Funding for the digitization of this title was provided by R.J. Taylor, Jr. Foundation.
About Weekly chronicle & sentinel. (Augusta, Ga.) 1866-1877 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 22, 1868)
OLD SERIES, VOL. LXXVI. ifhtouiclc & Sentinel IIKMIV MOO It Id, A. It. WRIGHT. PATRICK WALKII, A .relate Kdltor. TEIIIMS OF fttBSCItIFTIOM. dallt. On- •• * Throe mwitiii 1 80 Oue rmr »» WEEKLY. jjjj'jf! ::::::::::::: 1 u i 3 <* AUGUSTA. GA: M iis K»»AI MtMUHIOe JiIMIT 22. Gobey’w FOR February. —We are in debted to Quinn, of the Periodical and News Depot for a copy of Godey s for Feb ruary. Oar friend Quinn keeps all the latest publications on hand, and we recom mend his establishment to the public. A Lively Be hi ness. The Street Rail way Company did a heavy business Sunday. The cars were crowded all day— carrying as many as thirty and thirty seven each trip, the passengers being packed in like sardines in a box. The horses are now becoming well-broken and the running off mishaps are few arid far between. The work of stringing the timber and iron along the Summerville extension is progressing and the work of laying the track will soon begin. The Roll of Honor.— This Military Radical, scheming, plotting, irresponsible, scalawag Council have placed high on their dirty flag, the words proscription and spoil a Every honest and respectable man who refused to believe in their creed and worship at the Radical shrine has been deposed from the offices in which they were placed by the legally elected repre sentatives of the people ol Augusts The men turned out of office for refusing to join hands with the Radicals in warring against the interests and honor of Georgia deserve, and should receive, not only the congratulations of all honest and do cent citizens, but substantial encourage ment and support. The people should take care to provide for them otherwise. Such integrity of character, honesty of purpose and patriotic devotion to principle is worthy of all commendation. We feel as,-ured the people of Augusta will give them other means of earning an honest livelihood for the present. When this present incubus—this scalawag adminis tration—is removed these faithful officials, who stood to their honest convictions, re fusing to sell their manhood for a mess of pottage, will he remembered and rewarded by the citizens of Augusta. The following embraces a portion of the men who com pose THE ROLL OF HONOR. L. T. Blome, Clerk of Council. J. A. Christian, Chief of Police. Tiiob. Walsh, Lieut, of Police. John Morrison, Superintendent of Streets and Drains. Peter Siieron, Superintendent of Water Works. L. A. PIC'QUKT, Keeper of the Bridge. Theodore C. Bridges, Keeper of the Jail. If. C. Foster, Wharfinger. As soon as we learn the names of other officers who have been ousted we will take pleasure in adding them to the above list. Radical Hypocrisy. —The Radicals of Augusta, the scalawags, carpet hag-hum mers, etc., who claim to love the negro as a brother, and a man, have a monstrous queer way of evincing this love. They love him for his voto —they love him for the influence he may exert among his fellows in their bulialfVthey love him so long as they can use him—and then he may go to—smash ! not to employ a worse word. It is known that three reputable colored men were candidates before the present Military Council for respon sible offices. They wore induced to offor themselves for these positions from the fact that they had been taught to be lieve they were the equals of the whites, and as fully entitled to the offices. The sequel, however, shows how the eat jumps, for neither of the tlireo received a solitary vote. If the negroes require any further proof ol'the esteem in which they are held by the Loyal Leaguers, scalawags ’and mean whites, wo do not know where they are to obtain it. The respectable whites of the South have been persuading them that such would be the treatment they would receive at the hands of this despica ble set, but they could not be made to be lieve it; and, as the proof of the pudding is in chewing the bag, will they not recognize in this proof positive that these mean whites are only using them for selfish purposes ? They might be friends, but the negro may well exclaim. “Deliver uic from all such friends!" We cannot say, however, that we regret the exhibition we have above recorded, as the freedmen clung with such tenacity to his new made frieuds he could not bo persuaded that they would ever do him injustice. We are glad to learn at last his eyes are being gradually opened by new developments, and tho Military Council already shares his maledictions. One more such election will settle the hash. Tis a pity that it is so far off. Rev. Father Ryan’s Lecture— Gathered together in Concert Hall Monday night a respectable and highly appre ative audience, filling every available scat. We. cannot follow the gifted poet and true orator in the manner in which he treated his subject, nor eau we convey to the read er a proper appreciation of his splendid effort. The subject—“ The South: her Memories and Traditions"—was treated in a novel but grand and eloquent style. The spirit of liberty never dies; oppres sion and tyranny may entomb it for a time, but it rises glorious ard resplendent from tlie tomb. A graphic, glowing picture of its rise, progress and decline in the Old World was then presented to the audience. The despotism of Europe forced it to seek an asylum in theNew World, where it grew and prospered until one section sought to shackle the other with the chains of slavery. The valor and bravery of the Southland was narrated in matchless eloquence. “Truth crushed to earth shall rise again.” The cause may be lost but the principle lives and shall forever. The graves ami the gloom, the wrecks and the ruins which overshadow our land will cause the spirit to burn brighter and brighter in the hearts of coming genera tions. The duty of honoring and revering the graves 6f our dead and perpetuating t heir grand and glorious memories should be religiously performed. Their deeds should live iu song and story. The lips of Southern men should never lie found wanting in defending tho memories of the Southern dead, aud our poets ami orators should never cease to sing and speak their praises. These martyrs gave the last drop of their blood for us. and we should never cease to defend their sacred manes from contumely aud outrage. We cannot do the lecturer justice, and we almost regret that we have attempted this crude notice. During the course of his address, he recited several of his own grand and beautiful I>oenjs, and was rapturously applauded by his delighted auditors. Handsome Present. —Senator Cream er, a State Senator of New York, a short time since received a little present from the merchant prince A. T. Stewart. It consists of nothing less than a house and lot valued at $:>0,000. Mr. Creamer, while a member of the Assemblv, had vindicated Mr. Stewart when assailed on the floor, and Mr. Stewart performed this trifling service by way of acknowledg ment It is not many years since Mr. Creamer was a check-boy in Mr. Stewart’s store. Although not yet thirty years of age, he has attained to the position of a State Senator, and is decidedly one of the rising men of New York. Governor Jenkins. There was considerable excitement in the ; city Monday when the news reached here ’ of the order issued by General Meade for the removal of Governor Jenkins. Al though our people were not greatly sur ! prised by this intelligence, they seemed almost incapable of realizing the fact that a brave, noble and patriotic chief Execu tive had been removed from office because he would not lend himself to those who were endeavoring to rob the State Treasury | of the people’s money. Later in the day the telegram from Washing!' n, giving the rumor that Presi dent Jof ison had ordered a suspension of General Meade’s order removing Governor •Jenkin-. was received, and the faces of honest men brightened, while the -calawag vipers hung their heads in shame and mor tification. The bare hope that the Presi dent would save our noble old State from the ignominy and disgrace of Radical rule gave joy to all good people, and produced a marked effect upon the spirits of the deccLt and respectable citizens. At half-past nine that night we received a special dispatch from Milledgeville in answer to an inquiry from us as to the ! time when Governor Jenkins would leave , the latter place, as follows: “’Twill be several days before the Governor will leave Milledgeville.” This, taken in connection with our pre vious advices from Washington, encourage us to hope that General Meade has been foiled in his attempt to take possession of the State Treasury for the benefit of tho scalawags and negroes, and that President Johnson will not permit tho people of the South to be turned over, bound hand and foot, to the military satrap, whose only merit is that he succeeds Pope. Gongrcss and the Radicals. The attempt made in Congress or: Tues day last to remodel the Reconstruction Bills on the Upson-Boutwell basis does not seem to meet the general approval of the Republican party out of that body. The truth is, many of the more sensible and prudent Republicans are beginning to see that the overthrow of their party is inevitable unless a little more regard is paid by the Radical Rump, at least, to the forms of law in their reconstruction meas ures. The hot and indecent haste which Con gress exhibits in constantly framing amendments to meet every new phase or development in tho process of reconstruc tion which threatens or promises to give the white race in the South anything like a fair chance with the negro, is beginning to drive from their support many of the best men in their party at the North. They cannot fail to see in this supplementary action of the Rump Congress that the main object of the leaders of their party is to so rivet the chains of negro supremacy upon the Southern States as to leave no reasonable chance for a reaction here which might restore the governments of the Southern States to tho white race. The Northern mind is becoming daily more and more convinced that the restora tion of the Union cannot be accomplished upon the Radical idea of universal negro suffrage and tho disfranchisement of the more intelligent and experienced of the white race. If the propositions of Con gress for reconstruction could be presented to-day to the popular vote of the North the majority against it there would be overwhelming and decisive. This the leaders know full well. They know, also, that their present power is secured and safe for some time to come. Hence their determination to halt at no obstacle—to be influenced by no convictions of justice—to be deterred by no legal_ restrictions in the attempt to fasten upon the South a scheme by which their power may bo strengthened, and their lease on office ex tended and secured. Holding, as we do, these views in relation to the objects of the Congressional ma jority, we confess that we have no idea that they will be restrained in their revolu tionary course by any considerations of justice, law or right. Neither do we be lieve that the pressure of popular sentiment at the North will have much weight in modifying their action. The struggle they are making to retain power and patronage is a desperate one—their future political salvation is staked upon it, and they can not well turn back without danger of a complete overthrow. That Ihey have any definite, well defined line of action —any positive, well considered policy in relation to Reconstruction —we do not believe. Their past legislation shows that no system or plan which they have been able as yet to devise, has accomplish ed the objects which they have so much at heart. Like a ship without a rudder, they are dashing headlong among the waves of disorder and anarchy without the power to coutrol their speed or the wisdom to shape and direct their course. The uegro ballast, upon which they rely, is so uncer tain and shifting as to cause constant earn and watching. They stand ready to trim for every gale—their only aim being to run before the wind, totally regardless as to their destination, so long as they nmy be able to secure the precious ballast. Their uncertain, shiftiug and changeling course has already drawn from many of their party journals severe criticisms. In a late number of the New York Times even Raymond—the fickle and uncertain Ray mond—gives them the following castiga tion: “It is not easy to say precisely what the Congressional policy of Reconstruction will in the end turn out to be. It seems to be its purpose, at all events, to force the rati fication of whatever constitutions the State Conventions may frame, and several plans for rendering this result more certain than the original plan would leave it, have al ready been presented, and are likely to be adopted. A majority of those voting, instead of a majority of those registered, will probably be deemed sufficient to ratify, and it is now proposed to give the Conven tions themselves complete legislative au thority over the States. If Congress would rest content with any plan it may ] adopt, and abstain from further changes until someone has been tried, we could ar rive at a more definite conclusion on the subject. “If all that is wautedis a form, of govern ment for the South, under which the vote of the several States in the Presidential election may be cast and counted, that result may possibly be secured by the action of Congress. But if what is aimed at is a peaceful, permanent, real restoration of Union, animated by the spirit of Union as well as wearing its form, something is required which, we fear, Congress is not likely to do. We do not believe that any Unicm can be wise or beneficent which has not at least the acquiescence of the great body of the Southern whites. They have been tebels —they have been slave holders —they have tried to overthrow the Constitution, and deserve, perhaps, all the punishment their crimes have brought upon them; but if we are to have them in the Uaiou scam, it is desirable, on our account as wed as theirs, that they should come as friends and not as foes. The colored element of the Southern States is large, influential, and has rights and claims which cannot be neglected or set aside. But the white element cannot be ignored or wisely disregarded. The tendency of much of the action taken on the subject is to force upon the South a government which is absolutely certain, either to be overthrown in time by the whites the South, or to maitain itself only by force against th< e. The plea that the whites themselv-. .. ill be to blame for such a state of things, does not alter the fact of its existence: and it is the fact, and not the reasons for it, which makes the prospect anything but hopeful. Incendiary Attempt.—The large new , brick building, not yet completed, at the corner of Kllis and Mclntosh streets, came near being burned between seven and eight o'clock Wednesday njgbt, some scoun drel having thrown cotton waste, saturated with oil, in an ignited state, inhj it. It caught against the glass and was fortunate ly discovered and removed before it had time to do any damage. It behooves our citizens and the police to be on the look out for these reptiles and endeavor to bring them to condign punishment. The Crisis. The National Intelligencer , after dis cussing at length the revolutionary un constitutional bill introduced into the House yesterday, wiping out the Executive and Judicial Departments of the Govern ment, concludes its article in the following significant language: “It can come to nothing without the co-operation of the General of the army. It all rests on him. Whatever his reti cence, this is a matter in which reticence might be misunderstood. At the firstovert act, however slight—were it but to orally promise to accept the functions offered in it, after such a bill had been repassed over a veto —the General of the army must be cast into jail to await his /rial for treason to his country, unless the Chief Magistrate of that ojuntry is false to the trust of the peo})le and his oath of of ice.” This, taken in connection with the gen eral impression that the Intelligencer is the official organ of the President, in dicates very clearly the course to be taken by the Chief Magistrate. If the Pres ident has determined to stand by the Con stitution which he has sworn to defend and maintain, then he must follow the example of Oliver Cromwell when he kicked the Long Parliament out of ex istence. A few days, or a week or two at farthest, will resolve this most important of all questions which has ever come be fore this people. Collection of Taxes Suspended. The following Proclamation from Gov. Jenkins, issued on the 10th inst., we copy from the federal Union : Executive Department, ) Milledgeville, 10th January, 1808. j By virtue of the authority in ine vested by the 70th Section of the Code of Georgia, I do hereby suspend the collection of Taxes now paid into the Treasury of the State by the people of Georgia, whether specific or ad valorem, until the first day of May, in the present year. The Comptroller General will forthwith give notice to the Tax Collectors of the •several counties, and publish the same in the gazettes of this city. Charles J. Jenkins, Governor. Executive Department, 1 Milledgeville, January 10, 1868. j I hereby certify that the above and fore going is a true and correct copy of an Executive Order issued this day and now on file in this office. Witness my official signature and the Seal of this Department hereto affixed, the day and year above written. 11. L. Hunter, See’y Ex. Dept. The Legality of the Reconstruction Aets. Speculation is being indulged as to how the Judges of the United States Supreme Court stand on the question of the constitutionality of the Reconstruction laws of Congress. It is said that Justices Chase, Miller and Swayne are in favor of sustaining those acts, and Justices Grier, Nelson, Clifford and Field are ready to declare them unconstitutional, while Ju-tice Davis is undecided. Should he go . with the latter it would make five against three, but it is hardly probable that a test case can be carried through in time to prevent the reconstruction of all the States. In this connection the follow ing extract from Attorney General Stan bery’s speech, is deemed very sigificant : “Gentlemen, I have been at the bar for nearly half a century, and have been a constant student, not only of common law, but of our own constitutional law, and I do not hesitate to say that the whole of these Reconstruction Acts’ of Congress, from beginning to end, first, • second and third in the series, are unconstitutional and void. There arc times when to be silent is to be unfaithful. There arc times when men must speak out. I will not at tempt to school myself into reticence upou these great questions, and I could not if I would." The Supreme Court and Congress. The New York Express says : “The constitutionality of the Reconstruction Acts is discussed in political circles more than ever, under the conviction, in many minds, that they will not stand fire. Con gress is anxious on the subject, as is seen in the fact that the House Judicary Con mittce have instructed tho Chairman to report a bill providing that two thirds of the Judges of the Supreme Bench shall concur in an opinion before any law can be declared unconstitutional. The law now requires a majority only. Such an act as this would only be a fresh outrage upon the States and the people. When the ma jority of the Court are powerless to decide a case, tl.ch public justice wiil sink into mere party decisions. What, however, has led to the above instructions, grows out of the known present status of the Court, which is understood to be as follows, as set forth in the Times : “ ‘Last summer the Court decided ad versely in the Sharkey injunction case, and announced that the opinion at length would be given hereafter. Chief Justice Chase wrote the opinion denying the prayer of the petitioner, basingits rejection on the broad ground of an affirmation ofthe consti tionality of the Reconstruction Aets of Congress. On consultation the Judge de clined to accept this ground for the rejec tion of the petition, by a vote of three in favor to five against. And then it was agreed that the petition should be rejected on the legal grounds which were given in the Georgia cast, want of original jurisdiction. Tho constitutionality ot the Reconstruction Acts was not directly in volved in the Sharkey case, but Chief Justice Chase sought to settle the question at once bv affirming their validity, with the result above stated.’ “There is now a case before the Su preme Court, which involves directly the constitutionality of these laws. It is that of McArdle, of Mississippi, arrested by General Ord. McArdle was a newspaper editor, and was imprisionedfordenouncmg General Ord and other officers as satraps, tools and despots. General Ord arrested him as an‘impediment’ to Reconstruction. His counsel, Governor Sharkey, makes ap plication in the Supreme Court _ for a writ of habeas corpus, and a decision will in volve the constitutionality of the Recon struction aets. The case was brought up yesterday, Attorney General Stanbcry ap pearing for the Government and stating that it would be impossible for him to at tend to the case. He asked for a post ponement of the matter until General Ord could be heard from, and the War Depart ment procure counsel. Governor Sharkey yielded till Friday, when he will insist on a decision. “There is but little doubt that a majority ot the present Supreme Court are ready to pronounce the Reconstruction Aets un constitutional. as there is but little doubt in the minds of good lawyers that they have no warrant in the Constiiution. They were passed when the great Radical leader in the House of Representatives declared that the Constitution was rolled up and set aside, and they are persisted in. now that the war is over, just as they were in the midst of the war, the only change be ing an additional twist ofthe screw against the white people of the South. "Nothing shoot of madness could persuade a majority iu Cougress to undertake to regulate the decisions of the Judicial De partment of the Government by legislation; out with the past before us, we are pre pared for anything. The Constitution, however, is higher than Congress; aud the Federal Judiciary, in its sphere of duty, is at least equal to Congress. The Legisla ture has assumed its mastery over the Ex ecutive, but not always with success : and it is now about to assume a like superiority over the highest Court in the land. I’t makes this assumption, too, at a period when the Senate does not represent a ma jority of the States nor the House of Repre sentatives a majority of the people—which adds greatly to the offence of its assump tion. and to the outrage of its unconstitu tional measures.” From Atlanta. Atlanta, January 12.— The rumor as to the removal of Gov. Jenkins gains renewed credence to-day. Last night an aid left headquarters here for Milledgeville. It is stated by Gov. J enkios' friends that he will test the legality of his removal by a quo icarranto. John B. Weller, ex-Governor and ex- Senator, of Ohio, California, etc., finds his latest employment at New Orleans as Commissioner to look at the “ Black Crook, ’’ and the “Taleof Enchantment,’’ and -ee where the infringement comes in. AUGUSTA, GA., WEDNESDAY MORNING, JANUARY 22, iS6S. LETTER FROM ATLAATI. SPECIAL correspondence CHRONICLE 4 SENTINEL. Atlanta, January 11, 1808. Dear Chronicle: The great crisis in the history of the Menag°rie occurred to-day. The Gate City has been thoroughly ex cited. Early in the morning the rumor spread like a prairie fire that, in caucus the night before, it had been ascertained that the pure Rads of all colors possessed the overwhelming majority, and, filled with the strength of conscious power, were to whip and gag the white latter-day Saints and patriotic Odd Fellows. The Great Stinkee was to second a motion for the previous question to be made by the Kangaroo, on his resolution to petition Congress to declare that no legal body now existed in Georgia except the Menagerie, and that in it was invested all the powers of the State government—legislative, ju dicial and executive—and that no person could fill an office who would not take an oath that “without equivomtion or mental reservation that he had nenher aided nor assisted in the great rebellion." The sixty-five Saints who have pledged themselves that the animals should behave properly and^ perform well, became greatly alarmed. What was to be done? This was the absorbing question discussed in groups at the entrance and in the outer Hall, with every variety of emphasis and - Now with arm raised aloft, again with iho strong right arm coming down vehemently, with all the power of nerve and muscle; and again with the index finger of the right hand playing upon the palm of the left, with the rapidity and minute precision of the telegraph instru ment. The Chatham Water-Ox standing by the Richmond Bullock, being unduly excited, averred that “the State and the Radical party had gone to the devil!” After Alpeoria the Ist, having slided slowly across the floor, with the true grace and dignity of the literati —his form duly com posed and adjusted to that line of beauty in locomotion, the Grecian bend, his pane carried like a beadle’s staff in his right hand at a distance of sixteen inches from the breast, held six inches from the head, whilst his left swinging, as if to measured cadence, describing the savans assyintote from the left to literatis hyper bole of the caned eight. After Alpeoria, the leader of tho Savannah delegation, Alpeoria the first, “the strongest man (of mixed color we suppose) for Governor be fore the people" (as Mr. Hopkins is re ported to have said) had, with all be coming deliberation, disrobed his precious golden colored case of outer wrappings, coolly adjusted his tortoise eye glass, and having minutely surveyed the august body and sat down slowly and gracefully, filled with satisfaction that “it were acoord-ing to Kushing’s Parle-ment-tary Laws-ah.” In fine, after complete reorgonization, Mr. Trammell, Gonservo-Radico-Patriotieo, plain, resumed the floor from yesterday on the great Ashburn resolutions. But very distressing symptoms of weakness in the knees occurring “the delegate,” with the exhausting utterance of despairing prophecy “that the last vestige of civil liberty now remaining in Georgia was now being crushed out’ ’—the floor was yield ed to|the ‘Medical Director, when the “Cherokee Demosthenes,” professor of political therapeutics, arose it was quite ap parent that his diagnosis had led him to the conclusion that the time had arrived at which it was necessary to resort to bold, heroic practice—that phlebotomy was de manded —forall as the true practice and sole hope to preserve political life, and that the knife and the lancet was particularly de manded to remove the influences of cor rupting tissues and to reduce inflammation —especially in the case of “the great Stinkee.” The Medical Director said that he had observed, from day to day, an inordinate, feverish thrust for Treasury spoils—that there was no healthy appetite for pa triotic constitution-making—that there!was a morbid craving for the loaves and fishes of office and emoluments —an insatiable hun gering for Treasury-pap. Treasury-pap and nothing else but Treasury-pap, and proceeded to discuss and illustrate the evil effects which had resulted to the august body, pregnant with the rights of man kind—big with a constitution for tho Em pire State of the South; He said, but a few days ago, they had passed a resolution complimenting General Pope, and endors ing his policy, the. leading feature of which was not to disturb, as far as prac ticable, civil offices and civil officers. Now, what did this Ashburn resolution propose? it proposed to turn out all the civil officers under an authority from Congress, and vest the appointing power in this body called together for the single specific power of making the constitution of Georgia conform to the will of the dominant power as expressed by acts of Congress, for this was the whole scope of their authority, _ and what was this body ? Did they represent the people of Geor gia ? lie was frank to say that they represented but a small portion of them— but a small portion of them had voted— they had registered, but under the very Act of Congress which had called this body into existence, they had the right reserved to them to await the creation of an organic law, and ratily or reject it, according to their judgment. Here the Great Stinkee growied : “Who elected you, the whites or the blacks?” The reply was; “I never inquired ; 1 did not go to the polls ; I sup pose the blacks; but I was elected for a specific purpose, as laid down in the Sher man bill—to make a Constitution, to be submitted to the people, to be ratified or rejected. Again I repeat (said the speaker), this body does not represent the people of Georgia, but only a portion of them; —its acts may be accepted or repudiated—it does not represent the tax payers, the large mass of the tax-payers. Here great excitement sprang up among the African, medo-African and Dago delegates. A lemon-colored said, with considerable emo tion, "I have always paid my taxes, Mr. President —I swear I have.” A color ed, said: “Mr. President, I has paid all the taxes reflected on me.” A tawny oramre said : “I tells de delegate dat dis much is true; my polls is liquidated on the square.” A polished ebony from the further corner, vrith his waterfall roached stiffly, but minutely, at the angle of forty-five, with a mouth like the Thames tunnel, fringed with lips like a railroad track, said: ‘T bleves dat is rebel, but he kant skeer this chile; my bos set me free when the Yankees come, and didn’t gib me nothiug, so I has nothing to reflect, but I is to have my rights. lis a_ Radical, l is, and dats nuff.” It was [impossible to catch all the various interlocutory exculpations from the self-asumed charge of being non tax payers. Al peoria the First, the gentle Alpeoria, rising with measured dignity and brimful of conscious intellect, said, “Ah, ifthe dele gate ah, had if read ah, Rushings Parlia mentary law ah, and had been a. lawyer ah, he would have seen ah, the weakness of his argument ah, for as Rushing says ah, ka faci.et majoribus, perchartem, in carthegenen facet lexibvs et reject ah,” and quietly adjusting his tortoise glasses, gent ly subsided. The speaker having resumed the floor after the repeated raps of the President’s gavel, he explained jfchat he repeated that the majority of tax payers in the State of Georgia were not represented in that body; that while he made no reflections he was sure that there was an infinitesimal minority of those who sustained the State and Govern ment there represented The great Spread Eagle of the mountains, after speaking for some time, woundup with this pathetic appeal : “He would to God that Jie could make his voice reach the Halls of Congress, and if without avail there to the great heart of the people of the North to save us from such infamy, such disgrace, such destruc tion. ’ ’ Upon the conclusion of the Medical Director’s prompt cauteration,J.E.Bryant, from the Aroostook county in Maine, then said he did not know where his bones would lie but he presumed that they would lie in Georgia or in America, for he was an American in the nineteenth century — that he thought the delegate had put forth very weak arguments. What was wanted was loyal men ; that loyal men were those who acted with us ; disloyal men were those who acted against us; that loyal men had to eat and drink as well as do loyal duty, and as somebody’s hands had to go into the Treasury it was nothing but right that they should be loyal hands. The delegate from Maine was frequently interrupted. Near the close of his remarks the spotted Horse “became onrooly”—rose to a per sonal explanation. He said he understood the remarks of the delegate as personal and would call the member to a personal ! account, whereupon the Aroostook Moose | shook his horns and said he boarded at the ■ National Hotel. The spotted horse said it j was a good place and he would go there and take turtle soup with him at four dollars per diem. Whereupon peace and tranquility and joyous harmony, full wreathed smiles and jocund humor once more held sway. At this juncture of affairs it was whispered around the lobby that Genera! Meade had decided to remove Governor Jenkins, and the audience began to move from the City Hall to the National Hotel. The office room, barber shop and billiard room of the National quickly be came the centres of influence. Avery i grave-looking gentleman, whilst musingly contemplating the bituminous Tennessee red-hot in tho fluted stove, aunouuced oracularly, that General Meade had de cided that he was a military officer, charged with completing the reconstruction of Georgia by having a constitution made to present to the people, and that he came to the conclusion that he could only do so by filling all offices with military officers, from the Governor down ; but especially the Governorship and the Treasurer's office. “ Good Lord,” groaned the aforesaid venerable gentleman, “if they remove Jenkins, what will become of Georgia Bonds?” Shortly afterward the Montgomery delegation came into the house ami called for their bills. This made the scene more ■lugubrious, as it was understood that they had been in conterenee with the Command ing General, it was considered as settled — they had no time to spare to be off on the first train, although the time of departure was twelve hours distant. It is considered as settled that an aid has gone to Milledgeville to notify Gov ernor Jenkins that he has been remov ed, that General Kuger, by General Order No. 2, new series, will be declared Governor, and will enter upon the duties of his office on Monday next to thechagriu of Josh Hill, and the discomfiture of the great white Bearof the Express Company. Occasional. Correspondence Cincinnati commercial. The views. Why Pope was Removed— Ord Removed at Grant’s Suggestion — Sheridan’s In subordination and Removal—An Issue with Governor Morton, Ac., Ac. A TALK WITH TIIE PRESIDENT. Washington, January 1, 18C8. — Taking advantage of the general clearing out of Congressional dignitaries which hail taken place since the adjournment on the 20th, and of a recent snow-storm —which, 1 felt assured, would compel the few rheumatic members of gouty Senators who remained at the capital to stay in their respective boarding-houses for a few days, and thus give a reasonable chance to an unofficial caller in pursuit of an interview with the President—l made a visit to the White House last evening, for the purpose of a brief political conversation with his Excellency. After a few minutes’ waiting in the ante-room I was ushered into the Executive presence, where I remained for two hours and a half. From what passed I select the following items of general interest: THE REMOVAL OF GENERALS POPE AND SWAYNE. Mr. Johnson spoke with a good deal of warmth about General Pope s conduct in Georgia and Alabama. Ho had been con stantly transcending the limits of his au thority, and avowedly espousing the cause of the Radical party, instead of confining himself to the discharge of his dutiesunder the military law. He (Pope) had recently written a private letter, which had been published, in which he virtually acknow ledged that he considered it his business to help the Radical party into power, and keep it there, if he could. There had been no contradiction of this letter and, there fore, he supposed it was genuine. This was part of the cause of his removal. Another flagrant violation of law, and of the Constitution of tue United States, was contained in an order issued by General Pope on the 20th of December, which con tained,_ among other things, the following: “It is further ordered, that in compli ance with the request contained in the foregoing ordinance, the boards of registration will instruct the proper omcers conducting the election on the question of ratifying the constitution, to conduct, also, at the. same time arid-place, the, election for such State and county officers and members of Congress as the above ordinance indicates, and to make returns of such election as therein request ed.” The words I have put in italics form, according to tho President a violation, not only of the Constitution of the United States, but of the Reconstruction law it self'. The Constitution declares (Art. 1, Section 4), that tho times, places, and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof. “And the Reconstruction law requires the approval by Congress of the constitutions of the Southern States before tuoycan be entitled to representation, and before they can have Legislatures whoso acts will be considered valid. But,” said the Presi dent, “General Pope set aside both law and Constitution, and ordered an election for State and county officers and members of Congress before any constitution had been adopted. He did this so as to in terest as many persons as he could iu get ting the constitution adopted. But suppose a majority voted against the constitution at the same time that they elected mem bers of Congress under it; or suppose, afterit had been adopted, Congress should refuse to ratify it. In any event, he was getting things mixed up, and going far beyond his limit of authority. He has always been ready to help whichever side ran into the worst excesses. The law is bad enough anyhow ; but he was making it worse than it really is.” Regarding General Swayne, the Presi dent said he had been co-operating with General Pope in the advocacy of extreme measures, and, in addition, was endeavor ing to secure his own election to the Senate from Alabama. I told Mr. Johnson that I understood General Grant to have been the first to suggest the removal of Orel, and he replied that such was the fact. He (Johnson) had not attempted to interfere against Ord, but let Grant have his own way. obstructing reconstruction. The President alluded to the frequency with which this term was applied to him and his action, and said it was meaningless and absurd. “They can’t point to a single justification for it. I have not attempted to postpone, for a single day, any conven tion, or any proceedings under the law. I have executed the law, ns far as my duty was concerned, to the very letter. ’ ’ He then alluded to General Sheridan’s conduct in Louisiana, and the frequent use, by that officer, ofthe words “impediment to Re construction,” as applied to civil officers whom he felt called upon to remove.— “Sheridan, said Welles, was an ‘impedi ment,’ and he removed him,.but he didn’t get along any faster after that.” “There never was a more flagrant case of defiance of authority than Sheridan’s. He issued an order one day directing that the bonds issued by the Legislature for the repairs of the levees should be turned over to anew set of commissioners, appointed by him, instead of the old commissioners appointed by tho Legislature. Wells tele graphed to me one day to suspend that order uutil he could have the case exainiu ed here. I complied with his request. As soon as Sheridan heard what Wells had done, he issued an order, at three o’clock in the morning, hurling Wells out of office. It was a gross piece of insubordination. The only thing Wells had done to obstruct reconstruction was to ask me to suspend Sheridan’s order about the levee bonds un til he could present the case fairly to me on its merits. The Governor of Texas was ousted as an impediment, but it did'nt do a bit of good. It did’nt help reconstruc tion any, because it can’t be helped by any such acts. It will go on just as well under one set of officers as under another, but in stead of overturning things as little as pos sible, Sheridan went to work to do it as much as possible.” THE PRESIDENT’S POLICY. The President had on his desk a copy of the Mationallntelligencer, containing Gov. Morton’s speech before the. Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Union, on the evening of the 30th. He called my attention to what he said was j a misstatement of fact in it, in regard to the effect of his policy in the Southern States. Governor Morton»had said that under the President’s amnesty proelama- ■ tion, from 250,000 to 250.000 people were disfranchised, whereas, under the Congres sional policy, the number was only 45,000 to 50,090. 'Mr. Johnson said tiiis was a great mistake, and he was the more sur prised at it because he considered Governor Morton a persona! friend, though a politi cal foe, and he did not believe he would intentionally misrepresent him. “ The truth is,” s3td he, "there never was a sin gle man disfranchised by any act or proc ! Tarnation of mine. On the ' contrary, I said, in my North Carolina proclamation, that all should vote who were entitled to vote before the rebellion, on taking a certain oath of present loyalty, I did not propose to inquire what a man had done during the rebellion, but if he was willing to «wear that he would obey the Constitu tion and laws he might vote. Fourteen classes were excepted from this general i amnesty, but special pardons were liberally promised. Even those who were excepted, however, were not prohibited from voting. The pardon and amnesty had reference only to whatever penalties of law might attach to treason. If the act of- treason disfranchised them, then the pardon and amnesty enfranchised them. Even in Tennessee during the midst of the rebel lion, while I was Military Governor, I never disfranchised any man for past acts of rebellion. I issued a proclamation to en courage man to desert the rebel cause and i come over to our side. I offered full par don to all who would come forward and take an oath, uot that they had never been rebels, but that they nmo desired the success of the Union cause, and had no present sympathy with the rebellion. Under this proclamation a great many came to us, and we always treated them well.” The President seemed to feel very keen ly what he considered the misiepresenta tion made by Governor Morton, and was evidently desirous of having it corrected, lie alluded to Morton’s Richmond (Indi ana) speech of September 29, 1865, as one ofthe greatest speeches he had ever read, and thought Morton made a great mistake in not standing by it. “It contained the true doctrine,” saidhe, “and time is vindi cating it every day.” A QUESTION OF VERACITY WITH COLFAX. I called the President’s attention to a letter recently published from Mr. Colfax, in reply to, and in contradiction of, a state ment in my correspondence to the effect that he (Colfax) had advised against the calling of an extra, session of Congress in f 865. The following are the words of Mr. Colfax : Suffice it now to say that President Lincoln, on the last day of his life, in reply to [my suggestion of the necessity of an extra session, said it would not be con vened, if he concluded to convene one, till late in the season, so that it might run into the regular session, and promised to telegraph me at San Francisco as to the probable time ; that I did suggest an extra session to President Johnson, in the par lor of the Kirkwood, shortly after Presi dent Lincoln's death, but that he replied that he had uot then given any thought to it, and could not then decide it either way. Mr. Johnson said, that so far as the above related to the interview with him at the Kirkwood House, it was not correct. He could not remem bpr the exact words that passed, but he did remember thatMr. Colfax “tame to him with a negative”— taking it for granted that no extra session would be called, and not once suggesting the propriety of calling one; but merely informing him how he (Colfax) might be overtaken on his Western trip with the in formation that one was about to be called, should it be decided upon. “As to an ex tra session for the purpose of settling the reconstruction question,” said the Presi dent, “Secretary Welles will tell you that Mr. Lincoln said to him one day that he had no idea of calling it; but that they (meaning the Administration) had better go to work and get it all out of the way before Congress met to fuss about it.” TIIE MARYLAND TROUBLES. He spoke ofthe threatened troubles of a year ago in Maryland, when, he said, the Radicals wanted to get up a rebellion that might possibly involve Washington, and thus get him out of the way by a shorter cut than impeachment. “I "knew what they were after, and had determined they shouldn’t succeed. I had forces here ready to put down any attempt at disturbance, and when they found that out, they didn’t go very far. Congress has called for some correspondence on the subject, but there is a good deal behind yet that they haven’t called for, and probably don’t want. SOMETHING ABOUT STANTON. One of Stanton’s last suggestions in the Cabinet, he said, was to increase the regular army to its maximum—which would put it at nearly a hundred thousand men ; also, to have an order issued making desertion punishable by death. Stanton came iu one day with a proposition embracing these two points, reduced to writing. The President expressed his astonishment, and inquired if General Grant approved such a thing. Stanton replied in the affirmative. “Well,” said tho President, “I am op posed to each of tho propositions, and especially to both of them.” Stanton went on to say the army was deserting in platoons, and nothing but a rigorous en forcement of the death penalty would stop it. The President said he never heard of such a thing as shooting for desertion in time of peace. Stanton replied that there was a law on the statute-books now au thorizing it, but he couldn’t find it. The President said the country would be unable to bear the expense of the army filled to the maximum. It would be a hundred millions a year. But Stanton in sisted that it ought to be done. When General Grant came into the Cabinet the President asked him if he had approved of Stanton’s and he replied that he had not —that he hadn’t seen them, and knew nothing of them. “I could never approve of a thing like that,” said Mr. Johnson, “to bankrupt the North in order to raise a big army to overrun the South. There’s too much of an army now, and it’s too expensive already.” It will be observed from the above that the American Carnot had a back-action idea in view, which was to recruit the army up to the maximum first, and then shoot it down to the minimum. The original Carnot never equaled that in brilliancy of conception. A GOOD JOKE ON GRANT. This is as good a place as any to tell what I conceive to be a good joke at Grant’s expense, perpetrated by so grave a person as Attorney General Stanbery. My authority is unquestionable, as, in fact, it always is. Soon after Grant’s ac cession to tne Cabinet he brought up a proposition, in Cabinet meeting, in regard to the.abolition of whipping as a punish ment for crime in the South. The whip ping-post, he said, was a relic of bar barism, and it ought to be abolished. All the Cabinet officers agreed on that point, but they differed as to the propriety of in terfering against the penal laws of a State. Such punishment was being gradually abolished anyhow, and would soon disap pear entirely. But Grant believed that something ought to be done by the army to prevent its continuance. It was so barbarous that it ought not to be tolerated a day longer. Stanbcry glanced at the General and said, inaquiet way : “I be lieve you still buck and gag men and tie them up by the thumbs in the army, within a mile of this house, don’t you ?” “Yes,” the General said, “that had to be done sometimes.” “Well, it seems to me,” replied Stan bery, “that it’s a little worse to buck and gag a man for geting tipsy than to whip him for larceny. If you had to choose, would you rather be whipped or gagged ?” The General had to acknowledge that, as between the two, he’d take the whip ping ; and he postponed future remarks on the barbarism of the whipping-post to some future meeting. Mack. Gov. .Jenkins Removed. Atlanta, January 13, a. m. —The fol lowing order was issued this morning: Headq’rs Third Military District, 1 Atlanta, Ga., January 13th, 1808. J General Order Mo. 8 : Ist. Charles J. Jenkins, Provisional Governor, and John Jones, Provisional Treasurer, of the State of Georgia, having declined to respect the instructions of and failed to co-operate with the Major Gener al Commanding the Third Military District, are hereby removed from office. 2d. By order ofthe, authority granted by the Supplementary Reconstruction Act of Congress, passed July PJth, 1867, the following named officers are detailed for duty iu the District of Georgia: Brevet Brig. Gen. Thomas H. Huger, Col. 33d Infantry, to be Governor of the State of Georgia ; Brevet Captain Charles F. Rock well, Ordinance Corps United States Army, to be Treasurer of the State of Georgia. 3d. The above named officers will pro ceed, withoutdelay, to Milledgeville, Geor gia, and enter upon the discharge of the duties devolving upon them, subject to in structions from these headquarters. By order of 31 aJ. Gen Meade. R. C. Drum, A. A. G, At ten o clock A. M. this order was read to the Convention amid applause at section first. Picayune Butle^ Richmond, January 13, p. m.—Gen. Butler arrived to-day. A large concourse of blacks were at the depot, and a proces sion) of deputations of colored socie ties, and a large number of promi nent Republicans in coaches escorted him to his hotel. He speaks to-night. [SECOND DISPATCH.] Richmond, January 13, p. m . —(j eD . Butler addressed an immense crowd at the African church. to-night. He advocated equal political rights for the blacks, equal powers in the Government, and an equal burden in supporting it. The lands should bear its part in the taxation, and the bur den will not be thrown on the laboring man. He said the time for confiscation whether right or wrong was gone, and he did not think his audience now expected it. [Cries of no we do not.] He advised the Southern men to divide their lands as it must come to that at last. The men who worked land would eventually be the owners of land. He did not believe any war of races would occur; if it did it would not come from the blacks. He argued against the folly of Southern people re maining out of the Union hoping lor bet ter times. These they could not get, for whatever other changes might take place the Senate would not change for six years, and before two years could expire the ad mission of the States to their rights jin the Union would be accomplished on the present terms. Sixteenth Day's Proceedings or the Georgia I'ncomtltutional Convention. REPORTED FOR THE ATLANTA DAILY INTEL LIGENCER. Saturday, January 11, 1868. Convention met—President Parrott in the Chair. Prayer by the Chaplain. Jour nal of previous day read and confirmed. L. X. Trammell, being entitled to the floor, resumed his discussion m.opposition to tho Ashburn resolution, and in support of his substitute therefor. [Tho reporter will here reproduce Ashburn’s resolution in order to give the reader a clear idea of the matter under discussion. It is as fol lows : Resolved, That we, the Representatives of i lie people of Georgia, in Convention assembled, respectfully represent to the Congress of the United States, that it is essentia! to the successful execution of the Reconstruction laws that the provisional government of the State should bo exe cuted by’ such persons only as are made eligible by the following clause of the tith section of the “Act to provide for a more efficient government of the Rebel States,” viz: “And no person shall be eligible to any office under any such provisional government who would be disqualified from holding office under the provisions of tiie 3d article of said Constitutional Amendment,” said section 3d of said Con stitutional amendment being : No person shall be eligible “who, having previously taken an oath as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a memberofany State Legislature, judicial officer of any' State, to support tho Consti tution ofthe United States, shall have en gaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to tire enemy;” aud we, therefore, respectfully recommend that this Convention bo clothed with an operative authority, the same as delegated to the District Com mander in section 2d of tho Supplemental Reconstruction Act, passed July' 19, 1867 ; and that we further petition Congress toat once amend the Reconstruction Act, so that all persons who have aided recon struction under the saidjaw, aud are so en dorsed by this Convention, shall bo eligible to office in the provisional government. Resolved, That the Secretary be, and he is hereby instructed to transmit at once a copy of this resolution to the Speaker of tho House of Representatives, and to the President ofthe Senate. Also, the substitute of L. N. 'Trammell, which is as follows : “ licsolvsd, That our confidence in the firmness, ability and fidelity of Major General George G. Meade is full and com plete ; that we hereby express our opinion that lie conics among us to execute the laws ofthe United States ; that his powers are ample and complete, and that he has the will to etlect the res'oration of the State to its full relations as a Stato of the Union.” Tho remarks of Mr. Trammell were to the effect that the purpose of Ashburn’s resolution was to crush out tho last vestige of civil government now remaining in Georgia, and he hoped to save tiie State lrotn a day so dark, and would therefore urge upon the Convention tiie adoption of his substitute. If there was no intention to wrest from General Meade the power he enjoys, and if there was no want of confi dence in the ability of that officer to forward in a proper manner the matter of Reconstruction, hero was an opportunity to so express themselves. Tho issue was a plain one, but it Would pot be met. The true purpose was plain to the whole coun try. There were vulture beaks scenting the “flesh pots,’ 1 and the question of spoils would be brought to an easy solution ifthe civil government of Georgia could be swept out of existence— Here Mr. Trammell was requested bo yield the floor in order to have a reading of the Ashburn resolution, when Mr. Tram mell gave way to Dr. H. V. M. Miller, who desired to remark upon it, and did so at considerable length. His lino of argument was able and conclusive, and his opposi tion to a scheme so mendacious was open and manly. It was thelegitimatehusiness of this Convention to make a Constitution for Georgia, but he liadobserved, from day today', no matter what sort of a beginning was mado in tiie morning, that before two o’elock(the hour for adjournment)arrived, the Convention would veer around, and a dash would he made at tho Treasury, or some effort looking to the spoils of office, rear its hydra-head. [Applause iu the lobby.] That was a poor way to make a Constitution. He alluded to tho letter of John Sherman, M. C., read on the previous day, and criticised it sentence by sentence. It seemed that someone in the Convention had intimated to that gentleman that there were fears about reconstruction. How afraid ? Net of personal violence, certainly, for there was law, civil and mili tary, to protect every man. The Con vention was assuredly in peaceful as semblage, and nothing Within the limits of the Stato to make it afraid. Its duty was plain and specific—the military hill clearly stated wluit \yas to bo done. Then why had Mr. Sherman been informed that fears were entertained about recon struction ? And what more power did the Convention want that Mr. Sherman should send and request that it be asked for ? (The speaker pursued this at some length, but want of space will not allow us to follow him.) He thought tho Ashburn resolution was discourteous to General Meade. In fact, it implied a want of con fidence in, and amounted to little else than a, direct insult to, that distinguished soldier. lie could not vote for the resolu tion because it would lie saying to Con gress, to the countrv, and to Gen. Meade himself, that lie haft no confidence in him. He was not prepared to say that the Gen eral would not faithfully perform his duties, for ho had not been tried. He be lieved, and hoped, that ho would. In re gard to the displacement of civil officers (the only purpose of tho resolution), Dr. Miller said that such a step was not ne cessary to the completion of the work this body had been created to do. There were in the State about (i,(H)u civil of fices, and, should Congress he stu pid enough to grant the power asked, it was utterly impracticable for Ibis Conven tion to Jill that number of places with loyal men. It would take uiitijl tho next flood to do it. From the difficulty' experienced in officering this body at the outset, he was safo in asserting I hat there would be wrangling for at least ajweek, in many instances, in finding a suitable person to fill a bailiff’s office, not to mention others of more importance and more pay. Thus it would operate, and the idea of this Con vention taking charge ofthe six thousand civil offices in the State was too absurdly ridiculous to be entertained fora moment! The state of affairs in this once proud old commonwealth under such a netty reign of power would indeed he amusing! (Ap plause in the lobby, when J. E. Bryant asked that tho lobby be cleared. Chair said such would he done if it way not stop ped.) Think of the aspirants, continued the spoakor, whose clams would at once bo urged for tho Gubernatorial Chair. Any man who happened to he within the bor ders ofthe State would by eligible. It did not matter, under the resolution, iffie hud only resided here twelve hours. A gentle man from Timlmetoo, Kamschatka, or the chief of the Arapahoe Indians, if he should chauco to get the inside track, would step into the Chair of the State Executive.— Even the loader of tho Savannah delega tion (Aaron Alpeoria) might be planed in the position. He could not find language to depict a proposition so immeasurably ridiculous [Repeated applause in the lobby.] G. W. Ashburn arose to inquire if civil < officers were not required to take an oath ? | And if so, had those now in position taken I that oath? If they had not were they legal j officers? All who had, or could take R, i were eligible and might remain, perhaps. j The resolution said nothing "about re- I movals, and lie tjid not see why the gen- j tlernan from Fulton should harp on that ] point so mLicit I>r, Miller replied that the present offi cials were in position and bast not taken suqh oaths ; and while the resolution did not say as much, a man with one idea could see that not one of them could retain their places under the resolution. They were men of honor, and would not perjure themselves. They differed troin the multitude now clamoring for dis placement! for they could swear to any thing—could take any oath. (Ashburn, inconstant interruption, aided by several negro delegates.) The absurdity lie he continually heard about there being no law in Georgia was all wrong. Wo had the laws Georgia always had—provisional though they be. Everything done was legal, for the very Military Bill which created,this body made it so. Overthrow the present civil government of Georgia and this Convention becomes a tyxjy en permanence. It must remain in session to wield the Legislative aud judicary power of the Stater Ashburn said thatjthis Convention would remaininsessionunt.il Georgia was re stored to the Union, “Precisely,” replied Dr. Miller. “I am obliged to tho gentlemen for his candor. I am well aware that it is not the purpose of this Convention to adjourn. If the people of Georgia reject the Constitution, here you will remain in perpetuity to grind the already down-trodden people—and to further wrong and outrage them. Such a programme is monstrous, violative of every principle of civil liberty, and can only end in anarchy ! Your Constitution is mere clerical labor until the people of the State shall give it vitality. The Mili tary Bill imposes that task upon them. The people were indifferent about the Convention, and hence the small vote upon the question. They knew that it was left them to condemn or approve its action and they held back to vote on the Consti tution, and he thanked God that General Meade told this Convention yesterday that the people should have a fair chance to de cide the question at the Dallot-box. The power sought by the resolution would he free to tax without limit, control, and ruin this ouoe great State. (Con stantly interrupted by Ashburn.) it was an effort of persons now in acci dental position to usurp power. (Inter rupted by half-dozen uegro delegates.) We stand*here not tho representatives of the property of Georgia, and it becomes us to use care how we usurp rights, or in terfere with that property and people. Tho form of government sought to tie set up by the resolution is worse than the mind of man ever before conceived. It is a specie of Jacobinism of which the pcoplo of Georgia should be warned in time. The people should know that this Convention, instead of confining itself to its legitimate business of making a Constitution, seeks to wield a power not belonging to it, and NEW SERIES VOL. XXVII. NO. 3. a power that will ruin them. (Dunning and Ashburn both rose to a question.) It was boldly' charged outside that this Con vention does not propose to make a Con stitution that the people can aocept. Ifthe people should reject, tho Convention would not care, for tho power would be in its bands. He did not charge that such was its intention; but was compelled to ad mit that the proprosed measure looked that way, and he desired to lift his voice against it, and he wouid to God that he eould make it resound in the halls of Coni gress. [The reporter regrets that ho can give qut an imperfect report of Dr. Miller’s able and manly speech.] A. T. Akerman followed. He desired to approve mueh that the gentleman bad said. It was evidently tho purpose of tho Convention to get possession of all tho offices in the State, There were, iu his opinion, but two persons who had the power to remove civil officers—Meade and Grant. He thought some officers should be removed, aud would be, but was op posed to the Ashburn resolution. Mr. Akerman’s remarks were extended to some length, but want of space will not permit us to follow him. lie concluded by offering an amendment to the Ashburn resolution, in the event it should pass, to the effect that no man iu this Convention shall accept a civil office. J. E. Bryant made a rambling speech in defence of the measure, during the delivery of which Mr. Waddell asked him if ho would accept tho Akerman amendment. This question he evaded at the time, but being subsequently pressed to an answer, said that so far as he was individually con cerned he would. Mr. Trammell in quired if ho would accept the Military Bill as it is, and oloso the whole argument, Bryant dodged again, and promised to an swer after a while. As the gentleman was taking his seat, Mr. Waddell pressed liis question as to, the Military Bill, when Bry ant answered that he would, with some alterations or amendments, or changes. HeroJ. E. Blount arose aud demanded the floor to know if J. E. Bryant meant to be personal in some allusion in his speech, the nature of which this reporter did not catch at the time. J. E. llryaut disclaimed such purpose. J. E. Blount said hereafter any allusion whatever of the gentleman to him would he construed into a personality'. J. E. Bryant said he boarded at the National Hotel. Mr. Whitelely moved that further dis cussion of tho subject bo dispensed with, and that tho Clerk be requested to read a substitute ho would offer for Mr. Ashburu’s resolution, when the Clerk read as follows: Whereas, Tho Reconstruction Acts recognize tho existence of a government withinthe limitsof Georgia—subject to the military commander ot the district, and the paramount authority of Congress—un der which certain officials hold office; and Wit sheas. The term for which said officials as set forth in the laws allowed to operate within said limits has expired, and said officials hold only by reason of a failure to provide their successors ; and Whereas. A great many of said offi cials are hostile to, and aro using their in fluenceagainst the restoration of Georgiato the Union, and by so doing are not only seriously retarding the work of reconstruc tion, but also materially affecting the prosperity of the State: Therefore, Resolved, That the Convention do here by request the legislative department of the Government of the United States to authorize this body to declare vacant the chief executive offices ofthe State, and to fill the same, as well as to provido for the removal through the chief executive offi cer of the State thus elected, of all persons who are hostile to reconstruction, and the filling of such vacancies by said executive. Resolved, That the Convention, in justice-to tho friends of restoration under the Reconstruction Acts, do hereby re quest the department aforesaid to relieve all such existing disabilities, that they may be eligible to fill the vacancies thus created. Resolved, That the Convention do further request the modification of the Test Oath, so as to admit of all persons who have aided or abetted the late war against the United States holding office therein; Pro vided, such persons honestly regret the past, and aro earnestly attached to, and are determined to labor for, iho return of the States, on the basis of the Reconstruc tion Acts. Itcsolved, That a copy of the foregoing preamble and resolutions be forwarded by the President of the Convention to the President of the United States, the Presi dent of the Senate, and tho Speaker of the House of Representatives. Mr. Wliiteley moved thatthisbe adopted as a substitute for all previous resolutions and amendments on the subject of civil government and civil officers, aud that the whole matter be laid over to Monday. C. C. Richardson was satisfied with Ash burn’s resolution, and moved the “pre vious question,” upou which the yeas aud nays were taken as follows: Yeas 6, nays 128. Mr. Wliiteley then moved to lay thoreso lution and substitute on the table. Car T ried. Mr. Waddell moved that 200 copies of them be printed. Carried. J. E. Bryant moved to make them the special order for Monday'. Carried. Mr. McCoy offered tho following resolu tion, which was adopted after a suspension of the rules : Resolved, That the Secretary be directed to furnish to Major General Meade a copy of the temporary ordinance passed by this Convention for the temporary relief of the people against further sales of property' under legal process, and a copy of the preamble and resolutions passed on yes terday, requesting him to cause it to be enforced until further action of this Con vention. Leaves of absence were (granted to sev eral members, when the Convention ad journed to Monday. [There are two points for tho reader to particularly noto in tho above. I.—Mr. Trammell did not succeed iu getting the Convention to endorse Gonerai Meade. 2.—Tho refusal to entertain the “previous question” (which was the Ashburn reso lution), when it was called up by C. C. Richardson, was owing to some misgiving in tho minds ofthe Radical wing an to its success if action was then taken. Hence their ready willingness to a postponement in order that the plan might be a little bet rer fixed up. Tho fight made by Messrs. Miller, Akerman and Trammell against the infamous measure to break up tho civil government of Georgia was a noble one—and, we may add, an effective one for tho time being, at least. What will be the result of Monday’s deliberations on the iniquitous scheme we are m>t prepared to say, hut it is some consolation to know that the venomous attack upon our suf fering commonwealth was met and van quished by manly effort for a while —brief though that while may be. The reader will understand that our argument is based on the supposition that, should the Ashburn resolution be adopted, the rump concern now in assemblage at Washington would at once grant the power asked for. The letter of John Sherman gives us as surance of that. —Editor.) SEVENTEENTH DAY. Convention mot —President Parrott in the Chair- Prayer by tho Chaplain—Jour nal of Saturday last read and confirmed. (The President retires from the Chair, and B Conley, of Richmond, in temporary ocoupaney.) J E Bryant moved that the rules be sus pended for the purpose of changing the hours of assembling aud adjourning (his Convention. Carried. II K McCoy, Chairman eff the Commit tee on Legislative Department, sent in a report, which \yrs read by tiie Clerk, The vffilujry order of Genera! Meade, removing the Governor of Georgia, and the Treasurer, was sent to tho Clerk’s desk, and directed to be read. The an nouncement was received with prolonged and sjormy applause by the Convention. O C Richardson presented a minority report from the Committee on the Legisla tive Department, J E Bryant then introd iced his resolu tion changing the hours for assembling and adjournment. Tho resolution pro posed 10 o’clock A. M., and lo’ciock P. M., as suitable hours:for assembling ; and 3 o’clock and— o’clock for adjournment. Tiie purpose of this resolution was to provide for an afternoon session, which csuld bo prolonged to such hour in the afternoon or night as might he deemed proper. The mover of this resolution did not want a specified hour for adjourning the Jatter session. As tho rules now stood, important debate was often CUt off by the arrival of the fixed hour for adjourn ment. A T i\lt«i'iiinn favored the resolution, hut would amend it by having it to take effect on Thursday next. Considerable debate ensued on the sub ject, which was participated in by C C Richardson, J K iffyant, J L Dunning, B P Bedford. JR Parrott, N L Angier, Aaron Alpeoria Bradley, and S W Beaird, the two latter being negroes, B P Bedford opposed the resolution. He did not wish to increase thehours of labor. They were now sufficient for the intellect of this body. If members labored faith fully from 10 to 2 o’clock they would bo tired. ’They would go to dinner at 2 o’clock, eat heavily, and return to this Hall full, in a good humor, and easy natured ! The result would fie lazy and'indill'erent legislation, and the better part of next day would be consumed in reconsidering the previous afternoon’s work. J E Bryant was not afraid of eating too much dinner, and he did not agree with the gentleman that tho intellect of this as semblage was incablo of further pressure. It was capable of doing more work, and since i t had boon eiiarged that there was a disposition to delay legislation, he would refute such charges by increasing the labor. K H Whitely was opposed to the move. He agreed with Mr. Bedford. Ho knew that there was done more work—quietly done in the interregnum ofadjournment— than was done while the Convention was in session. The members wanted time to confer with each other—to discuss this or that measure—and to make up their minds as to the best course to pursue when the body should assemble, and measures caine up tor consideration and action. He should oppose the resolution. The members were already sufficiently taxed. He did not wish to see the imper fect legislation that would result from such a move. J K Bryant insisted upon the resolution. K B Bullock tavored the move in a few remarks, when a vote was taken and the resolution lost. C D Davis offered a resolution relating to the time occupied in discussion. Tho resolution fixed tho i>eritid of fifteen minutes as long enough for uny man to speak at a time. A T Akerman approved this in remarks of some length. G W Ashburu wanted plonty of time for discussion. We have just emerged from a revolution of arms, and are now passing through a revolution of ideas. It was pre posterous! The idea of confining a gentle man to fifteen minutes when he should essay to discuss the great questions of tnis day and generation. N L Angier moved to adjourn, since it was apparent that no business would be done to-day. Already had the better part of the morning boon consumed in doing literally nothin'; J E Bryant was opposed to C D Davis’ resolution, for be wanted an abundance of time for discussion. 0 D Davis urged the matter, but the question being called for, his resolution was tost. J E Bryant moved that the reso lution, and substitutes—they having been made a special matter for to-day—be taken up. Motion carried. G W Ashburn rose in support of his resolution. He had hoped timt it would not meet with any opposition in this body —but was mistaken, u had been bitterly attacked on Saturday last by gentlemen oil this floor, and it was incumbent upon him to reply to the charges of the gentleman from Fulton (H V M Miller), aud Messrs. Akerman aud Trammell- lie hurled back from whence they camo the asser tion that his resolution contemplated a raid upon the State Treasury. Such was not its purpose. Reconstruction was tho end aimed at, and that could neiu r bo un til tho present State officiols were v moved, for they were obstacles to it. lie won hi reiterate liis charge that present ollieials were now using their power, and funds of tho State, too, that reconstruction might be defeated, and to forward the recom mendations of the late Macon Convention of “so-called” Conservatives. Let loyal men get in these positions and the same effective means shall be used to restore Georgia to her oneo proud ■station in tho Union of our Fathers. 110 further eharg.st that tho present, civil government w Tin co-operation with Andrew Johnson, and his kind of reconstruct ion. Governor Jenkins had been respected for his private worth and purity of character, but his day had ended, lie was in favor of return ing every officer in the State who was in the way of reconstruction, if it took until July next to do it. He wanted to get pos session of the enemy’s strongholds at Sa vannah, Macon, Atlanta and Columbus. The condition of affairs in the latter place could only ho appreciated by someone who had been in li—ll for a few days. Certainly it was out of his power to describe it. 110 was pleased to know that Augusta was in loyal hands, and would there remain. Tho enemy cannot be vanquished until routed from his fortified positions. Let us do this and turn his own guns upon him. Tito gentleman from Fulton had charged that it was “impracticable” to tili the positions thus vacated. This was a mistake. There would he no difficulty whatever. Every county in tho .State had a representative upon this floor, and ho was-satisfied that there was moral courage and worth enough in this body to fill them all, and fill them properly. The speech of G. W. Ashburn was a lengthy one— was a written one, and read from tho manuscript We have not space lo tbllow him. J II Caldwell rose in support of the Whitely substitute, and read from tho manuscript his entire speech. His re marks were mainly directed at Dr. Miller and were spun out to such a length that the reporter cannot follow him. He wont over about tho same ground as that of G. W Ashburn, save that ho frankly admit ted that he, and his side of tho houso would not vote for Mr. Trammell’s lauda tory resolution of Gctt. Meade, notwith standing he had as much respect for that soldier as any man, and.so did tho Con vention, but it was in bad taste for tiro conquered to extol tho conqueror. When J H Caldwell concluded, it was moved by G W Ashburn that the whole matter be laid on the table. Carried. A T Akerman• presented the Minority report of tho Committee on Relief, w Inc jt was read by tho Clerk, and ordered to be printed. C C Richardson offered a resolution that the Committee on Printing bo empowered to employ three stenographic reporters fer tile Convention. A T Akerman moved as a substitute that three stenographic reporters lie em ployed, aud that one of tho city paters be engaged to publish the full proceedings of the Convention as made by said reporters and that each member be supplied \ v .Vr ten copies of the paper daily. He would urge this for the reason that contempt had been thrown upon this Convention by rho caricature reports which had been sect abroad, and it was full time iliat the no tion of this body, its business, its delibera tions, and all llmt pertained to it were truthfully represented. [Just hero this reporter would remark that his life can never have a greater regret than that he has been wholly unable to do just what Mr. Akerman wants. The Convention may congratulate itself upon his ineoni peteney. It is a show that must bo visited to be appreciated—pen and paper cannot portray it.] J E Blount opposed tho proposition. It would add one thousand dollars a dav to tho expenses ot this Convention. The people of Georgia would no doubt bo glad (aud this reporter thinks so, too !; to ha V o the information, but would they bo will ing to foot the bills? Tho resolution was discussed at somo length by several members, when so muc h ol it as authorised Lite employment of three competent stenographic reporters was adopted, and that part relating to tho selection of a city paper to publish, and tho furnishing of ten copies to each member, was referred to tho Committee on Print ing. H M Turner (negro), said the question of relief would come up iu a lew days, and a vote upon it ((Bradley rose to a point of order, but was silenced), would betaken. He wanted to know if this was a territory , and if so can we pass bills of relief? lio wanted to oiler a resolution," and did so, to the effect that if Georgia sustains territo rial relations to the United Slates this ( m veution cannot pass bills of relief. Tins was laid on the tabic, and fioo copies order ed to be printed. Convention adjourned. from the Hem York llmiltl. Another Reconstruction Bill. The Reconstruction Committee h id a long meeting this morning, and aft ; owe discussion it was agreed to report ti fol lowing Bill, which will be laid House on Monday, and an effort made to pass it under the operation of the previous question: Be it enacted, <£/;., That in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Florida and Arkansas, the civil State gov ernments in said States respectively shall not be recognized as valid or legal State governments, either by tho executive or judicial power or authority of the United States. Section 2. Be it further enacted, That for the speedy enforcement of the act enti tled “An act to provide for a more efficient government of the rebel States,” passed March 2, 1867, and the several acts supple mentary thereto, the General of the Army of the United States is hereby- authorized and required to enjoin by special orders upon all officers in command within the several military departments within said States, the performance of the acts au thorized by said several laws above re cited, and to remove by his order from command any or all of said commanders and detail other officers of said army not below the rank of colonel. to perform all duties and exercise all the powers author ized by said several acts, to the end that the people of said several States may speedily reorganize civil governments, republican in form, in said several States, and be restored to political powers in the Union. Sec. 3. Be it farther enacted, Tljat the General of the Army is authorized to re move any or ail civil officers now acting under the several provisional governments within said several disorganized States, and appoint others to discharge the duties per taining to their respective offices, and may do any or all acts which by said several laws above mentioned are authorized to be done by the several commanders of milita ry departments within said States ; and so much of said acts or any act as authorizes the President to detail military command ers to said military departments, or to re move any officers which may be derailed as herein provided, is hereby repealed. Sec, 4. Be it further enacted, That it shall be unlawful for the President of the United States to orderany part of the army or navy of the United States to assist by force of arms the authority of cither of said provisional governments in said disorganized States, to oppose or ob struct the authority of the United States as provided in this act and--the acts to which this is supplementary. Sec. 5. Be it further enact'd, 'j lint any interference by any person with intent to prevent by force the execution of die or ders of the General of the Army, made in pursuance of this act and the acts afore said, shall be held to be a high wf .-de meanor, and the party guilty thereof, shall upon conviction be fined not exceed ing five thousand dollars and imprisoned not exceeding two years. Sec. 6. Be it further enacted. That so much of all acts and parts of acts as con flict or arc inconsistent with tho provisions of this act are hereby repealed. The vote in the Committee on the bill was : Yeas —Messrs. Boutweli, Bingham, Farnsworth, Hubbard, Boaman, and Paine. Nays—Messrs. Stevens, of Pa., Brooks and Beck. Mr. Stevens, it is stated, was decidedly opposed to the bill, and during the con sultation wanted some provision adopted by which the Congressional represent !■ i of the Southern States would bo incre . .-•»! to the extent of ten on a wider basis than that which now prevails,
