Newspaper Page Text
XTiromclf anU iJnUmtE
WEDNESDAY - FEBRUARY 7, 1877.
It is that stated that Governor Mc-
Creary, of Kentucky, has recognized
General Nicholas as the legal Governor
of Louisiana by making a requisition
upon him for the return of a fugitive
criminal new in New Orleans.
It looks as if another fight will be
made in the Legislature against the law
exempting cotton and woolen mills and
iron furnaces from taxation. The ex
emption is practically State aid, but it
is a species of State aid which all think
ing men heartily endorse.
Messrs. Fish and Robison are the
only two Cabinet officers who favor the
Electoral bill. The others prefer that
the votes should be counted by Ferry,
and that should “turn over the
reigns of Government” to Hayes with
out any unnecessary delay.
Money is cheap and plentiful in Con
necticut, and a strong pressure is being
brought to bear upon the Legislature of
that State to reduce the rate of interest
from seven to six per cent. Why not
let people pay what they choose and
abolish the usury law ? That would be
the better plan. >
JrDOE Mackey has promptly decided
that General Hampton is the legal Gov
ernor of South Carolina, and released
from custody a prisoner whom the latter
has pardoned. The case will be taken
to the Supreme Court and a decision
will be obtained on the question of the
Governorship that will probably decidf
all the points at issue between Hampton
fiod Chamberlain.
The Atlantic and Gulf Railroad seems
to be in a bad way and a meeting of the
local bondholders has been 111 Sa
vannah. This is a company in*ch the
State of Georgia is largely interested.
It is a road which begins somewhere
and ends nowhere. Until it seenresan
outlet to the country West of the Chat
tahoochee it will not be able to do more
than pay running expenses.
The memorial of the New York Cham
ber of Commerce and fifteen hundred
bankers and merchants of that city, ask
ing for the repeal of all special taxes on
national banks, was presented in the
House on Saturday and referred to the
Committee on Ways and Means. It is
understood that the delegation appoint
ed by the banks to represent their case
at Washington will have a hearing at the
next meeting of the committee.
Mr. Walsh has introduced a bill fix
ing the bond to be given by the Tax
Collector of Richmond County at $75,-
000—860.000 to the State and $25,000 to
the county. The Collector is not allow
ed to retain more than $5,000 of tax
money in his hands at a time under pen
alty of removal, and its required to make
monthly statements to the Comptroller-
General aud County Judge, under the
same penalty. _ __
Senator Saroeant is snspiciously
sensitive and objects to the colored Dem
ocrats of Barnwell using such terms of
description as “corrupt carpet-baggers”
and “infamous scallawags.” How else
should the colored Carolinian charac
terize the Chamberlain crew? Even
“Honest John” admitted the justice of
the phraseology and favored the read
ing of the paper. However corrupt
Senator Baroeant may be no one has
ever dreamed of calling him either a
.carpet-bagger or a scallawag.
Several very touching obituaries of
Mr Stephens have been written, some
of which he has had the pleasure of
reading. A Washington correspondent
Fays:
Alexander Stephens sat tip in his bed this
afternoon with the bright, clear eye. of a con
valescent, and listened while his clerk read a
column and a half obituary of himself in a
Baltimore paper. "Well," said the old man,
an he rubbed hie emaciated chin with hia bony
hand, and his eyes twinkled merrily as he
spoke, "they have written worse than that
about mo when I was living.’
Under the head of “Democrats Oath
©ring to Watch the Count,” the Cincin
nati Gajcttc publishes a dispatch from
Washington stating that “thieves and
pickpockets ai e flocking into the city in
the hope of doing a successful business
among the crowds that will come to wit
ness the count and the inaugural cere
monies.” The Gazette betrays a spirit
of jealousy unworthy the good Deacon
Smith and his wicked partners. Repub
lican thieves have had an eight year,
harvest; now give the Democrats a
chance.
TnE cold and inclement weather of
the past two months has been succeeded
by a uiilduess of temperature almost as
liltlo desired. Wo are having the
■weai* ier of early Spring in this latitude.
Fires aJid closed windows are uncomfor
ishln ami under the influence of the
■**
tatiou is beginning to pul forth. If this
weather continues two weeks longer
much mischief will fce done by the
“cold spell” that always - windß up the
Winter's work.
The grasshopper prospect appears to
be rather more promising than pleas
ant. The heavy fall of suow has done
much to protect the eggs in the West
and Northwest. The deposit of eggs is
Teperted to be enormous in some locali
ties. As many as fifty-two deposits in a
space of four square inches have been
found, and each cocoon contained not
leas than thirty-eight eggs, at the
lowest estimate aggregating 1,976 eggs
for that small extent of ground. As
the eggs are just below the surface, the
ground may become loosened up as the
snow thaws, and the subsequent freezes,
if severe, may destroy the eggs. But it
is difficult to destroy the grasshopper
larvM, and au abnudaut crop of those
torments need not be a surprise.
The lawyers will not be ruled out af
ter all, and ex-Senator Carpenter will
assist in representing the Democratic
case. Mr. Carpkstrr is a staunch Re
publican but his politics have not pre
vented him from taking a fee on the
other side. Mr. Carpenter will be able
to render valuable service in the Louisi
ana matter. In 1873-73 he was one of
the committee that investigated a simi
lar case in that State aud he is perfectly
familiar with the true inwardness of the
Returning Board business.
Prohirition promises to be made an
issue in McDuffie as in other counties.
The Representative from McDuffie has
presented a petition to the Legislature,
signed by three hundred citizens, asking
the passage of a law prohibiting the
sale of liquor in the county. It is not
at all probable that the prayer of the
petitioners will be granted. But the
prohibition question in Georgia will
grow in importance each year, a* it has
done UDtil it finally becomes
ibe leading issue in the politics of the
’Skate.'
Several petitions, asking for the
adoption of a constitutional amendment
to secure women the right of suffrage,
have recently been presented in Con
gress. These petitions come from 22
States and the District of Colombia.
Bat it is a significant fact that the pa
pers are signed by only 4,652 women
and 3,416 men, or a total number of
8,08. It certainly cannot be inferred
from these figures that the sex which is
expected to be most vitally interested
in this reform, and without whose
unanimity and persistency it can never
be effected, shows much interest in the
matter. If only about 8,000 persons
out of about 40,000,000 care enough for
•woman suffrage to petition Congress
upon the subject, Miss Anthony will
most likely be gathered to her fathers
•without witnessing the political emacci
- pat on of her sex.
MR. HIM. 1> 1860.
We published yesterday morniDg as a
c insinuation of the “pen sketches” of
Georgia Congressmen that have appear
ed in the Ghr'-mclb and Sentinel an
outline of the life and services of Hon.
B. H. Hill, United Btates Senator elect.
There is one portion of that sketch
which calls for some notice at our hands.
After dwelling upon the fact that twenty
years ago Mr. Hill, like a great many
o‘her wise and patriotic men, acted with
the American or “Know-Nothing” party,
which opposed the doctrines of the
Roman Catholic religion and the exten
sion of suffrage to foreigners until they
had been in this country twenty-one
years, the writer goes on to say that,
“In 1860 Mr. Hill snppported the Bell
and Everett, or American party,
ticket”—leaving the impression, when
the sentence is read in connection with
the language preceding it, that the Bell
and Everett ticket was a Know-Nothing
ticket and the Bell and Everett cam
paign a Know-Nothing campaign. This
is a mistake. Know-Notbingiam fad
nothing to do with that contest. The
Bell and Everett party was known as
the “Constitutional Union Party,” aDd
its platform was the Constitution, the
Union and the enforcement of the laws.
The party made the broad declaration
that it recognized “no political princi
ples other than the Constitution
“of the country, the Union of the
“States and the enforcement of the
“laws.” This was the party that Mr.
Hit,l supported in 1860.
LOUISIANA AND FLORIDA.
Thanks to the lucky chance that pnt
Mr. David Dudley Field in the House
of Representatives the true inwardutss
of the Returning Board operations in
Louisiana is being rapidly exposed.
That adroit lawyer has in some way be
come possessed of evidence that is mak
ing the conspirators writhe like thieves
at the whipping post. The testimony of
Littlefield and Maddox promises to
lay bare the whole conspiracy by which
the electoral vote of Louisiana was
stolen from Tilden and Hendricks aud
given to Hayes and Wheeler. Little
field was one of the clerks of the Re
turning Board and swears positively that
he altered the returns of the election
from Vernon parish so as to transpose
178 votes from the Democratic to the
Republican side. This was down under
instructions from Governor Wells, a
member of the Returning Board, who
told him how it could be done and 'why
it should be done. Fortunately Little
field preserved the original paper,
which is in the possession of Mr. Field.
It is also in evidence that Wells di
rected Littlefield to study the hand
writing of Thomas Franklin, with a
view to forging hi < signature. It has
been brought out, too, that some of the
precious scamps in Louisiana were will
ing to sell out the swindlers whom they
were serving and give the electoral vote
of the State t the party to which it
rightfully belonged-provided they were
well paid for their trouble. Odo of these
honest men who, like the equally honest
Rogue Riderhood, earned his bread by
the sweat of his brow coolly made a
memorandum of the proposed transac
tion. The instrument is as methodical
and business like as one of Mr. Wilk
ins Miuawber’s notes of hand. The
vote of the State was to be given to Mr.
Tilden, for whom it was legally cast, for
the moderate sum of onfe million of
dollars. It was hinted that certain mem
bers of the Returning Board will be
come parties to the arrangement and
must be protected. The money was to
be paid in installments of two hundred
aDd fifty thousand dollars each—the
last payment to be made when certifi
cates of election were given to the Til
den electors. Tb® Democrats declined
to purchase what was already their own
and the properly was disposed of to
Hayes. Mr. Field seems to have made
himself master of all the facts connect
ed with this bungling fraud and there
ta good reason to believe that he will
succeed In exposing the plot an 1 the
plotters.* Even now tjiere is evidence of
the guilt of the Returning Board suffi
ciently strong to convince any impartial
mind. The members of this Board act
like thieves on the witness stand who
are fearful of opening the doors of the
penitentiary by their replies, rather
than like men occupying a most respon
sible public position and anxious that
all their official acta should be thor
oughly investigated and perfeetly under
stood. They palter, they prevaricate,
they resort to subterfuge, until
driven to the wall they at last seek refuge
in silence preferring to go to jail for a
few months rather than tell the truth.
Equally as plain a case of fraud is pre
sented IB the declaration of the vote of
Florida by the Canvassing or Returning
Beard of that State. On that Board, as
by a miracle, there happened to be ore
honest man-ittorney.General Cocke.
He was • witness to the villainy which
was perpetrates, and which, though he
was powerless to prevent, fee took the
first occasion e expose. In Florida tip
subtler processes of sooundrelism were
ignored, and enough Tilden votes were
simply “thrown out" to give State to
the Republicans, The Supreme oo*rt
was honest enough to order a re-oanvasfl
according to the face of the returns, hot
the order was not issued until a majori
ty oi the Board had given certificates of
election to the Hayes and Wheeler
electors. The Board reconvened, made
another canvass and declared the Demo
cratic candidate for Governor elected,
but again threw out enough vote# to
give the State to Hates. The Supreme
Court accepted this return and declined
to take any further action in the matter.
But since the inauguration of Governor
Drew, and the meeting of the Demo
cratic Legislature, anew phase has been
assumed by the Florida case. One of
the first acts of tbs Legislature was to
pass a law creating anew Canvassing
Board, composed of honest aud upright
men, who were directed to re-eanvass
the returns. This Board counted
the vote of each county just as it
came certified to the Secretary of
State. They did not throw out
a vote, they did not add a vote, they
did not change or alter a vote. They
•simply aggregated the returns as they
found them. The result showed a clear
majority of ninety-six'votes for the Til
des aud Hendricks electors. Upon
this return the Governor issued a certifi
cate of election to the Democratic elec
tor. These electors met, organized and
ast the vote of the State for the Demo
cratic candidates for President and Vice-
President. The proceediugs, proper
ly certified, aeoompanied the vote of
Florida which has been deposited with
the Preeideut of the Senate. Here the
fraud was palpable, and here the expo
sure has been complete.
VTe don’t see how the Democrats can
fail to win their case before the Grand
Communion. The Republicans concede
that Mr. TiLBWi baa one hundred and
eighty-four electoral votes. He needs
but one more to make him President,
i It is generally believed that the Com
| mission will not hemtate to go behind
the face at the returns. When this is
j done the proof will be overwhelming
i that the eight eieotoxal rotes of Louis
iana and the four electoral votes of
Florida rightfaHy belong to the Demo
cratic candidate and are but stolen
property in the possession of a party
i that knows them to be stolen. The
evidence token and the investigations
made by the Congressional Committees
will fully establish the correctness of
these propositions. The Com . ission is
organised not to oonot the votes accord
ing to the certificates, but to ascertain
whether these certificates were rightful
lv and legally issned. If this wo* be
done impartially we have no fear of the
result Mr. Tilden will be declared the
legally elected President of the United
States. .
A Boetou Journalist announces that Mr.
Boctwell has always been a "lion in the
paih” on the Southern question." The New
York World thinks the expreeeion would be
very appropriate if the spelling of one of the
words was slightly modifled.^^^.
A VALUABLE WORK.
We have received from the agent, Mr.
T. K; Oglesby, the third volume of
“Jornsoh’s New Illustrated Universal
Cyclopedia. ” The worl has already
achieved great and deserved popularity.
When only two of the four volumes were
ready for delivery, orders had been re
ceived for more than fifteen thousand
copies. It bids fair to be the most
widely circulated book of reference that
has ever been issned. There are many
substantial reasons for its popularity. It
ia perfectly reliable. The articles in it
have been prepared from the most ac
curate data attainable, and embrace
every subject likely to be of interest to
the student, the professional man or the
general reader. The best talent has
been employed in every department
and hundreds of the ablest men
in the country have contributed to
its pages. Asa consequence the
often absurd blunders that mar
ot her cyclopaedias cannot be found in
this. Each contributor is familar with
his subject, and even the most trivial
errors are rarely discovered. Especially
is this the case in the department of
biography, particularly of living men.
A great many of these articles, together
with papers on American history, are
the work of Hon. Alex'NDEB H. Ste
phens and afford, abundant ‘ evidence of
his painstaking natnre, the thorough
ness aDd judiciousness of his researches,
as well as of bis genins. The work is
handsomely illustrated and many diffi
cult subjects are made plain by the use
of engravings. The Cyclopmdia has
been gotten up strictly on the multum
inparvo style and the immense quali
ty of information which it contains is
arranged so compactly as to make it the
most convenient reference work we have
ever seeD. We regard it as an invalu
able publication. It should find a place
in every office and in every home,
A CIRCUS IN COURT.
We have not yet done with “Howes’
Great London Circus and Sanger’s Eng
lish Menagerie.” The sheriff proceeded
with the sale as advertised, and ele
phants, tigers, lions, monkeys and ring
ponies, golden chariot of Orpheus, tent
and ticket wagon and all the para
phernalia of a circus were disposed of
tp the highest bidder. But when old
Father Antio, the Law, once gets his
hands on a man or a menagerie, it is
exceedingly difficult to make him loosen
his grip. First the holder of a mort
gage made by Babnum, one of the pro
prietors of Howes’ Great London Circus
and Sanger’s English Menagerie, had it
foreclosed here, and the property
advertised for sale. Next Kelly,
the other proprietor, of H. G. L.
0. and H. E. M. filed his petition
in bankruptcy in the United States
Court of New York, praying that him
self and Babnum bo adjudged bank
rupts. The Judge of that Court then
issued an injunction restraining the
sale, but the injunction was disregarded
oh the ground that Georgia was not in
the Judge’s District, and, therefore, he
■had no jurisdiction in the matter. The
sale accordingly proceeded. But now
the Metropolitan Bank of New York,
whioh corporation holds a mortgage
given by Kelley, applies to a Georgia
Court for an injunction restraining the
sheriff from paying over the prooeeds
of the sale, and the purchaser from re
moving the property. It also asks that
if no adjudication in bankruptcy
takes plaoe, the foreclosure may be
set aside and anew sale be ordered.
We publish the answer of Dookrill,
the mortgagee, this morning. He denies
that any illegal preference was shown
him over other creditors and explains
the natnre of the transactions between
himself and Babnum which culminated
in the foreclosure and sale. He de
clares that the money loaned by him
was to liquidate the indebtedness and
pay tfie ordinary expenses of H. G. L.
0. and 8. E. M., and that it was un
derstood when tlip mortgage was given
that it was to be speedily foreclosed.
He also charges that the mortgage
given by Kelley to the Metropolitan
National Bank was not to secure a
partnership debt or money applied to
the uses of the epnpern, but to secure
funds loaned Kelley jnjiyidually.
The next step, we presume, will be ar
gument before Judge Gibson and then
ah appeal to the Supreme Court. In the
meantime the animals are wintering
comfortably in a Southern climate and
the children see the circus for nothing.
It is indeed an ill wind that blows no
body any good, and children and ani
mals will thank the lawyers for the liti
gation.
THE FIFTH JUDGE.
Opinions differ widely as to the fitness
of the fifteenth member of the Grand
GoaujMßsion for the posit* oo which he
occupies. This difference is curiously
illustrated by the remarks of the Phila
delphia Times and the New York Sup.
Both of these papers are independent in
politics, and both of them supported the
Democrat Ip candidate in the recent cam
paign. The Tljnpt fayored the passage
of the Electoral law because it Relieved
it would insure the inauguration of
Tilqun. Tb. e Sun opposed the Electo
ral bill because 4 f*rpd that under it
Hayes would become Freajdppt. The
Times say* of Judge RRApLßy.the fifth
Judge selected : " While h 18 known
“ to be a decided Republican in oonv.o
tion, he is trusted by both parties as
“an Judge. His decisions
‘I bar# not been marked by any partisan
“ leanings, #P.d lb fact that he 8 famil
“ iar with the laws *u*4 gPBPral condi
“ tion of both government and wpipt7
“ in Florida and Louisiana, where he
“ sits as District Judge, is regarded by
“ fair en of every political faitk as
“ peculiarly fitting him for the respon
“ sible duty which may bp imposed upon
“ him. Indeed, he was preferred by
the more conservative Southern men
“to Judge Davis, and his decision
“ against the constitutionality of the
“ Enforcement aeft is pointed to as con
“ clnsive evidence pf hia deyotpiu to law
“ above all party interests.
Here we have the picture of an hoßest
and upright Judge—a Republican from
conviction, it is true, but a man who ;
can safely be trusted to free himself
from partisan feeling and decide fairly
and impartially, The Sun says oi the
appointee: “Judge JJradlet is a
“ thorough-going Republican, gpd his
“appointment makes eight Bepubli
m oajjs to seven Democrats in the Board.
“ Some of hia antecedents are interest
“ ing. Judge Bradley was appointed
“ to the Supreme Court by president
•• Grant for the well understood pur
“ pose of reversing the previous deci
“ sion of the Court against the consti
“ tutionality of the Legal fender act.
“ In that case he did what was eypectod
h pf him ; but this neither redounded
“ to hia glory nor to that of the Presi
“ dent, who selected him for such a job.
“ Another remarkable .act of this jurist
“ was to hold Chambers to the city of
“ Newark, pretending to hold them in
“ Texas, where his judicial district is,
“ This was done in order to accom
“ pliah a dishonorable transfer of the
“ Trans-Continental Railroad. For
• tjjig a ct Judge Bradley should
i‘ have been impeached. We should
“ add hen* that, previous to his
“ appointment to the bench ot the Su
“preme Court, he had bgm f Railroad
“ lawyer, employed by the Camden and
f> and Amboy Company, yet no stranger
“to Colonel Tow So:tt. His skill in
drawing legislative bills, whose pro
“ visions would bear coegtruction in
“ two or more ways, waa highly esteem-
ed by his employers. It ia also worthy
“ of jreeoileotion that he was the first
“ President of the Sew Jersey Mutual
“ Life Inearasee Company, which has
“ just gone ap in a disastrous explo
“ sion. It is not surprising that the
“ Republicans should think the chances
of Hayes’ election very much improv
“ed by the selection of Judge Brad
“ ley. He is the man who is to make
“ the President, and from his decision
“ there appears to be no escape except
by the nnited, concurrent, and almost
“ impossible action of both Houses of
“ Congress. Joe Bradley our Presi
“ dent maker ! To this complexion we
“ have come at last.”
This is a very different account of the
man andjequally as different an estimate
of bis character. If the Times ia right,
there could not have been a better selec
tion. If the Sun is right, there could
not have been a worse. Let ns hope
that the Times is right, and that Brad
ley is an upright Judge, and not an un
scrupulous partisan. We shall soon
know.
HEATING CITIES BY STEAM.
Some time since we mentioned the
fact that Mr. Holly, np to a few months
since the construction engineer of the
Augusta Canal, waß the projector of a
plan for furnishing whole cities and
towns with heat, very much as they are
now supplied with gas. A company has
been formed under the name of the
" Holly Steam Combination Company,
Limited,” and an experiment is to be
made with a section of the city of Lock
port half a mile square. This is about
the area that it is considered practica
ble to heat by a single set of boilers.
According to the estimates made, the
first cost of all the works necessary for
heating this district, including the boil
ers, pipes, and all buildings and fix
tures, will be little more than one-third
of a single year’s cost of heating the
same by the ordinary methods. After
the works are established the expense of
furnishing steam heat will be greatly
less than that of warming in detail. It
is considered entirely feasible to carry
this plan out so as to furnish steam in
large cities for heating all dwellings,
stores, offices and public buildings, and
also for power to operate machinery. It
would be necessary to have a set of boil
ers for each district half a mile square,
located near its centre, with pipes lead
ing out in four directions. The main
pipes that leave the boilers would be
four inches in diameter, and then, as the
subdivision and distribution proceeds,
they would diminish gradually to one
inch in the service pipes. The iron
mains would be laid under ground, cov
ered with asbestos and 'enclosed in
wooden pipes, and it is the opinion of
Mr. Holly that tbe steam would be con
veyed over the half mile area and tho
roughly distributed for all purposes
without losing its heat or power.
MR. WALSH AND THE CONTENTION
BILL.
[Atlanta Constitution ]
No better instance of the long training in
legislative life could be afforded than was
given by Mr. Walsh, of Richmond, in his ac
tion on the Convention bill on Tuesday.—
Through disagreements among the friends of
the bill, and the opposition of its enemies, the
bill, favored by a great majority of the people
of Georgia, was in great danger of meeting
defeat. The small Bquads of enemies that
gathered about each amendment swelled in o
an army that was nearly if not quite a majori
ty of the House. Appreciating the danger of
his pet measure, Mr. Walsh, by a parliamen
tary stroke, at once, bold and masterly, cut the
bill clear of all entangling attachment, and
threw it before the House on its merits. His
attempt on Monday to restore the bill from the
meshes that were thrown arouDd it was un
successful, but he persisted in his effortß, and
on Tuesday succeeded in pushing the bill,
with an amendment that is unimportant,
through the House. The only amendment
provides that the Constitution shall be sub
mitted to the people for their ratification.
That the Convention is a fixed fact, and that
its benificent work is assured to the people of
Georgia, is due more to the skill, nerve and
ability of Mr. Walsh than to any other one
cause.
UNDER THE BROAD HEAL.
Tlie Credentials of Hon. B. H. Hill as United
Htates Senator from Georgia.
The Atlanta Constitution, of yester
day, says: Yesterday Mr. Grigsby, of
the Executive Department, handsomely
inscribed upon parchment the credem
tials of Hon. B. H. Hill as United
States Senator from Georgia. The
document bears the broad seal of the
State and will doubtless be long pre
served ip tjie Hill family as a previous
heirloom. Tbe doppment reads as fol
lows :
STATE OF GEORGIA.
To the Honorable the President of the
Senate of the United States—Greet
ing :
This is to certify that on the 26th day
of January, 1877, the Hon. Benjamin
H. Hill was, by a pil’d VOpe vote of the
twe Houses of the General Assembly of
Georgia, elected a Senator in the Con
gress of the United States, for the term
beginning with the fourth day of March,
1877, and endiDg with the third day of
March, 1883, as appears by reference to
the journal of said General Assembly.
Given under my hand and the great
seal of the State, at the Capitol, in
Atlanta, the thirtieth day of January,
in the year of our Lord one thousand
eight hundred and seventy-seven, and
of the Independence of the United
States of America, the one hundred
and first. Alfred H. Colquitt,
Governor.
By the Governor: N. C. Barnett, Sec
retary of State.
A RIGHTEOUS JUDGE.
Judge Mackey Hetties the Vexed Question
Promptly— And Releases a Prisoner Par
doned by Governor Hampton—A New
Phase of the Question.
[.Special to the Journal of Commerce.]
Cliester, January 31.—The habeas
corpus ease of Amazi Rosborougb, a
prisoner pardoned fjrop Chester jail by
Governor Hampton, and whose release
was refused by the sheriff of this coun
ty on the ground that Hampton was
not fhe legal Governor of the State,
came up before Judge M ac key at this
place to-day. The cape was elaborately
and ably argued, aud Judge Mackey
rendered a decision whioh was abundant
ly fortified by legal citations. Its main
points are about as follows: The leading
issue beiDg whether publication of the
returns by the Speaker of the House in
the absence o l Senate was sufficient
to toyest |he person receiving the high
est number >d votes with office. The
Court held that'sudh publication was
sufficient, the language of the Consti
tution being merely directory, and not
to be considered as a condition prece
dent to the installation of the person
duly elected. That the House having
given 01® Senate due notice of its in
tended action, the contumacious disre
gard of its duty by" th Senate cannot
operate to defeat the will of the people.
That to hold otherwise is to disregard
the elective feature of the government,
as such holding would confer upon one
bianco oi U±Q General Assembly the
power to 'stifle the yoiu<p fit the majority
of the people. That if the
must yield to the former in construing
the Constitution, Chamberlain would
never have been Governor of South Caro
lina, as the Constitution expressly de
clares that the Governors elected after
its adoption in 1868, shall be installed
on the day provided by the law, and no
day hs yet been designated by law.
The Judge holds, therefore, that Wade
Hampton, having ranciyod the highest
number of votes for the effer, pav
ing been dnly installed, tbe pardon is
sued by him must be obeyed, and the
prisoner accordingly discharged. He
that his writton opinion
would be file# m Saturday. Notice of
appeal was at once gjvep l if ts£ counsel
for the sheriff.
Waiting for on Eruption of Venurlu*.
{Fiyr/i Vif Times.]
Naples, January is
smoking its pipe of peace, and threat
ens no sadden explosion of rage. A
white cloud is settled upon the summit
of the mountain, with a trail wafted by
the wind fyr over the campagna ooun
try. fftoh yolo*no would be obliging
enough to spit <to* Wto# }P? pent-up
fire, it would hare the thanks, fmt,
of the hotel proprietors of Naples. Jn
deed, the innkeepers are nearly in
despair with the fear they have that the
season will be anito lost to them. The
omnibases of tneir bonaes, in long pro
i cession, go and come from tbs station
near!* empty. For them three months
is left in which a harvest may be gath
ered in, and the shining sun aßd sea
now invite yUitfra. bnt they do not
oome. ‘ *'
A Malignant Critic who 'Hates the BeojUilni.
[From the Courier-Journal ]
Any per so a over eighty years ot age
whodiee in Philadelphia is published
twice in Mr. Child's ledger. Philadel
phia is about the only city ia the .United
States where one can make a reputation
by dying. It may be a little disagree
able to have “His languishing head ia
at rest," or '*Her languishing head is at
rest,” applied to one after it has been
used for five thousand other corpses,
but fame has never yet overtaken the
fastidious.
GEORGIA STATESMEN.
THE LIFE OF SENATOR ELECT
HILL.
Peu Hkelcfaea of the Georgia Delegation In
Congress.
[ For the Chromele and Sentinel.]
Washington, D. C., January 26, 1877.
—Procrastination is truly the thief of
time. I had not intended when I set
out to pen these sketches that so long
an interval should have transpired be
tween them, but the illness of Georgia’s
great “Commoner,” and a consequent
press of duties, has unavoidably caused
the delay. But to my task.
Hon. Beniamin H. Hill
Occupies a seat in the outer row of seats
to the right of the Speaker’s desk, and
on the Democratic side of the House.
His fine physical form, though somewhat
rounded at the shoulders, giving an in
clination to his large and well propor
tioned head, indicating the student,
while his keen blue eye and nervous
temprement mark him at once as a man
of great power aud vigor of intellect. Asa
scholar, statesman and debater, Mr. Hill
has few if any superiors in the House of
Representatives. As an orator he is un
surpassed.
Mr. Hill was born in Jasper county,
Georgia, in 1823, and is therefore in his
fifty-fourth year. He received a prepa
ratory education at the private schools
then taught in his native county, and
subsequently received a classical educa
tion at the Georgia University, Athens,
graduating with distinction at the head
of his class in 1844, at the age of twenty
one years. Choosing tbe profession of
law, he read and was admitted to the
bar in 1845, and at once entered upon
its praotice with the promise of imme
diate success, for his fame as au orator
and debater while in college had pro
ceeded him in his profession. His close
application to business —the sure har
binger of success to a young man—soon
brought to his office clients, and with
them that material *id whioh cheers
and brightens the pathway of profession
al life. He continued in the uninter
rupted pursuit of his profession until
1851, when he was nominated and elect
ed by the Whig party of his county to
represent the county in the House of
Representatives of Georgia. Iu this
body Mr. Hill took an active part in all
the debates, and in many contests
with older and more experienced
legislators he bore off the palm.
At the close of this session he retired
from the Legislature, engaging earnest
ly in the pursuit of his profession until
1855, when he championed the cause of
the “American” or “Know Nothing par
ty” of that day, and became its leader
in the State pf Georgia. In 1856, Mr.
Hill was, if I mistake not, an elector at
large for the State on the Fillmore aud
Donelson Presidential ticket of that
year, styling themselves the “American
party,” the chief feature of their plat
form being an opposition to what was
called “Alien Suffrage,” and the “Cath
olic religion.”
Having espoused the“ Know Nothing”
cause, he assayed to cross swords with
Georgia’s great Commoner, Alex. H.
Stephens, and these two great intellects,
the one the advocate of the perfect right
of religious and civil liberty under our
Constitution and the laws made in pur
suance thereof; tbe other for restricting
these rights, privileges and blessings to
twenty-one years probation, met upon
the hustings to discuss their respective
tenents, and sharp and fierce, though
able, were their blows, and prolonged
and loud were the oheerings of their re
spective partisans as the keen thrusts of
their logic, or the burning satire of
their well-chosen repartees, fell upon
the ears of their audiences. But in this
contest, involving the discussion of
great constitutional questions and tbe
fundamental rights of citizenship, Mr.
Stephens was an over-match for him.
The “Know Nothing” party of that day
was “routed and it was scouted” from
Maine to Texas, and the banner of con
stitutional liberty continued to “wave
o’er the land of the free and the home of
the brave,” in spite of the great abilities
of Mr. Hill and others to engraft their
theories upon the American body politic.
Time passed, and the party lines in
the South were fast melting away before
the progress of the Northern sectional
or Abolition party, which was making
its inroads upon the constitutional
rights of the Southern States in their
peculiar institution of Afrioan slavery,
of which the Democratic party, in main
taining her time-honored doctrines of
State Rights, became neoessarily the
champion or defender of the rights of
the States to regulate their own domes
tic institutions in their own way. But
there had not been, as yet, a full and
complete fraternization of parties in the
South, and in 1859 Mr. Hill was again
elected to the State Legislature by his
old Whig and Know Nothing allies.
In 1860, when there were four Presi
dential candidates in the field, Mr. Hill
supported the Bell and Everett, or
American party ticket. The Northern
sectional or Republican party haviig
succeeded in electing their candidates,
Lincoln and Hamlin, the Atlantic slave
States resolved to secede from the old
Union as their only hope of maintaining
their peculiar institution, and securing
peace and prosperity to their section.
Georgia had called her Convention to
consider the grave questions presented,
and Mr. Hill was chosen a delegate to
that Convention. In this body he co
operated with Hon. Alexander H. Ste
phens in opposing secession as a remedy
for the grivanees oomplained of. But
like Mr. Stephens, when the Convention
had resolved upon withdrawing from the
Union, in spite of their efforts to prevent
it, went with their State, for to it they
confessed primary allegiance. The State
having seceded, and the new Confed
eracy formed, Mr. Hill was ohosen by
the State Legislature as one of her
Senators in the Confederate States Con
gress. In this capacity Mr. Hill took a
conspicuous part in sustaining the Con
federate States Government iu a vigor
ous prosecution of the war for the at
tainment and maintenance of her inde
pendence and the rights of local self
government.
The war at an end, the States in a
process of reorganization and return to
their foriner status in the old Union,
Mr. Hill became more or less prominent
in the discussions of the questions of
reconstruction, both upop tbe hpstings
and through the press. His series of
papers pp tjie i:sitpatipp’ ! were able and
exhaustive, as wefu also his speeches on
the hustings. He opposeef the recon
struction measures of the rump Con
gress at Washington, pnd when party
lima were drawn in the reorganisation
of the sepefjefl Statps Mf. Hill found
himself acting with the Democratic
party. He so eontinued to act and was
elected as a Democrat from the Ninth
Congressional District of Georgia to
the Forty-fourth Congress to fill a va
cancy caused by the death of Hon.
Garnett McMillan. It was during the
early part of the first session of this
Congress that Mr. Hill made his great
speech iu reply to ex-Speaker Blaine's
“tfopuy ghirt,” speech, made in the
House a day or s twd before. In this
great contest of reason the Republican
party began to realize for the first time
since the close of the late civil war that
the South had a champion upon the
floor of the House worthy of their steel
ks well as equal to the emergencies. The
was two edged, cut tbp gprqian fepot of
their power, leaving their champion
prostrated and bleeding upon the field.
In this speech Mr. Hill, in order to
meet tfie arguments of his opponent,
and to refute the false position in which
the RaflicUj party had placed the South
during the war, ufterCd some extreme
facte, wbi.ch" reflected 1 sorely’ qpPn the
North in her treatment of Confederate
prisoners in Northern prisons during
the war. to which exceptions were takes
by the Democracv of the country, and
especially the Northern Democracy, as
beiDg impolitic and ill-timed just upon
the eve of a Presidential election. But
of thu. speech and the circumstances
that called it out, J wUf Jef Mr. S’P
speak for Uimeelf. f quote frogj his
speech made at Atlanta, G*-, on the
20th instant, in defense of his own po
litical coarse. In one of the concluding
paragraphs of his speech he said :
“I dud’ express a desire to go to the
Forty-fourth dongreos jyhea J found
that the Democrats maionty in
that body. I thought I might be of
some use, and the p>ple were kind
a!t ?*
been there a short tjtae, I wyself
in a very embarrassing sit^a ffdp. f
found that those who Ojd tyteh t^ e f e be
fore had taken the pas* l *# W|d
deemed it wise cd prudent not to reply
K uiKlto t)> Sooih™
assailed for barbanam, cru®** 7 SPY
agery, by o*e of the most awsomplisfaed
political cowbataute of We Radical
j>*rtT a au of large influence, bpg ip
serv&e, a leader of bis party, ■£-4fl
tactician, a thorough HMeter of the rules,
iTdwho’had
tor six years. If ! had my
own ease when this attack 1
would have sat there and let it pass un
met. What was Ito do ? I tolt, fel
low-citizen?, that it was better for me to
be sacrificed lira msoly effort to repel
false and malicious charge* agarpat my
people than to sit there nnd^ uMtut£,
them in silence. [Applause.l
me—l challenge any man, I challenge
every in, to “put his finger upon a Bur
gle word of mY history where I haws
shown a selfish puipoae in ny degree
I have been in politics for twenty-two
vears, and during only six of them have
I held public office, counting my present
position. During sixteen years I labor
ed without office and. the best service I
have done to Georgia was when I was
doing it siDgle handed as an i' dividual.”
His speech in reply to Mr. Blaine,
though it may have lessened his influ
ence'in the House as a leader, it never
theless established his character and
reputation as a debater, reassuring his
constituency of their wisdom in the
choice of their representative. He was
again nominated by the Democracy of
his District, and re-elected to the Forty
fifth Congress without opposition.
Mr. Hill, feeling satisfied, after the ex
perience he had in the House, that it
was not the arena in which his talents
and inflence could be expended to ad
vantage to himself and consituents or to
that of the country, aspired to a seat in
the United States Senate, and to this
end entered the contest now pending
before the Georgia Legislature to fill
the vacancy to be created by the expira
tion of Senator Norwood’s term. Mr.
Hill has shown in the contest that he is
held in no ordinary esteem and confi
dence by a large minority at least of the
Representatives of his native State.
Though he may not succeed this time, his
political future is still bright and prom
ising. Let him not despair. He has only
to be consistent to be successful.
Before the foregoing lines were dry
from under my pen the tidings came
over the wires that Mr. Hill had been
elected United States Senator from the
State of Georgia for six years from the
4th of March next. I congratulate Mr.
Hill, as I may now the State of Georgia
upon her choioe. I have nothing to take
back or to add to the “pen picture”
which I have here given.
Metropolitan.
TIIK RURAL ROOSTER.
He Stands Amazed In the Llcrkt of Events—
. Scenes In the House During the Debate on
the Electoral Bill —Congratulating >lr. Hill
—Oeorgla’s Orator to the Front.
["Oath" in the Oraph'c ]
Ben Hill took the floor at a few mjn
utes past 1. He is a preacher-like man
with a voice of silver purity, instantly
going out to every crevice, and making
a pleasant chanticleer expression. One
hand, beginning, was behind his back,
two fingers of the other hand on tne
desk. His face is pale, with a short
bunch of white beard over the breadth
of the chin. His nose is rather of the
turn-up kind, and his mouth large.
"The bill,” he said, “was constitutional
in character -wholly so.” It was “wise
-remarkably so.” It was “patriotic in
all its purposes, and eminently so.”
He predicted that the decisions of the
Commission would be nnanimons and
get respect from all parties. I
had written just as above when my
pencil was stopped by my admiration.
Something nameless in the utterances
of the man Hill forbade me to write
more. I felt my pulses involuntarily
moving and my color rising, and yet
nothing very great was being said. But
he was saying something good, like the
voice of friendship or appreciation. He
felt like every man who passes a narrow
sect and a narrow hate, a sense of a
greater audience and an expansion of
soul. Yet there was no emotion in his
speech, but a clearness, a sentiment, a
fineness, which was above the argument
and protestation of other speakers. 'lt
did not flow copiously, nor yet with la
bor, but it was the rich, optimistic mind
of the Southern Whig—the revived echo
of Henry Clay, the voice of Berrien
fighting for the Union against a Georgia
faction. He aroused love of country:
he crushed the easily awakened feeling
of Northern men against Southerners;
he felt the electric response of the whole
audience and Congress, and closed :
“My country ! my whole country !
Blessed be he that blesseth thee, and
cursed be he that curseth thee ! ” At
the very moment of this blessing the
prophecy was fulfilled. A telegraph
dispatch was handed to him.
“Your were just elected United States
Senator in place of Norwood, to serve
until 1883.”
The debate went on after applause.
Charles Foster, of Ohio, went up and
warmly shook hands with Ben Hill.
The reporters all sent word down by
bits of paper flying to ask him if he was
elected. He held up a telegraph dis
patch with a smile, and nodded his
head, “Yes.”
Randall called Hill up and shook his
hands and asked for the telegram. La
mar then walked forward. Hill put his
arm around him, stroked Lamar’s long
black hair, and was seen to be several
inches the taller. Lamar has a heavy
face and a huge forehead, wrinkling.
Hill has a pallid, small face, with a
thiokish neck and a sharp chin and a
small forehead, the crown of the head
quite inferior. His expression ordina
rily is a smile of intensity. Garfield and
Banks and Dudley Field and Governor
Hartranft, who were on the floor, shook
hands with Hill. He finally took his
seat by Waddell, mother old Whig
rebel. Sam Cox sat there a long while
on Waddell’s knee. Olymer and Clark,
of Missouri, wheeled their chairs around
and talked wistfully with Hill. As he
passed down the aisle to the door Frank
Hurd led the crowd that shook hands.
Public opinion said that Gordon,
Hill’s future colleague, had steadily op
posed Hill coming to the Senate, where
he would outshine both Gordon and La
mar. Gordon came into the House in
his cloak and sat down beside Lamar.
He looked to me decidedly demoralised,
and I may add that, to my belief and of
good information, the whole Geotgia
delegation has dreaded Hill as a man
too independent and youthful in spirit
for their uses. They got letters from
lickspittle Northern Democratic mem
bers reflecting on Hill and favoring
Norwood. The triumph of Hill was the
price of genius and the pride of the
State. The generous element swarmed
to bis standard. They broke up a coa
lition backed, as I suspect, by New York
money drawn from a dead man’s assets
and ignominously applied to break
down a brave and sterling, if unhar
nessable, public leader. Gordon talked
with a dark face to Lamar, who re
mained silent. These and other men,
who may expect to ride the invisible
spirit of the Sonthern Confederacy
through Congress, wheedling the North
and putting through the Mississippi
plan, now have a candid Unionist
at their side, the first Whig
from the rebellions territory on the
Democratic side who means to be
national all the time. By his sincerity
we shall measure them all. Georgia,
the Empire State of the South, now has
the forempat South®* ll orator in the
Senate. Jfe follows Blam® up there,
and he succeeds in Norwood a man of
respectable character, but of no conse-
t uence in the Senate, of no Northern in
uenoe, and surrounded with the Geor
gia ring. The young men have come to
the front in the State where McPherson
full, and Bishop Polk, and thousands of
useful men on both sides. George
Hoar, who helped draw this bill, and
Ben Hill, who said it had his unquali
fied and enthusiastic approval, are
both made Senators before the meas
ure is passed, and the Justice most
expected to be on the Commission also
goes to the &en*tp, \jrhiph is qgain draw
ing sap from every other department of
the Government.
“The letter of ‘Gath’ published in the
New York graphic,” said Hill after the
adjournment, “did me more good than
anything that could have happened. It
showed m® my opponents were
doing and 1 uncovered their plans.”
Effects ol tbe Louisiana Exposures.
Washington, January 31.—The de
velopments in the Louisiana business
yesterday anc} to day have shocked
many ‘of tne devoted Jtepuolioans
and thrown a terrible atmosphere pf
villainy and venality about the acts ol
Mr. Wells and his associates of the Re
turning Board. It is not questioned
that the Board was in the market, and
that the return would have been made
for Tilden had satisfactory terms
been proffered, and the forged altera
tion of tfcp returns by direction of Wells
after the ifOpiif had been jgjnqlnded, is
also proven apparently beyond the pos
sibility of successful contradiction. It
is understood to-night that Maddox will
answer the House committee’s questions
to-morrow, and, if so, the revelations
yyill be very damaging, ft is now felt
on all sides that the acts of the Louisi
ana Returning Board will go before the
Electoral Commission so tainted with
frand that they can command but little
respect from any tribunal that possesses
judipiel attributes. There is certainly
less confidence jeii tp-jjigbf in the suc
cess ol Haves tnan there pjfo days
ago. * 5
.3* gg.
THE INELIGIBLE*.
Micbiaran u< Wleeoasia Hares Electors
Gome Ost Wra* 8e Up —Pat ’Em Oat.
Washington, February g.—Before fhp
Powers and privileges pomqiittee, Dan
iel W. Downes, elector fpr Wisconsin,
testified. He 4*4 not think that being
the examining surgeon of the Pension
Office disqualified him. He held that
position when elected and when he
voted for Hayes.
It is alleged that Jacob Don Herder,
Republican elector of Michigan, is not
a citisen of the United States. He has
been summoned by the Powers and
Committee.
Why suffer from- cold in the head ?
Dr. J. H. McLean’s Catarrh Snnff
soothes and cures. Infallible for Ca
tarrh and any sores in tbe nose. Trial
boxestowenty-five cents, by mail. Dr.
J. H. McLean’s office, 314 Chestnut
street, St. Louis. W
STATE SUPREME COURT. •
DECISIONS RENDERED IN ATLAN
TA LAST TUESDAY.
[Atlanta Constitution ]
Usry, executor, vs. Hobbs. Complaint,
from Glascock.
Warner, C. J.
The plaintiffs, as the heirs at-law of
Grace Wiloher Usry, brought their ac
tion on the common law side of the
Court against the defendant, as the
executor of John Usry, deceased, to
recover the sum of $1,5()0. The plain
tiffs alleged in their declaration that
John Usry, by the eighth item of bis
will, bequeathed the said sum of money
to his grand-daughter, which is in the
following words: “I give, bequeath
and devise to my grand daughter, Grace
Wilchel Usry, one thousand dollars, to
be paid to her at the close of my estate,
by my executors, whom I shall here
after appoint, and five hundred to be
paid to her for her tuition, which will
be fifteen hundred in all, and if she
should depart this life, the money to
be returned to the estate.” The tes
tator appointed his son, Francis M.
Usry, guardian of the person and prop
erty of his said grand-daughter, sad
also appointed his son, Joshua F. Usry,
the present defendant, one of the ex
eoutors. The plaintiffs allege in their
declaration that one of them, to-wit: Wm.
Hobbs, intermarried with the said Grace
Wilcher Usry, and had born to them
three children; that in April, 1873, the
said Grace died, leaving her said hus
band and three children her heirs at
law; that her testamentary guardian
never received any part of the $1,500
from the executors of her grand-father,
and that she did not receive any part
thereof during her life time, al
though the said estate was closed le
fore her death, aod the payment of said
Bum of money demanded. The plain
tiffs also allege that the defendant, as
executor aforesaid, on the settlement
of said estate, retained the said sum of
$1,500 in his hands, to be paid to the
said Grace, who was then in life, but
who now refuses to pay the same to
the plaintiffs. The defendant de
murred tot the plaintiffs’ declaration on
the ground that the will of the testator
gave only a life estate in the $1,500, and
that at her death the money was to be
returned to the testator’s estate. The
Court overruled the demurrer, and the
defendant excepted. The main question
presented by the record and bill *>f ex
ceptions in this case for our judgment
is as to the proper construction to be
given to the Bth item of John Usry’s
will, and that question is not altogether
free from doubt or difficulty, in oonse
quence of the peculiar wording of his
will by the testator. In all questions of
legacies, the Court will seek diligently
for the intention of the testator, and give
effect to the same, as far as may be con
sistent with the rules of law; and to this
end the Court may transpose sentences
or clauses, or change connecting con
junctions, or even supply omitted
words, in cases where the clause,
as it stands, is unintelligible or
inoperatives and the proof of in
tention is clear and unquestionable;
but if the clause, as it stands, may
have effect, it should be so construed,
however well satisfied the Court may be
of a different testamentary intention.
Code, 2456. It is insisted by the plain
tiff in error that it was the dear inten
tion of the testat r that his grand
daughter should have the money legacy
bequeathed to her during her life only,
and that if she died at any time, even
after her arrival at full age, the legacy
was to be returned to his estate, and
that the Court is bound ;to carry that
intention into effeot according to the ex
pressed words of the will. When we
examine the entire will of the testator,
and ascertain his testimentary' scheme
as to the disposition of his property, it
is clearly apparent, we think, that it was
the intention of the testator that the
legaoy bequeathed to his grand-daugh
ter should be paid to her at the close of
his estate, and if she should depart this
life before that time, then the money
should be returned to the estate. By the
third item of his'will, the testator gave
the bulk of his property to his wife dur
ing her life, and at her death directed it
to be sold ;nd equally divided between
her children—and this was to be the
closing of his estate as contemplated
by him in the eighth item of his will,
in which he bequeathed to his grand
daughter the money legacy in question,
to be paid to her “at the close of my
estate by my executors. ” The testator
evidently contemplated that when the
property given to his wife during her
life should be sold after her death and
divided between her children that his
estate would then be closed. The tes
tator, by the eighth item of his will,
gave the legacy therein mentioned to
his grand daughter, absolutely and un
conditionally, to be paid to her at the
close of his estate by his executors, and
if she should depa t this life the money
to be returned to the estate. Denart
this life when ? Most obviously if she
should depart this life before the time
when be directed the money to be
paid to her by his executors (to-wit): at
the close of his estate, and not, as is
contended for by the plaintiff in error,
if she should depart this life at any
time after this absolute legacy was di
rected to be paid to her as her own
right and property. It was the manifest
intention of the testator, in our judg
ment, in view of the entire provisions of
his will, that if his grand daughter was
living at the time of the dose of his
estate that the money legaoy btqueath
ed to her in the eighth item of his will
should then be paid to her by his exe
cutors as her own absolute right and
property, and as it appears from the
averments in the plaintiff’s declaration
that she was living at that time, the
legaoy vested in her, and the plaintiffs
as heirs at law were entitled to re
cover the same, and the demurrer to the
plaintiff’s declaration was properly over
ruled. Let the judgment of the Court
below be affirmed.
Carr vs. Smith. Award, from Hancock.
Warner, C. 3,.
This case camp befqre the Court be
low on exceptions to the award of ar
bitrates, upon a question submitted to
them, as to whether a certain execution
in favor of Carr against Smith had been
settled. The arbitrators, under evidence
submitted to them, found, by their
award, that the execution had been set
tled. Carr filed exceptions to the award
on various grounds, which were overrul
ed by the Court, and he excepted, and
now assigns the same as error here.
The alleged mistake of law committed
by the arbitrators was in receiving parol
evidence as to the settlement between
the parties in October, 1869, when the
evidence showed that that settlement
was reduced to writing and handed to
Pounds, defendant’s agent, to whom the
written memorandum of the settlement
was proved to have been delivered by
two witnesses, was examined as a wit
ness, and stated that he never had in his
possession the written memorandum
of the settlement, and that if be ever
had it, it was [ost pr mislaid. There
was do notice served on the defendant
or his agent to produce the proper writ
ing. There was no mistake of law on
the part of the arbitrators in admitting
parol evidence of the settlement, after
proof of the loss of the written memo
random—^ ppde 3„83§, There was a con
flict in the recollection of the witnesses
as to whether the execution in dispute
Was included in the settlement between
the parties. According to the recollec
tion of sotne of the witnesses it was in
cluded, but according to the recollection
of others it was pot included. The ma
jority of the arbitrators found, by tbeir
award, that the disputed execution was
included in the settlement, and there is
sufficient evidence in the record to sus
tain tbeir award. We find no error in
overrating tbe defendant’s exceptions to
tbe award of the arbitrators, on the
statement of facts disclosed in the
record. Let the judgment of the Oonrt
below be affirmed.
Taylor vs. Van Epps, Holicitor-General.
Rule, from City Oonrt of Atlanta
Wabneb, 0. J.
This was an accusation against the de
fendant, in the City Qonrt of Atlanta, of
the offense of ‘.‘larceny from the house,”
in which he was accused of privately
stealing in tfie stoye house of Phillip
Trimble pne umbrella, the property of
the prosecutpy, of the value of three dol
lars. Qn his trial for the offense the de
fendant was found guilty, and the only
question made and decided in the Court
belofv was whether the offense pf which
the defendant was a soused was a re
duced fejoDy by thp act of March, 1866,
so as to entitle the Solicitor to charge
S3O posts, as provided by 1646th and
1650th sections of the Code. ?ne Court
held that the offense was a reduced
felony under the act of 1860, and that
the kjpiipitor was eptit ed to S3O costs.
Whereppop tfie defendant excepted.
We find po eyroy in the piling of the
Court under ffie law as ft npw stands.
Let tbe induigent pf the Court below be
affirmed*
W. L. Calhoun, executor, vs. Mrs. A. A.
Calhoun. In equity, from Fulton,
Jackson, J.
A widow is entitled to the possession
of the mansion in which her hnsband
left her at his death until dowel' or its
equivalent has been assigned her, and
this right td fto'pttiAession is additional
to and independent of her year’s supy
port. Code 1768. Judgment affirmed.
Concerts in miniature are blooming at
Union Point.
COUNTING_TRE VOTES.
A BPLIT ON FLORIDA
No Objection to Ary Electoral Certificate Tn
til Florida is Reached—David Dndly Field’s
Protest—The Joint Settoion of the House
Dissolves and the Tripartite Commission
Assembles* Declares Its Rules and Ar
ranges Preliminaries for Hearing Counsel
To-Day.
Washington, February I.—The Presi
dent of the Senate has opened and the
tellers reading the returns from Alaba
bama. Avery long duplicate by mail
will also be read. S'ow work. There
was no objection and the vote of Ala
bama was counted.
Among those occupying seats on the
floor were Judges Miller and Field, of
the Supreme Court; General Sherman,
Messrs. Charles O’Conor, Evarts and
Stoughton, of New York, and Mr. Jere
miah Black.
After the Alabama certificates had
been read the presiding officer asked,
“Are there any objections to the certi
ficates of the State of
Alabama ?”
After a pause the Chair hears none,
and the vote of the State of Alabama
will be-oounted. “The tellers will an
nounce the vote.”
Mr. Cook, one of the tellers, announc
ed 10 votes for Samuel J. Tilden for
President and 10 votes for Thomas A.
Hendricks for Vice-President.
The certificate of
Arkansas
Was then read, and the result was an
nounced as six votes for Tilden and
Hendricks.
After the presiding officer had asked
the same questions as in the Alabama
oase, the
California
Certificate was read by Mr. Stone, and
six votes were announced for R, B.
Hayes and Wm. A. Wheeler. The
Colorado
Certificate was read by Mr. Cook, and
three votes were announced for Hayes
and Wheeler.
Connecticut
Came next. The certificate was read by
Mr. Allison, and six more votes were an
nounced for Tilden and Hendricks.
The
Delaware
Certificate was read by Mr. Ingalls, and
three more votes were scored for Tilden
and Hendricks.
Florida
Was then reached, and the presiding of
ficer first handed the certificate signed
by Gov. Stearns, and which reoognized
the Hayes electors, and after it had
been read the certificate for the electors
of Tilden and Hendricks was also hand
ed out, and both were read by Mr,
Stone, while Mr. Allison overlooked the
duplicate. The Chair then said that be
had still another certificate, received
the 31st January yesterday. He then
handed the paper to the tellers, and it
proved to be the certified proceedings of
the Board of Canvassers, authorized
act of the Legislature of Florida,
who declare the Tilden and Hendricks
electors elected Included in the pa
per was the action of the Tilden electors
and the subsequent review of the count
by order of the Supreme Court. The
latter document contains an elaborate
detail of the Florida case from a Demo
cratic stand-point. After the reading
had progressed sometime Mr. Conkling
called attention to the fact that the pa
per now being read had thirty-six wide
eolnmns of printed matter. He knew
that the statute required that all papers
should be read, but after consultation
with members of Houses he thought the
law would be obeyed by simply reading
the result. There was no objection.
The result was announced that the Til
den electors had been elected.
The Chairman then asked if there
was objection to the count of the State
of Flerida ?
David Dudley Field, of New York,
arose and submitted written objections
to counting the vote of that, State. The
objection was read by Clerk Adams, of
tho House, in 'accordance with the pro
visions of the Electoral Bill. The du
plicate returns, and the objections were
referred to the Electoral Commission.
After the various objections were read
and there being no further objection,
the presiding officer announced that, the
Senators would retire, so that both
Houses could consider the objections
The Senate then retired to their chain
bar at 3:15, p m.
The following are the rules adopted
by the Electoral Commission :
Rule first : The Commission shall
appoint a Secretary, two Assistant Sec
retaries, a Marshal and two Deputy
Marshals, a Stenographer and such mes
sengers as shall be needful to hold dur
ing the pleasure of the Commission.
Rule second: On any subject submit
ted to the Commission a hearing shall
be had and counsel shall be allowed to
conduct the oase on each side.
Rate third : Counsel, not exceeding
two in number on each side, will be
heard by the Commission on the merits
of any ease presented to it not longer
than two hours on each side, unless a
longer time and additional counsel shall
be specially authorized by tne Commis
sion. In the hearing of interlocutory
questions but one counsel shall be
heard on each ride, and he not longer
than fifteen minutes, unless the Com
mission allow further time and addition
al counsel, and printed arguments will
be received.
Rule fourth : The objectors to any
certificate or vote may select two of their
number to support their objections in
oral argument, and to advocate the va
lidity of any certificate or vote, the va
lidity of which they maintain in like,
manner. The objectors to any other
certificate may select two of their num
ber for a like purpose, but under this ru'e
not more than four persons shall speak,
and neither side shall occupy more than
two hours,
Rule fifth : Applications for process
to compel the attendance of witnesses or
the production of written or documen
tary testimony may be made by counsel
on either side, and all process shall be
served and executed by the Marshal of tbe
Commission or his deputies; depositions
hereafter taken for use before the Com
mission shall be sufficiently authenticated
if taken before any Commissioner of the
Circuit Courts of the United States, or
any clerk or deputy clerk of any Court
of the United States,
Rule sixth; Of admission to the pub
lic sittings of the Commission it shall be
regulated in such manner as the Presi
dent of the Commission shall direct.
Rule seventh: The Commission will
sit, unless otherwise ordered, in the
room of the Supreme Court of the
United States and with open doors, ex
cepting when in consnltation, unless
otherwise directed.
Shrewd people say that rule fifth of
the Commission indicates clearly that,
the Electoral Commission intends to go
behind the Returning Boards.
The objection presented by Mr. Field
to the joist session to counting the vote
of Florida for Hayes asserts that those
persons naming Hayes electors, assum
ing to act as Presidential electors, never
were duly appointed by the State of
Florida or in any manner whatever; that
the other four persons, naming the Til
den electors, had been elected and had
an irrevocable title to the office; that
the certificate .of election of the first
four persons was untruly and corruptly
procured, and made in pursuance of a
conspiracy between them and M. L.
Stearns, late Governor; that they were
usurpers and their acts are illegal and
nu\L and void.
Senator Sargent had sent to the Clerk’s
desk and read, in behalf of himself aod
others, objections to tbe vote cast by
the Democratic electors, on the ground
that the papers are not authenticated,
as required by the Constitution and
laws.
Senator Jones, of Florida, made ob
jection specially against Humphreys,
ilepublican elector, as holding an office
ortrnst and profit under the United
States,
Hasson, of lowa, made an objection
to the third set of certificates, those is
sued by Gov. Drew, because they were
not authenticated by a person who
held the office of Governor at the time
when the functions of the electors were
exercised.
The Presiding Officer; “Are tnere
any further objections to counting the
vote of Florida ?” [Pause.} “If there
are none the certificates and papers, to
gether with other papers accompanying
the same, as well as the objections pre
sented, will now be transmitted to tbe
Electoral Commission for judgment and
decision, The Senate will now with
draw to its Chamber, so that the House
may separately determine its objection.”
A bnyiz of dissent pervaded the Cham
ber as to the closing part of the sen
tence, but the presiding officer made no
change is the sentence.
The Tripartite Commission appointed
under the provisions of the Electoral
act to hear and determine all matters
in dispute relating to tbe vote for Presi
dent- and Vice-President, met at 3, p
m., to-day, in the hall of the Supreme
Oonrt. A communication was received
fromT, W. Ferry, President pro tern
of thh Senate, enolosing the conflicting
certificates from the State of Florida,
and the objections thereto, for the con
sideration and aotion of the Commis
sion. Directions were given to have the
certificates and objections printed.
The Republicans named as their coun
sel Wm. M. Evarts and E. W. Stough
ton, of New York; Stanley Mathews and
Shellabarger, of Ohio. The counsel
for the Demobrats are Charles O’Conor,
Sf New York; Jeremiah Black, pf Penn
sylvania, R. W. Merrick, of Washing
ton. and Ashbel Green, of New Jersey,
business of importance was trans
acted, the Commission having merely
given preliminary orders as to the con
duct of the arguments hi and proceedings.
It adjourned to meet at 10, a tn., to
morrow.
CAN THE COMMISSION UO BE
HIND THE BOARDS?
Florida’* Vote It pm timed Preliminary
# JStrugle iii tMibiiiitiinK Evidence— Repub
licans Contend That the Hoard* are Final
in their DeciNion—Democrats Insist Upon
Adducing Evidence to .Maintain Fraud-
Decision T©-.Morrow and Submittal of
Florida’* Vote Wednesday.
Washington, February 3.—The Elec
toral Commission Court allowed coun
sel to file evidence. The question of its
reception will bo decided hereafter.
Two hours were allowed to the dis
cussion whether the Commission shall
confine itself to matter laid before it by
the President of the Senate. In the
preliminary struggle the Republicans
argue to confine, ftie Democrats to en
large the scope of the investigation.
Nothing was elicited beyond elabora
tions.
Merrick, Evart, O’Conor and Mat
thews each spoke for the admissiou
of evidence, ylicn the Commission ad
journed to 10 o’clock Monday, when the
deeuiou on this point will be reached.
The Commission was called to‘order
by Judge Clifford, the presiding Justice.
After a few remarks by the presiding
Justice as to the order of prooeedure
to be observed, to the effect that, in his
view, it would be iu order for the Demo
cratic counsel to present, in a brief, rea
son why the Hayes and Wheeler elector
al certificate should not be received, and
, that the Republican counsel might fol
low with reasons why the Tilden and
Hendricks certificate ought not to be re
ceived.
O’Conor, of the Democratic counsel,
arose and proceeded to address the
Commission. He said he would address
himself to what seemed most pertinent
in the Florida ease, and would offer
proof why the first certificate of Hayes
and Wheeler should not be counted.
Evarts, of the counsel for the Hayes
and Wheeler electors, said that if tho
order of procedure suggested by the
presided Justice should be followed it
was the first iutimatiou tho counsel on
his side had had of it and they would
not be prepared to go on to day.
The presiding Justice stated that his
remarks were in the nature of a sug
gestion and did not embody a ruling of
the Commission.
O’Conor, after a few preliminary re
marks as to what he thought should be
the method of procedure, read a brief
setting forth what he thought ought to
be submitted as evidence. He said that
on December 6tli last the electors for
Hayes and Wheeler and for Tilden and
Hendricks met and cast their votes and
transmi ted the returns to tho seat of
Government. Both sets of eleotor's com
plies with the requirements ot law. A
writ of quo warranto was served on the
Hayes electors on that day, before they
canvassed the vote, which eventuated in
a judgment against them and in favor of
the Tiiden and Hendricks eleotors on
the 27th of January, 1877. He then re
viewed the action of the Courts of Flori
da and of the Legislature ordering a re
canvass of the votes, and said the Can
vassing Board, without warrant, threw
out the whole of the returns from Ma
natee county and a part of the returns
from Hamilton, Jackson and Monroe
counties. In conclusion, he referred
to the ineligibility of Humphreys, one
of the Hayes electors, who was a United
States Shipping Commissioner.
Judge Black, of the Dem< cratic coun
sel, arose to make a suggestion as to
the method of procedure. He believed
lhat he had the right to suggest what
evidence should be presented and to
speak ou that point. The presiding Jus
tice said no evidence was beforo the
Commission.
After a colloquy between counsel and
members of the ' Commission, Senator
Thurman o6ked the Hayes and Wheeler
counsel what objection there could be
to receiving ail the evidence snggested
6y Mr. O’Oonor, subject to objections.
Mr. Evarts briefly gave his reasons
for objecting to the method of intro
ducing evidence proposed by tho op
posing counsel.
Judge Black insisted upon it that the #
evidence suggested by Mr. O’Conor had
already been taken by the two houses of
Congress. Commit tees were sent to Flor
ida; took evidence; had it printed and
thus made it a part of this case. That
taken by the House was submitted to
the House after a tierce struggle, filibus
tering lasting half a night. He could
not conceive anything more unjust than
to compel them to submit evidence by
piecemeal. When a party files a bill in
a Court of Equi'y, he may put in all the
evidence he chooses, and the same is
true of the party filing an answer.
The evidence cannot be rejected, but
must be accepted as a part of tho
record. While Judge Black was speak
ing two special artists on the spot were
busily engaged sketching the scene.
The presiding Justioe said Judge
Black had exhausted tho fifteen minutes
allowed him.
Justice Miller moved that the counsel
on either side have two hours, in which
to discuss the objection of Mr. Evarts
as to whether any other evidence than
that laid before the two Houses of Con
gress by the President pro tempore of
the Henato should be received by the
commission.
Senator Thurman thought the Argu
ment ought t,o go further and embrace
the admissibility of testimony taken by
either of the two Houses. The question
should not be narrowed down to the
papers presented from Florida by the
President pro tempore of the Senate to
the Houses of Congress.
Representative Garfield desired the
moliou of Justice Miller to be enlarged,
so as to embrace an argument as to the
scope of the power of the Commission
in the premises.
Representative Hoar offered a substi
tute for Justice Miller’s motion, as
amended by Mr. Garfield, but withdrew
it and Justice Field reuewed it.
The presiding Justioe put the ques
tion on Justice Field’s substitute and it
was lost. The motion of Justice Miller
as amen led was then adopted.
Evarts suggested that each side have
three hours instead of two and the Com
mission accepted the suggestion.
Evarts snggested_tliat counsel have
more time to preparo their arguments.
The Commission then took a recess.
On re-assembling the Commission
agreed to bear oue counsel on each side
to-day and the others on Mouduy.
Mr. O’Oouor said he presumed the
throe hours allowed eaoli side might be
divided among counsel as they might
agree, and the pres ding officer said
that was the understanding,
Judge Black asked if he might make
some general remarks and let Mr. Mer
rick go into the details of the case.
The Oomr.ission finally decided that
three counsel might speak, provided
they did not exceed three hours.
Mr. Merriok, of Washington, opened
the discussion for the Democratic side.
Ho considered it clearly the duty of the
Commission to go to the root of the dif
ficulty by regarding as it must and
ought the testimony of the House Com
mittee on Florida as evidence iu the
case. He read from the uot creating the
Commission to show thut i's powers
were ample for this purpose, and aigued
that every consideration of law and of
equity required them to inquire into the
action of the Returning Board, tainted
as it palpably was with fraud. He cited
the quo warranto case of Drew vs.
Stearns and others in support of his
views.
He was followed by Mr. Stanley
Mathews, for the llepublicans, who
maintained, substantially, that the act
of any Board constituted by law, or
having apparently legal title, could not
be set aside, and this upon ground of
public policy.
Mr. E. W. Stoughton followed also
for tbe Republicans. He spoke upon the
question of the legality of the acts of
the Governor of Florida, and denied the
right of the Commission to go behind
the returns of the State Board of Can
vassers.
It is expected that on Monday morn
ing Mr. Evarts will finish for the Re
publicans And Mr. J. Black or Mr.
Chas. O’Conor for the Democrats, on
the questiun of what, in the shape of
t-stimony, is before the Commission if
any is properly before it, and what are
the powers of the Commission in tbe
premises.
The Commission oannot possibly
have tbe case of Florida in a condition
to submit its -ction or it to the Houses
in joint session before Wednesday.
Eflect ol Helfleb Influences.
[From the New York Times.]
There are nearly 60,000 office holders
who have been trembling with fear lest
their means of support should be taken
away, and not less than ten times 60,-
000 expectants, who hoped to get places
if a change occurred, all of whom have
a deep personal interest in the result.
They measure the importance to the
oonntry of the inauguration of their
favorite by its bearings upon their own
personal fortunes. The effeot of these
selfish influences is incalculable. Every
second ward politician throughout the
land either holds or expects an office.—
His bread aud batter are directly de
pendent upon the result, and it is no
wonder that he regards it of much lesß
importance that tbe issne shall be just
and peaceful than that it shall secure
him an office,
IV! (>n one comes to look over a com
pilation of the aeoidents happening dur
ing 1876 he'feels that he ought to be
very thankful and very, very humble,