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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 _.