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About Weekly chronicle & sentinel. (Augusta, Ga.) 1866-1877 | View Entire Issue (May 13, 1874)
Efjromcie anU SnUintl. WE DN EBDAY .MAY 13 , 1874. TUB TBAKSFORMATIOS 1> ARKASHAS. Nothing out of ft transformation scone in the Clack Crook * qnals the changes which have taken place in Arkansas p ilitics Rince the election of two years ago. They have been so numerous and so perplexing that one may be pardoned for having become somewhat muddled upon affairs in that unfortnnate pro vince. If we may liken great things to little they more nearly resemble a change in English politics which Macaulay compared to the combat in Malebolge, described by Dante in the Inferno: where a man and a serpent fought, and as the encounter progressed each com batant assumed the shape of his enemy, until the man became a reptile and the snake a mortal. Baxter, the Radical Governor, has become a Conversative.and Brooks, the Conservative, has changed into a full fledged Radical. In the Greeley campaign of 1872 the Demo crats coalesced with the Liberals, led by United States Senator Rice, and chose Mr. Joseph Brooks as their candidate for Governor. The Radicals, headed by Powell, Clayton and Chief Justice McLure, nominated Mr. Elisha Baxter, a native of-the State, an occupant of the Bench nd a man whose loyalty to the party had never been questioned. In the election which ensu* and there is little doubt that Brooks received a ma jority of the votes cast; but when the returns were canvassed by the President of the Senate and the result announced by the Legislature, Baxter was declared elected by a majority of more than three thousand. '! his was brought about by the refusal of the Clerks to forward the returns from several counties which hail gone heavily for the Liberals and by an illegal increase of Baxter’s vote in other places. Brooks appealed to the Legisla ture for permission to contest the elec tion before that body; but in the mean time Baxter’s policy bad been such that the Democratic members were all won over to his side and the House by an 'almost unanimous vote refused to enter tain the petition. A case was then made before the Supreme Court, but that tri bunal dismissed it upon the ground that the State Constitution made the Legislature the sole judge of such mat ters. From this decision the Chief Justice (McLure) alone dissented—that upright jurist having determined to wage war with the incumbent because he had takeu the Democrats, the white people of the State, into favor and refused to submit to the dictation of Clayton A Company, of which firm the Chief Jus- tice was a leading partner. For a while matters went quietly enough, with the exception of an abortive revolutionary movement by Brooks in the suppres sion of which Baxter was actively aided by the two United States Senators, un til recently the Ring again complained of their Governor’s partiality to and growing influence with the rebels— i. e., the Democracy. They pretended to dis cover that he was conspiring for their downfall and for the delivery of Arkan sas into the hands of their political op ponents. Brooks was sounded, and it was discovered that he had become a Radical as rapidly as Baxter had been transformed into a Democrat; at all events, he was perfectly willing to do anything and to bo anything in order to become Governor, and the Ring found him a tool ready fitted to their hands. It was then determined to bring Baxter to terms or eject him from his position. The two Senators, Clayton and Powell, visited Little Rock. They asked the Governor to co-operate with them in carrying the State at the next election by a system of frauds which they had arranged, or, if he objected to becoming an active participant in the swiudlo, to shut his eyes while the work was being done by o‘liers. In either case he was to be rewarded with the posi tion of United States District Judge and a large pecuniary compensa tion. Baxter declined to accept the proposition made to him, or to assist in the execution of the designs of the Ring either actively or passively. Sus tained by t he decision of the Legislature, aud of the State Supreme Court, lie felt secure of his position.. He also intend ed convening the Legislature for the purpose of calling a Convention to frame a now Constitution. He expected to have the disabilities of all the Southern sympathizers removed, and the holding of elections regulated in sueli a manner as to make fraud an impossibility. In this way he expected to become the leader of a Conservative party which, would sweep the State without difficulty, and make him Governor for a second term. But the Ring had no idea of be ing defeated so easily, and they at once made arrangements with the pliant Brooks for Acoup d'etat. A suit for the possession of the office of Governor, brought by Brooks in the Circuit Court of Giles county, which had never been pressed, and which had long been con sidered virtually dismissed, was sudden ly brought up in the absence of and without notification to the Governor or his attorneys. The Judge, a creature of Clayton, hastily gave judgment of ouster in favor of the plaintiff. No appeal was entered, for the very satisfactory reason that there was no one present to enter it; and the model Chief Justice, who was stationed in a convenient lobby, at once swore in Brooks ns Governor of Ar kansas. The new Governor hastened to the Capitol, ejected his opponent by force and took possession of the Execu tive office, which ho still occupies. Brooks’ friends have worked a wonder ful change in the views of the members of the State Supreme Court, so that whereas the learned Justices almost unanimously held that they had nothing to do with the case, they are now pre pared with equal unanimity to assert jurisdiction, to pronounce Baxter an usurper and Brooks the rightful Gov ernor. Naturally enough the incum bent fears to trust his cause to the ad judication of gentlemen whose opinions are so easily changed, and prefers sub mitting his claims to the decision of the Legislature, where he is, perhaps, as confident as his opponent is if the ques tion be left to the arbitrament of Clay ton’s Judges. THE SOUTH CAROLINA LIQUOR Law. At its last sessiou the Legislature of ! South Carolina passed a general law j regulatiug the sale of liquor iu tha. | State. In its provisions concerning the j issuing of licenses it resembles the law , of Georgia upon the same subject: The j applicant is required to give a heavy | bond, with sureties, for keeping an orderly house and complying with the law, but is required to be recommended by six tax payers, who furnish a cer tificate that he is a person of temperate habits aud good moral cnaraeter, and the application must also be passed upon by the grand jury, ixeept. iu a city or incorporated town. In another fea ture, however, the law differs widely from the Georgia statute, aud the regu lations of the sale of liquor are very stringent. Notice may be given, by any member of a family, or blood relation, or guardian, to any liquor dealer, for bidding him to furnish intoxicating liquors loan intemperate person, or an insane person, or a minor ; and if Im shall, within three months, so furnish liquor to such persons, he shall be held civilly responsible for any injury which may occur in consequence of such fur bishing. A wife, who has so given no tice, may recover damages for the main tenance of herself aud children during the time that her husband may be in c ipable of supporting bis family by rea son of such sale. Drunkenness or in toxication iu any pubtie house or place shaß be punished by a fine not exceed ing $5, or by imprisonment not exceed ing five days, and any one selling liquor to a person who is drunk or intoxicated shall be liable to pay, for every offense, J) to the wife, parent, child or guaidian of such person. Whenever any riot or other breach of the peace occurs at a place where liquors are sold, the pro prietor or keeper shall be deemed an abettor and be treated as such, unless he can show that the breach of the peace was not caused by the persons en gaged in it becoming intoxicated on bis premises. AN UNWISE MEASURE. The bill recently repprted from the Committee on Foreign Affairs by Rep resentative E. R. Hoar, the object of which, as expressed in its title, is “ to carry into execution the provisions of the fourteenth amendment to the Con sti ution, and to define certain rights of American citizens residing in foreign countries, and the duties of diplomatic aud consular officers,” meets with de termined opposition, and its passage, at least in the shape in which it has been reported, is not probable. The great objection to it is that it does not treat native and naturalized citizens on terms of perfect eqnality. It provides, among other things, that naturalized citizens by a return to their native country, and acquiring a domicile there, shall lose their American citizenship, except when otherwise provided by treaty. American citizenship is something which should be looked upon as sacred, and it will be disgraceful to the nation if it does not insist that no citizen—whether native born or naturalized—shall be denation alized unless he specially renounces his allegiance. If native citizens do not lose their citizenship by a domicil abroad, then naturalized citizens in a similar ease should not. The protection of the United States is due to native and naturalized citizens alike, and in public laws there should be no discrimination between them. One class is entitled’to the same rights and the same protection as the other—no more and no less. CONVICT FARMING. The Atlanta Herald thinks that the Chronicle and Sentinel has passed judgment rather hastily upon the con vict farming system. The Herald says : The convicts have been scattered about the- State now for one month. So far as we have been able to see, and we have watched quite closely, only two of them have escaped—that is, only two have re mained at liberty for as much as two or three days. Dozens have tried it, but they have all been brought back, either by horsemen, shot guns or dogs* before they had been out a Half a day. Now, tlin probabilities were that more would escape the first mouth than during any succeeding month. The inexperience of the guards; the lack of stockades; the danger of shifting them about from one location to another would all conduce to this end. We should not have been sur prised to have seen a dozen escapes dur ing the first thirty days. Only two, however, of the whole force have broken the bounds during this, the most critical period of the experiment. With this fact as a basis, we may reasonably argue that as the guards become broken in, good stockades are built, and the bosses become better acquainted with the habits of the men, that an escape will lie almost impossible, and the neighborhoods of these striped squads perfectly safe and tranquil. We do not think that the Herald's statements prove anything in defense of the system. If the convicts are all to escape during the first months of the lease, then there will be none to guard when the arrangements have been brought to that degree of perfection which it thinks probable. We have stated, and we reiterate now, that we be lieve the plan adopted for tire disposi tion of the convicts will prove a failure. The event may prove that we have been mistaken. If so, no harm will have been done, for the Legislature does not meet until next January. But, while we op posed the employment of convicts upon farms as unwise aud injudicious, we also condemned the chain gang system as wrong, cruel and brutalizing even when administered by the best men. When, as will sometimes happen under the most stringent regulations, convicts fall into the hands of a bad master or avaricious contractqr, their condition must be truly pitiable. The dictates of sound policy as well as of an enliglit enel humanity demand that the chain gang shall be dispensed with aud the penitentiary re-established. “ PLUMP PRIZES.” The Atlanta Herald informs us that a spirited contest is going on in the Courts of the capital for' the jurisdiction of cases against gamblers and lewd women. At its last session the Legislature passed an act requiring the Judge of the Su perior Court to transfer all indictments for misdemeanor, then pending or here after found, to the City Court for trial. This would seem to make the duty of that official plain enough; but the Judge lias discovered, or claims to have discov ered, that this act is nullified by subse quent legislation upon the city charter, and a few days ago instructed his Solici tor-General not to transfer any of the particular class of misdemeanors which we have mentioned to the inferior tribu nal, “as lie proposed trying them him self.” On the other hand, the City Court will not be robbed of its jurisdic tion without a struggle, and we may ex pect a contest for the possession of the culprits carried on with all the vim and vigor characteristic of the capital. To the uninitiated it may seem strange that a fight should be made over such a mat ter, or that it should make any differ ence by which Court criminals are tried and convicted. But the reporter of the Herald unravels the mystery in one pregnant paragraph. He says : “These eases are considered by the Courts as plump pr.zes. The gamblers and lewd women of Atlanta probably pay two thirds of the revenues obtained by trial.” If this insinuation be true, that the Courts are fighting for jurisdiction of the accused solely for the sake of the “revenue,” it is evidence of the exist ence of a by no means creditablo condi tion of affairs. There is, perhaps, too much of this “revenue” business all over the State. Unquestionably the ob ject of the laws against gaming and the keeping of houses of ill-fame is the pre vention, the suppression, of these offenses, but pratiee here is very differ ent from theory. It is questionable whether either offense can ever be sup pressed by means of legislation, no matter how striugent its character. lu deed, as a general rule, the more severe the law the more difficult becomes its execution. But the evidence does not seem to be very conclusive that any at tempt is made to put a stop to the practices which Legislatures have de clared illegal. The efforts of justice seem to be oontmed to the raising of “revenue,” and those periodical raids upon what some writer aptly terms the “defective classes" nearly always result in pleas of guilty and the imposition of fines which are easily paid. Poor devils of either s»x who have no money are sometimes sent to jail, but the better classes appear to be reserved for fur nishing “revenue." Some time since we gave an account of the violation of a married woman in Burke county by an escaped convict and of the subsequent lynehiug of the ruffian by a band of enraged citi zen*. It is now reported that the woman, who is the wife of an employee of the Central Railroad Company, will commence a suit for damages against Messsrs. R iddw, S*ith and the lessees of th 6 cooH6£fc t-exm of the Superior Court. Mr. Norwood’s speech upon the Civil Ritrht Bill has been most favorably mentioned in the dispatches to Northern and Western journals, The fall text of the argument has not yet b*sh received. Mr. Norwood has seldom addressed the Senate, but when he does open his mouth he speaks to the purpose. The General Conference, at Louis ville, entertains an appeal by S. D. Huston, expelled from tfan Baltimore Conference. NEWSPAPERS AND JURIES.’ Judge Hopkins, of Atlanta, seems dis posed to prevent all discussion in the newspapers of cases pending in the Court over which he presides. La?t Wednesday he discharged a jury em panelled for the trial of a civil case be cause a portion of the body had read comments upon the suit published in the daily papers of the city after the trial commenced. The Judge in his re marks upon the occurrence stated that he would be driven to the adoption of one of two alternatives : “One is to keep clever gentlemen, when on the jnrv in trial of civil cases (no matter how trivial the case may be), under charge of a sworn officer from the time it be gins until discharged from the case, for the purpose of keeping newspapers from them and all other communications, un less by permission of the Court, or to take a very different course in order to protect the juries.” It is plain that the “very different coarse” alluded to is the attachment for contempt of the proprietors of the offending journals. Should he ever attempt any such step as this he will soon discover that he has ventured upon a foolish as well as a dangerous thing. The freedom of the press can not be abridged in any such harsh and sum mary manner. Such a proceeding may do in England, but it will not be per mitted in this country. The trouble with the Atlanta Judge is that he has been complimented so much upon his strictness that he is inclined to crowd his authority a trifle too much. THE STEPHENS-HILL CONTRO VERSY. We publish this morning the reply of Mr. Stephens to the last letter of Mr. Hill ; but we cannot promise to con tinue the publication in extenso of these fierce personal assaults. Our opinion of the controversy, expressed when the first letters appeared, has not changed ; but, upon the contrary, has been strengthened by the subsequent com munications which have been given to the public. Several direct issues of veracity have been raised upon both sides ; each of the parties has endeav ored to convict the other of bad faith and duplicity; Mr. Hill is charged with mis-stating history, and Mr. Stephens is taxed with lukewarmness in the Con federate cause. We hope that neither of these distinguished Georgians is as bad' a man as his enemy would have us believe. At all events wo suggest that Mr. Hill is not the proper artist t o give ns a correct portrait of Mr. Stephens, and the friends of the former will not recognize the fidelity of his likeness as painted by the hands of the latter. They are both men whom the people of Georgia have delighted to honor. One of them, advanced in years and prostrated by disease, having, in all human probability, but few more years to live—“coming home,” as lie himself has said,“to die”—canadd noth ing to his fame by such a bitter and un seemly quarrel conducted through the medium of the public press. The other is still in the prime of a vigorous physi cal and intellectual manhood, with both the ability and the willingness to render valuable service to his State and his people, with the promise of many long years of honor and usefulness be fore him. Such a discussion as that now progressing can neither swell his reputation or extend his influence, but may impair and injure both. We sub mit that neither their State nor them selves will be benefited by these on slaughts upon punctuation, these argu ments to prove the whereabouts of a particular person upon a certain day, these avalanches of coarse language and offensive epithets, tin se criminations and recriminations, these savage charges of falsehood and treason, and we hope that, if wrangle they must, their quarrels will be conducted within the limits of a private correspondence, and through the mediurn of the post office. TAXATION IN PENNSYLVANIA AND VIRGINIA. Pennsylvania raises a large proportion of her revenue by a tax upon corpora tions. The new law, passed last month, provides that every railroad company, canal company, steamboat company, slackwater navigation company, trans portation company, street passenger railway company, and every other com pr now or hereafter incorporated by i- hurity of the State, or any company v /orporated by another State and doing 4sitiess in Pennsylvania, shall pay a tax of nine-tenths of one mill upon its capital stock for each one per cent., of dividend made, and in case of no divi dend being made, then six mills upon the true valuation of the capital stock of such companies. Every other com pany, except banks and savings institu tions, building associations, and foreign insurance companies licensed by au thority of Pennsylvania, must pay a tax of one-half mill upon its capital stock for each one per cent, of dividend de clared, and in case of no dividend being made, then three mills upon a true val uation of the capital stock of such com panies. By the new revenue law of Virginia, the tax upon real estate remains un changed (fifty cents on the SIOO value), but the rate otherwise is largely in creased, that on merchants’ licenses be ing the important feature. It is provided that on every license to a merchant or mercantile firm, the tax shall be grad uated as follows: If the amount of purchases shall not exceed $2,000, the specific tax shall be ten dollars; and for all purchases over $2,000 and less than $60,000, the tax is one-half of one per cent. Upon all purchases over $60,000 aud less than SBO,OOO, the tax is forty cents on the SIOO of the purchase in ex cess of $60,000. Upon all purchases over SBO,OOO and less than SIOO,OOO, the tax is thirty cents on the SIOO iu excess of $80,000.. Upon nil purchases over SIOO,OOO, the tax is ten cents on the SIOO of the excess. The merchants of Richmond and other cities protested agaiust the bill while it was before the Legislature, aud, now that it has be come a law, they threaten to appeal to the Courts to test its constitutionality. GENERAL P. M. B. YOUNG. The Constitutionalist, of yesterday morning, published au article ou the Freedman’s Savings Bank, token from the New York Sun, in which occurs the following mention of one of the loans made by that corporation : As if to prove that the lion and the lamb have lain down together, and that peace smiles benignantly on reconciled patriots, an ex-Confederute hero follows: “ Five thousand dollars to Representa tive Pierce M. B. Torso, of Georgia, on real estate notes, $6,611, interest to Au gust 21,. 1873.” The Freedman’s Bank did not consid er his previous condition, but iu a mag nanimous spirit discounted the real estate notes as freely for this Southern General as was done for the illustrious Pomeroy, who had so tenderly nursed “bleeding Kansas.” The Hon. Mr. Young was one of the select circle who originally formed the “ real estate pool” to which Mr. Kjlbocrn so delicately 1- luded in Ujs celebrated epistle to the late’ Mr. Hcntixotox, When things were getting lively for thelfiug he with drew from the “ pool,” and is said to have pocketed a large bonus by the ope ration. Whether tire “notos” in ques tion represent those the Rank Examiner does not report. In any event, the member from Georgia was enterprising, and we are glad to see he paid his interest up to August last. The evident object of this publication is to prove General Ifot so’s connection with the infamous Ring which has for so long a period plundered the people of Washington City. The fondness of the Sun for sensation is well known, and the unreliability of its statements have been often exposed. Asa general rule, its sScjurtions must be taken with very manv grain* of allowance. But tins is not the first time Um ti)» Sun has charged General Torso with being the ally of the Washington Ring, and it seems to ns that this gentleman owes it not only to himself and to his imme diate constituents, but to the people of the whole State, whose Representative he is, to answer these assaults. The Southern Democracy cannot afford to have the integrity of their Congressmen questioned in so serious and persistent a manner. Heretofore the odium of this and other frauds has been confined to the Radicals. The members of that cor rupt party must not be allowed to reply to the charges made against them by accusing Democrats of being concerned in their disreputable operations. THE UNCERTAINTIES OF LEGIS LATION. Should the New Y’ork dispatches pub lished yesterday prove correct, the big city has almost as vexatious a political muddle as the States of Louisiana and Arkansas, and we have another evidence of the uncertainty of American legisla tion. The Legislature, endeavoring to put Comptroller Greene out of office in as expeditious a manner as possible, legislated, without intending to do so, all the executive officers of the munici pality out of official existence. If the opinion of the lawyers who have investigated the question shall be sustained, the city government will be left in a most imperfect and dismembered condition. Such bung ling legislation has not been infrequent in the South since constitutional amend ments and reconstruction laws forced ignorance and corruption into power and position, and as a consequence we have had revolutionary movements in every Southern State with the exception of Tennessee, North Carolina and Vir ginia; but this is tiie first time we have had such stupid knavery in a ttuly loyal State. THE ARKANSAS SKIRMISH. If anarchy does not soon prevail in Arkansas it will not be from any lack of an attempt to produce it by some of the followers of the rival claimants for the Gubernatorial chair. The telegraph has brought reports of the capture of a squad of Brooks men by the Baxter forces, aud of the capture of a band of Baxter men* by the Brooksites. These, how ever, were minor episodes in comparison with the affair near New Gascony, in which a regular, though apparently one sided, fight occurred between the Bax ter and Brooks forces, the latter losing nine men killed and twenty wounded, while the Baxter men escaped with seven wounded men. The peace and security of a State and the lives and pro perty of its citizens are placed in jeo pardy by this struggle between Brooks and Baxter, and all that acts as a restraint upon the factious is the pre sence in the State of a few companies of United Stales troops. Both claimants of the Gubernatorial chair profess to be desirous of a peaceful settlement of the difficulty, and they show the earnestness of their professions by countenancing the presence in various portions of the State of armed bands of supporters. Civil war cannot be suffered to break out in Arkansas, and if Baxter and Brooks are wise they will peremptorily order their followers to disband and leave the properly constituted authori ties to settle the Gubernatorial contest. The enterprising people of Macon seem determined to have another line of communication with the West. Mayor Huff has issued a proclamation order ing an election, on Saturday next, for the purpose of determining whether a sub scription of $250,000 iu cash shall be made to the construction of the Macon and Cincinnati Railway. What are the citizens of Augusta going to do about the railroad to Chicago via Hartwell ? L’EUROPE. The Detailed Story of Her Salvage Crew and Its Rescue. The New York World says : The steamship Egypt, of the National Line, reached this city Wednesday afternoon. It was this vessel, it will be remembered, which rescued the salvage crew of the an. unavailing effort to tow that vessel into port. The Egypt brings out as her chief officer on this voyage Mr. Buck, the commanding officer of the salvage crew; and the second officer of the newly arrived vessel, Mr. Hadley, was detailed by Captain Grogan, of the Egypt, to assist in the manning of the pumps of the Europe during the few hours in which the steamers lay near each other. Chief Officer Buck said: “Os course, I knew what it would be worth to me if I got her into port. The vessel and cargo were worth together £400,000, and could I have coiled my ropes for the rest of my life. I think I could have saved her as it was, if I had had more men. The French captain did right in taking his passengers off if he was dubious of the safety of his vessel, but if he was a sailor he ought to have stuck by his ship and kept his men there. I could have got through all right if I had had one hundred and sixty disciplined men under me; as it was I had not a single engineer in the crew. Then she was not properly provided with pumps; if she had been provided as we are on this vessel she could have been saved, in my opinion. I found very soon after I had got on the vessel that my only chance was in getting a tow; there was really no hope of getting her into port with her sails. Os course my men were pretty well used up when we got on the Egypt. I got to bed pretty quick. I had been on board the Egypt sixty hours, and I only slept two. We left in longitude west 48 degrees, latitude north 30 de grees 30 minutes, or very nearly that. I don’t think that she floated twelve hours after we left her. She would go down very fast after my men were off' of her and her pumps stopped working. I should be very glad to make a full state ment in the matter. I think it would be better for me, as I understand I have been attacked and slandered by tlie French officers, but I am put so that I cannot. There are a good many things that I should like to tell you about the vessel that I cannot speak of. I put it all in my report to the company, aud I may have to go to France, so they told me, to tell the same story there.” Some further particulars were obtain ed in conversation with another of the officers of the Egypt.. At the time that the Europe was sighted, and a boat from that vessel boarded the Egypt, the French vessel showed no signs whatever of distress. Her lines were unimpaired, and, except that she sat well down in the water, there were no signs of her sinking. The weight of water amid ships, however—She had tweqty-three feet in her centre compartment~made her pitch and labor very heavily in the sea. Her foresails were set aud some other canvas was spread, but it failed to keep her on her course. The second en gineer of the Egypt was sent on board the Europe, with two of the stokers in the relief uarty which went out under Second Officer Hadley, in the hope that the lengineer would be able to set the donkey pump in motion. He was una ble to' do anything, as the connections had been badly cut by the articles which had ewgghcd back and forth in the wster as the vessel foiled from side to side. There seems to have liegn a gene ral impression on the Egypt that the Europe was lost through the incompe tener of the engineer. A remark of Chief Officer Buck’s was quoted to the effe.ct that he would have saved the ship if he had been an engineer himself or had had one on boatd, slid the open valves of the Amerique were tainsidcred an ominous indication of a possible cause for the loss of the other vessel CHARLESTON. A Bankrupt Goyernor— The' Regatta. Charleston, May jS, — A petition was filed in the United istates Court to-day for the involuntary bankruptcy of Frank lin J. Moses, Governor of South Caro lina, aud an injunction was granted re straining the shi rifi of Richland county frog) seizing and selling his effects until the further order of the Court. The debts of the (governor, in excess of his assets, are currently to Otor a quarter of million of dollars. The Charleston rowing and sailing regatta begins next Wednesday, and will last three days. A large number of entries have already been made. Crack crews are coming from Macon and Savannah and fast yachts from all Southern wa ters. An IxTEBEsyiNO Dr. S.j, P. Hunt, ql tills city, has ip his possession an interesting relic in the shape of a gold seal ring presented to a French officer by Napoleon Bonaparte. It was given to Dr. Hunt’s father by the oja cer, who died at that gentleman s resi dence, in Tennessee, many years ago. It has been in the possession of Dr. Hunt s mother, who resides in Nashville, since 183fi, and yas by her presented to her son during a recent visit to that city. MR. HILL’S HISTORICAL ADDRESS. NUMBER XI. Liberty Hall, ( Crawfoßdville, Ga., May 4,1874. i Editor of the Constitutionalist : The reply of Mr. Hill, of the 21st wZ timo, to my first article on his Histori cal Address, renders it proper, if not necessary,, that the substance of this article, No. 2, should relate to matters different from what I intended it should, when the first was written. What was intended to be embraced iu No. 2, there tore, will be postponed until I respond to his letter referred to—the chief ob ject of which seems to have been to di vert attention from the merits of the real issues between us, as presented by my first article, not only in reference to the Hampton’s Roads Conference, but other matters specified by me. This response, though I was, as I still am, exceedingly feeble from protracted disease, and now barely able to dictate what is penned by the hand of another, would have been sent to you in time for your last Saturday’s issue, but for the previous announcement in the Atlanta Herald that Mr. Hill would have a further communication on the same subject in the following Sunday s issue of that paper. That announced communication is now before me, and I will proceed to give it, as well as his letter of the 21st, such answer and iu such language as I deem they 7 both de serve, keeping in mind, I trust, a due regard for my own self-respect, as well as the importance, magnitude and dig nity of the Subject. Tlie real truth of history has been, and is, my controlling object. I have as little taste for con troversies of this sort, or even the use of strong reprobatory words, as anybody can have, and never indulge iu either except in the vindication of what I deem truth and justice. First, then, Mr. Hill in liis letter charges me with the base act of not quoting fairly from his addreSs, and that this was'done for the purpose of giving his words a meaning they did not otherwise have. To this allow me to say to yon, and through you to the pub lic, that I quoted from Ins address as 5 found it iu the Augusta Chronicle and Sentinel. The quotation by me is ex actly as I found it in that paper, as ativ one can see by turning to its files, and examining its issue of March the 11th, 1874. If there was any mutilation of a “comma” in the sentence quoted it can not be justly charged to me. I need hardly add that I supposed that the publication iu the Chronicle and Sen tinel was correct. Such an act as Mr. Hill charges me with is utterly incom patible with the entire principles of my nature. I will, moreover, say in refer ence to this matter of the “comma” that I do not now see any possible difference in the meauing of the words by its omis sion. The sentence, as it appeared in the Chronicle and Sentinel, and as quo ted by me, represented Mr. Hill as using this language : “I received from Mr. Davis’ own lips “a full account of the conversation be “ tween him and the commissioners, “before their departure from Rich “ mond.” Mr. Hill says die put a “comma” after conversation. Be this as it may, I cer tainly had nothing to do with taking it out, nor do I now see how the sense of tlie words can possibly be changed or modified either by its insertion or omis sion. The plain import, either way, is that he received the account of tlie conver sation from Mr. Davis before the depar ture of the commissioners from Rich mond. This I showed conclusively, us I thought, from the facts of the ease (apart from Mr. Hill’s absence) to be impossible; and Mr. Hill himself ad mits, not only in his letter referred to, but in his communication in the Herald , of yesterday, that he did not receive this account from Mr. Davis.until some days after the departure of the commis sioners. This is quite enough for all his sen sational comments on my murderous slaughter of a “comma” with the ma licious intent of doing him an injury, ft is also quite enough to sustain my position on this point of difference be tween us. Mr. Hill, however, in his letter of the 21st ultimo, proceeds to make a state ment of facts, which he pledges himself to make good on pain of infamy. This statement involves several issues of ve racity between him aud myself, as he is phased to treat them. These are: Ist. That he was in Richmond during all the time the subject of the commis sioners to the Hampton Roads Con ference was under consideration by Mr. Davis. 2d. That I knew he was there, that I saw him almost daily—talketl with him —knew the interest he took in the sub ject of the commission, and that I could not have forgotten these facts, un less I have become imbecile indeed. 3d. That he was in my roi m aud told me iu the presence of a number of gen tlemen that he should insist on my ap pointment on the commission. That I may do Mr. Hill no possible injustice in my construction of liis lan guage, I give his whole statement in liis own words. In quoting . I shall not copy, but shall incorporate what I find in print over his name, in the Atlanta Herald, of the 22d of April. So if there be any multilations of commas or words, in what he wrote, the responsibility for it will not rest upon me, but upon the compositors in the Herald or Con stitutionalist office. Here is what I find over his name: “Now, I stand before the public re sponsible, on pain of infamy, to make “good the following itatement of facts: “I was not only in Richmond during “ all the time the subject of the eom “ mission and the appointment of the “commissioners was under considera “ tion by Mr. Davis, but Mr. Stephens “ knew I was there; saw me almost “ daily; talked with me; knew the inter “ est I took in the subject of the com “ mission, and could not have forgotten “ these facts unless he has become im “ becile indeed. I was at the man’s “ room, and told him in the presence of “ a number of gentlemen that I should “ insist on his appointment on the peace “ commission.” On these issues Mr. Hill vanntingly proclaims that he raises the “black flag,” and “will neither give nor take quarter.” He will “tolerate no solution but proof, retraction, or infamy." This is all quite high-souuding, rather indeed on the “highfalutin” order; and coming from anybody else, but for its extravagance, might be received as the tones of a truo man of real honor and chivalry. Coming, however, from Mr. Hill, what do they amount to ? What does he mean by the “black flag?” Judging from his past course in like matters the only legitimate inference is that he means by it Bothing but ink ! Under what other “flag,” either with a pen or other heavier instrument charged with the same jetty fluid, did he ever fight ? As for what he says about “ proof, retraction or infamy," it is quite enough for me at <his time and in this connection to remind the public that he some seventeen years ago stated in a public speech at Thomson, before a large audience, as it was reported to me, that he had a few r days before at Lex ington charged me to my face “with having been a traitor to the Whig party, and that I had cowered Wider it.” When called upon to make good this statement as a gentleman of honor, he neither furnished “proof,” nor made any “re traction," or other amende for his un founded and boastful fabrication ; but submitted to the “infamy” of being j posted as a man utterly destitute of truth. It was after this brand was then thus fixed upon him, he as now hoisted his “black flag,” and squirted his ink in most disgusting profusion. This, there fore, it is to be presumed is alj that he now means by reference to his usual and favorite “flag.” As to his several issues of veracity I submit the following comments only : His statement, that I knew he was in Richmond pending the consideration of the Ifaqapton Roads Conference—that I saw him almost daily—talked with him —and knew the interest he subject of the commission, &c., is ly unfounded in fact. His statement that he was in my room and told me in the presence of a num ber of gentlemen that he should insist upog my appointment on the Hampton Roads Conference (and this in its con nection is what his 'statement means, if it means anything), is also utterly un founded in” fact. Let him, therefore, bring forward his “proof,” name the gentlemen referred to, make hfs “re traction,” or bear that “pain of infamy” which he invokes. His statement that he was in Rich mond all tiie time this commission was under consideration, in denial of my statement that he was in Georgia at the time, I shall say more about Tiereafter. It was iu expectation that some of his proofs at least to make good these state ments might be adduced in his previous ly annonnepd article of yesterday, that I waited'to see ii before responding to his letter of the 21st ultimo ; but some what to my surprise it contains nothing of the sort. It is upon the whole noth ing but another one of his six or seven columned “ Carmagnoles,” ala mode Barere, It does, however, if true, throw somexi’ght upon a matter that was here tofore dark and rather mysterious to me. Rut the truth, if he has told it, reflects, l am sorry to my, quite as little credit upon Mr.*Dayis as it (joes upon himself. If, however, what he says be either true or false —well may Mr. Davis exclaim, “Save me from my friends.” I always thought it exceedingly strange that if Mr. Davis was really in favor of getting an armistice under*Mr. Blair’s proposi tion he Bbould have pursued the course he did by giving publicity to the com mission. It now seems from Mr. Hill’s lest mattifesto aud confession thut he and Mr. Davis were both acting with the grossest duplicity towards me, and, in confederation with others, formed a very foul conspiracy to use the Blair propo sition, with no other object whatever but to defeat another mission of a very diiterent character, which it was well understood at the time would be insti tuted by Congress early the next week. This commission, unaer the authority of < ongress, was to be raised in accordance with the resolutions prepared by me early in January, to which Mr. Hill re fers. The object of these resolutions, and the contemplated mission under them, were entirely different from those aimed at by the Blair proposition. His looked solely to and covered nothing but a secret military convention between the belligerents, with a view of prevent ing the establishment of a French Em pire in Mexico, by the joint operation of the Federal and Confederate armies, in maintenance of the Monroe doctrine. In this way Mr. Blair thought, as Mr. Davis stated to me, a fraternization would take place between the two armies, and peace be ultimately obtained by a restoration of the Union without the subjugation ot the Southern States. His proposition was not for a peace com mission in any proper sense of the words at all, nor did it look to any direct over ture of peace on either side, or the terms upon which it should be estab lished. My resolutions to the contrary au thorized the creation of a commission empowered to initiate, or to make over tures for the initiation of negotiations for peace, not upon separate State ac tion, but upon the great principles on which the whole Confederate struggle rested, and upon which the whole fabric of American free institutions was found ed. From the baleful light that Mr. Hill now furnishes—which is of the character of the faint glare from covered lanterns which sometimes gives glimpses of the most diabolical, underground, midnight deeds of the most fiendish criminals—it seems that he, Mr. Davis, and others were aiming at nothing, in acceding to Mr. Blair’s proposition, but “to stop Mr. Stephens,” aud to head and defeat his movement of bringing the war to a close upon those principles on which alone constitutional liberty can be pre served on this continent. It seems that w’hat Mr. Davis told me about his hav ing mentioned the subject of Mr. Blair’s proposition to any one but Mr. Hunter was not true. He had told Mr. Hill all about it, and that but for the iguoble device they resorted to, “Mr. Stephens’” resolutions would have been adopted the next week. In this view of the subject aud from what he now states I fraukly confess that it is not at all improbable that Mr. Hill may have been in Biclimoud when I felt assumed that ho was in Georgia. That statement of mine that he was in Georgia when Mr. Davis had the subject of the Blair conference under considera tion was based upon what now seems to have been a too confiding reliance by me on the truth of what he and Mr. Davis told me. It is as true as I exist that I never heard of the Blair proposition until noon Friday, 27th of January, 1805, when Mr. Davis first communicated it to me. Mr. Hunter had only made a general refer ence to it when he told me on the morn ing of that day that Mr. Davis wished to see me at 12 o’clock on the subject. It is also as true as I exist that Mr. Davis told me that Mr. Blair had left the day before, and that he had not men tioned the subject of his mission to any person whatever, except • Mr. Hunter, not even a single member of his Cabinet, but was to have a Cabinet meeting at 4 o’clock that evening on the matter. It is equally true that I remained with Mr. Davis until the Cabinet was announced. As I passed out of the door of liis room they passed in. It is equally true that the commissioners were determined upon by the Cabinet before their adjournment. Hence I stated it was impossible for Mr. Hill to know why each of the commis sioners had been appointed. I took it for granted what Mr. Davis told me was true. It is moreover as true as that I still survive, however “imbecile” in body I may bo, that Mr. Hill called at my room either the night before Mr. Davis sent for me, or the night before that (I am not certain which), when we talked fully about the commission to be raised the next week by Congress under the resolutions prepared by me. He then spoke as if lie was in cordial support of the movement, but stated that lie was to start for Georgia the next morning, and took his leave of mo accordingly. In this last interview between us in Rich mond he did not give me the slightest information that he kuewanything about Mr. Blair’s proposition. I did not see him in Richmond afterwards. He was not there on my return from Hampton Roads, and the next I heard of him after he took his leave of me, as I have stated, he was in Georgia. These are the grounds on which I predicated what I said about his not be ing in Richmond during the time Mr. Davis had the subject of acceding to Mr. Blair’s proposition under considera tion. From what he now says I will not undertake to affirm that lie was not there, but leave him to settle the ques tion as he pleases. In the estimation of honorable men it will make no differ ence which way ho settles it. His pres ent version of liis conduct in the whole affair, and his confessed deceit, double dealing and duplicity towards me is per fectly consistent with liis telling me that he was going to Georgia when lie inten ded to do no sncli thing, but to continue to link about Richmond, keeping out of my sight, while he might watch the working of his scheme to defeat a move ment which ho professed to support. This matter of liis presence in Rich mond is, however, at best, only a side and collateral issue. It does not touch the real merits of the controversy be tween us. Aud since Mr. Hill’s show ing, it becomes a matter of very little importance how the fact is so far as “in famy” is concerned. Now, in reference to the conference proposed by Mr. Blair, it may be proper for me here to re-state that it was, in no sense whatever, a peace commission properly so-called. It proposed noth ing but a secret military convention, with the views and objects before stat ed. My reason for advising Mr. Davis to accede to it are fully given in my account of the Hampton Roads Conference. I had no idea, Jiowever, at the time that he was using it, and deceiving me (ac cording to Mr. Hill’s showing), for the sole purpose of defeating the movement proposed by me, and which, according to gene;al understanding, would be adopted the next week by a mojority of both Houses of Congress. Mr. Hill, in his last “Carmagnole,” confines himself simply to what he calls a history of the Hampton Roads Com mission, but utters not one word about the conference under it. It is a fact to be noted that lie does not assail or question a single statement of my his tory of the conference itself. He neither assails its fullness or accuracy. This was the point to which he was chal lenged. He does not even question the fact that Mr. Davis assured me that no body know anything about it except Mr. Hunter. But what he s&vs about the meeting of the Georgia delegation in my room early in January, and our con- sultation upon the resolutions I then submitted, deserves some notice from me. According to his account, after the delegation had agreed to support them on the terms stated, he went over to the Executive Mansion and conversed with Mr. Davis until midnight, concocting with him a scheme by which I was to be circumvented. My recollection is very distinct that after I read the resolutions to him and he had ol jeeted only to that feature which provided for the appoint ment of the commissioners by Congress, and not by the President; and 1 had explained to him my reason lor this pro vision, which was to relieve Mr. Davis from the embarrassment in which he would be placed from his thei recent speeches against the call of ageneulcon . vention of States as an initiatory sfep for Negotiations of peace, Are., he seemed to be satisfied with the explanation, and sa'd that in that view of the subject In thought Mr. Davis himself would not object to them. I told him the best way to settle that question was for him to take the resolutions over to Mr. Davis and submit them to him. The Execu tive Mansion was but a short way across the street from my quarters. This he did. The delegation awaited his return. He was gone but a short time, and re-» ported that he had read the resolutions to Mr. Davis, and that he would not ob ject to them. This is my recollection upon that point. It is true Mr. Hill did say, in case the commissioners should be appointed as proposed, that I ought to be one of them, and when I told him no, he urged his views; but to the last I stated that I had no desire to be on the commission—l did not think I ought to be. It is utterly untrue, however, that I objected to the appointment of Mr. Hunter on that occasion or at any time on the commission then under consid eration. As to what he says about my agreeing to write to Gov. Brown not to call the Legislature together on conditions that the delegation would support my reso lutions, I have no recollection of any thing of the sort. I do not usually make bargains of such a character.— Moreover, I thought at the time it was highly expedient that the Legislature should be convenes} in order to take proper action to arrest the demoraliza tion set forth in the letter of Judge Hansel]. I have no question that I as sured the delegation that I would use my utmost influence with Gov. Brown against recommending any separate State action looking to the withdrawal of Georgia from the Confederacy and making separate terms of peace for her self with the Federal authorities. I had no idea Gov. Brown contemplated any Sncli tliiDg. How could lor any body entertain such an opinion of him in the face of his letter in reply to an overture of this character from Gen. Sherman ? In Oov. Brown’s reply to Gen. Sher man he said: “ ‘Como weal or come woe,’ the State of Georgia never should by his consent withdraw from the Con federation in dishouor. She will never make separate terms with the enemy, which may free her territory from inva sion, and leave her Confederates in the lurch.” I may have assured the delega tion that in case I discovered anv change of policy on the part of Gov. Brown in this respect, that I would use my ut most influence against it. With the views of my brother, Hon. Linton Stephens, I wrs fully acquaint ed. We were in almost daily corres pondence, and the imputation east upon his memory by Mr. Hill, that he was to take the lead in the Legislature for a movement looking to the making of separate terms of peace by Georgia, is as unfounded as it is unjust. One of the most sacred duties now resting upon me is to vindicate his memory from such unpatriotic and dishonorable conduct as the insinuation imports. He was fully informed of the nature and character of my resolutions, aud gave them liis cor dial approval. Indeed they were but the embodiment of our mutual views and seutiineutsnpon the subject. 1 believed also then, and believe now, they were in full accord with the policy of Governor Brown. These resolutions will be given to the public hereafter, when lam able again to resume the subject. From them it will be seen how far the “ Vice-Presi dent,” “ Hon. Linton Stephens,” and “Governor Brown,"the “malcontents” of Georgia, so-called, were attempting to head a “Counter-Revolution.” Alexander H. Stephens. [For the Sunday Cliromelo and Sentinel.] EARLY REMINISCENCES OF OOV. GEO. IV. TOWNS, OF GEORGIA. HY n. C. STEVENSON. All of sixty years ago George W. Towns, then a vigorous and intelligent youth of fourteen years of age, whilst riding a spirited horse in Putnam coun ty, Georgia, received a fall which broke one or two of liis ribs, and so injured his lungs that ho spat blood’ for more than a year. Indeed lie never wholly recovered from the wounds that morning, which finally paralysed his whole body aud produced death forty five years later. He was so weakened physically that physicians advised his father not to confine him to the school room, as that would in their opinion be fatal. About the year 1817 the uncle of George, who had married a sister of liis father, and whose name was Simms, died in Montgomery, Ala., leaving a large for tune, and a request that Mr. Towns should administer upon the estate. So soon as the necessary preparations could be made lie set out for Montgomery, taking liis sou George with him. After ai riving and examining into the affairs of his dead brother-in-law, lie raw that it would require all of one year’s hard work to settle up his affairs and divide out correctly the property left. His own affairs in Georgia not justifying his absence for anything like sollong a time, he went into Court and had liis sou George appointed the administrator. He at once entered upon the duties of the office, at which lie assiduously worked for one year, hoping at the end of that time to bo able to return home, lint he had not got more than half through, and finding time hanging rath er heavily upon liis naturally restless and active disposition, lie was induced to embark in the business of merchan dizing in Montgomery. Having no ex perience whatever in the thousand in tricate hut absolutely necessary details of the business, although a young men of remarkably fine mind, ho was not successful; still lie managed to keep up liis credit for four years, or until he was about twenty-one years of age. He one day took an inventory of all his assets and liabilities and was astonished and mortified to find that he owed $12,000 more than his assets were worth. For several days he brooded over what was best to do. Above all things ho dis liked the idea of making a failure, but seeing that he was obliged to unless some unexpected relief could be ob tained, lie finally determined to seek council of his friends. After this de termination was reached ho sat down and wrote a formal invitation to three lawyers and to two physicians to come and take supper with him a few even ings from date. The in vita ions wore accepted aud when the table was an nounced ready the broken merchant and the future Governor of Georgia took a seat at the head. Up to this time and during the repast young Towns had not said a word about the real reason he had invited them to meet him. They all supposed him a flourish ing merchant, and thought he merely wished them to spend an hour or two over the table with him for the pleasure of their company. Rut when the sup per was finished, and all were looking for a signal from him to rise, ho order ed the servant to hand him a set of books, which had lain unobserved upon a table in one corner of the room. Open ing one of these, he said, “Gentlemen, lam a broken merchant, and have call ed you hero for the purpose of getting your advice. Before going into the de tails of my private affairs, I wish to make you the promise that whatever you advise mo to do in the future 1 will follow.” He then read to them item after item of his assets and liabilities, winding up by showing them that the latter exceeded the former by $12,000. The company were astonished, for they all thought he was making money rapidly. The two doctors at once ad vised him to close the door of the store and study medicine. TAr of the three lawyers present advisecl that he close aud" study law. The till'd lawyer and tlie fifth guest was a mfn by the name of Baker. After listening patiently to the arguments of the lest he advised that the store he closed, aud only enough of tlie assets of it to pay his board one year jn advance and enough clothes to do him for that length of time be re served. Then to come to his office and study law, his library being free to him. But just here young Towns said that aniußg his debts was one of honor to a German merohantof Montgomery, which he hogged for the privilege of paying. To this they all aeeeded, and the party 1 broke up. On the following day he sought out the German friend and told him frankly what had und what was about to take place, at the same time exhibiting his inventory .and asking him to select whatever he preferred that would com pletely satisfy Ilia olaim. The good old German was struck with the honesty and candor of his young debtor. “Is there no way that you know of, Mr. Towns, to avoid breaking?" “None, save one, and that would require SIO,OOO, which amount you see I have not. I know of some town lots in Montgomery which can be bought for that money, and in one or two years they will double in value.” Tlie lota were pointed out, and the interview ended by the German making liis selections from tlie assets, but telling him to stop the store and “ I will see you iu a few days about those lots.” The business was wound up, all cred itors paid pro rata, and notes given for the balance. After it was all settled Towgs went to Baker's office and commenced reading the first volume of Blackstone. That very morn ing, whilst sitting before the fireplace and mechanically reading his first lesson in law, with his mind wholly upon his disastrous efforts at selling goods, some one quietly opened the door behind him and stood "there watering him for a mo ment or two. “(food mornin , George,” said his German friend. “I cam? to ask you to take a walk with me.” The book was closed and they started. Not a word was spoken by until they had walked a mile :\nd a half. I‘George, take this check to the bank and you will receive the S10,000.” The money was immediately invested in the town lots. They are now right in die heart of the business portion of M mtgomery. Before a year they had doubled in value, when enough were sold to pay up the notes then due. Before the en:l of the ofcoond year it only took a small portion of the remainder to pay up the bilance and also his old German friend. Be then Inylt a hotel upon one of the vacart lots and called it “the In dian Queen. 1 ’ This was leased to a re sponsible par-y and the house formally opened. Amuig Cs numerous boarders and guests was Mr. Towns liimself. Gpe day whilst the \nests were dining, among whom wefe many ladies, Both married and single, a drunken fellow reeled into the room and took his seat at the table. He soon commenced a boisterous conversation, into which he introduced many low blackguard words. The landlord tried to quiet him, and en deavored to get lnm to leave, which only made him the ’raise, twice pvpr. At last Towns interfered, when a scuffle in sued, during wiijah Towns stabbed him to death. At the preliminary trial he was admitted to bail in the sum of $lO,- 000, which he had no trouble giving. He was duly indicted by the next grand jury and brought into Court and placed upon final trial. Able attorneys were retained cn both sides ap.d the Court room was filled from day to day with spectators. There was one man who not only acted a frequent spectator, but who was acting au important part on the outside of the Court room. He had chartered a fleet boat and a full crew, aud given no other instructions than to keep on hand night and day, un til a man on horseback, who might Le expected at any moment, sprang' on board. Then the cable was to he cut with an axe and the boat put on the op posite bank of the river as quick as pos sible. Ten dollars a day anyhow was guaranteed to each man.aiid in'the event the horse and man were safely landed on the other side, S2O extra to each. The boat was two miles below the town, and those who chose to look that way must have seen a noble horse, which was kept constantly hitched to the Court House fence, or rather a hitching rein, loosely thrown over the top of a post. The Judge was holding Ins Court on the second floor. Immediately under one of the windows on the ground lielow a large dry goods box was placed before the trial commenced. Upon the top of this dry goods box, every day during the trial the old German friend of young Towns regularly took his seat. If the lid had been lifted it would have beeu found to contain two large feather beds, upon which a man might have leaped from the window above without being hurt in tlio least. He sat there smoking his pipe serenely, occasionally talking to a friend, and to all questions about the box replied that it had been put there by some of the Court House officials to hold fuel, at least ho sup posed it was for fuel, as it had a lock and hinges upon the top lid. But these precautions of liis bonds men were not necessary. The jury brought in a verdict of not guilty, anil instead of jumping out of the window,lu walked down tlie stairs as free as the thousands of friends who were con gratulating him. Disposing of his property, he returned to Georgia, and for twenty odd years thereafter this little sign hung out from a room in the town of Talbortton, “ Towns & Smith, Attorneys at Law.” During that time lie was elected a member of Congress, and married a Miss Campbell, a niece of Judge Tracy, hut she died the day after becoming his wife. In Washington ho woed and won Miss Jones, a ’daughter of the then Representative in Congress from the Petersburg District. Twice elected Governor of Georgia, lie finally became a citizen of Macon, where lie erected the house now owned by E. E. Brown, and in which lie died, leaving a Nvidow, four or five daughters and one son, all of whom aro still living—one daughter residing in New York, tlie son in Knoxville, Tenn., another daughter nt Dalton, Ga., ami another and her mother in Taylor coun ty. * Macon, May 8, 1874. OPIUM EATING. The Practice iu the United States. [From tlio Cincinnati Gazctto.l Opium enters are found among nil classes. Clergymen and lawyers, whose brains are overtasked, are often led to adopt the fatal assistance of this drug, and some of the finest lights at the bar are, in no small degree, due to its use.— Many of the hack writers, who manu facture the sensation stories for the cheap newspaper, press work up to tlie necessary excitement by eating opium. A large number of students at our col leges are opium eaters. This follows, as a matter of course, the free use of to bacco. If the excitement of the latter be a delight, how much greater pleasure must there be iu the more subtle and refined excitement of opium ? and hence there are many talented younger colle gians who dream away their time, ami when they attend recitations, which is seldom, make free use of the “pony.” Large numbers of nervous ladies in high station use opium to give new life to their effete and exhausted frames ; perhaps the largest, proportionate con sumption is among this class. They prepare for the enjoyments of a party or ball by the use of this stimulus, and when it has brought the system to its acme, they shine with unusual brillian cy. The use of stimulants as a prepara tion for social enjoyment is prodigious, and in a large party perhaps one-lialf of the guests arc keyed up by opium or Bourbon to a proper state of felicity. The reason why opium is becoming more popular is because its devotee need not incur the opprobrium inseparable from tlie drunkard. He need carry no bottle with him, and liis breath will not smCll of liquor. His stock can be put in his vest pocket, and can lie used imperceptibly to the world. Having these advantages over fire-water, we do not wonder at the increase of the former, and the only reason why it does not become almost universal as a sub stitute for alcoholic drinks is simply be cause they are social while opium is not. The result of this general use of opi um is now beginning to show itself through the country. The question now is, how shall the evil be arrested ? Among other means we have the adver tisements of quacks, who ofl'oi a remedy for tlio shattered constitution and the half lunatic intellects which are the re sult of this habit, but being quacks they only suggest the evil without showing a way of escaping it. Instead of asylums for cure, we need to check the evil in its inception, and its danger should bo clearly published. Lot every one who may be tempted to adopt the assistance of the fascination of tlfis pernicious drug learn that its use can only result in intellectual and physical ruin. It appears from the Custom House re turns that the amount of opium import ed into this country (reaching now near ly 250,000 pounds annually) is ten times more than it was thirty years ago, and that,in the opinion of druggists and phy sicians, not more than one-third is used for medical purposes. In reply to ques tions sent to druggists throughout the State, it was found they Hold, without any prescription, large quantities of opium, morphine and laudanum to indi viduals who aro in the habit of using it for its stimulating effect. D E MOCK ATI O REJOICING. Annual Keuuion of the Manhattan Club. New York, May B.—The annual re union of tlio Manhattan Club took place last evening. It, is regarded as of much political importance aside from its social character. The assemhlauce was very large—among others wero Augustus Bclie.ll, Richard Schell, .August Bel mont, Oswald AUendorfetf Thomas F. Bayard, of Delaware; Geu. Ransom, of North Carolina; Senator John B. Gor don, ex-Reuator James A. Bayard, of Delaware; ex-Senator Bradbury, ex- Senator Benj. Stark, of Oregon; ex-Gov ernor Randolph, of New Jersey; ex-Gov ernor Lawrence, of Rhode Island; ex- Judge Osborn, of Illinois; ex-Judge Shipman, of Connecticut.; Henry B. Smith, of Vermont; Stokes Berd, of Pennsylvania; Olias. W. Oarrigan, of Pennsylvania; Judge Samuel J. Tilden, Smith Weed, 11. C. Camp, Amasa J. Parker, of New York; Henry C. Murphy, Clarkson N. Potter, Francis Kenran, J. V. L. Pruyn, Judges Gilbert and ltopel la, Justice Ivilbeck, Judge Brady, Olius. ! O'Conor, Fernando, Wood, Benj. Wood ; and Algernon S. Sullivan. Augustus j Schell introduced the speakers. He said ho believed the day was not far distant whon a Democratic Administra tion at Washington would restore good government to the country. Speeches were made by Amasa J. Parker, Senator Bayard, Gov. McEnery, of Louisiana; ex-Senator Bradbury, of Main?, and Hon. J. D. Smith, of Vermont. Loiters were read from Edmund Burke, Gov. Hendricks, Senator Steven on, Georgo H. Pendleton, John Quincy Adams, Heiater Clymer, John K. Tar on, Gideon Wells, Win. Pinckney Whyte, M. C. Kerr, Senator Hager and Senator Bogy, expressing regret at their inabili ty to attend. CONDITION OP THIS RIVERS. ■ Washington, May 9.- The Signal Of fice reports that during the past 24 hours, that the Mississippi has fallen 3 inches at St. Paul, risen slightly from LaCross to Warsaw, and has fallen thence to New Orleans, except at Hele na, where a rise of 4 inches is reported. During the week ending yesterday the total fall at St. Paul lias been 1 foot; at Memphis and Vicksburg, 3 inches, aild at New Orleans two inches, while at Helena it lias risen 2 feet, and at St. Louis 10 inches. The Missouri contin ues falling atall ututmns, exoept Boones ville, where it has risen 4 inches. The Ohio has fallen at all stations except Paducah, where it has risen 5 inches, which is due to the iniliience of the Ten nessee. During the week the total fall at Pittsburg has been3 feet and o inches; at Cincinnati, 18 feet, and at Louisville, 11 feet. The lied river has fallen 13 inches at Shreveport, making the total fall (luring the week 2i feet. The Ar kansas;, Cumberland, Alleghany and Mo nongahela oontinuJs falling steadily. There has been no rainfall during tiie day at any of the stations within the water sheds of the rivers named. Railroad Accident, Gordonsville, Va.| May 9.— The Eastern bound morning train on the Washington City and Virginia Midland Railroad ran off the track this a. m. near Rockfert Depot. The engineer, two conductors and baggage master were badly injured, and three passen gers were hurt. No one was seriously injured by the accideut, exoept the palace car condnotor. The train will be an hour behind timo in arriving in Washington. This is the first accident that has ever occurred on the road to in jure any one. There are at present 84 prisoners in the Chutiuw county jail. FROM WASHINGTON. Miscellaneous. ‘ " Washington, May 9.—The Court *of Inquiry acquitted General Howard; The river and . harbor appropriation bill will be reported on Monday. • The Arkansas Question. . The representatives*)! the Arkansas., faction are in conference with the At torney-General, If they fail to come to an agreement the Attorney-General is authorized to issue orders. Negotia tions will not close until midnight. There aro intimations that Williams leans to Baxter. There are seven mil lion of railroad bonds involved, in which it is said Arkansas officials have a slice. The source of trouble seems to have been that Baxter was refruetory*hl>out issuing them. The National Agricultural Congress. The Statistical! of the Department of Agriculture, Mr, Dodge, leaves this city to-morrow to attend the session of the National Agricultural Congress, which opens on Wednesday at Atlanta, Gn., and also with the intention of making certain statistical investigation in the South. Tliis organization, which hold its hist session iu Augusta iu 1870, under the name of the Congress of the Cotton States, lias annually assembled since in different cities of the South and West. Tts sessions continue through the week, the main subjects for discussion being agricultural statistics, industrial educa ention, American forestry, taxation as afflicting agriculture, co-operative busi ness systems and American pomology. Representative men in these specialties are announced to lead iu the discussion. Congressional. The House, in Committee of the Whole concluded the Indian appropriation bill. It will pass Monday. THE CIVIL WAR IN ARKANSAS. Tlio lllooily Work Inaugurated. Little Rock, May 9.—The railroads have been interrupted to stop recruits. Four Brooksito negroes were killed yes terday. The Baxtt‘rites arc confident of a quorum in both Houses Monday. The Brooksites captured the steamer flattie. Frank Simms was killed. Capt. Sam. Houston died from liis wounds. John More, pilot, was mortally wounded. Memphis, May 9.—M mile o’clock and five minutes this morning the Little Rock wires went down, and it is now im possible to communicate with the city either direct or by way of St. Louis or New Orleans. At. last accounts fighting was going on, and the supposition is that all tlio lines have been cut or tlio telegraph office seized. Captain Sam Houston, who was killed yesterday above Little Rock, was formerly Super vising Inspector of Steamboat's at this port. NEW YORK. NEWS. Accident to tlio Steamship Ethiopia. New York, May 9.—Hie steamship Pennsylvania met the steamship Ethio pia, with a broken shaft. She took off her passengers. The Ethiopia proceed ed under sail. Lease of the Atlantic and Great West ern Road by tlie Erie Company. The lease of the Atlantic and Great Western Road by the Erie Company has been practically completed on substan tially the following basis : The Atlantio and Great Western Road, with all its rolling stock and appurtenances, is taken as it stands for a lease of one hun dred years, mid is to be run by the Erie managers at a total rent of thirty per cent, of the gross receipts. Should tlio new managers, however, ever succeed in reducing the running expenses below seventy per cent, of the gross receipts, so as to leave a margin of profit between that amount and thirty per cent, of rent, such margin is to bo divided in equal parts between the contracting parties. Some matters of detail still remain unadjusted, however, und the Conference Committees may not report until Monday. Investigation Ordered. Mayor Ilavonioyor has ordered an in vestigation of (lie charges made against tlie Commissioners of Charities and Correction that they gave contracts to friends and paid exorbitant prices for articles. The Liberal Republicans. Tlio Liberal Republicans of tliis city and Brooklyn have decided to attend the caucus of the representatives of Hie party in the State at. Deloavau House, Albany, Wednesday next. One of tlie Convicts Escapes. Five of tbe six Danish convicts who, arrived hero a few days ago sailed lor' Denmark to-day. The sixth olio man aged to escape and the police aro look -I ing for him. 1 Tlie Death Roll. I The number of deaths flic past weelfl was 488. I .1 udgment in an Important Suit. 1 The general term of the Supreme Court lias given a decision in the great California land case, brought by ox- Governor Price, of New Jersey, against General Erasmus D. Keyes, late of the United States army, and Edmond Scott. The decision directs judgment against Keys and Scott for the full amount, with interests and costs, amounting in all to abouts2so,ooo. The suit was be gun in 1854. FOREIGN. Tlie Political Crisis in Spain. Madrid, May 9. —Replying to an ad dress, Marshal Serrano says that ho de sires a week’s delay to deliberate on tlio political crisis before reconstructing tlio Cabinet. A dispatch from Bilbao snys : General Concha’s troops aro throwing up fortifi cations. Don Carlos and General Elio aro reported to bo at Durango, thirteen miles southeast of Bilbao. Marshal Serrano is suffering from in disposition. The Carlist forces in the north are gradually dissolving. London, May* 9. —A Turns special from Madrid says : Marshal Serrano has declared lie will not solve the political crisis before the expiration of eight days. Meanwhile ho will study the question. The Emperor of Russia. Stuttgart, May 9.—The Emperor of Russia, who has been in this city since the Ctii inst., having conic hither to he present at the marriage of the Grand Dutchess Wjera, will depart hence ou Monday next for England. Ships Cargo Damaged. London, May 9. —The Seward, from Savannah, is at Narva. A part of her cargo is damaged by sea water. From Cuba. New York, May 9.—A letter from Havana, dated April 29th, says: Frede rick Dockray was taken from Neuvitas on the 21th of April, and transferred to the prison in Puerto Principe. There is no doubt but that this was done for securities sake, and the Cubans have been so near Nuevitas as to render the capture of the place not improbable. Nothing new has up to the present been made known regarding his case. PROM QUEBEC. Serious Damage to Shipping. Quebec, May 9.—The loss caused by the ico bridge show yesterday cannot yet be ascertained, but will, at the low est calculation, ex' , 'cJ five hundred thousand dollars. The Dominion Gov ernment are tlio heaviest losers. The Government steamer Napoleon 111. had her side stove in and machinery in jured, and is full of ice. The St. Law rence, a tow boat, and the company’s steamer Napoleon Ilf. are a total wreck. The Quebec and Lower Port Company’s steamship Georgia had a hole stove in her side, and she is nearly full of water. The steamers Castor and Royal are sunk, and are a total loss. The steamer Rescue suuk, and will probably boa to tal loss. In addition to the above num ber, other steamers were more or less damaged, and a schooner was suuk. The ice commenced to pile up at Roche’s Cove, then at Hall’s Booms, where it tore awav a part ol a pier, and at Denning’s it carried away the Nor wegian bark Harold Harfnger, and also sunk steamers and schooners. Prom there it bore down on Blair’s Booms, car rying them away, sinking and duinagiug all the vessels that were in the Booms, and piling sonic of them on top of others. Sentence of a Mail Robber. Wilmington, N. C., May 9.—G. A Haines, a colored mail agent, charged with robbing the mail, plead guilty in the United States District Court, and was sentenced to four years in the peni tentiary. Ho i« « brother ol' the Sec retary of State of South Carolina, who was present during the trial. Methodist Episcopal Church South. Louisville, May 9. —The great sensa tion in the proceedings of the Gcnerul Conference to-day was on the reception of three commissioners from the Metho dist Episcopal Church North. Tlio commissioners are Rev. A. S. Hunt,. D.D.; Rev. 0. H. Powler, and General Clinton B. Fisk. Criminals Sentenced, Baltimore, May 9.—ln the Criminal Court to-day, Chas. Rose, convicted of a most shocking crime, was sentenced to twenty-one years in the penitentiary. Chas. H. Jones, colored, convicted of murder, was sentenced to be hanged.
