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About Weekly chronicle & sentinel. (Augusta, Ga.) 1866-1877 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 18, 1871)
• roaide & J-cutinri. fill ISSAT 10UIII,JUIltT I'. J- rom the Manner of the Smith and I'lanters' Journal. A Word to Planters. The season has arrived when planters make their arrangements for the ap proaching crop. Within the next iew days the crop will be “pitched,’ and it b< t omes a matter of serious moment that in deciding upon the proportion of land to be devoted to cotton, they involve them selves in no mistakes which may prove fatal to the revctmft of the farm. The t rice of cotton has fallen below the average cost of production, at least in the Atlantic States. It is a matter of doubt whether the planters on the rich bottoms of the Mississippi Valley and the virgin soil of Texas can make cotton at the present low prices. But for the Georgia planters, whose lands are worn and ex hau-ted, requiring heavy applications of costly fertilisers, to attempt a continuance of the system which has been very gene rally adopted since tho close of the war— that of cultivating cotton exclusively, and neglecting the provision crops, would be folly, amounting almost to madness. No country can become rich, which, be ing purely agricultural itself, fails to pro duce a full supply of provisions for mao and Leas!. No class of agriculturists can be permanently prosperous who fail to make all the supplies on the farm which are neocsr.ry for the support and maintenance of their laborers and work animals. Even in the days of slavery, when much more attention was paid to the raising of pro visions than now, few planters realized six per cent on their investment from the sale of their products. It is true that many cotton planters amassed large fortunes, but, so far as our knowledge extends, they were of the claa#, not numerous even then, who made on the plantation, in addition to largo cotton crops, abundant supplies of provision?. It was this class who realized most from the natural increase of their slaves, because the supplies of pro visions necessary for the greatest pro duction ami fullest development of young slaves were abundant on their plantations, and, therefore, cheap. The cotton planters have given “all cotton” a lair trial since the close of the war, They have for five years devoted their entire plantations to the produc tion of this leading staple, and with rare industry and energy, devoted them selves to the raising of large crops. With in that period the seasons have been gen orally good, and their crops as full as the labor, care and jooney bestowed upon them would warrant, yet they are to-day, as a class, as poor as when they emerged from tho desolation of the war- During thin term they have realized large prices for their cotton except for tho crop of 1807 and that of the past year. There can bo no doubt as to the future price of this staple. Dike all other pro ducts of the farm, its price is regulated by the supply and demand. If the demand for consumption is in excess of the supply produced, prices will rule correspondingly high. When production exceeds the wants of tho world, and a large surplus is on hand, prices fall to ruinously low prices, ond remain there as long as the excess over consumption is maintained. The present condition of the cotton market and of the cotton trade, illustrates this truth. The crop of 186'J barely exceeded the con sumption of that year, and the average price for that crop was about 24 cents per pound—a rate at which cotton can be raised with profit on tho thin lands of the Atlautic States. The crop of last year promises to bo largely in excess of the es timated wants of consumers, and henco tho prieo falls to a point aotually below the cost of production. Perhaps prices might have ruled slightly higher than they are now, eveu though a very large crop is made, if there had boon no war in Europe. But with peace profound in all the Ett poan States, tho supply would bo largely in excess of tho wan(s of commerce. We cannot, then, hope for an increase of price so loug as the relations of the de mand lor consumption to the visible sup ply remain as they arc—so long as tho production of the staplo is so largely in excoßSof the wants of consumers. We take it for granted that planters arc agreed that tho cost of raising cotton is nearly or quite tho price at which it is nnw soiling—say about 124 to 13 cents net. We 3o not believo that it can be raised, except iu exceptional cases of fa vored localities, for this amount. But ad mit ting that tho estimate of its cost which we have made is nearly correct, does it not ucoessnrily follow that a porsistance in this system ot over-production will inevitahly lead to tho ruin of tho producer? Will then planters, in making arrangements for tho incoming ®rop, best consult their own interests by curtailing tho production of eottou to such an extent at least as will enable them to save full crops of provis- | ions ? Does it not havo the appearanoe of insult to ask intelligent planters such a question ? And yet wc fear that many, very many, will go on this year as in the past, devoting themselves exclusively to ootton, and relying entirely on the West for bread and meat, and provender for stock. That disaster and distress will fol low them we entertain no doubt. This is a matter of too much importance to be lighty considered or hastily determin ed upon. Planters should look the situs- | tion tquarcly in tho lace—consider well the teachings of the past, and strive to oalehlate with some degree ol accuracy the results of the future. With large provis ion crops, well filled barns and an ample j larder, the perils of cotton planting are j seriously mitigated. Even among tho planters ot the fruitful and fertile valleys of tho West this ques tion of our product’ “. _r and consequent low prices is engaging serious attention. The New Orleans Picayune, iu a recent issue, thus discourses with its readers : “The time is at hand when our planters will determine upon the year’s operations, and we would seize the occasion to warn them, even at the risk of wearisome itera tion, once again against giving their main efforts to the production of cotton. It might seem that the severe losses sustain ed by the cotton planter tho present sea son would teach its own salutary lesson. We trust so. At least some, we are hopeful, will profit by it—a small minor ity, wc fear, ft may be said that cotton planter-, like other mon, know their own business best. True ; but it does not fol low that they know their own interest best ; otherwise we should not have a steady increase in production over eon -unr'tioo in the face of lalling prices and increased cost of labor. “We will not dwell upon these points, for they must be evident to every planter. The numerous unpicked fields that still dot the State are standing evidences th: t ‘cotton does not pay.’ Nor is the staple likely ‘to pay’ so long as production keeps its present pace, and labor continues to be so unreliable and costly. “Reduce production, gentlemen, and do not neglect the bread and meat. The lat ter are ‘sure crops, 1 impervious to the army or boll worm, and beyond the influ ence of Liverpool or New York cotton rings.” It will not he sufficient for planters to merely give their assent to these proposi tions- They must, like reasonable and prudent men, act upon them. The first point to be looked to in pitching the crop must be a sufficiency of food. The quan tity ol laud necessary to produce this re sult is then to be considered. But the average of our cotton lands —twelve acres for each used on the farm in com and five in oats or rye—will, if properly fertilized and well cultivated, produce enough for tho supply ot the plantation. Less than this amount will be entirely in adequate for consumption. Dentil of Major John H. Steefe. The Atlanta Intelligencer of yesterday's date, brings u« the sad intelligence of the death of Major John 11. Steele, a well known journalist of this State. M ajor Steele has for more than ten years • past been on the editorial staff of the In telligencer, and during that time has pro served the character ot a high-toned, able and dignified journalist, and in his death the craft has lost one of its best members. A Just KrltuUe. Some time ago General Alcorn, the Ile • .übliean Governor of Mississippi, crou.- j-ed to appoint one Robert Watkins l . iurtioy, formerly of this State, a Briga dier General of the State militia, Flournoy being a Radical of the blacked hue. Subsequently, Fiournoy, in the excess of his zeal as a blatant Radical, made a mean, loy and indecent attack upon the memory of General Lee, the beloved and venerated commander ol the Confederate , armies. General Alcorn was a soldier. s and a good one, under General Lee. He ■ hail personal knowledge of his worth and 1 greatness, and although he is now Gov- j eraor of the State of Mississippi through) the votes of scalawags and negroes, he has not lost his admiration of General Lee’s character, and lov o for his many virtues. As soon as he heard of the dirty I calumnies thrown at. the character of the great aDd good Lee by this i renegade Southerner, be wrote him a letter withdrawing his promise of a commission as Brigadier General, and in which he j took occasion to administer the following just and well merited rebuke. la his letter Governor Alcorn says: “I feel-it a duty to my State to refuse the issue of a commission that would be even an apparent approval of your language on the death of General Lee. “General Lee was, perhaps, a rebel, yet, in a much humbler position, I myself stand guilty of the same offense. Neither must I overlook the fact that my party embraces in its ranks men who have been amongst the most devoted soldiers of the Souti. I cannot therefore seemingly ap prove of any slur cast upon the memory of General Lee, because of his participation in the ‘rebellion.’ “A wise conciliation would lose sight of the ‘rebellion,’ in presence of the noble qualities of the man, and shining achieve ments of the soldier.” This man Flournoy was once a respecta ble and well-known citizen of Middle Geor gia, and a lawyer of large practice io the town of Sandcrsvillc. His family connex ions embrace some of the best people of the State. Some years since Em deserted his wife and family, and, takiog his mistress with him, removed to Mississippi. This woman had been raised in his family,’and, wo believe, adopted by Flournoy and his wife as their child. While occupying this this relation, he seduced her aod then ran off with her, as just stated, to Mississippi. He was a rampant secessionist through out the war, though, we believe, he never exposed his precious person to the dangers incident to war. He belonged to a nume rous class of stay-at-home soldiers, who were so sagacious as to be constantly de tecting the errors of our Generals, and so brave as to be continually chiding our soldiers for theirfailures to make each suc cessive battle decisive of the war. When reconstruction began Watt—for so he was called—saw a chtnce for office and became at once a pronounced Radical, and is now editing a dirty little Radical sheet called the “Fontotoc Equal Rights.” Heavy oil fcwepson. The notorious railroad contracter and Southern bond swirdler, George W. Swep son, has been brought to grief. Ilia ope rations liavo been confined principally to North Carolina and Florida, where ho has figured largely as a great Radical railroad king, though we believe lie has extended his operations somewhat in lhie State and South Carolina. The first appearance ol Swepson in the South was just after the war, when he dritted into North Carolina, in connexion we believe, with the Freedman’s Bureau— that prolific hive of robbers and freeboot ers. Shortly after, lie became initiated in the railroad plunder schemes of that State, and soon managed to get possession of a large quantity of railroad bonds issued by the State ostensibly for the benefit of her railroads, hut really for the purpose of spoliation and plunder. Swepson mort gaged a large number of these bonds and applied trie proceeds to his own use and the use of liis friends wlio aided in tlie passage of liis scheme. Having exhausted his supply of North Carolina b&Dds, he emigrated to Florida, where he at once began his system of bribery and robbery. The Radical Gov ernor of that State was paid thirteen thousand dollars by Swepson to call an extra session of the Legislature, so that a great land grabbing scheme of his could be enacted, and State bonds issued for the building of visionary railroads. The little State of Florida was too poor to oifer suf ficient inducements in the way of plunder to keep the great Swepson long within its border?, fie soon cleaned out the Land of Flowers, and then sought for other fields of plunder. ■ * The heavy business done in Georgia by the Bullock-Blodgett robbers, induced him to give our State a call and, hence, we soon hear of him in connexion with some negotiations for tho control of the Baic bridgo and Columbus Railroad. A short stay here convinced him that the little pickings which ho might get from the crumbs of plunder dropped by Bullock and Blodgett would not be sufficient to induce him to scoure them. Ho was satis fied that our Georgia thieves were equal to the task of relieving tho people of all they have, and the great Swepson again turned his Bteps in the direction of the Old North State, and he has at last come to grief. One of our North Carolina c-x --exchanges tells the sad tale as follows : “On Tuesday night of this week, George W. Swepson was arrested in this city', on abencli warrant issued by Chief Justice Pearsrn upon an affidavit made by Gov. T. K. Caldwell- The warrant was exe cuted by Mr. Scales, one of the city police. “The writ has several counts, charging j Swepson with embezzlement of public funds, conspiracy to defraud the State and the Western North Carolina Railroa.d &c., &e. It was returned before Chief Justice Pearson on Wednesday morning, who postponed the examination of the case until and o’clook p. m. “The writ was read, and then the case was postponed to yesterday morning, when it was again taken up, nod after argu ments of some length on both sides, the Chief Justieo decided to hold the prisoner to appear at the Spring term of Buncombe Superior Court, which opens next week, at Asheville, in the sum of $200,000, and in the meantime to be in the custody of the Marshal of the Court until the bail be j given.” The symposium. ! The Atlanta Wet o Era, tho Governor’s organ, presents to the public a vary se ductive description of the manner in which the foreign allies in the railnad lease were received iu the Gate City at the Hi Kim ball House. Says the Era : • “At about 1:JO p. m., the special train J which broagbt the magnificent car ‘Ten { ncssee,’ which hid traveled on the un broken line of rails a thousand mites—was signalled. It was conducted from Chat tanooga to this cry by the courteous and j experienced Mr. Lucien Harris. The train consisted of one break and the car Tennessee, which had been fitted up in a style entirely commensurate with modern I ideas of the most extensive kind, as to the mode in which traveling should be accom plished. The following gentlemen formed j the party: Messrs. A. T. Walters, of Baltimore ; John Delano, of Washington; !J. D. Cameron, Pennsylvania ; Thee. Frothingham, Pennsylvania; W. B. Dine more, New York, President of Adams’ Ex press Company; E. S. Bowen, New York; j R. W. Smith, Pennsylvania ; H. B. Plant, President Southern Express Com | pany, and E. W. Cole, President of the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad.” | The Era says, also, that H. L Kimball, ! and, “ of course, Governor Broicn, were among the conclave, as also other capital ists, which our limited space forbids to mention,." At “about 9p. in., a meeting was held, when the following gentlemen were present Messrs. J. E. Brown, De lano, Jr., Cameron, Jr., Scott, Walters, Dunning, Plant, Cole, Kimball, Cook, Peters, May, Johnson, White, Nutting, Holt, Hill, Morrill. “As the proceedings were confidential, we cannot impart any information to the public.” Those named we snppose, with the other capitalists forbidden to be mention ed, form the new Western & Atlantic Rail road Company, who, while being enter tained with all the delicacies of the season j at the Hi Kimball House, hobnobbed and winked over sparkling Cliquot at the ac quisition of a property at twenty-five thousand dollars per month which ; cost the tv pavers of the State eight 1 millions, and which, prior to reconstruc- j tion, paid into the State treasury fifty thou- j sand dollars per month, and whose rev- ; enue warranted an honest administrator of the trust in saying that the revenue to he derived would pay oti tlie State debt and free the people from taxation. It should have been all that could be desired. We believe that Worinlv, of Washington City, could have excelled it in rvre viands, but that their 11. I. Kimball gave greater zest by presenting a possession which will vieid per month as much as the President of the United States is paid per annum. Ra'lroad Jim Fiske twirled his fingers at Grant at Long Branch. "Who is to be our Jim Fiske ? This is a nice little par ty of financiers. The Governor of the State, the highest Executive officer of the State, contracts with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the highest Judicial officer of the State. Just before the contract is signed and delivered, the Chief Justice makes baste to throw off the Judicial Ermine, lest it become legally soiled. Just after tho sealing and delivery, the Governor and the ex- Chief Justice rejoice together in a sympe nium prepared at tho High Kimball House- The Chief Justice seems to have discovered the exact time at which the “ravishing” would commence, and to have submitted to it like the Scotch lass, as a matter of course, as something to be made the best of. Vive La Joe ! First io success, first in confederation, and first in Union Loving Reconstruction, and above all, first in public plunder- Gov. Brown’s “ Pie.” We have published the full text of Gov. Brown’s letter to the Hon. Alexander H. Stephens. Doubtless the readers of the Ghkonicle & Sentinel have already form ed a just estimate of the prolix document, and have reached the conclusion that it is little else than a labored effort of the law yer’s special pleading. It lacks every ele ment of the plain, straight-forward, terse statement of the upright business man, and is characterized by every feature of the pleader’s dialectics. Ostensibly, this remarkable document, wearing the air of injured innocence, is designed as a public remonstrance, conceived more in sorrow than in anger, against the public action of an eminent friend. Really, it is an art ful and elaborate effort to mould public opinion by directing the public mind to immaterial issues. Its leading features and two-fold nature are readily distinguish able. First, the Governor seeks to ward off the disastrous effect of Mr. Stephens’ prompt withdrawal of “his finger from the pie,” as if from an unclean thing, and he delicately insinuates that Mr. Stephens has been too hasty, as not knowing how good a thing was set before him. The second feature is that the Governor is very exact in dealing and will have nothing to do with such as fail to keep their contracts. So boldly does this feature stand forth that one would suppose that tho scrip of the new Western and Atlantic Railroad Company was not transferable, and the Governor’s labors are bound to the btato for nearly three lives. The reader cannot escape the "‘inference that the corporation over which Governor Brown presides is not as other corporations, and the indi viduals composing the company are not, either as to wealth of virtue, as those who make up from the vulgar herd ether cor poration?. Under such considerations, Mr- Stephens should not have withdrawn his “finger” from the pie into which the fingers of Brown, Cameron, Kimball & Cos. have been inserted; for Brown, Cameron, Kimball & Cos. are ail honorable men, whoso fingers have not been nor can ever bo sojjpd. The Governor’s “Pie” evidently is rich in promises to its owners. It unquestion ably has beou contrived vrith consummate skill and cunning, and “cooked up” with the perfection of Hi Kimball’s art. When tho pie was opened, all the birds b gau to siog at the Hi Kimball House, as over a dainty dish, discharging riches at the opening and promising an increased abun dance for a sooro of years to come. The public is not to be permitted to gaze upon its riches. This is left to conjecture, but we arc not without data wherewith to estimate sogieat riches. These data are as follows i Certain dis tinguished politicians associate themselves with certaio railroad officials, acting in their individual capacity, and invite cer tain foreign capitalists to participate. Cer tain large corporations generously come forward as their surities, from what mo tives it does not appear, but we may assume upon some idea of benefit as pro rating freights. But tney are not stock holders, but guarantees, and share in none of the profits. AH the profits are for those whose fingers are in tho pie. Again, the road (which means everything, sup plies rolling stock, &c., &e.,) is affirmed to be in a terrible bad condition. Ol course valuations are to be a3 at a quartermaster’s sale, upon a correspond ing low scale. For these the Western and Atlantic Railroad Company give bond to be returned in like order after twenty years’ lease, and thus this associa tion leaps full fledged into its existence, with a franchise and a usufruct for its cap ital, commanding a thoroughfare a rnonop oply by location, whose daily receipts cov er daily expenditures; and yielding, as Governor Brown says, barring accidents by flood and fire, and war, a handsome prefit to “the sagacious business men” who well understand the principle never to take great risks without a prospect of corre tpohding benefits.” Goyernor Brown’s “Pie” is, therefore, four per cent, per annum ($300,000) to the State (on $8,000,000). and from ten to sixteen per cent, per annum on contingen cies to all those who have fingers in the pie. Hurrah 1 for Joe Brown’sgolden “Pie.” Genrial Cameron. Senator Cameron will start for Georgia on Friday, to be gone ten days, He is largely interested in the late purchase of the Georgia State Railroad, and is spe cially pleased with the winter climate of the South-— Bonny's Eress. The “winter climate of the South” is doubtless very good, but how about the terrible Ku-Klux? Has not Forney and hi» friends, Cameron, Butler and Kelly, been constantly crying out that the lives ot Northern men were not safe in Georgia? Does not tho faot of Cameron and Forney’s large investments in the State, and their frequent visits here, give the lie direct to the charge that there is neither protection to the person or property of Northern men in Georgia. One of the most offen sive men in the North, both personally and politically, to the people of the toouth is this man Cameron. He is a party to one of the grandest swindles ever perpe trated upon an honest people—the State Road lease—and yet we find him frequently here in carrying out his swindling opera tions, and iu daily contact with our people. Yet he is and feels perfectly safe--indeed, is “specially pleased” with our Ku-Klux climate. Why Is This ! Governor Bullock has issued certificates of election to the following gentlemen : W. W. Paine. 41st Congress, and A. T. Mclntyre, 42d Congress, from the First District ; Marion Bethune, 41st Congress, Third District : W. P. Price. 41st and 42d Congress, Sixth District ; Gen. P. M. B. Young, 41st and 42d Congress, Seventh District —Constitution ■ We would like to know why certificates of election have not been issued to Mr. Tift from the 2d District, and to General Dubose and Captain Corker from the sth District. The official returns in the Ex ecutive office in Atlanta show the election of, those gentlemen, and they are entitled to certificates. If their i election is contested, Congress and not the Governor, can alone pass upon the correct ness of the returns. It is Bollock’s duty to issue certificates to those who have a majority of the votes as shown by the re turns. TUf !“tale Road .Lease. Joseph E. Brown Gives his Version of the Matter—He Writes to Ron. Alexander H. tStephens■ Atlanta, Jan. 10, 1671. ITgn. Alexander H. Stephens — Dea* Sir: I have read attentively your letter to me, on the 7th instant, in which you enclose a written assignment, to the State, of your interest in the lease of the State Road to the company over which I preside. I have a’so read your two published commu nications. which appeared in the Consti tutionalist, npon the same subject. And I must confess your letter to me, and yonr last publication, have been a source of surprise and mortification. As you have correctly stated in your first publication, your connection with the company to whom the lease was made, was at your own solicitation, not at mine. Such, however, was and is my confidence in your integrity, good judgment and abili ty, and such my personal regard for you, that it was a source of sincere pleasure to me to gratify your wish, by procuring, as I did, the unanimous consent of the compa ny, that you be permitted to become asso ciated with them in the lease. It is true you expressed a willingness in your "letter to me. to go in with tbe com pany to take the lease at a higher figure than $25,000 per month. But I gave you tbe reasons which governed me, in my determination, to become a member of no company putting in a bid, and giving a bond to keep tbe road in good order, and pay a higher rental. I think I have bad | as good an opportunity as any ono in Geor gia to know somethintr of the value of the | road and its annual income?; and I stated | to you my settled conviction that I would ; associate with no company that would offer more. If the road is well managed all the time, and there are no great disasters of fire, flood, accident, or war, the com nany can make a handsome profit and pay $25,000 per month. We all recollect, within the past year, that tho morning telegrams informed us that a single road iu the State of Virginia, in a single day. was damaged half a mil ,lioD of dollars by the great freshet. No road in the Union of the same length, that I know, has so many bridges and is so subject to damage by fire and flood as the State Road. Under these circumstances, no solvent, reliable comnany, that expects to keep faith with the State, and carry out their contract justly and fairly, will bind them selves in a bond i.f eight millions of dollars, and take a lease of the road, with out a handsome margin for profit in case of good luck and good management. The risk is so great no honest, reliable com pany can afford it without a corresponding chance for profit. It is a principle well understood, that no sagacious business men will never take groat risks without a prospect of corresponding benefits. Besides the connecting lines already built, and those that have been projected and will most probably be built before the lease has run half its period, destroy the monopoly of the car rying business between the West and the States on the Atlantic and the Gulf, which this read has always enjoyed, which will, in future, reduce its incomes probably more than they will bo increased by the development of the coun try. In a letter of which I .kept no copy, I called your attention in advance to the ob stacles and risks which, to my miDd, formed insuperable objections to a bid of more than $20,000 per moulh. You then au thorized me to represent you in the mat ter, and I did so, and signed your name to tho proposition as one of the company. Since that time an effort is being made by certain parties to attack the lease and make political capital out of it, on the ground that the Governor did not lease the road to the highest bidder. And at this very point, when publie opinion is not yet formed, and the facts are not all be fore the people ; and as I see by your let ter, were not before you, the assigament of your interest to the State is made by you, and published. And you say in your letter to me, that you was yesterday put in possession of a statement in writing made by Mr. Seago, of Atlanta, in which he avers that he and others united in a company, made a bid for the lease of the road at $36,500 per month; and that he says the company was worth a million of dollars, and that they tendered security to the amount of over eight millions of dollars. This state ment, you sav, was a surprise to you, and it determined your course immediately. You then state the'use to which you had intended to apply your interest in the lease, and you add: “But I cannot think of continuing to be interested, in any way, with a lease of this property of tlie State, made under the circumstances stated by Mr. Seago. In this matter I have acted only for myself. It is immaterial witli me whether all tbe facts as detailed by Mr. Seago be correot or not. It is enough for me that a man of his character and position in society lias made tbe etatoment. "When X wrote the letter, an extract of which was pub lished iu the Constitutionalist , of Augus ta, a few days ago, I supposed tl.at all the complaints then being made against the lease of the road arose from the smallness of the sum for which it Was let. I was not aware that anybody complained of any wrong in the acceptance or rejection of any bids, or any uDjust favoritism in the matter whatever, much less that such total disregard of the best interest of the State was evinced, as Mr. Seago broadly asserts.” Then, you retire from the company, not on account of the smallness of the bid, for you have already defended that before the public. Bnt on account of the alleged wrong, unjnst favoritism, and total disre gard of the public interest which has char acterized the transaction. In your political note of the Cth instant, after referring to the statement of Mr. Seago, ycu say : “This statement, coming from the quar ter it does, is quite sufficient to sever my connection with the lease. In doing this, it is not my wish to be understood as passing judgment upon the conduct of others. I act only for myself in declaring that I cannot thiok for a moment of hold ing an interest in the lease under this state ment of facts:” Now, as an old and faithful friend of yours, I complain (hat your course in this matter, and the above ex'racts from your letters, do mo and the company with which I am associated,, great injustice. Whatever may have been your purpose, you cannot fail to see that you have pro duced the impression on the public mind!' so far as the weight ot your name can have that effect, that there has been un fairness, favoritism, and disregard of the interest of the State on the part of the Governor in letting the iease to us ; and that we have accepted it under circum stances that render it dishonorable or im proper in you to remain a member rs the eompany. These are grave charges. Ifyou say you have not made the charge, you cannot shut your eyes to the fact that such will be the construction put upon your language when taken in connection with ytur action. As you came into the company at your own solicitation, and was from time to time informed by me of my action in-your behalf, you should, I ; think, have had sufficient evidence that j Mr. Seago’s statements were true before i you acted upon them, through the chan nel you have ohosen, to the injury of some of your best friends, whose pride it was to i try to serve you. I represented you in the transaction ; did not justice to me re quire that you call my attention to the statement of unfairness, and ask an ex planation, before you acted upon these charges V But are the charges true ? I say unequivocally, they are not ? I took I it upon myself to look into this matter ; before I co 'mitted either you or myself to | the transactions, by giving bon . or accept ! ing the lease. And Iwas informed, at the Executive office, that our company was the only one that had put in a bid in accordance with the law, and the public notice given by the Governor inviting bids. And just here, let irs see, what were 1 the rights and duties of the Governor and ; the bidders. The act of the Legislature authorized the Governor to lease the road ! for a teim o twenty years for a sum not 1 less than $25,000 per month. It did cot ‘ require him to advertise for bids or give j any public notice whatever. He was au thorized in an hour after the act was sign -1 ed to have leased the road to any company ) he pleased, which complied with the re j quirements of the act, for any sum not ; less thaD $25,000 per moDth. The Legis ! lature fixed this as the price at which he was authorized to lease the road ; aud, as i you showed in your first publication, there ! was no cry raised by the press or people I against it. 1 The Governor determined, however, and I think prudently, to invite bids by I public notice. This he did about the 25th j of October, giving till the 21th of De ! comber, including that day, to all parties who wished to bid for the lease. All com ' panics desiring to bid had a fair chance, and all had two months to arrange their 1 securities and comply with the require j meats of the act and the notice given by J the Governor. I That notice required bidders to state : how much they were worth over all lia bilities, so as to comply with the require ments of the act, that the lessees must be r worth at least half a million of dollars, and to give a “lull description of the char- I acter of the security” they offered. There | was good reasons tor this, because the act required not only that the lessees be worth j $500,000 over and above their liabilities, but it makes it the duty of the Governor I to see to it, that the surety is not even ■ doubtful for the large amount mentioned in the act. He set a day when bidding was to cease. This carried with it the assurance that the highest bidder complying with the re. quirements of the notice, other things be ing equal, should have the lease. The honor of the State was pledged to this by the Executive, as the effect of the notice. Then the Governor was bound to look to the Lias and to the surety tendered by the night of the 25th of December, and to them only ; and the party complying with the requirements of the notice, and putting in the Highest bona fide bid, with sufficient surety, by midnight of that day, had a right to the lease, and it would have been a shameless breach of good faith, and an utter disregard of a sacred obligation, to have awarded it to another. The State, at that hour, was as much bound as the bidder. Neither could refuse to comply without a breach of good faith. But the bid must be a compliance with the act, and the advertisement inviting bids; and the security tendered must have been such as the party had a right to ten der, and such as would go upon the bond, or the Governor, as against another bidder, had no right to consider the bid. The moment the hour for bidding had passed, tbe rights of the highest bidder, complying with all the terms, attached, and the honor and faith of the State were pledged to let the road to such company at that bid. It was not a question whether the State might get more by keeping it open another day to give certain favored bidders further time, without public notice to all of such extension of the time, but it was a ques tion of good faith. The rights of the par ties having attached the States, as well as the bidder, was bound. I think I need Dot elaborate this proportion further to a lawyer of your great ability and expe rience. You will no doubt agree with me Now, how stands the case? The bid made by our company, complied strictly with the terms of the statute, and the public notice of the Governor. We gave the names of the bidders, and the amounts they were worth, showing a sum greatly in excess of the half million required by the statute. And we tendered as sureties by name, nine railroad companies, embracing the strongest, the most Solvent and prompt of any iu this State or the South. Their agents were present with authority in writing to represent them, and to sign the bond for them. The action of their Boards of Directors had been taken some time in advance, and no stockholder had complain ed or taken any step to prevent the use of the name of their company as sureties on the bond. The act authorizing the lease expressly declared that they might become such sureties. They were worth more than twice the amount of the bond; making the surety as the act required the Gover- nor to see to it, “not even doubtful.” Not so, however, with the com pany composed of Mr. A. *K. Seago, Mr. Miles G. Dobbins, Mr. Foster Blodg ett and ofhers- They put in a bid, it is true. But net such a bid as tho law and the notice required. They stated they were worth more than the five hundred thousand dollars required of bidders; but they tendered security which they had no right to tender, and which they could not give, as was dearly shown to the Govern or, beiore be opened tbe bids. They ten dered tho Central Railroad and Banking Company, the Macon & Western Railroad Company, and the Southwestern Railroad Company. It happened the Presidents of two of these companies and the authorized agent of the other, were in Atlanta, and when it was rumored on the streets that those companies had been tendered as sureties on the bond of the Seago-Blodg gett Company, they promptly notified the Governor, in writing, that that company had no authority to tender their compa nies as sureties, and that they would Dot go upon their bond. This was dono be fore the bids were opened, which was not done till the 27th, as the 26th was kopt as Christmas. On opening the bids, the Governor found that the companies just mentioned were the only sureties tendered by the Seago-Biodgett Company, and as he" had the highest evidence that tho tender was wholly unauthorized, it followed that no surety had been tendered by tbe company as required by the cct, and the notice ; and the bid could not be considered. One other bid was made bv Win. K. D GrafFen reid & Cos., through V. A. Gaskill; but no surety was eveu mentioned or tendered, and the bid has not been insisted upon as a compliance, in any respect, with the laws, so far as I know. Thus the matter stood when the bids were opened, and by every principle of law justice or honor, our company was entitled to the lease, as the only bidder that made a legal bid. But such was the anxiety of the Gov ernor to do full justice to, if not to favor Messrs Seago and Blodgett’s company, that even after the bids were opened, ho no tified them of the fact that the companies named by them as sureties had informed him they would not sign their bond, and that the use of their names was wholly unauthorized. And in violation of the clear rights of our company, he proposed to permit them then to give other surety, if they would do it at once. To this they replied, proposing to give oilier good and sufficient surety within a reasonable time, il he would give them the lease. But they specified no surety they could or would give. They were unable to name, or, at least, did not name, a solitary per son or company who would go upon their bond. They had trifled witi the Executive, in the first instance, by mining sureties that they had no authority to tender, and cnuld not give. And when, n violation of our just rights, they were allowed to name other securities, theriby changing the shape of their bid, afterthe time allowed us and them had expirel, they were still unable to name any ndividual or com pany on earth who wotld back them, aDd become responsible on tleir bond, for their performance of a propisition so prepos terous ss their bid. Ore that every prac tical railroad man in Geirgia knows it was not at.- )i probable they »uld comply wiih, and leave any chance hr profits, taking all chances for loss by the causes above alluded so. Under these circumstmces, the Govern or’s partiality for Seago and Blodgett’s company, gave way to lis sense of justice and obligations; and heawarded the lease to the only company tbit was legally or justly entitled to it, by compliance with the requirements to wh ch bidders w r ere bound to conform. Messrs. Seago and Blodgett’s company tad fair notice, there fore, and a fair chance. They had two full months to make their bid, and find sureties who would go on their bond. They wholly failed to do so, and did not then, and so far as I am informed, never have to this day, tendered a single person or company of any name or description who was willing to sip their bond, or had authorized them to nake any such use of their name, or names on such a risk. What reason had tie Governor for con fiding in the promise jf that company, to give good security in a reasonable time, if he would award thelease to them, when they had been unableto find security after two months notice, aid had attempted to deceive -the Executive of the State by tendering names which they liad no au thority to (lo so ! What might they con sider a reasonable time ? And when could the lease have been consummated? It was tho interest of tie State, that the road be leased. It was the duty of the Gov ernor to lease it. We had complied with all the requirements of the law and the notice. No other company had. What was his duty? There can be but one re-, ply. And in the discharge of that duty, he was guilty of neither unjust favoritism nor utter disregard of the interest of the State. Had these facts been before yqu, I know ycu too well to believe you would have published your last letter, which will i be construed by the public as an attack l upon the fairness of the lease, the effect I of whioh is to do serious injury to your I friends. My complaint is that you acted I hastily, without taking time to inform yourself. While I recognize your undoubt ed right, with the consent of the proper authority, on behalf of the State, to with draw from the company, I protest that you should not have done so, and thrown the weight of your name in the opposite scale, under circumstances calculated to prejudice its rights unjustly, by acting on an erroneous ex parte statement in a mat ter involving alike the interest and the honor of your associates. When the time comes for investigation : before the proper tribunal, I shall be pre i pared to show by undoubted evidence, that I the charge of unfairness and attempted ! corruption, which has been made by cer i tain papers, lies not at my door, nor the door of my company, but that it fastens upon the very party claiming the higher biu, and charging the urjust favoriteism toward us, which those of them now most clamorous were ready to have purchased, had it been possible to have doae so- Whether the bid of a sum more than any company can keep up the road aud pay, with aDy hope of income, was resort ed to by Messrs. Seago, Blodgett and their associates, as a means of getting posses sion of that great State work, with a view to ask relief from a future Legislature on their failure to comply, 1 have no right to say. I can speak, however, for the company over which I rpeside. It is composed, as you know, of men of enlarged experience and extensive business connections and qualifications, whose integrity, as a whole, you cannot question, with ample means to ' enable it to put the road in good order and ! keep it so, and to accommodate the busi ness and traveling public. We were 1 cautions to promise nothing but what we were abundantly able to comply with. And here let me say, orce for all, that I am as much determined as you can be, to have nothing to do with any eompany or j association of individuals, that act in bad I faith to the people of the State, or fails ; to carry out, in the strictest good faith, in ! letter and spirit, the contract into which : they have entered. So long as I have the management of the affairs of the Western . and Atlantic Railroad Company I shall see to it that faith is kept, and the ccn ! tract carried out, not only io whole, but in i all its parts and in every particular. As I informed you in advance, I was determined to boa party to no bi<l that I was not prepared to stand by, in sunshine and in s'orm, nor to promise anything that I did not know I could perform. My rule with all is, to stand by my contracts, public and private, and carry them out with promptness and good faith. My bit terest enemy can sustain no allegation to the contrary. Snob is my intention, and such the intention of my associates in this case. As the act ot the Legislature makes it the duty of the Governor to lease the road and all its appurtenances, and makes no provision for the State to own or hold any share or interest in it, and as you re fuse to retain your position as a lessee, and surrender your interest back to the State, it will be the doty of the Governor to sub stitute someone in yonr place equally honest, as a member of the company, who will be willing to take the share which was awarded to you in the written lease, with its risks and responsibilities, less the part you have already assigned to Mr. S. K. Johnson under the arrangement at the time the lease was made. It is a little remarkable that prior to the late elections, as you have well shown by your first publication, the whole State seemed to be agreed that the public in terest would be served by a lease of the road to a solvent company at $25,000 per month. Scarcely a dissenting voice was heard. But as soon as it is seen that there is a prospect that another political party ipav get control, and have the patronage and the use of the funds, nothing that has been done is right or fair. The people, in making up a judgment in this matter, may do well to consider whether their interest will be served by retaining the road as heretofore, as the prey of eacti new swarm ot hnngry place-seekers, who attend the inauguration of each new administration of the State Government. My own opinion is, in the present condition of our atfairs, it matters little which party controls the road; there will, in neither case, be much for the Treasury under political manage ment. So far then from being public robbers, as somej for political effect, and with the hope of gain, have said, we aro public benefactors. Take the road for the last twenty-five years, and calculate the amounts paid into the State Treasury from it, and the amounts paid out by the State to keep it in rep dr, and what has it been worth to the people ? There was a period of a few years when it paid reasonable dividends to the State, but ail the rest of tho time it has been a dead expense. This has been true under different administrations entertaining dif ferent political opinioDP. And all must admit that it would not do better in future under political management, than it has done in the pase. The State now has the bond of a com pany of undoubted ability, with unques tionable surety, that she will get six mil lions of dollars, in cash, paid into her Treasury in monthly installments, for the use of the road for twenty years, and that it wi'l be returned in as good condition in eve> respect as it now is. T ie State tax paid by the people of Georgia for the last two years has been $500,000 per annum. The road now will pay three-fifths of that sum. Which is best for the people? 1 leave them to judge. The true reason for the clamor of certain lawyers and politicians in the State is, not that the interest of the people is not pro tected in this contract, lut that their own individual interests have not been served. They wanted a “finger inthe pie.” They did not get it, and they are jealous for fear, by good manazemait, we may meet our obligations to the State, and make something to compensate us for the risk we run in doing this great public service. I probably owe you an apology for the length of this letter, but 1 have felt that your action puts me in a situation where it is my duty, to myself and my associates, to make this statement, and to give to it the publicity whioh you have given to your reasons for your withdrawal from the company. I regret the necessity, but I feel that yot have left me no other alternative. I Rsk it as an act of justice to me and the - company I represent, that such papers as published your statements will publish this reply. lam informed that all the pa pers in the Executive office pertaining to this affair will be made publio in a few days. I trust it may be so, and .hope the press will generally copy them, as I wish the people to have all the facts. I am. very respectfully, Your obedient servant, Joseph E. Brown. Georgia Railroad. Editors Chronicle & Sentinel: I have noticed with deep interest the controversy that is springing up in relation to tho lease of the Western & Atlantic Railroad, and have been especially con cerned in regard to the commitment of the Georgia Bailroad and Banking Company as one of the securities for the lessees. I learn, upon inquiry, that the Directors of the Georgia Railroad, who passed the resolution of commitment, were only apart of the Board, and that the actual number present was ten out of seventeen, which is the whole number ; that upon analysing the vote of the ten Directors upon this momentous question, there were but four of the ten Directors whose votes should be estimated. For Judge King and Mr. Peters are two of the lessees and tbeir votes are not entitled to consideration in this connection, for no man ought to be a judge in his own oase —no man ought to be on both sides of a contract. It is ascer tained that two of the Directors voted against the resolution and that two of them declined voting and were now liquets; and so these four fully neutralized the four in favor of the resolution, leaving tho great question virtually in the hands of Mesrs. King and Peters, two of tho lessees, with out whoso votes the resolution must have failed. In this manner tho vast interests of our road were committed for twenty years to men, many ot them straDgera to Georgia. Besides, directors and officers of one railroad company ought not, upon principle, to be connected with other roads, but to be devoted entirely and ex clusively to their own. Mr. 8- K. John son, Superintendent, and Mr. E. W. Cole, General Agent of our company, enjoy high salaries, and they and Mr. Peters do not own, altogether, as much as fifty shares, and they are three of the lessees. Now, with all the influence of these gentlemen, Messrs. King, Peters, Johnson and Cole, only four Directors were found to vote for the resolution. Is it right for this resolu tion to stand ? Admiting the right of Messrs. King and Peters to vote, should six Directors assume the power to control our company for twenty years by making it sect; tytothe lessees? Who can tell what twenty years may bring forth ? Would any prudent man bind his estate for that leagtb of time ? I insist that it is due to the stockholders that a meeting of the Directors should be called at once and that every one of them should attend, that the resolution should be reconsidered, and that if we are to be security to the lessees for twenty years, it shoald be done by a lawful majority of a full Board. But I hold that it is not competent for the Board to bind the oompaDy without a vote of the stockholders authorizing it, who ought to hate an opportunity of con sidering the question and voting upon it. There should be no such haste in the mat ter as was manifested at the meeting of the Board, where Phe Director who introduced the resolution, refused to allow even one night to reflect upon the subject, but in sisted upon a vote at once. I further charge that such haste in a matter where millions are involved is indiscreet, to use no harsher term, and I conclude by urging an immediate call of the Directors to undo what has been done, and if necessary, in their opinion, to call the stockholders to gether. It is a plain principle of law and com mon sense that no corporation can exercise any power, or do anything unless au thorized by its charter, and there is noth ing m the charter of the company au thorizing it to go security for the lessees ot the .State Road. Surely the resolution of the Directors will bo reconsidered and laid on the tabic till the stockholders caD be heard in convention. This is a reason able request, and ought to bo heeded at once. A Stockholder. Wild Lands. It will be perceived, by thij following Executive proclamation, that under the authority of the Governor, by virtue of a section ofthe Code, the Comptroller is re strained as to further action as to Wild Lands until the Ist day of July next. In the meanwhile it were well that the hold ers of these lands should see to it that not only the law respecting them should be conformed to, but that the Comptroller should be notified also: Executive Department, a State of Georgia, ( Atlanta, Ga,, January, 9, 18?1. ) In consideration of the Hon. Comptrol ler General, and by virtue af the authority vested in me by Section 70 of the Revised Code of Georgia, it is hereby Ordered ; That the Comptroller General desist from the issuing of executions against unreturned wild lands until the Ist day of July next; and it is further order ed, the advertisements of the list of unre turned wild lands be discontinued . from and after the 11th instant; and that the Comptroller General continue to collect the unpaid tax on said lands until the Ist of July mentioned. Rufus B, Bullock. By the Governor. H. C. Corson, Secretary Executive Department* Judge Twiggs. He Rrplies to the Statement, that he is Ineligible to the Supreme Bench. Sandersville, Georgia, [ January 7, 1871. j Editor Atlanta-Constitution —Sir : My attention has just been called to the fol lowing paragraph, which appears in to day’s issue of the Macon Telegraph and Messenger , and which does gross injustice to his Excellency, Governor Bullocx, as well as myself. I have been unable to ob tain a copy of your paper of Thursday, in which the article signed “Enquirer” is said to appear, but presuming that the substance of the communication is em bodied below, I fee! it my duty to correct and refute the reckless and erroneous statements therein contained. “Enquirer,” in the Atlanta Constitution, of Thursday, comes down on Bullock tor violating the Constitution in appointing H. D. D. Twiggs Judge of the Middle Circuit. The Constitution says that do person shall be Judge who has not practiced law seveu years, and lived in the circuit one year. “Enquirer” asserts that Judge Twiggs has done ueitber, and that Bullock’s idea in appointing him was that he might prove “a valuable accession to the Republican party.” I was licensed to plead and practice law in the courts of this State, both of law and. equity, in 1861, and made my first professional fee during the same year and prior to the commencement of the war. Immediately after my admission to the bar, I rented an office in the city of Au gusta, and although the regular session of our court did not take place until the sum mer of 1861 (at which time I was absent in the army), I regularly entered upon my professional career, the success of which is incident to the experience of most young attorneys. Immediately after the war I returned to Augusta and prepared again to enter upon my professional du ties. My attention, it is needless to say, was much occupied in repairing my bro ken fortunes, and in making provision for the maintenance of a large family, the support of which devolved chiefly on my self. During the greater part ot the year 1865, I was absent from Augusta, both on private and professional business, muoh of which time was devoted to the man agement of and general winding up of a considerable estate in Southwestern Georgia. In discharging this duty as a Counselor and Attorney at Law, I received the usual fees and commissions, and ever since the war I have regularly attended the courts of my county when in session. A large portion of my time in the years 1866 and 1867 was occupied in Southwest ern Georgia in the interest of the estate above referred to, but at no time did I ever abandon the profession or even con template engaging in other business. The third paragraph, of the tenth sec tion, of the fifth article of the Constitu tion, which psescribes the qualification of the Judges of the Supreme and Superior Courts, to which this learned oracle, “En quirer,” refers, is in these words : “No person shall be Judge of the Su preme and Superior Courts, or Attorney General, unless, at the time of his ap pointment, he shall have attained the age of thirty years, and shall have been a citi zen of this State three years, and have practiced law for seven years.” You will perceive that the Constitution (which supercedes the Code in this re spect) does not say that the appointee shall have resided in the circuit one year, (as stated by “Enquirer,”) though for his information I desire to remark, in this connection, that I have resided in tho cir cuit, over whioh I have the honor to pre side, just thirty-three years. Aocording to my arithmetic, I have been in tho profession of law about ten years, though literally I have not been prac ticing law seven vears, provided the four years of service in the army is not to be included in the estimate of time. I am satisfied, however, that no such construc tion can or will be placed upon the section of the constitution referred to by “En quirer,” tave by himself. If such, how ever, bo the oorrcct interpretation of that instrument, by analogy of reasoning, why may we not argue that a young attorney, in the beginning of his career, who re mains in his office for two or tiiree years without receiving any business, lias not practiced law for that, length of time? In such a oase, he actually will have doue no more practice than myself while absent in the army, yet would it not be absurd, and singularly hypocritical, to assert that he has not becD a practicing lawyer from the time of his admission. Again, the literal rendition of this constitutional requisition would necessitate the deduction of the time oocupied by a tour to Europe or else where. I have thus deemedvt proper, Mr. Edi tor, to minntely set forth the facts in my cue in order to finally set at rest the con tinued agitation of this question, whioh to my certain knowledge is (he result of a malicious and vindictive persecution; though I should have treated “Enquirer” with the nilcDtcontempt which ho deserves, had not the motives of the Governor been assailed in my appointment. Whether I am wrong or right in the position I have assumed, Governor Bullock oertainly is not responsible for the error, for his action was based solely upon my statement of facts, and which statement is embodied in tho usual oath of office taken by me. Permit mo to add, in conclusion, Mr. Editor, that the statement of “Enquirer,” that Gov. Bullock’s idea in appointing me was that I might “prove a valuable accession to the Republican party. ’ ’ contains about as much truth as the balance of his article, for if the Governor was actuated by any such motives, he oertainly did not express or intimate it to me: Very respectfully, your obedient servant, H. D. D. Twiggs, Judge Superior Courts Middle Circuit. Cotton Seed Meal—Cotton Seed Oil Cake. Editors Chronicle & Sentinel: The Plantation, of January 7th, con tains; an article on “The Value of Cotton Seed,” which reminds me that nothing is more needed in this section than a factory for the production of cotton seed meal. Take Burke county, for instance, whioh produoes little else than cotton, and in which the breed of cattle has be come almost extinct for want of winter forage, which the cotton seed, converted into oil cake, would supply. In my small way, I would have taken this winter five tons had it boon easily acees>ib!e, while I would have Lad ail my cotton seed con verted into meal, both for food and for. manure. Cannot some of your enterprising citi zens have a mill ready for the next season ? A most eligible location would be, at Mc- Bean, on the Savannah & Augusta Rail road. Lind inexhaustible in timber, with fine water power, already available, in the healthy region just bordering the great belt, and in connection, by railroad, with every part of the Union, could be bought on the most reasonable terms. In the oonversion of our cotton seed into stock food, and a higher grade ot fertilizer, in my judgment, more than in any other one thing, depends the future prosperi'y of the old cotton counties. * A Correction. Lincolnton, Ga., January 2, 1871. Editors Chronicle & Sentinel : In my communication to you, signed X, giving tho vote of Lincoln county, you have inadvertently fallen into an error by placing at the end of Dr. B. F. Bentley’s name, the letter 11., signifying Radical. As that letter was not so placed in my com munication, I desire to set myself right and do iustice to Dr. Bentley. He is a Democrat and supported the nominated ticket. A certain person opposed 10 the ticket endeavored to produce a split by putting Dr. Bentley’s Dame on a ticket headed by Beard and Fannin—l enclose you the ticket thus used. Oo the first day of the election Dr. Bentley caused it to be j announced publicly that he teas, not a can -1 didate , and that his name was being used without his authority or consent. I pre sume you thought that he was a Radical, having received eight votes, Fannin and Beard having received seven each. I deem it also due to Mr. W. S. Tatom, who also received a few votes, to say that he was not a candidate and is a Democrat. Respectfully, H. J. L. [communicated. [ Editors Chronicle & Sentinel: I have just returned to the city and am reminded of a trifling error in my answer to “Wilkes.” I stated that the action cf our board was prompt and unanimous. It should have been almost unanimous. I am reminded that there were two votes in the negative. One of them stated that he only wanted a little time to look into the matter, and now states that he fully con curs in the measures. 1 -am told that in my absence there has been some further discussion on the subject, which may, or not, require notice when read by mr. Jno. P. Klng. Government Telegraph.— Two bills are now before Congress establishing a postal telegraph system. One is Mr. Washburn’s, of Wisconsin, which provides for the purchase of all existing lines by the Government, and the other is Mr. Hubbard’s, of Boston, whioh provides for the transmission of telegraph letters by a company making connections with all the best offices, and doing the work under a bond to the Government, . Telegraphic Summary. New York, January 12.—A World special, dated London 11th, says a Brus sels dispatch of the 11th, says the rosult of the ten days’ bombardment ot the nine forts and seven French batteries, between the forts is, no serious damage has been done, and not a single gun dismount ed, but, three hundred and fifty Germans have been killed and wounded. MoDt Avron was swept by the French fire and thd Germans evacuated the position. The guns at Clamont reach tho Invalids and Champs deMars. Paris advices of the Bth say shells are falling in Montmortre and persons have been killed in tho Church of Saint Sulpicc. Bands of Reds posted red placards, which were torn down by the people. Trochu issued a proclamation to-day, declaring he will fight to the last. London, January 12. —A letter from Berlin, 10th, says orders have been is sued that French officers who escaped from places of confinement in Germany, shall, upon recapture, be treated as con victs. The Times’ special from Berlin says that Count Bismarck repudiates the article of the Versailles Mmiteur on the subjeot of defences of England. Havana, January 12—The wife of Ceepedes sailed this afternoon, for New York. London, January 12, midnight.—Tho Grand Duke of Mecklenburg telegraphs the DuebeßS : “After crossing the rivulet of Haune, on Tuesday, we fought on the next day, a hot but victorious battle at Lombron and La Chapelle, taking n *arly ten thousand prisoners. Our loss in considerable. We are advancing on Le man?.” The ship Crescent, from Havana, lias been sunk in Musey river. Several of tho orew are missing. The French fire drovo the Prussians from Mont Avon. The fire from Clamart reaches the In valids and Camp de Mars. Persons have been killed in the Church oi St. Sulpice by the Gorman shells. Trochu proclaims that he will fight to the last. New York, January 13. The Herald publishes a postscript, Versailles, 10th, which says peace rumors prevail at general headquarters. German batteries now fire into Paris from St. Cloud, Mendon, Chat tillon and Clamart. The shells reach Ncuilly and Porte Mailliot avenues, Teu peratrioe and Roi de Rome, Champs de Mars and Luxemburg Garden, the Ob servatory, and Port Bicetre and Place de La Caricarde, also, aro said to be reached. Thus far, five hundred shells have been thrown within the line of bastions sur rounding Paris. Fires havo occurred in St. Jacques, aDd on the,night of the 9ih a large conflagration occurred near Luxem burg. London, January 12. —A special to tho New York Telegram, from Paris 9th and 10th, eonfirm the destructive effect of tho enemy’s guns in the neighborhood of Luxemburg. The destruction of build ings in that neighborhood is everywhere visible. The southwest suburban part of the city is in ruins. The damage to the buildings in the neighborhood of St. Jacques is groat and the general impres sion was that neither life nor property was safe in that vioinity. The- battery at Clamart is doing the Prussians good ser vice. Shells undoubtedly reach the Place de la Concorde. Bordeaux, January 12. —A general battle was fought on the 11th under the walls of Lemans. The Germans attacked tho French Army of the Loire along the whole line. General Jancreziberry, who commanded tho right wing, held his posi tion on the right bank of the Huisne, and General Colombo on the left and centre, and fought desperately for six hours The French maintained most of their positions. The Prussian losses are estimed at 18,000 killed and wounded. Extent of French loss is unknown, but is serious. London, January 12. —Henry Alford, Dean of Canterbury, died suddenly to-day. The Inmans have dispatched tho steam er City of Durham to tho assistance ot the City of Brooklyn. Anotfier terrible explosion oocurred in a oolliery near New Castle, in Staffordshire, by which twenty persons were killed and injured. The British Foreign Office has reoeived telegraph dispatches from the Legation at Pekin to Deoember 31st. They report that there have been no further troubles, and advices from Chinese ports arc satis factory. Vienna, January 12.—The Austrian Delegation havo passed the army esti mates. Versailles, January 12.— 1n the East, General Von Werder is following up his victory. After the battle of Villerexael, he continued his movement on the left flank of the French, meeting with no op position. Gen. Manteuffel has. passed through Versailles on his ws y toliia new d»uiuuu.j in the East. There was fighting near Lemans on Wednesday. The Germans captured the suburbs of Champagne and Chateau Arch, with seven pieces of artillery. London, January 13, 2:80, p. m. —The army under General Dechauscy was com pletely defeated near Lemans by the Second German Army, commanded by Frederick Charles and the Duke ot Mecklenburg. Tho Germans have occu pied Lemans, capturing largeiquantities of supplies and war material. The French are being pursued. The World’s special from Berlin, 12th, says reinforcements now on their way to join the German armies in France, and those in readiness to go, number two hun dred thousand men, thus raising the Ger man force to one million. London, January 13. —The Times has tho following special; “ Versailles, Jan. 12, evening. —The bombardment was heavy until this afternoon. Several fires are seen within the French lines. The Prussians are crowding in front of Clamart and Blendon. A picket of Bavarians was surprised near Clamart by a sortie. The French have erected new batteries.” Washington, January 14. —Cable Correc tion : In the Bordeaux dispatch, for “Prus sian losses are estimated at eighteen thou sand,” read, “ Prussian forces engaged are estimated at one hundred and eighty thou sand." A Herald special from London, 13th, says: A Vienna dispatch of the 12th says that Austria will initiate peace and that peace proposals in the Conference are wel comed by Bemstoff. The preliminaries are that France shall surrender one fort, twenty war ships, one thousand million thalers, and a strip of land four miles broad on the left bank of the Rhine, and destroy all forts within twenty miles o the Rhine. Prussia is to guarantee two million rations to Paris daily. A Herald special from Havana, says the schooner Wanderer, which brought the car go of slaves to Savannah, in 1859, was wrecked off the north coast of Cuba. The Captain and crew were saved. A Herald special from Versailles, Jan. 10, 5 p. m., says: Paris was burning in sev eral places last night. The conflagrations furnished excellent marks against which a brisk fire was maintained from the southern and southwestern cities. Berlin, January 14.—Two hundred thou sand reinforcements are in motiigW'or France, making the force there about a HBilion. London, January 13.—Extraordinaiy ef forts are l>eing made to place the entire British navy in a seaworthy condition. Ves seis repairing and approaching completion are hurried by order of the admiralty. London, January 13, 8:30 p. m.—A tel egram just received from Versailles brings the important news that the mines and coun ter-mines around Fort Mont Valerian are in such close proximity that a collision is mo mentarily expected. London, January 13, 4 p. m.—Lemans is taken and is now occupied by the 3d and 10th Prussian corps. A great quantity of stores were captured both at Lemans and St. Coriel. New Yoke, January 14.—A special to the Telegram, dated Lemans, 10th, midnight, says : The Army of the Loire, the hope of France, has been defeated in a bloody battle within seven miles of this city. The report of cannon has been heard all day. The en tire population of Lemans crowded the house tops and suburbs of the city, and all the thoroughfares, and the progress of the fight was anxiously watched. Although the people are accustomed to the roar of can non, there was never Seen tjjicli excitement. At 9 o’clock in the morning the right wing of the French army, which was on the east of Lemans, was suddenly attacked by the vanguard of the Prussians, which emerged from woods on the extreme right of the French. Upon the alarm being given the advance of the French infantry wheeled into line of battle—the artillery pushing forward through intervals made tn the sev ered ranks—the cavalry took positions upon the right and left wings. A more perfect line of battle could not have been formed by the finest army. The artillery were well supplied with ammunition, and the infantry with one hundred rounds per man. Supply trains were conveniently pasted near and real bloody work began. The battle field was in the valley and the two armies occu pied the heights opposite each other. The French line was semi-circular and extended twelve miles, overlooking the valley which was covered by twelve inches of snow. On the opposite heights the Prussians held an almost similar position. Shortly after nine o’clock, the Prussians began a furious can nonade from the woods near the extreme left —flanked by an immense force of cavalry- - the wood concealing their position where the troops wen; masked with the evident in tention of turning Chanzy’s right. The artillery fire continued on both sides un til the ammunition of the Prussian artillery was almost exhausted, when the Prussians became furious, and gave an order for the advance of infantry. The French advanced with equal rapidity along the whole lino to meet the Germans in a fair hand to hand musketry fight. The Germans were cool and collected, and the French were be having bravely, but near noon the mobiles be<ran to waver, and the French, no longer übfe to hold their position, began to retreat. Meanwhile the dead and wounded strewed the ground. The fields were red with blood and the carnage was fearful. Fifteen Ok a . 1 • - 0 * sand French had fallen before 5 o'clock, when the whole French army was in full re treat. The number of troops actually en gaged on each side numbered sixty thou-' sand. General Chanzy is reported sick, but he is still in command, and it is expected that another battle will occur to-morrow. London, January 13.—Tho Duke cf Mecklenburg telegraphs from Montford, department of Sainthe, on the 12th, that after a severe engagement at St. Corneile, wo reached tbo river near Sarigna Leieque, seven miles northeast from Lemans, with a small loss. We havo takcu one thou sand prisoners. Pixley’s circular, just issued, expresses the opinion that the continental demand for specie must, last until the end of the present month, after which the overland shipments will satisfy it. Havana, January 14.—The Hornet ap peared off Puerto Quinchas, two miles from Puerto del Padre, on Sunday. The gunboat Gucrmari sighted tho Hornet, and fired several shots at her. The Hornet im mediately went to sea, chased by the Guerman'. The reported execution of Zena is un true. FROM WASHINGTON. Washington, January 12.—The seleot committee on the decay of American com merce ordered the Chairman to report fa vorably on the bill establishing a steamship line between New Orleans and Mexican ports. ♦ The House passed a bill regulating transportation of cattle. It provides how long they may be kept in cars and hours for feeding and watering. Bishop Simpson declines the Dominican C ommissionership. Alex. H. Connor has been confirmed Governor of Idaho. The Secretary of tho Treasury decides that all rum, gin aud whiskey imported into the United States since January Ist, 1871, is subject to a duty of $2.50 per proof gnilon under the laws of Congress. This is disappointment to importers, who ex pected a decision would place the duty on these liquors same as that on imported brandy, viz : two dollars per proof gallor. Washington, January 13.- Further details of the Saganaw : She was totally wrecked. The crew were on an island with three months provisions; plenty of water and birds on the island. A boat whioh left the island for Honolulu was lost in the surf. But one boat’s crew es caped. The Saganaw was lost October 19. There is little doubt that ninety-three ; persons, left on Ocom Island, will "bo rescued. A resolution was adopted, requesting information from the Secretary of War concerning the progress of the works near the mouth of Cape Fear River, in North Carolina. The House is on private bills from the Committee on Claims. Porter was confirmed by 30 to 10. The prospect of Judge Chase's restora - tion to health is encouraging Seigel has declined the Secretaryship of the Dominican Commission. The Judiciary Committee voted down the proposition that the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments confer female suf frage—Loughrige and Butler alone voting aye. A large number of notable people at tended Perry Fuller’s funeral to-day. The President sent a message to the Senate to-day with an abstract of the pa pers in the War Department, relative to outrages in North Carolina and other Southern States. Tho abstract covers re - ports from 1867 to 1870. Leggett was confirmed Commissioner of Patents. The Senate, after an executive session of four hours, udod Porter’s confirmation, adjourned to Monday. House. —Private till passed relieving Kentucky University. A bill authorizing five hundred million bonds passed, with an amendment, leav ing quarterly payments of interest discre tionary with the Secretary of tho Treasu ry. It goes to the Senate for concurrence. Appropriations were resumed. A mo tion to abolish the Bureau of Education failed. Adjourned. Allen A. Burton, ofKcntueky, has been appointed Secretary to the Dominican Commission, and has accepted. The Ten nessee will leave New York with the Com mission on Monday. Bismarck telegraphs to the North Ger man Ligation here that in consequence of the treatment of the German merchant navy,by France,the declaration made at the beginning of the war, that no contraband of war on board shall be exempt from capture by German war vessels, is with drawn ; but the withdrawal will not go into effect until four weeks from date. FROM MISSOURI. St. Louis, Janury 13.—Vote in the Democratic caucus yesterday ; Blair, 52; Glover,-16; Phelps, 13; WoodsoD, 10. Blair thanked the caucus and announced himself a Democrat and Liberal, and pledged if oiooioj. to ijaio hip ut most ability for the interest of the people of Missouri. SUNDAYS DISPATCHES. NOON DISPATCHES. FOREIGN. London, January 14.—Advices from the army investing Paris to Thursday. On that day tho bombardment of the fortified town of Perrone was regarded as very im portant in military circles. It secures the line of advance for German reinforce ments. Germans have raised the siege of-Giyet, on the Belgian border. The Germans en tered Lemans at noon of Thursday and were simultaneously successful at Cor neille. A conference of the Great Powers is summoned to meet in this city on Tues day. Bismarck’s reply to Luxemburg made public tone more reassuring. The Count proposed that the Duchy appoint the Ger man Consul as mediator. The purser and four passengers of the City of Brooklyn, who landed at Grimsby from the steamer Thansa, aro confident of the Brooklyn’s safety. The ships Caliope and Crescent collided a day or two since in the Morsey. Both sunk Advices from the Army of the East etate that the Germans have evacuated the towo of Vesone. Advices from the Army of the North are to the effect that Faidberbe had sum moned the commander on the fortifications of Peronne.to appear beforo a court mar tial for capitulating. Prussians, to the number of two thou sand, attacked a force of one thousand Mobiles, on Friday, at Bourneville, near Havre. The French fought well, but were compelled to retire. Versailles, January 13.—1a the battle near Lemans, the Germans captured 12 guns and 1800 prisoners. Gainbetta was present at the beginning of the light, but saved himself by flight. NIGHT DISPATCHES. FOREIGN. London, January 15.—The French Foreign Office protests against tho bo»i bardment, without notification, as requir ed by civilized nations- Havre, January 14.—Prussians at Deippe have exacted fifty thousand francs. TheFrencb, defending Havre, have re treated from Bourneville in good order, after an encounttr with the enemy. Versailles, January 13.—The Prussian fire his slacked. Tho French reply con tinues weak. The Prussians captured 16,- 000 of Chauzy’s army, from the 6th to the 12th, with 12 cannon and rnitraillense. Bordeaux, January 14.— A dispatch from Laval dated 13th, says Chauzy is re treating to an excellent position in excel lent order. Paris advices to tho 12th, say the bom bardment continues and the population are undaunted. Bourbaki reports from Onans, that the French carried the villages of Areey and Saint Maries, and that his troops are gain ing ground. * Dijon Gray, Lure aud Visaui, have beets: reoceupied by the French. Havana, January 15. —Large numbers of prominent Cubans publish a long artieie in Voz Le Cuba, , proclaiming tbeir un alterable adhesion to Spain and the Span ish cause. There is much excitement in oonsequence of tbs publication, especially on account of the character of the signers, many of whom were heretofore suspected, of tympathiziDg' with the revolution. FROM NEW YORK. New York, January 15.-. Senator Pat terson and Representative Shclden, Con gressional sub-Comuy.stGe to investigate Custom Houses ip (his city, have arrived. Leading merchants desire to return to the old system, which Collector Murphy op poses. Tha steamer Florida cleared secretly, in ballast, for Halifax, where her cargo of munitions had been forwarded by rail. FROM CALIFORNIA. San Franclsoo, January 13— General Stonemaa has issued an order directing the prosecution of a vigorous, persistent and relentless winter campaign against the Pinal and Touts branches of Apache Indians. Citizens who desire to join the. expedition will be armed. FROM WASHINGTON, Washington, January 15 —T/ Jle Georgia delegation has arrived, and preßent credentials to-morrow. " Barrett’s” Ha> R^torative 110(18 lav °r With everybody 8 P re -®minenUy the best. D-rreU’s” the only safeguard. “Barrett’s” possesses real merit. jaulS-d6Awl
