Newspaper Page Text
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X.
“ERROR CEASES TO BE DANGEROUS WHEN REASON IS LEFT FREE TO COMBAT IT.”—Jefferson.
VOLUME XVIII.
ATLANTA. GA., WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, I860.
NUMBER 50.
Iflffklu Jutflligrurcr.
PUBLISHED DAILY AND WEEKLY BY
JARED IRWIN WHITAKER,
I’roprlct or.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA,
Wednesday, December 19, 18667
The Mien* ot the Time*.
It .seems, according to a telegraph dispatch
from Washington City on yesterday, that the
“Committee ou Reconstruction” have before
them a hill providing that Chief Justice Chase
shall appoint for each of the Southern S‘atesa
Provisional Governor, and all other Territorial
machinery, and prescrilte regulations for holding
conventions for the adoption of Constitutions se
curing to all men their rights irrespective of color.
Tills is only one of the many proposed measures
for the accomplishment ot the same end—that of
throwing the Southern States into a Territorial
condition, which, “ the signs ot the times” indi
cate, w ill probably be the result of Congression
al legislation ere many weeks shall pass. For
this state of things the Southern States should
prepare themselves, not to resistance of so arbi
trary and unjust a measure, hut to a patient en
durance of that deprivation of all political rights
which such an enactment would entuil upon
them. Even as it is, the right of representation,
and participating in the legislation of the nation
being denied them, wc can see no reason to ap
prehend any material damage the inhabitants
ihereof may sutler by the contemplated change
Irom Slates to Territories, save in a political
sense. The change cannot surely affect the
rights of persou or properly. Should it do
so, it will be the first instance in history, where
an overpowered people have been deprived of
these rights, hitherto held sacred by every civil
ized nation upon eurlh. Our people must not
he alarmed at the “ situation,” but he prepared
to meet what shall come, with a spirit of patient
and patriotic endurance. It requires no prophet
to foretell that the time will come when justice
will assert its supremacy, and the South he re
stored to her righis under the Constitution in the
Union.
But that our readers may realize a more thor
ough understanding of what ‘.he “ signs of the
times” indicate, we call their attention to the
following significant extracts from an article
which appeared in the New York Herald of the
8tli instant. It is true that we do not always
give implicit credence to the political views of
that most erratic, and oftentimes, unreliable jour
nal ; but the *Jfle to which we now refer contains,
doubtless, many truths as indicative oi that radi
cal policy to which we have referred above, and
of the temper of the ruling majority in Congress.
Referring to the anxiety with which the people
of the North are looking to I’ongress, and the
“ hope and confidence” they have in it, thelltr-
ald says:
The republican party, “like a giant refreshed
with new wine,” rejoices in its new lease of
power and seems disposed to exercise it to the
fullest extent This would he well enough it the
guiding principles ot the party were in all things
the interest of (lie country and the good of the
people. But unfortunately the spirit of venge
ance against President Johnson, as wo have al
ready seen in various pitiful and ridiculous ex
hibitions, appears to enter too largely, into the
programme of both houses. The republicans
seem to be acting under the delusive idea that
a heir first duty is the punishment of Andrew
Johnson, chapter and verse, for his alleged mani
fold sins and transgressions. Such violent ultras
as Stevens, Ingcrsoll, Kelly, Williams and others
ot the House, and Sumner and Chandler, of the
Senate, would, in order to he revenged upon
Andrew Johnson, reduce the Presidential ottlce
to a cypher and the President to a mere automa
ton ; and in pursuing their chosen victim they
seem to he controlled by something ot that blind
rage and fanaticism with which the ferocious
Jacobins pursued poor Louis XVI to the guillo
tine.
Against this state of things, the lhrald enters
this mild protest, while it deals a blow to what
its Editor, generous man, is pleased to term a
“powerful and domineering aristocracy, which
has been cast down and broken up with its
idols
The Sew* from Washington.
We deem it our duty to caution the reader to
he chary about putting implicit faith in every
thing of a political character from the direction
of Washington City, whether it come per tele
graph, or in a shape still more questionable—
through the medium of those extra-reliable gen
tlemen, familiarly known to the country as “Our
Own Correspondent.” An effort is being made
just now, as any one must sec who has capacity
to discern objects at the end of his eye-lashes, to
frighten tlie South into the acceptance of every
measure which fanaticism and madness may pro
pose ; and we regret to have to add that there
are indications that these efforts are not likely to
prove entirely without effect. It is safe to say
that a good deal sent to the public through the
channels mentioned is exaggerated, if not purely
Governor Patton’* NIe*»a<re on tlie Cou-
Mfltulional Amendment.
This document has naturally attracted the at
tention ot the Southern press, and is severely
commented on by most of. if not all, the leading
and influential papers of tlie South. Lot our
FROM MILLED G E VIL L E.
Special Correspondence of the Intelligencer.
Mili.edgf.yu.i.e, Monday, Dec. 10.
Both Houses of the General Assembly are
working diligently with a view to the comple-
Amoug the bills passed yesterday by the Sen- [ ral importance, passed during the session, and I The Conquered South,
ate were House bills to provide a college for the j approved by the Governor. You may find some ! The following, from the pen of the editor of
benefit of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts : of them of interest to your readers. | De Bow's Review, gives expression to the feelings
[ under certain acts of Congress; to regulate the j unuvvriox.vL mu.. of the Southern heart-in this hour of its severest
manner of giving in lands lor taxation, and the In the House of Representatives this morning
readers see what Governor Patton sent t
Alabama Legislature! Here is his message:
Exkcttive Department. State of Alabama. I
Montgomery, Alabama, December t>. lstii. i"
Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Represen
tatives:
the tion ot the business on hand by noon of Friday, j
the time agreed upon for a final adjournment. j
! A number of bills have been passed in the House i
| this morning; nearly all of them of a local cliar- !
i actor. I can onlv endeavor to include in mv let
Events of vast importance are now transpir-! ters such matters as may have interest for your
ing. which bear with peculiar force upon the re- j readers, as iu the greatmass of business that will
lations which Alabama sustains to the Union.
To these events we cannot be indifferent.—
They are of so vital a character, that we should
give to them a calm and deliberate considera
tion.
As the Chief Executive of the State, I deem
it a duty, under the Constitution, to express in
sensational, and intended to effect certain pur- [form the apprehension which yon, doubtless
poses—and this, perhaps, without any wilful
complicity on the part of those more inwiedi-
ately concerned in giving them publicity..
We allude to this matter as precautionary, and
not to cast reflections upon any one ; and to as
sure our friends that we do not see many addi
tional causes for alarm in the rant ami menaces
of the majority in Congress, nor any controlling
reasons why the South should abandon the Presi
dent by withdrawing all moral support, and
leave him, solitary and alone, to make a last ef
fort for the Constitution and the restoration and
maintenance of Civil Rights. We certainly
think those presses, whether North or South,
which counsel such a policy are—unintention
ally, of course—playing into the hands of the
radicals, strengthening and facilitating them in
the perfection of their programme, and injuring
the cause the} - no doubt honestly design to serve.
Interesting to Railroad Travelers.
The Louisville Journal says that tlie following
“ rules of tlie road ” are based upon legal deci
sions, and ought to be universally known: The
courts have decided that applicants for tickeLs
on railroads can be ejected from the cars if they
do not offer the exact amount of their fare.—
Conductors are not bound to make change. All
railroad tickets are good until used; conditions
“ good for this day only,” or others admitting
time of genuineness, are of no account. Passen
gers who lose their tickets can be ejected from
the cars unless they purchase a second one. Pas
sengers are bound to observe decorum in the cars,
and are obliged to comply with all reasonable
demands to show their tickets. Standing on the
platforms or otherwise violating the rules of the
company, renders a person liable to be put out of
the train. No person has a right to monopolize
more seats than he has paid for; and any article
left, in the seat while the owner is temporarily
absent, entitles him to his seat on his return. It
might be remarked that conductors generally are
instructed to use some discretion in the discharge
of their duties.
It is agaiust any such wild excesses that we
would warn the controlling spirits of Congress.
Here, however, lies the great danger to new par
ties rising into power from the masses of the peo
ple over the ruins of hostile and oppressive aris
tocracies. In this view the blunders of the Ja
cobins were as had as their crimes, and the follies
of England’s fanatical Puritans in tlicir day of
power became as obnoxious to tlie people tus the
usurpations and double-dealing treacheries ot
Charles 1. With tlie overthrow of our late South
ern institution of slavery and the slave power, as
the crowning result of our late civil war, a pow
erful and domineering aristocracy in our politi
cal affairs has been cast down and broken up
with its idols; but still neither the vengeaucc of
the Jacobins nor the holy wrath of the snivelling
Puritans is the policy for Congress.
And now for the Herald's programme, which
is the same, in effect, with that ot the hill before
the Congressional “Reconstruction Committee:”
To this end, therefore, if the unrecoguized
States lemaiu intractable, as now organized, let
them he reconstructed by Congress as Territories
on the basis ot the amendment after it shall have
.become part and parcel of the supreme law ot
,itie land, in being ratified by three-fourths ot the
States recognized and represented in the govern
ment.
Which means, it the Southern States reject the
“ Constitutional Amendment,” as they have done
aud will do. they must he reduced to a territorial
condition.
These arc “the signs of the times,” and the
Southern States must he prepared to realize
what is iu store for them. Let them do so. al
ii ays protesting against the injustice of measures
*o viudiotive and so cruel, and so little in accor
dance with wise statesmanship aud elevated pa
triotism ! Above all things, let our people go to
work, eschew politics, and labor to advance their j
material prosperity; lor. tor a time at least, their j
political righis, we apprehend, will be taken j
away. Such, at least, are "the signs of the times ‘ ;
Impeachment.—Tlie Albauy Evening Journal
lakes decided ground on the impeachment ques
tion thus:
“ If the project of impeaching President John
son for his past course was ever seriously enter
tained, it has been abandoned. A vast majority
of those who are competent to speak the senti
ment ot tlie Republican party have pronounced
against it, as a measure of tolly and inexpedi
ency.
We have no doubt of the truth of what the
Albany paper says; and we are just as confident
that other extreme measures about which the
Stevenses and Butlers have been gasing ever
since the November elections, and before, will
he pronounced against by a majority of the Re
publican party. It is but fair to say that they
are not all fools and madmeu.
A Northern View.
The reproduction of the following article, from
a Northern journal, we trust will not be consid
ered as in bad taste. It contains a pointed his
torical iact or two, as well as one or two other
facts of a suggestive character
Charles Sumner, the apostle of negro freedom,
threatens that “we will correct the temper of the
South, if we have :o rule them by laws as severe
as England passed agaiust the Irish Catholics.”
Notwithstanding the terrible and Woody laws
passed by England against the Catholics of Ire
land, during the reigns ot Henry VIII, Edward
VI, and Elizabeth, even to that of James I, not
over sixty Irish embraced the Protestant religion
in all that long time, so we are told hy the Abbe
Geoghegan, though Ireland contained over two
millions of inhabitants. That, is an illustration
of the lienefit of cruel laws. None hut madmen
or tools ever attempted incorrect temper by cruel
ty. And then, is it any of our business, what the
temper of the South is ? Under our Constitution,
we cannot legislate to “correct temper.” If we
could, it would be a blessed thing to pass an act
to correct the brutal temper of the radicals in
Congress. The only had temper shown any
where iu the United States is here in the North.
The only enemies to the restoration of the Union
are here.
An Incident.
The Savannah Mews & Herald, of the 11th,
thus alludes to a matter which has already been
published in our paper:
Passing down Bull street yesterday morning
our attention was arrested (mark, only our atten
tion! by a detachment ot United States soldiers
having in custody six well dressed and respecta
ble looking individuals. Upon inquiring of the
reticent guard, we were apprised that tlie gentle
men prisoners were Aaron D. Nunnally, Esq., a
leading lawyer in Griffin, Mr. Thomas Noll,
Charles C. Starke, Charles Wright, Littleton J.
Bloodwortli, and William S. Browne, all citizens
of Spalding county, iu this State, who wereamst-
ed upon complaint m ule before tlie authorities,
for a violation of the provisions of the civil rights
bill, for threatening to hang a Union man in
Grifliu if he did not leave the place in twenty-
four hours.
We felt saddened at the sight thus presented,
and wondered why the reason of men did not
always control their actions. They were sent to
Fort Pulaski to await their trial before Commis
sioner Stone.
Noncf-Monor.
The Motional Inteligencer has an article in re-
Tl*e Methodist Church.
The following is the vote of the Conferences,
| as far as heard from, upon the propositions to
i change the name of the Church and the adinis-
I sion of lay delegations:
ference to Wall street, a paragraph of which we j Conference?.
quote below:
Manv people are inquiring wliat they shall do j
■with their surplus money. The time tor specu- ,
laliou in petroleum, mining, slocks. gold, whisky, •
flour, Ac, has gone by. Anything that will give ,
an interest ot seven per cent, would be reedin' j
purchased. If confidence was felt in the restore- j
*ion of ihe Union, the Government bonds would j
he bought up at an advance. The five per cents
would not linger at par. It the people amid be i
made to believe that we can or shall have a ,
sound currency eighteen months lienee, they j
would anticipate, or, as they say iu \\ all street. .
discount, tlie tact. They probably know, however,
that Congress is to control this matter, aud that
bodv will have their hands so lull of political ;
subjects tor the next two years that they will
give little attention to financial relorms.
For. Against. For. Against.
Missouri
3*>
40
~1M
St. Loui* ..
-16
11
19
19
Arkausa?
... :l-i
1*
lt>
30
Louisville
35
31
57
10
Kentucky
... .45
7
47
4
West Virginia
15
7
31
J
llolston
51
3
47
t
Northwest Texas
—
26
—
Tennessee
55
56
—
—
Gtc.rjna
109
3
—
share with me, lest tlie stability of our affairs he
suddenly broken up.
There is an unmistakable purpose upon tlie
part of those who control the National Legisla
ture to enforce, at all hazards, their own terms
of restoration.
Tlie means they propose threaten to at once,
reverse our progress towards the establishment
of that permanent tranquility which is so much
desired by all. To do so, is to immeasurably
augment the distress which now exists, and to
inaugurate confusion, the end of which no hu
man prescience can foresee.
To-day the catdinal principle of restoration
seems to be favorable aetion upon the proposed
amendment to the Constitution, which I trans
mitted to you in my annual message.
Upon the merits of that amendment, my views
are already known. They are founded upon
principle, and are unchanged.
The necessity of the case, I am now constrain
ed to think, is different. We should look our
true condition full in the face.
I, therefore, recommend anew to your consid
eration this measure in the light in which it now
presents itself, or such other measure as your wis
dom may suggest. Should you see proper to rat
ify it, and our full restoration should follow, we
may trust to time and the influence of our repre
sentatives to mitigate its "harshness. If, on the
other hand, admission be delayed, the warning to
to our sister States may be relied upon to prevent
that concurrence on their part, which alone can
give the measure practical effect.
Having done all, we may then commit our
cause to a just God. R. M. Patton.
When the fact is brought to the attention of
the Southern people, that, but a few weeks Iie-
fore, Governor Patton recommended a rejec
tion of the “constitutional amendment” by' the
Alabama Legislature, they must naturally won
der why this change in the “ spirit of his dream ”
in regard to it. The “ amendment” is the same
now, as it was then, and liable to the same ob
jections. If it were wrong then—at the opening
of the Alabama Legislature—to accept it, it sure
ly would be wrong now, for no change since
then has occurred in the political condition of
the country, that in our humble judgment, would
warrant the change that has come over that
most excellent gentleman, the Governor of
Alabama. Congress is only now what it was at
the time the Governor advised the rejection of
the amendment, and is only now what it was upon
its last adjournment, to-wit: bitter and revenge
ful upon the South and determined to deprive it
of every right the Constitution gaurantees unto
her, or to the several Souther* States. What
Governor Patton has seen since the opening
of liis State Legislature to cause the change in
him, we are at a loss to imagine. Surely fear
has not been the cause, tor he is too firm and
courageous a gentleman to be influenced by fear;
and we know that he is too conscientious
and honorable a gentleman to he influenced by
any dishonorable motive. Perhaps—and we throw
out the idea not so much at random as upon ear
nest reflection—Goverror Patton, with a self-
sacrificing spirit, desired his State to occupy the
position of a martyr, for the benefit of her South
ern sisters. In his message, he says: “I, there
fore, recommend anew to j’our consideration this
measure in the light in which it now presents it
self, or such other measure as your wisdom may
suggest. Should you see proper to ratify it, and
our full restoration should follow, we may trust
to time and the influence of our Representatives
to mitigate its harshness. If, on the other hand,
admission be delayed, the warning to our sister
States may" be relied upon to prevent that concur
rence on their part, which alone can give the
measure practical effect.” (Italics ours.)
Now, what is to be inferred from the above
language of Governor Patton ? Nothing more
nor less, than that Alabama shall accept the
“amendment,” and if then refused, admission
into the Union with all the rights of the other
States now composing it, it will be a warn
ing to her sister States of the South, not to
depart irom the position they have assumed in
their rejection of the amendment. We do not
think “ the necessity of the case” demands such
a sacrifice on the part ot our sister Alabama, nor
did her Legislature in acting upon the grave ques
tion submitted by Governor Patton. Looking
the “true condition” of the Southern States
“full in the face,” we deem it their duty, each
and every one of them, the one to stand by the
other, and remain firm in the rejection of a series
of measures designed to stultify and degrade
them iu all future time, if self-imposed. Governor
Patton should have stood firm in his opposition
to the amendment. The chivalry of no man’s
nature should ever tempt him to abandon princi
ple.
The Virginia Conference, we lielieve. also voted
for both propositions.
Labor for the Ensuing \ ear—The New-
uan Herald, of the Slh. contains the following
sensible paragraph
To Tax Collector*.
Among the acts passed by the General Assem
bly, and which hare received the approval of
the Governor, is the following:
An Act to extend the time within which Tax
Collectors of this State shall make their final
returns to the Comptroller General for the
present year
Section I. Be it enacted by the General As
sembly of the State of Georgia, audit is hereby en-
Cotton Tax Decision.
Treasury Department, )
Office or Internal Revenue, y
Washington, Nov. 15, 1S06. )
Information which has reached this office from
various parts of the country leads me to instruct
the revenne officers of the districts whence cot
ton is transported as follows:
The additional regulations in relation to the
transportation of cotton, dated October 22, 1SGG,
are to be made operative iu all districts, those
which are large and sparsely settled, or other
wise.
Internal revenue officers in such districts are
expected to afford all lawful facilities to tlie easy
movement of cotton, so long as the collection ot
the tax on the same is provided for in a manner
satisfactory to this office. It is not necessary
that a revenue officer should actually see the
bales for the transportation of which a permit is
given.
On the other baud, in case any hales are found
in transportation trom your district not answer
ing the description in a permit, such bales are
liable to seizure, and you are expected to exer
cise this power so far as is necessary for the pro
tection of the revenue against fraud.
Revenue officers in districts where cotton is
transported without payment of tax will receive
no commission on the tax ou such cotton, un
less it is accompanied in its transportation by
permits showing that it was so transported
thence. Very respectfully,
Thomas Oakland,
Deputy Commissioner.
Before or bv the first of January, our county acted by the authority aforesaid That the time
IXTIV. I • • • „ * Tav r , rt)lnz«tnis: ire thic Sfflfo chflll mal'P
will swarm with men ft
sole aim it will he to hit
other States, whose
t u ____ negroes to go out of
me Stale, to be employed ou platations iu Missis-
rippi, Arkansas, Tennessee and Texas. 1 hey
w ill make tempting offers, and unit s- the labor
ers have made previous mutt acts, many w ill go
with them, and labor will become so scarce that
many of our farms cannot be cultivated,
avoid coiuj>etiliou with th
in which Tax Collectors in this State shall make
their final returns to the Comptroller General be,
and the samt- is hereby extended to the first day
of March, 1867.
Section II Repeals conflicting laws.
Approved November 16. 1S66.
East Tennessee.—Pork.—The Knoxville
TU/tf? of the 12th says r
There seems to be a plentiful supply ot pork
in this community, notwithstanding the large
number of hogs lost by cholera. The present
prices ,are from 8 to 10 dollars per hundred, net,
and not much inclination to purchase. Holders
in a majority of instances, however, refused to
take less than ten dollars per hundred.
be transacted within the next four or five days,
there will be much that I cannot embrace in this
correspondence.
senate, proceedings.
In the Senate a re.-iolution was adopted limit
ing speeches in debate to/five minutes time, un
less by special leave of tlie Senate.
The bill to modify the existing laws against
lotteries so as to permit E. P. Watkins, of Atlan
ta, and others, to ashsj^a scheme to raise money
for education of soldi* us was lost in the Senate,
by a vote of 15 yeas to 21 nays.
Mr. J. A. W. Johnson, from the special com
mittee on the claim of Messrs. Seago, Palmer &
Co., made a favorable -report, and recommended
the passage of the hjU, The further considera
tion of the bill was postponed till to-morrow.
The Senate adopted a resolution for bringing
on the election of United States Senator to-mor
row, the 11th instant, by a vote of 27 yeas to 8
nays. Mr. Thornton gave notice of a motion to
re-consider this resolution.
The resolution settling the question of the
boundarj- fine between Florida and Georgia, was
adopted.
BILLS PASSED.
The Senate passed a bill in regard to persons
holding claims against the State entered into or
arising at any timejrom the 1st of January, 1861,
to the 25th ot June, 1866. Also, a bill to repeal
the oath prescribed in the 1377th section ot the
Code to be taken by retailers of spirituous liquors.
Also, a hill to change section 3543 of the Code.
Also, a hill to prescribe the terms upon which
Marine, Fire or Life Insurance Companies, not
incorporated by the General Assembly of Geor
gia, shall be permitted to transact business with
in the State. The bill authorizing and requiring
the Governor to call a convention of the people
of the State was lost.
EMIGRANT LABOR.
In the House of Representatives, on Saturday,
the bill for the encouragement and protection of
European immigration, and for the appointment
of a Commissioner of Emigration, was advocated
by Mr. J. B. Jones of Burke, Air. Russell of Mus-
cogee, and Bullock of Talbot; and opposed by
Air. Williams of Dooley, and Air. Byington of
Clayton. On motion, the bill was indefinitely
postponed. No action will, therefore, be taken
at the present session for the objects proposed to
be accomplished by the bill. This will occasion
great disappointment to a large number of land
owners and others who are impressed with the
importance and necessity of obtaining a supply
of labor by such direct agency as would bring
from European countries industrious, moral and
intelligent emigrants.
EDUCATION OF DISABLED SOLDIERS.
Au impprta.n(^Senate bill, providing for sup
plying teachers by the education of disabled sol
diers, was passed by the House with an amend
ment. This bill, as passed by the House, pro
vides that any indigent, maimed soldier, of the
State, under the age of thirty years, may be edu
cated at the State University, or other colleges,
or schools taught by graduates. The State is to
pay all expenses, provided the amount should
not exceed three hundred dollars per annum, for
each beneficiary, payment to be made by the
Government.State bonds. Each person receiving
the benefits of the act, to enter into a written ob
ligation of honor, to teach when he shall have
completed his collegiate course, for the same
number of years in Georgia as he may have been
in college or school at the expense of the State.
The Senatp has rejected one of the amendments
by the House, which extends the privileges iu
the bill to high schools.
THE REDEMPTION ACT.
The House passed at its evening session of
Saturday, the Senate bill to allow the redemp
tion, within a specified time, of real estate sold
under execution. This bill provides that the pur
chaser in such cases shall be considered the
trustee of the defendant for the period of two
years, the defendant having the right to redeem
the land at any time within that period by pay
ing the purchase money, with ten per cent, inter
est. The defendant may, at the time of sale,
waive, by written consent, bis right to redeem
the property sold. When no waiver is made
ot the right ot redemption, the defendant is to
be allowed to retain possession of the property
until the expiration of the time allowed for its
redemption. Any creditor of defendant may,
within sixty days, upon giving ten day’s notice
to the purchaser, raise the bid on the property,
and may do so as often as lie desires within the
time specified, the first purchaser having the
right to take the property at the advanced bid.
CHAIN GANG CONVICTS.
The House also passed the Senate hill regula
ting the manner of convicts laboring on public
works. This bill, as stated in one of my former
letters, authorizes and requires the Inferior
Courts of the several counties to provide for em
ploying the convicts sentenced to labor upon the
public works. I believe that I have given in a
former letter the most important provisions of
the bill. H.
In the Senate, this morning, after some mo
tions for reconsideration had been disposed of,
Air. Butler introduced a resolution recommend
ing for use in the schools of this State, the series
of school books to be issued under the auspices
of the University of Virginia. Air. Butler also
presented a memorial addressed to the Congress
ot the United States, and framed with reference
to the final and complete restoration of the State
to its position in the Federal Government. The
memorial reviews the history ot the attempts at
restoration, and closes with resolutions providing
for the appointment of commissioners by the
Governor to proceed to Washington for the pur
pose ot conferring with the President and others,
in order to ascertain the views of Congress as to
the best means of securing peace and restoration.
Upon a report being made to the Governor by
the commissioners, he is requested to couvene the
Legislature if he should deem it necessary to ef
fect the restoration of the State to the Union.—
No action was taken by the Senate upon the
memorial or resolutions.
The Senate concurred in the resolution request
ing the Governor to pardon John H. Perkins, a
convict in the Penitentiary from Banks county,
on the charge of horse stealing. The Senate
also passed the bill for the pardon of John Mc-
sale and redemption thereof; to prevent persous
from interfering to induce laborers or servants
to abandon their contracts, and several local hills.
BILLS PASSED IN THE HOUSE.
The House of Representatives passed yester
day a large number of bills during the after
noon and evening session. The following were,
some of them: A bill to ameud sections 2014
3015, 201G, 2017 aud 2020 of the Code. This
bill proposes to substitute “ County Court for In
ferior Court ” iu the sections named. A bill to
change the oath of retail dealers of spirituous
liquors; a hill to authorize the making of parties
in certain cases. This bill relates to the estab
lishment of lost papers. A bill to amend section
1387 of the Code. Bills were also passed incor
porating the Atlanta Alining and Land Company;
Gainesville and Dahlonega Railroad Company;
Savannah, Skidaway and Sea Board Railroad
Company; and the Bartow Foundry and Alanu-
facturing Company. The bill to change the
name of the Coweta Circuit to that of the At
lanta Circuit was postponed for the present.
Air. Hill, of Fulton, lias, in the meantime, in
troduced a bill to create a new Judicial Circuit
to he called the Atlanta Circuit^
A bill was was passed by the House relative
to the twelve months’ support of widows and
orphans; a bill authorizing administrators, ex
ecutors, Ac., to compromise doubtful debts; a
bill to amend the Code so as to require jail fees
for imprisoned debtors, to be paid in advance
each week.
The hill for the relief of Auderson Cook, of
Cobb county, was passed by substitute. A bill
was passed to consolidate the offices of sheriff
and special bailiff in Polk county. Also a bill
for the relief ot A. Carnes and S. W. Peck, of
Cherokee county.
THE EXEMPTION LAWS.
The Senate bill to exempt from levy and sale
certain property ot every debtor, having been
made the special order for to-day in the House
of Representatives, was taken up. The substi
tute, offered by the Judiciary Committee of the
House, was advocated hy Air. Stewart of Spald
ing, aud Air. Pottle of Warren, and opposed by
Air. J. J. Jones of Burke. The substitute was,
alter discussion and amendment, adopted by the
House. It proposes, in addition to exemptions
now provided by law, fifty acres of land to the
head of the family, and five acres for each child
under sixteen years of age. The dwelling house
may be included or not, at the option of the
owner. In lieu of the land, real estate in a city
or village is to be allowed not exceeding fifteen
hundred dollars, in addition to what is now al
lowed by law. The bill proposes to allow also
one horse or mule, one cow and calf, ten head of
hogs, ten head of sheep, fifty dollars worth of
provisions, and five dollars worth for each minor
child, in addition to what is now allowed by
law. No person is to be entitled to the benefit
of the act until the purchase money for the pro
perty claimed to be exempt shall have been paid.
CODE OF GEORGIA.
A message was received to-day, in the House
of Representatives, from the Governor, com
municating a brief statement from Messrs. Bleck
ley, Hammond and Hansell, the Commissioners
appointed to examine the Code of Georgia, as
revised by Hqp. David Irwin. The Commis
sioners say that, though not yet prepared to make
their final report, their examination of the
work is substantially finished, and that they have
satisfied themselves of the thoroughness and ac
curacy of the revision.
UNITED STATES SENATOR.
The House of Representatives having con
curred in the Senate resolution for bringing on
the election of United States Senator at twelve
o’clock to-day, the two bodies met in the Repre
sentative Hall. Hon. H. Y. Johnson was de
clared duly elected, having received 111 votes.
Several members were, upon request, excused
from voting. Air. Moses of Aluscogee, made a
point of order, objecting to further proceeding,
because the requirements of the laws of the Uni
ted States were not complied with. His objec
tion was ruled out. Air. Aloses was, however,
on liis applictaion, excused from voting. He
drew up and presented a paper, respectfully re
questing to be allowed to enter his protest against
the proceedings, on the ground that the Consti
tution of the United States gives to Congress the
right to regulate the manner ot electing Sena
tors, except so far as the place of election is con
cerned, and that, by act of Congress, the election
is to take place on the second Tuesday after the
meeting and organization of the General Assem
bly, and that the act directs that the election
shall be held by each House separately, and not
in joint ballot, until after the failure to give a con
current majority in each House.
SUPREME COURT.
Iu the Supreme Court to-day, the docket of
cases from the Western Circuit will be taken np,
and probably on to-morrow cases from the Cowe
ta Circuit. Judges Lumpkin, Harris and Walk
er, are all present, and are working day and
night, in disposing of the appeals that come be
fore the court. An important decision was made
yesterday upon the constitutionality of the ordi
nance of Convention, declaring valid private con
tracts made during the war, and authorizing the
courts to adjust the equities between parties.—
The decision of the Supreme Court, as I under
stand, is, that the ordinance of Convention does
not impair the obligation of contracts, but only
authorizes the courts to construe their force
and effect, and to determine the value of the con
sideration according to equity, and the intention
of the parties. Other important points are ex
pected to come before the court for decision du
ring the present term.
Melledgeville, Wednesday, Dec. 12.
The House of Representatives yesterday, pass-
the hill to extend the time for the completion of
the Air-Line Railroad; also, a bill to define and
regulate court contracts, and to prescribe the
mode of enforcing them in the County Court;
also, a bill to prevent hunting and fishing in en
closed lands without the consent of the owner,
in Burke, and other counties, eighteen in num
ber. There was so much opposition to making
this a general bill, that its friends gave it its pre
sent shape, confining its operation to certain
counties named. The House concurred in the
Senate’s amendments to the bill for the relief of
Seago. Palmer A Co., so as to pay for corn fur
nished by them to the Quartermaster General of
the State. So, this vexed question will, after
all, be submitted to arbitration. A bill was pass
ed, authorizing the incorporation ot Homestead,
or Building Associations in this State; also, a
bill to a change the name of the Planters’ Con-
! vention of the State of Georgia. The House
To
The Irish Excitement.—The Cable contin
ues to utter mysterious hints as to excitement in
Ireland; and newspaper files by the steamers,
cod tain many sensation reports as to the seizure
of arms, the arrest of suspicious persons, etc.,
Mahon, a convict from Fulton county, for the : d with amea dments, the bill from the Sen-
I crime of ra ° rder ’ b - V a , Una " 5 vote. The recon- ate to modifv the laws against lotteri es, so far as
i sidered bill for the: relief of Messrs, ^eago, Palmer ; tQ authorize >. W . Boyd and others to adopt a
1 & Co., was amended so as to provide for submit
scheme to raise money for the purpose of estab-
ting their claim to arbitration, and in that shape , ; , hi lke Masonic Orphan’s Home. A number
passed. The bill from the House of Represent*- ! of other bills were pasaed by the House. The
The Lunatic Asylum.—Dr. Green’s annual
citizens of other j report shows 367 patients iu the institution— j hut in the midst ot it all, this fact stands out,
~ there has been no fighting as yet. John Ball
and his friends are badly frightened, it is 'clear:
but, up to this time, nobody is hurt
States, and to return a sufficiency ot labor, we | uear C q Ua ] Paupers, 296. Discharged,
IS;dte to U# with”the M-M f * <*
Delay will be dangerous. 1 the year, (trom different sources,) $»5,* <6 65.
tives to provide for the burial of the Confederate
dead, was amended and passed. Also the House
bill incorporating the Island Alanufacturing Com
pany, on the Etowah river, in Bartow county.
Several other bills were passed, mostly local in
their character.
ries of the Superintendent, Auditor, and Treas
urer of the State Road, was rejected by the
House.
Enclosed I send copies of several bills of gene-
the Senate hill, to provide for education and to
establish a general system of Georgia schools,
was, after considerable discussion, passed by a
very close vote—the yeas being 62, and the nays
58. As amended by the House, the provisions
of the hill are not to take effect till the first of
January, 1868. The friends of education regarded
it as a matter of very great importance that some
system of general education should be inaugu
rated—that a beginning should be made. There
was considerable opposition to the measure, on
the grounds urged that the plan was impracti
cable, and would involve the State in a very
heavy expense, in sustaining tne schools to be
established. I believe that I gave the leading
features of the plan in a former letter. A mo
tion will probably be made to-morrow for recon
sideration.
SAVANNAH, GRIFFIN AND NORTH ALABAMA RAIL
ROAD.^
The House also passed the Senate bill, to ex
tend the aid of the State-to the Savannah, Griffin
and North Alabama Railroad. The features of
the bill are very similar to the provisions con
tained in bills previously passed for State aid,
by endorsement of bonds for the Alacon and
Brunswick Road, Air Line, and other railroads
of the State. The onlv one ot these bills yet
sanctioned by the approval of the Governor, is
that for the aid of the Macon aud Brunswick
Road.
SENATE PROCEEDINGS.
The Senate passed, yesterday, a hill to regu
late the manner in which the Penitentiary shall
be managed and to provide for farming out the
same. It proposes that the Governor shall adver
tise sixty days for proposals, and shall lease the
Penitentiary to such person as will take it on the
best terms, giving such bond as the Governor
may require for the comfort and security of the
prisoners. No lease is to- be made unless the
State is to he relieved from all further expense,
and not for a longer term than five years. There
is very little time for the House of Representa
tives to consider such a proposition. The advo
cates of the measure will urge that the plan has
worked w ell iu other States. The Senate passed
other bills besides those referred to in my letter
of yesterday, most of them, however, being lo
cal in their character. Most of the time of the
Senate since yesterday forenoon has been occu
pied with the consideration of the general Appro
priation bill and the general Tax bill, pending
the consideration of the latter, ot which an ad
journment was made to three o’clock this after
noon.
THE APPROPRIATION BILL.
The general Appropriation Bill, providing for
the expenditures of the Government for the year
1887, which had passed the House of Represen
tatives, was considered yesterday and this morn
ing in the Senate. Various amendments were
made, and upon the final vote, the bill, in the
aggregate, seems to have been so objectionable to
the majority of Senators, that it was rejected by
a vote of 19 against, to 11 in favor of the bill.—
It must be reconsidered by the Senate to-morrow,
as the passage of the measure in some shape is a
matter of course, and cannot be avoided. This
was not, however, the intention of the majority.
ATLANTA CIRCUIT.
In the House of Representatives this morning
the hill was passed, which was introduced a few
days ago by Mr. Hill of Fulton, to create a new
Judicial Circuit, to he called the Atlanta Circuit.
This hill w r as sent to the Senate to-day. There
is barely time to allow of its passage after the
three readings on three separate days, as required
by the Constitution. The bill proposes that the
county of Fulton shall form the new Circuit;
the Judge and Solicitor to be elected by the qual
ified voters of the Circuit, on tlie clay to be ap
pointed by the Governor, aud after tw-enty days’
notice by publication in two newspapers of the
city of Atlanta. The Judge is to be required, in
addition to the regular terms of the Superior
Court, to hold special terms for the trial of crim
inal cases, as often as may be necessary to keep
the jail clear and the dockets unincumbered.—
The Solicitor General is to receive no salary
from the State, but to have the fees of office.—
The salary of the Judge is to be paid by volun
tary contributions from the people of Fulton
county, annually in advance. Otherwise the act
not to go into effect or the Circuit to continue.
PARDON OF CREED T. WISE.
The Senate hill for the pardon of Creed T.
Wise, a convict from the Penitentiary from Butts
county, for the murder of Joseph Pittman in the
year 1805, was passed hy the House. Wise is
over sixty years of age, has been out on bail for
months at a time, but would never attempt to
make his escape. Tlie killing took place at
Wise's house when both were intoxicated, they
being neighbors and always friendly before the
occurrence.
trial:
The Capture of Surratt.
The papers, letter-writers, and telegraph, have
all been employed recently in discussing the ar
rest of John II. Surratt, aud detailing incidents,
real and manufactured, connected with it; so if
the public is not now pretty well posted in regard
to that notorious individual, from the day of his
birth to the capture at Alexandria, Egypt, it is
not the fault of the -sensationists and newsmon
gers. But about the individual who is reported
to have been mainly instrumental in securing
Surratt’s arrest, the public is not so fully advised.
There is a mystery about his movements and an
tecedents which does not seem to envelope the
principal in the affair at this time, but which may
possibly be cleared up after awhile. From what
has already been published, however, in regard
to him, it is not impossible he will turn out to be
another Conover, with his mouth full of lies, and
ready to steep his soul in perjury in order to se
cure the large reward which the government is
3aid to have offered for the apprehension ot Sur
ratt. If he was cognizant of a plot to assassin
ate President Lincoln, he is equally guilty with
Surratt. If he has betrayed an accomplice that
he may clutch the reward, he is the greater vil
lain ot the two, and his evidence will hardly be
worth the paper consumed in recording it.
We allnde to the matter thus, because it is evi
dent that an effort will be made through the par
ty alluded to, to identify Jefferson .Davis with
the conspiracy to murder Mr. Lincoln.
Arreat of the Xotoriou* Swaj ze.
The Griffin Southern; Herald of the 13th con
tains the follwing paragraph:
The notorious J. C. Swayze was arrested yes
terday at the instance of >ir. J. C. Briggs, ex
Federal soldier, and former partner of Swayze
in the negro brokerage business, instituted since
the war at this place. The cause of the arrest,
we learn was that this man Swayze had pos
session of money that belongs in part to Briggs,
and which he refuses to pay over, and to secure
which Briggs liad him arrested and his property
attached. Bonds were required, but up to the
time of writing had not been given, Swayze
remaining in the custody of Sheriff Doyal.
Aud this is the man at whose instance six of
our citizens have been arrested, their homes in
vaded, families insulted, and themselves impris
oned in Fort Pulaski!
The Air Line Road.—A report reached here
yesterday evening that Governor Jenkins had
vetoed the bill extending State aid to the Air Line
Railroad.
Throwing aside, however, the question of re
sponsibility, when the decision against us was the
sword, we will do the Southern people the jus
tice to say, there was no longer any hesitation.—
The day of debate was ended. The talent, the
worth, the intellect, all that was noble an A dis
tinguished in the States, from Virginia to Texas,
the descendants of the men who fought with
Washington at Yorktown, of the heroes who
figured in all the great fights where the national
eagle floated, or who vindicated the fame of the
nation on the ocean, on the floors of Congress, in
the chair of the Presidency, of the Cabinet, or in
positions of honor abroad, buckled on their armor,
marshaled their cohorts, aud in hot haste rushed
to the front. The exceptions were so few as not
to affect the rule, and we are not now, nor ever
have been, willing to impugn the motives or to
denounce the men, scattered here and there in
most of the States, who constitute the exceptions.
Let them defend their records as we do our own..
Was this a rebellion? were these traitors, or
did the struggle rise to a greater aud nobler atti
tude ? The question can remain for history.—
Name it if you please, however harshly, and
where do you find, in all the histories that you
have read, from those of Thucydides and Livy,
down to Bancroft and Hildreth, so unequal a
struggle maintained with as much fire and en
ergy ; such deeds of valor and prowess performed ;
such privations and sufferings endured ; such he
roism displayed ? How many great armies were
driven back ; wliat captains’ fortunes were ruin
ed ; what Saragossa defenses, as at Charleston
and Vicksburg! Six millions of men were in a
death struggle agaiust four limes that number;
six millions without a ship, with scarcely a gun
boat, out from all the world by rigorous block
ades, without workshops, machinery, or mechan
ical aptitude, without clothing, without arms
and often without food. Yet the fight went on
four long years, until some of your leading wri
ters and thinkers began to express the opinion
that Southern independence was then virtually
achieved. These deeds of daring and heroism,
this record of energy and eudurance, startled the
European world, anil extorted its admiration, if
not its friendship. Are the men of the North less
impressible by the morally sublime, when-jay-
hibited by those once their enemies ? CanjBiy
not recognize heroism, and claim it as their§9tu-
mon heritage in the future ? Even heroism, if
you please to say so, in a wrong cause ?
This people have not been degraded or hum
bled. It is not in your power, and if you are
true statesmen it cannot be your desire to do
either. They are your countrymen, aud for good
or for ill, your descendants and theirs, in all the
ages that are to come, are likely to mingle togeth
er. Their crest is erect! Let tTTeir losses be ever
so severe, they do not embrace honor. That sur
vives, and fortunately for America it docs; lor
what a picture would its republicanism present
were the people of one-third ot the States self-
acknowledged, to be degraded and debased'—
Neither revenge nor policy could dictate Wfy
Revenge could not be gratified by sowing the
storm to reap the whirlwind. Policy, ancient
and modern, teaches differently. The Greeks and
Romans conquered the world by conciliation,
laws, liberties, institutions, as well as by arms.—
English liberties and the English Constitution
have been maintained hy the descendants of
York and Lancaster, of Cromwell and the Cav
aliers. On the field of Bosworth, after the star
of Richard had set in blood, the princely Rich
mond could exclaim:
“ Proclaim a pardon to trie soldiers fled,
That in subtjnssion will return to tis ;
And then, ae we have taken the Sacrament,
We will nnite the White llose and the Red;
Smile Heaven upon this fair conjunction
That long hath trowued upon their enmity.”
A people with such antecedents as those of
the South cannot submit permanently to be lord-*
ed over and acknowledge the authority of a mas
ter race. They may endure for a time, but tlie
wound will rankle and bleed afresh, and they
will strike back and bite the heel of the oppres
sor. Inextinguishable hatred will grow up, anti
their children and tlieir children’s children, like
the infant Hanibal will be sworn upon the altars
of vengeance. Nor ought the power of such a
race to be despised. Weak it may be to-day,
disorganized and overwhelmed by defeat, and
colossal, disciplined and organized nvay be tne
power which is brought in threatening attitude
against it. There are smaller incidents in his
tory which change the relations of peoples. The
weak have but to wait upon opportunity. Ireland,
Poland, Italy, Hungary, will rise and rise again.
History is full of these examples. A vast mili
tary establishment, great standing armies, garri
sons will be needed here; and while tlieir force
is expended in crushing rebellion in one quarter,
in such wide domain, it will be aroused and rum-
pant in a hundred others. The tyrant, the op
pressor and the despot will be in vain seeking to
prevent opportunities which the great political
relations of the world involve, and he will, even
in the grandeur of his pretensions, tremble be
fore them.
“Who would he free,
Themselves will strike the blow.”
But why drive a brave and earnest people to
despair ? Wliat great public purpose can be an
swered ? In what respect will the North he hap
pier, wealthier, more powerful by such a course ?
What Christian or patriotic instinct can be grati
fied by it? You have said that freemen were
better than slaves, and is not the doctrine as ap
plicable to white men as to negroes ? Do you not
hasten to get rid ot the expense and charge of
Territories by converting them into States ? Has
not Britain realized a thousand times over profit
by the change which made her colonies inde
pendent States ?
Do you wish to make secession odious and
prevent the possibility of its recurrence ? If
sharp, fierce, sanguinary war has not accomplish
ed this, do you think the meaner remedies of the
thumb screw and the galleys will avail? Wliat
a compliment you are paying to a people whose
standards have all gone down, and the debris
only of whose powers survives. Methinks
“There be six Richmond? in the field—
Five nave I slain to-day!”
Tlie South went down under your cohorts and
your legions; but having gone down with her
broad and teeming lands wasted, with her cities
destroyed, her warriors scattered, and bleediDg,
and dead, her resources exhausted, and her peo
ple clothed in sackcloth and in ashes, yours is a
magnificent tribute, when behind every bush
you see her bayonets gleaming still. Compose •
yourselves. The work is done—done efficiently
and finally. The issue, which was made fairly,
was as fairly decided. In appealing to the sword,
its arbitration was accepted. People knew no
higher courts, and Congress may decide as they
please—the bayonet gives the law. From the
Chesapeake to El Paso, the South tells you this.
Her Legislatures, her statesmen, her disarmed
warriors, her people of high and low degree, all
solemnly and emphatically declare it, and having
discovered their truth and’earnestness when they
told that they meant war, can you not trust them
when they tell you that they mean peace, perma
nent and lasting peace? Moreover the issues which
resulted in war are extinct. If new ones arise,
they are as likely to be such as will disturb the
peace of the North as well as ours. No man in
our domain, unless within the walls of a lunatic
asylum, dreams of resistance to a power which,
in the heyday of our prosperity and might, bore
so overwhelmingly and resistlessly upon us.—
The Government of the United States is our only
Government, and in its Jtonor and glory must i d
fifed ours.
Astronomical.—The Cincinnati Commercial
says somewhere between the 6tli and 15th of
December, 1866, an astronomical phenomenon
bas occurred, is occurring, or will occur, the like
of which will not be again visible for four thou
sand years, at least. This heavenly wonder is
the conjunction of Jhe sun, moon, Mercury, Ve
nus and the earth. At the time of occulation
all five could be intersected by the same straight
line—tit, tat, toe; five in a row. A well known
astronomer, alluding to the event, says :
“I have turned the planitarium back two thou
sand years, and during that space of time no
event of a like character has occurred ; 1 have
turned it forward two thousand years in the
future, and in that ’ton" period the occultation
will not be repeated, tv hat effect will be pro
duced on onr globe by tlie intervention of so
many bodies between it and the sun, I am un
able to say. The attractive power ot the solar
influences may be weakened, but to what extent
no calculation based on precedent or philosophy
can afford any idea. The completeness of the
occultation, owing to the rapid movements of the
planets, will be of short duration, and the occa
sion may pass without any physical indication
that snch a maze in the dance of the stars had
ever taken place,”
■KfiKflHHeS