Newspaper Page Text
OLD SERIES, VOL. LXXYI.
ChtouifU & Sentinel.
AUGI'HTA. GA I
■ECEMBEBB.
Cotton Factory.— Wo direct attention
to the card ot Messrs Stovall k Rowland
in another columD They are prepared to
make cash advances on cotton and will
give prompt attention to all business en
trusted to them. They arc agents for the
Wando and Etiwan fertilisers.
JFink Printing Ink.— We are now us
ing on the Chronicle k Sentinel the
printing ink manufactured by Mr. C. E.
Robinson, Gray’s Ferry Printing Ink
Works, Philadelphia. It is the best ink
that we have had for many years, and is
decidedly the cheapest. 'V e have no hesi
tation iu recommending it to our friends of
the press, feeling assured that they will
find it the best and cheapest ink now of
fered to the trade.
A Bio Cask.—A case involvings33,Bs4,
is being arbitrated just now in Atlanta.
It is the claim of H. G. Cole, of Ma
rietta, against E. Liulbert, Superintendent
of the Western and Atlanta Railroad, for
work done in 1857, in making the embank
ment over AHatoona Culvert, and for
other work done at Marietta, Cartersvllle,
Aoworth, etc. The arbitrators are David
Irwin, John Harris and D. P. Hill.
Palmetto Leaves in Commerce. —
I>ate advices from England state that there
lately arrived in Liverpool from New
York 4,075 bundles of palm leaves, weigh
ing forty tons, which were sold for $256
currency per ton. The leaves are the pro
duct of the palmetto tree of the Southern
States, and a large and profitable business,
it is asserted, has been established in gath
ering, picking in bundles and exporting,
what has heretofore been a useless pro
duct. In all 7,505 bundles of palmetto
leaves have arrived in Liverpoo 1 .
Farmer and Artisan. —This is the title
of a very nicely printed and interesting
weekly paper, published by M. C, Fulton
k Cos.. Athens, Ga. The first number has
been on.our table somo day s. As its uame in
dicates, the Farmer and Artisan is devoted
to agriculture and the mechanical arts.
It will also be embellished with engavings
of appropriate characters, several of which
appear in this Dumber. The publishers
deserve much credit for the manner in
which the Farmer undArtisan iagotten up,
and will, wo doubt not, berewarded with
suooess. Tiie subscription prioe is $3 per
annum.
The Neoro Ahhehborto be Removed.
—From the best authority we learn that
there has been a movement set on foot by
oortain Republican politicians of Georgia,
whieu has for its object the removal of
Edwin Heleher, the negro Assessor of In
ternal Revenue for this distriot. It will be
remembered by our readers that oiu of the
guests, invited by the Executive Commit
tee of the State Agricultural Sooioty, on
attendance at the Georgia State Fair hold
recently in Macon, was tho Hon. Colum
bus Dehno, Commissioner of Internal
Revenuo. Present at the same time and
at tho same place wore several mombers of
tho Republican party in this State of the
class known as Conservative or moderate
Republicans.
We understand thatjmany of these wait
ed upon the Commissioner of Internal
Revenue and urged upon him the neces
sity of removing Belohor from the position
which ho now holds, in the service of tho
Government. Tho -rounds upon whioh
this request was based, we are not adviseu,
but certainlyfthe open incendiarism whioh
has characterised the oouduot of Belcher
since ho received his appointment, fur
nished more than a sufficient pretext for
the demand.
Among thoso who cullod upon the Com
missioner in tho furtherance of this scheme,
were Hon. Joshua Hill, United States
Senator eleol, and|several of his known ad
herents. A successor to Belcher was found
in the person of Col. John Bowles, who
formerly held tho position, but was re
moved by President Graut to make way
for the present incumbent- The fact that
Colonel Bowles is a son-in-law of Mr. Hill
lends additional probability to tho report.
The “Gboroia Collegian.”— From a
prospectus received,.we learn that the
studonfs of the University ot Goorgia will
commence at au early date tho publication
of a semi-monthlyiliterary journal under
the name of tho Georgia Collegian.
ArnoDg its contributors will be the Chan
cellor of the University, Dr. A. A. Lips
comb, whose ability as a writer and a critio
is well known throughout the State. Some
help is requisite to begin this enterprise,
and tho projectors look to the numerous
alumni of the University for assistance.
This, we trust, that they will receive, and
that, the Collegian will be onabled to enter
upon its career of usotu'ners, which, con
ducted by some of the best young talent of
the South, we feel oertain will aoebieve.
The subscription will bo $2 50 per annum.
Address Georgia Collegian, Athens,
Georgia.
Highway Robbery.—We have this
morning to chronicle a most bold aud mur
derous highway robbery which was per
petrated just outside of the limits of the
corporation on last Monday evening.
It appears that Mr. George Cadle, a
young man who plants in lliokuioDd ooun
ty, abont fifteen miles from the city, on
the afternoon of Monday left his home
and started to Augusta on some business.
At an hour a little after dark he reached
Quiun's wagon yard, situated on the Sa
vannah road, a short distance from town,
and went into the wagon-yard for the pur
pose of procuring supper. When he en
ered the wagon-yard he noticed two ne
gro men standing in the place and they re
mained loafing around until after he had
ordered and eaten his supper. After he
had finished the meal he pulled out his
pocket-book and paid for it, at the same
time exposing to the observation of
the negroes before mentioned the
money which he carried in his purse.
Borne conversation then ensued, in the
course of which Mr. Cadle remarked that
he intended to oome on that evening to
Gtimber's wagon yard, which is situa
ted in Braytonville at the termination of
Molntosh street. Boon after he made
this remark, the negroes got up and left
the yard, and in a short while Mr. Csdle
also left to go to Oallaher’s.
Walking down Pioquet s hill he had
only proceeded » short distance when he
saw the two negroes walking rapidly to
ward him. Suspeetiug nothing he made
no preparations for an attack, and as he
got within a few feet of the men they
parted as if to let him pass between
them. Just as he got between them,
however, both of the negroes struck him a
violent blow on the head with a sling
shot. Stunned by the force of
the blow, Mr. Cadle fell by the roadside
and the highwaymen proceeded to rifle
him at their leisure. They not only took
from him his money and a pistol whiob he
wore, but, also the very shoes and clothes
from the person of their victim. After
the robbing process had been finished, they
- took their departure, leaving Mr. Cadle
still iosensible. In this condition he re
named until an early hour Tuesday
nominal when he was able to get up and
make his way to the house of a relative in
this city.
On Tuesday he lodged information of
the robbery at the polioe-offioe, and yester
day evening a negro name! Pelot was ar
rested on Bridge row on suspicion of being
•oa of the highwaymen.
Korney on the State Kalr.
The notorious John W. Forney has
written a long letter to his paper, the
Philadelphia Prtu , giving hie impressions
of the State Fair and of men and things in
Georgia. Taking it altogether it is better,
much better than we oould expect from iu
author. The political portion of it, how
ever, shows the animus of the “Dead
Duck.” For the benefit of Forney, we
state that Bullock can never get a re
spectable Legislature that will be in har
mony with him. If he does, and we have
no idea that he will, it will not reflect the
sentiments of the people of Georgia. Bul
lock’s official oonduct has been destructive
to the righu and liberties of the people,
and there is no man more universally con
demned for prostituting the functions of
his high office to base and partisan ends.
But it Congrem does what Forney advises,
and we think it very doubtful, it will have
to be enforced by the strong arm of the
military. The people will not tamely aub
mit to such an ontrage upon their rights.
The day for this infamy has past. It is
now too late to erect in the State of Geor
gia a military despotism with Bullock for
a Dictator. We have not room for For
ney’s letter in full, but the following ex
tracts contain the gist of it:
The State Agricultural Fair at Macon,
which opened on the 16th, though not as
successful as expociecJ by iu prejoctois,
was more than useful as the beginning of a
new era. The effort was in all respects
honorable. Thousands gathered in to
give it countenance and aid. The speci
mens of the growth of the soil and the skill
of the people were numerous and credit
able. Finer horses and mules, whiter cot
ton in the raw, better ootton blankets, cot- :
ton sheeting, cotton thread aDd ootton
jeans, never wereseen. These, with a rare
display of fertilizers, agricultural imple
ments, rolling railroad stock, from locomo
tives to cars ; minerals of all kinds, and a
host of articles of household and genera!
use, betokened the dawn of civilization
that mast place the Booth in the vanguard
ot the mighty competition which is revo
lutionizing and improving mankind. Yet,
however interesting all these, the occasion
was chiefly important to the Northern ob
server in the interchange of sentiment be
tween the many leading men who were
present, and in the general recognition of
tho new duties imposed upon all alike by
the new oondition of society and of govern
ment. Estimated from this stand-point,
the Maoon Fair was an event of unusual
significance.
Macon is a thoroughly Southern city,
of abont fifteen thousand people, on the
Ocmulgee ( Ok-mul-ghe) and Atlanta
rivors, and at the juoctioo of four rail
roads. Very pleasant it was, after a long,
cold ride, part of it through a steady
snow storm, to enjoy the solt breezes of
an almost May morning on Tuesday last,
and to gather fragrant roses and other
Summer flowers growing luxuriously id the
open air. The surroundings of Macon are
not so bare and sterile as other towns. As
you approach it over the Georgia Central,
the thriving villages, the well-fenced plan
tations and comfortable houses give it an
appearance that would be almost Northern
if it were not for the cottoD fields, which,
just picked of their snowy harvest, still
ghow enough for the gleaner in the white
floss that flies from many of t{ie stalks.
The better portion of the city, on a high
and handsome bluff, is adorned with really
noblo residencies, many es them occupied
by men of wealth, and all of them finished
with luxury. The business streets are
broad and brisk, the “stores” filled with
merchandize and delioacies, the hotels
(two of them, tho Brown House and
Lanier) imposing and well kept, the whole
indicating plenty of trade.
And proving that these signs were not
false, let me state that this collection dis
trict alone raises two hundred thousand
bales, or, as they are called here, bags of
cotton, worth twenty millions of dollars,
which last year, before the tax on cotton
was removed, paid into tho United States
Treasury a revenuo of two millions and a
half. The cotton trade this year of Macon
alone is estimated at eight millions. The
tine equipages of the riob, the splendid
horses of the young men, with their deli
cate New York and Philadelphia built
buggies: the chock-full stores, the pianos
sounding from hotels and private houses,
the costly raiment of the somewhat over
dressed ladies, the palatial railroad station,
the oomfortably-clad negroes, showed as
well how this affluence is enjoyed in the
present as how muoh it might be used for
noble ends in the future.
The difference between the yesterday of
slavery and the freedom of to day in the
distribution of this affluence is seen by a
visit to what are called the “cotton ware
houses.” They front a wide street, each
with a snaoious yard, surrouuded on three
Bides by brick sheds, in which the ootton
bales are packed after they have been duly
sampled and entered for sale and trans
portation to New York and Liverpool, via
Savannah, distant one hundred and ten
miles by rail. In the open street a curious
sight is presented to Northern eyes. The
wagons are coming in from tho plantations
loaded down with their heavy halos, some
of them drawn by six and even eight mules,
where tho froight is large, others by four,
maDy by two, and now and then a single
bule drawn by a single old horse, hitched
to a crazy, dry old sled by aged ropes made
stionger by ties of corn leaves. In nearly
every case the heavy wagons carry a whole
family of freedmen, whocomewith the cot
ton to Maoon to get paid for their share in
cultivating and picking it. Perched on the
top, with an awoiog to shelter them from the
rain or bud in the day, and from the dews of
night, here they ride and sleep, during a
journey of not unfreqently forty miles
mothers and children, sons aDd daughters,
with the babias inclusive. The owner,
late master, rides along in his light our
riolo, drawn by a high-spirited horse, and
by his overseer or himself oollcots the
money for the cotton and settles with the
head freedman for his share belore he
leaves the ground. In many instances the
freedman grows his own ootton and carries
it to the faotory and get* the proceeds;
but the plau of working the plantations on
shares is superseding all others. This is
the great principle of co-operation whioh
is to become the effective solvent of the
conflict between capital and labor. The
planter who binds himself to pay his freed
men the proceeds of one-third of his crop
for their work, is generally sure of fidelity
and honest returns, whilst the freedman is
protected in all his rights. There are, of
oonrse, instances of foul play, and I was
told many stories of the way the negroes
were cheated by ovei seers and planters
by false charges at country stores; but
it was well remarked by Mr. Coleman, the
intelligent owner of the great iron works
and ore beds near Lebanot, Pennsylvania
(one of our oompany), that this practice
ia not any worse in the South than it used
to be in former days in the dealings be
tween Northern iron masters and their
people.
Tnese people earn about fifteen dollars a
month, and as they generally possess a
small patch of ground and a house furnish
ed by the kind planters, who have conclud
ed that the sure way to get good crops is
to attach the freedman to the soil by giv
ing him a part of it, they save a good
portion if they are reasonable, economical
Their wives and daughters are no longer
field hands,jbut cultivate the “God’s Acre”
around their homes, and thus supply much
for the larder that might otherwise have
to be bought out of wages of the men.
1 met General Wade Hampton, of South
Carolina, on Tuesday evening, and found j
him one of the advocates of this enlighten- ;
ed policy. He said, substantially, that the
negro was the best of all laborers for the
cotton States, and that he had not disap
pointed the man who had treated him
kindly before the war, or who had not de
graded him since. Gen. Hampton has
most of his oolored people about him still,
and with them he cultivates his possessions j
on shares, reserving two-thirds to himself. 1
He provides for each family a small home- !
stead, rent free, including a clever piece of
ground upon which to grow vegetables, etc.
It is needless to add that General Hamp- 1
ton will see that the laborer teceives his
honest wages, aad that he is kindly cared
for. The effect of this example must be
potential- He stands high with all classes,
and is idolized by his friends. These are
rare advantages, and if he utilises them, as
I believe he will, he will prove to be much
more of a benefactor to the South than if
he had elected Seymour and Blair Presi
dent and Vioe President for a term as long
as their natural lives.
A number of these representative men
oalled at the Northern rooms. One of
them, Col. B. G. Lookett, perhaps the
largest cotton planter in the South, cer
tainly in Georgia, was particularly intelli
gent and candid. As I told him, I know
of no higher pleasure than that of present
ing such a witness to the people of the
North. Such men are the true mission
aries of peaoc —the true pioneers of pro
gress. They have no "records” from
which to shrink "-no ‘‘proceeding to obey
>-do partied to marshal—no political debts
to pay. Perfectly independent in property
and principle, they are free to take any
, course regardless of the temporary —I had
i almost written the trumpery—organiza
’ tions of the hour. Col. Lockett’s planta
tion, near Albany. Georgia, is the model
i plantation of the State. It consists of four
thousand acres. Under the co-operative
system, already described, be has raised
2.500 balesof cotton,which would have been
3.500 bales but for the excessive drought
It was instructive to hear him speak of the
intelligence and fidelity of the freedmen,
and of his determination to look after their
mental and material welfare. He is trying
the fall experiment of enlightened treat
ment, aDd is getting richer by it every day.
Col. Lockett is no theoretical philanthro-
Eist. He vitalizes his opinions,and fulfills
is promises. To prove his own sincerity
in the development of Georgia, and its ex
traordinary wealth at the same time, he
planted six acres on his estate, under care
ful and superior cultivation, aided by the
best fertilizers, and the result was nearly
three bales to the acre. His report, stating
this unprecedented product, which he
read to me, and is by this time enrolled
among the archives of the Fair, seemed to
give him as much pleasure as the bulletin
of a great victory to a military ceief. One
bale to the acre is the present yield;
but as Col. Lockett well says, now that
slavery is abolished brains, muscle and
improved culture are to be brought
into requisition, and he who grows three
bales where one has heretofore been ' pro
duced will be more useful to mankind
than he who made three blades of grass
where only one had been grown before.
Hereafter, instead of taking three and
four acres to make one bale of cotton, su-
Krior energy and skill wili give us three
les to the acre. I could not remain
longer than Wednesday in Macon, and
therefore could not accompany General
Cameron, Mr. Delano, Commissioner of
Internal Revenue, Mr. Calder, and others
of our party, who were to visit Col. Lcck
i ett’s estate the next day, there to study
the operation of a system which, in the
hands of men of his generosity and sin
cerity, must eventually secure the suprem
acy oC free government in the South,
and fix the ascendancy ot the South itself.
The ootton manufactories of Georgia
have long been famous. We passed the
great works near Augusta, which looked
like Gen. Patterson’s mills at Chester,
only, if possible, larger and more com
manding. The Eagle Works at Colum
bus, in which a million of dollars are in
vested and are being largely extended.
The factory at MacoD, which I visited,
employed about three hundred hands, all
white, and seemed to be prosperous. The
sheetings and threads of these establish
ments have acquired quite a celebrity, and
one house in Philadelphia, that of Mr.
Eugene Claghorn, has built an enormous
trade in the staples of the Augusta works.
Anew article, cotton blankets, has come
in vogue, and is beiDg introduced all
over the South. Labor is at least 20 per
cent cheaper than in the North, and the
Superintendent of the Macon W orks told
Mr. Calder that he had no difficulty iu ob
taining hands. In fact, every vacancy was
eagerly sought after. The young women
were tidy and well behaved, and were said
to be very expert. With cotton at ’ their
doors, to be had free of the heavy cost of
transportation and other charges, the
South should become the seat of superior
manufactures. Their advantages in iron
are not less apparent. Their coal, their
ores, their timber, limestone, water, labor,
aro all accessible. Georgia, Alabama, and
Virginia, may lead, if they will, in the
future. That they will become competitors
of New England and the Middle States, is
as certain as that, if they had been manu
facturing States before the war, they
would have prolonged the rebellion, and
probably made it successful. The fact
that most of their public men have
changed their views on the protection of
home labor indicates that they will be
more sagacious in the future.
There is no State South in which valu
able farms can be had more reasonably
than in Georgia. Fifteen dollars an acre
for cotton lands that will produce at least
thirty dollars per annum, is the highest
rate. But the field is not confined to cot
ton. Toe experiment of Mr. True in
Madison, and the splendid success of tho
Noble family (Pennsylvanians) near Rome,
together with a thousand other examples,
show that capital and brains can be as
safely invested in agriculture as in iron.
Not unfitly was Georgia called the Empire
of the South. It only needed the war she
helped to precipitate, and the losses which
her people are still bewailing, to prove
the full significance of the appellation.
The execrated Sherman/, like the skillful
surgeon who Tcmoves the tumor which
threatens to grow over the heart, broke
the prison doors of Georgia and opened to
her a world of wealth and happiness.
I have endeavored to give you some of
the indications presented during a briei
two days in this State. Let me not forget
one of the most hopeful. Hhring the two
days of the fair, and on Wednesday espe
cially, it is estimated not less than twenty
thousand were added to the fifteen thou
sand resident population. They were of
all olasses and degrees, white and black.
The streets, hotels, and public places were
thronged, and the scene at the fairgrounds
and on the cars going in and out was at
times confusion worse confounded. Yet
in all this mass I did not see a drunken
person. Nobody seemed to be drinking.
All were well dressed and good-natured.
All were decorous; and when one jof our
party declared that no such sobriety would
mark our great Middle State gatherings, I
felt that it was the simple truth. Even in
the smoking cars South we found no noisy
or intoxicated* men. As our Southern
friends are said to be over-fond of the ar
dent, and as the freedmen are quoted as
faithful imitators of their “superiors” in
the practice, what we saw was not less
agreeable because wholly a surprise. Such
a population, blessed at tho same time
with a profusion and variety of natural
riohes, cannot long remain in a seeondary
civilization.
There is, of course, a good deal of ani
mosity to oyercome, a great mass of ugly
memories to forget, very many epithets to
forgive. The poor spite of “social ostra
cism,” as it it is called, has to die before
the cure is complete. It will liDger long
est, as born of the habits hardest to aban
don —the habits ofselfiindulgence and self
admiration—but will go out at last, to be
remembered only in the confusion and
shame or those who have practiced it. The
only aristocracy that can endure in this age
and clime is that of character and capacity.
I oan recall the days when parties were
as bitterly divided in Georgia as they are
now. Less than twenty years ago Howell
Cobb was as violently persecuted as Gov.
Bullock, when he run against and defeated
the Nullification candidate, McDonald.
Who does not reoollect the feuds between
the Jackson and anti-Jaoksonites? be
tween the Whigs and Democrats? It is
not two months since I sat one evening
with a gentleman in Washington city who
described the animosity of the enemies of
President Jackson in the Nation’s Capital.
And wbat was true of one State or district
was true of the rest. Where are these j
hatreds now? Forgotten all; not only re- i
Setted, but dead and buried —so dead, in
at, that history passes them by with con- (
tempt. And though our Southern friends 1
may believe they hate the carpet-baggers
and scalawags more than the Whigs hated 1
the Democrats, and vice versa, they are j
mistaken, and the next State Fair of!
Georgia will prove what I say.
A few words on the political situation j
and I have done. Both parties in Geor
gia concede that the State cannot be
restored without ratifying the fifteenth
amendment, and I believe the Legisla- j
ture will confirm it at an early day. That
Congress will be guided by the advice
of Governor Bullock, sustained as he is
by General Terry, I hope and believe
There is an Executive of Georgia, but no
civil government.
There is no school system such as
there ought to be, no militia, no just
election laws. These can only come
through a Legislature in harmony with
| Gov. .Bullock. He has three years to
1 serve from this month, and it would be
simple madness to expect him to recon
! struct the State with a Legislature that
j expelled the [duly chosen colored men.
! Let Congress take up the subject at an
eaily day in Deoember, on the basis of
| the report of the Judiciary Committee
of the Senate, and dispose of it, and in
one year Georgia will have a system of
laws that will secure the rights of all. The
hostility to Governor Bullock is intense
among the politicians, but it was easy to
see that he is exactly the man for the
' crisis. Fifteen years a resident of Georgia,
he knows her interests and her people.
He has administered the affairs of the
State with great integrity. No taint of
corruption can attach to his name. His
appointments to the superior courts have
given Georgia a judiciary of unchallenged
I excellence. What he needs now is the
: power to complete his Republican adtnin
! (stratum. That secured to him by Con
gress, be will have a party at his back
1 that will soon be increased by the votes
j ana the voices of all the men of Georgia,
who admit that their welfare depends, not
I so much upon a particular organization,
as upon a stable, settled, and harmonious
government. J. W. F.
Livtkpuol, December I, evening.—Corn
AUGUSTA. GA., WEDNESDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 8, 1869.
The Spanish Navy.
Few of our people are aware of the ex
tent, capacity and power of the Spanish
Navy. Spain has been considered for
some years past an effete old monarchy,
with barely power in her government to
preserve order at home. More recently
the form of her government has been
practically overthrown, and a sort of Mob
ocracy is now planted in the ruins of the
old Monarchy. Yet with ell the changes
in her home government, in all the revolu
tions and counter-revolutions which have
swept over that unfortunate country, the
party in place, for the time being, has been
zealous in its efforts to preserve such a
share of authority and power as would
prevent the avarice or cupidity of neigh
boring governments from attempting to
wrest from Spain any of her colonial de
pendencies.
The solicitude of Spain and her mongrel
governments, has been chiefly devoted to
the preservation of her prestige and power
on the high seas. Her leading minds loDg
since recognized the truth that whatever
of importance or respectability was retain-,
ed by the home government, was due
mainly .to the wealth and resources of her
West Indies possessions. To secure the
continuance of these sources of, wealth
respectability and power, a formidable
naval armament was absolutely necessary,
and hence we find upon examination that
her navy to-day takes high rank among the
first powers of the age.
The recent ana existing troubles touch
ing the seizure by our Government of the
gunboats recently fitted out in New York
bay for the government of Spain, and the
probable consequences which may flow
from the action of the United States
authorities, lends additional interest to the
question whether Spain, in case she should
deem the conduct of our government as a
acts us belli , wouid be able to make serious
or formidable resistance to our action.
The Spanish Navy consists of the fol
lowing vessels and armament:
No. of Vessels. No. of Guns.
2 Sailing -hips of the line carrying 120
7 Iron clad frigates, carrying 240
11 Screw frigates, carrying 472
1 Sailing frigate, carrying 42
4 sailing corvettes, carrying 92
5 Screw corvettes, carrying 15
6 Sailing barks, carrying 102
1 Brig, carrying 6
1 Sailing schooner, carrying 7
18 Screw schooners, carrying 38
18 Screw gunboats, carrying 18
26 Side-wheel vessels, carrying .....153
17 Transports (steam and sail) ranging
from 1,300 to 225 tons.
Making a total fleet of 117 vessels, car
rying 1,305 guns, all in readiness for actual
service, and fully officered and manned.
It will be seen that the Spanish navy is
really formidable as well in the number of
its vessels as their armament and
organization. But it is not alone
the actnal naval force of Spain
which would give our Government
most trouble and do our shipping most
damage. The Spanish Government would,
issue letters of marque and reprisal and
the high seas would swarm with privateers
preying upon American commerce. New
England cupidity and New England ship
builders and capitalists would furnish the
vesse's and guns,and thousands of the gal
lant Confederate sailors and seamen who
Yankees still delight in calling pirates
would command and navigate these New
England privateers, proud of the chance
to strike effective blows against the govern
ment which feared them and trembled at
the mention ot their names when they
roamed the seas,but which now daily taunts
them with the offensive epithet of pirates.
The Tax on Incomes.
In anticipation of the early meeting of
Congress leading Northern and Western
journals are urging the propriety of a re
peal of the Government tax on incomes.
The main reasons given for a repeal of
the law are its inquisitorial charaoter, and
the opportunities and inducements which
it offers for its evasion by those whose
morality is not stronger than their cupidi
ty. That these objections have much
weight has hern admitted by those who
favor its retention still upon the statute
book. But then it is claimed that if the in
come law is to be repealed on those grounds
the whole system of interna! taxation must
also, for the same or similar reasons. The
truth is, that any system of direct taxation
must necessarily involve an amount of
machinery for its assessment and collec
tion which will make the system odious to
the people generally. The large number
of officials required to enforce the law, and
the great temptations offered for fraud
and speculation have thoroughly satisfied
the public that however just a system
must be whioh requires the citizen to pay
for the support of government in exact
proportion to his means and ability; yet,
in the practical enforcement of such a
system, difficulties arise which more than
counterbalance the benefits derived.
In regard to the tax on income it is
claimed that it falls heaviest on that Class
of the people who are least able to pay
it. Incomes in no sense represent the
wealth of the State or the ability of the
people to bear the burthens of taxation.
This is more particularly true in anew and
rapidly inereasiug country like ours. Our
greatest fortunes are made by investments
and speculations in real estate. The wild
lands of the West and the unimproved lots
adjacent to our young and thriving cities
and towns offer the greatest inducements
and make the largest returns on capital in
vested. Immense sums are yearly expend
ed in this way upon which the owners pay
no income tax. There being no income
derived from this source, the conse
quence is that a large number of people
who are most able to bear the expenses of
Government pay nothing, while the sala
ried and professional man pays in ad
dition to the general revenue tax this
special burden placed by Government on
his mental and physical labor.
Ours is largely, we may say, almost
j exclusively an agricultural people, partic
ularly in the South and W est. They own
! the soil they cultivate. The products of
I the farm which are consumed in the
family of the proprietor pay no taxes.
These increments of agricultural pursuits
i are not classed as income, and hence they
not only escape the general revenue im
, posts but the income tax also. The farm
| of the thrifty planter increases in value
every year, yet this is not considered a part
; of his income and escapes the burden
j which is imposed upon the fruit ot money
at interest, and the profits upon merchan
; dize and the mechanical industries.
1 In no sense is the income tax an equal
| or j U gt one, and we seriously doubt whether
I the amount realized from it is sufficiently
i large to make its entire abolition a serious
detriment to the government finances.
We of the South pay very little of this
tax, yet whenever it is enforced its evils
fall heaviest on that class of our people
who ought to be free from its onerous ex
actions. Still we believe that so far as the
South is alone concerned no considerable
! efforts will be made for its repeal. If a
repeal is proposed by representatives from
other sections than Southern members—
-1 few in number, we admit—who truly rep
i resent the feelings of their constituents,
will favor the measure, but the burden of
the contest must be borne by those more
immediately and generally interested.
j The Union Dead.—Adjutant-General
Thomas, the national undertaker, in his
recent report states that the total inter
ments of the Union officers and soldiers in
j South Carolina are 11,877 ; in Georgia 23,-
i 702; Mississippi 25,717 ; Louisiana 17,130.
, The'total number of white officers and sol
diers, knowu aud unknown, buried as de
tailed above, is nearly 500,000. The
number of oolored soldiers nearly 50,000,
two-thirds of whom are not known by
' oame.
Cuba.
' The recent intelligence from Cuba indi
cates that the cause of the insurgents has
become almost hopeless. The Revolution
ary Government has abandoned and de
stroyed its own capital and the Insurgent
forces have lost possession of the few towns
which they have heretofore occupied.
The indiscriminate destruction of the
towns, villages and sugar plantations in
the insurrectionary districts by the Cuban
officials show that even they have lost all
hope for a successful termination of the
prolonged and unequal contest.
The rumored treason of General Jordan,
though not strictly true, is shown to have
been founded on conduct of his which
shows that Ameriean sympathizers have j
fared very badly at the hands of those !
whose cause they abandoned their own
country to espouse. The Americans, ac- j
cording to Jordan’s statement, were al- j
ways forced to take the iead in the battles
and skirmishes which occurred and were
never adequately supported by the Cubans.
Under these circumstances Jordan de
termined to disband bis forces and accept
a place on the staff of Quesada.
But strange to say, jist as the Cuban
cause is sinking, and itsarmies disappear
ing from the field, our Government, which
held off as long as them seemed a pros
pect of success and vhen its aid and
friendly recognition would have been of
incalculable bentfit to the patriot cause,
now proposes to step forward and extend
the recognition of belligerent rights to the
defeated and vanquished Cubans. It is
stated that General Grant has actually
prepared his proclamation of recognition
in anticipation of early action by the ap
proaching meeting of Congress. Bom
bast yet lives—be may be seen occasion
ally on horse-back, segar in mouth, near
the White House, at Washington.
Mr. Davis-The Lincoln Assassination.
A correspondent of the Cincinnat Com
mercial (Rad.) had a conversation with
President Davis recently while the latter
was on his way up the river from New
Orleans to Memphis. His attention was
called to the affidavit of Lewis F. Bates,
published in May, 1865, as follows:
Testimony of Lewis F. Bates, a witness
for the prosecution, May 30, 1865, as pub
lished in the official report: 1 reside in
Charlotte, North Carolina, where I have
resided a little over four years. lam Su
perintendent of the Southern Express
Company for the State of North Carolna.
lam a native of Massachusetts. On the
12th of April Jefferson Davis stopped at
my house in Charlotte, where he made an
address to the people from the stops of my
house. While speaking, a teiegram from
John C. Breckinridge was handed him.
|The following telegram was read to the
commission :]
Greensborough, April 19, 1865.
His Excellency, President Davis :
President Lincoln was assassinated in
the theatre at Washington, on the night of
the 14fh inst. Seward’s house was enter
ed on the same night, and bo was repeat
edly stabbed, and is probably mortally
wounded.
• John C. Breckinridge.
In concluding his speech, Jefferson
Davis read that dispatch aloud, and made
this remark : “If it were to be done, it
were better it were well done.” I am
quite sure these are the words ho used.
A day or two afterward, Jefferson Davis
and John C. Breckinridge were present
at my house, when the assassination
of the President was the subject of con
versation. In speaking’ of it Jihn C.
Breckinridge remarked to Mr. Davis that
he regretted it very much, that it was un
fortunate ’for the people of the South at
that time. Mr. Davis replied: “Well,
General, I don’t know, if it were to be
done at all, it were better that it were well
done, and if the same had been done to
Andy Johnson, the beast, and to Secreta
ry Stanton, the job would then be com
plete.”
Mr. Davis pronouneed the whole state
ment an “entire and absolute falsehood.”
The people of the South, and, we believe,
a majority at the North never believed one
word ot this unmitigated falsehood. Yet,
upon the statement of the perjured wretch
Bates, Mr. Davis was openly charged with
complicity in Mr. Lincoln’s assassination,
ai.d actually put in chains for it by that
great stickler for and lover of the Constitu
tion, Andrew Johnson.
The Port Royal and Mediterranean
Steamship Company.
In the New York Daily Bulletin we
find the following, which will be news to
the most of our readers:
It is intended to establish an American
line of steamships between New York,
Norfolk, Port Royal, S. C., Brunswick,
Ga , and Cadiz, Marseilles, Geuoa, Trieste,
and other Mediterranean ports of South
ern Europe, Port Said and other ports of
Northern Africa, through the Suez Canal
to the East ludies, whereby the great
staples of the Southern States of the
Union may have direct conveyance to the
markets ot Europe, and a large emigration
of the industrial classes from the South of
Europe into the United States.
The project, it will be remembered, was
received with much favor by the Louis
ville Commercial Convention, and the
Southern States were advised to give it
such material aid by issuing their bonds
and by giving a bounty, per capita , for
able-bodied immigrants introduced by the
company, and to assist in providing a sink
ing fund for its benefit. It also recommend
ed Congress to authorize the Postmaster
General to give to it the conveyance of the
mails. The Chamber of Commerce of this
city some months since approved highly of
the purposes of the new organization, and
recommended it to the consideration of
Congress. The Company propose to build
fourteen iron steamships, all of American
materials, to be owned and built in the
United States, and to be sailed under the
naitonal Hag. These vessels are to be of
such model and tonnage that experience has
demonstrated to be the most advantageous
lor freight and passengers, with all modern
improvements. The designs are now
nearly ready. The ships will be uniform,
and named after the various States of the
UnioD, beginning with Tennessee, and
continued in order of procedure in which
the several States shall pass the enact
ments recommended by the Louisville
Convention to aid in introducing immi
grants into their territory, and to restore
the former prestige of our commercial ma
rine.
A Ravishing Court.—The following
little “scene,” which took place in a South
Carolina Court of Justice a few days since,
is too good to be withheld from our read
ers. It appears that just upon the other j
side of the Savannah River, in the ancient I
town of Hamburg, South Carolina, the
American Ethiopia, there lives a white j
scalawag, who holds a position as Magis- I
trate under the new and Radical dispensa- J
tion. This Magistrate, in order to prove j
beyond the shadow of a doubt his thorough |
loyalty to the powers that be, has a highly |
colored constable, who lends dignity to his
judicial proceedings. M e must now state, !
before we go farther, that the Justice is a
little timid when in the presence ot the ku
klux, and that his tipstaff is very tenacious
ot his dignitly upon qli occasions and in
dignanty resents anything that looks like
ridicule.
A few mornings since a case was on
trial before this Magistrate and the Court
was in full blast, according to the custom
of Carolina, with the negro constable in his
place and a negro jury in attendance, when
enter a
South Carolina Ku-klux: “Hello here !
what the devil are these damned niggers
I doing on a jury I wonder?
Scalawag Justice (a little uneasy):
' “Really, Mr.-, you must not inter
rupt the Court in this manner. The Court
is trying an important and I trust
j that you will let the Court alone.”
E. C. Kuklux ( disposed to raise a
bobbery) : “What in h—l do I care for
■ the Court ? I want to know what all these
d—d nigger jurymen and constables are
doing here?’
Scalawag Justice (decidedly frightened ):
“Mr. 1 you must either leave the
Court’s presence or the Court will be com
j pelled to adjourn.
Black Constable (rising in wrath): “I
hope, yo honah, sab, will not amjurn, sah.
! All dat dis white man wish to do is to
j ravish the Court, sah, an I trust yo honah
j will not allow him to do it, sah.
j The sable official meant to say “insult
, the court,” but he got his words twisted
and the Court had to adjourn until a' more
favorable occasion,when there would be no
| Ku-kluxes around.
Pori Royal.
| The Secretary oi.the Navy, in his report
i to be laid before Congress next week, rec
i ommends the establishment of a Navy
| Yard at Port Royal.
A better selection could not have been
I made on the South Atlantic coast, as the
depth of the water on the bar, her magni
! ficent bay and her rapidly extending rail-
I road connections make Port Royal a most
| desirable and convenient port for ship
building and repairs.
Disgraceful Sympathy.
The Vice-President of the United States
deeply sympathizes with Richardson, the
seducer and adulterer recently shot by the
outraged husband of the woman who is
openly proclaimed his paramour, and
sends the mean wretch the following tele
gram :
Washington, Nov. 26,
To A. D. Richardson: Our whole
household send sincerest sympathies and
warmest wishes for your recovery.
Schuyler Colfax.
Washington, Nov. 26.
To Whitelaw Reid ; Thanks for wel
come telegram giving hopes of Richard
sou’s recovery. Please telegraph me how
he is at noon to day.
Schuyler Colfax.
This open avowal of his sincerest sym
pathy for a man who has received but a
just and merited punishment for the
highest offence which can be committed
against the citizen and the laws of society
by the Vice-President of the United States
shows a want of morals and common de
oency which must shock the public mind
ot the country acid of the civilized world.
Oil, How Lovely!
Mr. Paul Gerard, brother-in-law of the
Minister of Portugal to this country, will
be married to morrow (hangman’s day),
in Washington to a mulatress, the daugh
ter of a rich Washington negro, who, for
years, has kept a sort of low Congression
al eating house.
Fashionable society in the capital is
much exercised about tbe_ affair, but the
Radicals, look upon the match as but an
other indication of the “march of events.”
Graut, we suppose, willgive away the bride,
and her greasy mother be escorted to the
church by the great Forney.
What part Greeley will take in the cere
monies is not stated, but we suppose he
will figure as a friend of the family with
a rich present of pork and beans, of his
own raising, for the happy pair.
Dick Bustecd.
This notorious individual, who holds a
commission as a United States Judge for
the State of Alabama and which he has,
time and again, disgrace! and prostituted
for the purposes of gain and of revenge, is
about at last to get hisjust deserts.
TheJudic ary Committee of the House
of Representatives, to whom the matter
was referred just previous to the adjourn
ment of Congress, have investigated the
charges preferred against Busteed and
have agreed upon a report recommending
that ho be impeached for high crimes and
misdemeanors.
When a Radical Committee of a Radi
cal Congress prefers charges of so grave
and damning a character against a Radical
Judge presiding in a Radical State, the
public may rest assured that his offences
are of the most heinous and aggravated
character.
A Yankee Discovery.
A correspondent of the New York
Tribune , who attended the late agricultur
al fair held held at Wilmington, North
Carolina, has been greatly enlightened up
on the condition of the South and the
moral and intellectual status of our peo
ple. The conduct of the ladies at the fair
impressed this Bohemian very profound
ly. He fcxpeeted to find the standard of
gentility and refinement a degree lower
than among Northern females, and when
he discovers his great mistake, concludes
at once that he enly saw the best clement
of our female society. Like all Yankees,
when he finds his preconceived impres
sions are false, he at once guesses tbat he
can account for the paradox.
In this letter to the Tribune the corre
spondent says
The wives of these gentlemen, as well as
the female members of their families, ap
peared uncommo’nly well, and i would say
the ladies in attendance at this Fair were
on an average, far better educated than
the average of the ladies at a Northern
Fair. Ttiat is to say, only the better
Class attended, and the common people I
did not see It seemed to me that_ these
ladies have a more realizing sense of many
things than the gentlemen, and this may
be for the reason that, their Dalural rela
tions to the household bring them into
more immediate connection with common
things. There is much in these families
worthy of admiratiou, and they have some
qualities which Nortuern people do not
possess, or which they do not value suffi
ciently to retain, for their habits and taste
are simple, though not inelegant; they de
spise affectation and effeminacy, and their
moral and religious sentiments are deeply
rooted. I will state what I believe to be
true, that, the Southern people, as a class,
would not at tend,nor would they suffer such
exhibitions as are common in the North,
and even in New England. In all future
progress of the American Saxon race, they
must be considered as the most valuable,
most steadfast auxiliaries; and American
institutions and relgious principles, as now
accepted, are too precious to be deprived
of the assistance which the many noblemen
and women of the South would, under
favorable circumstances, be glad to render.
Bureau of Statistics.—The com
pleted returns at the Bureau of Statistics
show that the exports of cotton during the
fiscal year ending June 30, 1869, were as
follows: Sea Island $2,374,892, Upland
$160,258,160, manufactures $5,874,222
total $168,507,274. Os this total there
was shipped to England $110,109,288,
to France $24,884,786, to Bremen $12,-
245,602, to Spain $4,187,390, to Hamburg
$4,246,313.
The exports of breadstuff's during the
same period aggregated $53,545,253. Os
this sum there were 8,040,197 bushels
Indian corn, at a value of $6,820,719, of
which $2,990,358 wereshipped to England,
Indian meal $2,656,279, wheat 17,542,891
barrels, $24,361,876, of which England
received $15,042,876, Canada $4,470,904,
Scotland $6,468,065, Ireland $2,290,044,
: wheat flour 2,414,818 barrels, $28,832,248,
i of which the exports to England were
$2,443,993, British West Indies and North
American possessions $6,534,276, Brazil
j $3,449,791.
Another Route to the Up Country.
—lt seems that the Macon and Brunswick
Railroad, to be completed in a few days,
li s organizing a fast scheduale between
1 Savannah and Atlanta. The Macon
j lelegraph and Messenger, of yesterday,
| says:
! “We hear it stated out of doors that, in
1 the course of a week or ten days, indeed,
! perhaps as soon as next Saturday, the
1 first through train will .be put upon the
Macon and Brunswick Railroad, with ail
| the modern improvements. Engines and
i cars will be new, elegant and comfortable.
The following is the rumored schedule
j f ro m Savannah by this and connecting
road«: Liave Savannah by the Atlantic
and Gulf Railroad at 6:15 A. M.; Macon
! at 4; 15 P. M. and arrive at Atlanta at
9:15— through from Savannah to Atlanta
in 15 hours, where immediate connection
: will be effected by the Western and Atlan
tic trains with the whole Western, North
western and Northern system-of railways
! Down trains-will leave Atlanta at 7:30 A.
:M. Macon at 12:30 P. M., and reach
! Savannah at 10:20 P. M. This will be an
1 improvement.
AFFAIRS Iff NEW YORK.
| Business Men Awaiting the Opening of
Congress—Anxiety About Specie Pay
ments — The Importers I ersus the Job- !
hers—The Prices of Merchandize and
the Price o / Gold—The Richardson '
Scandal—The Out-Croppings of Free I
Love—The Neio York ln-ess Sides with [
Richardson and Why f—The Excite \
ment About Trouble with Spain — Will j
there be an Armed Conflict—The Great j
Eight of the R. R. Kings, etc., etc.
New York, Nov. 27, 1869.
Editors Chronicle k Sen tinel:
The week closes withal. hands anxious
ly awaiting the opening of Congress to see ;
what policy the Executive and the heads j
of departments will unfold in their annual 1
messages and reports to be sent to Con
gross. The coming week, therefore, will
virtually be a hiatus in our commercial j
and finanoial circles, everybody preferring
to wait and see before entering upon new
enterprises.
wiiat perplexes business men
Here just now, more than ever before, is
the great question of specie payments
Come it must, they say, but will artificial
means be used to hasten its coming ? If
you go among the importers—whose in
fluence predominates over our financial
barometer—you will hear that the coun
try will go to the dogs unless the probe is
applied and an immediate return to specie
payments, is the only advice they
desire to press upon those having
charge of our legislative and ad
ministrative affairs. If, per contra, the
opinions of jobbers and small traders
is asked they will tell you that “the couu
try is sure to go to h—ll if the Govern
ment dares to force specie payment upon
the mercantile commun ty.” Now this
class is the most numerous, though not so
influential at headquarters in Wall street,
and it is, therelore, no surprise to hear
many wise, safe and sound bankers express
the hope that the Government will leave
the entire matter of speoio payments aloDe,
not tamper with it, and that things will
right themselves much quicker without
Government interference than with it.
They point to the foolish attempt of Con
gress during the war to shut up the gold
room in this city, and the fatal conse
quences that resulted, and they warn
members of Congress not auain to meddle
with affairs which can better be settled in
Wall street than out of it.
gold
is gradually, slowly, but steadily lowering
in premium, and unless the little spark of
trouble now on the political horizou grows
into a veritable dispute with Spain, the
price will be 120 before many days have
passed. All animation seems to have left
that dingy room in Wall street since the
memorable Friday, September 2-1, and
even yesterday when dispatches announc
ing that the Pre ident had ordered two
formidable monitors now at Fortress Monroe
to repair at once to this harbor in order to
be on hand for any mischief brewing in the
minds of the Spanish authorities repre
sented here, the bulls with all their might
and all their allies called in as assistants,
could not drive the premium up higher
than I per cent. But as with gold, so
ALL SORTS OF MERCHANDIZE
is held at lower prices, and animation is
absent from the cotton and provision
markets as well as from the gold. Niw
owing to more favorablo advices from
Liverpool an! a small stock offering, tho
week closes on a rather firm ootton market,
but the lowering gold premium keeps also
down the price of cotton, while merchants
are not prepared to dispose of their stock
of dry goods, as yet at least, on a specie
basis. There are those who profess to say
that business out West is not so bad as re
ported last week, and I must oonfess that
remittances are reaching New York better
than was anticipated; but there is no
healthy trade with the West just now,
neither will there be until the Spring sea
son opens. In the meantime the South
continues to improve by the week, aud
for the first time since the close of the
war our fancy goods and jewelry estab
ishments, always the first to feel the effect
lof better times, have commenced to make
sales to travellers and tourists from the-
Southern States.
THE FRUITS OF RADICALISM AND IM
MORALITY.
The newspapers of New York have,
during the last two days, made a great hue
and ery over tho shooting of a man named
Albert D. Richardson, one of the Tribune
editors, by a crazed husband named Mc-
Farland, to the disgrace of the profession.
With one notable exception, nearly all of
them have lauded this man Richardson to
the skies, and even the Vice President of
the United States, Schuyler Col
fax, sends a telegram stating that
his entire household sympathizes with a
man who has destroyed the happiness and
peace of another man’s household. All
the cant you read in the New York papers
about McFarland’s cowardly aud crazy act
does not alter the fact that this man
Richardson —only the member of a oon
stantly growing clique in the North who
are undermining and sapping the founda
tions of society by their loose doctrines on
the Marital Slate, and their contempt for
tho sanctity of the family—has been the
originator and promoter of McFarland's
domestic misery. There he lies in the
Tombs-the poor, unfortunate man, with
tears in his eyes, such as Richardson's
never shed, and could not with his heart
of stone; this man tells everybody, willing
to listen to him, that he lived happily
with his wife for nine long years, until
Richardson cime in and destroyed that
happiness. There may be actual proof in
existence of illicit intercourse between
Richardson and Mrs. McFarland, but let
ters openly announcing that he would
marry the lady as soon as she was free
from her husband, were printed with
Richardson’s signature in the Tribune
newspaper. Does it need anything more
to drive a man crazy, who sees another
man endeavoring to alienate the feelings of
his,, children’s mother ? Richardson be
longs apparently to that free-lovc clique
which at oue time had its headquarters in
the Tribune office, and which, unfortunate
ly, now has adherents in other newspaper
offices. Hence the good fee ling for Rich
ardson shown in so many columns, and
the desire to hang McFarland, who only
did what hundreds of others would do,
and withespicial delight to any member of
thefree-love coterie. There is one thing about
it, however, for which, let us thank Provi
dence, Richardson’s admirers can only be
found among the Radicals, Fossilites, Bo
hemians and Penny-a-liners of New York,
while the sound sense of our Conservative
community look with disgust upon a man
—though talented—who lakes upon him
self the dangerous task of becoming the
protector of another man’s wife- Neither
do I believe that in this city of New York,
with its sound seuse and hatred of ah isms
and latter day nonsense, there can be
found a jury ready to convict McFarland.
UNEASINESS ABOUT SPAIN.
That Grant means mischief with Spain,
there can be not the least doubt. He has
not the remotest right to confiscate the
gunboats his lieutenants here have seized
and which are being built to suppress an
insurrection in Cuba. Cuba has no status
in the family of nations and hence Spain
has the right to buy and build here what
she likes, all the talk about their being in
tended for the Peruvian service being mere
nonsense. The Government, then, will re
lease them provided Congress in the mean
time does not accord belligerent rights to
Cubs. There seems to be some fear that
the Radicals will take such a course, as
Congress is to meet on the 6th, and the
case of the gunboats is set down in the
United States Courts for the 14th. To be
ready for any emergency, however, the
Spanish Government not only keeps
its frigate Pizarro in our harbor, but
has ordered two more men-of-war
to go to New York, and, as
report says,to release the gunboats by force
if necessary, should the recognition of
Cuban belligerency prevent the release of
the gunboats. They will, however, have
a fine time ol it, if they cut up any pranks
about hero, as the gunboats to arrive hero
shortly from Fortress Monroe will make
short work of all the naval strength Spam
may display on our coast or in our harbor*
It is hoped, however, that the “man on
horseback” who now guides the destinies
of this country will take a more oalm sur
vey of the field before he allows us to drift
into a war with Spain.
THE FIGHT OF THE R, R. RING.
New York was happy on Wednesday
last when it heard that one Judge had had
the courage to oust Fisk and Gould from
the control of the Erie uoad, but New
York felt sad the same afternoon when it
ascertained that two other Judges stepped
in and upset all the good the first Judge
had done. There exists no doubt that
the men who control that vast concern and
have stockholders at their back, who
clamor for the dividends on $,0,000,000,
are safely ensconced with all the power at
; their command to defeat all combinations
against them. It ia a sorrowful picture of
official integrity around here, but what is
the use of philosophizing about it, if these
men were out other rogues would step ia
I and do worse, perhaps. Argus.
NEW SERIES, VOL. XXYIII. NO. 49
LETTER FRUM WASHINGTON.
FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT,
I A Naval Breeze-Robeson Intends to be
j “Captain of His Oicn Ship”—No
Warlike Preparations Going on--Grant
j Hard at Work-He Has no Time to see
Anybody-Treasure • Spinner- The La
i dies of the Treasury Department— Peti
: turns for Free Cuba—The Gold Market
—Short Items, etc.
Washington, November 28.
Editors Chronicle k Sentinel:
Astormissaid to be brewing in the
Navy Department, occasioned altogether
by the preciseness of Secretary Robeson
in not accepting, unhesitatingly, after the
manner of bis long-forgotten predecessor,
Der Borie, the ipse dixits of that “old
Salt,” Admiral Porter, who has been
running that branch of the Government
service sinoe the Grant administration
opened. Heretofore the general opinion
has been that Porter was prime ruler of
matters and things pertaining to the Navy,
and, as usual, general opinion was correct.
Porter has been practically Secretary, but
a time has arrived when the chances for a
row are decidedly favorable. Yesterday
morning a lengthy and highly interesting
abstract and a report, purporting to be
that of Secretary Robeson, was published
both in this city and in New York. It
read well, and created a sensation in news-
paper circles, wherein two-thirds of the
indefatigable correspondents here had been
beaten. A delegation of newspaper men,
who knew nothing of the report until they
saw it in print, called on Robeson, with
the idea of indulging in a pleasant growl;
when they were informed aud consoled
with tho information that it was not
Robeson’s report, and that he did not in
tend to adopt it. Robeson intends to be
“Captain of his own ship.” Congress
will sustain him, and possibly Porter will
have a chance to go to sea. It is to be
doubted, however, whether the lawyer
Robeson will do better in his report than
has the sailor Porter. His recommenda
tions are commented upou very favorably.
While '.upon the subject of the Navy
Department it may be stated that two thirds
of the paragraphs which have been going
the rounds in the press, con<n>rning the fit
ting out and departure of United States
vessels from the various ports with war
like views intent, are not deserving of any
consideration. The policy of the Govern
ment now is to arm and equip the best
vessels in the service and make a show,
call in tho “tuphenny” tugs and water log
ged tubs that float in some of the rivers
along the coast, sell them for old iron and
useless lumber, aud start '* ..avy on a
career of greater glory. It is more a mat
ter of national pride than a question of war.
Spain, England and France have their big
ships cruising while many of the largest
and most formidable belonging to our
navy have been rusting at home for want
ol use. Many of them will soon leave on a
cruise, among them the “ Mtantonomah,”
the “Terror,” the Nipsic and several
others.
The authorities hero do not have any
advices whatever of s he sailing of a Span
ish fleet from Madrid for New York, and
the-gathering of United States war ves
sels in New York harbor is only because
there is a good yard to sail from, where no
lack of supplies exists, and because almost
weekly United States ships that go to sia
now touches at Now York before com
pletely ready for a cruise.
Grant is still working upon his message
and consequently, being completely over
powed with the exertions, cannot find
time to see but very few visitors. He does
manage to soe a prominent Senator occa
sionally, and granted—no pun—Senator
Morton an interview yosterday morning.
Several members of the House have called
but on various occasions have been told
that the President was engaged and could not
see them just then. Some eal! again, others
“nurse their wrath to keep warm,-” for
they have no idea of being refused ad
mission when their constituents’ interests
are at stake. Much Grant cares for their
constituents I
A story has got into circulation that
General— militia General—Spinner con
templates resigning his office as Treasurer
of the United States, he having obtained
the good age of sixty-eight years, and
having, by reason of hard labor, and cthe
strictest attention to his official duties, be
come thoroughly worn out. Spinner does
not intend to resign, however, and al
though be has serious attacks of complica
ted ailments at times he is good yet for
many a hard day’s work. Ho is not a
handsome man; but toe ladies in his
Bureau never weary of praising him for
his earnestness in the cause of “more pay
for the female employes.” Everybody
has seen his photograph on the old
fifty cent fractional currency notes.
Like Sumner, Spinner rolls the word
“rebel” ever, like a sweet morsel, under
his toDgue and does the swearing for the
whole Treasury Department. His official
integrity, however, is beyond the shadow
of question, and his accounts have been
proven correct to the tenth part of a mill.
While alluding to the Treasurer's office
I am reminded of an article that appeared
in a New York Sunday paper recently
giving a short history of the “carryings-on’ ’
in the way of dancing, amusement-going,
and so forth, of the body of fair ones who
were sent from here recently to oount tho
currency in the Assistant Treasurer’s office
in New York. Several of tho ladies wore
mentioned by name as having enjoyed
themselves hugely during the trip, and
the effect has been to sour the lady clerks
against everything and everybody belong
ing to the newspaper profession. It leaks
out, however, that one of their number
wrote the article and mentioned every
woman’s name except her own.
It cannot now be stated how many reso
lutions, memorials and petitions have been
prepared or are in the course of prepara
tion to be presented to the “Honorable
Congress of the United States,” when it
meets, but the indications are that they
will be by no means few. The friends of
the Cubans are confident that their “stock”
will rise when Congress meets.
The gold market now is very low and will
not fluctuate muoh before the meeting of
Congress. Some think it will go as low as
115 or even 110, but the opinion ol confi
dent authorities here is that it will not
touch the standard of either of these
figures. If it does there will be no rise
again. Ihe result will be a. crush and
specie payments. The Secretary of the
Treasury is opposed to doine anything that
will bring this about just now. The few
Western members of Congress who arrive
here, and otherr yet to come, have an idea
that they know a little about the finances
themselves. They differ with Boutwell,
however, and his policy will ’be subjected
to some criticism. Bontwell’s report is
completed. There is only one copy of it
and that in manuscript. He will be smart
who can give it a premature publication—
that is that the New York brokers say.
They would pay for it handsomely, but the
auther intimates broadly that it is not for
sale.
The impression is that Congress will re
main in session until August.
The shops along the business thorough
fares in Washington are beginning to fill
up with holiday goods.
Considerable anxiety is manifested in of
ficial circles here concerning the elections to
commence this week in. Mississippi and
Texas.
The weather has turned cold, and the
poor freedmen shiver in the si nets of the
Capital. The modern philanthropists
have ceased howliDg over them. One or
two as examples of the lace would serve
i to wasto a few briny tears over, but now
i that they have come twenty strong it is
different. In the meantime the freedmen
brigade does an immense amount of steal
ing, and the police reports and court
dockets teem with their illustrious crimi
nal names.
The question of mixed schools in this
District is to be decided by the corpora
tion Attorney, a dyed-in-the-wool Radi
cal. He will decide in favor of educating
both races in the same schools, and
the consequence will be that two-thirds of
the white parents will take their children
away from the public schools. The negro
is master here. There is a chanoe for
some additional legislation by Congress on
this subject. Jasper.
OUR TRAVELLING CORRESPONDENT.
On the Wing, Nov. 27, 1869.
Editors Chronicle k Sentinel:
Calm and serene was the morniDg. The
wind that howled among the tree tops the
past night had swept the clouds from the
skies, and the faithful herald of light to
the world was gradually rising from his
Eastern bed. Nature smiled with joy at
her release from darkness, to bask in the
ethereal ocean of the coming day, and the
music of the little birds reminded us of
our ingratitude for the blessings enjoyed.
By some accident to an engine (perhaps
running off a switch in Atlanta) our train
was detained nearly two hours, which
gave to pissjngers a test of the speed of
theironhorse. “Two-forty steeds,” dwindle
into ins ; gnifieance, compared to him that
covers with glory the genius of the age-
At his thunder tread tho hills, valleys and
forests were in wild commotion, and every
body that beheld, in admiration of his tri
umphant feats. Lost time was regained,
connections all made and the passengers
aboard under many obligations to that
careful, polite and gentlemanly oonouctor.
Col. Peroel.
At Camak I took the Macon & Augusta
train, and had a pleasant passage with our
young friend Conductor Burnett to Mil
ledgeville. Burnett is an accomplished
gentleman, polite to passengers and a very
popular conductor.
i found the streets at Milledgeville rath
er bare; people gone, perhaps, to the
great Agricultural Exhibition. The fol
lowing day was rendered quite unpleasant
by continuous rains, and I concluded to go
on to Macon. On my arrival at this plaoe
I put up at the Brown Hotel, near the
passenger shed, and found a considerable
crowd but ample accommodation* This
Hotel is kept in the highest style of the
art, and reflects great credit upon the pro
prietors. The Messrs. Brown are polite
and courteous gentlemen, and merit the
extensive patronage they enjoy. Os course
the Fair and incidents connected with it
were the topics of general conversation.
The crowd the past week was said to
have been far beyond all previous calcula
tion, and the scramble for accommodations
unprecedented. I heard of one man who
offered ten dollars for a place to sleep at
and twenty dollars to any one that would
watch him and keep off the pick-pockets.
On Tuesday evening the ladies and gen
tlemen on the Pair Ground had the pleas
ure, mingled with mortification, of wit
nessing a balloon ascension. It seems that
a woman (perhaps of the civil rights per
suasion) was to be the wonder and admi
ration of the hour. Aboard of this serial
vessel she soared off to the distance of about
one hundred and fifty feet, when, by some
freak of the elements, the thing capsiaed
and spilt its contents. The woman
caught the ropes and thenoe into a tree,
by the aid of whioh she was saved from
inj iry.
I did not visit the Fair Grounds, as
business and not pleasure was my objeot.
I cal ed at the publishing house of Messrs.
J. W. Burke & Cos., one of the leading
business houses of the city, and doubtless
the finest book store in the State. Pub
lishing and binding books, and all other
work usually done in a job office, was go
ing on in a manner creditable to the taste
and experience of the skillful managers.
Iregretted tolearn ofrny friend J.W. 8.,
that he had lost money by publishing the
weekly for boys and girls. Even the North
ern press admit that this is one of the best
papers of the kind in the United States,-
and 1 am sorry that such a contribution to
the taste, refinement, and in elligence of
the Southern people, cannot be sustained.
On leaving Macon I returned to Sparta
and found the adjourned term of the Han
cock Superior Court progressing, Judge
Andrews presiding. Very few people were
in attendance, as is generally t*. v 'ase at
adjourned courts. Three or four negroes
were tried and convioted of stealing, arson,
<te., and I believe the jail cleared, and the
most urgent cases on the civil docket also
disposed of. Traveller.
* SOUTH CAROLINA.
the MONGREL LEGISLATURE.
PROCEEDINGS OP THE MENAGERIE.
Special Telegram to the Courier.
SENATE.
Columbia, S. C-, November 26.—8i11s
were introduced to establish a system of
free schools, and authorize a lease of cer
tain land on Edisto Island to erect a wharf
and other structures thereon.
■ The Committee on the Judiciary report
ad favorably on a bill consenting to the
rale ceding of the jurisdiction to the
United States ot the lot of land belonging to
t tie Charleston Club, and unfavorably on
abut to amend an Act organizing the Cir
cuit Courts, and a bill to amend an Act
regulating Probate Courts.
Corbin gave notice of a bill to define
Courts ot trial of Justices.
A bill to punish persons violating seo
tion throe, article fourteen, of the amend
ments to the Constitution of the United
States came up for a third reading, when,
on motion of Corbin, it was referred to the
Judiciary Committee, in order to incor
porate some provisions of a similar bill
pasted by Congress.
The following were referred to the Com
mittee on Incorporations: Bills to incor
porate the Edisto Phosphate Company,
the Deutscher Artillerie, South Carolina
Saving and Building Association,
A resolution to expunge a portion of
the Railroad Committee’s report, embrac
ing expression of doubt as to the constitu
tional right of the Legislature to endorse
railroad bonds, was laid on the table.
A resolution to authorize the employ
ment of clerks by various committees,
caused a lively discussion. Wright said a
certain lot of young men hanging round
loose that had nothing to do, and were too
lazy to work, had asked him to favor the
resolution, but he would not ’ encourage
them. Cain hoped the Treasury would be
guarded with sleepless vigilance. It was
well known there is a Laboring Conven
tion in the oity, and a vast number of hun
gry laborers hoped an embargo woujd not
be put upon their desires.
Corbin said il anybody wanked labor he
would give them information where to ob
tain it.
On motion of Wright, the resolution,
was indefinitely postponed.
The Code Bill was taken up, considered
by sections in Committee of the Whole as
far as the fifty-fourth section, when the
Senate adjourned.
The Committee on Elections has not yet
decided the Cothran-Griffin case.
HOUSE. ‘
The following Bills were read the first
time and referred : By Wm. McKinlay,
for the better regulation of pilots for porta
and harbors of this State, and for establish
ing rates of pilotage, and other purposes.
This Bill limits the number of pilots of
Charleston to thirty, Georgetown eleven,
Beaufort and Port Royal six. The high
est rate allowed for eighteen foot vessels is
$l5O.
By Feriter, a Bill to regulate the sale of
ootton ; by DeLarge. a Bill to repeal the
Township Act; by Feriter, to amend the
charter of the Town of Sumter; by De
mars, to amend an Act providing for the
enumeration of inhabitants, extending the
time of the census taken, so that the re
turns may be rendered by December Ist.
Notice was given ot bills by Jenks, to fix
the salary of. the Keeper of the State
Magazine; by Hyde, to facilitate the man
ner of proving merchants’ accounts; by
Keith, to amend theohartcr of Walhalla;
to abolish the right to traverse.
Feriter presented the memorial of the
County Commissioners of the State in
reference to changes in the Township Act.
The Divorce Bills were postponed until
Tuesday.
The Special Committee reported reesolu
tiona relative to Webb, Nash and Dusen
bery, deceased members, and the House
adjourned as a token of respect.
Ihe Labor Convention adjourned sine
die.
From Alabama.
Selma, December 1, p. m.—The first
annual Fair.of the Central Agricultural
and Mechanical Association of Alabama
has thus far been eminently successful.
Thousands are present from this and other
States of the Union. Articles represent
ing the various branches of industry arc
on exhibition in great numbers, while the
mineral department contains the finest
specimens of iron, coal, marble, etc., from
! different parts of Alabama. The art de-
I partment is very attractive. An address
| was delivered to-day by Hon. C. C. Lang
; don, of Mobile. To-morrow an address
will be delivered by Hon. Jos. W. Taylor,
lof Eutaw. After which the stock exhibi
tion and racing will take place.
Montgomery, December 1, p. m.—ln
the Home a negro was elected engrossing
clerk. The Democrats voted for him
against some Radical whites.
A large number of bills reported from
committees. One passed to make it per
ierv to falsely take the oath of office. A
bill concerning the action of Mobile toward
the Grand Trunk Railroad was laid over.
In the Senate the.bill of committee to in
corporate the Southern States Telegraph
Company, was ordered to a third reading;
also the bill to allow the Treasurer to smi
specie in the Treasury.
The city election comes off next Mon
day—the first allowed since J<S65. The
registration is to finish to-morrow, blacks
and whites nearly equal.
South Carolina Legislature l .
Columbia, 8. C., December 1, p. m.—
Both Houses to-day adopted resolutions
expressing sympathy for Cuba, requesting
recognition by the United States, pledging
the last dollar and man in aid of the Gov
ernment in case of war.