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Vi ESN t::>i> A V MORNING, JANUARY ‘23.
( tiler Justice Chase.
The remarkable fact that on all great
question.- which are submitted to the de
cision of the Supreme Court Chief Justice
Chanc i- found with the minority, is at
tracting public attention at the North.
Commenting, in a recent i-.-tie, upon this
singular foatftre in the history of .tyr.
Ch:t-e, as a Jjjdge, the Hartford Times
“'.iy ; —“Chi< r Justice Chase enjoys the,
singular and unenviable distinction of be
ing the only Chief Justice whose opinion,
on every important question adjudicated,
is regularly overridden* by the Supreme
Court, Hi opinion is always a dissenting
opinion. To the scries of decisions made
by that illustrious body in which the Chief
Justice has successively and disreputably
figured in the minority—a minority con
sisting sometimes of himself alone —has
ju t Ir en added the great and crowning
re. ult in the Milligan case, a decision by
which the military trials and arbitary ar
rv.-ts, as well as some other enormities
growing out of Republican party rule
during the last six years, are shown to he
in flagrant violation of the organic law.
And now we have‘another decision from
the same high tribunal in the matter of
the Bank tax ; and here, too, we find the
Chief Justice left nearly alone in a dissent
ing minority.
This is a singular position for a Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court of the Unit
ed Slates. It is not the record of the il
lustrious men who have preceded him in
that high office. Then were jurists, gen
erally speaking, of Such acknowlcged
weight and purity of character, and such
miqii tionablc ability, as 10 command the
• ntirc respect of the Bench, and to in
. ure the support of a majority of its mem
ber.-. in any important decision. Can it be
that Justice Chase is less able intellectually
than any of his predecessors?—that he
po e e,i je s judicial discernment? — that
he, in a word, so lacks the essential first
qualifications for a position on the bench
of the Court, that his fellow-Judges have
no respect for .his opinions? We cannot
believe it. Mr. (,'base, whatever else may
he his shortcomings, has never been ac
cu-i'd of a lack of a fair share of ability.
I’crliaps it is not too much to say that lie
is not surpassed in this respect by any
member of his party. What then, is the
cause of his disreputable showing in every
important case on which the Court is called
to act? IBs fellow Judges are all, with
one exception, Northern men. A majori
ty of them are the appointees of Abraham
Lincoln. Vet on their sworn oaths, in the
discharge of their high duty as .Judges in
a tribunal whose decisions have long en
joyed a world wide repute no less for their
ability than fur their unquestioned integrity
and superiority to nil improper influences,
these Judges, so appointed, cannot on
many important questions go with their
Chief. He is regularly left to dissent —and
to die. ul, ‘it is proper to add, in favor of
the radicalism of the da;/, which his fellow-
Jml; , members though they are*of the
same party, find it impossible to uphold
when it comes to a decision on their oaths
as members of the Supreme'Court Docs
Trior* 3s If the Chief Justice were (tit fitt
ing more of the next Presidential election
than of his high and binding official oath ?
We fear so. But what a commentary does
the fact involve 1 What a commentary on
the real character ot radicalism and its
measures!”
Tlii> Stave Business—lts I’rollts, 4c.
Now that the cultivation of cotton in the
Southern States has received its death blow
from the freedom shrickers of the North,
it becomes imperative upon the people of
the South that they should seek some oth
er source of wealth'than that, which, by the
use of slave labor they have heretofore
found remunerative and profitable.
We have great reason to be thankful
that this favored region possesses other
resources than those which follow the cul
tivation of the soil. The large and exten
sive forests of yellow [line timber, w hich
cover that portion of the State between
the Savannah and Chattahoochee, extend
ing from the seaboard more thain one hun
dred miles in the interior, contains an
amount of wealth which can hardly be
computed. All that is needed to bring
these vast supplies of timber into market
is the proper quantity of-labor, with the
necessary amount of intelligence and ener
gy to direct and control it
Connected with timber business, and
forming a most lucrative branch of it, is
the production of staves. Wo know that
our forests and swamps abound in the
finest quality if oak for the production of
a[l varieties of staves, and we have often
wondered why so little attention was paid
by die Southern people to this branch of
industry.
Large fortunes have been realized from
staves made from timber in the Dismal
Swamp in Viraluia. Here the business
has been so profitable as to justify the'
op. iiing of an endless number of ditches
through the swamp, by means of which
the stave timber is brought from the inte
rior of the swamp and landed oil the banks
of the canal, which is cut through its entire
length, from Iks p Creek, near Norfolk, to
South Mills, on the I’asquatank river, a
distance of thirty-eight miles. The expense
incurred in opening these ditches, or small
canals, is amply repaid by the facilities
afforded for getting at the timber in the
heart of the swamp, and from thence get
ting it cheaply to market in the shape of
staves. Wo can see no reason why we
oanne : make large profits from this business
in Georgia, where our navigable rivers and
large creeks afford ample and cheap means
of transportation to market. The oak
timber which grows in great abundance in
the swamps bordering upon all our large
streams, is easily accessible at least for
more than nine months in the year, and it
can be transported on wheels to the
streams, without the trouble even of de
voting much laborer expense to the making
o*’ roads. In the Dismal Swamp, where
this business is so extensively carried on,
wheels cannot be used, aud the staves have
to be carried by the hands engaged in the
work, aud deposited on the banks of the
ditches, to l>o thence taken off in small
canoes and flats made for the purpose.
All this expense is saved by the stave
getters in our State, and the amount thus
saved can be added to the profits of the
business. We Lave before us, taken from
the Richmond 117,5/. some valuable in
structions as to the method of riving the
different kinds of staves, and the prices at
which they are now sold iu the principal
Northern markets aud iu New Orleans,
which we think will be found of general
interest at this time.
11/io Oik Stairs. — All white oak
stave - should be about one inch thick, and
must not be less than three-fourths of an
inch in any place. Any excess of thickness
over an inch is not desirable. They should
be about three aud a half inches wide—
wider preferred—but they must not be
less at any j,lace titan three inches wide,
and all heart. Heading must boos white
oak, one inch thick, five inches or upwards
wide, but must not be less thau five inches
in any part.
Darrel staves must be full 32 indies long.
Hogs'd “ “ “ 42 “
Ripe ‘j. 54 “ “
Headings should be '26, 30 and 32 inches i
long, with a due proportion of pieces of j
each length.
The staves should be straight, square I
edges, moderately dressed with the draw- '
ing-knife, rived with the grain, split to :
run from the bark to the centre, and not
slabbed off; sound wood, free of sap. de
fects or bad knots. -
lied pak Slave.;. —Red oak hogshead !
! staves must be full 42 inches long, and :
with the <*ap, about four inches: wide, (but
not less than three inches and a- half fn
! any part) and about one inch thick. lUd j
! oak all heart may pass at three inches |
wide. All kinds of oak with sap upon
1 them are classed as red oak. it is recoin- I
i mended in sawing off longs, to lay off
! lengths one or two inches longer than the
: law requires, to allow for the run of the j
! saw.
i Particularly must it be remembered in j
| riving the staves, that they are not to be j
i slabbed. 'Hie grain of the wood runs from
j the bark to the centre of the block, as the I
| spokes of a wheel run from the felloes to j
j the hub, and the riving must be done in
that direction ; otherwise the staves will be
; valuless. The stave business is ' much |
j more easily carried on than the lumber [
business, for less machinery is required,
and moreover staves are more easily han
dled, and hence the work can be done in j
spots where cutting lumber would be im- '
possible. People embarking for the first
time in the business would do well to hire,
at first, an experienced hand as instructor, j
| and such can be had iri North Carolina, in j
; the neighborhood of the Roanoke river
j and tributaries, in Southampton county, |
; near the Chowan, and in Norfolk and
j thereabouts.
The transportation of staves per thous
-1 and costs about what 1,100 feet of luin
j her would.
We notice that in Baltimore, some short
time since, white oak hogshead .staves 42
I inches long, 4 j inches wide and 1 \ inches
! thick, were worth sllO to slls per
I thousand, and white oak hogshead staves
| 44 inches long, 3 inches wide and J inch
j thick were worth $55 to SOO.
j The prices of staves in New Orleans arc,
| per 1000—white oak, pipe culled, slls to
$l2O ; white oak hogshead culled, SIOO to
I sllO ; French butts, SIOO to sllO.
Judge of the Middle District.
The returns received at Milledgeville,
of the election recently held in this Dis
trict lor Judge of the Superior Court,
show that Judge Gibson leads his opponent
37 votes, with the counties of Emanuel
and Columbia yet to hear from. In the
former we have the information that Gib
son had 15 majority, and in the latter 29.
This would make Judge Gibson’s majority
in the District 81 votes, and we think there
will be very little change from these
figures.
The Deposition of the President—The
Impeach men!—Jhe Supreme Court.
The Radicals in Congress begin to shrink
from their own programme, that is, the
seizure of the Executive Department by,
or through some Senator. It begins to bo
obvious that this can he brought about only
by the bayonet, and civil war, with an
utter destruction of Bureaus, Commerce,
and Capital, pending the strife. The depo
sition by force, of a King, is a very serious
matter, and always breeds revolution,
while the deposition of a people-chosen
President, for mere party purposes, and
only by a party, becomes a much more
serious matter.
The Supreme Court is now about as
much in the way of the Radicals as the
Executive Department of the Government.
They uphold law, and to uphold law is a
Radical crime. The programme now, for
the overthrow of this Court, is reported to
be —
“By the passage of an act defining the
nnmnorof judges, eompetentto pronounce
a law of Congress un constitutional. This
power to declare what number of judges
shall constitute a quorum exists in Con
| gress, and the proposed measure would
| seem tf> boos an analogous character.”
; The defect of the programme, is, that
[the Judges would pronounce such an act
; unconstitutional, and while the President
j lives, he will execute their decisions as law.
I Hence, there is no help for Radicalism,
I short of Revolution itself, and then, if they
! can fight well enough, they can free them
| selves from both the Executive andJudi
: oial Departments of the Government,
which certainly are very much in the way
| of their conspiracy to seize, the Executive
; and Judiciary Departments, and make
I some Senator like Wade or Chandler,
King, Emperor, Czar, or Sultan, in this
j Government. — N. Y. Express.
More Railroads.
Anew and important railroad extension
is talked of. The lines of railroad from
Norfolk and Richmond, South, we under
stand, want to extend the Wilmington ,fc
Manchester Railroad Southwest to Milieu;
or, to express it more definitely, they wish
to use tlie South Carolina Railroad to
Rranehvillo, and then cut across to Milieu
on the Georgia Central Railroad, thus se
curing an independent passenger train to
Macon, Columbus and Central Alabama.
In this connection we may also mention
that the Warrcnton branch of the Georgia
Railroad is being pushed forward rapidly,
and by next fall it is hoped the ears will
be running to Milledgeville, and soon af
ter to Macon. Judge King, of Augusta,
the projector of this important connection
for Charleston, is earnestly at work, we are
glad to learn; and we think we may rea
sonably hope to have some Macon cotton
on our wharves before lst’>7 shall have
closed.
We copy the foregoing from the Charles
ton Niirs. We have seen similar state
ments ‘‘going the rounds’’ in other papers.
We know nothing of the projected road
from Rranchville to Milieu ; but can safely
assert that this project as yet. unlocated,
and without charter, will not be built so
long as Railroad bonds press upon the
market so heavily. \\ e are advised that
the Milledgeville Railroad is making good
progress—that the cars will be running to
Milledgeville this summer. This Railroad
connection will be urged to an early com
pletion.
The Charleston Mercury complains of!
the hard fate of South Carolina compared
with other States. The efforts made since
the war to recover her lost position have
been attended with "some little success.”
The writer says :
Not nearly as much has been accom
plished iu Charleston in the work of resto
ration and renovation as has been done in
Savannah, Atlanta, and other cities in tbo
South. Atlanta is now larger and has bet
ter prospects of financial prosperity than
she had at the commencement of the late
war. Savannah is the scene of continued
bustle and activity. Her merchants are
doing a thriving business, and the whole
city is instinct with life aud activity. At
lanta and Savannah have generally been
built up by Northern capital, that capital
which Charleston has not been able to
claim.
The Alta California a advises that young
men should give their attention to ac
quiring the Asiatic languages :
Our port, says the Alta, is destined to
bo the emporium for the products of the
Eastern hemisphere. China. Japan, and
British India ultimately, will send their
productions to us. to be by us in turn sent
across the continent by the Pacific Rail
way to the Atlantic ports. A line of
steamers is at the present moment being
laid down, and soon a permanent and con
stant communication will be opened up.
Persons skilled in Chinese. Ac., will be in
| demand : interpreters and supercargoes
j proficient in their knowledge ot the Asiatic
| languages will be asked for.
The man Osterhaut, whose contribution
to Gen. Irpinuer s "conscience fund” was
j noticed last week, turns out to be a hutn
! bug as well as a confessed swindler, his
■ chock on presentation proving worthless.
I The Treasury detectives are on the track,
however, and Gen. Spinner says he in
; tends to make him pay the S3OO which,
| according to his own statement, he has
| swindled the government out of.
LETTER FROM BRAZIL.
Correspondence Chronicle and Sentinel
Sax Paulo City, Brazil, I
November 3, 1 &66. )
Messrs. Editors'-. As you are aware I
have never been hopeful as to the pros
perity of the South in the -future. I have
no faith either in the sagacity or common
sense of those tvho hold power at the
N < >rth ; and still less faith in the stability
ot that government which is called “the
best the world ever saw, ’ ’ and ruled by
parties whose oniy cement is “the cohesive
fiower of public plunder.” Influenced' by
the belief that for many years to come
there would be no security for property
of riouthrensny reason of Radical legisla
tion, I determined to emigrate. The
letters of Messrs. Merriweather and Shaw,
which met my eye in the columns of the
Chronicle and ’ Sentinel, induced me to
think of Brazil, and I decided in October
last to visit this country, with the inten
tion of making it the future home of myself
and family, if pleased with appearance
and prospects. It was not, however,
without many painful regrets that I took
leave of‘‘old Georgia”—God bless the old
State—from the deck of the steamship as
she glided adown the river from Savannah
to Tybee. A run of seventy hours landed
us in New Turk. The next morning saw
us aboard the Brazilian steamer, and on
the twenty-seventh day thereafter, found
us burring up from the quay to the hotel
in the city of Rio Janeiro.
Our party con.-isted of' seven Southern
ers, several of whom had visited this em- j
pire twelve months before, and were now i
en route as settlers an<l_ citizens. We re
mained one week in Rio, perfecting our
arrangements to avail ourselves of those
facilities which this government extends to
emigrants. Transportation was given us by
the Brazilian Government. On the morn- 1
ing of the eighth day we left by steamer
for Santo.?, which is the seaport town of
this province—San Paulo. From Santos
we were conveyed by rail to this place—
San Paulo City—distance forty miles. Here
the President of the province resides, and
from him we obtained letters and trans
portation for the interior. Again taking
the railway cars, Ave were speedily put
down atits terminus —Jundaihy. Herewe
procured mules, a guide and an interpreter,
and were fortunate in being joined by
Major Merri weather, of South Carolina.
From Jundaihy we traveled on mules,
twenty-five miles, to Campeinas. The
railroad is now progressing to this place.
There are no good farming lands on the j
railroad. Eight miles from Campeinas
the traveler enters the fine
COFFEE COUNTRY,
and will see thousands of acres coy- j
ered by coffee plants. The coffee trees can
only be grown on rich, elevated land.
The coffee plantation presents a magnifi j
cent sight. It wearing at first the appear
ance of very luxuriant cotton. The trees j
are from six to twelve feet high, and plant- i
ed in rows, like an orchard ten feet apart.
The rows are very straight and frequently
a mile long. Now as each tree produces
coffee to the value of 25 to 35 cents, and
every acre will contain about five hundred
trees, you will perceive that the yield will
be from $125 to $175 per annum —a very
good business. The coffee tree bears well
for forty years, and requires very little eul- j
tivation. Coffee lands are held at a very j
high price; indeed they can hardly be j
bought at any price. It is only lauds pos
sessing certain qualities of soil and ele
vated that will produce coffee profitably.
There is a good deal of care, trouble and
expense required to prepare coffee for ;
market. On large plantations they use j
very expensive machinery. After the cos- j
fee is prepared it is transported to market
in packs on mules. Indeed the pack mule
is the usual transportation for all agricul
tural products, and the traveler meets con
stantly large numbers of these laden with
coffee, sugar, cotton and tobacco. They
present a very singular appearance to the
stranger when looked at- from a distance, i
Each mule carries a pack saddle, which j
hangs from the middle of the mules back,
and has a sack or bag on each flank con
taining coffee or sugar or cotton, of the j
weight of one hundred and twelve pounds.
Over the whole is spread a raw hide,
firmly lashed by a strap or surcingle to pro
tect the pack from rain. You will see
hundreds of mules thus loaded —traveling
in loug trains, in single file. The animals
are generally of a superior land and Fat
A days’ journey is usually twelve miles,
when a halt is called and the mules un
laden and let loose to graze. The cost of
transportation by this method is one cent
per pound per mile, estimated in specie
currency. The season for blooming was
just over when we arrived, else we would
have seen King Coffee in all of his glory ;
for King he is indisputably, of this Empire,
and Doui Pedro, the Emperor, acknowledges
his sovereignty. Coffee is the universal
drink of the country. The following is
their
MODE OF PREPARATION.
For each cup of the size of our tea cups
to be made, they measure a table spoonful
of ground coffee parched to the color of a
ripe chesnut. This is placed in a gauze
bag within the coffee-pot, and boiling hot
water is poured upon it. There are no
“grounds” in the decoction ; and it is so
strong that it always leaves a brown stain up
on the white china cup. I think it so strong
as to merit the name of tincture of coffee.
The Brazilians never put milk into their
coffee as they think that milk injures the
properties of the decoction; and it is never
drank until the close ot the, meal. Usually
it is never brought to the table until every
thing else is removed.
THE MULES
of this country arc unusually fine, and j
command from one to two hundred dollars,
according to size and quality. The best ;
are used for the saddle. Horses are much
cheaper, and mares command only from
five to twenty dollars apiece, and are never I
used for the saddle.
BRAZILIAN FARMER.
The Brazilian is, generally, a miserable
farmer in everything else than that which
relates to the growth of coffee. The Cam- j
penas lands are very fine, but nearly all of
them have been cleared after the Brazilian
style. Let me describe to you their method :
of clearing and planting : The forest is cut
down ; the trees and bushes are not cut up,
but are suffered to lie as they fall until the
leaves and wood become sufficiently dry.
The torch is then applied. Whatever is
not burned is permitted to remain. Holes
are made among half charred logs and
unburnt bushes, into which they put the
seed, corn, cotton, Ac. The planting is
made immediately after the burning. The
plants, therefore, get a little the start in
growth ahead of the bushes, ami this is all
the cultivation the crop gets. They plant
one piece ofland two years in succession, and
as there are no frosts to check vegetation,
at the close of the second year thebushes and
weeds have complete possession of the soil,
ami the land is abandoned. Strange as it
will sound to you, it is nevertheless true,
these farmers make fifty bushels of corn to
the acre, cultivating it in this rude way.
Under this system of cutting down the for
est, and then “turning it” out after the
lapse of two years (aud very frequently one)
avast region has been robbed of timber, but
the lands lor farming purposes remains
uninjured. This system has wasted the
timber to such a degree that there is none
' left that is suitable for fencing, recourse
• is therefore, had to a system of ditching to
keep the cattle from the fields.
AN AMERICAN SETTLEMENT.
This section which is just beyond the
coffee region, is only thirty-two miles from
the place from which I write, and in all
probability will be selected to forma nu
cleus for an American settlement. (All who
come from the United States, are called
Americans.) The Railroad will certainly
be extended to it. in a very short time.
The lands are two low for coffee, and
therefore can be bought for less than five
dollars per acre, and with proper cultiva
tion, in my judgment, can be made to
yield a bale of cotton or seventy-five bush
els of corn per acre.
THE HOUSES
are built of dried clay, and covered with
tiled roofs. When plastered, they look as
well as brick, and the inside walls can be
made neat and comfortable by wall paper.
Owing to the scarcity of plank, the floors
of the houses are usually of clay, a few
paved with brick. None of the houses
have chimneys: a kitchen is something
unknown—the cooking being done in one
of the rooms of the dwelling. Seated in
the parlor, you will see the smoke circu
lating overhead in its endeavors to make
its escape through the crevice ot the root.
As they have no pine wood to be used as
fuel, they are not annoyed by soot. There
is nothing, perhaps, that would convey to
you a more correct impression of the Bra
zilian farmer than the description ot their
houses and mode of living. During our
journey, at the approach of night, after a
day of fatigue, we saw a large white house
looming up in the distance. It was the
most imposing edifice we had seen, and it
was evident that the proprietor was a man
of wealth and influence. Our interpreter
was dispatched to ascertain if we would be
allowed quarters for the night. With a
hospitality characteristic of the Brazilians,
the reply came "that the proprietor’s fas
enda was with pleasure at our service.” Up
. on entering the parlor, the first object that
, attracted the eye was a large cotton gin
AUGUSTA, GA., WEDNESDAY MORNING, JANUARY 23, 1567.
which was in motion, being turned hy
; means of a large wheel. The room ad
joining was used as a cooking room, and a
, large fire, built upon the dirt floor, blazed
in the centre, and making the whole house
redolent with the fames of broilingjjneat
' and burnt farhma , which was being p’.u
--i pared by three large negresses and several
; pickaninnies. Cooking here is horrible—
Dearly universally so. heat bread is
never Seen.* Corn, pounded as fine as
flour—called farhina —Ls served in a dish,
as a of baked mush. Anot her meal—
pounded from the plant mandioca—made
aaJscored ia the same manner, is quite pal
atable. A bean, called the fiershem , which
iri truth resembles closely our speckled
pea, is always found upon the table, and
usually mixed with farhirui , as wc mix
peas and rice, constitutes their bread.
Rice is always to be found on the table,
but miserably prepared—soft, mush-like,
and glutinous. They have fresh meats in
, abundance, but salt meats are never seen.
There are an abundance of poultry of all
descriptions. Swc-et potatoes abound, hut
are never .seen on the table. The negroes
about the table are disgustingly, filthy. A
sea-coast negro, that never makes a change
in clothes for two or three weeks, would be
a lair representation of the class of ser
vants to be found in the country, whether
slave or free. Seeing such servants for
cooks, &c., you will readily understand that
my diet has been confined to boiled eggs,
oranges, banannas, &e. They have only
two meals during the day—breakfest
(olmoco) at 10 o’clock in the morning, and ,
dinner (jantar ) at 4 o'clock in the after
noon/ It is my candid opinion that they
could not muster energy or enteprise
enough to cook more than two meals per
day, even in the style they serve it, they
are so miserably slow.
They usually have some kind of desert ■
for dinner, and at one or two of the rich j
coffee fazendas, after the Desert, they had 1
lye-hominy without salt, and Pop-corn!
1 do not wish to make sport of their taste,
for they are the kindest and most hospita
ble people in the world. They would do
better if they knew how. Say they would
like to have us settle amongst them and j
show them how to farm, Ac.; hut I fancy
they would be much like the sow that was |
washed.
THE COUNTRY WOMEN
are complete blanks, they never appear
at the table. In the country thev have !
one unvarying style of dress, which is a
chemise pretty low in the neck, and a
skirt of calico. They do not wear bonnets
except while riding out on horse back. In
going through the .streets they have a
piece of cloth like a shawl, which they
throw over their heads. Some few of the
ladies ride side ways, but whether from
fear of sliding off while ascending hills or
from choice, most of the country ladies
(I mean in the interior) prefer the Adamic
style. I met an old lady a few days ago,
who probably weighed two hundred, sit
ting oil a fine horse astraddle, and looked
as jolly as you please.
McTyre.
The President’s Veto ami the Question
of Impeachment.
The New York papers are divided in
their opinions of the President’s veto of
the Negro Suffrage Bill for the District,
but unanimously condemn Mr. Ashley’s
impeachment bill. Os the veto the World
says:
The President rests his veto on very
strong arguinental grounds. Like his an
nual message, it is written with great clear
ness and dignity. Avoiding everything
narrow and technical, everything like a
cavil or a quibble, it reasons from broad, j
general principles and the f.vital spirit of
our institutions.
The Herald says: “This veto we hold
to be well grounded upon the question of
the propriety and expediency of the meas
ure, under all the circumstances, but
beyond this we think the President, not
withstanding the earnest, respectful and
dignified tone of his message, has entered
into a tilt with Congress which contributes
nothing to strengthen his case. The bill
will doubtless be passed into a law over
his veto, and then from its practical work
ing we my expect soon some convincing
evidence of the necessity for its modifica
tion.”
The. Times says: .“The right to veto is
as valia as tne right or Congress to pass
the bill over the veto, and no more so. The
debatable part of the question relates to.
the arguments by which the position of
each is upheld. And wc apprehend that
in this case the popular judgment will be
on the side of Congress, and against the
President. ’ ’
The Tribune says: “On tho whole this
seems the least plausible veto message we
ever read.”
On the question of impeachment the
World is silent. The Times says: “There
is no doubt that it would deeply excite the
country, and that, under present circum
stances, it would grievously injure its best
interests in a hundred ways. Its most
immediate effect would, doubtless, be felt
upon the public credit and in our national
finances. The formal charges that the
parties propose to prefer against President
Johnson in their articles of impeachment
are no more than those with which we
have become familiar from the speeches of
his assailants. Nearly all of them would
be dismissed at once by any court, and if
they ever come before such a body as the
Senate, we have no doubt of the disposi
tion that will be made of them.”
The Herald says : “The 'high crimes
and misdemeanors” of which Mr. John
son has been guilty have been a common
thing with all his predecessors as party
leaders, from General Jackson down to
poor Fierce and Buchanan, to say nothing
of the lamented Lincoln. In this situation
of affairs, it appears to us that if the im
peachment movement be followed up to
its legal conclusion, it will be productive
of a mischievous confusion in our political
parties, a serious panic and derangement
in our financial affairs, and needless and
damaging delays on those practical meas
ures of legislation demanded to meet the
general interests and wants of the coun
try.”
The Tribune, after arguing a number of
points, showing the utter impracticability
and folly of the proposed measure, says :
We do not say that a President should
not be impeached. We by no means say
that Mr. Johnson should not be impeach
ed. That would be to take judgment into
our own bands. We think this Adminis
tration has been a calamity—a disgrace—
the cause of many evils to the country. We
should like some redress. But how is it
to be bad ? Iu attempting to remove these
evils, may we not fly to others that we
know not of? May we not put a prece
dent upon our statute books which will
give any Democratic majority of the
Senate and House in future years the
right to revolutionize the Government in
the interest of slavery ? Let us walk
slowly, and survey the ground as wc go.
Let us not lay violent hands upon the Ex
ecutive office until we find that no other
course remains for the honor of the nation.
Perhaps wo are wrong ; but it does not
seem to us that the time for the sterner
alternative has come.
[From the Atlanta New Era.]
General G. T. Beauregard.
We doubt if there is an individual in the
South who credited the statements recent
ly made in the New York Herald in re
gard to a speech which was reported to
have been made by General Beauregard at
Canton. The report was so inconsistent
with our understanding of his character
and principles, that we doubted not for an
instant that the whole affair was a fabrica
tion. , , , , ,
We are glad to-day to be able to publish
what General Beauregard thinks and feels
in regard to politics and the ‘ ‘ Amend
ment.” We are sure that no one can
doubt his standing after reading it. We
append his flat denial of all that has bfeen
attributed to him by the facetious Herald.
New Orleans, January 9, 1567.
Samuel Bard. Esq., Editor Daily New
Era, Atlanta, Ga.
Dear Sir : Your favor of the sth inst.
has been received, accompanying the num
ber of your paper of the same date, con
taining' an article of the New York Herald,
headed "The Congressional Southern Ex :
cursiou—General Beauregard's Speech.’
The Herald is mistaken, in saying that L
made a speech to the Excursionists at
Canton, a made none to them there or
elsewhere, but I conversed with them
free and openly, and told them that the
South had fought the North so desperately
because it was defending what it conceived
to be its Constitutional right—that having
appealed, however, to the arbitration
of arms, it yielded to the decision
which was given against it, and I believe
that the people of the South were now
willing to accept the Constitution as made
by the war and understood by the Supreme
: Court of the United States. I said also,
that, in mv opinion, the question of seces
sion and slavery were forever settled, and
that, so far as I was concerned, under no
circumstances would I countenance any
effort to revive them: that we tuust now
direct our energies and cur vitality to re—
i pairing tlie damages ot the war, and re
i storing to our homes some ot those coin*
* forte and that prosperity which thqy for
merly enjoyed.
•In answer to the question of some of the
excursionists, if I thouglit the South would
J accept the Constitutionjil Amendments ?
I replied, that eschewing politics, and at
tending strictly to my private business,
and the duties of my position, I had little
I opportunity, except through the news. 1
papers, to ascertain public sentiment on
that subject; hut ifithey dtMred to know
my individual opinion, I would say. that
the South icoulf not and shmdd not accept \
thtsq amendments, even if presented as a j
finality, for its interests, and its mSohood I
forbade it'. That we feel that we are now
at the mercy of the North, but that the j
South would never do anything which its j
honor could hot approve to protect its iri
terests ; and' that I behoved we would j
remain passive pectafors of ihq struggle I
for power, now going on at the North,
relying on the “sober, second thought,” j
and sense of justice of both parties to pro
tect us. ,
I added, also, that at the still of the Con
federacy, instead efgoing to a foreign coun
try to swear allegiance torite Government,
I preferred remaining in* my own and
swearing allegiance to, what I .conceived j
to be its new Government. If in conver
sation with the excursionists, I used the
words “consolidated Government.” when
speaking of the UnitedStajjdS Government, '
I meant of course, a Common Federal,
National Government, operating under a
Constitution as interpreted by the Su-,
preme Court of the United States. *
1 remain, yoms ' -ry truly
G. ’f. B Vi:REGARD.
Tlic Democracy of Connecticut In Coun
cil.
The Democracy of Connecticut have re
cently held a State Convention, to take into
consideration the present alarming con
dition of our national affairs, and to organ
ize for the overthrow of the Radical Dis
tructionists now in possession of the legis
lative department of the Federal Govern
ment.
The meeting was held in New Haven on
the Bth inst., and is represented to have
been one of the largest and most intelligent
assemblages ever convened in the State.
More than fifteen hundred delegates were
present, representing all the different inter
ests and sections of the entire State.
Several distinguished statesmen from
other States were present, among whom we
notice the name of the Hon. James Brooks,
of New York, who made an eloquent and
patriotic appeal to the people of the North
to step promptly forward and rescue the
country from the hands of the Revolution
ists, who seem determined to tear down the
fair Temple of Liberty, erected by our
fathers.
The following preamble and resolutions
wore unanimously adopted:
RESOLUTIONS.
Whereas, It becomes a free and intelli
gent people, justly jealous of their rights
and liberties, to * frankly and fearlessly
assert their views upon all great and im
portant public questions; and
Whereas, When armed resistance to
the authority of the United States ceased,
each of the several States that had been in
antagonism to the Government became, by
tiie inherent force of tiie Constitution and
tlie fundamental principles upon which our
system of government is based, reinstated
and restored to all their rights and privi
leges; and
Whereas, The President of the United
States, by virtue of tiie authority vested in
him by the Constitution of the United
States and the laws in pursuance thereof,
issued his proclamation declaring the war
at an end ; and
Whereas, r Tho Congress of tho United
States demanded and accepted from said
States the exercise of one of the highest
duties devolving upon States, to-wit, an
alteration of and amendment to the Consti
tution of the United States; and
Whereas, The Supreme CoTtrt of the
United States has declared, “That if mili
tary government is continued after the
Courts are reinstated, it is a gross usurpa
tion of power. Martial rule can never
exist where tiie Courts are open and in the
proper and unobstructed exercise of their
j urisdiotion.” Therefore,
llesolved, That each and all of tiie States
that were arrayed in armed onnoaiUpn,,to .
the authority'oi me s.ot. yOWMMP
United States, having ceased 'sum opposi
tion, are now entitled to representation in
tho Congress of the United States, and to
all other rights and privileges appertaining
to the States of tho Union.
llesolved , That the Congress of the Uni
ted States, in its persistent exclusion of
the Senators and Representatives of said
States; in its open and avowed determina
tion to destroy tho organization and sub
vert tho authorities of said States, violates
and undermines the Constitution of the
United States, attacks the very principles
that lie at the foundation of our system of
Government, and strikes a fata! blow at
the financial, commercial! and industrial
interests of the entire people of the Union.
Resolved , That the Congress of the
United States, in all its legislation; in its
act levying internal taxes upon all the
States, including the said States expressly
by name : in its act prescribing the num
ber of Representatives in Congress'for all
the States; in its act in submitting the
Constitutional Amendment abolishing
slavery, to all the States ; iri its act of last
session, submitting another proposed Con
j stitutional Amendment to all tho States ;
in its joint resolution, passed with almost
: entire unanimity, declaring the object of
! the war to be “to defend and maintain the
supremacy of the Constitution, and to pre
| serve the Union with all the dignity,
equality, and rights of tho several States
unimpaired,” and in other acts, has uni
■ formly, from the commencement of the
civil war to tho present time, in tho most
j deliberate manner, recognized said States
| as existing States, and as States in the
I Union.
j Resolved , That the Executive Depart -
j ment of the United States, by its procla
mations, its administrative action, and in
its diplomatic intercourse with foreign
j Powers, lias uniformly recognized all the
j said States as existing States in the Union.
Resolved, That the .Judicial Department
J of the United States, including the Su
j premo Court at Washington, the Circuit
Courts in the several circuits, and the
District Courts in their respective districts
j has uniformly recognized tho States as
! existing States, and as States in the Un
i ion.
lie-solved, That this repeated recognition i
of said States as existing States, and as j
States iu the Union, by the Executive, j
judicial and legislative departments of the j
Government, leaves no question that the !
exclusion of these States from Congress, |
governing them and taxing them without ;
representation, is not only a violation of
the Federal Constitution in its most essen
tial part, and tyranny as defined by the
Declaration of Independence, but a most
flagrant breach of public faith, alike pre
judicial to the best interests and to the
honor of the country.
Resolved, That in the Supreme Court of
the United States, wo possess a tribunal
that may be justly termed the bulwark of
republican liberty, and, in the lauguage of
its eminent jurists,
“ The Constitution of the United States
is law for rulers and people, equally in
war and in peace, and covers with its
shield of protection all classes of men
under all circumstances. * * * *
No doctrine involving more pernicious
consequences was ever invented by the
wit of mau, than that any of its provisions
can be suspended during any of the great
exigences of government. Such a doctrine
leads directly to anarchy or despotism.
But the theory of necessity, upon which
this is based, is false, for the Government
within the Constitution has the powers
granted to it which are necessary to pre
serve its existence.”
Thus, the Supreme Court of the United
States in ISGG, vindicates and sustains the !
positions assumed and announced by the !
Democracy of Connecticut, in convention, j
in 1863.
Resolved, That after solemn deliberation
it is the opinion of this convention that the
suggestion of our conservative brethren of i
Kentucky, that a Convention of the De
mocracy and all Constitutional Union !
men of' the thirty-six States should be ;
called without defay by the National De- j
mocratic Committee ; and we respectfully i
suggest that said Convention meet in the i
cityfof New York on the 4th day of March
next, to advise and counsel upon the great
questions that now agitate the public I
mind; to protest against the revolutionary i
and unconstitutional acts of the present
majority of Congres; to announce the do- j
termination of the conservative men of the 1
; Union; to resist and oppose by constitu- :
; tional exercise of power the disorganization j
; of States and the destruction of State au- j
j thority.
Resolved, That the thanks of every pat- ;
riotie citizen are eminently due the j
President of the United for his repeated
exercise of the Executive power in behalf
' of the Constitution and the rights of the
1 States ; and we pledge to him our support
in all his future efforts to the same noble
end.
Veteran Editors. — The Louisville
Journal has been published tor thirty-six
years, and the Boston E "for thirty-four
years ; and it ts said the editors who con
trolled their columns a. the beginning—
Prentice and Green, both eminent wits —
occupy the same positions how. There
are few American editors wno can point
; to so long and! so successful a career.
Personal.— John R. Thompson, ofVir
irioia, who spent some tune in Lngland
during the late war.:has accepted the in
viafe u of a number of the leading citi
zens of Louisville, Ky.. to deliver a lecture
in that fitv on the 14th inst, Ihe subject
will be “Mr. Buli at Home, or Character
i Lties of the English people.
OLE WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENCE.
The President at the Democratic Banquet —
Disappointment of the Radicals—lm
peachnu.nl not to be Carried into Effect —
Aegro Suffrage an Institution —A
Whit&Hhper Smoothing it ovci — South
* cm Radicals —A Democratic vote in
• favor of Radical Resolutions —Butters
J yga ries — Sena taria l Changes—Fin an -
cial Changes , etc., etc.
j Washington, January 9, 1567.
, The Radicals are very much disappoint
j ed that the President did not make au ex-
I tended speech at the Democratic banquet
\ held at the National Hotel last evening,
j They had it reported around in their select
, circles yesterday that he would reply to
the charges of Representative Ashley, and
! were making great preparations to call him
to account for impeachable conduct which
was to have been discovered therein, but
they were out of their reckoning and missed
their mark considerably. The President
said nothing beyond giving a patriotic sen
j timent which is already published all over
the country and must not he repeated in
this correspondence. The character of the
toasts «were eminently patriotic 'and the
responses thermo were intensely hitter on
Radicalism. Indeed such is the feeling
now between the administration men at the
North, and the opponents of the President
that pvil passions often predominate in the
discission of national topics or even in
casual allusions to tho progress of Radical- ;
ism. The Democrats and Conservatives |
are becoming very tired of the ceaseless j
fire which Radicalism continues to pour j
into their ranks, and are beginning to fire |
back very heavily with words, and some of
the leading men who, during the war were !
for the Union promise anything but apathy
if the Jacobins persist in their revolutiona
ry designs.
It seems to bo very well settled that no
direct attempt is to he made by Congress
to impeach the President, at least not du
ring this session; but tho Judiciary Com
mittee, under the spur of Ashley’s resolu
tion, are already at work pursuing their
investigations, and several prominent radi
cals assert that the result of their task will
be productive of no benefit to the party,
although there will be no report made in
favor of searching up a case. The six
radicals, headed by Spalding, who voted
against Ashley, are not all who scout the
dogmas he proposes, I hear of several oth
ers from Connecticut, Vermont, and even
Massachusetts, without counting Western
men, who will not follow in tho lead of
Stevens, Ashley and Boutweff. Indeed
there are many doubts as to whether, when
it corned to the test. Stevens can carry
twenty-five members with him in his rush
to tho extreme end of tho lino which he is
stretching.
Every negro in the District of Columbia,
who has been here a year, no matter how
ignorant, or odious, or depraved, is a voter,
and has as much power at the ballot-box as
any white man in the District, with the
exception that seven eighths of them have
not the facility of reading the names on
the ballots. It will be a beautiful picture
on the first Monday of next J une, when
the municipal election takes place, to see
the full-blooded African, with about as
much of an idea as to the character of the
office? he votes for as he has of the sounds
and currents of the ocean, inarching up to
the polls to deposit his ballot. They urc
all determined to vote, and there is no
reason why the city government should not
be in the hands of the negro or his white
brother, since they have the power to make
it so. Many of the radical ciubs_, however, are
alarmed and disgusted at the idea of whole
sale negro suffrage, and I hear of several
among them who announce their intention
to become qualified and vote in favor of
the white man. Their repentance comes
late —for these same officials, many of
them, less than a year ago, when there were
some doubts of the suffrage bill becoming
a law, were inclined to advocate it; but
bettor late than never. Their change of
tone is preferable to that of the Evening
Star , which has the name of being the
city organ —that has changed front
wonderfully and disgracefully, and is
disposed almost to bless the new institution,
which it may ijurijf be expected to do
remarked, ’ editorially, in alluding TO
wholesale negro suffrage in the District,
and the radicals are quoting it in high
S lee :
“Congress baviDg thus reiterated its
purpose in the matter, the citizens owe it
to themselves to acquiesce with good grace
in what is beyond their control, and aid in
giving the experiment a fair trial.”
The citizens will probably have to give it
a trial before the next regular municipal
election, as the Radicals are so pleased
with their new monstrosity that there is a
strong disposition to declare the offices
now occupied vacant, and commence a
fresh election. Whether the brother of
the editor of the Star, who is now Mayor,
would be re-elected, or whether the choice
of the unwashed contrabands would fall
upon Mr. Bowen, who still continues to be
Postmaster of this city, is a matter for
speculation. At present appearances,
Bowen has the inside track, although Wal
lach might very graciously “acquiesce”
sufficiently, “with good grace,” to the ac
tion of Congress to draw off some of the
rabble vote.
The Southern Radicals in Congress (that
is those who hail from Maryland, Tennes
see, Missouri and elsewhere) are, if any
thing, more intense in their feelings than
the majority of the Northern Radicals.
Maynard, ofTennessee, and Cresswell, of
Maryland, are fair examples. The latter,
yesterday, unblushingly declared in his seat
in the Senate that if negro suffrage was
not allowed in Maryland he would favor
reducing it to a territorial condition. He
is very bitter because lie cannot be elected
by the Legislature of that State, and takes
every opportunity to revile its people. The
Radicals generally regard Maryland as they
do the other States of the South, and if i
theabsurd and revolutionary scheme of re- j
during them to territories should be com- j
menced, there is no reason to doubt that I
Maryland would Ire as sure to be so treated j
as Virginia, South Carolina or Georgia. I
If they dared, they would try their hand |
on Kentucky and Delaware; but, so far,
very little is said about those States.
Mr. Chandler, of New Yorx, an ultra
Democrat in the House of Representatives,
voted in favor of the resolution, instruct
ing the committee to endeavor to find cause
to" impeach the President, which is the
sum total of Mr. Ashley’s proceedings. He
announced to-day that he did so in order
that the President might have an oppor
tunity to vindicate himself. He is the only
Democrat who voted that way, and his
friends do not altogether consider that the
President would have a fair opportunity of
vindicating himself before such a tribunal
as the Judiciary Committee, which is com
posed, with the exception of one member,
of his most malignant and bitter oppo
nents. The question probably, however,
will never be brought before the House,
i the reference to the committee being con
; sidered a virtual death blow to it during
| the thirty-ninth Congress.
Boast Butler was on the floor of the
House yesterday, and to-day in earnest
conversation with a number of the most
prominent Radical leaders. That re
doubtable warrior who was so effectually
bottled up by General Beauregard at Coal
Harbor during the war, is doing his best to
have the impeachment question made a
practical fact, and expects to lead the next
House of Representatives, but lie lias not
the stamina of Stevens, and will not be
able to bully the members as old Thad does.
If the latter should, by any possibility-, beat
Lemon Cameron for the United States
Senate, his cloak wiil more likely fall upon
Wilson of lowa, the present Chairman of
the House Judiciary Committee, who is
acknowledged to be one of the most able
Radicals of that body, and a member of
considerable influence in their organization.
Notwithstanding the bid which Senator
Trumbull made a few days ago,. for re-elec- '■
tion to the Senate (plainting himself upon (
the negro suffrage platform,) h« chances ;
; seem growing "small by degrees and beau- i
' tifully less,” as the friends of all of his op- ’
I ponents have waited upon General Palmer j
who is even more hitter and hosti.e in Ins
I political sentiments than Trumbull.. l here
is great interest and excitement in the
Senate just now on the immediate changes
which are about to be made in that body.
There is now no question of doubt but
what Governor Swann, of Maryland, who,
: during the recent troubles in that State,
so ably and earnestly exerted himself to
insure a fair and impartial election to the
people will be the successor of Cresswell as
United States Senator.
Swann is a firm and staunch friend of the
; President, and will undoubtedly represent
| the true views and principles of his con
stituents. . ~
It i3 the intention of the acting Cump
| troller of the currency to require V atioual
Ranks to keep the amount of reserve of
lawful money required to protect their
! circulation in plain legal tender notes, as
the act authorizing the issue of compound
; interest notes (act of June 3d, 1564.) pro
vides that such notes shall not be a legal
tender for the redemption by any bank
of its circulating notes.
i Arlington.
i The Humdiation or the “ Great Covnmon
cr and his friend, “ Occasional,” of the
Press—-The House of Representatives to
Remain under the Stevens Lash—Light
Breaking in the North—Hope for Con
sen-atisfn Conservative Views of a
j Radical Official—Committees in Opera
tion —A Stgro Convention, etc.
Washington, January 12, 1867.
Stevens, the “Great Commoner,” and
his friend and brother partisan, Colonel/?)
John IV. Forney, are both very «*pst-fallen
individuals. The greenbacks of the form
er, combined with the newspapers of the ;
latter, and the political influence of both, j
were powerless in the Pennsylvania Logis : 1
lafare to effect the consummation of ‘the I
bright Senatorial hopes which both in
dulged in, and the unfavorable (to them) I
result of their scheming has become very
j naturally a matter of much comment at the
1 capital. The friends of" Cameron are par
i tieularly jubilant, while those of Thad are
correspondingly gloomy. The latter had
au idea that there was not power enough
in the ’State to defeat the present Repre
sentative from Lancaster, and confess to
surprise as well as disappointment. Stevens
could not bully the Radicals in tho Penn
sylvania Legislature, as he can that stripe
of politicians in the lower House of Con
gress. He is too extreme tor them, and
his defeat in caucus- is very significant,
taken with other events which have been
transpiring in the North. It proves that
men of ungovernable passions are not like
ly to be trusted with further powers,
even if their present enjoyments in
that respect are not abridged, at the
next elections. These, it is true, are a
long way off; but the leaven is already
beginning its work. Such is the talk here,
and it is surely entitled to consideration.
I believe, as Secretary Seward emphatically
says, that there is a sober second thought
of the people yet to be heard from, and
the present propositions to impeach the
President, and do all manner of evil things'
besides, the effect of which is crippling the
country to an alarming extent, will hurry
on that after consideration. Even a casual
observer can see that signs of this are not
wanting, even now, judging from the
general tone of the Northern J'ress, and
the statements of intel'igent men from that
section. _ Only as late as yesterday, I
talked with a prominent Radical (a gov
ernment official) who has lately returned
from a business tour in the East, and was
surprised to hear from him a statement of
the disposition, of tho people in the sec
tions he visited, not only on the question of
impeachment and universal suffrage, but
on other topics, introduced by radicalism,
which have now so much prominence be
fore the country. He remarked that, in
his judgment, there was hound to be a
breach in the radical ranks, and that
before very long-indeed, it had already
commenced—-and he regarded Spalding, of
Ohio, as destined to lead a majority of the
party. Tho substance of his words, as
near as I can remember, was “ that the
people were tired of having Thad. Stevens
speak for them entirely, by compelling
their representatives in Congress to do just
as he pleased, and would think for them
selves hereafter. The impeachment of the
President they regarded as a question
fraught with danger td the liberties of the
whole country, and bound to produce ruin
if attempted, no matter who would
be tho victor in the struggle which
was bound to ensue therefrom. That
seemed to ho the main idea with them;
but on all the other extreme measures of
the present hour they are not unreasona
ble, but are looking at them in a true light,
and would assuredly give a verdict against
their consummation. The party who thus
expatiated on the feeling “up North,”
though, I believe, at one time, was a very
thorough Democrat, (it must have been in
his early history,) is now equally as strong
a Radical, and during tho war was of that
class who justly had the name of “Union
Shrickers ;” withal, however, he is a very
intelligent and fair-minded man, and occu
pies a prominent office in one of the depart
ments. All the prominent offices here
about, with one or two single exceptions,
are filled with Radicals, such are appoint
ed to them, and when vacancies in Subor
dinate offices occur, and promotions are in
order, these heads of bureaus take good
care that none hut Radicals are promoted.
But this paragraph iu connection wi
what I have written above, is a little c
tpHfejfok wlift, f wnntod tlj
show' some slight proof-of, is that '-hero
a counter feeling springing up in the Nort .
which, as has been stated, will assuredly
have a good effect before very many
months roll away.
It seems that at present nearly two
thirds of the committees of Congress are
busily engaged in pursuing investigations
for almost every matter which transpires
now, and does not meet the views of cer
tain parties in the Senate, or in the House,
is referred for examination. The Judiciary
Committee has referred the subject of
Ashley’s resolution, which had been placed
in their charge, to a sub-committee, who
are to find, if possible, some pretext for
impeachment.
The Indian Committee who has had
under consideration the recent contracts
for furnishing goods to the Indians have
concluded all the testimony, and are hear
ing arguments in the case. Several assert
that Mr. Bogg, the Commissioner of Indian
Affairs, will not be confirmed ; but whether
this is for matters connected with the
recent contract, or for his widely knowt:
Conservative proclivities is not mentioned,
most probably the latter. Although the
former may be given publicly as the reasons.
The Radicals arc not chary in their
charges of official misconduct against their
opponents. They never see tho beam
W'hich is in their own eyes; but daily point j
out the Conservative motes. It is hard to
make a Jacobin believe that Butler ever!
stole plate, or Banks ever pilfered cotton. ;
They arc conveniently obtuse in all such
particulars; but every day something is j
found occurring outside of the Radical ring :
which brings forth resolutions of inquiry
and reference to committees in Congress.
The President’s policy,at present,as fur as
pardons and appointments are concerned,
may be said to be one of most thorough mas
terly inactivity. Ho makes no appoint
ments whatever, and tho very few pardons
that now come to light are upon the earnest
recommendation always of prominent and
I influential persons—very often upon tho
1 solicitation of' Radical members of both
! Houses of Congress. The criminal par
dons which are occasionally made are
nearly always upon the appeal of Radicals,
j A negro conclave, called by themselves,
! and so styled by their white friends the
“National Equal Rights League Conven
I tion of Colored Men,” are holding daily
I meetings now in Washington, and their
j particular organ, the Chronicle , daily treats
1 its friends to about two or three columns
| and a half of their sage deliberations,
j Following the example of' a party of white
bands ofconventionists, and who are local
i however, and not national men, they have
i magnanimously agreed that no one shall
j bo debarred from becoming a member of
! their societies on account of race or color,
i or anything else, provided they go in
heartily for negro suffrage. The radicals
in Congress are patronizing them freely,
and under their instructions the negroes
have passedja series of resolutions, declar
ing themselves tax-payers, patriots and
native born American citizens, and conse
quently entitled to the right to wield the
ballot. This they may do in the District
of Columbia, and tbe unhappy Territories
of the West, but not probably any further,
Aside from Ashley’s impeachment resolu
tion the proceedings of Congress this week
have been generally devoid of any particu
lar general interest. The great feature in
; the Senate was the speech of Hon. lleverdy
Johnson, on the bill to take away tbe par
doning power of the President, which is
regarded as one of the most able displays
of that great lawyer. If Stevens re
covers from the shock he received at Har
risburg it is probable that he will open fire
again early in the coming week.
Arlington.
From the Char knot* Mercury.
Excitement in Home—Democrats deserve
Credit — Ashley's Impeachment , so-cal
led —The Scene — President’s Veto in die j
Senate—Cowan s Speech—Bthacior of
Senators —Ileduction oj'Duty on Paper,
etc., etc.
\V hen I reached the House, I saw that
some matter of moment was going on.
Anxious to know what it was, I took a
seat among my superiors, the negroes.
They did not resent it. Ashley’s impeach
ment, so-called, was coming up and the
Democrats were fighting it off as best they
could;
Here let me say that the Democrats de
serve great credit for the interest they dis
play in behalf of a President who has done
so little for them. Their conservatism
seems based on something higher than
hopes of preferment.
Ashley introduced his resolution with
much zeal and apparent earnestness. The
Republican members crowded around him.
Pages ran to and fro excitedly. After the
clerk read the resolution, the Republicans
gathered around another member, whose
name I did not learn, and listened to him
as he gesticulated vehemently. The
clerk called the roll monotonously.
Both among the Republicans and the
j Democrats there was much laughter. The
i whole thing seemed a farce. Yet, I could
NEAT SERIES, VOL. XXVI. NO. 4.
but feel that, in the more 'or_ less remote
future, trouble will come ofthk Perhaps
I am impressible; perhaps 1 recall too
vividly the levity with which the farewells
I of Southern members,was received in 61.
It may be sp.
The House was comparatively empty.
Impeachment had not aMracaed a crowd.
An old mulatto woman in the ladies’ gal
lery leaned forward and listened with
breathless attention. All the rest took, the
matter quite ‘.eoolv. As I went»down
stairs, a young fellow_ behind me re-
I ported, so a mock heroic tone the words of
I Ashley’s resolution. So ended “impeach--
| ment.”
•In .Senate, I found Morrill discussing
jibe Pivsioimt’s veto-of the Suffrage Bill.,
; Even the worst enemies of the administra
j ticui are forced to own the ability and ex
cellent temper of the veto. Sherman fol
lowed Morrill, He is a poor speaker and
kept repeating, tiiat there was “nothing
noo,’ “nothing noo,” in *the message.
Cowan replied to Morrill'ami Sherman,
making many good points and displaying
some oratorical power. A few members
wheeled' their chair, so as to face him.
Sumner leaned his head on his hand and
listened. Sherman turned his back on
him, the room, and then returned
again. The other Senators read the news
papers. . *
The galleries filled rapidly* while Cowan
was speaking, many of the auditors being
negroes, * who listened in silence. It |
is evident that the people of the District j
are more keenly alive to this question than i
1 had supposed. It is an odious of
despotism and folly, but it is a part of the
grand scheme of making Congrese supreme.
Well did Cowan say that the District had
become “a hunting ground for political
experimenters.” lam inclined to believe
that the people, would resent this tyranny
if they dared. But what impresses me
most is tiie relentless composure and
almost indifference with which matters of
great pith and moment are pushed through :
by the Radicals.
An attempt is to be made to reduce the
duly on paper. The marvel is, that the
press, so potential in this country, should
have borne this imposition so long. People
can’t understand why paper is so dear.
They forget that (the world is minus some
six or eight million bales of cotton, which
the South would have produced but for
the war. What’s the consequence? I’ll
tell you. Opposite me, at breakfast this
morning, sat a well-dressed man from tho
North, where money is plentiful. Yet his
‘red-bordered cuffs showed that he wore a
colored shirt over his undershirt. This is
now the rule. It saves in two ways. You
can wear a woollen shirt a week, thus
saving washing and cost of material, for
two shirts will answer in place of a dozen,
No cotton, no shirts; no shirts, no rags;
10 rags, no paper. Q. E. I>.
Hermes.
A public Scandal.
One of the worst indications we have
yet.had of public demoralization was ex
hibited in the streets of our metropolis the
day after New Years. The vice of intoxi
cation has heretofore been almost wholly
monopolized by the men; but hereafter
there is, it would appear, to be less differ
ence between the sexes in this particular,
and the consumption of spirituous liquors
has received anew impulse from an entire
ly unexpected source. For some time past
there have been mysterious, hints that
social morality was at a very low ebb, and
certain features of the style of dress were
severely criticised iu some of our city jour
nals. However, as “progress” is the
watchword now in everything except prin
ciple and virtue, the evils denounced have
continued to grow apace, and in somo
respects we have already surpassed the
most notorious cities of the Old World. It
is not, wc believe, tho task of the journal
ists to deal with these loathsome subjects
in their detail, and it is to be regretted that
some of our papers do so; hut such as
force themselves on the public attention
cannot bo passed over in silence. Os such
a character is the painful exhibition that
took place in New York on tho day refer
red to, when women of otherwise respecta
ble appearance literally reeled through the
public thoroughfares as they proceeded
fyM.'i.S ; to ’ ..o making their New
hero been a few isolate ,
- U and. the matter, might ■
;r WiU'.uttr'rehtiftK, but'
i •rn.it: it to remain
u’ ■ lived. •In .-.ome instances the intoxi
cated persons were not more than sixteen
years old, and the sight presented was dis
gusting in the extreme. What homes
these unfortunate creatures represent,
where licentious indulgence usurps the
place of parental authority, and tho old
and young are alike steeped iu vice and
crime.
It is a sad reflection that while the
country is overshadowed by an infamous
gang of conspirators, wbo are plotting tbe
overthrow of its freedom, tbe greatest
license prevails in society, and men and
women fiing off the restraints imposed by
general respect and public opinion. The
liberty to do right is superseded by unre
strained license, ard the good and the vir
tuous Jong for the day when men shall j
recognize the principle of authority in j
the moral as well as in the political world.
However much people may differ as
to the. cause of this demoralization,
there is no controversy in regard to
the character of its effects on the
rising generation. Here in New York, if |
what we hear be true, the prolific source j
of many social and moral evils is to be
found in our public schools, those much
vaunted institutions which were to give us
a race of beings superior to any that had
yet been seen on the earth. But we must
confess we do not care to speak of what
wc have been told in this particular, and
will content ourselves with the expression
of the hope that the people will one day
take the question of the education of their
| children out of the hands of politicians into
: their own. We would warn them that
j there is no . time to be lost if they would
check the evil before it is too late.
I That the war has been largely instru
mental in aggravating these evils and in
i promoting the increase of crime is too
j patent to admit of a doubt. We know
| that when the fever was at its height
| Washington was literally a sink of pol
-1 lution, and it can hardly bo said to
have undergone any change when we
i consider that one branch of the Nation-
I al Legislature at least is ruled and direct*
;cd by a notorious sensualist. It is
i men like this one who arc, each in Iris own
: sphere and within tho circle of his influence,
j straining every nerve to drag tho country
! down to the abyss of degradation into
which they have fallen. Shall they sue
! ceed ? Shall they continue to rule and
ruin? The people must answer these
, questions.. They cannot afford to remain
S supinely indifferent, while not only their
! country, but their children arc going to
! destruction. It is time they understood
that there can be no reliance placed in
public virtue that has not private mortality
! for a foundation. So long as our rulers
! are virtuous, so long will our laws bo justly
j and equitably administered ; but give their
! administration into the hands of unscru
pulous and designing men and not only the
! public interests must suffer, but the char-
I actor of the people cannot help being in
! juriously affected. The repulsive sight
; presented in the streets of New York a
! lew days ago. will, if Radicalism extends
: from the political field to the social circle,
! eventually be witnessed in other cities be
] sides our own. Political and social de
moralization generally go hand-in-hand.—
N. Y. Vindicator.
A CALIFOIi.iIA PIOXEEB.
How a Young Man Acchicved Success.
A San Francisco correspondent tells the
following remarkable story of one of the
pioneers of the Golden State:
"The history of the pioneer of Me.. low
Lake is one of the most interesting that I
ever listened to. There must be some
thing exceedingly fasinating in the life of'
a trapper, spent as his has been among the
wildest portions of the Sierras, to induce a
young man of energy and enterprise to
forego the comforts of home and the
pleasures of society, to live the solitary
life of the mountaineer, having for his
companions only the untamed dwellers of
the desert. Yet young men who think of
coming to this country in search of em
ployment will do well to emulate his
example. I say to all such,, take the ca
reer of this young mountaineer for your
guide, and in a few years you may be
come, as he has, a man of influence and
wealth. The name of this young pioneer
is Hardy., lie is about thirty years of are,
although his fresh features make him P k
much younger. He is small in size, slim
and erect in figure, with a frame knit to
gether with sinews of great strength and
endurance. Years ago he was a clerk in an
importing house in Philadelphia. By
strict economy and close attention to be
ness he laid by quite a nice little property,
and had as fair prospects before him as at't v
young man could desire. Then came the
crisis of 1857, and left him penniless
. Not discouraged by reverses of fortune, he
left his Eastern home and came out to Cali
fornia, and failing to obtain such a situa
tion in the city as he thought himself en
titled to, he went into the mountains and
I established himself as a hunter ami trap-
I Fos, a a n 0 ? g J lle Sierras. During the fall of
> tool he built a cabin on the head Waters
' the Aifierioan river and proceeded to foi
tily himself for the approaching winter.
During that winter the snow fell to thi
depth of twenty-eight feet,‘and snow-drifts
* covered his cabin twenty-five feet below the
surface? and so great was the pressure that
it required thirteen massive timbers to
support the roof. He tunneled an en
trance to the cabin which was sixty-five
ieet long. During that time he tended
two hundred and seventy-five traps and
dead falls, and he succeeded in obtaining
many valuable animals. In 1862and 18G3
he lived in the. vicinity of Castle Peak)
where he remained for live months in com
plete isolation. At one time, when te
sei.ged by storms, he was kept a prisoner
•u. his cabin for thirty-two days; the snow
being at that time over fourteen foot deep
over tho surrounding country. In 1863
lie heard, from some herdsmen who had
been ranching their cattle in the moon*
tains, that thecountryroundabontMeadow"
lake abounded in leges of some kind of
metal, of what they were not able to tell.
In the following year he penetrated the
region alone, and from one of the high
peaks near by, discovered the' Excelsior
ledge. Jug at the samel time, discovered
the Great Eastern ledge, and at once locat
es them, lie also discovered and located
numerous other mines, which, if they turn
01 -n a * 'ytll as present appcaranecs indicate,
will make'him one of the millionancs of
the country. Not having to develop his
mines, has -had the good sense to associate
with him practical business men, and they
form the Excelsior Mining Company, lie
is now living on his rancho in a neat little
eabm near the Excelsior mine, and Dame
Rumor says that he lias been to Washing
ton Territory after a bride to cheer his
lonely cabin. \\ Wilier successful or not
there are two or t hree of that same brig
ade left who would willingly carry their
light and sunshine into any' man’s cabin
and only waiting to bo asked.”
News and Other Items.
The Italian Churches arc perfumed,
llothchild has bought a fine horse.
“Time is money” only when it “ -passes .”
General Forrest is building forty-five
miles oi railroad.
Miss 1 alfrey, author of “Herman,” is
Writing anew story.
Spirits are believed to write with a
medium pen.
Memphis can get up more sensations
than any city in America.
. 11 ashington stood six feet three
m Ins slippers.
The Jesuits are openly preparing to dc
part from Home.
. A Canadian divine asserts that St. Pat
rick was not a Catholic.
Prayers for the Pope are being offered
up in tne French churches.
. Twenty-one iron bridges have been built
m Cincinnati for tho Pacific Railroad.
Thecattle plague lias extended to Lower
Austria and Moravia.
The Supremc jCourt of New Jersey lias
debt tmt a lqUor ,ji ’ i is not a legal
The aggregate-cost of the buildings
- tc d m Chicago, last year, was $8,000,-
In 1849 the deaths from cholera in Lon
.to I *, 111 10,000 inhabitants, in
icAito, the deaths were only eight in 10,000.
The'Canadian Confederation bill has
been defeated in Prince Edward’s Isle, by
a Jarge majority.
General Grant has won Lis suit before
the Circuit Court, for tho possession of his
iarm, a tew miles from St. Louis.
Better reports arc arriving from the
south and west of Ireland. Business,
winch had almost ceased, has improved.
A woman of Utica, just deceased, was
married three times, and each time her
nusbana s name was Tompkins.
Richmond is recovering slowly from the
eilects ol the war.
Nineteen weddings took place at Con
cord, x\. 11., on Christmas day.
The Mexican muddle, like tho plot of a
dime novel, thickens.
Countess Iremechka d$ liegueska. of
.Paris, is in New Yori-v fc " " ’
ai-diter of Governor
'V ortii, oi North Carolina, died recently!
C. G Clay’s property hap been libelled
tor conuscation.
The Boston Evening Commercial has
suspended publication.
Nearly 10,000 persons in Chili are physi
cally or mentally helpless.
Anew militia system is proposed in Illi
nois.
hat has Congress done ?— Ex.
The members have drawn their pay
with remarkable promptness.
An ardent Etomologist lately foil in
love with a lady solely because of her
beetle brows.—| Punch.
By the incorporation of certain Polish
Provinces by Prussia, Poland has ceased
td exist.
Rev. Henry A. Wise, Jr., has been ap
pointed Rector of Trinity Church, •Harris
burg, Va.
Postage stamps, in all twice the length
of tho Mississippi river, were sold last
year.
A newstory, entitled “The History of the
Greatest Scoundrel in New York,” is an
nounced.
A Wall street operator is reported to
have given his wile a Christmas diamond
set wortli over $60,000.
A. Judson Crane, a prominent member
of the Richmond bar, died on Thursday of
last week.
u A n exchange .calls Professor Gardiner
the distinguished soapist.” Soapist is
good.
Ihe centre ol the United States is one
hundred miles west of Fort Riley, Kansas.
Johnny Steele, the two millionaire, is
now door-keeper for a negro minstrel
troupe.
A man with three wives, the other side
oi the water, was sentenced to six months’
imprisonment. Cheap.
me New York Legislature shows signs
ot repealing the anti-free pass law of last
winter.
i’-ir. Joseph Booth, brother of Wilkes
Booth, has appeared at the Royal Prill
cess Theatre, .Edinburg.
lhe exact number of Confederate dead
buned in the vicinity ot the various camps
m Unto has been ascertained to be 2,3 1)7.
Richmond papers say there are two ne
gresses m Richmond aged respectively 104
and 105 years.
James B. Campbell, the recently chosen
United States Senator from South Caroli
na, is a native ofOxford, Mass.
A young man just out of Auburn Prison,
says he has lost all love and admiration for
“Auburn locks.”
A Chicago paper intimates that Senator
j rum bull has been doing a thriving busi
ness on borrowed brains.
Said Quilp, as lie emerged from the
watch-house early yesterday—
“ The night is passed,
Joy cometh with the morn.”
The Round Fable pronounces Swinburne
the strongest, truest, snd most original
poet we have had in the present genera
tion.
A lady in Covington, Ky., while walking
along the street, on Saturday, slipped
down and crushed to death her year old
baby, which she was carrying in her arms.
The Pickpocket’s Toast —The And that
can feel for another’s pocket handkerchief,
and the Art that can prig it without de
tection. — Punch.
When Talleyrand was asked for his auto
graph, he used to write his name on the
very top of the .sheet, as a diplomatic cau
tion.
A little boy, after, saying his prayers,
rose up and said to his irreligious parent,
Now. father, 1 have said my prayers;
have you said yours, or don’t men pray?”
I be mouth of the Amazon is large enough
to taxe in the States of Massachusetts and
• a- ,V and ' Su rP<we it should do
it. kinu.y suggests a Richmond paper.
~\r v " u “' r ' T t! 2 has been opened oppo
.-nc Havana. It was inaugurated on Sun
au}, titty yards from a church. The
piajers ol those who worshipped God, and
tne yeJs and profane oaths of the bull-ring
freely commingled.
The minister of Education in France,
M. Duruy, has ordered people’s libraries
to oc established in all the mairies of Par
is. Large rooms have been hired for this
purpose, and they will be warmed and light
ed in the evening for the use of the work
ing classes.
A. T. Stewart, the New York merchant
prince, is a native of Logan, in the county
of Armagh, which town,; during the late
famine in Ireland, was bentfitted largely by
Mr. Stewart’s liberality. Not more than
thirty-five years ago, Mr. Stewart’s mother,
then the wife ot John Martin, kept a
furniture store in Chatham square, while
Mr. Stewart himself kept a modest dry
goods store on Broadway, opposite the
Park.