Newspaper Page Text
OLD SERIES, VOL. LX XV.
tfhremck & Sentinel
11 i:n it v mooni: f
a. it. wiiicjsiirr.
TCIt-VIS OF >1 liM IIIPTION.
WEEKLY.
* Burnt L* CjO
# month*. ' l To
J. It, U . .JOHNSTON ,
Macaber.
A I < • I S'l’A * G A :
WKDN' KSDA V M<)K\7\(., SEPTEMBER (2.
Ingenious Excuses.
Finding that the respectable people of
the South are not disposed to send dele
gates to the Hrownlow-nogro convention
now in session in Philadelphia, the radical
journals attorn j* to account fin- the paucity
of Southern delegates on the ground that
it was not safe for the loyalists to meet to
appoint delegates. On this subject the
Cincinnati Gazette circulates the following
first-clans falsehood, from its W ashington
C‘ rrespondent:
“A number of delegates to tile Sep tom
l»-r -otivmilion Imve arriveil from the
South to-day. I'hey all report that the
course of the Pr.-sident in regard to the
New Orleans butchery has made the jx
tion of I'nion men more perilous than it
was at any time under the Confederate
government. In many |>artft ot the South j
where it was contemplated to hold meet- j
ings and appoint delegates, public opinion j
lias suddenly become so bitter towards all
Unionists as to render it certain death to
tape part in any meeting to further the
objects of the Loyalists Convention.”
We have yet to hear of the first instance |
when; violence towards the insignificant I
creatures who desired to send delegates to
Philadelphia lias been thought of. lit
G orgia we do.not think any meetings have
been held. Most of those whose names
appear as delegates from this State are
entirely unknown. Ambrose Spencer is a
renegade from Sumter county, where he
was a blatant Confederate, and the last
time we saw him was boiling over with
zeal for the cause, trying to raise an artil
lery company. He is too well known in
this community for anybody to be sur
prised at any treachery or duplicity of
which he may ho guilty, and is a lit ally
for Fred Douglas in the work of negro
equality. lie is too contemptible for any
body to think of offering him violence.
If he were to come here he would bo in
no danger of molestation, unless the
Sheriff should present him some re
minders of his sharp practices in other
da vs. His politics are riot worth disturb
in . Hiyant, another delegate, has been
absent several weeks, tryingto raise money
to keep from starvation. Since he left,
judgment lias been obtained against him
by a negro, for SSO, and he is] under bond
$5,00(1, to an wer the charge of larceny
after the trust, preferred against him at
the instance of a negro. He lias been
writing and publishing all sorts of inflatna
tory stuff here, for months, with perfect
impudence and impunity. The truth is,
all this tribe are doing their best to get
the people to molest them—they arc
anxious to become martyrs—because, if
not made martyrs, they will soon sink into
their normal condition of nobodies, —and
our people have too much wisdom to think
of conferring undeserved elevation upon
them. Wc regret that meetings have not
been held in Georgia. It would have
shown how utterly contemptible in num
bers and character the kind of loyalists are \
..ho compose the Fred Donglas-Brownlow
(invention.
Yankee Spite.
The New York Legislature is now in ex
tra session, having been called together by
the Governor for the trial of an impeach
ment ease against one of their Circuit |
Judges. A few days since a member of >
the Senate moved a resolution tendering i
the hospitalities of the State to President
Johnson, Gen. Grant and Admiral Farra
gut, who were then in New York city, on j
their way to the West. A member moved j
to insert the name of Secretary Seward
also in the resolution. Upon the vote be
ing taken on the amendment, it, was lost
by a vote of 12 nays to 8 in the affirmative. |
This is a true specimen of Radical breed- 1
ing and sense. Because the majority of]
the Senate disagree with Mr. Seward in
relation to the policy of the Government |
in its treatment of the Southern States,
they take this contemptible way of show
ing their disapproval of his course. These
very men were the loudest of those who so
recently as the beginning of the last Con
gress, extolled Mr. Seward as the chief
person to whom the Government was in
debted for the success of the war- They
then gave him the credit of having steered
the ship of State safely through the rocks
and shoals of secession, and of having
brought her safely into a peaceful port.
Now. Mr. Seward is denounced as a white
livered dough -face, and the common civili
ies, recognized all over the country, as due to
the office beholds, arc insultingly withheld
from him, and to give greater force and
pungency to the insult, his compagnons d<
voyage. are special y invited to visit Albany
and receive the State's hospitalities, whilst,
by this vote, he is snubbed.
Those puny efforts of the New A ork
Radicals will have no other effect
than that of branding their authors as n on
of desperate and extreme views, and whol
ly devoid of the true principles which
mark the American gentleman. Mr.
Seward will not suffer either in reputation
or feelings from their cowardly attacks.
We call attention to this matter, not for
the purpose of defending Mr. Seward, hut
merely to show to the Southern people
what they may expect from these puritani
cal demons, if the people of the North
through the polls this tall, shall endorse
their course; and again urge upon our peo
ple a prudent, cautious and forgiving course
in regard to national affairs, as the one
most likely to encourage and strengthen
the Northern conservatives in the canvass
now fairly opining.
The Yankee Slave Trade.
The Rev. Mr. Collyer writes from Bris
tol. K. 1.. to the Chicago Trihum , the
following:
"Here where 1 am lotus eating was one
of the baleful marts of the old slave trade.
That gaiubrill-moled old warehouse, past
which l have just been pulling my boat,
has held mi hi/ a freight of kiJuappetl nun
i md teamen. I went blackberrying this
morning with a quaint old sea captain, who
served the great i>e \\ oft’ as far back as
IslT in the traffic. ..ad who has niauy sto
ries to toll of the things that he has seen.
‘ And so. when the old l>e Wolf of all left
his son $1 Mb'‘ k) made in the slave trade,
‘what luck went with money.' I said,
when the Captain was through his story.
'Luck, said the old man : ‘in eight years
it was all gone, and nobody knew how it
went. He was'nt a driuking man nor
nothin, but his money kind o melted away
and then he died, and now the family is ail
gone to nothin.
Such facts as these, one would think,
says the New York Express. would give I
moderation and charity to the men of New
England, who fastened slavery upon the
South, often against its will and wishes.
Mr. Moore has demonstrated in his book,
that Massachusetts exchanged Indians for
negroes, making slaves of both.—while
here, we have a Radical writer showing up
a leading kidnapping depot of Rhode Is.
land.
Rhode Island men, some ot them at
least, are now doing, in another way, what
was don;- in Bristol. YY hat, for example,
is the three hundred per cent, bounty,
which a late Senator from Rhode Island
got for his screws, but another mode of
American, in lieu of African, plunder ?
What is Senator Sprague working all the
while in Congress for, but to make twenty
five millions of human beings, Americans,
work to give him and liis, from forty to
two hundred per cent, bounty on his or
their wares?
Six of the New Vork dailies support the
President.
Gov. Johnson’* Letter.
’ We offer n , apology for the .- pace occu
pied in our columns to-day by the very able
and patriotic letter of Governor Johnsop.
Like everything else which emanates from
his cultivated intellect, it is sound, cogent,
and eloquent. Me feel as-ured that the
patriotic counsels contained in tlu»s master
Jy production will not fall unheeded upon
the public ear of the State. M e are re
joiced to know that the Governor will lend
the utino-t of his powerful support to the
movement recently inaugurated in I hila—
delphia. We believe that there is not a
single fair-minded man in the State who
will not heartily endorse all that is said in
this manly and vigorous letter. We earn
est!-/ commend its careful perusal to those
who have been disposed to harsh criticisms
of the Philadelphia Platform and the
Southern members of the Convention.
The duty of the true men of the South is
-o graphically and truthfully pointed out,
that we feel assured that the great body of
the people will cheerfully accept the advice
thus given, and throw the whole weight of
their approval and support in favor of the
parti - recently organized for the overthrow
of the Radical Disunionists.
The Harp of a Thonsuud Strings.
The New Orleans Picayune of a recent
date in commenting upon the celebrated
sermon which went the rounds of the press
a few years since says :
The facta seem to be that some years be
fore the production appeared in print, a
discourse, very much in its stylo, was ac- t
tually delivered at Waterproof, La., by an
eccentric individual, who united the occu
pations ol Hatboatman and exporter. Some
of the uncouth similes and emphatic de
nunciations having passed into somewhat,
proverbial use, it only remained lor some
wag to act the part of flisistratus for this
Homer, and to communicate the result to
a neighboring paper. The creditor having
done this, whatever it may be, lias been
claimed for three or four waggish penmen,
then in the neighborhood, and the contro
versy lias become as involved and as useful
in ils way as that concerning the author
ship of Junius.
We, the associate quill of this paper, the
one “what used to live in Gallatin,” as the
(Jopiahan is wont to term us, feel it proper
to say that this celebrated sermon was
first published in the Brandon Republican
some years ago, and that the original ol it
was not “a hard shell Baptist, as the
sermon purports him to have been, but
old father Yawn, who may yet be living, a
shrewed and useful Methodist, whoso pecu
liar boast it was that “he didn’t know a
letter in the book,” and under whose
preaching we have often been, “ tis thirty
years since.” Father Yawn would gen
erally give out his text thus, after reciting
it in his peculiar fashion of “intoning :
“You will find my text in the eighth
chapter of Isaiah, ninth verso. And cf
you do’ nt find it thar, you will find it, es
you will hunt the book through, from Gcn
nesis to llivelations ; an es you don’t find
it then, you will find a great many things
which will do you a power of good.
Georgia.
The railroad bridge at Columbus is to be
completed by tbo lfitli.
Five divorces were granted by the Supe
rior Court of Baldwin county, at its session
last week.
At the late Superior
Court, the negro man Green, former slave
of James C. Whitaker, who killed Elias
Mahon, white, was found guilty of murder,
but the jury recommended him to the
mercy of the Judge, whereupon, Judge
Ilec.se sentenced him to the Penitentiary
for life. Thomas J. Simpson, charged
with the killing of B. C. Hall, was ac
quitted.
'fhe Columbus Sun says, the amount for
small pox cases will foot up for this year
somewhere in the neighborhood of $4,000.
Add to this the other charges for physi
cians and building expenses, and between
five or six thousand will bo reached. As
recipients of this amount there have not
been more than twenty white people. Our
own impression is that not more than half
that number have received aid. If the
negroes had beeu under the control of our
citizens as formerly, or if the Frccdmen’s
Bureau had taken charge of them, the
disease could have been stayed in a short
time and at a comparatively small cost.
The LaG range Reporter says : The
freed men, in this community, as a class
are behaving themselves with commenda
ble propriety, so tar as we are aware.
Except in a few instances, if any, they ex
hibit nothing like insolence. They are re
spectful iu their deportment to the whites,
and (he whites are respectful and kind to
them. Thert is no military in our midst
to stir up bad feelings between the two
races ; and, hence, wo are all getting along
very quietly.
The Western Baptist Association will
convene with the church at Newnan, Ga.,
on Saturday, 15th inst. This is a Mission
ary body only—having no ecclesiastical
power or jurisdiction over the churches
which comprise it. It embraces a large
area of territory, and numbers, perhaps,
thirty or forty churches.
The Dawson Journal says the work of
improvement in that place still goes on.
No sooner does one building approach com
pletion than the foundation of another is
laid near by. The price of building lots
and town property generally is going up
rapidly, and we would advise those desir
ing to get a start with a go-ahead town to
buy at once.
We have received the first number of the
Weekly Inibjcr. published at Fort \ alley,
Ga., by D. W. D. Boully, Esq. It is a
neatly printed well filled and readable
sheet, and will doubtless give a valuable
support to the interests of the community
in which it circulates. We wish the pro
prietor success.
The Savannah Republican tells of a Mr.
Shaw, a delegate from Georgia to the Phila
delphia Convention, while taking a walk,
Thursday, in that city, met an individual
who joined him, telling him that he too
was a Georgian. They walked together,
conversing on the affairs of the country,
and soon after another individual, meeting
them “by accident,'’ presented a bill to
Mr. Shaw's new friend. The latter had
not that amount of ready money about
him, nothing but stocks and bonds. On
these Mr. Shaw was kind enough to ad
vance* SSOO, and soon after he parted with
his " fellow Georgian." He has not seen
the fellow since, and probably never will see
him again.
Why Stanton is Retained in the j
Cabinet.—The New York HcraM professes j
to have solved the riddle, by establishing
the following facts: William T. Smithson, !
a banker of \Y ashington, who was thrown j
into prison during the war for being in cor- '
respondenee with the enemy, by order of
Secretary Stanton, has instituted proceed
ings against the latter for damages because
of irregular aud unlawful proceedings, '
laying his damages at $30,000. The Cab- i
inet diseus.-ed this matter, and the Attor
ney General was directed to defend Secre
tin Stanton in the ease, the defence being j
principally based on the Act of Congress 1
indemnifying certain officers of the Govern- i
mi nt tor acts done in their official capacity i
, for the suppression of the rebellion. The j
. constitutionality of the law will, therefore,
be tested in the coming trial. The Gov-
ernment considers this a very important
case, and will put forth even- effort in Mr.
Stanton's defence; an lit has been consid
ered that that defence can be bettor con
ducted with Mr. Stanton in hi s official
position than otherwise. Hence, his re
tention. The issue will be joined at the
special term of the Court, commencing on
the first Tuesday Injseptember.
Tres Nobile Fratym. Y\ e see it
stated that the names of Bryant.
G. W. Ashburn and N. S. Morse are
registered at the Union Cluh House in
I Philadelphia as hailing from Georgia.
LETTER FROM NEW YORK.
Visit of the President—Grand Demon
strati m—Strength of Andrew J ,Im
s;m—Policy of the South—Southern
Trade.
New York, Aug. 20.
The city papers will supply you with a
detailed account of the grand demonstra
tion in this city to-day, on the ooca-ion of
the visit of President Johnson. The dis
play was magnificent, and the scene on
Broadway most imposing. The truth is,
Andrew Johnson is a very popular man in
these United States. He has a stronger
personal and political hold upon the great
mass of the people than any President who
has held office in our day. This was mani
fest at Philadelphia at the National Con
vention, and the same truth will he
abundantly demonstrated during the Presi
dent's excursion - > the northwest.
But what means this grand display?
Why these innumerable flags—this mili
tary pageant—these deafening shouts—
this outpouring of all classes of the people?
Why was the Philadelphia Convention
called? and why will a convention of
soldiers and sailors assemble at Cleveland
next month ? Why are ratification meet
ings being held all over the North, and
conservative candidates nominated in the
several States fur Governor, members of
the Legislature and members of Congress?
Why are public speakers delivering ad
dresses in every town and hamlet, and the
newspaper press exerting itself as it has
seldom done before in the history of this
country? Why all this excitement and
agitation and earnest effort ?
The answer is plain. All this is being
done to restore the South to represents
tion, and to all her other Constitutional
rights. This is to he done according to
the policy of the President, who, with the
great Conservative party of the North,
has planted himself firmly and squarely
upon the Philadelphia platform. That
platform Was erected for no other pur
pose but to furnish a rock upon which
the President and the Northern Conserva
tives could stand in their battle with our
enemies. It is for us they are struggling.
It is for us and our ruined and oppressed
section they are making these earnest
efforts.
Let the Southern people remember this
fact, and cease their criticisms. Every
word that is written or spoken in the South
against that Convention or the policy of
the President, is a word against the South
and in favor of her bitterest enemies. If
some of our journalists cannot approve of
every t hing in the resolutions and address
adopted at Philadelphia, let them do as
the Southern delegates did—pass them by
in silence. The Southern delegates did not
approve of many things done at Philadel
phia. It was not expected that the people
or the press of the South will. Why then
all this criticism and faultfinding ? It re
in in ds one somewhat of the stay-at-home
generals who knew how to direct a
campaign better than Lee and Johnson.
But it is hoped and believed that the
Conservatives will make large gains in the
interest of the South at the approaching
Congressional elections, in spite of North
ern Radicals and Southern critics. The
tide is now setting strongly in that direction.
The mechanics and laboring classes, who
claim Mr. Johnson as one of their own fra
ternity, no less than the solid men of the
country, are gathering around the Pres
ident with a spirit of determination that is
full of encouragement. If the South will
only he patient and silent for a season, all
will yet go well.
Andrew Johnson is a great power in this
land. There is no man in the United
States who possesses a tithe of liis popu
larity, even in the North. The whole
Democratic party, including war Demo
crats as well as copperheads, “so-called,”
with that large, intelligent and wealthy
wing of the party which elected Mr. Lincoln
known as the moderate Republicans, now
stand at his back, and are doing battle un
der his lead for our rights. In this State,
and indeed throughout the North, the fol
lowers of Mr. Seward are wheeling into
line in the most gratifying manner.
It should be remembered that this feud
in the Republican party is not of recent
origin. It originated in the eariler days of
the war, and nothing but the necessities of
the contest prevented an open split in the
party such as we now witness. The Radi
cals then, as now, were opposed to Mr.
Seward, and urged Mr. Lincoln to dismiss
him from his cabinet. They even turned
their batteries against Mr. Lincoln, and
strove hard to prevent his renomination in
18G4. Now that the war has ended, these
political belligerents no longer realize the
necessity of keeping the peace in their
party, and hence, most fortunately for the
whole country, they now have each other
by the throat.
The President looked well to-day. He
appeared to be cheerful, gratified and reso
lute as ever. There is something in liis
face, and especially about his mouth and
jaw, that reminds a casual beholder of
Stephen A. Douglas, as the latter appeared
during his last visit to the South. Mr.
Seward seemed to be thin and overworked,
cheerful and wide-awake. The sear made
by the assassin’s dagger on his jaw and
neck, has an ugly and ghastly look. Gen.
Granr has a dull, phlegmatic face. He
would never impress a stranger with the
idea that he was an intelligent, much less a
great man. His jaw alone is expressive,
and that reminds one of the obstinacy with
which he pressed the murderous campaign
from the Rapidau to Petersburg. One
may easily recognize him by his photographs.
Admiral Farragut sat beside General
Grant, and seemed to enjoy the reception
very much. He did not appear to be con
scious that any one was looking at him, so
busy was he in looking at the crowd. Like
a sailor first landed after a long voyage, lie
wore a fresh and hearty look, aud appeared
really to enjoy everything he saw. But I
will dismiss the Presidential party.
The Fall trade does not open so auspici
ously, as business men here had anticipated.
-V large trade was expected from the South,
but thus far there is but little prospect
that it will be realized. Even sagacious
men here are slow to accept, the fact of
an exceedingly short cotton and provision
crop in the South. Another fact presents
itself to the traveler wherever he goes in
the North, to wit: that the rich are
rieher than ever, and the poor are poorer
than ever. High taxes, high rents, and
the high price of food and clothing account
for the increased poverty of the poor,
while the war will serve to explain the
great wealth of the rich. I have seen
more careworn, hungry-looking and shab
bily-dressed people in New Y ork during
my present visit than ever before.
The number of Southern visitors here is
increasing daily. Many of them, I regret
to say, are mere pleasure seekers. South
ern custom is divided principally between
the New York Hotel, the Southern Hotel,
; the St. Nieohlas. and the Fifth Avenue
i Hotel, and in the order in which they are
| named. The proprietors of the New
York Hotel were very kind to our
1 prisoners during the war. The proprietor
: of the Southern Hotel, Mr. Henry Bruce,
i formerly of Kentucky, lost a large fortune
| on account of his adherence to the Con
federate cause, liis house is doing an ex
cellent business, and at the present rate
will soon take the lead of all the New
\ ork hotels in its Southern patronage.
The St. Nicholas is patroized chiefly on
j account of its past reputation and con
! veuient location.
This will probably be iny last letter to
the Chronicle if' Sentinel from this city,
as I shall turn my face towards Dixie to
morrow or next day. P. W. A.
Two ladies fought a duel in Texas re
cently.
AUGUSTA, GA., WEDNESDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 12, 1800.
LETTER FROM WASHINGTON.
Sanitary—Public and Private Buildings
—Stanton and Howard—Homeward
Bound.
Washington, August 31. 1806.
Washington is always dull at this period
of the year, and it is rendered particularly
so now by the absence of the President and
many of the notables of the place. There
is nothing, therefore to write you. or very
little that would interest your readers. The
city papers are as dull and heavy as ever,
and the town as dirty. TV hy the Govern
ment does not put the streets in good con
dition, and improve the sewerage, it is im
possible to say, unless it lie that the Radi
cals want all the spare money for them
selves and their friend Sambo. The money
wasted upon the Freedman s Bureau would
have made Washington one of the finest
cities on the Western continent. The cap
itol is a splendid pile, and the public build
ings for the most part are imposing struc
tures ; hut most of the business houses and
private residences of citizens are very infe
rior. The town corporation, it is said, is
poor, but the Government, if one may
judge by the lavish expenditures of Con
gress, is rich enough at least to drain the
town and keep it cleaner than it habitually
Is.
It may be that the number of dirty and
idle negroes one sees on the streets will
account for the dirty appearance of the
town. Large numbers came here upon
the cessation of hostilities, a few of whom
have worked their way further North, to
the great disgust of the whites. It would
do the South no harm if fifty or a hundred
thousand freedmen could he induced to
emigrate to New England and other North
ern States. We should hear nothing more
of universal suffrage then, or oflarge sums
of money voted for the support of these
people. They would be left to do as white
people do—work or starve. These black
missionaries would do us a further service.
They would soon bring about a reconstruc
tion of the Union, and make an end of all
this pother about “loyalty ’ and rebellion.
It was hoped that Mr. Stanton and Gen.
Howard would have vacated their offices
before this. Gen. Stcedman would be an
acceptable successor of the one, and Gen.
Tilson of the other. Mr. Stanton has
given great offence hy his administration of
the War office, to many people in the
North as well as in the South. In some
instances, liis conduct is said to have been
as lawless and tyrannical as that of a Turk
ish satrap. Suits are now pending against
him for some of the usurpations and
wrongs. It is further .said, hut with what
truth I am not informed, that in order to
avoid these suits and escape the -vengeance
of those lie has abused and trod upon, he
desires when he leaves the War office to bo
sent abroad.
llow true is it, that no man, high and
powerful, can wrong his fellow man with
impunity. Conscience, if not the law, will
surely overtake and punish him for liis
crimes.
If it has not already been stated in a
former letter, I may say here that there is
every reason to believe that large sums of
money will he scut to the South Atlantic
and Gulf States for investment, by North
ern capitalists, as soon as the South shall
have been restored to her rightful relations
with the Government. I had many assur
ances to this effect from influential busi
ness men in New York, and also from
Northern delegates to the Philadelphia
Convention.
With to-morrow’s sun I turn my face to
wards Dixie, whose rags and poverty make
her all the more dear to her absent chil
dren. P. W. A.
A Romantic Affair. —The Mont
gomery and Atlanta papers have had ac
counts of rather a romantic elopement
case, which occurred from Selma a few
days ago. The pair, consisting of a gay
and festive Yankee Sergeant, and a very
young girl—daughter of a highly respecta
ble family in Selma —went to Montgomery
for the purpose of realizing the consuma
tion of their hopes, but wore so closely
pursued as to render it impracticable to he
married there, and they pushed on to find
their Gretna Green on the soil of Georgia.
Reaching Atlanta, the villainous telegraph
had been too fast for them, and instead of
falling into the tender embraces of Hymen,
they became victims to the rough meshes
of the law. They were taken to the
Planter’s Hotel, and held in durance for
three or four days, until the young lady’s
father arrived, when she consented to re
return to her home, and the ‘ ‘ hould
soldier boy” was turned over to the mili
tary to answer the charge of desertion.
Verily “ the course of true love does not
run smooth.
Personal.
YYe had the pleasure of a call, yesterday,
from the Rev. Dr. Alexander Means, so
long and so favorably known to our city
readers as Professor of Chemistry in the
Medical College of Augusta, and more re
cently as Professor in the Atlanta Medical
College. The doctor is now residing in
Oxford, and has, we believe, renewed his
association with the College there. His
numerous friends throughout the State
will be glad to learn that he is in good
health, and is hopeful of the future, more
especially since he has seen the action of
the Conservative Convention which met at
Philadelphia last month.
Gen. A. K. Lawton.
This distinguished gentleman late Quar
termaster General of the Confederate
States was in the city yesterday. We
learn that lie has returned to his ohl home
in Savannah and resumed the practice ot his
profession. There are few men in Georgia
more popular with the masses than General
Lawton. His true and consistent course
during the war endeared him to the peo
ple of the entire State, aud we are glad to
learn that his immediate constituents fully
appreciate the services and sacrifices which
he performed and endured for "the land
we love” by extending to him a liberal
and generous support.
Tne Chronicle if- Sentinel lately comes j
in anew dress, and presents a very hand- j
some appearance. As not even the old
type is now in use, its reconstruction is
complete. It now ranks with our most
useful exchanges. Moore & Wright, Au
gusta, G;f. $lO per annum. — Southern
Cultivator.
YYe know no better way to “ get even”
with our brother of the " Cultivator
than to say, as we can. conscientiously,
that it maintains its former high character,
and is a standard agricultural monthly,
which should be in the hands of every
planter. YY. N. White, Athens. $0 a
year.
Revivals. —We alluded, a day or two
ago, to the revival of religion iu progress
in Edgefield. The Newberry Herald says
that an interesting union meetiug of the
different denominations ofChristians in the
neighborhood of Tabernance Church has
been in progress for some days past. Al
ready some sixty persons have been added
to the different Churches.
Memphis Avalanche. —This sterling
daily comes to us enlarged to nine wide
columns, making it, we believe, the largest
single-sheet paper in America. It is
printed in a splendid manner, and filled as
well as it is printed. It contains special
dispatches from all quarters, rendering it,
in every respect, a leading paper of the
: Mississippi Valley.
The Newnan Herald says that, at a re
cent trial before Judge Sparks, of a ease of
assault and battery, the attorney for the
; defense was named Smith, the attorney
for the prosecution was named Smith, the
| prosecutor was named Smith, and the
j principal witness was named Smith.
LETTER FROM EI-GOY. H. Y. JOHNSON.
lie Endorses the Philadelphia Convention.
Augusta, Sept. Ist, 1866.
Messrs. Editors:— Having received
1 many inquiries for my views of the proceed
! icl-sAf the Philadelphia Convention, and
• as' to the course the Southern people
I should pursue in reference to its action. I
. take this method of responding, because it
gives me less labor and a more-general dis
! semination of my opinions.
Ylthough I Pelt the necessity of some
: m ean.s of bringing the conservative men of
1 the North and the people of the South
into co-operation, vet I doubted the expedi
ency of the call lor the Philadelphia Con
vent ion. .Alter it whs culled. vs as very
■ timidly in favor of sending delegates, fearing
■ that the passions engendered by the war
had not sufficiently subsided to admit
! of harmony in council and wisdom in
action. 1 am glad that my misgivings
j ia ve been disappointed, and 1 believe
that much good has been done and progress
made towards restoring harmony, upon
! the basis of the Constitution. Though not
all which I could wish, yet more than I
expected, was done. \V ith \ the spirit..
tone. Ami in the main, the sentiments of
] the resolutions adopted, 1 am satisfied.
Both in language and principle, I would
make slight modifications. Byt take them
as a whole, considered in ine fight ot sur
: rounding circumstances, they furnish less
1 around for complaint than I could have
j anticipated. They were evidently dictated
i under the inspiration of patriotism and
phrased in language intended tiot to wound
i the sensibilities of an ovenjy.vered, hut
' proud and gallant people. \ ie\vm s them
! in this light, I am willing to accept them
in the spirit that gave them form and ut
i terance, and ignore whatsoever is distaste
ful, as a tribute to the generous enthusiasm
of the patriotic body from whom they
emanated.
The question it frequently asked, by
those who honestly opposed the represen
tation of the State in the Convention, and
who now withhold their approval of its
notion, what good has it accorijihshed {
I reply, it lias, in my judgment, effected
two very important things—-important to
the whole country, and especially to_ those
States which are denied representation in
Congress. In the first place, it inaugura
ted the beginning of good feeling and un
derstanding between the two sections.
The war lias engendered bitterness and
hatred. There can be no real political fra
ternity, between the North and the South,
until such feeling shall have been soothed
and confidence reestablished between tlie
two sections. We at the South, looking
to tlie treatment we have received from
Congress, since the surrender of oar arms,
are apt to forget that we have friends at
the North and to class its whole people -as
enemies to the restoration of the Union
and to our welfare. The people of the
North, attaching undue importance to tlie
falsehoods of hired letter writers,'who dis
tort and magnify every act ot rashness or
imprudeneb'that occurs in our midst, or
mistaking the honest , hut injudicious com
meats of a portion of our press, for tlie
true exposition of the general Sentiment,
imagine that a spirit of insubordination to
the Constitution and laws pervades the
South. The result has been the perpetua
tion of mutually bad feelings—crimination
and recrimination. Doubtless, many of
the intelligent, of both sections, knew the
error, but they could not expose it to the
masses, for the lack of some practical de
monstration that would arrest general
attention. The Philadelphia Convention
furnished that demonstration. It was
signalized by scones of enthusiasm, un
paralelled, in the history of Conventions,
in this country. The better feuliigs of the
heart—charity, magnanimity, generosity,
love of justice, patriotism—were started
from their icy repose and thawed into hap
py fusion. It was a meeting of the North
and the South, not on the battle field, hut
on the field of reconciliation; and the rep
resentatives from each section returned
home, prepared to testify truthfully of the
temper and spirit of the people of each,
that, while honestly differing on some
questions, they agree to co-operate with
each other, in the great work of restora
tion. .
In the second place, the Convention has
organised a party, pledged to the restora
tion of the Union, upon the basis of the
constitution and of Representation to the
Southern States, without any other test of
loyalty besides the oath to support the
Constitution of tlie United States. This is
deeply interesting to us. It is tlie over
shadowing question, paramount to all
others. It is vital. I surrender none of
the cherished political opinions of my lifts,
so far as they are applicable to tlie situa
tion, in which we are left by the war, nor
do I endorse such as I believe to be erro
neous, in the Philadelphia platform and
address. But what avails tlie discussion
of these now ? What can wo gain by argu
ment? We have no audience; we are
practically nut of the Union; we have
no voice in the action of the government.
Shall we waste our powers in vain debate,
and refuse to co-operate with the Con
servative men of the North, because they
differ with us upon some questions? _ Shall
we throw obstacles in their wwar,3 r , by jealous
criticisms of the proceedings or the Con
vention at the very time when they are
fighting our battle ? Shall we not rather
aid, sustain, and encourage them by earn
est co-operation? For one, lam prepared
to do it, with my whole heart; for the is
sue is vital. It involves, in iny judgment,
not only the destiny of the South, hut that
of constitutional liberty.
Some such movement as that of the
Philadelphia Convention was necessary, in
order to afford the conservative element of
the country a defined basis of action, on
which it could organize and concentrate its
forces against the destructive policy of the
dominant party. It cannot fail to produce
a powerful effect.. The people have but to
open their eyes to see that liberty is in
peril, and that the const it ution is sought to
be substituted by the will of an irrespon
sible majority. The people everywhere
love liberty; they love the constitution ;
they are honest ; they are to be trusted.
Show them the right and they will pursue
it; make them sensible of the danger and
they will unite to avert It; expose to them
the bad ambition of power, drunk with the
love of dominion, and they will rise to
overthrow it. The campaign, in the
Northern and Northwestern States, is just
now opening. The Philadelphia Conven
tion boldly and clearly presents the issue
between the conservative and destructive
elements, of restoration of all the States to
representation, on the basis of the constitu
tion on the one hand; and on the other,
the perpetuation of strife and discord, by
the wicked outlawry and disfranchisement
of nearly one third of the States of the
Union, The appeal is made to the calm,
sober patriotism of the Northern people.
With them the battle is to be won or lost,
liberty and the promise of good govern
ernment is the prize on one side, against
misrule and despotism on the other. May
we not, since tne late demonstration in
Philadelphia and the patriotic response of
the President to the resolutions of the
Convention, indulge a hope of final tri
umph for truth, justice, and State equal
Vrior to the- action of the Philadelphia
Convention, the President had no party to
sustain him. He stood a'one, so tar as or
ganized co-operation was concerned, against
the assaults of the Radical Congress and
press. lie has exhibited courage worthy
of Jackson, and a determination to restore
the Southern States to rigbtlul representa
tion in Congress which cannot fail to chal
lenge our support and commendation. The
Convention was confessedly a movement of
his conception. He desired it, first to
inaugurate good feeling and understanding
between the friends of the Union, under
the Constitution; Secondly, to organize
them into a party, to sustain his policy of
restoration; and Thirdly, to present fairly
to the people of the whole country the
distinct issue of reinstating the ten ex
cluded States to their constitutional rela
tion to the other States, without unconsti
tutional tests of loyalty The whole pro
gramme is deeply, vitally interesting to the
South. Shall we not hold up his hands ?
Shall we not give him our earnest sup
port ? Shall we not do all in our power to
crown the action of the Convention with
the most triumphant success'?
Whilst this great battle is to be fought
at the North and Northwest, in which the
South cannot practically participate, still,
we have an important part to _ act. That
is—what I have just above intimated —
uphold, encourage and sustain the efforts
ofthose who are rallying under the banner
which the Convention unfurled to the
breeze. The inscriptions upon it may not
be all that we wish: but, prominent
them is the recognition of the equality of
the States, and their right to representa
tion without the odious test-oath. YYe,
therefore, cannot but view the contest with
an intense desire to see that banner planted
in triumph upon the dome of the Capitol.
Let our press and people _abstain from
captious and ill-natured criticism of the
action of the Convention. Forgetting or
ignoring whatsoever is distasteful, in phra
seology or erroneous in principle, let us
look “rather to its patriotic spirit. Re
ciprocating that spirit, let us practice
forbearance, a manly resignation to the ne
cessities of our condition and respect for
the Constitution and constitutional laws
of the United States. The wires will be
busy in flashing from North to South, and
from South to North, everything calculated
to irritate the people, provoke them to
rasli and intemperate expressions, and
widen the chasm that divides them. The
people, and particularly the press of the
South, should not forget this; and in
view of it, they should take special pains
to afford as little capital for the destructives,
and as much, tor the Conservatives, as
possible.
The Radicals are evidently greatly cha
grined and astounded by the success of
the Convention, a fill painfully exercised
because there was so little speaking, espe
cially by Southern delegates. They tailed
to realize their expected feast of discord
and wrangling; they gathered but little
pabulum for the greedy maw of slanderand
vituperation. So, hy a similar course, let
the people of the South disappoint their
morbid and insatiable appetite. Let us
feel and realize, that all that we can ever
expect of constitutional rights, is involved
in the pending campaign, and that our
fate depends, upon the final triumph of the
Conservative party. When we speak and
act, it should be in their interest and with
a view to their success : for in their suc
cess is our hope for the future.
There are turning points in the history
of nations as well as individuals—“a tide
in the affairs of men which, taken in the
flood, leads on to fortune. ’ ’ We are now
in the midst of such a crisis. The momen
tum of destructive fanaticism—ruinous,
relentless, desperate, devilish—will become
irresistable, unless its progress be arrested.
It can be arrested only by the uprising of
the people in their majesty. 1 indulge a
hope that the Action of tlie Convention trill
awaken them to the perils of the crisis. I
trust the fire that wanned the hearts of
that body will be diffused in expanding
circles until it shall begirt tlie whole land
and dispel the darkness that now hangs,
like a fune-al pall, over our distracted
country. Now is the time and the oppor
tunity for the masses of the North to rally.
The Government is in their hands ; we are
excluded; if the Temple of Liberly totter
to its fall, the responsibility is theirs. Do
they not begin to see it ? The ground
swell begins to heave; the re-action has
commenced; let the people, North and
South—those who desire Constitutional
Union and good government—he true to
themselves and their posterity and rise to
the height of the great occasion. Then woe,
woo awaits those who now pollute the altars
of liberty and lord it over the heritage of
her children.
The world knows the people of the
Souih do not approve of all that was done j
by the Philadelphia ( Convention ; nor is it
pretended that our delegates did. Protest j
against what is objectionable, by our press i
or our people, is totally unnecessary, even !
as a matter of justice to ourselves. There
is no need to defiue our position upon con- !
troverted questions of principle or policy ; ]
it is known and read of all men. When !
restored to representation we can argue \
and debate if occasion, require it. Wc shall
then have an audience ; we shall even con- ]
stitute a part of the tribunal to decide the !
questions discussed. If wc never get re
stored to representation, then argument is
useless. We can therefore, afford to he
silent as to what we cannot endorse, for
the sake of the prize that is staked upon
the issue. Our Government, the constitu
tion, the whole frame work of our political
institutions were in the beginning the re
sult of mutual concessions and compromises.
They will never be restored, and when re
stored they cannot he preserved, without j
the exercise of the same spirit.
True, as a section, the South will be in a
minority and powerless, of herself, to arrest
unjust and unconstitutional legislation.
But that great change in popular sent iment j
in the North, which shall secure to us
representation, will also bring into Con
gress friends who, united with the South
ern members, will constitute a majority of
the House, or, if not a majority, a suffi
cient number to sustain Presidential vetoes
of unconstitutional enactments. Extrava
gance of expenditure can be checked, the
burden of taxation equalized, corruption
exposed, and the annoyance of the present
dominant party tamed and chastened.
When we can he heard, there will be hope,
at least, by appeal to reason and justice,
that the ship of state may he again put
upon the course which its builders intended •
it to navigate,
If this can be accomplished, there is
hope of regaining good government, and
finally material prosperity. Long before
• the war I had come to the conviction that
the best hope for this country was in a
close alliance with the great agricultural
States of the Northwest, They, Tkc us,
are interestedin low taxation and economy.
United with them, and such friends as
could always be elected from a few dis
tricts of the Northern States, I believed,
on the day of_ secession, that the South
was stronger in, than out,of the Union.
This conviction, so deeply fixed, explains
the true motive of my adhesion to the
noble and lamented Douglas, in 1860. I
knew he was justly the idol of the North
west ; T knew liis great ability, his firm
ness, his courage and tried friendship tor
the South. 1 knew that we could trust
him, however we might differ from him,
upon some points of theoretic politics. J
believed that, through him, if the Union
should stand, the alliance, to which T have
referred could be consolidated. Hence, I
consented to sharp His fortune, knowing at
the time, as well as I knew after the event,
that his election was impossible. Thus,
looking fora chfeat, I still hoped that a
fragment of the National Democracy,
North and South, might ho preserved in
a state of organization, around which that
glorious old party might again rally, and
preserve the Union and tho < rights‘of the
South in tho Union. Nothing, however,
could stay the tendency to secession, after
Mr. Lincoln’s election by a strictly sec
tional vote. We have passed through the
conflict and been overpowered. We came
out of it with slavery abolished, our labor
deranged and prostrated, our fields deso
lated, and our homes draped in mourning
for our noble and gallant dead. Vfo have
accepted these results in good faith. We
are ready to resume our place in the
Union, endeavor to recover from our re-
verses, and promote the harmony and
welfare of our common country. And !
now that slavery is abolished, and conse- j
quently must cease to be an apple of dis
cord, my mind returns with strengthened i
conviction of the policy of' renewing the !
ties which, in other days, bound us to the !
agricultural states of the Northwest. Once
restored to representation in Congress, j
nothing can prevent such an alliance.
Whilst all our revenue was raised by a tariff
upon imports, the agricultural class did
not appreciate the amount qf their taxes,
nor the inequality with which they were
imposed, it is quite different now. The
tax gatherer goes to every man’s door and
levies tribute upon the products of his
labor. Let existing passions subside: let
harmony be restored; let fanaticism starve
to death, because the carcass of slavery, on
which it fed, has been forever removed,
and we shall soon sec and hear the masses,
who till the soil, inquiring into the opera
tions of tax laws, and the expenditure of
revenue, and holding their representatives
to a strict accountability. Labor will assert
its right to just and equal treatment at
the hands of the Government, with, asso
ciated and incorporated capital. Hereto
fore the country lias been harrassed about
slavery : fanatics using the question as the
means of obtaining power —obtaining
power m order that they might levy tri
bute upon agriculture, to pamper and pro
tect manufactures. The issue will be a
naked one. —shall agricultural labor be
taxed to uphold and sustain incorporated
capital ? The result is not to be feared,
Agriculture does not shrink from a just
share of the burden, which the immense
national debt must impose upon every in
terest. But it will demand economy, the
lowest taxation that will meet the emer
gency. and equality in its imposition. This
is all" the South asks, and in demanding
it, she must and wiil receive the co-opera
tion of agriculturalists, in all sections, but
especially of the .Northwestern States.
This is my hope for the future of the
country. It is founded upon the potent
affinities of interest, which, when left free
to act, will as certainly bind together the
tillers of the soil as gravitation does the
the works of the universe.
\or will the alliance, to which I refer,
belmpotent, in asserting the principles of
constitutional interpretation, essential to
the healthful working of'our governments
machinery. The doctrines of and 99
mav vet be re-asserted by the Congress of
the United States. They are as valuable
now as ever they were-as true and sound
as ever. They survive the war, however
Gnored and forgotten, amidst the thunder
° i Up r f Tattle, because the\ arc en
dued with the immortality of truth. Our
• winder the Constitution, slavery ex-
Sed “re Wisely the same that they;
ce P tCJ ~ A „,. r • an( | whatsoever else
r 1.
Philadelphia Convention to the people <rt
the United States, it 1» h f Uif y ingand
encouragiug that this trutl - y -
nized in that document. It aec.arc.*,
“The Government of the Ahe^sunreme
maintained bv force o£arnis iLe supreme
authority over all the territory and over
all the States and people y.ith.n
diction which the Constitution confers
upon it, but it acquired thereby no new
power, no enlarged jurisdiction, no rights,
either of territorial possession or of civil
authority, which it did not possess before
the rebellion broke out. All tharightful
power it can ever possess is that which is
conferred upon it in express terms, or by
fair and necessary implication, by the Con
stitution of tiie United States.
s *■ « a *
Neither war nor tho victory by which it
was ended changed in any way the Consti
tution of the United States.
s s a *■ *
And to-day also, precisely as before the
war, all the powers not conferred by tlie
Constitution upon the General Govern
ment, nor prohibited by it to liie States,
are reserved to the several States or to liie
people thereof.”
These are announcements of that “Ad
dress." They are significant. They are the
principles which underlie the doctrines of
98 and '99. They show how truth will crop
out. The Southern States, by the act of
secession, put in issue two questions: first,
the right to secede ; and secondly, the per
petuation yf slavery. Both have been tie
eided against us ; and we have accepted,
in good faith, the award of the sword.
With this exception, our constitutional
rights are just what they were before the
war; for it is certain that. if. in the lan
guage of that “Address." the “Govern
ment acquired no new power by the war. "
the Southern States lost none. It were
bootless to discuss these principles now. It
is a great point gained that, amid the fievy
play of the passions, a party has been or
ganized that announces them. We can
discuss, when the right of representation
shall he accorded to us, with hope of suc
cess. For the ordeal through which the
Government is now passing, will satisfy
right-minded men, in all sections, that con
stitutional liberty can be maintained only (
by a recognition of the rights and equality
of the States. Their abrogation or disre
gard means despotism—not the despotism
of a single ruler, who might be humane !
and just, but the despotism of an irrespon
sible majority. But to realize these anti
cipations, we must first be admitted to our
representation in Congress. That is tlie :
great question—the essential vital condi
tion precedent to any hope of better days
for the South. And this depends upon
the final .success of the Philadelphia move- j
ment. Let us encourage that success.
Wc owe it to frankness and candor: wo
owe it to the conservative men of the
North; we owe it to ourselves, to do justice
to the Philadelphia Convention —its reso
lutions and address. 1 regret to see that
some who opposed the Convention, and
now withhold their approval of its action,
dwell upon, and express, in the light of se
vere criticism, all that is distasteful in
language and objectionable in principle,
without also holding up for commendation
and support what is eminently acceptable
to the Southern people. This is wrong.
It can do no good at the South ; it is calcu
lated to weaken those at the North who are
engaged in the struggle to restore the
Union upon tho plan of the Administration.
But while I thus comment on this course
of the opponents of tiie proceedings ot the
Convention, itaffprds me pleasure to award
to them honest and patriotic purposes.
They are not more wrong than those who
would assign them tho position of alliance
with the Radicals. Wc must tolerate
among ourselves honest differences of
opinion. Sharing common .calamities, wc
all have a common desire to be relieved
from an unfortunate condition. Onr dif
ferences of opinion upon these topics,' do
not destroy tlie unanimity with which the
entire people of the South earnestly wish
the triumph of the Conservative party.
tVhatsoever may he objectionable in them,
both tlie Resolutions and the Address con
tain much that is true and encouraging, hut .
little in substance to condemn. They arc
sound upon the vital, practical, livingissues 1
the crisis. They assert the equality of the ■
States, the right of all to representation in
Congress, their right to “prescribe qualifi
cation for the elective franchise.” They
deny the right of the States now represent- i
ed to propose and ratify amendments to :
the Federal Constitution. All these we
can endorse, and they are all that belong j
strictly to the issue that more deeply than .
all others concerns us. They are boldly
announce 1, both in tho Resolutions and Ad- :
dress, and discussed, in tho latter with
clearness and ability. I have already
quoteda few sentences from the : ‘Address,’ ’
I will quote a few more, in order to bring
them prominently before the reader, as
worthy his approval, See how forcibly it
puts the pretensions and schemes of the
Radicals:
‘‘lt has neon proclaimed by Congress
that in addition to the powers conferred
upon it by tho Constitution, tiie Federal
Government may now proclaim over the
States and tlio territory, and tho people in
volved in tlie insurrection, the rights of
war —right of conquest and of confiscation,
the right to abrogate all existing govern
ments, institutions, and laws, and to sub
ject tile territory conquered and its in
habitants to such terms and regulations as
the legislative depart ment of the govern
ment may see tit to impose, under tlie
broad and sweeping claim tlqp the cfauso
of the Constitution which provides that no I
yiutc shall, without its consent, be deprived
of its equal suffrage in the Senate of the
United States lias boon annulled; and
States have been refused, and arc still re
fused representation altogether, in both
branches of the Federal Cougre&s; and tho
Congress in which only a part of the States
and of the people of thS Union are repre
sented lias asserted tiie right to exclude
others from representation and from all
share in making their own laws and choos
ing their own vul< r«, unless they shall
eofitpl v with such conditions and perform
smell acts as this Congress, thus composed,
may itself prescribe. That right lias not
only been asserted but, it lias been exer
cised, and is practically enforced at the
present time.”
What a graphic and vivid picture of the
designs of th.q radicals, is here drawn !
And now remember, that the “Address ’
combats all these positions, with ability
and eloquence. It argues %’,t they are
subversive of the Government and fatal to
the Union, for tho preservation of which
the war was waged. It brands them as
despotism and usurpation. And after
pressing the argument with _ irresistable
power, it concludes, that whilst it is the
unquestionable right of the people of the
United States, to change the Constitution,
yet it must be done, in tho mode which the
Constitution itnJf points out. Says the
Address s
"We deny the right of Congress to make
these changes in, the fundamental law
without the concurrence of three-fourths
of all tiie States, including especially those
to be most, seriously afl'eeted by them, or
impose them upon'States or people as con
ditions of representation or of admission
to any of the rights, duties or obligations
which belong, under tiie Constitution, to
all the States alike ; and with si ill greater
emphasis do we deny the right el any por
tion of the States, excluding the rest of the
States fio/i-q an c share in their councils, to
pj-iof sanction changes in the Consti
tution which are to affect permanently
their political relations, and control or
coerce the legitimate action of the several
members of the common. Union. Such an
exercise of power yx simply a usurpation,
just as unwarrantable when exercised by
Northern States as it would be if exercis
ed liv Southern, and not to be fortified or
palliated bv anything in the past history
either of those by whom it is attempted or
of those upon whoso rights and liberties
it is to take effect. It finds no warrant in
tiro Constitution. It is at war with the
fundamental principles of aur form of gov
ernment. If tolerated ip one instance it
becomes the precedent for future invasions i
of liberty and constitutional right, depen
dent solely upon the will of the party in
possession of power, and thus loads by
direct and necessary sequence to the most
fatal and intolerable of all tyrannies, the
tyranny of shifting and irresponsible po
litical factions. Ills against this, the most
formidable of ail the dangers which
menace the stability of free government,
that tiie Constitute nos the United States
was intended most careful',y to provide.
We demand a strict and steadfast adherence
to its provisions. In this, and in this alone,
can we find a basis of permanent union
and peace.”
Extracts similar, in spirit and sentiment
might be multiplied But those are enough
to show, that we may well afford to ac
quiesce in silence to whatsoever may be
objectionable, when the principles so es
sential and vital to us in the present crisis,
are distinctly recognized. More than this :
when such announcements are made
and a great party organized, who are
new engaged in the struggle to make them
good at the ballot box, does it become the
Southern people to damp their zeal and
weaken their moral power by fastidious
criticism ? I cannot do it. Wherein Ii
differ from the Platform and Addresse, j
I will differ in peace as with friends, and i
lock shields with t' em against the com
mon enemy. I say, God speed to the work
which was begun in Philadelphia. Every
consideration of interest and patriotism
calk upon us to aid in the work of restora
tion. We can never successfully organize
our agricultural labor ; capital will not
flow to us for the development of our un
bounded natural resources ; population
will not increase rapidly, nor prosperity
return to us. so long as the present politi
cal derangement continues. We -hall be
the helpless victims of misrule and despot
ism. The domination of the Radicals
must be broken lown or constitutional
liberty is lost and the South doomed to the
saddest fate that ever befell a civilized peo
ple. Our duty Is plain. It involves no
dishonor. It requires us to practice pa
tience, forbearance, conciliation, and resig
nation to present evils for the sake of
greater future good. e cannot expect to
have things all our own way. If wc could,
our situation were quite different. We
would wish that we were free from debt,
and that no stay law were necessary to
save the people from utter ruin. But the
war brought the one, and a sense of self-
NEW SERIES, VOL. XX V. NO. 38.
preservation, among the people, demands
the other. If we could have things all
our own way, the war had resulted dii
ferently, we would have taken our position
as an independent power, among the fam
ily of nations. But Providence qrdained
otherwise, and we must obey the irrevo
cable decree. .It is the part of wise and
liberal statesmanship to tolerate what, it
cannot prevent, and seek, bv appeal to
reason and patriotism, to mitigate what it
cannot control. To learn this, is one ot the
most valuable lessons for individual life. It
is equally so for States. It brings com
parative'happiness to both, whilst the
heart frets and chafes, under the friction
of vain resistance.
Respectfully, kc.,
Herschelj V. Johnson.
BEECHKU ON TIIE CRISIS.
Henry Ward ■icei-ner Heartily Indorses
President Jolpison’s Policy.
LETTER OF INVITATION FROM THE SPECIAL
C OMMITTEE I)l'SOl.lllKits' AND SAILORS’
CONVENTION,TO BE U£l.l> AT CLEVELAND,
OHIO, SEPTEMBER 17.
New York, August 28.
7b the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher.
Dear and Rf.veuend So: : The un
dersigned-have been appointed hy the Exe
cutive Committee of the National Conven
tion of Soldiers and Sailors who honorably :
served during the late war for the Union,
as a special committee to wait upon you,
and request your consent to serve as chap
lain of the Convention, which will be held
at Cleveland, Ohio, on the 17th inst.
m Your name- has been selected hy. tlie
Executive Committee from sincere admira
tion of your character, and as the only
tribute within their power to pay an ac
knowledgment of your noble devotion to'
the cause of the Union, and your earnest
End unceasing efforts in behalf of our
soldiers and sailors during the recent war.
The Executive Committee also find in
your course, since tho termination of the
struggle, substantial harmony with the
views to which they desire to give effect in
the Convention —your eloquence and the
jqst weight of your name being employed
to enforce upon tlie country a generous
and magnanimous policy toward the people
of the lately rebellious States, and a prompt
reconstruction of the Union undpr the
Constitution as the best means of regaining
the national tranquility which the country
so much needs, and readjusting tlie rights
of all sections, under the new order of
things, on a basis of law, order, Christian
brotherhood, and justice.
In the call for the Convention, which the
undersigned have the honor to transmit
herewith, you will see fully set forth the
motives which actuate tuo military and
naval defenders of the Union in then- pres
ent unusual course of taking payt. in a po
litical movement, and it is our hope, and
we have always looked to you in the dark
est days of tlie war for inspiration, aid, and
the cheering sympathy of a noble heart,
never failing to find them—that you will
consent to invoke the Divine blessing upon
tlie Convention of the soldiers and sailors
of the United States who served during
the late rebellion and approve the restora
tion policy of President Johnson and the
principles announced by the recent Nation
al Convention of Philadelphia—the first
Convention, since iB6O, in which all the
States ot our beloved, linion were repre
sented.
Hoping an early and favorable reply, we
have the honor to be, with very profound
respect for your character, and sincere
gratitude for your powerful and generous
efforts in behalf of the military and naval
servants of the country during the war,
Your obedient friends and servants,
Ciias. G. Halpine, Brvt. Brig. Gen.
Chairman.
11. W. Slocum, Major General,
Gordon Granger, Major General,
Committee.
Rev. Henry Ward needier’:; Reply.
Peekskill, August :io.
Charles <!. Halpine, Brent Brigadier-
General; IP. Slocum , Major-General:
Cardan Granger, Major-General —
Committee.
Gentlemen — T am obliged to you for
tlie invitation which you have made to me
to act as Chaplain to the Convention of
Sailors and Soldiers about, to convene at
Cleveland. I cannot attend it, but l hearti
ly wish it, and all other conventions, of
what party soever, success, whose object is
the restoration of all the States late in re
bellion to their federal relations.
Our theory of government haa no place
for a State except in the Union. It is ,
justly taken i'or granted that the duties and
responsibilities of a State in federal rela
tions tend to its political health, and to
that of the whole nation. Even Territories j
are hastily brought, often before the pres
cribed conditions are fulfilled, as if it, were '
dangerous to leave a community outside of
the great body politic.
_ Had the loyal Senators and Reprcsonta
tives of Tennessee been admitted at once
on the assembling of Congress, and, in
moderate succession, Arkansas, Georgia,
Alabama, North Carolina, and Virginia,
the public mind of the South would have
been far more healthy than it is, and those
States which lingered on a probation to. the
last, would have been under a more, salutary
influence to good conduct than if a dozen
armies watched over them.
Even- mofvUt that we delay this health
ful step, complicates the case. The ex
cluded population, enough unsettled before,
growjnore irritable; the army become 3
indispensable fa local government, and su
persedes it; the government at V|fishing
tor\ i; called to interfere in one and another
difficulty, and this will be done inaptly,
and sometimes with great injustice ; for
our government, wisely adapted to its own
proper functions, is utterly devoid of those
habits aud unquipped with the instruments
which fit a centralized government to ex
ercise authority in remote States over local
affairs. Every attempt to perform such
duties has resulted in mistakes which have
excited the nation. But whatever impru
dence there may lx> in tho method, the
real 1 criticism should bo against the requi
sition of such duties of the General govern
! meat.
Tim federal government is unfit to exer
cise minnor police and local govt nuuent, and
will inevitably blunder when it attemps it.
To keep a half score of States under federal
author!v, but without national ties and
responsiUliiius ; to oblige the central au
thority to govern half the territory of the
Union by federal civil officers and by the
army, is a policy not only uncongenial to
our ideas and principles, but* pre-eminent
ly clapgcwm3 to the spirit of our govern
ment. However humane die ends sought,
and the motives, it is a fact, a course of in
struction, preparing our government to be
despotic, and familiarizing the people to a
stretch of authority which can never be
other than dangerous to liberty.
I am aware that good men are withheld
from advocating the prompt and successive
admission of the exiled States by the fear,
chiefly, of its effects upon parties, and upon
the freedmen.
It is said, that if admitted to Congress,
the Southern Senators and Representatives
will coalesce with Northern Democrats,
and rule the country. Is this nation, then,
to remain dismembered to serve the ends
of' parties ? Have we learned no wisdom
by the history of the, last ten years, in
which just thi.; course of sacrificing the
nation to the exigencies of parties plunged
ns into rebellion and war?
Even admit that the power would pass
into the hands of a party made up of
Southern men, and the hitherto dis
honored aid misled Democracy of the
North, that power could r.ot )>e used just
as they {-.leased. The war has changed, not
alone institutions, but ideas The whole
country has advanced. Public sentiment
is exalted far beyond what it has been at
any former period. Anew party would,
like a river, lie obliged to saCK out its
channels, in the already existing slopes and .
i forms of the continent.
We hare entered anew era of liberty,
le of thought is fr< .
noble. ' The young men of our time arc
! regenerated. The great army lias been a
school, and hundreds of thousands oi men
are gone home to preach a truer aim
i nobler view of human rights. All tiie in
dustrial interests of society are moving
! with increasing wisdom toward intelligence
and liberty. Everywhere, in churches, in
physical industries, in social questions, as
well as in polities, the nation feels that the
winter is over, and anew spring hangs in
the horizon, and works _ through ai! the
elements. In This happily changed and
advanced cOn ftion of things, no party of
the retrograde can maintain itself. Every
thing'marches, and parties must march.
I hear with wonder and shame and scorn,
the fear of'a few, that the South is once
more in adjustment with the Federal Gov
ernment will rule this nation ! Tim North
is rich, never so rich ; the South is poor,
never before so poor. The population of
the North is nearly double that of the
South. The industry of the North, in di
versity, in forwardness and productiveness,
in all the machinery and education requir
ed for manufacturing, is half a century in
advance of the South. Churches in the
North crown every hill, and ,-ehools swarm
in every neighborhood ; while the South
lues hut scattered lights, at long distances,
like lighthouses twinkling along the edge
of a continent of darkness. In the pres
ence of such a contrast how mean and
craven is the fear that the South will rule
Hie policy of the land ! That it will have
an influence that it wjjl contribute, in
tune, most important influences or
restraints, we arc glad to believe But
it it rises at. once to the control of the Gov’
eminent it will be because the North, de
moralized by prosperity, and besotted by
groveling interests, refuses to discharge its
share of political duty. In such a case
the South not only will control the Gov
ernment, but it ought to do it.
-• It is feared, with more reason, that
the restoration of the South to her full in
dependence will lie detrimental to the
freedmen. The sooner we dismiss from
our minds the idea that the freedmen can
be classified, and separated from the white
population, and nursed and defended by
themselves, the better it will he for them
and'us. The negro is part and parcel of
Southern society. He cannot be pros
perous while it is unprospered. Its evils
will redound upon him. Its happiness and
reinvigoration cannot he kept from his
participation. The restoration of the
vfoutli to amicable relations with the North,
the reorganization of its industry, the re
in -piration of its enterprise and thrift will
all rebound to the freedmen’s benefit.
Nothing is so dangerous to flic freedmen
as an unsettled state of society in the
On him conics all the spite, and anger,
and caprice, and revenge. He will he
made the scapegoat of lawless and heart'
less men. 1 mess We turn the government
into a vast military machine, there cannot
be arms enough to protect tho freedmen
while Southern society remains insurrec
tionary. J f society is calmed,
fettled, and ocoupsPPstad soothed with new
hopes, and is prosperous, industrious, no
armies will he needed. Biots will subside,
lawless hangers on will he driven off or
better governed, and a way will be gradual
ly opened to the freedmen, through educa
tion and industry, to full citizenship, with
all its honors and duties.
Civilization is a growth. None can es
cape that forty years in the wilderness who
travel from the Egypt of ignorance to the
promised land of civilization. The freed
men must take their march. I have full
faith in the results. If they have the
stamina, to undergo the hardships which
every uncivilized people has undergone in
their upward progress, they will in due
time take their place among us. That
place cannot bo bought, nor bequeathed,
nor gained by slight of band, it will
come to sobriety, virtue, industry and fru
gality. As ihe nation cannot be sound un
til the South is prosperous, so, on the
other .extremity a healthy condition of civil
society in the South is indispensable to the
welfare of the freedmen!
liefusing to admit loyal Senators and
Representatives from the South to Con
gress will not. help the freedmen. it will
not secure for them the vote. It will not
protect them. It will not secure any
amendment of our Constitution, however
just and wise. It will only increase the
dangers and-complicate, the difficulties. —
Whether we regard the whole nation, or
any section of it or class in it, the firs.k de
mand of our time is, entire reuniov,.
Once united, we can, by schools, church
es, a free press and increasing free speech,
attack each evil and secure every good.
Meanwhile the groat chasm which rebel
lion made is not filled up. It grows deeper
and stretches wider! Out of it rise dread
spectres and threatening sounds. Let. that
gulf be closed, and bury in it slavery, sec
tional animosity, and all strifes and ba
treds ?
It is fit. that the brave men, who, on sea
and land, faced death to save the nation,
should now, by their v oice and vote, con
summate what their swords rendered pos
sible. . <
lfor the sake of the freedman, for the
sake of the South and its millions of our
fellow-countrymen, for our own sake, and
for the great cause of freedom and civiliza
tion, 1 urge the immediate reunion of all
the parts which rebellion and war have
shattered.
I am truly yours,
Ii knuV’War and Beecher.
Important to Farmers—■ Decision of the
Commissioner of Internal he venue.
The following decisions have recently
been given by the Commissioner of Inter
nal Revenue at Washington. They are
important to farmers, in so far as they un
tangle some of the knotty points of the
law: w ’
1. Farmers will not he required to make
return of produce consumed in their own
immediate families.
2. The farmers’ profits from sales of
live stock arc to be Ibuiid'by deducting
from the gross receipts for animals sold
the purchase money paid for the same.
If animals have been lost during the war
by death or robbery, the purchase money
paid for such animals may be deducted
from the gross income of tho farm.
3. No deduction can be made by the
farmer for the value of services rendered
by his minor children, whether lie actually
pays for such services or not. 1 f his adult
children work for him and receive com
pensation for their labor, they are to be
regarded as other hired laborers in de
termining his income.
-t. Money paid for labor, except such as
is used or employed in domestic service, or
in the production of articles consumed in
the family of the producer, may he de
ducted.
5. No deduction can be allowed in any
case for tlie cost of unproductive labor. If
house servants are employed a portion of
the time in productive labor, such as the
making of butter and cheese for sale, a
proportionate amount of the wages paid
thorn may be deducted.
ti. Expenses for ditching and clearing
new land are plainly expenses for perma
nent improvements, and not deducted.
7. The whole amount expended for
fertilizers applied during the year to the
farmer’s lands may be deducted, but no
deduction is allowed for fertilizers produced
on the farm. The cost of Seed purchased
for sowing and planting may be deducted.
8. If a person sells timber standing, the
profits are to be ascertained by estimating
the value of the land after the removal of
the timber, and from the sum thus obtained
deducting the estimated value of the land
on thefiist day of January, 180k’, or on
the day of purchase, if purchased since
that date.
9. Where no repairs have been made
by the tax payer upon any building owned
by him during the preceding five years,
nothing can be deducted for repairs made
during the year for which his income is es
timated.
10. A farmer should make return of all
his produce sold within the year, but a
mere executory contract for a sale is not a
sale ; delivery either actual constructive,
is essential. The criterion by which to
judge whctl ler a sale is complete or not is
to determine whether the vendor still re
tains in that character a right over the
property ; if the property were lost or
destroyed, upon which parties, in the ab
sence of any other relation between them
than that of the vender and vendee, would
the loss fail.
Give us a Better, if Tou Can.
Wiil the editors of the Augusta Consti
tutionn I ist, or Macon Citizen., who are so
supremely disgusted with the proceedings
of the late Philadelphia Convention, sug
gest some other and better plan by which
the Southern people can secure representa
tion in Congress, and their rights as citi
zen.; of the United States, than that offered
by the Philadelphia Convention? Will
the South ever secure these privileges by
standing entirely aloof from national po
litical organization? If so, how? Wi.l
she secure them by inviting such men of
the North f s Vallandigham to the feast,
and discarding all such men as Doolittle,
Cowan and Raymond? ff you honestly
entertain the opinion, gentlemen, that the
Radical party can be defeated, ( and your
and our rights be secured in Congress by
u< h a programme, we can only express
our surprise at the extent of your infatua
tion, that’s alf. Unfortunately for us, we
are in a hopeless minority, and must re
main exposed to all the indignities, insults
and injuries which the Radical party may
be disposed to visit us with, unless wc can
induce the more moderate oi' that party to
come to our assistance. We have had
persecution enough. Wo want it to stop.-
For ourselves we do not intend to invite it,
l>y persistently raising up the ghost of
dead issues, on all occasions, as the idol of
our worship, or by fretting ourselves to
death ou account of things we cannot help.
—Federal Union.
Rust—Since the recent rains rust has
vigorously attacked cotton. Much has been
ruined by this fell agent in this and ad
joining counties, and in Alabama, along
the Mobile and Girard railroad. Much cot
ton has been ruined thereby. The staple
in tills section lias been affected by almost
every ill, and the hopes of almost every
planter have been most bitterly disappoint
ed. —Columbus Sun.
The Constitutionalist says:
Letters from Southwestern Georgia give
gloomy accounts of the eotton crop. After
long suffering from drought, the recent
continuous wet weather is doing immense
damage by forcing the growth of the plant
and causing it to shed its fruit, The plan
ters are steering this year against wind and
tide, but they have the consolation of
knowing that if they make but little, it
will command a big price.