Georgia Historic Newspapers

    OLD SERIES, VOL. LXXVI.
Chvouicle k Sentinel
AUGUSTA. <.A :
W KD.VK.SOA Y H 17.
Tax Returns of Richmond County.—
The following return - have been given us
by Mr. Matthew Sheron, the tax a--e«6or
of Richmond county,and we publish them,
believing they will he found of general in
terest to our readers: Number of colored
polls in the county, 1 ,552; number of white
polls, 1,501 ; total number of polls, 5,053 ;
number of profes-ioi. , beventy-two; Den
tists, nine; Daguerreaus, Photographists,
Ambrotypistg, and other similar artists,
four ; Billiard tables, eight; Auctioneers,
three ; Ton I’m Alley, Bagatelle Tabic or
other stand or table for public, play, three ;
number of children between the ages of
sixteen and eighteen, nineteen hundred
and thirty ; number of road hands, two
hundred and forty-six ; total number of
acres of land in the county, one hundred
and sixty eight thousand six hundred and
ninety-one ; aggregate value of land sll,-
257,131 ; aggregate value of city and town
property, $5,897,570; amount of money
aud solvent debts ot all kinds $1,663,270;
capital invested in merchandizesl,27o,49o;
capital invested in shipping and tonnage
$1,200; capiia] invested in stocks and
bonds $1,579,105 ; taxable capital invested I
in cotton manufactories $250,000; capital:
invested in iron-works, foundries, etc.,
$2,000 ; capital invested in ruining $5,000;
value of household and kitchen furniture
$256,975; plantation and mechanical tools
above the value ol ssuo, $51,600; value of
all other property not before enumerated,
except annual crops, provisions, etc.,
$198,138; value of wild lands owned by
residents of this county $35,325; aggre
gate value of the whole property of the
county $12,300,769; aggregate value niter
deducting S2OO, $11,953,368.
In this connection it may not be utiinler {
e -iting to give the following statistics of
Richmond county and the city of Augusta,
taken from the labt census report of the
United States—that of i860: at that
tirno the population of the city was in the
first Ward (including whites anil blacks)
3,164; Second Ward, 2,383; Third Ward,
2,218, Fourth Ward, 4,728—t0tal popula
tion, 12,493; of this number, 8,830 were
free whites, 8,841, colored, 386—and
3,663 were slaves. The population of Rich
mond county wus 12,405 whites, 440 free
colored, and 8,389 slaves; total population
21,284. The number of acres of improved
lands in farms was 51,313; unimproved
lauds in farms 159,272; cash value of farms,
$2,105,079; value of farming implements
and machinery, $62,911; number of horses,
t,484; mules, 914; milch cows, 2,122;
working oxen, 1 HO; other cattle, 3,622;
sheep, 2,220; swine, 11,489; total value ol
live stock, $417,325. The number of slave
holders was 901, and the slaves 8,389.
Os manufacturing establishments Rich
mond county had 47; capital invested,
$1,057,200: cost of raw material, $844,-
4(H); hands employed, males, 591, females,
259; annual cost of labor, $234,696; an
nual value of products, $1,362,642. The
number of churches was 20; aggregate
accommodation, 10,050; value of" church
property, $304,500. The real and personal
estate in the county was valued at $26,-
921,119 real estate, $8,931,660, and per
sonal estate, $17,987,459.
Important Arrest. —A notorious char
actor, known at Athens, (!a , as Edward
Franklin MeManuman, was brought to this
city Wednesday afternoon on the Georgia
Railroad day (ruin, from Athens, in charge
of two officers named John Bird and If.
Hood, also ucoctnpanied by 11. Dempsey,
Asst. Hupt. of the Southern Express Com
pany.
On the night of the 28th of February
last, the office of the Southern Express
Company at Cairo, Ua., was broken into
and robbed of a paekago of three hundred
dollars or thereabouts, belonging to the
Company, also of some money bel nging
to the Atlantic & Gulf Railroad Company,
and a pistol belonging to the agent of tho !
Express Company. On Monday, March j
Ist, this man McManaman purchased a i
suit of clothes in the town for forty dollars | j
and seemed flush of funds beside. Suspi- !
cion at once pointed to this man as being ;
tho thief. Ho was a comparative stranger
in that neighborhood and seemed not to l
belong to or hail from any particular
place, yet appeared to be acquainted every- 1
where in Georgia; particularly at Athens, i
where ho claimed to ho a blood relation of !
every respectable family there, aud named i
as 1 1 is aunt a Mrs. K., with whom he had j
lived for some time, and acted lor her as :
overseer on her plantation.
Suspicion was strengthened against him ;
by Ills strange movements on Tuesday ,
morning. He purchased a ticket to go to
Savannah, by rail, Tuesday afternoon, but
by that time tho Express Agent had taken ;
out a warrant for his arrest, and had it
oxceuted. After this was effected he was j
searched and one hundred aud thirty dol
lars in greenbacks found on him; this, with
forty dollars paid for the suit of clothes,
making one hundred and seventy dollars.
No papers were found on him, as he was
seen to burn them before being arrested,
together with some leaves from his memo
randum hook. The Agent being a young
man, and not having much experience iu
such matters, allowed tho prisoner in some
manner to make his escape. After this
occurod, however, other and more positive
proofs of guilt were adduced against him;
then it was the agent telegraphed to
the Agent in Savannah, giving a descrip
tion of MeManuman, or as he was
known at Cairo, K- F Franklin. In the
mean time, Mr. Dempsey, Asst Superin
tendent. and Mr. Cronin, Route Agent,
arrived in Savannah iron) Florida, and .
got wind of the little a’ air at Cairo, and j
Mr.* Cronin was dispatched to Cairo to in
vestigate the case and report to Mr. Demp
sey immediately. His report came to
Augusta on Friday night, sth inst , when
measures were taken to find the man
Franklin, alias McManaman, alias
River, alias Wilson. The Agent at
Athens, Captain Williams, received
a telegram descriptive of the man of
many aliasts, and at 4 o'clock p. m , Sat
urday, 6th, he made his appearance at
the Express office, in charge of the two
efficient officers. Hood aud Bird, to whose
cool courage the public is indebted for this
valuable service—the arrest of one of the
most daugerous characters about Athens,
a perfect terror to the colored population
of that p]a,v and the surrounding coun
try. Mr. Frankiin-MeManaman Rivers-
M ilson is now safely put away iu charge
of Mr. Bridges, the man who never lost a
prisoner, and where he will remain until
ordered to Thomas county, where the
offeuce was e minted for which he
stands charged. Ftie attempt to ar*
rest this man was attended with
great risk to those who effected it,
from the fact that he (MeM.) had
killed a negro near Athens in 1667, for
which he was indicted aud a true bill for
murder found against him. A warrant was
issued for his arrest on said indictment
bearing date January -od, 1666, which
has been iu the hands of the Sheriff of
Ciark county ever sinoe without any pros
pect of being executed, for MeM. bid de
fiance to Sheriff and posse. Then a de
tachment of U. S. negro troops from
Athens was sent after him; those he also
laughed at and eluded. About this time
he left Athens and next we find him
operating on the Express Company, whose
vigilanoe, however, he could not so easily
escape. From this little sketch it will be
seen that a Tartar is caught, aod the law
abiding public is, in a degree, indebted to
the officers of the Southern Express Com
pany for their indomitable energy and per
severance in following up the desperado aud,
spite of all obstacles, effecting his arrest.
President Johnson's Address.
Whatever else may be said against
Andrew Johnson, his honesty ; f character
and integrity of purpose cannot be im
peached. There is no man liiing who un
■ derstands more thoroughly the principles
upon which this government of co-equal,
sovereign States was founded and adminis
tered by the Fathers of the Republic and
their successors up to the late war. Com
prehending fully the theory, principles and
precedents which underlie the Union, he
made an honest, but unsuccessful, effort
to stop tho tide of wild fanaticism,
which his own first steps in recon
struction had instigated, and restore
all the States to their rightful and
constitutional relations to the General Gov
ernment. His policy and his recommenda
lions were frustrated and ridiculed. We
believe that the motives of Mr. Johnson
were honest and for the good of the whole
country. But he has failed. Histheoriesand
his experiments and his acts belong to his
tory,and the impartial historian should find
no difficulty io approving the conservative
and constitutional acta of Mr. Johnson
while he condemns the revolutionary and
unconstitutional actions of Congress, which
is responsible for a dismembered Govern
ment.
President Johnson has issued a farewell
address to the American people on the eve
of his retiring from the Presidential office.
His address we publish this morning. It
is a review of tho history of the country
for the last four years, embracing the true
principles of Republican government.—
Like all of Mr. Johnson’s State papers, it
is clear, forcible nnd logical, and presents
suggestions and admonitions to the Ameri
can people, an observance of which can
alone save the Government from decay,
anarchy and despotism.
The Secretary or the Treasury.
11 is not very strange that Gen. Grant
should have nominated aud appointed as
his Secretary of the Treasury, a gentleman
who is disqualified by law to hold the
office, hut we do think it very remarkable
that the nomination should have been
unanimously confirmed by the Senate. It
was to he presumed that some member of
the Senate was sufficiently acquainted with
the laws of the land, to know that slr.
Stewart was ineligible. But when we
consider that tho law which disqualified
Mr. Stewart was the original act creating
the Treasury Department of the Govern
ment, which has been in force since the
foundation of the Government itself, our
surprise is increased that not a single mem
ber of the Senate showed any familiarity
with or knowledge of this general law.
The Bth section of the Act, passed the
2d September, 1789, organizing tho Treasury
Department of the Government, is in these
words: “No person appointed to any of
“fice instituted by this act, shall directly
“or indirectly be concerned or interested
“in carrying on the business of trade or
“commerce; or be owner in whole or part
“of any sea vessel; or purchase by himself
“or another in trust for him, any public
“lauds or other public property; or be con
“cerned in the purchase or disposal of any
“public securities of any State, or of the
“United States; or take or apply to his
■‘own use any emolument or gain for ne
gotiating or transacting any business in
“the said Department, other thm what
“shall be allowed by law. And if any per
son shall offend against any of the pro
hibitions of this act, he shall be deemed
“guilty ofa high misdemeanor, and for
feit to the United States the penalty of
“three thousand dollars, and shall upon
“conviction be removed from office, and
“forever thereafter incapable of holding
“any office under the United States, etc.”
Under the provisions of this act, if Mr.
Stewart accepted the position tendered
by Gen. Grant, ho has rendered himself
liable for a high misdemeanor, and is
forever barred from holding office under
the United States, as it is admitted he
comes within the tc> uis of exclusion con
tained in the law. Hois directly “con
cerned in carrying on the business of trade
or commerce;” he is doubtless “part owner
of a sea vessel,” and is, likewise, we sup
pose, a dealer to some extent “in govern
ment securities.”
The reasons which induced the laviug of
these restrictions upon the head of the
Treasury in 1789, exist with tenfold great
er force to-day. We can see no good
reason why this section of the act of ’B9
should be repealed, hut in the present con
dition of affairs we can see many strong
reasons why it should be strictly enforced.
Since the passage of this act our customs
receipts have increased more than fifty-fold,
and tho traffic in Government securities
has become a regular business. Mr. Stew
art pays more customs duties, perhaps, to
the Government of the United States than
any man in the country. He is the largest
impor er of foreign goods that lives on
this continent, and has a greater personal
interest in the Revenue laws than any
man in America. We do not pretend to
insinuate —for we do not believe it—that
on account of his personal interests in that
direction, that his public acts would be ,
unduly or improperly influenced, but wc
do say that it was a wise provision ot the
fathers of the Government which excluded 1
from this office gentlemen having such
large pecuniary interests involved in its
faithful administration.
Since writing the above we have received
our Washington telegrams, which state
that tho Republican Senatorial caucus
failed to recommend the repeal of the law
in accordance with General Grant's re
quest It seems also that Stewart has
resigned and that it was thought that
Boutwell would be named in his place. We
very much doubt if General Grant will
view this action of his party friends with
much serenity. It shows that the Re
publican Senators, under the lead of
Sumner, are determined to continue their
control ’over the Executive Department
whioVi they began and used to such effect
over Mr. Johnson’s administration.
General Grant must feel keenly this
refusal of the Senate to comply with the
first recommendation be has made to it.
Wc shall expect stirring times in a few
days. The Senate, like blood-hounds who
have the taste of blood on their tongues,
will hold on to tho power which they have
tasted, over the Executive. Graut will
not meekly submit.
The South Carolina Raii.road and
the Columbia and Augusta Railroad
Com pant.—We learn from the Charleston
Nines that Chief Justice Moses and Jus
tice Willard, of the Supreme Court, have
agreed that the Supreme Court has not
the power to grant the trial in prohibition
asked by the South Carolina Railroad to
prevent all proceedings under the orders
of Judge Platt. The Chief Justice and
Justice Willard, as we understand, have
distinctly, however, refused to decide any
question of legal right, as the same was
presented on the discussion before the Su
preme Court, and have oonfined them
selves simply to the mode of relief asked
for in this case.
We understand that at the ensuing term
of the Supreme Court the question will be
presented in such a form as will render
necessary the decision of the question of
legal right. And we trust that it will be
so, tor without expressing any opinion as
to the legal question in the case, all will
agree that it is far better to have the ques
tion of right decided, and all the corpora
tors of these two roads to understand their
rights and the value of their property.
Good John Bunyan was once asked a
question about heaven, which he oould not
answer because the matter was not re
vealed in the Scriptures, and he thereupon
advised the inquirer to live a holy life and
go and see.
President Grant’s Inaugural.
We have already expressed our opinion
of President Grant’s inaugural. We here
present in brief the views of leading jour
nals ;
The Herald (Bohemian) says : “Here
then, inclining to economy, retrenchment,
and a faithful collection of the public rev
enue, we have the sailing directions of the
new administration. What is the general
prospect? It is full of promise, prosperi
ty, progress, development, and power at
home and abroad, and so opens the new
, hook of American history.”
The Wt,rld( Democratic)says “the inau
! gural shows too much confidence and self
i sufficiency, lac ts that grave and sustained
i propriety of expression befitting the Chief
j Magistrate. Has no original ideas, and
everything in the message which is not
1 flat is crude, and it is a mere echo of the
tritest common place of the Republican
press.”
The Tribune (Radical), says “the em
-1 phatic declaration of President Grant that
; wc should pay our national debt to the
[ uttermost farthing is worth countless mil
lions to the laborer, commerce and pros
perity of the republic. It says Grant will
be the champion of the Monroe doctrine
and direct his policy toward consolidating
and extending Republican institutions
upon the North American continent. It
hopes to receive from President Grant a
splendid administration.”
The Timer (Republican) says “the inau
gural touches great wants, indicates great
duties, and propounds a policy with a dis
tinctness that leaves nothing in doubt,
and Grant had something to say and he
has said it strongly and well. It says no
one doubts that Gen. Grant will aim to
meet the just wishes and expectations of
the Republican party, not by conceding
the demands of its individual members,
but by promoting the welfare of the coun
try and building up its prosperity on the
principles of tho party, as the only prin
ciples on whieh it can safely and perma
nently rest.”
Forney’s paper, the Philadelphia Press,
says: “Gen. Grant’s inaugural is very'
much just such a paper as the American
people expected of him. Ho talks with
them precisely as tho head of a firm would
talk with his partners concerning the
business of the firm, in a plain, practical
and intelligible way.”
The Journal of Commerce (Independ
ent) criticises it “as a literary composition,
as more forcible than elegant; but its chief
excellence is in tho fact that it is direct and
explicit. It gives anew definition to his
oft quoted promise to execute “the will of
tho people.’ He does not, according to
the doctrine of some modern theologists, j
ao.-ept the majority in Congress as the au
thorized, infallable exponent of that will; j
but promises to interpose a veto to defeat
measures to which he is opposed.
“Asa parly document it will be far more
acceptable to pronounced Republicans than
anything they had dared to hope for, and
will be almost equally well received by the
more moderate portion of the opposition.”
The Memphis Appeal (Democratic) says;
“It is brief and to the point. Every
word suggests Republicanism, so much of i
it as treats of tho ‘suffrage question,’ par
taking of the most ultra Radicalism. He
hits the retiring President by an allusion
as ill-timed as it is in bad taste, and courts
the most extreme legislation by the state
ment that he‘knows of no method of se
curing the repeal of obnoxious laws so ef
fective as their stringent execution.’ He
warns us of new ideas of reconstruction,
and hints of measures of settlement such
as preceding administrations have never
had to deal wit!'.. He suggests ‘political
freedom without regard to local prejudice,’
and therein foreshadows an extreme Rad
icalism that many Democratic journals be
fore his.inauguration would have us believe
was foreign to his principles and purpose.”
The Cincinnati Enquirer (Democratic)
says : “The parasites who are expecting
office will declare the address a stupendous
affair, that it glitters in sound philosophy
and political wisdom. But there is nothing
in it from which the people will derive any
satisfaction. Negro suffrage in ail the
States is not very attractive, nor is it the
finest prospect imaginable for the laboring
men to know that the principal of the
National Debt, as well as the interest, is to
be paid in gold. There is nothing in the
address which affords a reasonable hope
that our taxes will be reduced or the South
pacified under the new Administration.”
The New York Democrat says : “The
document is not remarkable for its length,
and when it is known that it contaius not
a single new or original proposition, nor
any well defined plans or suggestions for
relief from the present overwhelming em
barrassments, there is no reason why it
should have been.”
The Washington National Intelligencer
(Conservative) says:
“Our views have been so distinctly and
fully expressed in opposition to the new
fifteenth amendment that we cannot be
expected to do otherwise than regret that
General Grant should havo given it even a
cautious aud gratified endorsement upon
tho idea, apparently, that io this way the
vexed question of suffrage is destined to
receive a final adjudication and settlement.
With such an impression it is easy to un
derstand how he would be willing to waive
tho other objections to its adoption ; but it
will not, wc are sure, take long to convince
Genera! Grant that this new amendment
will create a bitter and prolonged agitation
if it shall be pressed seriously iu those
great Western and Middle States where
! the people have already expressed their
repugnance for negro suffrage in their
borders by majorities not less emphatic
than those by which they called General
Grant to the Presidential office, upon the
express pledge of the nominating conven
tion that the question of suffrage in the
loyal States ‘properly belonged’ to them
for settlement.”
The Cincinnati Gazette (Radical)
says : “Gen. Grant, in his address, adopts
all the principles of the Chicago platform,
and on the question of suffrage, he has,
with the Republican party in Congress,
moved forward. This is the question
which the Democratic party will try to
make the issue in their next campaign.
The Democrats of the West will also make
an issue on the debt question, but the
Eastern section of the party will not act
well iu the traces on that. In the Repub- !
liean party there is no difference as to the ]
obligation of the Government to pay the j
debt to the last dollar, according to the j
letter and spirit of the contract ; but there !
are those who believe that bonds not spe j
eifically payable in coiD, may be paid in
greenbacks. This, however, is not a
practical question, unless greenbacks are
manufactured to pay the debt.
“On the suffrage question there are dif
ferences of opinion iD the Republican par
ty. Some are opposed to negro suffrage
in the Northern States. Others are op
posed to it, not because it extends the suf
frage, but because it would enable the
Southern States, by adopting a property
■ qualification, to disfranchise a large pro
portion of the colored people who now
have the ballot,
“But on the amendment as it stands the
Republican party will meet their Democrat
ic opponents in the next campaign, as it is
not likely that the requisite number of
States will ratify in time to take it out of
the canvass of 1669.’’
The number of acres employed in
tobaoco in 1867 throughout the country
was 494,333. Thirty-two States raised
the weed, all except Maine, Rhode Island,
and the Pacific States and Territories.
There were 313,731,000 pounds produced,
the value is estimated at $51,334,431.
AUGUSTA, GA., WEDNESDAY MORNING, MARCH 17, 1869
The “Loll” People.
In Petersburg, Va., yesterday, the car
pet-baggers and apostates —the so-called
“loilists”—had a Convention for the pur
pose of nominating a Governor; but before
the meeting was organized, the factions of
Tucker and Wells—all loil men to be sure,
seeking only their country’s good —got into
a fight while shifting for the advantage of
position, and the whole concern broke up
in a glorious row. Now these “loil”
scoundrels of Virginia are of the same
breed as the “loilists” of Georgia, and
every one of them would see this countiy
to destruction if they could be pecuniarily
henefitted. And yet these are the “loil”
people par excellence of the Southern
States, in whom the Radical Congress
takes such special interest We can only
account for this upon the principle of a
fellow-feeling which sometimes exist even
among the jmost degraded of earth. If
the Radical Congress Lad any sense of
right or justice, this miserable farce of
bayonetting “loil” men into office would
cense, and the people of the South would
be left free, like the people of the North,
to direct and control their internal affairs
of State. Then our people would cease to
be outraged by carpet-baggers and scal
awags, who, under the plea of “loilty,”
are elevated to offices of trust and honor,
which arc perverted from their legitimate
purposes to selfish and partisan ends,
whereby the public money is stolen and
appropriated by the loil incumbents. Per
haps the people of the country North of 1
Mason and Dixon's line will find out be- !
fore long that the “loil” people of the
South care very little about the Union, i
but that they have an all powerful love for
the spoils of office. So long as it pays to ;
be “loil,” the Radicals can depend upon
their Southern hummers, than whom a
more unprincipled and Judas-like set of j
rascals never disgraced any country,
Important Decision.
The case of Maxey, Jordan & Cos. vs.
Berry T. Dighy et al., from Jasper Supe
rior Court,recently decided in the Supreme
Court of this State, involves principles
of great importance to the public.
The question made by the record was
whether the wife of an insolvent debtor
was entitled to have the sum of five hun
dred dollars worth of real property in a
town exempt from levy and sale in satis
faction of ajudgment obtained on the 28th
of October, 1861, under the provisions of
the Code, or whether she was entitled to
have only the sum of two hundred dollars
exempted under the act of 1845. The
debt was contracted and the judgment ob
tained after the passage of the act of 1845
and bejore the adoption ol the Code.
The Court held that the wife was en
titled to the amount fixed in ihe Code,
against the pre-existing judgment cred
itor.
This decision covers a large class
of cases which are daily spring
ing up in the several counties of the
State under the Homestead exemption
fixed by the Constitution of the State.
Many learned gentlemen of the law have
expressed the opinion that the Homestead
exemption of 2,000 dollars worth of real
property, valued in coin, secured by the
new Constitution, could not be claimed as
against judgments which had been obtain
ed prior to the adoption of the Constitu
tion. There are hundreds of cases pend
ing now, in which this is the only issue in
volved. The decision of the Supreme
Court in the case of Maxey, Jordan &
Cos., covers the whole ground, and estab
lishes the principle that the new Home
stead exemption can be claimed, and must
be allowed even (hough by so ruling a prior
judgment lien is divested.
We do not propose to review this decis
ion, nor to intimate what our own views
on the question are. Onr purpose in call
ing attention to it is simply to let the peo
ple—our readers—know how the law has
been decided. It is but just before clos
ing that we state that Judge Warner de
livered a dissenting opinion.
The Upper and Nether MUi-Stone.
When the Radical scheme was first inau
gurated Georgia Radical leaders told con
fiding citizens that anew era was to dawn
upon the State. It was affirmed that the
Radical party was the party of progress,
and under its benign rule and beneficent
legislation the good old Commonwealth,
putting off sack-cloth and ashes, and re
deemed and regenerated, was to start out
upon anew career ; peace was to reign
within her walls, and prosperity in recon
structed palaces. Reconstruction was to
prepare the way and make the path.
straight. A noble, high minded, generous,
benignant Congress, was to step forward,
and in all the excellence of magnanimity,
full of good feeling and kindly charity, and
with all the grace befitting noble deeds,
was to lift up a prostrate, wayward
sister, restore her as a beloved though
erring one, back again to a
proud position in the resplendent
galaxy of Federal or Confederated, or
what not, loyal constellations. Our desert
earth was to blossom as the rose and the
Government known to us for its strength,
and power and prowess was to be a guar
dian angel, a foster mother, directing us
in its care and attention and in all its
symbols of strength and tenderness.
How have these delusive promises been
kept? We have been taxed to the utmost
of our resources; but neither has represent
ation been permitted nor a voice as to our
wants listened to. True, we have had the
mails, and we have had Government of
ficials; but not a cent expended to make
the civil arm of thp Government anything
else but known to us in a form closely al
lied to carpet-baygism.
Our Democratic Legislature, too, has a
keen eye to the impecuniosity of the
wants of its members, who seem to relish
reconstruction of the Code and other local
matters at $9 per day and mileage. We
don’t see what good is to be accomplished
by prolonging the present session. A
deceut regard for the wishes of the people
would call for an early adjournment, as
there seems to be nothing important to be
done. It looks as if the State were in a
fair way to be crushed and crippled by the
upper and nether millstone—a Radical
Congress on the one hand, which refuses
representation, and a Democratic Legisla
ture on the other, which refuses to adjourn
so long as there is a prospect of nine dol
lars per day and mileage.
Odd Fellowship.—The Odd Fellows
of Augusta had quite an interesting time
at their new and beautiful hall in this city
Monday night. It was the occasion of the
visit of the Most Worthy Grand Sire of the
United States, and the hall was well filled
with the members of the Order to bid him
welcome to Augusta. He addressed them
for some time in a most eloquent, earnest
and impressive manner on the tenets of
the Order, the immutability of its princi
ples, and the duty of Odd Fellows to them
selves, to the Order, to the community in
which they live, to the world at large- He
was listened to throughout with the most
profound attention, and has made a deep
impression on all who bad the pleasure of
hearing him. He also explained the new
adjunct to Odd Fellowship, viz: Life In
surance.
He was followed in a highly interesting,
eloquent, and earnest address from
P. G. Woodruff, of Macon, Ga., who was
still speaking when we were compelled to
leave, to our great regret. His tone, his
manner, his utterance bespoke the deep
significance of every syllable he uttered,
and that he was terribly in earnest. And
from what we saw and heard, the members
must have had a real treat—one that will
be relistied as long as memory shall retain
her seat
j (HR TRAVELLING CORRESPONDENCE.
On the Wing, March 8, 1869.
Deal Chronicle & Sentinel ; —The Spring:
term of the Morgan Court opened cn the
Ist instant, Judge Robinson presiding. In
j the charge of his Honor to the Grand Jury
a strict construction of the law was given,
and its enforcement invoked as the only
security of the citizen and peace of so
ciety. Judge Robinson is a Christian
: gentleman, conscientious in the discharge
of his official duties, courteous and polite
to the Bar, and an affable and agreeable
companion. Our intercourse was pleasant
and profitable, and I most heartily thank
i him for the cordial invitation to a seat
; always within the bar at his courts, and
: every attention from his attendants.
On Tuesday three young gentlemen.
Messrs. G. Foster, Seaborn Reece, and P.
S. Burney were examined in the various
branches of the profess on and and admitted
to the Bar. On the _ following day
these young men made their debut before
the court and the public in the d< fence of
a negro charged with the offence of bur
glary, and although they had apparently
nothing upon which to found an argument,
the evidence being conclusive, they ac
quitted themselves with great oredi\ |
Young Foster made a very good speech,
and bids fair to equal, if not surpass, his
father in his ability at the Bar. These i
young men arc the sons of former Judges j
of the laws, and all promise success in the
profession. Besides the resident gentle
men of the Bar, we had the very agreeable j
presence of Messrs. McDaniel, of Monroe, j
Loftin, of Monticello, Lewis, of Green,
and Winfield, of Eatontou. There were no j
criminal cases of importance lor trial, the j
business of ihe court was mostly confined i
to the civil docket.
On Tuesday a quantity of perishable j
property, stools, &c , was sold. A body of 1
848 acres of land brought sixteen hundred
and ninety-seven dollars. Other property,
it was thought, hro ght about its average
value. I find in Morgan, as in most other
counties, a perfect mania upon the subject
of fertilizers, and the production of cotton.
Whether this is an omen of prosperity
and happiness to the country or not is, to
my mind, highly questionable. I fear
that cotton will have all the advantages of
soil, fertilizers and cultivation, to the
neglect of grain, and, in the event of a de
cline of price in the former, and a failure
in the production of the latter, an utter
and dire prostration will befall the agri- j
cultural interests of the country.
The planters in the cotton region have I
it in their power now to make this one of
the greatest and most desirable in the j
world, if governed by moderation, j
judgment and forecast in pitching their j
crops. If they will raise an abundant I
supply of produce for the country, and a j
partial supply of cotton, just enough to J
keep it up to 25 or 30 cents per pound, !
and let the money stay among us for the ■
still greater development of our resources, j
instead of going West to pay for bread, !
meat, and stock, a most glorious future 1
will await us. No doubt a large amount of
tho money realized from the past crop has
already gone in this way. And I cannot
believe that any degree of permanent
prosperity will attend us so long as this is
the case. Traveller.
Railroad Meeting in Hamilton.
The People of Harris Thoroughly Aroused
—5165,000 Subscribed in Three Hours
The LaGrange and Columbus Rail
road a Certainty-
Hamilton, March 2, 1869.
Many of the citizens of Harris county
met at the Court House to-day for the
purpose of considering the construction of
the Columbus and Hamilton Railroad to
the city of LaGrange, when on motion,
Col. James M. Mobley was called t.o the
chair, and C. If. C. Willingham,of'Troup,
was requested to act as secretary.
The Chair explained the object of the
meeting in a few forcible and pointed re- ]
marks, urging the people to take hold of
the enterprise with energy and without de
lay.
On motion of Col. L. L. Stanford, the
following committee was appointed to pre
pare business for the consideration of the
meeting, to wit:
Col. L. L. Stanford, Chairman; Maj.
Flynn Hargett, Hon. W. I. Hudson, Capt.
J. W. Murphey, Hon. H. D. Williams,
William Holland Mart. Ely, Capt. W. C.
Johnston, Elijah Brakefield, Jesse Rob
erts, J. S. Goodman, D. K. Breedlove,
Henry Livingston, A. Weldon, Esq., H.
C. Blackman. Jas. Livingstone, William
Nelson, Sr , Judge M. Spence, J. W.
Kimbrough, Henry Dean, 11. C. Kim
brough.
The Committee having retired, Colonel
W. 0- Tuggle, a delegate from Troup, was
called upon to address the meeting, which
he did in his usual eloquent style, showing
the propriety aud practicability of building
the proposed road at once, “as he who
dreams oo the bed of the Solway may awake
in the next world,” pledging that Troup
will do her duty in building said road.
The Chairman then read the proceedings
of the meeting held in Troup on tho 27th
ultimo, at LaGrange, pledging themselves
to do all in their power to build the con
templated road.
Mr. J. T. Johnson, made a practical
speech, urging the people to go to work and
construct the proposed road, saying that
he would be one of the City to build it
through the country.
Dr. W. W. Bruce a few remarks,
urging prompt action in the matter, and
giving many reasons for decided action
now.
The Committee returning, reported the
following resolutions :
Resolved, That we, the citizens of the
county of Harris, living on the line of
survey, will give the road the right of
way through the county.
Resolved, That the corporators of said
Railroad be requested to call a meeting at
an early day, for the purpose of thorough
ly organizing said Company, according
to the provisions of the act incorporating
said road.
Resolved, That we, the citizens of Har
ris county, pledge ourselves to do all we
can to build the road through our county
if Troup and Muscogee will meet us at
the county line, North and South.
Resolved, That the Chairman of the
meeting be authorized to take subscrip
tions to-day, to be transcribed in the book
kept by the corporators of said company.
Resolved, That this meeting tender to
Col. W. 0. Tuggle and C. H. C. Willingham
and the citizens of Troup our thanks for
their co operation and sympathy iu our
railroad project.
Resolved, That our Representatives in
the Legislature be, and they are hereby
requested to ask the aid of the State in
building the Columbus and Hamilton
Railroad.
Resolved, That Col J M Mobley, Hon
W I Hudson, L L Stanford, T S Mitchel,
J M Nelson, W W Bruce, W C Johnston,
J H Lovelace, M Spence, Wm Copeland,
H 0 Williams, F Hargett, C H Bedell,
| W J Gorham, Joseph Miller, J L Good
man, A W Redding, Jos Bray, Jos Boyd,
1 J W Murphey, M B Roberts, C L Dendy,
| G W Mullins, and S C Goodman be ap
i pointed delegates to attend the Railroad
j meeting, in the city of LaGrange, on Wed
; nesday, the 24th of March, inst.
Col. L. L. Stanford supported the adop
tion of the above resolutions in a truly
eloquent speech, demonstrating conclu
sively to the mind of each person present
the great importance and utility of the
Road. Cob Stanford is emphatically an
impressive speaker, and a Railroad man.
The Hon. W. I. Hudson, the able Rep
j resentative from Harris, followed in one of
his happy efforts, mingled with humor and
I sound logic, evincing much argumentative
ability in setting forth the many superior
advantages of railroad facilities. He made
a stirring speech, which resulted in much
good, calling on the people to do their
i duty, &c.
After which the resolutions were unan
j imously adopted by a standing vote.
The book for subscription was then
opened, and the handsome sum of $165,-
000 was immediately subscribed. (It is
proper to add, this is the first meeting
held, and a great many of the moneyed
citizens were necessary absent)
On motion, the proceedings of this meet
ing were requested to be published in the
■ LaGrange Reporter, and that the Augusta,
' Columbus ana Atlanta papers be requested
to copy.
On motion, this meeting adjourned to
meet on Saturday, the 20th inst
J. M. Mobley, Chairman.
C. H. C- Willingham, Secretary.
Death of Mr. Richard M. Orme, Sr.,
of Milledgeyille.—We have just seen
a telegraph dispatch from Milledgeville,
which states that this venerable gentleman
departed this life on yesterday morniDg at
9 o’clock. We have neither the space nor
the time at present to pay that tribute to
his memory which is due to him from the
Press of Georgia, as one who was an orna
ment to it for nearly half a century, and
which is due also to him_ as one of Geor
gia's best citizens. Suffice it now to say,
that he was one of of God’s noblest works,
an “hoDesl man,” and that his every-day
walk in life illustrated the Christian gentle
man. — Atlanta Intelligencer.
OUR NEW YORK CORRESPONDENCE.
J ram cotospotdetci or thi easoxicLi a sixtik-i .
New York, March 6tb, 1869.
Editors Chronicle A Sentinel:
In a prior letter it was stated that
Grant's hobby was-economy and, from the
tone of the inaugural, the exactness of
this information can be seen. The main
point is that the bonds should be paid,
principal and interest, in gold and this
when for the dollar in gold of principal to
be paid but fifty cents in gold were origi
nally loaned, and when the interest in gold,
though nominally six per cent.,is in reality
12 per cent. The crude idea that there is
gold enough in California and Nevada to 1
pay the three thousand millions outright
will, no doubt, excite the reader’s just
scorn for the mediocre capaoity that could
conceive it. Business, as we all kuow, is
conducted by the circulation of money and
not its accumulation. Were it otherwise,
and the business of a country at any given
moment equal to, say, $1,000,000,000,
then it would take just that exact amount
of money to carry it on, whereas the truth i
is that even a fractional part of that much
money is quite sufficient to carry on that |
full amount of business, as the money cir- ;
culates from hand to hand according to the |
immediate requirements for use. So obvious
a commercial principle seems to have en- |
tirely escaped Mr. Grant, whose idea is i
that you must actually hold out of the
mine a taugibie sum equal to the total j
value of human transactions.
As to the Cabinet, it is easy to see t at
it is a fusion of the Sword and the Purse,
of military and moneyed men, ior the pur
pose of erecting a close corporation to rob
the people and murder them if they resist.
On the same day certain millionaires are
put in possession of the civil functions of
government, and certain successful soldiers
raised to supreme command of the army.
The league is most ominous.
Taking up the Cabinet separately,
\\ ashburne is a swarthy, square-faced,
bilious, irritable man, who understands no
language but his own, and cannot either
write or speak that with respectable cor
rectness. lie has been once abroad, where
report has it he was asservile a flunkey as
was ever seen at court, but beyond this
trip is not known to have the least qualifi
cation for the State Department. His
manners, that highly important item in a
diplomat, are exceedingly bi orish, and his
special aptitude heretofore has only been
to oppose in buncombe speeches appropria
tions for which he would afterward give
his vote. A. T. Stewart in the Treas
ury is a bitter pill to business men
in this city especially, and, so far
as heard from, throughout the country.
It is urged that ho is not eligible to the
Secretaryship under the taw of 1789, the
one establishing the Treasury Department,
by which no person having any interest,
direct or indirect, in trade or commerce, or
in auy way concerned in a traffic in Federal
or State securities, is allowed to hold a
Treasury office. It is understood that if
Grant can procure the repeal of this act
which he has recommended —rather a sharp
commentary on his inaugural declaration
that he would execute all laws whether he
approved them or not —he will re nominate
the canny Scotch-Irish speculator in bonds,
merchandise and gold. Wall street is
much disgusted with Grant’s Treasury ap
pointment and the importers swear the
Custom House will now be made an instru
ment to crush out all opposition and erect
a giant monopoly for the new Secretary.
Perhaps there is something of business
pique in all this but to have it believed is
almost as bad as to have it nearly so, the
result being in either case a total loss of
confidence, and consequent bickerings and
intrigue that must'have a highly deleterious
effect. The Secretary of the Navy is a
native of France, who won Grant’s heart
by his liberal donations to the Philadelphia
Loyal League in the late election. It was
this conclave that carried Pennsylvania by
sheer money for the lladicais at the State
elections in October last, and secured the
wavering States in the month following
for Grant. Beyond this Borie is unknown,
so much so, indeed, that even Grant has
not known him six months, the acquaint
ance which has ripened so suddenly for
the Frenchman only beginning in Octo
ber or November last. Hoar, the now
Attorney General, is a straight-out, una
dulterated old blue-light Massachusetts
Puritan, one of the original old abolition
breed, and as fierce and hateful a Radical as
can be found in America. In personal ap
pearance he looks just what he is, a sullen,
dyspeptic, cold-hearted, merciless bigot.
When a law is to be twisted to the persecu
tion of those who detest Radicalism, this
man will do the work con a more. Cox, of
Ohio, the Secretary of thelotcror,is an Eng
lishman, or, rather, a Canadian, a gradu
ate of Oberlin college,that Se uinary famous
for its rank negrophilism, was a loil Gen
eral in the crusade, and afterward
Governor of Ohio. He has shown inui
cations since of moderation in politics and
is the only one in the Cabinet of whom
that much can be said. The Postmaster
General is Cresswell, of Maryland, a rank
secessionist in 1861, and soon thereafter
just as rank a loil bloodhound, of the Joe
Holt stripe.
Such is the Cabinet —Schofield holding
over in the War Department for the
present. The elements in it, as you will
see, are three : first, subserviency to the
money interest, as represented in Stewart
and Borie; second, subserviency to nig
gerism, as represented in its Eastern form
by Hoar, and its Western by Cox; and
third, a bid for the scalawag support, as
typified by Cresswell. The Wastiburne ap
pointment is merely personal gratitude of
a man toward his creator. The Grant ad
ministration is, therefore, but a combina
tion of Shylock and Suwarrow—of the
vampyre and the bull-dog—the greedy
speculator and the bribed bravo.
What then is to be done? The answer is
evident. This league is at present a party
in power. Like all parties in power, it has
the inevitable drawback of those who fight
behind fortifications; it must remain on the
defensive and cannot assume the offensive,
unless it leave its bulwarks and come out
into the open field. The proper course,then,
is plain. It is to attack, attack, attack. To
defend nothing, and assail everything. To
let loose every weapon of scorn, contempt,
contumely, ridicule, argumeut, excitation
and reproach. To expose each inconsisten
cy, explain and insist on each evil prece
dent, dissect every measure and impugD
) every plan. The popular susceptibilities,so
: easy to arouse against power because it is
: power, must be fanned into fury. In one
word, the only safe thing to do is to fall
' hammer and tongs on this Radical party
and this Radical administration in every
possible way, and on every possible occa
sion that may be presented or made.
These creatures have no right to oppress
the South. God never made them our j
masters. If they have beaten us iu arms j
that is no reason but what we should beat '
them with imponderable forces. WheD j
a man is shot dead in battle that is the :
| end of him ; when a citizen is overthrown
at one election he still lives and can try it
again, and may triumph at another. It is
all stuff, and bosh, and nonsense to talk
about this party being irresistible. Any
thing is irresistibe if you do not oppose it.
Face your mountain, and nine times in ten
it dwindles to a mole-hill at la-t. Take
1 one practical consideration: There is a great
row and hubbub made about this Grant.
Well, what can he do in conjunction with
Congress that Congress could not do be
fore ? His insertion in the political prob
lem does not change the nature of the equa
| tion that we have to meet. It is the same
! old thiDg on this the sth day of March
that it was on the 3d day of March. Con
fress holds the game now as it did theD.
n the one case the power of President
Johnson was impotent to decrease, and in
the other the power of President Grant is
impotent to increase, the Congressional in
tensity of purpose. But this is a train of
thought that will at once suggest all the
necessary inferences, and need not be en
! larged on here.
When thf Cabinet was read out at the
i Stock Exchange, which happened yester
day at 8, P. M., there was entire silence
until the list had been read through, and
then the crowd broke into a derisive laugh.
All manner of sport was made of the nomi
nations and some rude jests passed on the
exceeding smallness of the mouse whereof
! the mountain had been delivered with
many pangs. Among the more sober and
reflecting men, the sentiment was almost
universal that the final settlement of the
financial issue would depend on circum
stances as they might develop themselves,
and that the inaugural and composition of
the Cabinet, would have almost no weight
at all in the matter.
The lack of any cordial endorsement of
the new administra-ion in the Radical
press is quite significant. The Sun,
Times and Tribune are all non-com
mittal, the intensity varying in the
order named. The Uercdd has less than its
usual amount of buncombe adulation; the
World thinks Grant shows crudeness, as
surance and bravado, and warns him to
expect constant opposition from the Dem
ocratic party; and the tone of the press
otherwise throughout the country, so far
as here received, is likewise either very
fiat and tame in approval or open in
criticism. Taken, all together, the new
1 scene in the drama is dull.
I It should be mentioned that the World
publishes, with strong editorial endorse
ment, a communication urging the assem
bly of a Federal Convention of the States,
to cheek Congress and restore the im
perilled balanee of governmental power.
As you are aware, two thirds of the States
have concurrent power with Congress,
under the fifth article of the Constitution,
to propose amendments and this power, it
is proposed, to set in motion by a direct
appeal to the people to elect State Legis
: latures pledged to its exercise.
Tyrone Powers.
TKEbIDEJiT JOHSSON’S VALKDHTOBT.
1 Farewell Address of the Retiring President
to the People of the United States.
I REVIEW’ OP THE CLOSING ADMINISTRATION.
Tli« Polls* of the Poor, etc.
I To the People of the United States :
j . The robe of office, by constitutional
| limitation, this day falls from my sttmlders,
l to be immediately assumed by my sueces
sor. Jbor him the forbearance and co-
I operation of the American people, in all
| bis efforts to administer the government
! within the pale of the Federal Constitution,
j arc sincerely invoked. Without ambition
j to gratify, party ends to subserve, or per
| sonal quarrels to avenge at the sacrifice of
the peace and welfare of the ountry, my
I earnest desire is to see the Constitution, as
i defined and limited by the fathers of the
republic, again recognized and obeyed ns
, the supreme law of the land, and the
whole people—North, South, East and
West—prosperous and happy under its
wise provisions.
In surrendering the high office to which
I was called four years ago, at a memorable j
and terrible crisis, it is my privilege, I
trust, to say to the people of the United
States a few parting words, in vindication
of an official course so ceaselessly assailed
and aspersed by political loaders, to whose
plans and wishes my policy to restore the
Union has been obnoxious. In a period j
of difficulty and turmoil almost without
precedent in the history of any people,
consequent upon the closing scenes of a
great rebellion and the assassination of the
then President, it was perhaps too much,
on my part, to expect of devoted partisans,
who rode on the waves of excitement
which at that time swept all before them,
that degree of toleration and magnauimity
which I sought to recommend and enforce,
and which I believe in good time would
have advanced us infinitely farther on the
road to permanent peace and piosperity
than we have thus far attained. Doubt
less, bad I, at the commencement of my
term of office, unhesitatingly lent its pow
ers or perverted them to purposes and
plans "outside the Constitution,” and be
come an instrument to schemes of confisca
tion and of general and oppressive dis
qualifications, I would have been hailed as
all that was true, loyal and discerning—as
the reliable head of a party, whatever I
might have been as the Executive of the
nation. Unwilling, however, to accede to
propositions of extremists, and bound to
adhere, at every hazard, to my oath to de
fend the Constitution,! need not, perhaps,
be surprised at having met the fate of
others whose only reward for upholding
constitutional right and law have been the
consciousness of having attempted to do
their duty, and the calm and unprejudiced
judgment of history.
At the time a mysterious Providence as
signed to me the office of President, I was
by the terms of the Constitution, the Com
mander in-Chiof of nearly a million of men
under arms. One of my first acts was to
disband and restore to the vocations of civil
life this immense host, and to divest my
self, so far as I could, o! the unparalleled
powers then incident to the office and the
times. Whether or not, in thisjstep, I was
right, and how far deserving the approba
tion of the people, all can now, on reflec
tion, judge, when reminded of the ruinous
coudi ion of public affairs, that must have
resulted from the continuance in the mili
tary service of such avast number of men.
The close of our domestic conflict found
the army eager to distinguish itself in anew
field, by an effort to punish European in- I
tervention in Mexico. By many it was
believed and urged, that aside from the
assumed justice of the proceeding, a foreign
war, in which both sides would cheerfully
unite to vindicate the honor of the Nation
al Flag, and further illustrate the National
prowess, would be the surest and speediest
way of awakening National enthusiasm,
reviving devotion to the Union, and occu
py a torce concerning which, grave doubts
existed as to its willingncs-, after four
years of active campaigning, at once to
return to the active pursuits of peace.
Whether these speculations were true or
false, it will be conceded that they existed,
and that the prodileotions of the army were,
for the time being, in the direotion indi
cated. Taking advantage of this feeling,
it would have been easy, as the Command
er-in-Chief of the army and navy, and
with all the power and patronage of the
Presidential office at my disposal, to turn
the concentrated military strength of the
Nation against French interference in
Mexico, and to inaugurate a movement
which would have been received with favor
by the military and a large portion of the
people.
It is proper, in this connection, that I
should refer to the almost unlimited addi
tional powers tendered to the Executive
by the measures relating to civil rights and
the Freedmen’s Bureau. Contrary to
most precedents in the experience of pub
lic men, the powers thus placed within
my grasp were dccliued, as in violation of
the Constitution, dangerous to the liber
ties of the people, and tending to aggra
vate, rather than lessen, the discords nat
urally resulting fiom our civil war. With a
large army and augmented authority, it
would have been no difficult task to direct
at pleasure the destinies of the republic,
and to make secure my continuance in the
highest office known to our laws.
Let the people whom I am addressing
from the Presidential chair during the
closing hours of a laborious term, consider
how different would have been their pres
ent condition had I yielded to the dazzling
temptation of foreign conquest, of personal
aggrandizement, and the desire to wield
additional power. Let them with justice
consider that, if I have not unduly “mag
nified mine office,” the public burdens have
not been increased by my acts, and other
and perhaps thousands or tens of thou
sands of lives sacrificed to visions of false :
glory.
Much as I venerate the Constitution, it
must be admitted that this condition of
affai'S has developed a defeat which, un
der the aggressive tendency of the Legis
lative department of the Government, may S
eadily work its overthrow. It may, how- j
ever, be remedied, without disturbing the 1
harmony of the instrument.
The veto power is generally exercised
upon constitutional grounds, and whenever
it is so applied and the bill returned with
the Executive reasons for withholding his j
signature, it ought to be immediately cer- I
tified to the Supreme Court of the United
States for its decision. If its constitu- i
tionality shall be declared by that tribunal
it should then become a law ; bu‘ if the
decision is otherwise, it should fail, with
out power in Congress to re-enact and make
it valid.
In cases in which the veto rests upon
hasty and inconsiderate legislation, and in
which no constitutional question is in
volved, I would not change the fundamen
tal law ; for in such cases no permanent
evil can be incorporated into the Federal
i system.
! It is obvious that without such an
i amendment the government, as it existed
j under the Constitution prior to the rebel
| lion, may be wholly subverted and over
; thrown by a two-thirds majority in Con-
I gress. It is not, therefore, difficult to see
: how easily and how rapidly the people may
j lose—shall I not say have lost?—their
| liberties by an unchecked and uncon
trollable majority in the law-making power,
| and, when once deprived of their rights,
I how powerless they are to regain them.
Let us turn for a moment to the history
i of the majority in Congress which has act
! ed in such utter disregard of the Constitu'
tion. While public attention has been
carefully and constantly turned to the past
and expiated sins of the South, the ser
vants of the people, in high places, have
| boldly betrayed their trust, broken their
oaths of obedience to the Constitution, and
| underminedjthe very foundations of liberty,
j justice, and good government. When the
rebellion was being suppressed by the vol
unteered services of patriot soldiers amid
the dangers of the battle-field, these men
crept, without question, into place and
power in the national councils. After all
danger had passed, when no armed foe re
mained, when a punished ai.d repentant
people bowed their heads to the flag and
renewed their allegiance to the Govern
ment of the United States, then it was that
pretended patriots appeared before the
nation, and began to prate about the
thousands of lives and millions of treasure
I sacrificed in the suppression of the rebel
-1 lion. They have since persistently sought
1 to inflame the prejudices engendered be
j tween the sections, to retard the restora
j tion of peace and harmony, and, by every
! means, to keep open and exposed to the
! poisonous breath of party passion the ter
rible wounds of a four years’ war. They
! have prevented the return of peace and the
1 restoration of the Union, in every way
NEW SERIES, YOL. XXYIII. NO. 11.
' ] rendered delusive the purposes, promises
and pledges by which the army was mar
shaled, treason rebut cd, and rebellion
crushed, and made the liberties of' the peo
ple and the rights and powers of the Pres
ident objects of constant attack. TLey have
wrested from the President his constitu
tional power of supreme command of the
army and navy. They have destroyed the
strength and effici.mcy of the Executive
Department, by making subordinate offi
cers independent of and able to defy their
chief. They have attempted to place the
President under the power of a hold, de
fiant and treacherous Cabinet officer. They
have robbed the Executive of the preroga
tive of pardon, rendered null and void acts
of clemency granted to thousands of per
sons under the provisions of the Constitu
tion, aud committed gross usurpation by
jegislative attempts to exercise this power
in favor of party adherents. They have
conspired to change the system of our
government by preferring charges against
the President iu the form of articles of im
peachment, and contemplating, before
hearing of trial, that he should be placed
in arrest, held in durance, anu when it
became their pleasure to pronounce his
sentence, driven from place and power in
disgrace. They have in time of peace in
creased the national debt by a reckless ex
penditure of the public money and thus
added to the burdens which already weigh
upon the people. They have permitted
the nation to suffer the evils of a deranged
currency, to the enhancement in price of all ,
the necessaries of life. They have main- I
tained a large standing army, for the en
forcement of their measures of oppression, i
They have engaged in class legislation, and i
built up and encouraged monopolies, that i
the few might bo enriched at the expense j
of the many. Thev have failed to act I
upon important treaties, thereby endanger !
ing _ our present peaceful relations with
foreign powers.
Their course of usurpation has not been
limited to inroads upon the Executive De
partment. By unconstitutional and op
pressive euactuients, the people of ten
States of the Union have been reduoed to 1
a condition more intolerable than that
from which the patriots of the Revolution
rebelled. Millions of American citizens
can now say of their oppressors, with more
truth than our fathers did of British ty
rants, that they have “forbidden the gov
ernors to pass laws of immediate and press
ing importance, unless suspended until their
assent should be obtained;” that they have 1
“refused to pass other laws for the accom- i
modatiou of large districts of people, un- !
less those people would relinquish the
right of representation in the Legislature—
a right inestimable to them and formidable
to tyrants only;” that they have “made
judges dependent upon their will alone for
the tenure of their offices and the amount
and payment of their salaries;” that they
have “erected a multitude of new offices,
and sent hither swarms of officers to harass
our people and eat out their substance;”
that they have “affected to render the
military independent of and superior to
the civil power,” “combined with others to
subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our
Constitution andj unacknowledged by our
laws,” “quartered large bodies of armed
troops among us,” “protected them by a
mock trial from punishment for any mur
der which they should commit on the in
habitant of these States,” imposed “taxes
upon us without our consent,” “deprived
us in many cases of the benefit of trial by
jury,” “taken away our charters, excited
domestic insurrection amongst us, abolish
ed our most valuable laws, altered funda
mentally the forms of our government, sus
pended our own Legislatures, and declared
themselves invested with power to legislate
for us in all cases whatsoever.”
It cannot, therefore, be charged that
my ambition has been of that ordinary or
criminal kind which, to the detriment of
the people’s rights and liberties, ever
seeks to grasp more and unwarranted
powers, and, to accomplish its purposes,
panders too often to popular prejudices
and party aims.
What, then, have been the aspirations
which guided me in my official acts? Those
acts need not at this time an elaborate ex
planation. They have been elsewhere
comprehensively stated andfully discussed,
and become a part of the nation’s history.
By them lam willing to be judged, know
ing that, however imperfect, they at
least show to the impartial mind that my
sole ambition has been to restore the Union
of the States, faithfully to execute the
office of President, and, to the best of my
ability, to preserve, protect and defend the
Constitution. I canuot be censured if my
efforts have been impeded in the interests
of party'faction, and if a policy which was
intended to reassure and conciliate the
people of both sections of the country was
made the occasion of inflaming and dividing
still further those who, only recently in
arms against each other, yet, as individuals
and citizens, were sincerely desirous, as 1
shall ever believe, of burying all hostile
feelings in the grave of the past. The
bitter war was waged on the part of the
government to virdicate the Constitution
and save the Union ; and if I have erred
in trying to bring about a more speedy and
lasting peace, to extinguish heart burnings
and enmities, and to prevent troubles in
the South which, retarding material pros
perity in that region, injuriously affected
the whole country, I am quite content to
rest my case with the more deliberate
judgment of the people, and, as 1 have al
ready intimated, with the distant future.
The war, all must remember, was a stu
pendous and deplorable mistake. N ither
side understood the other, and had this
simple fact and its conclusions been kept
in view, all that was needed was accom
plished by the acknowledgment of the ter
rible wrong, and the expressed better feel
ing and earnest endeavor at atonement
shown and felt in the prompt ratification of
constitutional amendments by the South
ern States at the close of the war. Not
accepting the war as a confessed false step
on the part of those who inaugurated it,
was an error which now only time can cure,
and which even at this late date we should
endeavor to palliate. Experiencing, more
over, as all have done, the frightful cost of
the arbitrament of tho sword, let us in the
future cling closer than ever to the Consti
tution as our only safeguard. It is to be
hoped that not until the burdens now
pressing upon us with such fearful weight
are removed will our peoplojforgct the les
sons of the war; and that, remembering
them from whatever cause, peace between
sections and States may be perpetual.
The history of late events in our coun
try, as well as of the greatest governments
of ancient and modern times, tenches that
wo have everything to fear from a depart
ure from the letter and spirit of the Con
stitution, and the undue ascendancy of
men allowed to assume power in what are
considered desperate emergencies. Sylla,
on becoming master of Rome, at onee
adopted measure to crush his enemies and
to consolidate the power of his party.
He established military colonies through
out Italy ; deprived of the full Roman
franchise the inhabitants of the Italian
towns who had opposed his usurpation ;
confiscated their lands and gave them to
his soldiers; and conferred citizenship upon
a great number of slaves belonging to those
who had proscribed him, thus creating at
Rome a kind of body guard for his protec
tion. After having given Rome over to
slaughter, and tyrannized beyond all exam
ple over those opposed to him and the
legions, his terrible instruments of wrong,
Sylla could yet feel safe in laying down the
ensigns of power sodreadfully abused, and
in mingling freely with the families aDd
friends of his myriad victims. The fear
which he had inspired continued after his
voluntary abdication, and even in retire
rnent his will was law to a people who had
permitted themselves to be enslaved.
What but a subtile knowledge and convic
tion that the Roman people had become
changed, and utterly broken
in spirit could have induced this daring as
sumption ? What but public indifference
to consequences so terrible as to leave I
Rome even to every calamity which subse- j
quently befell her could have justified the
conclusions of the dictator and tyrant in
his startling experiment ?
We find that in the time which lias since
elapsed human nature and exigencies in
government have not greatly changed.
Who, a few years past, in contemplating
our future, could have supposed that in a
brief period of bitter experience every
thing demanded in the name of military
emergency, or dictated by caprice, would
come to be considered as mere matters of
course; that consumption, confiscation, loss
of personal liberty, the subjection of States
to military rule, and disfranchisement, with
the extension of the right of suffrage mere
ly to accomplish party ends, would receive
the passive submissionjf not acquiescence,
of the people of the republic?
It has been clearly demonstrated, by re
cent occurrences, that encroachments upon
the Constitution cannot be prevented by
the President alone, however devoted or
determined he may be, and that unless
the people interpose there is no power
under the Constitution to check a dominant
majority of two tnirds in the Congress of
the United States. An appeal to the na
tion, however, is attended with too much
delay to meet an emergency. While, if
left free to act, the people would correct,
in time, such evils as might follow legisla
tive usurpation, there is danger that the
same power which disregards the Constitu
tion will deprive thqm of the right to
change their rulers, except by revolution.
We have already seen the jurisdiction of
the Judiciary circumscribed when it was
apprehended that the courts would decide
against laws having for their sole object
the supremacy of party, while the veto
power, lodged in the Executive by the
Constitution for the interest and protection
of the people, and exercised by Washing
ton and his successors, has been rendered
nugatory by a parti? an majority of two
thirds in each branch of the National
Legislature. The Constitution evidently
contemplates that when a bill is returned
wiili tho President’s objections it will be
calmly reconsidered by Congress. Such,
however, has not been the practice under
present party rule. It has become evident
that men who pass a bill under partisan
influences are not likely, through patriotic
motives, to admit their error, and thereby
weaken their own organizations by solemn
ly confessing it under an official oath.
I ride of opinion, if nothing else, has in
tervened, and prevented a calm and dis
passionate reconsideration of a bill disap
proved by the Executive.
This catalogue of crimes, loug as it is, is
not yet complete. Ihe Constitution vests
the judicial power of the United States “in
one Supreme Court,” whose jurisdiction
“shall extend to all cases arising under
this Constitution” and “the laws of the
United States.” Encouraged by this
promise of a refuge from tyranny, a citizen
of the United States who, by the order of
a military commander, given under the
sanction of a cruel and deliberate edict of
j Congress, had been denied the constitu
tional rights of liberty of conscience, free
dom of the press and of speech., personal
freedom from military arrest, of being held
to answer for crime only upon presentment
and indictment, of trial by jury, of the writ
of habeas corpus, and the protection of civil
and constitutional government---a citizen,
thus deeply wronged, appeals to the
Supreme Court for the protection guaran
teed to him only by tho organic law of the
land. At onee a fierce and excited majori
ty by the ruthless hand of legislative power
stripped the ermine from tho judges,
transferred the sword of justice to the Gen
oral,and remanded ’.he oppressed citizen to a
degradation and bondage worse than death.
It will also be reeoraed as one of the
marvels of the times that a party claim
ing for itself a monopoly of consistency and
patriotism, and boasting, too, of its un
limited sway, endeavored, by a costly
and deliberate trial, to impeach one who
defended the Constitution and the Union
uot only throughout the war of the rebel
lion, but during his whole term of Office
as Chief Magistrate ; but at the same
lime could find no warrant or means at
their command to bring to trial even the
chief of the rebellion. Indeed, the remark
able failures in his case were so often re
peated, that for propriety's sake, if for no
other reason, it became at last nee. ssary to
extend to him an unconditional pardon.
What more plainly than this illustrates the
extremity of party management and in
consistency on the one hand, and of
faction, vindictiveness, and intolerance on
the other? Patriotism will hardly be en
couraged when, in such a record, it sees
that its inslant reward may be the most
virulent party abuse and obloquy, if uot
attempted disgrace. Instead of seeking to
“make treason odious,” it would in truth
seem to have been their purpose rather to
make the defence of the Constitution and
the Union a crime, and to puni h fidelity
to an oath of office, if counter to party
dictation, by all the means at their com
mand.
Happily for the peace of the country,
the war has determined against the as
sumed power of the States to withdraw at
pleasure fom the Union. The institution
of slavery al-o found its destruction in a
rebellion commenced in its interest. It
should be borne in mind, however, that the
war neither impaired nor destroyed the
Constitution,but on the contrary preserved
its existence, and made apparent its real
power and enduring strength. All the
rights granted to the States, or reserved
to the people thereof, remain intact.
Among those rights is that of the people
of each Slate to declare the qualifications
of their own State electors. It is now as
sumed that Congress can control this vital
right, which can never be taken away
from the States without impairing the
fundamental principles of the government
itself. It is necessary to the existence of
the States, as well as to the protection of
the liberties of the people, lor the right to
select the elector in whom the political
power of a State shall be lodged, involves
the right of the State to govern itself.
When deprived of this prerogative, the
States will have no power worth retaining.
All will be gone, and they will be subjected
to the arbitrary will of Congress. The
government will then be centralized, if
not by the passage of laws, then by the
adoption, through partisan influence, of
an amendment directly in conflict with the
original design of the Constitution. This
proves necessary it is that the people
should require the administration of the
three great departments of the government
strictly within the limitations of tho Con
stitution. Their boundaries have been ac
curately defined, and neither should be
allowed to trespass upon the other, nor,
above all, to encroach upon the reserved
rights of the people and the States. The
troubles of the past four years will prove
to the nation blessings if they produce so
desirable a result.
Upon those who became young men
amid the sound ofcanuon and din of arms,
and quietly returned to the farm >, the
factories, and the schools of the land, will
principally devolve the solemn duties of
perpetuating the Union of the States, in
defence of which hundreds of thousands of
their comrades expired, and hundreds of
millions of national obligations were in
curred. A manly people will not neglect
the training necessary to resist aggression,
but they should be jealous lest the civil bn
made subordinate to the military element.
We need to encourage, in every legitimate
way, a study of the Constitution for which
the war was waged, a knowledge of and
reverence for whose wise checks by those
so soon to occupy the places filled by their
seniors will be the only hope of preserving
the republic. The young inen of the na
tion, not yet under the control of party,
must resist the tendency to centralization
—an outgrowth of the great rebellion—and
be familiar with the fact that the country
consists of united States, and that when
the States surrendered certain great rights
for the sake of a mere perfect union, they
retained rights as valuable and impoitant
as those which they relinquished for the
common weal.
This sound old doctrine, far different
from the teachings that led to the attempt
to secede, and a kindred theory that States
were taken out of the Union by the rash
acts of conspirators that happened to
dwell in their borders, must be received
and advocated with the enthusiasm of
early manhood, or the people will be ruled
by|corrupt combinations of the commercial
centres, who, plethoric from wealth, an
nually migrate to the capital of the nation
to purchase special legislation. Until the
representatives of the people in Congress
more fully exhibit the diverse views and
interests of the whole nation, and laws
ceam to be made without full discussion at
the behest of some party leader, there will
never be a proper respect shown by the
iaw making power either to the judicial or
executive branch of the government. The
generation just beginning to use the ballot
box, it is believed, only knew that their
attention should be called to to these con
siderations to indicate, by their votes, that
they wish their representatives to observe
all the restraints which tho people, in
adopting the Constitution, intended to im
pose upon party excess.
Calmly reviewing my administration of
the government, I feel that, with a sense
of accountability to God, having conscien
tiously endeavored to discharge my whole
duty, 1 have nothing to regret. Events
have proved the correctness of the policy
set forth in my first and subsequent mes
sages: the woes which have followed the
rejection of forbearance, magnanimity, and
constitutional rule are known and deplored
by the nation.
It is a matter of pride and gratification,
in retiring from the most exalted position
in the gift of a free people, to fel and to
know that in a long, arduous aod eventful
public life, my action has never been in
fluenced by desire for gain, and that I can
in all sincerity inquire, “Whom have I de
frauded? whom have I oppressed ? or of
whose hand have I received any bribe to
blind my eyes therewith?” No responsi
bility for wars that have been waged or
blood that has been shed rests upon me.
My thoughts have been those of peace, and
my effort has ever been to allay contentions
among my countrymen.
Forgetting the past, let us return to the
first principles of the government aod, un
furling the banner of our country, inscribe
upon it, in ineffaceable characters, Ihc
Constitution and the Union, one and m
: separable.” A-ndhkw Jobhwn.
Washington, D. C., March 4, 1869.
Acknowledgment.—We tender thanks
to P. H. Langdon, Esq., General Agent,
for complimentary passes for 1869, over
the Wilmington & Manchester, and Wil
mington & Weldon Railroads. Such favors
aye always acceptable to the editorial fra
ternity.