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“ERROR CEASES TO BE DANGEROUS WREN REASON IS LETT FREE TO COMBAT IT.”—Jejjtrmn.
VOLUME XXII
ATLANTA, GA.,.WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 1871.
NUMBER 10
llMlg Jtttelligtnffr
KUULUiHKD DAILY AND WEEKLY BY
JARED IRWIN WHITAKER,
Ptoprlotor.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA,
Wednesday, March 8, 1871.
ALICE CARY’S SWEETEST I'OE.W.
Of ail th« beautiful picture*
That hand nt, Memory’* wall,
1* one uf a dim old forest.
That Hoometl. beet of alf.
Notfor it* guarlcd oai * oideo.
Dark with the mistletoe; •
Not for the violets yol'lon
That * crinkle the vale below;
Not for the milk while lilies
That lean from the fragrant hedge,
Ctxjuetting all day with the sunbeama,
And Bleating their golden edge;
Not for the vines on the upland
Where the bright red berries, rc^t;
No r the pinks, nor ihe pale, sweet cowslip,
ft Heemcth to me the best.
I once had a little brother
W ith eyes that were dark and deep —
In Ihe iitji ol that Oiden forest
lie lleth In lt-ace asleep ;
Light as the down of the thistle.
Free as the winds that blow.
We roved mere the beautiful bummers.
The bummers ol long ago:
But hi* lent on the hills grew weary.
And one of the Aniurnu evea
I made for my little brother
A tied o! the yellow leaves.
Hweetly his pale arms folded
My nee.k in a meek embrace.
As the light of Immortal beauty
Bilenllv covered his lace ;
And when tne arrows ol sunset
Lodged In the tree-tops bright
lie fell, lti hi? saint-liphibeauty.
Asleep by the gates of light.
Therefore, ol all the pictures
That li ing on Memory’s wail.
The one of the dim old forest
Scemelh best of all.
A rkuimaH.
The Supreme Court ol Arkansan has rendered
a decision dismissing the quo warranto against
Lieutenant-Governor Johnson, which establishes
his light to exercise tLe rights, privileges and
1 ranchiscs ol tlie oflice oi Lieutenant-Governor
oi Arkansas. Since this decision was rendered,
Clayton, it is rumored, is preparing a letter
resigning the oflice ol United Slates Senator, to
which he was recently elected. The rumor,
however, is not credited, and flie latest intelli
gence from Liil!e Rock is that Clayton is arming
tho militia to sustain him in the position which
he has lately taken.
sy, )
i. >
n. )
Tran unction* ol flic State Agricultural
Noddy ol Cjcorgla lor 1801).
Mr. Uinckle has placed on our table a large
pamphlet ol G4 pages, bearing the above title.
Its first leal presents a likeness of lien. C, Yan
cey, late President ol the Society, which
although recognizable, we must be permitted to
Bay, is not equal to the original. The work,
however, contains a variety ol matter of value
and interest to tho agricultural community, ad
dresses and essays on the subject of agriculture
and kiudrtd subjects; reports ol committees;
lists ol premiums awarded, Ac.
Furnished at Agricultural uUlco, Atlanta, Ga.,
$1 per copy.
It wilt, lie Been from the following papers
that ex-Govcrnor Joseph E. Brown, President
ol the Western & Atlantic Railroad Company
has paid into the State Treasury the sum ol
Iwouty-live thousand dollars reutal lor the
month ol February, 1871.
Western & Atlantic Railroad Company,
I’iiksident’s Office,
Atlanta, Ga., February 28,1871
J)r. H. L. Angier, (State Treasurer :
Dear Sir—I herewith transmit to you by the
Treasurer ol the Western & Atlantic Railroad
Company, tweuty-live thousand dollars in cash,
the reutul due the State lor the mouth ol Feb
ruary. Please send me receipt.
1 aui vuy respectlully,
Your obedient servant
Joseph E Brown,
President.
No. 881.
Comptroller General’s Office, )
Atlanta, Ga., Feb’y 28,1871. j
Received ol Isaac P. Harris, Treasurer, , W.
& A. R. It. Co., the sum ol twenty-live thou
sand dollars, renlal ol the Western aud Atlan
tic Railroad lor the mouth of February, 1871,
as per certilicate No. 881, ol N. L. Angier,
Treasurer.
[shined.] Madison Bell.
Comptroller General.
$25,000.
Details of the Late Railway Disaster
Near Marseilles, France.—Details are given
by the Marseilles journals ol the terrible rail
way accident which look place on the 5th, be
tween the town and Toulon. The train started
lrom Marseilles at 7J o’clock in the morning.—
U consisted ol twenty carriages—the number
ol passengers we are not toid. At the end of
tho passenger carriages was a post office van,
and immediately bebmd this came tour wagons
tilled with powder. The train had already
travelled lor nearly two hours, aud was ap
proaching its destination, when the explosion
took place. At the time it was lortuately in the
open country. There can be little doubt that,
had the accident occurred close to a large lowu,
the ialal results would not have been confined
to the llain itself. As it was, tho shock was
distinctly lelt at Toulon, though this place is
some miles away lrom the scene oi tlie acci
dent; roots were blown away Horn houses lor a
considerable distance around; ’and the rails
were torn up over a length ol 100 metres. An
other terrible ellcct ol the accident was that the
eyes ol mauy ol tho passougers were blown out
ol their heads, while the bodies ol others were
riddled with spliulcrs ot glass and wood. As
we have already said, there were in the train
twenty carriages; ol these eleven were com
pletely, nine almost entirely, destroyed. About
sixty-three people were killed on the spot;
loose who have since died of their injuries raise
the total number of tlie killed to between sev
enty and eighty; the wounded are generally
set down at about eighty. Tho precise spot at
which the explosion took place is between Bau
tin/. aud Ollioules, two towns in the Department
ol Yar, the one lane, the other live miles lrom
1 onion. The cause ol the explosion is stili a
matter ot conjecture.
I When an intelligent Northern man ol busi
ness visits the South for tne purpose of ascer-
l taining, by personal contact and observation,
| the principal causes that are at work to affect
injuriously the peace and prosperity of that
section of the Union, it is quite natural that the
absence of political bias should give to the
opinions he has thus formed greater weight and
value than are conceded to those of acknowl
edged partizuns.
A New York merchant, who is described “ as
one of the most distinguished ” in that city, bas
just returned from an extended tour through
the Southern States, and has furnished one of
the journals—edited by a Republican—with the
result of his observations. Ills account of the
condition of affairs there coincides so entirely
with the reports that, from time to time, have
reached the Gazette lrom other sources, that
they are eminently worth considering. Both
financially and commercially, he found the
Soutu greatly depressed. The cotton crop,
though the largest that has been gathered since
the v. ar, has not been profitable to the planters,
except in a few instances and under unexcep
tional circumstances. Tho factors who had
taken liens upon the stock and crop, to cover
their advances, have, to a considerable extent,
succeeded in getting their money back; but the
planter bas been left without sufficient resources
to carry him unembarrassed through the next
season, and the factors, though partially reim
bursed, and generally secured against los9 in
respect to their previous advances, are shy ol
putting out more money, or of lurnishing more
fertilizers on the basis ol their old engagements.
The greater part ot tlie proceeds of last season’s
crop having been absorbed by the factors, the
country merchants, with whom the planters
have also had dealings during the year, find it
difficult to make collections, and, in many
instances, will huve to wait the chances of the
next crop. Money is consequently scarce, aud
in demand, and will readily command oue and
a-hali per cent, interest. Ot ail the cotton
States, that of Georgia presents the most hope-
lul prospects, whilst Savannah, her chief city—
through the facilities offered by her great Cen
tra) Railroad aud the liberality ot its manage
ment—“lias become the second city ol the
South.” Charleston has sunk into a kind of
sullen stupor and torpidity. Mobile languishes
wearily, aud the trade and commerce ol New
Orleans, as compared with wnat it was beiore
tlie war, has sensibly declined. No new
building ol consequence are going up iu either
ol the three latter cities. Alter making due
allowance lor the general depression at this time,
arising lrom the low price ol cotton, the conclu
sion is reached that the main trouble ol the
South is the extravagance ol the alien Radical
authorities, and that the States where negroes
predominate, and, therefore, hold, through cor
rupt white Radicals, the chief control, are in a
worse condition than any ot the sister Southern
Slates. “ lu New Orleans, the rate of State
aud local taxation for the year 1870 amounted
to five and a half'per cent, upon a full valua
tion of all the property, personal as well as real.”
The leeliug at the South, among all classes of
the native white population, is that they have
been brutally dealt with by the Radicals at
Washington, aud that the malignity ol the lat
ter has not yet exhausted itselt. This feeling
has crippled their energies, shaken their confi
dence iu the future, and tends largely to keep
up, and intensity, the social, political and indus
trial disorganization that now prevails there.—
The worst enemies of the South are the carpet
baggers, and nothing—we are told—cau be
more certain that prosperity there cannot be re
stored uutil the carpet bag, governments, with
their organized system ol robbery, arc put down,
and an noncst system ol administration estab
lished instead.—Baltimore Gazette.
Prostects of Southern Staples and La
bor.—For several years alter the war it was
confidently prophesied that the cotton crop ol
the South would never exceed 2,500,000 bales.
It is now less than five years since the war and
the crop approaches so near to lour millions of
baleo as to justify many sagacious persons in
wagering on that figure. The lowest estimate
is 3,750,000 bales. This, too, upon a very loose
and incomplete picking, with many fields aban
doned for the want ot laborers to pick the
opened bolls.
The reflections suggested by this result are
interesting and valuable. It is obvious that
there is labor sufficient iu the South to raise as
much cotton as the world demands or needs,
and that the production is no longer limited by
the lack ot labor. It is equally clear that that
labor can be made available as long as the price
of the product is remunerative. At what price
it cau be made remunerative is to be determined
by many laots and considerations. It the prices
ol supplies and provisions do not decline in an
equal ratio with,that ol cotton, the planters can
not pay lor the labor the high rates paid the
past aud previous seasons. Either, therefore,
the production or the rates of labor must be re
duced. It is better for all parties that the labor
should be reduced, so as to produce permanency
and regularity, and at the same time secure the
means ot comfortable subsistence to the labor
ers, than that by the abandonment ot this crop,
these laborers should be driven lrom the plan
tations and compelled to pursue a vagrant life.
It was the high rate of cotton which so unset
tled our labor during the last year by drawing
the laborers from the sugar plantation to the
cotton. Not one-half of the sugar crop could
be realized, from the scarcity of labor. With
a good cultivation in the spring and summer,
the cane would have yielded a third more than
it did. But cotton paid so much better that the
old hands were attracted to the cotton fields.
The rapid aud large decline in cotton had driv
en them back to their old plantations, and lor
sugar culture the prospects ol good cultivation
this year, aud ol au abundance oi labor, are lar
better than they were last season. Is it not
belter that the laborer should remain on the
plantation to which he is attached, where he
lias his homestead, his family and friends, than
be drawn away by a small advance in the price
ol labor, to a new and strange place, and ex
posed to the contingency ot a reduction in the
rates ot his labor ?
The great prosperity of the South, and the
welfare oi the planters as well as the laborers,
will, we think, be alike promoted tiy a fixed
and regular, even if a lower rate ol prices than
that ot the seasons previous to the present.
Better small profits thau constant and sudden
fluctuations.—Hew Orleans Times.
From the True Georgian.
A Card From Governor Joseph E, Brown.
The Peace News in Wall Street.—The
stock market has been always one ot the most
sensitive barometers ot political events, and has
i cot tried the changes from peace to war and
war lo |>eace wilh unswerving fidelity. Our
h.wi .Stock Exchange is comparatively new m
experience oi this character, hut, lor its time.
Las enjoyed a rather lively one. We cannot, ol
course, point to the frequent fluctuations in the
’• Hinds,” which have entered so largely into the
History of the Loudon Stock Exchange; lor,
ustil our civil war gave us a great national
d hi, aud its paper money started thousands of
iai. way and other enterprises into life, the list
at t ic stock board comprised only & lew old logy
all airs, which, it they moved a quarter or halt per
tout, produced iwuicuse excitement among the
contemporaries ot Jacob Little. In fact, it is on
record that when, a few years ago, a man in
Wall street drew his check lor a hundred thou
sand dollars, the wonderful piece ol paper was
taken about lrom hank to bank aud among the
brokers to bo snowu as an immeuse curiosity.
Nowadays a check tor halt a million or a mil
lion dollars is not even a rarity in Wall street
dealings, such has been the enormous growth ol
luiaiicnU business iu this city. When New
\ oik Central was 200 a 218 in 1800, previous to
Uie separation ot the scrip dividend, it was no
uncommon thing lor a broker to buy a thousand
lo two thousand shares aud give ms check lor
$20o,000 to lour hundred tnousand dollars.
Just uow Wall street is apparently in the
throe* ol a great movement to Lowing the sign
ing ol a treaty ot peace between F-rauix ~_d
Germany. The stock market yesterday was
buoyant, with heavy dealings iu all the apecu-
1 itivo shares which are more directly suscepti
ble oi such influences as the oue referred to.
l-sat summer the war in Europe was iollowed
fiv a general decline, the tendency to which
was atlerward helped by the drain ot specie to
Europe. Now comes what appears to be the
reverse movement, which promises to lift the
slock market from its long dormant stagnation
and provide brokers once more wilh business
ana commissions.—N. Y. Herald.
of the W. and A. It. R. Co., )
171. f
Offic
February 21, 18’
Governor Bard:—I find the following article
in your paper this day which you say is taken
lrom the Augusta Chronicle and Sentinel, which
I had not seen till I read your last issue:
“ We have the highest authority lor saying
that when the company was made up, it was
understood that one share was to be lelt lor
Bullock. Before the bid was put in, the share
ot Bullock had been put down to a Northern man
selected by Bullock to hold it for him. This
tact was known to Brown and the leading mem
bers of the company, and acquiesced iu by him
and them. They know that one full share of
the stock is owned by Bullock, though nomi
nally put down to another. These tacts we ob
tain irom a source altogether reliable, and they
will soon be made known in such a way as to
bring confusion and shame upon those engaged
m tlie transaction. The p&rtv who holds Bul
lock’s share is said to be a Northern man, who
first gave Bullock employment, and sent him
South as an employee of the Express Company,
several years since.”
Now, I pronounce the above statement of the
Chronicle and Sentinel a fabrication and an un
mitigated lalsehood, as a whole, aud in all parts
in detail. And I deny that Governor Li. B. Bul
lock has one dollar ot interest in the lease of
the Slate Road, as a share holder or otherwise,
iu any way, uirect or remote, vested or contin
gent ; except the interest he has in common
wilh every other citizen oi Georgia.
As I do not believe, by republishing the state
ment of the Chronicle and Sentinel, that yon
wished to do injustice, i respectlully ask you to
publish this card.
Very respectlully, your obedient servant,
Joseph E. Brown.
A Syfttem of National Education.
Of all the bills before the present Congress
looking towards the centralization and consoli
dation of the United States oi America into a
union more closely resembling that ol United
Germany—the ideal Government of General
Grant—there is proiiabiy none so bold in its in
vasion of the rights ol the States and none so
subversive of the freedom of the citizen as that
entitled “ An act to establish a system of nation
al education ” In the course ol debate, a few
days ago, Mr. Kerr, ot Indiana, showed so
clearly its scope and intent that it will have to
be laid aside, temporarily at least. Without
any pretence of clear and express warrant in
the Federal Constitution, and covering its naked
deformity with the fig leaf of the preamble “ in
order to form a more perfect unioa,” Mr. Kerr
showed that any interpretatian wli : ch would
give it validity would also warrant the passage
of a law regulating marriage and divorce, the
registration of wills, or the transfer of real es
tate. But, passing from the question of consti
tutional authority—a subject worthy only the
jibes and sneers of the Radical mind—belaid
bare the motives which lie behind it.
1. Thirty seven State superintendents, 243
general inspectors, 5.000 local inspectors, and
an army ol 150,000 teachers, all under the con
trol of and appointed by the bead ol the bureau
so established, would furnish an opportunity for
fraud and corruption, fur venality and nepotism,
beside which the present icvenue system sinks
into insignificance.
2. The aggregate annual expenditures would
be $60,000,000. This vast Bum, very nearly the
whole amount of the annual Federal expendi
tures durmg the last Democratic administration,
the bill proposes to share equally among the
several States. This would burden the South
ern and Western States most heavily, while the
tax on the Eastern and Middle States would be
comparatively light. By the last census the
aggregate of values in Florida has been reduced
forty-five per cent below that of I860;
in Louisiana forty-six per cent.; in Missis
sippi seventy-one per cent.; aud the bill imposes
the same tax burdens on the people ol those
States as the people ot Massachusetts aud
Rhode Island would be called upon to bear,
whose aggregate ol values has increased over
ninety per cent, since 1860. And lurthcr to
express the people of the Southern States, to
protect the colored man against paying any part
ol the tax, and to punish the white man ot the
South, it provides that the homestead shall be
exempted from taxation to the value ol $500.
Is it possible for human ingenuity to devise a
more grossly, unjust, unequal, oppressive, and
cruel mode o! taxation 7
3. It would place iu the hands of the Execu
tive (and this is the vital point of the measure)
money and patronage more than sufficient lo
have turned the scale, in any Presidential elec
tion since the administration ol Washington, in
favor of the incumbent ot the executive ollice,
or ot the man by him chosen as his successor.
The effect ol the bill, if passed, would be to
insure General Grant’s re-election in 1872; and
then; with a corruption fund of $60,000,000
yearly, aided by the bayonet election laws, to
make him President for life in name—an empe
ror in fact.—Hew York World.
Elliott, the Celebrated Congressman.
The Chronicle, ol Charlestown, Massachusetts,
gives the following sketch ol Mr. Robert B.
Elliott, member of the Forty-second Congress
lor the Third District of South Carolina:
“ Robert B. Elliott, three years ago was em
ployed in this city as a type-setter. At that
time he lived at the West End, in Boston, where
he established quite a popularity among men
of his own color daring the few months he was
there, and was a prominent member of a then
existing colored literary society. During his
stay iu Boston he married a handsome and in
telligent mulatto girl. Leaving Boston, he
went to Charleston, South Carolina, where be
became one ot the editors of a Republican pa
per published by colored men. Mr. Elliott is
about thirty years of age, aud appears to be a
full-blooded African. He was born and educa
ted in Liverpool,England, where he also learned
the printer’s trade. He has traveled consider
ably, and has served in the English navy. His
education is complete, he possessing a good
knowledge of classical literature, and speaking
and writing the English, Latin, French, and
Spanish languages. He has the reputation oi
being the ablest colored orator in the South.”
A Golden Eagle Captubd.—A week or two
ago Dan. Roberts, son ot H. M. Roberts, Esq.,
who lives eight miles west ot Athens, captured
a Golden Eagle. When first seen he was mak
ing a meal off a large goose which he had just
killed. Young Roberts shot at and broke his
wing, and succeeded in capturing him without
other injury. He is a noble-looking bird, hav
ing plumage ol a deep and rich umber brown,
glossed on the back and wings with purple
reflections, with the feathers oi the head and
neck of an orange-brown hue; and measures
seven feet four inches from tip of wing to tip,
and three from beak to tail. He is now in the
possession oi W. G. Horton, Athens, where all
who desire to see this noble specimen of the
King ol Birds can call.—Athens Pott, lenn.
Death of Charles W. Deming.—Charles
W. Deming, a printer, originally lrom Augusta,
died in Macon on Saturday last.
A Couple of Strangers Castigated.—
Yesterday a couple ol strangers followed a
highly respectable lady on the streets to the res
idence ol a iriend whom she was viBiting. En
tering the residence they inquired the name ot
the lady lrom a servant, and sent a message re
questing to see her. She soon appeared, and
was astonished to meet a couple ol entire
strangers. They addressed several impertinent
and insulting questions to the lady, ol which
she atterwards intormed her husband, who re
paired to their hotel with a cane provided lor
the purpose, about supper time, and adminis
tered quite a severe castigation to each ot them,
breaking the arm ol one. The parlies punished
tor this reprehensible social outrage claim to be
gentlemen, and that the affair grew out ol a
misapprehension ot their purpose iu thus fol
lowing and unceremoniously interviewing the
lady. It so, they will doubtless in future take
the precaution to send in their cards when mak
ing calls in strange places.—Augusta Constitu
tionalist.
CousrcMluuaf Documents.
We are indebted to Hon. W. F. Price and
Hon. P. M. B. Young for important Congress
ional documents.
Tire Blue Bidge .Railroad.
The Senate oi Souta Carolina has passed to
a second reading, by a large majority, a bill re
pealing the act whieii gave the endorsement ol
the State to $4,000,000 ol the Blue Ridge Rail
road bonds.
The Hawkinsville jail was broken open on
Thursday night and two criminals liberated, one
ot whom was Buck Dominead, who had been
convicted oi murder and respited by the Gov
ernor.
SPEECH OF
Hon. P. M. B. Young,
OF OXOBQIA,
iu Uie House ofBepresentatlve*, Febru
ary licit, 1871.
On the Contested Election Case of Tift vs. Whiteley,
from the Second Coagi$3aioaal District of Georgia.
The Rev. John Brown courted a lady up
ward of six years, and was so singularly modest
and bashful that he had never ventured to kiss
her. One day it occurred to him that it would
not be a bad thing to do. So, it is recorded, he
said: “Jane, my woman, we’ve been ac
quainted uow lor six > ears, an’—an’—I’ve never
got a kiss yet. D’ye think I may take one, my
bonnie lass 7” The ropiy was wimderlully char
acteristic ol the Scottish maiden. “Just as ye
like, John,” said sue “only be becomin' and
proper wC ‘‘it." ‘Surely, Janet,” said John;
“ we’ll ask a blessin.’ ” The bieasing was asked,
and the kiss exchanged. " O woman,” said the
enraptured but still devout minister, “ O woman,
but n was gude. We’ii uo return thanks."—
And they did.—Dayton Telescope.
Daniel Webster’s Opinion of Ben. But
ler.—For several years Butler was a blaring
Democrat He was a delegate to all National
Conventions, and made himself conspicuous by
his servile devotion to the siaveholding interest.
At the trial of Dr. Webeter, Butler attracted
some notice, and gentlemen who had met turn
in conversation and taken a strong aversion to
him, asked Daniel Webster if he knew the man
Butler, and what there was ot him. “I have
seen him, sir,” was the reply. “ He is what we
call a sharp practitioner. A pert, pushing law
yer, superficially educated, with the impudence
ot the devil, and a conscience to match."—
“Such a man might be dangerous. Is he likely
to attain a {>osiiioa m which he can do much
miscbieif" “No sir—no danger ot that. lit
is certain to be Rung netore he rescues a position
of that iiiud.”—Albany Argus.
Prof. Fay, of the Davenports, while stand
ing in from ot the Lamar Hou«e, in Knoxville,
recently, was approached by an apple-boy with
a lull basket ot fruit. The Prolessor, alter pa
tronizing him, cat open an apple and took a sil
ver halt dollar out ot it, greatly to the boy’s
astonishment. “ If this is the kind ol lrult you
sell, I’ll take another,” said Fay, which he did,
and lo! there was another hall dollar inside it.
F&y, assuming great excitement, then asked the
boy what he would take lor the whole basket
ol apples, saying it would be a great specula
tion. But the lad refused to sell even at five
cents apiece, and on re-entering the hotel the
Professor saw him seated by the wall culling
open his unsold apples, in the vain search lor
silver hall dollars.
Mr, YOUNG. Mr. Speaker, I shall have to
object, sir, to the swfiaring in ol this gentleman
from Georgia; and it the gentleman lrom iVis-
consin will yield to me for twenty or thirty
minutes I will lay the reasons for my objection
beiore the House. In the first place, sir. this
case is not at all analogous to the case the House
disposed of some time ago known as the Corker
Beard case, and in wfuen Corker was sworn in.
i’he election lor Congress occurred on the 20th,
21st and 22d December, and up to the 5th of
February no certificate had been issued by the
Governor for the Representative ot tbe Second
Congressional District* The Code ol Georgia
(1329) says:
Within twenty days alter the election the
Governor shall countjjjp the votes, aud immedi
ately thereafter issue proclamation declaring
tho person having the highest number of vole;:,
and otherwise qualified, to be duly elected to
represent this State in tbe House of Represents
tives ol the United States, and for what period.”
This the Governor has willfully neglected to
do. And I do believe that he intended to issue
uo certificate to either ol tho parties until the
matter had been bronght to the notice of the
House by a resolution adopted by the House on
Thursday last, when the whole subject was re
ferred to the Committee of Elections, with
directions to report at its earliest convenience.
It appears that this resolution has jerked out of
tiie Governor a certificate, and a certificate
issued ii* the face of the certified returns of the
Secretary ot State, which conclusively show
Mr. Tilt to be elected by over 500 majority, lie
has endeavored by every subterfuge to evade
bis duty iu giving the certificate uV Mr. Tilt.—
He referred the case lor decision to ihe Chief
Justice of Georgia aud two associate judges,
not to determine who was entitled to the certifi
cate, but in his own words:
“ The object ot this suomission to you, gen
tlemen, is to ascertain lor the satisfaction of
Mr. Tift whether my opinion is well founded ;
and if not, to learn irom your better judgment
in what particular and lor what reason it is
erroneous.”
But only to satisfy Mr. Tift; not that Mr.
Tift is to get the certificate, for they were not
called upon to go that lar. They were only to
say whether the Governor’s opinion was erron
eous or not Ol cousc the judges declined ex
pressing an opinion. He decides the ca3C,
expresses his opinion, and adcs his own officers
to say it it was right. He then tells Mr. Tilt he
will refer the whole matter to his attorney gen
eral, now in Washington, and the intimate
iriend of Mr. Whiteley, Mr. Tilt’s opponent,
these gentlemen, one the attorney general o!
Georgia, the otner, Mr. Whiteley, the opponent
ot Mr. TUi, both asking for seats in the United
States Senate. During last week and all this
time Mr. Tift has been demanding his certificate
oi election. The Governor delays and puts him
ofl from time to time, waiting probably to see
whether Mr. Wliiteiey could succeed in getting
his seat in the Senate.
It the Senate had seated Mr. Whiteley I sup
pose Mr.-Tift would have been permitted to
take his seat in the House. But alas lor Tiltl
The Senate last week decided against Mr. Far
row, the attorney general ol Georgia, who is
to decide which ot these gentlemen is to have
the certificate. But Whiteley’s case is the same
as Farrow’s in the Senate, and his late is to be
the same as that oi the unfortunate P arrow.
Mr. Farrow immediately writes out an opinion
and telegraphs to Bullock to send on certificate
lor Whiteley; and fwre he is asking to be cworn
in to-day. I am aware, sir, that my friends on
this sideot the House desire to establish a prece
dent to the effect that the Governor’s certificate
bears down all evidence, and that any gentle
man may take his seat who who may a certifi
cate properly signed, although the certificate
may have been obtained by lradulent means
and issued with lradulent intent, and although
the House may be m possession oi evidence
sufficient to prove Iraud from beginning to end.
The majority ol this House may determine that
the gentleman may be sworn. I care not tor
that; I care not for the precedent. 1 only
know that he ought not to be sworn, and that
if every member of the House were posted upon
this subject this certificate would be sent to the
committee, with the other papers in the case,
and the committee required to investigate.
Now, sir, the committee are to meet on Friday
on this very case. Would it not be proper to
let the papers go, as the others have gone, to
the committee, who can report if they desire
on Saturday, and the report of the committee
will lurnish the House with the facts which are
necessary to show that the certificate now pre -
sented by Mr. Whiteley is a iraud upon the
House, a gross violation ol the elective fran
chise 7
The precedents have established a rule for
the admission ot members on the certificate of
the Governor ol a State, as a prima facie right,
where there has been no sufficient evidence in
the possession ol the House at the time to pro
duce a conviction that it has been improperly
used. But the precedents have also established
a rule equally certain and reasonable, thV a
person claiming a seal on the certificate oi a
Governor ot a State will not be admitted to a
seat without investigation, when sufficient evi
dence is in the possession ol the House at the
ume to show that the certificate ol the Gover
nor is erroneous. Such cases are exceptions to
the general rule, and have been properly reler-
red to the Committee ot Elections and decided,
prima facie, upon the votes certified from tho
returns ol the managers.
In many cases the House has relused to seat
the members holding certificates ol the Gover
nor, aud either vacated the seats or sealed those
claiming under the certified returns oi the man
agers oi election.
In the case of Messrs. Gohlson and Clair-
borne, of Mississippi, Twenty-Fifth Congress,
first session, volume two, Contested Elections,
page 9,) the President having called an extra
session ol Congress before the regular congres
sional election in Mississippi, the Governor of
that State issued a proclamation for a special
election ol members for tbe called session only.
The committee and the House held that the
members elected, Messrs. Gohlson and Clair-
boue, were entitled to seals during the entire
Fweuty-Fiim Congress. Vote, (October 3,
1837,) 118 yeas to 161 nays.
At the second session two contestants ap
peared, Messrs. Prentiss aud Word, who were
elected at the regular time in November and
presented tbe usual credentials, the certificate of
the Governor. They were not sealed ; but the
wtiole subject was referred to the Committee of
Elections. The House rescinded its resolution
ot October 3, declaring Messrs. Gholson and
Clairborne entitled to seats, passed a resolution
that Messrs. Prentiss and Word were not enti
tled to seats, and the Governor of Mississippi was
n aitied that the Beats were vacant.
Tbe celebrated New Jersey case, (first session
TweDty—Sixth Congress, Contested Election
Cases, volume two, page 19,) two delegations for
five congressional districts ui New Jersey pre
sented themselves. Messrs. Stratum and olhets
ottered the usual evidence ot election, the cer
tificate oi the Governor ol New Jersey. Messrs.
Kiiie and others presented the certificate of tfie
Secretary of State of New Jersey, that they
had received a majority ot the votes cast in
their respective districts. Neither delegation
were then admitted to seats, Dot on the 13ih
January, 1840, all tbe papers and other testimo
ny were referred to the Committee ot Elections
with instructions to report who should occupy
the seats, and a copy of the resolution was
served on all the parties.
uu tne 28th Ftbiuary, the House instructed
the committee—
“ To report forthwith which five of the ten
individuals claiming seats lrom the State of
New Jersey received the greatest number of
lawiul votes from the whole State lor represen
tation in the Congress ot the United States, at
the election of 1838, in said State, with all the
evidence of that tact in their possession : Pro
vided, That nothing herein contained shall be so
construed as to prevent or delay the action ot
said committee in taking testimony and deciding
the said case upon the merits oi the election.”
In deciding the prima fade right to seats un
der this resolution the committee confined them
selves strictly lo the returns of the managers ot
election and excluded ali ex parte o&ifis and tes
timony intended to attack the statement as in
competent to be considered in the case. Tue
committee then added to the vote which had
been counted by the Governor of New Jersey
the votes received at the townships of Millville
and South Amboy, which had been omitted in
tbe certificates of tbe clerk of the counties ol
Middlesex and Cumberland, thus verifying the
certificate of the Secretary of State a: d show
ing that the persons certified by him “ received
tbe greatest number of lawiul votes; ” and on
the 10th of March, by a vote of 111 to SO, the
House declared that Messrs. Kiiie and others,
certified by the Secretary of State, were entitled
to seats from New Jersey as members of the
Twenty Sixth Congress, but that this de
cision shall not affect the rights of the other
claimants to continue the investigation or con-
1 test. Whereupon these gentlemen were seated.
In the final report ol the committee, made
July S, 1340, referring to the above report, they
say:
“ By the adoption of that report the House
made substantially a correction of the returns
and awarded tbe seats,” &c.
With a proviso that the investigation and con
test should go on the merits ot the election.
A large mass of testimony had been received
and considered; a summing-up of the legal
votes cast gave to the sitting members a clear
majority, and a resolution was adopted by the
House declaring them entitled to occupy the
seats as members el the House.
This case aud the case nefw under considera
tion of me second district of Georgia are par
allel cases, with these exceptions: in the New
Jersey case tlie Governor certified truly from the
returns beiore him; the suppression ot the votes
oi Millville and South Amboy was the act of
the clerks of Middlesex and Cumberland coun
ties. In the Georgia case the returns were truly
made to the Secretary of the State, according to
the constitution of Georgia. The suppression
of the votes and tlie false count are made by
Governor Buliock, oi Georgia.
The language of the committee (on page 31)
applied to these clerks is especially applicable
to Governor Bullock; that in suppressing the
votes he has been “ guilty ol a gross violation
of the election franchise, calculated virtually to
deprive the people of their dearest rights, and
to keep from this House a knowledge of those
facts by which alone it can judge oi the elec
tion ot its members.” And this conduct,
“ whether proceeding from ignorauce or design,
must meet tlie unqualified disapprobation of
tho honest and intelligent of every party.”
Iu the case ot Brockenbrough vs. Cabell, oi
Florida, Twenty Ninth Congress, first session,
Contested Elections, volume two, page 79,) a
certificate ot election had been issued to Cabell
at the expiration of thirty days. Contestant
Brockenbrough presented the certified copv of
the Secretary of State oi a tabular statement of
the voles received within thirty days, and cer
tified copies of returns from tour other counties,
received alter thirty days which were admitted
as evidence, (page 80;) and on this evidence
alone, which showed a majority, according to
the returns, tor Brockenbrough, Cabell was de
clared “ not entitled to his seat,” and Brocken-
brougb was seated.
Iu the case of the second district of Georgia
tho returns are all certified under the hand and
seal of the Beer tary of State, showing a ma
jority of 500 votes lor Tift after giving to White-
ley the benefit of all doubtful votes.
In the case oi Settelt vs. Robbins, of Penn
sylvania, (Contested Elections, second volume,
)age 138, Thirty-First Congress,) the committee
aid down and acted upon the axiom that “ the
legal presumption is al ways against the existence
ot fraud. Nothing but the most unequivocal
evidence can destroy the credit of official re
turns.”
In the case of Sheafe vs. Tillman, (Forty-First
Congress, third session, report No. 3,) when the
Governor of Tennessee had thrown out some
counties and reiused to count them the commit
tee denounced this action of the Governor as
entirely unauthorized by law aud a violation ot
his duty. The committee say:
“There is no law oi the State of Ten-
nesau that gives authority to the Governor to
reject the vote of any county or part of a county ;
his duty is only to compare the returns received
by him with those returned to the office of the Sec
retary of State, and upon such comparison being
made to ‘ deliver to the candidate receiving the
highest number of votes in his district the cer
tificate of his election as Representative to Con-
f ress. (Code of Tennessee, sec. 935, page 239)
f illegal votes have been cast, if irregularities
have existed in the elections in any of the coun
ties or precincts, if intimidation or violence has
been used to deter legal or peaceable citizens
from exercising their rights as voters, to this
House must the party deeming himself ag
grieved look for redress. This great power of
determining the question of the right of a per
son to a seat in Congress is not vested in the
Executive of any State, but belongs solely to the
House of Representatives. (Constitution United
States, art. 1 sec. 5)
“ The action of the Governor, so far as he has
thrown out the votes of counties or parts of
counties, is to be disregarded, and the matters
in dispute are to be settled upon the actual re
turns and the evidence introduced, independent
ot tho doings of the Executive."
The law of Georgia is similar to the law ot
Tennessee, except that the returns are by the
constitution made to the Secretary ol State, and
the votes are counted and certified according to
th*ecotieby the Governor (Code, 1329) within
twenty days atter tlie election,
In the case of Phelps and Cavanaugh, of
Minnesota, Thirty-fifth Congress, first session,
(Contested Elections, volume two, page 248, they
presented the cirtificates of the Governor, with
the broad seal ot Minnesota. Objection was
made to the right ot the claimants to their seats
on the ground that their election was prior to
the admission of the State into the Union. They
were not then sworn in, but the subject was re-
ierred to the Committee of Elections, who re
ported in their favor,and they were then sworn in.
Daily vs. Easterbrook, of Nebraska Territory,
(Contested Elections, volume two, page 299,)
Thirty-Sixth Congress: «
“ A certified copy of the official abstract of
the votes filed by the Governor in the office of
the Secretary of the Territory is competent
proof of the result of the election.”
Clements of Tennessee, Thirtv-Seventh Con-
cress, second session, (Contested Elections, page
366:)
“ The refusal of a Governor to grant a certifi
cate does not prejudice the right of the claimant
to a seat.”—Report by Mr. Dawes.
Also Richard’s case, Hall and Clark, 95) Con
tested Elections.)
Case 54, John Biddle and Gabriel Richard vs
Austin E. Wing, Delegate lor Michigan Terri
tory, Nineteenth Congress, first session, (Con
tested elections, volume one, page 503:)
“ The officers of the different election districts
must certify the result to the canvassers and
they must certify to the Governor. They are
ali ministerial officers, aud error committed by
any of them, either through mistake or design,
i3 to be corrected by tbe House.”
Now’, Mr. Speaker, I think I have conclu
sively shown that there are many precedents on
the records of the proceedings of this House
which go to prove that in many instances per
sona have appeared before the bar ol the House
with regular certified certificates and yet been
refused admission to seats because there was in
the possession oi the House testimony showing
fraud or wrong in some particular in the issu
ing of the certificates. I believe and hope the
time has passed when the majority of this
House could be influenced by passion, prejudice
or party feeling upon a question like this. Be
lieving, sir, that this House means to do justice,
I feel confident in my own mind that Mr. Tilt
will be accorded the seat to which the people
of his district have elected him by so decided a
majority. All the testimony we desire to take
is already in possession of the House and in
the hands of the committee, and when the facts
appear I feei that the verdict of the House will
be a just one. I now leave the matter with the
House.
“The Memphis pulpit,” says the Appeal,
“ boasts of some ot the most learned men in the
country. Dr. Wheat, the courtly and elegant
gentleman, ot whose ability we have on other
occasions spoken, is an ex-professor of the Uni
versity ol North Carolina, and Mr. Walk lor
many years was a belles iettres professor in a
Western university. Hence the simple elegance
aud purity of his diction. He began lile very
poor, and, like Andrew Johnson, read books
while seated on a tailor’3 table. He has declined
the protierea professorship of a flourishing col
lege because he deemed it his duty to ‘go about
doing good.’ The productions of his pen have
oiten adorned the pages of quarterlies. Dr.
Ford bas won great fame as a Uterateur, and
one of the most tasteful belies iettres scholars
ol the country is the rector of Grace Church.
There is a Catholic priest of the city distin
guished for his critical classical taste and learn
ing. Of others we may speak hereafter,”
An Outrage upon a Citizen of Geor&la.
The Air-Liue Eagle gives an account which
we publish below, oi a high-hauded outrage
committed upon the person of a citizen ol Geor
gia, which demands the immediate attention ol
the civil authorities of the State. A petty offi
cial, clothed with a little brief authority
and guarded i>y Federal bayonets, has without
any provoenthn, seized the p- rs m of a citizen
and subj ected him lo the ignominy of the hand
cuff. It is time this abuse of tiie bayonet and
hand-cufl should come to an end. and the Gov
ernor ot tiie State should inter; ose his authori
ty, as far as it can fx> exercised, to protect the
citizen against these instruments ot terture and
oppression, which have been put in the hands of
mon who seek to show their importance by acts
of tyranny. They should be taught that it ihe\
are United Stales officials, they are not abov
the law. Ii the statement of facts in relation to
this transaction be true, as much as we love
order aud peace, we do not hesitate to say that
this official, whoever he may be, ii he had been
shot down in his tracks, would have received
only his merited punishment:
It is our duty to record one of the most glaring
and flagrant outrages upon the rights and liber
ties ot the citizen that has occurred within our
knowledge. On Monday last as the reveuue
officer, who was in charge oi a squad ot sol
diers and a train of wagons, approached the
bridge across the Chestalee river, belonging to
W. R. Bolding, Esq, ha ordered the bridge-
keeper to open the gate and let him and his
train pass. Beiore doing so the keeper demanded
the toll, which the officer refused to pay. About
this lime Mr. Bolding himself came up, when
the same order was given to him, which lie also
refused to obey until the toll was paid. At this
the officer ordered au axe to be brought, when,
Mr. Bolding feeling that he was powerless, to
enforce his rights, and tearing his property
would be damaged, directed his bridge-keeper
to deliver the key. This the officer would not
allow to be used, but had the gate broken, and
passed through-his whole manner being most
insolent, arbitrary and insulting.
Bat this is not ali, it it were, outrage as it
was, it might be borne. As soon as the bridge
wras passed, this petty tyrant swelled and bloat
ed with a little brief authority -intoxicated
with powers as well as with blockade whisky—
ordered Mr. Bolding under arrest—had him
handcuffed—then, in this condition, without
permitting him even to speak to his wife or
children, he was dragged as a ielon from his
homo and family, to be carried, as it is sup
posed, to Atlanta. And all this lor no crime—
uo violation of law—no wrong. Mr. Bold
ing is one of the first citizens ol our county—
a peaceable, law abiding, high toned, Chris
tian gentleman. Such flagrant violations oi
every principle of law and of right should not
and cannot be tolerated without an effort at least
to correct them. The conduct oi this distorted
monster, in this case, savors more of the bandit
than of an officer charged with the execution of
law. We, therelorc, in the name of law, order,
justice, right, and of everything that is sacred,
appeal to the constituted authorities of the coun
try to see to it that adequate and speedy punish
ment be inflicted for this gross, wanton, flagrant
outrage and crime.
Murder of Hon. George W. Fish, of
OGLETnoRrE.—We received the following
yesterday afternoon by mail, and the statements
therein made are fully substantiated by parties
who came in ou the Southwestern road at 4:50
P. M. Colonel Fish was lately appointed
Judge of the Thirteenth Senatorial District, by
Governor Bullock, and was a very popular gen
tleman with those who knew him in Macon.—
We are assured by several gentlemen that his
assassination could certainly not have been
caused from anything of a political nature:
Montezuma, February 28,1871.
Editors Telegraph and Messenger: Our com
munity is now under great excitement, caused
by the wicked assassination of Colonel George
W. Fish, ot Oglethorpe. He, (Colonel Fish,)
came down on the night train irom Macon last
night, and while passing the Court-house he
was shot down by the iurkiug assassin, who had
placed himself in the Court-house door, and
made ready for his victim, aud shot a load of
buckshot immediately below the left ear, which
produced death in a iew minutes. Suspicion
rests strongly on one party I undcistand, but it
is thought advisable not to mention the name
yet, as our citizens are usiDg every eflort to
capture and bring to justice tbe assassin. Our
citizens greatly deplore this wicked deed, as
they know, from previous experience, it will be
tortured into a Ku-Klux outrage on an inoflend-
ing Radical, to make capital for the waning
Radical cause. But, from what little we have
heard of the matter, it possesses no political
significance whatever, all being of the same
household ot faith.—Tel and Mess. M. C.
Tbe Bayonet liiocilun Rill,
The election bill, which passed ilie Senate on
last Saturday, has gone to the President for his
approval, which it will of course receive. It is
a party measure concocted, no doubt, in caucus,
and is a part ot the desperate game of the Radi
cals to retain power. The Democrats in the
Senate resisted its passage with all their power,
and in the debate had the advantage of the
friends of the measure. But reason and argu
ment were ot no avail. The measure passed by
a strict party vote. The speeches of Gasserly,
Bayard and Blair, are specially noticed for their
point and briiliaucy. The latter’s denunciation
ol the carpet-baggers who had loisted them
selves into office in the South by the bayonet,
was in his best style oi invective. Nor did the
President escape his share of the responsibility.
Gen. Blair charged him with using tne bayonet
in the South to secure his election, and ex
pressed the opinion that iu order to secure his
re-election he* would resort to the use of the
bayonet in the North. In the debate it was
said that this measure would ruiu the Radical
party or be the knell of liberty in this country.
Serious Case of Sbootius in Hall County.
The Air Line Eagle, Gainesville, gives an
account ol the shooting oi one James Myers,
by a Mr. Smallwood and a Mr. Loggins. It
seems that Myers h id been recognized to appear
and answer a bill ot indictment tor some oliense,
and had given Wilkinson, Smallwood and
L. M. Osborn, with others, as sureties, on his
bond. Smallwood and Osborn became appre
hensive that Myers was about to flee the coun
try aud thereby lorfeit his bond, and decided to
arrest and surrender him to tne Sheriff. To
effect tms, they procured the services ot young
Smallwood and Loggins, and detailed them to
guard a crossing on the Chattahoochee river to
prevent Myers’ escape. Myers, as was expected,
appeared at the river and prepared to cross, and
reiusiag to halt when ordered was fired upon
and severely, if not mortally wounded.
Tbe Southern Pacliic Railroad.
The Southern Pacific Railroad has gone to a
committee of conference which probably seals
us late during the present session ot Congress.
The point ol difference between the two houses
is tnis: The measure as it passed the Senate
provided for several branch roads in addition to
the main trunk. By the action of the House
these branch roads were cut off, and left only
the main trunk, having San Diego, California,
and Marshall, Texas, lor its termini. It is feared
that this difference will prove irreconciliable,
and that it muv cause the loss ot the bill.
Ku-Klux lu Kentucky,
Ou Saturday morning last, betore day break,
a party ot disguised horsemen rode into Frank
fort, the capital ol Kentucky, arrested the po
licemen who were on duty, then repaired to the
jail, and by stratagem gained admission. They
then seized the jailor, got possession ot the jail
keys, and rescued a prisoner who was confined
under the charge ot murdering a negro.
The whole affair was managed so quietly as
to arouse no one, and not a dozen persons in the
city knew ui the occurrence till breakiast time.
What will Grant aud Morton do with it ?
Sumner on Grant.
Letter writers from Washington state that
Sumner is preparing a philippic against the
President, more fierce and bitter than his San
Domingo speech. He will charge Grant with
despotism and with having accepted presents.
No body doubts the truth of either of these
charges—and to them nepotism might have
been added. We like this—“ Lay on McDufl,”
Ac.
The New York Ledger advises Gen. Grant
to dismiss Secretary Bout well. If Bonner will
send Dexter to the stables of the White house,
aud write his advice on the buck ot the deed of
gift, Boutwell will go out in less than twenty-
lour hours.
FOR TITS ISTnilQIHCXK.
The Western A Atlantic Railroad. Lease
Again—’Thoughts for the People.
Mr. Editor .-—The question oi the lease of this
road has been one of ponderous dimensions—
one in which the public has been greallv
aroused, and diversified opinions entertained in
relation to those who have control of it at the
present time. The columns of various journals
m the State have been mado the medium
through which unjustifiable attacks have been
circulated against the company, which were
but the offspring of enmity, and the iruiis of
minds blinded by prejudice. Had not my
attention been drawn to this subject, by the
appearance ot a card irom the President of the
road, Joseph E. Brown, to the “ True Geor
gian,” 1 should not again have alluded to the
subject, as I am satisfied that every charge that
ever was made is without foundation, ami put
into circulation for the purpose ot promoting
private interest or political aggrandizement, it
the President of the road is made ol such mate
rial as to be guilty of palming upon the people
of Georgia a deception so glaring as has been
charged by the “ Chronicle and Sentinel,” and
the facts can be substantiated, then it is due the
people that the guilty parties should be exposed;
but ou the other hand, should the authors of
such charges fail in their efforts to establish
their positions, it is right, and the imperative
duty oi every Christian gentleman, to put the
seal of condemnation upon this wholesale
being and utter disregard for the private char
acter and public* mftulttypn^ Ql every citizen
from the highest to the lowest Walks of lit6? ’
The public and private character of Governor
Brown has long been known to tho people of
Georgia. His fidelity to their interests in those
days when misfortunes were heaviest upon
them, will secure confidence in whatever he may
utter now. Ilis late card presents tho impress
of truth, and must forever put to silenco his
bitterest enemies. Aside from this, are many
more alarming evils which must be corrected by
the proper cultivation of moral obligations,
and a check put upon the unrestrained and’
misguided delects in the management of the
journals of the country, who listen to the
demauds of the outside populace, and jump at
conclusions and transiorm them at ouce into
startling tacts. As the natural result of which,
thousands are tbrown into commotion, the
innocent is made to suffer while the tongue of
the slanderer is put into successful operation
and each bleeding victim becomes the mere
ekeleton of what once constituted the dignified
form of a Christian gentleman.
We are indeed, living at an ago, in the his
tory of the world, which presentato the mind ol
every reflecting man, facts which ought to ar
rest his most profound attention, and aflord
much ior his contemplation. The rapid depre
ciation in the morals of the people, and the
alarming disregard tor the fulfillment of obliga
tions due from one to tbe other, lias become pro
verbial. This fact of itself, is fraught witli tbe
most serious consequences to the well-being of
society, and must tend to the uprooting ot all
those social qualities which constitutes the hap
piness ol all of our relationships as a people,
with each other. And it will be a moral impos
sibility to protect the reputation and moral
status ot any man, so long as men continue to
lose sight of these great cardinal principles,
which should characterize the Christian and tho
gentleman, and assume tbe right to deal out a
stream of vituperation and foul slanders against
their neighbor. 1 am not particularizing, but
defending a principle in which all are alike in
volved ; and if not checked by moral restraints
emanating lrom those who hold in the estima
tion of the people higher positions, tbe entire
iabric oi all of our religious iustitutions must
sink beneath the surging waves which aro
threatening us upon every side.
The value and position ol every community,
in point of morals, may be correctly ascertamed
just in proportion as it appreciates and hold as
sacred, aud defend tbe reputation ot those who
are among them. This is an inevitable conclu
sion ; and wherever the contrary is known to
exist, morals, virtue and religion, will t*; soimd
universally at low ebb, while vice and immo
rality, in every instance, will hold the balance
ol power. As an inevitable result of this state of
society, private character becomes a matter ot
secondary consideration in the minds ot those
whose least of soul consists in their depreciating
and defaming the character ct their neighbors,
these chaiacters are more familiarly recognized
as slanderers. No man ever attains to it posi
tion so high, but an effort may be made by tlicso
reptiles in human lorm to reach him—the min
ister in the sacred desk, and virtue, as unsullied
as an angel, are not exempt lrom the blighting
touch ot these scorpions ol moral death.
Has society no remedy by which Lo defend
itself against such encroachments upon tbe
sanctity of her altars f Let the virtuous and
good unite in solid phalanx, and throw around
tnein a moral wall as Arm as an adamantine
rock, so that tlie vile slanderer can never enter
into its sacred precincts—never listen to his idle
whisperings, or enhale the pe3tilerous iumes
which are emitted lrom his poisonous breath ;
but, drive him irom your presence as unworthy
of your confidence. If a man’s reputation is to
become valuable, and virtue approved only in
proportion as they are recognized and anprovrd
by such characters, the doom of all good men is
gone beyond redemption. I may not have felt
the blignting and withering touch of slander,
yet there is a principle involved, which will, if
not checked, in its onward progress, undermine
and destroy the purest men ol our country.
As the last alternative for the correction of
slander, the guilty party should be made to leel
the force of law, by the payment ot heavy dam
ages, as was done in a case in Tennessee, where
a jury fined an individual $27,000 for slander.
To the honor of a Tennessee jury, be it said
that they appreciate the reputation and charac
ter of its citizens.
Never was there a more beaulilul sentiment
uttered, than a “good mime is rather to be
chosen than much riches.” Rob a man of his
reputation and character, and you transform hi ui
st once into a monster, but little removed irom
the untutored savage. And whenever a com
munity depreciates in moral honesty, so lar as
to lose sight oi this startling truth, disaffection
and distrust at once assumes their sway, and the
tongue ol the slanderer is permitted to sport with
virtue, and swallow up in the vortex ot infamy
the purest hopes of entire communities. ***
Scene in Court.—It is natural for man to
indulge an appetite that affords him pleasure.
So frequently in many cases has this been done,
that what at first was innocent by constant in
dulgence becomes vice. It hu3 been so with
Patrick O’Reardon, and lie now puts in an up
pearance before the Recorder on the charge of
habitual drunkenness:
“ Will you persist in drinking, Pal ?” said ihe
magistrate.
“ Faith, you may well say that; I’d get thirsty
if I didn’t.”
“ Then you don’t drink when you are thirsty,
but only in fear that you may become so.”
“ Yes, sar.”
“ And you think whisky is better than
water.” »
“ It’s stronger, sir."
“ But do you think it’s as good 7”
" Oh yes, sar; because you can mix them, and
the whisky kills the impurities in the water."
“But what kills the impurities in the wiiis
ky?" asked the court.
“Nothin’ at all—it does all the killin'itself."
he replied triumphantly, aud looked very much
as if he had established a proposition that ad
mitted of no denial.
A Homer (La.) exchange tells the following;
“ We were called on late one night by a gentle
man—we knew he was a gentleman lrom what
he said—who wanted some advice. * What
could be done,’ said he, ‘with a man, who to
get a license, should swear that the girl was
more than twenty-one years old ?’ Our reply
was that it would depend somewhat upon tiie
fact whether she was twenty-one. ‘Well, sup
pose she is not’’ Nothing could be done in
such a case, we replied, with the party swearing,
but to send him to the penitentiary. * If that is
so,’ Baid our interrogator, * I reckon I’d better
keep on to Arkansas.’ ’’
The editor of Ihe True Georgian is entitled to
our thanks, outside of the courtesy of an ex
change, lor the personal kindness of sending Jo
us copies of tbe last number of his interesting
weekly journal, which we duly appreciate. The
literary merits of this paper and the variety oi
its general reading matter, commend it to the
patronage of the public.
General Beauregard, now in Louisiana, is
said to be very much annoyed at the persistent
attempts of the newspapers to locate him in va
rious parts of Earope. He thinks they might
let him live in peace at home, instead of com
pelling him to take part in French war,