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Address WALSH k WRIGHT,
Ci it u r.r. k SrxTiyri. Angnwta. Q..
tttjrontclc ani>
VEDNKBDAY APRIL 14, 1875
MINOR TOF|Oft. t
Guild * Bt. Losia ftrscfcopr 4or 1875, jnst
gvre* Jt y at four ;
hundred and ninety thonsand on January let,
1875. Increase in the population einc* the
centraa. flfty-eeven percent., or more than ten !
per cent, yearly. iSnsiue** and manufacture* !
of the city better in the aggregate than ever ;
before, in epiteof the general prontration. !
Aiiini.il value of product* of manufacture, two |
liumlro l and thirty-nine million dollar*.
There is foo l for thought in thi* paragraph ;
f rotr the Bouton Herald: •• Those people who
think it impossible for President Grant to get
a nomination for a third term have not looked i
at the figure*. There will be vote* in the j
Convention. Of these the 10 Southern State* !
will have 138. Grant could get all the*e to- ;
day, and 48 more would give him a majority.
He would undoubtedly be the *tronge*t candi
date on the first ballot were ttie Convention to
be held next week."
An exchange *ay* : “In South Hadley, Ma**.. j
recently, an absent minded man ordered a
coffin for a decea*od friend, and left hi* own j
u&me to be inscribed on the lul in place of that ;
of the dead man. The mintake wa* not di*- ,
covered in season to rectify it.” Thi* wa.i Bin- !
gularly unfortunate, for *ome antiquarian, j
digging around in that gravo yard a thousand 1
year* hence, and finding t\vo*ilver door-plate* I
with the name name on bath, will think that j
Homebody ha* lied.
The Han Francisco Port give* a glowing de- j
Hcriptiou of a mountain of gold quartz near
Han Bemai dina. in which Budd Doble, the !
turfman, ha* an inrerent. The Nevada *ilver )
bonanza i* nothing to thi* marvelous moun- |
tain, which i* one ma** of gold-bearing quartz, :
four thouHaud feet long and two or three hun
dred feet high. Budd Doble and hi* party had j
just returned from the place, and talked about j
picking up gold in bowldereized nugget*. We
aro at liberty to believe a* much of thi* a* we i
fet?l disposed.
A descendant of Handel ha* petitioned the
Emperor of Germany to name one of the
Htreete of Berlin after the great compost r.—
The Emperor ha* stated, in reply to thi* re
quest. that anew quarter i* about to be added
to the capital whose street* will all be named
after Germany’s most eminent musical cele
brities. and that of Handel will certainly not
be forgotten. Tin* quarter will be a tilting
supplement to the one iu which the troets
have been by the name* of great
painter*.
A private dinner party, consisting of about
twenty influential politician* and William Cul
len Bryant, was given at the residence of Mrs.
Pratt, a niece of Governor Seymour, in Albany,
N. Y., on Wednesday evening. A telegram to
the Now'York Sunsayn: “Mr. Bryant deliv
ered a speech, closing with a toast, nominating
Samuel J. Tildeu a* the next Democratic can
didate for President. Thi* was drank standing
and with much enthusiasm. Governor Titden
responded, nei.her accepting nor declining the
proffered honor, but holding himself subject
to the call of hi* party.”
Tho Washington Star says: Cabinet officer*
agree in saying that the rush for offieo ha*
never boon greater within their experience
than at tho present tirno. The civil service
rule* having been abrogated and the bars let
down a* it were, hundred* of persons are daily
making application for appointments, most of
them laboring under the falliciou* notion that
they have only to knock at tho doorsof the
executive department* and be admitted at
once, and nover dreaming that their qualifica
tion* for tho positions they seek must be
tested by an examination.
The people of Western North Carolina have
determined to colebrate in a spirited manner
tho coutcnnial anniversary of the Mecklen
burg declaration of independence. This anni
versary is tho 20th of May of thi* year. Hon.
John Kerr, of North Carolina, will be the orator
of the day, and Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, of
Georgia, will be chief marshal. It will un
doubtedly bo an occasion of much interest.—
The people of North Carolina patriotically
keep alive tho memory of their early stand for
independence, their ancestor* having antici
pated by more than a year tho common stand
taken by the colonies.
The Semaphore, a well known Marseilles
journal, by do means addicted to the publica
tion of canards, announces that the sovereign
of Japan intends paying a visit to Franco, will
start at tho end of August, with throe ships
and a numerous suite, and will come by way of
Suez and Marseilles. If auy one had predicted
twenty-five years ago, I efore tho late Cornmo- j
doro Perry visited Japan on a diplomatic and 1
commercial mission from tho Uuited States,
that it* sovereign would bo so far advanced in
civilization as to undertake such a journey as !
this, ho would have been as much disbelieved ;
as poo{ Cassandra was during the famous |
siege of Troy. To a young sovereign (for the
Mikado will not bo twenty-three years old un
til next September) k visit to the Old World
must be a source of wonder and delight.
The best books drift to the second-hand
book stores when they aro no longer wanted for
display. An old copy of llaliam’s Middle
Age*, bought at one of these places the other
day. seems to illustrate this sad fact. The
covers look as if they had passed six mouths in
a nursery, and one of them shows unmistak
able marks of having beeu used by the head of
the family as a hone for his razor. Inside,
however, this book could hardly be cleaner and
clearer if it had but just come from tho press.
In the best part of it a number of the leaves
have never been cut at all, aud are as well pre
served as if the original purchaser had stood
over them with a shot gun loaded to the muz
zle with death. Mr. liallam evidently com
mitted a great financial blunder when he de
cided not to devote his life to Indians and
pirates.
From returns published in the New York i
Bulktin, it appears that during the months of j
January and February of this year the exports i
of iron aud steel rails from Great Britain to j
Russia fell off from 6.524 tons in 1874 to 1.023 !
tons iii 1875, and to the United States from !
16,978 tons to 4.931 tons. The three .countries !
taking the largest quantities of rails in 1375 j
were : Australia. 13,480 tons; Peru, 8,952. aud ;
British India, 7,306 tons. The total exports of j
iron fall off from 96.311 toua in 1874 to 71,257 |
in 1875, and the declared value from $6,552,100
to $3.683,725. In the two early mouths of 1873 i
the total value of the exports of British pro
duce and mannfictures of a ! l kinds was $203,- j
150,000. For the same months in 1874 it was
$188,500,000, while for the same period in 1575
it shows a further decline of $173,200,000. it
can thus be seen that the condition of business
and trade in England is no befter than in this
country, while the prospects are not more on- '
couragiug in the near future. Miners and
toilers in manufactories are out of eniploy
ploymeut. while capitalists are receiving but a
small, if any. returns for their funds invested
in certain lines of business.
I. J. Milliken. one of the wealthiest mer
chants in Sacramento, took for a second wife
a young octoroons. She was very pretty, well
educated, and her African blood was barely
perceptible. The marriage was opposed by the
children of the first wife, who would have no
acquaintance with their step-mother. A short
time ago Milliken died. Having made no will
the octoroon wife could only claim the wife's
usual share of the property. The estate was
worth about a million dollars. The children
are contesting her right to anything, basing
their suit on the fact of Mrs. Milliken being
pan negro, the California law declaring that
• ‘all marriages between white persons and ne
groes or mulattoes are illegal and void.'' The
evidence shows that during the years of Mr.
Milliken's wedded life with this second wife
she was received in good society, although her
taint of blood was well known, and that his
affection and respect for her were sincere. The
defense is that the law particularly designates
“negroes and mulattoes" as ineligible for mar
riage with white persons, and that the wife in
this instance was neither, being only one
eighth negro. A decision has not been reached.
CROP PROSPECTS.
Oor advices from the country are to
the effect that planting operations of
every description are unusually back ward.
Com which is generally planted from
the third to the tenth of March is now
just being pnt in the ground. A ma
jority of the farmers have not yet had
their land broken up, and the work of
February must be done in April. Bad
weather has been tho cause of this de
lay. During the past three months we
have had rain almost without intermis
sion. Plowing was rendered an impos
sibility, and the farmers now find near
ly all of their work before them. "Old
planters prononnee it the most back
ward Spring which lias been expe- j
rienced for more than forty years. A j
great deal of cotton land will be thrown
out iu this State on account of the fail
ure of farmers to procure advances of j
money aud supplies, and tho chances
seem good for a greatly reduced crop. I
THE STATE TREASURY.
The Atlanta New# gives a statement,
apparently by authority, concerning the !
stoppage of the interest on gold quarter
ly bonds and the subsequent resumption
of payment 4 “Soon after Capt. .Tones
entered into office he discovered that
the Fourth National Bank of New York
was paying coupons of gold quarterly
bonds, whose owners had not complied
with the law of the State requiring affi- 1
davits, showing the validity of the
bonds. At any rate, the Treasurer had
no knowledge that the law h*td been
complied with, and as it was imperative
in its action, he ordered payment stop
ped until compliance with its terms
was made. Col. Sneed, as he under
stood it, was employed by the holders
to receive these affidavits from onr
foreign consuls and transmit them to
the Treasurer. This he did and the
Treasurer having evidence that the law
had been complied with gave orders
to resume payment of the coupons.”
MR. ELAINE'S HOPES.
The country is informed that Mr. Ex-
Speaker Blaine has “ hopes.” He
thinks the Republicans have fair pros
pects of success in the next Presidential
campaign. This will doubtless be cheer
ing nows to the Republican party, which
has had so little cheering information
recently. To be snre times have chang
ed somewhat since Mr. Blaine was last
upon the stump in Connecticut. He
was then Mr. Speaker and not Mr. Ex-
Speaker, as at present. He was then
the leader of a two-thirds majority in
the House of Representatives. Now
the Republicans have little more than
one-third of the votes of that body, and
even in this small faction Mr. Blaine
will find wide divisions and emphatic
protests against his claims to leadership.
Then the Republicans had three-fourths
of the Federal Senate. Now they lrave
a bare, and an extremely uncertain, ma
jority. Then twenty-five out of thirty
seven States were controlled by the Ad
ministration. Now twenty-one States
out of thirty-seven are in the hands of
the Opposition. Then the Republican
party was organized, united and power
ful. Now its power is departing, it is
torn by internal dissensions and weak
ened by the fierce conflicts of rival
chieftains for the mastery. Yet stili
Mr. Blaine has hopes, which he is not
backward in proclaiming to the country.
It is somewhat notable, however, that
all of Mr. Blaine’s hopes are fpunded
upon the mistakes which he affects to
think will be made by his opponents.
He does not claim that there is virtue
enough in the Republican party to
save that organization from defeat.—
He thinks that success will come through
tho vices of the opposition. He as
sumes that tho constitutional amend
ments and the reeoustruetion laws will
be made the principal issues by the
Democrats in the next campaign, and
that upon such a platform they will be
defeated as easily and decisively as they
were seven years ago. Mr. Blaine and
those Republicans who think with him
are evidently reduced to the last ex
tremity when they cling to such a straw
as this for safety. They forget that the
reconstruction laws and constitutional
amendments, infamous as were those
measures and mischievous as they have
proved, not to the South alone but to
the whole country, have about spent
their force and exhausted the venom
with which they wore so highly charged.
In 18fi8 they were living and vital issues;
they were throttling a whole people and
placing one section of the country un
der the dominion of ignorance and
malice. In 1875 there are but two
Southern States which have not shaken
off Republican earpet-bag rule, aud one
of these—South Carolina—has expe
rienced a wonderful change for the bet
ter —has been touched by the first rays
which precede the coming of the dawu.
Why should the South insist upon the
Democracy warring against the disabled
monster of reconstruction who can now
do them no harm, and who sits in his
•ave like the giant mentioned in the al
legory bitiug his nails iu impotent ma
lice at the passers-by ? Has Mr. Blaine
discovered any reason for believing that
the Democrats will attempt to retrace
their steps, to make those things
issues in 1876 which they formal
ly abandoned in 1872 ? Does he not
know that we are fighting obnoxious
legislation in the Courts and with every
prospect of success ? He will discover
i at the proper time the fallaciousness of
' his hopes, the folly of his expectations.
He will find in 1876 a united, thorongh
; ly organized and well disciplined oppo
sition marching against the enemies of
; free government aud their leader,
whether he be Grant, or Conkling or
: Blaine, and he will learn, too, that such
a party—numbering not alone Demo
| crats in its ranks but, as well, the best
men of the Republicans—is invincible;
that to it will be intrusted the govern
j ment of the country and the welfare of
the people.
Our Atlanta correspondent seems to j
think that the race will be close in the j
Ninth District between Mr. Bell and
Mr. Hill. We are inclined to believe i
that he is mistaken. Our information j
indicates that Mr. Hill’s chances are j
excellent, and that it is almost certain j
he will receive the nomination. It is j
certainly very magnanimous of Mr. W. i
P, Price to say that he will come down !
in the event of Mr. Bell’s nomination. |
As he does’nt stand the ghost of a
chance of election, and hasn't strength
enough to hurt Mr. Hell or anybody i
else, it is not a matter of much conse- j
quenco whether he comes down or goes
up. His declaration, however, exposes
very effectually the animus of his can
didacy.
What is known in South Carolina as
the Bonanza bill, whieh was passed by
means of Speaker Elliott’s arbitrary
rulings over Governor Chamberlain’s
veto, is to be tested in the Courts. Mr.
J. O. Mathewson, of this city, a stock
holder iu the Graniteville Manufactur
ing Company, has filed a bill in the
i Federal Courts restraining the Commis
sioners appointed under the bill from
| attempting to carry out its provisions,
• and also restraining the Graniteville
j Company from paying the taxes levied
i by the Bonanza.
B WARD ON GRANT.
Senator Bayard has been doing
yeoman’s service for the Democracy in
Connecticut. One of his most effective
speeches was delivered in New Haven a
lew days ago. It was a merciless
arraignment of Grant and Grantism.
Senator Bayard is not one of those who
begs us for Heaven’s sake to sav noth
ing against Grant. He knows that the
President has been the active anl bitter
euemy of free government and he is
bold enough to charge him with the
crimes which he has committed. Sena
tor Bayard declared there were two
elements at work in this country which
if not destroyed themselves would de
stroy the nation. The first one of these
is force; the other fraud.
One difficulty in the present Gerernment
was that at the head of it was a soldier who
didn't know the first or any other of the princi
ples of republican government. Arguments
he had none, and his acts were like his mind;
his notions were bold, fearless, uuconciliatory,
and he had never sought to enlarge them by
advice and counsel. His policy was that of a
soldier. Losis XIV. once said that “artillery
was the last argument of Kings,” which meant
that force was the last argument after reason
and justice had beeu exhausted; yet what was
the last argument with Kings had been the
first aud only farce employed by the President
of this United Rtates. They had seen intelli
gence degraded, and ignorance aud brutality
encouraged. The speaker defied any man to
point out a single case in General Ghaut's
administration where an official, no matter
how much evidence of his malfeasance had
beeu Lronght forward, had been removed be
cause of such evidence.
Regarding the Louisiana troubles, Mr.
Bayard does not find that Grant was j
simply “enforcing the law.” The
cause of the troubles in Louisiana in !
1872 and of all the later troubles in
that State he traced directly to the Pres
ident. He said it is generally believed
that General Grant was at the Capitol
during the debate upon the Force bill,
and intimated that those Congress
men who wished to retain his favor
must vote in favor of that infamous
measure. He exposed the Arkansas
message, which the President sent to
the House of Representatives, and de
clared that the Executive not only
claimed the right of deciding whether
Baxter or Brooks was Governor, but
the right to enter a State and overthrow
any government that he thought unlaw
ful. We are afraid that Mr. Bayard is
very impolitic. Does he not know that
the true line is to say a good word for
Grant on every occasion and to reserve
all his thunder for those Republicans
who .voted against the Force bill and
against overthrowing the legal State
government of Arkansas ? Impolitic
Bayard!
MAGNIFICENT PAUPERISM IN
THE SOUTH.
The New Orleans Picayune is publish
ing a series of articles in tho hope of
doing something to lead the planting
class out of what it calls the present
slough of despond. During the past
three years, the editor reminds them,
the Southern States have produced large
crops of cotton, and sold them at good
prices. Putting the incoming crop at
only 3,650,000 bales, and the total pro
duction the laet three seasons reached
tho enormous aggregate of 11,750,000
bales, worth about §725,000,000. The av
erage crop for the ten years preceding the
war was 3,545,000 bales, worth §178,000,-
000. The average of the last three years
is 3,916,000 bales, worth §234,960,000.
Yet, notwithstanding all this, the Pica
yune says, the Cotton States are in a de
plorable financial condition. They have
scarcely any money and their credit is
almost gone. They have gone on pro
ducing cotton and purchasing supplies,
apparently doing a prosperous business,
only to find that each year leaves them
deeper in debt. Now the merchants re
fuse to advance the means to put in large
crops, and the planter begins to realize
how desperately poor he is. More than
one remedy may bo requisite for this
condition of things, but one of the
most effective of these would be a
greater diversification of agricultural in
terests, to the end that the planters may
live more within their own resources
than heretofore.
THE VICTORY IN CONNECTICUT.
The official figures of the Connecticut
election are given this morning, and
they make the victory even more com
plete aud overwhelming than at first an
nounced. The news has grown better,
and the official count has swelled in
stead of reducing the majorities. The
vote polled was the largest ever cast in
the State, and this fact shows how great
the exertions and how thorough the can
vass made by both parties. The total
vote is 100,714 against 91,476 last Spring,
and 86,845 in 1873. • Ingersoll (Dem.)
received 53,784; Greene (Rep.), 44,256 ;
and Smith (Prohib.), 2,674—making In
gersoll’s majority over Greene, 9,528,
and over both combined, 6,864. Last
year his majority over the Republican
candidate was 6,994, and over Republi
can and Prohibitionist, 1,809 —thus giv
ing a real gain in the State of Jive thou
sand votes. For years past the Demo
crats have only elected one member of
Congress out of four—this year affairs
are reversed, and the Republicans elect
only one out of four—making a gain of
! two members for the Democrats. In
the First District Landers (Dem.) de-
I feated Hawley (Rep.) by 488 votes ; in
1873 the Republican majority in this
j District was 1,260. In the Second Dis
! trict the Democratic candidate is elect
j ed by 1,500 majority; in 1873 the Repub
! liean majority in this District was 588.
1 In the Fourth District the Democratic
; majority is increased from 1,764 in 1873
Ito 2,235. In the Third District the Re
! publican majority is reduced from 1,764
I to 791 votes. The House o£ Representa-
I tives is largely Democratic, and in the
j Senate the Democrats have fifteen out of
tweutv-one members. Well done, Con
! necticut!
The New York Bulletin makes bold to
say that “the time is close at hand when
six per cent, must be accepted as the
governing rental” upon real estate in
New York. Considering the complete
security of an investment in a business
block on one of the principal streets of
the metropolis, and that four or five per
cent, is the average rate on similar
property in London, this is not, per
haps, extravagant. The World says that,
along Broadway, from Bowling Green to
Fourteenth street, eight hundred and
fifty street numbers, there are two hun
dred and eighty which display the card
“To Rent,'* there being many whole
stores and buildings vacant. The vete
ran real estate broker, John Lloyd,
“never knew so dull a season,” and is
making no loans at all, declining to offer
any but temporary engagements at the
present rates, which are from thirty to
forty per cent. off. From Chambers
street to Union Square are many whole
stores, and (parts of stores, which have
waited from one to six years, without a
tenant. A loft, which has been rented
in past years for 818,000, is now refused
at 810,000.
The Monroe Advertiser favors the
policy of giving the Western Democrats
| the candidate for President and the
Northern Democrats the Vice-President.
Thurman and Tildes- are its favorites.
INot a bad ticket; nor one which the
South would find it difficult to support.
AUGTJSTA, GA., WEDNESDAY MORNING, APRIL 14, 1875.
i WHSt THE CONNECTICUT ELEC
TION MEANS.
Many of the Democratic journals were
as much surprised by the result of the
recent election in Connecticut as the
| Radical papers were. They all seemed
to think that the Democrats would do
well if they succeeded in carrying the
State, though by a reduced majority—
retaining control of the Legislature, and
the Congressional District represented
by Mr. Barnum. They knew that all
the power and patronage of the Admin
istration was being used against the
Democracy; they knew how formidable
these influences were; and would have
been well content to hold their own.
Contrary to their expectations the gains
have been large; the victory has been
complete and overwhelming. In the
largest vote ever polled in the State the 1
Democratic majority has been increased
fully one-third; the party has a hand
some majority on joint ballot in the
Legislature, and the Republicans have
carried only one Congressional District
ont of four, and that one by a largely
reduced majprity.
A great deal of significance attaches
to the result of the contest in Connecti
cut. The Democracy , there made a
square fight against the Administration
and its policy; against Grant and Grant
ism. The real candidate defeated last
Monday was General Grant; the real
policy repudiated was the policy which
was embodied in.the Force bill, in the
Arkansas message and in the “banditti”
dispatch. The Republican candidate
for Governor was known to be the warm
approver and endorser of all these mon
strosities; and iu order that there might
be no doubt whatever as to his senti
ments he, as Mayor of Norwich, ordered
a salute of one hundred guns to be fired
when the news of Sheridan’s telegram
proclaiming tho people of Louisiana
banditti, and General Grant’s approval
of his course, was received. His candi
dacy embodied General Grant’s policy
of war against the South. His candida
cy embodied General Grant’s policy of
additional reconstruction for those
Southern States which have thrown off
the yoke of Radicalism. His candidacy
embodied Grant’s war upon the Consti
tution and upon free government. The
candidate has beeu ingloriouslv routed;
the principles which he represented have
beeu repudiated by an overwhelming
majority. The people of Connecticut
have spoken, and their voice has given
no uncertain sound, on Grant and
Grantism.
THE MISTAKES OF THE TRIBUNE.
The New York Tribune copies some re
marks complimentary to Hon. L. Q. C.
Lamar, which recently appeared in the
Chronicle and Sentinel, and alludes
to them as giving that gentleman “a
boost towards the Presidential nomina
tion.” The Tribune is very much 'mis
taken if it supposes that Mr. Lamar is
seeking the Presidential nomination or
that tho Chronicle and Sentinel prais
ed him as a prospective Presidential
candidate. Mr. Lamar knows very well
that no Southern man will seek or receive
the nomination, and if he did not know
this he is too patriotic to sacrifice his
country to his ambition. We believe
Mr. Lamar to be a man of signal ability,
and we have a firm fuith in his integrity
and his patriotism. We believe that he
is working faithfully for what he con
ceives to be the good of liis country an&
the welfare of liis people. We do not
believe that his conduct is actuated by a
single selfish motive, and we do believe
that his only ambition is to free the
South from the shackles of ignorance
and oppression. We believe that lie
has done us great good in the past, and
that, if spared by Providence, he will
render yet more valuable assistance in
the future. So much for Mr. Lamar.
The Tribune is just as badly mistaken
when it assumes from our praise of Mr.
Lamar that the Chronicle and Senti
nel is opposed to the nomination, in
1876, of a Democratic candidate upon a
Democratic platform. As the Chroni
cle and Sentinel has often said before,
we favor the nomination of a Democrat
ic candidate upon a Democratic plat
form, and we have as little doubt that
such a nomination will be made as we
have that the sun shines in the heavens.
The Chronicle and Sentinel favors,
and wo believe that every Southern man
and Southern press favors, the adoption
of such a policy as will bring every
honest Republican, every Republican of
liberal views, under our standard. We
need the assistance of such men, and we
expect to make them friends and allies.
We have little doubt that the Demo
cratic National Convention of next year
will adopt a platform upon which all the
lovers of free government and all the
enemies of centralization can rally.
There may be a few Grant men in dis
guise among us who will oppose any
plan which has for its object the defeat
of the present occupant of the White
House and the repudiation of personal
government, but there are not enough
of these to make them an element in
the contest.
If we are to attach any meaning to the
colloquy between the Attorney-General
of the United States and some of the
Judges of the Supreme Court which
took place last Friday during the hear
ing of what are known as the Grant
Parish cases, it would seem there are
good indications that the Enforcement
act will be declared unconstitutional by
the highest judicial tribunal of the
country. The questions propounded by
Judge Bradley, Judge Clifford and
Judge Strong appear to show very
plainly the bent of their minds, and
neither of the three can be justly ac
cused of any leaning towards the Demo
cratic side of the question. If this
odious law, passed by Congress at the
instigation and express request of Gen
eral Grant, be declared void, one of the
strongest agencies of the third-term
will be destroyed and we may expect a
measurably fair election in 1876.
We publish in another column this
morning an article from the New York
Herald on the third term, which speaks
of General Gordon, of Georgia, having
been in the Grant “ring. ” We do not
believe, and shall not believe until some
evidence is offered in support of the
charge, that General Gordon had any
thing to do with so disgraceful a trans
action. His acts and words have both
given the lie to this accusation. We are
confident that General Gordon is bat
i tling as earnestly and effectively against
! the re-election of Grant and the suc
! cess of the infamous policy of fraud and
i force which he represents as any man in
the country. Gordon is not that kind
of a man Mr. Herald.
The telegraph last night brought the
somewhat astonishing tidings that Hon.
Benjamin Conley, of this city, was yes
[ terday appointed Postmaster of Atlanta,
; vice ex-Gov. Sam Bard, removed. The
j cause of the removal is not given, and
as Mr. Bard has been such a loyal
| Grant man for the past eight years, it
: is hard to conjecture why he should
have been turned adrift Mr. Conley,
i as our readers well know, is a most
pronounced Republican, but lie has the
reputation of being a man of the
strictest integrity, and is one of the few
who were not tainted with the rascali
ties of the Bulloch regime.
BTEPHENS SPEAKS.
j Letter from Hon. Alexander H. Steph
ens to the Savannah News.
IiiBEETf Hall, j
Crawfordville, Ga., >
March 31, 1875.)
Editor Morning News :
My attention has been called, by the
kindness of a friend, to an editorial in
your paper of the 22d inst., and a com
munication in the sameliasue, over the
signature of “Philokris,* each contain
ing strictures upon my j course in Con
gress, which, I am informed, some of
your readers think jamght not to permit
to pass unnoticed, it is due to myself,
as well as to the country'll am told, that
I should authoritatively rcspoud to these
grave, public charges agipnst my fidelity
to the cause of constitutional liberty.
The copy of the paper referred to was
received several days agoi bat my time
since then has been too iiiuch occupied
with company and other business of
pressing importance, for me, at an
earlier day than this, to give the subject
that notice which its character, iu the
opinion of others, seems to demand.—
You will, therefore, please allow me the
privilege of now expressing through
your columns, as briefly and pointedly
as possible, and also in language inten
ded to be entirely respfeotful, my un
qualified protest against the misstate
ment in matter, and what lean but look
npon as the disingenuotispess in tone,
which pervade both of tl use articles.
As fair specimens of tkjuJftlyr, as well
as the? tone, whiisft- !Baraet*“iJ~i>isCT?'
from their beginning to their end, the
following extracts —one from each—may
be given. In the editorial, for instance,
you say :
“It has been with extreme reluctance
and only from a profound sense of duty
that we have expressed onr dissent from
the course of Hon. A. H. Stephens in
upholding the usurpations of President
Grant, by which constitutional govern
ment has been virtually overthrown in
the State of Louisiana and a military
despotism established in its stead. In
the confident expectation that Mr. Ste
phens would in his place on the floor of
the House, at the proper time, give the
country his views of the policy of the
Administration towards tho people of
Louisiana, and that he would make
known the reasons which impelled him
not only to justify the Kellogg usurpa
tion, but also to approve the subsequent
military intervention for its mainten
ance, we refrained even from an expres
sion of our surprise at his course, :o
widely at variance with the known sen
timents of his constituents and of the
constitutional Democracy of the Union.
When, however, he not only failed to
raise his voice in denunciation of a de
liberate and persistent system of usur
pation and outrage, such as lias never
before disgraced the annals of even the
Radical party, but by his vote in the
last hours of Congress contributed to
defeat the parliamentary tactics of the
Democ-ats, the object of which was to
prevent the endorsement of the Kellogg
usurpation by the- Radical majority in
that body, we were constrained, more in
sorrow than in any spirit of fault find
ing with our distinguished Representa
tive, to express our dissent from his
course. ”
In the communication referred to,
signed “Philokris” (and which from its
position and the leaded style iu which it
is put up, may be considered as sent
forth with editorial sanction), the
writer, after stating that what he had
said in a previous article about “the
distinguished author” of “the War Be
tween the States” “was in sorrow, not
in anger,” goes on with the following
language:
“And some people entertained un
bounded confidence in his resources,
power and influence. They looked on
him as the Moses who was to lead us
through the wilderness of difficulties in
which we had become involved safe to
the Canaan of restored positiou and
weight in the administration of the
affairs of this country. They looked on
him as the greatest living Apostle, the
very Paul of State sovereignty. And
what was the sequel ? What has he
done ? How has he defended State
rights ? What has been his course ?
He has defended back pay, supported
Grant, voted with Radicals against
Democrats ! Oh ! what a falling off !
How have we found our idol, clay !”
First, • then, as to the matter of the
above extracts, against which I enter
my unqualified protest. Whpn and
where, iu what word, or by what deed
have I ever “upheld,” “defended,” or
“supported” any act of “usurpation” by
General Grant or anybody else, either
in low or high official position ? I join
issue with you directly aud squarely
upon tho facts on which your accusa
tions are based. You say farther in
your editorial that you expected me, in
my place in the House, to make known
the reasons which “impelled” me “ to
justify the Kellogg usurpation.” When
and where, I ask, did I ever by word or
deed justify auy usurpation of Kellogg?
I aver that no “reasons” nor powers
have ever yet “impelled” or induced
me to justify or sanction any usurpation
whatever, and never will so long as I re
tain the faculties of my mind. This
statement, that I have by some act or
word justified the K'‘llogg“usurpation,”
you will please allow me most respect
fully to say, is as groundless in point of
fact as it is injurious in force of terms.
My life has been devoted to the main
tenance of right against wrong—the
rights of individuals as well as the
rights of States against all abuses of
power which tend to oppression and
tyranny; and you are most respectfully
asked to specify, if you can, a single
word or act in that life* private or pub
lic, at variance with this averment. You
have the record of forty years before
you.
If I have ever said or done anything
in relation to any act of General Grant
which is not maintainable upon the im
mutable principles of right, truth and
justice, you will do me a favor by nam
ing it. Again, you say in effect (and
must have meant to be understood by
so saying in terms, if you meant any
thing) that my vote, “ in the last hours
of Congress,” to take up the report of
the Committee on Louisiana Affairs,
enabled the Radical majority of the
House to endorse the Kellogg usurpa
tion. Allow me to say to you, as be
fore, that this statement, if you intend
ed it, as I suppose you did, is utterly
erroneous. My vote did not enable the
Radical majority of the House to do any
such thing ; nor did that majority do
any such thing. There was no endorse
ment of the legality of Kellogg’s elec
tion, nor of a single act of his adminis
tration. But my vote did enable a ma
jority of the House to put their explicit
condemnation upon the huge iniquity of
the Radical Returning Board in Lou
isiana, by which the Democracy of that
State had been defrauded of the majori
ty in the House of Representatives of
the Legislature, to which they were
rightfully entitled. By my vote, which
turned the scale, and decided the ques
tion of taking up that report, this con
demnation was secured—a condemna
tion the more signal from the fact that it
was unanimous—every Radical, as well as
every Democrat, in the House voting for
it! This grand result, which never
would have been attained without my
vote, however you and others may look
upon it, I regard as the greatest triumph
in the vindication of popular rights and
State rights achieved on the floor of
Congress for the sixteen preceding years.
It opened the way, too, for another like
vindication on the Arkansas question,
which soon followed. But in voting, as
I did, to take up the report of the com
mittee, I was found voting with Radi
cals, and “against the parliamentary
tactics of the Democrats,” whose object,
you say, was to “prevent the endorse
ment of the Kellogg usurpation !” That
is, the “tactics” I did not yield to —it
seems, were planned with a view to pre
vent what no one ever proposed to do.
Wise and sagacious leaders of the “De
mocracy of the Union,” think you, were
those who planned such “parliamentary
tactics ?” Heaven forbid that I shall
ever be found following such leaders,
when public liberty is at stake; and
Heaven forbid that the cause of the
true Democracy of the United States
shall ever be committed for guidance
and control to the hands of the authors
of such “tactics!”
My great offense,, then, consists in
giving a vote by which no change was
effected as to the status of Kellogg, but
by which the crimes of the Returning
B'oard against the rights of the people
and of the State of Louisiana were
unanimously condemned by the House
of Representatives in Congress; and by
which, through the peaceful instrumen
talities of the Constitution, that State
has been relieved from the terrible
scourge of military interference, and the
whole country relieved, temporarily at
least, from the anguish of one of those
virulent cankers upon the body politic
growing out of the reconstruction usur
pations of Congress, against which I
j have ever warred and ever shall war.
This, forsooth, is my blunder, my crime,
my worse than archangel fall ! It is for
this “Philokris” exclaims: “How have
we found onr idol, clay !” In this con
sists my desertion from the principles
taught iu the “Constitutional view of
the war between the States ?” Excuse
me, Mr. Editor, for saying that all who
thus really think, if any such there be,
have my sincerest pity and profoundest
commiseration. Be assured, however,
that a majority of my constituents, and
a majority, I trust, of the Democracy of
the Union, are not in that class. Your
assertion iu this particular is, I ween,
as gratuitous as in others. You and
“Philokris” would do well also to re
member that it was not Moses who fell,
but those who “departed” from the true
faith, and erected iu its stead a molten
calf as their “idol,” before which they
bowed down and worshipped. Hence,
their troubles and sufferings. So much
as to the matter set forth in my double
arraignment before your readers.
Secondly, then, with your indulgence,
I have a few words to add as to the tone
of that arraignment. On this point you
must allow me most respectfully to say
that as it seems to me both articles
evince an object or purpose not unlike
that of the wolf in the fable, that was
bent upon a quarrel with his intended
victim—/as aut ntfas. When the
charge of muddying the waters in the
stream above him by the one below was
too flimsy a pretext to justify his ulte?
rior designs, another one more specious,
Wanf^rasaricif^o^
in this case, if it really be as it appears
to me, will be similar to that in the
fable, time must disclose. But if this
case is not as it seems to me (which you
know best); if the real object and pur
pose of these imputations against my
fidelity to true Democratic principles be
not barely a prelude to a contemplated
open war upon me and my known posi
tion iu the coming great struggle be
tween constitutionalism and centralism
in the United States, why, let me ask
you, am I not only thus assailed iu your
paper npon charges so gipundk-ss, but
also made tho special object of assault
for my course upon the repeal of the act
of March, 1873, increasing the pay of
members of Congress ? Was my position
on that question different in any respect
from that of both of our distinguished
Senators, Gordon and Norwood ? If I
voted against the repeal of that act, did
not they both do the same ? Is it not
well known that General Gordon was in
Washington 3d March, 1873, and ur-ed
his friends to vote for the increase,
though lie had not yet taken his seat ?
Nay, more, did not Senator Norwood
not only vote for the increase in March,
1873, but also receive and retain the
“backpay?” If I defended those who,
like Senator Norwood, voted for and re
ceived the “backpay” against the charge
of being “public robbers,” or being
guilty of anything illegal or immoral for
so doing, showing, as I did, that the
ablest, truest and purest men of the
country from the beginning of the Gov
ernment had received the “back pay” on
the increase of salary, does that justly
subject me to be singled out and de
nounced for my course on this subject ?
Does this thus singling me out for
reprehension iu this matter look much
like being “constrained” in the expres
sion of your dissent from my course
“more in sorrow than in any spirit of
fault finding?” To me it looks very much
as if your purpose was the same as that
of the wolf. I speak in perfect candor
and frankness. What view others may
take of it I know not. I speak only of
myself on this point.
In regard to your “sorrow,” and that
of your correspondent, allow me to as
sure you and him that I feel duly thank
ful for your uuited sympathies, but
think you and he better reserve them
for more appropriate bestowal. In the
near future if you, he, and a majority
of the Democracy o< the Union, shall
still adhere to the worship of your
“idol” ' erected in Baltimore in i.872,
your present sorrows may be greatly in
creased, but even then, if in life, I shall
say, as now, to you, and all who de
nounce me for what I have done in Con
gress, and shed tears of “sorrow” over
it: “Weep not for me, but weep for
yourselves” and for your counti-y—
--brought to ruiu by the friends of the
Constitution being guilefully induced
to follow those whose “tactics” lead in
evitably to defeat, disaster and destruc
tion. Very respectfully,
Alexander H. Stephens.
THE SHAME OP THE AGE.
Tlie Richmond Enquirer on the Beeeh
er-TiJtou Trial.
The Tilton-Beecher trial Still drags its
slow length along, and daily are the
American public served with their feast
of scandal. To our mind this is the
“great crime of the age.” What would
our fathers or their fathers, or their
father’s fathers, have thought of such a
thing? What would the people of an
cient times, the good citizens of Baby
lon or Nineveh, of Palmyra or Jerusa
lem, of Thebes or of Athens, of Rome
or of any other enlightened place in the,
antique world have thought of it had
their morning papers—their Tribunes,
Times, Sum, Stars and Worlds —come
to them daily at breakfast with whole
pages of silliness ? We imagine we see
the good people of ancient Rome
picking up a Tribune and taking hold
of the supplement, with the intermin
able questions and answers at the
trial of some noted augur or priest
accused of taking unwarranted lib
erties with a vestal virgin, and then
we see them drop it like a hot potato,
while the editor is summoned before
the Senate and doomed to perpetual
exile, in the interest of public morality.
And that is exactly what ought to be
done with them here. It is a burning
shame that so insignificent a thing as
this should stop the wheels of civiliza
tion agd roll us backward. Why, what
are Beecher and Tilton and Mrs. Tilton,
and all of Brooklyn to the world, that it
should stop on its axis and stand still for
months, to decide a simple question that
is entirely confined to three persons
who are alone involved in it ? Must the
whole fabric of our society be turned
topsy-turvy to reach the bottom of this
matter, only to hud out at last that there
is “nothing in it?” Must all our great
and all our little, papeis be turned into
sewers to Hood the dwellings of the land
with the sickening odors and deadly at
mosphere of the gutters, to taint and
poison the very fountains of social
health and life, merely to pander to the
deprased tastes and morbid appetites of
a few gossips and scandal-mongers ?
For heaven’s sake let the publication of
this vile stuff be stopped Devote the
space given it to healthful matter that
will instruct our youth and improve the
moral tone of society. The walls of the
Court room should hide the monster
from public gaze and disgust, and there
it should be allowed to foam and fer
ment, to seeth and boil, and finally to
die and rot in its own corruption. Put
down the brakes. Stop it. We have
had enough and more than enough. It
is degrading to the manhood of the na
tion and a blot upon the intelligence of
the age that tolerates and encourages
such exhibitions—and, therefore, let the
curtain be dropped.
Growth of the United States.— A
member of Parliament, addressing a
public meeting in Englaud night before
last, pronounced the United States the
most prosperous country in the world..
[lt really does not seem to be so, just
now.] He also said that in fifty years
this Government would represent one
hundred and fifty millions of people,
and the rapid progress of the country in
population and power were forcible rea
sons why Great Britain should cultivate
the friendship and alliance of this
Government and people.
This estimate of our rate of progress
in population is certainly startling, and
seems exaggerated. But still it is possi
bly correct. Taking the last three gen
erations —a period of ninety years in our
history—and the census shows these
figures as to popular increase:
1870. 1840. 1810.
38,555,983 17,069,453 7,239,483
Suppose that for the next fifty years
the population of the United States
should double twice. This would be a
good deal smaller rate of increase than
j shown above, and yet it would make our
! population in fifty years (1920), 254, 223,-
I 932. But it should be remembered that
| the ratio of increase considerably dimin-
I ishes as population increases.
Cyphering noon any theory or basis,
! however, will show a stupendous result.
I With peace, union and liberty, the
i growth of population in a very few years
i will work out such a mighty sum total as
to be equally surpsising and suggestive.
We have come to that period in our na
tional history when increase and accu
mulation startle us with the grandeur
of their proportions, and address them
selves in very forcible terms to the re
flecting mind.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF HON.
John h. James. -
[From the Sunny South.]
John H. James was bom in Henry
county, Georgia, on the fourteenth day
of July, 1830. His father, David James,
a native of North Caroliua, emigrated
to this State about fifty years ago, and
married the beautiful and accomplished
Miss Sarah Sanders, of Franklin county.
This estimable lady has passed from
earth, but her husband survives at a
green old age, full of mental and physi
cal vigor—a sturdy, respected aud in
dependent farmer, at the old homestead
in Henry county.
The childhood of John H. James was
unmarked bv any features of particular
interest to the public. Asa member of
a respectable and industrious family,
devoted to rural pursuits, he bore his
part in the labors of the farm with un
complaining aud cheerful spirit. Duti
ful to his parents, careful of their hap
piness, affectionate and just to his
brother aud sisters, he illustrated, in
early years, the embryo of the splendid
Christian character which makes him
appreciated aud honored by the good
and noble of the State. He was never
known to murmur at tho circumstances
of his early life, nor in Summer’s heat
or Winter’s cold to desert his post of
duty. Through many a melting day lie
has followed the plow or handled the
hoe, as a barefooted boy, and in many a
wintry blast labored cheerfully for the
bread of the family.
§S
tages of the neighborhood schools, in
which he obtained, by close application,
a limited knowledge of the rudiments of
an English education. For about three
months he attended a boarding school at
the village of Jonesboro, after which he
entered the great University of Nature,
in which he has gathered a fund of prac
tical knowledge that constitutes him one
of the best informed men of this coun
try. The facility with which he meas
ures character, circumstances and things,
is wonderful—enabling him, with uner
ring precision, to reach conclusions.
At the age of twenty he bade adieu to
the old home, endeared to him by many
fond memories, and located at Atlanta.
There was ft vital prompting energy
within him that required more active
and exciting scenes and employ
ment than were furnished by life in the
country. However dear were the pur
suits and associations of his childhood
aud youth, he yielded to the stern bid
ding of his nature and sought the city,
not for idle enjoyment, but for the per
formance of manly duty.’ A situation
was promptly secured at ten dollars per
month. Boon it was advanced to twelve
dollars and fifty cents; aud as his capaci
ty and fidelity were discovered, and his
experience increased, his salary was en
larged, reaching, in due season, one hun
dred dollars per month. At that period
this was regarded as first class compen
sation, and none but first class clerks
could command so much, For five years
he continued in the relationship of an
employee, and enjoyed the fullest confi
dence of his employers.
In 1855, having saved from his earn
ings two thousand three hundred dol
lars, which he deemed sufficient to jus
tify business on his own account, be de
cided te engage in that of an auctioneer.
Rightly judging that change from point,
to point was necessary to the life and
profit of that pursuit, he determined to
conduct it as an itinerant. For years
he was punctual in attendance at those
places in the Southern States best suit
ed to the success of his plans. In five
years he had accumulated property val
ued at twenty thousand dollars, and
demonstrated to himself the wisdom of
reliance upon his own mental sugges
tions, which have proven unerring
guides to fortune.
In 1860, feeling that liis possessions
were ample, and influenced by a true
and ardent affection, ho sought aud
gained the heart and hand of Miss Su
san C. Leonard, daughter of A. K.
Leonard, Esq., of Talbot county, to
whom he was married during that year.
Blessed with a wife of proverbial gen
tleness aud beauty of character, he felt
that an era had dawned upon him re
plete with the promises of happiness,
and that his changed condition required
a change of pursuit. Accordingly, with
fortune enlarged, he located permanent
ly in Atlanta, engaging iu the business
of banking. Success rewarded his ef
forts until the war of the States was in
stituted. This circumstance, which dis
turbed the financial condition of so
many citizens, fell with heavy force up
on the fortune of Mr. James, leaving
him only a small portion of his acquisi
tions with which, after the smoke of the
conflict had passed, to resume his select
ed pursuit. About four thousand dol
lars in cash, and real estate of perhaps
twice this amonnt iu value, constituted
all that was left him by the tedious and
terrible strife. Undaunted and with a
cheerful spirit, he reopened his bank,
and has since steadily prosecuted busi
ness with unvarying success. Grasping
results through a power of perception
well-nigh prophetic, his conclusions
have proved unerring. He has ac
quired fortune after fortune, until he
now ranks as one of the wealthiest men
in the State—owning as much (or more)
real estate in Atlanta as any other citi
zen, aud wielding a banking capital
equal to every necessity of his business
position.
Mr. Jan es enjoys the confidence of*
all who know him. His capacity aud
integrity challenge the criticism of the
world. No one can truly charge him
with a single act either of illiberality or
dishonor, and none will doubt the power
of his intellect who judge it through the
medium of his achievements—tho only
reliable test.
During the panic of 1873, whdh many
of the wealthiest bankers were com
pelled to suspend—some going into
bankruptcy—a heavy pressure was
brought to bear upon the establishment
of Mr. James, by the unexpected de
mands of depositors. At this juncture
he closed his bank until he could mar
shal assets, when a number of the
wealthy men of Atlanta, voluntarily and
through the press, proposed to assume,
in his behalf, liabilities varying from
five to fifty thousand dollars each. Such
a mapifestation of faith is seldom met
with in the history of bankers or bank
ing institutions; and this was an ex
pression of confidence unmistakably
sincere, since it was based upon the ad
vance of large'sums of actual capital for
immediate use. These shrewd men had
measured not only the integrity, but the
ability of Mr. James, and this act was
the highest commendation that could
have been given.
The financial storm passed, leaving
many a noble wreck as the consequence
of its fury, but the establishment of Mr.
James survived its threatenings and
came out even strengthened in the face
of the dangers which seemed to impend.
Unwilling in such a period to force col
lections from his many debtors—feeling
that such a course would result in great
inconvenience and perhaps serious in
jury to them—he placed promptly upon
the market a large amount of valuable
city property, which he brought to ac
tual sale by public outcry. Thus he
was not only enabled to extend extraor
dinary favors to his patrons, but to
make such additions to his banking
capital as would prepare him, in all
events, for the call of panic-stricken de
positors.
Mr. James has wrought out for him
self, in ad incredibly short time, the
reputation of an accomplished and far
seeing financier. He entered the arena
of commerce when but a plow-boy, and
has handled the great financial problems
of his day with the facility and success
of a master. Even when fresh from the
farm and the field his conclusions and
his actions were marked by accuracy,
and the history of his acquisitions show
few errors of judgment in the many de
tails constituting his business decisions.
Men bora in the lap of wealth, educated
to the highest degree in literary and
commercial schools, having long expe
rience in banking under the most ad
vantageous circumstances, esteem it a
privilege to advise with John H. James.
His fortune has been made, not by
niggardly savings, but heroic invest
ments. Relying upon his own compre
hension and judgment, he has amassed
largely by venturing where others feared
to go. As an illustration, he realized
over twenty thousand dollars from the
i purchase of a lot of bonds of a suspend
ed bank. These securities were freely
advertised in the papers of the State,
and by distributing handbills. Their
character and the time of sale were
brought to the notice of bankers gener
ally, but they failed to comprehend the
situation, and suffered Mr. James to
purchase them for a little over three
hundred dollars. Dealing in stocks and
bonds is an important feature in his
banking business, and though regarded
hazardous, has brought him only an uu
broken succession of financial triumphs.
He scans the question, decides, acts and
succeeds.
No one has displayed so much enter
prise, good judgment or refined taste in
the improvement of Atlanta. The mojit
valuable, beautiful and imposing struc
tures aro due to his designs. His bank
block, extending on Whitehall from Ala
bama street towards the railroad cross
ing, the Executive Mansion and his pri
vate residence on Peachtree street are
ornaments to the city and monuments to
his liberal enterprise and refined taste.
The latter is a costly and magnificent
model of architecture. Though, as
stated, his sales of city property iu 1873
were considerable, he still retains a large
amount of great value, bringing him
good annual profits by way of rent. —
Every room in bis spacious bank block,
embracing basements aud attics, is oc
cupied. Here is situated liis banking
business, the machinery of which moves
with a quiet preeisiou and absence of all
ostentation, which seem to be copied
from the equanimity and deportment of
the proprietor. With him its front por
tico is a favorite point. There he may
be seen almost every morning, greeting
the passers-by with his genial fact), or
engaged in pleasant conversation with
those who pause in the sunshine of his
presence. No one would imagine that
Mr. James has au unpleasant, care upon
his heart, or a disturbing thought in his
brain. His eye beams with a lustre that
burns steadily, and his countenance is
serene as a cloudless morn of the Spring.
Free from all affectation, ready at every
moment to communicate with others,
showing no selfish reticeuce for the sake
'pf far-see
his presenoe is an attraction which
causes many of the passing throng to
halt before him.
To say that Mr. James is a noble
character is only the language of true
description. At home, in society or in
the counting-house lie illustrates this
truth. His family consists of his wife,
a little girl about ten and a son about
nine years of age. No happier home
adorns the State. Affection presides
over it and with generous care provides
for every want. Towards his employees
he maintains a respectful, polite and
kind deportment, never assuming that
chilling austerity so common with those
who wield capital in the control of labor.
To society lie always adds a charm by
his genial good nature.
He is a man of great liberality, fur
nishing a striking exception to the
maxim that human nature becomes mi
serly in the ratio of its accumulations.
The evidences of his generosity are seen
on every hand. At his individual ex
pense two commodious and handsome
church edifices have been built in At
lanta, and to the completion of another
he contributed the sum of three thou
sand five hundred dollars. Both of the
churches which he had erected are regu
larly supplied with pastors and services
each Sabbath. .Though ho has been a
devotedly pious member of the Baptist
denomination since his eighteenth year,
and though now attached to the Second
Baptist Church of Atlanta, he is pos
sessed of nothing like bigotry; but gives
to all churches and all races, whether
Jew or Gentile, Catholic or Protestant,
homo or foreign bor, white or black.
Thousands of minor charities have re
lieved the necessities of the poor, aud if
the worth of men should be measured
hv their gifts to tho needy, that of Mr.
James would appear pre-eminent. His
donations to churches since the war sum
up more than fifteen thousand dollars,
an amount considerably iu excess of the
entire capital with which ho resumed
business.
The fact that he gives iu the prime of
life, while in the vigor of health, distin
guishes him from most of those who
have bestowed charities and benefits. It
is the general custom to cling closely to
the sordid dust until robbed by death
of the power of enjoyment, and then to
bequeath a portion to charity and the
church.
Though temperate iu all his habits, he
has never joined a temperance society.
His advice, however, to all now is to
guard themselves with jealous care
against the insidious indulgence in
strong drink.
He is a member of the Masonic fra
ternity and lives in obedience to its in
junctions of purity and charity. To
give some idea of his appreciation by
the denomination to which he is attach
ed, it may be said that he is prominent
in almost all its important enterprises,
being a trustee of Mercer University;
trustee and treasurer of the Georgia
Baptist Orphans’ Home; being, also,
with the help of his good wife, superin
tendent of that institution. He has
given to the “Home” more than any
other man, and his wife more than any
other lady. He has for a number of
years been President of the Atlanta
Bible Society; also, of Fulton County
Sabbath School Society, both of which
are composed of members of the various
orthodox denominations. In this we
have proof that he is esteemed by Chris
tians of other churches who have meas--
ured his virtues and honored him.
In 1871, Mr. James was called unani
mously to the Mayoralty of Atlanta,
having first been nominated by a popu
lar vote of the Democratic citizens over
three gentlemen of highest standiug
socially and politically. This indicates
his strength with the Democracy of the
city and his great personal popularity.
This is the only office he ever held. It
was not sought, but accepted because
tendered by his constituents in n man
ner so complimentary. A high apprecia
tion of his administrative ability and
his integrity prompted their choice. As
proof that his administration was ac
cepted and approved, lie was strongly
urged to allow his re-election. This he
declined. His public service was char
acterized by a desire to advance the
common interests of the city and by the
strictest honesty.
In 1872, his name was suggested in
connection with the Gubernatorial elec
tion office. Many citizens of foresight
and influence desired to see him in posi
tion for the exercise of his great finan
cial mind in redeeming the State from
her financial embarrassments and per
plexity. They saw in him the hope of
Georgia, and, therefore, entreated him to
allow his name placed before the nomi
nating convention of that year. This he
declined to do, and apprehending that
his position might not be fully under
stood, and that this might interfere with
the desired unanimity of that body, he
published a letter in which he declared
that he would, under no circumstances,
be a candidate at that time.
The suggestion of his name for Gov
ernor brought out a number of jealous
and unjust comments, designed to pre
judice his standing with the people. It
was alleged that he had realized a large
fortune from the Treasury of Georgia
by the sale of his magnificent residence
for an Executive Mansion. The facts
and figures show that his profits were
exaggerations. The origininal cost of
the land, building and furniture con
veyed to the State amounted to seventy
three thousand dollars. For these he
received one hundred thousand dollars
in depreciated bonds, which, by extra
ordinary shrewdness, he managed to
dispose of to Henry Clews & Cos. for
eighty-five thousand dollars. This left
him only th e apparent profit of twelve
thousand dollars. The laud cost Mr.
James ten thousand dollars. Upon this
for three or four years, while unpro
ductive, he paid State, county and city
taxes. Add to this the interest on its
cost—ten thousand dollars; then to this
add the interest for one year on the cost
of the building, it having been about
that length of time in process of erec
tion, and consequently unproductive.
When theseamountsaresummed up and
sunstracted from the apparent profit—
twelve thousand dollars—it will be re
duced to an inconsiderable amount, if
not altogether absorbed. These facts
and figures are capable of easy proof,
and certainly vindicate Mr. James
effectually against this charge. As soon
as it was sold he built another fully as
handsome, which cost about the same,
which clearly shows that he built the
first one for his own use. The more
serious allegation that he absconded
from the Confederacy during the strug
gle for independence was put in circula
tion. This was regarded by the oppo
nents of his political advancement as a
fatal shot —one that would cause him to
hide his face in shame from his coun
trymen ; one that would class him
among the enemies of Georgia, convinc
ing all that he was untrue, and there
fore unsafe to her interests. Mr. James
was apprised of the zeal with which this
slander was circulated, and also that thou
sands of honest people believed tho re
port. He gave no direct denial, calmly
awaiting the period of his choice to em
ploy the proof at his command for his
vindication.
The facts are these: For a short period
he was in the military service, but upon
the tender of his personal aid as bearer
of dispatches to foreign powers, he was
granted a release from the army and
furnished a passport beyond our lines.
Embarking at Wilmington, North Citro-
NUMBER 15
lina, on a blockade-runner, he reached
Nassau in safety, and remained there
most of the time until the close of the
war. He visited and spent a short time
in Canada, and while there devoted him
self, at great personal cost, to the object
of relieving Southern soldiers who lan
guished in Northern prisons. Many re
ceived the benefits of his liberality and
knew not to whom they were indebted. To
make his plans effective, it was essenteal
that profound secresy should be main
tained. When he advertised in the New
York Herald, it was over an assumed
name. Perhaps those who were his
beneficiaries have innocently believed or
circulated this unjust charge. If so,
they should, when iuformed of the ac
tual facts, be equally active and zealous
is doing justice to a persecuted patriot.
Tho passport of Mr. James was grant
ed by Hon. J. P. Benjamin, Secretary
of State of the Confederate States, and
was doubtless allowed on the hypothesis
that the applicant could and would ren
der more efficient service beyond our
lines than as a private in the rnnks. It
is absurd to say that Mr. Benjamin, in
1863, when able-bodied soldiers were in
so much demand, would have allowed
his departure on any other account.
Leßt some may dispute the correct
ness of this statement and persist in
urging the false and prejudicial charge,
we are permitted to publish the follow
ing copy of the passport,, and to refer to
Mr. James for the examination of the
original:
Confederate States os America.
I. the undersigned sivretnrv
of the Confederate States of America,
hereby request all whom it may concern
to permit safely to pass J. H. James,
accompanied by his wife, a citizen of
the Confederate States of America, and
in ease of need to give him all lawful aid
and protection.
Given under my hand and the
impression of the seal of the
[Seal.] Department of State, at the City
of Richmond, this tho twelfth of
October, 1868.
[Signed] J. P. Benjamin,
Secretary of State.
This act of Mr. Benjamin was ap
proved by Hon. James A. Seddou, Sec
retary of War, as will appear by refer
ence to an original letter from that ofli-'
cer now in possession of Mr. James.
This passport was not granted in blind
ness, and if tbe person to whom it was
issued is subject to public censure those
who granted it must also be condemned.
The Confederacy not only required sol
diers to fight her battles, but agents to
assist outside of her limits, and many
were employed iu the latter capacity.
We know some of these, and they rank
to-day as high iu the affections of their
countrymen'as the heroes who breasted
the storm of actual battle. Why then
seek to make Mr. James a sacrifice on
this account ?
During the war he was the owner of
one-half interest in the paper which
bore the significant title of The South
ern Confederacy. During his proprie
torship of that journal ho had employed
as editors, at different intervals, Mr.
William Smith, Mr. Roberts, of Nash
ville, known as “John Happy,” Mr. Car
doza, of Charleston, and last, but not
by any means least, Mr. Watterson, now
of the Louisville Courier-Journal.
The writings of Mr. James correspond
in style to that of his conversation and
public speeches. They are cuncise, tm
embellished, to the point, clear and for
cible. A recent article, originally pub
lished iu the daily Constitution, on the
subject of the usury and homestead
laws, is regarded as the ablest financial
review that has emanated from any of
the leading men of Georgia. It lias been
reproduced in many papers both North
and South, and its .arguments and theo
ries have attracted tho favorable notice
of the greatest financiers and statesmen
of the republic.
The views of Mr. James on a number
of important State questions show that,
lie is endowed with tho elements of
statesmanship, which may bo brought
into requisition for the good of his
country.
A large number of influential Geor
gians have urged him to become a can
didate for Governor at the next elec
tion. They believe that lie, more than
any other person, is adaiited to that po
sition at a period when onr financial con
dition demands extraordinary wisdom
and ability for ,its successful manage
ment. If an army must lie led to strife
and victory, we would select our greatest
military chief; and if the financial ques
tions of the State need to he solved to
advantage, common sense demands that
our greatest financier should he called to
the helm. No man who rightly judges
can doubt that Mr. James towers far
above all other men in Georgia in this
particular. His friends and admirers
believe his administration would so ad
just and regulate the finances of the
State as to liberate the people, in a great
degree, from the burden of taxes under
which they have toiled since the war;
and this opinion lies at the base of their
anxiety for his election.
The Tornado Sufferers. —The fol
lowing additional subscriptions for the
tornado sufferers were received by Mr.
Geo. It. Sibley, Chairman of the Relief
Committee, yesterday :
From Mr. T. H. A. Myers, of Stewart
county, $10; Rev. W. j. White, Chair
man of the Central Committee of colored
citizens, $lB.
Several packages of clothing were sent
to Thomson and Warrenton.
The total amount contributed in Au
gusta for the sufferers, in cash, is
$7,474 70. Tbe value of clothing, pro
visions, &c,, contributed, will swell this
amount up to fully nine thousand dol
lars, a sum to which our city may well
point with pride. Citizens in all tho
sections relieved are loud in their praised
of Augusta’s generosity.
The Tornado.— The following addi
tional contributions for the tornado suf
ferers were received by Mr. George R.
Sibley*, Chairman of the Relief Commit
tee, yesterday:
Cash, $5; Asbury (Methodist) Church,
through Rev. F. E. Kimball, $6.
The committee sent S6O to Mrs. Fuss,
of Mcßean, and $25 to A. W. Parker, of
Burke.
The following letter was received by
the committee yesterday:
Thomson, Ga., April sth, 1875.
Me,ssrs. Geo. It. Sibley, IF. F. Herring
and IF. 11. Howard, Committee on
Itelief, Augusta, Ga.:
Gentlemen— l am pleased to acknow
ledge the reception of two boxes of
clothing from our colored friends of Au
gusta. Please assure them of our
thanks for their kind remembrance of
us, and say that the goods will be placed
where they will do the most good.
Yery truly yours,
John E. Benton.
Not since the inexorable besom of tho
panic of 1873 swept the fast men of
finance out of Wall street by hundreds
has that noted field of stock operations
been so much the scene of its wonted
liveliness as it was on Saturday. Tlie
old masters and fresh aspirants in the
science of “bulling” and “bearing,”
“puts” and “corners,” were out in force
and engaged in ventures of profit and
loss with the keen relish of men who sit
down to a feast after being for a long
time deprived of their natural pabulum.
Many of tbe old familiar names appeared,
among them that mysterious power, the
keen and inscrutable Jay Gould, whose
shrewd manipulations and close counsel
are said to have secured him profitable
results as usual. This revival of the
old-time Wall street activity is not in
trinsically desired, but it is verv wel
come for wbat it signifies. The effects
of this fever of renewed speculation is
baleful to most of those infected by it,
but it will always be more or less preva
lent in a time of business activity. Ap
pearing at this time with the first warm
day of Spring, it forecasts tho less fitful
expansion of legitimate trade in all its
ramifications. Wall street is a kind of
businessindicator; not accurate, perhaps
in it# measurements at all times, but its
quickening heat is always more or less
in sympathy with the increasing vigor
of our whole commercial system.
Sixteen persons were confirmed by
Bishop Beckwith, at Christ Church, Sa
vannah, last Monday evening.
Columbus is getting up a spelling
match for the benefit of the Ladies’
Memorial Association, of that city.
The Atlanta City Council refused to
appropriate fifty dollars to the Ladies’
Memorial Association to assist said As
sociation iu defraying the expenses of
the memorial ceremonies on the 26th.
The Conneil, however, authorized the
Association to employ a person to work
in the lot set apart for the Confederate
dead from the 16th of April until after
Memorial Day, at an expense to the city
not exceeding one dollar and a half per
day.