Newspaper Page Text
n
Btefcty JtteUigrnrrr.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA,
Wednesday, March 21, I860.
Nt. Lonls and lh« Houtkern Trade,.
Tlie Missouri Republican, commenting upon
this subject, says: “It is gratifying to see the evi
dences that St. Louis can share largely in a trade
with tiie South of which she in former years en
joyed but little, if our merchants and citizens are
only willing to use the most obvious and ordi
nary means to the desired end. We have these
evidences in the success which has attended the
efiorte of the St. Louis and Johnsonvillc line of
steam packets to furnish steady and regular
transportation facilities for this trade* This line,
os wc have before mentioned, is in daily commu
nication with .Johnsonvillc, on the Tennessee
river, one hundred miles from its mouth, and also
in regular communication with Eastport, Missis
sippi, and Florence, Alabama, on the same river.
By its arrangements with the Johnsonville and
Nashville Railroad, it has communication with
Nashville, and thence with Chattanooga and At
lanta. One highly advantageous feature of this
arrangement is that through freights received at
Johnsonville or Atlanta are transported over the
entire route without transhipment or breaking of
bulk. The arrangement subsists for five years, and
is exclusive, the consideration with the companies
which control the roads being the feet that the
packet company would supply the roads regularly
going South and receive as regularly the freights
coming North. Sucli are the facilities now furnish
ed that this route is preferred by merchants as far
South as Macon, in Georgia, and even Montgom
ery, in Alabama. By it goods are sent to Knox
ville, East Tennessee, and shipments have been
received from Lynchburg, Virginia. Through
that route and the Tennessee river route to East-
port and Florence, a most valuable trade for St
Louis is opened up with an immense district of
country. Jt would make a lengthy catalogue to
name the numerous points brought into connec
tion with St. Louis, in Tennessee, Mississippi,
Alabama and Georgia.”
Conversing a few days ago with an intelligent
and enterprising citizen and merchant of St.
Louis, our attention was called to the steamboat
enterprise referred to in the foregoing article, and
to the advantages also which it afforded to the
merchants of Atlanta over the old route and on
to Cincinnati. If so, and it appears to be so, we
have no doubt that the result will be the opening
ot a trade with St. Louis that city lias not here
tofore enjoyed with the South, especially from
Atlanta, Macon, or Montgomery even. Ohr mer
chants would do well to look into, and even try
the new route. It may pay them to do so.
Trade with the Northwest.
- The A r ew Orleans Crescent of the 9th instant
announces the arrival in that city of four barges
from St. Louis, loaded with ttventy-five thousand
sacks of corn. This arrival had a sensible effect
on that market, producing a considerable decline
in the price of grain. We cannot, says that pa
per, “but hope that this enterprise will lead to
others of the same and similar kinds, and that
the commercial alliance between the West and
South may grow stronger and more intimate.—
New Orleans ought to be the importer of foreign
goods for the whole Mississippi valley, and, on
the other hand, she ought to not only be a heavy
consumer herself of tlie agricultural productions
of that valley, but tlie medium through which
they seek the markets of the outside world. To
bring about such a result, one of the most impor
tant agencies is cheap transportation. In former
times, before the days of steam, flatboat trans
portation was costly only on account of the time
consumed in making a trip. But now, under a
barge and towage system, by which cheapness of
transportation is combined with rapidity of move
ment, there ought to be many such enterprises as
that to which we are alluding, and full return
freights ought to encourage the people of the
Northwest toexteud their commercial intercourse
with the lower Mississippi valley.
“But, independent of the commercial interests
involved, there is a growing tendency to a politi
cal combination between the West and South, as
a means of protection against the insatiable de
mands of Eastern capitalists, me.•chants, shippers
and manufacturers. Tlie West, no less than the
South, is plundered by high tariffs and monopo
lies of every description, and the principle of
self-protection requires that the two should unite
against their common political enemy. That an
increase ot the commercial ties between tlie two
would 'cad to a closer political affiliation is evi
dent enough. And that good would result iu
both respects is equally plain. With a great
natural highway like the Mississippi to say noth
ing of its tributaries, to serve as the path of com
merce between the West and South, and with
New Orleans sitting at the gate which opens into
the ocean, the great highway of nations, there is
nothing which should prevent tlie closest recipro
cal trade relations, in the interest of both sections,
and thus sever those Eastern connections which
are a common burden to both."
Dwellings for Workingmen.
It is stated that the propritor of a large found
ry at Guise, in France, has erected two large
buildings for lodging houses *for his workmen.—
Each building is four stories high, and has a
square courtyard in the centre, covered with a
skylight, so that in all weathers the children can
play beueatli. Every set of rooms for a family
has its own cellar and store-room; there are hot
and cold baths on every floor. On the ground
floors of tlie buildings are stores where the
housewife can buy all her marketings &c., at the
cheapest rates. Such houses reflect credit on
their projector and arc worthy of imitation/
Too little attentiou has been paid in this coun
try to similar enterprises—dwelling houses for
mechanics and workingmen who labor for foun
dries, manufactories, railroads, and other institu
tions, requiring mechanical and other labor. In
Atlanta, where there are so many worthy me
chanics employed, no attention at all has been
paid to it, and we fear none will be for some time
to come. Dwelling houses—neat and comforta
ble ones—for tlie families ot such men to live in
tend more to secure their labor and citizenship,
than high prices do. Will not capitalists who
construct railroads, embark in manufacturing,
erect foundries, and engage in other enterprises,
think of this, aud imitate the example of the
Frenchman above referred to ? We venture it
would prove a paying business, securing too, at
the same time, the most experienced and best
workmen.
The County Court.
The law creating this Court requires the
County Judge to be elected on the first Wednes
day in May, 1866, and on the first Monday
in January, 1870, and every fourth year there
after. Except in tlie county of Muscogee,
where the Judge is required to be a practising
Attorney, there is no special qualification re
quired. It is provided also that no disqualifica
tion for the office shall attach to the Clerk of the
Inferior Court—that is, he may be Clem and
Judge too. The new Court has jurisdiction
without limit os to amount in all civil cases aris
ing out ot the relation of master and servant, and
in all cases in which not more than one hundred
dollars is involved. No salary is paid by the
State to the County Judge—his compensation is
derived from fees prescribed in the act. Jurors
sit in the cases before this Court the same as in
the Superior Courts of this State.
We have only to remark that if the Judge who
may be elected to preside over this Court in this
county, be not a member of tlie legal profession,
he should be a citizen of respectable attainments, 1
possessed of sound mind, a man of integrity and
hard sense. It is an important office, aud should ,
not be thoughtlessly bestowed upon auy one. !
Governor JeaUai* VetM«,
In another column we publish the Governor’s
veto of the “Act to allow the redemption of real
estate sold under execution wjthia a specified
time," and of another entitled “An Act to ex
empt from levy and sale certain property of ev
ery-dehtbr in the State, and for other purposes,"
otherwise termed the “Homestead Bill," the dis
cussion of which consumed so mnch of the time
of the General Assembly that has just adjourned.
The Senate, upon the reception of this veto mes
sage from the Governor, upon an attempt to do
so, tailed to pass the last named bill by a consti
tutional, or two-thirds vote, the yeas being only
15, nays 13; consequently it was lost. It passed,
however, the first named bill, the yeas being 19,
nays 9; when it was sent to the House, but there
lost, it foiling to receive the required two-thirds
vote, the yeas being C4, nays 39. So the veto
was sustained, upon constitutional grounds, on-a
constitutional vote.
This veto message of the Governor is brief,
and will doubtless be read with interest by tbe
people.
The New Ham pah ire Election.
The New York Times claims that the result of
the recent election in the State of New Hamp
shire for Governor, is a triumph of the Union
party—that which sustains the President and hjs
policy. ItsayB: “ We congratulate the sound
and practical Union men of the Granite State
upon their steadfastness to faith and principle.
Their example will stimulate our friends in Con
necticut to renewed exertions, and we shall con
tinue to hope for equally gratifying results in
that State next week.”
“ One great fact,” it also says, “ never doubted
by the. well-informed—is emphasized by. the
New Hampshire election; and that is, that how_-
ever leaders in Congress and followers outside
may differ and dispute upon points of doctrine
and means to ends, the loyal Republican people
believe in the living reality of the Union, the
Constitution and the iaws, and that they mean
to Btand firmly by tbe great party of Unionists
who sustained the policy and the hands of our
martyred President, and who recognize the es
sential points of that pnlicy in the acts of his
legitimate successor, Andrew Johnson. If the
new firm of Wendell Phillips & Willard Sauls-
bury, are delighted their first venture in a State
canvass, so be it; we are content”
For our own part, we confess that we do not
exactly comprehend how it is that both the Rad
icals and the Union men in and oat of New
Hampshire claim this election to be a victory
each, on their side; in other words, how it is
that what Wendell Phillips claims to be a victory
on his side of the question, the Times claims to
be a victory on the side of those who sustain the
President and his policy. We trust that the Times
is right, and that the old Granite State is on the
Union or constitutional side of the great issue
that is now before the people of the North and
West.
Tbe Despotism of Congress.
It the despotism of Congress be as huge, and
we believe it is, as it is stated to be by Raymond
of the Times, who is a member of that body, then
it is huge Indeed. Hear what he says in the fol
lowing paragraph upon the subject:
“The age of bastiles and guillotines has passed,
but there is a despotism in Congress as infatuated
as that which caused France to weep tears of
blood. The majority of the House ot Represen
tatives hits invested a ‘Committee of Fifteen’
with powers which, under the guidance of a
Jacobin Chairman, is becoming as odious as any
triumvirate created by despotism.”
Commenting upon this declaration of Mr.
Raymond, that sterling, journal the Nashville
Union & American says:
The above is from the New York Times, edited
by Henry J. Raymond, a Republican member of
Congress. That Committee of Fifteen, or Cen
tral Directory, as the President of the United
Stifles terms it, is a complete revolutionary body,
whose whole proceedings are for the overthrow
of the Gouernment, and for the destruction of
constitutional liberty. That he fully appreciates
the dangers with which the liberties of the coun
try are threatened, is evident from a striking pas
sage in his response to the Kentucky delegation
that called to pay him their respeets on tlie 8th
instant. He then said:
“The present is regarded as a most critical
juncture in the affairs of the nation, scarcely less
so than when an armed and organized force
sought to overthrow the Government. To attack
and attempt the disruption of the Government
by armed combination and military force is no
more dangerous to the life of the nation than an
attempt to revolutionize and undermine it by a
disregard and destruction of the safeguards
thrown around the liberties of tlie constitution.
My stand has been taken, my course is marked,
I shall stand by and defend the constitution
against all who may attack it, from whatever
quarter the attack may come. I shall take no
step backward in this matter.”
The history of the world presents no suhlimer
spectacle in defense of constitutional liberty than
we now have in the person of Audrcw Johnson.
Base must be tlie man who will not stand by him
in such an emergency.
Accident at Madlcon.
Tlie Liraminer says a dreadful accident occur
red at the depot on last Saturday. A box car
was being attached to the engine on the side
track by Mr. Stephen Lyons, an attache of the
road. By a mis-step he was thrown on the
track, the car passing over both legs, crushing
them completely. He was immediately removed
to the “Madison House,” where every attention
was given that could be bestowed by tbe gentle
manly proprietor, the physicians and citizens
generally. Before the preparations for amputa
ting tlie limbs was completed-his system had un
dergone such a shock that it was considered im
practicable to perform the operation. He lin
gered in great agony until Monday night at nine
o’clock and expired. Mr. Lyon was a native of
Ireland, and has considered Augusta, Georgia,
his home for the last fifteen years. He lias been
on the Georgia Railroad for the last fourteen
years, and one ot tlie most faithful and expert
hands in their employ. His untimely death was
much lamented by every one that knew him.—
His remains were removed to his home in Au
gusta on yesterday.
Late News Items.
A destructive fire occurred at Jacksonville,
Florida, on Sunday night last, which destroyed
the office of the Jacksonville Union and two
other buildings.
Hon. S. R. Mallory, late Secretary of the
Confederate navy, has been released from his
protracted confinement in Fort LaFayette. His
health has suffered considerably from his long
imprisonment.
The Rock Island Paper Mill Company of Co
lumbus, Georgia, announce their purpose of re
building their paper works at an early day.
A dispatch from Washington of March 10,
says that Mr. Stephens’ final acceptance of the
Georgia Senatorsliip was in consequence of an
assurance from high officials in this city that he
would be admitted to his seat, and the President
is determined to do his best, to secore that ad
mission, and that his case is not an isolated one.
The Baltimore Sun advises all who are having
their property insured to examine well into the
character and ability of the insurance companies.
The losses sustained have been unusually heavy
during the last two months, and several of the
New York companies have recently failed.
A house worth twenty-five thousand dollars
has been presented to General Sherman in St
Louis.
. TgRihUowigg, relative.to tbalax on, legacies
and distributive shares, in accordance with the
provisions of the United’&ues Excise Law, we
pobliah at the request, of the Assessor for this
district:
CkTTao Status Barsxr*. 1
r Asufroa's Oman, irm District or Gtowm, V
AttoU March 1G, IbuO. )
LReACTSS AXD DISTRIBUTIVE SHARES.
Sir : ^Tour attentions is herewith called to the
provisions ofojtbe United-States Excise law;.J»-
lative 'to the'tax on legacies and distributive
shares. The 124th and 125th sections of that act
provide that any person or persons having in
charge or trust, as administrators, executors, or
trustees of any legacies or distributive shares,
arising from personal property of auy kind what
soever, where the whole amount of such person
al property exceeds the sum of one thousand
dollars in. actual, value, passing. from my dece
dent, either bv will or by tlie intestate laws of
any State or Territory, to any persbn or persons,
or to any body or bodies politic or corporate, in
trust or otherwise, shall be subject to a duty or
tax, to be paid to tbe United States before distri
bution, as. follows:
First. Where the person entitled to any bene
ficial interest in such property is the lineal issue
or lineal ancestor, brother or sister, to the person
who died possessed of such property, at the rate
ot one dollar for each hundred dollars of the
clear value of such interest
Second. Where the legatee or distributee is a
descendant ol a brother or sister of the person
who died possessed, at tbe rate of two dollars for
each hundred dollars of the clear value of such
interest
Third. Where the legatee or distributee is a
brother or sister of tlie father, or mother, ora
descendant of a brother or sister of tli» father or
mother of the person who died possessed, at the
rate of four dollars for each hundred dollars of
the clear value of such interest.
Fourth. Where the legatee or distributee is a
brother or sister of the grandfather or grand
mother, or a. descendant of the brother or sister
of the grandfather or grandmother of the person
who died possessed, at the rate of five dollars
for each hundred dollars of the clear value of
such interest.
Fifth. Where the legatee or distributee is in
any other degree of collateral consanguinity thilt
is hereinbefore stated, or is a stranger in blood to
tbe person, who died possessed, or is . a body poli
tic or corporate, at the rate of six dollars for each
hundred dollars of the clear value of such in
terest All legacies of property passing by will,
or by the laws of any State or Territory, to hus
band or wife of the person who died possessed,
are exempt from tax.
The return must be made and the tax paid
upon each legacy or distributive share ot the
E nal property liable to tbe tax before distri-
n thereof and the administrator or execu
tor will then file his receipt in settlement ot his
account, which will be allowed as part payment
of the distributive share. Should no administra
tion be taken out, the law provides that the party
or parties shall be liable who undertake to dis
tribute or settle the estate.
succession tax:
The 126th to 151st sections of the law provide
for the payment of a tax upon real estate by all
persons and corporations who become entitled
in possession to real estate by reason of the death
ot any person, and by all persons and corpora
tions who receive a gift or distribution of any in
terest in real estate while the grantor is living,
as well as those who receive conveyances of real
estate which, in fact, either by the face of the in
strument itself, or by some secret arrangement,
is to take effect upon the death of the grantor.
No’ such taxes are payable by a widow for
any interest that she may receive from her hus
band, but interests in real estate passing from
wife tp husband are subject to the succession tax.
The rates of tax are pie same as those provi
ded for legacies or distributive shares of personal
property, except that in case of real estate, when
the descendant, devisee, or grantee, is a brother
or sister of the predecessor, the tax is two dollars
on a hundred dollars of value.
As the United States have a lien upon both
personal and real estate for the taxes upon the
same, respectively, and as the parties liable to
pay this tax are subject to penalties, and faithful
administration cannot be performed by allowing
the tax and penalty to be assessed by the assessor
througli your neglect, which assessment and
penalty may be larger than the facts [if known
and duly returned to the. assessor] would war
rant, you are respectfully requested to notify the
assistant assessor of the division in which the
deceased lived at the time of his decease ot your
appointment as executor, administrator, or trus
tee, and to furnish him with the amount of the
inventory and a copy of the deed or will, if any,
and with a statement of the names of the gran
tees, devisees, or heirs, of the real estate passing
to them, so. far as you have knowledge of the
same. This course will have a tendency to se
cure you as well as the Government, and the
honest taxpayer who may be ignorant of his
duty.
The return of succession tax must be made by
the party possessing tbe real estate, and not by
tbe exeentor or administrator as such; and the
real estate must be described with sufficient cer
tainty to identify tlie same.
Returns for tax on legacies and distributive
shares may be made on Form No, 35, and the
return of succession tax on Form No. 34, and all
necessary jnformation will be furnished by the
undersigned. W. H. Watson,
United States Assessor.
Usury.
Since the war, one of the subjects of legisla
tive discussion in several States has been the
usury question. We are unable to state what
the result has been, nor to what extent the statutes
of the various States have been modified. In
Alabama, we believe, they have been left intact.
There are some singular mistakes prevalent
upon the subject, occasioned by the different
sense of the word “usury” in its popular accep
tation from that which it formerly bore. In the
olden time “usury” was the simple.equivalent of
what we now call “interest.” It applied to any
compensation paid for the use of money or for
delay in payment ot a debt. Such is its applica
tion in the English translation of the Scriptures
inApmmon use. The Israelites were forbidden
to lake “usury”—that is, any interest whatever
—of their own brethren, but it might be taken
from a stranger.
In the popular usage of the present day the
word is applied exclusively to interest (or usury)
beyond the rates allowed by law. In most, if
not all of the United States, a limitation is affix
ed by statute to the rate of interest allowed, the
transcending of which is subjected to various
penalties, more or less stringent.
In the olden time there were ideas prevailing
upon tfaie subject of usury, which it is fashionable
now to ridicule as antiquated, superstitious, and
absurd. The theory of medieval Christendom
was that all money-lending on interest was
wrong, because “money could not breed money.”
This theory presumed money to be not properly
an article of trade, but a mere representatioe of
the value of other articles.
The doctrine of the present day is diametrical
ly different. 'It is that money is as much a com
modity as cotton, bay, dry goods, or any other
article of trade, and hence that its use is a legiti
mate subject of profit.
It is very possible that, if the subject were
closely ana philosophically examined, it might
be found that the people ef the “dark ages” (so
called) were nearer right thin we are in this, as
well as in some other matters. -
In practice, however, our modern legislation
is founded upon an incongruous combination of
two theories—theories that are not merely diver
gent from, bat entirely incompatible with each
other. In accordance with the modem theory,
we permit a charge to be made for the use of
money, as if it were a legitimate commodity;
while, in the spirit of the ancient theory, we re
strict that charge by certain limitations. In other
words, we undertake by legislation to regulate
the amount of profit that may be made upon this
one article, while we leave it unrestricted as to
others.
If money is not a legitimate commodity, or
article of trade, no interest at all should be au
thorized. If it is, we do not see any reason why
the rate of interest should l>e restricted, that does
not apply with equal force to house-rents, or to
the price of bread, beef, or broadcloth.—Mobile
Advertiser & Register.
Special Legislative Friends of
, Hon. A. H. Stephens.
Genixuux : I have read your review of m
and iny recent speech on tbe senatorial election.
1 have never bad a newspaper controversy, nor
have I tbe tightest desire for one. In your case,
I would nab tally seek to avoid “tbe war of the
many with« if for no other reason than tbe
great dispari y of numbers.
Yon have tele red into an elaborate argument
to. prove that [ was wrong in saying ot Mr. Ste
phens that,, i ader the circumstances, be could
not escape a nepicion of having encouraged his
election to tie' Senate. You say, after presenting
your array ol facts, that “Mr. Bull must fall back
upon his jot rment as being biassed by his lati
tude;” I admit I am not infallible. *1 may be
obtuse. Whatever may he the general effect
of your remschnng and fiueta, I cannot help think-
rag that-some,more incredulousthan thereat,
will attribute to Mr. Stephens the amiable weak
ness of being too easily “over-persuaded.” He
did not refuse the high office as often as Caesar
did the “kingly crown,” and yet Caesar was slain
for his ambition. But there was but one Antho
ny importuning Caesar.
Unlike the men of Athens, I am not, “in all
things, too superstitious." It so happened that
I had been Warned—and that, not in a dream,
but with my,eyes and ears open, at least one
week before the first meeting of the Legislature
—that a shrewd and knowing politician predict
ed the election of Alexander H. Stephens and
Herachel Y. Johnson as Senators. I never forgot
the prophecy, nor ceased entirely to look for its
fulfilment. It at least broke my mil, and, I think,
made JamesJehnson’s descent easier. Speaking
of prophets, gentlemen, hereafter commend me
to this political diviner.. You cannot make less
of it than a curious coincidence.
Some, to whom this fortune-telling had been
communicated, and who may be too apprecia
tive of a jest, regarded the animated contest be
tween Messrs. Gartrell and Peeples as the best
joke of the seniofl. , It reminded old turfmen of
a gallantly contested four-mile race, with broken
heats, and the cheers of the crowd, aa the fleet
steeds came 'aeck-aud-neck, thundering down
the last quarter stretch, were almost audible.—
Bat the gallant contestants were, in the end, re
minded ofrdfiat beautiful Scriptural aphorism,
“the race is not to the swift.” They both ran
well, and each was nigh the goal, but it was nev
er intended (at least so thought Fatalists and
Predestinariaqs) that either should win.
You attack’ my pretensions to loyalty to tlie
Government of the United States, and demand,
in an air of triumph, “What is the plea of loyal
ty set up by Mr. Hill ?” You then proceed to
contrast my poor efforts to save the Union, to
tbe Herculean labors of Mr. Stephens to preserve
it, and succeed in convincing yourselves that
Mr. Stephens has the better record. I never
doubted its suiting yon better, nor questioned
that Jefferson Davis’ record pleases many of you
better still. Mr. Davis is entitled to all the cred
it that attaches to unflinching devotion to a cause
that he consented to embrace and defend. Had
I loved the cause, I could bat have honored his
constancy and determination. I never regarded
the cause and the South as synonymous. I could
not look upon the rebellion with favor, when I
felt that it was absolute ruin to the South, and a
curse upon my whole countiy.
It is surely no fault of mine that gentlemen
should refuse to read my reported speeches and
published letters. Hod they done so, they would
now remember the uniformity of sentiment per
vading them, and their ardent nationality. This
is characteristic of all I said or wrote during my
public service.. But I am aware that I never had
any particular claims upon the public regard,
farther than being esteemed somewhat above
that contempti&e thing, a professional politician,
in independence and candor. I never sought to
win notoriety ia any manner. Unlike some of
whom I wot, Fwas not ashamed of the position
of a private gentleman, living secluded from the
world, and but little known beyond the small
circle of friends surrounding me. And if a sin
gle one of yon imagine that ,my election to the
Senate would, in my own opinion, “add a cubit
to my stature,” or for an hour increase my vani
ty, yon know little of me.
No; I have weighed the “glittering bauble,”
Fame, and for long years have been accustomed
to say of it, that anything less than the reputa
tion ot Clay and Webster is not worth seeking.
Such reflections as these, aided, perhaps, by
the severe teachings of misfortune, have enabled
me to bear up under the frowns of former friends,
and—
“To suffer
The stings and arrows of outrageous fortune,”
without repining.
For me to undertake to convince you that
loathed and abhorred disunion or secession, and
that I never foiled to rebuke it when I came to
speak or write 1 of it, would be to make myself
ridiculous; and to acknowledge that your esti
mate of the value of my opinions is the univer
sal one. As highly as I respect you, I cannot
consent to abide your judgment or my insignifi
cance.
As for my recognized devotion to the Union,
it was a fact fixed in the minds of such men as
John J. Crittenden, Stephen A. Douglas, James
Pearce and Henry Winter Davis, all of whom,
“bad they but served their God with half the
zeal" they served their country, would now be,
as I hope they are, bright angels in a better
world. And of the living, let me name John
Sherman of Ohio, General John A. Logan
Charles F. Adams, Dawes, Thayer, Mr. Seward:
and Morrill, and, I might add, all who knew me
or observed my political course.
In the midst of the bloodiest scenes of the wick
ed and causeless war through which we have
passed, it was a source of heartfelt comfort and
consolation, “when my household gods lav shiv
ered around me,” to know that I was still cher
ished as the friend of the Union by my old asso
ciates throughout the nation. And to that settled
conviction as to my character and feelings, I am
greatly indebted for marked courtesy and kind
ness.
in Georgia, ail of which appealed to the
to subant quietly peaceably, as good citizens, to
the probable election of Mr. Lincoln. I answer
ed Mr. Wiliam L. Yancey, who was regarded
pretty generally as a respectable advocate ot dis
union. We both spoke in the 8tate House of
Maryland about the last of September, 1860.
The next evening I spoke to many thousands in
Baltimore, from the same stand with Governor
Swan, Senator Kennedy and Representative
Webster. The press said it was a Union speech,
and complimented it very highly. Two days
afterwards I addressed a large meeting in Wash
ington city, as many can.testify. But, of course,
you never beard anything ef all this, and refused
to listen to anything I said. I received some
substantial testimonials of regard from a Boston
gentleman, for my reply to Mr. Yancey. You
An Old Prediction.—The Cleveland, Ohio,
Times of February, 1849, published the follow
ing lines as coming from the Knickerbocker Al
manac of 1847:
“When the country is ruled liy a tailor bold,
A beggar shall, stitch with a thhnble of gold;
And the water shall furnish, instead of the hind,
Three millions of men with their first in command.”
Every man in Georgia, of ordinary intclli
gence, knows that I have been looked upon with
distrust and unkindness, and am yet, for my at
tachment to the Union. |How many of yon
have denounced me for my national principles?
Which of you have censured Mr. Stephens for
bis abandonment of liis opposition to secession,
and for consenting to serve in the Provisional
Congress at Montgomery, or for accepting the
office of Vice President of the Confederate
Slates? Which of you blamed him forgivi
his counsel and personal influence to the rel
cause? When was it that you complained of him
for encouraging the people to furtlfrr exertion to
obtain a separate nationality and independence ?
Let us be candid with each other, gentlemen.
Do you noSf love and admire him more for his
identification with the cause of disunion, and his
consequent sufferings and imprisonment, than
for his “early disrelish” of secession ? I had
come near saying, of the doctrine of secession,
am not aware that either of your Senators elect
has, at any time, denied the right of a State to
secede, though both have condemned the exer
cise of the right for insufficient cause. I would
not knowing do either of them injustice. But
what if they stiil hold that a State may of right
secede? Do you condemn them for maintain
ing the opinion ?
I have never sought to depreciate the effort of
Mr. Stephens before the Legislature in 1860, to
prevent secession. It was meritorious. But I
did complain at the time, and have continued to
complaiu, that he did not refuse to sign the Ordi
nance of Secession, then move to refer it to tbe
people, and, upon the refusal of the majority, to
submit it to the popular vote, then call upon the
friends of the people to withdraw with him from
the Convention. Years ago I expressed to Hon.
B. H. 'Hill my regrets that he himself did not
take that course.
It is not pleasant to advert to it, even at this
distance of time; but the truth of history de
mands it. What public man, of all Georgia, be
sides myselt, was burned in effigy in more places
than one in his own State, soon after the fatal
act of secession was adopted ? Think you it
was because I favored secession ? Was that then
regarded a crime ? What secessionist was treated
in like manner? Was Mr. Stephens the object
of such contempt ? To which of yon am I un
der obligations for denouncing such unjustifiable
and vindictive displays of feeling towards me?
I pray yon make me sensible of my indebted
ness, that I may thank y ou. Was it for my in
ertness in the defense or the Union, that I was
thus contemned and despieedby infuriated mobs?
No; the friends of true liberty and order are
never demonstrative; they are quiet and
thoughtful. And to that one great, natural truth
is tins country indebted for the blighting corse
of secession. It was not numbers, but the con
centration of passion and prejudice, and the
rabid spirit of intolerance, that effected disunion.
Had the honest, laboring masses, even of
South Carolina, been appealed to as rational be
ings. and told by their public men that tbe State
desired a calm expression of tlie popular will as
to tbe propriety of disunion, and that he who
voted forthe Union was to be regarded as tip
equal in courage, devotion to the State, and every
element of manliness ot him that favored dis
union, I feel confident the unwise step would
gjMjfc see it stated in Northern journals that a
strict quarantine of the Georgia coast, against
vessels arriving from the West Indies, has been
instituted by the military authorities.
A Mississippian, bringing this stanzas to light
says, ‘its singularity is certainly striking, to say
the least. But would tlie last two lines of the
stanza in question bear the construction as for
commerce to crowd the vasty main with unpre
cedented cargoes and numerousness of craft and
crews at an imminent date ?—or do they bode
,,,, ... . - .. . . ; war, with plenty of privateering, and battles bv ,
They say that the prices of their produce j ^ y ‘Three millions of men with their first in J never have been taken.
” ’ ' Pardon me if T show some anxiety to refute
"tint!,
from 1861 to the middle of 1865'?” ' at bts-t, was. a mere passive friend of the Union,
Let us hope the prediction does not “bode war,” j of doubtful character, while Mr. Stephens was
but rather the former, or nothing.' We would j enthusiastic aud devoted. I did not begin to
prefer that it meant three millions of immigrants • make Union speeches in 1860. I began five years
from the old world during the administration of * before that, in denunciation of that unfortunate
ye “tailor tblil”—MtishcPJe Union. ' measure, known as the Kaasas bill—the greatest
—— blunder, except, perhaps, the defeat of the Clay-
A very volatitle young lord, whose conquests ! ton Compromise, ever made in American pou-
in the female world were numberless, at last j tics. I made no other bat Union speeches from
married. “Now, my lord,” said his wife, “I hope j that time to this day.
yon will mend.” “Madam,” said he “this is mv J made many very thorough Union speeches
last folly.” j in 1859 and 1860; several in the autumn of I860
The tanners of Ulinois are holding indigna
tion meetings to protest against the high price of
labor.
are lower than before the war, while twenty and f command’ to be on ‘the waters instead of tbe I
twenty-five dollars a month and found is now 1 land,’ as the latter has chiefly proved the case ' the prevailing idea of-your letter to wit:
, , . , „ , I Jt 1HJ<< ...I,. I..-.* .. Ma.ul nf the
as^ed by the same “help who were glad to
work for twelve dollars before the war.
The marriage law of Pennsylvania is under
going change. A simple agreement between the
couple, in presence of witnesses, has been held
to be a legal marriage heretofore, but that sort of
thing will be done away with, and the services
ef a clergyman or magistrate will now be re
quired.
may not know it, bat I can assure you the great
orator of Alabama, was quite as earnest in his
declamation, as was Mr. Toombs, and altogether
as powerful. I never claimed- any more credit
for “measuring-arms with the great orator on
that occasion” than I have for discussion with
Mr. Toombs, or Mr. Stephens. I never heard
any one compliment Hon. B. II. Hill, on his ex
hibition of nerve for “ raising his voice in favor
of the then despised Union. I believe no one
was killed or hurt for doing it. On the contrary
I have heard that such'was the courtesy of the
excited period that Mr. Toombs liimselt, at the
close of Mr. Stephens’ speech, called for three
cheers for the gifted orator, which were freely-
given.
I wrote a letter in December, I860, over my
own name, published in the Southern Recorder,
first urging the people to require pledges of their
delegates, in writing, before electing them, to sub
mit the action of the Convention to the popular
vote, in which I was severe on secession. But it
escaped your attention—like all my labors.
Some of you are aware that I am a member of
the still existing State Convention. I committed
a grave error iu that body in consenting to aban
don my announced intention to insist on a recon
sideration of the vote adopting tbe ordinance re
pealing the ordinance of secession, for the pur
pose of declaring said ordinance “ absolutely-
null and void.” I gave, at the time, my reasons,
abating notbingof my principles and opinions,
but reluctantly yielding to the solicitations of
friends of the Union, aud being anxious to avoid
discussion calculated to produce discord aud bit
terness.
Had I reflected properly on the sustaining el-
fect of the word “repeal,” upon the doctrine of
secession—the right of a State to secede from tlie
Union—and, as a consequenee, the legality of all
indebtedness incurred by such State for tlie prose
cution of a war in defense of the right of seces
sion, I could not have been induced to forego
my' purpose. I could not have obtained a ma
jority for the support of my views. : It was mani
fest that a majority were opposed to the repudia
tion of the war debt, and that it was only carried
by some yielding to the requirements of the
President, and a greater number remaining silent.
To yield the willing assent of the mind, unre
servedly to the absolute nullity of every act, ot
every representative body, intended to sustain, in
any manner, the rebellion, is to reject the whole
doctrine of secession. Until this is done, there is
no repudiation of the abominable heresy, it is
a question of the highest importance to the peo
ple of the entire Union, that a distinct and em
phatic renunciation of the doctrine of secession
by States that have resorted to it to destroy the
Union, should precede the return o£ such States
to a position ot equality in the Union, with unof
fending States. The folly of restoring a State to
the Union, with the boasted right of secession
unimpaired, and still maintained and defended
by its prominent officers, by a majority of (lie
delegates of a Convention of the people, and a
majority of the Legislature, can only be equaled
by an amendment of the Federal Constitution,
expressly admitting the right of a State, for any
cause, in its own judgment sufficient to withdraw
from the Union.
This doctrine of secession, despite .the mis
chiefs and miseries if has produced is, this day I
fear, more generally tolerated, if not entertained,
by the people of Georgia, than it was when it
was reduced to practice. The mass of
mankind, have neither leisure nor patience to in
vestigate any great principle of government..—
They are oftener influenced by arguments that
appeal to their feelings and interests tha n to their
abstract sense of right. Many favored secession,
just as some others opposed it, because they be
lieved their action beneficial to themselves. The
rebellion lias proven a failure np to this time,
but most of its devotees yet believe it was right,
and that had it not been crushed by numbers,
they would have realized all they were promised.
On the other hand thousands of earnest oppo
nents of secession, who have suffered deeply by
loss of fortune, and were made wretched by the
bloody causalties of war, have relaxed in their
feelings, and arc, by no means, pertinacious in
maintaining their former opinions. Men of sa
gacity, fond of the adulation of their fellows,
and ambitious ot place, know well this state of
public feeling, and either sympathize with it or
allow it to exist without attempting to correct it.
To be sure there are individual exceptions to this
rule, but not sufficient to effect a change. Many
limit their political vision to the boundaries of
the State—content to shape its internal polity—
without special regard for its Federal relations.
It is refreshing, in this dearth of sober reason
ing, to find some of tlie foremost intellects that
contributed all their powers to aid disunion, now
openly proclaiming their opposition to the mad
ness that would assert tbe right of tlie State to be
represented in Congress by just such individuals
as the people, or their representatives might pre
fer, wholly regardless of their past history. These
gentlemen perceive plainly that they themselves,
though heretofore often honored by the people
with tbe highest trusts, are by reason of their
identification witli secession and war, no longer
proper instruments to be chosen to restore cor
dial relations between the State and the national
authorities. Recognizing secession as a failure
and a principle to be forever rebuked, they now
express a willingness to be considered as no
longer available public men, and to retire from
the political arena, yielding to such as may be
more agreeable on account of their political ac
tion to the Federal Government, and consequent
ly more useful to the State. This is the' "begin
ningof wisdom. Do you agree with my esti
mate of such conduct ? Wliat think you of such
modesty and self denial ? These gentlemen found
no difficulty in restraining their friends from
wantonly voting for them.
What, though you insist that all differences of
opinion as to past political events should be con
signed to oblivion, never to be revived! Can
you compel Congress to adopt your suggestion ?
It is not j-our will, but theirs that must govern.—
Are you quite certain that your practice agrees
with your teachings V
It may interest some who will take the pains
to read what I write, to learn a few political in
cidents known to myself and others, which I re
late merely to increase the evidence of my good
standing as a Union man, with eminent Union
ists, at a time when there was some merit in be
ing a Union man. True love of the Union is
like genuine, heartfelt piety. It is serene, uni
form, forbearing; exhibiting itself in every act,
and, without effort, convincing all men of its
deep sincerity. And what is more, it is indepen
dent of the frowns or blandishments of men.—
Washington was its impersonation. How few
were capable of appreciating his grand patriot
ism; his exalted love of country.
I first saw and heard read the celebrated Crit
tenden Compromise resolutions in December,
I860. I was invited to a room in Brown’s Hotel,
Washington, and there met some half dozen
moderate, but prominent members of the Repub
lican party, I being the only Southern man pre
sent. Oar host, a distinguished statesman and
accomplished lawyer of Indiana, then in attend
ance on the Supreme Court, produced the famous
peace offering,” in his own elegant hand, and
submitted it to the gentlemen present for their
consideration and criticism. This noble man
still lives, pledged never to accept political office.
Should this chance to meet his eye, he will not
fail to recall the scene. I mention this to show
the esteem in which l was held by these national
men, and the interest I felt for the preservation
of the Union.
I recall, with melancholy interest, my last in
terview with.my Indiana friend. It- was by ray
own fireside in Washington. Georgia had sece
ded , and I, against the advice of true and saga-
cions trends, was preparing to return to my home.
Both of us were mourning the folly and madness
that menaced tbe peace ot the country. He drew
a vivid picture of the inevitable conflict he saw
approaching, and feelingly suggested that his
son and mine might meet in deadly strife,
strangers to each other, and one of them might
fall by the others hand. It may have
been. prophetic. “Few can ever know what I
have lost, and fewer still will care. Many think
I was but too fortunate in preserving my own far
spent life. I appeal not to man for sympathy,
and yet I have met it, when it fell on my crushed
heart as the gentle dew on the withering flowers.
It came not from the hearts of unfeeling politi
cians. Oh, secession, secession ! “Tby bruise is
incurable, and thy wound is grievous,” and yet
thou livest uurebuked in Georgia.
A talented Georgian writes me in regard to the
election of Senators, as follows: “Taking this
fact in connection with the tone of our press,
and the utterances of our public speakers, it may
well be said of us, as was said of the Bourbons,
‘they have learned nothing, and forget nothing
by revolution.’ One would think that the seces
sionists were the victorious party if one did not
know to the contrary.”
One of the most talented men in America said,
in a speech soon after the close of the war:—
We have disposed of the doctrine of secession
by the bayonetthat acute suggestion, that
though the State has not the right to secede, yet
♦hat the citizens are bound to obey their State,
and tint war by the State is not treason in them.”
Do you notao regard the doetrine, gentlemen ?
If you do" not, ’will you favor tlie public with
your definition ? .•* >
That child ot genlns, that accomplished scholar
aud orator, and almost unrivaled master of the
English language, Henty Winter Davis, said, in
substance, that he knew of-bat. three devoted
Union men m the South u who.bowed their heads
to the storiban silence^ nliowiag it to Weep over
them. He instanced the .venerated name of Pet-
iurru, aad added, “the honored names of Joshua
Hill and John Minor Softs." Whatever else
may be said of him, it will scarcely be objected
to Mr. Davis, that he was in the slightest degree
tolerant of secession or disunion. Do you uot
remember bow the disunion press of the State
used to assail me for the complimentary vote l
gave him for speaker V
I trust I do no injustice to the memory of one
of the wisest and best- men l ever knew, in refer
ring to one of his treasured letters to me, bearing
date the 28th of January, 1862. My distinguish
ed and learned friend, though twenty years my
senior, was lami and reared on a tract of land
adjoining my birth-place, in Abbeville District,
South Carolina. Our fathers sett led on adjoining
places about the year 17SH). The two families
are still represented on the old farms. ^ l was
fortunate enough to enjoy tbe great man’s confi
dence and friendship. I never knew a patriot so
unselfish, or a great thinker :unl ripe scholar so
unpretending. Lu liis matchless simplicity, lie
writes from liis home in Charleston: “l received
a very agreeaifle surprise by yours of the 22d.—_
It was not surfM-ising that you should think of
me,»for ye have drank ot - .the same brook, and
have run barefoot over the same hills, uot to for
get one another, but I could hardly think that
there was a-single'man left in the whole South
that agreed so much with my opinions. I am
faij^n join in the clown's soliloquy. sometimes,
an^Ptproacli myselt lor following conscience,
seeing tbe fiend gives the better counsel. For
both town and country, old ainl young, on this
side of the river, glorify themselves for every
thing good and great as secessionists,, and rail
against Yankees, a# the meanest aud. wickedest
of the human race, for disagreeing with them in
the destruction of the Union. In tins rebellion
against tlie Union, women and parsons are con
spicuous l’or their zeal and acclamations. The
most ferocious feelings art: uot only - avowed, but
boasted of, and nothing is respectable but despe
ration. Why, a member of the Legislature de
clared exultmgly in the House that he was thank-
fnl for the fire, as it would make it easier to bum
the rest of the town if the Yankees were likely
to become masters of it.”
“These things savour of madness more than
passion. If they are to be believed they would
rather that South Carolina share the tide of
Sodom, than that secession should suffer defeat,
or even a temporary reverse. Tlie detestation
expressed for our late countrymen find a parallel
only in the contempt which the Chinese feel for
the, English and French barbarians. I am satis
fied that this madness must, in time, give way to
depression and lassitude,»but how long it will
last no one can tell.” ’ .
“The Northern mind seems tQ be almost as
deeply stirred as that of the South; and though
the South as natural fighters are more than a
match for equal numbers—the preponderance of
the North will encourage them to keep up the
contest a long time, and in the end they may
learn to fight, in which, at present, they are sadly
at fault. So were the Ku^jkms when the Swedes
gave them their first lessons.”
There is a good deal more of conjecture as to
the probable future, much of which-lias become
history. He concludes with these sadly pro
phetic words: “The future is doubly dark. Tlie
most probable issue for both sides is, that instead
of the military being subordinate to the civil au
thority, the revolution will end in the military
having it all their own way. My hopes are sub
dued, but so are my tears. I don’t expect to See
the end, and am glad of it.” He had his wish,
and James Louis Petigru, no great while after
ward, slept with his fathers. Would he have
held such converse, at such a time, with any but
a trusted friend of tbe Union? His whole life
was one of consistent devotion to the govern
ment of his countiy.
I have great respect for candor, even when
coupled with fanaticism; hence my high regard
for my friends, Milledge L. Bonham aud James
L. Pugh, both ultra disunionists and ardent in
the cause of rebellion—-both scorning to hide
away in bomb-proof positions, and uot content
to display their valor by clamoring for war, tes
tified tlieir sincerity by exposing themselves on
“well stricken fields.”
You charge that I became a candidate for
Governor, and “tried to get an office, the obtain
ing of which must have made it impossible for
him (me) to take the oath,” &c. I was no more
a candidate for Governor than was Mr. Stephens
a candidate for Senator. I deny trying to be
elected. I refused to review the administration
of Governor Brown, and to condemn it, when
assured that by doing so I could concentrate upon
myself the opposition to him, and thereby keep
down a third candidate. “Solitary and alone,”
on the floor of Congress, I had censured his un
lawful seizure of the United States Arsenal at
Augusta, and Fort Pulaski, near Savannah. The
secession Convention afterwards approved liis
action, and thereby rebuked me. With which of
us did you sympathise ?
In permitting my name to be voted for, I only
hoped to form the nucleus of a Southern con
servative party, opposed to secession and war,
and favoring peace. I called four or five of my
most trusted friends living in this town and vi
cinity, all of whom yet live, to bear me witness
that, under no possible circumstances, would I
ever take an oath to support the Constitution of
the Confederate Slates, or the government or
laws thereof. Wc examined the official oath of
the Governor, and concluded that, to him, as the
civil and military head of the Slate, tlie oath for
civil officers only, did not apply. Aud if it had,
aud I could have been elected, I would have
spumed it. In doing so, I should have made
more character than I could by filling the office.
The gentlemen to whom l refer are men of high
character, and “have done the State some service.”
I am proud to claim them as my friends, and I hey
are proud of niy principles and my course, which
few so well understand.
The secession and war press denounced my
letter and its author. How many of you defend
ed the letter, and vinicated me? The losers of
peace, and the honest haters of disunion, voted
forme, when not driven from the polls, by se
cession bullies. Some of you are late in discov
ering my strong anti-reconstruction sentiments.
How many of you denounced me as a Unionist-
reconstructionist, and everything objectionable,
politically? Which of you made speeches against
me? Did Union men complain of me? No, they
rejoiced at the opportunity of voting for a man
in whom they trusted. Your course has. made
them only more devoted to me. They constant
ly testify their regard Tor me. They reme/nbe
fondly that I labored to prevent’disunion, and
that I never “bowed the knee to Baal.”
But be consoled, gentlemen'; you have the
majority with you. With but a few exceptions,
secessionists aud war-men sustain your action,
and openly exult at the overthrow ot Janies
Johnson and myself.
I declined all invitations to visit tbe armies; or
to speak at any point. I made no defense to tlie
assaults upon me, charging me witli love of. the
Union and opposition to tlie war. in my letter,
I declared the utter impossibility of restoriu
tbe lost Union as it teas. I do not see that :
has been returned to us unchanged. It possessed
many features calculated to endear it to the peo
ple everywhere, that have been sadly altered by
war. I rejoice that it cannot be said of me that
I, in any manner, assisted in producing these in
novations. How many of you admire my course
in refusing to vote for any officer of the Confe
derate Government? Do you not think that it
would have been more praiseworthy to halve
even sought place under it ? IIow many, and
which of you, made speeches and arguments to
soldiers to deter them from voting for me ?
In a mtilant regiment, to which some of you
belonged, and of which six or seven companies
went from my old Congressional District—one
of them from my own county, composed of tlie
sons of my neighbors and friends, and of my
own son—I received one single vote. That was
cast by an independent, bigh-souled private, who
dared to do what he conceived to be his duty.—
Many of these brave soldiers had been accus
tomed to vote for me for Congress, even against
the advice.of Mr. Stephens and Mr. Toombs, but,
on this trying occasion, they could not incur tlie
odium. They liked me personally, as I believe
some of you do, but thought I loved the Union
not wisely, but too well.”
I lost the support of the only vety influential
paper that advocated for a time my election, by
promptly refusing, when required, to say that I
would not consent to live under the same Gov
ernment with the people of the free States. The
election went by, and though only second in the
race, as in the recent one, l preserved the respect
of iny friends and of myself. Success is not the
true test of merit.
-. “The rank is but the guinen a stamp,
The man’s the gowd for a’ that.”
Lest the President should be imposed on, some
patriotic Georgians furnished him with a copy of
iny letter. He understands it—he understands
us all. He knows what suspended loyalty means,
and knows how to appreciate new-born devotion
to the Union. He knows as well as you do, that
Mr. Davis voted in the Senate Committee tor the
Crittenden Compromise, and of course that he.
was opposed to disunion. This, you contend,
makes a good Union record. Do you doubt, gen
tlemen, that the President or the Senate would
have approved the election of Mr. Davisto the
Senate by the Legislature of Mississippi ? Wlmt
objection could be urged against it ? Does any
occur to you ? Has lie not talents and a large
experience to commend lijin ? And was not he,
too, one of the Prophets?
It occurs to me to inquire of you, what apolo-
gy you propone to make foRtberory inconsidera
ble vote you gave the President s Provisional
Governor‘ James Johnson, for. Senator ? In your
zeal for the Union, .how could you forget his re
cord ? What had lie done to shake your confi
dence in his loyalty ? Was it his excess of kind
ness in recomnrcntlins applicants for pardon to
the President/that you intended to rebuke ? liis
fine talents and personal worth were not un
known to yon. Can it be that you intended to
reprimand him for accej^tijig tlfejqjj^ointment ot
Governor?. ( - \ _■
You are air satisfied. that lam flowerless m
Georgia, but you are not so well assured that
your ^condemnation of me is destructive of nvy
influence at Washington. R rtecom^s Accessary,
now, to insure that You may succeed in con
vincing those who control-the Government that
the organization of -a stupendous -rebefiipn to
overthrow the .GohstitutionaL Government of
your country, the samifiee-ttlLkundreds of thou
sands of valuable lives lost iulrying to maintain ,
the supreme apthorify, together with, the sMngto
tered tlio«saBds»ct»i4fy««hfoed.or flriten tWtJrke
arms as insurgents, is a light affair. I ou may,,
by ingenious argume»itrttion, peove vthafc the men
most to be trusted by-the Govempiept are those
most prominently - and -tropspieilopafy' ilfoniTflefl
with the relK’l gorvCTtmtefftf' the men w hose
names must liyeau history, pierc Ph atfmyit' of
the high places they occupied in the rebel-gov
ernment than for anything .thhy ever did iu the
service of their lawful government. But when
you succeed in all this, tltefe cover over wirh a
thick veil the niches in your capitol that may con
tain the statues of Washington, Jackson, Web
ster and Clay, and forbid your couhtrymen-to
look upon them again. Then will the revolution
prove a triumph, aud the Union become a phan
tom. Respectfully,
Joshua Hij.l:
Madison, Ga., February 10,1866.
Covernpr ^Jenkins’ Vetoes^
Ol' a Bill to be entitted u An Act to Allow the Redemp
tion of Real Estate sold under'Esecilttoh within a
Specified Time,” aud of a Bill to be entitled “ An Act
to Exempt from Levy and Salo of Certain Property of
every Debtor in this State, and for other Purposes.”
Executive Department, f
Milledgeville, March 13,1S06. j
To the Senate:
I regret the necessity of interposing toy dissent
to another act ot the General Assembly which
originated-in your body, and W’hieh I herewith
return.
It is entitled “an act to allow the redemption
of real estate sold under execution, within a speci
fied time.”
The 1st section provides that the purchaser of
the property thus sold, shall be held, and taken
as the trustee for the defendant in execution, for
the space of two years after the sale.
The 2d section reserves to the defendant the
right to redeem the property at any time within
two years, by paying the purchase money,-with
interest at the rate of ten per cent. ]Ser annum.
The 4th section allow s any creditor of the de
fendant to raise the bid ot the purchaser and take
all the right acquired by him, within sixty days
after the public sale, .if not previously redeemed,
unless the purchaser will pay an additional sum
equal to the difference bet ween his bid at the sale,
and the subsequent bid of the creditor. And this
operation may be repeated any number of times
within the sixty days.
The 5th section reserves to the defendant the
riglit of occupancy during the two years, allowed
for redemption, without paying any considera
tion therefor, to any person whomsoever.
Should he redeem- at- the end of two years, lie
pays interest -on the money. But failing to re '
deem, he pays nothing as interest-nothing for
* tlie use and occupation of the premises.
-That’it is in the power of the General Assenl-
bly'to pass such an act, entirely prospective in
its operation, I do not question, however fatal
the legislation might be to the credit of men
having moderate possessions. But this act is
not so limited in its-operation. : By its very terms
it will apply “whenever any real estate shall
hereafter be sold, in this State, under any execu
tion, order or decree of any court,” etc.
This clearly includes 3ales under judgments
rendered before the-passage of this act. It modi
fies the lieu of such -judgments alter it Was at
tached to the property, and is, to that extent, re
troactive. By section 349!) of the revised Code,
judgments “hind all the property of the defend-
act, both real and personal, from the date of such
judgments.” The universal acceptation of this
clause is that judgments bind, not only eveiy ar
ticle of the defendant’s property, but his entire
interest in each article. This isThelien,nothing-
less. A sale under it totally extinguishes the de
fendants title, as much so as tlie most absolute
sale he could make in the absence of any judg
ment.
Tlie manifest effect of the act Under considera
tion is to prevent the sale under such a judgment
of the defendant’s entire interest in real estate.—
This it does in several particulars.
1st. It reserves to him the right of redemp
tion.
2d. It reserves to him the right of occupancy
against all the world, for two years, rent free,
thus carrying out, out of the entire interest, a le
gal estate for years.
3d. It keeps the sheriff’s sale open for sixty
days, after the bidding lias commenced, during
all which time lie may receive bids.
It surely needs no argument to prove that prop
erty exposed to sale under such incumbrances
would ; yield a much lower price than if sold free
from them. Hence the conclusion is, that the act
imposing these incumbrances upon a sale under
a judgment, affects injuriously the prior lien ot
that judgment, and of course affects injuriously
the right of the plaintiff in execution, in whom
that lien had vested before the passage of this act.
This is retroactive legislation.
It it be asked why the Legislature may not do-
this, in the plenitude of their discretion, the an
swer is brief and simple. The 14th clause of
this first article of the Constitution contains these
emphatic words: “Retroactive legislation injuri
ously affecting tlie right of the citizen is proh ibited.”■
This does not mean laws punishing acts previ
ously committed; such are called “expost facto"
laws, and are also prohibited by the same clause;
but the object in extending the prohibition to-
“retroactive legislation” w r as to protect private
rights already vested.
I also return without approval, because repug
nant to the same clause of the Constitution of
tlie State of Georgia, a bill to be entitled “an
act to exempt from levy and sale certain property
of every debtor in this State, and for other pur
poses.” This act, like the other, affects injuri
ously to plaintiffs in execution, the liens of judg
ments obtained before its passage, upon the ex
empted property. These liens are vested rights,,
as already explained. To the extent of suck
judgments and their liens, it is retroactive.^ And
therefore it is within the prohibition of clause 14
of tlie first article of the Constitution.
The difference between the two acts is only
this: The first, herein mentioned, divests tins
lien of judgments previously obtained, upon a
porteal interest, in all the property of the debtor;
the second, divests it entirely as to a portion of
his property. Taking the two into connection,
it is easy enough to perceive liow greatly and
how injuriously the rights of the judgment cred
itor are affected by this legislation. If the pro
hibition quoted from the Constitution does not
apply to and prevent such legislation, I greatly
fear it will be a dead letter.
Charles J. Jenkins, Governor.
The Senate failed to pass the last named bill
over tlie Governor’s veto, by a constitutional
majority, the yeas being 15, nays 13; and conse
quently it was not sent to the House. The Sen
ate passed the first named bill over the Govern
or’s veto, by a constitutional majority, yeas 19,
nays 9; but the House failed to pass it by a con
stitutional majority, the yeas being 64, nays 39.
So both bills were lost.—Edrs. *
Protection vs. Free Trade.—The Congres
sional discussion upon reconstruction will soon
be varied by the consideration of the new topic
that is now looming up into political prominence
—the Tariff question. The Chairman of the
Committee on Ways and Means, of the House,
stated yesterday that the subject of a revision of
the tariff would be brought up at an early day, and
an interesting discussion upon it may be expect
ed. There is a strong free trade influence in
Congress, and a still stronger one in opposition
to the demands of the manufacturing interests for
“more protection.” The Western members, in
view of the oppression that is now felt by the
agricultural districts, are likely to interpose strong
opposition to any further increase in the prices
of manufactures. Their sentiments in respect
to the Reciprocity Treaty with Canada may lie
taken as an index of what they will do when
the Tariff question comes up for cosideration.—
They are not only disinclined to make any con
cession on behalf of the New England coast fish
ermen, bat they fail to see why the whole coun
try should be made to pay toward the support
of tlie said fishermen through the instrumentality
of the fishimr bounties. Tlw: Xph- Encrtim!
of the fishing bounties. The New England
members will make a strenuous effort tor a heavy
increase of the duty on imports. A resolution
was introduced several days ago, in the interest
of the manufacturers, providing for an increase
of fifty per cent, in the duties, and it is probable
that an attempt will be made to raise the present
rates nearly or quite, to that extent. Tlie West
cannot stand such legislation as this, for the far
mers already complain that they can hardly raijse
enough produce to pay for the merchandize that
they -require. It wi 11 not be surprising, therefore,
if the forthcoming political division upon the
tariff question should be started at the present,
session. It may not develop sutfieienliy to draw
distinct party tines until tlie subsidence of die re
construction excitement, but the foundation of
tlie new political division may lie laid, aud the
way be prepared for the war of Protection and.
Free Trade.—Mete York Sun.