City.—Atlanta City Checks are now bringing about 85 cents in tho dollar, be* lng the highest figures tho same currency has ever commanded. A continuation of tlic very prudent system adopted by the present able Finance Committee, it Is thought, will soon place our City Checks on a par basis with greenbacks. Unimproved suburban lands wblcb, eighteen month* ago commanded from three to gix hundred dollars per acre, can now be purchased for much less than one- half that amount, and In somo Instances one-fourth. J.T. Shuftcn, colored, addressed a large audience at tlio City Hall last Tuesday night. He Is a man of considerable abili ty, and blessed with a redundancy of words surpassed by few. An unusually largo number of wagons were in tho city yesterday, and all of our “country cousins” were In quest of “store things” of somo sort or another. We no tice that many of our merchants were driving a brisk and lively trade. We should not despair, there is evidently a better time just ahead of us. Business can not fail to gradually improve as the season advances. A fcw days since we made mention of the fitet that Mr. James O'Halloran had treated our friend Patrick Fitzgtbbon rath er roughly, on Tuesday. Mr. O’Halloran w«- brought J up standing” before his Honor Judge Smith, to answer the charge, and war fined $20, in default of the pay ment of which he Is to sorva three months In the chain gang as a laborer on the streets of Atlanta. About twenty hags of new cotton was sold In this market yesterday. Ths large portion of It was raised In Coweta and Campbell counties. A small lot arrived here the evening previous by rail, from Bartow. The best grades brought 16 cents per pound.. A. W. Mitchell A Bro. were tho purchasers of the larger portion of the lot offered. Col. P. M. Sheibly, of Rome, is In the city, nnd stopping at tho United States. Tlio Hon. Foster Blodgett, of Augusta, In olso in the city. The good people raiding on Lnckie aro under lasting obligations to Commissioner Crawford for tho splendid condition in which ho has placed that street. That por tion of tho city has long been neglected, butts now receiving* foil share of that excellent officer’s attention. Our readers are reminded that the Opin ion Job Printing Office Is now In success ful operation, under chargo of competent workmen, which enables us to execute any thing In tho printing line, on os short no tice and as reasonable terms as can be done elsewhere. Mrs. Miller’s (white free) school, corner of Peters and Garnett streets, for the edu cation of thoso who aro unable to pay tui tion, was opened last Monthly morning. Mrs. Miller Is among the most successful teachers In the country, possessing attain ments surpassed by few, and a mind pecu liarly adapted to the profession. This school Is conducted, under the supervision of the Pennsylvania and Mew Jersey Union Commission, and Is doing much for thoso who avail themselves of Its ben efits. V'”", ‘, ; J; 1 k . yesterday, that jtessrs. JlcBrjdo & Co. wero driving a lively trade. A good stock, of fered on reasonable terms, always Insures customers. In demand—Street sprinklers. . Played out—(or should Ilf)—The credit system. HTTlto Pope and Victor Emanuel art co-opcratlng actively for tho suppression of revolutionary attempta against Rome. Tho one is trying to surpass the other in seizing “dangerous nnd suspected persona” on tho Roman frontier; and the arrests that were made last week by tho Pope 1 * troops atVIterbo arc only tho counterpart of those that have been made at other points by the King’s troops. Though It Is certain that these two sovereigns must taka very different views of the character and work of Garibaldi, yet both unite to crash out the attempts at disturbance with which his name is now associated. If the Pope can hold on to his seat until the assembling of the General Council which he hascalled, ho may then count on Ms safety being In sured as long as It remains In session, for there is no doubt that Fraoce would corn- line with other Cathollo Powers to guar- •ntee Papal Independence under auch sol emn circumstances ail those of a General Cornell of theCbtneh.