Newspaper Page Text
of Macon belonging to the State, in the •au
thorities of eaid city was taken up and occu
pied tho whole of the morning session.
SENATE.
Saturday, March 3.
Bill to facilitate the collection of %lebte.
Lost.
The annexed bills were passed : to alter and
amend section 1290 of the Code; to repeal an
act requiring Cotton and Woolen Factories to
pubiisu IL-ts of tboir Stockholders.
The annexed bills were introduced : to in
corporate the Georgia Land, and Lumber Com
pany; to incorporate the town of Stylesboro, in
Bartow county.
Monday, March 5.
The Journal was read and corrected. It ap
pears there was an error in the announcement
that the bill to vest certain lands of the State;
near the city of Macon, .in the corperate au
thorities of said city, had passed. The bill
failed by one. Mr. J. W. Johnson moved to
reconsider tbe action.
The annexed bills were passed : (o donate
the lands of the State lying in the Okefenoke
swamp as a permanent endowment for the
Georgia Orphans’ to prevent the distillation
of grain, aud for other purposes; to accept by
the State the land donated by the United States
for the purposes of Colleges to promote Ag
riculture and the Mechanical Arte; to legalize
the proceedings of tbe Southern stockholders
of the Biunswick and Florida Railroad, aud
to change the name of said Road; to change
the county of Scriven from the first to the
fifth congressional district; to authorize thß
justices of the Inferior Court of Bulloch coun
ty to levy and collect and extra tax for build
ing a Court House and bridges in said county;
to allow parties time to make writs of ee>iiorari
in certain cases—allows ten days; to revive
the military code of Georgia as it existed be
fore the war; to incorporate tho Muscogee and
industrial Association; to incorporate the
Southern Mining Compapy; to incorporate the
Lookout Valley Mining Company; for tho re
lief of Executors, Administrators. Guardians,
and Tiustees in curtain cases.
Bill to facilitate trials against tenants hold
ing over* Lost.
iho reconsidered bill to vest certain lands
of tho State in the city authorities of Macon,
was taken up and made the special order for
Wednesday next.
HOUSE
Monday, March 5.
The annexed bills were passed: to paidon
Epay Woods, a convict in the pententiary; to
allow Chatham Free School to sell certain
lands; to pardon J. VV. Morton, a convict; to
amend section 4275 of tho Code —the bill
makes house-burning and burgliry at night
punishable with death.
Bill to regulate tho rate of interest in this
State. Postponed indefinitely.
The rules were suspended, and the bill to
authorize tho tiovernor to remit, a portion of
tho State tax upon certain agencies, was taken
up and passed.
Resolution was adopted allowing tho Secre
tary of State to have a Clerk.
Senate bill for oganizlng County Courts was
made the special order for Tuesday next.
Tho annexed bills were passed . to punish
horse stealing with death ; to allow decrees in
Enquity to be rendered in Chambers ; to pre
vent illegal seizures in this State ; to incor
porate iho Georgia Express Company ; to
amend Section 4797 of the Code ; to incorpor
ate the Savings Rank of Augusta ; for the re
lief of officers of tho Bank of Savannah.
Rill to allow nliens to own land in Georgia.
Laid on the table lor the present.
Bill to repeal 4413 section ol the Codo—Lost.
SENATE.
Tuesday, March 8,
Tko annexed bills were passed : to declare
Olivia Wallace the adopted child of S B Jones ;
to amend Section 4467 of the Code ; to legal
ize certain marriages contracted during the
war ; to repeal 183 paragraph of the Code ; to
regulate tire distribution of the common school
fund 'of Echols county ; to change the line be
tween Murray and Gordon counties ; to incor
porate the-Atlanta Mining and Bolling Mill
Company ;to authorize the ordinaries of this
State to administer oaths ; to legalize certain
contracts of Guardians, Executors and Admin
is'rators ; to amoud the charter of the Bruns
wick Improvement Company ; to Incorporate
the Ellijay Mining Company ; to incorporate
Gi and Bay Manufacturing Company; >o au
thorize the Inferior Court of Richmond county
to levy aud collect an extra tax ; to extend
the corporate limits of the city of Rome ; to
exempt Irom street duty members of the
Hook and Ladder Company of Atlanta ; to
constitute the town of Madison a city ; to pro
vide for the election of Superintendents of
Roads and bridges in the seveial counties of the
State ; to amend the Charter of the city of
Brunswick ; to change the time of holding the
Superior Courts of Lee county.
A motion to reconsider the resolution (lost)
to authorize some tit and competent person to
aid the lion. Davidir win in revising the Code
—was passed.
A message was received from his Excellen
cy ihe Governor, returning the bill to pro
vide for the stay of executions without his
approval. The bill was then taken up, aud by
a constitutional majority passed over tho exe
cutive veto.
The annexed bills were lost : to submit to
the voters of Geoigia the question whether the
Penitentiary shall be abolished; in relation to
judgments against trust estates.
HOUSE.
Tuesday, March 6.
The bill to allow aliens to hold laud in the
State, was reconsidered.
'The annexed bills were introduced : to in
corporate the Augusta and Summerville Rail
road Company; to incorporate tho Mechanics
Savings Bank ; to legalize the appointment of
L. J. 4V Fairchilds as Treasurer ot the county
es Chatham. ■
« The Special Order—The bill to organize
County Courts- laid on the table for the
present.
Tho rest of the morning session was taken
up in discussing the General Appropriation
bill.
The House reassembled at 3 o’clock, P. M.,
and spent the whole afternoon in the consider
ation of the General Appropriation b.ll, and
adjourned without reaching a vote.
SENATE
Wednesday, March 7.
The bill to chancre the time of holding ttc
Superior Court of Lee county was reconsidered.
The bill extending the corporate limits of
the city of Home was reconsidered and laid on
the table for the balance of the session.
The Special Committee, to whom the subject
was referred, reported a bill to appropriate
$200,000 for the relief of the indigent poor of
this State, which was read the first time.
The Insolvent Debtor’s bill was made the
special order for next Saturday.
The nnnexed bills were passed ; to provide
for certain employees on the Western and At
lantic Railroad ;_ in relation to indented ser
vants ameudatory of sectiou 1842 of the Code ;
to amend section 4007 ot the Code ; to author
ize the arrest of criminals lleeiug into a differ
ent county from that in which the offence was
committed ; to alter the law in relation to
drainage ; to provide tor the payment of
leathers ot Poor Schools for the year ISCS ;
resolution authorizing the auditing ot car
tain ciatms agaiust the State during the ad
ministration ot Provisional' Governor Johnson.
Ihe annexed bills were lost; to fix the rates
of jiff-fees; to change the line between Lee and
ti .t ; o a owl) r. Craig to practice medicine
and charge tor the same.
The annexiißfesolutions were lost- rtQuest
ing and authorizing the Governor to aonoint
some suitable and fit peison to aid lion *D avid
Irwin in the revision of the Code;
Superintendent or W A A. K. R., to rlnoVt n
the next session of the Legislature what
amount of iron said load has in its possession
belonging to the Bruuswick Railroad; in tela
tiou to corn purchased tor the St* e by
Palmer A Cos., of Auanta; in relation to For
eign Immigrants.
Mr. Renan introduced a resolution, which
was adopted, tendering to Don. D. V. John
son and Gen. Howell Cobb, seats on the riuor
of the Senate during their stay at the capital.
Bill to confine railroads in their charges to
their charters. Postponed.
Mr. Kenan introduced a bill to incorporate
the Planters' Loan n Baking Association.
HOUSE.
Wednesday March 7.
The House met at 9 o’clock, a in., and af
ter passing the General Approprition bill ad
i ourned.
Hews by Telegraph-
Dispatches to Associated Press
The English Minister at Washington, has
protested against the injuries committed by
the Fenians, but the Giver ment does no 4 re
gard the evidence as sufficient to warrant in
ter fence.
A board of rffioers have been ordered to as
semble at St. Louis on the 14ch of March, to
recommend olfi.ers of merit for promotion and
brevet.
The Reconstruction Committee has agreed
to the proposition to admit the delegation from
Tennessee to seats in Corigress. Two or three
resolutions will be presented by the members
of the committee, the majority only reporting
a joint resolution in favor of the
lennessee members will probably attain their
seats very soon.
It is estimated at Fenian Headquarters that
nearly one million of men are ready lor the
liberation of Ireland, upon orders to march.
Several thousand are said to have joined since
Thursday last.
Measures are now ia ■progress in Washington
to obtain from the United States Government
the recognition of Ireland as a belligerent
power.
The commanding officer of tho department
of Virginia has issued an order, requiring the
publishers of newspapers in the State to send
a copy of every issue to his headquarters by
mail on the day of publication.
Secretary Stanton has ordered the release of
all enlisted men, imprisoned in the department
of New York.
Sir Frederick Bruce, the Biitish Minister,
has been in conlerenca with the Ways and
Means Committee, in regard to the reciprocity
treaty lately reported by them.
Orders have been issued to the Government
Treasury Agents to commence tho sale of cot
ton seized by the military authorities as con
fiscated and abandoned property.
Seventy-nine young men graduated on the
2Jt inst., tiom the new York Medical College.
A rousing Fenian meeting was held in New
Haven, Conn., on the 2d. Several speeches
were made, and many hundred dollars invest
ed in Irish bouds.
Tho Minnesota Legislature have adjourned
sine die.
Resolutions have passed both branches of the
Minnesota Legislature, indorsing Congress.
The public debt on the Ist March as com
pared with the Ist of February, shows a de
The u. S. Marshal of Chicago made a seizure
of property amounting to $30,000 for fraudulent
returns made to the Government.
a letter from an officer at Shreveport, La.,
says there is a reign ot terror there.
Six to seven hundred clerks are to be dis
charged from the Treasury Department, and
the clerical force in the Quartermaster Gener
al’s Department, is to be reduced to a peace
footing.
Every Republican paper in Illinois, with the
exception ot the Chicago Journal, sustains Con
gress, and condemns the veto and the speech
of the President. . ,
The Wisconsin Legislature endorse Congress,
aud denounce the President.
The Secretary of the Treasury is rapidly re
ducing the deposits ot Government funds in
the National Banks. The total deposits are
now less than twenty millions.
The Supremo Court of Nevada has reaffirmed
its decision that the Specific Contract Law is
unconstitutional, and, that greenbacks must be
accepted at par in payment of debt ; and the
merchants, baukeis, &c., have reaffirmed their
decision that whose offers greenbacks shall be
branded as no better than a tnief, and be ruled
out in all futuro business transactions.
Hon. Anson Burlingame, tor four years minis
ter to China has returned to his post.
The receipts of the internal revenue March
2, amounted to $2,139,241.
The reduction oi the national debt since
Secretary McCulloch’s teport last October, is
stated at *9,000,000.
Thirty thousand dollars worth of smuggled
goods have been received in Montana Ter
ritory .
Tho bill authorizing the Secretary of the
Navy to detail a ship of war to assist the Col
lins telegraph Company has been signed by
tho Presid-ut.
It is stated in Washington that Maximilian’s
force amount sto forty-five thousand men,
and his artillery at one hundred and twenty
five pices.
The excitement in Fenian circles over the
suspension of the habeas corpus in Irelagd,
continues. Meetings aud proclamations are
tho order of the day.
The U S Supreme Court has taken up the
case of Milligan and Bowles, of Indiana, which
involves the constitutionality of the trial of
civilians by military courts,
During the coming summer a largo nnrnber
of men are to be employed on that frontier as
a mounted patrol, to prevent smuggling and
to puisne and arrest persons who are louud
engaged in tho business.
IMTED STATE* CO.VUItESS.
Thursday, March 1.
The Senate debated the bill on the admission
of Southern Senators, Revcrdy Johnson speak
ing at length in opposition to its provisions,
iu the liouso, the Senate bill for the protec
tion of cit’z.ms of all the States in their rights
and privileges, was reported, with amendments
by Mr. Wilson, of lowa, who spoke at length
in its support. Mr. Raymond, of New York,
offered a substitute. Mr. Rogers, Democrat,
of New Jersev, followed in a long speech, de
fining his position, and was succeeded by Mr.
Cook, of Illinois, who spoke in favor of the
bill. The miscellaneous appropriation bill was
then passed.
Friday, March 2.
The Senate passed the concurrent resolution
from tho House, that in order to close agita
tion on a question which seems likely to dis
turb the action of the Government, as well as
to quiet the uncertainty which exists in the
minds of the people of the eleven States which
have been declared to be in insurrection, no
Senators or Representatives shall bo admitted
into Congress from either of the said States
until Congress shall have declared such States
entitled to such representation. Tho veto
stood 29 to 18—three members being absent.
Messrs. Morgan, Conan, Dixon, Stewart, Doo
little, Norton, Lane, of Kansas, and Van Win
kle, voted in the negative with the Democrats.
The resolution is now a law. The Senate then
adjourned until Monday.
Tho House was occup ed on business of no
importance.
Monday, March 5.
In the Senate a petition was presented from
a citizen of South Carolina, asking indemnity
for damages sustained during the war. Mr.
Wade presented a petition from citizens of
Ohio, asking that there may be no distinction
in civil lights on account of color. Mr. Grimes
presented a petition for an equalization of
bounties. Mr. Brown introduced a bill to
make eight hours a day’s work for mechanics
in the employ of the United States. Mr. Howe
and Mr. Doolittle set themselves right in regard
to positions assumed by them in the debate ot
last Friday: Mr. Wilson introduced a joint res
olution to provide for the representation in
Congress ot the State lately arrayed in arms
against the General Government. At the ex
piration of the morning hour, the proposed
constitutional amendment was taken up. Mr.
Pomeroy took the floor and discussed at length
the question of slavery and its influence on
American institutions.
lu the House the feature of importance was
the report ot the Reconstruction Committee
cu the admission of Tennessee. The commit
tee was very far from being unanimous. The
majority report embraces five points : Ist,
that the final act in reconstruction must be
left to Congress ; 2d, Tennessee must admit
only loyal men’to office ; 31, no claim f|appro
rriation shall be made for emancipated staves:
4;h, the Confederates shall be disfranchised ;
sth, theContederate debt shall be repudiated.
The House, t in Committee of the Whole, also
acted on the army and navv appropriations.
* STATE ITEMS.
The Central railroad is now completed as far
j as No. 16.
I __ The mariner’s light, at the East of the Bay,
I Savannah, was lighted oa the 3i, for the first
time since the war.
General Grant has written a letter to Gen
Butterfield, thanking, through him. the gen
tlemen who contributed to him the puree of
SIOO,OOO.
LETTER FROM THS FRIEND? OF HOV.
ALEX. 11. (STEPHENS, |N TIIE GEORGIA
LEGISLATURE.
Mir.LEDUUYiLi.v, Feb. 2, ISCG.
EcUtts of th-z Macon It 1 * 1 graph :
Gentlemen— ln reading tue printed copy of
Mr. Joshua Hilt’s speech as reported to your
paper, our attention is called particularly to
one paragraph, which being manifeetly wrong,
we feel bound to correct. The part of the
speech alluded to is in these words :
“It is generally undeistoud that you will
make choice of a distinguished gentleman, 1
prominent for his public services and his ac
knowledged talents, aud regardless of his
earnest remonstrances as set forth in the letter
I will read you, force upon him, objecting aDd
reluctant as he may be of this high trust. If
you are really his triends, you will better serve
him by foregoing the use of his name. 1 care
not if a man be consider iiLao pure as au angel,
under such circumstances he cannot escape a
suspicion of encouraging the act. My attitude
may bia3 my judgment, but I will stake my
reputation that evil comes of the detd. But
the fiat has gone forth and it is irrevocable.”
Now, we take this occasion to state that
there is not only an assumption on the part of
the speaker, _bnt in direct conflict with the
facts in tho case. The friends of Mr. Stephens,
notwithstanding his tetter withholding the
use of his name, looking upon him and re
garding him as a man whose antecedents would
not only recommend him, but make him aD
exceedingly desirable Senator, not only to the
Southern but also to the Northern people, felt
it to be their duty to bestow upon him this
office, and take the chances of his acceptance.
We state it as a met that Mr. Stephens was not
only not privy to this movement, but the first
announcement of it was made to him after it
was matured on Saturday previous to tbe elec
tion on Tuesday, and that that announcement
was made to him by Col. Ramsey, himself a
candidate for that .office. Cclonel llamsey,
hearing of it, with a patriotism which he
brings from the battle field and now illustrates
in his deference to tho superior wisdom, ex
pedience and lame of Mr Stephens, not only
retired gracefully from the field but advised
all his friends to cast their votes for that man
to whom the people of Georgia, almost en
masse, are looking as their Senator. Colonel
Ramsey’s .testimony, if required here, will
show that Mr. Stephens, up to this time, knew
nothing ot the movement. Mr, Hill must now
fall back upon his “judgment as being biased
by his attitude.
We have felt it to be our duty to correct
this erroneous verdon of Mr. Stephens’ posi
tion. What motive, we ask, could have in
duced Mr. Stephens, if he had desired the elec
tion, to have taken the course he did, ol writ
ing to the Legislature and emphatically desir
ing that not even a complimentary vote be
cast for him ? That is not the course usually
adopted by candidates. We state most em"
phatically, that Mr. Stephens knew nothing
of 4 the movement until it was matured, and
moreover state that many of the
friends of Mr. Stephens, to whom the plan
had not as yet been divulged, had determined,
in view of his first letter, not to vote for him,
thinking that bis services could not be obtained.
At this stage of the movement, those who had
eriginated it, believing that Mr. Stephens
could not commit the iucivism of-refusing any
reasonable trust confided to him by his State,
and regarding the greatest possible approx
imation to unanimity as altogether desiiable,
determined to address him a letter put
ting the question to him direct—“ Will you
serve us if elected that letter to be handed
to him with the verbal declaration that we
intended to elect him any way, believing that
ho would be the most acceptable man to the
whole country that Georgia could send.
Now, bore is, sir, a true revelation of the
whole transaction. We have said thus much;
wo do not feel that we couid have said less.
We make issue with Mr. Hill again. The scope
and tenor of his speech are to the effect that we
were opposed to him solely for his loyalty to
the old flag, and that his defeat was, or would
bo, regarded at the North ao an act of disloyal
ty. N 'W, just here we must ask, what is the
plea of loyalty set up by Mr. Hill. What does
he give as the evidence of his loyalty ? That
when the State of Georgia seceded, he did not
retain his seat in Congress, but vacated it by
his owu act; that he came home and never
raised his voice in any public manner, before
or during the existence of the rebellion, one
way or the other.
Ills plea, to make the most of it, is that he
preserved a position of neutrality, and ho sets
that up as an evidence of his statesmanship
and ot his loyalty to the Union. We claim that
Mr. [Stephens did more than this. He saw the
breaker ahead, the shoals and the quicksands,
and, like a true watchman on the tower, his
warning voice was heard but not heeded. Have
we forgotten the memorable occasion when the
gifted Toombs stood before the Legislature ol
fiis State aud advised bis countrymen to strike
for independence ? Who measured arms with
the great orator oa that occasion? Who dared
to face the multitude, clamorous for secession?
Wbo had the nerve, amid this torrent of excite
ment, to raise his voice in favor of the then de
spised Union? If you desire an answer, go and
read the printed speech of Alexander Hamilton
Stephens, which you will find in almost every
houso throughout The Northern and North
western States. Where was M-. Hill all this
time? A loyal man, forsooth ; but, according
to his own declaration, not'a word does ho ut
ter in defence of the Union. But more than
this, Mr. Hill not only preserved silence at that
critical time, but in tho progress of events we
find him a candidate for gubernatorial honors,
thereby asking tho people of Georgia to bestow
upon him the ermine of office, w jich would
have placed him in official autagonism to the
government ol the United States. Aud yet he
claims to have been, from first to last, a stead
fast Union man ! Mr. Hill says he can take
the test oath ; did he not try to get an cilice,
the obtaining of which must have made it im
possible for him to take that oath ? True he
was not elected, and therefore not called upon
to take to take the oath of office as Governor
of the State; but it was only decause he did not
get votes enough. We must judge him by bis
acts, ills letter of acceptance, where he takes
high giound against reconstruction, is upon
record, and that will fix the animus of the
man.
But, Messrs Editors, wa will pursue the
speech no further. What we moan to say is
this : That Mr. Stephens was not privy to the
plan inaugurating for his election, and the de
termination to run him was based upon the
idea, first, that he was the cuoice pf the people;
and second, that ha was tho most appropriate
representative of thefpreseut sentiment in tavor
of restoration and pacification. Original Union
men and original secessionists united in choos
ing, as their common representative, the
Prophet who had warned us against the fatal
error, which we all now lament and are anx
ious to correct. Instead of its being an act of
disloyalty, it was just the reverse. We knew
that Mr. Stephens was on the line of President
Johnson’s restoration policy.
As you have given publicity to Mr. Hill’s
speech, we now ask a place in your paper for
this.vindication ; aud all papers, both South
an North, which have, or may publish Mr.
Hill’s speech, are requested to publish this
also.
SENATORS.
Henry R Casey, Thos M Carter,
Wm Gibson, P J Strczer,
B B Moore. J E Bower,
JAW Johnson, L II Keenan,
OP Beall, S D Fuller,
T J Simmons, T L Wilcox,
John T Ezzard, O L Smith,
J S Goh'iSton, Geo S Owens,
R M Paris, John A Crawford,
John B Russell, • Juo M Freeman,
Alex W Daley, M A Turner,
F E Manson, F P Brown,
P B Bedford, S Overstreet,
J F Johnson, N J Patterson.
REPRESENTATIVES.
John J Jones, E C Harden,
R F Maddox, Jesse Smith,
J B Jones, J W Ashbury,
I J Smith, B B Wiikerson,
O H Cooke, J F Williams,
John Hockashull, T O Wicker,
-J E Stallings, JLDjoIs,
J C Simms, Sam’i C Caadier,
M P Tucker, W W Davenport,
Geo P Hirrisc.n, E T Rogers,
J W Tench, W Brock,
P M Russell, U Dart.
W D Mitchell, James M Russell.
S A Franes, Claiborne Snead,
J A Stanfield, Jas H McWhorter,
WH Woods, Jam*“s Stapleton,
G W Thomas, J F Usry,
Nathan Woodard, C J McDowell,
J T Carter, J M Johnston,’
J M Edge, E B Gross, •
m J J A Sharp.
Reply of Hon* Joshua Hill.
To the Sixty-nine Special Legislative Friends of
Em. A. II Stephens :
Gentlemen—l have read your review of me
and my recent speech on the Senatorial elec
tion. I have never had a newspaper contro
versy, nor have I the slightest de ire for one.
In your case, I would natuiaily seek to avoid
“the war of the mine with one,’’ if for no
other reason than the great disparity of num
bers.
You have entered into an elaborate argu
meat to prove that I wa3 wrong in saying of
Mr. Stephens that, under the circumstances, he
could, not escape a suspicion of having encour
aged h's ejection to the Senate. You say, al
ter presenting your array of facts, that “Mr.
HiU must fall back upon big judgement as be
ing bias sad by his attitude.” I admit I am
not infallible. I may be obtuse. Whatever
may be the general effect of your reasoning
»nd facts, I cannot hiip thinking that some,
mure incredulous than the rest, will attribute
to Mr. Stephens the amiable weakuess of being
too easily ‘ over-persuaded.’’ ’ He did not re
fuso the high office is often as Coarar did the
“kingly crown,’’ and yet Cscjar was slain for
his ambition. But there was but one Anthony
importuning Cte ar.
Unlike the men of Athene, lam not, “in all
things, too superstious.” It so happened that
I had been warned—and that, not in u dream,
but with my eyes and ears open, at least one
week before the first meeting of tbe L.gisia
tuie—that a shrewd and knowing politic an
predicted thj election of Alexander H. Ste
phens and Hetschel V. Johnson, as Senators.
I never forgot the prophecy, nor ceased entire
ly to look lor its fulfilment. It at least broke
my iay, and, I think, made James Johnson’s
descant easier. Speaking of prophets, gen
tlemen, hereafter commend me to this politic ll
diviner. You cannot make less of it than a
curious coincidenc :
Some, to whom this fortune-telling had
been communicated, and who may be too ap
preciative of aje3t, regarded the animated
contest between Met Hrs. Gartreil and Peeples
as the best joke of the session. It reminded
cid turlmeu of a gallantly contested four mile
race, with broken keats, and the .cheers ol
crowd, as the fleet steeds came neck and neck
thundering down the last quarter stretch, were
almost audible. But the gallant contestants
were, in the end, reminded of that beautiful
Scriptural aphorism, “the race is not to the
swift.” They both ran well, and each was
nigh the goal, but it was never iniended (at
leagt so thought fatalists aud predestinaiiaus)
that either should win.
You attack my pretensions to loya ! ty to the
Government of ihe United States, and demand,
with an air of triumph “What is tho plea of
loyalty set up by Mr. Hill ?” You then pro
ceed to contrast my poor efforts to save the
Union, to the herculean labois of Mr. Stephens
to preserve it, and succeed in convincing your
selves that Mr. Stephens has'the better record.
I never doubted its suiting you better, nor
questioned that Jtfferson Davis’ record pleases
many of you better still. Mr. Davis is euli
tied to all the credit that attaches to unflinching
devotion to a cause that he consented to em
brace and defend. Had I loved the cause, I
could but have honored his constancy and de
termination. I never regarded the cause and
the South as synonymous. I could not look
upon the rebellion with favor, when I felt that
it was absolute ruin to the South, and a curse
upon my whole country.
It is surely no fault of m'ne that gentlemen
should refuse to read my reported speeches
aud published letters. Had they done so,
they would now remember the uniformity of
sentiment pervading them, and their ardent
nationality. This is characteristic of all I
said or wrote during my public service. But
lam aware that I never had any particular
claims upon the public regard, farther than
being esteemed somewhat above that con.
temptibie thing, a professional political poli
tician,in independence and candor. I never
sought to win notoriety in any manner. Un
like some of whom 1 wot, I was not ashamed
of the position o! a private gentleman, living
secluded from the world, and but little known
beyond the small ciicle of friends surrounding
me. And if a single one ot you imagine that
my election to the Senate would, in my opin
ion, “add a cubit to my statute,” or for an
hour increase my vanity, you know little' of
me.
No ; I have weighed “the glittering bau
ble,’’ Fame, and for long years have been ac
customed to say of it, that anything less than
the reputation of Clay or Webster is not worth
seeking.
Such reflections as these, aided, perhaps, by
the severe teachings of misfortune, have ena
bled me to bear up under the frowns of for
mer friends, and—
“To suffer
The stings and arrows of oubageous
fortune,’’
without repining
For me to undertake to convince you that
I loathed and abhorred disunion or seces
sion, aud tha - I never failed to rebuke it when
I came to speak or write of it, wou’d be to
make myself ridiculous ; and to acknowledge
that your estimate ol the vaiue of my opinions
is the universal one. As highly as l respect
you I cannot consent to abide your judgment
cf njy insignificance.
As for my recognized devotion to the Un
ion, it was a fact fixed in the minds of such
men as John J. Crittenden, Stephen A, Doug
ias, James Pearce and Henry Winter Davis, all
of whom, “had they but served the ! r God
with bail the zeal’’ they served their country,
would now be, as I hope they are. bright an
gels in a better world. And of the living, let
me name John Sherman, of Ohio, Gen. John
A. Lagan, Charles F. Adams, Dawes, Thayer,
Mr. Seward, and Morrill, and, I might add, all
who knew nie or observed my political course.
In the midst of the bloodiest sceues ot the
wicked and causeless war through which we
have passed, it was a source bf heartfelt com
lort and consolation, “when my household
gods lay shivered around me,” to know that I
was still cherished as the friend of the. Union
by my old associates throughout the nation.
And to that settled conviction as to my char
acter and feelings, lam greatiy indebted for
marked courtesy and kindness
Every man in Georgia, of ordinary intelli
gence, knows that I have been looked upon
with distnret aud uukindness, aud am yet, for
my attachment to the Union. How many of
you have denounced me for my national prin
ciples ? Which' of you have censured Mr.
Stephens for his abandonment of bis opposi
tion to secession, and for consenting to serve
in the Provisional Congress at Montgomery,
or for accepting the office of Vice-President of
the Confederate States? Which of you blamed
him for giving hi3 counsel and personal influ
ence to the rebel cause ? When was it that
you complained of him for encouraging the
people to futher exertion to obtain a separate
nationality and independence ? Let us be
candid with each other, gentlemen. Do you
not love and admire him more for his identi
fication with the cause of disunion, and his
consequent sufferings and imprisonment, than
for his “early disrelish’’ of secession ? I had
come near sayiDg, of the doctrine of secession.
I am not aware that either of your Senators
elect has, at any time, denied the right of a
state to secede, though bath have condemned
the exercise of the right for insufficient cause
I would not knowingly do either of them in
justice. But what it they still hold that a
State may of right secede ? Do you condemn
them for maintaining the opinion ?
I have never sought to depreciate the effort
of Mr. Stephens before the Legislature in 1800,
to prevent secession. It was meritorious. But
I did complain at the time, and have continued
to complain, that he did not refuse to sign the
Ordinance of Secession, then move to refer it
to the people, aud, upon the refusal of thq
majority, to submit it to the popular vote, then
call upon the friends of the people to withdraw
with him from the Convention. Tears ago I
expressed to Hon. B. H. Hill, my regrets that
he himself did not take that course.
It is not pleasant to advert to it. even at this
distance ot time ; but the truth of history de
mands it. What public min, of all'Georgia,
besides myself, was publicly burned in effigy
in more places than one in his own State, soon
after the fatal act of secession was adopted ?
Think you it was baciuse I favored disunion ?
Was that then regarded a crime ? Whit seces- i
eionist was treated in like manner ! Was Mr; I
-tephsae the object of such contempt ? To
which of you am I under obligations for de
nouncing such nnj as* ill able and vindictive dis
plays of feeling toward mo ? I pray you maka
me sensible ot my indebtness. that I may thank
yon. Was it for my inertness in the defence of
the Union, that I was thus contemned and de
spised by infuriated mobs? No; the friends of
tiue liberty and order are never demonstrative;
they are quiet and thoughtful. And to that
oua great, natural truth is this country indebt
ed for the blighting curse ofsecessson. It was
not numbers, but the concentration of passion
ana prtjudica, and the rabid spiiit of iatolor
ance, that effected disunion.
Had the honest, laboring masses, even of
South Carolina, been appealed to as rational
beings, and told by their public men that the
State desired a calm expression of the popular
will as to the propriety of disunion, and that
he who voted for the Union was to be regarded
as the equal in courage, devotion to the State,
and every element of manliness of him that
favored disunion, I feel confident the unwise
step would never have beeu taken.
Pardon me if I show some anxiety to refute
the prevailing idea of your letter, to wit: that
I, at best, was a mere passive friend Qf the
Union, of doubtful character, while Mr.
Stephens was enthusiastic and devoted. 1 did
not begin to make Union speeches in 1860. I
began five years before that, in denunciation
of that unfortunate measure, known as the
Kansas bill —the greatest blunder, except, per
haps, the defeat of tho Clayton Compromise,
ever made in Atnericin politics. I made no
other but Union speeches from that time Uf'
this day.
I made many very thorough Union speeches
in 1859 and 1860 ; several in the autumn of
1850. in Georgia, all of which appealed to the
people to submit quietly and peaceably, as
good citizens, to the probable election of Mr.
Lincoln. I answered Mr. Wm L. Yancey,
who was regar led pretty generally as a respec
table advocate of disunion. We both spoke
in the Stale House of Maryland about the last
of September, 1860. The next evening I
s poke to many thousand in Baltimore, from
the same stand with Governor Swan, Senator
Kennedy and Representative Webster. The
press said it was a Union speech, and compli
mented it very highly. Two days afterwards
I addressed a large meeting in Washington
city, as many can testify. But, of course, you
never heard anything of all this, and refused
to listen to anything I said. I received some
substantial testimonials of regard from a Bos
ton gentlemen, for ray reply to Mr. Yancey.
You may not know it, but I can assure you
that the great orator of Alabama, wasquite as
earnest iu his declamation, as was Mr. Toombs,
and altogether as powerful. I never claimed
any more credit tor “measuring arms with the
great orator on that occasion,’’ than f have
for discussing with Mr. Toombs, or Mr.
Stephens. I never heard any one compliment
Hon. B. H Hill on his exhibition ot nerve for
‘raising his voice in favor of the then despised
Union. I believe no one was killed or butt
for doing if. On the contrary I have licaid
that such was tbe courtesy of the excited
period that Mr. Toombs himself at the close of
Mr. Stephens speech called for three cheers for
the gifted orator, which were freely given.
I wrote a letter in December, 1860, over my
own came, published in the Southern Kecor
uer, first urging the people to require pledges
of their delegates, in writing, .before electing
them, to submit the actioE ot this Convention
to the popular vote, iri which I was severe on
secession. But it escaped your attention—
like.all my labors.
Some or you are aware that I am a member
of the still existing State Convention. I com
mitted a grave error in that body in consen
ting to abandon my announced intention to
umst on a reconsideration of the vote adopting
ihe ordinance repealing the ordinance of seces
tsion, for the put pose of declaring said
ordinance “absolutely null and void.” I gave
at tbo time, my reasons, abating .nothing of
my principles and opinions, but reluctantly
yieldingto the solicitations of friends of the
Union, and being anxious to avoid discussion
calculated to produce discord and bittornesi.
Had I reflected properly oa the sustaining
effect of the word “repeal,’’ upou the doctrine
of secession—tiie right of a State to secede
from the Union—an 1, as a consequence, the
legality of all indebtedness incurred by such
State for the prosecution of a war in delense of
the right ot' secession, 1 could not have been
induced to forego my purpose. I could not
have obtained a majority for the support of
my views. It was manifest that a majority
were opposed to the repudiation of the war
debt, and that it was only carried by some
yielding to the requirements of the President,
and a greater number remaining silent.
To yield the willing assent of the mind, un
reservedly, to the absolute nullity of every act
of every representative body, intended to sus
tain, in any manner, the rebellion, is tt> reject
tne whole doctrine of secession. Until this is
done, there is no repudiation ol the abomina
ble heresy. It is a question of the highest
importance to ihe people of the entire Union,
that distinct and emphatic renunciation of tho
doctrine of secession by States that have re
sorted to it to de-troy the Union, should pre
cede the return of such States to a position of
equality in the Union, with unoffending States,
iiie lolly of restoring a State to the Union,
with the boasted right of secession unimpaired,
aud still maintained aud defended by its
prominent officers, by a majority of the dele
gates of a Convention of ttre people, and by a
majority of the Legislature, can only be equal
led by an amendment ot the Federal constitu
tion, expressly admitting the right of a State,
for any cause, in its own judgment sufficient
to withdraw from the Union.
This doctrine ot secession, despite the mis
chiefs and miseries it has produced, is, this day
-I fear, more generally tolerated, ir not enter
tained, by the people of Georgia, than it was
when it was reduced to practice. The mass of
mankind have neither leisure nor patience to
iuvtsrigate any great principle of government.
They are oftener influence’ll by arguments that
appeal to their feelings and interests than to
their abstract sense of right. Many favored
secession, just as some others opposed it, be
cause they believed their action beneficial to
themselves. The rebellion has proven a fail
ure up to this time, but most of its devotees
yet believe it was right, and that had it not
been crushed by numbers, they would have
realised all they were promised. Oa the other
baud thousands of earnest opponents of seces
sion, who have suffered deeply by loss of for
tune, and were made wretened by the bloody
casualties of war, have relaxed in their feei
ings, and are, by no moans, pertinacious in
maintaining their former opinions. Men of
sagacity, fond of the adulation of their fellows,
and ambitious of pUce, know well this state of
public feeling, and either sympathise with it
or allow it to exist without attempting to cor
rect it. To be sure, there a-e prominent
individual exceptions to this rule, but not
-sufficient to effect a change. Many limit their
political vision to the boundaries of the State
—content to shape its interna! polity—without
special regard for its Federal relations.
It is refreshing, in this dearth of sober reas
oning, to find some of the foremost: intellects
that contributed all their powers to aid dis
union, now qpenly proclaiming their opposition
to the madness that would assert the right of
the State to be represented in Congress by just
such individuals as the people, or. their repre
sentatives, might prefer; wholly regardless of
their past history. These gentlemen perceive
plainly that thejr themselves, though heretofore
often honored by the people with the highest
trusts, are, by reason of their identification
with secession and war, no longer proper in
struments to be chosen to restore cordial
relations between the State and national au
thorities. Recognizing secession as a failure,
and a principle to be forevtr rebuked, they
now express a willingness to be considered as
no longer available public men, and to retire
from the political arena, yielding to such as
may be more agreeabio on account of their
political action to the Federal government, and
consequently more useful to the State. This
is the beginning of wisdom. Do you agree
with me ia my estimate of such conduct ?
What think you of such modesty and self
denial? These gentlemen found no difficulty
in restraining their friends from wantonly
voting for them.
What though you insist that all differences
of opinion as to past political events should be
consigned to oblivion, never to be revived 1
Can you compel Congress to adopt your sug
gestion? It is not your will, but theirs, that
mu-t govern. Are you quite certain that your
practice agrees with yyur teachings ?
It may interest 3ome who will take the pains
to read what I write, to learn a few political
incidents known to myself and others, which I
relate merely to increase the evidence of my
e-oed standing as a Union man, with emiaeut
Unionists, at a time when there was some
merit in being a Union man. Ttue ioye of the
Union R like genuine, heartfelt pie'y. It is
eetene, uniform, forbearing ; exhibiting itself
in eveiy act, and. without < ffjrt, convincing
ail meu of its deep sincerity. And, what is
more, it is independent of the frowns or b’an
dishmenls of men. Washington was its imper
sonatioa. How few were capable of apprecia
ting his grand exalted love of
country !
I first saw and heard real the celebrated
Crittenden Compromise resolutions in Decem
ber, 1860. I was invited to a room in Brown’s
Hotel, Washington, and there met jjprne half
dozen moderate, but prominent members of tho
Republican pariy, Mheing the only Southern
man present. Our host, a distinguished states
man and accomplished lawyer of Indiana, then
in attendance on the Supreme Court, produced
the famous “peace offering,’’ in his own elegant
hand, and submitted itto the gentlemen pres
ent for their consideration and criticism. Th's
noble man still lives, pledged never t> accept
political office. Should this chance to meet his
eye, he will not fad to recall (he sceuo I
mention this to show tbe esteem in which I
was held by these national meu, and the inter
est I felt for tbe preservation ol the Union.
I recall, with melancholy interest, my list,
interview with my Indiana friend. It was by
his own fireside in Washington. Georgia lad
seceded, and I, against the advice of true and
sagacious friends, was preparing to return to
my home. Boi.li of us were mourning the
folly and madness that menaced the peace of
the country. He drew a vivid p’c ure of tho
inevitable conflict he erw approaching and
feelingly suggested that his sun and mine
might meet in deadly strife, strangers to each
other, aud one of them might fall by the
other’s hand. It may have been prophetic
Few can ever know what I have lost, and fewer
still will care. Many think I war but too for
tunate iu pieservihg my own far spent life. I
appeal not to man for sympathy, and yet I
have met it, when it fell upon my crushed
heart as the gentle dew on withering flowers.
It came not from the hearts of unfeeling poli
ticians. Oh, secession ; secession ! “ Thy
braise is incurable, ami thy wound is grie
vous,’’ and yet thou livest unrebuked in Geor
gia.
A talented Georgian writes me in regard to
the election of Senators, as follows : “ Taking
this fact in connection with the ton 9 of our
press, and the utterances of onr public speak
ers, it may welt be said of us, as was said of
the Bourbons,— ‘ they have learned notning,
and forget nothing by revelation.’ Oae would
think that the secessionists w« re the victorious
parly if one did not know the contrary.’’
One of the most talented men in America
said, in a speech soon alter the close of the
war: “We have disposed of the doctrine of
secession by the bayonet ;—that acute sugges
tion, that though the State has not tho right to
secede, yet that, the citiz.-ns are bound to obey
their State, and that war by ihe State iS not
treason in them.” Do you not so rega-d the
the doctrine, gentlemen ? If you di not, will
you favor tne public with your definition
That child of genius -that accomplished
scholar and orator, and altno t unrivalled mas
ter of the English language, Henry Winter
Davis, said.iu substance, that he knew of but
three devoted Union men in all the South, who
bowed their heads to the storm in silence, al
lowing it to sweep over them. He instanced
the venerated name of Pettigru, and added,
“ihe honored names of Joshua Hdl and John
Minor Batts.” Whatever else may be said of
him it will scarcely bo objected to Mr. Davis,
that he wasinjthe slightest degree tolerant of
secession or disunion. Dojou not remember
how the disunion press of the State us and to
assail me for the complimentary vote I gave
him for Speaker ?
I tiust Ido no injustice to tho memory of
one of the wisest, and best men I ever knew,
in referring to one of his treasured Setters, to
me, bearing date the 28:h of January, 1862.
My distinguished and learned fiiend, though
twenty years my senior, was born and reared
on a tract of land adjoining my birtn-place, in
Abbeville District, South Coroiina. Our fath
ers settled on adjoining places about the year
1790. The two families are still represented
on the old farms. I wis forinnate enough to
enjoy tiie great man’s confidence and friend
ship. This was more than power aud wealth
could haue purchased. I nevef knew a patriot
so unselfish, or a great thinker and ripe scho
lar, so unpretending. Iu Ins matchless sim
plicity, he writes from his home in Charleston
—“I received a very agreeable surprise by
yours ot tho 22d. It was uot surprising that
you should think of is»e, for we have drunk ot
the same brook, and have run barefoot over
the same hills, not to forget one another, but
I could hardly think that there was a single
man left in the v.’hole South that agreed so
much with my opinions. lam fain to join in
the clown’s soliloquy sometimes, and reproach
myself for following coqscience, seeing the
tread gives the better counsel- For both town
and country, old and young, on this side of the
river, glorify themselves for everything good
and great as secessionists, and rail against
Yankees, as the meanest and wickedest of the
kurnau race, for disagreeing with them in the
destruction of the Union. Ia this rebellion
against the Union, women and parsons are
conspicuous for their zsal and acc amadous
The most ferocious feelings are not only
avowed, but boasted of, amt nothing is re
spectable but desperation. Why, a member cf
the Legislature de lated exultiogiy in the
House that he was thankful for the fire, as it
would make it easier to burn the rest ot the
town il the Yankees were likely to become
masteis of it.”
“These things sivour of madness more than
passion. It they are to be believed they would
rather that South Carolina share the fate of
Sodoin, than that secession should suffer a de
feat, or even a temporary roversa. The detes
tation expressed for our ate countrymen finds
a parallel only in the contempt which the Chi
nese feel for the English and Fiench barbari
ans. lam satisfied that thistnadaess must, in
time, give way to depression and lassitude, but
how long it will last uo one can tell.”
“I’he Northern mind seems to be almost as
deeply stirred as that of the South; and though
the South as natural lighters are more than a
match for equal numbers— the preponderance
of the North will encourage them to keep up
the contest a long timo, aud in the end they
may learn to light, in which, at present they
are sadly at fault. So were the Russians when
the Swedes gave them their first lessons,”
There is a good deal more of conjecture
as to the pr'obabie future, much of which has
become history. lie concludes with theses id -
iy prophetic word3 : “The future is doubly
dark. The most probable issue lor both sides
is, that instead ol the military being subordi
nate to the civil authority; the revolution will
end ia tho military having it all their own way.
My hopes are subdued, but so aro my fears. I
don’t expect to live to seo the end, and am
glau cf it ” lie had his wish, and James Louis
Petigru, no great while afterward, slept with
his fathers. Would he have held- such con
verse, at such a time, with any but a trusted
friend of the Union ? His whole life was one
of consistent devotion to the government of
his count y.
I have great respect for candor, qveu when
coupled with fanaticism ; hence my high regard
for my freiads, Milledge L. Bonham and James
L. Poa, both ultra d.sunionisis and ardent in
tbojiause of rebellion —bo’h scorning to hide
away in bomb proof positions, and not content
to display their valor by clamoring for war,
testified their sincerity by exposing thimielves
on “well stricken fields.’’
You ehaige that I became a candidate for
Governor, and “trie! to get, an office, the ob
taining of which must have made it imp ssib’e
for him (me) to take the oath’’&3. I was no
more a cand date far Governor than was Mr.
Stephens a candidate for Senator. I deny try
ing to be elected. I refused to review tne ad
ministration of Governor Brown, and to con
demn it, when assured that by doing so I could
concentrate upon myself the opposition to him,
and thereby keep down a third candidate.
“Solitary and alone” on the floor of Congress,
I had censured his unlawful seizure of the U.
8. Arsenal at Augusta, and Fort Pulaski, near
Savannah. The Secession Convention after
ward approved his action, and thereby rebuked
me. With which of us did you sjmpathise?
In permitting my name ro De voted for, I only
hoped to form the nucleus cf a Southern con
servrtive party, opposed to secession and war,
and favoring peace. I called four or five of my
mdst trusted friends living in this town and
vicinity, all of whdhn yet live, to b6ar me witness
that, unde? no possible circumstances, would I
ever yet take an oath to support the Constitu
tion of the Confederate States, or the govern
ment cr laws thereof. We examined the official
oath of the Governor, and concluded that, to
him, as the civil and military head of the State,
the oath for civil officers only, did not apply.—
And it it had, and I could have been elected, I
would have spurned it. In doing so, I should
have made more character than 1 could by tilling
the office. The gentlemen to whqpi I refer are
men ot high character, and “have done the
State some service.” lam proud to claim them
a- my friends, and they are proud of niv prin
ciples and liiy course, which so few weil under
stand.
The secession and war press denounced my
letter and its author. How many of you de
fended the letter, and vindicated me ! The
lovers of j eace, and the honest haters of dis
union, voted for me, when not driven from the
polls by secession bullies. Some of you are late
in discovering my strong anti-reconstruction
sentiments. How many of you denounced me as
a Unionist -reconstructionist, and everything ob
jectionable, politically ! Which of you made
speeches against me ] Did Union men complain
of me 1 No, they rejoiced at the opportunity of
voting for a man in whom they trusted. Your
course has made them only more devoted to me.
They constantly testify their regard for me, —
They remember fondly that 1 labored to prevent
disunion, and that I never “bowed the kn«e to
Baal.”
But be consoled, gentlemen ; you have tile
majority with you. With but a few exceptions,
secessionists and war-men sustain your action,
and openly exult at the overthrow of James
Johnson and myself.
I declined all invitations to visit the armies, or
to speak at any point. I made no defence to
the assaults upon me, charging me with love of
the Union and opposition to the war. In my
letter, I declared the utter impossibility of re
storing the lost Union as it was. I do not see
that it has been returned to us unchanged. It
possessed many features calculated to endear it
to the people everywhere, that have been sadly
altered by war. I rejoice that it cannot he said
of me that I, in any manner, assisted in pro
ducing these innovations. Hjw many of you
admire my course in refusing to vote for any
officer of tho Confederate Government ! Do
you not think that it would have been more
praiseworthy to have even sought place under
it 1 How many, and which of you, made
speeches and arguments to soldiers to deter them
from voting for me 1
In a gallant regiment, to which some of you
belonged, and ot which six or seven companies
went from my old Congressional District—one
of them from my own county, composed of the
sons of my neighbors and friends, and of my ,
own son—l received one single vote. That was
an independent, high-souDd private, who dared
to do what he conceived to be his duty. Many
of these brave soldiers had been accustomed to
vote for me for Congress, even against the ad
vice of Mr. Stephens and Mr. Toombs, but, on
this trying occasion, they could not incur the
odium. They liked me personally, as I believe
some of you do, hut thought I loved the Union
'“not wisely, hut too well.”
I lost the support of the only very influential
paper that advocated for a time tny election, by
promptly rciusing, when required, to say that I
would not consent to live under the same Gov
ernment with the people of the free Slates. The
election went by, and though only second in the
race, as in tile recent one, I preserved the re
spect of my friends and myself. Success is not
the true test of merit.
“The rank is but the guinea’s stamp,
The man’s the gowd for a’ that.”
Lest the President should be imposed on,
some patriotic Georgians furnished him with a
copy of my letter. He understands it—he under
stands us all. He knows what suspended loyal
ty means, and knows to how appreciate new
born devotion to the Union. He know# as well
as you do, that Mr. Davis, vote i in the Senate
Committee for the Crittenden Compromise, and
of course that he was opposed to disunion. —
This, you contend, makes a good Union record.
Do you doubt, gentlemen, that the President or
the Senate would have approved the election of
Mr. Davis to the Senate by the Legislature of
Mississippi 1 What objection could be urged
against it? Does any occur to you? Has lie
not talents and a large experience to commend
him 1 And was not he, too, one of the Pro
phets 1
It occurs to me to inquire of you, what apolo
gy you propose to make for tiie very inconsid
erable vote you gave the President’s Provisional
Governor, James Johnson, for Senator ! In
your zeal for the Union, how could you
forget his record 1 What had he done to
shake your confidence in his loyalty ? Was
it his excess of kindness in recommending ap
plicants for pardon to the President, that you
intended to rebuke 1 Ilis fine talents and per
sonal worth were not unknown to you. Can it
be that you intended to reprimand him for ac
cepting the appointment ot Governor 1
You are all satisfied that lam powerless in
Georgia, but you are n.ot so well assured that
your 'condemnation of me is destructive of my
influence at Washington. It becomes neces
sary, now, to insure that. You may succeed in
convincing those who control the Goverement
that the organization of a stupendous rebellion
to overthrow the Constitutional Government of
your country, the sacrifice of hundreds of thous
ands of valuable lives lost in trying to maintain
the supreme authority, together with tiie slauglre
tered thousands cruelly seduced or driven to
take arms as insurgents, is a light affair. You
may, by ingenious argumentation, prove that
the men most to lie trusted by the Government
are not those most prominently and conspicu
ously identified with the rebel government; the
men whose names must live in history, more on
account of the high places they occupied in the
rebel government than for anything they ever
did in the service of their lawful government.
But when you succeed in all this, then cover
over with a thick veil the niches in your capitol
that, may contain the statues of Washington,
Jackson, Webster and Clay, and forbid your
countrymen to look upon them again. Then will
the revolution prove a triumph, and the Union
become a phantom. Respectfully,
JOSHUA HILL,
Madison, Ga., February 10th, 1866.
TO THE PRESS.
Such of you as have published tiie letter of
Mr. Stephens’ friends, will do an act of justice,
and of politeness also, by publishing the above.
J. H.
Words are Better than’ Jewels. —ln hi3
his late speech Andrew Johnson, than whom
there never lived a more staunch pafriot, gave
utterance to these words :
It is now the time of poace, and let us have
peace ; let us enlarge the Constitut.on ; let
us live under and according to its provisions ;
let it be printed and published in blazing
char'cters, as though it were in the heavens,
and punctuated by the stars, so that all can
read and all un#rsfand.
Interesting. —The following bit of Euro
pean news is not without interest :
“In the House of Commons, cn the 9th, Mr.
Watkins gave notice that on tho 16th ha
should ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer
whether anv, or what presentation had been
made on behaif of her Maj-sty’u Government
to the Government of the United Sta'es, wilh
reference to the Fenian orgamzitioD in Ameri
ca, more especially with regard to the ctnotoy
ment of Americau cffio--.rß and the issue of
bonds of the so-called Irish republic.”
The Father Mathew society has subscribed
ten thousand dollars to the Fenian cause. The
Irish bond3 are iu great demand. Large ac
cessions are being marie to tha ranks.
Lt Gen Grant passed through New York on
the sth en route for West Point.
Anew German paper, the “Staata Zutung, - ’
is shortly to hi started in Nashville, and John
Rubm, editor.
The Chicago police continuo to make arrest
of sporting men in that city.
The Texas Convention is reported favoring
the assumption by tire State ot taxes laid by
the Federal Congress in 1861.
The Republican City Convention of Roches -
ter, N Y, holden on the lit inst, nominatedjGeu
Grant, by acclamation, as a candidate for the
Presidency in 1868. j _.