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Address WALSH A WRIGHT,
<<niosoq.k A Kkviiso'. Aut>n*t*. fir?.
(Lljrontcle and jjnitfml.
WEDN ESDAY.SEPTEMBEE 30, 1874.
MINOR TOPIC'B.
The Radicals of Jones county, composed en
tirely of colored men, had a political meeting
the other day. and nominated one of their own
color for tlio Legislature. They asked some
white Democrats to draw tip a series of reso
lutions, and the result is a curiosity in politics
—a Radical Convention pledging itself to sup
port Democratic principles.
In a great city like London there are always
houses which, from some accidental cause,
pass away from any responsible ownership.
Home times they are occupied by tenants, who,
in the tirst n stance, pay no rent, and then
gradually assume the rights < f landlords. It
is said there is a company in London organized
solely to make a prulit by taking j oseession of
such property and either holding it or finding
owners. •
A colored Republican in North Carolina says
the clause in the Civil Rights bill insisting on
mixed schools, besides changing an established
system of public education in the South, and
further intensifying the feeling between the
races, would deprive thousands of young col
ored men and women of their occupation as
teachers, and thus do them a great wrong, be
sides endangering the mccess of die public
school system in the South. 'That’s so.
The New York papers of Sat urday announced
that Governor Dix was seriously ill at his Hum
mer residence, at West Hampton. Ho was
suffering from external poisoning from wild
ivy. as well aH from erysipelas. At last accounts
the qp'sipelas had been checked, hut he was
still qpn fined to his bed with the poison, his
face and limbs being badly swollen. Governor
Dix is over eighty years of ago. Ho and Gov.
Allen, of Ohio, are two of the oldest prominent
American politicians now living.
The other night “Dr. Sizemore’s ‘stomach
hitters’ establishment,” at Asheville, N. C., was
assaulted with stones and had its windows
broken by “soveral men in a squad.” We’ll he
bound that Grant makes that squad howl. He
doesn’t care to interfere in the indiscriminate
plundering of the Southern people, nor in the
overturning of legitimate State governments,
hutho feels that when the scoundrels make a
midnight assault upon Southern whisky, .they
are running the thing into the ground.
They have a parliamentary proceeding down
in Florida that heats anything in Congress. At
a late Radical District Convention in that
State, two nominees, Martin ami Furman, con
tended for the President’s chair. Martin got
in first, hut ho had to rise to put a motion, and
then Purnian slipped in behind him and seated
himself in tlio chair. Martin understood parlia
mentary rules better than that; so ho took
Purman by the collar and the seat of his
breeches and landed him sprawling on the
lloor. And thus “do pint ob order” was dc
oido 1 in favor of Martin.
It will ho noted that the South Carolina
Radical State Convention unanimously declared
in favor of Gen. Grant for a third term. The
intringuo is developing its programme. We
have repeatedly said Gen. Grant can. by the
support of tlio negroes and the Federal office
holders, carry tlio vote of every Southern State
for re-noiuination in the Radical National Con
vention. His late orders for overrunning the
Southern States with troops were a hid for the
negro, instead of tlio white support, of this
section, and South Caroiina leads off in a direc
tion which every other Southern Radical State
Convention will follow.
As authorized hy an act of the Legislature,
the Governor and State Treasurer of Virginia
give notice that a conference will be held in
the Capitol, at Richmond, at P 2 o’clock, in., on
Tuesday, the 10th of November next, between
all the creditors of the State, homo and for
eign. or their accredited deputies, and the Gov
ernor and Treasurer as commissioners for Vir
ginia. Tlio object of the conference into effect
such an exact, authentic understanding of tlio
resources and liabilities of Virginia, and to
consider such propositions for a final agree
ment between the partiesintorostod, as will af
ford the best attainable security for the rights
and interests both of the public creditors and
the Commonwealth.
The fulmo of tlio hog crop is yot uncertain.
Many believe that tlio product will almost
equal that of last year, wliilo others are pre
dicting that it will show a decrease of from 10
to ‘2O per cent, on account of tho short crop of
corn and tho smallness of tho hogs now being
sent forward. Tho serious damage to tho
corn crop in Kansas ami the neighboring sec
tion has forced hogs to Illinois and Indiana,
where they will he highly fed hy tho most ex
traordinary crops of corn and wheat ever grown
in those two States. Chicago will have those
stocks at her do r. and, as a consequence, will
lie aide to dictate prices, to a great extent,
throughout the coming season.
Any one who may find astray balloon, with a
lady and gentleman in it. is earnestly request
ed to communicate with the authorities of
Calais in France. On the lllst of August, M.
Duruof. who was the first a'rouaut to leave
Paris during the siege, w as announced to make
an a'nal voyage from Calais to England in com
pany with his wife. The wind proved to be in
tho wrong direction and a postponement was
resolved upon : but at dinner in the hotel. M.
and Mine. Ihirnof were taunted with timidity,
which so enraged them that they rushed from
the table, got into the basket and at seven
o'clock were seen mounting into space with a
reasonable certainty of being blown over the
North Sea. Nothing had since been heard of
them at our latest mad advices, and as ihe
balloon was too small to keep afloat during a
long voyage, it is not likely that anything more
ever will be heard. Well, it must have been a
great satisfaction to them, as they went under
the waves, to reflect that nobody would taunt
them with cowardice again.
A correspondent of tlie None Wiener Tag- i
Mall, writing from London, says that the initi- !
ative by Germany in Spanish affairs was not ;
better received in England than in Russia
“Indeed." lie adds, ••when the news name that
the Berlin Cabinet had given orders to send a
whole flotilla. under Hear Admiral lTonok. to ]
the Bay of Biscay, the displeasure felt in Eng
land at th s incident were in no way concealed.
• * * Count Munster, the German Ambas
sador. immediately telegraphed to Kisseugen.
aud the consequence was that, instead of a
flotilla- two small ships only were sent, which |
could not even suffice to blockade the Canta
brian Coast. * * * Gieat value was at
tached in London to this concession, and when
Conut Munster communicated the German cir
cular of the 4tli of August to the foreign office
ou the Sth of that mouth, the British Govern
ment decided to go hand-iu-hand with Ger
many in the matter." Prince Bismarck ap
, to have received many checks in his
business, and especially from Mr. lfisrarli’s
Cabinet.
Thk Now York lit raid plentifully Ire
sprinkled its editorial page ou the day
of the announcement of the revolution
in Louisiana with paragraphic allusions
to what that “madman Toombs” said in
his Atlanta speech. The Ht raid affects
to think from these utterances that the
South is ou the eve of another war. The
Jit raid should remember that the South
is no longer led by madmen, and con
tain its soul in patience. Why not
quote a little from Smith and Gordon
and ConyciTT. who are leaders ?
The Rome Courier says that as mat
ters now stand there is good reason to
believe that the Seventh District will be
represented in the next Congress by a
Radical, if the forces of the Democracy
do not unite. We hope that the good
men of the Seventh will spare their Dis
trict and their State such a disgrace. -
Every Democrat is bound in honor to
support Col. Trammell, the nominee of
the party, and a bolter is as bad as a
Radical.
COLUMBIA COUNTY.
Below we publish the action of one of
i the largest and moat influential organi
zation sos the Patrons of Husbandry in
Columbia on the recent murders in that
county. Every good citizen of the county
will heartily endorse the words which
the members of Harmony Grange have
so fitly spoken. Yesterday, in com
menting upon the crime of Sunday
night, we took occasion to say that the
people of Columbia did nbt sympathize
with murderers or approve assassination,
and these resolutions afford ample evi
dence of the truth of our assertion.
They “ cannot too strongly condemn
these and similar lawless, uncivilized
and savage acts;” they pledge themselves
to use every means in their power in as
sisting the authorities to ferret out the
murderers who shoot dt-fenseless men and
women under cover of darkness; and they
publish their proceedings to the world in
order that the world which has heard of
these atrocities may also know that their
perpetrators have not the sympathy of
the community which they have dis
graced by their bloody excesses. We
predict that there will he no similar acts
in Columbia, or that, if there should be,
the misguided men who commit them
will speedily discover that there are
juries which convict and Courts which
punish. The good people of the county
have cried halt to violence and murder,
and evil disposed men will do well to
heed the warning which is so plainly
and emphatically sounded. We do not
need United States soldiers and United
States Courts to punish crime in Geor
gia. Our people are able to enforce
their own laws, and Huy/) intend to do it.
In the meantime every effort will he
made to detect and punish the men who
were the participants in the outrage
committed iu Columbia last Sunday j
night. Below will he found the resolu- I
tions to which we have referred :
Harmony Grange, (
Columbia Cos., Ga., Sept 18, 1874. i
On motion, a committee of three was
appointed by the Worthy Master, to
which he was by vote added, to consider
the conduct of certain unknown individ
uals in shooting two colored persons a
few days since in the upper part of the
county, and to report this afternoon.
The committee to whom the matter
was referred beg leave to report the fol
lowing: First: That we cannot too
strongly condemn this and similar law
less, uncivilized and savage acts. They
are a subversion - of the cause of human
ity and the best interest of our people.
Second: That the colored people in our
midst are entitled to the protection of
our laws, and we pledge ourselves to
use all means iu our power—not except
ing our purses—in assisting the proper
authorities iu ferreting out the murder
ers, and call on all good citizens of Co
lumbia county to do the same. Third:
That these proceedings be published in
the city papers of Augusta and the
McDuffie Journal.
J. A. Walton, E. .T. Dozier, G. A. Hill
and G. W. Evans, committee.
A true extract from the minutes.
J. A. Walton, Secretarv.
G. W. Evans, W. M.
COTTON MANUFACTURING IN THE
SOUTH.
An advance sheet from the Commer
cial and Financial Chronicle furnishes
some interesting figures iu connection
with the consumption of cotton hy the
Southern States. The increase in South
ern consumption has been as marked as
it is gratifying. It lias risen from ninety
thousand hales iu 1869-70 to one hun
dred and thirty thousand hales in
1873-74, and hut for tlio evil results of
the pauic the Chronicle thinks that the
consumption would have reached nearly
one hundred and forty thousand bales.
The following table shows tlie consump
tion and the number of mills and spin
dles iu each of the Southern States :
States. Mills. Spindles. Bales.
Alabama. .. 16 57,694 13,773
Arkansas. . ‘2 1,256 293
Georgia 42 137,330 39,920
Kentucky... 4 10,500 4,047
Louisiana... 3 15,000 2J90
Mississippi. 11 15,150* 2,T>45
Missouri.... 4 18,656 7,288
N. Caiolina. 30 55,498 14,726
S. Carolina. 18 62,872 15,376
Tennessee.. 42 47,053 13,518
Texas 4 10,225 2,755
Virginia... 11 56,490 11,496
Total 187 487,629 128,526
From this table it will he seen that of
the one hundred and eighty-seven mills
in tlie South, forty-two, or nearly one- j
fourth of the whole number, are operated |
iu Georgia, while of four hundred and j
eighty-seven thousand spindles, Geor- j
gia runs nearly one-third. Her mills ]
also consume nearly one-third of the ■
number of bales cotton used. It must
be also recollected that two of the j
largest and most successful cottou mills
of South Carolina—-we mean Grauite
ville aud Langley— are run principally
with Georgia capital, that their offices
are in Georgia, and that their chief ex
ecutive officers are Georgians. There is
but little reason to doubt that by the
end of the next decade Georgia will
rank next after Massachusetts in the
manufacture of cotton, aud that Augus
ta will be to Georgia what Lowell is to
Massachusetts.
THE RISING IN LOUISIANA.
The Louisville Courier-Journal, after
opposing violence and bloodshed with
all its might for the past two months,
now, with admirable consistency, cen
sures the people of Louisiana because
they submitted without a struggle to the
forces of the National Government. It
declared in double leads while the con
flict was still pending that if Governor
Penn did not “want to hang as an as
sassin ha must bear himself as a hero;
aud if another rebellion aud civil war is
the consequence let them come.” The
same article said :
If Governor Penn and his advisers
and followers proceeded under the idea 1
that the full power of the Federal Gov
ernment would not be put forth to crush j
the revolt in which the people of Louisi- !
ana arc engaged, they made a woful mis- I
take. If they understood this, the logi- \
cal consequence of their movement must
be a bold and resolute resistance, by j
which, if they hold out long enough, !
they can force the addition of at least
fifty millions to the national debt, and j
may, in the end, precipitate a general j
civil war. They have nothing to lose, i
aud everything to gain, by carrying out |
the measure of revolution they have be-!
gun. If they do Hot, they are mere j
rioters, exposed to vindictive proseeu- j
tions for murder. * * * But, if we
. are to act on a different line, let us act :
together, forcing the North to recon
quer us and give us a military govern
ment, or else to do us justice. The
; Government we have is a farce. The
whole South prefers an empire, a king;
therefore, let us, if we are not goiDg to
be governed by peaceful suggestions,
compel the North, oy a state of war
which its whole energies will be required
to suppress, to change its form of gov
ernment; to hold the South as a van
quished province; to relinquish the
revenues drawn from our prosperity,
and to turn us over to the negroes, bag
and baggage, body and breeches. Let
us crush out the miserable lie which
Radicalism keeps before the country
and the world—that this is a free coun
try.
When the news of the surrender came
the same paper denounced it as an
“ignominious and absurd back-down.”
These words may be very line, but they
are also very foolish and it is a matter
for congratulation that the people of
New Orleans did not think proper to
follow such silly counsel. The Courier-
Journal either misunderstrnds or mis
represents the motives of the leaders of
the recent movement in Louisiana and
the object of the outbreak. They never
intended to force a conflict with the
j Government of the United States, nor
I were they actuated in their conduct bv
any sentiment of hostility to that Govern
ment or any desire to make their State
secede from the American Union. They
did not wish to make a forcible issue
with the national authorities, and they
were also very well convinced of the
folly of attempting armed resistance to
its power. They rose expecting to have
the support of that Government, know
ing full well if they did not they
j could not stand for an instant.
The idea of Penn and of his party
seemed to be that if they were able to
overthrow the usurpation and establish
the legally elected government through
out the State they would not he inter
fered with By the Administration until
the meeting of Congress, when they
could expect a thorough investigation
of their case, and a final decision upon
its merits. General Grant had main
tained the Kellogg usurpation, after
first placing it iu power, upon the
ground that it was the government de
facto. He had studiously avoided giv
ing any opinion as to its legality ; and
Congress, following in the wake of the
President and expressly declining a
recognition of its rightful character,
refrained from disturbing it, because it
was the only government in existence and
operation in the State. McEnery’s party
doubtless believed that if successful in
their coup d'etat the same principle
would apply to them ; they would be
recognized as the government dc facto if
not de jure, while Kellogg & Company
would he remitted to Congress for re-
dress and for an adjudication of their
claims. They matured their plans and
j struck the blow which was to redeem
them from robber rule. So far as the
capture of the State was concerned, they
met with complete success. But to
their surprise they found that the rule
which had been established and adhered
to for the benefit of a usurper would not
be applied to them. After driving Kel
logg and his hand from the Capitol they
discovered that there was opposed to
them the whole armed power of the
Government, and that they must either
submit or else fight where they did not
wish to fight, and with a force which
.they could not hope to resist success
fully. To avoid the unnecessary shed
ding of blood they surrendered, and
they were right. Their act will receive
the approval of every person who is ca
pable of taking a calm and dispassionate
view of the matter.
GEORGIA POLITICS.
Iu another column] this morning we
publish the letter of accceptance of Mr.
Oscar Thomason, the Democratic nomi
nee for the Legislature in Morgan
county, which we commend to the at
tention of our readers. It will be seen
that Mr. Thomason places himself
squarely against the payment of the
bogus Bullock bonds.
Messrs. Homer C. Glisson, Jos. A.
Shewmake and J. B. Jones have been
nominated for the Legislature by the
Democrats of Burke. They were mem
bers of the last Legislature, and did the
State good service in the committee
rooms andjon the floor of the House.
We learu from the Sparta Times and
Planter that the Democrats of Hancock
have nominated Messrs. John L. Culver
and J. R. Binion for the Legislature.
Mr. Binion takes the place of Hou. Geo.
E. Pierce, Jr. Mr. Culver was a mem
ber of the last General Assembly, and
is a gentleman of fine ability. We hope
that they will be elected hy a rousing
maj onty.
BELLIGERENT BLUSTER.
We are not at all surprised to see that
an attempt is being made by the Radical
papers and politicians to convince the
people of the North and West that the
South is rife for revolt, and that the
country is upon the eve of another war.
They quote the utterances of one or two
fire-eating editors and orators, and hold
them up as a correct reflex of Southern
sentiment, knowing full well that
tho men who make these speeches
and pen these articles speak for few
besides themselves. They quote only
such utterances as are calculated to as
sist their party in its efforts to retain con
trol of the country and the Government.
They parade in glaring head lines the
ridiculous bombast of General Toombs,
and say nothing of what Smith, Gor
don, Stephens and Colquitt say, though
they kuow that the latter are acknow
ledged leaders in Georgia, while the
former is almost entirely destitute of in
fluence and power. One serves their
purposes, the other does not; and they
use that which they find serviceable.
They are attempting to manage the
present campaign as they have every
political contest since reconstruction.
They wish to ignore every issue except
the one on which they hope to achieve
success. They are determined, if possi
ble, to fight again the “war for the
Union.” The finances, the tariff, the
corruption of the present Administration,
the frightful misgovernment of most of
the Southern States—all these dangerous
questions are studiously avoided and the
masses are called upon to oppose a
party whose leaders in the South are
proclaiming hostility to “Yankees” and
advocating another war. Os course it is j
useless for us to tell them that this is not j
true; there are none so deaf as those
who will not hear.. They point to one man
in the South and refuse to see any one
else. Already we have been told by the
most prominent men in the Republican ;
ranks what their party programme is to
be. Butler iu the East and Morton in
the West have both announced the new
policy, or rather a continuance of the
old which has defeated us in every Con
gressional and Presidential election. —
We hope the Democrats of the South
and of the North will not suffer the issue
: to be shifted in this manner, or allow a
[ repetition of the disgraceful tactics
which brought disastrous defeat in ISGB
and 1872. Especially do we look to the
i Democratic press to expose the false
! hoods and misrepresentations of the
I enemy aud to give a truthful account of
affairs in the Southern States and a cor
rect statement of the sentiments of the
j Southern people.
A correspondent of the New York
Herald attempted to interview Jeffer
son Davis, the other day, concerning j
the New Orleans troubles, but failed to
elicit any expression of opinion from the
ex-President of the Confederacy, eitcept
that he sympathized deeply with the
tax-burdened and otherwise oppressed
people of Louisiana, and hoped the so
lution of their difficulties was near at
hand. He made no allusion to the
President nor to his proclamation in
favor of Kellogg. “Even were I to
read from the decalogue,” he said, “any
expression of mine would be sure of
misrepresentation and distortion by
enemies of the Southern people, and
this is reason enough for my refusing to
converse upon political affairs.”
The Radicals of the Ninth District
have nominated Jxo. W. O'Neal as their
candidate for Congress. O'Neal was a
member of the Bullock Legislature
from Lowndes county, but moved to
Gainesville recently, and has been at
tempting to run a Radical paper there
with indifferent success. He has about
as much chance of going to Congress as
Ben Butler has of going to Heaven —
j and this is getting it down very fine.
AUGUSTA, GA., WEDNESDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 30, 1574.
MR. STEPHENS’ GREENESBORO
SPEECH.
We publish this morning in the
Chronicle and Sentinel a full report
|of the speech recently delivered in
Greenesboro by Hon. Alexander H.
Stephens. We take pleasure in com
mending it to the careful attention of
our readers. The noble sentiments ix
pressed are calculated to do Georgia and
the whole South great good at this
critical juncture, when such a strong
effort is being made to stir up anew war
against the Southern States. We trust
that those Radical papers which have
quoted so freely the utterances of a few
fiery orators and editors to our damage
will have the justice to quote a little
from Mr. Stephens. We cannot agree
with him in his opinion of General
Grant, or in the measure of responsi
bility for the troubles in Louisiana,
which be seeks to place upon him, hut
we can and do approve everything which
he has said upon other subjects.
THE BOGUS BONDS.
The Atlanta Constitution regrets to
see such papers as the Savannah News
and the Chronicle and Sentinel in
anywise favoring a call for an extra ses
sion of the Legislature. It pains us to
have occasioned our worthy cotemporary
any uneasiness, Vint then what could we
do under the circumstances ? We saw
that a convenient loop-hole had been
left for the payment of several millions
of dollars of fraudulent indebtedness,
which had been almost unanimously re
pudiated by one Legislature of the peo
ple and which a second Legislature in
tended to disown, and we were anxious
that tlie mistake which had been made
should be rectified. Hence we advocated
the calling of an extra session of the
Legislature, and brought sorrow to the
breast of the Constitution. That paper
says it was urged that the Governor
should “run tlie State to a heavy expense
by convening the Legislature to correct
its own error.” The Constitution is mis
taken. The Governor was not urged to
run the State to any heavy expense. He
was asked to call a session for the pass-
age of one bill, which would save mil
lions to the tax payers—a session which
need not at the outside have lasted more
than a week or cost more than a few
thousand dollars. Tho Constitution
thinks that the Governor lias no evidence
that the Legislature made a mistake,
and that the General Assembly, if con
vened, would feel it “due to their own
dignity” to repel such an assumption on
the part of the Governor, as otherwise
their action would be “equivalent to a
confession of their own ignorance and
incompetency.” We think that the Gov
ernor knows very well what the Legisla
ture intended to do and we think that
he will be very willing to confess the
error made by himself in sign
ing a bill which lie must now be
well aware did not embody tlie wishes
of the people. We are very confident
that the members of the Legislature
would have been glad of an opportunity
to rectify a mistake which may he the
source of much mischief. The spe
cial pleading of the Constitution as to
the intention of the Legislature will de
ceive no one—not even its own editors.
The Senator who framed the amendment
has publicly confessed its insufficiency,
and explained how the mistake came to
he made. We think that few men, in
view of the action of the Legislature
upon the “compromise” offered hy the
Ti.'nfy, will Dellevo Il.tvt 41.„ UtlJy
intended to prepare the way for a much
more liber:d settlement with that un
scrupulous body. We are very well
aware that it is now too late for an extra
session of the General Assembly;
that Gov. Smith has declined to cor
rect his own mistake in signing or to give
the Legislature an opportunity to cor
rect its mistake in adopting such a lame
and impotent amendment; that he has
unhesitatingly taken tlie responsibility
of postponing for more than two years
an opportunity to rid the State forever
of this heavy burden of fraudulent in
debtedness. Governor Smith knows
how near this matter is to the hearts
of the honest people of Georgia. He
knows how firmly they have set their faces
against tlie payment of a single dollar of
the debt which was created by the
frauds of Bullock and his accomplices.
He knows that the Ring will never cease
its efforts until a constitutional amend
ment is interposed between them
and the door of tlie Treasury. And
knowing all these things, lie has not
acted. We suppose that he was well
aware what, would be the consequences
of his inaction; that his course was de
termined upon after reflection, and that
he has an explanation to offer his con
stituents. In common with the rest of
them, we shall be glad to hear what he
has to say upon this subject.
A few words more to our Atlanta co
temporary. The Constitution, in its ar
ticle, says: “However much we may
regret, with Mr. Hillyer and with our
cotemporaries, that the bill was not
broader,” so as to include all the bonds
at once,” etc. Does the Constitution re
gret the negligence which failed to em
brace all the Bullock bonds in the pro
posed amendment ? If so we are glad
to know it; to learn that in the future
the influence of that journal aud the
talent of its editor will be found on the
side of the people and against the bond
holders. At one time we understood it
to be an advocate of the odious com
promise, but we shall be rejoiced to
know that we were mistaken, or else
that our cotemporary has thought better
of the matter.
The Providence (R. I.) Journal re
cords the existence in Rhode Island of
Anti-Temperance Ku-Klux, who, says
the Journal, “hate a temperance man
as fiercely as their Mississippi prototypes
hate a negro.” It mentions several in
stances of advocates of prohibition being
assailed and beaten by the Anti-Tem
peranee Ku-Klux ruffians, and appears
to apprehend that these outrages are
“part of a concocted plan to overawe
and intimidate the advocates of a pro
hibitory law.” He-e is something for
the consideration of the President and
his Attorney-General. Will General
Grant issue his proclamation, “cry
havoc, and let slip the dogs of war ”
upon these Rhode Island Ku-Klux ?
Does the madman Toombs want to see
General Butler again iu command of
New Orleans.— N. Y. Herald.
So far as we are concerned we have no
objection to his accepting a command
under Kellog a,pro vided General Grant
will hold back the United States soldiers
and give McExert and Penn a showing.
Indeed we would rather like such an
arrangement as we should find immediate
use for a carefully written obituary of
the Essex statesman which has been
pigeon-holed for some time past in an
ticipation of a certain event.
The South pays a handsome and well
merited compliment to the faithful and
important service rendered by the
Charleston Ncu-s and Courier to the
people and State of South Carolina. It
declares that it has opened the eyes of
the North to the frightful misgovern
ment of that State by its exposure of
the fraud and corruption practiced by
the domißaut party, while it has been
the persistent advocate of fair dealing
with and kind treatment of the negroes.
STEPHENS ON THE SITUATION.
Speech of the Hon. Alexander H. Ste
phens at Greenesboro, September
17th, 1874, Steuotrraphically Re
ported for the Chronicle and Senti
nel by E. 4Y. Grant.
Union Point, September 17th, 1874.
A large assembly met to-day at the
Court House, in Greeuesboro, iu this
county, to hear Mr. Stephens, who had
promised, if able, to address them on
the public questions of the day. At the
hour of twelve, on the adjournment of
the Court then in session, it was very
apparent that the Court House would
not hold the multitude that had come
together, and it was determined that it
would be better for the speech to he
made iu the Public Square—Mr. Ste
phens to stand in the north door of the
Court House and to support himself on
a desk which was provided for the pur
pose. Hon. Miles W. Lewis called the
crowd to order, and stated that Mr. Ste
phens was now ready to address them,
styling him the “ Grtat Commoner,
whose life had been devAted to the cause
of humanity.” Mr. Staihens arose, tot
tering on his crutches, amidst the raptur
ous applause that greeted him, and
spoke as follows :
Fellow-Citizens— l must first and
foremost express my profound thanks
for this welcome. I *tinr truly gratified
to see so many assembled on this occa
sion. Iwo aid greatly bfeve preferred to
address you in the large Court Room
above, where I have so often heretofore
addressed the people of Greene, but it
was doubted whether it was large enough
for all to hear who were present. I
yielded to the suggestion that I should
speak to you from this point. lam now
satisfied that the opinion expressed was
right. It clearly appears that the Court
House would not have held one-lialf of
those before me.
Personal.
May I not aptly, in the beginning,
most reverently ask, What have you
come out to see? “A reed shaken by
the wind ?” Certainly something equal
ly frail in body. This is the first time I
have attempted to discuss great political
questions in the open air for twelve or
fifteen years. How my voice will sus
tain me I know not. I trust most earnest
ly, however, that I shall be strengthen
ed, by the deep interest I feel in the
great cause which prompts my appear
auce, so to extend its compass that it"
may reach the remotest ear. Be as
sured that no ordinary motive induces
me to appear before you under these
circumstances. My subject to-day is
my country. This above all sublu
nary matters enlists my feelings. To
this cause mv life has been chiefly de
voted. The honor which my long stand
ing friend, Mr. Lewis, conferred in his
introductory remarks, in speaking of me
as one whose life had been devoted to
humanity, is one I have ever aimed to
attain, however short I may have come
in deserving the compliment. The ame
lioration, the elevation and advance
ment of the general interests of man
kind, and especially of those of our own
State, has been the work in which I have
been engaged for forty years. In this
cause my energies have been put forth
to their utmost extent, until I am now
worn and wasted as, you see me. If in
like efforts I should now, or at any time
fall, or “die in the harness,” as my
friends at the late Convention in Au
gusta virtually expressed their wish
that I should, then be assured nothing
of an earthly nature could be more
agreeable to me.
America and Rome.
If an old Roman could give a true ut
terance of his emotions in the senti
ment “dulceet decorum cst, pro patria
rnori,” “it is sweet and honorable to die
for one’s country,” with how much more
emphasis should an American citizen
repeat the same ? Wliat did this Roman
mean by country ? Was it the Tiber—
was it the beautiful plains and broad
valleys of Italy, consecrated by the Tus
can remains and monuments which gave
renown to the land—wasittlie Appenines
or thundering Vesuvius and its occa
sional outbursts of earth’s internal fires—
or the glimpses of the glaciered tops of
the distant Alps, or the placid waters of
the Mediterranean or Adriatic seas that,
wasnecl tne snores ui m. vey oisula—or
the cerulean sky above? Was it for
these he thought it so honorable to die ?
Far from it, I ween. It was doubtless
for the preservation of the politi
cal liberties and that high order of
civilization which sprung from the
institutions of Rome. How much more
majestic are our rivers, how much gran
der our mountains, how much more ex
tensive and fertile our plains and val
leys, how much more numerous, wider
and out-stretching our lakes; the clear
blue sky also which this day canopies
us is equally calculated to stir witfiiu us
profoundest emotions of admiration and
adoration. In natural surroundings we
have far more to admire and to be de
voted to than had the Romans. Then
again how much grander and more
glorious are our institutions than those
of that renowned Republic. But here
as there it is not “the land that makes
the mail,” it is “the man that makes the
land.” For centuries before Rome was
planted Italy was inhabited by bar
barians; for centuries unknown in num
ber prior to the coming of our fore
fathers to this Continent it was in like
manner inhabited by roving depredatory
tribes over all that vast region now oc
cupied by the peoples of the United
States. During all this time there were
the same rivers, plains, mountains, val
leys and sky, which give it its present
loveliness. All those wonderful changes
which have been effected since the settle
ment of the British colonies on the At
lantic coast within the last three hun
dred years—all that high order of
civilization which now places this
country in the front rank of all coun
tries ; everything which lias made the
wilderness to blossom as the rose—all
our commerce, borne by tlie power and
speed of steam, up and down our rivers,
and over the sixty thousand miles of
railroads which skirt the valleys and
pierce the mountains in every direction,
as well as across the Atlantic and Pa
cific Oceans—all our schools of learning,
common schools, Sunday schools, col
leges and universities—all our churches,
with their numberless spires pointing
heavenward—all our cities, towns and
villages—all our public buildings and
temples of justice—all our indu-tries,
and everything which gives ns the high
position which the United States had
attained before the late conflict of arms,
sprung solely from their institutions,
moral and political. As Borne’s great
ness sprung not from the land, hut from
her institutions, so did ours not from
the land, but from our institutions; and
as our institutions were founded upon
principles superior to those of Rome, so
will our greatness be superior to hers in
the very acme of her renown, if these
principles are adhered to. It is to the
maintenance of these principles that my
life has been devoted, and for which I
am willing to die, if it so please God.
American Liberty.
It is for the purpose of saying some
thing, though feebly, in defense of these
institutions, and the principles upon
which they were founded, that I appear
before you to-day. Be it known to you,
then, be it impressed indelibly upon
your minds that the germ, the seminal
principle from which have sprung all
our institutions, all that happiness,
thrift and prosperity which have hereto
fore so marked the career of our past in
tellectual, moral and political progress,
was the great and inestimable right of
local self-government by the people.
Not by monarchs or kings, or oligarchies,
or aristocracies, but by the democratic
masses, uudar such constitutional re
straints as they themselves for their pro
tection may impose as chains upon their
rulers. Let this truth be deeply im
pressed not only upon your own minds,
but upon those’ of your children. Let
it be taught at the fireside, in the
schools, the colleges and the universi
ties. This principle carries with it the
great fact that all rulers, in all separate
States and Commonwealths, derive their
just powers only from the consent of the
governed. It was for the purpose of es
tablishing these facts and truths that
our ancestors left the various monarchies
of Europe and planted separate colo
nies ou the shores of the Atlantic.—
It was for these objects the colony of
Virginia was planted ; it was for these
objects the Pilgrim Fathers settled at
Plymouth—for the same objects New
Hampshire, Maryland, Bhode Island
and Connecticut were planted—for the
same North Carolina and South Caro
lina and Georgia, the last and youngest,
were planted. They all brought char
ters securing to themselves, in different
forms, this great right of local self-gov
; eminent in all their internal affairs aud
domestic relations. Virginia had noth
} iug to do with the internal concerns of
Maryland, Massachusetts, or any other
i of the colonies ; so of Rhode Island,
j Connecticut, New Hampshire, and all
| the rest. Each was a perfect political
organism within itself, with all the right
ful functions of government over inter
nal affairs within its limits ; and with
these charters the colonies grew and be
came prosperous. The forests of centu
ries yielded to the axe ; the aboriginal
red man receded to the west ; trade and
commerce gave life to growth and de
velopment. The British Parliament be
came fearful of the rising power of the
colonies. War was made upon their
chartered rights; finally, the charter of
Massachusetts was virtually abolished.
This caused alarm in all the colouies ;
they saw that if Massachusetts was de
prived of the right of local self-govern
ment the same fate might await all in
turn. It was then that Virgiuia raised
the cry that “the cause of Boston is the
cause of us all.” A call for a Congress
of all the colonies, to consult for the
mutual safety of all, was made. This
Congress assembled iu Philadelphia in
1774. The result was that by a similar
Congress the ever memorable Declara
tion of the Fourth of July, 1776, was
proclaimed to the world. This was no
declaration of American independence,
as it has often been styled ; it was the
declaration of the independence of each
of the colonies. By it tlie link that
bound each to the mother country was
declared to be severed forever. They
mutually declared themselves no longer
to be colonies, but States, with all the
powers which do of right belong to
separate Commonwealths. Their title
was changed from the United Colonies
of America to the United States of
America. They soon thereafter formed
what was known as their first Constitu
tion, that is the articles of confedera
tion by which they bound themselves
to make common cause for the defense
of the separate cause of each, to main
tain their sovereign power of local self
government in all their internal affairs
respectively. The object was to main
tain and defend tiie seminal principle
from, which all their happiness and
prosperity had come. I have not time
or strength to go through with all the
details that marked this period in the
progress of our institutions. Suffice it
to say, a bloody war ensued that lasted
for seven years, which ended in the ac
knowledgment by Great Britain of the
sovereign independence of each of tlie
original States by name. The Articles
of Confederation, or the first Constitu
tion framed, were upon the model which
united the separate ancient Grecian re
publics. It is common with many peo
ple to say, and some historians join in
the same assertion, that this Confedera
tion was a failure. It was no such thing;
but the statesmen of that day, at the
head of whom stood Jefferson—one of
the greatest political philosophers »f any
age or clime—conceived that an improve
ment might he made upon the model
confederations of the past. According
to the Grecian, and all other models,
whatever measures the States in Con
gress assembled adopted to carry out
such powers as were delegated to them,
in raising money, or making other pro
visions for the general welfare, had first
to be submitted to, and have the sanc
tion of, the States severally before they
could go into effect. This required
time and delay; besides, under this first
Constitution each State had retained to
itself the right to regulate commerce
with all foreign nations, and its own
system of naturalization laws and laws
of bankruptcy.
The Constitution of 1787.
This worked some confusion. It was
thought best that these powers should
also be delegated to the General Govern
ment in their Constitution. A call was
made for another convention of the
States to remedy these evils. This call
was responded to by the assembling of
the most notable convention of States
ever assembled on the Continent. It
met in May, 1787, at Philadelphia.—
Washington presided over its councils;
the result was a thorough revision of the
Articles of Confederation, with a delega
tion of the new powers asked for; but
with a change in the structure of the
Federal organization which constituted
an entirely new feature in Federal re
publics. The idea of this new feature,
which raises our Federal Republic to
tlie grandest type of government ever
witnessed on earth, originated in the
puiiusupuioai Drain ot Jenersou. He
was not iu the Convention; ho was then
Minister to France, but gave the idea in
a letter to Mr. Madison. Tho idea was
this : So to change the structure of the
Federal head as to make this conven
tional State perfect within itself, so as
to perform all the functions of a govern
ment within its limited sphere, just as
the States performed their full sovereign
functions over all their internal affairs.
This required a division of the delegated
powers in three departments—legisla
tive. judicial and executive—just as the
retained sovereign powers of the State
were divided. Under the first Consti
tution of the United States nearly all
the delegated powers were executed by
one body—that is, by all the States in
Congress assembled. Mr. Jefferson’s
suggestion was that the Federal Gov
ernment, in the execution of its limited
powers, should be organized as the
States were; that the Congress of the
States should constitute the legislative
department, and that a judiciary and ex
ecutive department should be created to
perform the functions belonging to those
departments within their prescribed
sphere. In this way the General Gov
ernment would become a perfect State
within its limited sphere by Federal
compact, as the separate States were per
fect States, each within itself, by what is
known as the social compact; all the
sovereign powers not delegated to the
Federal Government being still reserved
and retained by the States severally.
This new Constitution, so framed aud
submitted to the States, was subse
quently ratified by all of them. There
was in it no change of the essential prin
ciples or character or nature of the
Federal Government. In it was pre
served, as the life and spirit of the
whole, that seminal principle of which I
have spoken.
The Grandest of Governments.
The whole fabric was based upon its
preservation, and I say to you, my
countrymen, to-day what I have often
said before, that it is the grandest sys
tem, or systems rather, of governments
ever instituted by man. Under this
system the number of free co-equal
States has increased from thirteen to
•thirty-seven. It preserved the United
States as a republic—not a single re
public, but a Federal republic—a re
public of republics! Hence the motto,
“ E Pluribus Unum,” “one of many.”
It presents a government of the highest
type. It is, indeed, not only a nation,
but a nation of nations ! Nothing of
the sort seems ever to have entered into
human conception before, unless the
Prophet Ezekiel got glimpses of it, in
his great vision, as to the future. It is
not my purpose to assume the province
of expounding the Prophets; but I can
not refrain from repeating an illustra
tion of the character of this grand sys
tem which I gave many of you twenty
years ago in the Court room above, and
have given on many occasions since
elsewhere, by referring to this vision.
Ezekiel, you remember, in his most
notable vision, saw the wonderful specta
cle of a number of distinct beings or
living creatures, each witH a separate
and distinct organism, each having the
lull functions of life within itself; all
being alike in external appearance, and
all at the same time mysterious
ly connected, with one common
animating spirit pervading the whole, so
that when the common spirit moved
they all moved, as it were a wheel in the
middle of a wheel; and whithersoever
thecommon spirit went thither the others
went, all going together; and when they
thus went he heard the noise of their
motion like the voice of great waters—
the voice of the Almighty. Whether in
his vision he got glimpses of this model
Federal Republic of ours, instituted by
our fathers, or not, I will not under
take to say, but the system completely
fits the vision. Under the system, each
State is a perfect, distinct, living, politi
cal organism, with all the functions of
perfect government within itself. In
this respect all the States are alike. The
Federal Government, so created, is also
a dfctinet political organism with all the
functions of a perfect Government,
within its prescribed limits, its chief ob
jects and designs being confined to for
eign and inter-State affairs. It, too, in
its structure, is exactly like the States
which formed it. It embodies the com
mon spirit of all the States, so that when
all things move smoothly and harmoni
ously, in accordance with the principles
animating the whole, whithersoever the
common spirit goes, thither all go. So
that for seventy years in our history the
motion of their progress might well be
characterized as the “noise of great wa
ters,” or even without blasphemy, as
the voice of the Almighty, since God
directs the destiny of nations as well as
of men singly. It was so in all the
great events that marked our career,
during that period; it was so in the
1 threatened French war in 1790; it was
so in the second war with Great Britain
in 1812; it was so in the Mexican war iu
j 1846 ; it was so in all our great achieve
j ments, and it will be so still, in that
, grander career in future, which may be
| attained, if there be a return to those
; original principles on which the whole
i R y s tem rests. This is but au outline of
I the past.
The Source of AU Our Woe.
All our recent troubles have sprung
from a departure from these principles.
It is not my purpose on this occasion to
speak of the late war between the States,
that terrible and most lamentable shock,
by which the previous general harmony
j peace and prosperity was interrupted.
I will now only say I was seriously ap
prehensive during' the conflict that the
whole system would be subverted. These
apprehensions were greatly increased
when, after the remedy of secession had
been abandoned by the Southern States,
that second war against the essential
principles of the Constitution, known as
i the reconstruction policy, was com
menced by Congress. The war was
waged by ihe Northern States avowedly
for the sole purpose of a restoration of
the Union of the States, or, as Mr. Lin
coln styled it, a restoration of all the
States to their “practical relations to the
Union.” This restoration, it seemed to
me, was complete when the seceding
States abandoned their cause and re
assumed all their duties and obligations
under the Constitution. When this was
done they were certainly entitled to all
their rights ns members of the Union
under the Constitution. The reconstruc
tion policy was directly opposed to this
restoration, for which so much treasure
had been spent aud so much bloodshed.
By the boldest acts of usurpation upon
record ten of the Southern States were
denied readmission into the Union ex
cept upon terms requiring a total sub
version of their previous organic laws,
and an entire change of their internal
policy. These terms were exacted by
duress and force. But an important and
notable laet attending this process is,
that even in these most glaring usurpa
tions obedience was formally rendered
to the requirements of the letter of the
Constitution. Not one of the advocates
of the 14th and 15th Amendments to the
Constitution claimed that they would
have any validity, unless ratified by the
States to which they were so submitted
and carried. Os course their validity
depends upon the decision of the ques
tion whether any measure or act can ho
valid which is exacted by force. Enough
on this point now. This is a question
not so appropriate for the hustings as
for the Courts. Under these exactions
so made, and these measures so carried,
all the States are once more recognized
as members of the Union, and have
their proper representation in the House
and Senate in tiie Congress of the
States. Whatever injury some of the
States may have received iu the process
it is a great fact that the old system is
now recognized in form at least to be in
operation again. Breaches have been
made in the outer wall, but the old in
ner temple of our liberties still stands
without any essential impairment of any
of the parts of its structure. This is so
by the admitted theory of the recon
structionists, and it is for us and the
friends of constitutional liberty in nil
the States to see to it that this theory
shall be established by the future prac
tical workings of the 'Federal Adminis
tration. In all human governments the
struggle has ever been, and now is, be
tween Power and Right. Our grand system
so instituted has not been exempt from a
like conflict. The struggle here has
been from the beginning between cen
tralism and constitutionalism. This
conflict is still going on. The practical
issue it now presents is the all absorb
ing question of the Civil Rights bill, so
called.
Civil Rights Bill.
On this point I wish to address myself
specially to my colored friends who are
present on this occasion. I thank them
for their attendance and the close atten
tion they have given to all I have thus
far said. It shows a laudable desire on
their part to gain information upon
subjects upon which iu the present state
V ,r “: “ r v,H R much interested as
the rest ot us. t „„j, r * n,,... 1
entertain towards them not the slightest
feelings of prejudice on account of race,
color or previous condition of servitude.
Your emancipation, however you may
value it as a boon, was not ono of the
avowed objects of those who waged the
war on the part of the Northern States.
It is true it was a result of the contin
geuces of the war, under the providence
of God. To Him, therefore, it should
be attributed. Whatever of good or
evil may attend it will depend mainly on
yourselves. Your duty to yourselves
and your posterity is to prove that you
are worthy of it. The question which
now so agitates the public mind, as 1
have said, is the Civil Rights bill, so
called. This bill professes to be es
pecially for your advantage. It is a hill
introduced aud now pending in Con
gress. It is a measure which I do
not think is for your benefit.—
I am opposed to it and I wish you to
understand the reason of my opposition
clearly and distinctly. The leading ob
ject of tho bill is to compel all the States
to make their public schools mixed
schools, that is to compel colored chil
dren and white children to attend the
same schools. One reason of my oppo
sition to this measure is that Congress
has no rightful power to pass *mch a
law. You have heard what I have said
about the nature of our Government and
the powers of Congress. I hope you
understood me. Your liberties as well
as the whites now depend upon the
preservation of the harries erected by
the Constitution for the protection of
all, and I have shown you that unless
these questions of education and others
like it are left to the States to regulate
for themselves, our whole system of free
government, instituted under the Provi
dence of God, will end necessarily in a
common despotism, in which your liber
ties as well as tlioso of the whites will
be lost. But lam also opposed to this
measure because, as I have said, I do
not think it for your benefit. I think it
is wrong in principle, and that in prac
tice it would work disastrously. You
do not want mixed schools. You do not
want to send your children to the same
schools with the white children, nor do
you want white children sent to your
j schools. Wliat you do want, what you are
entitled to and what I am for is that you
J have an equal, proportionate and just
I share of the public funds of the State
set apart for educational purposes. I
am in favor of your education. I was
so before your emancipation—before the
war, and am so still. Justice to all is
my motto, and the principle by which I
am governed. I say to you, as I have
said elsewhere, and all my life, that I
believe in the great truth uttered by
Mr. Jefferson, the “great apostle of
liberty,” and to whom we are, perhaps,
more indebted than to any other one
man for all our free democratic in
stitutions on this Continent, that all
men are created equal. This announce
ment by him has been a puzzle to many.
It seems to be like some of the preach
ing of Paul, hard to be understood. In
the face of innumerable surrounding
facts apparently in direct contradiction
to it, some have thought that Jefferson,
in uttering it, only gave expression to a
meaningless, glittering generality. Far
from it. In uttering it he gave ex
pression to a great truth, as he always
did in his utterances upon matters of
government. Os course he did not
mean that men are equal in size, or
form, or color, or in intellectual or moral
worth. We see and know that some
men are larger than others. Most, for
instance, weigh from 130 to 160 pounds;
some go to two and three hundred, and
even more, while I at present weigh
only seventy-eight, having gained
seven in the last seven weeks. Some are
tall and some are short of stature. Some
are light-colored, some brown, while
others are black. In these respects, and
many others that might be named, men
are not equal. But in one thing they
are equal, and that is their equal right
to justice in the administration of the
law in all governments. This is the
right of the humblest as well as the
highest; the right of the poor as well as
the rich; the right of the black man as
well as the white. In all the grades of
society and differences betw< en men,
either as to race or color, or in other
respects, the administration of justice
according to merit is the great law which
produces peace, harmony and prosperity
in all States and Commonwealths. To
the vindication of this principle my en
ergies have ever been devoted. Even
these differences among men, however,
as to color and race, made by God in His
wisdom, fit as tongue to groove when
harmoniously worked as they should be.
Why God made one star to differ from
another in magnitude and glory, we
know not. But we know that together,
moving harmoniously in obedience to
the simple law of gravity, they produce
the grand symphony of the spheres. So we
know not why, in His wisdom, He made
the different races of men so unlike in
many particulars, but we do know
that by the simple law of jus
tice, general harmony iu all States
and Commonwealths prevails in like
manner. Your interests and wel
fare, my colored friends, fit as tongue to
groove with the interests and welfare of
your white neighbors. Let no one
guilefu ly tempt you to entertain a con
trary belief. The apparent and known
inequalities among men, either as to
color or race, should be no cause for dis
cord among them. The first great dis
cord in Heaven, Sin, came from a diso
bedience, or indisposition on the part of
malcontents to conform to those ine
qualities which God had created among
those who surrounded His immediate
throne. There are differences and ine
qualitieseven in Heaven, from Arch-augel
down. Your allotment under Provi
dence, ns ours, is upon these lands. Let
us all, according to the universal fitness
of things, do the best we can for the
common welfare. The principle upon
which this is to be worked out is that
announced by Him who “spake as never
man spake,” “As ye would that men
should do to you, do ye also to them
likewise.” This is the Divine utterance
of the law of justice. It does not mean
a reversion of the natural order of
things ; it does not mean that the Judge
should change places with the culprit,
or that the parent should change places
with the child, or the teacher with the
pupil. It means simply that each should
do his duty according to his position. Tho
great businesses of life consist at best
in the discharge of mutual duties and
obligations. Tho performance of these
is nothing but an interchange of recip
rocal services. This is true from the
highest to the lowest ; lawyers, doctors,
merchants and governors are ns much
servants of others, in one sense, as the
man at the plow or the anvil. Tho true
honor of tho service does not depend so
much upon its character as the manner
of performing it. Tho sentiment of
Pope sets*forth the right principle :
‘‘Honor anil sluinio from no condition r ho.
Act well your part, there all tho honor lion.”
This, my colored friends, is applicable
to you ns to all tlie rest of us. If wo all
shall but act on this principle we may
yet work out a glorious destiny.
To my white friends, 1 say, we have
passed through a terrible crucible. It
seems, in the providence of God, that
great sacrifices are necessary for the at
tainment of the greatest ’ good. Ad
versity is ever a crucible in which Ihe
metal of human nature is tested. The
past, should make us cling the closer to
those great principles of constitutional
liberty—the inestimable right of sep
erate State government established by
our fathers. This is the Ark of the
Covenant. Let it be preserved forever.
Louisiana.
I have been asked what I think of the
stirring movements in Louisiana. On
this point I can now only say I am not
sufficiently acquainted with all the facts
to express any opinion, except that tile
oppressed people of Louisiana have my
profoundest. sympathy. But I gravely
doubt the expediency of the remedy they
have resorted to. Arms should ever he
the last resort against bad government,
and not till all peaceful modes of re
dress become hopeless should they bo
appealed to. I am for law and order.
By law, I here mean what the Courts so
hold to he. If tho Courts decide wrong
ly, then I am for the other peaceful in
strumentalities of the Constitution as
the best mode of redress. In this mat
ter, however, I will say I do not think
General Grant is justly censurable for
the state of things existing in Louisiana.
I am aware that many of our people
think he is. Ou this point I differ with
them. I kuow General Grant aud will
do him that justice to which he is en
titled. In my opinion all these troubles
are rightly chargeable upon the recon
struction acts and policy of Congress.
They are tho results of that war upon
the Constitution hy wl;ich a restora
tion of the Union was prevented
after the war of secession had been
abandoned hy the Southern States.
They are due to tlioso monstrous usur
pations of Congress known as the “Re
<*.Onstril<‘f.H' n Actft. * L.nO W, MUI tlio
country knows, that General Grant was
for the immediate restoration of the
Union at the close of tho war waged for
that object. He w r as opposed to that
policy by which ten States were denied
readmission into the Union. He was
for allowing the Senators and Represen
tatives of the Southern States to take
their seats, which Mr. Seward had declar
ed were ready aud awaiting them. Many
of those who were engaged, directly or
indirectly, in tho late Louisiana move
ment were either active projectors or
sauctioners of that reconstruction policy
by which ten States of the Union—
Louisiana among them—were throttled
and compelled by violence to re-enter
tlio Union oil terms dictated by Con
gress. These troubles are but the le
gitimate fruits of that policy, and the
men in Louisiana who then favored it,
and now look aghast upon its results,
are not unlike the “great arch fiend,”
according to Milton’s description, when
on his way to Eden, he met on the con
fines of hell the hideous monster sin, his
own off priug.
The True Remedy.
The true remedy lies not in the bayo
net, not in the arena of arms, but in
the forums of reason, right and justice;
in the Courts, from the lowest to the
highest, as well as in the. Legislative
Halls; if these fail, then the ballot box.
The remedy lies in adhering to the time
honored .principles of Jeffersonian De
mocracy. These rest upon the mainten
ance of the majesty of the law, as
expounded by the Courts. If the laws
be bad or wrongly construed, the proper
remedy lies not. in censuring those who
execute them, but in the peaceful in
strumentalities of the Constitution for a
correction of the evil. The first speech
I ever made was for the maintenance of
the majesty of law. In the most gene
ral classification there are but two kinds
of government—one is a government of
law, the other is a government of bayo
nets. I prefer the former. This is in
accordance with true Jeffersonian prin
ciples. In 1798, when the Centralists,
then in power in Congress, passed, by
usurpation, the ever infamous Alien and
Sedition acts, open resistance was coun
selled by many. Jefferson, the great
leader of the Democracy of that day,
advised obedience to the decisions of
the Courts, with an appeal to the liberty
loving masses at the polls as the proper
remedy. This was looked upon as vain
and illusive by many. For at that
time there were but two States, Vir
ginia and Kentucky, with their four
Senators, who agreed witli Jeffer
son as to the unconstitutionality
of these iniquitous acts. In the
House there were not over thirty mem
bers of Congress who agreed with Jef
ferson. Out of the two hundred politi
cal newspapers of that day only twenty
sustained Jefferson. A hundred and
eighty were on the side of centralism
and despotism. To contend against such
odds many thought useless and hope
less. Mobs were raised in many places
to rescue prisoners, victims of these
odious acts of usurpation. Jeffer
son, however, was unmoved by these
odds. He still advised obedience
and acquiesence in the decisions of
the Courts. His remedy was to arouse
the masses of the people to a sense of
their danger and a rescue of their lib
erties at the ballot box. These counsels
finally prevailed. Never, before or since,
have the masses of the people been so
thoroughly awakened in all the States
of the Union. The result was the most
signal triumph of Constitutionalism over
Centralism—of right over might in a
civic strife—in the annals of history.
The usurpers were hurled from power
with a popular condemnation from which
they have never recovered. Our strength
(and by our I mean to include the
friends of constitutional liberty in all
the States) consists now, as then, no s in
violence—n9t in bayonets—but in the
power of truth upon the liberty-loving
masses throughout the land.
If the people here and elsewhere will
pursue the same line of policy, in this
most perilous crisis, I can but believe
that an equally glorious triumph will
crown their efforts, and that all the
States, once more erect and untrammel
led in the exercise of all the functions
of local self-government, may ente
upon a still higher career of glory and
reni wn than ever before attained. The
theme, fellow citizens, is inexhaustible,
but I am not. I must close. May
Heaven’s blessings rest upon you all,
and upon our common country.
Mr. Stephens took his seat, as he
rose, in the midst of the general ap
plause of the assembly.
The above report has been submitted
to Mr. Stephens, and is approved by
him as bein substantially correct.
E. W (Inavr, Stenographer.
The people of Griffin have great faith
in their mineral spring.
NUMBER 40.
COTTON FIGUHES
Editorn Chronicle and Sentinel :
la it not a striking fact that since the
I war—in the last nine years- the cotton
I crop lias not reached four millions of
i bales but twice ? In 1879-71 we raised
I 4,352,817 and 1873-74, 4,170,388 bales—
i i. c., in every four years we make a full
[ crop. What a comment upon free labor.
And we must not overlook the fact, that
j the great yield in both of these two
| ydnrs was largely due to favorable crop
conditions and the use of fertilizers.
Whenever these adjuncts to a largo
crop are wanting, as is the case this
year, there will be a large falling off in
the totality of the yield. Another strik
ing fact, in five of the nine years we
made but a fraction over 2,000,000 bales,
Those, therefore, who speak of a steady
increase in the cotton crop of the South
ern and Southwestern States of this
Union have not matured their opinion
upon a careful review of the cron statis
tics for the last nine years. The only
j hope for the South is to become a
j manufacturing people, raise all her own
| supplies and lay less stress upon the
precarious uncertainties of a cotton
crop. Planter.
MOHUAN COUNTY.
Mr. Thomason’s Letter of Acceptance.
Madison, Oa , Sept. 14, 1874.
Messrs. T. 11. .V, Jirohston, V. II Har
row, 7’. S llurnei) :
Ge'-tlkmun Your note conveying to
me official intelligence that I had been
selected as the standard-bearer of the
Democratic party in the approaching
election, is just handed me, and I need
not say 1 am profoundly impressed with
a sense of the honor bestowed, and whit a
I am constrained to believe was more on
account of party necessities and the too
zealous partiality of my Mends than any
personal merit of my own. 1 accept the
high trust reposed in me with a full
knowledge of its responsibilities, and if
lam elected no act of mine shall ever
cause the party to regret its choice.' The
coming election is without doubt the
most important one to us since the war,
for reasons local and State. The result
will have a local moral effect, which
cannot be measured by ordinary consid
erations and which will be felt in many
successive elections. Our onehiies are
well organized and will make a vigorous
effort to regain their lout ascendancy,
and it behooves ns uh a party to make a
vigorous canvass before the i lection,
exercising caution and moderation, to
the end that we give offense to none,
while encouraging our friends.
The question as to the payment of the
eight million of repudiated bonds will
doubtless be before the next Legisla
ture, in some form or other, for its ac
tion. I have no doubt that an effort will
be made by the holders of these illegal
bonds to by up in their interest a ma
jority of that body. If they should bq
successful a heavy and burdensome in
crease in taxation would be the result..
Taxation is a question of vital import
ance to every man, woman and child of
both races, for it affects, either indi
rectly or directly, not only the wealth of
the country, but the very sources of
wealth, not the least of which iH its la
bor. It becomes very important then
that the people, of whatever race or
color, should unite in a determined
effort to send as their representative a
man who will not and cannot be bought.
I need not say that if I am elected I
shall oppose their payment with all the
zeal of my nature and whatever ability
I possess.
Thanking you for tlni courteous tenor
of your note, and assuring you of my
hearty sympathy and accord with all the
principles espoused and maintained by
our grand old party,
I remain your ob’t serv’t,
Oscah Thomason.
THE MEETING IN MAKIETTA.
Marietta, September 21, 1874.
To the Editors of the Chronicle and Sen
tinel :
By appointment and in the prosecu
tion of his campaign in the Seventh Dis
trict, Hon. L. N. Trammell, the nomi
nee v * me Democratic party for Con
gress, visited Marietta Saturday, die
19th iust. He was accompanied by <sov.
Smith and other prominent gentlemen.
Mr. Trammell’s audience was not as
large as it would have been had a more
extended notice been given of the pro
posed meeting; still a goodly number of
citizens assembled in the Court House,
and by 11 o’clock every seat in the spa
cious Court room was tilled and many
persons were standing in the aisles and
about the doors. The meeting having
been organized by the eh etion of Judge
D. Irwin as Chairman, and W. I’. Me
Clutching, Esq., as S eietary, the object
of the meeting was stated by Col. J. D.
Waddell in a brief but forcible and elo
quent speech Col. Waddell is one of
the.chosen and gifted few who.-.e ideaH,
evolved from a mind grand in its powers
of conception and comprehensive in its
range of thought, are clothed in words
that charm with all the In up ties oi a
cultured die ion, and are delivered with
all the force of a graceful and impressive
oratory. In listening to him one rea
lizes the truth of the oft quoted ; eying:
“Words mean something when there is
a man behind them.” Alluding with
inimitable grace and pleasantry to hit
own defeat at Calhoun, lie introduced
Mr. Trammell as the standard bearer of
the Democracy if the Seventh District.
For two hours Mr. Trammell held the
attention of his audience. Always earn
est and at times earnestly eloquent,
bringing out his points with great force,
and giving the history of his political
career with remarkable dearness of de
tail, he succeeded in doing away with
much of the prejudice against him, and
convinced the major part of his au
dience that he is both a true Democrat
and a much slandered man. I say ti e
major part, of his audience, for there
are some men who, morninp, noon and
night, ought to put up the fraycr of the
old Scotchman, “Lord grant that 1 may
be right, for Thou knowest if I am
wrong, there is no chance to change mo."
Mr. Trammell was followed by Gov.
Smith, in a long and vigorous speech,
full of earnest appeals, tilling anecdotes
and logical arguments. lie deprecated
the tendency to forcible resistance and
violence that is manifesting itself in
many parts of our country, and showed
that we could gain nothing by force.
Our only chance is to stand shoulder to
shoulder in the great light t hat Democ
racy is waging against these giant
wrongs. There is no hope for the
South outside the Democratic organiza
tion. He said that lie did not appear
among the people of Cobb as a partisan
of any man; he only wished to utter his
solemn protest against a division at a
time so ominous of evil to our beloved
South.
At the conclusion of Governor Smith’s
address the meeting adjourned. There
is little doubt that a good work was thus
begun in the county of Cobb that will
eventuate in her people meeting the is
sue squarely, and by an overwhelming
vote sustaining the regular candidate of
the Democratic party. Only in this way
can they keep up the untarnished record
of the county, and put an end to inde
pendent candidacy—that pernicious pest,
that spawn of selfish detnagogiiisui
which in the name of honesty and under
color of truth, wHle pretending to fight
against rings and war upon corruption,
would foist upon the people as repre
sentatives men whose only chance of ele
vation and whose only hope of emerging
from merit and obscurity lies in the di
visions and differences in the ranks of a
great, conservative and useful party.
Hikmh.
Mr. Beecher Makes a fepeech-
New Your, September 23.—A special
to the Sun, from St. Johnslmry, Ver
mont, says Rev. Henry Ward Beecher
made a speech at the Caledonia lair to
day. Subject: “What I Don’t Know
Abont Farming.” About 8,000 persons
were present. Mr. Beecher vas greeted
with cheers, and his speech was fre
quently interrupted with applause and
laughter. Large numbers crowded
around to shake hands with him on his
departure. _
A meeting of cotton buyers was held
in Koine on the 19th, and a resolution
passedJguoring the light of the ware
housemen to charge for the deli cry of
cotton alter sale of the same to the
buyer The resolution closes as follows:
And we do hereby oblitigato ourselves
to buv no cotton from said warehouses
except upon the express and positive
condition that it be delivered to us en
tirely free from all charges, and we
bind ourselves by this obligation not to
violate the same, either in person or
through the agency of ntliei
Win. L Ezzeil, it Citizen of Floyd
county, committed suicide mat .Satur
day, at his mill near Rome, by hanging
himself,