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THE WEEKLY CONSTITUTION ATLANTA, GA., TUESDAY DECEMBER 29 1885.—SIXTEEN PAGES The Constitution. h*m4 »l the Atlanta PottOfllre as atooad^ua (Mil matter, November 11,IS!*. TT,. VI, Cnn.Illation, il.Mper.nnnm. > Club, of Bve. 11.00 etch; clnbe of ten «.» s**n »»d t copy to gel ler-up erf Clab. . (on into a heap of splinters and dnat. There I (hat it would be real economy on the part is no remedy, but an improved aignal service I of (be general government to supply nil the may warn people when and where to expect I arms, service uniform., camp equipage and danger. It is even now possible to predict | music, and to tarnish rations when the vol- A WORD WITH YOU If you are not a subscriber to The Constitution, this copy is sent you as a sample, with the request that yob examine and decide whether or not you want to take it * You need a good paper for 1886. . We think The Constitution is the best paper you cao get Please examine it carefully. Read It, compare it with other pipers, and send us 3 our subscHptlon. It will be the bett investment you ever made. Try it one 'year, and you will never quit it, ATLANTA, 0 A„ DECEMBER 29, IMS. A rArKit up in Dover, N. II., says tbe south is half dviiiwd. If this is the why is the editor of the Dover paper hanging around Ms little ono-liome (own? Why dosen’t he come couth and civilize every body ? CONfiHEsa has passed two bills—one to re lieve General Jxwton of his political dis abilities, and the other to provide a pension for Mrs. Grant of 95,000 a year. Both were passed In Hie house by unanimous consent under general parliamentary usage. Tilr. scenes in Nonticoke, when it was an- irttinciil that the attempt to rasene the I in ptttpnrd miners would have to ho abandon ad, snrpaeeed all deacrlptlon. Thirty men were Imprisoned In the death chamber be neath, nnd aliova were hundreds of relatives anxiously awaiting the progress of the work. When work was finally stopped, It meant the death of the unfortnnale miners. Tiie interview with the liev. Ham Jones, printed elsewhere, shows that oar Georgia evangelist did get his anger into oil in even the flinty soil of Hk Louis, and that Mr. HmgU bore a worthy part in the work. We have backed Ham Jones In all his crusades against aln In dlvera and sundry cities. W await with anxiety his tussle with Cincin nati, which begins next week, lie lias wise ly come home for tbe holidays, Hint he may brace himself up, and Cincinnati sleeps with one eye open while she waits for him. Gkkkuai. Fits; Lee, governor-elect of Virginia, refuse* to accept a gift. It proposed to present him with a carriage and harness,- the articles had been made, nnd his admirers bad begun to send In money to pay foMbem, when General Lee heard of the matter, lie very promptly said that ''under no circumstances would lie accept ench a present." A fow more men like Gen eral Lee and President Cleveland will lift the standard of public service very much higher than it has been in a quarter of Christmas Day. I t la .here 1 The tootio-ootie-too of Innnmeralilo tin trumpets, the paralysing loom of tho can non cracker, nnd the not unmusical discord of the jubilant small boy inode the welkin ring long before tlie mlata of this memora ble morning melted away. This great holiday of tho Christian world la a blessed day. No man ever grows too old, too cynical, or too Maw to enjoy it. We may pretend that the roaring youngsters who have taken possession of the town are altogether too noisy, Iral we deceive no one. Even Into the heart of the hardest worldling the gentle suggestions and influences of this day will enter and leave their impress. The youngsters have the best of it. They have the best of the day and the best of the argument. If we cannot duplicate this en thusiasm and their hilarity, we ran nt least imitate them, and that man Is happiest who succeeds In most happily counterfeiting the light arid glad Joys of youth. Let ns hope that in some Instances tho rllbrt will not he Marions—that the rrsnlt will be genuine. It is so easy to Ibrget, for a time, the cares of age, the rrsponsihilltiea of business nnd the troslUes, large and small, that the years bring. B(t the day is litre! Let ns make tbe most of It. Perhaps them is some humble heart we ran make happier, some humble resilience into whoso forlorn precincts wc may be able to carry the spirit of the day, the suggestions of the season. Well for ns Mow and hereafter if wo give to some poor sonl a touch of tho day that 1s dedicated to the memory of the Babe who lay in the nunger-tbe Babe pointed ont by the glisten ing stars anil worshipped by the wise men. • Touching Tornadoes. Tornado is not exacUy a word to con jmo w ilh, lml one has only to pronounce it in any circle to accnre immediate and rot- pcctAil attention. Perhaps lieutenant Finlay, of the aignal service bureau nt Washington, [has more tor nado wisdom than any man in Hie country. He has spent hts life studying every flirt and twist of tbe ftinnel shaped tenor which, during recent years, has become so familiar in many parts of the nnfam. What bo soya therefore carries weight with it. Lieutenant Finlay soya it ia a gnat mis take to suppose Hud cities are In compara tively less danger ftnmjprnadoea because the hravierand more durable structures may be expected to break up Uu ckmd vortex and scatter Us fnry. ThaWtsUon at Phlladel phis last August, aniFTho one that struck Marshfield, Mo., disprove this theory. The one lost mentioned would have plowed, through St. l-outa, if it bad rtrurk the city instead of Hie town. In the opinion of the lieutenant “the greatest atructuna of atone and Iron will melt like srax in fire when tbe vortex ivncbea them. New York, with its gnat environments nnd millions of people may svilrr when it least expects It. The Brtokhn bridge would make a splendid tar get for a tornado. That vast ftame work ot Mn l and iron will be torn from ita pillows and hurled Into the Fast river, if the vortex ever strikes it." This is had enough, but onr expert goes an to ray that we may look far about 160 tornadoes a year. We cannot build anything strong enough to withstand a whirling veloc ity of '.‘.CtKI mites an hour. This is the force •tout the vortex, and it means a ptcslure of fifteen pounds to the square inch. Kuch a fen* would tumble the capital at Wwhing- thesc local disturbance* sixteen boms in ad vance, and by danger signals warn the peo ple. As to protection tbe “dog out’’Is the best thing that has yet been devised. It it all nonsense to talk about lessening the evil nnteer soldiery is called out for instruction by the government. As to tho economy and wlidomofsncb a policy, we cannot dobetter than give the distinguished soldier’s words in Aril. He says: “Whatever objection may by planting forests or by firing cannon into I be offered to the expenditure required to an approaching cloud. The vortex, of a tor nado cannot be destroyed by artificial means. If the lieutenantgfves ns any comfort it is to he found in. hts statement that tornadoes arc not on the increase, bnt then they ore perfect such an organisation of tbe national guard can be met by the [simple statement of the fiict, proved so often in onr own his tory, that onr habitual economy in time of pence has always been far more than coun terbalance by the consequent unduly heavy not diminishing. As the country becomes I cost of preparing suddenly for war. When more thickly settled there is more to ho des- | we have a national guard of sufficient tioycd, and.eonscquently mortis said about I strength, well-armed and equipped for scr- thcse visitations than was the case in former | vice, jxwsahly disciplined, accustomed to use year*. Instead of sweeping over unsettled I their weapons and act together, instructed pniric3thentormnowstrike*cft{es,townsand I in the rudiments, at least, of field service— farms. ThereJs nothing to lie done but to I in such a condition, in brief, that a few trust to the signal service and the “dug | weeks service in the camp and field will outs,” nnd Providence over all. convert them into respectable soldiers, we shall have a force not only quite capable of crushing ont in its beginning any attempt at riot or intestine disturbance, bnt also of so Tho New Pension Ilald. The republican members of the honse of representatives have formally resolvsd to I promptly and effidenUy supporting onr lit- make a repeal of the limitation clause of the | {S’Sni Z,“L. "sw. petitions bill, and even an extension of the system, a party measure. The democrats , ... m . are, in other words, to lie forced to adopt or. | ^ - 7^ u reject the proposition, under fear of liing \ u™ *?*^™ * l ° CBreCt * “the soldier vote.” The politicians and tire pension attorneys arc at the bottom of them raids. They pro cured the passage in 1878 of a bill granting pensions, not from the data of application, bnt ftom the time the disability began. The pension .charge jumped from twenty-seven million a year to about seventy A Magnanimous Husband. This is not exactly an Enoch Arden case, bnt it is none the less interesting. In 1860 Mr. Henry Lndford, of Troy, N. Y., for reasons satisfactory to himself, or possibly nnder tbe pressure of circumstances over which he had no control, suddenly and million a year, and there is as yet no sign of I mysteriously disappeared. His sorrowing decrease. For the tost seven yean the nn- I wife, left witii an infimt son, mourned the nna! pension burden lias avenged $54,400,- I missing partner of her bosom for msoya long 000, nnd tbe estimated expenditure on this I year. Hhe was quits certain that he had oeronnl, during tbe present fiscal year, is I been the victim of foul play. Finally, at $75,000,000. It Is now proposed by republi- I the end of seven yean sho married Mr. ‘John can demagogues to throw the bridle Off, by I Bmitb, and as time wore on she succeeded letting any man who may, at any time np- I injalmost forgetting her first husband, ply, have a pension from the time when, I A few days ago the Junior Lndford acci- nnder loose rules of evidence, he may bo I dentnllyleamed that his father was olive able in any way to show that bia disability began. There is lint one step beyond this, namely, a pension for all surviving soldien of the civil war. The people of llie south have never object ed, and do not object, to a rcnnonahlo pen sion hill. The fortunes of war entitle every union soldier, who wrru actually disabled In the service, to n reasonable pension. But when the pension list is already greater than any similar list in the world, when it is known that thousands and tens of thousands of fraudulent cases arc homo on the pension rolls, then it Is tims for the southern repre sentatives to stop and nok whether the sooth, in its present condition, is able to stand any ftirther extension of the burden. Any further extension would ho beyond all reason, all jnsUce, all precedent; and when the south pays one-third of tho enormous bill, recciv. | and at Cohoea. He lost no time.in hunting him np. The meeting was very affecting. Old man Ludford was rejoiced to see his son. | When told that the woman ho had deserted a quarter of a century ago was wetland hap- I py, lie expressed tbe greatest delight. On porting with tbe yonng man he requested him to tell his mother that he should do nothing to dlstarb her, and that while he I would like to see her ho felt it best to deny himself that pleasure. He declined to ac count for his disappearance and abandon ment of hisfamily. Tltta Year's Cotton Crop. The annual review of C. Greene A Co., relating to the cotton crop of the United States, is before the public. Their estimate rest! upon replica to inqnrlcs sent to every port of the cotton belt. Eighteen hundred i. - „ . .. h ■ replica were received, and from them was JZt compiled these crop estimates: aside partisan considerations. The south will contribute this year $25,000,000 to the pension ftind. The people of oseb southern average $1,500,000 on account of pensions to union soldiers. Georgia’s share will really exceed $3,000,000. This great sum is drawn from the state by indirect taxation under the tariff bill. We pay it-when we buy a coat or a shawl or a plow or a paper of pins or nearly any other article, cither of luxury or every-day asc. It is taken from us none the less because It is taken indirectly at the custom houses. If it was levied directly, we would very readily seo liow great a stream from the south is required to meet the enor mous pension system that is chiefly the pro duct of di'iiiiigoglsm. Hhns very much to do w ilh the poverty of the south. Let tis ....6,429,000 M$9,000 STATES. North Carolina...A.Sffi.1 South Carolina. ...t,4S6,1 mM ....(.....6,604,Owl utTsaiu* Towns. .......... 0,(02,000 Memphis .0.ML000 ........ A-iis,ouo rtinrfotte s[90koao Moutaomery .S..W7.000 Average .fWn,00M8t. Louts A400,000 Cincinnati _4,MS,000 rofrrs. [Shreveport 0,17V Gaiverton .0,600,000 Atlanta _ New Orleans s,7M,00M llotmnn- iytas.000 Mobile. 024,ooo Vicksburg. «,717,000 Savannah s[fi99,00(M —j——* Charleston 0,910,olo Average ......0,.v,7,000 The compilers do not, however, accept any of tbesA averages, because they think the present condition of trade must create a bias towards minimum estimates, nnd because* too, some member of the firm recently visi ted “several important points south.” Tho hope three extensions arc not promoted by a I reviewers therefore estimate the crop at 8,- drsiie to keep the south under the harrow | poo,000 hales. to the latest possible moment. LOWS HOtlAKOH, in Mn. HumtUt gnat Jtsiy, ukithbtthu next *e«l. f« tnnliub- m at a nee" to gtt Ih opening chapters. 'Jhry certainly have a very cool way of din-reditlng their numerous correspondent*. "The advantage of recent personal observa tion" hardly affords ground enough for do chiring rigblern hundred men to tbe manner I loti TihiiiiIm mnl Mis Critics. . - The hoys have done aomo fine writing | Ml of error; for n guess four hundred slow Mr. Toornhs. It is not smart in these ■lays for nn editor to write anything that is not tempered with criticism and under-run ilh n hint of reserved disapproval. Bo nil llie editors have been analyzing Mr. Tounlw's character, mixing In casual dissent with mild approval. That's all right. They are like small boys, who, not content lo nilmire a mqjeetic moun tain Hint, in lire distance, lifts ita head into the skies, toll lalioriously up Ita sides and criticise nn ugly shrub they chance to find lure nnd there. That's all right again. But when (lie small lsiys are gone and forgotten, nnd tbe shrub* have fluted into nothlngnes*, the momitsin will lie standing there with sunshine resting on it* head. ABlrong MUtlla. Frolsihly tbe lost article that General Mc Clellan prepared for the eyes of the public wna the one (lint appears hi the January Harper's, relating to the militia. It la n thoughtftrl article from a man familiar with the whole theory and practice of public de- feme, addressed to a rich and prosperous na tion in 0 time of profound pence. He tells us in snhstanre to prepare now for war. He tells us that a militia by count of all able-bodied men is a fallacy, and ha Shows the importance of strengthening in every possible way the voluntary or state organizations, which are the real and availa ble militia of the countvy. lie would have thousand hales, aside from the truth, Is con aUlcvcd a very poor estimate in this part of the country. Bnt onr New York reviewers •ro very confident however that they “know it all.” They declare in conclusion they have no Idea their “careftilly considered e» tlmste will require Important modification, if any at all, when the final figure* are reached;” ami so they complacently take up the questiou of demand. Our Christmas Number. M'e issue this week onr Christinas muulier of Tug Weekly Constitution. It will reach roroe of out readers a day late. This Is due to tbe enormous edition we have had to print, in order that all tnay lie supplied. We are on our way to 100,000 subscribers, and arc climbing fast. If oar readers will only gire ns a help wo will reach that figure this spring. Won’t every man, who reads this ropy of T11K Constitution, determine that he will send us at least one new sub scriber? Those of yon who have read The Constitution, know that we print the big gest, best and cheapest family paper in America. The Year’s Rust ness. We have before us reports from Chicago thia unn of the service made so strong that | amt Boston of the business of tbe year, and in an emergency it would constitute a spirit- I they agree in saying that the situation i* did reserv e for tbe regular army, and if tbe I much better than It was one year ago. At emergency were a grant one, it would over- I that time all prices were goingdown, and no whelm the latter os was the case in the civil I one could see the bottom. During the year war, taking from the regular army every I there has been a depreciation of value*,?bat officer it could spare. I prices at present are firm, except in the eaee The great soldier proceeds to show that I of wheat and some other agricultural pro ne are b.v no means safe against foreign ware. I ducts, and the price of com is advancing. Trouble ran come from the fortified and I There is a feeling all around that the torn- nrar-at-hand naval stations at Halifax, the I ing point or the depredatlo^Jias been paswd, Bcnundss, Nassau and Jamaica; from Cana- | and that the new year will usher in an ini- da, Cuba or Mexico; from the Panama other ship canal; from internal riots or dis sensions, from socialism, atheism or anarchy. To meet ail such contingencies General Mc Clellan thinks the v arious states should com bine (0 organize and keep in fighting trim a militia lonxisting of thirty regiments of heavy artillery, 36,000 men; twenty two regiments of cavalry, 22.000 men; three handled and thirty-two battalkmo of infoat- 222,300 men—a total of 290,500 men. Such a forte, in addition to the regular army, would render tbe coon try accnre against al most any possible emergency. General McClellan then proceeds to shew proved and improving condition of trade. There are many things to justify confi dence. Surplus stocks have been disposed of, and production has been put on the basis of a loomed consumption ; and yet there are many more (brim ice in operation today Hum there were one year ago. More labor ers have employment. More goods have been distributed. Tbe Christmas trade has been better than it has been since WM. Iron is advancing, and ftllnres are one-third less than they were bet Christmas-time. A 1 reeling of steady confidence hen taken tho place of gloomy apprehensions. We havo, | in n word, rounded the stake bent among tbe breakers, and an sailing in calmer and safer water*. Tbe large decrease in the value ol exports is probably only temporary. There are mil lions across the water to be clothed and fed from this country, and the cotton and bresd- stuffs and provisions that they do not buy tow will doubtless be purchased n Uttle Inter. Tims far during the fiscal year the returns show a decrease of thirty-five mlUion dollars in tire export of the articles we have named ; but tbe balance of trade Is still in our favor, and will doubtless remain so. Were it not for the condition of tho export trade, we would enter upon the new year with much confidence and courage. And the returns of another month moy altogether remove this source of doubt. At this stage of the revival men ore naturally skeptical, but the best judges of trade are confident that the causes of dis trust havs been eliminated, and that we will move steadily on towards a higher de gree ©(prosperity. The crops of 1885 were good ; the railroad wars are ended; prices are at a minimum, and supply and demand have met and reasonable profits are assured. Growth and development, and finally, a feel ing of confidence, seem to be in order now. Of course there will be reactions, but it is thought they will lie temporary, and that all operations ran be safely hosed on returning prosperity in all branches ol trade. *A Pickled Millionaire. For many years it has been believed that Walter Newberry, the millionaire who be queathed $2,500,0(10 to found a public library in Chicago, was quietly resting at the bottom of the ocean. Itis only within the past few weeks that his fellow-citizens bare learned that the body of their benefactor has been lying for seventeen years in Gracebrad ceme tery. The facts of the cose are so peculiar that they dreerve more than a passing mention. When Newberry died at sea the captain of the vessel was about to give him the usual burial, but a gentleman from New York In. terfered ami urged the preservation of the deed man’s body for Us fiunily. The cap tain still held ont, hot yielded when the New Yorker offered to purchase a cask of Medford rum In the cargo for the purpose of preserving the body. The corpse war put into the cask of liqnorond the strange item of freight was unloaded at Havre. The New York man took charge of it and rebilled it to Newberry’s former address in Chicago, nt the same time writing a letter to inform the family of the shipment. When the cask arrived at Chicago it was received by an old friend of the family. It was pat on a dray and driven oat to tbe cemetery. Home one suggested a hearse nnd a clergyman, but the gentleman who was conducting tlie fttneral had such a delicate sense of propriety that he rebelled at tbe idea of lowering a pickled body into the ground with the nstml formula of “dost to dost.” Ho a hole was dng and the barrel was rolled off the dray and into tbe hole, and the dirt was thrown over It. All the parties con. cerned felt a little sensitive on the subject, and held their tongues. When the story came to light, the other day, the Chicagoans raised quite a flurry over Ik Just now, in 4t» first Oask nt IU. groUtodt, they fo*l very kindly towards tbe founder of their library, and It is not unlikely that a stately monument will he raised over the cask of Medford rum and Its contents. “A Green ChristmM.” The time honored proverb, “A green Christmas maketb a fat graveyard” doubt less occurred to many of onr readers yester day. Bnt was it “a green Christmas?” It Is. true that we had mild, open weather. Tho day was phcnomlnal, even for this favored region, hut there was a suggestive crispness in tlie air. Towards the close of tbe day the wind was nipping and eager. It may he that “a fat graveyard” isamong tlie dismal things reserved for the coming year, but present indications do not point that way. We mast not allow a musty old proverb to cost n shadow over tbe most pleasant week of tho year. Whether onr Christum wro “green” or not It was a per fect day. Tlie Democrat lo Outlank. The gifted republican leaden aro begin ning to weaken. The newspaper organs are full of bluster and bravado, but the leaders, the men who understand the situation, are beginning to adderstand that the democratic party has come into power to stay. Ex-Gov- ernor Hole, of New Hampshire, for instance, doesn’t hesitate to say that his state will probahly-go democratic at the next election —though the cx-govcrnor himself is a straight-laced republican. He believes that the floating voto will go with the democratic tide, just as he known that the democrats will command hereafter a number of honest and square republican voters in the country districts who have been imposed on with re spect to the southern situation. In New Hampshire, where tho margin between the parties is very small, tho democrats will have no trouble in carrying tbe state. Then there is the state of Michigan, which is only waiting a reasonably lair opportnnity to join the democratic procession. The re publicans have a small and a waning major ity in that state, and Congressman Mayber ry, a promising young politician, predicts that Michigan wUl contribute a United Btatea senator to the democratic party in that body. He says ’that such a resalt is “easily on the card,” and he adds that, in a state contest, tbe floating vote Is sore to be with the democrats. Tlie outlook, therefore, la bright. The goose may honk, or tho goose may hang, but it is on the democratic side. Hi 111 In ibe lllng. seems that the jobbers who have griev ances against Sir. Randall and Mr. Holman insisted that their friends on the Boor of the house should get rid of these distinguished democrats; but this was easier said than done, so the friends of the jobbers went at the matter in a roundabout way. Instead of depriving Randall and Hoi nun of their power by rcfnsiqg to give them a place on responsible committees, the friends of the jobbers, constituting an overwhelming ma jority of the honse, voted to change tbe rules and scatter the appropriation bills so as to give rascality and extravagance a chance. It will be remembered that party lines were obliterated in bringing abont this re sult. A majority of tho republicans, as well as a majority of the democrats, wen iaterereted in opening the door* of th« trea sury, and, in the presence of that solemn fret, sectionalism and th- bloody shirt were forgotten. Ibis was supposed to bo the end[6f tbe matter? Mr. Randall and Mr. Holrpaq were defeated and driven to the rear; bat.oonless they are expelled ftom the house, tB» will (till have a little power—the power to brake themselves heard. It seems to us that while the jobbers rad tho lobbyists were victorious, their victory is not as important as it might be. Mr. Randall rad Mr. Hol man are still on hand, and, on the floor of tbe house, as parliamentarians and debaters they ore a dangerous pair to those who de sire to rob the people or to take advantage of republican precedents. In onr opinion, the jobbers are shortsight ed. Mr. Randall and Hr. Holman will wsko It warm for them. The Jog and tho Pistol. The miserable events of Christinas day will reconcile many AtlnnUans to prohibition who voted against it. ' The day of “peace rad good will” was strangely observed, when one physician had to treat seven gun shot wounds rad three fractures. The area of drunkenness was nn usually ample and much of it was rank. Ninety and nine cases before the recorder re versed the meaning of the good old hymn, and travestied the day. Tho jng was hid beneath the Christmas tree and made the festival a fight When the fighting began the ready pistol was there. Fisticuffs nnd sticks were the honorable exceptions. The pistol wss the rale. It really looked as if every man shot when he was touched. It was a word and flash, rad a fall. A yonng boy of twelve years, who can. hardly be blamed for foiling in with the examples so profusely set, pulled out his pistol rail planted 11 bullet in the cheek of another boy. The jug and the pistol certainly held tho fort on Christmas day. Unless both are speedily and thoroughly reformed our people will begin to accept Christmas as n day when windows ore to be eloeed, not to shut in the peace and joy of home, bnt to shut out the random missiles of riot; nnd the telephone ‘ to he invoked to forestall the morning paper with its list of killed and wounded. If the jug is really to go, let us pour the pistol into the Jug and send them off together. A Boy's Delight Is a watch or s rra. We have both. Our Waterbury watch, with chain and whistle, costs you onif 12.50. Our tmwch-loadln, doubtc-b&rrclcd gun costs you only 112. Either will mtke your boy hippy. The Constitution and Its Folks. Tbe coming together of Tits Constitu tion's family, makes one of the largest con ventions that has assembled ia Atlanta. Over three hundred visitors will come to the city, and meet here over one hundred local workers, making considerably over four hun dred persons who will be present at tbe ban quet tonight. Every one of these—withont an exception —ore in some way connected with the mak ing of The Constitution. There ore pro prietors, editors, reporters, correspondents, clerks, pressmen, printers, stereotypem, tele graph operators, stenographers, proof-readers, mailing clerks, engineers, collectors, adver tising agents, traveling men, elevator boys, job printers, electrotype re, and various other workers that make up a scroll army of them selves, and will fill the Immense dining room of the Kimball house to overflowing. Behind these men who make tho paper, Is ra army of over 3,000 agents, who help to circulate it, and who, wo wish very much, coaid be with ns today. Thera are tho paper makers who supply tho $60,000 worth of white paper wo rise during tbe year; the type makers who ftunish ns tbo dress that ia renewed every year, and sundry other per sons interested in supplying us what wo need. There is tho large force of advertisers that have contributed this year over $100,000 to our business, and the ever-increasing host of subscribers or buyers, who now number, for both editions, over 60,000 people. All these make the newspaper of today the ecu tre of wide-spreading and almost countless activities. If we could find a room os big as our inclinations, we would have all these friends, known and unknown, with us to day. As it Is, we mutt be content to meet only those who ore actually engaged in mak ing Tiie Constitution, and in holding in grateftil remembrance the thousands scatter ed all over the south, who are working to extend the influence ami usefulness of The Constitution, and those who, by their pat ronage, make it possible to maintain rad im prove it. “Much Ado**—Mrs. Burnett's Orest Story. We take pleasure in announcing a serial story by Mrs. Francis liodgtan Burnett, the fa mous authoress. It is entitled “Mach Ado,'* and will bigin next week. We advise all who see this paper to subscribe at once*so os to se cure [the opening chapters of this splendid story. It will he fallowed by other serials from the heal luthois. Our short stories will be printed ss usual, and tho serials will be extra. Subscribe at once. Legislative Lunatics. The dehato 1 n the French chamber of depu ties when Brtsson carried through his Ton- quin credit struck the Parisians os being very dramatic and very fine. In point of fitet, it was so childish and so ludicrous that summary will he regarded by English and American readere as an exaggerated bur lesque. A French reporter, wto wax present, tells us that when M. Ctemencean was howled down “he stood on the tribune apparently calm, bnt with Dashing eyes, rad with tho bine vein^m his ungloved right hand stand' log ont like whip-cords.” Wo are assured that “hla stolidity partially calmed tbe depu ties,” and be found a chance to speak. He fervidly denonneed the government for sacri ficing French honor, when M. Spnller rushed np the aisle, yelling: “Honor? No! that a vain word for tbe French nation.” Cle- mcncrau fiercely retorted: “If your honor la wounded, it has felt a sting before.” This was rough on poor Spoiler, but M. Clemen- ceau proceeded to grin at him like a possum, finally exploding in his face the contempt uous monosyllable, “Pah!” Of course Spoiler was effectually squelched under this treatment, and the deputies look- * on In speechless awe. But Clemencean was not through. He asked if he should retd the dispatch in which Ferry implored BUirarck’a aid. loud cries arose from all parts of the bouse, bnt the speaker, looking rqnaiely at Ferry, said: “No, I wiU not ioflict thia shame upon France.” Tbe local chronicler informs ns that at this •Urging insult M. Ferry became rabid. He had pteoJaed Premier Brians that nothing would fore* him to speak daring the Tbo* quin debate, but he had not foreseen such a baiting as Clemencean had given him. Ferry was standing in the center aisle. He mads a rush for the tribune, ehoutlng incoherently and obviously bent on personal violence. Four or five friends grabbed his arms and coat-tails. He still straggled to get to the front, bat he was physically helpless. He stood in the aisle glaring at Clomsnoeau rad shouting challenges which were unintelligi ble in the surrounding confusion. .He was like Victor Hugo’s “Alan Who Laughs.” The scene would have been farcical if it had not been for the terrible Intensity of the chief actors. 31. Ferry’s attitude was the very irony of defiance. Clemenceau laughed. It was a hideous laugh, which shocked every friend of the follen premier who heard it. An old Bonlevardier, who was in tbe gallery, mattered, “Thai is enough for a bullet through Clemenceau’s long some fine morn ing.” When Clemenceau hod finished bis devilish grin he roared at M. Ferry, “I ac cept your challenge." While the deputies held ferry down in his seat Clemenceau read the objectionable dispatch. Tbe chamber became a pande monium. Ferry was hustled ont by hia friends. The deputies stood up howling, hissing and shaking their fists. Spuller "sat as if glued to his seat. His face was blood less, and his eyes bulged out with terror.” Now, all this terrific, and yet laughable rumpus, was over a vote of credit for the winding up of the Tonquin matter. It would lie impossible to find n parallel scene in any of the other parliamentary assemblies of the world. But just such incidents occnr almost every day in the French chamber of depu ties. OUR KNOWLEDGE-BOX. (In this department we (Its brief and pertinent •nswen to such questions as our readers may de sire to ask—provided tbe questions aro of special oc Kenrnl Interest. Answers may bs delayed for a Subscriber, Oxford. Ala.: Please site the num« ber of Trotcstants and Catholics. rrctcstsnt sutes t §11 together, cover §a tre* of 1*',770,010 square miles with 480,265,013 Inhabitants; Roman CtTholle states an area of 7,871,178 sqoaro miles with lot,002,501 Inhabitants; Greek church, 8,778,113 square miles, 90,101,8W Inhabitants. There arc,of courrCyinanyCatholics lnProtestant>tates,an<! there are many protestants in Catholic states, but as to governments the above Is about correct. Tho total population under Christian goremmentsis 085,459,411. Home churches do not publish their statistics. The number of Protestant communi cants In the world is probably between twcnty«dfo and thirty millions. The Catholics count all adults and children whom they have baptised, that Istho population. Subscriber, Orlando. Fla.: Why tbo STith of December selected as Christmas day*/ What reason could bo given for choosing ono day rather than another for the Christmas festival? The gospels, always meagre in dates, were quito silent here. They gave no hint of the day or month of the nativity. Oral tradition, wc may be sure, was equally reticent. There were, Indeed, a few scattered suggestions of the date of Christ's birth floating here and there among the writings of the fathers, but these were all of late origin, manifestly unhlstorical, and above all, quite con tradictory. Clement, of Alexandria, Said tthat* many Christians regarded the 30th of May as tho day of nativity, others preferred tho 20th of April, but ho favored the 19th of November. In the east ern church tbe 5th or 6tb of January was celebrated as tbo dato of Christ’s baptism, and the nativity was joined with this on no better ’ground than a forced interpretation of Ere- kial I, 14, as a prophecy of tho Incarnation. Others agaln,flxed the tlst of March as tho day of Christ's birth. The earliest mention or the 25th of December as Chrbunarday Is found In an ancient catalogue of chnreh flntlral* about 164 A. D. And Itis surprising to see with what alacrity the dato was received and tho nativity celebrated throughout Christendom It seems as If tlie world had been waiting for this festival of di vine and human childhood, and was ready to wel come it at once with songs of Joy. IntheyearMO itwaa already Icelebratcd In Rome l»y vast multi tudes thronging the churches. Twenty yean later Antioch had taken It op with great popular en thusiasm. And In little more than fifty yean flrom its earliest suggestion, the observance of December 25th as tho day of tlie nativity had become tho *ut- versal practice of Christians. Bt. Chrysostom, m a Christmas sermon preached at Antioch, called it the fundamental feast, or the root from which all other Christian festivals grow. Snbecribcr, Ga.: Are the heir* of tbo Mexi can war veterans entitled to a pension? No, and the veterans are not entitled to any. Subscriber, Asheville, N. C.: In there any government land in Florida? Yes. You can obtain information by wriUng.to the government land office at Gainesville, Fla. Subscriber, Anniston, Ala.: How old is our postage stamp system? The postage stamp of the United States is leas than forty yean old, and, although the third to adopt the syitem, now leads tlie number issued by al most four times as many as the next highest stamp- using country, which is England. ThU latter country was the first to adopt the stamp In 16401 Itraxll followed close In her footsteps In 1813, and tho United States in 1817. Tho governments of 211 countries now issue postage stamps. AU these aro outranked by America, whose annual output of letter stamps Is ‘4500,000,800. Of tho 50,000,000,000 letters sent tinder *tamp through tho malls annually England is credited with 700,000,000. Japan now malls an nually 95,000,000 letters, and tho canceled stamp* on these letters are worth an average of 1 cent each. Last year there were 26,000 letters posted In England without Any address on them. In 1,000 of tbMO gold coins and money were Inclosed. The can celed postage stamps of many countries are worth quite as much os unused specimens, and many are issued solely for collections, the rerenuo being an Important item. Monaco Is the latent to issue stamps; bnt Stellaland, with Its fifty houics and three stores, is probably the most Intlgnlfleant, cron more so than Heligoland or the Virgin Islands* Bhopal has the oldest stamp, Nicaragua the finest, Siberia the largest, Zealand the smallest, Guate mala the most striking, and Sarawak and Gnat Britain divide tbe honor of having tho cboapwt and meanest. Subscriber, Tbomasvillc, Ga.: Who was tbo •Craxy Queen of Lebanon f This reference Is to Lady Hester Lucy Stanhope, an eccentric English woman who wav bom its London March 12, 1778. Her father was Cbarlas, third earl of Stanhope, and her mother waa a daughter of the great Lord Chatham. When about -twenty yean old sho entered the family of her uncle, William Pitt, and for nearly ten yean, oc until his death, acted as bis private secretary. Pitt had recommended her to the oaxeef Ibe govern-' ment, And a pentlon of 81,200 was granted her. AS this was not sufficient to support her In the luxury ►he desired in London, she decided UP go abroad, and in 1810 went to Syria, visiting Jenmalcm, Pal myra and ether cities. The Arabs whOWcro strode* by her appearance and her display i if wealth, treated her as a queen, and she vmfi skillftilly acted tbe part. Pbe established hexSllf In a de serted convent among the wild scenery of Mount ls.banon, and there, wearing the area* of an emir, weapons,^>lpes and all, she ruled a retinue of Albanian guards and servants with absolute authority. This old convent, situated on an Isola ted peak of the Lebanon range, soon became con verted into a fortius, garrisoned by soldiers, and offering a refoso tn all the perrecuted and dlvtresa- s> powerful was the Influence she wielded or leu dl-eaved, foe doubt that her mind i lie kept Id a i .faich the believed the waa to. with tbe Me»«iah at bis second coming. Hhe i nuticedannilofyand secret magfealarta. 1 lag the Utter part of her life she v debts, snd ►he died with no European qpar her, surrounded by a crowd of native servanta who plundered the house aimott before life had left her body. £be was buried In tbe garden adjoining tho convent Her death occurred June z>L in Kite left^apMD^er^c^^T^cmlnouAjuemoira, which were Thia la Ladles' Week, for Tint CoxsmCTtOir. Every lady who reads Tax Oowrmmox le ex pected to induce one new subscriber to take tho This will give us 50,800 new subscriber* , make your week the biggest week of tho